Chap 14 New Start

Conan and Kaito gasp. Conan's eyes go wide and his jaw drops. Kaito claps in glee.

"Shin-chan, you can go back to normal!" he shouts, hugging Conan around the shoulders.

"I c-c-can what?" stutters Conan, not believing what's just been said.

"Well, we have some of the best scientists and inventors in the world here. And a few other sources of information too. So it's highly possible that we can return you to your normal body. If you want to that is." Enlightens Tsuna.

Shinichi thinks about this prospect. It's something that he has only considered in day dreams, considering none of Haibara's drugs have worked- and she was the creator of the drug. To be able to finally be Shinichi again. To be treated like an adult. To not have to manipulate people anymore. To see over the kitchen counter with ease. To finally be able to look Kaito and KID in the eyes and not have the height difference make KID look like he's looming over and all powerful.

But what of the Detective Boys'? Well he could surely see them as Shinichi. They accepted him readily enough the few times they met him- or mistook Kaito as him. What about Ran? Conan grips the arms of his chair tightly, knuckles turning white. What about Ran? She's waited so long for Shinichi to return. Could he really just turn up infront of her again? He was mafia now, and that meant that he would be disappearing again. Truly on a very long 'case' where hope of his return was slim. She worried enough knowing he was on an innocent case. But now guns and torture and murders were involved. He might even have to kill someone. Could he return to Ran with blood soaked hands? Could he put her through the agony of wondering if he would return home alive every time he left the house? No he couldn't do that. If he did return he must make sure that she never sees him. And what about Conan? Conan had truly become her little brother. She would be devastated that he had to again he grips the chair arms. But suddenly there is a warm hand upon his. Slowly he turns his head around and looks into clear blue-violet eyes.

Kaito gives him a smile, not a broad KID one, nor a cheeky magician one, but a comforting friend one. One that says 'I'm here, beside you all the way, whether you grow up or not' That's right. There is more to the world than Ran. Like Kaito for instance. I have ruined her life enough. It's time for me to let her go, and start something new. "Yes" Conan whispered, still staring into Kaito's eyes. His eyes flick over to Tsuna, and this time, stronger, he states "Yes. It's time Conan went back to America. And for Shinichi to return from his case."

"But Shin-chan, what about Ran-chan?" asks Kaito. He knows how much Ran means to the little detective. Talks on roof tops late at night provided personal information about the pair, allowing the other to relieve stress and anger, or to work through confusing events from the previous day. Kaito stares into Conan's eyes, searching for something.

Conan's eyes darken, and Kaito knows that he has found his answer."I've kept Ran in a cage long enough. It's time I set her free. And throw the cage somewhere far away, where it will never be found again. Shinichi isn't returning" he looks from Kaito over to Reborn."Shinichi is being reborn."

There is a gasp from the others around the table at this shocking statement. Kaito looks slightly confused. Shinichi looks Kaito in the eye, his own shining with new found hope and commitment. "I'll no longer be the Shinichi Ran knows, nor the Conan you know. I'll be me, Shinichi, a Mafioso working for Vongola Decimo, saving the world from the Organisation." He once again turns to Reborn. The Arcobaleno has a knowing smirk on his face, as if he knew this would happen- like he always does. "Reborn, go and find this Verde. I'm ready to move on."

Reborn nods."I'll have him here, at the lab in 2 hours, whether he wants to be here or not. Luckily enough I know that he's in Japan, working on another experiment." He tips his hat at Conan, before jumping out the window and off into the distance.

"Well now that's sorted, let's go and see Shoichi and Spanner." Says Tsuna rising from his seat. "Guys, you all know what you are doing today right?" people around the table nod. "Good, come on then Conan and Kaito, it's time to meet the future's best Mechanics." Tsuna walks through the door, Gokudera following behind.

Kaito and Conan grab some toast, down their luke-warm drinks and follow the pair."So this is the Spanner that tried to kill you with his robots, and then perfected your X-burner. And the Shoichi who was an enemy but really was on your side all along, right?" enquiries Kaito.

"Yep. Well not them really, but them in our time, with the memories of our time in the future, but yes, that Spanner and Shoichi." 'Clarifies' Tsuna. He walks to an elevator, lets the others in, before pressing a button. "They arrived back from their trip this morning, since I called them last night. They seemed really excited." The elevator doors open and Kaito and Conan step into a mechanical world. There are cogs and nails and bits of metal everywhere. Outlines of tools are drawn on the walls. Machinery stands like Skyscrapers, towering over them. Tsuna navigates the maze, finding a clearing near the middle. There is a desk filled with blueprints and other bits of paper. Another desk is dedicated to computers, all running numbers across and down the screen, pictures flashing every now and again.

