Chapter 14: Ephemeral

We all got out of the car and Baaya refused to leave.

"I've never seen, and I don't know, either of these two and you expect me to leave you with them in this kind of neighborhood?"

"Baaya it's okay. I wouldn't want anyone else with me. Hattori-kun has proven that he's stronger than a lot of people I know and… Natsuki-kun," he stumbled on my name, "could escape a hurricane if he had too. I'll be perfectly safe."

She eyed us both and since Hattori and I were both confident in our abilities she believed it.

"Baaya you have my cell number so if you feel the need to check up on me, I will answer. If for some reason I don't, don't assume that something bad has happened. I'm on a case with Hattori-kun right now and answering my phone at an inappropriate time may not be the best course of action."

She shook her head and reversed the car into a loading area so she'd be able to turn around without getting lost. "Just don't do anything so out of character for a while. I can't believe you dyed your hair."

Hakuba's mouth twitched but whatever reaction was supposed to follow was hidden by a shiver. I wrapped my own coat closer to myself and covered the tips of my ears with the hat.

Once Baaya was out of sight we started walking. I was too cold and confused to play any tricks on them. My hands were numb and I could have pulled something off but the chances of stumbling and looking like an idiot in front of either of them dissuaded me. What Jii thought he was doing by bringing the kids here was also distracting me.

"Do you know where you're going?" I asked Hakuba, since he had taken the lead. The detective nodded to me.

"Hattori-kun clicked on it and I caught the address back at the house before you took the phone away."

"Good. Keep going and I'll meet you there." I was about to disappear into the shadows when Hakuba's slowing footsteps brought back memories. "I'm not doing anything dangerous. I've never been here before and I was planning and taking a look around."

Again I paused before disappearing. "Why does it bother you?"

"I'm a detective Kuroba-kun. I thought I would be obvious."

I sighed and fully stepped back up next to him. "It's not. Explain."

"I don't like to see people die Kuroba-kun, that includes you." He glanced over at Hattori and a small smile caught his lips. "I've been accused, if not it being implied in my direction, that I do not care. If I didn't, if I only cared about solving problems, I would have gone into the Investigations Department like my father. Unfortunately, caring is a lot harder. It would hurt me if someone died because of me or because of something I'd done or not done."

"And all the questions?"

"It's most likely a mix wanting to know and trying to care that I ask questions of the criminals I catch. I do like to solve mysteries but I also want to know why people do what they do sometimes - What would lead a person to kill another. I've run into some with reasons that I couldn't ignore in the past and I've been having second thoughts about them all my life."

"There's never a good reason" Hattori spat all of a sudden. I looked away from him when his eyes tried to meet ours.

"Not with you. I mean with killin' someone else." He elbowed me gently to show he meant nothing by it. "Some people gotta kill others to stay alive. That's still murder an' there are always ways 'round murder instead a killin' someone yerself. People just go on believin' there isn't."

"Yes, I know." Hakuba pointed to his head, "It makes sense up here but when the person is in front of you and crying because her husband was beating her kids. Crying that if she hadn't done something they would have died," Hakuba pointed to his chest. "It doesn't make sense here."

"You don't run into that thing much."

"It was the first thing I ran into," Hakuba looked away. "Maybe it's why I have such a problem with my version of right and wrong. It never follows the book."

"She just killed her husband though. That must have been hard on her and stayin' at home with her kids wouldn't have helped."

"Wouldn't it?" Hakuba looked sadder then I'd ever seen him. "She never saw her children again after that. Be the circumstances as they were, they deemed her and unfit mother and took them into protective custody. I don't know how long but she was sentenced to jail as well."

"An' you let 'em do that?" Hattori was trying to keep his voice down but he was still loud. "Why didn't ya go to court and fight fer her?"

"I was sixteen, why would they have listened to me?" There was a growl in Hakuba's voice. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Enough boys," I walked up behind them and patted Hakuba on the shoulder. "There wasn't anything you could have done. There are groups out there that are constantly trying to change, and advocate, the people caught in the legal system. Being sixteen at the time you couldn't have done anything and listening to her, feeling for her, most likely was more than anyone else had tried to do so don't worry about what you can't change."

