I apologize for the previous chapter, it wasn't cut in half at all. That happened in a previous version and all that... I'm afraid I can't fix that issue, as many of you had already read it.

This chapter is cut for sure. No one likes to die from a non-ending chapter.

ch 19. The Wavering Heart

Yusaku's car reached Beika just as Kuroba rose from peaceful dreams over the kids' hyper arguments outside the gate of Hiroshi Agasa's house. There was that familiar face standing beside them, trying to put their enthusiasm and quarrels at bay. When he saw the car nearing them, he raised a soft smile as a greeting to the small magician and Kudo Yusaku. For some reason, he didn't throw a look towards Conan, which the boy was fine with.

"What's Hakuba nii-san doing so far from home, uncle?"

"He's looking after the children, son." Yusaku said and Kuroba hummed. "He'll be watching over you and Conan-kun until I'm back. Try not to prank him, okay?" the thief nodded with a sigh.

Conan shoved his phone to his pocket with annoyance. "Taku! This is really starting to cause me headaches!" he muttered to no one. "What's her excuse this time? I swear, it's like she never wants to see sunlight anymore!"

Kaito approached from the gap between the two seats. "Where's Ai-chan? Is she okay or she's still down with a cold?"

"You should be asking if I'm okay! She's going to drive me crazy!" but Kuroba took his opportunity and laughed at Conan's reaction. "Yeah, go ahead and laugh. It's so amusing to see people annoyed." he turned his face sideways.

Kuroba blinked, "Sorry~ Your face was too priceless!"

Yusaku turned to his son, "Ai-kun mentioned a program she was working on with their help. Said she wanted to get it done as soon as possible."

"Maybe that's why she's not coming?" Kaito piped up, "and... what program? Is it a cool game?"

"It's something complicated." Yusaku smiled. "With codes and those numbers list you hate." Kuroba laughed and nodded. "She's fond of them," and hacking.

"A program?" Conan repeated. "The difficult program no one can break?" Yusaku nodded. Kuroba hadn't understood the true meaning behind the question. 'Haibara's trying to hack their program? Since when does she act so boldly!' it made sense. With the recent missions their boss was making, it was a priority to be one step ahead and ward off as many plans and attacks as possible. 'But why in the world is she on that kid's side!'

"Please, Hakase!"

The trio turned to the gates were the children were fighting over Agasa's approval. Ayumi had pulled onto his coat the moment he came out to them. From the looks of it, she was insisting on something which the professor shook his head to. Ayumi sobbed and covered her eyes, Mitsuhiko and Genta stood in front of her and scolded him for making her cry. Hiroshi eventually sighed and agreed to her idea. "Alright. Just don't cry." her puppy eyes and innocence always broke his efforts to deny anything, be it lame or be it dangerous. Where was Haibara when he needed her?

She immediately recovered and started cheering. "We're going! We're going!" she jumped in her place, cheering with more enthusiasm than Conan could accept. But that was children's nature.

Conan tapped his hand over his head, "He'll never learn..." none of the children had noticed their presence. "I'm sure they had everything planned."

Yusaku smiled, "It must be that influence you have on them, son." Conan sheepishly grinned as he rubbed his neck.

"You're teaching kids to lie? Shame on you, Conan-kun!" Kaito said with knitted brows. "Though I'd appreciate it if you offer me some lessons and few tips..." he whispered.

Conan shook his head, "If any of us can lie and never be busted, it's you. I should be taking lessons from you, Mr. wannabe magician prankster who's already trouble as is!" Kaito chuckled, "What makes you think I want to add some experience to your skills? It's hard to understand you already."

Kaito laughed more, "You flatter me~ but, really... stop talking like I'm a worldwide liar or something... I'm just four... so much experience to build and practice to do. I'm still a long shot from being a magician like my dad... I can only do two tricks!" he rolled his eyes away. "Kaasan said I knew much more..."

Conan narrowed his eyes away, "... yeah, quite good for your age." he bit his lip. It slid off well. Kuroba was talented even as a teenager. "But... you're right. You're still little, too early to cause mayhem and chaos. Nothing to worry about now." That will change when your memories come back.

