Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Pandora, a gem supposedly having the power to grant its possessor immortality. Pandora is said to be a jewel hidden inside a larger jewel that will glow red under the moonlight. According to myth, if Pandora is held under the moonlight at the time of the Volley Comet, which passes close to Earth every 10,000 years, the gem will "cry." Anyone who drinks these tears will then become immortal. All those who fear death seek out this jewel, using any means to have it in their possession, including murder.

There is an organization searching for Pandora, wishing to use its tears to gain immortality for a larger plan. To find it, they enlisted the help of Kaitou Kid, who refused their request adamantly. Seeing him as a threat, the organization discovered Kid’s true identity as Kuroba Toichi. They decided to eliminate Toichi in a deliberate stage accident because he was getting in their way.

Eight years later, Toichi’s son, Kuroba Kaito, took on the mantle of Kaitou Kid with the intention of drawing his father's murderers into the open. It isn't until after several high-profile heists, however, that his father's murderer appears, in pursuit of the Blue Birthday sapphire. The murderer in question is Snake, an agent of the organization. It was then that Kaito vowed to find Pandora first, and destroy it.

APTX 4869, a drug developed that was meant to be an untraceable poison. APTX is an abbreviation of "Apoptoxin", involving the activation of apoptosis: the mechanism by which cells kill themselves. APTX contains ingredients which have other functions as well. It contains a component which activates telomerase: an enzyme which lengthens the caps at the end of DNA whose length limits the number of times a cell can divide.

The Black Organization intended for APTX 4869 to work as a lethal poison. It supposedly can't be detected, indicating it leaves few traces that forensic examination could uncover. However, unbeknownst to its members, APTX has a rare side effect and can in fact de-age victims. This side effect causes everything apart from the nervous system to revert back to a childlike state, but the adult personality and memories remain intact.

High school detective Kudo Shinichi was forced to take this poison with the intention of killing him. However, he was lucky enough to be affected by the rare side effect instead, returning him to the body of a child. This resulted in him taking on the alias Edogawa Conan and hiding in plain sight. He now assists the father of his childhood friend and crush, Mouri Ran, during cases to find the organization responsible for his shrinking.

Little did these two know, their respective searches will lead them down a new unexpected path. A path of mysteries, revelations, and the bonds they make along the way as they proceed forward. This path is filled with trying times that the two must overcome. They must learn from each other and those around them, if they wish to be successful in their respective searches.

Conan dashed up the stairs as fast as his short legs could manage, breathing harder the higher he went. With only the dim glow of the emergency lights showing him the way, he skidded around the bend to reach the next flight. The sound of a door slamming shut reached his ears and he knew that the roof wasn't far off. He rounded the corner once more and a thin thread flashed conspicuously. Conan had a look of panic as he avoided both the feather and slime traps before continuing up the flight of stairs. He eventually made it to the and stood in front of the door that leads to outside. He paused, allowing himself to catch his breath, knowing that KID would be there, waiting for him. He took a deep breath and opened the door, the low cheering from the crowds from far below filled the air.

"You sure took your time, Tantei-kun." KID grinned, never taking his eyes from the jewel he held high in the air.

The jewel in question is the Selene’s Tear, a sapphire that was beautifully cut into the shape of a teardrop. This jewel, found and brought over from Greece, is said to be the crystallization of Selene’s, the Greek goddess of the moon, tears. Selene fell in love with Endymion at first sight, but he was a mortal, and would eventually die naturally. Selene asked Zeus to grant Endymion eternal life, but the price was long sleep. Endymion still maintained a beautiful face and a gratifying smile after he fell asleep. Selene was deeply moved by Endymion's beauty, so she would spy on him in the cave every night.

"You know," Conan mused, holding his chin as he looked at Kid in mock appraisal. "I just ran up 15 flights of stairs and I'm not even half your size.” He gave the thief an unimpressed look and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Considering that, why are you so slow? Your gear can't weigh that much if you can still fly."

“Why, for the chase, of course!” Kid gave an amused chuckle as he turned over the jewel before lowering it. He turned to face Conan, holding the jewel out to the side in the palm of his hand. “After all, I have the most fun with you compared to anyone else.”

“Gee, thanks.” Conan said sarcastically, holding up his left arm and flipping up the crosshairs of his tranquilizer watch. He smirks arrogantly as he prepares to fire a tranquilizer dart at the thief. “Sorry to say, but playtime’s over.”

Still chuckling, the thief quickly pocketed the jewel while watching the boy with a wary eye. If he wasn't careful, he’ll end up with a tranquilizer dart in his neck. The kid was dangerous, especially with all his gadgets expertly hidden as everyday items. Who the hell gives these kinds of things to little kids, anyway?

Conan eyed his surroundings, taking everything in sight into account as well as the direction of the wind. If Conan learned anything, the thief wasn't an easy target if aiming straight ahead, and he had already used the tranquilizer earlier that morning. However, he still had his ball dispensing belt. He whipped up his head and glared at KID, the latter tensing by the fast movement. His smirk grew at the reaction as he calculated the way the soccer ball would travel. They both stood tense, knowing what was coming, and eyed each other, looking for an indication of something threatening, an indication of an opening. It was the Mexican standoff. KID's hand twitched, indicating he would go for his signature card gun.

