Ps: if u see the word 'layer', know I meant 'lair' xD

I realized I had it layer in the previous ch… too lazy to go back and fix it. I am sure everyone understood what I meant there

Anyway~

New notes, (they apply when Kaito is around and conscious ONLY)

Italic with quotations are French conversations.

Bolt with quotations are Japanese conversations (only when Kaito is around- awake or in ear-shot range)

Reviews reply:

Lady paper, not sure what you mean there xD but glad you reviewed. Hope you liked it :D

Enjoy

Ch 10: A Little Kaitou

Back at the KID lair, after the partners had returned, 1311 kept his eyes on 1412 all the time. By 'all the time', he kept looking through the cameras of the recovery room and checked on him personally every hour. Despite how many times he tried to distract himself, his mind still revolved around what he and 1211 saw when they returned to the hideout a few hours ago. There was no mistake that their leader couldn't have moved on his own and there was proof of professional medical attention done on him. So he checked the cameras since the boy didn't look like he suspected anything.

The strange part was the cover was clearly on his back, which he could not have done by himself. 1211 had the cover lower when he left, and the boy was lying on his back at that time. 1311 watched the footage to make sure he was right.

1412 woke up, he looked towards the door and talked to someone. Then two figures stepped forward in the KID partner attire and they had a conversation. One of the two persons left while the other stayed with the boy until he fell asleep.

"1412," he said through the device. No answer came, he pushed his gaze on the camera and saw the boy was asleep. Being the parent he was nicknamed by his partners as he headed towards the recovery room and checked on his leader.

1412 was tired, not technically panting, but he was breathing a little hard. There was no fever and he was already on antibiotics (though no infections took place, thankfully), but he was still feeling his fresh pain despite the painkillers being active. 1311 rolled his eyes away, he approached to add more drugs in the cannula, whether or not that would make him less worried, he knew that wouldn't solve the issue. "I am going to ground you" he muttered, "idiot boy"

"He's no different from our usual idiot who pushes himself headfirst towards danger" came a voice from behind him. "Just give it some time, he'll be okay. After everything, he didn't get any time to actually lie down!" 1311 nodded, sometimes Jii spoke with more care than anyone he had met in his entire life. "Stop worrying for no reason, mommy~"

"Quit calling me that!" he was pissed for sure now; nothing made his nerves tick more than that.

"Why? It suits your worried sick motherly side~"

1311 gave him the deadliest glare no foe could ever give. "You and Jeff are both dead if you call me that again!" his response was a fixed grin, "Treating me like a woman... really!"

Konosuke laughed, "Sorry~" the partner didn't buy it. They enjoyed tormenting each other like that...

When the young leader woke an hour later, he wasn't confused when 1311 showed him the footage, which led partner to believe that he realized the act. Of course, there was the necessity to know who the culprits were, but when 1412 heard them speaking secretly, he looked away. That caught 1311's attention directly, and the boy had to admit what he knew of the matter. Thankfully, their worries lessened when they found out who and why, but they had to take more precautions to prevent anyone from entering again.

1311 did not admit his prior knowledge, nor will ever in the matter of facts, that he knew they had company and distracted 1211 ever since they entered and left the hotel. But since 1412 interacted with the two fakes, he might refer to something and Jii would look at him with confusion in his eyes. In addition to that, 1412 was a bit suspicious when 1311 told them about his discovery, especially when the partner didn't look worried, as if he trusted the two all along. It wasn't a problem, but 1412 hoped to be filled in on such situations beforehand.

1311 told Jii to look after him, while he watched the cameras and made plans against the ravens. 1211 and 1412 knew that wasn't the only thing he would be doing in the control room. "1311 is watching me, isn't he?"

"Of course!" 1211 just grinned, "we have a parent in this team~ it's his job to watch over you kids~"

"Kids… yeah right…" 1412 grinned, laying down more comfortably whenever the parent left the room, "just because we are the KIDs doesn't make us kids. Not our fault 1311 is way older than us" he shrugged.

The old man laughed, "Older than me too~ but you two are babies compared to 1311~

"Jii-chan, not you too!" teasing wasn't something he liked. "You know, I am becoming nervous like this…. Constantly watched… try and hint it…" but Konosuke laughed. As if the partner didn't know it already. "Treated like a bedridden patient makes me feel more down and tired…"

"I am surprised you're still not used to it! You know how mommy is…"

"Yeah, and I can't really judge 1311, Jii-chan. I am more unconscious than awake... " it had only been four hours since he woke, but they were aware that he needed supervision. People in his condition should not be left alone, lay low to remain awake and be talking. But being the stubborn boy he is, he didn't like to sleep when he could stay awake a little longer. Even if he was dead beat and tired (like he was now) he didn't like to rest. That would be a waste of time.

"It hasn't been a month since you woke up from your last coma, Bocchama. You have to understand that 1311 is really worried about you. We all are. Just, be more careful next time..." The leader didn't say anything, Jii knew his message reached him, "And if you don't rest, you won't be able to help us" he teased, "1311 will take all his sweet time and torment me with his orders. Don't leave me with him~ 1413 is no different~"

A smile drew itself on 1412's face, "Well if that's the case, then sure! I'm glad someone likes me~" Konosuke chuckled. He could feel 1311's eyes on him, glaring like a hawk. He wanted to laugh, but that would be too painful on his freshly sewn wounds. 'I know you care~ I'm just teasing' his eyes said. The feeling vanished right away.

"They are calling you Jeff now?" and the boy nodded, "That means…"

"I know…" he looked away, "it won't be a matter of time before they threaten them too. I will stop going there and pick a new name." Jii could see the remaining words on his face, 'There's too many innocents there, I can't risk it' he nodded. "I might as well give up being a reporter too"

"That would be best, yes," Konosuke said with an eye roll, "What will you do? As another job?"

"I don't know… I liked working at the station. Maybe I will join that company, the one Kaito told you about"

"That would be a good change, bocchama. You have the skills~"

1412 nodded, he felt his body growing more tired, Jii knew that each even breath was a disguised forced pant. Truth was, he knew they were seeing his vitals and how hard it was for him to maintain equal breaths, but he wasn't going to let his pain and tiredness be plastered on his face. Poker face was more than just necessary for a kaitou, especially for a leader. A weak and tired boy wasn't someone they could count on.

He did his best to keep the conversation going, eventually, he failed against his body and it pulled him into a deep sleep for three days until it allowed him to wake. Once he woke, the partners knew that he was okay and no longer in danger. At first, they were so worried, yet were relieved when he woke, half-healed and just fine.

Konosuke watched him, worried to his core during those three days. 1311 would have busted a nerve if the boy kept stressing himself with talking. But to keep him conscious any more than that was out of the question, they planned to drug him if he resisted. Regardless of his persistence and how much 1412 tried to be obedient, the partner still barged in eventually.

"You are restrained from moving one inch, kid" 1311 ordered and shut the door with a loud click before hearing any answers.

