Thanks to Ellen, Wren, and Sagurus for betaing, and Snickerer for additional contributions.

My completed draft is 25 chapters. Barring RL issues, I will be updating twice a month until I can work out the edits to my satisfaction, and then weekly.

Ratiocinations

And what you do not know is the only thing you know
And what you own is what you do not own
And where you are is where you are not.
~East Coker, III.45-47. T.S. Eliot.

Luckily, Saguru vacated Jii's bathroom by the time breakfast was winding to a close and Kaito was able to swap places without any fuss. When he emerged again, the adults had gotten to work and the kotatsu was abandoned other than Saguru, who was taking stock of his bag and carefully repacking the contents from where they'd been organized on the table surface.

Kaito plopped in the seat across from Saguru, propping his elbows on an edge of free space and his chin in his hands. "Hi."

Saguru glanced up from rerolling a spare change of clothes into more compact form and offered a faint smile. "Hello to you, too. How are you doing?"

"Feeling mostly back to baseline. I'm pretty sure I could make a shadowrip—a normal one, I'm swearing off any more intentional time-mucking forever before I break the universe with a paradox—by tonight."

Saguru quirked a doubtful eyebrow even as he stowed the clothes away and Kaito added, "Without being tempted to keel over right after."

"Good." Saguru moved on to the next thing, the motion drawing Kaito's attention to a small tin he'd never seen but found distressingly familiar.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Saguru followed Kaito's gaze and let out a quiet, "Oh." Picking it up, he slid the cover to reveal foam padding with a single dose of apotoxin nestled snugly in place. "We were rather too busy to discuss it at first, and then there seemed to never be a good time to bring it up, while we were recovering from… while we were resting last week."

Kaito nodded, hating how his face automatically tightened before he could smooth it back out again at the elliptical reminder of Vermouth's kidnapping plans.

And oven mitts and gloating monologues and too-curious smug—

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, then did it again. Saguru's concerned look was back by the time Kaito successfully set the thoughts aside, but at least he'd been quick enough to avoid comment. He pushed his voice lighter but didn't bother with a smile—Saguru'd never believe it for a second and that was just a waste of energy. "Now's as good a time as any."

"Mmm." Saguru closed the tin and set it back on the table, anticipating correctly that Kaito didn't want to touch the damn thing. "The Kudou-kun that you rescued gave three samples to the other me; amidst our preparations to leave I persuaded him to share one, since we won't have any such advantages to obtain it back home."

"I'm amazed he gave in—and wish I'd thought of it myself." Hindsight was perfect, etc, etc. At least one of them had been thinking farther ahead than the shortest path home.

"You have had far more pressing concerns, wouldn't you say?" Saguru couldn't read Kaito's thoughts, or—since the sunglasses were still on his head despite Kurou being multiple rooms and a building story away—pick up Kaito's current storm of emotions, but the tone of his voice implied a pretty good estimation of them anyway.

Meitantei.

Kaito waggled one hand in the air noncommittally before returning it to under his chin and let the sarcasm bleed through to take the edge off everything else. "Ehh, maybe. A few. Here or there." He sighed, more serious. "But I'm glad you did think of it. At least this way we have some, and we don't have to remind Kurou-san he's got any until he's ready to face that side of it, while still having a visiting gift for Kudou-kun that might give me enough extenuating circumstances to avoid his handcuffs."

"Given what else we've seen this month, I think the odds are high in your favor." Saguru retrieved his notebook and stowed it in a designated pocket. "And if for some incomprehensible reason Kudou-kun doesn't agree, when we can approach him about this together…" Saguru shook his head. "We'll argue him around somehow."

Kaito couldn't help his smile at the conviction in Saguru's voice. For all that the detective had proven his change in perspective more than once in the last month, it was still cheering to know that he actually wanted to keep Kaito alive and intact, enough to help with Kid.

"Careful there, your protective streak is showing."

Saguru pinned Kaito with another look, this one riding the edge of 'you twit'. "As the last 36 hours have rather pointedly demonstrated your perspective on anything happening to me, Kuroba-kun, I think it's not unreasonable I should care what happens to my own friends."

...Well. When you put it that way.

"In that case, I think you can use Kuroba when we're out of here. Ne, Hakuba?" Kaito grinned winningly, and after the initial flash of surprise cleared from his expression, Saguru smiled in return.

"Certainly. On the topic of getting home," Saguru continued as he packed more away, "it would behoove us to move on as soon as possible, despite our initial agreement with Inspector Hakuba including our contributing to the explanation of his disappearance. Now that he's had time to adjust to the situation, I don't know if he still will insist on some form of proof from us, but if so I think I could make a short video on Jii's camera."

