#<- moment where kudo felt something for Hattori

[saltyfilmmajor]

I forgot how good The Wizard of the Last Century was

[sunny-mercya]

Hey, Brother do you still believe in one another?

11. Osaka Trip - Abducted

Heiji Hattori x Male Reader | Plantonic! Shinichi Kudo x Brother Reader

Fandom -> Detective Conan/Case Closed

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If I could turn back time

If I could find a way

And you'd stay

Sachiko shirked loudly—gaining looks of confusion and judgment from the by passing people in the shopping district—dropping her shopping bags to the ground in shock and gasping like a fish, even though they don't need to, for air.

Droving with both hands through her hair, clutching it, Sachiko turned her head in every direction—spinning herself around—and tried to find something, someone—searching for you.

But you are nowhere to be seen, because you're gone. Gone. You're gone.

For Sachiko it felt as time stood still—freezing her in the spot where she was standing—while the surroundings of hers continued to move on as if nothing had happened—as if the crime, which just occurred in front of everyone, didn't caused a notice and disturbance in the daily routine of living flow.

Taking a sharp inhale of breath, Sachiko felt breathless. She only had turned around—some sign had catches her eyes and you were still right beside her—for a mere few seconds and when she turned back, to tell you about that sign—which was local shop—you weren't there.

Is this—the way her chest tightens, so painfully she wanted to cry out, coldness—despite the mildly warm temperatures today—sweeping through her body and bringing her bend into a shudder—how a Panic attack feels like?

Sachiko couldn't tell, wouldn't know, as she never had experienced such and only being a comforter for you—when you had them.

Taking out her phone, cursing loudly when it slipped from her—shaking and clammy—hands and fall down onto the pavement, Sachiko felt—once she had picked up her phone again—lost to whom she has to call.

Sachiko's finger hovered over Shinichi's—old and deactivated—number, wanting to call him—the first person which popped up in her mind instantly—as Shinichi is (or had been) after all your emergency contact.

But that's an impossible thing to do now as Shinichi is gone as well.

Sachiko slapped herself against her forehead more than once, rubbing her face—staying crouched down and inhaling deeply the air, she still felt she didn't quite have, again.

Stupid, stupid, absolutely stupid, Sachiko thought—berating herself for forgetting about the fact that Shinichi is gone, but wanting to call him anyways.

Like, as if the automatic voicemail of; We apologise, but this number is currently not available anymore—would help in such, any, situation and neither would make it Shinichi magically appear back.

»Dumb wishful thinking« she scoffed in a huff, feeling ashamed afterwards for such thoughts and berates herself again, because such wishful thoughts are helping you to pull through hard days—the ones where you want to just lay in bed forever and giving everything and yourself up.

So Sachiko called Heiji, despite him being at a crime scene currently—because honestly, it's like a curse or something, whenever they went somewhere there always seemed to be a murdering happen—but she couldn't care less about this, as the Inspectors and officers are capable enough to solve this on their own, without Heiji's help.

Finding and freeing you—because Sachiko was absolutely sure that Daiki had kidnapped you—and it was a fear she knew would come true eventually—was top priority now and Sachiko knew that Heiji was the only person who would be able to save you.

~~~

There weren't many moments in times, where Conan thought he had failed. Nor had he many regrets to think about.

But when Heiji told how Sachiko had called and telling him in upcoming panic—sounding close to crying, holding back choking sobs—you're gone, disappeared so suddenly in board daylight—under eyes of many "witnesses"—and that she, in absolutely certainty, believes Daiki had taken you—Conan felt like a failure.

Failure. Conan had failed miserably as your older brother, who promised you—once ago, during your first suicidal attempt—to never leave you alone and behind in your darkest times of need—and to always protect you from the dangers and evil of this world.

But look! Here is he, failing not only once but twice—trice even, when he couldn't save Narumi—and breaking promises after another, building a path of hurtful lies for you to walk on. Honestly, you deserve someone far better than him as your brother.

It was foolish to think, that they might be able to call you, but even the simplest thing to do—in cases like these, calling you even though the chance stood high that your phone had been already destroyed—could might lead to an better outcome of the situation.

When it ringed and someone picked up the line, they hoped it was you—but when Daiki's voice rung out, the hope extinguished.

„Oh, it's the brat calling. C'mon dear, tell them Goodbye.“

„Fuck off, Asshole.“

A clash, a thud and a short gaps from you—and the line went dead afterwards.

»What now? Osaka is big and we can't search through the whole city and its landscape, without a sort of fixpoint to begin with.....« said Heiji, gnawing at his lower lip and looking at Conan.

The bubble of panic didn't came spiking up in one sudden rush—like how Sachiko must had experienced it firsthand now—and neither did it came slow rising—how for Conan it was, whose eyes shone with ridden guilt and although masking it professionally like a actor, starting to crack under its slowing crawling pressure—for Heiji.

Of course Heiji is worried about you, he always will be—after all you're his boyfriend and worrying about ones partner and the ones you love is a natural feeling to do—but Heiji is also a Detective and haywire emotions wouldn't help in any situation nor does it any good.

Conan knows this as well—is the one who believes, participate, the most in this sort of mindset—but sometimes a once rational, logical, mind and heart can make a spin into the irrational side of the humane

There was also the crucial fact—which is the reason why Heiji doesn't feel the heart aching panic just yet—that everyone seemed to forget that you weren't just a mere helpless person.

You could defend yourself with ease, were cable of fighting—with your strength of Qing Mado—against Adults and opponents twice your age and size.

But Heiji himself seems to forget—while knowing of the information above—that there a tools out there which could make you helpless and unable to defend.

»My Radar Glasses!« exclaimed Conan

»Huh? When did ya chip [Name]?«

»Not him, but his phone-keychain«

Conan was getting restless he's aware, knowing well that his idea might be just a glimpse into the blue of nothing, but what else are they supposed to do?

They had to give it a try, even when it would lead into a dead end. Just sitting around and waiting wouldn't do anything, wasn't going to help you!

Conan couldn't give up, especially not on you—his precious little brother, who he vowed to protect.

