Title: Masks of Identity

Author: RedHerring1412

Rating: T

Warning: AU, stressful life, romantic pairing, and possible spoilers for those not familiar with the series

Pairings: Kaito/Conan(older)

Disclaimer: All rights and privileges of Meitantei Conan and Magic Kaito belongs to the great Goushou Aoyama. (At least until the end of the series.)

Author Comments: Well, I think everyone agrees with me when I say that it has been a while since the last chapter? Sorry about that. My brain has just felt fried for the last couple of months and then life got in the way. Oh well, at least I am fleshing out ideas for the beginnings of some other stories. So then, here is the next chapter that many of you have been patiently waiting for.

Dear Ran-neechan,

This time, this letter will be short. In fact, the only reason why I'm writing it is because I caught a cold and am bored out of my mind. So . . .

Chapter 25:

It is shared by young students everywhere, but the only thing worse than a Monday morning, would be one with a math test. Heads were bent over pencils furiously scribbling down answers. Sweat beaded nearly every brow as time ticked closer to the end. Then again, it could just be the simple fact that the school finally put the heater into use.

Kaito tapped the end of his pencil against his cheek as he resisted the urge for the umpteenth time to turn around in his seat and look behind him. The teacher may put up with a lot of his antics, but any chaos during a test was strictly forbidden. Letting out a sigh, he scribbled down the answers for the remaining part of the test.

Earlier that morning, when Kaito noticed that Conan had yet to show up at school, he couldn't help but feel tense. After the events of the previous night, he couldn't help but wonder if Conan would show up at all. He was in a rather bad way the last time he saw him. When he saw the bespectacled boy walk in only moments after he thought that, Kaito couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Yet as time passed, for some reason the young magician knew that there was something wrong with Conan. However, from the glances he stole before the test started, there didn't seem to be anything wrong. That still didn't shake the feeling that something was off. As time passed, the test was over and lunchtime came around.

Kaito stretched out in his seat, glad that he could move around. Finally there was time to do something about what was on his mind for the last couple of hours. Turning around in his chair, Kaito almost fell over in shock. Unlike what he was used to seeing, either Conan deeply immersed in his studies or the bespectacled boy nowhere in sight, Kaito was treated to a unique sight. With his arms folded on the top of the desk, Conan had his head buried in them, in the midst of a power nap.

Thinking on it, the young magician could understand why the other boy was so tired. After all, it was nearly dawn when Kid left Conan alone last night. However, Kaito still felt the urge to check on slumbering boy. Getting out of his seat and walking over, Kaito noted the look of concern in Akako's eyes as she gazed at her neighbor. When she noticed his approach, she closed off her expression and vacated her seat. Leaning in toward Kaito's ear as she passed him she whispered, "He needs to rest."

Eyebrows raised, he watched as she left the classroom, her admiring followers close behind. Letting out a sigh, Kaito shook his head and took her seat. Gazing down at the slumbering boy next to him, he contemplated the events of the previous night. While he may be used to late nights due to his side job as Kid, he wasn't too sure if Conan was used to the same sort of schedule.

Of course, then there was what happened to Kaijin Red. That wasn't the sort of finale he was expecting from that individual. Kaito was quite looking forward to the time he got to speak to 'Kudou Shinichi'. There were a lot of things he was going to get answers to that was for sure. After seeing the way that Conan was last night, he vowed to himself that if possible, he will never have the bespectacled boy be in that condition again. Not to mention, though it may be hypocritical of him to say so but, there should be no reason whatsoever to involve someone Conan's age in crime.

Blinking, Kaito realized that while he was lost in thought, one of his hands decided to act on its own. Warm tresses of hair slid through his fingers as they weaved through the strands on Conan's head. Smiling to himself, Kaito realized that either the bespectacled boy didn't notice that he was playing with his hair, or he didn't mind. Leaning over so that he could whisper in one of Conan's slightly pink ears, the young magician asked, "Are you okay Conan-kun? You seem to be a little bit tired."

Shifting his arms slightly, Conan peeked over his arms at the smiling magician next to him. Sighing, he shut his eyes and grumbled out, ". . . Leave me alone Kaito, I had a rough day yesterday." Believing that would be enough to detour the young magician, he buried his face in his arms again.

Placing an elbow on the desk and cupping his chin, Kaito tilted his head and asked, "Anything I should be concerned about?" In all reality, he was curious to see if the other boy would confide in him. Even if he wouldn't tell the whole truth, would he at least tell some of it?

