Chapter Text
Despite having the next week and a half off, this is the second time now Hakuba has run into Baaya at the house. The first time was after he returned home from the heist. He's not sure why she keeps coming to the house in the morning and checking in on him when she can do it over the phone, at least, she's not trying to get any cleaning done. He's pretty sure he'll have a few voicemails from her family once they realize she's still coming over on her time off. The day after the heist was spent completing the mandatory paperwork and checking in with others on the task force to see how the heist went from their perspectives. He was pleasantly surprised when the Inspector wished him a happy belated birthday.
Thankfully, there was no school today, leaving Hakuba plenty of free time to get some work done. Or— he would have had plenty of time had he not received a phone call from Mouri Ran asking if he'd like to join her father, Conan-kun, and herself for dinner.
She mentioned something about KID but Hakuba has stopped listening after hearing the invitation.
This hasn't happened before. He can't remember ever being invited over for dinner. What did he change about the past to cause this to happen? Of course, he agreed to come over, curiosity winning over any caution.
He's not expected over until midday, so he takes his time cleaning Watsons' play area and even does a bit of cleaning around the house. There's not much to do, he never makes a mess and Baaya was truly only around to clean up dust, watch over him, and provide homemade meals. Now that she's on vacation, his father has already left dirty dishes in the sink and some trash on the table. Hakuba cleans it all and takes a look into his father's study to see whether or not the man was home.
He should have known he'd left for work already. It's rare for them both to be home at the same time.
Doing all that along with getting ready for the day didn't take much time. He was able to finish it all within 45 minutes and 24 seconds. He even managed to make that list of possible targets, going as far as to write their connections to one another and how likely it is that the Organization would go after them. He'd prefer it if those Crows, a nickname for the Organization that he can't remember when he started using, left everyone alone. Of course, he burns the list after memorizing everything written. There are still hours before he is expected to be at the detective agency.
He left a few messages for some of his old acquaintances who owe him a few favors, asking them to look into that woman who should own Pandora and Spider's civilian identity. He also made sure to ask them to track Jack Connery's current location.
It was strange, trying to figure out his next step. He knows what he wants to do, and what he needs to do, and yet he cannot figure out how to do any of it.
This would be so much easier if he could just talk to Kuroba-kun. Surely Kuroba-kun knows who is after him and if he doesn't then he should at least have some information on them he can share. The only time he can truly look for information is during heists, but he can't keep wandering off while everyone else is chasing KID. That will only bring unwanted attention to him, it already caused Conan-kun to suspect him of secretly meeting with the thief. Ah, did that have to do with why he was invited to an early dinner? So, he should be prepared for questioning once he arrives. Noted.
Might as well leave the house now and start heading to the station. Taking a train to Beika now would allow him plenty of time to look around the area before making his way toward the agency.
He wasn't expecting to get on the train and after a few minutes, have Akako-san of all people take the seat next to him.
She doesn't give him a chance to greet her or tell off the older men he can see gawking at her.
Instead, she looks him directly in the eyes and asks him why he's so different.
…Hakuba doesn't quite know how to respond to that.
Akako-san often spoke in riddles that he could never quite figure out the meaning of. However, he was often interested in hearing more about her magic and apparent informant Lucifer. Magic is something that he's always believed in, Doyle believed in it too, and yet has never had the opportunity to see it firsthand. Was Pandora considered magic? It has to be, is it defined as a magical gem? A curse? He'd ask Akako-san but he doesn't want knowledge of Pandora spreading. Instead of asking for an explanation, Hakuba simply smiles at his classmate and calmly explains that he doesn't know what she's referring to and that if he is behaving differently than how she expects then perhaps they are simply at the point of becoming friends. After all, friends are those who are comfortable with behaving as themselves rather than putting up a front. He can't remember if they were actually friends at this point in time, but he knows that in the future she is someone that he considers to be a close friend.
She looks pleased but still confused.
"Very well, we may become friends. However, I shall be asking Lucifer to watch over you, just in case a demon has decided to possess you."
"Thank you for your consideration, I'll be counting on your aid should I ever find myself having to deal with possession."
