A/N: This is a bit of a short chapter, in some part because getting sick earlier this month ate my writing time and well nigh killed my chapter buffer. I do want to warn you that, as a result, there's a chance that next chapter may be a week late. We're coming up on a very delicate part of the story, and I need time to check and recheck everything, and to make sure that my beta has time to see and review all of it. I hope you all can understand.

Thanks to miladyRanger for beta-ing, and warnings in the end-note, as always.

Chapter 32

The next morning, instead of eating at the hotel restaurant yet again, they went to a nearby bakery to pick up pastries and drinks. Kaito hadn't been awake yet when Eisuke had taken advantage of the hotel information desk and gotten directions. Actually, no one but Eisuke had been awake. With the evening they'd all had...no one slept well.

Now, none of them could quite look one another in the eye anymore. Kaito liked all of these people, he'd be perfectly willing to take a bullet saving them-and after the last two months, he knew exactly what taking a bullet entailed-but this was showing anyone awake what he looked like, waking up from nightmares with every bit of his guard down, and seeing them, Shinichi and Hakuba, particularly, in the same states. Not the same at all, and not something he was comfortable with, either.

Shinichi, he knew, didn't even like the idea of having his guard down, much less someone seeing him that way. And Hakuba...well, in a way, he'd seen Hakuba with his guard down, before. In the mirror.

Except Hakuba wasn't really the same person as him.

This was all much less philosophically challenging when it was theoretical. Now, it was a practical challenge, too, and it, or rather, he, was walking a few steps in front of him, carrying a tray of hot drinks and trying to pretend that having someone behind him didn't make him a tiny bit nervous.

Kaito could relate. But someone had to take rear guard, and it wasn't going to be the flight risk.

Eisuke, by way of being the only one who knew where they were going, had taken point, though Heiji had drawn the line at actually letting him carry the food. This had turned out to be a good plan-even well-rested, he'd still tripped twice already, and nearly knocked over a display at the bakery. Kaito noted that the clumsiness seemed a little better when he was running on adrenaline, but that obviously wasn't a long-term solution.

Wonder if he's ever tried gymnastics, or martial arts? He thought. Then, all but laughed at his own feeble attempt at distracting himself.

He just...wasn't sure how to talk to Hakuba, now? The boundaries were all mixed and blurry and he wasn't sure how much he really knew anymore. How much of Kaito was left inside of him? How much of the Hakuba who'd gone to school and heists had been real, and how much was an act?

Is this how I make people feel when I impersonate someone they know for long periods of time? Kaito thought, with a shudder. Because if so, I'm gonna make a note to not do that, anymore, if I can avoid it. This is terrible.

He was no more certain of how to interact with Hakuba by the time they'd returned to the hotel room, but on the bright side, there were chocolate croissants. Well, along with other baked goods, but the chocolate croissants, specifically, were Kaito's.

"I think the lady at th' store thought we were buyin' those for Kudou," Heiji said, amused, as Kaito claimed his breakfast.

"Judging by appearances is shallow," Kaito declared, even as Kudou made a face.

Eisuke gave him a questioning look.

"I don't like sweet things," Kudou said. "But…"

"If ya promise not ta bite my head off over it again, I'll get ya yer coffee," Heiji said with a laugh, handing him a small cup of it.

Kudou outright glowered, as Hakuba asked, "Do I want to hear this story?"

Eisuke snickered as Heiji launched into an animated retelling, complete with passable imitations of Kudou's Tokyo accent, pitched to an unpleasant timbre to mimic his current vocal range. Kaito only halfway paid attention. The combination of exhaustion from last night's poor sleep and the adrenaline crash of having a goal he'd pursued for two months finally complete was starting to catch up with him.

"So, we've got about half the day until our flight leaves," Eisuke said, snapping Kaito back to attention.

"We do need to pack, but that's not urgent," Kudou said. He glanced at Eisuke and Hattori. "You two haven't been to London before. Maybe you should actually go sightsee, since there's time."

Eisuke blinked. "Do you really think-"

Heiji elbowed him in the side. "Hey, c'mon, it'll be fun! We can go see anything but the Holmes Museum!"