Conan slowly moved to the calculated position; he had to be able to throw himself to the side at the right angle as soon as KID's gun was out. This time he had prepared a small number of smoke bombs just like the ones KID used. He warily moved his left hand toward his pocket; the thief would never risk shooting blind inside a cloud of smoke. KID's visible eye narrowed at his opponent's movements and quickly grabbed the card gun from his inner pocket. The instant KID moved, so did Conan.

The detective dropped to one knee to power up his shoes and at the same time his left hand shot into his pocket. He grabbed three of the smoke bombs before throwing himself out of the way when Kid fired his card gun. The card embedded itself into the concrete where Conan had just been. As he tumbled, he tossed the smoke bombs in front of himself before rolling into a standing position. Once the smoke bombs went off, Conan inflated the soccer ball from his belt in one fluid motion. He then kicked the ball into the cloud of smoke, knowing that it would only graze KID.

Soon enough, the smoke blew away, revealing KID with that annoying smile on his face. By the look of it, the thief had predicted exactly how he would move. The shrunken detective gave Kid an irritated frown. Pausing just long enough to listen after the soccer ball, KID continued to cheerily shoot cards at the boy, his signature grin still in full force.

Conan ran around to avoid the cards being shot at him, eyeing a small rock to the side. Deciding to go for it, Conan kicked the stone towards the card gun. Kid expertly dodged the rock and moved towards the door. Conan continued to run in a half circle until the thief stood where he wanted him. Then Conan stopped, turned to the thief, shoved his hands into his pockets, and smiled knowingly.

KID hesitated for an instant, and that was all Conan needed. The thief's smile faltered slightly, not that any normal person would have noticed. Conan saw it however, just before the ball impacted the door and then continued to hit KID in the back. The phantom thief went flying a couple of meters before landing on the ground with a groan and Conan smiled victoriously. This round went to him. He threw a glance at the sapphire that had been dropped and snorted before picking it up. While their face-off was fun, this wasn't nearly as satisfactory as he had hoped it would be.

Before anything could be said, Conan’s shoulder jerks back, a sudden sensation of pain engulfing his body. The shrunken detective clutched his shoulder, feeling a warm liquid traveling down his arm. He took unsteady steps back, his vision unfocused and blurry with each step he took.

“Tantei-kun!” Kid shouted, alarmed at seeing the shrunken detective trying to stop his bleeding shoulder.

Meanwhile, not far from the site of the heist, a corporate event was being held to celebrate their CEO’s 58th birthday. Saionji Tech’s CEO, Saionji Kousei, is a brilliant mind who first founded the company 30 years ago. Saionji Tech’s advancements in research and development was quickly recognized and rose to be the top company in developing scientific and medical equipment. Many guests were invited from stakeholders to friends and family.

One such guest was none other than Sawada Tsunayoshi, Decimo of the Vongola family. However, he is known by others as Sawada Tsunayoshi, the heir to the Vongola conglomerate. It still baffles Tsuna’s mind how no one connects the Vongola conglomerate with the Vongola Family, considering they share the same name.

After the Representative Battle of the Rainbow, everything went back to normal in the small city of Namimori. It was one difficult battle after another, but well worth it in the end. The reason being that a solution was finally found to maintain the Tri-ni-sette without the Arcobaleno. Vongola Decimo, Sawada Tsunayoshi, was grateful for this, as it meant Reborn and everyone else were free from their curse. Talbot even found a way to return the Vongola Gear back into the Vongola rings, while maintaining the power of the Vongola Gear and Animal rings.

Reborn reminded Tsuna that he needs to decide whether he will become the Vongola Decimo or not. Tsuna immediately states he doesn't want to become a mafia boss, resulting in Reborn leaving. His departure, however, was short lived when he returned and declared Tsuna Neo Vongola Primo. Realizing that he wasn’t getting out of it, Tsuna finally accepted being Vongola Decimo, albeit reluctantly.

The young mafia boss-in-training soon found himself in his first year of high school, juggling school work and learning to be a proper boss. Reborn made sure to hammer into Tsuna on how to be poised, give off an air of sophistication, and be able to make conversation without making a fool of himself. Due to the spartan training, and Tsuna’s signature ‘Hieee!’, the young Vongola boss-in-training can now walk with confidence around others. However, he could only keep such an act up for so long.

Having accepted his fate, Tsuna wanted to return Vongola to what the first generation envisioned it, a vigilante group that protects the people. Reborn told him that would be a difficult task, but knew his charge was determined. Tsuna didn’t care, if he was going to be a mafia boss, he'd lead it his own way. He started by suggesting charity events for orphanages and hospitals. He even suggested forming business contracts with various people of the corporate world.

Timoteo, the Vongola Nono, was intrigued by this idea and accepted the proposal. However, he decided to leave Tsuna in charge, as it was his idea. With that in mind, Timoteo founded the Vongola conglomerate shortly after Tsuna entered high school. It was an easy task to forge the Vongola conglomerate’s history just by altering the actual history of the Vongola family. In the eyes of the public, it would appear that the Vongola conglomerate was around for generations. And so, Tsuna found himself attending numerous meetings and corporate parties such as this one. Due to this, he had begun to be called Decimo by his business partners.

