Disguises

Disclaimer: The works of Detective Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

A/N: This was stuck in my head for some time, bit of fluff. No relationships (unless you squint really, really hard), though Kaito here is a chronic flirt and Conan/Shinichi will always be prone to blushing.

Parent Day

Like any other school day, the afternoon was bright and sunny. For once, the rest of the Detective Boys (not including a certain little scientist, she was in a league of her own) had decided they each have something very important to do and left Conan to his own device (Haibara had opted to give Conan her usual bland stare and stated she was coming up with a breakthrough in her work so if he could be so kind to not bring her any crimes. Translated, it would mean for Conan to stay out of her hair for the next couple of days). This rare chance of solitude was tainted by a small slip of paper, now held loosely in his hands.

Conan had decided take a different path back to the Mouri Agency today. Even after his extended stay, the place has yet to feel like home. His feet took him to a rather secluded and empty park filled with the usual slide, sandbox, merry-go-round, and swings. Not wanting to return this early, as there was no one else in the agency this afternoon with Kogoro out on an investigation and Ran having late practice, Conan placed his small backpack against the railings fencing around the swings. Taking a seat on on the swings itself, his feet barely scraped the rough sandy surface underneath as he cautiously swung his legs to generate just enough momentum to move. Instead of gripping onto the chains with his hands, he wrapped his arms around the chain to free up his hand to hold an innocuously pink slip. His eyes were not really focusing on the words, rather they looked beyond the black text. It was a simple memo notifying guardians and parents of the upcoming Parent Day in Beika Elementary. Conan's grip tighten at the words, wrinkling the piece of paper in the process.

"A penny for your thought?" Conan was startled by the familiar voice. He nearly jumped out of the swings when a five yen coin appeared in his line of sight. Following the arm, his eyes rested on features, not to unlike his own were he in his original age. The face in front of him was a more mature, yet playful, version of his current self, with similarly bright eyes and angular jaws, only with less of the baby fat and more defined features. The smile opened as though wanting to break the face.

"Kaito, what are you doing here?" The prankster magician with sticky fingers (both literally and in the metaphorical sense as there were traces of sugar on the finger tips) and a penchant for all things shiny stood directly in front with a wide grin that would have many people screaming for the hills. Fortunately (or unfortunately) Conan was immune to such a look and in return, gave a bored stare. He projected his tiredness out towards the magician, hoping he would leave him be.

"I was in the neighbourhood. Did you know they have a really great selection of crafts store here? It was like a dream come true, they have all colours and styles of duct tape." Kaito spread his arms in a grand gesture as he twirled around, mimicking a child in a candy store.

"Do I really want to know what you have planned?" Conan was too used to the pranks and strangeness of the magician. "Or should I start sending anonymous warnings to school about a pranking spree?"

Once, some time seemingly long ago, they were friends. Conan, or Shinichi at the time, had accidentally bumped into the budding magician during a trip to Shinjuku. They remarked on their similarities and managed to strike a friendship. Then, the Conan incident happened and Shinichi, fearing he might bring misfortune towards his new found friend of the time, cut all contact. It was not until the first KID heist after a long time when they accidentally met again on the streets, as Conan and Kaito, where Kaito scrutinised him upon 'initial' meeting. Conan had been terrified his secret would be exposed in front of Ran (he knew how observant and insightful the magician could be, not to mention smart and intelligent. He would have to be to come up with the numerous pranks and magic tricks that sometimes, though not often, baffle Shinichi himself), who had roped Conan into the impromptu shopping trip. But all Kaito did was stare until Ran became irritated and threatened Kaito. After the misunderstandings were cleared, they managed to bond again over tea and cakes (Ran had forbidden Conan to order ice coffee) and exchanged numbers. At the time, Ran had mentioned something like needing a babysitter, to which Conan only frowned but said nothing as he is physically seven even if his mind was ten years older. Kaito had agreed readily and was actually drafted into being a babysitter mere hours before the KID heist for the Suzuki black pearl. Conan remembered it had something to do with Sonoko inviting Ran to the day spa and Kogoro wanting to dress to impress hence went to the salon or something. He could not remember the specifics. Only that Kaito had been trying to distract him with kiddy magic. Later, at the KID heist, Conan recognised some of the tells KID had exemplified and confronted the phantom thief (he could still remember how the thief fretted over a broken phone, Conan wished he had a camera at the time to immortalize the image). KID denied of course, as would any other criminal, and Conan did not have any proof. It was not until much later, and several more heist (and subsequently tense babysitting sessions) that Conan could not take it any longer and confronted Kaito once more. Thankfully, this time he had more proof in the form of a conversation he stealthily recorded between himself and his parents. His father had admitted to chasing the former KID (after Conan had laid out his reasons and findings) and his mother had commented on a Kuroba Toichi being her teacher and apt at disguise as well as a master magician. One thing led to another and his father then made the offhanded comment of "Kuroba Toichi is not only a skilled magician, he was skilled at casting illusions over his audience, to make them see a different person each time" which led to Conan grilling his father and finally admission of his suspicions about Kuroba Toichi being the former KID.