"The Holmes Museum is the best part!" Shinichi said hotly.

"Better than the Tower of London?" Eisuke asked, skeptical.

Kaito snickered, then glanced at Hakuba. "Maybe while the detectives are out being tourists, we could take advantage of the privacy and talk a bit?"

And eventually get anything from your apartment that you wanna keep, but I'm not leading with that, he added mentally.

Hakuba grimaced. "What if I'd rather go to the Tower of London?"

Kaito sighed. "So you can run off?"

"I wouldn't…I just...I'm no more interested in talking about serious matters than you generally are," Hakuba said.

"I'll try harder, if you will," Kaito said.

Hakuba sighed again. "You are forever being better than me," he said softly.

"I feel the same way, believe it or not," Kaito replied. "But this isn't a contest and—"

His phone rang, startling both of them. I thought I turned this off! And why would Mom be calling now?

"Hello?" he asked, picking up.

"Ah, Kaito-kun!" came a bubbly voice that Kaito only vaguely recognized, and which was definitely not his mother, unless she was playing mind games again. "I'd love to chat, but I really need you to give the phone to my son, so if you wouldn't mind?"

Her son? Kaito echoed mentally. Heiji's mother would have an Osaka accent, Hakuba's mother didn't know they'd found her son, Eisuke's mother was dead…that left Kudou Yukiko. A woman he had spoken to before, and who knew his mother. More importantly, though, she was the owner of the credit cards that had paid for most of the plane tickets that had gotten them to London.

This…could be bad.

"You're Kudou Yukiko, right?" Kaito ventured.

"And your mother says you're not a detective," the woman chirped. "But seriously, I need to talk to Shin-chan."

"He's not here," Kaito said, not quite willing to tip his cards that far. "You can talk to Conan-kun, though."

Conan looked up from the tourist guide he'd been marking up for Heiji and Eisuke, eyes wide.

Kaito mouthed 'your mother,' and his eyes got even wider. He practically ran for the phone, snatching it out of Kaito's hands and then flopping down on the floor, right there next to the bed.

He was talking rapidly the moment the phone was in his hand. "Yes, I used the credit card, I'm sorry, it was an emergen—" he broke off, clearly interrupted.

"WHAT?" he shouted, jerking back into the bed and making the springs shudder. "Why would you even still have it if you knew—" he paused, eyes widening. "Seriously, are you insane?" He listened for a few more seconds. "Well, yes, I was clearly wrong to take the money without telling you but how was I supposed to guess—" Another pause. "Obviously, yes, we have to do something. I'll tell them. This is a disaster, but I'll tell them."

Kaito stared at him. "Tell us what?"

"Vermouth has been watching the card I used to buy our tickets here," Shinichi said miserably, setting the phone down on the carpet. "Mom knows about it; that's why it was in storage."

"Excuse me?" Eisuke asked, a bit breathlessly.

Shinichi glanced up at Kaito and Hakuba. "You remember that Mom studied with your father, around the same time she did, right?"

They both nodded.

"They kept in touch," Shinichi said. "They have the weirdest friendship ever. Like, Mom knows that Vermouth is working with people who are trying to kill me, Vermouth knows that Mom's husband is trying to arrest her and all her co-workers, but they still get together sometimes for lunch."

"Yeah, that's pretty friggin' weird all right," Heiji said, all quiet tension. "But not quite to the level of 'watching each other's credit cards,' 'least not as I see it."

"Trying to get inside of each other's guards is all part of their relationship," Shinichi said. "In retrospect, this is absolutely the sort of thing I should have expected. Vermouth using what she knows about Mom to guess her credit card passwords, Dad noticing the extra activity from Vermouth's monitoring, Mom keeping the account open and using it very occasionally just to keep Vermouth guessing…it's completely like them."

"So she knows we went to London," Kaito said, not sure whether he felt more panic or dread, but determined to show neither on his face.

"So she knows I asked about the person going after Them, then went to London," Shinichi corrected. "And she knows we bought a ticket for Eisuke, which is dangerous all by itself."