~~~

Whatever was on their side—be it luck, fate or destiny, fortunas generosity or simply Daiki's own dumbness—they hoped it's gonna last till you are found.

When the glasses did indeed pick up a low signal of yours, Conan and Heiji went to the location as fast as possible.

Once there, in an alley—near the outskirts area, with soon to build houses and buildings and the ones getting destroyed—all they had found was your phone—still in tact, but useless now. Then again, this alone could lead to you—as it minimise the area, distance and possibility of where you could be.

Conan wouldn't give up and he hoped neither would you.

I'll keep finding, finding you

Right through hell and heaven

And in all dimensions

I'll keep finding, finding you

[yzkhr]

"Kazuha, I'm fine now."

Hattori Heiji spoke with uncharacteristic gentleness towards his childhood friend whose entire attention is on the wound around his stomach. Tooyama Kazuha only regarded him with a panicked look.

"Are you sure? What if it still hurts? What if--"

Before she could continue on her rambling, he held the warm hand inspecting his injury as he gave her the best smile he could manage.

On a normal day, Kazuha's worrying would only be troublesome and annoying for Heiji. He'd just ignore her and tell her how stupid she is, and that he wouldn't die over something so little.

But right now, he couldn't blame her. Even he thought he was going to die, without confessing his feelings first. There was nothing scarier than that moment of realization for him. So he understood, just how much pain he had made the woman he loves go through, and lets her.

The final battle versus the Black Organization was easily the most horrifying thing he had experienced over his seventeen years of existence. He grew up being surrounded by criminals but he had never seen people who saw human life as nothing but piece of paper they can crumple anytime they want. At least, culprits he detains knew guilt and have a minimum amount of reason, but the men in black doesn't. They kill either because you're in their way, or because they just want to.

Watching the downfall of the terrible institution was satisfying, to say the very least. Finally, they were gone and everything else can start going back to normal. Well, If only things would progress so smoothly as he had hoped.

Of course, casualties were made. Their team were heavily wounded. Many agents—mainly the FBI, CIA, and Secret Police— were injured, some even died. He didn't left unharmed either. He had a huge gash in his stomach—which was pretty deep— and a bullet wound on his left ankle.

When Kazuha approached him as they were directed to the nearest hospital, he saw how cold her gazes were, so different from her usual fiery look. She stayed quiet the whole time as the nurse treated him, just giving him nothing but shallow—but tinged with worry— glances.

Seeing that Heiji won't back down, the brunnette sighed and slowly backed away. She stood up from the chair beside his bed, laggardly making her way towards the door.

He wanted to stop her and talk to her, but her verdant eyes filled with pain and a bit of anger wasn't so appealing to deal with right now. Instead, he just regarded her a stare, wishing—begging— she'd turn around.

Kazuha slid open the door, along with it are Heiji's hopes of his stupid actions being forgotten.

But, as if the Gods heard his silent plea, she stopped midway of exiting the room. He held his breath, waiting for her next move, not minding the ache at his middle cause by his hitched breathing. It was like that for a few seconds, until she finally turned her head sideways, ponytail slightly moving to the opposite direction, with her expression unreadable.

"I'm still mad at you. So you better make it up to me."

And with those parting words, she left, letting Heiji huffed in relief. It wasn't the most comforting words he heard from her, but it was a sign that she'd talk to him and give him a chance to explain. For Heiji, that was everything he needed to hear so he can move on to his next concern.

Instantly, his thoughts travelled to her. If Kazuha, his childhood friend, was this mad at him for just being involved, then she must be furious, knowing that her boyfriend was in the middle of it all.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Heiji stood up, swallowing his fear of facing his best friend's girl. After all, he knew he deserved at least some punches.

The hallway was quiet, with only little people roaming around. Nurses and patients paid him no mind, too busy with their own lives. He felt glad, for once not liking the attention of others seeing him in a pathetic state.

His eyes looked for her. He tried to spot her tall figure, her long straight chesnut hair, her leaned back with her toned muscles from doing karate, uncharacteristically for a girl. Unfortunately for him, the area was infested by only ill patients in wheelchairs accommodated by their family members and staff rushing left and right towards their respective positions.

Minutes pass of searching, and he found himself on the quiet part of the institution. Individuals got fewer and fewer and when Heiji was about to head back and asked the others instead, his irises finally found what they were looking for.

There she was, sitting on one of the blue waiting chairs, contrast to the white paint all over the hospital. Her head was down, her form lifeless. Heiji felt a pang of guilt in his chest, knowing that he was a big part of her devastated state.

Once again, hesitation set inside of him, not wanting to face the woman that they had all done wrong. But he couldn't leave her alone either, after seeing that she was just outside the Intensive Care Unit.

