Hey guys, I'm back and somehow alive! I hadn't been able to update this for quite awhile due to a project I had to do for a class. Thank you for all the favorites, the follows, and reviews!
Enjoy!
I do not own Detective Conan or Magic Kaito.
The moment Kuroba Kaito had laid him on the guest bed, exhaustion had finally caught him in its horrid clutches and nightmares had plagued him throughout the rest of the day. The raven-haired detectives hadn't been able to escape the dreams till the onslaught of mechanical warring had spooked him awake. They had stopped the moment he had woken up and with himself up and very much aware of the ache in his six-year-old limbs. His body was attempting to make him burst into wails for his host but his mind refused to give it the satisfaction it yearned for. Conan settled for a small whimper as he sat himself up. He grimaced slightly as he nudged his chin, forcing his head to go along with the motion, and feel the relief that and went with a crack. He could never get used to that gesture of relieving the tension in his neck. It reminded him eerily of a murder he had once encountered as Kudo Shinichi.
"Ugh, I feel like crap.", he muttered. He usually always did when he woke up, but his injuries from the past several days throughout his travel. He pushed down the covers, suppressing a shiver as cold air assaulted his damp skin, and unbuttoned his jacket. The shrunken detective blinked slightly as he suddenly became aware of the towel on his forehead as it fell onto his lap. His cerulean eyes wide with surprise as he traced the aqua patterns imitating the waves within the sea, the theme of baby blue bubbles sewed along it and a cartoon turtle with a smile and light blush marring its lime cheeks with his index finger. The turtle somewhat reminded him of Kuroba. He refolded it and placed it on the nightstand beside his father's modified glasses. Removing his jacket, folding it and placing it beside him, he worked on his dress shirt. He worried at his bottom lip at the sight of bruises littering his abdomen.
"How am I going to explain this?", Conan whispered. How could he possibly explain that two boys had nabbed him in an alley for a couple of yen only to find I hadn't any and proceeded to 'teach him a lesson'? Kuroba would only assume that his parents had abused him and he runaway as a result in hopes of avoiding the system and them. This was a mess and one that was going to be tough to get out of. Surely after the teen had seen his condition earlier in the morning, Kuroba would check soon the next day after the teen deemed him well-rested. Trembling fingers probed lightly at the ribs and flinched back immediately upon contact, he had only one broken rib. That was good, nothing too big he couldn't handle, something that he could easily hide from the magician just as he had with Ran. Conan inhaled sharply as the name pierced at his heart as the thought came and went. No, there was no time to think about that. There was no time to be thinking about the past, he had to put it behind him or else it'll-
You Bastard.
To lie and deceive him, the same way you did to Ran. Are you going to use him the same way you did to Ran and just run off, disappear, only to show up as someone else? Just like how you did at Tropical Land and showed up as this Edogawa Conan boy to use, snake your way into her heart as Conan, and reveal the truth to break her heart? Are you going to destroy this guy like you did to Ran? Destroy a 'little brother-figure' that he had wasted his money and his love on only for him to lose him next week? Find out that you're Kudo Shinichi right after and blame you like Ran does?
You Bas-
Conan snapped his eyes shut and choked back a sob that managed to slip. No, he wasn't like that. He can't think like that. Not now and certainly not ever till he was back to being in his sixteen-year-old body. He would go back to being a detective, hunt down those men in black, and forget this ever happened. The shrunken detective inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to recollect himself as his fingers worked to re-button his dress shirt. He laid back onto the cold sheets and kept his eyes tightly shut. Sheets forgotten, pooling around his hips, the disguised Detective of the East curled in on himself and fought fervently for a dreamless sleep.
You Lying, Thieving Bastard.
Violet irises stared disbelievingly at the elderly man kneeled across from him, thoughts going a mile a minute. Weary dark eyes stared back at him through circular spectacles with relief and overwhelming sadness, wrinkled hands entangled in each other in a prayer-like gesture. This couldn't be real, Kaito thought. The teen donned the original Kaitou KID's uniform consisting of a white suit, blue dress shirt and red tire ironed to perfection. Gloves donning each of his hands, monocle firmly placed over his right eye, and brunette hair tamed to hide underneath an equally pristine white top hat. He had meant to capture an imposter and turn the guy in, earning Aoko's respect and winning the challenge. He hadn't expected a confession.
