Japanese mini list:
Kawaisou: How sad
bold italics are English conversations
I borrowed parts from the other version, which happens with chapters with common ideas.
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 couldn't 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 there was another beside him as the first one stepped forward in the KID partner attire and they had a conversation. Then, 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'm 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 1412 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.
When the young leader woke an hour later, he wasn't confused when 1311 showed him the footage, which led 1311 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 he 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 didn't admit his prior knowledge, nor will he ever in the matter of facts, that he knew they had company and distracted 1211 ever since they enter 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.
'Kaito said none partners aren't allowed here!'
1311 grinned, "Oh, who said they weren't?"
"Our partners are only allowed here. You could have told me something. I could have slipped critical information if I didn't notice" but the mother-hen shrugged, "Really, keep me notified next time..."
1311 told Jii to look after him, while he watched the cameras and made plans. 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!" being teased wasn't something he liked. "You know, I'm 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'm surprised you're still not used to it! You know how mommy is…"
"Yeah, and I can't really judge 1311, Jii-chan... I'm more unconscious than awake... " it had only been four hours since he woke, but he still needed supervision. People in his condition shouldn't 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're 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'll 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'll 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 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 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're 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 wouldn't 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're 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'll 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'll 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. He didn't like being drugged or forced to rest. "We've been through this before…"
"Apparently not enough!" There was no doubt 1311 wouldn't 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 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, 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 doe-"
"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 to him? 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 that way.
"Yeah, they had memorized each other's methods of talking 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 could 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 to 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.
1311 found out. I hope you didn't get a scolding too~
1311 still has a few more though~
I'd be careful if I were you~
Anyway, 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 kept your visit a secret'
(Three weeks later)
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 blonde.
Hakuba grinned, unshaken by the strong stare coming from the small child, "Innocent, child, still nothing like the older 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 Mouri-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. The reply came quickly, short and to the point. Dr. Dave was a person with an easy character to memorize. Even so, he was the most difficult person to anticipate how he'd behave. Moreover, he had the skill that meant they should worry…
Don't say anything personal until I make a checkup
-Dr. Dave
Kaito slowly opened his eyes, yet could see nothing for the moment. He felt that his body was worn out and sleepy, yet some truck run him over. The pain, however, could not stop him from moving. "Where am I?" he said while looking around the unfamiliar room, he immediately noticed the man with blond hair standing beside him near the bed.
The person gave a modest assuring smile, "You're home" his voice came out soft, trying to assure the thief that he meant no harm. "How are you feeling?"
The faux child straightened himself, he hesitated to answer at first. The place didn't look like home to him, and who was this guy anyway? "I'm okay, I guess…" He decided to put his mind at ease and ask the question that bothered his mind, "Who are you?"
Hakuba said nothing for a moment, remembering what Dave told him. 'There might be memory loss.' So he said nothing, thinking of a better approach. "I am a friend" the answer was accompanied by a modest smile, yet the solo thought that troubled him, was why Kuroba sound so childishly and unusually innocent? "Do you remember anything from earlier?"
Kuroba made a weird face, sinking in deep thoughts. Was he trying to recall the last incident? That made Hakuba wonder why the person with the best memory took so long before he gave the feared answer.
"...I don't know…"
Hakuba rubbed his head, something seemed out of its place if he was looking at it from the right perspective. Then came the sudden realization as to how deep the head wounds were. He had to check, and since he got the thief into talking, he could push his luck and ask that question in particular. "I...hmm… What's...what's your name, kiddo?"
"Kiddo?" the child said with wide eyes, then cast them at the closet's mirror. He saw his reflection and thought for approximately an entire minute and forty-two seconds, Hakuba noted. He looked down at his hands trying to remember, but nothing was coming up. The teen detective allowed his eyes to analyze the shrunken thief once more. The face wasn't the cunning elusive magician's, the smile was inverted into a sad expression that he had never seen from the smiling crazy phantom. Then his attention fell on the hands, the kaitou was anxious, moving them together as a desperate attempt to think of something.
That wasn't the Kuroba Kaito that he knew, no, this was someone entirely different. Someone who knew nothing about himself. That cleared, he threw the answer for the seemingly small child. "You don't know, do you?"
The child nodded, then finally realized the bandages wrapped around his tiny hands and head. What Happened? The sad small sapphire eyes seemed to say, holding back worried expressions between them. "Why can't I remember?" the tone wasn't cunning, it wasn't an act, Saguru was sure of it.
Hakuba observed for a quick moment, 'Oh, thank Kami... he doesn't look like he will cry!' he thought. 'What do I say?' he thought for a moment, "An unfortunate accident, I'm afraid. Up until now, we were waiting for you to wake. You see, you received a strong hit to your head. I am sure that your memory will return if you rest properly"
"What kind of accident?" the boy said suddenly, was it just curiosity or was he trying to piece things together?
"A car accident, a hit and run," the farthest from the truth, the safer he would be. His memory would come back if he heard "snipers" or "crash". Saguru had to keep him astray from what truly happened. "Fortunately, you were hospitalized on time" The man seemed to be calm, wearing what seemed like a uniform to the little boy. 'A little late, but on time. Else wise, you wouldn't be here now, Kuroba-kun'
"I don't mean to be a little curious, but do you know my name?"
Saguru didn't really like that question, and he couldn't allow himself to be answering it until the doctor got a proper test done. So he shook his head, "I am sorry, I was told to say nothing until the doctor makes his tests. He needs to determine how deep your memory loss is. So before that happens, I cannot give any information, little one"
The thief turned his sight to his hands, before landing them back straight into the detective's eyes, "How little am I then? If I can know…." the teen hesitated. To that, Kaito sighed mentally. 'Even that I can't know?'
"Four"
The voice made them turn towards it, Kaito seemed happy with the answer. His classmate was glad for the helpful interference. 'Oh Thank Kami, that was close!' he thought behind his calm face, forever grateful that Dr. Dave arrived before he had to answer some complicated questions as Kuroba seemed to have a troublesome_ handful_ amount.