Heiji didn't want to believe it, but it has to be him. He was the most injured one of them all, after being tortured by Gin. It was a miracle they managed to get him to the hospital in time. He took one last gulp, and walk towards her tired form.

Mouri Ran was aware of his presence but she made no indication to ascertain his assumption. She just kept her head tilted down, fingers intertwined and expression hidden by the strands of her hair. He tested the waters first by calling her name but she didn't budge at all.

The feeling of unsettlement was getting to Heiji even more but he decided to ignore it. Ran needed him right now, and he owed her a lot. They owed her a lot.

He sat down beside her and imitated her current position, waiting to see if she would do something. She didn't.

Time ticked down, Heiji finally decided to be the one to speak.

"Nee-chan--"

"Leave."

Her voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper that if he wasn't near her, he wouldn't have heard it.

He shook his head slowly, as if Ran could see his answer that way.

"No. I can't--"

Once again, she cut him off.

"Please."

This time, Heiji wanted to comply. But a part of him was stopping him from doing so. He could leave Ran alone and be free of this nervousness, or he could stay and try to alleviate a bit of her pain.

Heiji chose the latter.

"I won't."

Finally, Ran looked up, letting him see her. Her visage was tired and lost, different from her usual kind and cheerful countenance. It physically pained Heiji to see her like that, so he had to avert his eyes away.

Silence took over the two, the kind of silence rendering him deaf. Eventually, he sensed movement from her, and saw her from the corner of his left eye sitting properly, tense.

"You knew."

It was neither a question or a suggestion. It was nonchalant, as if she was stating a fact, which in this case, was what she just did.

He nodded, giving confirmation. He leaned a little towards the plastic chair, his stomach hurting from his previous hunched forward position.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

It was a basic question, but somehow it was difficult to answer. He had many chances to tell her, ever since he found out that the little brat living with the Mouris was really the missing highschool detective. So why didn't he? He could only think of one reason, though personally, it wasn't enough.

"It wasn't my secret to tell."

She sighed, seeming to expect his common response.

"Then why didn't he tell me?"

Even without any particular mentioning, it was obviously Kudo Shinichi they were talking about, who's currently fighting for his life. Instinctively, he glanced at the doors of the ICU, silently praying for his best friends health, and for his own survival to this interrogation.

Unlike Heiji, Ran stared straight ahead at the painted white wall. She didn't want to look at where he was right now, knowing she'll just burst out crying. She had to be strong, since Hattori was already giving her a chance to know the truth.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's to protect you."

Ran eyed him suspiciously from her peripheral vision, not convinced with his answer. But Heiji wasn't lying. He may not fully know Kudo's reasons, but he had a rough idea.

"From what?"

"From getting hurt by them."

She smiled, but it was screaming fallacy that even someone as dense as Heiji could figure it out.

"I was still hurt."

He couldn't offer a reply to that.

"When was he planning to tell me?"

He wanted to give a satisfying answer, like how Kudo would explain everything after everything was over. But that would be a lie. And Heiji was a bad liar. All those times he kept calling Kudo with his real name almost getting him figured out resurfaced in his head, and Heiji wondered how did they last long at pretending.

He chose to stay quiet.

Ran seemed to get it, as she finally faced Heiji.

"He wasn't planning to tell me anything at all, was he?"

The guilt in his face gave it away.

"Nee-chan, I tried to convince him to tell you more than once, specially before the final showdown, but he just wouldn't budge."

He tried to explain his side, trying to make Ran understand.

Ran simply stared, boring holes in his face.

"Then why didn't you tell me before you guys went and sacrifice yourselves out there? When do you want me to find out? When you're dead?"

She raised her tone a bit, showing frustration.

"If I told you, you would have followed us. I'm not sure Kudo would like that."

She laughed a little, pain so evident that Heiji visibly winced.

"Am I weak Hattori-kun?"

"That's not what I--"

"Then why didn't you let me help? I could've done something!"

Her shout alerted a few but she didn't seem to care, glaring at Heiji as he flinched. He sighed, mentally wishing Kudo was here to be the one to explain since Heiji didn't know what exactly was his best friends mindset for lying to her.

"I told you, he didn't want you to get involved. He didn't want you hurt, nee-chan."

He spoke gently, trying to cajole the agitated Ran. It was weird how calm and modest he was, while Ran was now the one looking like she wanted to punch someone. Unfortunately, the cajoling didn't work.

"You already knew what you were doing would hurt me, but somehow it didn't stop you, so what exactly was the difference?"

He stuttered, trying to find a good answer, but failed to do so. Ran pressed on, not waiting for his response.

"What if it was Kazuha-chan? Would you want her to keep secrets from you? To be in danger while you're safe? To possibly die without you knowing a thing!?"

Heiji visibly froze at the mention of his childhood sweetheart's name and seeing the hurt enter his usually cheery green eyes, Ran knew she went overboard.

She looked away, her eyes travelling at the room where Shinichi was being operated on. She was a mess. After all the revelation and happenings, she couldn't think straight at all. That's why she begged everyone to stay away from her, not wanting to deal with anything else.

But Hattori didn't seem to get the message. Now he was dealing with all her exasperation that clearly wasn't meant for him. He had his own issues to deal with, consoling an emotionally unstable Ran shouldn't be one of them.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

She bowed her head, her tone apologetic. It took a while for him to say anything at all, so Ran willed herself to face the great detective of the west.

It was his turn to stare at the wall, being swallowed by his thoughts. It made Ran feel bad, knowing she stroke a never.

