Promenade Eight
I finally have enough written in the current Promenade arc that I'm fairly confident I won't need to hold onto this chapter any longer to ensure consistency. Huzzah!
Unfortunately, said chapter is so long it requires being cut in half to meet LJ length requirements. Part two to come tomorrow...
Author: ocianne
Title: Promenade
Rating: T for violence and swearing
Word Count:
Summary: Katio finally makes it back home.
Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts, Detective Conan, and Magic Kaitou all belong to much richer and more creative people than I.
Warnings: Major spoilers for the entire Kingdom Hearts series follow. Some for MK, but more of that later.
Notes: X-posted to ocianne. Other notes are behind the cut.
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
Dedications: To Ellen and Snickerer, for being the best plotbunnie-bouncers-cum-editors a girl could ask for. Much of this arc only exists because of you. To Alli, for making time to beta around an insane schedule. And to Candy-chan, because the penguin is All Your Fault. Enjoy! :grins:
Please note: Originally, Kaito seemed to have gained power of illusion in Promenade Chapter 3. This has been ret-conned out for greater consistency with canon. His further abilities will be made clear in later chapters.
The rule of thumb regarding speech patterns: If there are honorifics in what people are saying, or Kaito’s mother is referred to as ‘(o)kaasan’, they’re speaking Japanese. If the opposite is true, then they’re speaking English. Riku tends to default to English, so a lot of conversation between just Riku and Kaito are English.
For the sake of my sanity, Kaito’s mother required a name. I’ve chosen Mizuki, ‘beautiful moon.’
- - - - -
Chapter Eight: Homecoming (Part 1)
- - - - -
Spring breezes played through one of Tokyo’s many public parks, disheveling hair and toying with skirts as they grew and faded in turn. Several ruffled Kaito’s unruly spikes where he lay in the shade of a blooming cherry tree, loose petals blowing haphazardly into his eyes and bangs. Riku leaned against the trunk, one leg bent, amber eyes focused on nothing. A small playground was situated a short distance away from them, bright colors surrounded by greenery. Children ran about in loosely controlled chaos, voices muffled just enough by distance to fade into the background.
“Well,” Kaito began conversationally, when the silence became unbearable, “I have a few ideas about what might have happened to you, but I’d rather not start hazarding guesses. Would it help if I promised not to interrupt?”
Riku slowly exhaled, pensive. “It might, actually. I’ve never had to tell anyone - they either know most of it already, or not enough to even ask. I don’t know if I could stop and restart very easily.”
“No questions, then, at least not ‘til after. I’ll - I’ll try not to pry into stuff that’s not important, too. It’s not my place to know everything about you all at once.” He flashed Riku a quick smile. “I plan to annoy the rest of your quirks out of you later.”
Despite the serious air surrounding them, Riku couldn’t stop a quiet snort of amusement. “We’ll see.”
Kaito rolled onto his stomach, resting his chin on the back of his overlapping hands.
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
His firm tone attracted Riku’s attention, and he let his determination bore into the other man’s gaze. Kaito focused so intently he almost thought he saw Riku’s dark exterior fade away into an altogether different face, before speech broke his concentration.
“Starting from the beginning… I do know Sora a lot better that I admitted to. We grew up together, him and I and a girl named Kairi. I was always the best at everything, but I was never content like they were. I wanted a life beyond what we had so badly, eventually I didn’t care how I got it. Desires like that, where the means don’t matter any more… it calls to the darkness, to the heartless. In seeking a way out, I gave them a way in.
“I lost myself in the darkness. First to escape our too-small world, then to find my friends… to save Kairi, stuck in a coma… and then from jealousy of Sora’s new friends and the power of his keyblade. I kidnapped and hurt people, even tried to seriously harm Sora. I tried to steal the keyblade from him, too, with some justification-the keyblade had chosen me first, before I opened myself to the dark-but Sora reclaimed it, and defeated me at my strongest. I was desperate to beat him, so when a voice told me to open myself to the darkness completely, I didn’t hesitate.
“You see, a heartless is born when darkness consumes a heart and then controls whatever spark of instinct remains. Without the heart, which holds light and darkness, the body and soul-basically the consciousness, a person’s mind and will-vanish into the nothingness between light and dark. They act as a conduit to give rise to a nobody, a creature with some kind of mind, but no emotions or memories of who they used to be. Someone with a strong enough soul, however, if he chooses to embrace the darkness, can keep both familiar form and a sense of will. The cast off body and soul create to a nobody with no emotions still, but a strong will and intact memories.
“One man who did that was named Ansem. And his heartless whispered to me that the darkness would grant me the power I sought, only to possess me when I followed his counsel. Too late, I tried to throw away the darkness, just as I had previously thrown away everything important to me. I failed.
“Ansem’s heartless used my body to seek the door to Kingdom Hearts, the heart of the entire universe, for the power of the darkness there. He would have killed Sora, Kairi, anyone who got in his way.
“Ironically, my cast out heart appeared beyond the door. The strength of my will held out against the darkness, but I couldn’t reclaim my body and leave. All I wanted…”
He trailed off, clenching and unclenching his fists. Kaito said nothing, merely waiting for him to continue.
“I just wanted to see Sora and Kairi again, know they were safe. That was when the King found me-the keyblade had chosen him before I’d ever met him, but he left the realm of light to claim the keyblade of the dark realm for his own. He managed to find another entrance to Kingdom Hearts, braving its vast darkness with only his own light. When Ansem opened the door, Sora called upon the light hidden deep within Kingdom Hearts, and defeated him. Together, he and I and Mickey closed that door for good… but Mickey and I were stuck behind the door.”
He chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“I still don’t know exactly how I reclaimed my body, but DiZ and his choices were involved. Sora and I appeared separately in a castle controlled by the group of nobodies DiZ and I told you about, Organization XIII. Ansem’s nobody is their leader, by the way. That-”
Riku clamped his mouth shut, glowering.
“Bastard?” Kaito suggested.
“Yeah. Doesn’t have the decency to die properly. He has to be killed in bits and pieces. Anyway, Sora’s memories were manipulated by a unique nobody named Naminé, a girl held prisoner to their will. In the end he won, but to regain his true memories he had to sleep while Naminé replaced what she had stolen. I faced the darkness left within me with Mickey’s help, and eventually defeated the remnants of Ansem’s will in my heart.
“He couldn’t control me any more, but traces of him remained in the darkness I had claimed as my own. I traveled for several months with Mickey, looking for a way to purge my heart and thwart the remains of Organization XIII, but eventually my worry about Ansem led me to leave and wander the dark alone for a while, until I met DiZ again. He needed a favor.”
Riku ran a hand through his hair, a bitter smile on his face. Kaito raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.
“Before he defeated Ansem, Sora temporarily became a heartless and then regained his body with Kairi’s help. He unknowingly left behind a nobody without memories but with a portion of his power. Roxas could wield the keyblade, so Organization XIII snapped him up. Of course, typical Sora-stubbornness eventually led him to leave in search of why he was a keybearer, knowing no more about his other self than Sora’s name. DiZ believed Sora needed Roxas in order to be able to regain himself completely and defeat the Organization. He asked me to capture Roxas.
“I couldn’t beat Roxas as myself any more than I could Sora. I… I got desperate. I called on the darkness I had accepted as part of myself, reached so far that my body remembered what it was like to wear Ansem’s likeness, and changed to more effectively accommodate the dark. I won, but this was the price.” He gestured at his now-brooding visage. “Myself, now become my worst enemy. His worst enemy.”
Kaito didn’t need to ask to who the ‘he’ was. Riku took a deep breath, looking exhausted.
“I don’t-I don’t want them to see me like this. I don’t know why they’d want to see me at all, really. I betrayed them, and now exist as a living memorial for the one I betrayed them to.” His expression twisted painfully, eyes closing. “The trade was worth it, but I’m not me any more, not properly. I’m Ansem. I still want to help Sora-that’s why I’ve been traveling like this in the first place-but unless a miracle happens…”
Kaito got the distinct impression that Riku had no idea what he was going to do with himself. More than anything, the stress of not knowing what would happen or what to do probably contributed to why Riku rarely rested. If he worked himself into total exhaustion, he wouldn’t have the energy to worry about the future.
“I can’t face them.”
Sitting up cross-legged, Kaito cupped a hand around his chin, letting his arm rest on one knee.
