[Open rl - FEEL FREE TO VISIT] backdated to the 27

[clockmaster]

His father was talking about something or other. He would usually be paying attention, yet there were times when he did get lost in his thoughts, today was one of those days. He was lost in his thoughts looking to Aoko on the other side of the room sleeping in the bed, even if he was as tired as her, Hakuba was fully awake and couldn't sleep at all.

Kenji stopped talking realizing that he wasn’t paying attention. The silence however brought Hakuba back to reality and he was ready to apologize, but his father smiled and stood up. Kenji kissed his bandaged forehead carefully and murmured something about the case. The guards on the door of their room saluted his father as he went out to attend the paperwork as fast as possible.

Hakuba looked at the ceiling, careful not to move his broken arm much, and sighed.

Comments

[thricedeadwind.livejournal.com]

"I would consider it fortunate timing," Zechs said quietly, "if only because both yours and miss Aoko's lives were spared."

He gave Hakuba long, serious look, trying to still seem calm, and not as incredibly concerned as he felt. From what he could see, the boy would be fine. Zechs knew he'd recover well enough, with no lasting damage. It didn't ease the swirl of guilt within his own gut.

"... It is necessary for my self to apologize, Saguru, for I had not brought you into safety before such an incident." Zechs' voice was very quiet.

[clockmaster.livejournal.com]

It was lucky that the wall was made of wood, that was true, Hakuba thought. After Zechs's apology he looked at him like if he grow another head.

"Zechs you don't have to apologize about something you didn't have control over it. No one had. If something, I should had been more careful." He paused for a moment rubbing his forehead, just over the bandages. "Doyle told me that you all tried to help us, especially you. He was frustrated that he couldn't help, and I can see that you are sorry for that too but please, don't be. It was the Black ops' fault and anyone else."

[thricedeadwind.livejournal.com]

From his perspective, Zechs felt like he had failed both his professional duty as a Turk - Rufus did give him orders to retrieve Hakuba - and his personal duty as a friend. His face only grew darker, slightly more tense, when the boy told him not to apologize. It was obvious the Detective didn't understand. But Zechs felt it'd be pointless to try to defend his point of view.

Focusing on the more immediate, pressing concerns was far more important. Zechs would only have to try harder himself next time. Almost businesslike, he asked, "Will the organization still target and threaten you, Saguru?"

[clockmaster.livejournal.com]

Hakuba sighed internally, he imagined that Zechs was still going to feel bad about him, he had the tendency to blame himself even when it wasn't his fault. If someone, it was Hakuba's fault, if he would had been more cautious and more careful... Vermouth failed on her try to impersonate Heiji because he recognized her, but she still managed to kidnap him -even if she used a gun-.

"Not just me." He commented finally, resting her back on the pillows. His voice was filled with controlled anger "It was all a trap. But they are still acting like terrorists, we need to stop them before they kill more people."

[thricedeadwind.livejournal.com]

This was something immediate and tangible for Zechs to focus on, rather than the anger in Hakuba's voice, or the guilt inside himself. A target or some sort of direction sharpened his mind, honed by those darker feelings. But now he wasn't merely thinking as a friend. He was thinking as a soldier.

"Agreed, we must stop them," Zechs said firmly. His eyes took on a fierce glint. "They should not be allowed to threaten your selves any longer. We should find the root of their organization and take it down, swiftly."

[clockmaster.livejournal.com]

Hakuba noodled, deep in thought again. In the last year and specially in the last weeks with Conan and Heiji, they'd managed to go beyond what just he and Kid had hoped to accomplish. Especially so quickly. Combining their information with the other's detectives, they managed to fill in blanks on both sides, creating a clearer picture of just where and what the Black Ops were up to.

However, Vermouth, Gin and Vodka remained elusive, much to his continued irritation. Which meant that they weren't getting anywhere near cutting off the head of the vile organization. At now they were traveling between worlds too, becoming more and more dangerous. Unfortunately, this meant that the organization was becoming increasingly erratic.

"I'm sorry that you all get mixed in this, Zechs."