Other than that, Tsuna also kept up with his dying will training, with the help of Reborn. It wasn’t until Tsuna entered his second year of high school that he could finally enter Hyper Dying Will Mode at will. His grades in school also greatly improved thanks to the combined tutoring of Reborn and Gokudera Hayato, although the latter was difficult to follow.

The reason he’s in attendance is because he was personally invited by Saionji Kousei himself. Saionji Tech was the first corporation that Tsuna landed a business deal with. It was shaky at first, because of his age, but Tsuna managed to enter a friendly relationship with Saionji Kousei. As such, he always received an invitation to an event Saionji Tech was holding. With him were his storm and rain guardians, Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi. When dealing with non-mafia related tasks, Gokudera acts as Tsuna’s secretary while Yamamoto is his bodyguard.

“Juudaime, I've gotten you a drink." Gokudera said respectfully, pleased with himself as he approached Tsuna.

"Ah, thank you Gokudera-kun". Tsuna gave his right hand man a grateful smile as he took the drink.

"By the way, have you heard about the heist that's happening tonight, Decimo-kun?" Saionji Kousei asked, gaining the attention of Tsuna and Gokudera.

"Oh, you mean Kaitou Kid's?" The man next to Kousei inquired. 

"Kaitou KID? I don't believe that I’ve heard of him." Tsuna replied formally, hiding his confusion at the unbelieving gasps coming from those around him.

"You've never heard of Kaitou KID?" Kousei asked, a look of bafflement clear on his face.

Tsuna looks backwards, over his shoulder towards Gokudera. Gokudera simply touches his Storm Guardian ring and flicks his wrist in a gesture of no. No one that’s related to the Vongola nor the Mafia. If that were the case, it’s understandable Tsuna’s never heard of the thief. From the reactions of everyone around him, he assumes that Kid is pretty famous. If Kid wasn’t part of the mafia, then why is his Hyper Intuition flaring up at the mention of the thief?

“His heists are always entertaining.” A woman beside Tsuna said, bringing his focus back to the present. “Especially his game of cat and mouse with the Kid Killer.”

“Kid Killer?” Tsuna repeated, feeling disturbed by the apparent nickname this person has.

“The nickname of an elementary school boy.” Kousei elaborated, chuckling at the look of surprise on both Tsuna and Gokudera’s faces. “He manages to corner Kid every heist he attends.” He took a sip of his drink before swirling it around. “In fact, there are rumors that his deduction skills rivals Kudo Shinichi, a high school detective.”

“Speaking of rumors.” The woman said, looking up thoughtfully before looking back. “I heard that Kudo suddenly vanished from the public eye a couple months ago.”

“I heard of that too.” The man nodded in agreement, looking around their small group before gesturing to them to come closer. When they did, he looked around once again before speaking softly. “I have a friend in the police force, and he said that when Kudo solves a case nowadays, he asks to be left out of the news.”

“That’s peculiar.” Kousei muttered, frowning as he processed the information that was just told. “From what I remember, Kudo seemed the type that adores the attention.”

There it went again, Tsuna’s Hyper Intuition was flaring up. This time, it was at the mention of the high school detective. Ever since he first experienced it, Tsuna made it a point to listen when his intuition is trying to tell him something. Whatever it was trying to tell him now, it involved Kid and Kudo Shinichi. Casting a side glance to Gokudera, he saw his storm guardian nodding and pulling out his phone. He excused himself before walking away with the phone against his ear.

Tsuna suddenly had a sense of foreboding and quickly looked out the window. He immediately saw the shadow of a small boy staggering on the roof of a nearby building. Noticing how close the boy was close to the edge, Tsuna quickly and politely excused himself, saying an urgent matter had come up. He left the party room and ran down the hall where he saw Gokudera still on the phone.

“Gokudera-kun!” Tsuna called out, dropping his professional act and catching Gokudera’s attention. He ran past his storm guardian and continued down the hall. “Find Yamamoto and meet me outside!”

“Matte, Juudaime!” Gokudera called out, confused as to why his boss was in such a hurry all of a sudden. “Did something happen?!”

“I’ll explain later!” Tsuna shouted over his shoulder before rounding a corner. “Just find Yamamoto as soon as you can!”

“H-hai.” Gokudera said, looking lost as to what happened while he was away.

“Natsu.” Tsuna whispered, entering the stairwell before sky flames ignited on his forehead. His eyes became a bright orange color as he slipped on his X-gloves.

His Vongola ring released pure sky flames and his gloves changed into X-Gloves ver. Vongola Gear. Natsu, Tsuna’s exclusive Vongola Box Weapon appeared on his shoulder. Sensing what Tsuna wanted, Natsu initiated his Cambio Forma, Modo Difesa. Now donning Mantello di Vongola Primo, Tsuna flies up to the roof. Once he reached the roof, Tsuna could see Kid had jumped off his roof after the falling boy. He reached out a hand before looping it around the boy and pulling him close to himself. He quickly engaged his cape glider and veered upward. His calm eyes widened at the sound of a gunshot and Kid suddenly clutching his side. Without a moment to lose, Tsuna flew towards the falling duo.