“I think I know why Sora puts up with you. You may be a stubborn idiot, but you're a likeable stubborn idiot.”
Whatever Riku had been expecting Kaito to say, Kaito felt fairly certain that wasn’t it.
“Look,” he went on, taking advantage of Riku’s temporary speechlessness, “the way you’ve described Sora, he’s an extremely nice guy. If he put up with you for his whole life, I don’t think much would change his opinion of you, particularly since you’ve rediscovered what’s really important. However, you’re letting what you believe you deserve-which is a load of crock, by the way-also become what Sora would think you deserve, in your mind. You seem fatalistically determined to think the worst of the both of you.”
“Weren’t you listening? I’m the one who completely screwed up. Sora played the perfect hero, all goodness and light and hopelessly optimistic.”
Kaito smirked. “Are you listening to yourself? If Sora is half the hero and all-around champion you claim he is-”
“It’s not just what I claim, it’s what he’s done!”
“-then what kind of hero would condemn his best friend for making a mistake? Especially one he regrets?”
Riku went silent, attention turning inward, then grunted noncommittally. “It’s not that simple.”
Arsène Lupin help me if I ever act this pig-headed.
“I think it is. Tell me this. If you had stayed the Keyblade master, and Sora had embraced the darkness but seen the error of his ways… Would you abandon him?”
Riku actually flinched. “No.”
Kaito leaned forward, pressing his point home. “Has Sora ever done anything to justify your opinion of his character, or are you refusing to hope solely because you don’t want to face how much it would hurt if the one-in-a-million chance came true and Sora rejected you?”
Riku slumped against the tree. “I’m afraid to lose my last hope to keep going, all right?” He glared at Kaito, now-petulant expression the most like a teenager Kaito had ever seen from him. “Why do I put up with guys like you? You and Sora are the most aggravating people I’ve ever met.”
A sly smile spread across Kaito’s face. He looked sidelong at Riku. “It’s because we refuse to let you get away with brooding alone.”
Riku looked startled again, and then after a moment he started to laugh. Not a dark chuckle or amused snicker, but full on, unrestrained laughter. Kaito watched in satisfaction, letting the other boy release tension held in check for far too long. (A small part of him was also infinitely relieved that they made it through their entire conversation without the threat of tears-Aoko crying was bad enough, let alone a fellow guy.)
After a few minutes, Riku showed signs of subsiding, and Kaito spoke again. “Now. We’ve established that Sora is not one to hold grudges or abandon his friends, yes?”
A genuine smile, slow and the most relaxed Kaito had ever seen from him. “Yes.”
“I’ve heard the worst you can throw at me, and rather than drop you like a ton of bricks I’m sitting here, two feet away, trying to knock some sense back into your head.”
“No sense of self-preservation.”
Banter. Good. About time, too.
“We’ve proven empirically that you aren’t better off trying to do everything alone-it’s not weakness to work together with someone. If you’d really believed that, you would never have let me join you in the first place.”
Consideration. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. So, you just told me that Sora and I are quite similar in the way we treat you. Using the rules of simple logic, we can come to what conclusion?”
Come on, you’ve been wanting to believe this all along, you’ve just needed someone else to tell you that it’s true.
Riku sighed, but in relief rather than frustration.
“Sora’d put the past behind him. Kairi too,” he added, and Kaito cheered mentally.
He learns! He can make independent conclusions! He can extend applicability!
…He really brings out the sarcasm in me.
“Excellent deductive reasoning, grasshopper,” Kaito settled on saying aloud.
Riku snickered, the strain in his demeanor all but vanished. Abruptly, a yawn escaped him. He blinked owlishly.
“Funny, I didn’t feel this tired an hour ago…”
“You’ve been running on adrenaline for who knows how long, and your body has decided it doesn’t need to any more.” Kaito stood and tugged Riku upright. “Come on. There’s a couch with your name on it, if you can stay awake ‘til we get home.”
Riku swayed slightly, but managed to stand and walk unassisted. “You still owe me your story. ‘S not fair if you know so much about me and I only know bits about you.”
“Later, I promise. In fact, you’ll probably know more than you ever wanted to, by the time we finally leave again.”
“We shouldn’t stay too long, there’s too much…” Another yawn. “…To do.”
”Sora’s survived all right so far with minimal meddling from you. He can keep for at least a few more days.”
“A few days!”
“Yes. You need a break; I need a break. You need to spend some quality time with people who aren’t out to kill or manipulate you, I need to reassure quite a few people that I’m not dead, and we both need time to sleep, eat, and unwind.”
“But Xigbar,” Riku protested weakly.
“Creepy eye-patch guy can wait.”
They made it to the bus for Kaito’s house, and conversation suspended as Kaito rummaged through the satchel holding his suit and gadgets for his public transportation pass. It was crowded, but they managed to find one free seat. Kaito let Riku collapse into the seat, and stood beside him. Riku’s unusual appearance earned them a few strange looks from the people nearby, but Kaito ignored them.
“Question,” he said as the bus lurched forward. “Sora’s supposed to be the hero of light and all, defeating the bad guys wherever they are?” A nod. “Then why assume that he won’t get the better of them no matter where they go? Your world-hunting has been nothing but an excuse to avoid Sora and feel useful while you’re at it.”
Riku sighed, glaring up at Kaito again, but without malice.
“All right, all right. Himura’s was the first place I’ve found the Organization without Sora soon catching up, and the world took care of itself, anyway. Sora’s method of travel is tied directly to his heart and given how badly he wants to protect people it’s unlikely, if not downright impossible, that he’ll miss them. And cut it out, will you?” He knocked Kaito’s leg with a foot.
“Cut what out?” Kaito shot back, hanging on to the bar above his head.
“Ferreting out my character flaws. I’ve been rather attached to them, I’ll have you know.”
“Sorry, I think it’s a holdover of seeing what’s really there. And since I wouldn’t be thinking like this if I hadn’t met you, it’s entirely your fault for letting me tag along in the first place.”
“Damn. I was hoping I could blame you.”
They shared a grin.
“My turn for a question. What do you plan to tell your mother and friends about me?”
“Um. Very good question.” Kaito grimaced. “Mom would understand if I said you’d rather not talk about yourself, but anyone else… no. I can’t exactly explain that tall, old, dark and brooding is actually younger, shorter, paler, and brooding, can I?”
Riku looked surprised. “Paler?”
“I mean-well, yeah. You’re not naturally that color, are you?”
“No, but I’ve no idea where you could have gotten the idea into your head.”
Kaito shrugged.
“Well, since I’d rather not haunt your house and talking with decent people again is growing in attractiveness, we need a plan.”
“Yeah. Thinking...”
Recalling DiZ’s cover stories from however long ago, the pair spent the rest of the bus ride and walk to Kaito’s house hashing out a believable background. Riku became Yuushi Riku, a half-Brazilian aspiring magician’s apprentice and general gopher for the traveling ensemble with whom Kaito supposedly was touring. Said show was taking a few days sabbatical, and Kaito’d invited his friend to spend the interim at his house.
“I’ll try teaching you a few of the basics, in case anybody asks for a trick.” Kaito eyed Riku critically. “Does your hair naturally do that?”
Riku ran a hand through his silver hair, temporarily flattening the gravity-defying locks. “As far as I can tell, yes. Any ideas?”
“Some sort of hat, and a story about prematurely greyed hair. You look at least near thirty, so it’s believable.”
“Do I? I don’t spend much time in front of a mirror. Oh, and I draw the line at top hats.”
Kaito snickered. “I should give you one just for that. But you don’t get to be a master of disguise without costume accessories, so you should find something sufficiently inoffensive for your tastes. We’ll find you some amber-tinted sunglasses, too, because no offense, but your eyes are a shade of near-orange that really that shouldn’t exist.”
“How kind,” Riku replied as they reached the front door to the Kuroba home. No one answered Kaito’s knock, but his spare lock picks had survived intact and made short work of gaining entry.
“No key?”
“Not on heists,” Kaito answered, mind already elsewhere. “No trace of who I am that can be left behind at a scene.” He walked inside, looking around the front room. “Kaasan?” he called, switching flawlessly from English to Japanese.
Silence, and then a breathless, “Kai-kun?”
Kuroba Mizuki appeared in the entrance to the kitchen. She stopped dead at seeing Kaito, hand flying to her mouth. After an endless moment, she darted forward, crying Kaito’s name again and enveloping her only son in a fervent hug. Kaito stiffened in surprise as she buried her face in his shoulder, silent tears leaking from her eyes.