After that particularly dreadful babysitting session, Kaito seemingly dropped off the radar and had not contacted for a long time. That was until several months ago when Kaito, dressed as KID, dropped by a visit in the middle of the night to the Mouri Agency when Conan was just sitting out on the roof. They finally talked, over a thermos of hot coffee and chocolate that the thief had been carrying with him for the purpose of this visit, admitted to several deep dark secrets before exposing each of their own identity. Conan felt he was obligated to tell the truth if KID, or Kaito at the time, decided to confide in him. The magician had laughed initially before becoming too serious and even suggested taking Conan to see a particular witch to see whether there were alternative means to the poison ("After all, poisons and antidotes are just right up a witch's alley!"). Their friendship was mended that evening and Kaito became another staple to Conan's strange life.

"No need to send in letters. It's all harmless fun." Kaito winked with a cheshire grin. Whatever the magician planned, it was bound to be something spectacular.

"Send me photos will you? I need a good laugh every now and then." Conan was not the type to turn down free entertainment, even at the expense of others. Shinichi had his own share of mischief (mostly to skive out of class and investigate) so he could appreciate such pranks.

"No problem. Anything to turn that frown upside down." At Kaito's words, Conan's eyes were once again drawn towards the pink slip of paper. "So? What has that piece of paper done to earn your wrath?"

"Huh?" Conan was not aware he was trying to burn holes into the paper, though he very much loved to. "Oh, this? It's nothing really…"

Kaito raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Alright, it's just the usual event in school. Parent Day."

"Ah." Understanding dawned on Kaito's face, who took the swing adjacent to Conan's. "That bad huh?"

"Not really, just tedious. The first time, as in the actual first time, neither of my parents could make it to any of the Parents Day. For obvious reasons really. It would have been a security nightmare for people to know a famous actress and author decided to show up at the elementary school I had been enrolled in." His tuition had been kept as hush-hush, until his debut as a detective that is. When the media caught wind of the up-and-rising star of the police, they flocked towards Teitan High in their masses and camped out by the entrance. The school complained and had to set up designated areas so not to disrupt other students from going to school. "Then the second time, last year I think it was, Ran and Occhan had initially wanted to come. For obvious reasons, Ran could not come seeing as she was also in school, and Occhan? Well, I've learnt not to expect much from him."

"So basically, you're saying you never had much of a childhood to begin with? Neither could you enjoy this second childhood." Absently, Kaito shuffled a deck of cards that miraculously appeared out of nowhere. Conan's motions stopped as he turned his attention to the cards flying between the magician's hands in wide arcs and a flurry of motion. "At least I had it better. Probably because the Nakamoris kind of adopted me so when the keibu came to see Aoko during those times, he was also coming to see me. Then there was my mother who comes and goes as she pleases, but she had come for several of my Parent Day events during elementary school."

"Good for you." Conan had acknowledged earlier on that both of their families were slightly dysfunctional. Flighty parents, second identities, empty house that was always seems too large for habitation, a strange second family, the list goes on.

"So?" With a puff of smoke, the pink slip of paper disappeared from Conan's hands, replacing it with the same deck of cards the Kaito had be shuffling. Kaito was about to actually read the slip but Conan was quick to react and snatched it back from the sticky hands.

"You're being nosy." He made a deliberate motion to stuff the note back into his backpack. "Shouldn't you go home now?"

"Shouldn't you? Little boys shouldn't stay out so late after school. Why, what if some nefarious criminal sneaks up on you and kidnaps you! The horror!" Kaito dramatically placed a hand over his forehead and fell backwards out of the swing in a manner that Conan thought would have the magician banging his head on the ground. Instead, Kaito did a quick backwards roll and stood up on his feet.

