Ficbit: Communications 4/?
Aug. 29th, 2004 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soc_puppetCommunications
Fandom: Detective Conan/Magic Kaito
Summary: Aoko finds out Kaito's father was murdered.
“Kuroba-kun!”
Kaito looked up, startled, as, for the second time that day, his impromptu magic show was interrupted. Two small, dark-haired figures were making their way across the lobby to him. He smiled in recognition and waved, startling a dove into flight. “Kudo-kun! Mouri-chan!” Beside him, Aoko cocked her head curiously.
The two children stopped just short of Kaito and Aoko. “Hey,” Kudo-kun said with a familiar half-smile.
“Hey yourself. What’re you doing here?”
“We came here on a field trip, but Shin’ichi thought he saw a mystery so we got separated.” Mouri-chan answered. Kudo-kun made a face at her, and she returned it with one of her own. “You?”
“We’re here on a trip, too, but I didn’t want to take the tour, so I decided to wait out here.” Kaito replied. (While was true—he really didn’t want to take the tour—he wasn’t about to tell anyone why.) Kaito’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing her throat. He turned to see Aoko with her arms crossed, wearing a look that suggested that he’d better tell her what was going on or she’d find something to chase him with. Kaito hastened to comply. “Ah, Kudo-kun, Mouri-chan, this is my best friend, Nakamori Aoko. She decided to wait with me. Her dad’s a police inspector. Aoko, this is Kudo Shin’ichi and Mouri Ran. Kudo-kun’s a detective, and Mouri-chan knows karate.”
Aoko, suddenly all smiles and cheerfulness, bowed politely. “Nice to meet you, Kudo-san, Mouri-san.” The other two bowed in return.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Mouri-chan answered brightly. “And please, call me—” She broke off suddenly and went very pale.
Kudo-kun frowned in concern. “Ran? You okay?” Wordlessly, Mouri-chan pointed. Kaito looked and his breath caught in his throat.
Across the lobby, dressed identically to when they had last seen him and carrying a sleek briefcase (also black), was the man called Rum.
Kaito suddenly wished he were on the tour looking at—shudder—fish instead of in the lobby watching a man in black. “Is that really the guy from the theatre?” he heard himself ask.
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.” Kudo-kun frowned. “He’s waiting for someone.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s being sneaky about it, but he keeps looking at his watch.”
“How can he see the watch with sunglasses on?” Kaito wondered aloud. Kudo-kun glared at him.
“D’you think that’s him?”
Huh? Kaito blinked at Aoko. “Who?”
“That man near the entrance,” Aoko replied calmly. “He’s dressed the same way.”
Kaito started to turn, but Kudo-kun grabbed his shoulder. “Kuroba-kun,” he whispered urgently, “do you know any magic tricks with mirrors you could do?”
Kaito’s eyebrows went up. “Probably. If I don’t, I can make one up. How come?”
Grave blue eyes bore into him. “We don’t want to look like we’re watching them.”
Understanding dawned. Grinning to himself simply for the magic’s sake, Kaito reached over and pulled a small round mirror from Mouri-chan’s ear. Kudo-kun lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. The four children crowded around the mirror as Kaito tilted it to catch the second man’s reflection.
The second man was larger than the first, darker and rather hairy with a mustache clinging to his upper lip. He moved with obvious menace as he walked towards the first one. He stopped just short of Rum and did what in other circumstances might have been called exchanging pleasantries. Kaito flinched as they glanced around the lobby, and did his best to act natural. Don’t notice us, don’t notice us, don’t notice us… The words ran through Kaito’s mind like a mantra. At last, the darker man took the briefcase from Rum, and the two men made their way to the exit silently.
Kaito tucked the mirror away, troubled and frightened but hiding it under Poker Face. “Kaito?” Aoko asked quietly. “Who were those guys?”
Memories still raw and fresh stirred in him. “Bad people,” he answered simply.
“What were they doing here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good.”
“…do you think we should tell my dad?”
Kaito paused. “No, I don’t.”
Aoko looked confused. “Why not?” She asked, hurt.
It took a little while for Kaito to find the right words. “Aoko, those guys killed my dad.” Aoko stiffened in shock beside him. Mouri-chan shifted anxiously, and Kudo-kun listened with a grim expression. “And maybe it wasn’t actually either of those two guys, but they had something to do with it.” Kaito continued. “I don’t know a lot for sure. I just know that they’ve hurt people before and they might hurt other people. And we can’t tell anyone, because no one would believe us. Well, your dad might, but he’s prob’ly the only one, and there are a lot more people that need to believe before we can do anything.”
Aoko’s eyes were wide with fear. Then she blinked, and when they opened again there was nothing but determination and anger. “What do we do about them?”
Kaito lost Poker Face and his eyebrows went up. “Aoko?”
“I like living in this place, and I like the people here, and you are my best friend, and if the bad guys wanna do any bad stuff to you or anyone else, they’re gonna hafta deal with ME.” Aoko crossed her arms and jutted her chin out stubbornly. Then her mood switched again, and she was looking at him with concern. “That’s what you’ve been thinking about, isn’t it? Almost since your dad died, you’ve been thinking about those people and what to do about them.”
