[Feb 26th] [Magic Kaitou] Prove Me Right; Prove Me Wrong [Part 1]

[motsdejeva.livejournal.com]

Title: Prove Me Right; Prove Me Wrong
Author: jeva_chan
Day/Theme: February 26th - "We deceive ourselves"
Series: Magic Kaitou
Character/Pairing: Kuroba Toichi, Nakamori Ginzo, Kuroba Kaito
Rating: PG



It had started as a fairly pleasant day, in his opinion. He was able to sleep in without the boundless source of energy that was his 7-year-old son rushing in and destroying his peaceful slumber with his overeagerness to learn more tricks, wakened only when the scents of food became too much for his hungry stomach. He was greeted by the lovely sight, for once, of his wife and son eating breakfast--one chattering away about something he'd done thus far in the morning, which was a frightening amount truth be told, while the other nodded and laughed at all the right places.

It was rare that he was able to be at home and do all of these things with his family these days. The price of fame, really. Then again, times like that morning tend to make it all seem worthwhile.

It had all started off so well, and yet now all Kuroba Toichi could do was stare ruefully at the ring of silver presently encircling his left wrist before stating with a cocked eyebrow, "I sincerely hope that this is just you practicing a bit of magic, Ginzo."

He looked up to watch the police inspector carefully clasp the other handcuff around his own right wrist. It wasn't as if this sort of thing was outside of the man's usual behavior, really. Toichi had seen numerous people caught in cuffs by the determined man who, at such a young age, was leading the police taskforce of Japan against a particularly slippery thief.

It just wasn't ever his wrist that had been caught before.

This realization froze the blood in his veins while also making his heart race as he tried to find some way out of the situation. If Nakamori Ginzo, of all people, had been able to discover some sort of solid evidence against him...

"No," came the low response, allowing Toichi's racing thoughts to slow down a bit so he could focus on the other man's words.

Lips pressing lightly together in a manner that would go mostly unnoticed, the magician then asked in a manner that implied that there was still a punchline to be delivered, "Oh? Then am I under arrest? I swear, officer, I am innocent!" He paused, bringing his left hand up, dragging Ginzo's right with it, and tapping his index finger against his chin as he appeared to contemplate his own words. "Isn't that what the guilty ones always say? 'I swear I'm innocent! Give me another chance!' Things like that? You know, I've never really liked detective shows very much--"

Jerking his right arm back to his side and forcing Toichi's left away from its previous position, Ginzo snapped irritably, "Would you stop babbling? You're not under arrest."

Toichi brought his right hand to his eyes, giving himself the time to hide whatever relief may have involuntarily shown on his face while also giving Ginzo a distracting performance as he laughed in a nervously relieved fashion. "Well, that's something, I suppose," he said before allowing his hand to rake through his dark hair, his eyes narrowing slightly in all seriousness even as his lips continued to smile wryly. "Then? What's all this about? It can't be because you wanted to see an impromptu escape act--"

"I'm proving you innocent."

Silence reigned for a moment after those words.

Toichi swallowed a lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, understanding the other man's intentions better than he would like. He kept the smile on, however, for the sake of the man who had become his friend despite the fact that he was also the man who chased him.

Because he wasn't innocent at all.

Toichi closed his eyes and tilted his head, asking, "Now what on earth are you trying to prove me innocent of, Ginzo? It's not as though I have a criminal record or anything--"

"Don't give me that act," the other man bit out sourly, making the magician look to him with surprise. Seeming uncomfortable, the gruffer man seemed loathed to look up at the man he'd cuffed himself to and merely muttered, "All the evidence points to a man who has some knowledge of magic--advanced knowledge, that is. Also, it's been noted that he has a certain height and build that doesn't change unless when in disguise--"

Still maintaining his role, Toichi shot him a slightly befuddled look. "Now who on earth are you accusing me of being, Ginzo? Disguises? Magic tricks? Well, of course, I could excell in both, but I have been studying extensively for years. A lot of renown magicians have--"

The inspector finally met his gaze, cutting his words off better than any word could.

