Chapter 15: Long, Hard Road (Part 2)

You say I am repeating
Something I have said before. I shall say it again.
Shall I say it again? In order to arrive there,
To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.
~East Coker (III.34-38)

Reaching the Blue Parrot was simple-basic disguises for the other three since Kaito had never removed his own, disabling Kurou's phone, and taking a few bags of necessities on the trains. Kurou twitched when they passed the limit of his allowed radius, but merely leaned a fraction closer to Inspector Hakuba's shoulder. Getting him off the train took more effort, but Inspector Hakuba had discovered that Kurou wouldn't resist a hand guiding his movement and put it to good use. Jii failing to answer his door at first was a worrying moment, but a second round of knocking finally prompted the door to crack open just enough for him to regard them suspiciously.

Yeah, four unfamiliar people in hats and at least one pair of shades crowded on your doorstep would do that.

"May I help you gentlemen?"

Inspector Hakuba removed his sunglasses and raised his hat just far enough to reveal a hint of blond hair. "If you have time, I need a discreet conversation with a good man."

Jii blinked several times. "...And you can vouch for your companions?"

Hakuba paused a fraction longer than Kaito would have liked, then nodded. "Please. Time is of the essence."

Jii seemed to find that acceptable, because he unchained the door bolt and ushered them to a small kotatsu. "What can I do for the dead, Inspector?"

With a wry smile, Hakuba answered, "Your choice of words is rather appropriate."

"Oh?" Jii regarded them all with banked curiosity. After a moment, Kurou subtly steeled himself and removed the bulk of his own disguise.

"I think I used to call you 'Jii-chan'."

Kaito raised his eyebrows; Kurou must have spent the train ride hunting down old memories of that time, given his earlier lack of recognition. Either that, or he was cheating off of dreaming Kaito's life.

Jii sucked in a breath, eyes wide and locked on Kurou's face. "It can't be; is it really you? Oh, Master Touichi, if only you could see…"

Kaito hid a wince, resisting the urge to hunch in his seat as Kurou kept a perfectly composed face and replied, "I should have died the night I disappeared. I didn't. But we have bigger problems." He glanced over at Hakuba, a hint of uncertainty creeping in.

Hakuba took over, continuing, "Officially, my supposed assassin at the heist last n—month had a moment of arrogance and didn't notice the vest under my clothes. I'm playing dead until I can catch a high enough player to break them open, with Kuroba-san's assistance. Unofficially..."

Kurou offered a sickly smile. "I forgot who I was supposed to be, until something shoved it through my brain with a buzzsaw."

"Something?"

"It's a bit too complicated for now; our concerns are time-sensitive." Hakuba quickly summarized the situation, though he glossed the identities of Kaito and Saguru, which was just as well. While Kaito had a bad track record on that front, the fewer people that knew about alternate universes, the better. Jii listened quietly to Hakuba's stilted explanations without interrupting, though he didn't look away from Kurou the entire time. Kaito started zoning them out as he tried to plot out their next steps, though he was still tired enough that he kept losing the thread of his own thoughts. A nudge to his arm from Saguru brought his attention back to the actual conversation as it started winding down.

Jii did know a discreet doctor who, for an extra fee, could be immediately available. He also wouldn't hear of them trying to cover the cost, which was a relief even though Hakuba protested on principle. After he'd placed the call for that, when told that Kurou would be pursued by the woman who stole him away and placed the tracker in the first place, Jii's eyes practically gleamed in cold, anticipatory fury. "She cannot enter here without our knowledge."

"Security cameras?" Inspector Hakuba asked with a curious glance around the apartment.

Jii nodded. "At the top of the external entrance stairs, outside the Blue Parrot's entrances, and in the stairwell leading from the Parrot to this apartment." He nodded at the door that must lead to the back entrance to the billiard hall. "Of course, electronics can be subverted. Among other safeguards, the back stairwell has tuned Nightingale steps." His sharp smile reminded exactly why he was such an excellent partner for Kid, and why the Parrot was a place for planning Kid heists besides the flippable billiard tables.

"Good," Hakuba replied. "Is there a place out of the way where Kuroba-san can recover once the tracker is out?"

"My bedroom is small, but will suffice. Now, if this—woman—is coming, we had best prepare."

An hour later, Jii and Inspector Hakuba had hashed out rotations for guarding the entrances, Kurou had eaten again at their mutual behest, and the doctor had arrived. Kaito let Inspector Hakuba keep a suspicious eye on the doctor, though Kurou himself was downright eager to get started once he'd apparently satisfied for himself that the man wasn't a threat. How many years Kurou must have been looking for anyone who could remove the thing without risk of permanent damage to his muscles or betrayal… Kaito shuddered and moved on.