"Toichi-sama?", the elderly man, Jii, asked worriedly. Kaito gulped as he glanced at the concrete floor and back at the elderly assistant looking up pleadingly at him. He wanted to slink back into the shadows. Slink back into the shadows and into bed, just to get out of this situation. But he couldn't, not to this person that saw highly of his deceased father.
"What do you mean my dad's murderer...", Kaito replied flatly. A pang of doubt and rage shot through his heart. Jii inhaled sharply as he peered through the shadows obscuring his face and averted his eyes to the floor.
"Bocchama?"
"Was he a thief?"
Kaito stared blankly down at the mantle and silk top hat, thumbing the material as he walked over to a chair in his father's secret room. His father had been the original KID. A thief that had failed capture up until his death and his assistant, Jii, had decided to lure out the murderer. His magic act that day hadn't been an accident; it had been on purpose to get rid of Kuroba Toichi for a jewel, Pandora. Any other information was with his assistant, who had made his get-away the moment Inspector Nakamori and his task force had stormed through that metal door and onto the roof. The brunette shook his head as he remembered the Inspector's face as 'KID' literally flew away from his clutches.
'I'm no young master. I'm Kaitou KID.'
A phantom thief, the son of an original phantom thief taking up after his old man was forced to kick the bucket, Kaito chuckled darkly. He was going to catch that bastard. He was going to capture and tear that guy apart before he sent the bastard to prison for life. But what he really wanted to know about this whole ordeal was how to proceed with this. He needed to get into touch with Jii again, he needed as much information about this as he can. What did this 'Pandora' exactly look like for him to continue thieving throughout Japan to search for it? How was he going to go around being a 'big brother' now to Conan, being a high school student, and a phantom thief by night? Maybe he could ask the old man for some help. He really couldn't do this all alone, especially with his newly labeled 'day persona'. Kaito had expected Conan to be the only other responsibility other than getting Aoko to be his girlfriend, becoming a world renowned magician like his father, and graduating to move onto college to major in acting.
The magician shook his head as he gingerly placed his father's uniform back onto its rack, separate of the many disguising that filled one side of the room. He'll think about all this later, he needed to get ready for school and check up on Conan.
Conan-
"Kuso! I can't leave him here by himself!", he exclaimed. Kaito glanced hurriedly at the clock hanging above the entrance of the secret room and back at the mantle still in his grip.
He could ask a neighbor to monitor the little guy till he got back or maybe check in with the local daycare adjacent to his school. He knew some teenage mothers and elder siblings in his school that use it to drop off younger siblings or their children to go to school. But the daycare volunteers probably wouldn't appreciate a sick kid in their midst. His only trusted neighbor, Mai, wasn't home due to her family trip to Germany. He also couldn't skip out due to his abrupt absences from school during the fall season after his mother took him on a trip to Paris, France to visit a friend. If he skipped now, Kuroba Chikage would have his head after he had promised to not miss anymore days.
"Regardless of future health problems or random bursts of delinquency- No excuses, Kaito."
His mother's previous words rang through his ears before the warring of his father's hidden entrance opened abruptly. The teen magician turned, heart beating in anxiety before it calmed at the sight of his father's assistant carefully made his way through the door. Jii stood tall; dressed nicely in a brown coat jacket, slacks, and white dress shirt with a matching brown tie. Jii's hand came up to adjust his spectacles and brought it back down to his side limply. The elderly man also glanced up at the clock and 'tsked'.
"You're going to be late to school, Bocchama."
"How did you find-?", Kaito started, but was quickly caught off by the old man.
"I helped your father build this place after our first couple of heists looking for Pandora.", Jii said lightly. The elderly assistant gave the room a once over and shook his head at the state of the room.
"You should get ready and give the boy his medicine. I already have breakfast made for you both and your lunch packed for the day. I'll watch over him till you come back.", Jii replied. Kaito stared disbelieving at the man before him and sighed in defeat. He let his grip on the mantle loosen and walked over to the other. Holding his hand out, the new phantom thief grinned up at him.
"Kuroba Kaito, at your service.", he cheekily replied. Jii shook his head at the teen, but nevertheless grabbed onto the outstretched hand and shook it.
"Konosuke Jii, it's nice to finally meet you.", Konosuke Jii replied. The assistant gave his hand another firm shake before letting it go and walking over to the room's entrance, opening it cautiously. Jii frowned.
"I'll need to oil these old things. We don't want someone finding this room anytime soon and having your mother worrying about it malfunctioning in anyway.", Jii muttered. Kaito perked up at the mention of his mother and made his way after the elderly assistant as the made their way out of the secret room.