Jii raised a smile. "Told you that you're going to get it~"

"But I didn't even move…" the old man still shook his head. "Why does mommy snap at me anyway~?" his words were then interrupted by a cough. He sighed, 'yeah, leave it to 1311 to be all bossy and mean when he wants us to obey his orders' he slumped back on the bed, his back already hurting from all the lying down. The door wasn't going to open anytime soon, Jii was babysitting him and the controls were with 1311 who would not submit and let him out as the others would.

"Jii-chan, it's okay, you can go. I'm fine"

"Not until your vitals are steady, Bocchama," insisting wasn't going to help the boy. "I know you can't rest if someone is around. But you are not well now, you have to get used to it." Nothing came from the boy, "would you sleep if I busy myself with something?"

"Yup"

"For real?" he arched an eyebrow, it was too good to believe.

"As long as you don't stare at me in my sleep, then yes, sure~" the face was honest.

Jii sighed, covering his hand over his head. "Alright, Bocchama. I will be back in a minute," that said, he left the room.

1412 turned his gaze to the camera above the door. "You do know I will have to come out sooner or later, right?" he said aloud, knowing well the partner was listening from the control room. When no answer came, he sighed. "Parents, what did I do to deserve them?" he muttered, aware that it would trigger the grumpy partner into talking.

"I heard that," The voice from the speaker said from beside the bed, falling into the trap. 1412 grinned, "Be obedient and rest or I will drug you, kid" that grin went down quickly.

'So much for talking...' he sighed. "We've been through this before…"

"Apparently not enough" There was no doubt that 1311 would drug him, 1412 knew that by hard after all his struggles with them for that matter. They always drugged him whenever he refused to rest. Besides, even then, 1311 never listened to Kaito's orders when he knew what he had to do.

'But really? More rest, after three whole days!?' he rolled his eyes away, speaking with a down unconvinced voice, "I can barely do that anymore!"

"Sure you can," the partner said and saw 1412 sighing, "Judging by your vitals, you're going to pass out anytime now. Wounds don't heal in three days, your body is still exhausted"

"But-"

"Try" there was no answer, "Do as you agreed with Jii. You said that you'll sleep, you don't like lying"

"I hate it when you use my words against me…"

"Not my fault~" he heard the partner laugh, "you're the too goody-goody kid who keeps his word, Jeff~"

"Oh, calling me by my fake name too… I must worry~! Are you encouraging me to be a bad kid and lie? Cause I'd love to see that~"

"Shush it or the syringe will be the last thing you'll see"

"Grumpy scary mommy…" he muttered under his breath, regretting the conversation from the first place. 1311 was right, he was too tired to be doing anything, talking included. Not that anyone could ever make 1311 change his mind, he always got what he wanted. "Fine," 1412 turned on his left side before his partner decided to barge in with the syringe. "Just don't stare, you know I'm shy"

"Fine" That came out a little too dry.

Luckily, he had his phone with him, so he decided to thank the two personally. He knew he had up to ten minutes before the door opens since they knew he doesn't fall asleep fast.

1311's watched him toying with his phone, it didn't look important. And since he got the boy into cooperating, he could ignore a few minutes of texting. 'Only a few'

In the morning that day, Aoko visited Yusaku and spoke with him in private after she asked to arrange a meeting with him. Nothing personal came from her as she delivered two messages from the two KIDs whom they had impersonated hours ago. He read them carefully and she waited for him to finish.

The first letter was neat and printed on a white paper. White for peace, huh? That's good.

Thank you for dropping by to help

You saved him again

-1211

That sounded truly nice and supportive of future cooperation, as for the second, it wasn't set to identify whether the person was thankful or angry. He skimmed over it another time just to make sure he wasn't reading it with the wrong emotions. It was handwritten with a white pen on a black thick paper. 'Black, humph, that screams like a threat' and thick just to confirm it.

If you want us to still trust you, stay away from our territory. Leave us to look after each other. As for now, I will only leave Kaito-kun in your care. No additional help is needed.

I hope you never repeat it again and just so you know, we made our procedures double impossible to miss anything. Dare and try, Kudo

-1311

When Yusaku stared at the paper, he easily realized the anger overflowing in it. 'Trust' was carved into the paper, as well as the words 'dare' and 'Kudo' that were written with more hatred than he could picture. 1311 was angry alright. No, that was an understatement, the partner was outraged. Aoko smiled, aware of his trail of thoughts. 1311's actions and character seemed to be carved in their minds, who could forget anyway?

She explained with a smile on her face, "1311 is always over protective~ especially of 1412 because he d-

"Doesn't defend himself, so I realized~ too legal~

"Tell me about it~ anyway, you can completely ignore that letter~ Aoko does all the time~" she said with a chuckle, "Anyway, they knew you were in the hideout from the start and they knew you wanted to make sure 1412 was okay. Actually, 1412 figured out your disguises easily too, he just played along. He usually does that to not worry anyone…" Yusaku raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, he doesn't like to worry anyone. He's a lot like Kaito, they're like two faces of the same coin" somehow that didn't seem to please her. "Stubborn too~"

"Figured out, huh?" he wanted to know how he slipped. Aoko wasn't hiding her knowledge of knowing them a little more than what she said to the detectives the other day. Maybe because she knew she could say a bit more? From her face, she didn't know much aside what they allowed her to know. That was a smart move from all the Kaitous, she'd be safer like that.

"Yeah, they had memorized each other's methods of speech or something like that… They even had Aoko memories a few ways, but don't expect Aoko to tell you~ Precautions~" she said with a wave of a hand, he grinned. Precautions would never hurt. "Back to the topic, 1412 wasn't even going to mention anything. 1311 showed him the fakes on the cameras and had to drag the names out of him~" Nothing in her face gave the slightest hint of her opinion or what she thought of it. Thankfully, the KIDs didn't look like they dropped their trust and allowed their shrunken leader to remain with them until he recovers. She cleared her throat, cutting him out of his musings. "Aoko says thanks too~"

"No need for that, Nakamori-kun" he gave a soft smile, "The least we can do~"

That said, she thanked him for receiving her visit and returned home with Saguru who happened to be going to Beika for who knew what reason and saw her heading out of her home. He wasn't going to tell her, but she knew it was for backup and discussing the plans with the other shrunken victims. That and he was keeping an eye on her, typical Hakuba.

She hid a smile from her façade, she was thankful for his worries. 'He reminds Aoko a lot of Kaito. He pretends that he doesn't care but behaves like the gentleman~'

After the girl left, he turned to his wife by the door. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" her glare was petrifying, but he would never submit. 'Putting your nose in their affairs just to make sure they were fine'

Yusaku grinned, "not really, you know me well by now~"

"Well get up," Conan approached his view, "dinner is ready and Kāsan has been nagging on my head for an hour now about boring stuff. I need a distraction"

Yusaku sat eventually, chatting with his wife, son and Dr. Dave, having their meal calmly until he received a text on his phone. He read it and raised a smile, "read this," he said to Dave who was beside him, he leaned towards him and read it too. Yukiko wasn't surprised, she knew they shared everything.

