Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/KHR! Or the characters.

BAMF! Tsuna / Tsuna-Centric / Expect it to switch to Conan-Centric every now and then /

Playing With Fire

Another day of dealing with the horrible place called school, he scurried back home, ignoring the calls of his friends. It didn't take the brunet long to reach home, which left him heaving a sigh of relief. Shrugging off his school bag, the boy went to the kitchen and grabbed a drink.

Taking the can soda to the living room, he turned the T.V on as he jumped onto the couch. "-last night, Kaitou KID made off with two of the curative rings. Nakamori-San has said that KID was more focused on KID Killer than the task force that night. He has yet to come up with a reason as to why though."

The second news reporter chuckled, raising a brow at his college. "It sounds to me that Nakamori-San is a bit jealous of the attention KID Killer is getting." The boy rolled his eyes as he thought back to last night.

Conan wasn't one to think about KID's heist all the time, but he had felt something off when he attended it. Apparently he wasn't the only one considering that the only reason KID had given him so much 'attention' was because the thief felt the shift too.

After the silent interaction with the brunet and his two friends, the shrunken detective had begun to notice a few things. They were things he always shrugged off as the light playing tricks on him, or how it was his glasses making them –hell, it could have even been the lack of sleep from the constant loud snoring he had to deal with.

But Conan could no longer deny the weird existence of what he was seeing. Lights that looked like different colored flames.

Shaking his head, Conan rubbed his eyes in frustration. He wanted to blame that teenager –he felt so drawn to those damn orange eyes- but every time he did, he felt guilty afterwards. Why blame someone when it was his fault for not accepting what he was seeing? True, it didn't fit into his logical way of life but it was there and it was obvious that it wasn't leaving anytime soon.

"Conan-Kun?" Head perking up at being called, the shrunken teenager looked over the couch and blinked. Ran blinked back, offering a smile as she closed the door behind her. "I knew you were in here. What are you doing, watching the T.V? I thought you would be with your friends?"

Glancing back at the object and back to Ran –who was moving closer- Conan shuffled in his seat. "Ah, everyone was sort of busy today. I was also just –um, t-thinking of different ways to catch KID?"

Ran frowned as she took a seat next to him, eyes locked onto the T.V. "Why would you think of that? You were just at his heist yesterday night." Getting no reply from the child, she tilted her head to look at him. She wasn't sure what to say as the boy was just staring at her, or at least, that's what she thought. "Conan-Kun?"

Tearing his eyes away from the edge of Ran's shoulder, Conan looked at Ran in the eye and smiled. "Sorry, I was just thinking about another idea. Did you say something, Ran-Neechan?" He watched the other huff, slightly puffing out her cheeks as she ranted about him not paying attention.

Conan let his eyes wander back to the edge of her shoulder. He had seen the flame like lights again, and if memory was right –which it normally was- Ran's light were a solid bright yellow color. "-and there you go not paying attention again. Mou, what am I going to do with you, Conan-Kun?"

Jumping out of his seat, Conan flipped his stun watch on the surprised girl, eyes narrowed as he tensed up. "Knock it off already and just spit out why you're here, KID." For a moment, Conan wondered if he could run out of the room. He wasn't one to run away, but he had to think twice about it now.

He was alone with KID, only had two darts in his watch, and had left his shoes at the entrance out of habit. KID could pretty much knock him out with that sleep gas of his or he could leave him in a complete mess. That was not something Conan wanted to deal with.

'Ran' looked surprised for another moment before letting it drop into that arrogant smirk that Conan had familiarize himself with. Getting comfortable on the space given to him on the couch, KID stretched out as he spoke in his own voice. "For a moment there, I thought I actually managed to trick you. What gave me away this time?"

"Your lights." Conan blurted without a second thought, only to mentally backtrack and feel slightly embarrassed as he received a confused expression. Well, there was no way to fix his slip up. Conan went ahead and bit the bullet. "When I wasn't paying attention to you, I was actually looking at the lights that you're letting out. Did you know that you give off hues of blue?" Now that he looked at it more closely, it looked like it had gotten brighter.

Was it…reacting to his words?

KID tilted his head, brows raised above his hairline in confusion –of course, the detective couldn't see his true face, thanks to the help of Ran's mask on it. "Lights? Hues of- Are you feeling alright, Tantei-Kun?"

"I'm absolutely peachy." Conan gritted out. If there was one thing he didn't want, it would be KID's dotting on him because he was 'worried'. Fighting back a shudder at the possible outcome, the detective raised his stun watch at the thief. "You didn't answer my question."

"Question? Hm, I don't recall you asking me a question." KID gave a gasp, "Could it be that Tantei-Kun's memory isn't as great as I once thought?" Hearing a growl from the miniature detective, KID chuckled. "I'll answer you. If you actually ask me. Nicely, that is."