Letting out a weary sigh, the bespectacled boy shifted his head again so he could look at Kaito. Staring at the young magician for a couple of seconds, he finally blurted out, "Why should you care?"

Giving the other boy a gentle smile, Kaito leaned back and said, "I care because I am your friend. Should I need another reason?" Chuckling slightly, he added, "No need to blush and be embarrassed on my account."

Growling under his breath, Conan mumbled, "I'm not blushing . . . "

Leaning forward, the young magician smirked. "Oh? I would have to say that you are. Your cheeks and ears are a lovely, rosy red."

". . . Can you at least hold off on your teasing until after school? I'm not in the mood. Though mainly, I'm just tired . . . " Trailing off, Conan becomes quiet once more and buries his face in his arms.

With his eyes softening, Kaito gently said why patting the top of the bespectacled boy's head, "All right then. I won't bother you until after school then." Standing up from his seat, he looks down once more. "Aren't you going to eat lunch?"

However, all he heard was a mumbled reply. "I'm not that hungry right now. Maybe later . . . "

"Okay then, I'll just have to make sure that you get something then when we talk. So, no running out on me, ne?" Making a white flower appear in his hand, he tucked it behind Conan's ear.

Brushing the flower off, the bespectacled boy mumbled, "No . . . I won't forget . . . " Then, apparently, he was once more in the land of dreams.

As soon as Kaito left the seat, Akako took her usual place once more. Noticing the flower laying down next to Conan's head, she gives the young magician a weary look. Ignoring her, Kaito grabbed his lunch and sat down to eat. He never understands the young witch sometimes.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Several hours passed, but with much relief, the last bell of the day rung, signaling the end of school. Kaito stretched out in his seat, looking forward to the upcoming quality time he was going to spend with Conan. Turning around in his chair, he spotted the bespectacled boy just as he was standing up from his seat. Only to Kaito's second great shock of the day, the normally steady boy ran smack into Hakuba.

With a stumble and a mumbled apology, Conan moved to walk passed. Yet to Kaito's next surprise, Hakuba halted the bespectacled boy by grabbing onto his wrist tight. After pausing for a second, the blond detective merely said, "Wait."

"?"

Frowning to himself, Kaito walked over. Just seeing Hakuba give the other boy a calculating look made him feel like a cat with its fur brushed the wrong way. "What's going on here?"

This day seemed to be full of surprises as Conan's warm body was practically shoved into Kaito's arms by a slightly irritated Hakuba. Fixing the young magician with a stare, the blond detective stated, "I'll leave it to you to see that he gets some rest."

"Huh?"

Pointing at the bespectacled boy, Hakuba said, "He has a fever. So see to it that he is taken care of. After all, you seem to be the closest person to him." With that said, he pushed past them and left the classroom.

Kaito blinked at what apparently was the first time he ever saw Hakuba showing concern for someone. Moments later, he shook his head and concentrated on the matter at hand. Supporting the bespectacled boy by his arm, Kaito slid his hand under Conan's hair to feel his forehead. What he felt however, made his hand flinch away, even though he was expecting it from what Hakuba said moments ago. "Conan! You're burning up!"

"Ah, that would explain it then." Conan replied in a monotone voice.

Kaito wasn't sure he wanted to know but . . . "Explain what?"

"Why my body feels so tired. I thought it was my lack of sleep and such, but I guess I was wrong." Shrugging his body out of Kaito's arms, Conan continued, "Don't worry though, I'll be headed home now."

From Kaito's left however, an indignant voice declared, "Oh no you don't!"

The two boys' heads turned. "Aoko-san?"

"Aoko, what . . . ?"

Facing Kaito with a fierce glare, Aoko strictly said, "Kaito, did you forget just how far away he lives? You can't seriously be thinking about letting him go all that way in his condition, are you? Especially when all he has waiting for him is an empty house!"

"Um . . . it isn't . . . I'll be fine . . ." Leaning against one desk, Conan tried to plead with the young girl.

However, seeing Conan like that just reinforced in Kaito's mind that the bespectacled boy really wasn't in the condition to do much of anything. "So what do you suggest?" Kaito wasn't about to let the other boy wander around in his condition.

With a smile on her face and what the young magician recognized as a forming plan in her eyes, Aoko told him, "You should take him home with you of course. It isn't that far, so Conan-kun should be able to walk it. I'm sure your mother won't mind."

Thinking on it, Kaito said, "I suppose . . ."