“Kaasan?” He tentatively folded his arms around her.
When did you become so fragile? You feel smaller, older. Or have I just grown?
You haven’t cried like this since Oyaji… died…
“Six weeks, Kai-kun, without knowing if you would ever come home. Bad enough when it was your father, bad enough when you followed in his footsteps and I could only watch, but this, not even knowing what you’re doing, no news if you or the Kid anywhere… I’m not that strong.”
“I’m sorry, Kaasan,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
She pulled back and smiled bravely at him. “You’re here now, and you’re alive and well. I know what you do, what your father did, is important. I could never stop either of you. Just don’t ever do that to me again!” she scolded.
“I won’t, I promise.” Even if it means dragging Riku back with me. “But Kaasan…” he hesitated. “I can’t stay long.”
Her face fell. “How soon?”
“Maybe a week. It’s not directly related to the Kid,” and this is unbelievably disconcerting, talking openly about my night job, “but it’s not something I can ignore.”
Several emotions flashed across his mother’s face, but in the end she nodded. “You have your father’s spirit. You won’t be happy unless you see it through, but please, say goodbye this time. Let me know you’re all right when you’re gone.”
“I’ll try.” Kaito looked over his shoulder, where Riku had hung back by the door.
“Kaasan, I’d like you to meet a-”
“Friend,” Riku said, also switching to Japanese, briefly meeting Kaito’s gaze with an ironic smile. He bowed. “Yuushi Riku, Kuroba-san. I’m honored to meet the mother of such an impressive young man.”
Kaito tried to conceal his surprise at Riku’s statement, but it didn’t make much difference because no one was looking at him anyway. His mother laughed softly.
“A pleasure, Yuushi-san. Please, call me Mizuki-san. ‘Kuroba-san’ has always been my husband. Welcome to our home. Someone from the so-called magician’s troupe Aoko-chan told me about?” she asked Kaito.
“Right as always. Riku-kun’s between houses right now because of what we’re trying to accomplish, so I hoped you wouldn’t mind a guest for a while.”
“In my opinion, you’ve never had your friends over often enough,” she declared. “I was just making dinner. Why don’t you pull out the extra futon while I finish?” She chuckled. “I’m afraid that tonight I’m making sushi, Kaito-kun.”
Kaito stiffened. “What?!”
“I didn’t expect you home to complain. I’ll make eel and tempura and extra rice, too, so you’ll manage nicely. I haven’t forgotten how much men eat.”
Kaito groaned. “But, Kaasan… fish! ”
Already walking back to the kitchen, she paused at the door to say, “Really, after what you do all the time, fish is nothing to be afraid of. I still don’t know where you picked up such a phobia.”
Too late, Kaito realized that their exchange had an observer. “Is it too much to hope that you didn’t hear that?”
“Yes, Kai-kun,” Riku said, humor obvious in his voice. “So… Fish?”
Kaito headed to the chest of linens. “If you breathe a word of this, I will be forced to harm you. You, Aoko, Kaasan, and maybe Nakamori-keibu know. I admit to it, I disavow any memory of how it began, and I’d be happiest if it never came up again.”
To Kaito’s chagrin, Riku teased him all the way through airing out Kaito’s room and setting up the extra futon in the den. Once they sat down to dinner, however, he faded into the background, allowing Kaito and his mother time to reconnect. She told him stories from the hospital where she worked as a nurse, and how Aoko had occasionally visited and asked for news. Kaito couldn’t reveal too much information, but he did tell her about some of the people they’d met traveling.
After a while a yawn from Riku interrupted them, reminding Kaito why they’d come home in the first place. “Kaasan, do you work tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “I have night shift in a few hours, but tomorrow is my day off.”
Kaito blinked. “What day is it, anyway?”
“Thursday,” she laughed.
“Well, I think we both need to get some sleep. We’ve been traveling for a while.”
“Until morning, then.” She gave Kaito a fond smile and began clearing dishes. He squeezed her hand briefly, and shooed Riku ahead of him.
“You. Shower. Clean towel on the bar, and I’ll rummage up a change of clothes for you by the time you’re done.”
“I’ll be shocked if anything in your house fits someone over 5’7”.”
Kaito snickered at the deadpan and pointed at himself. “Phantom thief. Disguises come with the job.”
“Oh?”
“Yep. Hey,” Kaito added as a thought occurred to him, “why do you wear those cloaks, anyway? Stealing fashion from the bad guys is a good way to get a keyblade upside the head.”
Riku cocked his head thoughtfully. “The people who wear these belong neither to the light or the darkness. And even though I don’t possess their nothingness, I don’t either. It helped remind me.”
Kaito’s brow furrowed. “Why let me temporarily force a change of attire on you right after we met, then?”
A pause. “You were being light enough for the both of us.”
“…Oh.”
A wicked smile appeared on Riku’s face. “And to stop your overbearing cheerfulness for awhile.”
“Hey!”
Riku disappeared into the bathroom, chuckling. Kaito shook his head after him. Once alone, he walked to the picture in the living room of his father in full magician’s regalia, complete with several doves.
“I’m home, Oyaji.” He brushed his fingers against Kuroba Toichi’s enigmatic face, and stepped through the rotating portrait into the hideout of the Kaitou Kid.
Everything was exactly the way he had left it. Not a surprise, given that his mother, the only other person to know of its existence, probably hadn’t entered since before his father’s untimely death. Knowing he’d have time to come back, Kaito rummaged through the collection of various disguises he’d inherited and added to over previous months, finally finding a satisfactory outfit for Riku’s stature and apparent age. He decided to let Riku pick out a hat for himself later, and dropped the clothes outside the bathroom door.
Riku still occupied the shower, so Kaito took his mom’s laptop computer into his bedroom and began catching up on relevant news. The articles decrying his disappearance and a subsequent police newscast were the most amusing, but the recent human-interest article on a large ruby on display until the end of the month really caught his eye. Plans already taking shape in his head, Kaito became so engrossed in research that he didn’t sense Riku’s approach until the other boy spoke.
“Kaito-kun?”
He waved absently at the unoccupied part of his bed. “Have a seat. Got to finish this note and deliver it to the police before old Nakamori-keibu goes home tonight.”
“Say what?”
Kaito stopped typing mid-sentence, hands hovering over the keyboard. “I never did tell you what my night job entails, did I?”
“No, nor your reasons for gallivanting around in a white cape and top hat in the first place.”
“Can it wait?”
A yawn. “Given that I’m likely to fall asleep mid-explanation, yes. But I’d like one tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
Riku wandered off to sleep, leaving Kaito to scheme in silence. If he wanted to return as both Kid and himself, he needed Kid to appear first. Not that Hakuba would accept them both returning at the same time as a coincidence. Only obsessive attention to detail, luck, and some outside help has prevented Hakuba from getting conclusive proof already. Kaito’s next best option was plausible deniability to everyone else.
- - -
The next morning, the boys were so tired that Kaito’s mother returned from her shift at the hospital, snatched a few hours of sleep, and made breakfast before either one began to stir. Kaito checked the newspaper over their late morning brunch. Kid’s mysterious disappearance and the new note announcing his return had made the front page. Kaito grinned and cut out the article once they finished the meal.
“Why did you do that?” Riku asked as they washed the breakfast dishes.
“Two reasons: For the Kid’s records, and because my civilian identity is an avowed Kid fan.”
Riku nodded. “Since you’ve persuaded me to take a sabbatical from the show,” he smiled slightly at the alias, “what do you expect me to do while you return to school?”
“First of all, I’m not going back to school yet. The heist is tomorrow night, and I’m going to need most of the time until then to make sure I won’t get caught. You can help me out with that if you feel like it. Mostly, though…” Kaito flicked some soapsuds in Riku’s direction. “I thought you’d like to simply relax. Read a book, take a walk, do all the things you haven’t felt able to do for so long. You need some normalcy for a while.”
Riku half-smiled. “I suppose I do. That sounds rather nice, actually.”
“I’ll introduce you to my friends when they get out of school tomorrow. I can use the Kid heist as an excuse for a temporary reappearance-they’ll believe I’d take an absence of leave to be in Japan for one, after such a long break.”
I hope.
A knock at the door interrupted them, and a very familiar voice called, “Hello? Mizuki-san?”
