♦ ♦ ♦
The Grey Zone: Gotham
by Icka! M. Chif
♦ ♦ ♦
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious."
- Oscar Wilde
Saguru was laughing as Kaito entered the hotel they were staying at. The thief gave him a dirty look as he pulled off his jacket --he was dressed as a guy this time-- and tossed it in the former-blond's face.
The detective sniggered some more as he pulled the jacket off his head. "Congratulations." Saguru pointed to the television, which was blaring the local newscast. "You're tonight's top story."
"Oh, shut up." He griped back as he began to shed the costuming layers. He'd been extra careful returning tonight, taking detours both above and below the street. The last thing he needed was to be caught. Again.
Saguru's snickering increased again as the footage came back on the news. Kaito sighed. He'd seen it several times as he'd made his way back.
He'd come up with the bright idea of hiding Pandora somewhere along their gallivanting tour of America. The problem being, finding a place where no one would find it. He hadn't stolen it just so that a random person on the street could accidentally stumble across the magical blood sucking stone.
Hence his not-so late night escapade across the Gotham City skylight. Gotham was dark and mysterious, holding its secrets fast.
Unfortunately for Kid, one of those secrets had taken a severe displeasure in his snooping around. He hadn't had any warning as he'd examined the odd spot light on the top of the police station, just a low gravely voice informing him that they didn't care what his purpose was for being here, he wasn't going to get away with anything.
And then he'd found himself hanging upside down from a lamppost outside the police station he'd been looking at, a rope wrapped around him from his shoulders to his ankles.
Evidently, this was a common occurrence in Gotham City, due to its Bat Protector and some wise person had set up a video camera across from the police station to catch said occurrences on film.
Which was now being broadcast across the city. And by tomorrow night, probably the world if it was a slow news day for BBC and CNN. Everyone needed a 'feel good' story.
The television was showing his escape, one arm sliding out of the coil of rope as if it wasn't restricting him at all to reach for his falling top hat. In slow motion, the Kid had proceeded to simply fall out of the rope, disappearing in a cloud of smoke before he was half way out of the rope cocoon.
He'd found himself in an alleyway several blocks away. A second cloud of smoke had followed, leaving him more mundane clothing. He'd slipped away, resolutely -not- following the adage of the criminal always returned to the scene of the crime. He certainly didn't want to get caught again.
Upon reflection, he didn't know how he had escaped or summoned the clothing, but if it worked, he wasn't going to question it. Explaining or applying logic to magic had a tendency of neutralising it. Magic was better off accepted, but unexplained.
"Ha, bloody ha." He snarked back as Saguru proceeded to have giggle fit right off the bed, landing with an ungraceful thud.
"You got caught..." The detective pulled himself back up on to the bed, one hand still clutching the television remote control as he snickered. "...by a man who dresses as a giant BAT."
"And is rumoured to be the World's Greatest Detective." Kaito shot back, pulling off his shirts and tossing them at Saguru for good measure too. "Bastard. I -should- dye your hair purple in your sleep."
Saguru made a face back at him. The half-Briton still wasn't happy about Kaito's choice of disguises. They'd dyed his hair black with a more permanent dye than the brush-in kind, making the blond's skin look even paler than usual. Then to add to the detective's displeasure, Kaito had dragged them to used clothing shop and proceeded to collect the most used looking scruffy black clothing they could find.
Black - the universal colour clothing option for outcasts everywhere.
Saguru had grumbled, it was too much like wearing the enemy's skin for him. Kaito had mused about the option of having a mohawk... a little bit of egg yolk, some watered down glue, he could make his hair stand straight up.
The detective had glanced around the store then muttered softly enough so that only Kaito could hear that if Kaito -did- wear his hair in a mohawk, he'd be sleeping by himself. Double score, it had shut Saguru up and made him blush.
