On the Scent -

[k9tantei]

Who: Kaito (bakaitoukid) and Heiji (k9tantei)
Where: Olivine, outside somewhere
When: June 26, afternoon
Summary: Scent-detection trained Houndoom + one off-duty Phantom Thief = ?????
Rating: PG at worst.

Comments

[bakaitoukid]

Meanwhile, across town near the beach, (one) off-duty phantom thief was dealing with a few Pokemon issues of is own.

"C'mon you two, would you cut it out?!"

It turned out that the Murkrow he had captured in the days before the Shedinja attack had the ability to hold long-standing grudges. Considering Biz the Aipom had been the perpetrator of the dreaded Murkrow Bowling incident, it came as no surprise that Yata was still incredibly irked at the purple monkey and gladly taking out her frustrations on him every time they were out of their pokeballs together.

In order to keep them from getting into too serious of a fight, Kaito had physically separated the two, with Biz clenched by the scruff of the neck in one hand and Yata held by one of her legs in the other. Both Pokemon were squirming and squawking, and their trainer let out a sigh and rolled his eyes at their antics.

"Geez..." he grumbled, "You think you two could at least get along for five minu--"

He was interrupted by the sharp bark of an approaching Houndoom.

... Biz and Yata stopped their squabbling to stare at the new arrival alongside Kaito, who had quirked an eyebrow curiously at the large dog Pokemon. So far it was doing nothing but barking and staring, and while this was... creepy, it was not dangerous.

"The hell..."

Before he could say anything else, Hattori's yell reached his ears, cutting him off yet again and causing Kaito's gaze to snap in the detective's direction. Yata and Biz followed suit, which left three pairs of eyes trained on the Osakan detective.

Well. This was quite the party. And it wasn't exactly how Kaito had pictured his first meeting with the detective from home. Still... he could deal with it.

Finally releasing his grip on his Pokemon, Biz scrambled up his trainer's arm and settled onto the tousled locks on the top of his head. Yata spread her wings and took flight, circling above Kaito's head for a few moments before landing onto his shoulder, peering at Heiji with a somewhat suspicious expression.

"Yours?" Kaito asked, one eyebrow quirked as he jerked his thumb toward the Houndoom. The Houndoom who was... somewhat uncomfortably determined to remain as close to him as possible.

[k9tantei]

Baskerville was doing the "I FOUND IT" bark.

He'd only put effort into teaching Bas to detect/track one thing, and that was a mixed bag of ...
Well, admittedly things that were also magician's tools, but at the time it was so Bas could find and keep track of Kid on the heist.

"Yeeaaah, sorry about that..." He rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully; that was ... a funny coincedence.... "Oi. Bas. Not today, c'mon."

And what WAS he supposed to say about this one?

".... Magician?"

[bakaitoukid]

Magician.

He remembered the video feed Heiji had posted before the heist. The stage materials that had seemingly served no purpose. Pairing that with the barking dog, it wasn't difficult to figure out what was going on here.

A tracking dog.

It was an issue, and this discovery would probably make his detective rival suspicious. But as a kaitou, he needed to be able to adapt. And adapting to unexpected circumstances without losing a step was something he was good at.

There is no flicker in his expression. No outward sign that he had figured something out. He just kind of grins at Heiji, hands in his pockets and stance relaxed.

"Good guess." He nodded at Bas, one eyebrow quirked, "Is he trained to track magicians or something?"

If he acted like it was no big deal, then surely he could deflect some of that suspicion.

[k9tantei]

"Yeaaah somethin' like that." So it wasn't that unheard of for stage magicians to use disguise tricks in their act ... still suspicious. Just a teeny, tiny little bit. Kinda. Sorta.

Like a little neon sign in the back of Heiji's head. "There's a few things I'd taught him t'track t'help with th'heist - have a partner who'd be harder t'fool." He patted the Houndoom on the head...

And yes, Bas is still giving Kaito That Look. "I'm guessin' that's part of why you're a fan?"

Okay, yes, he could say he was KIND-OF SUSPICIOUS. (Although really, wasn't he a classmate of Hakuba's? Now that could raise some seriously funny questions THERE.)

But really, somehow, if that suspicion was right, it also seemed ...

A little cheap to call it out on a random "off-duty" day like that.

[bakaitoukid]

That was at least one thing he admired in his detective counterparts. Their strong sense of competition and honor. The fact that Hattori was suspicious didn't have to be advertised for Kaito to pick up on it, but he definitely appreciated not being called out on it. Especially when he was "off duty."

With a grin, Kaito leaned forward and tentatively reached out to scratch Bas the Houndoom behind the ears. Biz and Yata clung to his head and shoulder as he moved, careful not to lose their perches as they continued to watch Heiji suspiciously. "One reason," he responded with a grin, "From a magician's standpoint, Kid is pretty good at what he does. Gotta admire a fellow performer who is good at what he does, right?"

1/2

[k9tantei]

Baskerville gave one glance over to Heiji - checking just what his trainer expected - but with Heiji relatively relaxed and obviously not On the Chase? He gave a bewildered huff and lowered his head to accept the attention.

Bas still knows who you are. :|

"Yeah, an' what he pulls has gotta be one of th'hardest sorts of stages t'perform on... lot more variables than there'd be in a normal stage show."