He could always put KID to sleep, tie him up and stuff him in the trunk of a car. No one would know. Conan bit back a grin as he watched the moonlight thief actually twitch under his stare. Glaring at the thief, the detective kept his watch on them.

"Please, enlighten this pitiful soul the possible reason as to why I deserve the presence of such a person as yourself?" He drawled out, mentally wondering if that was enough. 'Well, I did give him a bit of an ego boost since I called myself pitiful.' Conan bit back a groan; that better be enough damn it.

"Why, since you asked so nicely!" KID responded, the odd eat-shitting grin seemed unfitting on Ran's face. He continued as he flourishingly made a flower pop up. "I, the wonderful Kaitou KID, was minding my own business when I remembered something that had something to do with my favorite little critic." Conan would have rolled his eyes, yet doing so would only be dangerous, especially when dealing with the likes of this thief.

"So, naturally being curious and a tad worried," The sound of a soft scoff was easily ignored. "I rushed over to ask a simple question to him." Slowly pushing himself up from the couch, KID kept his gaze on the detective, lips pursed into a thin line. He took a step forward, leaning himself down –almost dangerously close to the other- and asked in a soft, yet firm voice. "Why, in the world, did Tantei-Kun look torn while attending my heist? Normally, you're focused and so determined to catch me off guard. And yet, you seemed like you weren't fully there. Why is that?"

Never will Conan ever admit that he was feeling nervous with KID looming over him. It didn't matter if the other was wearing a mask, the not-child could just see the other's shadowed face, looking down at him with confusion and disappointment. Gulping, he barely registered how dry his mouth suddenly felt. "Just a few cases that left a few impressions on me, is all."

KID hummed aloud, inching a bit closer. "Has anyone ever told you to never lie to a lair?" Tilting his head, the thief watched him puff up in agitation. The corner of KID's mouth lifted up as he brought up his hand, index finger rotating with Conan's watch following the movement. "Not to mention that you just suck at it. Kekeke!" Jumping away as the detective lounged at him, KID continued to laugh, holding the watch out of reach. The sound of chatter made him stop. "I want a real answer the next time we meet. Until then, I'll keep your watch, as insurance."

Winking, KID disappeared in a puff cloud of smoke, leaving Conan to stare at it in disbelief. The boy had lost and broken so many watches, it would be impossible for him to get another one so soon. Especially since the professor had made him promise to be careful with the last one. The one the thief had been so kind to take.

Throwing his arms up in irritation, he froze a second later, and stared. The flower KID had popped up was wrapped around his wrist, where his watch would have been. Conan almost yelled in frustration then and there.

'One more day. Give him one more day. You can deal with this, Tsuna.' Was what Tsuna continued to repeat to himself. It was slowly becoming a mantra to keep calm and not flip his desk over. Along with keeping that butt of his glued onto his chair. Hayato and Takeshi had glanced at him this morning, before heading to school, their expressions wary of their Boss. They had every right to be careful and tiptoe around him.

After all, Tsuna had the absolute pleasure of having his paperwork and tests ruined, by one Dohachiro Nezu. Needless to say, the Mafia Don was furious. Brows furrowed, leg bouncing, and lips pursed into a thin line, anyone could see that he wasn't in a good mood. The idea of having the papers sent over to the school had become more tempting than ever before; and it didn't seem that the so called teacher understood when enough was enough.

If Tsuna didn't do this now then his fellow classmates will suffer from the worst teachings of all time.

There was a bit of pleasure when other students scowled at the teacher and even, at times, sassed him back. Their class representative didn't hold back either; dishing out logic and facts right after the other, leaving Nezu speechless and inadequate.

'Now, if he could use that brain of his to actually stop and redeem himself, then everything will be just fine.' Unfortunately, that will never happen; Nezu has proven time and time again that he would rather hold his nose high than admit the truth. It was settled, Tsuna was going to get a hold of Hibari and get those damn papers faxed over asap.

"Sawada-Kun?" blinking out of his haze, the boy looked up at who called to him. Tsuna tilted his head; it was the same girl who started the small riot on his first day here. "The class is going on a trip to a museum this coming week. The class rep was supposed to tell you, but he's been rather busy lately."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for letting me know -better late than never, right?" Tsuna offered a small smile, earning a larger one from his classmate. "Oh, will I have to have a form signed or anything to allow me to go?" He hoped not, Tsuna's mother wasn't around and he highly doubts that his two friends would count; guardians title or not.

"Why, yes, of course!" Damn it. "This is the form, make sure to turn it in tomorrow morning. By the way… I don't mean to pry, but do you have history with our homeroom teacher?" She asked, before blanching. "Sorry, that's, uh, rather rude and straightforward of me to ask."

