justonetruth | (no subject)

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[There are loud crashing noises coming from one of the rooms, followed by the sound of shattering glass and a few more ominous thumps. It goes silent again for a few moments, before the door is flung open and someone flies out of the room, skidding across the wooden floors of the hallway and colliding painfully with the opposite wall.

It's another Kaito, though clearly not one of the more normal ones. He's dressed in a dull green jumpsuit indicative of prison garb, and a light-gray, metal collar with a bar-code adorning the front is looped around his neck. His appearance isn't helped by the dark red blood stains that spatter his clothing and smear across his cheek. Nor does is it helped by the light trail of blood that now streaks across the floor where he slid, and the droplets that now line the wall where he landed.

He's breathing heavily as he lifts a hand to wipe his mouth, and he freezes mid-motion. His gaze darts frantically around the hallway, and despite his seemingly serious injuries, he's on his feet within seconds, taking a defensive stance and glancing frantically at his surroundings]

The hell--

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[He stirs and wakes up to the sound of his name, eyes opening and gaze flickering across Aoko's face briefly, then the rest of the room. Where was he...? How did he...?

Oh, that's right. He had passed out after trying to save Aoko, and was brought to some weird dimensional nexus--

Aoko.

His gaze flickered back to the woman in question immediately, and he bolted upright, though not without some pain. A wince, and his hand shot to his side, fingers brushing against the bandages. Right... they had helped him...]

... you're not-- [another wince] -- the Aoko I know, are you?

[She and Conan start forward with matching protests on their lips when he bolts upright, and Aoko quickly makes him lie back down]

Idiot, you need to stay still! You're really hurt! [takes in a deep breath and lets it out, before apologetically adding] No, I'm not the Aoko you know. I talked to Edogawa-kun, and we don't think she's here.

[He allows himself to be pushed backwards, but not without some protest. His heart sinks a bit at the knowledge that the Aoko he was trying to rescue wasn't here... but he knows he'll just have to work that much harder to both get home and rescue her himself]

... you look older. [and she does. much older than the one he knows]

[...she's getting kind of tired of hearing that statement. B|] I'm 24.

[well she's older than his Aoko 8|]

You are older. [he lifts a hand to his head and sighs. This place is going to take some getting used to]

... thanks, by the way. [and it's directed at both of them]

[Aoko smiles, but before she can protest that he doesn't need to thank her, Conan speaks up]

Kaito-niisan, does the Aoko-neesan you know have a collar like yours?

[Aoko blinks and looks at Kaito again as if seeing the collar for the first time. She'd noticed it before, but hadn't really registered it, worried as she was for Kaito's health. Now, she reaches out to gently touch the cool metal]

What is that...?

[His eyes are torn away from Aoko as Conan speaks, and they settle on the small boy with a peculiar expression]

... yeah. She does. Why?

[At Aoko's question, he glances back at her and frowns] 'S just something stupid from home.

It'll make it easier to identify her if she shows up here.

[or so he says, but Conan's expression is perceptively thoughtful. Aoko's is just suspicious]

'Something stupid'?

[instinctively, he reaches up to run his fingers over the metal of his collar. It makes him wince, not because it hurts, but because it serves as a reminder of what will happen if he doesn't get home within three days]

Yeah. [he doesn't seem all that willing to elaborate]

[Aoko keeps her hand where it is, so his fingers bump hers as she continues to look even more suspicious. And then Conan speaks up again, voice still calm and measured]

Does it have to do with that prison you mentioned?

[Aoko goes dead still. Prison?

Her eyes dart over the collar once again, this time paying more attention to the details -- the way there's no apparently catch or way of unlocking it, how closely it fits to his neck, and (perhaps most tellingly) the stamp of what looks like a bar code curving around the side where she can't see. Certainly not the signs of something worn for decoration. Definitely more the kind of tag you would put on a slave. On property.

Her blood runs cold, then hot with anger, her free hand curling around a tight fistful of sheets as her expression darkens. This Kaito might not recognize the look on her face, but her Kaito would -- Aoko has seen some terrible things in her years as a raider, and this face is the one she wears when someone is going to answer for something horrible they've done. Who would dare--]

[He freezes a bit, hand still clutching at the collar, fingers still brushing against hers (for... what? Some semblance of comfort? She's not his Aoko, but she's still Aoko, and she did help save his life). He had forgotten he had mentioned prison to Conan in his delusional, anemic state... and now it didn't look like he had a choice but to elaborate]

Yeah. It's how they keep track of the prisoners.

A tracking device?

[she cuts Conan off in asking her question, and the young boy falls quiet, blinking at her in surprise. Aoko's lips are thin, but she fights for calm. She has to think about this. Be rational. Things in the Mansion are almost never what they seem]

What happened? What were you arrested for?

[it isn't actually said, but her tone makes it clear that he'd better explain everything]

[Surprise registers on Kaito's expression at Aoko's tone. He recognizes the anger; it's the same anger he's seen in his own Aoko many, many times. It was actual anger, not the huffiness she had when he had teased her far too much.

He pushed himself upright again, his gaze never leaving Aoko's, and Conan was momentarily forgotten while he studied her expression]

A tracking device, yeah. [Though that was only part of it; he doesn't want to worry her with the other half. He keeps his answers calm, slow, and deliberate]

As for what I was arrested for... [he shakes his head] I was framed. Grand larceny, among other things. [Granted, he had actually committed the crimes, but he was far too good to actually be caught for them without someone planting evidence against him. Besides... no one gets the death penalty for stealing. That alone was enough proof about how corrupt the system was]

You've heard of Kaitou Kid, right?

....A bit. [scowling, not liking the sound of that at all, she puts a hand on his uninjured shoulder and gently pushes him back down] Would you lie still? You lost a lot of blood; you need to keep it near your heart!

[and now it's Conan's turn to pipe up again, though he hasn't moved from his chair]

Are you Kaitou Kid too, niisan? There's some other yous here that are. Not everyone knows, but some of them are pretty open about it.

[He obliges her pushing, but not without a scowl of his own. He sat up for a reason, damn it.

His gaze snaps over to Conan as he speaks, and he frowns at how blunt the question is. Even after his arrest had been publicized, he had played up the 'I was framed' angle in Deadman Wonderland. Only a select few knew the actual truth.

But if there were other versions of him here who were open with the secret...]

Yeah. But the evidence that got me arrested was all fake. And the prosecution process was rigged against my favor. [Because damn it, no one gets the death penalty for stealing]

[tough B|]

What? But how? Why?

[Here there is more hesitation. Just how much is he willing to disclose to her, anyway...?]

[notices that hesitation]

We won't tell anyone if you don't want us to. Right, Edogawa-kun?

[Conan doesn't look quite so sure, but he nods]

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I don't have a proper icon of controlled, seething fury. :|a

The one you used here seems to fit pretty well :|a

/will buy extra icons next month after I've recovered from the laptop

:D!

<3

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