"Hattori-kun, I'm-"

Her apologies died mid air as he finally brought his attention back to her. Expression serious, so unlike the reckless and fun Hattori she had known.

"I would hate it. I wouldn't like her to do something so dangerous alone. She would be an idiot if she wouldn't tell something so important."

Ran was stunned, not expecting an answer from her inquries that were supposed to be rhetoric.

"But," he continued on. "I know that Kazuha didn't intend to do that just to make fun of me. She had no intention to hurt. And I'm pretty sure that Kudo's the same. If there was one thing I know from that guy, is that he would never hurt nee-chan if he had a choice. It just so happens that both choices would hurt you, and he chose to keep you in the dark, than to tell you everything and get you in something so dangerous."

It was her turn to be speechless. Ran had known Hattori to be prideful and obnoxious, sometimes more than Shinichi. He was also childish and dense, specially in terms of love. However, there will always be these kinds of moments where he would completely blow her away with his deduction skills and meaningful words.

"He loves you, Nee-chan. More than what you can imagine."

With that, Ran broke.

The tears she desperately tried to hold back was now pouring endlessly, blurring her vision. Heiji getting caught off guard with her crying, panicked.

He didn't mind his aching stomach and immediately tried to find a handkerchief or a towel to wipe her tears. Unfortunately, there was none.

Ran buried her face into her palms, and tried to speak.

"I knew that. I knew that he just wanted to keep me safe. But that's also what I want. I'm scared Hattori-kun. What if he won't wake up? What if he leaves me all alone? You did something for him. You guys were there when he needed you the most. But what about me? I didn't do anything. I couldn't do anything at all. I-"

In the desperate attempt to comfort and calm down the crying woman next to him, Heiji put his arms around her shoulder and let her crying face lean on his. She sobbed harder, inclining at the comforting brotherly touch.

"That's not true nee-chan. You did a lot of things for him. You were his reason for fighting. I'm sure Kudo would have given up a long time ago if it weren't for you."

It was true. If it were Heiji, he would have just gave in and let his childhood happen again. He was sure there were time Kudo thought of that but because of Ran, he didn't give up.

"I'm scared, Hattori-kun. He can't die on me. Not without telling me everything. Not without making it up to me. Not without achieving his biggest dream. He can't die."

She said almost incoherently against his ears, choking at her own tears. Seeing her break down was also physically hurting him. He was so used to the strong and smiling Mouri Ran she showed in public that he almost forgot that she can be this fragile and weak. Heiji was amazed how she managed to keep up such an amazing act of being fine for so long.

The only thing he can do to alleviate just a bit of her suffering was to whisper at her ear his own share of comforging words while staring at the operating room, a determined look on his face.

"He won't die nee-chan. I'm sure of it. Kudo would never die just like that. He finally defeated those bad guys. I'm sure that he won't ever leave you again. If he did, then he's the biggest Ahou in history of Ahous."

Hattori Heiji had never been close to Mouri Ran compared to others. They were friends, although they never really got to interact that much. However, that didn't stop Heiji from admiring the woman. She was so kind and naive at times that you just want to protect her. But she didn't even need you for that, knowing she can defend herself better than ninety percent of men out there.

Right now, Heiji was the only one who can understand at least a portion of what she's going through. Right now, they're both losing an integral person in their lives, their best friend. And they found at least a little solace from that, knowing they're not alone.

-

Am I the only one who loves this underrated pairing?

[mintchocolateleaves]

Cost of Freedom (42/52)

Summary:  In which Heiji confronts a tail, and Saguru refuses to leave the precinct without the full case notes in his possession.

A/N: 2020 has been a year you guys. I’m not even going to try to explain everything that’s added to this taking forever. Just, it’s here now. Cool. It’s 4am. I’m going to sleep.

[Chapter List]

--

Someone is following him.

Nervousness fills him as he moves, because someone is following him and trying to figure out which of the three are his suspect is difficult. Either paranoia is filling him up, swelling in his stomach like a sickness – something he’ll feel stupid about later – or they’ve slipped up somehow and revealed themselves.

Except, Heiji isn’t so sure what’s been done to five themselves away. If it’s anything then… it must be the website, right?

They’d clicked into it and set off some sort of… alert?

Heiji shudders. What kind of organisation are they working with, if even looking on a website can tip them off?

Moving forwards, Heiji turns, cuts a corner nearer to his house. If it were a normal day, he’d head left and down the road to his own house. Instead, he turns right.

As he turns, he takes a moment to glance over his shoulder to the three still following behind him. The pair of teenagers follow behind too. The businessman, however, keeps walking straight.

Heiji shudders.

He watches from the corner of his eye as the businessman keeps moving, walking straight, swinging his briefcase until the wall between them obscures all vision of him.

“Oh, fuck me…” Heiji mutters under his breath. His heart feels like it’s going to burst from his chest. And he’s still got two more following him to worry about. He wonders if this is how Kudo has felt the entire time, since he’d been free but not, how he feels knowing that everyone he walks past could be after him,

If this is the way his paranoia feels, Heiji wonders how Kudo can even sleep at all. He feels faintly, like he’ll never sleep again. He turns right, into another side street that’s more obscured from view, brows furrowing as he walks.

Perhaps he’s setting himself up as he starts heading to this route, but it’s the only way to know for certain, if he’s being followed. The side street leads to a dead end – unless they know, like Heiji does, that there’s a small hole in one of the neighbourhood fences.

