justonetruth | (no subject)

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[There's an Aoko running around the mansion and searching frantically, as if her life depends on it (and for all she knows, it does). She's noticeably different from your usual Aoko, even at a glance; she's wearing a faded, green prison jumpsuit, and there's a thick, metal collar around her neck with a barcode stamped on it. If you look at her closer, she's tired, a little pale, and she looks sort of roughed up, as if she's fallen over a lot and been hit a few times.

She also looks panicked, worried, and almost a little frightened.]

Kaito?! Oi, Kaito--! Is this another Dog Race? More experiments?! Azami-chan!! Shiro-chan, Yoh-kun! Where are you guys--? [For a moment, she stops and glances down at her hand, considering something that seems to scare her a little; she shakes her head and continues running, determined.] This isn't funny!! Stupid Kaito--

I'm gonna find you, Kaito, okay? Do you hear me?! Don't die yet, or I'll never forgive you!

[And with that, she starts sprinting again.]

(

singatuneof's Aoko, pre-escape from the Forgeries. )

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[That seems to confirm it, and for a few minutes he just... stand there, trying to figure out exactly where she came from. The jumpsuit speaks of prison, but... this is Aoko. What on earth could she have done to get arrested?]

You are... [he trails off, trying not to focus on how pale she looks. It's the first time in a long time he's felt this concerned for her, his Aoko or not, and he's struggling to hide that fact thoroughly]

Are you new here? [The standard question. The first thing she'll need to be told is how this place works]

New... where? What are you talking about? This is DW, isn't it--?

[She wants to reach out, she wants to ask him so many things, she wants to know where his collar is and why he looks so different, and she almost does - but her hand freezes mid-reach and she recoils, just a bit. Kaito and the others have told her constantly that she can't be so naive, and if something seems off, then something probably is.

She can handle herself, usually, but this is way out of her league, and she sort of wishes someone else were here.]

... Are you really Kaito? [They can't fake that-- right?]

[It's been so long since he saw his Aoko at home reach out to him like that, worried and asking for the reassurance of a friend. It almost takes him off guard, before he remembers that once upon a time he was her best friend.]

Am I-- yeah. [a pause; he thinks he knows why she asked] Kaito Kuroba, just... a few years older than you're used to, I think.

[he lifts a hand and scratches the back of his head awkwardly. It's been a while since he's felt like this]

Look, this is gonna sound really weird, but even if I am Kaito, I'm not the same one you know.

Not the same--

[Her worried look gives way to a suspicious glare; if it's Kaito, then she'd like to think this is some kind of larger-scale prank he arranged with his fellow Deadmen. If it's not, she's cautious, because it could be someone in disguise, or this whole thing could be some sort of illusion. She's heard of the higher-ranking Forgeries, after all, and apparently some of them have unusual powers...

What should she do right now?]

... Can you prove that you're Kaito?

If you ask every Kaito you run into here that, you're gonna get a lot of similar answers.

[he shakes his head as he still tries to work out exactly what her appearance means. For some reason, he feels like he's heard about this jumpsuit and collar combination before... hadn't his Aoko mentioned meeting someone like that before?]

If you need proof, then feel free to ask me something. I'll answer honestly, promise.

[... It doesn't take her long to reach the obvious conclusion, and she frowns, deep in thought.]

But if you're a different Kaito, you won't have the same answers as Kaito should! Mouuu... [What's something big about Kaito? And if he's not Kaito, how can she make sure this guy doesn't find out the real answer if it's so important...?]

—Okay! I've got it! Who's the real Kaitou Kid?

[And Aoko manages to pick the one question this Kaito normally wouldn't be able to answer, due to the fact that Kid doesn't exist on his world. For a moment, he just kinda blinks at her. But thankfully, he's spent enough time in the mansion to kind of know what she's asking]

Kaitou Kid doesn't exist where I come from. [his answer is honest] My dad was never a phantom thief. Not like he was in some places, and not like he was on your world, I'm guessing.

I'm not Kid. But I'm guessing that, on your world, the version of me you know is.

... [She stands up and brushes herself off, looking down and glancing over him.] That doesn't prove that you're Kaito, you know.

[... But she still holds out her hand to help him up.] If you're not Kaitou Kid, then how do you know that?

[Whew, it seemed to work for the time being. He takes her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet]

It seems like every other Kaito who was brought here is Kid back on their world. It's one of the few constants you'll notice about this place.

[he brushes himself off, and launches into an explanation, momentarily forgetting about the state of her dress]

The mansion connects to multiple universes, each one different than the last in some way. Somehow, it pulls people from those universes here and refuses to send them back home. I dunno how it works exactly, but... if you're familiar with the whole... parallel universes theory, it's kinda like that.

We're... stuck? Here?

[She looks pretty... shocked. Sure, she'd been the optimist about getting out of Deadman Wonderland, but it was one thing to hope for it and another to have it happen. She's not sure if being out is a good thing or not - of course it's what they've wanted since they were thrown in, but none of the others are here. The other Deadmen, Azami, Yoh, Shiro - they can't just leave without them, right?

Give her a moment, Kaito, she has to take this all in.]

[He notices the shock that registers on her expression, and for a moment he's silent.

But it doesn't take him long to speak again, forgoing answering her question to ask one of his own]

... how'd you get arrested? [Slowly, it's coming back to him-- his Aoko mentioning another Kaito she found in one of the bedrooms on the first floor, bloodied and injured and on the brink of dying. One dressed in a jumpsuit and collar almost identical to the one Aoko was wearing]

[That helps her out of the shock, actually; being able to think about something else. She's more familiar with this (she's had to tell this story a million times, after all). She huffs and turns her head to the side, arms crossed.]

They just burst into my house and arrested me for being an accomplice of Kaitou Kid. I was definitely framed!

[He thinks back to his Aoko... the Aoko who followed him into the illegal business that is tomb raiding... and raises an eyebrow]

Were you really framed?

[She smacks him across the head.]

Of course I was, stupid! I wouldn't get involved with something like that!

[aspdjifpaosd he rubs his head and blinks at her in shock. Man it had been a while since he had been smacked by Aoko]

Okay okay, geez! It was just a question!

A stupid question!

[well this Aoko certainly had that familiar temper]

If you say so!

[he rubs the back of his head some more before he lets his hand drop to his side. His gaze flickers back to the collar, and he frowns]

... what's the collar for? [Because he doesn't think his Aoko explained that to him when she mentioned meeting the other Kaito]

It's just identification. [She taps the barcode to show him. She debates telling him more, but... Kaito is Kaito. He still deserves to know, right?] But... It's full of poison, too.

[The second part of her explanation is what really gets him]

Poison?

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