"Like you?" Conan leaned on the railings as he watched the magician stretch his long limbs. With the way he was moving, Conan had to wonder if there were any bones in the magician's body.

"Of course not. I'm not nefarious, only mischievous. Different things my little detective." Kaito teased, having caught Conan staring, and grinned widely. Conan avoided eye contact and turned to face the opposite direction. As a show of goodwill, Kaito placed the backpack onto Conan's back before giving a little push. "Come on. I believe we still have time for a trip to the convenience store to grab some ice-cream. We're both long overdue for one."

"You have an unhealthy addiction to all things sweet…"

"Oh? I'm only drawn to things that I find sweet and there's nothing sweeter than spending time with my favourite detective." Kaito teased again, this time drawing in a blush from Conan. "And you're one to talk about addiction, what about your constant worship of a certain caffeinated beverage Mr Coffee-for-blood?"

They each bought their favourite treat, earning strange looks from the cashier by the counter (it was a rather cool day outside, not the type to warrant icy treats), and passed the afternoon outside of the convenience store chatting about inane topics. From films they liked ("I can't believe you like Gomera Movies. You love mysteries! You even have multiple versions of Sherlock Holmes!") to the types of shenanigans they had ("Seriously? You? The straight-laced detective causing havoc in chemistry just to prove some stranger's alibi?") their physical closeness had many passerbys wonder why two very different, age-wise, boys could chat like they were close friends.

It was not until later on in the evening when Conan was packing his bag for the next school day when he found something extra, and something missing, from the bag. A white cardstock fell from between two workbooks with the words:

Not everyone can carry pink.

and a small caricature drawn in bold ink (glittery purple coloured) pen. The caricature lacked the usual hat and monocle but instead had a bed of messy hair and a dove sitting on top. Conan did not know whether to smile and grin or frown and curse. He disliked having someone meddling in his business but at the same time, Kaito managed to do so with his own usual quirky antics that, strangely enough, makes the whole ordeal more comforting.

Taking out his phone, his Shinichi phone not the Conan one, he unlocked it with the 12-digit passcode. Even though Conan appreciated the gesture, it does not mean Conan would just allow the magician to do as he pleased.

-You didn't write a heist note before stealing. I am liable to call in the correct authorities as this is not the MO I'm used to seeing in KID. Must be an imposter.- An equally teasing message written and sent, Conan felt marginally better at being robbed.

-But that's where you're wrong my little detective. I'm just making sure certain things will fall into the correct hands. Surely returning lost property is an act of a model citizen.- The reply came within minutes.

-I'm missing important document here. If anything, the stolen document should be returned to me.- Hiding the phone underneath the pillow, Conan went to prepare for bed. Surely the magician would not respond to texts so diligently.

But it seems Conan's speculations were wrong for the five minute break to the bathroom yielded multiple messages in rapid succession.

-I'm ensuring the document arrives at the correct hands, that is not really wrong of me.-

-Then again, the correct hands are my own hands so...you get the drill.-

-Say, I think I heard from the grapevine that Edogawa Fumiyo appeared before, so? What's she like?-

-Don't tell me, the relationship between Edogawa Conan and Edogawa Fumiyo is like the one you're having with your mother right now. Long distance.-

-You know, it really does say a lot on how your mind works, not being able to lie even within the confines of a pre-set character.-

-Or is it just because critics lack the imagination to conjure stories and images?-

-Hey! Are you ignoring me?!-

-No wait, don't answer that. You're away from the phone right? It is rather late and little boys need sleep~-

-I'm beginning to think you're only pretending to sleep though. No little boys in this day and age sleep so early. They'll be playing with their phones, or reading manga or something.-

-You really should act more your age you know. It's not doing your disguise any good.-

-Unless you're actually a 60y/o man disguising as a high-school student then unfortunately was caught up in a sinister plot and regressed to a 7y/o?-

Conan had to hold back the laughter bubbling in his chest as he typed his reply. -You know, I'm really tempted to not reply to your messages seeing as you're quite capable of having a conversation all on your own. There's really no need for my input.-

-Yay! My detective is back! Huzzah!- The enthusiasm and energy radiating from the text was palpable.

-Have you been eating chocolates? Wait, you won't act like that on chocolate alone. Then coffee AND chocolate? What insane person would feed you those?- Conan has seen the magician on a sugar high, and those were all prank filled. This however, spoke of something else. There was a sense of focus to his energy. With the magician's intelligence, studying for school or homework does not require such high concentration of focus. This leaves only one other explanation.