Tsuna could only shake his head, partly in disbelief that someone could ask and in shock that these classmates picked up on it faster than his old ones. "It's alright. And I suppose you could say that, yes. He used to teach in my middle school."

"Used to? Why did he stop teaching there? I highly doubt it was because he got promoted." Tsuna could not stop the cringe, the mere thought of Nezu of all people getting promoted left a sour taste in his mouth. "Ah, judging by that reaction, it must have been a lot worse than we thought."

The boy sighed, bringing his hand to scrub at his face. "It's, well it's pretty bad. I was thinking of getting in contact with someone for some papers regarding him." The brunette passed, should he tell them? They were involved since Nezu was their homeroom teacher -and they would find out regardless. With that in mind, Tsuna mentally nodded to himself. "I don't want anyone here to fail their classes due to poor teaching and having someone who's credentials aren't true will only ruin the students academics."

Tsuna's classmate remained silent, the words slowly sinking in and understanding showed on her face. "Not true- His credentials are fake? He's a fraud?" Was all she said, eyes wide and in disbelief. "How did he even get hired here, much less after being found out at your previous school?" Tsuna was relatively glad her voice didn't go up in volume.

"Honestly? I haven't the slightest clue, if anything, he probably has someone to help him out with that. Since I doubt he could pull something like that, and make it look professional." Tsuna replied with a helpless shrug, that would be another thing he would have Hibari look into. There was no way Nezu could have done that by himself. "For now, could you keep this between us? It would be bad if word got out and Nezu goes and does something to prevent from being fired."

She blinked, nodding down at Tsuna in a haze. "O-of course. I'll be sure no one hears of this, Sawada-Kun." Taking a step away from his desk, the girl looked back at him, brows furrowed. "When you turn in the paper, be sure to give it to the Class Rep, as he's the one whose in charge of collecting them all." After receiving a nod from Tsuna, she walked towards her desk.

The boy had to hold in his sigh, maybe telling one of his classmates wasn't the best idea, but if someone in his class knew the reason as to why Nezu treated him, then that was fine. They were bound to know sooner or later, so having one classmate have his back while his two friends were separated from him, was fine. Leaning back in his seat, Tsuna rolled the idea of how to go about having the papers sent his way as soon as possible, before looking at the slip on his desk.

His mother wasn't around, so there was no way she could sign it. Tsuna bit his lip, eyes darting to the window not far from him. 'I do need to call her when I get back home with Hayato and Takeshi. Maybe if i mention it to her, she'll be alright with me faxing over the slip and she could send a copy with her signature back to me.' It wasn't a bad idea, it saved him the guilt of forging her signature. Not to mention he promised he would call every day.

Nodding to himself, the brunet felt some of his stress melt away. Speaking to his mother had always made him relax, catching up on what he had missed as well will help him know what to expect when he goes back. Tucking the slip into his bag, Tsuna hummed softly to himself, thinking of which topics to speak to his mother about and what to make for dinner as an apology to his friends. Just because Tsuna had been preoccupied with Nezu, doesn't mean he would excuse his own behavior.

Walking home with Hayato and Takeshi by his side, Tsuna mentioned the trip to them. "What? A trip? My class isn't going on one!" Hayato looked at Tsuna with a scandalous expression. "Baseball idiot -did your Class Rep say anything about a trip?!"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I don't think she did. Otherwise, everyone in my class would have kept talking about it." Takeshi replied, rubbing his chin. "You don't think Nezu planned this 'trip' to get out of something, do you?" The three of them exchanged glances before sighing in unison. "So what are we going to do about this?"

"There's nothing we can do about it." Tsuna started, earning a spluttered reply from Hayato. "I don't know what he's planning -that's if he is even planning anything at all- so we should just let it play out. I'll get in contact with Hibari later on this evening to get him to fax over the papers regarding his credentials. While I'm out on this trip, I want either one of you to send them in to the principal. Should anything come up, I'll have my cellphone on hand, my headset will be used as an emergency."

"Understood, Juudaime. We'll be sure to keep our phones on and charged should anything happen. We'll also be in touch, in case any more information of your cousin or his condition changes." Hayato nodded towards the brunet, patting at his chest. "Just leave it to us, Juudaime! We'll take care of everything here for you!"

"Ah! You said 'we' this time, Haya-chan! I knew you thought we worked well together!" Takeshi grinned wide, as he pointed out the Storms' sentence. Watching Hayato flush red was a bonus, as the Rain laughed happily, even as the other tried to 'fix' their sentence. "Definitely leave it to us, Tsuna! You just enjoy that trip of yours and keep an eye out for that guy."

Nodding to his Rain, Tsuna watched in fond amusement as Hayato and Takeshi begin their usual play. He wondered, briefly, when they'll stop dancing around each other. Catching Takeshi stare a bit more on Hayato's flushed cheeks, all the while Hayato looking everywhere but the Rain, Tsuna believes they'll be at it for a good while. Still, while it was fun watching them dance around, it would -at times- be unbearable to watch.