Sorry Kudo-san, I had no intention of mentioning anything but 1311 found out. I hope you didn't get a scolding too~

Thanks~

- 1412

Dave's poker face remained calm, but he was mortified behind it. Yusaku didn't seem to be worried, and when he asked, Yusaku told him about Aoko's visit earlier in the day. That made him sink in his thoughts, 'So our cover was blown after all! Well, there's no need to go there anyway, the boy is okay now and in good hands, that's all that matters'

Yusaku texted back, "anytime, and no problem, I was surprised that you knew it was us. You had us played, young thief"

I wouldn't be KID if I didn't realize who the two were ~ And I just played along, it would have been awkward if I confronted you about it~

-1412

Yusaku added the unsaid line in his head, "You helped me again, I could have at least keep your visit a secret"

Inside a dark half-lit room of the Kudo manner, the two young detectives stood by their rival's side, watching him in his shrunken form, soundly asleep on Shinichi's bed. The bandages were still there, wrapped around every inch of his skin, his pale face forever worn and pained.

"He's…"

"Innocent looking," came the interruption before he could expect it. "Despite his worn-out appearance, that is"

"I was kinda going for 'like a child'," Conan said with a glare headed towards the blond.

Hakuba grinned, unshaken by the strong stare coming from the small child, "Innocent, child, still nothing like the old trouble-maker Kuroba-kun!"

"Still on surnames, I see? I thought you two were familiar…" his eyebrow was arched.

"Not really, we're just classmates. Although Kuroba-kun calls me by my last name and he doesn't stick to any honorifics, it isn't out of friendship~"

Conan laughed, "Well, at least you knew him! His identity and personality still reserve a mystery to me. I wanted to analyze him personally, not just hear from his friends who he is or how he acts" he then stood up, a mixed expression on his face until he walked to the door. "By the way, Hattori will come for help. They should arrive anytime soon"

"Ah, the detective from the West, Kudo-san said he'll be helping you and Mori-san. But why ask him to come all the way from Osaka? The police are right her_"

"Yeah, I know, but I can't trust them as I trust him. And before you start asking questions or referring to God knows what like Hattori does, yes, he knows my real identity. And he can't keep a secret, I don't know how the world didn't find out by now!"

A grin covered Hakuba's face, "I wonder indeed~"

Conan grimaced, walking towards the corridor, "And here is another one who will torment me!" and closed the door with a loud thud. 'As if I don't have enough of those!'

Saguru didn't flinch when the door shut hard, he was used to Kuroba slamming doors when he was angry. 'You could have at least turned on the lights' he wasn't planning on making fun of the whole Edogawa act, why did Conan think he would? Maybe that was because he was surrounded by people who just like to torm_tease him.

His thoughts were cut when Kuroba moved his hand, then a small hum followed. "It looks like you're about to wake," he muttered and texted the doctor.

Say nothing until we see him

-Dr. Dave

Kaito began to open his eyes, pain carved on his face as he could see nothing for the first few seconds. He looked worn out, sleepy, yet he tried to move. He said something that was not vague to the young detective.

"You're home" was the reply to his question.

The child got somewhat straight, analyzing the teen facing him until he broke the silence in the room. "Who are you?"

Hakuba said nothing for a moment. He remembered what Dave told him about possible memory loss. So he said nothing for that moment, but Kuroba kept his stare, waiting until he answered him. "I'm a friend" he gave a modest smile, yet the thought that troubled him, was why Kuroba sounded so childish. "Do you remember anything from earlier? And please, try to ditch the French language"

Kaito made a weird face, his eyebrows stitched as a small child would. "... I don't know another language well... just a bit of English… but I'm still new to it…"

"What about Japanese?"

"Japanese?" Kaito repeated with a raised eyebrow and Saguru confirmed. "Papa said I'll learn it when we go to Japan. That's a year from now… still too early"

Hakuba's eyes twitched at the word 'papa', he rubbed his temples. "I...hmm…I see. What's ...what's your name, kiddo?"

Kaito thought and thought for approximately an entire minute. He knew his parents, but his name was a bit out of his grasp. Why couldn't he remember it? Who could possibly forget their own name? He looked down at his hands, trying to remember.

"You don't know, do you?" and the faux child nodded, little tears forming at the edges of his wide sapphire eyes. 'Oh, Kami!' that didn't look like anything good. 'Please don't cry!' he didn't know what to do in such situations. The boy sniffed and frowned, Saguru began to panic. Kuroba was going to cry, so he embraced himself for the worse.

"I remember!"

Saguru snapped his eyes open, the tears were gone and a large smile was on Kuroba's small face.

"It's Kaito!"

"Oh Thank Kami, that was close!" Hakuba said mutely, forever grateful that Kuroba didn't cry. "That's right," he said with a soft smile. Talking to a seemingly four-year-old was tough… Kuroba's face just made it worse, it was just too innocent and peaceful. That wasn't something Saguru was used to. If there was any innocence in the kaitou, Saguru would always doubt it not to be an act. But now was different, it was too pure, unplanned and unconcealed. This boy before him couldn't conceal his true emotions, and he said his mind without any restrains. Like he didn't think forward to what his words would carry as a child would.

He mentally sighed, no, maybe it was just because of the hit he took to his head that his personality wasn't back to normal yet.

A faint sound came from behind the door, there was no doubt that the person was trying to analyze the situation.

The door finally opened and Yusaku came in, interrupting the detective's thoughts. "I see you finally woke up!" he gave a smile as he strode towards the child with slow steady steps. He was being careful in his approach as if he was talking to a child, Saguru was sure of it. But why? Did that face have them all confused or were they just being careful because he just woke from a coma and they needed to keep him calm?

Kaito looked at him with a bright smile, it was too real that Saguru felt it always belong there and at the same time, it hadn't been there for years. So Kuroba could pull a real smile?

Yusaku messed the small hair, Kaito didn't look annoyed to that. The smile was still there, wide and genuine. "We're in Japan, uncle?" and the novelist nodded, "When did we get here?"

"A week ago, son" judging by how the conversation went, they were more than just familiar with each other. Kuroba looked like he trusted Yusaku, considered him an uncle too. That was unnatural coming from the overly cautious magician who never let his guard down, lay low trusted anyone.

Something was wrong.

Yusaku smiled, "I was really worried! Don't go running off again, alright? Next time you might end up more hurt…your dad would never forgive me or let you come over again! I can't bear that…"

The child rolled his eyes away, "I'm sorry, uncle" so he used to run off before? Was that why he didn't doubt Kudo's words? And wait, did he just apologize? And with a guilty voice?

Saguru couldn't understand the situation anymore. This wasn't the Kuroba that he knew. It wasn't memory loss either.