Watching Conan falling off the edge of the roof, Kid quickly jumped after the shrunken detective. He reached out a hand before looping it around Conan and pulling the shrunken detective close to himself. He quickly engaged his cape glider and veered upward, drawing a painful cry from the shrunken detective. He was amazed that Conan was still gripping the jewel despite the pain he was experiencing.

“Hang on, Tantei-kun.” Kid eyed the shrunken detective with worry as he gently pried the jewel from Conan’s hand. “We’ll get you some help.”

“I knew it.” Conan said, panting heavily as he watched the thief pocketed the jewel in his suit jacket. He clutched his shoulder to hopefully stop the bleeding. “So you were trying to lure someone out.”

“What makes you think that?” Kid questioned, his eyes looking around for a nearby hospital or clinic so Conan could be treated.

“Why else would you pull such flashy heists?” Conan’s eyelid felt heavy with each passing second and his vision was getting blurry. “You also return what you steal, which is odd for a phantom thief.” It was starting to become difficult to speak as his consciousness was slowly slipping away. “Which means you’re looking for something specific, and you… don’t… want…”

“Tantei-kun?” Kid halted his search to look down at the small detective, only to see he was unconscious. He started to panic when he noticed how pale the boy looked and gentle shook him. “Tantei-kun, hang in there!”

Kid heard the faint sound of a gunshot before something pierced through him. A sharp cry slipped out as he clutched his side. Looking down, the thief saw that his white suit and glove were stained red with his blood. Looking up, he also saw that a part of his glider’s frame was now broken. Cursing Lady Luck for abandoning him now of all times, Kid held on to Conan tightly as they plummeted to the ground.

His descent suddenly stopped and now felt as if he was in somebody’s arms. His vision was blurry, but he could make out calm yet piercing orange eyes. The person also appeared to have an orange flame flickering on his forehead. Not able to withstand the pain any more, Kid’s eyes slowly closed as he lost consciousness.

Tsuna looked down at the thief and boy in his arms before looking around for who shot them. His intuition didn’t sense any hostility, indicating the assailant is now gone. Hearing the screeching of tires, he looked down to see a black car pulling up. He immediately falls to the ground, the flames from his glove controlling their landing, but not harming the boys in Tsuna's arms.

Gokudera exited the car before opening the passenger door, allowing Tsuna to gently set the thief and shrunken detective beside Yamamoto. Putting on a pair of latex gloves, Gokudera takes the tweezers from Yamamoto and proceeds to remove the bullet from the boy. Putting the bullet in a plastic bag, Gokudera proceeded to do the same to Kid. It's a good thing both boys were unconscious, otherwise removing the bullets would have been harder with them squirming around.

With the bullets removed, Tsuna and Gokudera entered the car, the storm guardian taking the front while Tsuna took the back. The flame on Tsuna’s forehead fizzled out as his Mantello di Vongola Primo reverted back to Natsu. The young lion settled himself on Tsuna’s lap and let out a yawn. Yamamoto held onto the boy as he bandaged his injured shoulder. Making sure it was tight enough to stop the bleeding, he moved on to Kid.

“Where to, Decimo?” The driver asked, looking over his shoulder and awaiting Tsuna’s instructions.

Tsuna remained silent for a moment, contemplating what to do now. He could take them to the hospital, but his intuition rejected that plan. He didn’t know why his Hyper Intuition has been acting up lately, but Tsuna knew one thing. His intuition would only flare up this insistently if it was for the good of the family. There must be something coming, something that would endanger the Vongola family and these two are needed.

“Namimori.” Tsuna finally said, catching his two guardians by surprise. “We’re going home.”

Chapter Text

The car ride to Namimori was quiet as they awaited the surrounding traffic to die down. The only sound that could be heard was Gokudera who was in the middle of a phone call. From what Tsuna could hear, he was calling someone in Namimori to have a med team ready. Most likely either Dr. Shamal or Hibari judging by the angry tone in the storm guardian's voice as the call dragged on. Takeshi simply laughed as he tried to calm down the raging storm guardian. The young boss glanced over at the thief and boy beside him, hoping they aren't too late to get them medical help. If he was being honest, Tsuna wanted to puke as the car was filled with the metallic scent of blood. Both looked really pale from blood loss and their bandages completely soaked red. They'll most likely need a blood transfusion, which is a problem since they didn't know their blood types. At least the bleeding stopped for the most part, which was a small relief to know that they won't bleed out for now.

Pulling out his phone, Tsuna decided to look up any information on the two that he could find. From what he could find on Kid, he first appeared in Paris 18 years ago and started stealing jewels from then on. Kid mysteriously disappeared 8 years ago and recently reappeared. What Tsuna found off is that Kid's attitude and methods before and after his disappearance was much different. Not only that, but the current Kid looked much younger than he did 18 years ago, roughly around Tsuna's age if he had to guess. Which meant that there are three possibilities that could explain these inconsistencies in Kid's behavior and appearance.