Growling under his breath, Conan looked at the other two. "I am right here you know. You don't need to speak as if I'm not even here. I do know how to take care of myself."

Now fixing the bespectacled boy with a glare, Aoko got in his face and said, "So? Sick people shouldn't take care of themselves." Turning to Kaito, she stated, "Come on, I'll help you get him to your house. I want to make sure that he actually gets there."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

It took maybe five more minutes than it usually did, but soon enough, the three classmates found themselves standing in front of the Kuroba home. In fact, if Kaito didn't know any better, he would have thought that Conan was just taking his time. However, as the case was, he did know for a fact that the boy next to him had a fever. The couple of times he stumbled slightly and his flushed cheeks were testimony to that. Yet Kaito couldn't help but wonder why Conan just didn't stay home. He could have taken the test another time.

Turning to the two boys, Aoko gave Kaito a look he remembered from their study session a couple of days ago. "Well, here we are. Make sure you take good care of him Kaito." Facing Conan she said, "Try to get better soon Conan-kun. But if you're still sick, don't force yourself to come to school tomorrow, okay?"

"Mm. . ." It seemed that the bespectacled boy wasn't in the mood to give her a proper response.

Getting closer to the young magician, Aoko whispered in Kaito's ear, "No taking advantage of him because he's sick. I'm only letting you take care of him because this is a ripe opportunity to get on his good side. Though try not to get sick too, okay?"

Trying to hide his blush at her words, Kaito whispered back, "Right, thanks Aoko." Waving to her as she left, Kaito then turned to the bespectacled boy next to him. "Come on Conan, I'll show you inside." He moved forward to enter the house, but was stopped by a hand on his sleeve.

Head bent, Conan hid the feverish blush on his face. "You don't need to do this you know. I really am capable of taking care of myself."

Smirking, Kaito grabbed the other boy's hand and pulled him into the house. "As Aoko said, sick people shouldn't be taking care of themselves. Ah . . ." Pausing, Kaito stared at the woman in front of him.

"I thought I heard you come in." Spotting the sick boy next to her son, she continued. "This is . . ."

Blinking, Kaito realized that he still held onto Conan's hand and roughly let go. "Ah . . . this is my classmate, Edogawa Conan. Um, Conan, this is . . ."

"Your mother, I can see that." Putting down his school bag, the bespectacled boy removed his shoes. When he straightened however, he swayed slightly as he felt light-headed.

Seeing this, Kaito continued his explanation. "As you can see, he's rather sick right now. Since he lives so far away and alone, I thought it would be all right if he would stay here until he gets better. Unless . . ." Looking at his mother, his eyes did the pleading.

Smiling lightly at her son's behavior, she said, "That is fine by me. I'll go and call for a doctor to come check on him, he really doesn't look too good. Has he eaten yet?"

"Ah, I don't think so. If I recall correctly, he didn't even have any lunch . . ."

"Then I'll cook up some okayu as well. He seems to be a bit sweaty. Kaito, do you think you can show him to the bathroom so he can clean up?"

Looking a little embarrassed at all of the attention that he was getting, Conan tried to interrupt. "Um . . . I . . ." However, Kaito's mother gave him a bright smile and the bespectacled boy seemed to lose his train of thought. "I don't have a change of clothes."

"That's all right, you seem to be Kaito's size and I'm sure he won't mind lending you a spare pair of pajamas. Isn't that right Kaito?"

"Ah, yes." Patting the other boy on the back, Kaito told him, "Don't worry so much Conan. You're the sick one, so let us spoil you a bit."

Chuckling a bit, Kaito's mother added, "You are free to feel right at home here, no one here will mind." Turning to her only son, she told him, "Now go and show him to the bathroom. I'll go and call up the doctor now." With that said, she turned around and made her way further into the house.

"Right, come on Conan." Grabbing one arm, Kaito led the other boy into the house, pointing out various rooms as they made their way up the stairs and to the bathroom. "Um, right, wait here a moment." Walking swiftly into his own room, he threw his school bag onto his bed and opened up his closet. After rummaging around a bit, he finally located a simple pair of pajamas that he never wore and quickly returned to Conan's side. Handing the clothes to him, Kaito slowed down. "Here, you can use these. This is the bathroom here. Um . . ." However, once his brain caught up to him, Kaito started to blush as he realized that in a few short minutes Conan would be on the other side of the door. Without any clothes on . . .

Mistaking his thoughts, the bespectacled boy entered the bathroom. "Just stand outside the door and talk with me. That way you can be sure I haven't fainted or anything, all right?" Shutting the door behind him, Kaito could hear the rustle of clothes.