"Mom knows?"
"Why, of course she knows! But that is something you'll have to go over with her, it's not my place to tell how she knows.", Jii replied. The teen magician nodded, it made sense after all. They both parted ways upon entering the hall, Kaito to the guest room and Jii to the kitchen. He stared at the entrance to the six-year-old's room and took in a deep breath before entering. Conan was curled tightly into a ball, brows furrowed and frown itched onto his face, cheeks stained with tears from the previous night and flushed. Kaito frowned and hurried to his side immediately, hand coming up to feel his temperature. It was still too warm for comfort. He glanced at the night stand and sighed. Conan had probably woken up in the middle of the night for a drink and taken off the towel while he had been out.
"K-Kaito?", Conan murmured. Kaito carded fingers through the child's hair, pressing gently against the other's temple, watching as the boy's brows arched upwards and a slight smile graced his lips. The magician mirrored the other's smile as he continued to run his hand through the other's hair.
"Good morning, Conan-kun. I need to go to school for a bit, so Jii-chan is going to watch over you till I get back, okay?", Kaito replied. Conan cracked upon an eye, flinching at the light filtering in through the windows blinds. The six-year-old nodded slightly and shut his eye once again. Kaito frowned slightly and removed his hand from the other's hair, choosing to take the damp, warm towel from the nightstand and towards the bathroom to re-wet it. He came back with a glass of water in hand and the wet fabric. Placing the glass aside and towel to the side, he removed the medicine Conan had with him the other day and poured the necessary amount for the boy's age.
"Conan-kun, I need you to sit up so you can take your medicine.", he said gently. Conan complied, sluggishly sitting in an upright position and whimpering slightly with his arms pushing him up from behind to keep his steady. The magician's brows furrowed as he eyed the other's body language, something wasn't right. The grade school student fluttered his eyes open and stared, dazed and feverish, at the magician with his head cocked to the side. Conan made no move to take it.
"Still don't wanna take it? I thought you were a 'big boy'.", Kaito teased lightly. Conan stared blankly back at him, taking a moment to process the reply, and huff in indignation. The boy took hold of the cup and downed it easily, handing it back to Kaito shakily. The teen grinned back at him, ignoring the boy's glare, and ruffled the boy's hair.
"See? That wasn't so hard."
"Hm.", Conan huffed.
"So I better be off soon, I don't want to be late and have Aoko chase me down. Will you be okay here with Jii-chan?", Kaito asked. He wanted to be sure Conan would be comfortable with his decision. Conan nodded in acceptance.
"Don't be late, Kaito-nii-chan. I don't want Aoko-nee-chan to hurt you with her mop.", Conan replied. Kaito stood up from his previous kneeling position and brushed off his pants from yesterday. He pushed the younger boy back onto the bed after having him drink some water and pulled the covers up to his chest. He placed the towel onto the other's forehead and nodded in satisfaction.
"Don't remove it unless it becomes either too warm or dry. Either turn it over or call Jii-chan to re-administer it. I don't want you to get worse before I get back, alright?", Kaito advised Conan. The boy nodded mutely and nuzzled his head into the cool pillows. The magician carded his hand through the boy's hair one last time before leaving the room towards his own. He needed to get out of yesterday's gakuran, he didn't want to smell at school.
No sooner had Kuroba left, 'Shinichi's' phone vibrated with Agasa's caller ID showing up on the screen. Conan shifted slightly and tired reach down to grab his school bag to answer it. A small hand gripped a flip-phone with a soccer charm attached to it, the screen displaying a message from the professor.
'Good morning, Shinichi-kun. How are you? I've checked up on Ran-kun-'
Please don't think-
'-and she seems to be doing better.-'
Don't think about it.
'-Anyways, I have already complied an updated version of your personal file for Edogawa Conan along with new upgrades to your gadgets. I will drop it off at your new residence as soon as I can.
-Agasa-hakase'
Cerulean irises stared blankly at the screen, his grip on the cellular device loosened and allowed in to thud in between the pillow and his jacket. His hand and forearm soon followed suit as he stared at it from across his face, blinking slowly attempting to process that single, damned sentence that had plagued him throughout the majority of the night.
You Lying Thieving Bastard.
Don't think about it.
A/N: This is what I get for listening to Linkin Park's album: Minutes to Midnight while writing fanfiction.