An unknown detail, Heiji knows, unless you’ve spent the entirety of your childhood looking for lost pets and learning the neighbourhood down to even the smallest rock.

They follow. Heiji tenses.

His gaze sweeps around for something that could be used to protect himself. Something long, something that could resemble a bokken. He’s trained for years at kendo, so even if something happens here, he can at least try to protect himself.

He untenses himself from panicked into a different sort of tension. Readying himself on adrenaline for a fight. There are some old construction materials here, a plank of wood that he heads towards. Covertly, of course, so as not to raise suspicion–

“Hattori.”

Heiji jumps, pivoting as he does to look at the two girls. And oh, for fucks sake. The voice is familiar…

“Are th’ two of ya completely insane?” He hisses to the disguised selves of Kuroba and Nakamori Aoko. “Ya don’t jus’ sneak up on a guy like tha’.”

-

It’s difficult to consider what exactly they’re supposed to do next.

Ran follows after Saguru, waits for him to quit moving as they leave the department behind. That was a bust, she supposes, but they’ll find another way around things. They just need to figure out a… way to do that.

“We need the case files,” Saguru says, when they’re outside of the offices, leading Ran into a small alcove, pausing as he glances up and down the corridor. “We’re not going to be able to find Kudo-kun without them.”

Pressing her lips together, Ran glances away. She’s not sure how they’re supposed to get them if they’ve been taken off the case, if they don’t have the access to them anymore. There’s no way, it seems almost as if it’s… out of their hands now. They’ll just have to use the information they’ve got on hand to figure things out.

“They won’t give them to us.” Ran says. “You know that.”

Saguru pauses, nods. Taking a moment to think, he’s entirely quiet, until:

“We need to take them.”

“We can’t!” Ran is uncertain if it’s fear, or nervousness that leads to her moving forward, tugging on his sleeve so he’s properly looking at her. There’s a… there should be a limit, shouldn’t there? “Inspector Nakamori already said–”

“The inspector is still reeling from his daughter choosing KID over him,” Saguru says. His brows furrow, a frown flashing across his features. “Which… should have been expected, honestly. Even as KID, Kuroba showed her more attention.”

He pauses, glances away again for the moment.

“They’re…” Saguru sighs. “They’re both in danger. Kudo-kun’s case… they’re a part of it now too. More of my friends are in danger, and I… We need those files because we need to find them, to give them the evidence we found.”

Ran falters, feels her shoulders drop.

“I don’t want them to get hurt anymore than they already have,” Saguru continues. “If we can help them by breaking a few rules, then shouldn’t we?”

“It shouldn’t work like that,” Ran says, although she knows like each other time he’s made a point like this, she’ll cave.

“But it does,” Saguru says. “Come on, all I need is an open terminal.”

Ran sighs. And then, she nods her head. “I think there was one just around the corner.”

“Let’s go then.” Saguru says, leading the way. Ran follows behind him. “Something tells me we don’t have much time.”

-

Kazuha arrives to the shrine with a feeling of trepidation curdling in her stomach, acid rising up her throat. She shouldn’t have left Heiji, she should have stayed, but he’s always been stubborn and she understands why he told her to go. She just…

Sometimes she wishes she’d never gotten involved. That she’d been smarter before all this, when Heiji had started going on his weekend trips from Osaka to catch on that they were to visit Shinichi. Then, maybe she wouldn’t need to be so worried about Heiji.

She can’t change it thought, can’t go back and so instead, she hides her motorbike among overgrown plant life, focuses on sweeping away as much evidence of her being here as possible.

Shinichi doesn’t come out to see if it’s her, and Kazuha wouldn’t expect him too. Instead, she focuses on getting this done as quickly as she can while still being efficient, before heading up towards the shrine.

It always makes her sad to think about how this place was vibrant once. Without weeds and ivy growing up along the side of the building, nettles interweaving the wooden staircase up into the building, almost as if trying to devour the place.

People used to pray here, but she doesn’t know for what. She wonders if they should start praying for safety. She closes her eyes at the door and prays, in particular, for the omamori she’d gifted Heiji with when they were children, to keep him safe.

If he needs that.

She really hopes he doesn’t.

Her prayer finished, she steps inside, and goes in search for Shinichi. He’s not in the reception area, but she finds him further inside, in on of the side rooms they’d set up for a sleeping area.

“Shinichi-kun?”

She can’t keep the alarm from her voice. Shinichi sits, his knees up to his chest, nose pressed against the fabric of his jeans, hands brought up into his hair. His breath comes in sharp inhales, and she can see from the way that he’s shaking, that it’s panic.

Kazuha steps inside.

“I’m comin’ in,” Kazuha says, as she comes closer. She gets a small noise, affirming, but not much else. Not that she’d expect more from him, not that she’d want to hear gasping words. “I’m gonna sit next to ya, okay?”

A staggered nod – Kazuha takes it as permission, and sits, her back pressed against the wall, own arms holding her legs as she takes a moment to consider the best way to help.

Panic attacks aren’t a stranger to her, haven’t been since she was a child. Hands gripped around the edges of her blankets, around teddy bears and Heiji, her knuckles going white from the tightness of it all.

All it had taken was her father getting injured in a confrontation with a suspect at work, and she’d been terrified for him each day when he’d gone to work. The way it had felt difficult to breathe…

“Breathe in with me Shinichi,” she says, keeping her voice low, trying to make her words softer, less of the usual harshness in her accent. “I’m gonna count from five and you breathe in, okay?”

