And so it begins

[deductionrival]

Who: Sleeper 2B roommates + Conan and possibly their neighbors telling them to be quiet (OTA post prank)
Where: Sleeper 2B
When: Bassoon, Day 17
What: Pranks!
Warnings: Hopefully none!

The unfortunate thing about having too much time on your hands is sometimes you're a genius with another genius and you two geniuses decide to do something very un-genius.

Heiji had told Conan his plan and had set up as much as they could before anyone else was in the room. Once everyone was asleep, they snuck out of bed and finished set up while trying hard not to laugh loud enough to wake up any of the sleeping roommates.

A whole salmon was pulled up on a series of ropes and pulleys and hung over Kaito's sleeping form. Heiji held one end of the rope and Conan had the other while sitting on his bunk across the room from Kaito's. Carefully, Heiji crept up the bed far enough to give his unsuspecting friend a tiny pinch on his foot.

Comments

[stealsyourheart]

You know Hattori, that this means war? USING A BRO'S WEAKNESS AGAINST GIM. HOW COULD YOU. HE TOLD YOU IN CONFIDENCE MAN.

Kaito is curled in his bunk, back to the wall - it's a sign of how used he is to Hattori's presence that he does not wake. The pinch thpugh, sends him jerking upright with a swear, reaching for the card gun under his pillow.

And then. The fish.

"AAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIEREEEERUUUUUUURRRRGGGGG&HHHHHHHJHH!!!!"

Cue the screeching and flailing and falling out of the top bunk.

[deductiongeek]

....That was unexpected.

Conan had only come along because he was terribly,terribly bored and Hattori was difficult to say no to.

But now he had a very useful piece of information. He settles down in his seat and very deliberately puts on his smuggest expression.

He would probably pay for this later, but right now he couldn't resist the urge to troll.

[faithfulson]

Luke had been sleeping. He had been having a very nice dream of flying with Aphra and the droids, setting aside the worries of the galaxy and exploring its past instead. That very nice dream was interrupted by a loud scream and a thud, and he was jerking up from the bed in the next moment, his lightsaber flying to his hand from its hiding spot.

He kept himself from igniting it, his eyes almost immediately falling on a smug looking child sitting nearby. His eyes narrowed, and... did the temperature suddenly drop?

"What is going on here?" he demanded, tone clipped, like a superior officer catching an ensign goofing off.

/slides this in here in interest of moving it along

[stealsyourheart]

The answer to Luke's question is a gibbering magician - pointing at the fish.

"F-f-f-finny thing!"

Yes Conan, he hasn't even noticed you yet.

[deductionrival]

Kaito's reaction had been priceless! If only they'd had a camera or phone! He looked to his side, ready to share the joke with Kazuha but of course, she wasn't there. He didn't have long to feel the loss before Luke was out of bed and turning on them- yikes!

He dropped the rope he had been holding, which made the fish literally drop right in front of the poor fish-phobic boy. Heiji winced at Kaito continuing to panic and scream. Oops, this might have gotten out of hand.

"Sorry Luke!" Crap, his roommate sure looked mad. "It.. was just a joke. Kaito! Knock it off. It's just a fish."

Conan on the bed just had a hand over his face like he couldn't believe he was a part of this.

[faithfulson]

Luke narrowed his eyes, not amused. Did they really just come in here to scare their friend? In the middle of the rest cycle? And Kaito sounded like he was terrified; clearly, he had some kind of phobia, which was doing little for his mood at the moment. The temperature in the room suddenly dipped, to the point that frost was starting to creep up the windows.

"Ha. Ha."

He raised a hand, fingers curled... but instead of choking them (never mind how tempting it was), he grabbed them by their shirts, flinging them out of the cabin one by one, before grabbing the fish next with the Force, sending it right at the first face he could see out the door, before slamming it closed.

Luke let out a sigh once that was done, sinking slightly as his anger ebbed off, before he slipped out of bed, pulling himself up enough to see Kaito.

"Are you okay?"

[stealsyourheart]

Kaito whimpers, shaking, and only seems to unclench when the f-f... when Luke tosses everyone out.

"Sorry. Just. Can't help it."