Yusaku returned a smile to the detective as he observed his puzzled face. He should probably explain now, and the best way to do that was to continue the conversation with Kuroba. So he turned his gentle eyes back towards the small child, "How about we go and have ice-cream?" Kaito's eyes seemed to sustain. "And you can hang out with my son and his friends, they're a bit older than you, but you'll have fun with them" the child approved and hopped off the bed. Kudo walked away with him. "Hakuba-kun," he said in Japanese as he turned, "He's no longer his age, mentally, that is"

"Nani!?" That apparently, was the only thing that could ever shock him enough for his calm face to fade. Actually, anything impossible and illogical could shock him, but this was beyond believable.

Kaito was looking at him with confused eyes, his hand still in Yusaku's. "What's wrong, uncle? Is he okay?"

"I am sure he will be in a moment" he gave an assuring smile, Kaito nodded anyway. "Tell that young man your name and how old you are"

"But I already told him my name, uncle" then he used his fingers to say his age.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Four?" he didn't look convinced. Kaito retracted his hand to himself, a sad expression on his face and he looked away. "How could that be?"

The child pulled Yusaku's suit and whispered as the man got to his eye level, "What's wrong with being four, uncle?"

"Nothing at all, son. He just expected you to be older" the smile and calm face were always present whenever he spoke to him. Kaito didn't look like it bothered him at all. On the contrary, it made him more assured and happy to see Yusaku's smile.

"A lot older!" the blond muttered, he rubbed his temples. "God, this can't get any worse…"

"Well, let's go have some Ice-cream," Yusaku went on as if the teen wasn't analyzing anything. "Hakuba-kun, would you like to join us?"

"No, thank you, I have my own 'small sweet issues' to deal with…" he glared at the small figure in front of him. Kaito's face was toward the door, having his back to the detective, his attention on something downstairs. Saguru cleared his throat, "You go with the kids, I'll check my reports"

"Suit yourself~" Yusaku turned to the child, "Come on, son, the stores will close soon" Kaito nodded as they went downstairs.

Kaito pushed one leg past the other, his right hand holding the rail while the left one was in Kudo's hand. 'These stairs are high as ever…' Yusaku didn't even tell him to hurry, he must have realized how difficult it was with those short legs. "So, Shin-nii friends are already here?" he finally said and Yusaku nodded. "And papa?"

"He's waiting for us in the living room"

"Oh, okay~" echoed the childish voice. "He's going with us too?"

"If your mom lets him~" he patted the small head. He could always throw fake stories on the spot and he knew the boy well enough to convince him of anything. He thought deeply about the mess they were in. That drug was too terrifying, how did it make him mentally so small? 'How will we know what he remembers from when he was a child, fourteen years ago?'

"There you are! It took you long enough to come down" said a man with light brown hair, he adjusted his glasses, "And here's little..." he paused, "I'm sorry, I forgot your name again…" Okiya was giving him a sad face.

Nice trick, drive him to talk. But the child's eyes only gave weird looks. He blinked once and turned his gaze to Yusaku. "Do I know him?" he asked with a whisper. 'He's trying to trick me…' he knew such eyes when he saw them. Papa was nowhere in sight. 'I should have known… Uncle, you lied to me again'

"No, it's the first time that you meet him, I only told him about you once," Yusaku said, ignoring the stares he was getting for lying to him about Toichi being here. He knew what the child was thinking, but he had excellent skills when it came to dodging questions. Distractions were a piece of cake~ Kaito would never realize anything until it was too late. He pursued his words as he walked towards Genta and the rest of the detective boys. "Children, this is Kaito-kun" his eyes fell on the other shrunken kids who were observing the entire introduction.

"Ohhh, Kawaii!" Ayumi ran to him and hugged him. A minute later, she pulled herself away. "I'm Ayumi. Nice to meet you, Kaito-kun!" but Kaito stood in front of her unable to understand what she said.

"I'm Mitsuhiko" that boy placed himself on the duty of the older brother. Conan could tell it easily, Kuroba was going to be the little-spoiled boy in the group.

"Uncle…I need help over here…"

Yusaku smiled, "children… Kaito-kun doesn't know Japanese. Are you familiar with any other language?"

"English a bit…" and Kaito seemed to recognize that word and nodded.

"Yes, that'll do," he looked towards the couch where his son was, watching and analyzing from a distance. Typical Shinichi. He turned his gaze back to the children, "how about we go have some ice-cream? I'll drive you"

"Yes, I love ice-cream!" cheered Genta, 'and we can pick up food on the way' his grin said, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi gave themselves a facepalm.

"Genta-kun…" the detective boys sighed, still happy to go, excluding Conan and Haibara who just approached them. The latter preferred to stay home, thus forcing Conan to go with the "Baby" as she called the Kaitou.

"He's not a baby, you know…" Conan muttered. "I'm sure we can work something out, children believe everything you tell them…"

"Not interested in babysitting…" she blathered as she walked with her hands crossed behind her head, "Hakase and I are going to bake cookies!" she began with a childlike tone, "See you when it's done!" she sounded excited but she ran towards the door and closed it without even turning before Ayumi would want to help them out. Truth was, Haibara was only going back to Agasa's residence, using the professor as an excuse.

'Actors! Taku, does she have to do that when she wants to escape!?' Conan sighed and joined Kaito and the boys. "Come on, time to go. We don't want to be late" he avoided eye contact with the magician, who was watching him with wide eyes and confusion. Well, he was going to realize it sooner or later…

There weren't many look-alikes out there. And if he was so unlucky, Kuroba would remember him at some point today. It freaked him how innocent that small face was, so confused and unaware of things around him.

As the Shōnen Tanteidan, little Kaito, and Yusaku got out of the Kudo mansion. Conan sat next to his father in front, while Ayumi sat to the right of the car, Genta in the middle, and Mitsuhiko at the left side with Kaito-kun on his lap, observing the view.

"See that?" Mitsuhiko pointed at a skyscraper, Kaito looked with awe in his eyes. "Isn't it beautiful!" and the smaller boy nodded.

"Look there!" he pointed, "and there!" both were speaking English with their level of understanding.

"Conan, where did you meet this kid?" Genta raised his eyebrow, he didn't like the attention Ayumi and Mitsuhiko were giving the small child. Worse, they were speaking English and he didn't understand what they were saying. "Is he your cousin? You look alike. I would have said a little brother, but you didn't mention any before. So?"

"…" before Conan could begin, he was interrupted by his father.

"Yes, Kaito-kun and Conan-kun are related, they are distant cousins, in fact"

"Oi, tousan..." Conan whispered in Japanese to not be heard. "That won't work!"

The man smiled, "Toichi and I are cousins. That's why I didn't expose him as KID, and you should understand that Kaito-kun had reasons to take up his father's mantle. It's no different from the reason you have a new name. Kaito-kun wants to stop the shadow syndicate too, by luring them out during his heists"

"Don't use French with the kid around!" Conan muttered, his hand covering his mouth for the sake of some privacy.