Shinichi nods.

Kazuha counts – this is the point where she usually shuts her eyes, but she can’t. She keeps her gaze on Shinichi, monitoring, trying to make sure he’s okay. Instead, she soothes herself by counting things designed to soothe herself.

“Five.”

Kazuha is safe, somewhere that’s unknown.

“Four.”

Shinichi is also safe, even if his body is flooding with adrenaline, his breathing staggered and harsh.

“Three.”

They’re in a shrine that has almost become one with nature, on the brink of society and it feels like no one will ever find them here, like even if they let their guards down accidentally, it’d be alright.

“Two.”

Heiji is saf–

“One.”

Heiji is…

Now she does close her eyes. Focuses on counting and keeps to it. She doesn’t want to think anymore, lest she join in with her own panic.

It must work, because eventually, Shinichi’s breathing becomes less uneven, deeper. She can feel when he stops shaking, the way he slumps back slightly against the wall – not relaxed, but better.

“…It was her.” Shinichi says. “Vermouth.”

Kazuha frowns, trying to piece things together. Shinichi hasn’t mentioned Vermouth before, not until yesterday, when he’d claimed she was Sharon Vineyard. She doesn’t see where she fits into things.

“Vermouth,” Shinichi continues, breath hitching. “She killed those people. I… spoke to her in Kyoto.”

Kazuha’s blood turns to slush, a mixture between horrified ice, and overwhelmingly hot rage, anger on Shinichi’s behalf. To be stood in front of… to have to talk to the person responsible for everything he’d been blamed for…

“She…”

“We’d met before.” His voice settles, miserable. “…Three times before. Although… now I know who she is… we’ve probably met more often than that…”

“An’ she killed those people?” Kazuha asks, words soft.

“…Yes.” Shinichi says. “Because of me.”

“It’s not your fault–”

“It is,” Shinichi says. He turns to look at her now, miserable, like the world is weighing him down. He is Atlas, and Vermouth is the person who has placed the weight of the world down onto his shoulders. When he reaches his hand up to his neck, scratching, Kazuha leans forward and slowly takes his hand. “She did it for me.”

“Did ya ask her to?”

“Of course not.” His tone is vehement, horrified. “I would never–”

“Then it wasn’t for you,” Kazuha says, gently. “That’s just an excuse. She’s th’ guilty one, not you.”

“She did it,” Shinichi says, shuddering, “so that the organisation would frame me, instead of killing me. I would’ve never… She’d have faked my death.”

“That’s still not your fault,” Kazuha says. At his weak expression, she leans forward, hand on his shoulder. “It isn’t.”

“It feels like it is,” Shinichi whispers. “If I’d backed off when she told me too…”

“Then more people would have died,” Kazuha says, firmly. “You just wouldn’t have known about it.”

Shinichi sighs. He lifts his hands up to his neck, before pausing. “Where’s Hattori?”

-

Saguru finds an abandoned computer terminal and Ran is instructed to keep watch.

“Just act like we’re meant to be here,” he says. “I’ve been down here often enough to be recognised – they won’t second guess us.”

Ran bites her lip.

She doesn’t ask why this department is different to theft, why they won’t kick them out. Instead, she trusts that Saguru isn’t too tired, too injured to know what he’s doing. Even if it feels like they’re painting large targets on their backs, she trusts him.

He kept her safe, and she’ll do the same for him. She makes the promise to herself. As her brain blocks out the generic noise of the precinct, her ears focusing on the way Saguru’s fingers clack at the keyboard, she promises that she won’t let anyone else get hurt for her sake again.

The silence is almost overbearing as her promise settles on her shoulders.

“We’re going to need everything,” Saguru mutters under his breath, and Ran is pretty sure that it’s not an invitation for them to converse but simply a reminder to himself to be thorough.

Ran sighs.

“We don’t need everything,” she says, regardless of whether it was intended for her or not. “I’ve got some evidence at home for Shinichi’s case–”

“I’m going to get everything, just in case,” Saguru says, cutting her off. His voice is firm. “Or there might be things that they didn’t necessarily give you. Like the video interviews, the transcripts. Everything regarding what happened with Kuroba and Aoko-san yesterday.”

Another sigh.

“How long do you think this will take?” Ran asks, quietly.

“Hopefully,” Saguru says, fingertips faltering at the computer, forehead crinkling into a frown. “…It doesn’t extend into time that we don’t have.”

“Alright,” Ran says, quietly. She doesn’t mention how that’s not an answer. “And we’re what… we can’t be printing all this off, can we?”

“I’ve got a USB stick; I’m going to copy them over.” Saguru says. “The only issue is trying to make it so the system won’t flag the fact I’m copying all of these files over.”

Ran pauses.

“I don’t think I want to ask how you know how to do all of this,” she says, after a moment.

“Understandable,” Saguru says.

Ran pulls her attention away from him, surveying the room instead. They’ve found an area outside of theft, so as to avoid Inspector Nakamori’s attention, but it’s still busy.

There’s an influx of people moving in and out of the department. Some carrying case folders, others carrying mugs of coffee. Most monitors have the bright white LEDs of a case report being written up, although from this distance, it’s impossible to read the writing on the screen.

She glances out around the room instead, mouth open partly, as she fiddles with her hands. Mostly, there’s just an influx of police officers she’s never met before. And then–

Short, bobbed hair.