"Vongola, nice to see you" A blond in a green jumpsuit and goggles on his head appears from the other side of the maze, followed by a red head in jeans and a shirt. The blond walks over and offers Tsuna a wrench shaped lollipop, which Tsuna takes and starts to eat. "Is this him?" he asks, offering another one to Conan. Not wanting to be rude, Conan takes the lollipop, and sticks it in his mouth

"It sure is. Reborn will be over with Verde in around two hours." Confirms Tsuna.

The red head walks over and offers his hand to Conan. "It's nice to meet you Conan, I'm Irie Shoichi and my friend here is Spanner." Conan shakes the offered hand. "Do you mind if we run a few tests? We need to know what we are working with here."

"Um sure. But aren't you two mechanics? How are you going to solve a medical biological problem?" questions Conan dubiously.

Shoichi scratch his head. "Well, we are. But when Tsuna told me about you last week, I was so intrigued that I read every medical text book I could find. That's actually why we have Verde coming. He's better on the subject. We would have asked Trident Shamal, but he only works on girls." Conan has no idea who this Shamal is, but he doesn't sound trustworthy if he only treats girls, he sounds more like a pervert.

"Guys, I was thinking that maybe before we start, we could get some… advice. We have time to waste before Reborn returns, and I don't see what the harm is." Tsuna suggests slowly, as if the suggestion might not go down well.

"Juudaime, you don't mean him do you?" asks Gokudera, seemingly shocked at the suggestion.

"That's a great idea Tsuna. I haven't seen him since I finished college." Shoichi claps his hands and starts to search for his mobile phone. "Aha, here we go."

"Just who are you calling? Gokudera looks like he's about to pass out, but Shoichi looks happy." Comments Kaito.

"Oh, well It's Byakuran" answers Tsuna.

"BYAKURAN!" Exclaims Conan and Kaito. " As in the man who wanted to take over the world in the future. You are asking him for advice?" They can't believe that him of all people is who Tsuna is going to for advice.

"Shh, he's picked up. I'm putting you on Speaker phone Byakuran." Warns Shoichi, putting his phone down on the table. The others all grab chairs and sit around the phone. ["Heya, Sho-chan, it's been too long. I was beginning to think that you had forgotten me~"] comes the whine from the phone.

Kaito stiffens recognising the voice "He's all your's KID. I don't deal with him. Let the show begin" KID blinks in surprise. "I-it can't be. That's the voice of Il Mare Bianco."

["Ping-Pong! That's right KID-chan. I didn't expect to hear you when I picked up the phone. So how did the last heist go?]" comes the happy childish voice.

"Heeii, you know Byakuran?" screams Tsuna- not expecting that at all.

"Yeah, I do. In the circle of thieves like me he's known as Il Mare Bianco, or The White Sea. He's an informant. He can tell you problems that will occur with your plan, so that you can get around them. He was giving me ideas on jewels that might be Pandora." Explains KID, his voice slightly deeper than Kaito's own. Raising his voice, he addresses Byakuran "It went great actually. The jewel was Pandora, and because of it, I've become part of the Mafia. But I never knew you were a tyrannical, world dominating Mafia Boss yourself."

["Humhmhm"] Byakuran laughs [ "Well, it doesn't really come up in conversation, now does it. And I'd like to point out that was an alternate future me. Me and My Guardians have changed. But now that you are with Tsunayoshi-chan of all people, I can tell you how I knew my information. Has Tsunayoshi-chan told you about the Tri-Ni-Set?"]

"Yeah, a link between the Vongola and Mare rings and the Arcobaleno pacifiers. But what has that got to do with anything?"

["Tsunayoshi-chan, you remember Yuni's song don't you? Vongola is the clam that passes information on from generation to generation, down the axis known as time. The Mare is the sea, moving information sideways along the axis known as Space, more commonly known as Parallel dimensions. So as the Sky Mare ring owner, I take trips between universes. There I followed KID's actions, and told you of any jewels you had taken that were not Pandora. From there you could narrow your choices down to untargeted jewels. This is the first time, in any dimension that you have found Pandora. And the first for you to become acquainted with Tsunayoshi-chan, and become part of the Family. But enough about us. Why do I have the pleasure to talk to both Sho-chan, Spanna and Tsu-chan, as well as your gracious self all at the same time?"]