"Ya know ya always have a way of making everything sound so simple. Like we're idiots or somethin' for not seein' it ourselves."

"No, I'm just sick of everyone arguing."

"Ya'd make a great politician if ya stopped the stealing and magic."

"Never!" I declared and spun around, releasing some of my doves feathers as I went. In the next second I was gone.

…

I reached the rooftop quickly with the help of the wire I still had connected to my body. I leaned over to watch Hattori shake his head at the feathers that were still falling and Hakuba started to walk off. Hopefully they would be able to get along while I surveyed the area.

My arm still hurt whenever I moved it even slightly. I'd learned long ago how to get by with only one but that didn't mean that everything wasn't harder and took longer than it should have.

The buildings themselves were in poor to I-can't-believe-it's-still-standing condition. My glider brought me smoothly from one to the other but there wasn't enough wind or tall… eh, structures… to get into the higher air currents.

It was almost creepy that there was no one around.

I thought I'd see at least one homeless man or deadbeat, maybe a punk or two, but I hadn't come across anyone. As far as I could tell Hakuba, Hattori, and I were the only living people there.

Forget meeting them at the building, I was going to go back and find them. Whatever was going on just wasn't normal. It was cold out so I could imagine that there wouldn't be a lot of people out but to have seen no one, even looking inside the windows, meant something was terribly wrong.

I jumped off and used the gilder to descend towards them. They weren't that far ahead of me and what wind I could catch flew me the forty or so yards to them.

"What's the matter?" Hakuba asked me as I passed overhead.

I retracted the glider and fell the five feet or so to the ground in front of them.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Gee, I don't know. Ya said ya'd meet us there an' now yer suddenly comin' back. That means ya either saw somethin' or noticed somethin' that you wanted to tell us." Hattori looked at me with half closed eyes. "So ya gonna tell us or not."

"Didn't see something actually."

They both looked at me for a while before sighing. "Kuroba-kun, I thought I made it obvious at your house that I do not speak your language."

"I didn't see anything." I repeated.

"Ok, ya didn't see anythin'. Then why did ya come back?"

"I… didn't… see…anything." I annunciated each word so the detectives would get it. Both of them looked around.

"Kuroba-kun, its winter. Only crazy people like us would be outside."

"I didn't say I only looked outside."

Both shot me a steely glance before looking around again.

"Ya couldn't of just said that?" Hattori started to jog away. "I wanna take a look around too. I'll be back."

"We shouldn't split up!" Hakuba yelled towards him. "Didn't we just talk about this was Kuroba-kun took off?"

"I'm not goin' far, just hold on a second." Hattori disappeared behind one of the buildings that had fallen apart.

"You're talking about me behind my back now huh?" I raised my eyebrows

"Well I wouldn't have if you had just stayed with us."

"And if there had been danger we would have run into it without warning."

"As opposed to yourunning into it by yourself." Hakuba played with his hair again. "I know you had the right idea so let's quit arguing about it."

"We were arguing about it which meant you didn't think I had the right idea."

"No. That meant I didn't like it."

I didn't have anything to say back to that so we just waited in silence for Hattori to come back. When he did he was out of breath and shivering.

"Runnin' really doesn't warm ya up like they say." He huffed out. "It hurts just to breathe in this cold air."

"So?" Hakuba asked him.

"Nothin', just like he said." Hattori turned to me. "I found some traces of where people might've been livin' at one point, an' some more resent, but no people."

"Which means what?" Hakuba turned to us. "I don't see why both of you are so worried that there aren't people here. Isn't that a good thing?"

"No," My voice was quiet with a few darker undertones that had snuck in without my knowledge. "For the most part people are like animals. When we sense danger we do the rational thing and leave." I paused to smile, "unless you're me. If everyone in an area this large were to suddenly leave, well, it doesn't look to promising."

