Previous notes and disclaimers apply. White Magical Hat Lupin belongs to himself; he just hangs around in my head and smirks a lot.
Let's Play a Game
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
- Burnt Norton (I.6-8)
"Hello, Vermouth…"
":Let's play a Game,:" Lupin finished without hesitation.
If Vermouth felt surprised, she didn't show it. "A game, Kid-kun?"
":Your knight is removed from the board, but we know the queen is more dangerous.:"
"The game is this: One question from each of the three players must be answered truthfully. Failure to answer results in a penalty game."
"What penalty?"
":Removal from the larger game you've played for so long, so well.:"
Kaito let the Shadows flare, setting the penalty card into place out of sight. A Dragon Capture Jar, for the elusive Dragon Lady who lies like she breathes.
"After three answers, you choose who is real. A direct question about identity is cheating."
":Choose poorly, and the same penalty applies.:"
"And if I'm correct?" Vermouth inquired mildly.
He couldn't hesitate. "Then you get a new card to play." Kaito forced himself not to turn at the tiny strangled noise behind him, indicating Saguru recognized that Kaito was putting himself on the line for this.
Sorry, Saguru-kun. Sometimes you have to gamble all or nothing.
Of course, gambling doesn't necessarily mean leaving things to chance…
"How interesting… Very well. Who goes first, Kai-chan?"
Only Kid's focus kept Kaito from going stiff at the appellation. Lupin stepped in smoothly, to keep his voice from betraying them. ":Was Kudou-kun a private project, or do your colleagues know about him?:"
Vermouth's lips twisted in a parody of a smile. "Shin-chan? He's always been my little silver bullet."
Kaito felt torn between growling at her and breathing a sigh of relief.
Silver bullets are what you use on werewolves… and you don't advertise that you have one to the monster you plan to take down. He should be safe...
"So, left Kid-kun… If I asked you who the right Kid-kun's father was, what would you say?"
I said no direct questions!
:But it's not, exactly,: Lupin pointed out. :The Shadows accept her loophole.: He spoke aloud, ":The father of Kid is Kuroba Touichi, for from his mind Kid sprang, fully grown.:"
:Loopholes go both ways.:
Vermouth gave them a considering look. Kaito rallied his thoughts, banishing uncertainty. "What is the secret behind your false youth?"
If it's Pandora, at least I'll know.
"A secret makes a woman, wom…" Vermouth spoke so quickly that Kaito doubted she'd processed what kind of an answer it was until the last syllable. She trailed off with widening eyes, the finger over her lips curling to match the others. Lupin winked out of existence, role in the game complete, as translucent color rose from the ground to make two halves of the Dragon Capture Jar that snapped together around her person.
Removing Kid's effects, Kaito favored her immobile form with a feral little smile. "Penalty Game… You're mine, Vermouth."
She stared at him for a moment through the shifting colors, as Sanada's mask quickly dissolved beneath the Jar's effects to reveal her true appearance. The face was one Kaito knew only from old pictures of Touichi's students, but he recognized her all the same. Kudou had been right.
Opening her mouth to speak—to cajole, bribe, or threaten, Kaito didn't know and didn't care—Vermouth emitted a breathy wheeze and then stopped short, expression morphing into one of utter shock and horror.
Vocal cords paralyzed open. Imitation abilities neutralized, but not life-threatening. Perfect.
"You're off the board now," Kaito informed her. "You'll get your limbs back; I'm not that cruel. But your days of impersonation are over." For what you did to Kudou-kun. To me.
He turned around to ask Saguru for ideas about what to do with her now that they had her, and stopped short. The blond was standing ramrod straight, gloved hands clenched, and breathing slowly through his nose as he gave Kaito a death-glare. Saguru should not have been able to pull off Arctic-level cold fury without the still-present Hanshin Tigers baseball cap adding a hint of absurd humor, but somehow he managed it.
"You do not," Saguru growled with precise enunciation, "get to lecture me on playing bait."
"I told you it was a risk," Kaito protested.
"That was not a risk. That was throwing yourself off a cliff without your bloody glider."
"Shadow Games use the players' natures against them… I had to tempt her with something she would want, so that she would play and lose."
For a moment, Saguru seemed to tense like a coiled spring wound one too many times, and then Kaito cringed at the sound of a fist smacking full force into the alley wall, accompanied by a foul curse. He thought he heard at least one of Saguru's bones crack, but the only subsequent movement Saguru made was bowing his head, alley shadows hiding the expression on his profile.
"You didn't tell me."
"...I didn't think I would lose." Kaito approached hesitantly. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm sorry."
Silence. Then Saguru finally retracted his arm, cradling the injured hand in his other as he straightened, still not looking at Kaito. "If you continue giving me heart attacks at this rate, I doubt I'll live past twenty."
…And you turn nineteen in three months. Okay, yeah, bad, even if it's exaggerating and sorta-metaphorical.
Saguru finally turned to face him. "Have you always been this easily mistaken for suicidal and I just didn't notice, or is it that this disturbing echo to your nightmares is interfering with your ability to think?"
Erk. Am I really that bad right now?