Eisuke stood. "Oh no—Hidemi—"

"Yeah," Shinichi said. "I'm so sorry. Chances are still low that she'll put the pieces together, but it's still possible. My parents are willing to help with damage control, but, well, it's my parents," he added, a little helplessly.

Kaito shrugged. "It's not like we've got much choice, do we?"

Heiji cursed.

Shinichi, still scowling, picked the phone back up again, as Hakuba turned to Kaito with a confused expression.

"What, exactly, is wrong with Shinichi's parents?" he asked.

Kaito, keeping half an ear on Shinichi's phone conversation, winced.

"Okay, yeah, return tickets—when? I mean, now, if you think it would be best, we already found him," Shinichi was grumbling into the phone. "Yes, found him, honestly, how incompetent do you think we are? Yes I know the police didn't have any leads—your old teacher's wife? Why would she be able to find him?"

"You know how you aren't Mom's biggest fan?" Kaito asked Hakuba. "You're gonna love the Kudous, from what Hattori-san's said."

Hakuba glowered. "Splendid."

"No, not to Japan; Eisuke lives in America!" Shinichi snapped into the phone. "What do you mean—wait, no, you can't—what do you mean you already—of course I'm telling him!"

He put the phone down again. "Eisuke, my parents don't think it's safe for you to go straight back to the U.S., just in case Vermouth does put anything together, which makes a limited amount of sense. The problem is the part where Mom's convinced one of her protégés to go to your house, break in, and live your life for you until you can make it home."

"What," Eisuke said slowly, less asking than reacting.

"This is why I didn't want to call them in the first place," Shinichi said, sounding exhausted. "I'm really sorry."

"That's really not your fault," Eisuke said. "Give me the phone."

"It's not gonna work," Shinichi said. "You can steamroll me but Mom makes Hollywood directors do what she wants. Now, one more thing—she wants us to go back to Japan, but not Tokyo. Because if we go back to Tokyo, with Hakuba in tow…"

"It will be obvious that I was connected with all of those arrests," Hakuba said quietly.

"So, is there somewhere else we could go?" Shinichi asked.

Kaito shifted uncomfortably. "I have...places, and one or two are outside of Tokyo, but…"

"I just pulled Vermouth onto our scent by accident, and you've already said you're a little uncomfortable trusting us," Shinichi said. "I can see why you might not want to invite us all to your safehouses. Besides, I don't think going into hiding is the right choice, here."

Eisuke nodded. "We don't want to show up where Vermouth will notice us, but it might be a good idea to go someplace where we'll be seen and missed, if we vanish suddenly. That's what you're getting at, right?"

"Hakuba, specifically, needs to be seen," Shinichi replied. "Because if They do something to him now, he just stays missing. But if he turns up and people see him, that might be enough to make going after him directly a risk for Them."

"We can't go to Osaka," Heiji said quickly. "I'm gonna be in hot water the moment my parents see me; my parents won't let you all stay a second 'less I explain exactly what kinda trouble we're in. Which ain't the goal here."

"Nagano," Kaito suggested. "That police inspector who's in charge of Saguru's case is there, right? We can get a hotel room or something."

"That'll be easy enough," Shinichi said. "If we just want to see him, we won't even have to go to the police station. One of his officers texts Ran so I know his address."

"Easy, except for the fact that I'm fairly certain you can't fly straight into Nagano," Hakuba said.

"That's probably an advantage, under these circumstances," Shinichi said. "An indirect route's harder to predict. Besides, my parents are excellent at getting what they want. If there's a way to get us to Nagano, they'll find it, and if not, they'll make one, anyway."

"Wait, how does the officer Mouri-san texts know this police inspector's address?" Eisuke asked. "And why are they telling Mouri-san about it?"

"Inspector Yamato and Officer Uehara have a history," Shinichi explained. "The kind that Sonoko and Ran like sighing over."

"Inspector Yamato is handling the case?" Hakuba asked, sounding surprised. "How on Earth did it end up with him?"

Everyone looked at Heiji. "Near as I can tell, he wanted it, and there was a lead in Nagano he used as an excuse. Or at least that's what the office gossip says." He shrugged. "Anyhow, I like this plan. He wanted a case update; he's gonna get one."

