stalking_horse | (Attn: Kaito)

[ He'll be giving a rather cheerful wave! Sure, it's a fake smile, but they're what he's best at. ]

Yo.

Do you have some time? I did need to talk to you - somewhere private. [Really whichever of their rooms is closest and empty...]

Yeah. Your room? The others are probably inside mine...

That will work. [I'd imagine the inn's small enough that even with him trying to give space it's pretty close - he's trying not to be too unsettling... While being kind of paranoid about checking the hall and shutting the door behind Kaito.]

[He probably fails at "not being unnerving".]

[ ... Yeah, at this point he's just staring with a "what the hell" expression on his face. ]

[Him? Nervous? Not at all.. Not like he's probably about to give Kaito a heart attack or anything...]

There's a couple things, particularly while we have some time away from everything - before I start, I do worry about what happens to you and don't want to see you get hurt. [But you're probably not going to like the next part...]

[ Well, looks like Conan was right about the worrying thing. ]

But?

The first heist I was at - Adam's Smile? There was a scuffle, among other chaos.

[This may be one of the few times you hear him humoring you. It's not going to last.]

.... I came out of it with three of your hairs. Of course, the private lab I took them to that had equipment not in standard police use means they're inadmissable in court, but I have double-checked the DNA match.

[ THIS IS WHAT HE FEELS LIKE ON THE INSIDE ]

[ He will keep his cool however. ]

I wonder how those ended up there.

Yes, very curious, particularly since you'd been nowhere near the scene, one of the hairs was on my coat, and it was the night before my first day in that class. [You're not fooling anyone right now, you know that, right? Your hair does not end up at a heist like that.] Or do you actually want to try to claim Kid is trying to frame you?

Just so you know, I do have evidence besides the weak points in your secret identity, the lack of other real suspects, and your amazing tendency to get perfectly matching injuries whenever Kid gets hurt on a heist. :|

And would you mind saying what evidence that is? I'm waiting.

The most solid is the DNA evidence; people shed hair - it's not hard to get your hair from your desk and the like, and every time it's an exact match to Kid's. As I said, unless you want to claim Kaitou Kid is trying to frame you, the only reasonable explanation for your hair to end up on my coat after a scuffle with Kid when I hadn't even "met" you yet is if you were Kid. I could also go into why I suspected you enough to start transfer paperwork into your school before I'd actually been on a heist, which involves there being three people being Kid over the years, and how close that matches with some of your family history. How exactly you end up mirroring Kid's injuries, right down to the time we both landed ourselves in traction.

I'm perfectly happy to go into detail, but the main reason I wanted to let you know that I had reasons for being so persistent, was because it would be a lot harder to discuss the people trying to kill you if I'm still being met with denial and playing stupid. [pointed look.]

[ He's going to be quiet for a few minutes, before finally saying in a very deadpan voice: ]

Gee, detectives sure are smart.

[ Yes, that is all he's going to say until Hakuba goes on. First Conan, and now him-- next Heiji is going to show up and start listing reasons why he's Kaitou Kid. ]

......[There's this very odd frown, and then a sigh and a small eyeroll. Goddamnit, he's not trying to troll you for once.]

I'm not trying to show off. I'd thought there might be more to it all from the start, from the way you went about it; and with the way the history of the case went - with the original Kid who disappeared, someone else covering, and then you - I'd ... guessed something had to've happened to the original.
Blue Birthday started to confirm that, particularly since you changed targets and timing - and the garbled reports from the Red Tear case, followed by the Crystal Mother heist, only really confirmed that someone very dangerous and very organized was after you, and that you were after something they wanted - something that couldn't just be mere wealth that they could've easily gotten from any of the fifty jewels they'd passed up chasing you. And if you want a perfectly honest statement, Kuroba, I think the more important target in this case isn't the one flouncing around making a giant target out of himself, and that if you were caught, we'd probably be removing the first real opportunity to lure something large and incredibly dangerous into the open. Of course if I said anything openly about this, I'd only be making a giant target out of myself and blowing the game; Hell, if I just started acting differently, it'd be enough to set off warning flags that I'd changed behavior - if one theory I've pondered is corrected, it's likely not a coincidence that Kudo Yusaku became so thoroughly elusive after ... very specific events.
The best shot I've been able to think of to do something, has been to continue my habit, particularly if it's a heist where they seem likely to show up, of dashing ahead of the police to try to pick out where you'll be on your way out - because that's also where I'd wager they're most likely to think they can get a clean shot at you without too many eyes watching.

Do you still want to play the game where I'm an adversary to be kept in the dark as much as possible?
[Arms crossed, leaning back against the door...]

[ He scratches his head, sighing. This was exactly like when Conan revealed his theories on Kid's identity-- Kaito's not exactly sure what to address first, so instead he spends a moment to quickly go over everything Hakuba had said. ]

[ Man, this was turning out to be a ridiculously busy week and it barely even began. ]

[ Finally, he shrugs. ]

I'll bite. If you are right, if I'm Kid, then what will you do about it?