:Speaking as outsiders?: Méraud and Lupin echoed together in his brain. :Yes.:
Crap.
"Um… Door Number Two?" Saguru gave him a level look, which Kaito tried to match with one of genuine apology. "Vermouth… brings up bad memories."
Saguru sighed. "Then at least I can take comfort in knowing that my observational skills are slightly less than complete rubbish."
"You're the best detective I know." At Saguru's startled expression, Kaito gave him a lopsided grin. "You figured me out from a single hair and a pool of suspects to weed out. Kudou-kun had to cheat with inside information." Encouraged by a faint chuff, Kaito added, "I'll give you the details when I can, and you can chew me out if they involve me taking stupid risks. Okay?"
After another moment the last of the aggrieved stiffness drained away, and Saguru's lips quirked upward. "I suppose I'll take what I can get. You're including future heists in that, of course…"
"What?"
The smile widened a touch, offsetting the fine lines of pain leaking onto Saguru's face. "So long as I chase him, nothing says I have to ever catch Kid, or refrain from helping him keep his damn fool hide intact."
"You… but…" Somewhere, Kaito knew, he still had coherency, a careless grin and a silver tongue. Just not accessible at the moment, apparently.
Mildly, Saguru added, "That's why they call it a paradigm shift, I believe."
"Oh. …You sure?" That would be weird when they got home, but… also kind of nice, to have someone quick enough to bounce ideas off of, both the brilliant and the stupid.
"Trust me, Kuroba-kun, I wouldn't ask if I weren't sure."
I do trust you, I just…
Kaito paused, and re-ran that first clause. Somehow, when he hadn't been looking, the concept of trust as applied to Saguru had flipped from 'maybe in the future' to 'yes, right now.'
:You have that person Cade-san wanted you to find after all, Kaito-kun.: Méraud sounded far too amused for her own good.
Are you snarking at me because you've made progress and not told me yet, or because you need a break before you bash your scaly head into a wall from frustration?
:We're working. Lupin-san has some…: She hesitated. :Intriguing ideas.:
Tell me later. Please. When I don't have other things to pay attention to.
Méraud's presence withdrew, and Kaito massaged around his temples. "Sorry. I seem to have two voices in my head, now."
"You mean you didn't already?"
Kaito rolled his eyes, trying to regain the original thread of conversation. "Okay. When we get home, you can help me plan the heist for Pandora, too. And any more after that if we're wrong about the target."
"Thank you."
He smiled. "I think that's my line. Or maybe we're even. How bad is your hand?"
"It shouldn't need to be set, but I suspect I'll be using the potion in my bag. A portable staff is rather useless when you can't wield it."
"Mmm. If it's for bones, I don't know how fast a potion would work… Let me see it?"
Saguru shook his head, but with a slight smile. "If you plan to use a card, do it after we've taken care of our audience. I'll be fine until then."
"Oh… right." Kaito glanced over his shoulder at Vermouth, who seemed to have recovered at least the appearance of equilibrium. "Any ideas?"
"Given the circumstances… perhaps Hakuba-san would know a good destination."
"Good point." Kaito dug out his cell phone, which was actually Kuroba's phone since they'd determined that Kaito and Saguru's phones didn't work in the alternate Japan. Hakuba had insisted they take it just in case, since Kuroba wasn't about to carry it.
The phone clicked on. "I take it the colorful light display was your doing?" Hakuba asked without preamble, young voice dry.
"Uh-huh." Kaito yawned as the adrenaline rush began to fade. "Gotta question for you, since you're the detective after the crows this time. Who's the best to hand over a bottle of Vermouth to?"
"Bloody hell, you caught her, as well?" Hakuba paused. "Jodie Santemillion, of the FBI, currently resides in the Beika district."
Kaito blinked. "FBI? They're not even the right agency to be working on foreign soil." Watching American media paid off sometimes.
"It seems to be a personal grudge... Her presence appears to fall beneath plausible deniability."
"Huh." Kaito resisted the desire to ask how Hakuba had crossed paths with them. They were both obviously after the same people, but there were more important things to worry about than satisfying his curiosity. "Do you have an address, or a phone number?"
"Address." Hakuba rattled off the series of neighborhood-block-building numbers. "She'll be quite happy to accept your package."
"Perfect. See you later." Hanging up, he glanced at Saguru. "Do you have enough for another cab?" Risking a Shadowrift to a place he'd never been was not his idea of a good time, especially when he still wanted to fix Saguru's hand before energy-drain forced him into a dead sleep . With the Shadows here so sparse compared to Domino, he wasn't even sure he'd be able to manage the rift at all.
"Yes, just don't ask me to buy everyone dinner later."
"Deal." With a twist of will, Kaito ensured that the Dragon Capture Jar effects would remain permanently, then ended the trap. All of Vermouth's hidden weapons had been neutralized or destroyed with no hope of recovery, and the woman seemed to know when she'd been beaten—after the Jar vanished, she simply stood still with no attempt to run. "Let's get out of here and hail a ride."
Finding a taxi was a remarkably simple affair; the ride to Beika even more so. Kaito considered staying in the cab, but the combination of Saguru's hand and wanting to see Vermouth's fate to the end prompted him to escort Vermouth to Jodie's front door himself while Saguru stayed in the cab and moved as little as possible.