"It's kind of hard for me to adapt to that," the Kaitou said with a sort of smile to which the doctor smiled in return. At least he was being straightforward with his thoughts. The doctor saw the child looking at him as if he was waiting for some elaborations_ or any explanation_ that he might be allowed to know.
"My name is Dave, I am your doctor for the time being," He gave a soft smile then continued, "Now, if you feel able to, mind if I ask you some questions?" The boy sustained, "You don't know your age, or your name, correct?" and there came another nod from Kaito.
"Can I know my name now?" the boy said with eager wide eyes, but the doctor shook his head. "More questions?" that didn't seem to please him. Oh well, procedures were necessary.
Dave sustained, and Kaito gave a slight sigh. "Just a couple more, I won't ask difficult things. It's clear that your mind gave a blank, but we need to know what you remember" Kaito listened as the questions followed, gradually ascending from parents to friends to school. None of which he had answers to. Finally, there came a small intellectual test, if he could manage to do stuff like reading and writing. A complete failure and it frustrated him. "Well, at least you can handle a conversation, writing and reading won't be much of a problem unless you have school"
"School?" the boy repeated, it didn't sound like something fun. 'Why do I feel that there is something wrong here?'
"I am sure that things will sound weird to you now, but you will catch up on some of them in no time. After all, how much could a four-year-old know?" Kaito looked at him confused, "Well, you are four, aren't you?"
"I don't know…" he looked away, "nothing is coming up here!"
Dave let a modest laugh out, "Well, you just woke up, it's normal. I saw a lot of similar cases, it'll take around a few days until you start getting some 'familiar' thoughts of knowing certain things. Well, we will go to the hospital once my friend comes, and we will return when the tests are over. Can you handle that?" Kaito sustained.
"Can I go by a fake name until you can tell me? Just to know that I am meant in a conversation"
Dave turned to Hakuba, "Well you are familiar with him, pick a name since your friends will be visiting soon," Hakuba shot a glare at the doctor. One that said 'Don't lie to him' as clear as daylight. Dave then taped his right hand to his left, as if he came up with a bright idea, "Then let's call him anonymous!"
Kaito laughed, "That's not necessary, I will choose my fake name if that's where you're going" Dave raised a smile. "On second thought, clueless over here. Why is choosing a name so difficult?" not that he could remember names now.
"Don't take it personally. Everyone is like that. Well, I will try to let it have a similar ring to your name. Hmmm… since you have none of your memories, I find Kaoru fitting"
"Doesn't sound so bad, I hope it's catchy, ne?" Hakuba said with a wink, a gentle smile on his face. "Try to get used to it, Kaoru-kun"
The door received a knock and opened, Kudo Yusaku went in. "I see you woke up" he gave a smile as he strode to the child. The boy didn't seem to recognize him, "Well, are you ready to head out to the hospital?"
"It depends on how scary it is~" he said joking, then quickly realized that his feet didn't budge.
"Oh, I forgot to add that to the list of your injuries" Dave looked up, scratching his nape. "I should have remembered to mention it earlier..." He approached and held the child in his arms. "Until you can walk again," he said as they were exiting the room, "you'll have to stay down for some time" they could hear him as he went down the stairs.
Saguru stopped Yusaku before he turned to leave, "Is it okay to leave him in the dark like that, Kudo-san?"
Nothing came for a short moment, Hakuba knew he needn't ask. How were they going to explain the complicated international criminal thing to a physically four-year-old with amnesia?
Better not
"For now yes, Hakuba-kun. We don't know how much impact Kaito-kun received to his head. Any information can cause more than just break down. For now, let's allow things to pass like that. When he starts getting fragrances of his memories back, he'll be able _ somewhat_ to understand the shrunken story. But for the time being, he has to continue thinking of himself as a child"
"But he won't take it easy, he already knows that things are not in their right place, as his size and age for starters"
"But that is common in memory loss and amnesia cases, Hakuba-kun. A lot of things will seem hard to handle or sound unbelievable, even if he was in his normal height" with that, the two went down the stairs. Hakuba watched them enter the car and drive away. He closed the door behind them and went to the living room as the others finally arrived.
"So, how is Kaito-kun?" Yukiko asked somewhat worried, "I hope nothing serious happened, Yu-chan left immediately without saying a word!"
"Difficult, but it's nothing major to worry about," the teen detective assured. "They will perform a mere head scan for Kuroba-kun and see how serious his amnesia is" Yukiko had no idea why Hakuba didn't look the least worried. Was every friend of the Kaitou capable of doing the poker face thing?
She let the bitter worry of hers exit her mouth, "Oh, Amnesia! It's so not the time for that, imagine what could happen if_"
"Don't worry about that, Kāsan" the shrunken detective joined the conversation. "We'll keep a close eye on him. Tōsan said that Kuroba-kun will join us at school, of course, we will give him a fake name and he will think that it's his real name. That way, he'll be safe from the syndicate until he gets his memories and skills back" without those, he wouldn't stand a chance if the syndicate found him.
Yukiko and Saguru stood there thinking of the boy's words. So, he was going to keep an eye on him personally then? In that case, they didn't need to worry much.
"Shin-chan, I hope it is as easy as you make it sound. But, a mere resemblance will blow his cover if they track him. After all, members like Sharon-chan knew Kaito-kun when he was little" she said, sounding worried as her face hinted.
"For now, from certain intel from 1412, the syndicate still believes that Kuroba-kun truly died. I mean, the young thief was a perfect replacement to play the body. Even the syndicate couldn't deny that it was a real mask-less body under their noses. Even I was fooled by the drug that the partners used, and the thief had real wounds on him. Nothing that made the situation difficult to believe. I know the partners are saying it was a mask that wouldn't be removed easily, but I will stick to my intuition that he strikes a twin-like resemblance to the Kaitou KID. Or we can say, plastic surgery" his mother laughed. Conan smiled back at the laughable idea, 'I hope that I am not wrong. There are too many look-alikes already!'