"I don't want the children to understand, son. And he's not even paying attention" they observed the boy from the mirrors. He was watching the scenery from the window. "See?" his grin raised, "Children are too occupied with views than with conversations"

"Could there be a possibility that he didn't shrink mentally, that it's just memory loss?" he said still whispering.

"I doubt it, the terms he is using are all evidence that he is a child. He speaks in the exact way he used to when he was little. As for how this happened, it's the new drug, no doubt, and Shiho will work on a cure once she gets to know its ingredients"

"There's no way she'll get her hands on it!"

He shook his head, "She's getting help"

Conan arched his eyebrow, "help? From who?" he said, accidentally slipping into Japanese.

"The KIDs are hacking the systems to give the information she needs. It's their leader who is the most vulnerable, they have to get the cure as soon as possible"

"How did they get into the system anyway? That thing is impossible to hac-" no, he shouldn't have asked. The kaitou who could open any lock could also hack any system. His palm covered his face, "Figures..." he looked through the side mirror, "So you knew who KID was all along!"

"Not at first" that seemed true, "But when I did, we tried everything we could to keep you from meeting each other again, and from involving both our families too. We were already deep enough in the syndicate problems, and it would have been a matter of time until they knew the link between us"

"But they didn't figure it out…"

"That was because Toichi kept distracting them with his heists, to lead all the focus to himself"

"Pretty stupid if you ask me… he risked his family's life that way…"

Yusaku nodded, "he was too sharp to leave a trace behind... they only found out in the end, right before they killed him on stage"

"I see..."

"Conan-kun… what are you two whispering about?" Mitsuhiko asked with half eyes. "You're not planning on ditching us again to a crime scene and solve it on your own, are you?"

Ayumi's ears perked up, "Are you, Conan-kun! Again…!"

Edogawa laughed, "No, we're just planning where to take you," Conan rapidly threw a lie with a bright small on his face. "So, how about we go to the Amusement park?" Ayumi's eyes lit up and cheers escaped their lips. In five minutes, they reached the park.

Yusaku walked slowly, his eyes scanning the park as the children ran around. "Don't go too far, okay?"

"Hai!"

He placed the boy on the bench, "Can you watch him?" the girl nodded with a large smile on her face. Conan went on to buy the ice cream. Yusaku turned a glance at Kaito, then told Ayumi, "he's too small to be left alone, someone has to stay with him. It's not easy, you think you can do it?" she nodded again.

"Of course, Kudo-san" She felt sad for the small child.

Ayumi and Kaito sat on the bench, "Kaito-kun, what flavor?" Ayumi asked in English, as best as she could pronounce them while holding his little hand.

"Chocolate" Yusaku replied. "It's his favorite" Conan glared him as he handed it to the thief with a glare of 'how did you know?' thrown at his father.

The children ran off, 'great, time for some private chat', he shot a glare at his father, "Okay, spit it"

"Son, Kaito-kun is more like a son to me, and ... I know him pretty well, I am his guardian after all. Which is why I told the police I want him to stay with us. He'll be safer like that, and they won't consider him being with us when he should be in a hospital"

Conan didn't look so convinced, his father knew how to think and lay traps in terrifyingly unexpected ways. Writers were indeed scary with their ideas. "That makes Kaito-kun your little brother~" he teased, a grin plastered on his face. The sweet revenge.

Conan covered his face with his hand, "Great, just what I needed. A little brother" he let his eyes wander about. "Did you have to agree to be his guardian?" he said with half eyes.

Yusaku laughed, "You two were best friends back when you were two and Kaito was one... Back when his father died, I brought him home until his mother recovered. You were ten at that time, I am surprised you don't remember"

He shrugged, "Not a snitch, I think I would remember a doppelganger or a look-alike cousin. Was he annoying?"

"With tricks, somewhat"

"Than that's my reason," he said nonchalantly.

Yusaku laughed, "I enjoyed his tricks though. Maybe he just wanted to tease you~" Their eyes went to the children, Kaito was walking beside Ayumi, watching the flowers and the kittens running about. They were enjoying themselves with only that, Conan wondered what the thief would do if he rode any of the game. "What happened back then, dad?"

"Well…"

"Kaito was there when it happened" the two turned to see who spoke. "But after three months, Yusaku took Kaito to his place. Chikage woke up after that in a week… or was it two?"

"Two weeks" Yusaku corrected. "The poor boy was a wreck..." Dave rolled his eyes away.

"Dr. Dave?" Conan didn't miss how the man didn't add honorific to the Kurobas' names. Besides, he looked on good terms with Yusaku from the start. "What are you doing here?" he finally said, glancing at what the doctor was wearing. Why did he and his father like wearing black so much? He never put on the doctor robe ever since they left the hospital, as that would attract attention. "Aren't you supposed to be working at the hospital?"

"No, I was just hired for Kaito. He is my only patient" plain and straightforward. He didn't look like the type to beat around the bush when answering questions. That was a bit strange, somehow.

"He's a private doctor who worked outside for years, Shinichi" his father explained, "He's only around to watch Kaito-kun for any symptoms that might show up. It's a miracle he completely healed with only a minor head injury"

"And a few bruises on his arms"

"Come to think of it, he seems pretty fine. I'd blame the drug too if I were you, I guess we can consider going back in time possible from now on" they laughed. 'Shrinking mentally, huh?' That was the only thing that puzzled him. "But why did you even agree to let him leave the hospital? You should have waited for him to wake"

"The syndicate knows that he is in no condition to be anywhere else, so that's where they'll be looking for him if they don't fall for our little trick, Shinichi-kun"

"He seems like he is faking his innocence" Conan bid observing Kaito who was now playing with kittens by the gates. That smile was too big to be true.

"It's not like that! Since Kaito was little, he was always keeping his emotions from showing on his face"

"Which he learned from his parents" Yusaku interrupted.

"He always played the fool and innocent a lot, but he was pretty much on-to everything around him. He just puts the smile because everyone does" his glare did not leave Yusaku. 'I get it already'

"Oh, so you know him well too?" he was somewhat amazed.

"You can say that we-"

"Raised him together~" Kudo completed Dave's sentence with a smile. "Trust me, son, you'll come to see how good Kaito-kun is. The whole KID side, it's just for stopping the syndicate"

"I figured that out on my own years ago," he said with a lopsided grin, "He helped me a lot with my cases whenever he was around, he even helped me to figure his tricks out"

"Just like his old man~" Yusaku bid as he and Dave laughed. 'I told you that he was a mirror~'

Ayumi brought Kaito to Conan so she could go and play the games for older children with the rest. The boy stood beside them, watching them running off. They were having so much fun... if only he could too.

"Let's ride the fares wheel" Mitsuhiko called out, "Conan-kun, Kaito-kun, come join us!"

"We'll pass. You three go ahead, Kaito-kun will stay with us" and he called the little boy. "Let's sit down a bit until they get down," they sat on the nearest bench with the little boy in the middle, next to Conan. Kaito kept looking at the sky while the others kept their private Japanese speech. Of course, Kaito could not recognize a word of it aside from his name.