'Is it someone posing as Kid?' Tsuna's Hyper Intuition was quiet, not even making itself known, which meant that couldn't be right. 'Maybe he somehow de-aged?' Considering what the young boss experienced, it wouldn't surprise him in the least if that was the right answer. Again, his intuition remained silent to the second possibility. 'Then is this Kid the previous one's successor?'

Tsuna felt his intuition flare up almost immediately, so much so it gave him a minor headache. He got looks of concern from his guardians, but he just smiled, reassuring them that he was fine. Now that he had confirmation, Tsuna couldn't help but wonder what happened to the first Kid. Deciding to dwell on it later, Tsuna then looked up the Kid Killer. He found that the boy's actual name was Edogawa Conan, an elementary school student. The boy seems to have made several appearances alongside Sleeping Koguro, a detective who was on the rise lately. He didn't know why, but his Hyper Intuition was telling Tsuna there was something more about the boy and the thief. Tsuna then sent a text to Reborn, detailing him of what happened and asking him to gather as much information he could on Edogawa Conan and Kaitou Kid.

"Gokudera-kun." The storm guardian looked back at his boss to see he had his eyes on their unconscious passengers while he ran his hand along a sleeping Natsu's back. "When we get back to Namimori, gather the rest of the guardians at Namimori Shrine."

"Hai." Gokudera nodded, looking at Tsuna curiously when he heard his tone of voice. It was Tsuna's "boss voice", a tone he usually saves for corporate parties or serious situations. "Can I ask why?"

"Something feels off about all this, but I can't put my finger on it." Tsuna ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to wrack his brain to make sense of everything. "I feel like something big is going to happen soon, and these two are involved." He then looked out the window to watch the passing buildings before sighing. "Whatever it is, I just hope we're prepared for it."

"Haha, it must be serious if it's got you this worried, Tsuna." Yamamoto said, giving his signature grin as he patted his friend's back in reassurance. "Relax, I'm it'll all work out in the end!"

"You baseball idiot!" Gokudera shouted angrily, raising a fist as he tried to move to the back, but was restrained my his seatbelt. "Juudaime is really bothered by all this, how can you tell him to relax?!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his signature dynamite and prepared to light them. "I'll blow you to bits!"

"Hiie! Gokudera-kun, please calm down!" Tsuna panicked, reaching over to push his storm guardian back in his seat and trying to put the dynamite away.

The driver could nothing more than sweatdrop as he kept his eyes on the road. This was an everyday thing apparently, the storm guardian attempting to blow someone up, the boss trying to stop him, and the rain guardian laughing like it was some sort of game. It was a rather comedic sight, but not when you're in a confined space with explosives literally inches away from you.

Meanwhile, back at the site of the heist, Nakamori Ginzo and the entire Kid taskforce were hard at work investigating. After being fooled by yet another of Kid's dummy gliders, they rushed back to hopefully catch the real Kid. When they did, though, they were not expecting to hear gunshots, nor were they expecting a kid to plummet off the roof. Luckily, Kid was able to catch the boy and glide away to get him some help, until another gunshot was heard. The crowd and taskforce could do nothing but watch the phantom thief and child plummet to their death. Before anyone knew what happened, there was a bright flash of orange light before Kid and the boy vanished without a trace. Everyone present was baffled, wondering if this was part of Kid's act all along. But when the phantom thief made no appearance, everyone started fearing the worse.

It didn't help matters when a woman in the crowd screamed and pointed at the ground. What she was pointing at was tiny splatters of freshly spilled blood, trailing in the direction Kid flew. This was enough to have the crowd panic and forced the Kid taskforce to try and calm them. Once that was taken care of, Ginzo ordered a full sweep of the area until the forensics team arrived. Since this was outside their jurisdiction, it was all they can do for the time being. The inspector didn't know what was going on, but he was sure of one thing, someone tried to kill Kid and Conan was caught in the crossfire. This made the man furious, while he might hate Kid and declared to one day lock him away, the one thing Ginzo respected about the thief is his "no one gets hurt" policy. Now it begs the question, who would want to kill Kid?

"Just what have you gotten yourself into, Kid?" Ginzo muttered, leaning against a police car with his arms crossed as he processed what happened. "Who did you piss off so badly they want you dead?"

"Nakamori-keibu." Ginzo turned his head to see an officer approaching him with a girl that shockingly looks like his daughter, Aoko. "This girl says she the kid's guardian."

"Mouri Ran." Ran politely bowed to the inspector before clasping her hands together with a worried look on her face. "Please tell me, did you find Conan-kun?"

"We haven't, unfortunately." Ginzo shook his head, getting over his shock over the girl's similarity to his daughter. He looked at the rest of the officers still searching the area before returning his attention to Ran. "We're still in the middle of investigating, but we'll contact you if we find anything."

The young girl simply nodded, saying that she understood how things go in an investigation. When questioned, Ran explained about her father being a detective and experiencing more than her fair share of cases. She also mentioned being close friends with a high school detective name Kudo Shinichi. Ginzo remembered meeting the young detective shortly after the clocktower heist, where it was revealed that Futoshi Takarada tried to sell the gems in the arms of the clock and replacing them with imitations. If he thought the similarity between Ran and Aoko was shocking, Ginzo was floored when Shinichi got off the helicopter. Aside from the style of their hair, the young detective looked identical to his next door neighbor, Kuroba Kaito. At first, the inspector thought it was another one of Kaito's pranks, but was proven wrong when Megure Juzo confirmed his identity.