"Will we inform the partners that Kuroba-kun woke?" the blond waited patiently for the answer. The shrunken detective was remarkably good at making fully accurate plans. Thank God that he didn't become a criminal!
After hearing the plan he made to fake the agent Akai Shuichi's death a little over two years ago, he was sure the detective of the East could outsmart anyone. Anyone aside Gin, that is. Edogawa knew how to think, how to place traps and how to fake evidence without leaving a trace behind to the conspiracies he often made with whomever he was working with, all for the sake of tricking those crows and capturing them. With any luck, lots of it, it wouldn't take long to accomplish that goal. They might as well make haste while they had allies on their side.
"Of course, Hakuba-kun," Conan said with a calm expression plastered on his face, "I am sure that they will keep an eye on him. I will leave the intel and hint it to his fiancé; she'll let the word reach them in private so nothing gets leaked out"
After some time, Yukiko opened the door greeting the young Nakamori girl, then she led her to the living room. 'Speaking of the Devil' Conan mumbled to himself. He watched the two classmates exchanging the story until the girl's voice ringed in his eyes loud enough to give him permanent hearing damage.
"WWWHATTTTT!?"Aoko immediately got off the couch upon hearing the word 'amnesia', "You've got to be kidding!" Please say that you're kidding, please! She stumbled back down, staring at the ceiling as if she was waiting for something to knock her out and say it was just a bad, bad dream. 'This can't be…'
Hakuba shook his head, "I am sorry, Aoko-kun. But so far, nothing proves otherwise. Dr. Dave and Kudo-san are not done yet. You can speak with Kuroba-kun and see for yourself. I am not sure, but he might remember you. You have known each other for years now…"
Aoko remained watching his face, thinking of something entirely different, 'if my dear sweet Kaito is faking it, he will tell Aoko the truth' she was sure of it, they were a team. "How are his injuries?" if she was being honest with herself, she knew she'd have to ask that question in order to rule out her constant observation on him. The kaitous had trackers on him, allowing them to read his vitals without anyone knowing such a device existed on him.
Hakuba took a pause as a moment of consideration; he couldn't tell her anything that would worry her. Nakamori-keibu was clear on that, 'leave her out of it'. So he decided to give secondary information instead, "Only a few are left, of course adding a broken left arm and so on… It might be difficult for him to walk in the meantime, I mean, he did receive a lot of damage from the crash. It's nothing that will heal in three weeks, it'll need another few more, maybe a month or two…"
"Well at least he is okay, right?" she said and he sustained, that was what counted. "Aoko will tell his partners to keep an eye on him. They definitely won't show up in front of him or let anyone see them while they are keeping an eye on here. We'll have to keep things low for now…"
Their attention moved to the door, similar loud noises of two children heard from the outside. The two teens focused their gaze, only Yukiko and Conan seemed to recognize the two voices. Aoko, at some point, was worried about letting the syndicate notice children entering the house. She was sure they were watching, everyone knew that.
Conan had his eyes half opened, probably not worried about the fact that they had professional killers watching them.
'So that's what happens when you're a death magnet…' her eyes watched him, 'creepy Tantei-kun'
The voices became higher as they approached the door; they sounded like they were arguing over something lame. "Genta-kun, stop it already"
'Hehehe, definitely Mitsuhiko's voice' Conan mused.
"You're always saying that, Genta-kun! You just ate five plates now! How can you still be hungry?"
'And that's Ayumi' Conan mumbled mentally to himself, then decided to ease the concern in Nakamori's and Hakuba's puzzled faces. "Looks like the children are here, early as always too. My luck!" Yukiko chuckled at his expression and she would have continued if he didn't glare her. "Kāsan, the kids and I agreed to go somewhere tonight. So don't freak out if I don't answer you immediately_ as you are likely going to call every ten minutes. Call more than three times and I'll turn my phone off"
Aoko died from laughing, "Parents~"
Yukiko brought her finger to her mouth, then directed her sight to the ceiling and admitted it. "Yes, you are right there, Shin-chan. I will be worried, but I guess they'll be fine since you're with them. Although, I will nag and force your father to go with you~"
Saguru flinched, 'So much for trusting his abilities…'
"Oi Oi, Kāsan… that's not necessary!" the last thing he needed was another adult watching over him and seeing his child act_ especially his own father_ as if Yukiko wasn't teasing him enough about it.
"Did you see the time!" she pointed at the clock, her wide blaming scary eyes adding effects to her astonished voice. He gulped. "It's perfect for the syndicate to strike when it's dark!"
'Not that she's wrong…' Aoko rolled her eyes away. "Aoko also thinks it's best to go with your father" the detective glared at her. 'Revenge is sweet' her eyes didn't submit and kept their cheerful shine.
Finally, the bell rang and Saguru opened the door, allowing the three children to enter. Haibara wasn't with them. Genta, without second thoughts, rushed to Conan reciting the exciting events of today, forgetting to greet the standing visitors. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko seemed thrilled like him, yet did not neglect to say hello to the half-British detective. After the stories were over, the children sat beside Yukiko on the couch. Genta was watching his feet, probably thinking about going to eat something from the nearby store, while Mitsuhiko remained silent for a moment.
Ayumi directed her eyes to the young shy teen sitting on the single couch. "Oh, she looks just like Ran-neechan!"
Aoko raised a smile and introduced herself, "Yo~ Nakamori Aoko, nice meeting you~!"
"I'm Yoshida Ayumi," Ayumi said cheerfully, pointing her hand at herself with sparkling eyes. Conan took note as to how frequently that happens. Did she have to be so hyperactive and happy about meeting people?
'Half of the ones she met were criminals…'
"I'm Kojima Genta," the boy said with a wide happy face and closed eyes before falling back to the couch as his introduction part seemed to be over. Back to thinking of eel and rice. 'I could always slip when they're not looking…'
"And I'm Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko, pleased to meet you, Nakamori-san" Mitsuhiko said politely, a blush covering his face. He was the most none-embarrassing real child in the Shōnen Tanteidan unless it fell on something related to Kamen Yaiba_ which would happen in a week's time…
"Nakamori, as in, related to Nakamori-keibu?" Ayumi asked surprised and Aoko approved.