"So somethin' big went down here or is gonna happen so we'd better watch out." Hattori finished. Saying it out loud wasn't as bad as I feared when I'd seen all those empty rooms. I was just more confused why Jii had brought them all here and wondered if the old man was alone with them.

We were silent as we walked faster towards where the GPS signal was coming from. None of us could help looking out for some oncoming danger and my brain tried desperately to figure out what was going on. If there was danger, Jii wouldn't have lead me into it without warning. Would he?

No. I shook my head to try and get rid of the same thoughts that had floundered around me about Hakuba. I trusted the old man like I would a father and I was sure he felt the same way about me. Doubting someone close to me would only drop me deeper into paranoia.

The signal was coming from a large building that stood the test of time better than most of its companions. It was still as run down but obvious construction was underway and it seemed like we were getting closer to civilization.

We all nodded to one another as we went in. When we entered I eyed a staircase that was falling apart. I heard soft noises coming from upstairs and went after them, Hattori and Hakuba following me since I didn't think either of them could hear anything. A few cobwebs caught my face on the way up but I didn't bother brushing them away since the motion might do any number of things, most of them bad.

The indistinct sound soon made itself known as crying. It was quiet and full of high pitched tones and stutters that identified it as coming from a girl. Since it was dark outside I couldn't see well into the room, the moon from behind us was enough that whoever was there would be able to see us though.

"Saguru-niisan!" Someone small ran up and flung themselves at Hakuba as we reached the top of the steps. He would have fallen back down them if Hattori hadn't caught him. The crying hadn't stopped but it whoever was doing it clearly tried to.

"Who are you?" I heard a small voice call out, also female. I would have recognized it anywhere.

"Kei-chan it's me." I took out the white top hat and put it over my winter one.

"Help!" She ran at me and buried her face in my clothes. "Help…help…"

"What happened Kei-chan?" I wrapped my arms protectively around the girl, warming her even with my cold hands. She couldn't answer me but kept her fists tight around my jacket and her face hidden.

Hisa had apparently been doing the same thing but she was older and Hakuba knelt down on the floor where I had sat down to comfort Kei, since I couldn't support her in my arms. Hakuba tore the girl gently away so he could look her in the eye.

"Hisa-chan what happened and why are you here?" Even though I hadn't heard her crying, the eight-year old had puffy red eyes and her checks were tearstained.

"Niichan, something went wrong." She tried to cling to him again and I saw the pained look as Hakuba held her back.

"I need to know what happened."

"We… we were with these two people. I don't remember their names but they were talking to Ojiisan in a different room. There was one girl and one guy and the woman looked a little like my Okaasan. Kei-chan heard something funny but we didn't want to go in and interrupt them because that would be rude. So…" Hisa started to shake and there were new tears falling down her face.

"So Kane-kun went to go and look because Ojiisan was taking so long… I don't know what happened but he came back in the room and picked up Kei-chan he said that we were supposed to be in another room, well, he didn't really say it but Kei-chan knew and he... he… He lied!" Hakuba didn't have the heart to hold her back anymore so he let Hisa collapse against him. Kei peeked out from my shirt.

"My brother…" she wiped her tears away but more just took their place. "He had to lie. My brother had to. Ojiisan was fighting with the two. They were yelling about something I couldn't understand. My brother wanted to make sure we were safe."

"Thank you for telling us Kei-chan," I wrapped my arm more securely around her and brushed her hair out of her face, "but what happened?"

"They yelled at Ojiisan. They said that the bad guys were gonna get us. He took me from my brother and tried to run away. My brother got hurt so Ojiisan put me down…" She hiccupped and took a second to catch her breath. "Hisa-chan picked me up and Ojiisan got my brother. We ran away from them but the bad guys had guns… Ojiisan got hurt too but he brought us here." Kei looked towards the back for the room. I was still processing everything so I tensed on reflex.

My eyes narrowed as I tried to make out shapes in the darkness. My ears also tried to pick up on any kind of noise over Kei and Hisa small cries. A heard breathing, shallow and louder than it should have been. I picked Kei up and kissed her on the forehand.