Vermouth, thankfully, seemed to have accepted her defeat with equanimity, or she simply didn't want to risk what else Kaito might have up his sleeves should she try to run. He herded her into the elevator and along the 21st floor without incident, then pushed the doorbell-intercom.
"Who is it?" came the cheerful inquiry, in English.
"Santemillion-san? My name is—" What the hell, he could use the owed favor, "—Kudou Shinichi. I have a present for you, compliments of the Kaitou Kid."
"Oh?" Jodie switched to Japanese. "What sort of present would the Kid-kun have for an English teacher?"
Wait a beat, always maintain timing…
"A bottle of Vermouth."
The door flew inwards, revealing a woman in casual clothes who looked… quite a lot like Vermouth, if you discounted the haircut, but maybe that was just the gaijin blood. She also swore like a polyglot sailor, sotto voce, contrasting with an expression of mingled shock and delight.
He smiled, keeping the charm to Kudou's level. "A little bird told me you might know what to do with her."
"Oh~, ye~s," Jodie purred, looking Vermouth up and down, smile gaining a tinge of perplexity as she processed that Vermouth was unrestrained but still staying put.
"She's all yours. No weapons at the moment, but I recommend handcuffs anyway. She seems to have lost her voice for the foreseeable future, but you won't mind, I hope."
"I'm sure we can work around that, ah… Kudou-kun, is it?"
He nodded. "I'm sure you'll take good care of her… Don't waste the chance. If a few things work out, I or an acquaintance of mine will be in touch in the future."
She stepped back to allow Vermouth entrance, and the older woman made the custody exchange with an elegant dignity that almost made Kaito envious. Almost. "Good luck to you."
He bowed slightly with a smile. "Thank you. Things are looking up."
He sauntered away without giving Jodie time to respond and headed back to the cab, address already filed carefully away for later. Saguru gave him a tired smile as the taxi carried them back to Ekoda.
"All in all, a productive night."
"Yeah. Even if it's not over yet."
When they made it home, Kuroba met them at the door. "Kudou-san is still out, since I gassed him on the way to the taxi, just in case. He's about as comfortable as he can get for being unarmed and restrained. I know you think whatever magic you did helped, but you can't be too careful… and the face thing is just creepy."
"Mmm," Kaito replied. It's easier when you're the one creating the weirdness rather than receiving it, I guess. And the weirdness at home isn't this sort of disparity, either. "Vermouth is taken care of and Nightmare should be, too. Kudou-kun is all that's left, not counting Hakuba-kun's hand."
"His hand?" Kuroba turned to Saguru. "What happened?"
Still cradling his hand carefully to his chest, Saguru responded blandly, "A wall got in my way."
"Uh… huh." Kuroba's expression implied he knew what that phrase meant when translated from Saguru-speak. "There's first-aid and painkillers in the bathroom medicine cabinet. Do you need me to stay watching Kudou-san?"
"No," Saguru replied, "particularly not if he unnerves you. I'll handle it."
"If you're sure…"
Saguru shrugged. "I've met him as a good man several times. Go get some sleep."
Kuroba exhaled a small sigh of relief. "Okay. Find me if you need anything."
He headed off to his bedroom, leaving Kaito and Saguru to continue to the den. Kudou had been set up on a futon on the floor, hands ziptied behind his back and ankles similarly restrained. Saguru looked over the setup with a critical eye.
"The room is warm enough for no blanket to be all right, but we'll likely need a basin handy later."
"You can get it after your hand bones aren't cracked. Sit down so I can look at it."
"Tyrant." Saguru sat down anyway, stiff posture the only sign of how badly his hand had to ache.
"Ringmaster," Kaito retorted, sitting beside him and holding out a hand. "Give."
Saguru cracked a smile. "Or you'll steal it?" He held it out, expression carefully clear of any signs of pain.
"Of course." Kaito took hold just below the wrist and very gently brushed his fingers around Saguru's already swollen knuckles, checking for any hidden damage.
Like Saguru had claimed, it didn't seem to need to be set, so the bones were only cracked rather than snapped altogether. His fingers twitched twice during Kaito's examination, but the blond didn't so much as hiss even once. It reminded Kaito of himself, in a weirdly disconcerting sort of way.
"It's not as bad as it could have been… You must have sturdy bones."
A pause. "So I'm told. And a high pain tolerance."
Kaito glanced up sharply at Saguru, but the blond shrugged the comment off. Looking back down at the hand that was mostly his fault, Kaito decided to let it go. His own curiosity wasn't a good enough reason to leave the injury as it was any longer than necessary, and if what Bakura had said about healing cards was true, in about a minute he wasn't going to care enough to pursue it. For now.
"Give me a sec…" He grabbed his side deck one-handed and sorted through the cards until he reached Blue Medicine. He wasn't sure how numbers translated to energy, so better to start low and do it twice than overreach entirely with Dian Keto.
Card in hand, he hesitated and looked back at Saguru. "You ready? I don't know exactly how this is going to work."