"He's Aoko's tousan~"
"Cool!"
Conan raised a smile, 'It's even cooler when you go deep into the family affairs~' he smiled mentally. 'Imagine them knowing that she is KID's fian_'
The door opened, catching everyone's attention. Yukiko rushed from her place and spoke with a high voice, "Yu-chan! I got so worried! How is K…" she stopped. She remembered the small guests they had over. Saying that name now would make the children suspicious, and so far, no one told her the alias Kuroba was going to go by. "…The kid?" then she caught sight of Dave approaching behind her husband, little shrunken Kaito asleep in his arms. His head was wrapped, but that wasn't what had her worried, it was the paleness on the boy's face.
"We drugged him just in case, I'll put him up to rest. He'll wake in thirty minutes or so" she sustained and followed him to prepare the room. She then got down while Dave remained beside the KID upstairs.
"Conan-kun, who's that little boy?" Ayumi said eagerly, a bit of sadness then painted her face when she noticed the injuries he had on him. "Kawaisou, Ayumi hopes he'll be okay soon" yeah, she was praying for him alright, "He looks a lot like you, Conan-kun!" she said suddenly shifting from sad to thrilled as she turned to him.
'Yeah, I figured that too!' he said, "It's just a coincidence" he quickly covered it, brushing the matter off with a wave of his hand. "We'll be heading out soon, I am waiting for something then we will leave"
"Yay, we're going to have fun!" cheered Genta, 'and we can pick food on the way' his grin said, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi gave themselves a facepalm.
"Genta-kun…"
Yukiko's voice interrupted the children from scolding their friend, "Yu-chan, go with the children" he couldn't even refuse, everyone heard the tense heavy voice the wife spoke with, 'dare to object and you will die' it seemed to actually say.
'She sure picked up a lot from Chikage~' Yusaku nodded with a smile, "I'm quite sure that it'll be fun~" he said and she swallowed. 'I'm not scared of you, dear' his face told her.
Conan mentally slapped himself, 'you guys…'
Upstairs, Dave remained beside the shrunken thief, waiting for the thirty minutes to pass, while watching him asleep with a lot of regret and pain in his eyes. The tests came positive, Kaito indeed had amnesia, but that wasn't the only thing that bothered him now. It was going to be a good two weeks before the boy becomes able to stand on his feet. As if danger wasn't above his head already. If any of the friends downstairs were followed by the BO, they would strike in no-time. Moreover, he couldn't let something like that happen when Kaito was the most defenseless of them all. 'You'll have to stay home for a while, Kaito' The small figure turned to his right, his slow breaths heard by the man beside him. Kaito was still hurt, the doctor kept reminding himself. 'I have to keep you down for as long as possible. Hospitals are out of chance, we barely snuck you in and out a bit ago'
Ten more minutes passed until Kuroba made another move. He opened his eyes, familiar with the situation earlier. He saw Dave beside him deep in thoughts, "You look sad" he said, his tone itself was sad.
Dave looked up, seeing the child looking at him with a confused_ somewhat worried_ face. "It's nothing important, Kaoru-kun"
"I'm starting to hate that name," he said with a smile, "when did we leave the hospital?"
"Shortly after the scan was over. The test result will come in the morning, the detailed one. By then, we can start filling you in on certain information about yourself" Kaito nodded, extremely happy with the thought of knowing something. It bothered him to be ignorant; the doctor could easily see that, with a dash of hesitation whenever he was asked to do something. "Don't worry, your name is a lot easier than you think"
"I was hoping so too," the child said, turning his eyes randomly on anything to distract himself from fixing his eyes on the stranger beside him. "I…I don't quite know how a four-year-old is supposed to think and act…"
Dave laughed to that, the faux child blinked, "Just be yourself_ I mean_ act in a way that makes you feel comfortable"
'I guess that shouldn't be hard…' he turned his gaze towards the man, why was he still wearing the doctor uniform? "Alright," Kaito said, now resigning back to the name the man chose for him. 'I still don't like it tough' his eyes wandered about the room again, it was around eight o'clock or so... if he deduced the time correctly since they left the hospital. So far, his legs were numb, a bit of pain in them, but they were numb. He couldn't even feel them, as if they weren't connected to his small body. He shifted his sight to himself, merely watching the white long-sleeved sweater with blue stripes he was wearing and the blue pants he could see a bit from under the blanket.
"Would you stop drifting in your thoughts?" Dave caught his attention, "I suggest that you lay back down and get some sleep. It is way past your bedtime" he gently laid him down and pulled the cover-up.
'Bedtime?' Kaito watched with confused eyes, 'being four years old sure sounds hard...' He finally spoke, "I don't feel sleepy, and I'm actually bored..." He voice echoed in his ears. 'I sound so little, is that my usual voice?'
Dave closed his eyes for a moment, "You'll get used to it, kiddo. After all, you're still in no condition to move freely. You'll have to stay down for a while"
"That is going to be really boring"
They turned to the door, Yusaku stood by it. "How about we do something fun instead?" Kaito raised a huge smile. Dave, on the other hand, his face turned yellow. "I am taking the kids to the park, would you like to join?"
"You don't have to ask, that's a clear yes," Dave said as he turned his face back to the child with half eyes and his right hand resting under his chin, Kuroba's eyes gleamed with excitement. "You were saved this time, kiddo" the latter grinned.
"Well then, let's go have ice-cream too," Kudo said while proceeding to pick the boy up and they walked out of the room. At that point, Aoko had disappeared, neither of the residences knew how she pulled it off. She couldn't afford to let Kaito seeing her, not when he just woke up from his coma. As Yusaku reached downstairs, he asked Hakuba if he'd like to join them.
"No, thank you, I have my own small sweet issues to deal with" he glanced at the small child in front of him. But Kaito's face was toward the door having his back to the detective. "You go with the kid, I'll check my reports" Yusaku approved, he walked to Genta and the rest.
"Ohhh, Kawaii!" Ayumi ran to meet the little boy, "Hi, I'm Ayumi. Nice to meet you"
"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. He made a fake cough, trying to attract the other boy's attention. When that didn't work, he elbowed him.
"Aw! Why did you do that f_" he stopped. Yusaku was staring at him with a scary nice smile
'Introduce yourself' Mitsuhiko's glare said.
"Oh, I'm Genta"
Kaito smiled at them, prepared to say his name. "I'm-"
"Let's go, we'll drive you to the ice-cream store on the way," Yusaku said with a smile, interrupting Kuroba from introducing himself.
"Yayyy!" the detective boys cheered, excluding Conan and Haibara (who just came to give Conan something important). The latter preferred to stay home, thus forcing Conan to go with the "Baby" as she called KID.
"He's not a baby, you know…" Conan muttered, "He's led to think he is four, but nothing in his behavior proves that he will be as one. Amnesia isn't an easy thing... I'm sure we can work something out though, children believe everything you tell them"
"I'm not interested in babysitting," she blathered nonchalantly. "Hakase and I are going to bake a cake!" she said with a childish tone. "See you when it's done~" and she ran the door and shut it before anyone could follow her.
'Taku, what a childish girl she can be when she wants to escape!' Edogawa recalled the conversation the other day. He left his musings to join Kuroba and the boys. "Come on, time to go"
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 on his lap, observing the view.
"Conan, where did you meet this kid?" Genta raised his eyebrow, not liking where things were going. "Is he your cousin? I would guess a little brother, but you didn't mention any before. So?"
"..." before Conan could begin, he was interrupted by his father.
"Yes, Kaoru-kun and Conan-kun are related, they are distant cousins, as you first guessed"
Conan pulled the sleeve of his father's suit and whispered, "Oi, Tōsan… that won't do!"
The man smiled, speaking in English. "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 his father's place. It's no different from the reason for you having another name. Kaito-kun also wants to stop the syndicate by luring them out during his heists," The conversation remained in English as none of the children could make a word of it to an understanding level. "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…"
"That was because Toichi kept distracting them with his heist, to lead all the focus on him"
"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 at the end, right before they killed him on stage"
"I see..." the two observed the boy from the mirrors. He did seem lost and confused after all. "Could there be a possibility that he didn't really lose his memory?" Conan said still whispering. "Maybe a temporal block, or something similar?"
"Well, he isn't faking it for sure, son. He really has amnesia, the tests proved it. Even the terms that he is using are all evidence that he is simply unaware of many things. As for why he became physically younger than you, it's the new drug, no doubt, and Ai-kun is going to work on the cure when she gets to know its components from the KIDs" Yusaku said.
"They are hacking their files?" and his father nodded, "How did they get into the system?" no, he shouldn't have asked. The kaitou who could open any lock could also hack any system.
"Oi, Conan, what are you two whispering about?" Genta glared him, nosy and curious as ever.
"We're planning where to take you kids~" Conan rapidly said with a sheepish smile, "…gomen…" he laughed nervously.
Genta arched his eyebrow, 'Liar…'
"How about we go to the Amusement park on the third street?" Yusaku cut in, "It's big and there are lots of things to play with there," cheers answered the adult. In approximately 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 that he couldn't walk, "so 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. She overheard them talking about amnesia. "Kaoru-kun, what do you like?" she asked him but he didn't know what he liked, that made her feel sadder. "Amnesia sure is horrible…" she said with a down face, then suddenly cheered up, "But I bet it will come back before you know it!" the boy smiled back, such a nice girl.
"Let's see what kind of ice-cream you'll like" Mitsuhiko began, his face supportive and cheerful. His ice cream and Genta's were already handed down, and Conan took the second turn to bring the rest, two at a time.
"He likes chocolate" Yusaku replied, coming closer to their bench. "It's his favorite" Kaito didn't protest or say anything.
'Well, if he says so…' Conan returned and handed them the ice-cream, he knew what the kids like. But he was surprised that his father told him what to get for the little thief. 'How did you know?' his face asked, half eyes annoyed by how much his old man knew about the Kaitou.
"Conan-kun, he is more like a son to me, and ... I know him pretty well, I'm his cousin after all" He gave the distant act, bearing a smile on his face.
"That means he's Shinichi- nii-chan's cousin too?" Ayumi asked with wide eyes, Yusaku nodded. "Cool!"
Conan took him away, "so, being cousins was your motive…huh?"
His father nodded, "I told the police I wanted him to stay with us. He'll be safer here, and the syndicate won't expect that we're keeping him with us. So, eventually, that makes Kaito-kun your little brother too" they watched the children eating peacefully, and it turned out, from what Conan could see, Kaito liked chocolate ice cream even now.
"Taku, not only my rival but also my brother…" they sat a bit far from Ayumi and Kaito on the second bench. "Did you have to agree to be his guardian?" he said with half eyes.
Yusaku laughed, "You were best friends back when you were two years old. Don't you remember when you met at the age of six? And... Back when his father died, I brought him over until his mother recovered. He was nine"
"Not a snitch, I think I would remember a doppelganger or a look-alike cousin. Unless he was too annoying... Anyhow, what happened back then, Tousan? When his father died..."
"Well…"
"Kaito-kun was there when it happened, the explosion…" the two, Conan and Yusaku turned to see who spoke, "But after three months, Yusaku took Kaito to his place. Konosuke-san looked after him before that. Chikage woke up after a week. Or was it two?"
"Two weeks" Yusaku corrected, "The hardest, I must say. The poor boy was a wreck" it wasn't easy to lose a father, especially at a young age. 'Indeed the hardest'
"Dr. Dave? What are you doing here?" Shinichi glared him half eyes, uninterested with the answer. He figured the man was here for his patient. "Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital now?"
"No, my case is Kaito. He is my patient after all. So, I should watch him if ever symptoms show up. It's a miracle he didn't die from the drug when he shrank into a child… the pain must have been unbearable!"
"It is" Conan shrugged, "You do not want to know how it feels when your bones melt…" a shiver went down his spine to the mere memories of those hard times.
"I was more than panicking back then!"
"I guess, partial paralysis isn't so bad" Yusaku cut in, "As Dave said, the pain and movements could have killed him on the spot"
Conan sank in thoughts. Kuroba had suffered great injuries. "Come to think of it, he seems pretty fine, if we neglect the bruises and such..." He took a quick glance at the two not far from them. "But why did you even agree to let him leave the hospital? You said that he shouldn't be moved. Even now, any damage to his spine will kill him" the three weeks he slept during weren't enough to heal everything.
"I know, but the syndicate knows he's in no condition to be anywhere else, so they'll be looking for him there" Kuroba was supposed to be dead, "Or with his partners, in the matter of fact. But they still believe he died, Shinichi-kun. Fortunately, no one knows where the KID lair is"
"Aside from you," he said with a glare.
Dave shook his head, "We didn't focus on the road for the sake of trust between the current partners. And we didn't try to find the location either" that came out with honesty.
"But you know which city it's in…" he said, laying his back on the bench.
He nodded, 'Ekoda and quite a long way'
"But the partners didn't protest to your knowledge of its location…"
"On the contrary… we got quite the scolding~" Yusaku said with a grin, "And no doubt that there is more coming up~" they were warned by 1412.
The detective sighed, "Kuroba-kun seems to be faking his innocence..." Conan observed more. Kaito was playing with a kitten on the bench with Ayumi holding it gently. They both shared vast smiles as they played with the little furry creature.
"It's not like that! You can't expect him to act in a certain way. He doesn't know who he is, or anyone here in the matter of fact. He's trying to catch up on things, and reminding himself to stay as calm as possible. People in his case would freak out any minute now…"
"Yeah, you're right. Anyway, you knew him well too, back in the days?" Conan furrowed his eyebrows.
"You could say..."
"We raised him together... oh I have been annoying his father since Kaito-kun was born!" Yusaku said and Dave's laughed. "He was too cute, I couldn't leave Toichi to have all the fun. After all, what are cousins for?"
"Yeah, it was quite fun, I recall. Seeing you guys panicking over losing the kid over and over. Kaito loved to hide all the time, he gave us heart attacks from the moment he started to crawl"
"Oh, please don't remind me. Poor kid almost got himself killed walking the highway on his own. No lock worked against him. I still don't know how he escaped every method we used!"
"A kaitou KID from a small age, I'd say!" Conan said with a chuckle, "Well, nothing changed from what I know about him. He still lands first place as an escape artist!"
The two laughed, "Trust me, son, you'll come to see how good Kaito is. The whole Kid side, it's just for stopping the syndicate."
"I figured that. He helped a lot on my cases whenever we crossed paths, he even helped me to figure his tricks out"
"Just like his old man~" Yusaku bid as he and Dave laughed.
"Critics are best when they make everything thrilling!"
"Let's ride the fares wheel" Mitsuhiko called his friends, "Conan-kun, come join us!" the boy's voice rang in the shrunken teen's ears.
"I'll pass. You three go ahead, Kaoru-kun will stay with us" and he brought the little boy and sat him between them. "Let's sit a bit until they get down". Kaito kept looking at the sky while the others kept their private English chit-chat. Of course, Kaito could not recognize a word of it.
"Say, kiddo, you look awfully bored~" Yusaku said with a smile, the child nodded.
"But watching those is fun" he stopped, "too bad the kitten went back…"
"Yes, it's beautiful. Most of the stars came out early" Yusaku said, watching as well.
Conan looked at his dad, deciding to ask, "When will we be able to tell him anything about himself?" to that, Kaito waited for the answer too. 'Since you are too shy to ask, I'll ask for you'
"The test will come out by tomorrow morning, but I'm more worried that he won't be able to handle certain information," his father said. "All I can say for now" he turned to Kaito, "You'll be stuck with us until your parents come back from Canada"
"That far?" Kaito said and Yusaku nodded.
'If only he knew the truth,' Conan thought. "But why are they there?" he continued, trying to help the thief in understanding the situation.
"Work and important things, they'll be back… in a week or two"
"Oh, I see…"
Conan bid and hummed, 'I hope we can pull it off…'
The boy was silent, taking the info in. He decided it was enough for today. Well, only a few hours until the test comes out, he can wait, can't he? The subject was closed, as they observed him drifted in thoughts, watching the ground for unknown reasons. Conan couldn't know what kind of memory would be triggered if he concentrated too long, but eventually, he knew the kid was only bored.
"I just remembered!" Dave suddenly said, catching their attention, "Your parents will call every now and then to check on you" Kaito didn't fully accept the idea. "Don't be shy! They're your parents, I'm sure that they are dying to talk to you. It has been weeks since you last spoke to them"
'I don't remember them, how am I supposed to talk to them?' it was evident on his face that he didn't need to voice it.
"It won't be so hard, and so what if you don't remember them? You'll get introduced before you meet them. I'm sure they won't cut all communications just because you have amnesia. Besides, you'll have lots of fun with us until they return"
'That doesn't sound like fun', he looked at his feet. 'I feel like a stranger, I don't know what to do'
They could easily figure out was how much the little thief was upset about being unable to remember anything; and furthermore, he didn't feel comfortable around people who knew him. Especially, if those people were Dave and Yusaku. Something about their extremely calm and smiling faces made him doubt things.
Much to be honest, Yusaku also felt what mini Kaito was in. Even when he was small, Toichi was always planning for heists, he wasn't much around to see his son, and the poor child thought they always forgot him. It wasn't the first time they traveled without him, nor was it the last, those were Kaito's thoughts whenever he'd rush to Yusaku, crying thinking they hate him or left without him. To Kaito back then, he thought that they preferred to have fun outside than to bare him.
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 the 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 his family.
But everyone now could see, Kaito wasn't bothered from being lonely, he only wished if he was himself. A lot of things seemed out of their place and a lot of things bothered him. He didn't care who he was, no, he wanted to know how the old him used to act. He felt merely uncomfortable around people that he could not recognize, people that he could not trust. And what made it worse was that he could not walk even an inch. His wounds didn't trouble him, it was his lack of ability to move because he only felt helpless to himself in every possible way. He was forced to rely on people he didn't know.
"Well, it looks like the children are done playing, and it's almost ten. How about we head back home?" both Dave and Conan confirmed, as Yusaku picked the child up carefully. They waited for the children to come down, while Dave brought his car. He took h Conan and Kaito with him, while Yusaku drove the detective boys back home.
Kaito only put his small head on the back seat and kept his mini hands in his pockets. It seemed a long drive back home, not that it felt like home to him now. He didn't have to say anything to vent his thoughts; it was evident. His big sapphire eyes said it clear, as his wandering thoughts did too.
Since he woke, he was always with someone beside him, just like Conan sitting beside him now in the back. He thought of what it would be like if he was with his parents. Surely, he didn't hate Yusaku, but he was curious to meet his parents, maybe he'd feel more fitting in than right now. Maybe it would feel like home with them like he belonged somewhere.
Conan for a moment drifted in his thoughts, 'If Kaito-kun had his memories back, he'd feel un-eased with me around. Maybe, he'd tell me to sit a bit farther. Who knows, maybe he'd escape too, in an extravagant way fit for the Kaitou KID…' He watched the kid from the corner of his eyes, 'poor kid, he'll fall asleep from boredom any minute now…'
"Ka-Kaoru-kun, if you feel bored, look out the window, it's a good view" the child sustained and glued himself to it.
"Wow, they're so high!" his wide eyes watched, Dave smiled. "Are all the buildings like that here?"
Dave sank in thoughts, "yes, but you'll find shorter ones" Shortly, Yusaku returned and everyone hopped in his car as Dave parked his car nearby.
Kaito didn't move his eyes off the road, he remained silent the entire time. Conan kept thinking of ways to relieve the boy, while the two in front kept their eyes on him, glancing every now and then from the front mirrors. The trip to the amusement park was for him, yet he could play nothing because he was too small for any game, aside from the main fact, he was paralyzed.
'At least he had ice-cream and kittens to cheer him up…' Conan rolled his eyes away. Home wasn't far and they were in Haido city now.
They reached the traffic light, then stopped when it became red. A black motorcycle and two other cars were beside them, then more cars followed, waiting for the light to turn green. The motorcycle's rider noticed the child glued to the window and since he was right beside the driver's seat, he knocked slightly to catch his attention. Yusaku rolled down his window, and the boy spoke with a formal voice. "You might want to lock the back door, just in case the child opens it or reaches out"
Yusaku looked back and realized it wasn't locked. "Oh, thank you," and he switched the button in front of him, automatically closing Kaito's door.
The boy's eyes widen when the switch went down. "How did it go down?" and he wanted to figure it out.
"Now more than the lock is needed~" They laughed.
Yusaku removed the keys to lock the door from the outside, but there was quite a lot of traffic. The young rider proposed to close it instead, and as Kudo sustained, he gave the key through the window. The man put the key in observing a small curious Kaito trying to pull up the switch. He locked the door and gave the key back. At that moment, the light turned green, horns started to rise. Kudo 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. "Ja na, kiddo~"
Kaito sat back down, looking from the edge of his eyes. "Who was that?"
"Just a random boy," Conan said, his hand under his chin. "So, are you still trying to solve how the lock went down?"
Kaito nodded with a smile, he got a bit forward between the two men's seat and pointed at the board where the radio was. "He switched it down with one of those! Don't ask which one though…"
"Oh, Yusaku, you're busted" Dave laughed. "Well, safety measures. Good thing that boy noticed, it might have opened if you leaned on it... or pulled the handle"
"But I was leaning the whole time" yet neither could be too cautious. Kaito sat back at his place. "Can I watch now?" Yusaku approved, he was certain the door wouldn't open now.
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.
Her hands were on her hips, a deadly stare struck their eyes. "You're late! And you didn't answer any of my calls!" she was almost yelling, but she lowered her voice when she saw the sleeping child.
"Gomen-ne~" they looked away and whispered "Traffic~"
"You called forty times! In five minutes! What part of me hanging up and sending a message saying 'we're fine' did you not get!" Conan was as pissed as her. "I will turn my phone off next time!" she glared him, his stare did not weaken.
"Well, get inside, dinner's getting cold" she finally said when she knew she wasn't going to win the argument. "I've been waiting for hours!" exaggerations were common with her.
"We haven't been away for two hours…"
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she completely ignored her son. Dave grinned, he was going to enjoy being with them. "And Dave, please ditch your disguise," her eyes said more, 'I don't like secrets in this house'
"Gomen, I can't~"
Her left 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 at the small face. "Goodnight, Kaito" and he covered him then put the lights off, proceeding to close the door behind him.
"Well," Yukiko began her investigations, "Where did you four go?"
"We took the kids to the amusement park, and then we went by the old mountain road. We figured that Kaito-kun would like to see the outside world, maybe breathe some fresh air a bit"
'Fresh air… yeah right, the windows were all closed' Conan's eyes glared, taking a long sip from the heavenly warm drink. 'Nothing like worm coffee~'
"Oh, but that's very far!"
"He wasn't going to enjoy the next street tour. I figured he'd like to have more time outside"
"And what will you do? When he can walk again"
"We'll enroll him in preschool" Dave expressions were unreadable, "But it will be a while until that happens"
"But it won't be safe to send him anywhere without constant observation. He doesn't have anyone he knows there... and the syndicate..."
"Don't worry about that, we have everything planned. Of course, he won't go by the same name, so they won't figure him out" Conan's eyes were serious. He thought of it entirely step by step, he knew what to do and probably had counter plans and backups. He wasn't going to let them have the boy, that much was obvious on his face.
"And he'll make lots of friends there," said her husband as they began eating.
Yusaku looked at the time, it was past twelve, and he was more worried about how to keep the syndicate from figuring out their trick. He turned to Conan and told him to wake him when Kaito wakes up; despite the time, it might be. Dave asked to be woken up too.