-No one. I just fixed myself a little drink. After all, I'll need all my energies right now!-

-You're planning a heist? At this time of night?- Conan glanced at the clock, the hands show a couple of minutes past ten in the evening, not exactly late but late enough that those needing to wake up early, like students, would be preparing for bed. Or in some cases, might be cramming in the last minute homework. Though Conan doubted the magician was working on homework. If anything, it would be his extra-curricula activities that he was concentrating on.

-This is the exact time when my brain is most active! And when the most creative thoughts spring to life I'll have you know!- The sense of confidence oozed out of the words.

-I can't believe you.- Conan decided just silencing his phone will not do, so he opted to switch it off altogether. Saves having to recharge his phone the next day. Hopefully, the magician would not deem his lack of reply as an excuse for a visit in-person.

When Parents Day came, Conan was dreading it. His legs felt extremely heavy as he treaded his way towards the school. The Detective Boys chatted beside him, all excited about having their parents visiting them in school. Not even Haibara, the ever stoic scientist, was exempted from this enthusiasm.

"Even you're excited?" Conan asked once out of Ran's earshot. The girl was sadden by the prospect of not being able to participate once more.

"Is it so difficult to comprehend Edogawa-kun? Last year, the professor was incapacitate because of the flu. This year, he said he'll attend."

"And you don't find all this...demeaning somehow? Putting on a show?" Conan stared in disbelief. They may look like young children, but neither of them were actually children in the mind.

"I've never had a chance." She shrugged and understanding dawned on Conan. Before, when she had been Miyano Shiho, she would never have the opportunity for her parents to visit her in school. Her sister would have been busy with whatever deeds The Organisation had required of her to allow her the freedom and time for such a visit. In a sense, this would be her first normal childhood, with a quasi uncle in the form of the Professor and an extended family with the Kudo's and Edogawa's (which makes Conan some form of cousin. This made him shudder, earning a strange look from the girl in question).

"Well, at least Kobayashi-sensei wouldn't be a nervous wreck this time around…" Conan still remembered the last Parent Day, the first time for the young teacher at Beika Elementary.

The lockers were a hive of activity as children's chatters echoed in the room. Most of the younger girls, and many in their year level, were fiddling with their clothes, tying their pigtails and whatnots. Conan could not imagine why they thought they needed to straighten up their appearance so early in the day when the parents would not be arriving until an hour later.

"You're not looking forward to it yourself?" Haibara asked after what seems like an eternity as they walked towards the classroom. The rest of the Detective Boys had already ran ahead, clearly unable to contain the energy.

"I'm dreading it actually." Conan admitted as he bent down to retrieve his shoes.

"You're hoping Edogawa Fumiyo would not be making a sudden appearance then." There was a small smile playing on her face. No doubt recalling the story she heard about the not-kidnap by Conan's supposed mother.

"I'm thinking it would be worst." Settling down in his seat, Conan ignored Haibara's twerk of eyebrow and pulled out a novel. He had changed the cover of the book to show the title of some random children short story collection book but the inside text was filled with kanji that was definitely more advanced than what was being at the moment.

"What could possibly be worst?"

After roll-call, parents began to arrive. Their lessons were changed around slightly to accommodate for Parents Day, where there was now a short break in between roll-call and the start of the lesson. As the parents arrived, they settled at the back of the room. Several of the children waved at their parents, some showing an inclination to run over to their parent but remained seated. The Professor came in and stood at the corner close to the windows. Just before the start of the lesson, a final adult arrive with a huff and an apologetic bow. The chubby face and short-cropped hair, coupled with bright blue eyes, had Conan dawning in recognition. He resisted the urge to bang his head on the wooden table.

"You ok Edogawa-kun?" Haibara asked in a rather uncharacteristically concerned manner.

"Nothing I can do to fix it now. Though why?" He hid his whine. "Why must he come?"

Haibara glanced over at the back where a certain pair of dark blue eyes seems to be trained on them at the moment. It took her a moment to pinpoint the reason for such intensity before she looked at the closeness between herself and Conan. She could not help but smirk at the possibilities.

"I'm taking that you have someone in the audience?" She took care to keep her voice down and paid enough attention to the front of the room to not arouse any suspicion.

"Unfortunately. I should have known better than to tell…"

"You don't seem as upset as you sound though." She pointed out. Conan's looked at her suspiciously. "Well, you're whining and that's out of character already. Not to mention you seemed less tense and paranoid after that last adult came in."