Kaito shifted to drum his fingers thoughtfully on the tabletop. "Leaving something that permanent behind isn't my first choice, given everything. I could also open a rip directly into Aoko's house, theoretically, for him to make the explanations sooner than later, but I also don't like the idea of compromising the best way to keep her and her dad safe."

"I agree. Even if your travel method were an option, reaching out to her at this point can only end badly. Not only because of the danger to her, but…" Saguru hesitated, then shook his head. "It would be kinder to not show her—or anyone who knew him as a child—what Kurou-san could have been, by meeting you. Hence why I think it would be wisest, if we do some sort of video, for you to be the cameraman and I'll give whatever message we can justify leaving behind."

Kaito winced. "You have a point."

Inspector Hakuba at least never MET Kurou before this, just had Aoko's stories. Aoko and Nakamori'd remember, and Mom…

"No visits, and definitely not more than a video of you if Inspector Hakuba absolutely insists," Kaito agreed. "Kurou-san is hopefully gonna be more stable by the end of the investigation, but that's a lot of hell to relive. For everyone."

"Indeed. We can determine what he'll argue for first, and work in response once we know." Saguru cleared the last of the table, then steepled his fingers together. "That aside… Before we can leave, we need to be certain that it's safe to do so. I may have been falling asleep, but I believe I recall you wanted to speak with Lupin-san together?"

"...Yeah. There's a lot going on here that we don't know. Or he hasn't seen fit to tell me, whether because we've had too much distracting us or he doesn't think I'd take it well, or whatever. Since we're not planning for any travel today, I can probably summon Méraud and Lupin-san both and we can worry about anything else I might need to pull off, tomorrow."

Saguru raised an eyebrow. "As much as you believe in your recovery abilities, I would suggest only one, unless there's a way around the amount of energy you typically use."

:As it happens,: Lupin's smooth baritone filled Kaito's thoughts, :If you open the way to your side of reality for us, I have other ways to preserve my presence without your involvement.:

"Hang on, you can maintain yourself?" Kaito asked aloud for Saguru's benefit. "Why didn't you do that during the Shadow Game?"

:Shadow Games have rules we all must follow, young one. However, as this is not a Game...:

"Okay, I walked into that one. So if I summon both of you here and now, I only have to keep up Méraud being on this side?"

:Yes,: Méraud answered patiently, :And for these circumstances I don't mind being smaller to conserve your energy.:

"Oh, good." Kaito smiled wryly at Saguru. "I can do a miniature dragon without being offensive. Ideally we'd have somewhere private for this, but given what else Jii-chan's already guessed about us…"

Saguru nodded. "We're safer here than anywhere else. Let's get it over with, then, if you're ready."

"Ready as I'll ever be…" Kaito retrieved the cards before he could change his mind and placed them face-up on the kotatsu, first for Lupin and then for Méraud. "White Magical Hat and Luster Dragon."

Oogh.

He wobbled in place as Méraud appeared one side of the kotatsu, medium-dog size so they were all about the same height when seated, and on the other side Lupin somehow managed to corporate in a perfect seiza position despite wearing his typical western-style formal suit. ...Which was black instead of Kid's whites, with a carnation in the lapel, and his face shape beneath the black top hat was decidedly Western with a prominent, aquiline nose.

"I do beg your pardon for this rabbit trail," Saguru began with an undertone of disbelieving humor, "but are you being the Arséne Lupin of the classic illustrations?"

Lupin smirked, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that boded well for this visit having an actual productive conversation by the end. :As entertaining as my last appearance was, that particular suit is not appropriate for this time and place.:

Understatement of the year, with Jii-chan a closed door away.

"Wait," Kaito added aloud, "You recognize the illustration too?"

Saguru raised an eyebrow. "A thorough search of Sherlock Holmes fiction and history is hardly going to miss the 'Herlock Sholmes' controversy that occurred between Doyle and Leblanc. The first time I ran out of classic detective literature I devoured gentleman thief literature until I exhausted Lupin, Raffles, and Templar, among others. The Lupin illustrations were distinctive in an entirely different way from Holmes's inverness and pipe."

He quirked a smile and continued, "Besides, do you think I'd have traveled around the world expressly to chase a kaitou if I weren't already well-versed in the archetype?"

Maybe?