Kaito nudged Yusaku, "Uncle, he thinks I'll become a criminal and hurt people! Do something! I'm innocent over here!"

Yusaku smiled, "I'm sure he's just trying to tease you for the last morning. And for all the snowballs you threw at him. Detectives have no time for fun."

"But he's still little to be a detective! He's not even ten!"

Conan huffed, "My quick thinking and ability to analyze things make me a detective. Just like your tricks make you a magician. You don't have a certificate to be called a magician, do you?" Kuroba shook his head. "Same here." well, he had been solving all kinds of cases since he was a toddler. Megure and the others relied on his help, despite him being an 'amateur' by some people's descriptions. Namely, Mori Kogoro. The jealous no-good-for-nothing drunk divorced man who just can't get up on his feet and be responsible unless when he was trying to woo a serious woman.

Yusaku glared at him, well aware of how serious and important a detective's degree is. Conan shot a cold glance at his father too. "Sometimes Conan-kun acts like he's an adult, holding the weight of the world on his shoulders... like he's trying to stop all the bad guys, don't you agree?"

Kaito nodded, "If he's like that now, I hate to see what will happen when he becomes an adult!"

"Hey!" he yelled, then turned from their gaze. As if KID sharing a room with him wasn't enough torture. Kuroba just had to agree with his father on his strange behavior. "Let's get out of the car and get on with today already."

"Grumpy is back!" the boy clapped his hands, "It didn't take long..." Yusaku grinned. "I'll keep a good eye on him so he won't disturb any adults or wander off to somewhere unsafe..." he waved goodbye as they closed the doors. "Today I'll play guardian. You don't get to be bossy. We're gonna have fun today and you won't spoil it." He flashed Conan a sly grin.

Edogawa glared him, "Whatever."

Ayumi cheered out their names. "You're here!"

"You're here late!" Mitsuhiko crossed his arms. "An entire hour late!"

Conan gave a broken laughed, "Sorry, sorry. It's my bad. We got on the wrong turn and well... I learned my lesson. I'll never give directions from a place I'm still new to." Kaito stared at him with confusion. "What? I'm not from Ekoda. I don't know the streets. Tous_ Kudo-san relied on me to tell him which street we went from on the train... your little show to that girl got me distracted, didn't see which spot we went off of."

Kuroba furrowed his brows more, "You could've asked someone for directions..."

"... yeah, Kudo-san did, after I had him do three turns..."

"Oh, you could have asked me." Saguru said with a smile, "Ekoda is my city, after all." he smiled more then turned to his former troublemaker. "How was it? Did something help you remember?" the child shook his head.

"Just the house... looked a little familiar."

"It's okay. Your memories will come back when you're ready."

Mitsuhiko pulled Conan and Kuroba to the car while Genta shoved Saguru to his car. "We won't all fit in Agasa-san's car. I suggest some of you come with me." the children exchanged glances. "Conan-kun, Kaito-kun, do you want to come with me?" Kuroba looked at Conan and saw a wide grin on his face.

"Sure, if you tell me something about that boy's plans."

"What boy?" Kaito blinked.

"Just a... fellow high schooler I know." Saguru said with a straight face. "We better go if we want to make most of our time," he added a smile. "If we're going to Haido city, we might run into him, if he's allowed out of bed, that is. I'm afraid I can't promise you an actual meeting with... my friend, there is no guarantee he'll be far from Ekoda so soon. Not unless he's fully able to walk around."

"I'm counting on it!" Conan said drily. "And he better tell me something or he won't be happy." Kuroba backed away from him and followed Saguru to the car the housekeeper was waiting in.

They decided the closest park there was ideal. Having fun was the best thing to do after a snow day as school was on hold, for all any child cared to know. For a while, the real children debated where to go. Genta and Mitsuhiko bickered for minutes, Hiroshi did his best to calm them down. Eventually, he chose their destination.

