[Note: I had some trouble getting this one formatted right. Hope it's okay now. Sorry about the trouble. J]

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Chapter 9 - All Things in Time

No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change:
Thy pyramids built up with newer might
To me are nothing novel, nothing strange;
They are but dressings of a former sigh
t.

Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire
What thou hast foist upon us that is old,
And rather make them born to our desire
Than think that we before have heard them told.

Thy registers and thee I both defy,
Not wondering at the present nor the past,
For thy records and what we see doth lie,
Made more or less by thy continual haste.
This I do vow and this shall ever be;
I will be true despite thy scythe and thee.

-Shakespeare, Sonnet 123
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Two bells rang and clamored against each other when Ulala shoved open the heavy door to the Time Castle. It closed quietly behind her as she stepped forward into the gloomy store. She pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and looked around.

The place was pretty much just as she remembered it. The main part of the shop was dimly lit and smelled faintly of damp wood and mothballs. Clocks and clock faces decorated every surface and occupied two long glass cases that ran lengthwise through the store. The carpet was a plush red and matching curtains hung on the back wall, obscuring deep shadows that suggested the presence of a door to some hidden area. She sniffed and wrinkled her nose, waving at the dank air in front of her face.

It was empty save for one elderly lady by a selection of antique German cuckoo clocks, and a couple of younger people leaning over a glass counter towards the back. And of course, there was the man himself, complete with pristine white hair and a haughty expression as he stood stolidly on his raised platform. He looked up at the sound of the bells and squinted at Ulala, reaching up to adjust his clock-face monocle with two delicate fingers.

She strode towards him. "I always wondered… What exactly are you the count of, anyway?" she asked with a smirk. "Creepy eyepieces?" The two young people looked up in surprise and shuffled off to the side, clearly bothered by her disturbance of the hushed atmosphere.

The Count regarded her coolly. "Ulala Serizawa," he said in a droll voice. "A pleasure, as always."

She gave him a sardonic smile. "You just couldn't stay out of trouble, could you?"

"Why, I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his thin eyebrows arching dramatically. "You must think I'm involved in something... shady." The corners of his lips curled up. "I'm wounded, my dear, really I am."

Ulala chuckled under her breath and shook her head. "You're a piece of work," she said, running her hand along the edge of a glass display case. "Still selling cards on the side, I take it?"

"Of course." He leaned forward conspiratorially. "Would you like to purchase one? I can offer you a very special price. To honor our very special relationship." A sadistic grin crawled across his face. "After all, you and your little friends were always my best customers."

Ulala turned to face him. "Yeah, you saw us a lot, didn't you?" She stepped forward and crossed her arms. "I bet you think you know everything there is to know about me."

He chuckled. "It can't possibly be that much, my dear."

"But the thing is," she said, ignoring him. "You only saw me when I was here with them." She cracked her knuckles. "I can be a totally different person when my friends aren't around to keep me in check."

He looked at her impassively and she continued. "I'm insecure, petty, superficial," she listed, counting off on her fingers. "Oh, jealous, did I leave that one out? But there's one more, one that I think you might be forgetting."

The Count raised his eyebrows. "And what might that be?"

She smirked. "I'm so very impatient," she said, and he noticed for the first time that her knuckles were taped. There was a sudden blur of motion and before he could react, her fist connected with his face and the world exploded in a flash of light and pain. His head jerked to the side and he stumbled backward, cursing violently as he cradled his cheek in his hand. He didn't even have time to straighten up before she grabbed him roughly by the lapels and slammed him up against the wall.

He hung from his shoulders limply, a crooked smile still plastered on his face. "How charming," he rasped, a thin line of blood trickling out of his nose. "I think violence is so becoming of a lady, don't you?" His right eye was already swollen and red, and his hair was mussed and sticking to his face. His clock-face monocle, now cracked, dangled from its chain around his neck. For Ulala, it was the most satisfying thing she had seen all day.

"Can we cut the crap already?" she growled. He started to laugh and she slammed him into the wall again. "Shut up and listen. Two boys were attacked on top of Seven Sisters High."

He snorted. "Not very original, is it?"