Saguru's expression could only be described as placid. "I need my hand back."
"…Right." Kaito took a deep breath and touched the card against Saguru's knuckles, feather-light. "Blue Medicine."
It turned out, Kaito acknowledged woozily about a minute later, that healing spell cards took more energy than a full summon—possibly even more than a Shadowrift. Despite having more stamina than when he'd originally started using the cards, he still felt not unlike he'd been hit by a truck.
A hand steadied him as he swayed in place. "Idiot. Are you all right?"
"…Gonna crash now." He gave Saguru a look that he vaguely realized expressed a lot more desperation than he ought to be comfortable with, but he couldn't help it. "Don't wanna dream."
Saguru slipped off the couch, giving him room to lie down. "I'll wake you up. My hand feels better than new, by the way."
"…'Kay. Good." His head dropped to meet the throw pillow, and he fell into the dark.
He waited in the dark for his appointment to arrive. It had been tempting to follow Kudou, though, after the coincidence of being on the same coaster train. Kudou hadn't seen the resemblance through his generic teenager's disguise, of course, but Kaito remembered him from three years ago when Kudou and his little girlfriend had visited Vermouth for the Golden Apple premiere.
He thought he hated Kudou. Hard to be sure—he didn't really feel anything anymore. But he'd watched Kudou from the shadows in New York, with his perfect little life and girl and mother and words of justice to a cracked murderess and mercy for Vermouth when she'd tried to kill them both and she'd fallen and he would have been FREE…
…Kudou made it so very easy to hate him.
He would have followed, but work took priority. Vermouth would be… unhappy… if he came home without results. Were he still eight, he might have cringed at the thought of her ire, but he wasn't that child anymore. Not that weak… not that naïve. But he still wasn't going to disappoint her.
His quarry for today finally finished his restless circle of the meeting area, shuffling along beneath the roller coaster and just below Kaito's perch. He adjusted his fedora—traditional crow headwear, and he looked rather good in it if he did say so himself—to sit more securely on his head. He slipped backwards to hang by his knees from the metal support, suspended in the shadows above the nervous man's bald head.
"Hello, CEO-san…"
It gave him some level of petty pleasure to watch the man jump like a startled rabbit. The exchange went smoothly, 150 million yen in an inconspicuous backpack for one copy of the blackmail photos depicting the company's trivial attempts at gun smuggling. The man knew it was trivial too, knew that he couldn't hope to match their scope or scale, but when he said so in a poor attempt at self-justification Kaito gave him a dangerous smile.
"You shouldn't go there, CEO-san, for your sake." He gave the words a moment to sink in, then swung up effortlessly to crouch on the beam and purred, "Get out while you still can."
He tracked the man's headlong flight towards the entrance of the park, and noticed an unexpected shadow that didn't belong to the surrounding concrete and steel. Backpack in place, two careless leaps took him just above the shadow, which resolved into the shocked and wary form of Kudou Shinichi.
"One of these things is not like the others," he sing-songed, pulling the hat brim just a touch lower even though the dusk concealed him already. "If it isn't Kudou Shinichi… detective."
Acting like nothing could ever happen to him, or shatter the pretty little bubble. Time for detectives to learn that things could go terribly, horribly wrong.
"Tell me, detective… how fast do you run? Faster than flight? …Faster than death?"
You're in my world now, and it will break you. I promise.
Kudou finally showed some sense and bolted. Kaito followed, riding the thrill of the chase with glee. No one else could match him when it came to speed. Falcons were unmatched as predators except by those who held the jesses…
"Kuroba! Dammit, wake up." Saguru's voice accompanied a hand roughly squeezing his upper arm. Kaito's eyes flew open, followed by a shudder that rippled from his scalp to his toes before Saguru added, "You sleep too quietly. Are you all right?"
"Kami…" Kaito swallowed down feeling sick and pushed himself upright, trying to see the futon on the floor. "Kudou-kun," he rasped.
Saguru shifted to let him see the floor better, not moving away. "Still asleep. The anesthetic gas is long since worn off, but I suspect he's simply exhausted in every sense of the word."
"How long? Not surprising… I think… I had to play merry hell with his mind, to get him back."
"Nearly five hours since you dropped off. And before you ask, I'm not tired; your card had enough left over to provide a significant energy boost." Saguru paused, then added, "How bad was it? I have a basic understanding of events, but not… of the experience, except what you mentioned about the end last time. …No one else will overhear, right now."
'Cept you, but… I trust you. …Right?
He probed the thought like one might investigate a loose tooth. Yes. He was the Kaito who trusted Saguru, and didn't hate Kudou. That was important.
"He hates him," Kaito murmured.
"The… assassin hates Kudou-kun?"
He nodded. "Kudou-kun and Mouri-san visited Vermouth in New York three years ago. Here, she took him somehow… There, she already had… not-me. And… the memory's not clear, but she was pretending to be a serial killer, baiting the FBI, and the other two ran across her and saved her life when he would have let her die. And Kudou-kun just got to walk away, back to his perfect little life." He shuddered again involuntarily at the unintentional echo of the dream's phrasing.
Saguru's hand squeezed his shoulder. "Why did he leave Kudou-kun alive and walk away?"