By this point, Yuki has stopped...and been peeering around Heiji curiously.... And then there's a moment of dawning recognition...

2/2

[k9tantei]

And then with a brief outburst of JOYOUS gibberish, the Jynx launches herself around Heiji to glom Kaito and smother him with affection.

Yes, Kaito, there is a Jynx attempting to kiss you, while Heiji has a dumbfounded moment catching up to what just happened - he knew she was prone to this since she was little, it's just .... much more EMPHATIC right now, and she's -BIGGER-.

...And capable of sending mental images MUCH better than she used to be, although Heiji is spared the overly happy recognition-flail of Kaito as "THIS PERSON WHO'S IMPORTANT" that seem to be a little secondhand-off-kilter memories from the perspective of a very specific desk!

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito was prepared to let his ego get the best of him, but any responses he might have made were cut off by that Jynx that was suddenly flying at him.

Kaito let out a yelp as he withdrew from Bas, stumbling backward in an attempt to avoid the affectionate Jynx. Biz and Yata, surprised by the sudden movement, were sent flying from their perches as the Jynx managed to catch her prey, tackling him to the ground and... managing to land a nice, sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"OI--" It certainly wasn't the first time Kaito had been tackled by a Pokemon. It was definitely the first time he was kissed by one. Particularly one that enjoyed sending strange images into his brain while she clung to him. Was that... his classroom from home? Was that him? From the perspective of--

Ah...

It was a bit awkward, and with a grump, Kaito pushed against the Jynx in an attempt to free himself from her grasp. "Is she always this affectionate?"

[k9tantei]

He still wasn't sure how to react to what just happened. "Uhhh... a little but - not - that ... emphatically..."

Oh yes, this had him very confused - he knew Kaito'd never been around Yuki, Yuki'd been with him since that first time Koizumi disappeared -

Wait, if Yuki read minds -

"Uh, Yuki, y'might want t'let him go..." He really wasn't sure that'd be listened to. "...Y'wouldn't...happen t'know a girl named Koizumi, wouldja?"

And ... well ... she does at least stop clinging quite as badly - but sorry, Kaito, you've still got an overly cuddly Jynx.

[bakaitoukid]

... ah. Akako. Kaito briefly remembered watching the witch complain about a Smoochum over the network during her first stay in Johto. So that's what happened to the little guy...

"Urk-- classmate--" he managed to mumble as he continued to push against the Jynx. Man, could this Pokemon hug hard, "This thing belong to her first?"

[k9tantei]

"Yeah, she did ... 's how she ended up with me... she came t'me when Koizumi disappeared." Heiji rubbed the back of his head; he was beginning to ponder getting a crowbar by the time Yuki finally let go.

Well, mostly.

She did go from hugging to leaning on and cuddling against. "She have a crush on you or somethin'?"

[bakaitoukid]

That was a bit of a loaded question, though Kaito was able to mask his hesitation with the fact that he was currently wrestling against an overly excited Jynx. Now that she had stopped clinging, pushing her away was easier, and he slowly wriggled away from her grasp.

"Heck if I know," was his final response, "But she's always being really clingy."

[k9tantei]

He looks at Yuki, who at least seems happy to be sitting over near Kaito for now, and back at Kaito. Right.

From what he remembers of Akako and how the Jynx is acting, he's wondering if "clingy" is the word for it. "She's definitely an... interesting one, I'll say that." 'Interesting' used in place of 'slightly terrifying'; she was pretty obviously putting EFFORT into being diplomatic, but it wasn't hard to pick up on the quiet attempts at being in charge.

Or "forgetting" to button the top few buttons of her shirt consistently.

Meanwhile, Baskerville, the horse-sized dog? ...Is looking between Yuki and Kaito with a sort of betrayed grump.

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito, being familiar with the person in question, picked up on the underlying meaning of Hattori's 'interesting' fairly quickly. Truth be told, interesting wasn't exactly the word he would have used, either.

Creepy and slightly terrifying would have sufficed. Although... even he couldn't deny that Akako had her moments. Those moments of surprising softness and caring. Despite her strong personality, she could be surprisingly... gentle.

It looked like Hattori hadn't quite met that part of her, yet.

Now free of the Jynx, Kaito climbed to his feet and brushed the dirt off the front of his shirt. Yata and Biz, who had been watching the exchange from afar, approached again, gathering at their trainer's feet and affixing their sharp gazes on Hattori once again.

"I'll say," he responded, "Have you talked to her since her second arrival here?"

[k9tantei]

Heiji stretched lazily; at this point, especially after Baskerville's entrance, he wasn't too surprised if Kaito's pokémon were a little suspicious. "Not much - she didn't seem t'remember me or Yuki at all, an' I had my hands pretty full at th'time. I'm still not sure what t'make of her, though I'll admit, gettin' to Cherrygrove without her help would've been a lot harder with th'rain when we'd first gotten here." And at the time, once they hit Violet he hadn't really wanted to stick with her - even without the knowledge that Shiho would've murdered him, he wasn't about to keep someone who was unknown and untested in close quarters with her and Kudo, especially not someone who might end up finding out too much.

[bakaitoukid]

Kaito lifted his own hands above his head stretching a bit as he attempted to loosen his muscles after being tackled to the ground by an overly-affectionate Pokemon. "I dunno what to make of her either," he said with a snort, "But I guess she isn't so bad sometimes."