"Shut your mouth before I shut it for you," she spat. "One of them is dead. And isn't it just the biggest coincidence that one of the suspected attackers is a card freak? Why, imagine my surprise to think that you might have had a hand in all of this." She nodded to the red curtains concealing the back room. "What do you have in there, Clockula? A breakfast nook?"

"Go see for yourself," he shrugged. "I have nothing to hide from the likes of you."

She gave him one last shove and released him, letting him crumple to the floor. He wiped the blood away from his nose as he watched her push open the curtain. Behind it there was a shallow recess and a nondescript gray door obscured by shadows. She hesitated, then reached into the darkness to turn the handle.

"Don't make trouble," she said coldly, before disappearing from sight.

He chuckled as he pulled himself to his feet. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said, taking out a handkerchief to clean his monocle carefully. When he held up it to his face, it was whole again. "Oh wait, I didn't, did I?" His face twisted into a smile and he smoothed down his hair.

"How silly of me."

*  *  *

Where *is* he?

Tatsuya chewed on his lower lip and shaded his eyes against the hot afternoon sun as he scanned the intersection for any sign of his older brother. He slumped against a nearby wall and tugged at the bottom of his t-shirt.

I've been waiting here for forty-five minutes, he thought bitterly. Even school is better than this.

He slid to a sitting position and toyed with the idea of exploring the mysterious shop across the street; the one that always had dark curtains over the window and a sign that proclaimed "FUN INSIDE FOR GENTLEMEN WITH TASTE". He looked down at his rumpled clothes and tried to figure out if he fit the bill. He was still deliberating when the shadow of two nicely shaped legs passed over him. Hel-lo, he thought.

"Hello," he said, and looked up, squinting to see their owner. She turned her head and put her hands on her hips.

"Katsuya," she called. "I found your brother." She turned back to face Tatsuya and smiled. "Wanna get up out of the dirt? Sorry we're late."

He stared up at her. She gave him a quizzical look and then shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, laughing lightly. "I'm Maya, the reporter from the school, remember? I'm working with your older brother." She helped him up and he was brushing himself off when Katsuya got across the street to join them.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he said, somewhat breathlessly. His face was flushed. "We got a little bit lost."

Tatsuya shrugged. "Whatever, I was just bored." He stretched languidly. "Are we gonna go eat or what? I'm starved."

Maya nodded. "Yeah, we're not far from Thursday's. It's a good place." She turned to Katsuya. "Want to pick up Baofu on the way?"

The young detective shook his head. "No, he said he'd meet us there." He put his hand on Tatsuya's back as they crossed the street. "Last I talked to him he'd been all over the city, but no luck. First time I can remember that Baofu's been stumped by something."

"Humph," Maya said. "Serves him right." The two men gave her a curious look, but she didn't say anything else.

"Um," said Tatsuya after a few minutes of walking in silence. "So how do you two know each other?" He stuffed his hands into his pockets and gave her a friendly look. "Are you dating or something?"

Katsuya sputtered and coughed, and Maya smiled awkwardly. "Little brother," he said with a nervous laugh. "Miss Amano is just a friend of mine. I've worked with her on cases before." He flushed despite himself. "Her assistance has always been most valuable to me."

Tatsuya looked from one to the other and then shot his brother a skeptical look. "Oh," he said slowly. "Right." Man, he thought. He's got it bad. I wonder if she knows? He started to whistle a pop song under his breath.

"Oh good," said Maya, perhaps a little too shrilly, as they came up on the restaurant. "Here we are!" A fancy sign reading 'Thursday's' in ye olde English calligraphy hung from a pole over the door, tavern style. Katsuya held the door open and they filed into the cool entryway. They were all glad to be out of the sun as they waited for the hostess to find them a table.

The after-work crowd had already started clogging up the place, so they ended up settling for a claustrophobic U-booth near the bar. They had just ordered their drinks when Baofu came in and stalked over to them, the puffy little raincloud over his head so pronounced it was almost tangible. His joints complained loudly as he slid onto the crowded bench.

"Good evening, Baofu," Katsuya said. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to keep his leg as far from Maya's as possible, which wasn't very given the close quarters. Tatsuya, who was fighting not to fall off the end, muttered something profane and gave him a sharp elbow in the ribs. "Ow! Er... no luck today, I take it?"

