Kogoro frowned to himself as the boy mumbled incoherently in his sleep. (The child was actually quite cute, but Kogoro would never, ever admit that.) Now he seriously thought about it, all he really knew of Conan's mysterious background was that he came from a wealthy family and knew Kudo Shin'ichi.

The boy struggled socially, and he never spoke of his parents, even going so far as to change the topic whenever there was the chance of the topic cropping up. The one time Edogowa Fumiyo had visited... well, Conan-kun hadn't reacted like a normal child missing his parents.

Normal children ran to their mother after so long apart, not away and hide as Conan-kun had done. He'd hidden fearfully behind Ran's legs, acting less like a child missing his mum and more like a cornered, feral dog. Ready to bolt at the first opportunity and more than willing to savage anyone who stood in his way.

     That said a heck of a lot about the child's parents, didn't it? What child didnt love their parents? Add that to the fact that Conan-kun practically worshipped that damned detective brat Ran was so fond of. None of it made much sense. At least on its own.

     ...But add in what Ran had once mentioned and it made much more, terrifying sense. Hadnt she once said that the Kudo Brat was on some kind of big, sensitive case that had forced the 'mystery nut' underground. A case that, from what Kogoro could gather, was both dangerous and international.

     In fact, hadn't it been about the same time that Kudo vanished and Conan-kun had appeared? Had the Kudo brat... had he been taking care of the younger boy in secret? Had Edogowa Conan been sent to Kudo Shin'ichi for protection? Was that why the boy was with them now? Because it was no longer safe with the Kudo brat?

     It would explain some things at least; Ran was probably the only person the Kudo brat knew whom he'd trust with a young boy; but it raised a whole new slew of questions. Like how the Kudo brat had come across His younger almost clone, or how it was frankly bizarre that Conan-kun never flinched away from any violence directed at him. Being picked up by his shirt and flung at Ran? He rag-dolled. A bop on the head? Ignored. Being yelled at? Nothing, but the strange, too-perfect shame face every child eventually perfected, but not to that degree.

     It was almost as if he was used to it. Oh sure, he'd cry out and tear up on occasion, but he never flinched like a child his age should. Either the boy trusted them that much, or... or it meant something else. Something Kogoro did not want to consider.

Well... it would explain the boy's near-total independence, and the initial lack of material items. It would also explain why the boy rarely, if ever, played with age appropriate toys, instead of reading books that were really far too advanced (and gory) for a book his age. Heck, even his manga choices were questionable, what with how complex the stories contained in them could be.

The boy did test video games for that nutty professor occasionally, and Conan-kun did read Kamen-yaiba now and then, but still. A nearly forgotten memory chose that moment to resurface with a keen vengeance...

Conan-kun's very first nights with him and Ran, when the then six year old started awake at the slightest noise, when he ran from any and all attempts to help him or comfort him, when he still point blank refused to be treated like the child he was.

Kogoro had passed it off at the time as the boy just playing up and testing the boundaries of the near total strangers he'd been all but forced onto, because he was confused at being ripped from everything he knew.

Kogor had assumed, possibly incorrectly now he really thought hard about it, that Conan-kun had simply been feeling lost and troubled after being left at a total stranger's home. A home he was supposed to stay in temporarily, until his parents could come for him.

But what if... what if that trying, difficult, independent behaviour meant something else? Something worse? What if the boy... what if he'd been mistreated by his biological family? What if his mother had sent him away to protect him? The boy was clearly from a wealthy background; that one cheque from Edogowa Fumiyo and the way the woman dressed and behaved gave that away; what if the boy had been hurt by his family? What if being targeted by kidnappers had forced his mother's hand?

Kogoro frowned as he thought, oblivious to the world as he pondered the mystery of Edogowa Conan. What if the real reason the young boy idolised the Kudo brat was because he'd been the first person to accept the boy for who and what he was? What if Kudo had been the first person to properly take care of Conan-kun?

