Drawbacks of a mind that remembers

Found a way

After Conan told the police about not catching Kaitou KID in time, Inspector Nakamori barked orders, screaming at all his personnel to quickly catch the thief. Conan sighed, knowing that they would be chasing a dummy instead of the real culprit as he was being aimed at on the roof. Besides, the gem (according to the thief, it is called Pandora) was not the one he was looking for. 

After the lobby of the building was cleared out, Conan heard the sound of footsteps heading in his direction. They were slow and steady, their heels clicked against the marble floor, resounding through the room. It did not take much to know who was approaching him, but he turned around and looked at the thief in the eyes–

But it was not the thief. His cousin stood there, with eyes molten amber, unlike his usual caramel brown eyes. It was just like that day when he started to shrink in his house. His eyes were a shocking orange colour and his hands–

They were glowing! They were emitting heat! That was not normal, no matter how he thought about it. 

"Conan-kun?"

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain that shot through his head. He winced, bending forward slightly to bring his head closer to his chest. Something was trying to break forth in his mind. A trickle, a crack in his seemingly calm mind.

Surprised, Tsuna hurried forward but was stopped by Conan who stuck his hand out. "Don't you come any closer."

Conan sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly. A new image popped out in his mind, an image that he saw repeatedly in his dreams. Pained, he looked up at Tsuna, but the brunet was no longer there. A man that looked like him was there instead. He had blond hair, narrowed eyes and donned a pin-stripped suit. Over his shoulders was a cape with extremely high collar, and his hands were wrapped in leather gloves.

"Mitena di Vongola– Argh!"

"Conan-kun!" Tsuna shrieked, running forward to catch the toppling boy. Conan quickly steadied himself, refusing the help of his cousin. 

"Don't you come closer," he repeated, now harsher. Tsuna could only watch on in concern. It would not be wise to get close to him when he feels so hostile. The boy squeezed his eyes shut–it always helped him concentrate better. From a distance, he could hear other approaching footsteps, and behind him, a nearly inaudible pair. 

"Don't you and your friends come any closer to me, Vongola." Conan hissed. He pressed his temples, easing the pain slightly. He opened his eyes again, and the sight before him was not what he expected. 

His cousin's friends had all taken another appearance. They were close but there were major differences. However, the one at the back stood out the most. It was not recognisable–he was sure he had never seen that person before, but he was drawn to it. With his arm reaching towards him, a pained whisper escaped his lips before he blacked out entirely.

"Brother...?"

An adult sprung towards Conan even before his knees buckled. His hands scooped under his arms, cradling the boy.

"Conan? Conan-kun? Hora Edogawa-kun, wake up," he nudged, yet the boy showed no signs of waking up. His head lulled to the side as the man shook him gently. He looked at the other Vongola members, a question floating in his head.

"Was it this painful when you guys received your memories?"

The responsive few replied 'no', while the others shook their heads. Hayato theorised. "It probably hurts for him because of the 'curse' he put on himself, right? That barricade to his memories."

"I remember Tsuna fainting quite a bit in school when Alexander Rovinco infiltrated the school," Takeshi commented with a pondering look. 

"That was because of his hyper intuition!" Hayato argued. Takeshi put his two hands up and let out a light chuckle. 

"Anyway, it wasn't painful when we received our memories," Lambo concluded, standing with his arms akimbo proudly. Hayato promptly gave the boy a hard knock on the head for trying to look cool. 

Just then, a cold rod grazed his chin, and an equally chilly voice spoke from behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"Right, I thought you left," Tsuna added then whispered. "I'm not even going to ask how Alaude knows..."

The man lifted an eyebrow. "Oh, I have a feeling I need to come back. So glad I did."

The others stood around, wondering who the man was. Mukuro noticed something familiar about the person and smirked in recognition. Ryohei questioned aloud. "Who is this?"

"Ah, Sasagawa-san, right? I'm Kuroba Kaito," he curtly replied, gathering Conan in his arms. 

He then proceeds to push Conan to Tsuna. "You can just tell Mouri Ran-san that you found him sleeping. She might be a little suspicious at first, but her concern for Conan-kun is like a mother's."

Conan whimpered as soon as Tsuna carried him. It was like he recognised getting passed to someone else as if he craved the warmth of the thief. Kaito frowned in dismay, but he knew his role for the day has ended. He can only watch him from afar, like he always had. 

In fact, because it has been tumultuous lately, Aoko has started to complain about his constant disappearance. He had to leave soon. 

Kaito scooted away from Kyoya's favourite tonfas. He put himself of a safe distance away from the group and looked at Tsuna gratefully. "Thanks for wrapping things up for me. Please see to it that my brother returns home safe."

"Of course, in fact, I think I have an idea about how to bring his memories back. It'll need time, but I'm sure it will work. Kaito-kun, I have a feeling we will be meeting each other often from now on."

The thief scoffed and poked at his own temple. "Don't kid me when your intuition tells you the answers you need. Now I'm off, bye."

A/N: Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! And may 2021 be even better than 2020!