A/N: I am just off of a weeklong migraine, and still on the reasonably strong meds that killed it. This chapter has been checked and rechecked by miladyRanger, who is also owed credit for a lot of the ideas for this scene in general, but if there are any mistakes, please don't be surprised. I'm surprised I'm coherent at all, honestly.

On that note, if I owe you a review reply, PM, or other such thing, it will probably be delayed until I'm a little better. Please bear with me.

Warnings at the end, as always!

Chapter 35

For the second time since leaving Tokyo in search of Hakuba, Kudou Shinichi woke up with absolutely no idea where he was. He was not a fan of this trend.

At least this time, he wasn't in pain. Well, not a lot of pain-his joints ached a bit, but not enough to be more than distracting. Also, this time, he remembered where he'd been before he passed out pretty clearly.

That didn't change the fact that this room was not the convenience store bathroom he'd transformed in. The ceiling was lower, for one thing, and cleaner. The walls were plain, understated wood paneling, not dingy tile. Also, the bathroom definitely hadn't had a futon.

Where was he? They'd planned to go to a hotel, but then he should have been in a bed or on a couch, not on a futon. But the flooring was carpet, which ruled out the possibility that they'd ended up at a traditional-style inn for some reason.

Furthermore, Shinichi wasn't wearing his watch or his glasses anymore. He'd been disarmed.

He slitted his eyes and rolled over in bed, trying to get a better view of the room. He could see their luggage, which was promising, and the others were all in the same room as him. Kaito was on a futon as well, and the rest were just lying on the floor with blankets. Hattori and Eisuke had makeshift pillows, too-at first, Shinichi thought they were blankets, but on further inspection, Hattori's was definitely his letterman jacket and Eisuke's looked like a sweatshirt. The futons and blankets were promising. Maybe they were all just asleep.

He opened his eyes just a bit more. He could see his glasses and watch, sitting near the head of the futon. He wanted to just grab them, but he couldn't be sure-

Then again, with the state of current technology, a surveillance device could be made small enough to be invisible from a distance. There was no point in looking for surveillance cameras. He'd just have to assume someone was watching, and act accordingly.

So, time to be Conan, the harmless little kid who doesn't know where he is but wants to be fully dressed.

There was a banging sound from outside the room, metal against metal-it didn't sound like a weapon, at least, but Shinichi couldn't make out what it was. At the noise, Hattori stirred, and sat up, then yawned hugely.

"What time's it-" he turned toward Shinichi. "Kudou!"

He scrambled over to the futon, never quite fully getting to his feet.

"Good morning, Heiji-nii-chan!" Shinichi said brightly, keeping his eyes on the door and his hand close to his wristwatch. "Did you hear that noise?"

"Kudou?" Hattori asked, looking incredibly worried. "Oh, d***, we tried to do a concussion check last night but ya were already out-look, whaddya remember?"

"My name is Conan," Shinichi emphasized.

Hattori looked at him oddly. "Oh, yer jus' doin' the kid act? But why? We're in private!"

"Where are we, then?" Shinichi asked, not relaxing one bit. "We were going to go to a hotel. This isn't a hotel."

Hattori cursed again. "Oh, yeah, I guess that'd freak you out." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "We couldn't find one, so we jus' went straight to the inspector's house. We're in his spare room."

Shinichi blinked. Readjusted. Blinked again. "How?" he managed.

Hattori let out a low laugh. "Well, showin' up wit' the missin' person he's been lookin' for didn't hurt none," he said. "But he wanted to know who everyone was and why we came here."

"And you told him?" Shinichi pressed.

"Kuroba-han's a concerned classmate, Hondou-han helped with the case but ain't a detective," Hattori listed off, counting off on his fingers. "And...we had to admit that we hit trouble in London. It was that, or he kept askin' questions. An' we were all too tired ta keep lyin' well. We didn't specify the kind of trouble, though."

"I imagine he'll attempt to get to that at breakfast," Shinchi said, already feeling exhausted.

"Prob'ly," Hattori admitted, downcast.

"Don't be hard on yourself; I was even less help than you were," Shinichi said.

"Yeah, 'cause you passed out," Hattori said. "Wasn't the antidote s'posed to last longer than that? An' I thought it wasn't makin' ya pass out ev'ry time anymore, now!"