While the boys were having fun, Ayumi took the big protective sister's turn, Kaito didn't object. Ayumi was a nice sweetheart. Saguru followed them around in shallow steps, watching over them but not joining them for any game. Kuroba did his best to keep his sand creations from crumbling and falling apart, but his eyes remained on Conan and Saguru, who had most of their eyes on him in particular. Not Ayumi, him.

He found it absurd why they spoke so vague and stared indirectly at him when he was around. He thought it might be due to their cautions for his lack of memories but he tried to explain to himself why he felt like an outsider. The only ones who were normal were those three children, Genta, Mitsuhiko, and Ayumi. Haibara Ai shared Conan in more behaviors than he hoped to notice. Mature. That's all they ever were. Mature-like kids who observed everything, like there was a shadow over their heads, waiting to strike.

He liked Mitsuhiko, feared Genta, and adored Ayumi. Mitsuhiko was like a good brother to him, his smile reminded him of Yusaku. But Genta was never on Kaito's mind; he didn't like him very much. But Ayumi was different and more innocent than a smaller child his age. Maybe it was a girl thing? he knew for sure that she was the kind to love seeing his tricks, fans were his adrenaline to small performances.

It was more fun to perform in front of people who wanted to be entertained. People like Conan, he didn't enjoy performing around, when all they wanted to know was how the trick was done. When he'd get his memories back, he'll make complicated quick tricks that no critic can keep track of or solve.

A magician never reveals his secrets, his father had told him only a day ago. He knew at least for sure that his father loved performing as much as he did. That was a major support to have him learn new tricks.

As he filled the buckets and turned them, he seemed distracted to the detectives. He was sick of baseball, of football, even of hide and seek_ his favorite game. His mind was roaming somewhere and Conan was set to find out where.

"Kaito-Kun," eventually Hakuba called him and he left the sandbox. "You look tired. Do you want to go home?"

Kuroba blinked, "No, we're here for fun. Fun is my middle name. If you want me out, you got to drag me." he paused. "Just bored of not getting the castles impeccably perfect~"

"Impeccably? How do you even know that word!"

Kuroba pointed at Conan, who coughed and looked away. "Heard him say it a few times. And it bumps up a lot in the books he has. Uncle told me the meaning, he was also surprised when I showed it to him, though that went away when he easily recognized the book from the line... He must have read that book a few ten times... Reading is their addiction! Did you see their library? I almost had a heart attack!" Saguru only smiled, adding fondly that he was an addicted reader himself.

"I have quite a few at my place, not as huge as Kudo-san's collection, but they're a handful. Reading is fun, it helps during boredom too. If you ever feel like you need something aside playing to fill your time, you can read a short story if a novel is a lot for you." Kuroba only showed his disgust and said tricks were much cooler than reading huge books. short stories might pass, only if they were case free, Conan read in Kuroba's expressions.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Conan cut in without showing any hint of offense the little thief had meant to direct at him. "You look tired. If you're feeling down or lightheaded, we better ta_"

"I'm fine, as you can see. Just bored from playing with sand but... it's still better than what those two are playing..." he threw his gaze at Genta and Mitsuhiko shouting over loops in their hands trying to drop them on a short cylinder. "They suck at it. Even I know that loop is too small to land there." Conan laughed. "Why do they even bother?"

"It's like a challenge," Conan said, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Children like to beat each other at games. Just like you like to remain the best at hiding." Kaito gave him a lopsided grin. "Back to my question, if you prefer we go home, we better start going before you reach your limits."

"But I'm not near my limits!" he spread his hands and backed away. He turned to apologize to the person he had bumped into but was surprised that he had to look so high to see the person's face.

"Sorry, kiddo. Didn't see you there." said person smiled. "Hope you're okay?"

Kaito blinked, "what did you do to become so tall!"

The teen smiled, "Nothing, really." he didn't look at the other two to see how they were analyzing him and everything he was saying. He turned to the brit and gave a small greeting. "I didn't expect you'd drop by, Tantei-san. Quite a long shot from our city. I heard you had plans today."

