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Shades of Grey: Lellyphant
by Icka! M. Chif

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"I thought you were leaving the day after tomorrow." The Kid's voice echoed from the window. Hakuba looked up from where he was folding clothes on the bed, his suitcase open and waiting for the garments. The thief was crouched on the window ledge like a bird, not quite inside, but not quite outside either.

"I am." He agreed. Time for his trip to England for the summer, to visit family and catch up on everything he had missed. He was approaching it with definite mixed emotions. On one hand, he got to see his family. On the other hand, He. Got. To. See. His. Family. "Please do come in. Since the flight leaves at approximately ten after four in the morning, I thought it best to pack in advance."

"Logical." Kid agreed, sliding inside. He slipped his shoes off at the window, then knelt and turned them so the toes were facing the wall, in a parody of entering someone's house. It was a small gesture, but one that never failed to both please and amuse Hakuba. "Need any help?"

"Thank you, but I think I have got it well in hand." Hakuba smiled slightly. "However, company would not be turned away."

"That I can do." Kid agreed cheerfully, settling himself at the head of the bed, sitting cross-legged so that he was out of the way as he watched the proceedings with a curious air. "I suppose you're an old hand at this by now."

"An understatement." Hakuba wearily agreed. Travelling to Japan at least once a year while he grew up in England, travelling around both Japan and Britain to visit both sides of the family, then miscellaneous trips to Europe during various times of the year. Sometimes it felt like he was better off living out of a suitcase with his place of residency changing every few months.

He froze as he saw the Kid's amused gaze sharpen into interest as the thief spotted something on the bed. Hakuba's mouth opened then closed as he felt his face pale then heat up in mortification as he realised what had caught Kid's attention.

Oh... Bollocks.

Kid raised an eyebrow at him, informing him that yes, he had noticed Hakuba's reaction as the thief casually reached forward and picked up the elephant plushie leaning against the suitcase. Hakuba swallowed, embarrassment warring with the urge to swat Kid's hat over his eyes and grab the stuft animal back, keeping it safe.

The thief's face was carefully neutral as he gently cradled the elephant in his hands, turning it this way and that, gloved fingers tracing along worn patches on the large ears and long upturned nose. "Sir Stinky, I presume?" Kid asked inquisitively.

"Um... yeah." He felt his stomach hit somewhere around his ankles. It was one thing to have people tease him about a supposedly mythical plushie at school... but to have the -Kid-, someone whom he both respected and admired -see- the elephant was another story. Any creditability he'd managed to gain or respect he'd earned was probably gone now, shot to heck and gone.

Instead of mocking him though, the Kid simply turned plushie around and sat him in the nook his crossed legs formed. Kid looked at him patiently, as if wondering why Hakuba hadn't moved while Sir Stinky smiled serenely from the Kid's lap.

Hakuba startled, realising that Kid wasn't going to ask, wasn't going to press him about his packing such a juvenile object. He cleared his throat, attempting to cover his embarrassment as his hands reached for a shirt and folded it.

He folded in silence, methodically making neat piles of folded clothing. Shirts, trousers, a few shorts, toiletries, socks, undergarments (which were put on the opposite side of the bed from the Kid) and a few gifts. He debated as he did so, both unnerved and comforted by the Kid's silence. Kid would respect his boundaries as he had tried to respect the Kid's boundaries.

"He was a gift from an Uncle Ernest when I was three." He said, the words coming from his mouth before his brain had made a decision to speak or not. "He was a fan of Rudyard Kipling's ever since he could read, saving to go to India when he was a few years older than we are. The running joke that we never got him back."

A quick glance out of the corner of his eye showed Kid listening attentively and Hakuba felt himself relax into the storytelling a bit. "With Father's job here and Mum in London, I did a fair amount of travelling around and Uncle Ernest felt that I needed a companion, someone who was with me when no one else could be."

"Sir Stinky." Kid petted the elephant on the head. The plushie seemed to lean into the touch, happily accepting the attention.

"Precisely." He felt his lips twist into a dry-half smile. "Three year old logic being what it is, I saw the long nose and proclaimed that he must smell a lot. Uncle Ernest then decided that he must be a 'Sir' as well, a noble knight to protect me on my travels, and thus 'Sir Stinky' he was christened."

"Clever." Kid commended him.

"For a three year old, anyway." Hakuba shrugged. "He has travelled with me ever since. The few times I have left him at one place of residency or another for various reasons, there has always been an accident involving the vehicle I am travelling in. So now he comes along with me as a good luck charm."

Which was true enough. Collecting elephants with raised trunks were considered good luck. If the trunk was down, it was bad luck. His uncle had also explained that despite their large size and bulk, elephants were very gentle creatures and highly intelligent.