"Kei-chan, can you be a good girl and stay with Hattori-kun?" Hattori understood and went to take her from me but she wouldn't let go. "Kei-chan I need see if I can help." Her cream colored eyes met my dark ones and the new look of my face.

"I knew it was you." She smiled. "When you came here."

"And how'd you know that?" I smiled back, humoring her.

"Hisa-chan said someone white was coming and I knew it was you." She looked towards the back of the room again. "You're an angel so I knew you'd come and help us."

"I don't know about all that." She released me and allowed Hattori to take her. "But I'll see what I can do." Hakuba got up and followed me with the other girl in his arms.

I came across Jii and Kane lying against the back of the wall. Jii's chest was raising and falling sharply where a bullet had gotten him in the lung. I could just see the rise and fall of Kane's chest.

I leaned over the old man first to see what I could do. I had bandages in my pocket that would have to do to seal up the hole. If air continued to escape it would only make it harder for him to breathe. I sat him up better while I covered the wound and his eyes blinked open.

"Young master…"

"Don't try to talk Jii-chan" I ripped the tape away to close up the wound, sitting him up better and seeing clearly that the bullet was still somewhere in his chest and he had bled a lot.

"No young master…" he reached his hand up to grab my wrist. "The boy is hurt badly. Get to him first."

"Fine." I huffed out a breath and laid him on his injured side, it would hurt the broken ribs but it would be easier for him to breathe.

I jump around his feet and went to the boy. I turned him over and felt the coldness of his skin against my own. Reaching around him, I tore off my jacket and snuggled him inside it.

"Kane-kun, can you hear me?"

There was no response from the boy but I saw dark marks across his skin where blood had hit him. I unwrapped my coat enough to get Kane's jacket and shirt off.

I froze when I looked at him.

He was still breathing but just barely. There was a large opened wound in the center of his chest where a bullet had hit him. The blood around it was wet, showing that he'd been bleeding out since he'd been hit. The whiteness of his skin and the ease of which I could see his veins showed the boy was about to die.

I sucked in a breath and hesitated before I got the bandages back out of my pocket. He wasn't going to make it. I knew it and no one else did. Hattori and Hakuba had kept their distance so they wouldn't upset the girls anymore than they already were. I looked at Kane and pushed aside his dark bangs that were so like unlike his sisters. His hair was thick and darker, his eyes also so much darker than hers.

And he was her real angel.

I'd seen the way the boy had looked after his sister. How much he doted on her even though he was older and he knew that what she was doing was wrong sometimes. I couldn't just do nothing, even if he wouldn't make it.

I wrapped up the wound as best I could and saw that my hands were shaking. That had never happened to me before, my hands weren't supposed to shake. I'd been around death before.

But not like this, and not this close. And it was my fault.

I could understand now how Hakuba felt so responsible for me. I was feeling the same thing at that moment. I'd left the kid's with Jii and I'd been the one who'd forgotten to call him. If I would have picked up the phone an hour earlier maybe none of this would have happened.

There was some conversation going on behind me and I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Kuroba-kun what's the matter?" Hakuba's hand was steady and his voice was soft.

"It's…" I couldn't tell him. I looked down at Kane, his chest going up and down so shallowly you could hardly see it, trying to keep him alive in vain. My expression and voice gave away what he needed to know. Hakuba went over and felt for Kane's pulse.

"There's nothing we can do Kuroba-kun." He tried to comfort me but the hate his words held was staggering. I felt as if it were aimed at me, or in Hakuba's realization, at Jii which would also make it my responsibility. I couldn't breathe.

"We gotta get some help." Hattori spoke up. "Even though I can only see the blood, I know we need a ride back."

"There's no one to call…" I mumbled, shocked I'd answered him at all. I could see Hakuba's form tense and his eyes still so full of hate.

It was my fault. I picked up the boy and held him still in my jacket, the intense pain coming from my arm when I used it only made me want to hold on more.

"I'm sorry" I whispered to him, unsure if the unconscious boy would hear me.