In some regard... What I've been doing. If I drop the case, it'll be obvious that I know something - and will mean giving up a chance to be there if they decide to move, and I'm not about to just let them kill you like that. And even if you don't plan on including me ... [frown]
Whoever these people are, they're something that needs to be stopped - and something I can't walk away from. It'd be the coward's way out, leaving the truly dangerous part up to nebulous "someone else" and just crossing fingers that the body count won't climb too high, and giving up on the chance that I might be able to do something to help stop them.

And I definitely can't walk away when I know they're aiming at some of the few people I care about.

[ Oh god Hakuba stop saying the word "care" that is embarrassing and awkward and this is Kaito's tsun tsun acting up. ]

And, figuratively speaking, what if I don't want you involved? The more people involved with something like this, the more dangerous it becomes. It's a huge gambit.

[Too bad "walk away" isn't in Hakuba's vocabulary.]

Kaito, I'm already involved. I've been chasing murderers, serial killers, and the gamut of more dangerous criminals since I was eight - if They weren't involved, chasing you would be a vacation.

Do you really want to try to take on all of them mostly by yourself? Or that they'd stop at you if you failed, whether the people around you are involved or not?

If I did just take it at that and walk away, do you think I could live with myself if something happened to you or anyone else? Nevermind living with myself knowing that I knew about something that large, intelligent, lethal, and powerful, and walked away as if I hadn't seen anything? Or what they did while I was off pretending they didn't exist that maybe I may've been able to do something about if I hadn't run away and hid?

Honestly? Yeah, I would like for you to do all that. Maybe go back to England, and go back to solving every single case that you get your hands on. That's a good life, I think.

... But no, I don't think you'd do that. You're too nosy and stubborn. And you have way too much pride, and apparently you care a little too much.

[ He sighs. ]

You really can walk away. I can't. And that's why I want to ask you something. If I reveal anything to you-- any ounce of information that I have, you need to say yes or no. If I tell you that I need to handle something on my own, or that I can't reveal something to you, would you honestly comply with my wishes? You won't investigate what I'm doing, or disrespect my wishes? I admit, I have a lot of help with what I do, especially now. But they all know when to step back.

Can you do that?

.... [In theory he could walk away? It'd just be going against every fiber of his being.]

[He does take a minute to think over things...but then, as nerve-wracking as it sounds and probably will be, he's spent how long trying to play at what he can/can't say/do blind? - which is always worse.]

If I'm not being left completely out of the loop, I can sit on my hands; I've followed this long on less, you've survived this long on your own planning, and they're too dangerous to not err on the side of caution. Besides, if I have a better idea what's going on, it's easier to avoid acting or speaking when I shouldn't and blowing the game because of something I didn't know about. [ <- has actually been a small neurotic worry of his. :| ]

So yes. As long as I know where you need me to hold still or stop asking, I can back off.

[ He grins at the last bit, but it fades away as he considers his options. Although he was the one who told Conan that they could trust Hakuba, so with that in mind he holds a hand out to the detective. ]

It's nice to meet you. I'm Kaitou Kid.

... [That does get a smile out of him, and he takes Kaito's hand to shake it.]

Pleasure to make your acquaintance finally.

I suppose this is where we try to figure out how much of the same page we can manage?

Well, let's see... You got the basics right. I'm looking for a specific jewel, another group is after it as well, and we're pretty much playing a game of can I find it first and get away in time? Obviously, I haven't had much luck in it so far...

[He's nodding, and ... being pretty tentative - see what of this makes sense, gets shot down, etc.; after all, Kaito actually has more information than he does.]

Hm. As far as I could tell, whoever they are, they don't exist to an unnerving extent - it's hard to do much research without risking flagging myself, but the home that you led the police to during Blue Birthday belonged to someone that was suspected of things, but certainly not capable of anything international; as far as I know, he hasn't been heard from since - I think they're keeping hands in other organizations in some places. Nakamori-keibu's noticed something's up, and I think some of the more experienced task force members, but nobody is stupid enough to talk about it with the situation in its current state; I don't think anyone but maybe Nakamori has a real guess how bad, but the ones that have a clue know it's bad enough to play stupid.
Outside of their appearances around you, they seem to exist in negative space as far as investigation goes - unless you're unlucky enough to directly run into them, it's the void of explanation and evidence that sticks out; normal mafia groups don't work like that - they rely too much on territories and intimidation value to be total phantoms.

The only guess I've had on the gem is that it must fall in the same special category of logic and reason as Koizumi - there are gems that change colors and show reactions in different lighting, but for most of them, they react to moonlight the same as artificial light. Distinctive, but not special enough to kill for. It also did seem like most of the more major heists and ones they showed up at were stones with legends about curses and strange histories..and for people like them to be so lethal about it, they must think there's a solid reason to trust whatever this one's supposed to do.

