Drawbacks of a mind that remembers

A flicker

Conan glided across the pavement on his solar skateboard slowly, checking each nameplate carefully. 

"Kuroba... Kuroba... Kuroba... Ah, there."

He leapt off the skateboard effortlessly and climbed the little steps to the green-coloured door. It was a pristine looking house with smooth, white walls, lush green within their tiny porch and the windows were sparkling in the sunlight. 

It looked normal, but the inside... Conan shook his head and slapped his cheeks. He was about to knock on the door when it swung open. He stared at the person before him in shock. He could register a spontaneous and exuberant greeting, but his attention was all on the appearance of the man before him. 

It was the person who kept appearing in his dreams. 

"Conan-kun, right? Come in come in! Welcome to mi casa, which means front door!"

Conan completely missed the reference. He stared at the person with confusion written all over. It was the first time something like that happened–well, not really since he saw the same when it came to his cousin. A dull ache throbbed in his head.

"Who are you?"

Kaito's grin promptly fell, not happy that his jokes were completely ignored. He crossed his arms and pouted at the child. "Look here, Conan-kun. When someone tells you a joke, laugh at it and appreciate it."

Conan blinked and stared at the brunet in front of him. "Haha. Now, who are you?"

Kaito rolled his eyes and pushed the door wider. He brushed the boy's question aside, indirectly giving him an answer. "Name's Kaito–Oh dear! It's not right of me to have my guest stand at the entrance for so long. Step in, my brother!"

"Brother?"

Sensing his scepticism, which is normal, Kaito pulled the boy past his door. Conan was then greeted by a normal-looking living room before his vision turned white. He rubbed his eyes, but the white did not disappear.

"What the heck?"

"Give me a moment, would you." 

As soon as Kaito said that, the white dissipated, revealing a large hall. The walls were covered with glass windows that reached the ceilings, and a bright chandelier hung in the middle. Suddenly, music was playing softly in the background, and Conan did not recognise the melody. Even if he did, it was not one he could name. However, the way the melody moved was not one you would usually hear during formal events like these. It was a jubilant tune, even though the atmosphere reeked of something sinister.

"An odd piece to play for such a grand party."

"It's our coming-of-age party," Kaito recounted with a sour expression. Conan lifted an eyebrow before directing his attention back to his surroundings. There was a table of food placed elegantly at the side of the room, and at the front, a beautifully decorated stage with an orchestra playing behind. People were dressed to their best as couples danced across the floor. Others were standing to the side, mingling around.

"Altair, my son! Congratulations on coming of age! " A jolly old man rejoiced, his voice bouncing off the walls of the room. All the heads turned to Kaito, or who he was in the setting. Altair grinned at the old man, his eyes the shape of the moon. 

"Thank you, Father! And congratulations to you too, brother! " The man said, looking over his father's shoulder to look at the other behind. Conan noted the similarity between the two and concluded that they were twins.

"Going according to the logic you have, is that why you look just the same as my cousin?"

Kaito blinked. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

"Who are you?"

A warm feeling washed over Kaito, realising what was happening. He did infer from clues here and there, but to hear it from the boy himself warmed his heart. He took a deep breath and smiled–the infamous smile of Kaitou KID. A familiar tingle prickled, like the many times when Conan attends a certain event. He looked up at Kaito, his eyes wide as he recognised the stare.

"No way–Kaitou KID? I had Kaitou KID for a brother? That's messed up."

If Conan did not notice that he had referred to them as brothers, Kaito made no other comment. The magician clapped his hands together in a fluttery manner, enjoying every moment as he pissed the boy off.

"A detective and a thief as relatives! What a match made in heaven!"

Conan glared at Kaito as if challenging him to continue. However, Kaito did not look like he was lying. The only fact that Conan can take solace in is that now, they are not related by blood.

"I wasn't a thief back then, don't worry." The magician consoled.

Kaito watched in amusement as relief coloured Conan's face. He is so tempted to tell him that they were both Mafiosi back then, just to watch his expression change again. "Back to the story, all right?"

Conan looked back at the two brothers, frowning. "If they were twins, why do the other look so indifferent to his birthday, in contrast to... your person?"

Kaito took a moment to explain carefully. His words were chosen to make a clear statement.

"My brother was trained to serve, not to lead. It was weird since he was clearly a better leader than I am. However, our tradition was for the youngest to lead the family, and the oldest to be the puppet of the family."

The boy felt a certain sense of familiarity and voiced it out, despite how weird that tradition sounded.

Kaito's cerulean eyes lit up with hope. He grabbed the little boy's shoulders and shook him slightly. "Do you remember anything?"

"Remember what?"

The lights dimmed a little, before Kaito smiled again, unfazed by that setback. He had been warned after all. "Anyway, here is also where we first met our family or the ones who we would call 'family' in the future."

From the corner of Conan's eyes, he spotted a familiar group with colourful hair and extremely tall stature. They strode towards the family comfortably, poised and composed. The blond leading the group looked like someone he had seen recently.

And then it struck him.

"Is that Tsuna–gh-" Pain shot through Conan's head. It was like what was knocking in his mind the last time came bursting forward. Kaito hunched over, his hand placed gently on the boy's back. His blue eyes turned grey, resonating with the black eyes that stared back at him. Time seemed to a standstill as Conan breathed out.

"Nagano... Uehara Shingen."

It was not that he liked to pass out and he could count the number of times he did recently, but the pain was so unbearable. He was swept by fatigue and Conan passed out as soon as he said that. 

A/n: Boy's passing out a lot. 

Sorry for posting this later than normal. I was trying to refine all these to make sense in the future and to the characters at the moment.