[faithfulson]

"It's a phobia; you're not expected to be able to help it," he replied, tossing a glare at the closed door, before he let out a sigh.

"You'll be all right," he said. "Just take a few deep breaths; think about something that makes you happy."

[stealsyourheart]

Kaito nods, regulating his breathing in a way that has clearly been taught - 5 count in, 7 count out.

"Woke you up though." He manages apologetically. "I never said that I had a phobia." Didn't want to give the little detective something else to hold over his head, after all. "It's not like they could have known."

[faithfulson]

A small smile crept up onto Luke's face.

"It's a little obvious," he replied, before shaking his head. "And don't worry about waking me up. It's not the first time I've been woken up from a dead sleep."

Just, you know. Most of the time waking up from a dead sleep meant he had to get to his TIE fighter and launch twenty seconds ago. They others were lucky all he did was toss them out.

[stealsyourheart]

"Guess it is, now." He grins at him sheepishly.

"Thanks. Wanna prank em back for revenge?"

[faithfulson]

Luke paused, sense telling him no, they shouldn't fight fire with fire. But the fact that he got his sleep interrupted by a fish was quickly winning out, a slow, maybe slightly evil, smile worked its way onto his face.

"...what did you have in mind?"

[stealsyourheart]

Booyah that's the look he likes.

He grins back, slightly manic.

"Well. I figure we should return the favor, yes? The Detectives don't have phobias, sadly." Unless you count failing to solve a case a phobia.

"But I happen to know that the Little Detective has very sensitive ears." Because he's paranoid. "If we could make something that produced some sort of ... small, but irritating noise. A beep, maybe. Quiet, and not on a regular schedule. And then hide it in his room... maybe a few of them.... "

Heiji's harder, he doesn't know him as well, so he will have to consider this. "Heiji-kun, I think, is probably more suitable to a more blantant prank. Dying his clothes, maybe? Or his hair?"

A sideline for after the chaos dies down: For Heiji (and maybe, eventually, Conan)

[stealsyourheart]

In the screeching and the flailing, things left concealed have come to light. Namely, a certain card-gun Kaito normally keeps firmly under his pillow or tucked away inside a sleeve. Kaito hasn't even realised that it's in view, still somewhat hyperventilating.

Look his ichthyophobia is a real problem alright

Perhaps it's enough for a bunch of tiny things that a certain roommate might finally put together into a complete picture. Things like the way Kaito sleeps with his back to a wall, always. How he checks out a room for escapes when he walks in, despite the smile and apparently relaxed body language. The clever, clever fingers, and a mind that can keep up with him and Conan both. The ... very odd way Kaito and Conan relate to each other, for people who supposedly have never met before.

Re: A sideline for after the chaos dies down: For Heiji (and maybe, eventually, Conan)

[deductionrival]

To be honest, Heiji hasn't been himself since coming here. It isn't something a lot of people have picked up on, but certainly Kaito and Conan would've. As many adventures as the detective of the West has been on, this is by far the hardest and he's had a terrible case of the homesick bug. Kazuha isn't here and she was always there. His parents weren't there and he missed them. Everything familiar like school or kendo practice were things of the past (at least for now). On top of that, the mission had messed with his head. All in all, for someone who was just as sharp as Conan and Kaito, Heiji had missed a few rather big signs simply because he wasn't looking.

To say he hadn't noticed anything though, was highly inaccurate. He'd started having suspicions and had kept quiet about them. Kaito was a ton of fun, after all. However, spotting the gun as they were thrown out of the room by their no-nonsense roommate, he couldn't ignore it anymore.

He waved at Kaito to follow him so they weren't in middle of the hallway while people were trying to sleep. They stepped into the dressing car, Heiji whipped around on his friend- at least, who he thought was his friend. "You're Kid! All this time and you didn't think to tell me that? You and Conan have been laughing about it, haven't you?"

[stealsyourheart]

He goes when Heiji pulls, protesting.

"What? What're you talking about?"

Denial. But there's panic, now, in the denial. Fear, raw and naked behind KID's blase smile.