"I've got someone who can pick us up." Hattori got on his phone and cursed. "Yeah, no reception. I'm gonna take the girls over to the window." Hakuba had apparently handed him Hisa as well since I noticed the detective's hands were empty.

Hattori tried again and must have gotten through.

"Hey, I need ya to pick me and them up. There are some kids to and we need to get to the hospital… Yeah, I know Kudo ain't back yet! Can he drive?... I mean legally, I'm asking fer you to come... Yeah….Yeah…Sure. I'll send ya the address." He hung up the phone.

"It's gonna be at least forty minutes. He can't get here any faster."

The detective and I didn't acknowledge him. I just sat and held Kane in my arms, rocking him slightly back and forth. Hakuba was watching me, face and body still tense.

After ten minutes I felt when Kane stopped breathing. I put him back down and Hakuba grabbed my arm.

"You should put your jacket back on, it's freezing."

His hand felt like it was burning against my wrist.

"It's fine."

"It's not fine." Hakuba was gentle with Kane and took his still form off the floor enough to get my jacket free. "I don't want you freezing to death."

"Why not?" I hadn't meant to say the words but my heart wasn't consulting with my brain any longer.

"Kuroba-kun what do you mean by that?" I had the impression that Hakuba would have hit me if he wasn't still putting Kane down.

"You're so hard on yourself when you put people in danger, you should be hard on me more so. I've gotten people killed."

"This wasn't your fault anymore then it was mine. Neither of us knew what was going to happen, if we did, it wouldn't have happened."

"I could have called."

"And done what? Gotten them shot faster? Kuroba-kun something big is happening and we can't stop it. I've stopped blaming myself now you have to stop too."

"Young master…" I heard Jii gasp out. "Young master, you can't trust anybody. Whoever…" He coughed and I saw the blood slip between his lips. "Whoever is after the kids… they're dangerous. You can't trust anyone… they might betray you… young master, I've never known… someone with so much power."

"I have." Hattori went over to the old man since I couldn't find the strength to move. "Don't worry about it."

The girls were still in his arms and I saw Kei look over at her brother. I winced and was afraid she would look at me. Afraid she would blame me.

I got up and Hakuba tried to hand me my jacket but I brushed it away.

"Kuroba-kun it's less than thirty-degrees out, even in here. Put it back on."

I made my way over to the window and ignored him, finding my cape and the small mechanism for the gilder which would stick out sharply against my black clothes.

"I'll be back," I hooked everything up and pined the cape on. "If I'm not back before the forty minutes…"

"Kuroba-kun you can't run away from this." The pain and anger in Hakuba's voice made me stop. It wouldn't be fair to him. I couldn't leave him behind to deal with everything while I took off, even if Hattori was there. I shot him a sad smile.

"Just give a few minutes then, I swear I'll be back." I threw the thin wire onto the roof of the building. I watched Hakuba but he made no sign of accepting my departure or trying to prevent it so I left.

Once on the roof I let the wind take the glider, without looking for any certain destination. It took me to a dark building made of metal graters and cold cement flooring which was still under construction, new unlike the other ones which looked like they were being refurbished instead of rebuilt.

When I swooped in I let the glider collapse later than I should have and cursed to myself when I hit my knee hard against the cement.

I couldn't stop my body shaking but most of it was from the cold. I was stubborn and should have taken my jacket back. I laughed a little to myself at how stupid I was being.

Laughing made crying seem easier. I didn't want to do it in front of the girls because I knew it would upset them. So I cried and laughed at myself while I did, chiding myself for how stupid I was and how stupid life was and how stupidly cold the concrete floor was.

The cold probably made me stop sooner than I would have since my body couldn't keep laughing, crying, and shivering without wearing down. I wrapped my arms around my knees like a child while I let myself come to terms with everything. Once I'd let out all my sadness and frustration I let me mind think.

A familiar anger came over me; one I'd only discover when I found the people responsible for killing my father. I didn't think I'd ever be so determined to stop anything as much as I was then but… whoever it was that was responsible for this. Whoever was after the kids...

They were going to pay.