Before Kaito could reply, Méraud cut in, :It would be better to discuss that side of things later, I'm afraid. Kaito-kun is still using energy for this.:

Reluctantly, Kaito refocused. "Right. Sure. Let's start with the fact that earlier, you told me that we didn't currently need to worry about whoever was behind making the Shadowthread that pulled us here in the first place. What happened, and will we need to start worrying again?"

:The need for worry is past,: Lupin answered, in what would have been a reassuring tone in most circumstances. :The entity responsible for the Shadowthread was of sufficiently similar nature to us that we encountered it shortly after your arrival, watching its handiwork. We accomplished negotiation on your behalf while you were understandably distracted handling Kurou's… situation. The thread has been neutralized, as you discovered, and will not be remade.:

"How can you be sure of that?" Kaito pressed, mind whirling over possibilities. "Why was it even made in the first place? What was it trying to do besides make us both clinically insane?"

He clamped his teeth shut with a click after the last question, because if he kept talking he was going to get loud enough to be heard at very least in the adjacent bedroom, and possibly even downstairs.

Lupin didn't so much as blink at Kaito's outburst. :It should be no surprise that a group operating as his past keepers did might collect its fair share of enemies, both the mundane and the... less so. Of course, if it was so easy as to extract revenge through sheer hate, one would see it everywhere. No. This was… perhaps call it opportunity. Finding a mind that had already been twisted enough that there were cracks to get in, a loophole just wide enough for sufficient anger and determination to find a foothold. A being of such motivation would be unlikely to care about something so mundane as collateral damage.:

The furious noise Saguru made dragged Kaito's attention away from Lupin to see the other teen forcing down a snarl. "This was a deliberate attack on Kurou-san's mental faculties with Kuroba's nightmares as a concomitant side effect?"

While Kaito's thoughts chased a string of interrogatives of varying obscenity like a dog chasing its tail, Méraud replied, :In essence? Yes. It was in many ways an attack of opportunity, in that the entity was able to reach far enough away to find Kaito-kun traveling through a level of reality it could access and make the connection at all, but… Kurou-san was the target, and everything Kaito-kun experienced appears to have been feedback through the connection.:

"In other words," Saguru said, now in the deliberately level voice he tended to use for deductions, particularly ones he disliked, "The circumstances we found Kurou-san in were in fact the late stages of the intended endgame. In that event, how were you able to accomplish any sort of negotiations on our behalf while we were trying to talk Kurou-san out of… giving it what it wanted?"

Lupin shrugged, nonchalant. :As soon as you opened the rift, you were noticed—not unsurprising, given your connection. Fortunately, the intensity of focus on Kurou-san meant that the open path to that other reality held no interest, and I preceded you in order to gauge what might be necessary to achieve your goals in this one.:

"Hang on—" Kaito turned to Méraud, eyes narrowed. "You said Kurou-san was alone in the apartment."

:Ah. Actually...: Méraud had the decency to look guilty, insofar as such an expression could be reflected in a dragon's face. :I told you that he was the only human nearby. You were concerned enough about Kurou-san that you didn't ask further, and we thought it better for you to concentrate on that, since we couldn't do anything about him but we could intercede on your behalf in regard to the Shadowthread.:

"Let me guess," Saguru broke in, tone acerbic. "Lupin-san's idea?"

...I would probably be more mad about the lying by omission if it weren't infuriatingly PRACTICAL. And I'm too tired to be angry, yay for Saguru doing it for me.

Lupin clearly had no sense of shame for the misdirection, but then he was a magical being and Kaito was starting to wonder if he was some sort of archetypal incarnation of gentleman thieves. When it came to Kid, shame was definitely something that happened to other people, and Lupin felt like Kid moved a few degrees out of phase.

Lupin answered, :You had no way to communicate effectively to our side of reality, and we, no way to directly influence this realm. It made for a rather tidy division of labor and attention. After all, it meant that I was only acting as I knew you would—had you the time and energy to know of the circumstances—when I took the liberty of inciting the skeleton of a Shadow Game on your behalf to achieve the outcome of removing the thread.:

Even Saguru seemed distracted from his anger by this new revelation. "You're capable of such a thing?"

:In the unique circumstances of that particular situation, yes. A wager of sorts is not so difficult. Particularly when the other party is fully confident in their side of the wager, and does not feel they have anything to lose even should the outcome fall against them. You could say that the link of the Cards between us was enough to make a wager on your behalf, which the entity sparked into a full Game by agreeing to the rules.:

After a moment to digest the idea, Kaito asked, "So what was the wager and the rules? You obviously came out on top or we'd all be a lot worse off right now."