"What do you mean?" He frowned. Sure, he managed to relax a little since the chubby-faced man showed up. But that did not mean he was paranoid.

"Don't kid. You've been tense ever since the first adult came in. I was as well seeing as unsavoury characters could easily slip into the classroom on Parent Day without anyone knowing better." It had been a continual problem for both of them to be so high-strung during the day and whenever they were out in public. A problem that is both useful and draining. On the upside, it allows them to be more observant about their surroundings, alerting them to possible dangers. On the flipside, it played havoc on their nerves and concentration. They were always in a state of constant fear of being exposed and this fear was only alleviated when they were interacting with children. Afterall, it was unlikely The Organisation had child operatives.

"I don't understand you sometimes." Shaking his head, Conan decided to play this off as Haibara just having one of her weird moments and paid more attention to the rather boring worksheet than at the strange stares from the girl.

The class breezed through maths and language, Parent Day usually means the day ends at around lunch and everyone was excited at the prospect of ending school early. However, their final lesson, or the final act of the day in Conan's mind, was music.

"We normally have music later on in the week. But we've decided to swap it around this week. The children will be performing a music piece they have been rehearsing for the past month." Kobayashi announced. It was not unusual for teachers to change the lesson plan around and it seems many of the parents appreciated the gesture. Many took out their phones and set them up to record. Even the Professor took out a handy-cam from his many pockets and began focusing on the front of the classroom. Glancing over at the chubby individual by the door, Conan saw a glint of lens from the phone. But he did not believe that was the only video camera he brought to the inside of the classroom.

The children all gathered to the front, positioning themselves at their designated place. Kobayashi moved away to the side, dragging the lectern with her, to give them more space. Conan, on the other hand, approached the standing piano inside the room. Kobayashi looked slightly nervous even though she was not the one performing. Not that Conan could blame her, seeing as it would have been the first time the others would have him on the piano as accompaniment. It was an accident, a nice sort of accident, that had Conan on the piano rather than making a fool of himself by not being able to sing.

During a rather boring afternoon, where the Detective Boys were catching up on their reading homework in library with Haibara overseeing them, Conan wandered down the silent halls of the school to arrive at one of the lesser used music room. It was kept in a relatively clean condition, some might say it was too clean given only the janitor comes here once a week. Not many of the classes use Music Room 2 as it was said to be haunted (this story started sometime during his first childhood and at the time, Shinichi had confirmed with his eyes that there were no hauntings whatsoever. Though it had been used as a secret place between several teachers for a secluded meeting). Conan walked over to the upright piano to the side and ran his hand over the cover. Not a speck of dust lingered. Carefully, he lifted the covers and tested out the keys, quite surprised to hear that they were still in tune. Not having much else to do to pass the time (unless he felt like returning to the library where he would be confined to reading some boring children books) he decided to play the piano, starting off with a simple piece off the top of his head. At the end of his fifth piece, Conan heard clapping from the doors and he immediately jumped out of his seat. Standing in awe was Kobayashi, who then commented on whether Conan would like to perform during a school assembly. Conan declined of course, but that gave him an idea. He casually mentioned how horrible he was at singing and that he knew of the intended performance during Parent Day (Kobayashi has yet to inform the class but it was rather obvious with the timing and the multiple practices of the same song during music lessons) and planted the suggestion of perhaps he could play the accompaniment instead.

Kobayashi had not made any further indications until two week sago where she actually acquiesced to Conan's suggestions and presented him with the music score for the song. Last week, they were supposed to rehearse together during music lesson but there had been an emergency assembly that cut into their time. One thing led to another and this would be the first time everyone was together. The children looked sceptical but they were all more relieved at not having Conan being part of the vocals. The Detective Boys looked quite proud to see Conan seated at the piano.

Seeing Kobayashi nod, Conan started the intro to the song, keeping an ear out on the children's singing to adjust his tempo. It was rare he was able to perform with people instead of for others, this included his experience as Shinichi. It was thrilling and satisfying in its own way. Though Conan had to resist the urge to do some improvisation at the end as the outro, not wanting to leave the song so bland, but at the same time he was fully aware he should not put too much attention to himself (he was already intriguing enough the moment he sat in front of the piano, he had heard several questioning mutters from the parents at the back). When the round of applause sounded, the children chattered and ran towards their parents, to which Kobayashi announced to be the end of the day. Children lingered with their parents at the back, pointing and showing off the artworks on display. The Detective Boys all pulled their parents to their seats, with the Professor walking calmly behind them. Each adult, with the exception of the Professor, had expressed surprise at Conan being able to play the piano. Haibara's smirk at his embarrassment made Conan groan and he just knew he would be roped into teaching the children at a later time.