And an elephant never forgot.

Kid grinned. "Never thought of you as the superstitious type." He teased lightly.

"I am not." He smiled back. "But one cannot argue with the track record. And often times he makes for a much more intelligent companion than those travelling around me."

That earned him a rolling chuckle from the thief. "Can't argue with that one." A more sombre look flickered across the jovial face. "It's not nearly as fun travelling by yourself."

"No." Hakuba agreed. "It is not."

They lapsed into contemplative silence for a few moments, Kid idly petting Sir Stinky while Hakuba put the folded clothing neatly into his case.

"So you're coming back the week before school starts?" Kid finally asked, his tone a studied careful nonchalant.

"Week and a half." He tapped the brim of the top hat, tilting it over the Kid's face. "Try not to have too much fun without me around."

"I'll try." Was the long suffering response as Kid pushed the hat back on his head. "Don't get too carried away chasing those European bandits."

"Something tells me I will not be sitting down to tea with any thieves in London." Hakuba paused, reflecting on the weight of his words as well as reviewing some of the people whom he was likely to run into for a moment. "Any known thieves anyway."

"Thieves you know about?" Kid grinned.

"That too." Close enough.

Kid nodded, obviously pleased by the answer. "Good."

Hakuba's eyes widen slightly as he looked at Kid. Was it just his imagination, or was the thief being territorial? Over him? "Jealous?" He asked.

"Hmphf." Kid's expression slid into aloof. "It's not like either of us can ask the other to simply stop doing what we do best."

"True." It would not be fair of him to ask of the Kid not to execute heists during his absence, just like the Kid could or would not ask for him not to chase other criminals. Apart from the kaitou, Hakuba did have an excellent track record. And Kid did have a particularly strong moral streak, his law-breaking aside.

Hakuba leaned towards the Kid, getting into the thief's personal space. "I trust you would not complain overly much if I requested that no one captured you before my return?"

"I think I can honour that request." Kid's smile was lazy as he arched up, meeting Hakuba's lips with a languid kiss.

Yet another thing he was going to miss while in England. Kid was such a pleasure to kiss.

"Shall we continue this in the other room?" Hakuba requested when they paused for air. He was slightly uncomfortable with getting too carried away in his bedroom, there being the temptation of a rather large bed here and all. He was not quite -that- comfortable with his relationship with the kaitou, despite what his hormones might think. "Over a game, perhaps?"

"Parcheesi is from India, is it not?" Kid smiled, a similar understanding underneath the slight teasing as he held up Sir Stinky. "You keep threatening to teach me it."

"Yes. Uncle Ernest taught the game to me as well. If he is visiting, I suspect he will want a rematch." He eased off the bed, the kaitou following him.

"Then we can't let you go without some practice. It wouldn't be sportsman-like." Kid said amiably as they wandered out of the room, the plushie still in the Kid's grasp. "Sir Stinky can referee!"

Hakuba could not quite smother his chuckles, not even after Kid put the elephant between them at the table, to over look the game.

The next day, when he reached into his carry on bag, he was surprised to find that Sir Stinky had somehow acquired a travelling companion. A small smiling hand made plushie with a mop of wild brown yarn hair under a top hat, with a cape, monocle and white tuxedo.

A miniature Kaitou Kid.

Hakuba smiled the entire flight to London.

-fin-

Uncle Ernest was named for the authour 'Ernest Hemmingway'.
Voices have a note that he might have had a wife who died in childbirth in India, which is why he is so kind to Hakuba, Hakuba reminding him of the child he lost.

We've been talking recently with Becky Tailweaver and some others about what Hakuba's home life may have been like. Since his Mother is British and his Father Japanese, he wouldn't exactly belong in either culture. Being a half-breed would most likely mean that many people would probably believe that he was exotic looking, but only having half the intelligence. There is also the possibility that of his family members on both sides would think this as well. (think Inuyasha, the outcast.)
Of course, Hakuba -is- intelligent, but has a massive handicap in the fact that he doesn't understand what motivates people. He's also having to prove himself, much like his hero, Sherlock Holmes, who wasn't exactly a social butterfly either.

The plushie comes from a short story which is 4 pages long and contains no text in one of our favourite doujinshi, 'Graffiti' by Kyarana / Nonoya*Masaki. There's a small, obviously hand made Kid plushie on a bookshelf that keeps falling down on Hakuba, who's sitting below it reading. He finally gets pissed off and almost throws it.
The last panel is of Hakuba asleep on the beanbag, the book open against his chest, the plushie back on the shelf, and Kaito grinning from the window, a remote control in hand.
The author's note shows Kaito sewing the plushie. ^___^


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