Could it actually be the case that Kudo had been the first one to show he truly cared for the boy known as Edogowa Conan? Surely the first person to show he cared couldn't have been that Kudo brat right? What if the Kudo brat had actually been forced into hiding from whatever or whoever he'd pissed off because of the Edogowa child? (Ran seemed certain that the Kudo brat was up to his neck in something dangerous.)

It had to have been absolutely awful, for an American family to send their (presumably and hopefully) only son overseas to distant relatives in Japan of all places.

...well, he assumed that the boy was at least part American anyway. Conan-kun hadn't seemed familiar with London or England in general, and his seemingly near-fluent English had more of an American accent than an English one.

Edogowa Fumiyo spoke flawless Japanese too, so identifying her accent had been near impossible. To kogoro anyway. He had no doubt Conan-kun could detect it; that boy was terrifying sometimes. Though saying all of that, he wouldn't put it past the cheeky little sod to pretend he was American instead of English just to mess with them.

Children could get away with so much more than adults, so he guessed the boy could have just pretended to know nothing just because he could. Accents weren't impossible to mimic after all. That and not knowing one part of England didn't necessarily mean he didn't know other parts of the country. And seriously, with the few pranks the boy had played on them, he honestly wouldn't be shocked if the boy was British.

Conan-kun began to squirm and whimper pitifully in his sleep, dragging Kogoro back to reality. The older detective froze. In all honesty, he had no idea how to handle most children when they had nightmares; getting Ran Karate Lessons had all but cured her of nightmares, and he doubted that would work with any other child.

He stood, stretched, then gingerly tip-toed out of the room, managing to circumvent the boy on the foot on without disturbing him. The sounds of whimpers increased in volume as he ventured down the stairs to find Ran.

His daughter was just finishing tidying the kitchen, and he hurriedly explained that Conan-kun was having a nightmare. When they got back to the room though, he was greatly disturbed to find that Conan-kun wasn't in his usual spot. In fact, he wasn't in the room at all.

A quick check of the bathroom and Ran's room confirmed that he hadn't just gone to the toilet or sought Ran for comfort (Something the boy had been doing more recently of late.) and a cursory search of the room by Ran had her eyes going all teary-worried, though she visibly relaxed suddenly, for some unknown reason.

What had she seen that he, the famous sleeping detective, hadn't? The blanket on the boy's futon moved, and Kogoro flat out stared as the small lump under the blanket shifted, creeping closer to them, until that something found the edge of the cover and stood up.

The cover fell away to reveal a pair of beady, too blue eyes set in a feathery face that most certainly didn't belong to one Edogowa Conan. Too-blue eyes stared up at them in confusion.the creature blinked up at them with an expression so human Kogoro had to shake himself.

It looked genuinely confused as it ruffled it's rich brown feathers. Feathers which had a subtle creamy mottling to them. The bird, for that what it had to be, stretched it's wings out, the undersides revealed to be a paler mottled brown, the cream more prominent.

Kogoro was too shocked at seeing a bird of prey in a room where the window had been shut all day to even question where Conan-kun had vanished to. (Luckily for Ran and Conan.) the bird flapped it's outstretched wings, seemingly experimentally, before half hopping, half flying right at Him.

The detective couldn't help but yell out and duck out of the beast's way. The bird made a strange whistling sort of cry. When he'd finally picked himself up off the floor -having fallen over whilst ducking- Ran was gently petting the wild bird on the head with the hand that wasn't perched on. The little beast looked decidedly smug.

Ran seemed completed unbothered by Conan-kun's vanishing act, something that so appalled him that he opened his mouth to protest. Both his daughter and the bird shot him a single, quelling look that had the man subsiding quickly.

Kogoro was not stupid. There had to be something going on here that Ran (and presumably Conan-kun) knew something about. Something that both teen and child didn't want him finding out about. The bird snapped at Ran aggressively, but she ignored it. How had she not been hurt by that?

"Otousan. This is Shinichi's pet, Merlin-kun. Sorry about him flying at you. Conan-kun's probably snuck downstairs to get some water for Merlin-kun. I don't know how he gets past us." He nodded, that made sense. The bird nodded too. Kogoro stared as the bird flat out winked at him.