Kaito grabbed Riku by the arm and shot out of the kitchen, waving to his mother as she approached the door. “We’re not here!” he hissed, and hustled Riku through Toichi’s portrait.
“Should’ve known,” he muttered once they were safely concealed. “Aoko would come see Kaasan on her day off, to keep her company and catch up on news.” For all her boyish behavior, Aoko could be surprisingly feminine and thoughtful when she wanted to be.
Riku ignored him, staring at the Kid’s lair: Kid costumes, mirrors, various pieces of a normal magician’s stock in trade, boxes and chests holding the more select tools of a phantom thief, a bookshelf stuffed full of books and another beside it of notebooks, stairs leading up to a loft with a miniature lab, various mechanical setups designed to keep the room secret, and, of course, the car.
“This is… impressive.” He sat down on the foot of the stars and looked at Kaito. “Tell me.”
Kaito’s mouth went dry. Much like Riku, he’d never had to tell anyone either. Old man Jii had already known from being dad’s assistant, his mom never talked about it, and he’d never admitted to Akako or Hakuba that their suspicions were correct.
Riku noticed his expression. “Fair trade,” he added good-naturedly. “Only what’s important for me to know. ‘I'll annoy the rest of your quirks out of you later,’ wasn’t it?”
Kaito grinned. “Yeah.”
Walking around the room, touching various objects here and there for silent support, Kaito spoke about how over fifteen years ago, the Kaitou Kid stole jewels and returned them in an elaborate game with police all over the world. Then of nine years ago, when world-famous magician Kuroba Toichi died in an apparent accident during a show, and the Kid vanished.
He told about the legendary jewel with the power of immortality that Toichi had died trying to find and protect from a ruthless, mafia-like organization. And how almost a year ago, his son stumbled upon the Kid’s legacy, learned Toichi had been murdered, and took up the mantle himself to find his father’s killers.
Finally, he described the nature of a heist-the note, the show for the inevitable crowd, the police chases, and some of the tricks he’d used to avoid being caught. When he reached the increasingly odd dynamic between himself, Nakamori, Aoko, Hakuba, and even Akako, he became even more subdued, but persevered through the tangled threads of friendship and loathing that tied both his personas to the people he was closest to.
His friendly enemies led inevitably to Conan, the child-who-wasn’t-a-child with no tie to Kaito outside of the Kid, but with whom another strange accord of cat-and-mouse had developed. Out of professional courtesy Kaito avoided mentioning that Conan wasn’t the child he appeared to be, but he felt able to share how they’d even occasionally helped each other in matters outside of a heist proper. Similar to Hakuba, Conan wanted nothing more than to see the Kid behind bars, but (to Kaito’s slight bewilderment) both detectives were territorially protective of the one quarry they’d never been able to catch. Conan was also refreshingly determined to leave out the innocents.
Kaito enjoyed the rare challenge Conan’s appearance brought, and smiled reminiscently over telling some of the ways he’d managed to tease the miniature detective. He added in a few stories that had Nakamori as the main antagonist, and the times he’d masqueraded as Hakuba or Aoko to keep from getting caught.
“You actually pulled off impersonating his own daughter?” Riku chortled quietly, mindful of the guest potentially still in the house.
“Seeing her nearly every day for close to a decade means I know her mannerisms better than almost anyone else. Voices are easy.” Kaito shrugged, grateful that Riku seemed to have taken everything in stride. He’d looked slightly grim upon learning about Kaito’s atypical social life, but made very little comment. A good thing, because Kaito knew just how absurd his life sounded, just like he knew that unless something changed drastically, there was no other way to proceed.
Which was part of why he’d conveniently forgotten to mention that people occasionally shot at him during heists, and lately the ones he could detect had all been wearing excessive amounts of monochrome.
“And Hakuba-san?”
“Arrogant, smug, obsessed with details, and a slightly British lilt to his Japanese that he still hasn’t managed to get rid of. Although,” Kaito added contemplatively, “he’s lost some of the arrogance. If it didn’t mean the world was coming to an end, I’d almost say he’s loosened up a little.” He grinned.
“I’ll take your word for it.” Riku paused. “Kaito-kun? Are you really sure this is what you have to do? Especially alone?”
“I won’t put anyone else in danger. Even if someone I told believed me and didn’t turn me in or arrest me on the spot, they could do nothing. Except worry, the way mom does. And this has to be done.”
“If you think so, then if there’s anything I can do to help...” he trailed off.
Kaito nodded, hoping that after this Riku would be able to leave everything alone.
“I mean it. Anything.”
Kaito smiled slightly. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”
A voice sounded through the wall. “If anyone were able to hear me, I’d tell them that Aoko-chan just finished eating lunch with me and there’s more where it came from. Of course, now that she’s gone home, there’s no one around to hear…”
Riku smirked at Kaito. “I think I like your mom.”
“Best in the world,” Kaito agreed quietly, walking towards the portrait door.
- - -
For the rest of the day, Kaito stayed busy preparing for Saturday night. Riku puttered around the house, in and out of the Kid’s lair. Kaito couldn’t begrudge him the opportunity to explore; he had his own difficulties with staying put or not having something to stay occupied with. Eventually the other boy settled in front of the TV, a book in one hand and the remote in the other. He kept the volume down in deference to Kaito’s need to think, and after a while Kaito thought he heard some faint snores.
The guy must have really stretched himself thin before I got to him.
Hm, light rain tomorrow night…
Kaito scrutinized the website’s weather report, trying to decide whether it was worth risking the chance of too much rain to fly in, or if it would be better to try and form an alternate escape route. In the end, the glider won.
Familiar, confirmedly successful as an escape route, and my luck usually holds for little things like that.
But some familiar little things had changed, Kaito remembered abruptly. He pulled his card gun out, wondering what of the outside worlds he’d managed to bring home with him. The playing cards looked no more than laminated pasteboard, until he scrutinized the edges carefully and found a faint silver glow.
I wonder if that’s always been there, and I’ve just never been able to see it before? I never did figure out why only my own shots could cut into concrete, not that I plan to complain…
Aoko had fired his card gun once, just before he’d retired it from Kuroba Kaito’s life in favor of using it as a heist tool. The cards had sliced through the air with ease, but slapped flat against the wall, fluttering to the floor. Everyone had accepted that the unique qualities of his projectiles were one more magic trick, and he’d seen no reason to dissuade them. He’d usually tried not to think about it.
On impulse he found his Duel Cards. As he touched them, the tug at his consciousness was almost imperceptible, vague threads of connection constricted still more by the nature of his world. Unless he could find a way to easier draw through those pathways, no assistance from the Shadow Realm’s denizens was likely to be forthcoming.
Although, come to think of it… If he could still feel the threads of the Shadow Realm here on this world, there must be something there. Darkness and light seemed to be everywhere in and among the worlds-why not the shadows, as well? The inventor of Duel Monsters had probably never existed in this Japan, but that didn’t mean the Shadow Realm didn’t. Akako called it black magic, but since real darkness would probably have chewed her up and spat her out years ago, what if she had found a way to access the shadows without Duel Cards?
The style of her favorite regalia tended toward Ancient Egyptian, and there was probably a card somewhere that explained her irresistible allure to any male beyond puberty. Attractiveness to anyone but him, of course. He had a growing suspicion that his own connection to the shadows had something to do with that. And maybe Hakuba, but he personally wondered if the blond boy felt much at all, let alone enough for Akako to manipulate.
…I wonder if I’m going crazy. But if I’m right, I wonder which monster it is that’s masquerading as that ‘Luci’ guy she says she summons to talk to…
Kaito couldn’t help himself, and began snickering madly.
Note to self: For whatever reason, this world’s channels are minimal outside of augmenting natural human talent. When you leave again, practice what you can so that when you come home, you’ll know how best to access it.
Maybe I can convince Riku to visit Yugi again. I wouldn’t mind a few more tips about how to summon the shadows without passing out.
And I really, really don’t want to ask Akako about something like that, no matter how much more familiar she is with non-legerdemain magic.
Kaito shook himself free of his train of thought. He needed to worry about the here and now-there would be plenty of time to worry about everything else later. Wandering back to his laptop, he went back to work.
There were some worrying rumors floating around the less-than-legal circles that warranted investigating, about a strange new wild card calling himself ‘Nightmare’…
- - - -
Feel free to nitpick, squee, or anything in between.
Part 2 is now here: Chapter 8, Pt. 2.