"I think probably the fact that I hadn't been sleeping well and had been injured recently meant that my body wasn't in optimal condition," Shinichi admitted. "I'd have to ask Haibara to be certain, but I imagine that's the reason behind it."

"Still, try an' not do that again, will ya?" Hattori asked. "Ya scared the heck outta all of us. An' all o' that work ya did at the airport ta keep Hakuba an' Hondou from bein' around when it happened pretty much went down the drain."

"What even happened?" Shinichi said. "It all got kinda confusing after you panicked and shouted for the cab driver to stop."

"The driver pulled into a gas station a few miles up the road, Hattori-san and I practically carried you into the convenience store there while Kuroba-san paid the cab driver and tipped him generously enough that he would ignore you apparently going to have a heart attack in a public bathroom," Hakuba said, as both Hattori and Shinichi glanced over in surprise. "Hondou-san then called another cab." He paused. "You screamed for quite a while. Is it...always…"

Shinichi swallowed. "Not...always," he said quietly.

Hakuba's expression flattened. "I see."

"Morning, everyone!" Kaito said, from nearby, a yawn still in his voice. "I had this weird dream that we went to a police officer's house…"

"We both know that wasn't a dream," Hakuba said, lips twitching with amusement.

"We could pretend it was, and leave now?" Kaito suggested.

"Uuuugh, shut up," Eisuke groaned. "No one's gonna get arrested lemme sleep."

"Sorry, Hondou-san, I think it's time we all woke up," Hakuba said apologetically. "We'll be better off if we have our story straight before we go to breakfast."

Eisuke muttered grumpily but sat up, his hair sticking up in all directions, and put on his glasses.

"So, ground rules, no one mentions KID," Kaito said.

"Actually, it might be better if we do," Shinichi said. Kaito stared at him, aghast, and he held up his hands. "As someone separate from you. The superintendent-general asked KID to help look for Hakuba, remember? And he and Inspector Yamato are friends. So we say KID helped us and we parted ways in London. You now have an alibi and we have a source for things we aren't supposed to know."

"This also puts you on record as having worked with a thief," Kaito said.

"With Yamato Kansuke, who only follows police regulations as long as they help him solve cases," Shinichi said. "He really won't care."

"Could we say we split with Shinichi in London, too?" Eisuke asked. "Since Hattori-san mentioned to Inspector Yamato that you were involved?"

Shinichi tried for a grin, and probably fell short. "It's practically true; why not?"

Hattori winced, and squeezed his shoulder.

Kaito turned to Hakuba. "You remember what we told you on the flight, about all of that?"

"Inspector Yamato is aware that Kudou-san is in hiding because he is in some sort of potentially lethal trouble, and that your reasons for keeping the police out of the case involved a witness who was avoiding them for some reason," Hakuba said. "Correct?"

Eisuke nodded. "Okay, what else?"

"You have broken a lot of laws," Kaito said, looking at Hakuba, with a slight hysterical edge to his tone. "You have broken more laws than me. We should probably avoid mentioning that."

"He knows ya left the country without a passport or money," Hattori said.

"The rest, though, it might be best to leave unsaid," Hakuba said. "In particular, Eisuke, if you could avoid references to having met me as a woman, that might be best. It could cause problems for Father if he jumps to the wrong conclusions, and it could compromise my ability to return to my life as Hakuba Saguru if he jumps to the right ones."

"Huh?" Hattori asked.

"If someone finds out that I have skill in disguises, just what do you think will happen if they look closely?" Hakuba snapped. "Time travel did not alter my appearance; I did."

Hattori flinched. "Ah, yeah, right."

"Guys, please?" Eisuke asked, holding up his hands.

"What do we tell him about London, though?" Kaito asked. "He knows we were in danger but we can't tell him the truth about why."

Shinichi winced. "Hakuba was investigating something while he was running and accidentally poked the local organized crime?"

"Does London even have organized crime anymore?" Eisuke asked.

"Yes," Hakuba said.

"Well then," Shinichi said.

"It's not even completely untrue," Kaito said.

"Yeah, but it ain't the whole truth an' Yamato knows when people are tryin' ta pull somethin' on 'im," Hattori said darkly.

"Maybe so," Hakuba said.

"We're probably going to end up telling him more than we want to," Shinichi said. "We just have to make sure that when we do tell him things we didn't mean to, they're the kind of things that won't get anyone arrested or killed."

"If you give the Detective Boys these kinds of pep talks, it's a miracle they're still friends with you," Kaito huffed.