But Saguru still wasn't comfortable in the strangely baggy clothing that made them look like gothy punks, or rebellious youth. He was even less comfortable when Kaito had then hauled them to some place called 'Hot Topic' to pick up spiky and metal accessories. Much to the amusement of the sales people, Kaito had offered to dye Saguru's hair violent purple, to which Saguru had venomously rejected.
And Kaito had to admit, the clothing gathered stares, but no recognition.
After all, Hakuba Saguru, Detective and Probable Next Earl of Gloria was known for wearing fitted antique-style clothing, not overly-large worn-out clothing.
And hopefully it would keep people away from them as well, in the case of cross fire.
Kaito shrugged the thoughts off as Saguru absentmindedly folded his clothing and tossed it towards the equally ratty duffel bags that they had gotten. "You find what you were looking for?" Saguru inquired, mirth slightly subdued for the moment.
"No." He sighed, rolling his shoulders and beginning stretching exercises. With dancing and gymnastics, the body tended to reach it's peak around age thirteen. He was turning twenty in less than six months, practically an old man. If he wanted to maintain his agility, there was no time like the present to start practising again. There was enough room on the floor to stretch out too, if he was careful.
Saguru looked like he was going to say something, then forgot what it was. The detective just watched as Kaito sank to the floor, crossing his legs into a lotus position. "... What are you doing?"
"Stretching exercises." He would have thought it was obvious. "With a bit of yoga thrown in."
"Oh." The former-blond had a strange look on his face.
"Give me about twenty minutes and I'll be done if you want to get ready to sleep." He offered, arching his back and twisting his torso around.
"No... that's fine." Saguru didn't -sound- exactly fine. The detective slid off the bed and headed towards the small bathroom in the back. "I'll just be back here until you're done."
Kaito paused. "... 'Guru?" Saguru certainly didn't need to take another shower, the hair dye had already set and the extra washed out. And the half-Briton usually took his shower in the mornings...
"Think about it." Was Saguru's curt reply as he disappeared behind the partition.
It took a moment for Kaito's brain to switch over from 'Plans, Theories, Disguises and Keeping them Alive' to 'Normal Hormonal Teenager'. And then his face heated up. "Oh."
"Yeah."
"Sorry." Kaito continued with his streaching. "You should probably practise your skills too. Don't think we can do Fencing here, but what about Judo and Wrestling?"
"Pass." He could hear Saguru sit down in the door way with his back against the wall. "Judo Kata and Wrestling are both easier with an opponent."
Kaito liked Saguru. Saguru liked Kaito. They both knew this and acknowledged it. And while they weren't exactly doing what you could call normal 'dating', they were together as a couple or a partnership or what ever.
However, they also both acknowledged that life was a bitch and the moment they started making out or something, someone would start shooting. Or drop dead. Or something equally inane that only seemed to pop up when they were distracted by each other. And it was relatively easy to get distracted when you were attracted to each other and in close quarters like they were.
Hence, Saguru was hiding while Kaito twisted himself into pretzels and tucked a leg behind his head.
"Maybe not the pins, but what about the throws?" He questioned, trying to come up with a compromise.
Saguru considered it. While neither were anticipating an actual hand-to-hand close combat fight, it still didn't hurt to be prepared. Or in shape. "Maybe if we get a room where we could put the mattresses on the floor. I don't want you to accidentally get injured."
"Okay." Great. Every person's dream, being used as a wrestling dummy.
They both lapsed into silence for a bit, distracted by their own thoughts. The television droned on the the background, Saguru still had the remote with him. The Kid hanging upside down the police station played again.
"Hey, Saguru?"
"Yeah?"
"No more cities with superheros, okay?" He had a hard enough time with just the regular police, he didn't need super people too.
"What about Spider-man in New York?" Saguru questioned back, obviously amused by either the change in topic or the topic itself. "You said he was pretty cool."
"True." Kaito thought it over. "But he didn't have a cape." Apparently, that made all the difference.
"So cities with superheros with no capes-?" Saguru ventured.
"No capes." Kaito agreed. "NO capes."
-fin-