Unfortunately, said chapter is so long it requires being cut in half to meet LJ length requirements. Part two to come tomorrow...
Author: ocianne
Title: Promenade
Rating: T for violence and swearing
Word Count:
Summary: Katio finally makes it back home.
Disclaimers: Kingdom Hearts, Detective Conan, and Magic Kaitou all belong to much richer and more creative people than I.
Warnings: Major spoilers for the entire Kingdom Hearts series follow. Some for MK, but more of that later.
Notes: X-posted to ocianne. Other notes are behind the cut.
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7
Dedications: To Ellen and Snickerer, for being the best plotbunnie-bouncers-cum-editors a girl could ask for. Much of this arc only exists because of you. To Alli, for making time to beta around an insane schedule. And to Candy-chan, because the penguin is All Your Fault. Enjoy! :grins:
Please note: Originally, Kaito seemed to have gained power of illusion in Promenade Chapter 3. This has been ret-conned out for greater consistency with canon. His further abilities will be made clear in later chapters.
The rule of thumb regarding speech patterns: If there are honorifics in what people are saying, or Kaito’s mother is referred to as ‘(o)kaasan’, they’re speaking Japanese. If the opposite is true, then they’re speaking English. Riku tends to default to English, so a lot of conversation between just Riku and Kaito are English.
For the sake of my sanity, Kaito’s mother required a name. I’ve chosen Mizuki, ‘beautiful moon.’
- - - - -
Chapter Eight: Homecoming (Part 1)
- - - - -
Spring breezes played through one of Tokyo’s many public parks, disheveling hair and toying with skirts as they grew and faded in turn. Several ruffled Kaito’s unruly spikes where he lay in the shade of a blooming cherry tree, loose petals blowing haphazardly into his eyes and bangs. Riku leaned against the trunk, one leg bent, amber eyes focused on nothing. A small playground was situated a short distance away from them, bright colors surrounded by greenery. Children ran about in loosely controlled chaos, voices muffled just enough by distance to fade into the background.
“Well,” Kaito began conversationally, when the silence became unbearable, “I have a few ideas about what might have happened to you, but I’d rather not start hazarding guesses. Would it help if I promised not to interrupt?”
Riku slowly exhaled, pensive. “It might, actually. I’ve never had to tell anyone - they either know most of it already, or not enough to even ask. I don’t know if I could stop and restart very easily.”
“No questions, then, at least not ‘til after. I’ll - I’ll try not to pry into stuff that’s not important, too. It’s not my place to know everything about you all at once.” He flashed Riku a quick smile. “I plan to annoy the rest of your quirks out of you later.”
Despite the serious air surrounding them, Riku couldn’t stop a quiet snort of amusement. “We’ll see.”
Kaito rolled onto his stomach, resting his chin on the back of his overlapping hands.
“Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
His firm tone attracted Riku’s attention, and he let his determination bore into the other man’s gaze. Kaito focused so intently he almost thought he saw Riku’s dark exterior fade away into an altogether different face, before speech broke his concentration.
“Starting from the beginning… I do know Sora a lot better that I admitted to. We grew up together, him and I and a girl named Kairi. I was always the best at everything, but I was never content like they were. I wanted a life beyond what we had so badly, eventually I didn’t care how I got it. Desires like that, where the means don’t matter any more… it calls to the darkness, to the heartless. In seeking a way out, I gave them a way in.
“I lost myself in the darkness. First to escape our too-small world, then to find my friends… to save Kairi, stuck in a coma… and then from jealousy of Sora’s new friends and the power of his keyblade. I kidnapped and hurt people, even tried to seriously harm Sora. I tried to steal the keyblade from him, too, with some justification-the keyblade had chosen me first, before I opened myself to the dark-but Sora reclaimed it, and defeated me at my strongest. I was desperate to beat him, so when a voice told me to open myself to the darkness completely, I didn’t hesitate.
“You see, a heartless is born when darkness consumes a heart and then controls whatever spark of instinct remains. Without the heart, which holds light and darkness, the body and soul-basically the consciousness, a person’s mind and will-vanish into the nothingness between light and dark. They act as a conduit to give rise to a nobody, a creature with some kind of mind, but no emotions or memories of who they used to be. Someone with a strong enough soul, however, if he chooses to embrace the darkness, can keep both familiar form and a sense of will. The cast off body and soul create to a nobody with no emotions still, but a strong will and intact memories.
“One man who did that was named Ansem. And his heartless whispered to me that the darkness would grant me the power I sought, only to possess me when I followed his counsel. Too late, I tried to throw away the darkness, just as I had previously thrown away everything important to me. I failed.
“Ansem’s heartless used my body to seek the door to Kingdom Hearts, the heart of the entire universe, for the power of the darkness there. He would have killed Sora, Kairi, anyone who got in his way.
“Ironically, my cast out heart appeared beyond the door. The strength of my will held out against the darkness, but I couldn’t reclaim my body and leave. All I wanted…”
He trailed off, clenching and unclenching his fists. Kaito said nothing, merely waiting for him to continue.
“I just wanted to see Sora and Kairi again, know they were safe. That was when the King found me-the keyblade had chosen him before I’d ever met him, but he left the realm of light to claim the keyblade of the dark realm for his own. He managed to find another entrance to Kingdom Hearts, braving its vast darkness with only his own light. When Ansem opened the door, Sora called upon the light hidden deep within Kingdom Hearts, and defeated him. Together, he and I and Mickey closed that door for good… but Mickey and I were stuck behind the door.”
He chuckled self-deprecatingly.
“I still don’t know exactly how I reclaimed my body, but DiZ and his choices were involved. Sora and I appeared separately in a castle controlled by the group of nobodies DiZ and I told you about, Organization XIII. Ansem’s nobody is their leader, by the way. That-”
Riku clamped his mouth shut, glowering.
“Bastard?” Kaito suggested.
“Yeah. Doesn’t have the decency to die properly. He has to be killed in bits and pieces. Anyway, Sora’s memories were manipulated by a unique nobody named Naminé, a girl held prisoner to their will. In the end he won, but to regain his true memories he had to sleep while Naminé replaced what she had stolen. I faced the darkness left within me with Mickey’s help, and eventually defeated the remnants of Ansem’s will in my heart.
“He couldn’t control me any more, but traces of him remained in the darkness I had claimed as my own. I traveled for several months with Mickey, looking for a way to purge my heart and thwart the remains of Organization XIII, but eventually my worry about Ansem led me to leave and wander the dark alone for a while, until I met DiZ again. He needed a favor.”
Riku ran a hand through his hair, a bitter smile on his face. Kaito raised an eyebrow, but remained silent.
“Before he defeated Ansem, Sora temporarily became a heartless and then regained his body with Kairi’s help. He unknowingly left behind a nobody without memories but with a portion of his power. Roxas could wield the keyblade, so Organization XIII snapped him up. Of course, typical Sora-stubbornness eventually led him to leave in search of why he was a keybearer, knowing no more about his other self than Sora’s name. DiZ believed Sora needed Roxas in order to be able to regain himself completely and defeat the Organization. He asked me to capture Roxas.
“I couldn’t beat Roxas as myself any more than I could Sora. I… I got desperate. I called on the darkness I had accepted as part of myself, reached so far that my body remembered what it was like to wear Ansem’s likeness, and changed to more effectively accommodate the dark. I won, but this was the price.” He gestured at his now-brooding visage. “Myself, now become my worst enemy. His worst enemy.”
Kaito didn’t need to ask to who the ‘he’ was. Riku took a deep breath, looking exhausted.
“I don’t-I don’t want them to see me like this. I don’t know why they’d want to see me at all, really. I betrayed them, and now exist as a living memorial for the one I betrayed them to.” His expression twisted painfully, eyes closing. “The trade was worth it, but I’m not me any more, not properly. I’m Ansem. I still want to help Sora-that’s why I’ve been traveling like this in the first place-but unless a miracle happens…”
Kaito got the distinct impression that Riku had no idea what he was going to do with himself. More than anything, the stress of not knowing what would happen or what to do probably contributed to why Riku rarely rested. If he worked himself into total exhaustion, he wouldn’t have the energy to worry about the future.
“I can’t face them.”
Sitting up cross-legged, Kaito cupped a hand around his chin, letting his arm rest on one knee.
“I think I know why Sora puts up with you. You may be a stubborn idiot, but you're a likeable stubborn idiot.”