Why, why… It's always why with you. Gonna get you into trouble. Already did. Kaito blinked, tried to focus.
"He's… He gambles. Like her. Doesn't think he 'n' Kudou-kun are related at all, so it's a great big joke played on 'im by the universe… When Kudou-kun didn't die right away, decided if he survived then it'd be more fun to play with him till he broke. But he wasn't gonna help him either, so just walk away and let luck take over. Vague description, face disguised, no civilian identity to trace back to… It would have been safe, even before knowing Kudou-kun'd lost his sight. And then he could just take things away a little at a time, all the things he cared about… starting with justice. It's not justice when the criminal always gets away."
"Unless you count a thief whose reasons are just, simply not within the law." Saguru gave him a faint smile, then sobered. "And then I suppose it was security, when all he loved was threatened."
"I…" Not I. "He likes mind games. A lot. …Too."
"…You wouldn't be you without them, I suspect. Motive makes all the difference."
Kaito didn't get anywhere in formulating a response before Kudou shifted with a faint groan. "Oh kami, there had better be a bucket…"
Saguru moved quickly, getting Kudou arranged with a waiting basin before the retching began. By the time Kaito joined them on the floor, he felt confident enough to remove the zipties on Kudou's hands and feet. Kudou had too much damn dignity to do something like this unless it was genuine, because there were better ways to try to get people off guard than losing everything you'd eaten for the past twelve hours.
Kudou merely wrapped his arms around his stomach until the dry heaves finally petered out. Saguru tentatively lowered the bowl while Kaito grabbed a waiting cup of water and held it beneath Kudou's bowed head. "Here, you'll want this."
"Ngh." Kudou took it gingerly, hands shaking with fine tremors as he rinsed his mouth. "Feels like I've got the hangover from hell. 'Course," he allowed with a bitter, mirthless chuckle, "given my 'ssociations with alcohol…"
"Why this is hell, nor am I out of it," Saguru quoted in English, then continued in Japanese, "but that's only true of the memories left behind."
Kudou froze for a moment, and then Kaito had to catch the glass before it could hit the carpet as Kudou's head snapped up to stare at the blond.
"You're dead. I remember… Oh Kami-sama…" The tremor in Kudou's hands spread until his whole body shook in a manner disturbingly similar to the last time they'd met a teenage Kudou.
"We know what happened, mostly," Saguru murmured, laying a hand on Kudou's shoulder. "There was nothing you could have done. I won't lie and say everything will be fine… but it can only get better."
"I … So many people… I killed…"
That doesn't seem Vermouth's style to do often, but when even one is too many…
"We know," Kaito replied gently, and left it at that.
"And I didn't care." Kudou's voice wavered between numbness and utter horror, giving Saguru a glassy stare as worse things than a solid ghost likely paraded through his mind. "How could I not care?"
"She drugged you. Conditioned you." Kaito paused, forcing unconsciously clenched fists to relax. "Vermouth must have loved seeing someone from your family being the complete opposite of who you really were."
She seemed to think that way for m… not-me.
Saguru's hand lightly squeezed Kudou's shoulder. "Not to mention… Even with everything else, you saved the lives of at least two people as well."
"I… What?" Kudou's eyes refocused enough to give Saguru a startled look.
"Snake was going to put a bullet through Kid's heart when you stopped him, wasn't he? Nightmare would have been the same except for outside interference. And…" Saguru looked over his shoulder at the doorway. "I know you're eavesdropping. Come in already."
Kaito blinked in surprise as the child-size Hakuba sidled into the room, giving Kudou a wary look. "How did you know?"
"It's what I would have done when I heard Kudou-kun wake up," Saguru admitted with a half-smile.
Kudou ignored them in favor of giving Hakuba an utterly perplexed look. With the blond hair dyed brown, even without brown contacts the resemblance was far from obvious. "Who…?"
Hakuba paced a few steps forward, stopping well outside of arm's reach. "I'm Hakuba Saguru—the one you tried to kill. Tried to make it neat, clean, and impersonal, didn't you? The poison did this instead."
"I… shouldn't believe that's possible, but after Kaa—Vermouth…" Kudou trailed off and dropped his head. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't mean a damn thing, but I'm sorry… all the tests said it would be fast. Final. Not…" He swallowed. "I'm sorry."
Hakuba eyed Kudou for a long moment, then stepped forward again, seeming to accept that what Kaito had done to recover Kudou's old self had really worked. "I forgive you. I admit I'd rather be like this than dead, even if everyone else is so bloody tall."
Kudou laughed. There was still a bit of a broken edge to it, but it wasn't as bad as a few Kaito had heard.
"Thank you. I'm sorry. If I could fix it, I would… But who does that make you?" he added, looking back at Saguru. Kaito suspected that if Kudou weren't trying desperately not to upset the welcome he had among them, he would have checked Saguru's face for latex. Saguru seemed to know it too, because he tugged on his own cheek to show the natural skin.
"Hakuba Saguru, dimensional traveler. It's complicated."
"Dimens…" Another laugh. "Sure, why not? Does that make you Quinn Mallory or Peter Bishop?"