Kaito looked away guiltily, and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, now I know, so I can help.” Aoko smiled at him, and Kaito found himself smiling back. Then he saw something over her shoulder and his smile vanished.
“Our class is back! We gotta go!” Kaito hesitated, then turned to Mouri-chan and Kudo-kun and bowed swiftly. “Good to see you again.”
“Very nice to meet both of you,” Aoko said, also bowing. “I’ll see you later.”
“Good-bye, nice to meet you, too.” Mouri-chan replied, while Kudo-kun just waved.
Kaito took Aoko’s hand and the two of them ran to catch up with their class.
—End—
As previously mentioned, this is the other half of the bit that was giving me trouble. After seperating this bit from the previous one, I found I still had trouble with it. After scowling and just barely not tearing the papers with the rough draft on them in half, I finally figured out the other problem.
Originally, Shin'ichi was going to give this two paragraph explanation of what they knew of the Black Organization up to that point. After staring at it for who knows how long I realized that it just didn't fit. I took it out with some remorse (I worked pretty hard on it), but with each day that goes by I feel better about it. The fic really didn't need it, and works better without it, so Shin'ichi's little speach is _staying_ in the rough draft.
This bit also ends what I have affectionately dubbed the Kiddie Kaito saga ^_~. (Please don't kill me for the pun. I know not everyone was raised on them, really, but they sneak in sometimes anyway. Summercloud took it and turned it around, so the four of them are the Kaito Kids, which I thought was adorable, and so Kidnapped ^_^.)
I also got my second review from someone who didn't recognize the term 'divergence' in this bit -_-;... I ended up doing something stupid and re-posting it with an explanation of the word at the end and a mini-rant *^^* <(oops) Of course, one of the first rules of posting things on the net is 'Never imply that the reviewers could be doing a little more thinking for themselves. Or if you do, don't do so where they can hear you.' Eventually I took it down and just added a little note at the end of the first bit on what 'divergence' means, but I still feel a little miffed about it. (It was the _first_ _word_ in the summary. FF.net has a _dictionary_ feature. If you can't guess the meaning of a word from context, might it be a good idea to look it up? >_<. Okay, I'm done now.) I probably lost a little readership because of it, but I guess that's just life. *sigh*
Following this bit, I left for Europe (for two weeks, then came home for two weeks, then went across the States for two weeks, then came home for three before school started -_-) and my beta-reader left for camp.
Fandom: Detective Conan/Magic Kaito
Summary: Aoko finds out Kaito's father was murdered.
“Kuroba-kun!”
Kaito looked up, startled, as, for the second time that day, his impromptu magic show was interrupted. Two small, dark-haired figures were making their way across the lobby to him. He smiled in recognition and waved, startling a dove into flight. “Kudo-kun! Mouri-chan!” Beside him, Aoko cocked her head curiously.
The two children stopped just short of Kaito and Aoko. “Hey,” Kudo-kun said with a familiar half-smile.
“Hey yourself. What’re you doing here?”
“We came here on a field trip, but Shin’ichi thought he saw a mystery so we got separated.” Mouri-chan answered. Kudo-kun made a face at her, and she returned it with one of her own. “You?”
“We’re here on a trip, too, but I didn’t want to take the tour, so I decided to wait out here.” Kaito replied. (While was true—he really didn’t want to take the tour—he wasn’t about to tell anyone why.) Kaito’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing her throat. He turned to see Aoko with her arms crossed, wearing a look that suggested that he’d better tell her what was going on or she’d find something to chase him with. Kaito hastened to comply. “Ah, Kudo-kun, Mouri-chan, this is my best friend, Nakamori Aoko. She decided to wait with me. Her dad’s a police inspector. Aoko, this is Kudo Shin’ichi and Mouri Ran. Kudo-kun’s a detective, and Mouri-chan knows karate.”
Aoko, suddenly all smiles and cheerfulness, bowed politely. “Nice to meet you, Kudo-san, Mouri-san.” The other two bowed in return.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Mouri-chan answered brightly. “And please, call me—” She broke off suddenly and went very pale.
Kudo-kun frowned in concern. “Ran? You okay?” Wordlessly, Mouri-chan pointed. Kaito looked and his breath caught in his throat.
Across the lobby, dressed identically to when they had last seen him and carrying a sleek briefcase (also black), was the man called Rum.
Kaito suddenly wished he were on the tour looking at—shudder—fish instead of in the lobby watching a man in black. “Is that really the guy from the theatre?” he heard himself ask.
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.” Kudo-kun frowned. “He’s waiting for someone.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s being sneaky about it, but he keeps looking at his watch.”
“How can he see the watch with sunglasses on?” Kaito wondered aloud. Kudo-kun glared at him.
“D’you think that’s him?”
Huh? Kaito blinked at Aoko. “Who?”
“That man near the entrance,” Aoko replied calmly. “He’s dressed the same way.”