Whatever Riku had been expecting Kaito to say, Kaito felt fairly certain that wasn’t it.
“Look,” he went on, taking advantage of Riku’s temporary speechlessness, “the way you’ve described Sora, he’s an extremely nice guy. If he put up with you for his whole life, I don’t think much would change his opinion of you, particularly since you’ve rediscovered what’s really important. However, you’re letting what you believe you deserve-which is a load of crock, by the way-also become what Sora would think you deserve, in your mind. You seem fatalistically determined to think the worst of the both of you.”
“Weren’t you listening? I’m the one who completely screwed up. Sora played the perfect hero, all goodness and light and hopelessly optimistic.”
Kaito smirked. “Are you listening to yourself? If Sora is half the hero and all-around champion you claim he is-”
“It’s not just what I claim, it’s what he’s done!”
“-then what kind of hero would condemn his best friend for making a mistake? Especially one he regrets?”
Riku went silent, attention turning inward, then grunted noncommittally. “It’s not that simple.”
Arsène Lupin help me if I ever act this pig-headed.
“I think it is. Tell me this. If you had stayed the Keyblade master, and Sora had embraced the darkness but seen the error of his ways… Would you abandon him?”
Riku actually flinched. “No.”
Kaito leaned forward, pressing his point home. “Has Sora ever done anything to justify your opinion of his character, or are you refusing to hope solely because you don’t want to face how much it would hurt if the one-in-a-million chance came true and Sora rejected you?”
Riku slumped against the tree. “I’m afraid to lose my last hope to keep going, all right?” He glared at Kaito, now-petulant expression the most like a teenager Kaito had ever seen from him. “Why do I put up with guys like you? You and Sora are the most aggravating people I’ve ever met.”
A sly smile spread across Kaito’s face. He looked sidelong at Riku. “It’s because we refuse to let you get away with brooding alone.”
Riku looked startled again, and then after a moment he started to laugh. Not a dark chuckle or amused snicker, but full on, unrestrained laughter. Kaito watched in satisfaction, letting the other boy release tension held in check for far too long. (A small part of him was also infinitely relieved that they made it through their entire conversation without the threat of tears-Aoko crying was bad enough, let alone a fellow guy.)
After a few minutes, Riku showed signs of subsiding, and Kaito spoke again. “Now. We’ve established that Sora is not one to hold grudges or abandon his friends, yes?”
A genuine smile, slow and the most relaxed Kaito had ever seen from him. “Yes.”
“I’ve heard the worst you can throw at me, and rather than drop you like a ton of bricks I’m sitting here, two feet away, trying to knock some sense back into your head.”
“No sense of self-preservation.”
Banter. Good. About time, too.
“We’ve proven empirically that you aren’t better off trying to do everything alone-it’s not weakness to work together with someone. If you’d really believed that, you would never have let me join you in the first place.”
Consideration. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. So, you just told me that Sora and I are quite similar in the way we treat you. Using the rules of simple logic, we can come to what conclusion?”
Come on, you’ve been wanting to believe this all along, you’ve just needed someone else to tell you that it’s true.
Riku sighed, but in relief rather than frustration.
“Sora’d put the past behind him. Kairi too,” he added, and Kaito cheered mentally.
He learns! He can make independent conclusions! He can extend applicability!
…He really brings out the sarcasm in me.
“Excellent deductive reasoning, grasshopper,” Kaito settled on saying aloud.
Riku snickered, the strain in his demeanor all but vanished. Abruptly, a yawn escaped him. He blinked owlishly.
“Funny, I didn’t feel this tired an hour ago…”
“You’ve been running on adrenaline for who knows how long, and your body has decided it doesn’t need to any more.” Kaito stood and tugged Riku upright. “Come on. There’s a couch with your name on it, if you can stay awake ‘til we get home.”
Riku swayed slightly, but managed to stand and walk unassisted. “You still owe me your story. ‘S not fair if you know so much about me and I only know bits about you.”
“Later, I promise. In fact, you’ll probably know more than you ever wanted to, by the time we finally leave again.”
“We shouldn’t stay too long, there’s too much…” Another yawn. “…To do.”
”Sora’s survived all right so far with minimal meddling from you. He can keep for at least a few more days.”
“A few days!”
“Yes. You need a break; I need a break. You need to spend some quality time with people who aren’t out to kill or manipulate you, I need to reassure quite a few people that I’m not dead, and we both need time to sleep, eat, and unwind.”
“But Xigbar,” Riku protested weakly.
“Creepy eye-patch guy can wait.”
They made it to the bus for Kaito’s house, and conversation suspended as Kaito rummaged through the satchel holding his suit and gadgets for his public transportation pass. It was crowded, but they managed to find one free seat. Kaito let Riku collapse into the seat, and stood beside him. Riku’s unusual appearance earned them a few strange looks from the people nearby, but Kaito ignored them.
“Question,” he said as the bus lurched forward. “Sora’s supposed to be the hero of light and all, defeating the bad guys wherever they are?” A nod. “Then why assume that he won’t get the better of them no matter where they go? Your world-hunting has been nothing but an excuse to avoid Sora and feel useful while you’re at it.”
Riku sighed, glaring up at Kaito again, but without malice.
“All right, all right. Himura’s was the first place I’ve found the Organization without Sora soon catching up, and the world took care of itself, anyway. Sora’s method of travel is tied directly to his heart and given how badly he wants to protect people it’s unlikely, if not downright impossible, that he’ll miss them. And cut it out, will you?” He knocked Kaito’s leg with a foot.
“Cut what out?” Kaito shot back, hanging on to the bar above his head.
“Ferreting out my character flaws. I’ve been rather attached to them, I’ll have you know.”
“Sorry, I think it’s a holdover of seeing what’s really there. And since I wouldn’t be thinking like this if I hadn’t met you, it’s entirely your fault for letting me tag along in the first place.”
“Damn. I was hoping I could blame you.”
They shared a grin.
“My turn for a question. What do you plan to tell your mother and friends about me?”
“Um. Very good question.” Kaito grimaced. “Mom would understand if I said you’d rather not talk about yourself, but anyone else… no. I can’t exactly explain that tall, old, dark and brooding is actually younger, shorter, paler, and brooding, can I?”
Riku looked surprised. “Paler?”
“I mean-well, yeah. You’re not naturally that color, are you?”
“No, but I’ve no idea where you could have gotten the idea into your head.”
Kaito shrugged.
“Well, since I’d rather not haunt your house and talking with decent people again is growing in attractiveness, we need a plan.”
“Yeah. Thinking...”
Recalling DiZ’s cover stories from however long ago, the pair spent the rest of the bus ride and walk to Kaito’s house hashing out a believable background. Riku became Yuushi Riku, a half-Brazilian aspiring magician’s apprentice and general gopher for the traveling ensemble with whom Kaito supposedly was touring. Said show was taking a few days sabbatical, and Kaito’d invited his friend to spend the interim at his house.
“I’ll try teaching you a few of the basics, in case anybody asks for a trick.” Kaito eyed Riku critically. “Does your hair naturally do that?”
Riku ran a hand through his silver hair, temporarily flattening the gravity-defying locks. “As far as I can tell, yes. Any ideas?”
“Some sort of hat, and a story about prematurely greyed hair. You look at least near thirty, so it’s believable.”
“Do I? I don’t spend much time in front of a mirror. Oh, and I draw the line at top hats.”
Kaito snickered. “I should give you one just for that. But you don’t get to be a master of disguise without costume accessories, so you should find something sufficiently inoffensive for your tastes. We’ll find you some amber-tinted sunglasses, too, because no offense, but your eyes are a shade of near-orange that really that shouldn’t exist.”
“How kind,” Riku replied as they reached the front door to the Kuroba home. No one answered Kaito’s knock, but his spare lock picks had survived intact and made short work of gaining entry.
“No key?”
“Not on heists,” Kaito answered, mind already elsewhere. “No trace of who I am that can be left behind at a scene.” He walked inside, looking around the front room. “Kaasan?” he called, switching flawlessly from English to Japanese.
Silence, and then a breathless, “Kai-kun?”
Kuroba Mizuki appeared in the entrance to the kitchen. She stopped dead at seeing Kaito, hand flying to her mouth. After an endless moment, she darted forward, crying Kaito’s name again and enveloping her only son in a fervent hug. Kaito stiffened in surprise as she buried her face in his shoulder, silent tears leaking from her eyes.