Saguru kept a stiff yet composed expression. "I like to say the same to you," he paused, casting a quick glance at Kuroba who still had a surprised baffled expression on his face. "I thought you'd still be... home, after_"

The thief shook his head, "I was good to go. Figured I'd drop by and keep an eye on my flock before they wander around where they shouldn't. and to say hi to my favorite stalkers." Conan laughed dryly at that. "My little one keeps her eyes on you, Chibi-kun. Don't think you can outsmart my birds."

"You have birds!" Kuroba said with owe. The boy only nodded.

"But you're flock is under someone's care," Conan said, knowing all too well the teen meant his leader. "No reason for you to come all the way when you can just call and check on how things are going. You still need to get proper rest, if you know how important it is if you want to move freely when you need to."

"Of course, Chibi-Kun, I had all the rest I needed. Besides, my friends would just keep me in that box if they don't think I'm able to move around. Besides, I like to personally confirm how my little friend is doing. It's not so easy to just leave him with someone else, just because they insist on it. He's from my flock, after all."

"What kind of birds?" Kuroba pipped up. The teen whistled and the said bird came flying and landed on his slim finger. "A Mourning Dove! You raise doves!"

The teen smiled. "Her name's Iris." He leaned down so the child could pet the bird. "I've had her for a while, but she's still nervous around strangers." he paused, watching his small leader petting the dove with sparkling yes. "I'm afraid to break your hopes, there is only her." Kuroba retracted his hand from the small cooing head, but it nudged his hand softly, asking for more attention. He smiled at her and petted her more. Once satisfied, she spread her brown dotted wings and landed on her owner's shoulder. "She already likes you~ Don't be surprised if you see her around~ She likes to have attention from time to time."

"Only one bird, you say? So you don't own a hundred like your friend? I'm disappointed." Conan said with a dry grin. "Thought every magician needs doves for his tricks, but what good is one bird?" Kuroba's eyes widen more at the mention of that word. "Who's looking after them? The others?"

The boy grinned, "Of course. We all take care of them. Iris doesn't like strangers very much, so I advise you not to follow her if you see her. I don't keep her indoors all the time anyway. There may be some threats she'd use if she sees you following her." Kuroba laughed aware of what that threat was. The teen smiled, "If you three excuse me, I got some work to do." He turned to leave but froze his steps and glanced back at Saguru. "Aoko-san mention she needed your help with something, in the afternoon... if you can make it home by then?"

Hakuba nodded, "Of course, that won't be a problem. I won't be here for long anyway. I'll text her and see what time we can meet." the teen nodded. Conan had his eyes on him. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise, Tantei-san. It's always a pleasure to meet our favorite critics. You too, Chibi-kun." Conan glared him with a fire burning in his eyes for the reference.

Kuroba tilted his head, "you do tricks for real?"

The boy hummed, "And Tantei-san likes to expose every trick too. Chibi-kun is no different," he ignored the aura surrounding the shrunken detective. "It's fun to make it more complicated and see if they'll figure it out." Iris flew and landed on an electric wire and cooed for him to follow. "Looks like it's my cue, try to stay in one piece, Tantei-san, okay? Cya." he turned and walked away.

Kuroba kept his eyes on the teen as he was walking away. "He kinda looks familiar."

Conan's eyes widen as he quickly recalled how the boy had been disguised. There was nothing linking him to the usual brown-haired, green-eyed thief they always saw him as. He had black hair and brown eyes, but they knew who he was from the feeling every Kaitou causes whenever he appears. At least Conan was sure the young thief was a genuine blue-eyed boy with dark brown hair, thanks to the time he had been unconscious while playing the body only months ago. Conan had all the time he needed to check for wigs and masks. He was a Kuroba-lookalike, but for some reason, he always had green contact lenses on, out of his disguises.

"So... while you two are thinking like status... can I go and walk on that thing?" he pointed at a thin wood plank resting on top of side supports. Conan shook his head, telling him that he doesn't have the balance to walk on it. The shrunken thief sulked and pouted. "Why can't I try! How do you know I can't!"