"Ah, right." Now quite sure that his face was redder than Conan's own fever flush, Kaito tried to think of something other than what could be seen on the other side of the door. "So . . . do you get sick very often?" Hearing a muffled sigh through the door followed by the sound of cloth hitting the floor, Kaito slid down the wall next to the door and sat down, waiting for a response.

"It seems that every winter I get sick with something. This has happened ever since I was half my size. However, I seemed to have gotten sick a little earlier this year. That was one of the reasons why I didn't realize right away that I was sick."

Hearing the water being turned on, Kaito cuddled his legs close and propped his chin on them. "Oh? Are the times you get sick usually the same?"

"For the most part. First I get sick to the point where my body just doesn't want to cooperate with me, and then I slowly recover. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to go home tomorrow with nothing more than a very slight fever."

"And if you're not so lucky?" Kaito tried very hard not to hear the sound of the water change as flesh . . .

"I'll be stuck here for a couple days, completely bored out of my mind and feeling miserable."

Not necessarily . . . I could make you feel . . . , "Is that a bad thing?"

"How should I know? I have only been here a couple of minutes . . . What's in these bottles here?"

"Ah . . . the blue is shampoo, the red is conditioner, and the white is body wash."

". . . What about these other ones?"

"Rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, hair bleaches . . . Just don't touch them, okay?"

"Right . . ."

Trying to ignore the sound of splashing water, Kaito hummed a little tune, but paused when he heard a hiss of pain from the other side of the door. "Conan? Are you okay in there?"

". . . If you come in now, I will hit you with the contents of the nearest bottle I reach." There was a sigh and the water was turned off. "I am fine, I just rubbed over a bruise I didn't know I had."

"'Didn't know you had'? How could that be?" Don't think about it, don't think about Conan's naked . . .

"Sometimes I don't feel the bruises unless I actually press down on them. I must have knocked my elbow on the wall at home a little harder than I thought . . . Which towel should I use?"

"Um . . . any of them should be fine." Don't, just don't . . .

"Then the white one is okay?"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead . . ." I might not be able to use that towel anymore without thinking . . . Trying with all his might to force his blush away, Kaito focused his mind on other people. The one thought of Hakuba in the outfit when he first met him finally banished his blush for good. Standing up, he asked, "Everything going okay in there?"

The door next to him opened, and out stepped a slightly damp Conan, dressed in a pair of pale blue pajamas, toweling his hair dry with one hand. With the feverish blush still on his face, the bespectacled boy blearily looked at Kaito. "I'm doing fine." Maneuvering his uniform in his other hand around a bit, he reached into the pockets and pulled out a cell phone.

Watching him as he stared at the phone in his hand, Kaito asked, "What are you doing?"

"I was going to call Haibara-san before . . . too late." The ringing of the phone interrupted him, and Conan placed it to his ear. "Moshi moshi."

Yet before he got another word out, Kaito snatched it from his hand. Putting the phone to his own ear, he said, "Ah, excuse me."

From the phone, he heard the voice of the Haibara-girl that he met before say, "Oh . . . this is . . . Kuroba Kaito, correct?"

Turning away to avoid Conan's attempt to take the phone back, Kaito replied, "Ah, I see that you remembered me."

"It is a little hard to forget after our . . . unique introduction. So what is his excuse this time? You?"

Laughing a little, Kaito said, "Not quite. At school today, it was brought to my attention that he was rather sick. I don't even know why he bothered to show up. However, because of his fever I thought it would be best if he would stay at my house for the time being."

"A fever? I see. He has such bad timing. Well, with the way that his fevers tend to run, I'll excuse him staying over for the night. That the usual minimum amount of time that he takes to get over a fever."

"Oh? What is his maximum?"

"Well, there was that time he got shot. However, he had other things than just a fever to get over back then."

"Wha . . ."

"Just be sure to tell him that he is not to take any dubious remedies from Osaka natives this time, all right? I'll be counting on you to be taking care of him until his recovery then." With a click of the phone, she hung up.

Pulling the phone away from his ear, Kaito looked at it. "She hung up." Folding it close, he handing it back to Conan, oblivious to the glare the bespectacled boy had on his face. Leaning back against the wall, Kaito let out a sigh.

"What did she say?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Kaito made his way back to his room. "She said it was all right for you to stay the night. Then she mentioned something about not drinking remedies from Osaka." Entering his room, he gave Conan a look. "What was that about?"