And a butterfly tattoo.

Ran frowns. She doesn’t know why she feels unsettled, but a coldness runs down her spine as she glances back to Saguru.

“Which department is this again?” She asks quietly.

“Organised crime,” Saguru says offhandedly. He pauses for a moment, gaze flickering up to her. “Why?”

“I think our case might be being investigated in her too,” Ran says quietly. “The waitress from yesterday, I think she’d have been called in as a witness, right?”

Saguru pauses.

“Oh,” he says. “That’s not good.”

“We need to go before she notices us,” Ran says.

“Else they’ll link…” He trails off, body going tense. “Alright this might not be… the full files but it’s enough. Give me one more minute.”

Ran wants to refuse him.

A minute, she wants to say, feels like a lifetime when placed under pressure. It feels like an eternity stretched out into a large expanse of nothingness where an impending disaster is right on the horizon but all you can do is stand and watch as it moves in slow motion.

Ran wants to refuse him, to say they don’t have a minute. But she doesn’t.

Instead, she watches as Saguru pulls out a USB stick and inserts it into the computer, loading it up and mass copying over files. She keeps an eye on the waitress across the room, trying to remain subtle.

“Almost–” The computer works quickly enough, but for a moment, as her gaze flickers back to the screen, it seems as if the process will remain at 78% completion.

Ran glances back to the waitress and waits, her lips pressed together in a firm line.

“Done,” Saguru says. “Let’s go.”

He yanks the USB from the drive, before logging off from the computer. Then, he pushes his chair out, lips pressed in a tight line.

“Let’s go,” Saguru says, as he pushes up, letting out a small hiss as he does. His pain relief must be wearing off.

Ran lets her attention remain on the waitress for one last second – she doesn’t seem to have noticed her, is messaging on her phone – before focusing on the door.

“Let’s never do anything like this again,” Ran says weakly.

Saguru lets out a small laugh.

-

“For the record,” Kuroba says as he focuses on Heiji, his voice pitched high in a melodic lilt, feminine and very much keeping up the disguise. “Walking straight up to you somewhere crowded would have been much more suspicious.”

Nakamori nods beside him but remains quiet.

Heiji understands it, but his heart rate isn’t getting the memo. The paranoia they’ve instilled in him has adrenaline rushing through his blood, has him waiting for the moment something bad occurs.

It doesn’t. Heiji stays stood where he is, his fight-or-flight sense betraying him as two more associates on the run stand calmly in front of him.

They must be insane. Heiji officially rules that they’re not sane. The pair of them are completely and utterly insane and it’s only moderately terrifying.

“I get tha’,” Heiji says after a moment, “but still.”

“He does have a point,” Nakamori says, nodding her head. “It doesn’t help with all the paranoia. Especially on a case like Kudo-kun’s.”

Heiji’s gaze flickers from Kuroba to Nakamori before settling back on the thief. His nervousness shifts into something hot, something boiling in his blood as a flood of anger rushes through him.

“You told her about the case?” He hisses.

“She broke me out of hospital,” Kuroba says with a shrug. “Including police custody. I think Aoko deserves to know about the case.”

“It’s dangerous!” Heiji protests.

“I’ve gathered that,” Nakamori says, dryly. “Since I was almost killed by a sniper.”

Heiji glances between them both. The anger fizzles out slightly as he considers. “They were aiming at you and not KID?”

Nakamori shakes her head. “I doubt it was that.”

“I gave Aoko my gas mask during the heist,” Kaito says. “I needed her help with my escape plan – they must have been shooting for the mask. We reckon it’d have been easier to shoot at a mask through all the tear gas.”

“All things we can explain fully,” Nakamori says, crossing her arms, “in a group. We’d like you to take us to Kudo-kun, please.”

Heiji looks between them both, before offering a small sigh. “…I don’t have a spare bike, if ya can get one that you can follow me on withou’ drawing attention to you, then I guess so.”

“I’m very good at acquiring things without a trace,” Kuroba says, a brightness to his tone. Beside him, Nakamori rolls her eyes, shaking her head, exasperated.

“Give us a few hours,” Nakamori says, more calmly. She levels Heiji with an even look, determined, unwavering. “We’ll find something.”

Heiji’s brows furrow slightly, before he nods. “Take the Hanshin expressway out of the city – route 13. Down th’ Daini Keihan road there’s a turnin’ that leads to Katano, takes about half an hour – there’s a small dirt path off the track, I’ll meet ya there and we’ll head out after tha’.”

“It’s almost four now…” Nakamori says, quietly, frowning.

“Eight p.m.,” Kuroba says. “We’ll be there for eight. Allow us half an hour past that and if we’re not there by then, we’ll contact you if we can.”

Well… that sounds ominous.

Still, Heiji nods. “…Alrigh’, I’ll let them know.”

-

The phone call interrupts them both, saving Kazuha from answering with whatever half-hearted, scrambled excuse she could think up. She’s glad, really for two reasons.

The first, obviously, because of the relief that floods through her seeing Heiji’s caller I.D. pop up on her phone screen, the image of him frowning down at her when they’d been studying together for their midterms before, telling her to get off her phone.

The second reason being that she doesn’t need to come up with a lie. Kazuha’s not bad at mistruths – not when the situation depends on it, at least – but lying to an ex-detective, to anyone with the skills to read people down to the faintest verbal tic?