Then Ginzo looked away, seeming loathed to admit that the other man was right. "It's all circumstantial, I know that," he grumbled lowly. "That still doesn't mean that some people aren't starting to look your way, though."

A feeling of dread ran down Toichi's spine. "How do you mean?"

But his long-time friend was unable to explain things as Kaito came rushing through the room, loudly stomping his way toward the kitchen only to pause and stare at the two men standing there, staring back at him as if they weren't quitre sure what to do or say. After all, what does one say to the son of a magician about why his father was handcuffed in suspicions of being an internationally wanted thief?

Thankfully, Kaito seemed to solve that problem for them, approaching them on now-silence feet--Toichi had a feeling the boy was going to soon start attempting to give him heartattacks by sneaking up on him. The boy zeroed in on the silver metal of the cuff's chain. He then raised a hand to poke a finger at the chain, before looking confusedly up to Toichi. "Whatcha doin' with Nakamori-keibu 'n' cuffs, Dad?"

The magician heard the inspector choke behind him and very nearly started laughing uproarously himself. He was able to restrain himself, however, and gently cleared his throat before smiling down at Kaito, lifting a finger and informing him, "Well, you see, son, when a man and another man really care for one another--"

"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU TELLING YOUR KID?!"

Toichi rose his hands in a peaceful gesture, trying to get his friend to calm down. "Now, Ginzo..." he began lightly.

Only to have Kaito pipe up from the side, "AH!"

Both men, still in the positions they were in before--Ginzo leaning to get into Toichi's face and glowering while the magician leaned back and away with a bright grin on his face, then turned to look down at the 7-year-old.

The young boy appeared to look deep in thought, brow creasing a bit as he looked between his father and the man he considered an uncle. Then he nodded once, smiled brightly, and announced loudly, "You show 'em a magic trick!"

Ginzo nearly choked again, suddenly seeming able to stand on his own two legs without support and having to use Toichi's shoulder to keep himself upright. Toichi just laughed at the whole thing, letting out a full laugh that obviously grated on the inspector's nerves from the way the man muttered curses into his shoulder. The laughing man eventually calmed himself so that he was merely chuckling and reached out with his free hand to ruffle his son's already messy hair.

"That's right!" he agreed cheerfully, ignoring Ginzo's grousing next to his ear. "You show them a magic trick!"

He then paused and reconsidered what he said.

"Except, don't use handcuffs, all right?"

Kaito blinked up at him and then frowned in a rebellious manner. "Why not?" he asked stubbornly.

Toichi tried to keep from putting his hand to his face in exasperation. Here they go...

"Because, Kaito, some people might take it the wrong way--"

"Why?"

"Because, son, handcuffs are only used on stage by magicians or at the scene of a crime by police officers--"

"Why?"

A noise of annoyance came from the inspector and the magician tried not to make a similar noise of frustration, caught in the role of answering questions when his child was seemingly stuck in the endless round of "Why?"s, but continued to smile as he answered, "Because if you're not careful, you can accidentally get yourself stuck and won't be able to get them off--"

"Why?"

"Some situations have been known to occur..." Toichi began but trailed off when Ginzo pushed away and then spun around and bent down low to be on level with Kaito.

The look on the other man's face was enough to intimidate any other child.

Kaito just blinked at him before making a face back at the inspector.

Now, Toichi allowed himself the luxury of hiding his face behind his right hand and sighing quietly to himself. This was, he was certain, going to be a hell of a time handcuffed to Inspector Nakamori, the young head of the Japanese Taskforce in charge of apprehending the legendary thief Kaitou No. 1412.

And it didn't help at all that Toichi knew that all Ginzo wanted to do was prove him innocent.

But what was there to prove when just by turning his head slightly, the magician could see the portrait behind which he had stashed away the place in which he could don the white tux, cape, and hat that everyone recognized as this elusive burglar's uniform?



-tbc?-

Meh.

I can't believe I'm thinking of making this into a small series of ficlets.

I'm aiming at maybe 5 ficlets about this size.

Maybe.

... hopefully?

D: