Note: this chapter is similar (in events, not the plot) to the supernatural story version, chapter 11

Sequel Behind The Mask and here are in coherence with each other. Things are said which back each other up, here and there. Unfortunately, I was about to update a ch there, in Behind The Mask, but I can't do that before Ch 27 is out. Or close to it, at least.

I had to cut this in half, I assume 4,000 words per chapter is more than enough. I'll try to stay close to that range.

Misspells will be fixed once I accidentally spot them.

Ch: 19. Mixing In

As Aoko expected, Vermouth gave strict orders to have KID 3 remain in bed for three whole weeks. 1412 stayed in bed, listening to her scolding without raising his head. 'Can't say that he is happy about it' Aoko chuckled to herself, taking a peek into the recovery room from a small creak through the door, alongside few nosy people watching the scolding taking place.

"He's in for it, poor kid. She doesn't have to be mean though!"

"Tell me about it! That what she does when she's worried about him~" she said still watching, she then realized the voice was different and serious, she leaped away and glanced at the source. "Amuro-san!" he received a few hits to the head using her sweet mop ally, "What are you doing here!"

The door opened with a loud thud and Vermouth glared them. In her left hand was an empty syringe, she raised her right one to raise her finger up to her mouth yelling at them "QUIET!" both stopped running about and turned to the harsh serious voice. She looked at the two and crossed her arms. "That's more like it. Need I remind you that this is a recovery room behind me? That those patients need quiet to rest?" both looked away. "Aoko, why are you chasing him?"

"He's not supposed to be here!" she growled, her eyes then caught another un-welcomed guest. "And you too!"

Vermouth gasped, letting her fierce glares slide to the back of her mind before raising a chuckle when Tooru stepped away. "Now that's a sight! You, hit by her~ my, my, my, I thought your skills would help you~" she laughed hard, then turned to Aoko, "I brought them here, no need to hit him. He can fight back if he wanted to, you know"

Aoko huffed, "But Aoko isn't serious yet!" she growled again. "Get back here!" he suddenly disappeared with a puff of smoke. Aoko glanced deftly around, her instincts kicked in and she landed a successful hit to the object moving amid the pink smoke before it dissipated. The person grabbed his ribs, cursing slightly, on his knees. She exhaled, "baka Dave-san! Why did you get in the way!" her target was beside Vermouth, confusion in his eyes.

"She was really going to hit me!" he blinked, "Hey, Vermouth, you could've warned me!"

The blonde closed the recovery door and approached Dave. She helped him to his feet. "Aoko, enough playing now! You'll get your chance next time and I won't interfere" the girl lifted a brow in disbelief. "My word." Aoko grinned.

"Traitor," Amuro said before throwing a look at the place, "I didn't know you turned the basement into a hideout" No one was using the huge space anyway, "Looks nothing like before~ it's a good change" Aoko's eyes widen at his statement.

"He's been here before 1412 Junior changed it," 1311 said dryly.

"Junior..." Aoko chuckled, "fits~" but she kept most of her musings to herself, 'Of course he'd know. They lived here. Aoko knew that.' she huffed before walking to the control room, "Kaito is going to kill you, 1311" said partner didn't respond, "none-partners aren't allowed here. He'll hang us all~" she silenced herself once the two men's eyes were on her. "What are you looking at?" they swallowed. "Got something, say it. Or ELSE!" the mop was back in her arm, out of nowhere.

Vermouth waved her hand, dismissing the attack. "They helped with 1412's escape plan. The least we can do is let them stay here until the syndicate finishes sweeping the area"

Dave changed the subject into something more important since no one was going to ask. "How is he?" she tossed the syringe inside the bin on the right side of the recovery room door. "What was that for?"

"I drugged him," she said firmly, "We know how famous he is for moving when he is hurt," Aoko nodded with her head, "we can't have that when he's like this." she stretched her hands to her head and tied her hair into a mid-level bun. "Is it just me or it's getting a little hot in here?"

Aoko hummed and fetched the A.C remote. "Strange... it's off" she turned it back on.

"They probably cut the main power above us," Bourbon said, and turned to see Vermouth had pressed a few buttons on the control board.

1311 shrugged, "Who knows, maybe they're raiding the place for us."

Aoko's mouth dropped into a straight line, "You get over-worried. They know no one's been up there since your kidnapping." she glared the woman, "Your kid's worse than Kaito! Not that you're any different... but Aoko expected him to be a bit like you, now that we know the truth..."

"Aoko," Vermouth turned and glared her, "you blew your cover as a partner"

Aoko lowered her eyelids to half, "Aoko might have escaped with it if you didn't just say that too!"

"Why do you think we glared you~" Dave said with a smile, "Besides, your skills screamed more than just an amateur~" her right eye twitched. Bourbon smiled, "So, I suppose you're 1413, currently down for your own good and not allowed to act because_"

"Aoko asks permission for code 12," she said, preparing to make a move, while she grabbed her sweet weapon firmly, clear thoughts of revenge were dancing in her sapphire eyes. Vermouth shook her head and Aoko grunted. "Lucky, Aoko will let you live for now. But Aoko won't assure what happens later."

"Is Aoko always like that?" Bourbon said, pointing his hand at the girl while looking at his blonde partner. She nodded, "I can't count how many times she included her name in her sentences!" he held his hand above his forehead, "or how many hits she gave in one second! A real violent girl, might I add!" she shouldn't be moving so quickly though.

Vermouth let out a chuckle, "You'll get used to it, you don't have another option." she released the softness in her mood and wore a serious glare. "I'm serious, Aoko, be nice to our guests. I'm only letting them go after dawn."

'It's just seven hours away, Aoko can live with that.' she gave up and straightened herself, "Fine, Aoko won't hurt them. And don't make fun of Aoko's way of talking or you won't live, Amuro-san. Aoko means it" she turned to 1311, "A word in private," they went away, much to the two's annoyance.

Dave didn't give a hint of worry, "I have a feeling they're talking about you~"

Bourbon grinned, "It's a shame when people talk behind other people's backs," he looked around, "you know, for a base they build themselves, this is convincing work. It's like professionals did everything," his hand swept across the control board surface, "Fascinating!"

Dave nodded, "the little thieves impersonated workers of all fields, they picked secrets and techniques here and there~"

Amuro smiled, "And these past three years, I've been trying to stop the syndicate's hacker~ No wonder he was good~"

"You mean_"

Amuro grinned, "The student surpassed his master~ I'm proud to say that. Honestly, I didn't expect anything less from my son. I knew those hacking skills will be needed someday, which was why I thought of giving him a head start."

1311 and 1413 returned, the latter kept her glares on them. "A word to anyone, and Aoko will kill both of you!"

"My lips are sealed~" Bourbon zipped his mouth with a quick gesture. They turned to Dave, who shrugged.

"It's not like I have an option~"

The parents laughed, "She's family after all~"

1412 remained stuck in bed, Aoko cheered him up whenever he was awake. Bourbon sat beside him from time to time, making sure he was okay and resting peacefully while he was asleep. Dave, as a real doctor, made sure the boy was getting the proper treatment and medications. He had help from Vermouth, but 1211 was nowhere in sight. The partners, 1311 and 1413, weren't worried and obviously knew where he was.

When sunrise came, the two slipped out and left, each on his way.

1211 returned afterward and got filled with the details. "They stopped searching around three," Jii said and sat down, "How's 1412 doing?"

"A whole lot better now," Aoko said with a smile plastered on her face, "he's just bored, as usual, from staying in bed~"

By the time 1412 woke, none of the partners mentioned the two guests they had over at the hideout. They also intended to keep it a secret from him for as long as possible.

Dave and Yusaku met by the mountain road at 6:30 and returned to their homes after checking on the former KID. They expected to see him playing as Yukiko told them hours earlier on the phone, but what they didn't expect, was feathers covering the furniture in Shinichi's room or Conan on the ground with four pillows above him.

Kaito shrugged and looked up, "His fault for taking the game lightly" Conan grunted, his back still in pain from the fall. "You okay down there?" he tried to look from over the bed, his feet still couldn't responding to him.

"I think so," the shrunken child said and straightened himself, rubbed his head and sighed. "I didn't realize I was on the edge until after I hit the ground..." the adults held back their laughs and he got up. "My instincts are telling me that you were mentally laughing at me" he shot them a violent glare, "Your poker face won't work on me!"

"Like father like son" Dave's face skyrocketed a mischievous grin, however, dropped it when Yusaku glared him.

"Right back at you~"

(Three weeks later)

Haibara and Conan took Kaito to his preschool before they met with the rest of the Shonen Tanteidan. Kaito was introduced as Kaoru Edogawa, taking the turn of Conan's little brother. To Kaoru, it was a game. He'd blow away the fake name once the dare was won. Once he wins it of course.

Maybe he'd be able to know his real name by then. Maybe he'd be able to remember some of his memories.

At preschool, Kaoru met two boys, Ichiro and Hiroki. They had their share of the fun until he got bored and preferred to read something instead. He took a book out of his small bag, 'Conan-nii said I can read it if I get bored... I'm bored now' he shrugged, flipping page after page. 'I don't know how he finds reading fun, but I don't want to play those boring games'. He didn't know why he wasn't enjoying playing with the rest of the children, maybe because he didn't know how to be a four-year-old. Or maybe because he still didn't get his memories back.

One thing for sure was that he was glad to be on his feet. Going through physiotherapy wasn't an easy strain and the pain his legs suffered from took the best of him. He was happy he went through it with people he knew, actually, people who he recently met. The therapy lasted eighteen days and during that time, the damage healed with all the rest. Staying still in bed had been torturing him.

At least his efforts paid off.

He tried his best to play childish games until he could return home. After all, the looks he was getting from the teacher weren't going to leave him in peace if he didn't. He put the book away in his bag and poked a kid, "Can I play with you?"

The child smiled, handing him a spare bucket. Kaoru took it with a broad smile and started filling it with sand. 'This is boring' but the teacher gave him a supporting smile. He sighed in his head and turned the bucket. As he expected, it fell flat. The child next to him helped him get it right, eventually, he managed to build good looking sandcastles.

He strode to the second child near him, a messy-haired kid who was innocently playing with a cube and stocking it on top of others. Kaoru grinned, 'This will be fun' he stared at the ceiling, 'That's the limit~' the two build cubic towers, random blocks, basically, whatever landed on their minds. Time passed by and the day was soon to be over. The children would always spend their day having fun, only learning small things per day like the days of the week and learning to count to ten. It felt enormously boring for Kaoru. At least drawing and taking a nap was worth it.

As the classes of Teitan elementary were over, Conan, accompanied by the Shõnen Tanteidan, walked home.

"Kaoru-kun should be outside in the playground" Conan bid with a smile, standing in front of the boy's preschool.

"There he is!" Ayumi ran to get him once she spotted his messy hair. 'spiky, Ayumi has to be nice,' she told herself. He was standing between the twenty-four heads running about while waiting for their parents to pick them up. He quickly recognized her and followed her after saying goodbye to his new little friends.

'Glad that was over!' he sighed, Conan blinked. "I can't wait to be as far as possible!" Edogawa chuckled. Kaoru was silent the way home, he listened to the detective boys talking about the new cases they were asked to help with. Genta found four letters in his shoe locker and Conan easily solved them before the second period had started.

Kaoru simply kept hearing how Conan deduced them, but in his heart, he favored fun things to fill his time. Haibara was silent, walking alone behind them. Kaito wavered between walking beside her and leaving her alone.

"She's just bored," Conan said, glancing back at the girl. "She's like that most of the time" he put his hands behind his head, staring at the sky as he walked. "The best thing to do is to leave her alone." Haibara shot him a deadly glare and he shivered. 'Creepy girl!' Kaito pursed his lips.

Haibara huffed at his statement, "Kaoru-kun, I'd be happy if you walked beside me," she gave him a wide smile, 'I don't want to hear the deduction... Since you're walking alone, walk with me" her eyes sparkled. "We can chat until genius over there is done explaining," she said with another smile. Conan flinched. Before he could protest, Kaito was walking beside her. She smiled at him. "Arigatou, Kaoru-kun, you're so nice"

Conan slapped himself mentally. 'You're doing that just to annoy me!' he glared her, to his expectations, she raised an evil smile back at him. '... At least she's keeping him company that way' he sighed, 'but that was nice of you, Haibara. And you too, KID-kun for being caring from the first place.' he allowed a smile to spread across his face.

They were all dropped home, while the last one to leave the two Edogawa boys was Haibara. She told Conan to be careful: "I'm not sure of the effect, just try not to trigger any memories. And if they find him, it's going to be hard for a person led to believe he is child_ suffering from amnesia _ to surpass what they will do to him" she spoke in English, hoping the thief wouldn't understand them. Kaito was staring at the ground as he walked beside them on the opposite side, clearly he realized that they wanted a secret conversation without wanting him to understand a word from it.

'I can do that!', he distracted himself with remembering today's fun.

Conan waved his eyes on the little magician, he's not even trying to listen. Humph. "I know" he finally answered her and they submitted their farewells once she reached her stop.

"Ja na, Edogawa-kun, Kaoru-kun"

"Ja na Ai-chan!" replied the child with a smile, to Conan's surprise, Haibara smiled and waved back before disappearing into Agasa Hakase's house. "You didn't say bye, Conan nii-san. That's not nice, she'll be sad!" he was sad himself.

The latter waved it off, "No need to, she knows I hate her.", he said serious than broke to a laugh, somewhat relieved that Kaito didn't believe the lie, and only agreed with a fake smile. "So, tell me, you had fun there?"

"Ahhhaaam. Lots of fun!" Bright big eyes said full of fun.

"I can tell the lie in your face," he gave him half eyes. "You're never this cheerful unless tricks are involved."

Kaito laughed and let the act slide away. "Okay, I got real, real and reaaaaaal bored. The games were lame and childish. So I read around twenty pages from the book you lent me instead, the kanji was a bit hard though, and I still played with them so they wouldn't be sad. They thought I was shy, at least that's what the teacher said to them." they walked slowly focusing idly on the small chat until they reached the bus going to Ekoda.

"Well no one expects a new student to be too friendly and open from the first day, you can't use the same excuse tomorrow though. You'll like to play with them when you spend more days around them" he added with a modest grin. "Who did you play with anyway? You didn't use your newly learned trick on everyone, did you?" they sat down on the empty seats to the left, beside an old lady with a child around eight of age. The little girl returned a smile, Kaito popped out a blue rose and gave it to her. Aya-chan took it with a big smile on her face full of surprise and sat back down beside her grandmother showing her the pretty flower.

"You meant 'that trick'? Only around eight times. Good thing I had help with the stock. I played with only two boys, Ichiro and Hiroki, almost the entire time, I only read for two hours or so. They were really nice and easy-going" Kaito shrugged. "But we failed to build the tallest cubic tower... it broke at the 100 pieces. It was taller than us, the fun part was when it collapsed on us and covered the entire class floor!" he said with a chuckle, "You should have seen Mira-sensei's face!"

Conan laughed. "I'm surprised it reached that height! Where did you get 100 pieces?" And Kaito said they took every piece on the school's premises. "We'll soon reach Dave-san home, it's around the corn_" he realized Kaito froze at the sight of something. "What's wrong?"

After staring at something for a while, Kaito returned a shrug away and only replied with a hushed voice. "Nothing," he said as he bent his head, sad. His right hand reached his head and Conan saw him gripping a few strands hard.

"Come on, tell me. What's the matter? Do you know that place?" he looked at the house in front of them. From half the remains standing, it looked like it was a two stories home. It appeared to be painted white, with the entrance of the house and the balcony made of stone cladding, looking like a large one-piece façade. Scarcely few bricks of the roof remained on the corners and they looked dark under the piles of ash and carbon covering almost every part of the house.

'The most damaged part is the second floor, probably a bedroom. It looks like an explosion caused it... But what does this place have to do with Kuroba-kun? Unless...?'

"I think it's…" Kuroba looked at the building, analyzing the damaged, half-fallen to pieces, trying to mentally recover the original shape of the house. The signs of burning and collapsing were quite visible to the little shrunken magician from the room that looked way too familiar to him now. "Our home..." he muttered below his breath, shock and disbelief clouded his mind. 'What happened to it? Who did this?'

Conan was not surprised to what he heard after he saw the shock and fear in his fellow rival's face, he realized Kaito recovered a bit of his memory of the house at least. "Mah mah, it's alright. You didn't think anyone was there, did you?" he started with a shivering smile. "It was just an accident!" 'Since it's your home, then it's definitely THEIR doing'.

"I don't know... What happened?" his eyes followed the remains of the structure, his mind looking for something particular that he didn't exactly know now. "Where are they...?"

Having no other option in front of him, Conan did the unbearable thing that he hoped to never to be seen doing. He brought the boy closer to him, into a short hug, both to comfort and to stop him from running into the place. The house might collapse any minute now, and he didn't want to have him killed under the remains.

"I'm sure that they're okay. Dave-san would have mentioned something if anyone got hurt. He told me that he lives beside your home, look, it's over there!" he broke away and pointed to the building ahead, three houses away from the burned down house. "And I believe he mentioned something about your mother being in Paris, and that's what some neighbors said too." Nakamori-keibu and your fiancé, actually. We still didn't mention her to you, and mostly, we can never do that unless you gain all of your memories back. Gomen KID-kun, I don't like to lie to you, but we don't have a choice here either.

The truth was, he didn't even know where the thief lived, and neither Hakuba nor Aoko mentioned a word about it. "It's okay," he said assuring him with a childish happy smile. "Your mom and dad weren't in there. We told you they were out of states, working. I'm sure they're fine. We'll talk to them when we get home if it makes you feel assured, a video chat is even better, you can see them."

"Really?" said the child turning to the small face, stunned at the answer but wanted to see for himself to be sure. He still didn't get a chance to see them or talk to them since he woke up from his coma. He was starting to doubt them wanting him when he was like that. Blank.

Conan nodded with a gentle smile; though he didn't know what trick he'll pull to carry it out. 'Maybe kãsan can help by disguising as his mom, but I can't tell him now that his dad died. We already lied to him about a lot of things now. But since he remembered the house, the memory of his parents will fly in too. If I knew about the explosion here, I wouldn't have passed from this side of the street'.

He held Kaito's hand and continued walking to the house he sought to reach since they left the preschool. He made a few secret glances to see how the shrunken kid was doing. He still looked shaken up, but definitely not himself yet. And by 'not himself', he meant the famous prankster, Kaitou KID. 'Taku, who knows when your memories will return! You're no good to yourself like this'

They reached Dave's home, after ringing the bell, they were greeted by Yukiko. 'What's kasan doing here?' She had a towel in her hand, drying them off and the scent of food was still fresh on her. She was almost done helping Dave with preparing lunch. She gaze fell on the small child, quickly seeing her son holding his hand. It was bend, almost like he wasn't able to keep it up. Her eyes traveled to his face and immediately realized the sadness in his eyes. She leaned down and asked if something happened at preschool.

"No," he replied.

"We passed by his house, he saw the building destroyed... and he somehow remembered it"

"Oh, my!" she was worried. Kaito thought something happened to his parents. "Kaoru-kun," she smiled, making the greatest decision. "Your parents called when you were at school, they'll talk to you at nine tonight. Isn't that great?" Conan smiled mentally, it was funny how they thought of doing the same thing. He didn't need to ask her anymore.

Dave blinked from his place when he heard her, his eyes landed on the boy's face that he had before she said that very sentence. He smiled to her idea, 'We'll pull it off' his heart ached to see the sad aura around the little child.

The child's smile reached the back of his head, she took that as an evident answer. He was glad to hear that before he'd ask to talk to them. They didn't forget about him and more importantly, they were okay. Just being able to see them now made him happy, even without any memories about them. Now, he won't wait for the dark to fall. He ran quickly upstairs and put his stuff down to join them at the table.

Yukiko and Dave made a delicious meal, and the boys started telling what happened today with them. Yusaku wasn't there, only Dave, Yukiko and the two shrunken boys. The first was happy to see Kaito getting along well with his new friends at preschool. He expected nothing less from the hyper child full of fun.

Then, as they were done eating, Conan and Kaito went to do their homework.

At nightfall, Kaito waited long for his parents to call, and fell asleep by ten past eleven o'clock. Dave felt sad for having him wait so long, but he had already prepared a little surprise. Unfortunately, his fellow partner for the act was late.

Dave woke him after half an hour, "Kaoru-kun," he watched the child rubbing his blue big eyes. "Someone wants to see you~" and he moved aside, revealing a figure behind him. "Papa flew over just to see you~"

"Really?!" Kaito said stunned, the man approached the bed, and Kaito hesitated thinking of how to react.

"Yup~ I missed you so much, it's been such a while!" Toichi leaned down, held him and hugged him deeply. His hug seemed to Conan too vivid to be an act. Yukiko smiled cheerfully by the door.

"Will mom come too?"

"Of course, in a week though!" the boy smiled. "I can't leave you with Yusaku any longer! You should know I get jealous"

Kaito and Dave laughed. "Well, he's with him most of the time," he smiled.

"I'm taking him in~" Yukiko winked, Shinchi gave himself a harsh facepalm, hiding behind her. He didn't want Kaito to see him and think that he didn't like him. "Officially become my kid, I'm sure Kaoru-kun and Conan-kun will get along well~" Kaito chuckled. Everyone told him the Kudos and Edogawa Conan were close, that they always saw Conan as their son. The existence of Shinchi Kudo was never mentioned and Conan avoided having Kaito running into Ran to not hear anything from her. The girl was a dead ringer for Nakamori Aoko too, he couldn't risk it.

However he thought of the situation, he knew the little magician enjoyed their company, that they made him feel part of the family. He felt so too.

"Son," said his father. "I came to take you back home," he saw the child's blue sustaining eyes. "This is our old house, do you remember it?"

Kaito shook his head. "So much is still blank~" I'm sorry. Toichi gave a soft pat to his messy hair, a broad smile that made him feel he wasn't sad for not being in his memories now. That it was okay.

However, Yukiko and Conan were silent. Yukiko easily figured the trick behind the act and the people playing it after observing the two men carefully. She didn't share it with her son, and he glared her it.

'I'll figure it out', his glare told her. 'He could be a partner...'

"In few days, you'll go with your father, as soon as he is done with his work," the doctor said, the boy nodded. It wasn't like he had a choice concerning with who he should be. "Now, get some sleep. You have school tomorrow, Kaito"

The boy blinked back, "That's_"

"Your names, yes~" Toichi said, a small smile. "Rings a bell?" the boy shook his head. "It's okay son, amnesia takes time to go away. I'm sure you'll be yourself in no time~" Then he hugged him one last time and said his goodnights.

Kaito and Conan marched to the bedroom, after turning off the lights, Kaito quickly lied down. He waited impatiently for the week to pass, being so curious to know who his mom was. He wanted to make his old man proud of him. 'I have to remember them. He was sad because I didn't recognize him. But I remembered my home, so I might remember them too! Maybe soon! I can't wait, it's so hard to be like this. They only told me my real name when Conan nii-san mentioned the house. Which means I can start learning things about myself, without having anything going wrong'

His name didn't trigger anything. Nothing at all, he only recognized the house. 'Maybe he won't remember Aoko-chan?' Yukiko peeked through the keyhole.

He got next to the bed and got some books out, as he started to turn the pages; he practiced reading again. He continued to learn the initials of Japanese writings, that secret reserved in his heart alone and in his teacher's heart as well, Conan swore not to say a word about it as long as he tried his best. 'He's already helping me a lot, I won't disappoint him'

After two hours, Yukiko went up to check on him. She found him asleep on a mountain of books and drawing. She carried him back to the bed, covered him well and kissed him on his forehead. "Goodnight, Kaito-kun~" and she left.

"So, he's going to stay with you tonight?"

Dave nodded, "I'll take them to school tomorrow. Your son will pick him up and take him back to your home. I can't risk keeping him in a place near his home, not after they blew it up to erase all evidence he might have on them."

"But is this really his home?" Yukiko furred her brows, Dave only raised a smile, "Oh, so this is the first house they bought!"

"Yeah, his parents moved beside the Nakamoris after he turned four. And they've been living there since then. I figured that since that house collapsed, they could return here. I honestly doubt Kaito even remembers this place, back then, I mean. It's been a long time"

"I'm worried about Chikage-chan... I haven't heard a thing about her for a while now!"

"1412 said she was unconscious, in a hospital, outside. But I didn't believe it. Kaito wouldn't leave his mother outside in her current state."

"So you're implying that she's here, in Japan, and they're looking after her?"

"What else could it be? The syndicate has spies everywhere, they can't risk it"

After more chatter, Yukiko returned to Beika while her son stayed with the shrunken thief and Dave.

(Meanwhile, downstairs…)

"Thanks for coming with that face, I know it was risky," Yusaku said with a smile. "Kaito was happy to see you~"

"I saw that," he smiled. "And I also realized the other's reaction."

"They're eager to know who is hiding behind that mask," he gave a soft grin.

"And they'll be surprised to see when they know" Toichi returned the smile. "Are you sure you want me to take Kaito so soon? You insisted he stays a while with you."

"That was because I missed him, now he can go with you. I got my own son jealous~" he laughed. "Anyhow, I'm sure he'll be safer with you. He'll need his parents by his side, I don't know how you'll pull it off."

"I'll figure it out, probably I'll play both turns if I have too. I hope I don't ruin the image he expects of his father since he doesn't know anything about him now. You already told me that he felt lonely. To be honest, I might not seem the father he knew for years, and I don't want to lie to him either. People with Amnesia should stay with their family, he probably heard it somewhere even. I also don't want to be too soft and make him think that it's out of pity."

"Look, I know things have changed. But it's just like when he was little, we all saw his dad's behaviors and the way he acted. It's not difficult for you to pull a straight face. I'm sure you'll do just fine." Yusaku kept a fixed look. "The boys are asleep, and I haven't heard a thing from the partners! Even that young thief has been absent since the rescue mission and there is nothing from the hospital; they didn't even file a missing report."

"Of course they didn't, it will lure investigations around them. Anyway, I spoke with Kaito's wife, she said that 1412 was okay and recovering, soon, they'll allow him to get out of bed. Poor kid must have been bored to death."

Yusaku held a chuckled back, "That's good news at least. The importance is that he's okay," he took a sip from his tea and rested it down again. "What will Kaito-kun do after you take him? It's not like he can roam around without someone going after him"

"I cannot deny that!" He glanced behind him upstairs. "But even if he goes outside, he can't be unsupervised." he was determined to keep him safe, even if he had to follow him around. "I w'll try my best to keep him in one place until it is safe for him to leave the house."

"Just be careful, Kaito-kun always runs outside whenever he wants. I'm sure that the behavior is still somewhere inside him"

"But I'm used to that!" The disguised man laughed. "He'll stay put sooner or later. He's not the same troublemaker now, things shouldn't be hard. He is very calm and obedient."

"Even without his memories, he still loves tricks. Popping a flower out is almost mastered. He'll probably learn another one soon." and Toichi grinned, confident he'd handle the young thief just fine. "So, next week then? What about preschool?"

"Concerning that, I don't really know. But if they aren't suspicious of his survival, I'll let him stay here, or maybe get a private teacher, until his memories start to surface."

"hmmm... just be careful"

The man stood. It was getting late, and it was time for Yusaku to take his leave too. He said his goodnight and left the manner.

'I didn't tell him about 1311 and 1413 identities. I don't know if he knew about Bourbon being with us in the hideout. I didn't give information and he didn't even ask... Maybe because he knew some things must be left unsaid? He probably knew I'd tell him if he asked... so he decided not to. Humph, it could also mean that he realized it himself.'

No trackers or listening devices were placing on him, he just waltz in and helped the KIDs take Jeff out. 1211 drove, Aoko said beside him while he held 1412 in the back. 'Bourbon showed up after the police tailed us, and served as a distraction, leading them away for us to escape and reach the hideout without being noticed. Their actions only mean that they knew and decided to quit the act'. As his parents, they would do everything to protect Jeff. Aoko knew about the bug and must have told Vermouth about what they learned from her conversation with Bourbon.

'So they decided to drop the act, huh?' he exhaled. 'And of course, the little thief won't be told about any of that'

After Two thirty-five past midnight, Dave went down for some fresh air. As he was heading to an unknown location, he saw someone lurking amid the shadows. "I see you are still there," he said in a low voice.

The figure approached slowly, cautious not to be noticed. "How is he?"

"He's fine, worry not. I told you that I will watch over him, didn't I?"

"Don't let him get killed; I didn't come all the way to lose him. And, soon enough, you're going to be exposed, Dr. Dave"

"I can always keep a good mask! Kaito's safety is the whole reason why I'm here "

"Once his memories start to surface, we'll get him back. I'm only allowing you to keep him with you because we can't keep him with us when seeing us night trigger traumas. You have two weeks, after that, he's coming back with us"

Dave listened, needless to supply an answer. She disappeared the moment he turned to the sound of a can rolling from the wind. 'Even if you take him back, we can still retrieve him'

Kaito woke up hyper and excited.

This time, he woke sleepyhead Conan instead. "Get up, get up!" he called several times until the detective opened his sleepy eyes. "Come on..."

"Oi oi, knock it off already!" then he realized the little child. "Gomen," and he sat up straight. 'Watta go grumpy detective, you knocked the happiness out of the kid...'. He cleared his throat. "You're up early!"

"Ahhaamm," said the child with a happy face, forgetting the angry face he just saw. "Look!" he pointed outside the window, "It's snowing! Wanna play?"

Conan dropped his smiled. "Ammm… well … I …" Kaito's eyes were watching, waiting for an agreement from the detective. The latter couldn't say no to those innocent baby eyes. "Oh, all right!" Taku why do I have to put up with this?

"YAYYYY~" Kaito jumped out of bed and pulled off the cover from on the boy. "Come on, come on…" he rushed him.

"I'm coming … I'm coming..."

They walked down the stairs, greeted Toichi and rushed to Kaito's bag.

They put on some heavy cloths, gloves, and muffs and ran downstairs. It was quite one of the rare times to see that detective hyper...or playing from his heart!

Toichi watched from the window, happy that the boys were having fun. They build a snowman and took some buttons and a carrot from the kitchen, of course with permission, and they decorated the white man with a colorful blue and white zig zag scarf that kaito had on him.

The joy in little Kaito's eyes was un-describable! He was so happy, that Shinichi didn't want to spoil his fun. He decided to bare the cold and stay with the lonely child. He knew, sooner or later, he's gonna have to play with him.

Kaito leaned on the snow, making shapes with his hands and feet; Conan laughed his heart out, yet would not bring himself to imitate him. Soon, it was time for pure little snowballs to be sent flying through the clear snowy sky….and guess who took most of them!

Now, it was a serious battle...

Clash

Kaito vs Conan

And the battle goes on!

Snowballs everywhere!

"INCOMING" yelled Kaito and hid behind the tree. Conan dodged. Someone else took it straight in the face.

"Yayksss" gulped Kaito recognizing the man. He ran off. Conan laughed as Kaito screamed the warning. "Angry uncle on the loose, HIDE" and he went down. He got up dropping off the snow from on his face and back. "Uncle wanna play?"

Kudo-san smiled. "Of course! You hit me and you expect me to let you live?" he hit another one.

Kaito dodged. "Nananana… You missed~"

"Really~ All righty then," and he threw another one. "Ohh! Gomen son~"

Conan took off his glasses, dopped the snow and glared his old man. Hit by Kaito now was something he would let pass, but hit by his own father OH NO!

The battle became warmer, that even Dave wanted to go outside. And within half an hour, the exhausted snow-fighters renounced and went inside.

They took off their wet clothes and sat by the fire; Dave made them hot chocolate and sat beside them. It was the first time they had so much fun, the first time they dared to unleash the child within them!

"I wanted to have fun too," Dave said, his face down. "Sometimes I hate housework..."

That day left a million memories in their minds, mostly the little thief.

"The roads are blocked, no school today boys"

"I know" his son approved. "But you're already late for the news" and he looked at the child who had fallen asleep on his lap. "Guess he's all worn out~" and they laughed hushed. Conan watched the innocent expression of the over-powered boy. Now, he began to see the days of rivalry between them fading away. 'Oyaji was right. The child in him is immortal!' and he smiled. He didn't move, wanting not to wake the boy. And soon enough, he joined the train.

Dave and Yusaku smiled, watching the two. It was a shame that Kaito had to leave them in two weeks; they were going to miss him!

However, they knew he'll have to leave at one point. The cure should come one day or the other; yet they hoped to see more of the thief, mostly Dave.

Yusaku got some thick covers and covered the boys, leaving them all warm and cozy, they went to the kitchen, where they prepared Breakfast (At 11 o'clock) and waited for the sleepyheads to wake up.

"I'm hungry," Dave finally gave up. "Go wake them..."

Yusaku laughed, "Oh, wait a bit! It's no fun without them at the table"

"I know," he dropped his head. "I hope they wake soon, I prepared the food and now I feel hungrier as I am looking at it."

"You said someone was here last night? Was it one of the partners?" Dave only nodded and drank the last drop of his coffee. "They're really caring. Coming all the way here just to keep an eye on him. I'm sure they live here though"

"Yes, but they keep coming and going several times a day. Kaito was in Beika for months and 1412-kun lives here in Ekoda. The shift changes between them, but they don't mind dropping everything to go to Beika every day."

As they were speaking, the smell of food reached the children's noses, who woke up to the strong sweet smell.

'Smells like chocolate cake! cheered the thief and woke Conan.

They had their breakfast (plus dessert) and went to whatever they could busy themselves with. Kaito locked himself up in the room Toichi said was his, carrying on his fun.

At five passed four o'clock in the afternoon, Kuroba Chikage called. Kaito went as fast as he could to speak to his mom (dragged a bit by Conan actually) and told her all about the fun they had today.

"It's a shame I wasn't there," she said through the phone. "How about we play when I come home?" and Kaito approved, "Mom's calling from Paris, it's going to take me a week to be able to come to Japan!" Kaito listened to the voice well, it definitely sounded familiar, sadly no face popped up in his mind. "So, how's my little Kaito?" she asked with a happy tone. Though her son couldn't see across the phone, he was glad to hear her.

"I'm okay~"

She didn't even try to push him, leaving him to take his pace cooping with the news about him and his family. "Miss you, baby. Mama will be back home before you know it, be a good boy and stay with papa. No running off, okay~?" he sustained. It was after the call ended that his father leaned down to him and spoke with both hands on his shoulders gently.

"Kaito, I'm going to leave you with uncle Yusaku and come back once your mom is here," he carefully observed the child as he was listening to him. So far, he was taking it good. "So, take care of yourself and have as much fun as possible with the kids. When you come back, I'll teach you some cool tricks, okay? Don't run off or get hurt, deal?"

Kaito nodded and watched his father pull himself up. Yusaku offered his hand and he took it. They walked out of the door to join the 'four-eyed brat', according to Sonoko-nee-chan. "Bye!" he called out and Toichi turned, smiled and nodded, then closed the door behind them. "Arigatou, uncle!" I know I have been a burden for some time now.

Yusaku smiled back, messing Kaito's hair in the process while hiding the sadness behind his face. "Anytime, son. Going back to Beika will take some time, you can lie down and get some sleep." they got inside the car, the two kudos were in the front while he sat in the back.

Conan nodded as he turned, "You're going to need some rest because when we reach home, we'll hang out with the Genta-kun and the other kids" that thought made the child nod with a smile.