"Keibu!" Ginzo turned to see another officer running towards him before pointing in the direction we came. "We believe we found the shooter!"

"Good work, bring them to the station for questioning." Ginzo nodded to the officer, frowning when he noticed the officer avoiding eye contact with an uncertain look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"About that..." The officer said, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to think of how to explain. He the stood at attention in preparation for what was sure to follow knowing his superior. "When we tried to apprehend him, he committed suicide via slitting his own throat."

"WHAT?!"

Within the classroom of Ekoda High School Class 2-B, Kaito grinned as he sat at his desk, reading the newspaper. Specifically, articles that pertained to his alter ego, Kaitou Kid. He had just delivered his recent advanced notices and it was already on the front page. On the page was a picture of the jewel he intended to steal, the Selene’s Tear. His grin grew when he saw that the owner of Selene’s Tear declared he wouldn’t get it, as the traps he set up are supposedly impossible to pass. Oh, how overconfident the owner is, doesn’t he know that no jewel is out of Kaitou Kid’s reach?

All of a sudden, the classroom door slid open with a slam, startling the students inside. The person responsible for the noise was none other than Nakamori Aoko, daughter of Nakamori Ginzo and Kaito's childhood friend. If looks could kill, then the whole class would be dead right about now. Aoko looked around before her annoyed eyes met Kaito's before running towards him. She snatched the newspaper from his hands to read the article he was reading.  With every sentence she read, the tighter Aoko grip on the newspaper got.

"Ugh, I can't believe that Kaitou Kid!" Aoko slammed the newspaper on Kaito's desk in rage. "It hasn't even been that long since he tried to steal the Lady Sky!"  She held up a clenched fist with a fire of determination in her eyes. "Just you wait, Kid, my dad will definitely capture you this time!"

"Come on, Aoko." Kaito smiled cheerfully, leaning back in his chair with his hand behind his head. "Kid's not all that bad."

"Not all that bad?!" Aoko slammed her hands on Kaito's desk as she looked at her childhood friend as if he went off the deep end. "He's a thief, Kaito!"

"A thief that returns what he stole!" Kaito's smile turned into a full on grin as he watched his childhood friends beginning to fume. "Weren't there a few occasions he helped catch a murderer or two?"

"That doesn't change the fact he's a criminal!" Aoko crossed her arms with a huff and turned her head away from Kaito. "And criminals deserve to be behind bars, and my dad's gonna make sure of it!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Nakamori-san." Kaito and Aoko looked in the direction of the haughty voice to see Koizumi Akako approaching them. She had a cryptic smile on her face as all the other boys fawned over her beauty. "Kid can be a crafty one when cornered." She sent a subtle, yet meaningful side glance towards Kaito. "On the other hand, he might be in over his head this time."

'What's that suppose to mean?' Kaito frowned at the witch's comment, wondering what she could be plotting this time. Whenever she involves herself, trouble is sure to follow, as he's learned quite painfully in the past.

"You can't be serious, Akako-chan!" Aoko pouted, looking between Akako and Kaito like she was the only sane person present. "I seriously don't why you and Bakaito support Kid so much!"

Kaito watched on as the two banter on about his alter ego, but kept a close eye on Akako. He didn't know what she wanted, but he sure wasn't going to let his guard down. He still remembered the day he learned that magic was real and how she used it to torment him. All because he didn't accept her chocolate because he thought she was arrogant, talk about petty. Since then, Kaito's been wary of Akako whenever she approaches him. Although, there were times when she tries to warn him about particularly dangerous heists. Because of that, Kaito can't get a clear read on the girl of whether she could be an ally or not.

Akako appeared to have won her banter against Aoko, seeing as how the latter moved to her desk. She then placed a hand on Kaito's desk and leaned conspiracy closer. "Take care on your next heist, Kid."

"Like I told you before, I'm not Kid." Kaito muttered, leaning away from the witch as he gave her a wary side glance. "What are you playing at?"

"Just thought I'd give you a little warning." Akako continued to smile, knowing his denial was more to preserve his identity than anything else. "Lucufer told me of a great danger befalling you and a man of light." She then raised a finger and pointed at Kaito. "However, this danger will also lead you both down a new path." She leaned back and removed her hand from his desk. "A path that might intertwine a fate that was once severed." She then flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned her back to Kaito before walking away. "It's your choice to heed it or not, just know that you've been warned."

Kaito watched her suspiciously as he processed what the witch had just told him. She was definitely in her helpful mood, seeing how she was warning him. That didn't ease his wariness in the least, however, as he doesn't trust her. Any other day, she wouldn't have done that and instead try to control him, or kill him on occasion. She was definitely scheming something with that warning, he just doesn't know what. What Kaito does know that if she warns him of great danger, then it's sure to happen. But then again, his life is always in danger with his secret night job. He's always careful when performing a heist, and Lady Luck loves him, she wouldn't abandon him any time soon.