"Of course you would go by the American shows… More like The Doctor. My TARDIS is there on your left."
"I'd complain about being the vehicle, but after we turned Riku-kun into the luggage..." Kaito grinned at Kudou as the older teen gave him a wide-eyed look. "Hi. Kuroba Kaito, also dimensional traveler. Nice to meet you."
"But… If you're not Kid, then…"
"Kuroba is asleep in his room," Hakuba answered. "You've known, then?"
"Yeah, I figured it out, but Kaa…" Kudou trailed off, face white. "Vermouth knew already. What am I gonna do? She'll want me back."
Kaito allowed himself a faint smile of vicious satisfaction. "She's in law enforcement custody as we speak. You were a pet project, right?"
Kudou shuddered. "Personal lackey. If she wanted it done…"
"She's gone now, for good. No one else should even notice or care you're gone." Kaito smiled with more humor. "It's probably even safe for you to go home again, so long as you have a good cover story for your absence, now that you're properly you again."
Kudou gave him a sidelong glance. "You… did something. How?" A lost tone crept into his voice. "Why?"
Kaito moved a hand to Kudou's other shoulder. "Where we're from, you managed to become a detective. Helped a lot of people find justice. Chased Kid when Hakuba-kun was out of town. I wasn't going to let Vermouth, of all people, take that away from you. Not when I had the power to change you back to the guy I remember."
Kudou stared.
"Part of the TARDIS package. I couldn't stop her from taking you—"
Damn, wish I'd thought of that earlier—
:No, you don't,: Méraud mentally snapped. :Does the risk of getting lost to the winds of time mean nothing to you, when you can't make a proper connection to where you want to go, let alone when?
Okay, no…
"—I couldn't stop her from taking you," he repeated wryly, "but I wasn't leaving you there. I thought… anything would be better than leaving you like that forever."
Another shudder. "Kami-sama, yes. Needing brain bleach is still better than… that. I just… I can't risk going back. If she drugged me like you think, someone probably gave her the drugs to screw with my head, and all it takes is one person to put the pieces together for my parents and R-Ran's family to be dead."
I hate loopholes. Hatehatehate. Can't even trust Shadow Game answers.
"If that's true… you can work with Vermouth's new custodians. Santemillion-san and her colleagues already think that you handed her over to them in collusion with Kid, and—"
"They do?" Kudou looked startled.
"I took the liberty of using your name. They would be happy to know whatever you can tell them. All you have to say is that you were kidnapped, Kid got you out but it's not safe for you to go home, and you've been working together against them ever since." He gave Kudou a sharp smile. "It's true, just… flexible in terms of timeline."
"Heh. You would play with words like that."
"Comes with the job description."
"Insane but clever?" Saguru deadpanned.
"Quiet, you," Kaito replied with a roll of his eyes, then continued. "That way, the only people who would know the whole story would be your parents and maybe Ran-san, when you tell them."
"So long as I'm not on record somewhere, I never tried hacking Vermouth's private files…" Kudou had an almost wistful look. "I couldn't go with you? The Doctor traditionally has a companion as well as a TARDIS…"
And we two've proven empirically that we don't care about what you did, while the home team's regard is more iffy.
Kaito smiled slightly "There's already a Kudou-kun waiting for us back home, and I think three lookalikes is a bit much for plausibility. Not to mention that it's not fair to your parents, Ran-san, or a certain loudmouth detective from Osaka desperate for a friend as smart as he is."
Kudou's face shifted into the expression that could only be described as: 'Bwah?'
"Osaka? …Hattori Heiji-kun?"
"Bingo!" Kaito lilted in English. "You two make a disgustingly good investigative team."
Kudou bowed his head again. "You mean he and your Shinichi do. I'm not… I'm not that person, no matter how much I want to be. Wanted to be."
"Who you were doesn't change who you can become. Either direction," Kaito added, shoving away the still-too-fresh dream from his mind. "It just comes down to the choices we make, when we can make them."
"I…"
"It's your choice," he continued relentlessly. "Either you can take the step to move past what she did to you, or you can choose to believe that you're broken, and let her win."
"…Why do you have to sound so damn reasonable?" Kudou demanded plaintively "My parents…"
"Kudou-san's writer's website still has the news that you're missing on the front page," Hakuba broke in quietly. "I checked earlier this morning. It seems he's offered the rights to the royalties of the book published just after your disappearance to whomever effects your safe return."
"But they don't know…"
"I can't speak for your parents, Kudou-kun," Saguru offered unexpectedly, "but as an older brother? If Aidan were in your situation, I wouldn't give a damn about anything he'd been forced to do to stay alive—just that he was alive, and could come back to me."
Silence. Then, finally, something seemed to settle in place behind Kudou's eyes. He took a deep breath. "Okay. I… I don't want the Syndicate to get away with what they've done. I'll work with whoever those people are, and when it's safe, I'll… go home."
"And tell at least someone," Kaito prompted. If I don't get to bury and fester and explode, you don't either.
Kudou's lips quirked ever so slightly. "And… tell my parents."