[deductionrival]

"You're still going to try and deny it?" Heiji asked, shocked- though maybe he shouldn't have been. "I saw that gun you use. That one that just shoots cards! I've wondered but I'd thought after everything we've been there here you would've had the decency to tell me."

Did he even know this guy? He'd thought so, but now he wasn't so sure. "And Conan.. he knows too, doesn't he?" Wow, that part stung as much if not more than Kaito not telling him. "Now I'm glad you about peed yourself over that stupid fish! Serves you right."

[stealsyourheart]

Kaito is shaking, visibly. Not the flailing terror of the fish, but something white-faced and deep-rooted. Paranoia, maybe. Less fear and more... something else.

(His smile though, his smile never falters, never breaks)

"Don't tell him! He can't... he can't have it confirmed! He's too like Hakuba. I can't confirm it. I can't go to jail. I've still got too much to do."

[deductionrival]

Heiji was all ready to keep chewing Kaito out when it finally registered that the other boy wasn't putting on an act. He knew from the many times he'd watched Kid either on TV or in person the boy was an excellent actor but, could he really be that good?

"You two aren't just messing with me?" He asked, surprised. The heat and anger in his words were gone and he frowned, unsure what to make of this. "Hey, okay.. relax. I won't, but why? If he already knows.. if you're so concerned about going to jail why are you always stealing jewels only to give them back? That has never made any sense."

[stealsyourheart]

"No!" Kaito denies.

"As long as I deny it, he can't prove it, and he can keep pretending that he doesn't have enough to arrest me." Is he talking about Conan or Hakuba?

"I've got a job to do." And ah, there, there. It's not fear. Well it is. It's the same white-hot fury that Conan has sometimes, when Ran is in danger. Determination and fury and fear in a potent, toxic mix.

"I can't stop until I find Pandora and smash it and They can't hurt anyone ever again."

[deductionrival]

That made him feel an awful lot better, but that was short lived. His concern quickly moved from his own well-being to Kaito's.

"What are you talking about? Oi! Kaito! Calm down. Talk to me." He reached out and put a hand lightly on the other boy's shoulder. "Conan wouldn't give you up if he knows you're doing something important. Either way though, tell me what's going on and we'll see what we can work out. What's Pandora and why do you have to smash it?"

[stealsyourheart]

Kaito looks supremely doubtful at that statement.

"It's what They killed my father for." He says grimly, and perhaps Hattori has enough to put things together now. After all, Kaito is his age. And the KID has been around since before they were both even born. And didn't KID vanish for almost a decade?

"'S a gem." Obviously, considering KID's primary focus. "A gem, inside another gem, if the rumors are true. Under moonlight ... or a comet, it's not clear - it's supposed to shine red and weep tears of immortality."

Whether it does or does not Kaito clearly doesn't care.

[deductionrival]

All this time. All the energy put into stopping Kid from getting to precious jewels and the boy had been simply trying to find a specific one so he could do something to stand up to the murderers who killed his dad. It was almost dizzying to suddenly have that whole mystery revealed and the implications of it all. "Does Conan know why?"


"Who are they?" Heiji no longer cared that Kaito was breaking the law (well, he cared to a degree, but this took precedence). "How do we find the gem? You shouldn't have to do that alone. Kaito is your real name isn't it?"

[stealsyourheart]

"I told you. I can't talk about it with the little detective. As long as he doesn't ask, he doesn't have to feel obligated - right now, he can't prove anything. What he's worked out on his own I don't know."

"I don't know." He shrugs. "The guy I'm looking for calls himself Snake. They like to dress in black."

He shoots him a tired look at that. "It's on our backpacks and stuff. I can hardly deny it, can I? And if I knew how to find Pandora, do you honestly think I'd still be doing what I do? I don't like getting shot at, you know."

[deductionrival]

Those reactions were all very good indicators of how out of it Heiji had been lately. Seriously, when was the last time he asked someone a bunch of very obvious questions like that? Although, he and Kaito had just been thrown out of their room by the scariest Luke Skywalker ever.

He folded his arms in front of his chest. "Well, I want to help you is all I meant by that. I wouldn't be sitting back either if I knew someone had killed my dad. And you do actually look like you enjoy those heists."