"Conan-kun, that was wonderful!" The chubby-faced individual approached their location, the adults immediately made space though both Haibara and the Professor seemed to stiffen. "I haven't seen you for so long!" He reached out for a hug and Conan thought to resist but knew by resisting, there would be retaliation of the humiliating kind. Instead, he suffered through the bone crushing hug. "Why don't you introduce me to you friends now?"

"Yea Conan-kun. Who's this? Is he like Yukiko-oneesan?" Ayumi, ever curious, looked between Conan and the stranger.

Conan paused for a moment, just enough time to devise a persona. "This is Katsuki-nii, my brother." The subsequent grin on the chubby face spoke of approval.

"Nice to meet you all, I'm Edogawa Katsuki." He tipped his head in acknowledgement. "I came back just in time to know about Parent Day. Seems like I'm quite lucky wouldn't you say Conan-kun?"

"Yea…lucky…" Conan did not believe it one bit. "More like stalking I'd say." He added in a soft mutter only Haibara could hear. She turned to give him a questioning gaze, to which he replied "he's not dangerous. Only annoying."

Shrugging, Haibara seems to trust his words, and turned back to the inane chatter the group was having. Katsuki was having a grand time weaving stories about their fictitious childhood, which apparently included a mother who liked to crossdress her children. He even managed to pull up some pictures (Conan had to wonder how he managed to have his hands on those photos. Last he remembered, they were locked up in a drawer inside his room).

The classroom slowly emptied itself and one by one, the Detective Boys said their goodbyes leaving only Haibara, the Professor, Conan and Katsuki standing in the room.

"Well, this is quite entertaining." Haibara commented, laying a rather harsh glare at Katsuki. There was a moment when understanding dawned, as though she finally made the correct connection between the person in front of her and someone else. With that particular realisation, she decided to issue the necessary warning. "Katsuki-nii was it? Know that if you hurt him in any way...well, let's just say I know enough about chemicals to render you to a slobbering mess in the middle of the streets."

"Haibara, what are you talking about?" Confused, Conan looked at Katsuki for explanation for he seemed to know what she was hinting at. Katsuki gave a rather nervous chuckle in response.

"Don't you worry little lady, I'll make sure to take good care of him."

Few more scrutinizing minutes under the intense atmosphere, Haibara finally let go of the tension and tugged at the Professor. "We'll be leaving now. We'll call Ran-san and say you're going to be with family for the rest of the week." She had full confidence that the person in front of him would not bring harm to the small detective

"It's only Tuesday now though." Frowning, Conan was not sure what the girl was trying to do.

"You'll need time for some family bonding seeing as your brother finally came to visit you after such a long time." The look she shared with Katsuki was one that made Conan suspicious. "I'm sure your Katsuki-nii had made the required excuse with the school to have to exempted from school this week."

"You're too observant." He tipped his head in appreciation. "Nothing can escape you."

"Please, don't underestimate me. The only reason none of the others detected it was because the kids were too young and the parents were all fooled by your act. I just happen to be young enough not to fall for your flirtatious comments and close enough to see the signs."

"Many thanks for you help then." He presented her with a yellow rose. "Maybe I shall call on you next time to collaborate?"

"Don't expect me to help you all the time." Haibara left the Professor by the door, who looked more confused that Conan at the exchange of words, and stood before Conan. She rummaged through her bag to produce a small pill case. "I was going to ask you to come over and test these during the weekend. But seeing as you'll be with family, well, I'm sure he has the necessary equipment to take the readings and samples I need." She quickly scribbled a list of things to do and pushed the paper into Katsuki's hands. "Make sure he stays alive. The pills should last 24hrs but this batch, the results I keep having were...well actually quite positive. So prepare for a surprise."

"Does this mean…?" Conan sudden had his hopes raise high.

"Might be. Good thing you have your Katsuki-nii here huh?" She gave a backwards wave and left the pair alone.

"So…" Conan glanced up at the chubby face, "mind if I stayed over?"

"No problem." He ruffled Conan's hair affectionately, "stay for as long as you need."

-END-