Before he knew it, Kaito found himself in in a world of total darkness in which he couldn't see a thing. He tried to move around to find a light source, but his arms and legs wouldn't move. In fact, his arms felt like they were tied tightly behind his back and his legs bound together. He tried to wiggle his way, only to find he was also bound into a sitting position. He could hear the sound of slow footsteps approaching from the darkness, which put him on edge. Kaito's body felt tense when a slight click resounded in the darkness. He jumped at the sound of a gunshot and low thud of something hitting the ground soon after. This was repeated four more times before the sounds ceased and the footsteps approached him once again.

"Your luck's run out, Kid." Kaito's face grew pale as the blood drained from it at the familiar voice. Standing in front of him was Snake, the murderer of his father, smirking victoriously over him. "You've caused me a lot of trouble, but now you'll pay the price."

Kaito could hear the faint sound of sobbing coming from right in front of him. Snake stepped back from Kaito into the darkness before hearing the snapping of fingers. One by one, spotlights came to life and Kaito's dread grew with each one. For under each light were his mother, Ginzo, Jii-chan, Conan, and Hakuba, all laying in pools of their own blood. Their eyes were wide open, completely blank and without light with faces filled with fear.  A final spotlight lit up, illuminating where the sound of sobbing was coming from, and this one was the worst of all.

"Aoko." Kaito's voice was shaky upon seeing the crying face of his childhood friend, bound to a chair. He tried desperately to free himself, to go and save her, but he couldn't as Snake stood beside Aoko. "Snake, leave her alone!" Snake ignored him as he pull out a gun and held it at gunpoint towards Aoko. "It's me you want, she's got nothing to do with this!"

"Kaito..." Kaito's eyes snapped towards Aoko, seeing her raise her head to look at him with tears running down her face and pleading eyes. "Help me."

"Snake, please don't do this!" Kaito pleaded, doubling his efforts to free himself as Snake turned off the safety on his gun before slowly pulling the trigger. "DON'T DO IT!!!"

Kaito ceased his struggles when a gunshot resounded, and Aoko collapsed to the ground. Kaito's eyes were impossible wide as he watched Aoko's spilled out of the gunshot wound on her head. Her wide dead eyes simply stared at him, making his horror filled face reflect off of them. The last of Aoko's tears mixed with her slowly pooling blood as Kaito suddenly found it difficult to breath.

"Aoko!" Kaito screamed, bolting into an upright position with a look of horror on his face.

His eyes closed shut, hissing in pain as he wrapped his arms around his sides. He was breathing heavily with a cold sweat as the pain slowly ebbed away before slowly opening his eyes. He inspected his body to see he was sitting on a bed wearing a green pajama top with matching pants. He lifted the top to see that his wound were treated and bandaged. He cringed when he saw a red patch forming on the bandages, meaning his wound reopened. Kaito paid it no mind as he looked around to see the was in some kind of unfamiliar room. It may be unfamiliar, but Kaito can tell that it's the room of a teenage boy, if the desk, manga, and game consoles were any indication.

Kaito's eyes widened in panic as he reached a hand up to touch his face. he didn't feel his monocle over his right eye, and his top hat was missing too. On top of that, he wasn't wearing a mask, which meant his real face was visible now. This wasn't good, that means whoever brought him here knows his identity. He needed to find Conan and get out as quickly as possible before anyone comes to check on him. However, just as he tossed the covers off himself, the door opened as Sawada Nana walked in.

"Oh, you're awake!" She smiled when she saw Kaito and approached him. She sat on the side of the bed and lifted up the confused teen's top to inspect the bandages. "Oh dear, looks like your wound reopened."

"Um..." Kaito watched in confusion as the woman reached under the bed and pulled out a first-aid kit before opening it.

"You've been unconscious for three days now." Nana explained, causing Kaito's eyes to widen in surprise. "You're quite lucky Tsuna found you when he did." she pulled out a roll of fresh bandages and antiseptic before undoing the ones on Kaito. "When he brought you here, I was shocked at the condition you were in." She set the dirty bandages aside and inspected the wound before gently applying the antiseptic, making Kaito hiss when it stung. "He told me you were a classmate of his and that you and your brother were shot." She sighed, a hand against her cheek as she reminiscence. "Reminds me of how often he and his friends get injured for some reason." 

Kaito raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name, but remained silent as Nana rebandaged him. He didn't sense any ill intentions coming from her, and she didn't seem like a bad person. From what he could tell, this Tsuna saved his life and brought him somewhere safe. Furthermore, he seems to be covering the fact that he was Kid for the moment, but who was his brother? Was she referring to Conan and mistaken him for his brother? Probably another cover story this Tsuna guy came up with, which made sense since the two can pass as siblings. Which meant he was either someone to be trusted, or someone who has an ulterior motive for helping him. For now, he'll have to play it by ear until he finds an opportunity to escape.

"So it was Tsuna who helped me!" Kaito laughed, easily slipping on his poker face as he faked an air of familiarity with his supposed savior. His body, however, protested the laugh as he was now cringing in pain. "Owowowowow, bad idea to laugh."

"I'm home!" Kaito and Nana looked at the door to see Tsuna walking into view at the doorway as he undid the tie of his uniform. "Kaa-san, how's-" His eyes widened when he saw Kaito before running towards him. "Kuroba-kun, you're awake!"