"It's . . . a bit of a personal joke." Sighing, Conan set his clothes down in a corner of the room and sat down in the chair that was at the young magician's desk. "When I was younger, a guy from Osaka came to where I was living at the time for some personal business. Anyway, while he was there, he offered me something to help take care of my cold. In the end it just ended up making me feel a whole lot worse. I even fainted."

Wincing in sympathy, Kaito pulled out a futon that was hiding underneath his bed and spread it out on the floor. Taking out spare sheets from various places in his room, he set up a place for Conan to spend the night. "So did you ever find out what that guy put in it?"

Snorting softly, Conan replied, "It wasn't a matter of what he put in it, it was a matter of what he gave me." Shaking his head, he continued. "Really, what kind of idiot gives alcohol to someone who is absolutely underage? That whole episode gave me another reason never to touch the stuff again." Folding his arms over the back of the chair, Conan laid his head down. "I hate getting sick."

"Your feelings, I am sure, are understood by the majority of the people in the world." Patting a pillow down, Kaito declared, "There, finished. You can lay down here now, if you want. Looking at you, I can see that you are a little unsteady."

Turning his head to look at him, Conan said, "Ah, thanks." Carefully standing up, he made his way over to the bed and just as carefully sat down. Moving some sheets aside, he laid down on the bed, his face forming into a frown as he laid down.

"Something wrong?"

"No, just a little dizzy."

Patting the other boy's head, Kaito stood up. "Go ahead and take a nap. I'll wake you up later when the doctor shows up, all right?" Hearing Conan mumbling an agreement, Kaito gave him a smile and left the room. Going down the stairs, he made a turn as soon entered the kitchen where his mother was working over the stove.

"Ah, Kaito, the doctor said that he will be over soon. So how is he?"

Running a hand through his hair, Kaito grabbed a stool and sat down. "Conan is still sick, but he's taking a nap now. How is the okayu coming? I remember now that he definitely didn't eat any lunch."

"He'll be able to have it when the doctor is through with him." Pausing, she rinsed her hands and dried them off. "You two seem to be quite close."

"Eh?"

Turning to her son, she asked, "Am I wrong? The only other person that I have seen you talk to without using an honorific is Aoko-chan."

Looking up at the ceiling in thought, Kaito mumbled to himself, "Have I been . . . ?" Facing his mother, he immediately adverted his eyes. "Ah, well, it isn't like that. Um . . . I don't . . . He . . . doesn't like me much."

"Oh? It didn't look like that to me. In fact . . ."

"?"

Seeing her son's confusion, she let out a light laugh. "Don't worry about it. Call it female intuition. Though, that boy . . ."

Sensing his mother's deep thoughts, Kaito questioned, "What is it?"

Giving her son a soft look that he had never seen before she said, "Try to be kind. A boy like that seems to have many secrets locked deep within him. Secrets that were locked up for a good reason."

Frowning slightly, Kaito thought about what his mother said. He thought he might know what she was referring to.

After a few moments, her look brightened. "Be sure to invite him over again sometime when he is feeling better. He is welcome over any time." At this moment, the doorbell rang. "Ah, that must be the doctor. Kaito, would you go and wake our guest?"

Nodding his head, Kaito made his way back to his room. Kneeling down, he leaned over Conan's slumbering form. Reaching out with a hand, he brushed the hair off the other boy's sweaty brow. "Hey, Conan . . ."

Mumbling slightly, Conan weakly opened his eyes. "Mm? Oh, it's you." Brows furrowed, he sat up, letting out a hiss of pain as he swayed.

Steading him, Kaito asked, "You okay?"

"I'm sick, what do you expect?"

"But . . . you seem to be in pain."

Shrugging off the supporting arm, Conan snapped back, "Headaches are like that." It seemed that he would have said more, but a knock on the door frame interrupted him.

"Excuse me, but I heard that someone was sick here?" Standing there, a man in his mid-thirties looked down on the squabbling duo.

Standing up, Kaito greeted the stranger. "Ah, yeah, Conan here seems to have a fever, as well as a headache." Looking down on the said boy, he noticed the look of surprise that Conan's face wore.

Gaping, Conan mumbled, "Ah. You're . . ."

Gazing at the other boy, the doctor wondered, "Your name is Conan? Where have I . . ."

Looking between the two, Kaito asked, "You two know each other?"

Glancing at the other boy, Conan looked back at the doctor and said, "It has been a long time Araide-sensei. I haven't seen you since you worked at Ran-neechan's high school."