Kaito smiled back. "All right, then. Hakuba-kun knows the address, he can get you there after we've gone…" Kaito trailed off, eyeing Hakuba's small frame. "Ne, Hakuba-kun, do you have any leads for getting big again?"
Blue Medicine had worked perfectly, after all. And if Hakuba didn't have access to whatever avenues Kudou had found to make it back…
To Kaito's surprise, Hakuba's face tinged faintly pink. "Ah, we do have one lead, yes. It's… complicated."
"We've got time," Kaito pointed out.
"Mmm." He hesitated, eyes darting to Kudou, and then sighed. "Very well. Several months ago, the drug's main creator tried to escape the Syndicate by taking her own poison, after they killed her sister."
"Sherry?" Kudou came to attention not unlike a bloodhound catching a familiar scent. "She's alive?"
Hakuba twitched slightly. "If you were a pet project, how the hell do you know her?"
"I… Vermouth escorted her from the U.S. to Japan when she finished her education and was ready to continue her parents' research. And Vermouth didn't go anywhere without me, even though I was never officially there. We talked on the plane ride over. …She was nice. And I knew the drug was hers because Vermouth said so when she gave it to me."
"I see." Hakuba massaged his forehead. "She had the same reaction I did, and with nowhere else to go she ran to the home of the only unconfirmed death among the human test subjects."
Memory sparked in Kaito's mind. "Small, red-brown hair, tendency to fade into the background except when making sarcastic remarks?"
"Yes…"
"Heh. She must have done the same where we're from, with Kudou-kun."
And isn't that interesting, that she ran and is still alive. Kudou must rub off on people. It's never ones he's close to that drop dead.
The dream Not-Kaito had carried some of Sherry's poison, though he hadn't had a face to put with the name. Leaving Kudou's death to chance had been more amusing, at the time… Kaito wasn't sure what had happened to her; not-him hadn't cared.
"Mmm. Well. To make a long story short," Hakuba continued, "my mother had returned to Japan after I disappeared, and apparently convinced my father to take Shiho-san in when Baaya found her collapsed by the front gate." A wry smile. "Mother has a soft spot for those in need, and always wanted a little girl. We attend the same elementary school now, and a 'play date' is a reasonable excuse for her to bring by the latest attempt for a cure she's managed in my lab."
"Mother returned to Japan?" Saguru had an odd note in his voice, and when Kaito glanced over his expression seemed almost wistful.
"…Yes. Apparently my possible death was sufficient for her to call Grandmother out as a domineering harridan and leave the estate management in the hands of a younger sibling who actually enjoys it."
"I see," Saguru unconsciously echoed Hakuba's earlier reply. "Does… do they know you're all right?"
Hakuba was quiet for a very long moment. "No. I won't risk it."
Kaito squeezed Kudou's shoulder again, before the other teen could get it into his head to relapse back into more pained apologies. "Well, with any luck, it'll be over sooner rather than later. Which brings us back to the first question… are you having any luck on the cure front?"
Hakuba sighed. "Not yet. She hasn't had much time, and… without her notes, it's almost impossible to reverse engineer an antidote without a sample of the poison."
"Wait… so you need a sample of the Apotoxin?" Kudou looked ridiculously hopeful, like a puppy appealing for a piece of steak.
"If not a copy of the research notes, yes," Hakuba allowed.
"Hang on—um—" Kudou's hands went to his torso. "Where's my coat?"
"Here." Saguru retrieved the folded cloth from the corner of the room, where it lay on top of the unopened case Kudou had been carrying.
"Thanks, um, let's see…" Kudou trailed his fingers along the inside lining until they found what he was looking for, and he pulled out a tiny black tin from a concealed pocket. Flipping it open, he revealed three small pills held by a rectangle of thin foam. "Would this help?"
"Bloody hell," Hakuba breathed, tone somewhere between revulsion and reverence. The foam had a place for a fourth pill, but it was empty.
"After you, I haven't—didn't—she didn't need any like…" Kudou's eyes darted to the case in the corner before his free hand covered his face. "I'm sorry. I can't fix… most of what I did. But if these can make a difference… please take them."
Hakuba did without further comment. "Thank you, Kudou-kun. This may be exactly what we needed."
Kudou nodded, silent.
Kaito exhaled a breath of relief. He would have used the Shadows if there hadn't seemed to be any alternative, but he was just as happy to keep the energy he had.
"Everything seems to work out, then." Everyone turned at Kuroba's neutral voice in the doorway, Kudou tensing beneath Kaito and Saguru's hands.
Damn, I'm good, if I don't even notice myself. "Morning. Been there long?"
"Since you got labeled as a vehicle, but you didn't seem to need my input in the conversation."
"Good, then." Better to have seen Kudou acting human before we try leaving. "Kuroba-kun, meet Kudou-kun. Kudou-kun, Kuroba-kun."
"Hi," Kudou said softly, eyes flicking briefly up to Kuroba's and then back down to the hands in his lap. "I'm sorry. I know it doesn't help, I know I'll be saying it for the rest of my life, but… I'm sorry."