"Because you'll fall if you do. Walking on it needs skill and practice. Did you ever walk on an edge before?" the boy pursed his lips, unsure if he did. "Than you can't. Thank me later."

The child insisted he wanted to give it a try, but Saguru shook his head too. Saguru knew him enough to know he was hiding something. However, unable to know what, it was pointless to ask again. Nothing was sure; it could be anything bothering the child. But their minds went far, very far.

once he was away from earshot, Saguru turned his gaze to Edogawa.

"Is it my imagination or does he understand what's going on?" the question threw itself and hung in the air as they glanced in Kuroba's direction. He was sitting far on a swing, pushing himself every now and then, still pouting over not being allowed to walk on the plank. "Maybe he recognized KID-Kun?"

"I have no idea, honestly. 1412 was subtle and nothing he said was planned or full of hints. Kuroba-kun seems unaware of who that boy was... but definitely, something is bothering him. I'll ask him when we go home. Maybe he'll feel better telling a child than an adult. You know, he doesn't look fully comfortable around you yet. He barely saw you when he woke up from his coma."

"You're right, Conan-kun, we haven't had enough time to get used to each other. I'm still trying not to relate to his previous antics. To be frank, he's a completely different person without his memories, but, unfortunately, his poker face is an exception. But, since he knows you more, he'll be able to tell you what's bothering him. You just need to sound a bit more innocent and not have him be warry of you. He wasn't quite comfortable when we insisted just now. The Kuroba-kun who I knew didn't like to express his worries either... but if a child asked him, he might say enough for you to conclude what he's truly bottling in. The full picture."

"He's only known me for around two months. I'm just a kid who he is forced to stay with all the time. He already realized we aren't leaving him alone for long, in addition to not being allowed to go anywhere. He noticed we're constantly watching him, it's starting to bother him. Tousan said that was the case, and since he knows him more, I'm sure he's aware of the full picture."

Saguru hummed, "Better be less obvious then. Why don't you just tell him? Throw some magical story, every Kid falls for it."

Conan shook his head, "he's smart, fooling him won't do. My parents already warned me about that. He still retains adult acts, you know. He's observing everything, analyzing every word and every expression before saying anything. I don't know if that's out of his lack of better answers, but it might not be something major to worry about. Technically, we're strangers to him. All of us, even his parents. I can't just throw a myth and expect him to believe me just because he's unaware of what is real and what isn't."

Saguru grinned, "I like to test that theory." he called the young thief again. Kuroba sighed and approached them with no amusement in his face.

"I really said I'm fine..."

Saguru smiled, "I wanted to tell you something, actually." Kuroba lifted his head and waited to hear the response. "Can you guess who I heard is coming soon?" But no answer came. "It's Shinichi-kun."

"Who is he? Not that I'll know if you say~"

Saguru's face went stiff. "... Yusaku-san and Yukiko-san's son. You knew him before."

'Uncle's son? Oh, I wanna meet him' his grin went across his face. "When is he coming?"

"Tonight~" and Conan glared the detective. "And mah, you'll see how big he became!"

Kaito's blinked twice in a row. "Huh…" and he was silently frowning at the ground. "How big? You mean he's older now? How old is he anyway..."

Hakuba smiled softly. "Shinichi-kun is eight now. It's been a long time since you saw him when he was three. He looks a lot like Conan-kun." but nothing came from the magician. "Does the name sound familiar?"

Kaito shook his head. "I saw some pictures they showed me of their son, it didn't help either. Why isn't he home with them?"

"Well, he's…He's..." oh the sweet panic. Kaito raised a mental smile. 'How can I tell him now without having to say too much?'

"Don't worry Hakuba nii-san, I don't remember him. You can say."

Conan twitched his eye, the face Kaito gave definitely understood their behavior. "You know what?" he took off his glasses, walking forward, he observed the child's puzzled reaction. "I'm him, sorry for hiding it. I didn't think you could handle familiar faces so soon. Thought the glasses would make the resembles seem less..."