He was clearly more drunk than he initially though, birds couldn't wink like that! Well, he was either drunk or he'd fallen asleep whilst thinking again and was now having a bizarre dream.

"You should get some rest, otousan. You look a bit pale. I'll sort Conan-kun and Merlin-kun out. Goodnight." He considered protesting as his daughter left the room, but sleep sounded like a good idea right then, so he climbed into bed, out cold before his head even hit the pillow.

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Ran sighed with relief as her father settled back down, thankfully having forgotten about looking for Conan-kun. The falcon hybrid on her wrist shuffled awkwardly, so she moved her hand so he could carefully move from the wrist to her shoulder, edging along carefully until he was perched comfortably like some kind of terrifying predatory parrot.

Merlin shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder as she entered her own bedroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. "So... care to explain why Conan-kun is missing, Shin'ichi?"

It was said in a quiet, half scolding, half teasing manner, but the boy in question seemed to be ashamed. He half flew, half fell from her shoulder to land on the back of her desk-chair, where he perched neatly. He somehow managed to shrug at her, indicating he wasn't sure either.

"Was it another one of... those nightmares Shin'ichi?" The avian detective narrowed his too-blue eyes at her, before nodding slowly at her. Ran reached out to smooth his feathers, something wich he let her do for a few minutes before shaking her off and preening like a real bird would.

So... Merlin didn't feel up for talking then, not even in their unique tap-code. That meant she'd have to approach this topic carefully, and word the questions just right. "Were you Conan-kun in your dream?" She kept her voice low, almost inaudible even to herself, but she knew he'd hear her.

And shake of feathers, then a nod. So... he'd started off as Shin'ichi, then reverted to Conan part way through? She asked Merlin to confirm her theory. All she got was a sheepish, awkward look in reply. (How was he conveying his emotions to her? Birds didn't have the same body language as people! Was it just part of the freaky witchy thing that had made him this way?)

"Did...did you maybe.. change in your dream, Shin'ichi? Do you think maybe that's what happened?" The young detective bobbed his head. So... he had gone all feathery in his dream, and he thought that might have forced a real-life shift too.

...some people sleep-walk, don't they? And I know Otousan talks in his sleep, so maybe you....?" Leaving that as an open question was risky; if Merlin-kun wasn't in the mood to answer, or if he was more shaken than he let on, he might just fly off. And he clearly either couldn't or didn't want to shift back currently.

She did hope that he'd calmed just enough to actually communicate with her though. The falcon-hybrid lit led his head to one side, apparently thinking hard about something, before nodding slowly. Ran opened her mouth to as another question, but was cut of by Merlin clicking.

/It's possible, I suppose. I'm as confused as you are. Would it be possible for me to... roost in here tonight and think it all over? I don't want Oochan to see me shift, and I can get back in my bed in the morning. We got lucky earlier, and I'd rather not tempt fate, she finds me funny enough as it is.\ Ran giggled at the joke. Yes, Fate and Luck really did find the poor detective geek funny.

She would never admit that it was nice seeing him act human for once, for all he currently didn't look it. It was often hard for most people to realise that Shin'ichi was just as human as the rest of them, what with his almost robotic, cold behaviour at crime scenes.

"You can stay in here tonight. I don't mind. I'll just tell Otousan you fell asleep in here. He won't mind." Ran made sure to make that last statement sound like a threat, though she could tell that Merlin-kun thought that it was more of a promise than a threat.

They spent a little while after that discussing Conan's plan to remove a certain detective from play and hide him in plain sight before actually turning in for the night. (Ran was rather shocked to find that she'd actively been enjoying the act of planning to preven a pontential, probably highly premeditated murder.) (was she getting the terrible detective bug too? She sincerely hoped not. There were enough loony detective teens running amok as it was.)

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Kogoro struggled out of bed groggily, completely ignoring the empty space where a certain little boy should have been as he shuffled out into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. It was difficult making it down the stairs without falling in his groggy state, but he somehow managed, his reward a steaming cup of coffee.

It wasn't until he'd nearly drained his coffee mug that he remembered the bizarre dream from last night. Something about attack birds and the Kudo brat. He made it through breakfast and was up in his room, half dressed, when he saw it. The detective nearly overbalanced as he did a double take.