Kaito started to turn, but Kudo-kun grabbed his shoulder. “Kuroba-kun,” he whispered urgently, “do you know any magic tricks with mirrors you could do?”
Kaito’s eyebrows went up. “Probably. If I don’t, I can make one up. How come?”
Grave blue eyes bore into him. “We don’t want to look like we’re watching them.”
Understanding dawned. Grinning to himself simply for the magic’s sake, Kaito reached over and pulled a small round mirror from Mouri-chan’s ear. Kudo-kun lifted an eyebrow, but said nothing. The four children crowded around the mirror as Kaito tilted it to catch the second man’s reflection.
The second man was larger than the first, darker and rather hairy with a mustache clinging to his upper lip. He moved with obvious menace as he walked towards the first one. He stopped just short of Rum and did what in other circumstances might have been called exchanging pleasantries. Kaito flinched as they glanced around the lobby, and did his best to act natural. Don’t notice us, don’t notice us, don’t notice us… The words ran through Kaito’s mind like a mantra. At last, the darker man took the briefcase from Rum, and the two men made their way to the exit silently.
Kaito tucked the mirror away, troubled and frightened but hiding it under Poker Face. “Kaito?” Aoko asked quietly. “Who were those guys?”
Memories still raw and fresh stirred in him. “Bad people,” he answered simply.
“What were they doing here?”
“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t good.”
“…do you think we should tell my dad?”
Kaito paused. “No, I don’t.”
Aoko looked confused. “Why not?” She asked, hurt.
It took a little while for Kaito to find the right words. “Aoko, those guys killed my dad.” Aoko stiffened in shock beside him. Mouri-chan shifted anxiously, and Kudo-kun listened with a grim expression. “And maybe it wasn’t actually either of those two guys, but they had something to do with it.” Kaito continued. “I don’t know a lot for sure. I just know that they’ve hurt people before and they might hurt other people. And we can’t tell anyone, because no one would believe us. Well, your dad might, but he’s prob’ly the only one, and there are a lot more people that need to believe before we can do anything.”
Aoko’s eyes were wide with fear. Then she blinked, and when they opened again there was nothing but determination and anger. “What do we do about them?”
Kaito lost Poker Face and his eyebrows went up. “Aoko?”
“I like living in this place, and I like the people here, and you are my best friend, and if the bad guys wanna do any bad stuff to you or anyone else, they’re gonna hafta deal with ME.” Aoko crossed her arms and jutted her chin out stubbornly. Then her mood switched again, and she was looking at him with concern. “That’s what you’ve been thinking about, isn’t it? Almost since your dad died, you’ve been thinking about those people and what to do about them.”
Kaito looked away guiltily, and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, now I know, so I can help.” Aoko smiled at him, and Kaito found himself smiling back. Then he saw something over her shoulder and his smile vanished.
“Our class is back! We gotta go!” Kaito hesitated, then turned to Mouri-chan and Kudo-kun and bowed swiftly. “Good to see you again.”
“Very nice to meet both of you,” Aoko said, also bowing. “I’ll see you later.”
“Good-bye, nice to meet you, too.” Mouri-chan replied, while Kudo-kun just waved.
Kaito took Aoko’s hand and the two of them ran to catch up with their class.
—End—
As previously mentioned, this is the other half of the bit that was giving me trouble. After seperating this bit from the previous one, I found I still had trouble with it. After scowling and just barely not tearing the papers with the rough draft on them in half, I finally figured out the other problem.
Originally, Shin'ichi was going to give this two paragraph explanation of what they knew of the Black Organization up to that point. After staring at it for who knows how long I realized that it just didn't fit. I took it out with some remorse (I worked pretty hard on it), but with each day that goes by I feel better about it. The fic really didn't need it, and works better without it, so Shin'ichi's little speach is _staying_ in the rough draft.
This bit also ends what I have affectionately dubbed the Kiddie Kaito saga ^_~. (Please don't kill me for the pun. I know not everyone was raised on them, really, but they sneak in sometimes anyway. Summercloud took it and turned it around, so the four of them are the Kaito Kids, which I thought was adorable, and so Kidnapped ^_^.)
I also got my second review from someone who didn't recognize the term 'divergence' in this bit -_-;... I ended up doing something stupid and re-posting it with an explanation of the word at the end and a mini-rant *^^* <(oops) Of course, one of the first rules of posting things on the net is 'Never imply that the reviewers could be doing a little more thinking for themselves. Or if you do, don't do so where they can hear you.' Eventually I took it down and just added a little note at the end of the first bit on what 'divergence' means, but I still feel a little miffed about it. (It was the _first_ _word_ in the summary. FF.net has a _dictionary_ feature. If you can't guess the meaning of a word from context, might it be a good idea to look it up? >_<. Okay, I'm done now.) I probably lost a little readership because of it, but I guess that's just life. *sigh*
Following this bit, I left for Europe (for two weeks, then came home for two weeks, then went across the States for two weeks, then came home for three before school started -_-) and my beta-reader left for camp.