Baofu just grunted and took out a cigarette. Maya leaned over to Katsuya and said under her breath, "He's hung over. Spent the whole night blind in a bottle."

The detective sat back and nodded sagely. Baofu gave them both a venomous look and took a long drag from his cigarette. "It's not that bad," he said flatly. "But I didn't get anywhere today. It's like these kids don't even exist." He rubbed his forehead with two long fingers.

Tatsuya watched the older man intently. He seemed so worn out and tired. His brother had called Baofu a genius, the best investigator he'd ever known; but from here, he really didn't seem so big at all. Is this what it means to be good at what you do? he wondered to himself. Does it just make it that much harder when you fail?

Maya leaned forward to talk to Baofu. "Have you seen Ulala yet? Have you talked to her?" It was the crown prince of loaded questions.

He just stared into his coffee. "No," he finally said. "She hasn't been around."

"Really?" said Katsuya. "But she said on the phone earlier that she was with –"

He was interrupted by another elbow from Tatsuya. "Big brother," he whispered. "Let's go get an appetizer or something." The detective turned to see Maya glaring at Baofu with a look that would have had Moses himself asking "What? What'd I do?"

"Oh." He nodded in agreement. "You may be right." They slipped quietly off the bench and walked towards the bar. "We'll be back," he said over his shoulder, but neither of them was listening.

Maya fiddled with the little umbrella in her drink for almost a whole minute before turning to Baofu with an angry expression on her face. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she said bluntly.

He winced. "I'm trying to drink some coffee. I have a headache and the name of the cure is not Maya Amano."

"I don't mean right now. You know damn well what I mean." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I stayed up half the night taking care of Ulala."

"I don't see how that's my problem."

"It is your problem!" A few people at nearby tables turned to look at them, and she lowered her voice. "It is your problem," she repeated, "because it was you she couldn't stop crying about."

He looked up at her, his eyes dark and intense behind his glasses. She took a breath and went on. "She's out there alone today because she thinks you're like every other guy in her book. I'm worried about her. What if she gets into trouble?" Maya turned her head and closed her eyes. "I used to think you'd take good care of her."

"Serizawa can take care of herself," he said harshly. "Otherwise I would have never let her be my partner."

"Baofu," Maya leaned forward, her voice now soft. "I'll drop the subject right now and never bother you about it again, if you can look into my eyes and tell me that she's really just your partner."

He remained silent, his knuckles white as he gripped his coffee cup. After several minutes had passed, she caught sight of the Suou brothers returning with baskets of onion rings and mozzarella sticks. She reached over to touch Baofu's arm. "Don't play with her," she said. "If you can't work up the courage to be a real man for her, make room for someone else who can."

Her last words bit into him and left a heavy, empty feeling in his stomach. He hardly noticed the Suous' return, or the happy feast of greasy fried food that followed. The headache that had plagued him all day began to subside, and he felt like he could think again, though he wasn't sure if it was the coffee or Maya's sermon or perhaps both that cleared his head. Occasionally, someone would ask him a question or offer him food, but he just shook his head and they left him alone.

The meal itself passed uneventfully, with very little interaction between the four people who chewed quietly on their food. The waitress passed by occasionally to fill Baofu's coffee cup and once it seemed they were done eating, she place the check tactfully in the center of the table. After a few minutes of scribbling on a napkin they figured out what everyone owed and collected cash from each other. The brothers bickered over who was going to pay for Tatsuya, Maya excused herself to the ladies' room, and Baofu drained the last of his fifth cup of coffee. Eventually Katsuya won out and Maya came back; then they all got up, collected their things, and filed out of the restaurant.

Baofu walked in front, his jacket slung over one shoulder and the intense look in his eyes obscured behind his dark glasses. His mind felt strangely empty; normally the alcohol blocked out the inner voice and its visions, but he wasn't used to being left alone even after he'd sobered up. All day he'd felt like he was walking around with blinders on. He fiercely bit down on the end of his cigarette. Persona. They're never there when you need them, he thought bitterly. In the end, you just have to rely on yourself.