:Obsession on the part of metaphysical beings can obtain a wealth of information, and when focused on Kurou-san… One might be unsurprised that it hinged on whether Kurou-san had enough humanity left in him that someone from the outside, such as yourself, might be able to elicit a convincing sign of it, or whether the man you dreamt was all that was left.:

"But in that case," Saguru said in mild (or maybe not so mild) disbelief, "you were negotiating that we could elicit this supposed 'genuine response' while we were barely starting a conversation with Kurou-san. Before Kuroba even made the portal at all, since no appreciable time passed between when we left and when we returned."

:I had every confidence in you, and your stubbornness,: Lupin replied with an oddly approving smile. :And as Méraud followed you, every confidence in her ability to shield you from notice in the wrong time.:

Oh, hell.

"Was that related to why Méraud told us—me—to wait in the utility room in the stairwell?"

:Yes,: Méraud admitted when he looked at her. :Kurou-san was followed for… quite some time, including to and from that building. You were very lucky its obsession meant it had no interest in me, and my presence was enough to hide the three of you while the Copycat was inspected and found convincing. Even more luckily, you left the past quickly enough that you weren't present to be found when it went looking for targets for the opposite end of the thread from Kurou-san.:

She glowered at Kaito, which was an unsettling expression in a dragon. :You don't want to consider what paradoxes might have occurred had he found this-age you in the past instead of the past-you who started this all by dreaming.:

Saguru paled at the suggestion and Kaito shivered, equally disturbed. "I already swore off time shenanigans forever, but thank you for the reminder."

Saguru added, voice dry as dust, "When the dragon from another plane of existence is hyperventilating about your violations of the laws of reality, I think it's safe to say that you are doing something wrong."

"Yes, point made, I do not have all the timey-wimey bells and whistles of the TARDIS to mess around and still maintain reality—I will never try this again, I promise."

Meraud sighed, with a ruefully fond smile. :But you don't regret it.:

With a shrug, Kaito replied, "Pretty sure I saved at least two lives and my own sanity in the bargain, I think I'm incapable of regretting that."

Saguru shook his head. "Very well, we clearly came through that intact because of Kuroba's preternatural luck, but it's thankfully over and we don't appear to have broken reality, at least that we know of. Returning to the wager, again, why did this entity agree to such a thing, even if confident? Also, I understand that in the nature of a true Game the penalties are enforceable, but how do we know we aren't at risk of it coming after Kurou-san or us again?"

:Your safety in this wager was not dependent on a successful outcome.: Lupin smiled, sharp and dangerous and just at the edge of not looking human at all. :Words are not my only weapon, but trust that I am exquisitely good at their effective use.:

"Also, Duel Monsters is based out of Egypt," Kaito offered as the thought struck him. "In that context, words are powerful and even a verbal deal isn't something you'd go back on. Especially not if that thing's agreement to the rules is what made it a proper Game, not just a bet."

"...Still." Saguru had his eyebrows raised at Lupin, clearly skeptical. "Why agree at all?"

:Pride,: Lupin answered simply. :To be called mistaken, when justification hangs on one's certainty, and winning will prove what one thinks is the truth? There was no reason to refuse.: After a moment, he added, :And had there been in truth nothing in Kurou-san which you could hope to redeem, leaving the entity to finish its intended purpose would have been the fastest way to sever its hold on you.:

Kaito took a moment to breathe through more mental profanity. "I would be a lot more angry if I thought there was a reasonable way you could have explained this ahead of time, or if the outcome had come out worse. For the record? If there is ever anything remotely like a next time, still try."

Lupin inclined his head, which was the best Kaito could hope for. He leaned back and scrubbed a hand through his hair, hating how much of this situation's outcome had depended on luck and him being… well, him.

...Or maybe that was the whole point.

"So," Saguru mused, interrupting Kaito's thoughts, "Kuroba managed the winning condition for the wager that you made, which dissolved the Shadowthread, and stopped the dream crossover. That would place it at approximately Kurou-san's breakdown on Hakuba-san… which I suppose does match the nature of response you mentioned was necessary."

Méraud nodded. :It was genuine enough for the Shadows; the Game ended automatically. The entity is not a threat to either one of you. It's… over.:

Equally the best and most surreal news I've had all month.

"Okay." Kaito looked between them, but trying to read the private thoughts of two interdimensional beings was a study in frustration. "...Is there anything else you aren't telling me?"