Kudou missed the way Kuroba's mouth tightened slightly, the way Kaito knew he did himself when he was angry for someone rather than angry with the person, before Kuroba sighed and shook his head. "I don't blame you. I blame Vermouth and her sick sadistic streak. I just… need time to get used to this."
Kudou nodded, one thumb stroking across the back of his other hand in an almost nervous tic. "I'll get out of your hair soon. I can take you back to Vermouth's base of operations and give you first stab at whatever might be useful to you there before I go to Santemillion-san and hand it over."
"Well, not entirely out of my hair." Kuroba's lips quirked at Kudou's confused look. "Supposedly you're my contact, if Hakuba's FBI agents are willing to collaborate with a thief in order to destroy the crows' nest."
"Oh." Kudou hesitated. "Are you okay with that?"
Kuroba shrugged. "I will be."
"You'll need help reintegrating into real society when all this is over," Hakuba added. "It might as well be us, since we'll know why."
"I wouldn't want to trouble you…"
Kaito reached over, deliberately slow, and ruffled Kudou's hair. "Kudou-kun, trust me. Your company will be welcome, especially since when Kid is gone Hakuba-san will need people on our level to help him keep Kuroba-kun from getting bored."
"Hey!"
Hakuba ignored Kuroba's amused protest and nodded, child's face comically serious. "I'll need all the help I can get."
Kudou actually cracked a smile. "If you're sure, I guess maybe I could give you a hand."
"Good," Kaito declared in satisfaction. "Of course, on that front…" He glanced at Kuroba. "About Kid. No promises, but you might consider taking Kudou-kun to see his parents, wherever they are. They can keep a secret from the public sphere, and you could ask that instead of royalties, Kudou-san get you access to the Hope diamond long enough to check it against the moon."
Okay, he could understand why Kudou had had so much fun telling him about Pandora that time. The reactions were priceless.
Kuroba hissed through his teeth. "That's crazy… but it makes a sick sort of sense. Hell. You're sure about his parents?"
"…I can't give a full guarantee, but I can't imagine Kudou-kun could have kept up the charade back home without them knowing and keeping the secret—and it's just as important, here."
Kuroba eyed him askance. "What about with Kid? Given what just happened…"
"Dad used to chase him," Kudou spoke up hesitantly, "but… I think it was more like you and Hakuba-kun, before… before he was shrunk, than how Inspector Nakamori chases you."
"Apparently Dad taught Yukiko-san disguise magic," Kaito added. "With how smart people say Kudou-san is… maybe he knew."
Hakuba smiled wryly at Kuroba. "We two seemed to come to an understanding well enough, and if it's enough to end Kid's quest before someone decides to reintroduce the snipers now that Vermouth isn't holding them back…"
Definitely a good idea, if you've fallen out of practice when it comes to dodging them.
"Mmm." Kuroba nodded, seeming to come to a decision. He gave Kudou a look of consideration, gauging the older teen's state of mind. "Could you handle it? If it's too soon for anything in person, you could always make a video recording to tell them you're all right."
There was no mistaking Kudou's look of relief. "A recording. I think I could handle that."
"Okay. Hakuba, you track down what country the Kudous are located in right now while Kudou-kun and I make a video. Then I can get him in disguise and we can head for Vermouth's place before mom gets home and wonders where all the lookalikes came from. From there Kudou-kun can call the FBI to come meet him, and you and I can track down the Kudous if they're in Tokyo."
If one thing seemed to be universally true, it was that once a Kaito decided on his course of action, he didn't delay.
"It looks like you're off to a good start."
Kuroba smiled at him. "Much better than we would have been without you."
Kudou nodded fervently in agreement. "Thank you. I… Thanks."
Kaito smiled faintly. "Glad to help."
Something to counterbalance the nightmares with. But would it be too much to ask for the next try home to be, if not home, some place that hasn't gone to hell?
He sighed. "Not to cut and run, but if things seem to be settled, we ought to be moving on. Our absence is sort of covered for, but the less time we're gone, the better."
Kuroba nodded. "Be careful… I hope you get home."
Me too.
Their departure went much smoother than their arrival had; once all their belongings were gathered and last goodbyes made, and Kaito remembered to tell Kuroba to visit Touda at the mall sometime, Kaito led Saguru out of the house and back towards the park.
"Is there a reason you were reluctant to reach for home from inside?" Saguru inquired mildly as they went. "Hakuba-san looked sorely disappointed to not get to see our pathway for a second time."
"He'll live… and I didn't want to give Kudou-kun any temptation. Even though he agreed to stay, he did ask to come along." Kaito gave Saguru a good-natured glare. "Remember what happened the last time someone agreed to stay home?"
Saguru smirked. "I'm afraid I haven't the foggiest idea what you mean."
"Uh-huh. Sure." They entered the park, deserted due to the early morning, and Kaito took a deep breath and reached for the Shadows. As always, they were scarcer here than in Domino City, but practice helped to ease the difficulty (if not the energy drain) that it took for him to grasp them and then pull for Aoko-home-outofsight.
The Shadowrift opened.
Quinn Mallory refers to Sliders, and Peter Bishop is a character on Fringe. Dragon Lady is yet another TVTrope.
Next time: The insanity continues. Please review!
Ocianne
4/10