"Something wrong?" Koizumi asked off to his side, out of his periphery vision. Hakuba ignored the sniffing sound as part of the general chaos of pre-class. Teenagers before the first class of the school day usually were one of two extremes: exhausted or bouncing. Neither was conductive for thought or civilized conversation, so he usually spent this time reading.

"Hold on..." That was Kuroba's voice, sounding distant and thoughtful. The sniffing sound came closer and he looked up to see Kuroba leaning over him, a look of in intense interest on his face.

"Can I help you?" Hakuba inquired dryly, mentally setting aside his reading of Tennyson for the moment. Kuroba held up a hand, still sniffing the air around him. The dark haired boy shifted closer, into his personal space, reminding Hakuba of a hound on the trail of a fox. He held himself still as Kuroba hovered, circling around him, his expression shifting from concentration to almost down right predatory.

"What is it?" Koizumi asked, no longer radiating concern, but a cheerful eagerness.

"I smell chocolate." Kuroba's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer, almost touching. For a moment, Hakuba was afraid that Kuroba was going to eat him. "Why do you smell of chocolate, Hakuba-kun?"

Hakuba blinked. Koizumi cackled. It took a moment to realise what Kuroba was talking about and he stood up, pulling a half-melted chocolate bar from his back pocket with what was probably a completely moronic expression on his face, having completely forgotten about it.

"I helped a woman pick up her groceries from the sidewalk on the way to school." He explained. "The bags had broken. She gave me this as a thank you."

"And it's in your pocket..." Koizumi prodded.

"Because I had my hands full of groceries and it required two hands to get it into my bookbag." Perfectly logical explanation, really.

Except they didn't appear even remotely convinced.

He sighed to himself and returned the chocolate bar to his back pocket. This way he'd remember to eat it later. If it didn't melt first. It seemed to be a prudent idea to get the confection out of the combined sight of Kuroba and Koizumi and he felt it might be safer on his person than what the magic users might do to his bookbag.

"Chocolate." Kuroba repeated, face serious. This then shifted to an almost maniacal eagerness. "Can I have some?"

Hakuba had the sudden, inexplicable urge to flee. Swiftly. With all due haste. Before Kuroba jumped him for the contents of his trousers.

Koizumi was giving him quite the evil eye as well.

The door opened, Aoko and Keiko walking into the room. "Hey!" Aoko waved. She paused a few feet away from them, her hand up in the air. "Is that... Okay, who has chocolate?"

Koizumi and Kuroba gave him distinctly voracious looks. Hakuba slowly backed up a step, half hoping to get Aoko and her infamous mop between him and the magical duo. He was -not- a nummy treat. This gambit failed as Kuroba and Koizumi prowled after him. A very confused Aoko let both him and them pass uncontested. Blast.

Koizumi cackled. "Get him!" She ordered. Kuroba's grin widened. Hakuba dove out the door, dashing down the hall. It only took him a few steps to regret this tactical error.

Kaitou, like most predators, evidently would most eagerly chase their prey if it ran.

As he sprinted down the hall, he realized he had learned two very important facts this day, even before the first school bell had rung.

One: How to attract Kuroba's apparently undivided attention.

Two: He much preferred chasing Kuroba over Kuroba chasing him.

-fin-

"Hakuba! How you doing?"
"The usual. Chasing Kaitou, running from Kaitou, saving jewels from Kaitou, being embarrassed by Kaitou..."

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