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Shuichi Saihara awoke to stale air, darkness, and a head full of fuzz. Reaching for the blindfold that was restricting his vision, he found that rope was also restricting his arms to the back of his seat. Starting to get a bit clammy Shuichi to calm his stress down from panic levels by taking a play-by-play of what he could remember from before he lost consciousness.
He was coming back home from work after finishing early so that he could do some independent studying into the phantom thief case. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts, but there was something about…. Footsteps? Someone was following him. Before he had the chance to speed up, a cloth was brought over his mouth and his consciousness left him. Chloroform?
Alright, the panic was starting to set back in. Wrists silently rotating in their bonds, Shuichi tried to tease the rope in order to loosen it and create some route of escape. Who would want to kidnap him? Shit, maybe anyone that was affiliated with the people he had convicted and thus sent to jail? There wasn’t enough information to go off of. What if they wanted to kill him? Worse off, torture him first? What if-
His thoughts were abruptly cut off by a sudden noise from his captor. Or maybe only one of multiple captors?
“Nishishsishi!” Very distinct, and familiar, laughter echoed and filled the room. Wait, that voice couldn’t be who he thought it was, right?
“My beloved Saihara! What are you doing in a place like this all tied up?”
Although the detective couldn’t see much of anything, he could deduce that fake concern probably plastered the small thief's face.
“Ouma?”
“Corrrect~! Wow, my beloved can tell who I am by just my voice, how intimate!”
A blush forming to Shuichi’s cheeks from Kokichi Ouma’s words as footsteps grew closer to his position, but that wouldn’t stop him from wanting answers. “Ouma, what are you doing here? Where am I? What’s-”
“Sh-Shh, Saihara sweety! So many questions.” The blindfold tightened before loosening completely and falling to drape around his neck accompanied by light puffs of hot air to the side of his face. The bright lights in, wherever this is, forced the golden eyes to retreat behind their lids before peaking out to adjust. First thing in his line of sight was the purple hair boy of conversation starting humorously into his eyes, mixing purple and gold. However, the boy thief was only inches from his face and the boy detective instinctively flinched backwards, almost tipping the chair over had it not been for the other.
“Nishishishi!” The signature chuckle of the other. “You really shouldn’t struggle like that Saihara! You could accidentally topple us into some unintentionally intimate position, and I’m sure you don’t want that~. But to answer your questions from before, this is my base, of course I would be hanging out here! That would also answer your second question, and I bet you can put together the answer to your unformed third question yourself!”
Realization dawned on Shuichi as the pieces to the puzzle of his situation came together. ”Y-You kidnapped me? Bu-But I you only deal with small pranks and petty thefts, right? I would think that kidnapping someone would qualify as being a lot more than an small heist!”
All the amusement was gone from the small boy’s face in an instant as he started examining his nails like they were the most interesting topic for him at the moment. “Eh, I was getting pretty bored, so I decided to spice up my routine a bit. Keep things interesting. Maybe torture you a bit, I dunno. Whatever comes to mind.”
Eyes widening for just a second, Shuichi saw through Ouma’s lies relatively quickly. Having chased the phantom thief in front of him for a little over a year, Shuichi had grown accustomed to the antics of this purple-haired menace. That’s not to say he was used to any of his tricks or pranks at all. From water falling from a bucket over his head to a rose and calling card finding their way into Shuichi’s pocket, there was never a dull moment to be found around Kokichi Ouma. Not excluding this current moment, but Shuichi would rather do without being kidnapped, even if this scenario is much more preferable to the others that crossed his mind. Shuichi called Ouma out on his lie.
"I don't believe that's the reason why you brought me here."
Face adorned with a betrayed expression Ouma spouted, “How rude! I put a lot of effort into bringing you here, you know?” Tears could be seen forming in the corner of his eyes now. “I thought y-you would appreciate having a little play-date at m-my place, considering you’ve ah-always wanted to-to visit my hideout.…”
Unaffected by the clearly fake tears, Shuichi deadpanned, “That is true, but I always thought that I wouldn’t have to be kidnapped, tied up to a chair, and blindfolded on the way in.”
Smile back on his face, the thief finally moved away from Shuichi’s face in favor of bouncing on his heels. Wait, how long were they that close together? Accompanying the tint to a certain detective’s cheeks Kokichi puts on his normal light-hearted tone.
“Alright, alright. Fair point, my beloved. You always know how to get right to the heart of the matter, no matter the subject.” Shuichi thought he saw a bit of color appear on Ouma’s porcelain face, but chalked it up to his imagination when it disappeared just as quickly as it had shown itself.
“Okay!” A clap reverberated in this- warehouse? The hideout was an abandoned warehouse? It seems a bit too cliche for Ouma’s liking. Half-lost to his thoughts about Ouma and his base, the determined voice continued speaking. “How about this? I’ll untie you AND I’ll even give you a really quick tour! It’s not everyday you get to peruse around the supreme leader’s ultimate hideout! In return you owe me a favor. Redeemable in the near, or far, future.”
“Hmm...”
“Hey! Don’t think about this too much! You are getting the better end of the stick in this compromise, trust me! ......Alright, you broke me down. I’ll also prooomise~ NOT to kill you for learning about my super special lair of secrets. Your very presence here would be enough for the death penalty, but I am a benevolent criminal, so be grateful for my mercy!”
“I believe that it was you who initially brought me here and offered to show me around, but-” Shuichi had finally found himself at the phantom thief’s base. He couldn’t lose such an opportunity, even if the circumstances were less than ideal. “I agree.”
Ouma lit up like a christmas tree and perked up with his grin growing to a length that would rival even the Cheshire Cat. “Wonderful!” Circling to Shuichi’s blind spot, the ropes around his hands fell limp to the floop. Rubbing his slightly irritated writs a squeak escaped the detective’s mouth as he felt a new warmth that was not his own wrap around both of his wrists and managed to pull concerned golden eyes up to meet energetic purple ones.
“Nishishi! Follow me! If you let me out of your sight you’ll most surely get lost and trapped in my labrinth of halls that are meant to trap trespassers, so you better not let go of my hand! Oh, but don’t forget my great sacrifice for you and my forgiving nature to allow you to explore my house and live afterwards. You still owe me a favor later on!”
As Ouma dragged the taller boy forward causing him to stumble before matching their paces, Shuichi couldn’t help but smile at the small leader’s enthusiasm and genuine smile.