“Kaasan?” He tentatively folded his arms around her.
When did you become so fragile? You feel smaller, older. Or have I just grown?
You haven’t cried like this since Oyaji… died…
“Six weeks, Kai-kun, without knowing if you would ever come home. Bad enough when it was your father, bad enough when you followed in his footsteps and I could only watch, but this, not even knowing what you’re doing, no news if you or the Kid anywhere… I’m not that strong.”
“I’m sorry, Kaasan,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
She pulled back and smiled bravely at him. “You’re here now, and you’re alive and well. I know what you do, what your father did, is important. I could never stop either of you. Just don’t ever do that to me again!” she scolded.
“I won’t, I promise.” Even if it means dragging Riku back with me. “But Kaasan…” he hesitated. “I can’t stay long.”
Her face fell. “How soon?”
“Maybe a week. It’s not directly related to the Kid,” and this is unbelievably disconcerting, talking openly about my night job, “but it’s not something I can ignore.”
Several emotions flashed across his mother’s face, but in the end she nodded. “You have your father’s spirit. You won’t be happy unless you see it through, but please, say goodbye this time. Let me know you’re all right when you’re gone.”
“I’ll try.” Kaito looked over his shoulder, where Riku had hung back by the door.
“Kaasan, I’d like you to meet a-”
“Friend,” Riku said, also switching to Japanese, briefly meeting Kaito’s gaze with an ironic smile. He bowed. “Yuushi Riku, Kuroba-san. I’m honored to meet the mother of such an impressive young man.”
Kaito tried to conceal his surprise at Riku’s statement, but it didn’t make much difference because no one was looking at him anyway. His mother laughed softly.
“A pleasure, Yuushi-san. Please, call me Mizuki-san. ‘Kuroba-san’ has always been my husband. Welcome to our home. Someone from the so-called magician’s troupe Aoko-chan told me about?” she asked Kaito.
“Right as always. Riku-kun’s between houses right now because of what we’re trying to accomplish, so I hoped you wouldn’t mind a guest for a while.”
“In my opinion, you’ve never had your friends over often enough,” she declared. “I was just making dinner. Why don’t you pull out the extra futon while I finish?” She chuckled. “I’m afraid that tonight I’m making sushi, Kaito-kun.”
Kaito stiffened. “What?!”
“I didn’t expect you home to complain. I’ll make eel and tempura and extra rice, too, so you’ll manage nicely. I haven’t forgotten how much men eat.”
Kaito groaned. “But, Kaasan… fish! ”
Already walking back to the kitchen, she paused at the door to say, “Really, after what you do all the time, fish is nothing to be afraid of. I still don’t know where you picked up such a phobia.”
Too late, Kaito realized that their exchange had an observer. “Is it too much to hope that you didn’t hear that?”
“Yes, Kai-kun,” Riku said, humor obvious in his voice. “So… Fish?”
Kaito headed to the chest of linens. “If you breathe a word of this, I will be forced to harm you. You, Aoko, Kaasan, and maybe Nakamori-keibu know. I admit to it, I disavow any memory of how it began, and I’d be happiest if it never came up again.”
To Kaito’s chagrin, Riku teased him all the way through airing out Kaito’s room and setting up the extra futon in the den. Once they sat down to dinner, however, he faded into the background, allowing Kaito and his mother time to reconnect. She told him stories from the hospital where she worked as a nurse, and how Aoko had occasionally visited and asked for news. Kaito couldn’t reveal too much information, but he did tell her about some of the people they’d met traveling.
After a while a yawn from Riku interrupted them, reminding Kaito why they’d come home in the first place. “Kaasan, do you work tomorrow?”
She shook her head. “I have night shift in a few hours, but tomorrow is my day off.”
Kaito blinked. “What day is it, anyway?”
“Thursday,” she laughed.
“Well, I think we both need to get some sleep. We’ve been traveling for a while.”
“Until morning, then.” She gave Kaito a fond smile and began clearing dishes. He squeezed her hand briefly, and shooed Riku ahead of him.
“You. Shower. Clean towel on the bar, and I’ll rummage up a change of clothes for you by the time you’re done.”
“I’ll be shocked if anything in your house fits someone over 5’7”.”
Kaito snickered at the deadpan and pointed at himself. “Phantom thief. Disguises come with the job.”
“Oh?”
“Yep. Hey,” Kaito added as a thought occurred to him, “why do you wear those cloaks, anyway? Stealing fashion from the bad guys is a good way to get a keyblade upside the head.”
Riku cocked his head thoughtfully. “The people who wear these belong neither to the light or the darkness. And even though I don’t possess their nothingness, I don’t either. It helped remind me.”
Kaito’s brow furrowed. “Why let me temporarily force a change of attire on you right after we met, then?”
A pause. “You were being light enough for the both of us.”
“…Oh.”
A wicked smile appeared on Riku’s face. “And to stop your overbearing cheerfulness for awhile.”
“Hey!”
Riku disappeared into the bathroom, chuckling. Kaito shook his head after him. Once alone, he walked to the picture in the living room of his father in full magician’s regalia, complete with several doves.
“I’m home, Oyaji.” He brushed his fingers against Kuroba Toichi’s enigmatic face, and stepped through the rotating portrait into the hideout of the Kaitou Kid.
Everything was exactly the way he had left it. Not a surprise, given that his mother, the only other person to know of its existence, probably hadn’t entered since before his father’s untimely death. Knowing he’d have time to come back, Kaito rummaged through the collection of various disguises he’d inherited and added to over previous months, finally finding a satisfactory outfit for Riku’s stature and apparent age. He decided to let Riku pick out a hat for himself later, and dropped the clothes outside the bathroom door.
Riku still occupied the shower, so Kaito took his mom’s laptop computer into his bedroom and began catching up on relevant news. The articles decrying his disappearance and a subsequent police newscast were the most amusing, but the recent human-interest article on a large ruby on display until the end of the month really caught his eye. Plans already taking shape in his head, Kaito became so engrossed in research that he didn’t sense Riku’s approach until the other boy spoke.
“Kaito-kun?”
He waved absently at the unoccupied part of his bed. “Have a seat. Got to finish this note and deliver it to the police before old Nakamori-keibu goes home tonight.”
“Say what?”
Kaito stopped typing mid-sentence, hands hovering over the keyboard. “I never did tell you what my night job entails, did I?”
“No, nor your reasons for gallivanting around in a white cape and top hat in the first place.”
“Can it wait?”
A yawn. “Given that I’m likely to fall asleep mid-explanation, yes. But I’d like one tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
Riku wandered off to sleep, leaving Kaito to scheme in silence. If he wanted to return as both Kid and himself, he needed Kid to appear first. Not that Hakuba would accept them both returning at the same time as a coincidence. Only obsessive attention to detail, luck, and some outside help has prevented Hakuba from getting conclusive proof already. Kaito’s next best option was plausible deniability to everyone else.
- - -
The next morning, the boys were so tired that Kaito’s mother returned from her shift at the hospital, snatched a few hours of sleep, and made breakfast before either one began to stir. Kaito checked the newspaper over their late morning brunch. Kid’s mysterious disappearance and the new note announcing his return had made the front page. Kaito grinned and cut out the article once they finished the meal.
“Why did you do that?” Riku asked as they washed the breakfast dishes.
“Two reasons: For the Kid’s records, and because my civilian identity is an avowed Kid fan.”
Riku nodded. “Since you’ve persuaded me to take a sabbatical from the show,” he smiled slightly at the alias, “what do you expect me to do while you return to school?”
“First of all, I’m not going back to school yet. The heist is tomorrow night, and I’m going to need most of the time until then to make sure I won’t get caught. You can help me out with that if you feel like it. Mostly, though…” Kaito flicked some soapsuds in Riku’s direction. “I thought you’d like to simply relax. Read a book, take a walk, do all the things you haven’t felt able to do for so long. You need some normalcy for a while.”
Riku half-smiled. “I suppose I do. That sounds rather nice, actually.”
“I’ll introduce you to my friends when they get out of school tomorrow. I can use the Kid heist as an excuse for a temporary reappearance-they’ll believe I’d take an absence of leave to be in Japan for one, after such a long break.”
I hope.
A knock at the door interrupted them, and a very familiar voice called, “Hello? Mizuki-san?”