"Maybe the delivery was lacking, but he does have a point-" Hakuba started.

There was a knock at the door. "Everyone dressed?" Kansuke asked from outside.

Shinichi glanced around, started to answer, then remembered that he probably shouldn't be taking the lead right now. He looked at Hattori, who stared back for a few seconds before anything like realization showed up on his face.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, we're wearing clothes," Hattori said quickly.

Hakuba quietly pressed his hand over his face, not quite hiding his exasperated expression.

"Good," Kansuke said, sliding the door open. "I called Koumei over to help with breakfast, so there's food in the kitchen if you're hungry."

Shinichi froze, caught between the sudden realization that he was pretty much starving, and the knowledge that getting food meant facing not only Kansuke, but also his backup.

"Koumei?" Kaito asked politely.

Kansuke glowered for a second. Shinichi suspected he was trying to avoid the word "friend."

"They went to elementary school together, and now they're both policemen!" he said, putting on a big, excited smile.

Kaito made a faint noise of horror, then put on a fake smile of his own. "Nice of him to come over and help!"

Kansuke grinned back, but his expression was more watchful than friendly. And he wasn't moving from the doorway.

"So, breakfast is now, huh?" Hattori asked, after a few seconds.

"Yep!" Kansuke said pleasantly, as if he weren't all but forcing them to come.

Hakuba sighed, and stood. And, well, if Hakuba was going to face this, the rest of them might as well back him up. Shinichi smoothed out his clothes-not his preferred blazer and shorts, but a comfortable hoodie, t-shirt, and jeans-and followed everyone else out of the room.

From his height, it was easy to see how stiff Kaito's movements were. Apparently even the futon wasn't enough to help his back. Eisuke was shuffling tiredly, while Hattori was already fully awake. Hakuba, meanwhile, seemed stiff but fully aware-he was bracing himself, once again.

Well.

This would be fun.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kansuke's kitchen table wasn't meant to seat this many people, much less accommodate this much food.

He hadn't meant for Koumei to come over with three folding chairs and ingredients for what amounted to a mostly traditional breakfast. He usually just bought premade miso soup and dipped toast in it, then drank enough coffee to keep him awake until he could get to the station and drink more coffee. If he was feeling ambitious, sometimes he fried an egg.

But Koumei was a showoff who actually kept extra natto in his fridge, and could make cold tofu taste good. He also lived near a 24-hour-convenience store, so he'd picked up enough extra eggs that they could make rolled omelets for everyone. Kansuke had ceded the stovetop to him, and taken charge of making the rice and heating up the rest of the miso soup in the microwave.

He just hoped none of them were going to complain about the natto. He knew the younger generation wasn't uniformly fond of it, but it was free food and they should be grateful, dangit.

"Smells great," Hondou said softly.

At least one of them's happy, Kansuke thought cheerily, gesturing to the makeshift table. "Hey, come on, sit. Coffee will be ready in a sec-not for you, Conan, it'll stunt your growth."

"That's not-" Conan started, in what was very nearly a whine.

"No," Hattori said, tone flat. "I am not doing this again."

Conan slumped, pouting. He at least seemed to be in decent health, despite whatever had been wrong with him last night.

Kuroba, meanwhile, was sitting down, but his attention was on Hondou. "Been awhile, huh?"

Hondou, on further inspection, looked decidedly wistful, and was biting his lip hard enough to turn the skin white. His eyes were just a bit bright.

"Yeah," he said, voice still soft, and just a bit strained, as he sat down beside Kuroba. "This kind of stuff's expensive overseas, and the time and effort to make multiple dishes for breakfast-"

"Not really worth it when you're living alone," Kuroba said, smile gentle. "Hey, enjoy it while it's here, right?"

Hondou nodded.

"Where do you live?" Koumei asked, from the stove, where he was finishing the last omelet.

"Uh, America!" Eisuke said, looking a bit startled. "Um, in Virginia, if you're familiar…"

"I've heard of it," Koumei said.

"I didn't know they had kids live alone when they got older over there," Kansuke said. "I've known Americans who said they were surprised we did it."

"No, it's not too common," Eisuke said, matter-of-factly. Then, he brightened, and looked toward Koumei. "Thank you very much for the food!"

Kansuke despaired. Well now I can't very well ask him if his parents are around, but...he's a weird kid, and he's near Hakuba, and if his weird has anything to do with why Hakuba was in London of all places I want to know.

