Disclaimer: Decade isn't mine, I just really love the characters.
Author's Note: So, lots of rampant speculation in this one as I play with Kaitou's character arc. I still haven't seen Movie War, and am steadfastly avoiding spoilers for it, so apologies if things are contradicted. I'll quite possibly add another chapter once I finally see that blasted movie. Comments make me feel less like I'm going to be damned for writing instead of studying for vet school, and thus are greatly appreciated.
Reach
I
It's Tsukasa who finds him, during the bad time, when he still cares about whether he's a good man or not.
Kaitou has a pack on his back, though he doesn't remember what he put in it and has little desire to stop and find out. It's important to keep moving, to go forward, to not stop for anything. If he keeps moving long enough, they might not catch up to him. They might forget about him.
He might forget about them, and stop hearing his brother's cries anytime he closes his eyes.
"Hey, you."
He starts, stumbles, tries to run, but he's exhausted and his legs don't want to work quite right.
Maybe he can make them kill him. Maybe—
"Stop it."
The man is fast and graceful. Kaitou isn't sure how, the battle a blur of motion and pain that his tired mind can't fathom, but he ends up on his back on the ground, the stranger sitting on top of him.
"That's better. Now, I want to talk to you."
Kaitou stares up at the stranger. The man doesn't look quite… right. His clothing is black, head to foot, and most of it seems to be made of some form of leather. His expression is hard to read, but boredom is definitely one of the dominant emotions.
"You're a native of this world, right?"
Nodding slowly, Kaitou shifts his weight, wondering if he should try to fight and run again. The man doesn't seem to be with Fourteen, no, but he's obviously insane. Though a rarity, it does occur, and he can easily imagine someone with this man's skill avoiding the police and re-education centers.
As Kaitou has avoided the police and re-education centers for the last four days, but that's not worth thinking on.
"You're not happy here." The strange man scans their surroundings, looks back down at him, looks around again at the empty road. "Do you know about the politics of this world?"
He laughs. He can't help it. The ridiculousness of the situation, and especially that question, is too much for him to handle.
The stranger tilts his head, expression still hard to read, but it might be confusion. Or anger. Or maybe just a different level of boredom.
"Yes." Kaitou nods again, smiling. "I know a bit about the politics here."
"Then come with me." The stranger stands, still with that bored, easy, should-be-impossible grace. He seems completely unconcerned, unworried, hair ruffling in the wind.
Kaitou hesitates, debating whether to bolt or not.
The stranger sighs, bends down, and grabs his hand firmly. "Come on."
He lets the man pull him to his feet, then twists his fingers free and dances away. Or tries to, anyway. He's still too exhausted to quite coordinate things properly. "Come where? I'm not in the habit of following strangers."
"Somewhere more interesting than here, that's for sure." The man grins, though there is as much danger as delight in the expression. "A new world, for you. Maybe you'll like it better."
Yes, the man is definitely insane.
Still, he'll be someone to talk to as they walk, a distraction from everything that's happened.
And a potential sacrifice if—when—Fourteen's men catch up to them. He's not sure he likes the thought, or the darker, steadily-growing-louder part of his mind it comes from, but it's true.
"All right, then. Lead on, to new worlds."
He does the best he can to shake off the fatigue and pay attention to what's happening around them as they walk. He keeps a careful watch on his companion and the road, ready to run if it's a trap.
He's not ready to find that the man isn't lying. A strange, wavering silver field appears in the middle of the road through which he can clearly see… at least somewhere else, if not another world. Somewhere with scientists, and men in strange black outfits that definitely don't seem like uniforms from his world.
"Come on." The stranger stops at the edge of the shimmering, liquid field, waiting for him.
Kaitou hesitates. It could still be a trap, a new invention courtesy of their inhuman overlords.
It could really be a gateway to another world.
He's not entirely sure which possibility is more frightening.
Then the stranger's grabbing his hand again, tugging him forward, and the silver slides over him in a cool rush, drawing him away from his world.
Maybe things would have gone better if Tsukasa let him choose on his own.