"What does 'kun' mean?"

"You mean the honorific? It's just a little title to the name" Conan said, "Don't ponder your thoughts over it, only Japanese people use it. If you want, we can skip it with you" Kaito nodded. That would make things easier.

Silence enfolded the park as they watched the open sky full of stars, gleaming bright. Kaito was enjoying the view, but he threw few glances towards the children. He knew that he wouldn't be allowed to go, not after knowing that he had an accident. The bandages around his arm and head told him he should rest for some time.

"Say, Kaito, how come you know French? It's not common for Japanese people to know it…" Conan asked in English, willing on knowing. The question wasn't random, as they wanted to know what Kaito knew about himself.

"I was born in Paris" was the little child's reply as he looked at the shrunken detective, "been there since, with some visits to here. But they were rare" he said, waiting to see his response.

"Oh, I see!"

Kaito frowned, did people have to use English with him? He didn't know much to understand full sentences…

Conan didn't say anything, ignoring every expression from the smaller face.

He blinked, 'that's it?' there didn't seem to be more questions, so he turned to Yusaku, "When will papa and mama be back?"

He checked his phone, sneaky man. "Kaito, they traveled to Canada last week. They will come next month" he didn't even give a date, sneaky man indeed.

Big blue eyes sighed, "Work again?" but Dave looked away. "That's what they always say. They work all the time!"

"They'll be back before you know it… Magicians are very busy! But they'll be back" Conan smile was wide, 'I hope' Kaito realized the four-eyed child preferred English, was he not good with French? Maybe he just didn't like to speak it.

"Not fair…" he crossed his hands, "They left me again" at least he didn't sulk about it much. "I am not going to become a magician if it's going to keep me away from my kids"

Dave pondered over those words, he never knew Kaito felt that way. Didn't he like seeing the tricks?

"Mah mah, don't say that! They didn't... They had to go..."

"But you can still talk to them until they come back" Dave added.

"Papa always says that, but they never answer" he rolled his eyes away, 'he always lies to me'

"Let him try," Dave said with a wink, "I'm sure they won't cut all communications. Besides, you'll have lots of fun with Yusaku and Conan, they made lots of plans!" regardless of the temptation in those words, they didn't seem to convince the little thief. He missed his parents, he knew that well, no one could fill the gap or distract him from wanting them back.

He wasn't pleased with that thought like they knew he wouldn't be, he sat down hugging his knees. "I wanna go home," said he with a sorrowful tone.

"Already? But you just got here…" Yusaku sounded sad, "After all the trouble and nagging on your father just so he brings you over…" Kaito felt a small smile on his face as the man patted his hair, "You know how much I miss you"

He hugged Yusaku, "Me too, uncle" Dave watched in silence, a bit of sadness in his eyes. A family should always come first.

'Toichi, you idiot.. ' he rolled his eyes away from the boy. Kaito was more than hurt to be left behind like that.

"Can you hug Dave too? He likes kids and he will be jealous" Yusaku soft smile was just too comforting.

"Sure" Kaito approached and hugged him. Dave was a bit surprised, but he accepted the hug.

Yusaku's eyes turned to his son, "Don't even think about it" Conan hissed the threat.

"Oh, Conan-kun, are you sad too?"

Kaito was looking at him with wide eyes, Conan felt his blood boil. "I do not need hugs!" it was too late. The little thief made his way to him and hugged him tightly. "Okay! Okay…I feel better now! Let go!"

Two full minutes afterward, Kaito let go. Conan sighed and shot dagger eyes at his father. "I will kill you"

"Yusaku, you like tormenting him" Dave had a grin of his own, "I think I will enjoy being around~"

Conan sighed then remained still, simply analyzing his rival, as he said nothing when they spoke in Japanese. 'He must be used to it,' All he could figure out was how attached the little thief was to his parents; and furthermore, how attached Dave and Kudo were to him. He wasn't used to seeing his father talking so openly and nice to children, he usually spoke with more awareness.

Much to be honest, Yusaku also felt what Kaito was in. Toichi was always planning for heists around the world and he wasn't around much to see his son, the poor child thought they always forgot about him. It wasn't the first time they traveled without him, nor was it the last, those were Kaito's thoughts. He knew they always preferred the fun outside than to bare little trouble-maker Kaito.

Dave on the other hand, despite his disguise, knew why Kaito was always left behind. It wasn't "Having fun without me" No, it was his parents' way of protecting their only son. Each time they traveled, Kaito would either be with Konosuke or with Kudo; merely for finding some route to escape the syndicate's control and protect him from them. It was what all the heists were about; stopping the threat from reaching anyone, especially their family.

"Well, it looks like the children are done playing, and it's almost ten. How about we head back home? We don't want to be late for your bedtime" both Dave and Shinichi confirmed, as Kudo leaned down to the child.

'Urgh, bedtime… I just woke…' he sighed. "Do we have to?"

"Yes, son, time to go" and he held him up to his chest. "Don't be sad, they'll be back"

Kaito only put his small head on Kudo's shoulder tightening his mini hands at the same spot. He didn't have to say anything to vent his thoughts; it was evident. His big blue eyes said it clear, and so did his little tears even if he tried to hide them from showing. He felt they didn't want him... like they don't even care. He was always with someone else, and rarely with his parents. He liked Jii and Yusaku, but he missed his parents, he missed feeling at home.

"Uncle, when will nii be back?" Kaito asked as he raised his head slightly.

Conan gave weird thoughts, "He has a brother?"

But Dave and his father laughed. "He means you," said his father and turned to the child. "He'll be home soon, I think. I am pretty sure he'll be happy to see you again!"

Conan gazed in confusion. How on earth will he pretend to know Kaito now? 'As if my life couldn't get any worse!'

"Can we play in the park too when he comes back?" and Yusaku nodded. Conan really, really, hated playing with children. His father was having his sweet revenge.

"Goodnight kids, sleep well"

"Arigatou Kudo-san! Oyasumi!" said each of the detective boys as they were dropped under their building whilst the three adults and the child went back on the road. This time, Conan sat in the back on Kaito's right, while Dave sat in the front. Kaito didn't move his eyes off the road, remaining silent the entire time. Conan said nothing, thinking of something to say to relieve the boy. The two in front kept their eyes on him.

No doubt about it, Kaito clearly showed he wasn't faking being a child. He knew no one; aside Yusaku, he remembered nothing after being four, especially his father's white side. He felt more alone now, before, Shinichi used to actually play with him and build cub castles, but now, he was away. He had no idea that the boy beside him was his closest baby-hood friend.

The trip to the amusement park was for him, although he could play nothing because he was too small for any exciting game. He didn't like the ponies or the swings. At least he had ice-cream and kittens to cheer him up.