They're not a normal mafia group, like you said. Honestly, I don't even like to consider them as just another mafia group-- it's more than that. Their goals reach a lot farther than just drug deals and selling weapons. They always tie up their loose ends; if you become involved and they let you live, there is a reason for it. And most likely, they don't plan on letting you live for long after that reason is fulfilled. But it seems like they're mostly concentrating on experimenting with life and death. Or to be more specific, ways on how to cheat death.

... Which is where the Pandora Gem comes in. Supposedly, if the information on it is correct, it has the power to grant immortality. Now, you can see why they would be interested in something like that given what their goals are. There are a few specific ways to be able to spot the jewel. One: It will turn red under the full moon. Two: There is another jewel inside of it.

[He actually grimaces a little at hearing what it does; of all the things that should NEVER be in hands like that...]

....[sigh] No, they're not... there isn't any recorded precedent for anything like them.

And there's no way in Hell they should be allowed anywhere near that.

Hmn. About all I know about them is that they exist, and some theories about how a group like that would have to function - probably not many of them that know much at all, likely prone to manipulating other organizations given a chance, and that the more visible ones probably don't know very much. Do you have much else to go on?

I have names-- code names, actually. I think there are different divisions in the organization, or at least everyone is off doing their own thing. The higher up ones tend to have names involving an alcohol theme. Gin, Vermouth, Vodka, Bourbon-- things like that.

There's also Snake, who I've met before. He's actually the first contact I had with the group. Guessing by his name, I don't think he's too high on the ladder.

Mostly decentralized structure... handful of individual operatives or small groups, if there's limited contact between them and they're focused on their own work, then even if one part is compromised, the whole is less at risk; it'd be more like the way resistance cells in totalitarian regime function, or some spy agencies, than normal organized crime behavior.
Ah - would there be any descriptions of any of them, or ideas what sorts of affairs they'd be involved in? [No, he's not stupid enough to chase them, but spotting one of them when they don't know he'd recognize them could be useful...]

They left too many witnesses alive after Red Tear for him to be anything but expendable, whether he realizes it or not...and he walked out of that leaving too many witnesses to be trusted with much. Also, he shows up in some international databases. As dangerous as he is, by the standards of a group like that, he doesn't seem to be the sharpest tack in the box.

Vermouth is a woman, and she was one of my dad's apprentices when it came to disguises. So, pretty much the only people who would be able to beat her in that regard would the other apprentice and, naturally, my self. I don't know too much about the others...

Yeah, I figured that. The more important you are, the more careful you are to tie up any loose ends. If anything, I bet he wanted to find the jewel so rise up in the ranks.

[...There's a slight blip in his expression and an eyebrow raise at the mention of Vermouth and her ties to Toichi as a couple other things kinda go "click/confirmed".]

Well, if anything, the way he's going about it, even if he gets his hands on it he'll have demonstrated that he's too sloppy to be trusted anywhere higher.

... Would it sound crazy if I said I think someone else is dodging them too?

[ On the inside he's going, oh Conan was right to be worried. But his expression isn't changing on his face. ]

What do you mean?

Well, Kudo Yusaku was both involved in the Kid case and close with your father; I think it's highly likely he knew your father was Kid, and probably at least knew something was suspicious about his death ... and I'm not sure on the circumstances, but Kudo Shinichi has obviously gone into hiding badly - as if he's avoiding someone where he expects any clear confirmation of his status and location would be lethal. I thought it was unusual; it would have to be some kind of organized group larger than one or two people to justify being that paranoid, and wiping himself off the face of the Earth would be a bit extreme for most normal mafia groups, so I had been wondering.
Conan mentioned that Shinichi had said that one of Toichi's apprentices bothered him - he said he didn't know any more than that, and I thought it was odd, considering he would've rather young at the time; it occurred to me that if one of your father's apprentices had seemed suspicious, it probably wasn't a coincidence. If Shinichi knows about Vermouth, then he knows about them, which would mean that they're the people he's hiding from.

[ Yeeeah... he would... definitely have to tell Conan all of this later. ]

That could be true. You detectives do like to stick your heads in messy things, don't you?

[ A pause. ]

I'll ask Conan if he knows anything at all about Shinichi. He trusts me way more than he does you.

If you're doing it right, it's part of the job.

[.........Considering how things went?] That's not very hard, right now.

Considering what he has to deal with on a regular basis, he's pretty paranoid... I guess that's what happens when a little kid sees so much death.

[Slow nod] Probably for the better, really; it'll keep him alive.
I know I didn't help matters any.

Just give it time. It took him a long time to trust me.

True enough. I still feel rotten about it; I lost my temper at an eight year old. [Yes, the sniping at a kid like that thing did bother him once he calmed down. Oh it's going to be special when he finds out.]

That's really not that hard to do. Kids are pretty annoying.

(Attn: Kaito)

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