Glad to make it home ( barely dealing with second hand embarrassment from his two guardians ) Tsuna makes his way to his room, cell phone in hand. The boy knew that calling Hibari would never end well, as the elder had already made it clear that he preferred texts. It would 'give him the details right away' and not 'beat around the bush like a herbivore'. Seeing the bubble pop up under his own text let Tsuna know that Hibari had read it and would most likely get the papers together.

"In the meantime, I should fax that paper over and call mom." Tsuna muttered to himself, dialing his home number the brunet dug out the slip to put into the machine. The faint click on the end caught his attention.

"Hello, this is the Sawada residence, Sawada Nana speaking." Came the voice on the other end, faint childish laughter being caught in the background.

"Good evening, Kaa-chan!" Tsuna smiled as he was greeted in return. "I'm sorry that I didn't call you the other day, turns out that Takeshi or Hayato kept the fridge stocked up, so we had to do some grocery shopping."

"Ara? I hope they had something healthy to eat besides convenience store bento! Mou, Tsu-Kun, make sure they have plenty of food. They're your responsibility right now since you're the only one who knows how to cook!" Eh? Kaa-chan, why are you making it sound like they're my kids?! "Still, I'm glad that you were able to call me, Tsu-Kun. Fuuta, Lambo, and I-pin have been hyperactive since you've been gone, I think they're a little upset that they couldn't go to Beika."

"I promised you that I would call you, Kaa-Chan. Also, tell them I'll bring back some souvenirs for them, just make sure that they behave while I'm gone? Please?" Tsuna winced when he heard Lambo's loud laughter and a faint explosion in the background. His mother laughed softly, cooing over how excited the child was. "Before I forget, Kaa-chan, I sort of need your signature for a school trip."

"Eh? A school trip already? And where will you and your class be going to, Tsu-kun?"

"To a Museum? I honestly don't know which one, since I was told last second about it, but I'm sure it's an Art Museum. I already went ahead and faxed it over to you, do you think you could send it back with your signature?"

"Of course, Tsu-Kun! I may not have to use the machine often, but I know how to use it." Tsuna stumbled over his words, trying to assure his mother that of course she knew what she was doing. "Ara, did I get you Tsu-Kun? Mama knew she could make you think that!" Nana cooed over the phone. The boy stared at his machine, unsure if she should be relieved that his mother tricked him like that, or in disbelief because his mother just tricked him. "Hm, the permission slip seems straightforward to where you're going. I'm so glad that you're still going to school and not skipping out, Tsu-Kun! Mama is so proud of you~!"

Warmth filed his chest as the words echoed in his head, Tsuna hasn't heard that from his mother in such a long time. Smiling warmly, he held onto his cell phone a bit tighter, "I'm just doing my best, Kaa-chan. School hasn't been so bad, my classmates are actually nice, and they help me when I'm confused about something. It's, it's a lot different than back home."

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself there, Tsu-Kun. When you go see Yukiko-Nee, greet her for me. It's been so long since I've heard from her, it would be nice to see each other again." Silence engulfed the lines for a brief moment, Nana sighed softly. "Ah, I must have been lost in my thoughts again. I'll be sending you the slip right away, Tsu-Kun. Be sure to take care of yourself for me, ne?"

"Of course, I'll be sure to pass on the message to Yukiko-Nee." Tsuna paused for a moment before shaking his head. "I'll call you again tomorrow night, Kaa-Chan. Oyasuminasai."

"Oyasuminasai, Tsu-kun."

Hanging up, Tsuna walked over to his bed, dropping himself on the edge of it. 'Kaa-Chan sounded sad. She must really miss Yukiko-Nee. I'll be sure to let her know about that, maybe Nee-san will go see Kaa-chan.' His mother deserved so much more than what his father gave, and Tsuna would be damned if he didn't do anything for her. For now, he would have to focus on Nezu, and perhaps, after coming back from the trip he'll finally meet his wayward aunt.

"But why a Museum of all things? And where was it even located at anyways?" Tsuna asked aloud, his only answer was silence.

AN:

[ KICKS DOWN DOOR ]

HEY GUYS, SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN, UH, 4 YEARS, BUT A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENED

I'M TRYING REALLY HARD TO CONTINUE MY STORIES AND THIS WAS ONE THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO LET GO OF

I'LL BE REAL WITH Y'ALL, THIS STORY NEVER HAD A PLOT, I JUST GO WITH THE FLOW SO IF IT LOOKS OFF OR AT TIMES DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHY

ANYWAYS, I HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS ALRIGHT, IT'S BEEN FAR TOO LONG SINCE I'VE LAST WRITTEN ANYTHING OUT