Drawbacks of a mind that remembers

A Trace still Warm

"Son, take care of your brother. Don't let him get hurt."

"Yes, father. And I promise you that I'll guard him well."

"Do you have anything to say?" The man turned to look behind him. He turned around to look at the man dressed like a noble. His raven hair was cut in a messy fashion that made all the ladies swoon.

"Nope. And I'll be sure to protect my brother as well!"

Sapphire blue eyes flickered open, blinking wearily at its surroundings. The boy sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes groggy.

"What the hell was that?" He murmured. This was a peaceful dream compared to the one from the day before and two days before–actually, it was a nicer dream compared to all the dreams he had after visiting his cousin. Suddenly, a knock on the door startled him awake.

"Yes?"

"Conan-kun? You're up! It's almost time to meet the rest at the park." Ran informed with her signature grin. The boy could feel his heart race as he stared at her.

"Thank you Ran-nee-chan!" He greeted and promptly left his futon. It has been a while since he visited Tsuna, and he honestly did not like to remember what happened. He knows that the brunet had been calling to check up on him, but his parents were doing a fine job of stopping him from coming down-though he had an inkling feeling the boy will keep pressing on, just with a different method.

"Conan-kun! Faster!"

"O-kay!"

Reborn observed from the opposite block, humming silently to himself while wondering why he was spying on a primary schoolboy.

Right, his connection to Kudo Shinichi.

"Leon, you saw him blushing at the girl right? Do you reckon she's his crush? But if our speculation is correct, then that girl is actually his childhood love interest, right? This entire thing is so complicated."

Reborn watched a bit more, then decided to pack up. His notebook was now filled with notes that he had collected over the week, tracing the last trails that Kudo Shinichi left behind. The warmest was the one in Kyoto, and the other clues were too cold to touch.  

Even then, the one in Kyoto was from last year, and it was only found after hours of looking at archived news. It was simply a second when he turned around before his companion dived in front of the camera to hide him. 

"Time to give my 'report' to Primo," the Hitman muttered, giving one last sweeping glance across his vicinity, before exiting the roof. He shuddered slightly, feeling a certain observing gaze on him. 

Conan sighed a sigh of relief when the piercing gaze is gone. 

– Timeskip –

Tsuna stared at his open window, waiting for a certain hitman to arrive. It has been a week since he stopped contacting the Kudo's and had Reborn research about his missing cousin. Since his cousin and his family was unwilling to tell him anything, and he was really worried about him, and even though he knows that spying is not good, he got Reborn to help him.

Reborn would always 'wield' results. He was not the most sought after hitman for nothing. Tsuna's intuition suddenly struck.

"Ah, he's at the door now," he noted as he got up slowly. Right in the next second, as if to prove his point, the doorbell rang. Nana reached the door first, and Reborn's steady footsteps made their way through the door. 

"Good afternoon, Reborn," Tsuna greeted. 

The hitman merely nodded his head in greeting (though he did greet Nana with a smile). 

"Mum, we'll be in my room!"

"Okay! I'll bring some snacks up in a bit!"

"Thank you!" He turned to Reborn, still smiling. "I suppose we have work cut out for us?"

"You've entrusted a complex problem to me, and I suppose it will take at least a few minutes for me to explain what is going on."

Once the two reached the brunet's room, Reborn launched into a full detailed report on whatever he found, including the sighting of Kudo Shinichi in Kyoto before falling completely out of public view for the next year. There was a scandal a little after the sighting, and then someone called 'Hattori Heiji' told the reporters that it was actually a look-a-like or a literal clone of Kudo Shinichi that was there. 

At first glance, that might be true, but Reborn had noticed the subtle differences in the facial structures between Okita and Kudo. 

"I went to check out the people around Kudo Shinichi. Then I found out about Mouri Ran, Kudo Shinichi's childhood friend. Apparently, they are love interests, according to some students from Teitan High, the school your cousin was attending before he disappeared."

Tsuna lifted an eyebrow, his intuition nagging that Reborn was about to say something of importance. "What about her?"

"She took in this boy named 'Edogawa Conan'. His moniker is the 'KID killer,' and was often invited to said thief's heist whenever one was held in Beika. Here's a picture of him." Reborn gently nudged Leon to morph into a display device, and slides it over, showing Tsuna a picture of the boy.

Tsuna stared at the picture in surprise. It was a spitting image of his cousin when he was younger. 

"He looks just like him!"

"The boy appeared soon after his last appearance in the news. He registered into Teitan Elementary about two years ago, a little before Kudo Shinichi was announced to have taken a break. A little too coincidental, if you ask me."

Tsuna narrowed his eyes.

"Are you saying that this boy might just be Kudo Shinichi?"

Reborn was quiet, but his answer was obvious. How on earth did he shrink? Was he experimented on? He shook his head, thinking that this was impossible. Yet, his intuition was ringing so loudly like they have struck gold. He felt an incoming headache. 

"Humans don't just shrink! They shrink a little in height when they become old, but not into a seven-year-old?! That's against science!"

Reborn shot him a sceptical look, his eyes read 'Are you a retard?'

"I think we've gone through his conversation before already, don't you think? Besides, it's not that impossible, isn't it?" 'I was once an adult that was shrunk into a baby' He mentally added, and Tsuna recognised it immediately. He bit his bottom lip and thought for a moment. There was no denying that something must have happened to Shinichi, just like what happened to the Arcobalenos.

His eyes flashed amber for a second before he asked. 

"Do you know his address?"