"We were wondering if you would do us a favour Byakuran. Since you are part of the Family and all. We want to know something about a man named Kudo Shinichi. He was shrunk by a poison to become the persona known as Edogawa Conan. We want to know, if in any other worlds, a cure has been found to the poison that shrunk him. Can you find that out?" explains Tsuna.

["Kudo Shinichi, as in the famous high school detective? Well, now I know why KID is involved. You really want him to have his old body back don't you. In every parallel world, either Shinichi or Conan are chasing you around your heists. And in quite a few of the parallels that include Shinichi, you two have become very close. So close in fact that you cross the boundary of the mirror and become one~. Isn't that sweet?"

"Cross the mirror?" asks Tsuna. He looks over to the pair, who have now gone bright red.

"Y-y-you can't mean me and Metantei-san, can you? Together, like that!" stutters KID, for once shocked out of his calm.

"Metantei-san? Oh it's KID." Tsuna whispers to himself. "Um, can you two explain what he's going on about?" asks Tsuna.

"Oh that Bastard. You just love to mess with other people don't you Byakuran?" a loud long giggle is all the response he gets "You just had to announce it in front of some others didn't you. Well, Tsuna, what you most likely don't realise is that me and Metantei-san actually look almost like a mirror image of each other. Since I had on my top hat and monocle, you couldn't see it. It's so similar that I can impersonate him without the use of a mask or anything. People often mistake me for him. So crossing the mirror means that instead of looking at each other from afar, we've crossed the boundary. And I think that you can guess the 'become one' bit."

["You got it right there KID-chan. You and Shinichi become very intimate. And you being you show off you lover in the flashiest way possible: at one of your heists, you bring the spotlight on your masked lover and announce it to the whole world. Ahh, so many KID fan girls died at that moment, only to be reborn as Yaoi fan girls. It seems that you are popular no matter what you do."]

"Can we please move on to whether we can find a cure for me." Shouts Conan, still a bright red colour.

"Oh, so he's here? Well, certainly Chibi-tantei. Give me a little while and I'll go take a trip. See you soon!" and Byakuran hangs up the phone.

"Oh my god, I'm going to kill him next time I see him!" States KID. "I'm so sorry Tantei-kun. He's not usually like that when he's talking to me. Chatty yes, but never that personal."

"D-don't worry KID. What's important is that he's going to look for us. So Shoichi, you wanted to run some tests. I'm afraid that I don't have any of the data with me. It never crossed my mind that there would be a possibility that I could be cured here. It's all on Haibara's computer." Says Conan, determined to move on.

"Can we bring her here?" asks Spanner.

"I don't want her to know I'm with the mafia. She gets scared enough with the Organisation involved. I don't want another criminal influence in her life." Conan looks down at his feet.

"Okay, I'll just hack in then." Coolly states Spanner, fingers flying across a keyboard. Conan gives him any information he asks for. "Alright, let's see. "Spanner brings up a few programs, and enters a lot of data- Conan and KID can't keep up.

"And I thought I could hack" whispers KID.

"Hmm, she's got a lot of protection on here… Here we go. Shoichi, which of these files do you want?" asks Spanner, finally looking up from the screen.

"Hmm, let me look" Shoichi clicks and opens a few files over Spanner's shoulder- not fazed at all at how quickly Spanner hacked into Haibara's computer. "Might as well copy them all. I'm sure that we'll need all of the information we can get." Spanner nods and copies all of the files.

"Oh, so it's made of…

"Hm, could we use …?

"I'm not sure…

"Look here…

"Yeah that's useful

"So these are the failed compounds…

"Oh, so this is the internal effects…"

Spanner and Shoichi started their analysis of the new data, and completely lost themselves in it.

"Che, there they go again. They find something interesting and suddenly no one else exists. Juudaime, we had better leave them alone. They'll call for us when they have a solution." Gokudera sighs, and starts to walk towards the elevator with Tsuna, Conan and KID following

After the two hours were up, Reborn finds Conan and tells him that Verde has started to work on the cure too. "It intrigues him. He'll be able to work with Spanner and Shoichi too." Conan nods in response, and Reborn disappears.

A little after that, Byakuran phones Shoichi: ["In all of the dimensions where Big Detective becomes Little Detective, he remains Little Detective for the rest of his life. None of them found a viable cure."]

"Okay, thanks Byakuran, that's given me an idea." Says Shoichi before turning to the others. "Earlier on Byakuran said that this is the only world where Shinichi becomes part of the Family…"

TO BE CONTINUED... !