"Shin-chan, how are things going up 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. Hopefully, the cure will come up soon, around a few weeks from now. But as for Kuroba-kun, nothing is known yet. She didn't find new drugs made aside from the one she developed. In any case, there was no trace found in Kuroba-Kun's blood, she has nothing to start with"
"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 drug was made of' he rolled his eyes away, "The only way is to get our hands on the new drug"
"That's not funny!" she protested, 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~'
(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! Even if its amnesia, he will know somethings wrong. His parents aren't even there to confirm anything he hears from other"
"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. Besides, how could he figure it out if he doesn't remember anything?"
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 lying, they are too supportive! And what about his friends and family? Who will cover for them?"
"I'm sure his partners will help with that" Hiroshi sat comfortably on his couch, "They're 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.
"…maybe~"
Conan went to his room; 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 if the syndicate got to you before we did; if they figured out you became a child and lost your memory... what would they have done? Would they still kill you...?' he watched the boy a bit more, analyzing his even breathe and exhausted face. 'Taku… I don't know. Those people exceed the limits with their coldness. I expect that they would kill him, even if he was no threat to them.' he took his slippers off and placed them under the bed to the left. He put his pajamas on, getting soundlessly in the bed. "Oyasumi, little thief"
However he tried and tried, he couldn't sleep. His eyes called dreamland which didn't answer his calls. He was tired, yet sleep was far and very far away. Too much was on his mind. A lot of people know my identity, the syndicate might go after them, and none of us can do anything to protect them or ourselves. Despite that only few are left, but these few are the most dangerous members in that syndicate... and what makes things worse, is that they are recruiting again" he didn't get a word from his father about what he and 1412 did, but Kir mentioned the recruits to Judie days ago. "We don't even know how many people they have now…' he turned his position to Kaito.
The boy was in deep sleep, 'And what about you? What can 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 killed when I can do something…' he stared at the ceiling and sighed, 'Before, you and your partners used to back each other up_ regardless of who they might be_ but the syndicate got to most of them' he let another sigh out. 'What will we do?'
Kuroba was ignorant of the issues around him, perhaps which was the best thing to do. They spoke in English whenever he was around during an important conversation, they thought he wouldn't understand that way. 'Will this be enough to protect him?' It wasn't going to be enough; nothing was ever going to be enough with the syndicate. They were smart enough to hack information, good enough to shoot from 1.5 miles away, and talented enough to disguise themselves as anyone they choose.
'They study you; they know everything about you, and no matter how smart or careful you are, you won't figure them out. Not unless you get back to being KID again'
The sun rose on the shrunken boys, yet only one of them felt its warmness. Shinichi rubbed his head yawning, still half-awake. "Oh, morning already!" he looked at the blinking alarm on the nightstand. "I only slept for three hours!" he turned to the sleeping figure beside him, "You're still asleep!" he shook the boy slightly. "Oi, wake up"
Little blue eyes began to wake, dim light within. "What time is it?" he rubbed his eyes. The place didn't look familiar and who was that anyway? "Where am I?"
"It's 6:30, come on, let's go and have some breakfast before Kāsan drags us out!" he got down. "Come on" yet the child kept looking at him confused. "Oh, that's right" he approached, "I'll help you down…"
"You look... familiar," Kaito said in wonder, "Did we meet a lot?"
As much as the latter wanted to say he only met him at the heists, he couldn't. How was he going to explain something else and lead him in the dark more than he already was? "I can't tell you any info, remember? Now, care to come down?"
The boy nodded and allowed Conan to hold him. Soon they were in the kitchen downstairs and were greeted by a humming Yukiko, who was enjoying her time preparing the table.
"Good morning my little ones~" she hugged her son_ who tried desperately to escape her. He sat Kaito down on one of the chairs. "Fine" her cold tone forced Conan to slow, "I'll hug him instead~" she said, the latter accepted her hug. "That's my little boy, not like that grumpy over there who wouldn't hug back!" she glared her son.
"That's because you suffocate me every time!" he complained, "Sit down already; I'll be late for school" he saw his father coming down the stairs with a bundle of papers in his hands; he rested them down on the table in the living room and joined them at the table.
"Morning everyone," he rubbed his son's hair (Conan got annoyed), kissed his wife on her cheek, and patted Kaito on his shoulder. "So, today's Wednesday, the weekend is soon, will you spend it with the boys?"
"Sa na!" Shinichi held the spoon and drove it in the plate, "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 Kuroba who was silently eating. 'At least someone's in the mood today' he smiled, "So, Kaoru-kun, do you want to come me with and see Conan-Kun's school today?"
The thief looked at Conan, 'Should I agree?' his eyes pleaded for denial, Conan grinned and nodded.
"All kids hate it," Yukiko laughed. "But I'm sure you'll like preschool~" she smiled at him, "There are lots of children to have fun with" Kaito nodded with a smile.
'Better than growing old from boredom!' Conan nodded in his mind, drinking from the warm cup without opening his eyes. "Don't tease him from now, Kāsan. He won't be going there until he recovers" Kuroba's smile went down.
Everyone had a normal breakfast, excluding Kaito. His only approved breakfast was chocolate cornflakes and juice. It was weird to him, but it tasted good anyway. 'Kudo-san was right! Chocolate's my favorite by far!'
'He'll have to stick to kid's foods… he doesn't look like he minds though…' Yukiko threw a few glances, 'I'll make something else next time. I will probably ask Aoko-chan what he likes. I won't accept chocolate as the only thing that he'll eat!'
After Breakfast was over, Conan took his school bag and walked outside after saying goodbye to his mother, followed by the two. They got inside the car, both boys were seated in the back, leaving Yusaku alone watching them from the mirrors. In no more than two minutes, they reached Teitan elementary school and dropped Conan there.
A second later, Conan was greeted by the detective boys running towards him and a none-interested Haibara walking slowly behind them. Afterward, they entered the classroom, beginning the new day. 'Another boring day' he dropped his head on the desk, waiting for the day to pass like he always did.