Akako-san perks up, smiling at him as she tosses her hair over her shoulder, "Of course! I'm the best one to deal with such matters, I'm glad you can recognize that. I'll be seeing you, Hakuba-kun."
Between one moment and the next, Akako-san vanishes from sight and no one else on the train seems to have noticed. How interesting. Perhaps she'll be willing to speak with him about her abilities in the near future.
Shortly thereafter he reaches his stop and leaves the train. He has yet to receive any messages from Ran-san, as she insisted he call her, and there's still some time before the agreed-upon meeting time.
This gives him plenty of time to walk around the area and familiarize himself with his surroundings before heading over to the agency. It's not often that he comes to Beika, he usually doesn't have any reason to. From what he remembers, the only times he'll end up coming to Beika is due to a school field trip and because of how often Aoko-san would take to inviting him to an outing with Kuroba-kun and herself. Occasionally, Keiko-san or Akako-san would join them. He couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable Kuroba-kun appeared to be in Akako-san's presence. However, comparing the future to now, they're not currently close enough for that type of 'hanging out' just yet, but he thinks Aoko-san will start trying to invite him out soon. For some reason, he can remember how she was always oddly intent on befriending him, much to Kuroba-kun's displeasure. He's not sure why she wanted to befriend him so badly, especially after how upset he made her by accusing Kuroba-kun of being KID. Of course, after that first time, he never did it again… not publicly at least. Making that public accusation has got to be one of the stupidest things he could have done. He's lucky the Organization didn't put two and two together and realize Kuroba-kun was KID. Hakuba hasn't done it since then. Sort of. He did do it a few times when he knew that it was just Kuroba-kun who could hear him. Plus, after Kuroba-kun says it's not him, Hakuba always lets the matter drop rather than keep pushing for answers.
Has he already accused Kuroba-kun of being KID? He can't really remember… he'll just have to avoid mentioning it. It's not like he needs a confession anymore.
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He arrives at the Detective Agency two minutes early and knocks on the door forty-five seconds before he is expected to arrive. The door swings open at the twelve seconds mark, Conan-kun looking up at him with a broad grin on his face. It's so similar to Kuroba-kun's that Hakuba barely managed to fight back a shudder at the sight of it.
Maybe he should look into whether or not the two of them are somehow related. At this point, it wouldn't surprise him if they were. Conan-kun looks nearly identical to him, except for the color of both his hair and eyes, as well as the cowlick.
"Hi, Hakuba-niisan!"
"Hello Edogawa-kun, how are you doing?"
"I'm good! Ran-neechan is almost done cooking, so we can just wait at the table."
Hakuba followed him inside, stopping momentarily to exchange his shoes for slippers. Ran-san greeted him the instant he was within her sight, offering to take his coat, which he refused seeing as she was in the midst of cooking, and telling him that the food will be done in a few minutes. There was a bit of an awkward air between them, Conan-kun seem to be debating on something while Hakuba was content to sit in silence. Although, he was finding himself just a bit anxious for the questioning to start. He had expected Conan-kun to start discussing the previous heist the moment he walked through the door. He's not sure why Conan-kun has yet to say anything.
Instead of attempting to encourage conversation, Hakuba let his eyes wander around the room.
The room itself gave off a very lived-in appeal, homey is what others would call it. A decent variety of books line the bookshelves off to the side. Interestingly enough, there didn't seem to be any children's books, not in sight at least. Then again, Conan-kun is very smart for his age, Hakuba doesn't doubt his being capable of reading books marketed for those nearly double his age range. The area was clean, but not with the cleanliness you would expect of someone who cleaned every day, nor was it clean enough to show that they care for perfection. Something he's noticed in quite a few homes of detectives he's visited in the past.
Then again, those detectives might have been so strict in coming off as perfect because they felt threatened by Hakuba being a teen detective and solving more cases than any of them had throughout their entire careers.