On the floor, next to the still-empty futon the freeloading brat used, was a single, long, cram and brown feather. He blinked. The feather vanished. Kogoro shook his head, he must be pretty badly hungover if he was imagining things.

By the time he was 'properly' dressed, Conan-kun had reappeared, by bouncing excitedly into the room, somehow both fully dressed and suddenly a morning person.

Kogoro flat out stared at the boy. Edogowa Conan was Not a morning person. Even at six, the boy did not bounce. Even when he was excited, and most certainly not in the mornings. But then...

Saying that, Conan-kun never really got excited about anything, outside of the bookstore that was. Maybe he did bounce, when properly motivated, and they'd simply never managed to excite him enough? Could it be that he was only now beginning to settle enough to act like a child around them?

(If he'd said it once, he'd said it a thousand times, but that boy was not normal. At all. He behaved so... so unnaturally, and he didn't blame the police for seeing him as a Shinigami or bad omen half the time.)

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     Later that same morning, once both she and Conan-kun had gotten dressed, Ran found herself 'watching over' the entirety of the self proclaimed 'Shounen Tantei' as they played a rather strange version of Football, which seemed like it might be crossed with dodgeball. Sonoko was sat beside her, on a bench that was considered to be a 'safe' distance from the children's game, but still within eyeshot.

     Ran had the feeling that Sonoko was only tagging along for the promised cake and gossip that would follow after Conan-kun had single handedly tired his friends out.

     It was fairly overcast, but not misty or raining, so the five children had been insistent on playing football before lunch, something Ran appreciated, because it both kept them all fit and somewhat healthy (Genta-kun's eating habits notwithstanding.) and also wore them out so they'd be marginally less trouble than usual.

     She thought Conan-kun was to blame for their love of the sport, due to him being their ringleader, though she could be wrong. But they did all look up to their vertically challenged friend, even mimicking him in some ways.

     (Thankfully that had carried into their crime-solving too, all five of them able and willing to follow standard police procedures better than half the officer's she knew.) (Luckily whatever curse had Conan-kun stumbling over every crime within a ten mile radius had not carried over to the kids, even if they did end up at over half the scenes Conan-kun did purely because they were his friends and he liked to hang out with them.)

     (Shin'ichi had friends! Actual, real friends that weren't just her and Sonoko! That was something Ran was incredibly happy about, even if it had taken him being forced to relive primary school again to do so.)

     Sonoko grumbled something about pushy brats, causing Ran to hide a smile. Sonoko always grumbled and complained about the kids and their creepy little death magnet, but in reality she was just as happy to watch them as Ran was, though less demonstrative of that fact.

     Ran knew that at some point that day they'd run into some form of crime, whether it be a murder or something a bit less gory, because Conan-kun was well overdue something major. She knew it was just his insane (mostly bad) luck, somehow amplified by his being shrunk...

     But... until that point, it would be business as usual gossiping with Sonoko and watching the kids have their fun, with cake OR lunch followed by more gossip with Sonoko later. Though... knowing Sonoko as she did, she'd probably spend the whole of lunch obsessively babbling over a certain violet eyed  thief, because he'd only just sent out another heist notice that morning.

     (Ran could almost picture the horror when she thought about Sonoko seeing KAITOU Kid's civilian face, because it was so like Shinichi's that it bordered on creepy.... maybe she should mention that to the both of them and see what sort of pranks they might pull?)

     "Ne... Ran?" That sort of questioning tone coming from Sonoko never bode well. Ever. The Karate Chanpion tilted her head to show she was still listening, all the while not taking her eyes of the childish, ridiculously one sided football game.

     Even four against one, Conan-kun was holding his own, clearly holding back from sweeping the floor with them, and Ran had to bite her tongue to stop herself from yelling at her small charge for going easy on his friends.

     (She really didn't have it in her to tell the four real children that her 'little brother' was going hilariously easy on them. And yes, she was well aware that Ai-chan was just like Shinichi, but the young scientist would always be a child to Ran.) (After all, Ran had the sickening, chilling suspicion that this really was Ai-chan's first real childhood.)