"You're welcome, ah, Hondou-kun, was it?" Koumei said, smiling. He'd ended up beside Kansuke and across the table from Hondou. Next to Hondou was Kuroba, then Hakuba, who faced Hattori, with Conan sandwiched between the Osakan and Kanske himself.

Hondou smiled back, and nodded. "Inspector Yamato told us your name was Koumei. How should we address you?"

Koumei shot Kansuke a look. "My name is Morofushi; Koumei is a nickname. You may address me as Inspector Morofushi, if you wish."

"Where'd you get the nickname?" Kuroba asked, looking curious.

Koumei smirked. "My given name is Takaaki," he said.

Kuroba frowned for a second, then blinked, and then a wide smile spread across his face. "You have the best name," he said, very seriously. "I want it."

"No," Hattori said, in equal seriousness.

"I wouldn't actually…" Kuroba protested. "But seriously, it's the best pun-it's a Romance of the Three Kingdoms reference, right-Takaaki's written the same as Zhuge Liang's courtesy name?"

"That's right," Morofushi said, obviously pleased. "You must have some considerable skill with wordplay, to work that out so quickly."

"I dabble," Kuroba said, and there was something secretive to the grin on his face. It turned wide and open, again, though, as he turned to Hakuba. "You could have done so much better."

"I happen to like my name," Saguru said, a hint of warning to his expression. "And you have ample opportunity to make jokes about how much time I spend searching for KID."

Kuroba made a very odd face at that. Kansuke had no idea what was going on there, and had no reason to believe asking about it would get him any of the information he needed, so he decided to ignore it.

Instead, he turned to Conan. "How're you feeling?"

"Much better!" Conan all but chirped.

Kansuke directed a skeptical look at Hattori.

"He's really better," Hattori said. "Told you he'd sleep it off."

Koumei, meanwhile, rinsed off the pan at the sink and sat down, carefully carrying his own plate. "Does that happen often?"

Conan squirmed in place a bit. "I get colds a lot, but I think it was just because we travelled so much, and I didn't sleep good at the hotel, and I got heat exhaustion-"

"Is that what you meant by 'give Conan-kun the dehydration lecture'?" Hakuba interrupted, looking up from his rice with an expression of alarm.

Eisuke nodded. "He wasn't drinking enough, and then, he, well, that happened…" he trailed off, and made a vague gesture with his chopsticks that Hakuba nodded at. "That's how we met Officer Hashimoto and the others from Deptford Station."

"You should take better care of yourself, Conan-kun," Hakuba said, severely.

Conan raised an eyebrow at him.

"What I do or do not do is immaterial here, we are discussing you," Hakuba said, frowning.

So he wasn't taking care of himself, the kids know, and they aren't happy, Kansuke thought. Not surprising, really. But what happened to Conan, and why are they talking around it?

"What's Deptford Station?" Koumei asked.

"The particular part of Scotland Yard I once worked with," Hakuba said. "Their information was the reason these lot found me."

"And Officer Hashimoto's the one who talked him into coming home!" Kaito said cheerily. There was something downright uncanny about that broad grin of his.

"He had me under the impression I wouldn't be interrogated upon arrival," Hakuba said darkly.

"We're all in this together, so try to cheer up, won't you?" Kaito replied, still grinning, but there was a distinct edge to his voice.

Hakuba glared at him.

And then the coffeemaker beeped, and all five of the kids flinched.

Kansuke glanced at Koumei, to make sure that he'd caught that confirmation that their young guests were on edge. Koumei's frown tightened in a way that said he had.

Koumei stood up. "I'll assume that everyone except Conan wants a cup?"

"Oh, believe me, he wants one too," Hattori muttered.

"So, about whatever trouble you ran into in London," Kansuke drawled. "I think now would be a great time to go into some detail."

A/N: Warnings: In the first half, depiction of paranoia and hypervigilance occurring as a symptom of PTSD and as a result of circumstances, general poor coping mechanisms, and police officers being portrayed and perceived as a threat due to circumstances. In the second half, what amounts to a police interrogation (albeit an informal one), discussion of child endangerment, discussion of poor self-care practices, and depiction of hypervigilance.

Again, I am tired and not entirely well, it is more possible tonight than usual that I may have missed something. If I have, please let me know. Thanks for reading, and please do leave me a review if you're enjoying this!