They reached the traffic light and stopped when it became red. A black motorcycle drove next to the driver side while others piled up behind them, waiting for the light to turn green. The rider noticed the child glued to the window, so he knocked slightly to catch Yusaku's attention. The latter rolled down his window, and the boy spoke. "Excuse me, I think you should roll up the back window, just in case the child reaches out"

Yusaku looked back and realized it was open, "Oh, thank you, young man," and he switched the button in front of him, automatically closing Kaito's window and door.

The boy's eyes widen when the switch went down, then he saw the window going up. "Huh? How did it go up on its own!" and he kept moving the switch, maybe it would help him figure it out. His eyes then met the man outside, who grinned. 'It was you!' Kaito's eye glared until the boy laughed.

"I think he hates me now~" the teen said, Yusaku only grinned.

"Yeah, and more than the lock is needed now!" Conan added with a laugh. "Any luck, Kaito?"

He turned to Conan, "It won't open…" a frown on his face. 'How does it open, tell me!' his eyes begged, but Conan grinned, that didn't look like he was going to help him. "I don't like you" he pouted.

Conan laughed his heart out. "He hates me too~"

Yusaku removed the keys to lock the door from outside, but there was a lot of traffic. The young rider proposed to close it instead, and as Yusaku sustained, he gave the key through the window. The boy put the key in, observing a small curious Kaito trying to pull the switch up. Their eyes met again for a split second and Kaito starred before he hid down behind the door.

The boy smiled, "Oh, shy now, I see?" he locked the door and gave the key back to Kudo. At that moment, the light turned green, horns started to rise. Yusaku turned the car back on and drove after thanking the young man.

Kaito, as they drove, watched the man passing them, and to his surprise, the latter waved with a smile and a wink. "Ja na, kazo"

Kaito sat back down, looking from the edge of his eyes. "Who was that?"

"Just a random teen" Conan said, uninterested. So he could speak roman with more comfort, what a relief.

"So, are you still trying to solve how the lock went down?" Dave said with a slight turn from his head towards the child.

Kaito got a bit forward between the two men and pointed at the board where the radio was. "Yes! You switched it down with one of those buttons!"

"Oh, busted!" and they laughed, "Well, safety measures. Good thing that boy noticed, it might have opened if you leaned on it"

"But I was leaning on it the whole time! It didn't open" yet neither could be too cautious. Kaito sat back at his place. "Can I watch now?" they approved, they were certain the door wouldn't open now. "What does 'Ja na' and 'kazo' mean? I heard them somewhere before"

Dave smiled and said the first meant goodbye and the second meant kid. Kaito only said Japanese sounded difficult and he would never learn it even if it took him ten years. Dave denied, "You'll get used to it, trust me. It'll only take some time"

The car finally reached home and Kaito was rapidly noticed to be in dreamland. "He's been asleep for ten minutes" Conan pointed out, his hand under his head leaning on the window. Dave opened the back door and held the boy in his arms.

"Let's not wake him then," and they went inside. Immediately they were greeted by a pissed Yukiko.

"You're late!" she was almost yelling, but she lowered her voice when she saw the sleeping child.

"Gomen-ne~" they looked away and whispered "Traffic~"

"Well, get inside, dinner's getting cold. I've been waiting for hours!" exaggerations were common with her. "Well, what are you waiting for? And Dave, please ditch your disguise" her eyes said more, 'I don't like secrets in this house'

"Gomen, I can't~"

Her eye twitched, "fine"

Conan and Yusaku followed her, Dave said that he will put Kaito in bed. "Put him in my room, I'll keep an eye on him tonight"

Dave nodded and went upstairs, putting Kaito down gently. he smiled. "Goodnight, Kaito" and he covered him then put the lights off, closing the door behind him.

"Well," Yukiko began her investigations, it was bound to happen at some point "Where did you four go?"

"We took the kids to the amusement park, and then we went by the old mountain road-"

"Oh, but that's very far" she interrupted her son, "Did the boys give any trouble?" they denied. "What will we do with Kaito-kun?"

"We'll enroll him in pre-school tomorrow; he'll begin the day after if he can move and run about without trouble," Dave said.

"But is it safe to send him there so soon? He doesn't have anyone he knows there... and the syndicate... it's too early for him to leave the house"

"Don't worry about that, we had everything planned out" came the confident voice of her husband.

"Of course, he won't go by the same name, we will go dome changes on him, they won't figure him out" Dave added, resting his cup down.

"And he'll make lots of friends at preschool" Conan added as they began eating. He looked at the time, it was past twelve but he was more worried about how they will keep the syndicate from figuring out their trick. Dave turned to him and told him to wake him when Kaito wakes up; despite the time, it might be. Being the secretive man he was, he slept with his mask. Conan had already noticed that driving the real identity to light wouldn't happen anytime soon.

"Shin-chan, how are things going with Ai-chan? Is the cure working?"

Why did Dave get to know his secret? He sighed, "Almost, she hacked the syndicate's system and figured all the APTX continents thanks to 1412's help. The cure will come up soon, but as for Kuroba, nothing is known yet. No trace was found in his blood, she can't know the contents"

"Oh but that's terrible!"

"I know, but somehow she'll figure it out. Or Kuroba-kun can live his childhood again" Conan muttered, 'it's not like we have a choice. It took us forever to get a prototype for me. If it wasn't for the baijiu and Haibara being the one who made the apotoxine, we couldn't have known what the APTX was made of' he rolled his eyes away, "The only way is to get our hands on the new drug"

"That's not funny!" his mother muttered, she probably stopped hearing him when he mentioned Kuroba's childhood. The worry on her face proved it. "You have no idea how hard it was to have Kaito-kun surpass all of this. How will we tell him about the syndicate, worse, being turned into a child?!"

"Dear, time will clear all, don't worry" Yusaku cut in, "Kaito-kun won't know unless you keep talking loud" his grin reached his ear, "Anyhow, we'll wait and see, then we'll decide what to do"

"But for now, we need to keep a close eye on him," Dave began. Was cutting people's words something normal for those two? Conan glared them, Dave continued as if he wasn't receiving any glares. "The syndicate saw him when he was little, they even tried to reach him many times; they'll realize the resemblances with the slightest ease"

"So someone will always stay glued to him... and never lose sight of him" Conan completed with a smile as his right lens-reflected light. 'I hope you like being interrupted~'

Meanwhile, at Agasa's residence...

"Professor, do they really think they could outsmart the Kaitou KID? I mean seriously, won't he notice something's wrong? He won't simply accept to have another name or live with someone else!"

"Ai-kun, we'll never know unless we try, maybe he might accept and not ask anything. He's just a little boy, how could he figure it out? Besides, Yusaku-kun said he had everything under control. Kuroba-kun will be fine"

Haibara threw her gaze towards the house next door, she had been staring at it from the window since they came back an hour ago. "He'll realize that everyone is older than they should be. And what about his friends and family? Who will cover for them?"