:Lifetimes worth,: Lupin responded so smoothly you could almost forgive the snark. :But for this particular situation, I believe you know what matters.:

"Great. I'll let you go do whatever else you both do when I'm not providing free entertainment, then." When they both nodded agreement, Kaito exhaled and ended the summons, then turned to Saguru while suppressing a yawn.

"If you think I missed anything, I'll try again later. I refuse to go straight back to bed from energy drain, it isn't even noon."

"No, I think you covered the critical points… Lupin-san and Méraud-san both consistently referred to the source of the thread as an 'it', which to me implies something like the Shadow Seer—fitting enough, since that was where the thread took its tighter hold, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah, it was." Kaito shuddered at the memory of the phantom pain. "Anything but 'entity' wouldn't do the Seer justice, and I'm betting there's a lot in the Shadows and Dark that defy conventional descriptions." Maybe even the Light; it's a big universe out there.

"Indeed. You said before the Seer had predicted we would become adrift between realities like this… The bits where it was talking about the lodestone failing and being lost, I presume. Do you think we've encountered the rest of what it mentioned?"

"Pretty sure, as of visiting here—I've used mulling over them as a distraction when I've run out of cat videos or energy to practice magic tricks, and don't want to freak out over whether Riku-kun and the others made it out alive."

Saguru winced, momentarily distracted. "I'm certain they're all fine; there were so many of them, and all determined… Since the thread is gone now, you could always aim for him first when we leave here, rather than return home and then leave again."

"That's… a good idea, actually. If they're okay, they're probably somewhere safe by now. Maybe even back where they grew up."

"And it would be good to reassure them that we didn't vanish forever, as well. They certainly deserve that much."

"Yeah. I think Aoko might creatively maim me if I show up and then vanish inside of a few days again, so… Riku-kun first."

It'll give me some time to recalibrate to not living in each other's pockets once we get home, too. That's gonna be weird.

"You also promised to help in the matter of Axel-san, if you remember. You were nearly unconscious from exhaustion after pulling off what you did at the time…"

"I remember." Kaito smiled wryly. "You were very mother hen."

"You were very sacrificial idiot."

"No, that was Axel-san. And actually, I'm pretty sure that was one of the things the Seer mentioned. Not a hundred percent, it's the one I'm least sure of, but… 'Flicker, flitter, pale little ghost' was the first thing it said, and Axel was sputtering into actual non-existence as soon as we caught up. Not that I think that thing sees in anything like a linear fashion, especially since it was talking about smoke coiling without fire and all the rest at the end right after Axel'd made his light show, but…"

"Flickering and coiling fire were an apt description of what we saw then, and you were dangerously close to corpse-gray after that, at least before that elixir." Saguru's disgruntled tone and expression made it clear that he still hadn't quite forgiven Kaito for that one.

Kaito rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. I haven't gotten any less impulsive, have I?" Everything involving Inspector Hakuba had been half-impulsiveness, half-desperation, but it wasn't actually too far off from how he'd reacted to Axel back then. And he'd promised Saguru after the whole broken hand debacle that he'd try.

Saguru sighed. "It's been less than a month and you've been under an obscene amount of stress. I'll take the fact that you're aware of it as progress." He offered a smile like a peace offering. "So long as you don't forget to include me in your death-defying plans once we're home again, I'll be satisfied."

"Deal." Kaito turned back to less depressing thoughts. "So, the other riddles. I think we're through them all, even though one of them I only realized when I was thinking about it yesterday."

He ticked off on his fingers: "Lodestone we covered, and that includes the creepy bits about slipping through gaps and Shadows being everywhere, which definitely fits what happened to us when we fell and where I pulled us to." Kaito spared a thought to hope that Kudou, that poor bastard, had actually taken to heart being given Kaito's identity and was doing better now.

"Remnants and empty shells, in context, was definitely about the Nobodies, not us. It called us 'lostlings' and then snarled and tangled, which are terms you'd use about thread, so I'm pretty sure that was about the thread itself. Especially when it called me 'little puppet' right after, and we now know that I was being used against Kurou-san without knowing it ever since the thing was hooked in."

Saguru nodded, displeased expression matching Kaito's own feelings, but at least it was over now. Kaito continued, "The one I couldn't figure out was 'Time to change things the same', and the bits about loopholes and slipknot noose. But now I'm sure that was saving Inspector Hakuba, even more so since Méraud mentioned we narrowly escaped bad attention from that Dark entity while we were back there. Then. Whatever."

"It does all appear to fit, and thank goodness for that. I've had sufficient adventures of this caliber for the foreseeable future."