Instead he focused on the front door and camera feed from his position at the apartment entrance. He also ignored the muted sounds of Jii and Hakuba assisting the doctor within the closed bedroom and listened for any sign of Vermouth, or of Saguru downstairs in the Blue Parrot.

Saguru would be fine downstairs, really. He'd too much practice playing waiting games for Vermouth to catch him off guard, and the doors had deadbolts just like the apartment. If she came up the apartment stairs, though, since Kaito had practice with how electronic surveillance could be fooled… his hands strayed to the card case at his belt. A monster would elicit far too many questions from Jii—and Vermouth herself—and Saguru would creatively maim Kaito if he tried another Shadow Game with the Capture Jar trap. However, Bakura and Yugi had been sure to add a lot of other cards, some with particularly nasty smiles.

Still keeping an eye on his watchpost, Kaito retrieved his Deck and skimmed through the traps. There had been one that hadn't worked for the other situations they'd been in, but it might work here if he could only find it…

Battle Break. When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Your opponent can reveal one monster in their hand to negate this card's effect, otherwise destroy the attacking monster, then end the Battle Phase.

Vermouth was unquestionably her own monster. If breaching the building counted as declaring an attack, all he needed was to be sure that 'destroy' didn't mean dead or insane. She wouldn't know how to counter the trap before the effects kicked in, and against Vermouth, secret rules and consequences were more than fair.

Replacing the superfluous cards, Kaito pressed Battle Break against the front door. Tempting as it was to ward the entire apartment and billiard hall, he'd likely collapse unconscious after and Saguru might punch another wall. If not Kaito. As it was, trapping the front door left him lightheaded. Maybe five hours sleep and one meal wasn't enough to recover from improbable time travel shenanigans after all.

Kaito managed to stay upright and alert until the doctor was escorted out the discreet fire exit at the back of the Parrot, then relinquished his watch position to Jii half an hour early when Jii got a good look at him. Luckily Jii attributed the sudden paleness of Kaito's face to stress and shooed him to the small kotatsu beside the kitchenette space for a snack and then a nap. Without anything better to do than wait, Kaito obligingly wolfed his shopping-trip leftovers and curled up on the cushions. The late spring warmth made the blanket superfluous, but now was as good a time as any to test if the nightmares were stopped as abruptly and mysteriously as they had begun.

Gonna… summon Méraud and Lupin after this… 'n see if they'll hedge to my face.

A silent burst of shadows roused Kaito from a dream involving a bear in a tutu, an army of samurai cats, and Kamen Yaiba; he surged to his feet in time to hear the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor.

A body that could only be Vermouth lay in a crumpled heap on the threshold, Jii training a hunting rifle at her already while calling for Hakuba's assistance. The inspector pounded up the stairs, joined a few seconds later by Saguru exiting Jii's bedroom, before Kaito got his legs in working order. He managed a few swaying steps closer, then saw her face peeking through mussed blond curls.

Kaito's knees locked, treacherous memory flashing mocking laughter and restraints and oven mitts—

He couldn't breathe.

His scalp prickled with unfamiliar cold and wet, his lungs were on fire, his vision was graying around the edges but she was still there filling it inside and out—

"Hey!" Saguru barked in his face from nowhere, gloved fingers tight on Kaito's shoulder and shaking it slightly. He was a much better blond to look at even if Kaito's hands couldn't stop clenching against the ghost-feeling of claustrophobic restraint and his ears are rang like the first time he got shot at.

Kaito covered Saguru's hand with both of his and held onto the real feeling against his skin, gaze dropping to Saguru's chest to track the rise and fall of his breathing before Saguru started counting it anyway. How many times had he done that by now? The answer remained elusive, but 'too many' would do.

Too many hurts, so little time… too many Vermouths.

And Saguru hadn't used his name while Vermouth was in earshot, lucid or no, which was a small mercy. When he could breathe again, Kaito squeezed at Saguru's wrist and offered a careful smile. "Thanks. Um. Not getting any closer to her."

"A wise decision," Saguru murmured, brows still furrowed with concern. Kaito let him walk along back to the kotatsu, where Kaito sank to the ground and pulled the blanket and pillows around like when he'd still been small enough to make a proper kotatsu fortress. Saguru crouched beside the pillows at such an angle it could almost seem accidental that he was blocking most of the entryway from sight, if Kaito didn't know him better. "You can stay here with Jii-san and the patient, and I'll go with Inspector Hakuba."

