Conan clacked his beak for the umpteenth time, annoyed and more than tempted to peck out one of the red eyes staring at him with a creepy sort of curiosity he usually only saw when Haibara was dissecting something. Like that dead pigeon she'd pulled from the lab's freezer. He did not want to know why she had that. Or where she'd obtained it.

"Koizumi-san, you might want to give Holmes a bit of space. He looks like he wants to maul you." Did he? If Hakuba could read his birdlike expression, then others might too. Urgh, and what would Hattori say when he found out he was half bird now? Bird-brained child he thought. Or something along those lines anyway.

"Why? I want a better look at him, and I get the feeling I'll be scratched or pecked if I touch him. Stretch his wing out for me?" Conan shot a withering stare at Hakuba, daring him to comply. He had no idea if a hawk's stare was effective though. Apparently not, because gentle hands coaxed him to stretch each wing in turn, Nakamori-chan watching all the while. Conan was going to play his version of Kaito Kid dodgeball with Hakuba when he changed back.

"Beak?" Oh, hell no. She was not looking in his mouth, no way. Hakuba mumbled an apology, even as he gently prised Conan's beak open, earning a sharp warning nip for his troubles. "Beak. Now." That wasn't directed at Hakuba. It had been directed at him. Conan's blue eyes turned icy, wishing the witch would just go away. Something about the order made him comply though.

Reddish brown eyes studied him with the same scrutiny and calculation that both he and Hakuba had at crime scenes, a sharp nod of confirmation to whatever Koizumi-san had been thinking making Conan feel even more uneasy. From what little he'd seen of the witch, he knew that a smile from her was in no way a good thing. Ever. She'd been smiling when he'd stumbled into the Not-quite pentagram that night nearly three months ago after all.

"Interesting bird you have Hakuba-kun. Has trouble finding the way home doesn't he? Who made him for you? I've never seen a Merlin, peregrine Falcon and African grey parrot mix before." Conan turned his head to look in consideration at Hakuba, wondering if Koizumi-san was just being her usual odd self, or if that was some kind of hint.

"Maybe you should train him to ask for directions. Then he could always find his way home." Ok, to Nakamori-chan, that would sound like a classmate teasing another about their pet bird, but to Conan, it sounded very much like she was actually saying 'if you want to be human again, learn to use those invisible parrot genes I gave you.' He glared at her.

/Tama, when I get back to being Tantei-kin, I'm making her CRY./ he grumped, earning a soft, laughing coo from the dove perched on the windowsill of the classroom they were now in.

/master won't like that. He's too soft on her. I'm going back to Master. Look after Tantei-san for us!/ she cooed, bobbing her head at Nakamori-chan before flying off, making an odd, zig-zagging flight pattern until she was out of sight. Conan didn't like that one bit. It didn't just mean the dove was used to dodging bullets, it meant there was someone out there, right now, watching the school and possibly Hakuba.

He needed to get Hakuba out of school without being seen, but he had no idea if Kai-nii had any secret ways in and out of the school that did not require a master thief's talents. Maybe Kaito had a stash of dyes and basic disguises hidden somewhere? But how was he supposed to do anything when he couldn't even call Kaito to ask him? And how was he supposed to disguise Hakuba when Conan was currently stuck as a bird?

He knew he could tap out morse code if he needed to, but that wasn't really talking. And morse code was too distracting if Conan had to lead Hakuba somewhere whilst also dodging people and/or bullets. The blonde detective looked a little disconcerted as Conan made a strange sound in the back of his throat -not exactly a human sound, but very much not a bird one either- and bobbed his head in a clear nod.

/you can't understand me Hakuba, but I damn hope you'll get the message anyway./ Conan told the blond aloud, before launching off of the blonde's arm and landing on Kaito's desk after a short but well executed flight. He stared at Hakuba, willing him to understand, or at least get the gist. He did not want to tap out morse code here, at Hakuba's school, in case a student came into the classroom early and started asking awkward questions. And Nakamori-chan was watching.

"Aoko thinks Holmes wants to show Hakuba-san something." Nakamori-chan stated suddenly, her blue-ish violet eyes sharpening dangerously. "Actually.... Aoko thinks Holmes doesn't belong to Hakuba. Aoko thinks he belongs to Hakuba's........" Nakamori-chan trailed off, eyes going soft suddenly. She glances sharply at Koizumi-san, before shaking her head. "Anyway, Aoko thinks Holmes wants to tell us something about Kaito."

Conan bobbed his head and spread his wings slightly, feeling utterly ridiculous, but bowing like some of Kaito's doves did. /yes! That's right. Kaito. Come on Hakuba, figure out the rest. You know he's kid, so this should be easy./ Hopping from Kaito's desk and gliding over to Hakuba's desk only earns him a strange look, until conan decided he didn't care if people knew he was a genius bird.

Three pairs of eyes snapped onto his small feathered frame. One blue-ish violet, one golden brown, the other deep red. Conan would have rolled his eyes, only he wasn't sure he could do that as a bird.

/tap tap tap. Tap~ tap. Tap tap. Tap tap~ tap~ tap. Tap. Tap tap~ tap. Tap tap tap./ he looked up at Hakuba, knowing from a brief conversation with Tama-chan that both Nakamori-chan and koizumi-san didn't know morse code, but Hakuba did. The blonde cottoned on with a scary ease that told Conan-the-hawk that this was actually a common way for Kaito's doves to 'talk' to the brit.

The brit produced a pen and notebook from a pocket, before glancing back at 'Holmes'. "I didn't realise you were taught morse code as well, Holmes." Hakuba started, before jotting down the first word. /tap~ tap~. Tap tap. Tap~ tap~ tap. Tap tap tap tap. Tap~./ Conan wasn't the only one to start as Hakuba swore, loudly, in English. He looked out of the window with a sharp look on his face, before sighing in a manner that suggested this wasn't the first time the school had been watched.