'He knows my name?!' Kaito didn't show it, but he was beyond shocked that the teen in front of him knew his name.

"He just woke up, Tsu-kun." Nana explained, closing the first-aid kit before standing up. "Well, I'll go check on his brother, now." She smiled at Tsuna before handing him a packet of tablets. "Be sure he takes these before he gets more rest."

"Hai." Tsuna nodded, walking his mother to the door before closing it. He pressed his ear against the door and listened for Nana's footsteps. Once he heard her going down the stairs, Tsuna stepped away from the door and turned to face Kaito with a sheepish smile. "I imagine you have some questions."

"Well, considering the last thing I remember is falling," Kaito crossed his arms and closed his eyes in faux thoughtfulness before looking at Tsuna with a cheerful smile. "Saying I have "some" questions is putting it lightly!" He frowned, eyes narrowed as he watched Tsuna's every move. "Who are you, and how did find out my name?"

"His name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, Vongola tenth generation boss." Kaito whipped his head behind him to see a baby wearing a black suit and fedora holding a green chameleon standing on the windowsill. "Ciaossu!"

"Reborn!" Tsuna exclaimed, setting his school bag on his desk before frowning at the former arcobaleno. "I told you not to do that, what if you startled him so much his wounds reopen again?!"

“Oi, Dame-Tsuna.” Reborn smirked, lowering his head so his fedora shadowed over his big beady eyes. “It seems accepting being Vongola Decimo made you get carried away.”

“Hiie!” Tsuna backed away from the infant, scared of what he might do to him. He waved his hands frantically with a look of panic on his face. “I wasn’t getting carried away!”

“I’ll let it slide this time.” Reborn said, causing the brunet to sigh in relief as he hopped onto Tsuna’s bed. He looked up at Kaito who sweatdropped at seeing a teenager being scared of a baby. "Kuroba Kaito, only son of Kuroba Toichi and Kuroba Chikage." Reborn smirked when he saw a barely concealed twitch of Kaito's eyebrow. "Also, second generation Kaitou Kid, taking over what your father started."

"You investigated me?" Kaito questioned, raising an eyebrow with a look of unconcern to hide the inner panic he was feeling. Instead, he gave a cheeky grin before waving a finger in a tsk tsk manner. "And how would a baby know how to do that?"

"I'm not just any baby." The chameleon in Reborns hand changed into a gun and he pointed the barrel towards a surprised Kaito. "I'm the world's strongest hitman."

"Matte, Reborn!" Tsuna frantically shouted, moving to lower the gun, but flinched when the glint in Reborn eyes were directed at him. "I thought we were just gonna talk!"

"We are." Reborn lowered the gun before it changed back into the chameleon. "Just thought I'd make my point."

"Cute trick." Kaito grinned, not showing any fear before shaking his head and smiled cheekily at Tsuna. "But don't you think toys like those aren't for babies?"

"Trust me, that isn't a toy." Tsuna deadpanned, looking at Leon with mixed feelings, mostly trauma from being shot with Dying Will Bullets numerous times. He shook the memories away before making a serious face towards Kaito. "I actually wanted to talk about your situation, yours and Edogawa-kun's." When he saw Kaito tensed, Tsuna gave a reassuring smile and showed him his Vongola ring, much to Kaito's confusion. "Rest assured, I'm not affiliated to the one who shot the two of you, I'm part of Vongola."

If Kaito was surprised, he didn't show it as he watched the young Vongola boss. From what he witnessed thus far, the two in front of him bear no ill intent. If they did, they wouldn't have treated his and Conan's injuries. That, and Tsuna looked too innocent to be part of any kind of criminal activity. There was an air around him that Kaito couldn't explain, like he would envelop and accept all. Kaito's heard of Vongola before, but he couldn't quite remember. He knows they're a conglomerate with a substantial amount of influence in almost every industry in the world. But he feels as if he's heard of Vongola differently, like there was a missing piece to put the whole puzzle together.

Kaito's eyes widened when he finally remembered where he heard of Vongola before. It was the name of the most powerful mafia family in the world. He read about them in his father's list of potential gemstones to hold Pandora. There was even a journal entry about his father becoming friends with the head of the family. There was also an entry about the head of the family being identified by special rings only worn by them and their guardians, whatever that means. There was even a picture of what the rings looked like. As a matter of fact, Tsuna was wearing one of the rings, the most elaborately designed one, meaning he's next in line to take over the family. If Tsuna is affiliated with Vongola, then that means he could be a potential ally or enemy in his search for Pandora.

"We don't want to be your enemies." Kaito jumped when he heard Reborn speak and looked at the baby in barely concealed shock. "It's the opposite, in fact."

'Did he just read my mind? ' Kaito watched as Reborn gave an amused smirk and lowered his fedora.

"I actually wanted to offer you both my help." Tsuna explained, ignoring how Reborn's amused smirk turned into a proud one. "That is, if you're willing to listen."

"And what kind of help are we talking about?" The people in the room looked towards the door to see Conan standing there with a look of suspicion. "You don't honestly expect me to trust someone affiliated with the mafia, do you?"