Blinking, Dr. Araide stated, "Ah, that's right. You were that one boy . . ." Kneeling down next to him on the bed, he opened up the bag he brought with him. "So is a fever all that seems to be the problem?"

Shaking his head slightly, Conan says, "My body aches, and food just doesn't sound good to eat."

"Well, so far it sounds like the bug that has been going through the area . . ." Asking a few more questions, Dr. Araide took his temperature and checked a few other things. "Hmm . . . Your temperature is nearing 40 degrees. That really isn't very good. If it gets any worse or lasts too long, you will have to go to the hospital. Now, make sure that you drink plenty of fluids. It wouldn't do to have you become dehydrated. Also, I suggest applying some cold wet cloths to help bring down your temperature. Not too cold though, that can be bad too. I'll give the rest of the instructions to the lady of this house, is that all right?" Seeing Conan nod his head as he laid back down, Dr. Araide said, "Good . . . It is good to see that you are still around, even if you are sick. Now, if you will excuse me . . . " Standing up, he left the room.

Sliding down from his seated position on his bed while he waited through Conan's examination, Kaito looked at the other boy. "So are you going to be all right?"

Smiling slightly, the bespectacled boy turned to him and softly said, "I believe so. If I wasn't, I would already be on my way to the hospital, now wouldn't I?"

Scratching his head, the young magician replied, "I guess."

Chuckling softly, Conan said, "Not used to taking care of the ill?"

Sighing, Kaito said, "That isn't quite it. It is just something that Haibara-girl said before."

Curious, Conan asked, "Huh? What did she say?"

However, before he could get a reply, they were interrupted by the arrival of Kaito's mother. "Excuse me, but I brought the okayu as well as the medicine the nice doctor recommended. So be sure to take all of it, understood?"

"Mm . . ."

"Also, Kaito? I brought some cold water and a cloth."

"Ah, thanks."

Smiling at the two of them, she said her goodbyes and left.

Grumbling to himself, Conan sat up once more and took the medicine laid out for him. After taking it, he pulled over the bowl of the okayu and started eating.

Watching him for a little while, Kaito commented, "You don't need to be so shy around her you know."

"Hn."

"She won't bite."

". . ." Swallowing a mouthful, Conan merely said, "It's good." He then continued eating.

Smiling slightly, he watched as the other boy continued to eat in silence. However, when Conan was nearly finished, Kaito brought up the previous conversation. "That girl . . . she mentioned something about you getting shot . . ."

"Ah . . . that." Eating the last few spoonfuls, he set aside the bowl. "It happened when I was on a camping trip with a few of my classmates. When we were gathering firewood, we found a cave and went exploring. What we found inside however, instead of the usual sights, were some criminals disposing of a body. They shot at us, and I was unlucky enough to get hit." Pausing, Conan laid back down on the futon, shutting his eyes. "We were lucky that the police managed to find us, but by that time I lost quite a bit of blood. So I was hospitalized for nearly two weeks. I caught a cold around then, but I also recovered. End of story."

Taking the bowl of cold water and placing it next to him, Kaito dabbed the cloth in, wringed it out, and placed it on Conan's forehead. "I see. You really lead an interesting life, haven't you?"

"Everything depends on the eyes that you use to perceive it."

"Speaking of eyes." Reaching over, Kaito plucked the glasses off Conan's face. "Should you really be wearing these while you sleep?"

Half opening his eyes, Conan merely said, "Ah, sorry. Habit." Closing his eyes once more, he continued. "Will you tell your mother that the food was good and that I thank her?"

"Sure." Picking up the food bowl and standing up, Kaito said, "I'll put your glasses on my desk, all right? For now I'll go get my own dinner and stuff, then I'll be back." With that said, he left the room.

Muttering, the sick boy said, "Fine, whatever." However, when Kaito left the room, Conan opened his eyes once more. Touching the cloth on his head, he said to himself, "You really are too much like him. Why did he have to . . ." A sob broke his voice before he could say more. Clenching his fist, Conan covered his eyes, drifting off into the realm of dreams, not noticing the presence of a young magician hovering on the other side of the door.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Author's Endnote:

So, hopefully all of you wonderful readers out there are pleased with this chapter. If all goes well, I'll be writing again regularly. So, if you have something to say, don't forget to review.

-RHK

Reference Notes:

- okayu – a type of rice porridge/gruel, commonly served to the ill.

-Look for some references in previous chapters.

-Ask me if you want me to add some more.