Kaito almost protested, but going along to Kudou's would require being in even closer proximity and it wasn't like he could do anything Saguru couldn't to prove their story. Portals weren't exactly safe to touch and he was too tired to manage one anyway without an elixir better saved for emergencies. Like past events he was not thinking about right now nope nope nope.

Focus on the rest of the day. "I can also pretend to be her leaving, so cameras catch her going from here to the train station. I brought the wig for it anyway, just in case."

Saguru nodded thoughtfully, then glanced back at the others and pursed his lips. "And later, you'll tell me exactly what you did."

"That? That's easy." Kaito retrieved the top card of his Deck and handed it over, then had the hindsight to duck his head. "I couldn't tell you ahead of time without compromising our being on watch, and it just made me tired." In Saguru's silence, he added quickly, "And I stopped before I was keeled over even though I wanted to trap the whole building instead of just the front door."

Saguru dragged out his frosty disapproval a few more moments, then sighed in resignation and returned the card. "I suppose that's progress."

Kaito tried to not force his smile. "Paradigm shifts don't happen in a week, I'm told."

"Mmm. You'll be all right here? I think the Inspector will be willing to leave you and Jii-san as temporary custody holders, but…"

"You have to go with him—bad enough it'll just be two of you making sure she gets to proper custody. I'll manage, promise."

Saguru failed to look convinced, but he sighed again and nodded. "Don't push yourself; don't do anything stupid; don't let him do anything stupid."

"You're clucking again." Kaito conveniently ignored that Saguru's concern was possibly justified based on the past five minutes. "Go on, you're going to need a facemask and a headscarf at least to smuggle her out of here properly. Jii-san should have both."

Saguru squeezed Kaito's shoulder one last time, then left to assist. Kaito dared a glance toward them before clapping his hands over his ears at the sound of her voice, no longer muddled by the earlier hushed conversation. Music, music, something else to listen to, anything else—he hummed snatches of a dozen popular tunes under his breath in quick succession, drowning out the awful smooth confidence even outnumbered and outgunned.

Thankfully, it was only a few more minutes of staring resolutely into the kitchenette area before Jii came into view and indicated that the others had gone.

"Are you hungry, young man? You missed the last meal while you slept."

Hearing anything but 'young master' from Jii was disconcerting for a moment, but Kaito did have his partial disguise and they were going by Steven and Sora for the moment. (Mostly for the mental image of Riku's face if he ever found out; still excellent.) Kaito's stomach replied for him, however, with a loud rumble.

"Eheh…" Kaito rubbed the back of his neck. "If it's not too much trouble?"

"Certainly. I was going to make something light for the young master as well. He's far too thin…" The last was muttered to himself rather than to Kaito, and he shook his head after. "Wait a little longer, if you would."

True to Jii's word, Kaito soon had a steaming bowl of tofu and noodle miso soup (and presumably Kurou had just the broth in a little thermos Jii took into the bedroom, but Kaito wasn't going in to check on him yet). Jii settled across the kotatsu with his own bowl, and Kaito took several fortifying gulps before asking, "What happened to Vermouth?"

Jii eyed Kaito with some consideration before replying, "She was unconscious briefly, and when she woke appeared no longer able to lift her gun, even to surrender it. She has similar paresis in her legs, if her movements are as genuine as I believe."

"Oh." Not that it wasn't the least of what she deserved; the Shadows on their own could be more clever than Kaito hoped. "If it's okay to leave you alone with him like this I should pretend to be her leaving soon, so it's not suspicious…"

"Finish your soup first, lad," Jii said kindly.

Making an effort toward that was easy. "Will you be okay alone with him, though?" Kaito repeated. His Jii was great even with danger, but even with Nightengale steps this Jii had been only a billiard hall owner for over a decade, at least in theory, and Kurou…

Jii smiled, half-hidden behind his mustache but visible in his eyes. "I've no doubt the young master could kill me six different ways with only his soup thermos, but I don't believe he will."

"...Okay." Impersonating Vermouth and coming straight back for more sleep sounded perfect. Méraud and Lupin weren't going anywhere and arguing logic, reasoning, or motive with Lupin was not for the low-on-sleep.

And if Hakuba and Saguru could be successful, maybe they could leave this universe behind with some hope for a better future and actually get home.

Happy 10th anniversary of Promenade, readers. To all who have stuck with me thus far, thank you for reading and for every comment, kudos, review, rec, and fanart. I have treasured them all.

Additional thanks to Wren, Ellen, and Kdm13 for listening, encouraging, commenting and inspiring this chapter to completion.