     "Is... is Shinichi-kun ok Ran? You haven't talked about him for ages. Is he still on that stupid case?" Ran could hear the concern in her best friends voice, but she wasn't sure what to say. What could she say that wasn't a flat out lie?

     Ran really didn't want to lie to Sonoko, but she had to in order to keep everyone safe, so most of the time Ran just avoided the topic if it ever came up, something that Conan-kun often helped her with. Usually by being an insensitive brat. Sure, she'd talk about him if she'd seen his full-grown self recently, and she had, but there was almost too much she'd have to leave out of that one.

     "I..." Ran made a show of glancing at the kids for a moment before lowering her voice significantly. Not that that would prevent a certain shrunken detective geek from overhearing, but she didn't really mind him. That not-child's hearing was supernaturally good now, and it was almost creepy.

     "We don't know Sonoko. He sends a bird with a message on it to Ai-chan and Conan-kun sometimes but... this 'stupid' case is the reason Conan-kun came to like with me. Why Ai-chan lives with the professor. It's the reason he can't come home. And... and..." Ran began to tear up, and acting skill that had been scarily easy for her to learn.

     "He's sick Sonoko. The last time I saw him he... he... Hattori-kun had to carry him back home." Which was partially true at least, and it drove the point home of how 'sick' Shinichi really was, because like hell would he let anyone carry him, especially as a real teen. Sonoko looked a bit out of her depth with that little info dump, and Ran had to wonder if she'd overdone it on the acting.

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     Mitsuhiko rested on the park bench next to the lightly scowling Haibara-San, as they both watched with varying interest as Conan-kun went through some of the stuff they'd done today in more detail with Ayumi-chan and Genta.

     He didn't really get why Ayumi-chan and Genta were so slow with their learning sometimes, but Haibara-San and Conan-kun did get it, which probably explained why all five of them were in the same class still. Though he wasn't quite sure.

     Conan-kun did something with the ball, making his friends laugh and clap enthusiastically and Haibara-San smile creepily, but Mitsuhiko merely frowned. The way Conan-kun moved with a football really reminded him of someone else. Someone much older with a smile and a face that looked how Mitsuhiko figured Conan-kun would look grown up, if he lost the glasses. Where had he...?

     Ah! It had to have been two years ago, just before they had all met Conan-kun for the first time, when Mitsuhiko's Neechan had dragged him to her School's after school football match, just because scouts from Tokyo Spirits were going to be there.

     He didn't remember anything from the match itself, other than it being really one sided in his Neechan's school's favour, but he did remember afterwards. His Neechan had squealed with excitement and bounced on the spot on spotting someone with a blue and white striped shirt on.

     The man was talking to the teen that reminded Mitsuhiko of a grown up Conan-kun, now he thought back on it, though it looked like the teen was saying no to whatever had been asked. The Conan-kun lookalike had been smiling and blushing though.

     Why would Conan-kun remind him of someone like that? It didn't make any sense! Unless, of course, Conan-kun had an older brother he hadn't told them about, which... would make sense, because Mitsuhiko certainly hadn't heard Conan-kun talk about his family. His real family that was.

     Mitsuhiko wasn't stupid. He knew Ran-oneesan had adopted Conan-kun two years ago. At least temporarily. He knew Conan-kun always seemed nervous and worried if someone asked where his real parents were. And he knew Conan-kun didn't even want to think about it. It was why the Shounen Tantei had a strict rule. You didn't talk to Conan-kun or Haibara-San about their parents. Especially Haibara-San. She could get mean with her... retri.. retribution.

A scream tore through the air. Mitsuhiko glanced nervously at Haibara-San, whose frown had dissipated. It was creepy. The strawberry blonde girl grinned and bet her bag of highly desirable candies on that scream being related to a murder, just as Genta yelled in surprise.

Conan-kun had booted the football ridiculously high. Mitsuhiko had never seen anything like it. The ball took time to fall too. By the time it finally hit the ground, Conan-kun had vanished into thin air. Typical.