"But uncle said that you were like his son, not his son!" Kaito's bid rapidly. "Why would he say that if you are his son? It doesn't add up. And you're not behaving like they're your parents. I'm not stupid!"

Hakuba laughed out immediately. Conan's mien was questioning, "What do you mean?" he said with his dry laugh. "I'm not calling you stupid. It's just that I couldn't tell you who I really was. Maybe you'd trigger some sad memory or something_" his eyes went to Kuroba as he took off his cap.

Kaito puffed a rabbit out from it. Conan pursed his lips, with no actual expressions on his face. "Dave-san said Shinichi-nii would smile if he saw this. He likes games too much that he'd even play more than me! But you're always calm and with grownups all the time. You're not like all kids, you're too mature!"

"Oh, too mature? Reall~ right back at you." Conan teased, Kaito looked up. "Sometimes children games are boring, they're not my concept of fun."

Kaito tilted his head, "Oh, okay. Good to see someone else hates them too. Though your fun includes reading and solving cases, my fun includes crazy things and tricks."

Hakuba observing Kaito's reasoning. 'He thinks almost like the Kuroba-kun I used to know...' he placed his hand on his chin, thinking and analyzing his fellow classmate more discreetly. "So you've been told about him then?" Kaito made a silent nod. "But why didn't Kudo-san tell you about the game?" he made the perfect lie, the perfect excuse for his comrade's behavior. One any child would fall for.

"What game?" Kaito blinked confused.

"Pretending to be someone else, having another name… Kudo Shinichi's name is Edogawa Conan, just as yours is Edogawa Kaoru."

'Ehhh? He's playing too? Wait, but that only means that_' Having no other way, a smile spread on his face. "He lost! Conan lost!" he laughed.

Conan's eye twitched. "I lost what?" He realized the kid's smile was genuine enough to become a Kaitou's with enough practice.

"You said your real name, so you lost~" he continued laughing. "Lost to little old me~ Uncle will be disapointed~" he continued laughing.

"You're out of the game, Conan-kun~" Hakuba smiled. "Kaito-kun's gonna win like that!"

"Ha Ha, very funny!" the shrunken detective said dryly, yet allowed it to pass with a mere smile. "Just don't let those guys over there know, it will spoil the fun." He winked. The boy quickly nodded and went to the kids as they started called for him.

After an hour, Kaito got bored. Hakuba told him to come and sit with them, and they started talking about common things.

"Mistu-Kun likes Ayumi-chan~" he swung his feet back and forth. "It's so funny whenever he turns red~"

Conan laughed, adding to his bemusement: "They'll get married one day!" Then added secretly, "And so will you~" Conan muttered giving the evil teasing eye.

Kaito shook his head, "Still too little for that."

Hakuba laughed, he couldn't tell him that he was already engaged to Nakamori-Aoko. It would be hard for him to understand it now, given the fact they just mentioned the girl as a person their age when 1412 brought up her name. "One day, I'll go with you to ask for the unfortunate girl's hand. After all, she has to be crazy to fall for you, right?" and he winked. Kaito only buried his head amid his arms, blushing more and saying marriage was disgusting.

"You like the witch!"

"Oh, so it's payback now~ anyhow, what witch?" Hakuba said surprised. "I don't like anyone, and witches don't exist. Are you reading fairy tales again?"

"I only read four books during my long weeks of paralysis, but that's not the point now." Hakuba could have sworn Kaito didn't behave like a child when he said that. "And sure you do! That scary lady we saw when you picked us up, Akako... I think that's her name. You love her~ It's so obvious even I know that~"

Hakuba wanted to chase him badly, but he had to get rid of Conan who was Kaito's hiding wall. The wall couldn't but chuckle; it was good for him that Kuroba didn't know about Ran.

"She's not a witch though..." his face was the uninterested type, still hiding the blushing. "She's just like us"

"She's scary, she fits the describing well~" Kaito replied and smiled. "By the way, are you bored, or it's just me? This big park and there's not a lot to do." he turned towards the other games, "And never think I'll ever, ever ride the mary go round." Conan chuckled.