They fought their way through a little crowd at the door and got out to the busy street. The setting sun glinted off of building windows and passing cars, causing them all to squint and shield their eyes. Katsuya put a protective hand on his little brother's shoulder.

"Well, it's been a long week, and Tatsuya and I are going to reward ourselves with a movie," he said, turning to Maya and Baofu. "You're both welcome to come, of course."

Maya clapped her hands. "Oh, what movie? I really want to see something with action. And romance!"

Katsuya grinned. "Well, Tacchan here does have a soft spot for those sappy samurai movies," he said. His little brother gave him a mean look and punched him in the shoulder. Maya watched as they wrestled playfully. I never knew *that* little detail about him, she thought, an amused expression on her face.

The three of them crowded together, talking and laughing, while Baofu stood off to the side and finished up his cigarette. They finally agreed on a place to go, and Katsuya looked over his shoulder. "Are you going to come, too?" he asked.

Baofu looked back at the happy group impassively. Go see a samurai flick with the three stooges? I'll pass. "No," he said. "I'm tired. I think I'm just going to go crash."

They nodded and waved, turning away to cross the street. He took two steps in the other direction before he staggered against the wall, the world suddenly wavering before his eyes.

No, he thought, struggling to clear his head, to stand up straight, but the vision hit him before he could brace himself against it. He closed his eyes and clutched at his stomach, a familiar nauseous feeling creeping over him. A wave of color broke across his mind and disintegrated, turning into an image that he could see clearly even with his eyes closed against it.

NO, he thought again, digging his palm into the rough brick wall. At first all he could see was darkness, but it fell aside like a heavy curtain, and he found himself staring into Ulala's eyes.

"Serizawa?" he whispered, forgetting for the moment to struggle against the dream. She seemed to be talking; her lips were moving, but he couldn't hear her voice. Her eyes seemed to be looking through him, as though she were focused on something he couldn't see. He started to reach out to her. He wanted her to see that he was there.

He froze. Behind her he saw another shape emerge from the shadows. He felt a sudden danger, and animal panic washed through him. "No!" he cried out, and he tried to leap forward, but he found that his feet were rooted to the ground. She kept talking, apparently unaware of the thing that stalked behind her. There was a quick, controlled movement and a glint of light, and he could only watch as her eyes widened in surprise.

She cried out noiselessly and fell to her knees. On her right shoulder there was a slowly widening bloodstain, and over her stood a young man, the dripping knife still in his hand. He tilted his head and started to laugh, and then the dark curtains started to close on the edges of the vision. Baofu roared and struggled frantically, but he couldn't keep them open. He fell away from the dream, and when he opened his eyes all he could see was the mundane city street again.

"Shit!" he growled. He stood up shakily, then turned and took off full speed after the others. He caught up with them at a stoplight two blocks away. "Suou!" he yelled, as he ran towards them.

Katsuya turned. "Baofu!" he said, raising his hand to wave. "Decide to come after all?"

Baofu reached them and stood, panting, his hands on his knees. "Suou," he said, between gasps. "Serizawa. Is in trouble. I don't know where. Need help."

Maya stepped forward. "Ulala?" she said, her voice suddenly frantic. "How do you know? Where is she?"

"I don't know." Baofu shook his head. "I can't explain myself right now. I just know she needs help. Soon."

Katsuya looked over at Tatsuya. "Little brother," he said apologetically. "I need to go with him." He turned to Maya. "Will you take care of Tatsuya for me?"

Her eyes widened. He's not serious, is he? she thought. "Katsuya," she pleaded softly.

He reached out to touch her arm. "Maya," he said. "I can't leave him here. We'll take care of Ulala, but if I'm going to do that, I need to know that he's safe." He held her eyes. "Please, do this for me."

She swallowed and bowed her head. "Call me as soon as you know," she said meekly.

He smiled thankfully and gave her a quick nod. He let go of her arm and turned to Baofu. "Let's go," he said, and the two men were off without another word.

Tatsuya watched them go and then turned to Maya. "What," he said slowly, "was that all about?"

She shook her head and laughed nervously. The light changed and they crossed the street together. The bright theater sign came into view.

"Really," she finally said. "It's a very long story."