"I'm sorry Nakamori-chan, can you tell sensei I've had to leave? Something's happened with that case I told you about. Don't tell our classmates though." Conan noted that the brit didn't wait for a reply, but went about gathering his things as if he really was in a rush to get back to a case. Once his things were safely in his bag (it looked a little like a leather briefcase, but Conan wasn't sure; everything looked a little different to his Bird-eyes.) Hakuba made a minute movement with his left hand that Conan somehow knew was a signal for him to perch there.

It was just as Hakuba was leaving that his some of his class finally returned from lunch. Conan was just about to fly to the detective's arm as well. A cheeky, almost human expression flashed across his face that made Nakamori-chan give him a curious look. He stared at Hakuba, but didn't move. Very slowly, he closed one eye in a deliberate wink, going stone-still as the class filed in.

One of the bolder students reached out to poke him to see if he was stuffed, and that was when he chose to strike. Faster than he thought possible, he was perched neatly on Hakuba's shoulder, a smug expression on his face once the poor teen realised his wallet had been picked. All eyes turned to Hakuba, and in turn, his eyes slid to Conan where he was perched proudly on his shoulder.

Hakuba held his hands up, a mildly amused expression on his face. "Sorry, sakamoto-san. I think Holmes has been spending too much time around my... sister." He mumbled the last bit, in a way that made it impossible for anyone but Nakamori-chan to hear or understand.

Conan clacked his beak and bobbed his head, in the way he'd seen Kaito's doves do when they wanted to laugh, allowing Hakuba to prise the wallet from his talons, sapphire eyes glinting with amusement at the older detective's confusion. Clearly Hakuba had never observed 'conan-kun' at a crime scene before. He winked at Hakuba, making sure the blonde saw. /tell you later/ he told him, knowing full well Hakuba still couldn't understand him.

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A shadowy figure scowled as the target vanished further into the school, growling with frustration when the teen did not re-appear. Curse their rotten luck! The criminal always got the smart ones didn't they? Why couldn't the boss be considerate for a change and give them a nice easy victim, like the Edogowa brat their partner was tasked with stalking? At least a seven year old wasn't so hard to kidnap. (In theory anyway.)

About halfway through the next lesson, the figure noticed a teenage girl leave the building, her long waist length golden-brown hair tied up in a neat fishtail plait. A pronounced limp told the would-be kidnapper why she was leaving so early, but other than that, she wasn't of any interest. Good body, but... not the target, so not their business.

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Hakuba grinned to himself as he spotted the shadow in the building opposite his classroom window, feeling confident that the disguise Kaito had set up for him was doing it's job. Conan was safely hidden in one of the secret pockets, the one designed for Watson should he need to escape with his bird unseen.

A few people stared as an apparently injured teenage girl hobbled down the street, away from what was clearly her school. One elderly woman stopped her to ask if she was ok, but Saguru simply smiled and assured her she was only a block away from home, putting his forcefully learnt acting skills to use.

It was a damned good thing Kaito had a bolt-hole the next street over, because the elderly dear insisted on walking her home, saying something about living in the same block once she learnt where the young 'lady' was headed. Saguru supposed it could've been worse; the elderly lady was actually quite pleasant to talk to, if a little chatty.

By the time Saguru (under the guise of Kuroba kairi) made it into Kaito's bolt hole, he was more than grateful for the silence that greeted him. Sure, he didn't mind 'cross dressing' sometimes (except when his mother chose his clothes. That was always always scarring.) but it became a bit taxing when he had to keep up a convincing facade in front of an audience, especially one as chatty and curious as Sato Yoko.

(Unbeknownst to him, The bird hidden in his pocket was wondering if Yoko-obaachan was related to sato-keiji or not. They kind of sounded the same, minus the age difference in their voices, but he wouldn't be able to tell unless he saw her, though probably not even then, because Conan hadn't met sato-keiji as a hawk yet.)

Shedding the entire disguise in favour of a fresh set of casual clothes he knew Kaito had stashed here, Saguru made his way to the bedroom in search of something Conan-kun could wear if he changed back, if he could change back. Huh. Funny really. Since when had he taken such insanity in his stride? (Other than dating an international criminal with a seriously skewed humour?)

Conan fluttered out from the pocket he'd been nestled in, looking around in curiosity. He knew this wasn't the Kuroba home, and nor was it Hakuba-niichan's, because there was no way the older detective would go directly home dressed like that, not if half the precinct rumours about the Hakuba's were even remotely based on fact anyway.

He huffed softly in annoyance as he noticed how ruffled his feathers were, and turned to preen them without really thinking about what he was doing. It was only when he turned to look up at the blonde with a feather in his beak that he realised just what he was doing. Hakuba chuckled.

"If I didn't know you were actually a teenager, I'd be convinced you were one of my sister's pets." The blonde detective smiled, placing the pile of clothing on the small sofa that practically filled the front room. He patted them meaningfully. "Not sure if these will fit, but there's a set of clothes for you if you do manage to change back." Saguru shook his head slightly as the boy turned bird went back to preening after nodding it's ruffled head.

Preening done, Conan went back to observing his surroundings, a little put out because he'd rather be talking to Hakuba Right now, but the familiar twist of will that usually had his wings folding back into nothingness wasn't working. Maybe he was thinking about the change wrong?

Seriously though, the change from normal child to actual bird had been fairly easy, In fact, he'd done it almost on instinct as he'd left Teitan Elementary, bird and human thought mixing perfectly with little effort. (Unbeknownst to him, that full shift had saved his life.) maybe that was the key? Bird and human mixing had made the full change easy, so maybe the secret was to imagine the bird and human parts of him separating?