Kaito automatically glanced at Saguru's sunglasses, then down to the gloves. "...Are you going to be okay when we do get home?"

Saguru shrugged, lacing his fingers together. "I'll manage. I'm always going to stand out no matter which side of the world I'm in; I might as well resume cultivating deliberate eccentricity."

"Was that the point of the Ulster coat? I thought you were getting the chance to cosplay out of your system." If Kaito was teasing, there were less avenues to darker trains of thought, even if Saguru's answering smirk was paler than usual.

"Six of one, half dozen of the other. I traded it out when it worked better on the reporters than the officers, particularly with Kid's ease of using it in a disguise, and I wanted the respect of the Task Force more than the press. As for myself at this particular time, I do believe that returning to familiar environs will help. Time, as well, to work on Koizumi-san and Solomon-san's advice... and I can at least control my activities outside of school, for the most part."

Kaito grimaced at the thought of group sports PE in summer gym clothes, too tired to force the expression down, and Saguru pursed his lips. "Don't make me call out your overdeveloped sense of guilt again. I chose to follow you against your advice, I certainly don't regret having helped ensure you'll be returning home alive and intact, and you are no more responsible for this than if I were in another car accident tomorrow."

"I know, I just… I wish I could fix it as straightforwardly as we fixed my nightmare issue."

Saguru snorted. "The last two days are not what I would describe as straightforward."

"Comparatively?"

"Time travel and indescribable eldritch entities will eclipse all other contenders, every time."

"Fine, fix rather than alleviate." Kaito still had nightmares now, but those were going to fade when they weren't being artificially maintained. ...Although not having Saguru nearby to be reassuringly alive soon was not a great thought either. He was going to have to figure out how to deal with that.

Saguru ran the thumb of one hand along the back of the other, the motion pulling Kaito back to the present. "I can't say I don't wish there was an alternative to spending the rest of my life with a sixth sense, but I'm not going to sabotage what I can do by dreaming endlessly on what I can't change. My family is at least familiar with sensory overload because of Aidan, and Baaya is the soul of circumspection. I'll have support to manage school, even if I continue my leave of absence from classes for some time on the pretext of the case they believe I'm on now, or illness, or both."

He managed another smile. "I can persuade my mother at least I prefer to stay in Japan again for the time being, and I've managed self-study well enough before. Though if you want to visit to bring homework assignments or study together for university entrance exams, it would be a good pretext to safely discuss Kid plans in the future, as well."

"If your anti-surveillance is as good as this Kudou's, I can do that, easy," Kaito answered, relieved. "Aoko might insist on coming sometimes, though. She fusses."

"She'd be welcome. Baaya will be in raptures to regularly prepare tea for more than the two of us; my father and grandfather tend to live at their respective offices."

"Given their positions, I can't say I'm shocked. ...Just tell me if I start to overstay my welcome."

"After this month?" Saguru shook his head. "You've rather removed 'impossible' from my vocabulary, so let's say highly unlikely, instead."

Kaito grinned. "Sounds good to me." He hesitated, then plunged onward. "When you feel up to it, you could always come meet the doves properly, too. They like feather-scritches." He owed them so, so many treats and scritches after this, though at least Mom had been home to cover his absences. And he'd promised Saguru a tour of the Kid room. It'd be nice to share that with someone who could fully appreciate it, Riku had been impressed but didn't have the background that Saguru did.

Saguru smiled more fully, seeming to remember the same promise. "I'd like that."

"Okay. And when you do make it back to classes—" not if, definitely when "—if it ever gets too much, give me a signal and I'll get you out. I've done weirder under cover of mistbombs and I at least owe you that much." He headed off Saguru's automatic objection with, "Even if you don't let me guilt over your situation, I owe you for the fact you came along in the first place to make sure I made it home again. Remember?"

"...Yes, I suppose that's true," Saguru allowed. "If you insist, we can work something out when it becomes relevant."

"Yep." Kaito took a moment to stretch, waiting for if Saguru had anything to add in the lull, but the blond seemed content to leave the conversation there. "So. I think we need today as a rest day, and to make sure Hakuba-san and Kurou-san aren't running into any unexpected issues. Maybe do the cooking so Jii doesn't have to while he's doing ID-work, that stuff gets fiddly when you're making it pass official inspections."

"Depending on his willingness to allow more people in the kitchen, I'm certain we can come up with something appetizing. We can speak with Hakuba-san about our leaving at dinner, then. I'm delighted to hear I don't have to argue you into resting, for once."

"Hey!"