"Okay, we've decided," Eisuke said, holding out a hand. "Now give me the phone. I'm talking to your mother before she has an actor crash my life."

Shinichi slumped and handed him the phone.

"Hello, I'm Hondou Eisuke, and I'd thank you to not have anyone break into my apartment," Eisuke started firmly. "Yes, I know it will seem odd if I'm not back," a pause, "Basing an impersonation on a bit of security footage isn't—" He broke off, clearly interrupted. "Can they even take care of doves?" He was silent for a few minutes. "Fine, but if he really wants into my apartment he can just tell the owner that he's forgotten his key. I won't have my lock picked." Another pause. "If he wants lockpicking practice he can buy spare locks from the hardware store and pick those!"

He took a breath. "We've decided to go to Nagano when we return to Japan. I'll let Conan-kun make the rest of the arrangements."

Shinichi blinked at him, wide-eyed, as Eisuke handed him the phone.

Breaking his focus away from the phone conversation for a bit, Kaito glanced at Saguru. "I'm pretty sure we're going to be leaving as soon as they can get us a flight, but before we leave…" he took a breath and steeled himself. "I didn't want to push you about where you've been living or whether you have anything you'd want to take along, but, given all of this...is there anything you can't leave behind and risk Vermouth finding? Because if there is, we need to go get it, as soon as we can."

Saguru met his eyes. "I've a computer," he said. "I've encrypted everything, and the passwords are strong, but no system is truly impenetrable." He paused for a few seconds, eyes flickering closed, then opening again. "There are a few printouts that oughtn't be left there, as well."

"Can we go get them?" Kaito asked.

"I don't think I have a choice," Saguru said. "I can't leave them there, and I hardly think you'll let me go alone."

"We've got tickets for a flight into Sapporo Chitose, and one of Dad's friends is flying us to Shinshu-Matsumoto from there, because apparently connecting flights only go out once a day, in the late afternoon," Shinichi said, voice clearly pitched to deliver an an announcement. "My parents are paying for everything; it'll be about 19 hours travel time, if you count the drive from the airport to where we want to be-we'll end up in the same town as the prefectural police station before dawn tomorrow."

"When does our flight leave?" Eisuke asked.

Shinichi grimaced. "We've got about an hour?" he said.

"OK, time to pack," Heiji said, starting to clear empty bags and cups off the side table. "And we'll need ta talk ta the front desk about checkin' out early."

"Is that a big deal?" Eisuke asked.

"It depends," Shinichi said absently. "We should call ahead for a cab, too, and-"

"Hakuba needs to go back to where he was staying," Kaito interrupted. "There are things he can't leave behind to be found by anyone looking for us."

Shinichi nodded. "You're going with him?"

"I can pack in five minutes," Kaito said. "I was raised by an internationally famous magician; I learned how to pack efficiently when I was still getting used to writing in kanji."

Shinichi looked at him, considering, then said. "You're the best person to do this, no matter how I look at it. Go get a cab, do what you need to do, and meet us at Heathrow. We'll bring your suitcase, and I'll call you on the Detective Badge with where in the terminal to meet us."

Kaito didn't like the feeling of being bossed around by Shinichi, but since he'd been about to suggest something pretty similar, he couldn't justify arguing.

"You're using those little walkie-talkie badges to communicate?" Hakuba asked, visibly amused.

"Shut up!" Kaito snapped, making for his suitcase.

A/N: Warnings for vague allusions to the Kudous being crappy parents, the Kudous specifically doing a lot of their particular brand of making decisions for people and then bulldozing over various objections and concerns, some discussion of Hakuba's specific emotional issues and references to the boys' issues in general.

Kaito saying he learned to pack well when he was still learning to write in kanji basically means he learned young. Kanji are the most complex type of Japanese writing, so children learn them after the simpler alphabets. A child Conan's age, for example, would be expected to have difficulty reading and writing all but a few kanji and to use hiragana, a more simply written alphabet, instead, in most cases.

Thanks for reading, and please leave a review on your way out, if you're so inclined!