"I am sure his partners will help with that" Hiroshi sat comfortably on his couch, "They are the only ones we can count on now. Besides, plans and disguises on the spot are their specialty~"

'Why do I feel that you're a fan of theirs?' her eyes made him shiver and a broken laugh escaped his lips as he rubbed his nape.

Conan went to his bed; his sight first hit the child sleeping soundlessly on the right side of the bed. He walked to the boy, observing him silently. None of this seemed right. 'Imagine the syndicate got to you before we did; if they figured out you became a child for real... what would they have done? Would they still kill you?' he watched the boy more, analyzing his even breathe and exhausted face. '...Urgh! I don't know! Those people exceed limits with their coldness. I expect that they would kill an infant, even if he was no threat to them!' he took his slippers off and placed them under the bed to the left.

Shortly he got changed and put his pajamas on and got soundlessly under the sheets. He yawned, today didn't go so bad. "Oyasumi, little thief"

He turned and turned, his eyes called dreamland but it wasn't answering his calls. He was tired, but with too much was on his mind, he couldn't shut his eyes. It hadn't been a week yet, and most of the people knew his identity, the syndicate might go after them, and none of them could do anything to protect them or themselves. True, few were left, but those 'few' were the most dangerous members in that syndicate. He turned towards Kaito, "And what about you? What could you do now? Nothing will be useful, you're just a little boy, and you can't possibly defend yourself. I know we had our issues once, but I won't let a kid get involved ..." he paused, "But you already are. Before, you and your partners used to back each other up_ regardless of who they might be_ but now, the syndicate got to most of them" he sighed and turned on his back. "What will we do?"

Kaito remained asleep, ignorant of the issues around him. Everyone was speaking in Japanese whenever he was around, thinking he wouldn't understand that way. But was that their way of protecting him? It will never be enough; nothing will ever be enough with the syndicate. They're smart enough to hack their information, good enough to shoot from eight yards away, and talented enough to disguise themselves as anyone they want.

"Those people study you well; they know everything about you, and no matter how smart or careful you are, you won't figure them out"

It was okay to talk aloud, the boy was way in dreamland, besides, he would understand nothing of those words, even if he was awake.

Soon the sun rose upon on the two little rivals, yet only one of them felt it's warmness. Conan rubbed his eyes, yawning, still half awake.

"Oh, morning already!" he turned to the sleeping figure beside him. "You're still asleep!" he shook the boy slightly. "Oi, Kaito, wake up"

Little blue eyes began to wake, with dim light within until his eyes were wide open. The sunlight struck his eyes and he covered them immediately. "What time is it?" he rubbed his eyes. "Where am I ?" The room wasn't something he remembered.

"It's 6:30, come on, let's go have breakfast. You haven't eaten anything aside from the ice cream since last night" he got down. "Come on Kaito-kun," the child kept looking at him confused.

"You look like... Shinichi-nii" the childish voice said in wonder.

As much as the latter wanted to say he was, he couldn't. How was he going to explain the age gap? Kaito knew that Shinichi was only a year older than him. "I'm... I'm Conan, his cousin. Now, care to follow me?"

Conan seemed older and nothing like the boy he knew. So he nodded and jumped down, following him while hopping off the stairs. Conan's slapped his own, "Would you stop it already?" he didn't want to spoil the little ones fun, but there was too much hype for him to handle in one day. Soon they were in the kitchen downstairs, greeted by a humming Yukiko.

"Good morning my little ones~" it surprised him that both his parents stuck to roman when Kaito was with them. She hugged her son, who tried to escape her. "Kaito-kun, come here" the later ran to her and hugged her. "That's my little boy, not like that grumpy over there who wouldn't hug back!" she glared her son.

"Oi, you suffocate me every time!" the latter complained. "Let's sit down already; we'll be late for school"

Kaito arched his left eyebrow. "Can you stick to one language, please? And let it not be English. I don't know it much"

"Taku… fine"

The two small figures got up on their chairs, looking at the plates waiting for Yusaku to join them. "Why is he having that for a breakfast?" he gestured to Kuroba's bowl. "You do know that's not enough for his morning energy, right?"

"I know~ but it's his favorite~" she sing sang it, "And chocolate is full of energy!"

She wasn't going to admit it, but he knew that she wanted to spoil the little boy. It was obvious, from the first glance, that they treated Kuroba like their son. And better. 'They were never like this with me, and they smile too much with him around'

Yukiko patted the smaller head, 'Jealous?' she threw her eyes on her son. He sighed.

"Your efforts won't work on me, kasan"

"Doesn't 'kasan' mean mom?" Both looked at him and blinked in surprise, "But your not her son… only Shin-nii should call her mom"

Conan was looking at him with wide worried eyes. "E he he he…" he began nervously…

"Conan considers me as his mom~" Yukiko's voice came out cheerful, "he's known me since he was this small," her arms cradled like she was holding a baby, "you see, much like you, his parents are always away… poor thing…"

Conan could feel the sadness in her voice, Kuroba looked like he was going to hug him for some comfort.

Yusaku came down the stairs just in time to distract the thief from hugging Conan. He was holding a bundle of papers in his hands; he rested them down on the table in the living room and joined them by the table.

"Morning everyone" he rubbed his Kuroba's hair, kissed his wife on her cheek, and patted his son on his shoulder. "So, today's Wednesday, weekend soon, will you spend it with the boys?"

"Sa na!" Conan bid as he held the spoon up. "They didn't say anything about fun and plans, so I don't think so" and they began to eat.

Yusaku turned his sight_ non-directly_ observing Kaito who was silently eating, while he was moving his feet back and forth under the table. "At least someone's in the mood today" he smiled. "So, Kaito, do you want to come to see Conan's school today?"

The little figure looked at Conan, "Should I agree? I know school is horrible" his eyes said. Yet Conan smiled and approved saying the school wouldn't bite.

"All kids hate it," Yusaku laughed. "But I'm sure you'll like preschool, son" he smiled at Kaito. "There are lots of kids to have fun with" Kaito nodded with a smile. Fun was his middle name.

Everyone else had a normal breakfast, excluding Kaito. His only approved breakfast was chocolate cornflakes and juice.

After Breakfast was over, Conan took his bag and walked outside after saying goodbye to his mother followed by the two. They got inside the car, both boys at the back, leaving Yusaku alone watching them from the mirror.

"Can I go too?"

"Are you sure about that?" and the child nodded, "Okay, I will get you registered and you'll start"

In no more than five minutes, they reached Teitan high school and dropped Conan there. "I'll take Kaito to preschool, try to pick him up at 2," said his father and drove away.

It was not a second later that he was greeted by the detective boys running and a none-interested Haibara walking slowly towards him. After that, they entered the classroom, beginning their new day.

He dropped Kaito at the school and walked inside to meet the teacher and had everything arranged. Yusaku waved goodbye, but Kaito hugged him.

"Bye-bye uncle," he said in his childish voice and each parted on his way.

Kaito always got bored alone in the house, that was the main reason he wanted to meet and play with children his age.