Kaito grabbed Riku by the arm and shot out of the kitchen, waving to his mother as she approached the door. “We’re not here!” he hissed, and hustled Riku through Toichi’s portrait.
“Should’ve known,” he muttered once they were safely concealed. “Aoko would come see Kaasan on her day off, to keep her company and catch up on news.” For all her boyish behavior, Aoko could be surprisingly feminine and thoughtful when she wanted to be.
Riku ignored him, staring at the Kid’s lair: Kid costumes, mirrors, various pieces of a normal magician’s stock in trade, boxes and chests holding the more select tools of a phantom thief, a bookshelf stuffed full of books and another beside it of notebooks, stairs leading up to a loft with a miniature lab, various mechanical setups designed to keep the room secret, and, of course, the car.
“This is… impressive.” He sat down on the foot of the stars and looked at Kaito. “Tell me.”
Kaito’s mouth went dry. Much like Riku, he’d never had to tell anyone either. Old man Jii had already known from being dad’s assistant, his mom never talked about it, and he’d never admitted to Akako or Hakuba that their suspicions were correct.
Riku noticed his expression. “Fair trade,” he added good-naturedly. “Only what’s important for me to know. ‘I'll annoy the rest of your quirks out of you later,’ wasn’t it?”
Kaito grinned. “Yeah.”
Walking around the room, touching various objects here and there for silent support, Kaito spoke about how over fifteen years ago, the Kaitou Kid stole jewels and returned them in an elaborate game with police all over the world. Then of nine years ago, when world-famous magician Kuroba Toichi died in an apparent accident during a show, and the Kid vanished.
He told about the legendary jewel with the power of immortality that Toichi had died trying to find and protect from a ruthless, mafia-like organization. And how almost a year ago, his son stumbled upon the Kid’s legacy, learned Toichi had been murdered, and took up the mantle himself to find his father’s killers.
Finally, he described the nature of a heist-the note, the show for the inevitable crowd, the police chases, and some of the tricks he’d used to avoid being caught. When he reached the increasingly odd dynamic between himself, Nakamori, Aoko, Hakuba, and even Akako, he became even more subdued, but persevered through the tangled threads of friendship and loathing that tied both his personas to the people he was closest to.
His friendly enemies led inevitably to Conan, the child-who-wasn’t-a-child with no tie to Kaito outside of the Kid, but with whom another strange accord of cat-and-mouse had developed. Out of professional courtesy Kaito avoided mentioning that Conan wasn’t the child he appeared to be, but he felt able to share how they’d even occasionally helped each other in matters outside of a heist proper. Similar to Hakuba, Conan wanted nothing more than to see the Kid behind bars, but (to Kaito’s slight bewilderment) both detectives were territorially protective of the one quarry they’d never been able to catch. Conan was also refreshingly determined to leave out the innocents.
Kaito enjoyed the rare challenge Conan’s appearance brought, and smiled reminiscently over telling some of the ways he’d managed to tease the miniature detective. He added in a few stories that had Nakamori as the main antagonist, and the times he’d masqueraded as Hakuba or Aoko to keep from getting caught.
“You actually pulled off impersonating his own daughter?” Riku chortled quietly, mindful of the guest potentially still in the house.
“Seeing her nearly every day for close to a decade means I know her mannerisms better than almost anyone else. Voices are easy.” Kaito shrugged, grateful that Riku seemed to have taken everything in stride. He’d looked slightly grim upon learning about Kaito’s atypical social life, but made very little comment. A good thing, because Kaito knew just how absurd his life sounded, just like he knew that unless something changed drastically, there was no other way to proceed.
Which was part of why he’d conveniently forgotten to mention that people occasionally shot at him during heists, and lately the ones he could detect had all been wearing excessive amounts of monochrome.
“And Hakuba-san?”
“Arrogant, smug, obsessed with details, and a slightly British lilt to his Japanese that he still hasn’t managed to get rid of. Although,” Kaito added contemplatively, “he’s lost some of the arrogance. If it didn’t mean the world was coming to an end, I’d almost say he’s loosened up a little.” He grinned.
“I’ll take your word for it.” Riku paused. “Kaito-kun? Are you really sure this is what you have to do? Especially alone?”
“I won’t put anyone else in danger. Even if someone I told believed me and didn’t turn me in or arrest me on the spot, they could do nothing. Except worry, the way mom does. And this has to be done.”
“If you think so, then if there’s anything I can do to help...” he trailed off.
Kaito nodded, hoping that after this Riku would be able to leave everything alone.
“I mean it. Anything.”
Kaito smiled slightly. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”
A voice sounded through the wall. “If anyone were able to hear me, I’d tell them that Aoko-chan just finished eating lunch with me and there’s more where it came from. Of course, now that she’s gone home, there’s no one around to hear…”
Riku smirked at Kaito. “I think I like your mom.”
“Best in the world,” Kaito agreed quietly, walking towards the portrait door.
- - -
For the rest of the day, Kaito stayed busy preparing for Saturday night. Riku puttered around the house, in and out of the Kid’s lair. Kaito couldn’t begrudge him the opportunity to explore; he had his own difficulties with staying put or not having something to stay occupied with. Eventually the other boy settled in front of the TV, a book in one hand and the remote in the other. He kept the volume down in deference to Kaito’s need to think, and after a while Kaito thought he heard some faint snores.
The guy must have really stretched himself thin before I got to him.
Hm, light rain tomorrow night…
Kaito scrutinized the website’s weather report, trying to decide whether it was worth risking the chance of too much rain to fly in, or if it would be better to try and form an alternate escape route. In the end, the glider won.
Familiar, confirmedly successful as an escape route, and my luck usually holds for little things like that.
But some familiar little things had changed, Kaito remembered abruptly. He pulled his card gun out, wondering what of the outside worlds he’d managed to bring home with him. The playing cards looked no more than laminated pasteboard, until he scrutinized the edges carefully and found a faint silver glow.
I wonder if that’s always been there, and I’ve just never been able to see it before? I never did figure out why only my own shots could cut into concrete, not that I plan to complain…
Aoko had fired his card gun once, just before he’d retired it from Kuroba Kaito’s life in favor of using it as a heist tool. The cards had sliced through the air with ease, but slapped flat against the wall, fluttering to the floor. Everyone had accepted that the unique qualities of his projectiles were one more magic trick, and he’d seen no reason to dissuade them. He’d usually tried not to think about it.
On impulse he found his Duel Cards. As he touched them, the tug at his consciousness was almost imperceptible, vague threads of connection constricted still more by the nature of his world. Unless he could find a way to easier draw through those pathways, no assistance from the Shadow Realm’s denizens was likely to be forthcoming.
Although, come to think of it… If he could still feel the threads of the Shadow Realm here on this world, there must be something there. Darkness and light seemed to be everywhere in and among the worlds-why not the shadows, as well? The inventor of Duel Monsters had probably never existed in this Japan, but that didn’t mean the Shadow Realm didn’t. Akako called it black magic, but since real darkness would probably have chewed her up and spat her out years ago, what if she had found a way to access the shadows without Duel Cards?
The style of her favorite regalia tended toward Ancient Egyptian, and there was probably a card somewhere that explained her irresistible allure to any male beyond puberty. Attractiveness to anyone but him, of course. He had a growing suspicion that his own connection to the shadows had something to do with that. And maybe Hakuba, but he personally wondered if the blond boy felt much at all, let alone enough for Akako to manipulate.
…I wonder if I’m going crazy. But if I’m right, I wonder which monster it is that’s masquerading as that ‘Luci’ guy she says she summons to talk to…
Kaito couldn’t help himself, and began snickering madly.
Note to self: For whatever reason, this world’s channels are minimal outside of augmenting natural human talent. When you leave again, practice what you can so that when you come home, you’ll know how best to access it.
Maybe I can convince Riku to visit Yugi again. I wouldn’t mind a few more tips about how to summon the shadows without passing out.
And I really, really don’t want to ask Akako about something like that, no matter how much more familiar she is with non-legerdemain magic.
Kaito shook himself free of his train of thought. He needed to worry about the here and now-there would be plenty of time to worry about everything else later. Wandering back to his laptop, he went back to work.
There were some worrying rumors floating around the less-than-legal circles that warranted investigating, about a strange new wild card calling himself ‘Nightmare’…
- - - -
Feel free to nitpick, squee, or anything in between.
Part 2 is now here: Chapter 8, Pt. 2.