It wouldn't be the first time he's dealt with those with an inferiority complex. Usually, the aggressive behavior tends to stick to the back burner until they come to the conclusion that enough is enough. By then, Hakuba does his best to keep his distance while doing his job. He's glad that Conan-kun doesn't seem to be at all threatened by Hakuba's presence, unlike Hattori-kun. Ran-san is friendly enough considering they do not truly know one another, he believes that they have only met twice before, and he has yet to meet Mouri-san.
Based on what he's heard of Sleeping Kogoro, it would be interesting to see him in action. Although, he's more curious about what Conan-kun does during these deductions. He's seen him in action before, and though he wishes a child wouldn't have to face the dark side humanity has to offer, it is unavoidable. Just a brief Google of Conan-kun's name is enough to bring up various murder cases as well as kidnappings, aggravated assault, bombings, and even a few supposed terrorist threats. Far too much for any seven-year-old to handle, even Hakuba would find himself affected after being involved in all that. He has no doubt that Conan-kun must at least have nightmares and some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's probably worse for those other kids he's read about being involved as well, he thinks they are called the Detective Boys? He wonders if any adults have seen to getting the children to counseling, and see a proper therapist to check on their mental states. Seeing compartmentalization in a child is unnerving.
…Would it be overstepping boundaries to look into that? Maybe try and find a therapist and recommend them?
He cultivated quite a variety of acquaintances over the years, even at this age. Solving as many cases as he has allowed him to meet a lot of people with different skill sets.
Once the food is finished, Hakuba helps bring it all to the table, not letting Ran-san force him to stay seated despite her best attempts at doing so. It was a bit frustrating for them both but Conan-kun seemed amused. A few minutes were spent with Ran-san asking about his day and then the two of them discussing school before Conan-kun steered the conversation toward Kaitou Kid. Ran-san appeared to be exasperated but listened as Conan-kun went on a long, detailed explanation of the heist and any bits of it that he knows Hakuba had missed. Although the retelling was done in a childish, story-like way, Hakuba was able to mentally compare it to the reports he’s read and understand exactly what Conan-kun was talking about.
"Neh, Hakuba-niisan, why are there snipers at KIDS' heists?"
Hakuba blinked, somewhat startled by the abrupt change of subject but then he noticed how Ran-san was no longer in the room. She probably won't be able to hear them speaking over the running water as she starts on the dishes. Conan-kun purposely waited to have this discussion. Understandable since if Ran-san knew of the dangers of some heists, she would more than likely keep Conan-kun from attending any.
There was something about the tone Conan-kun had while asking that… at least he wasn't pretending to be overly childish around him. Hakuba doesn't have the patience for dealing with that.
"I'm afraid you misunderstood me, Edogawa-kun." Hakuba frowned, "The snipers I spoke of have appeared at previous heists, but they are not associated with the task force or any division of the local police where the heists take place."
"What? You mean KID has people after him?"
"It's that surprising, is it? He's had enemies come for him before, it's more than likely there'll be more in the future."
Conan-kun tilts his head, "And you were searching for them? Alone?"
"I'm more than capable of handling myself, it's not the first time I've chased after criminals," Hakuba said dryly.
"Hm, but even detectives and officers need back-up."
"Are you offering yourself as back-up?"
Conan-kun looked surprised, "You'd be fine with me being your back-up?"
"Why not? You're just as capable, if not more so than other detectives and officers I've met. Plus, I know from first-hand experience that you are very smart and resourceful."
Hakuba knows that Conan-kun is a great detective, a genius in his own right, and regardless of his youth, Hakuba will give him the acknowledgment and respect he deserves. Besides, thinking it over despite being just seven years old, when faced with a dead body Conan-kun comes off as apathetic compared to how others his age should react. He also thinks of motives and other things that children shouldn't even know about. Conan-kun is a very odd child, just like how Hakuba was in his childhood. It's because of that, that he chose not to outwardly address Conan-kun's behavior, it's not like he's witnessed it leading to Conan-kun or anyone else facing danger… unless he counts all the cases as danger. In which case, Conan-kun could use a responsible older figure in his life.
He can handle watching out for Kuroba-kun and Conan-kun. How hard can it be?
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Very hard as it turns out.