Yeah, Kazuha doesn’t fancy her chances.

“One moment,” Kazuha says, as she presses answer. Shinichi raises an eyebrow at her, but otherwise remains quiet.

Kazuha waits.

“We were bein’ followed,” Heiji says by way of greeting, “but not by anyone tha’ wants to kill us or anythin’.”

“You do realise,” Kazuha says after a moment, “that this isn’t comforting if you don’t offer me more information, right? You do know that?”

“Ahou,” Heiji hisses, before continuing, “of course I know tha’. You just didn’t let me finish. Let Kudo know Kuroba and his girlfriend are here, and he’ll see them soon.”

Kazuha pauses for a moment, processing. “What time will you get here?”

“About nine,” Heiji says. “We’ll have to leave ‘em to get caught up, we can’t stay tha’ long.”

Kazuha nods to herself. “Okay, I’ll see if I can scrounge up some extra blankets for ‘em.”

“Later,” Heiji says, as he hangs up.

Shinichi’s watching her quietly as she puts her phone away, contemplating. The tension in his shoulders has eased slightly, the ram-rod straightness of his spine easing in, not quite a slouch but something more natural, comfier.

“They broke out of the hospital and headed straight to Hattori,” he says.

“Seems like it.”

There’s a moment where Shinichi simply breathes, relaxed, before the previous tensions returns tenfold, his brows furrowing.

“What if they were followed?” He asks. “They came straight here, they’re linking Hattori–”

“We’re…” Kazuha can’t deny that it’s something worrying to consider, but she shakes her head. “They wouldn’t risk something like that. They’re on the run too.”

It seems she’s said the right thing, like Shinichi simply needed to be reminded, because he settles again without any further issue, offering a short nod.

“…Right,” Shinichi says, quietly, voice mostly a whisper. “Right. You’re right.”

Kazuha pushes up from the floor. “They won’t be here for a couple hours, so are you gonna help me search for some blankets, or what?”

[trouvelle]

Highway to Hell

Fandom: DCMK Characters: Hattori Heiji, Kudo Shinichi, Kuroba Kaito Rating: PG-13  Genre/Tags: Supernatural!AU, brothers Summary: Shinichi and Heiji are two brothers who hunt supernatural beings, more often than not with the aid of an angel named Kaito.

•

A deafening gunshot pierces through the usually silent forest, followed by muffled cursing and hurried footsteps.

Heiji’s heart thuds painfully loud against his chest as he bursts into the clearing. His senses are on high alert, and every little sound has him snapping his head backwards and raising his revolver more.

Where ya at?

Heiji considers sending an SOS to Kaito, but decides against it because the angel hasn’t been around enough lately to warrant any sort of human-to-angel vibe contact. He’s not sure if Kaito is ignoring them on purpose or simply busy with his angel duties right now.

He steps around one of the trees, being careful not to let his body parts near any of the grey goo on the floor (he learned the hard way a few minutes ago when his forearm got singed off). He’s not really sure what they are dealing with this time; there are no records on their father’s journal, and it isn’t really like any of the kinds of ghosts or demons they’ve ever fought before. The only thing Heiji learned is that, that thing that looks like human is anything but. The thing is similar to shapeshifters, and Heiji knows how to handle shapeshifters pretty well now, but that creature is way stronger and is resilient to bullets.

•

As he creeps towards the old house he last sees his brother at, he catches a brief shadow dart past inside the house. And there’s another figure, crouching no further than twenty feet away, hidden from plain sight behind a bush. He lets out a sigh of relief.

“There ya are.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. Don’t scare me like that.” Shinichi jumps as Heiji slides to position himself next to him, his voice a harsh whisper.

“Sorry.” Heiji grunts, his voice equally an octave lower.

“So, what have you got on this thing?” asks Shinichi.

“Well… It bleeds black goo, spits grey that’s capable of burning things off,” he pauses to point at his right arm, seeing a small burn mark on the jacket he is wearing, “It either takes on human form or found a poor human to possess, and… it’s alone.”

“Not very helpful.”

“Shut up!”

Shinichi shoots Heiji an annoyed look and immediately scans their surroundings once more. “Lower your voice. Unless you're that eager to give away our location.”

There is no harm in being cautious, but as far as this creature goes, Heiji is pretty sure it's quite lacking in the hearing department. He complies anyway. “We need to come up with a plan.”

After five more minutes of ragged whispers and soft arguments, they come to a conclusion. Shinichi is going to barge in from the front door, grab the creature’s attention while Heiji comes in quietly from the back and gut him. It sounds fool-proof enough.

•

Heiji moves slowly towards the back of the house, and waits for Shinichi’s signal to enter. As soon as he hears him shouting, he will know it’s his cue. He holds on tightly to the axe he finds in the shed before, hoping it won’t be too much of a mess, even though there are high chances that he’ll probably be splattered with black goo.

Well.. at least it’s not blood. It’s hard to explain to the police who have been prone to stop cars in the middle of the highway lately. He lets himself into the house, trying to muffle his footsteps.

Any second now.

“So, having fun possessing people lately?”

That sounds like Heiji’s cue. He moves in as stealthily as he can, trying to ensure that he won’t be discovered. Shinichi is still taunting the creature, who has taken control over a human’s body. The lights on in the dilapidated house bounces off the creature’s host face, revealing his human features. Heiji feels sorry for the man. He must have had a family, maybe with beautiful children, but he’d never be able to see them again. Even if he did, he most certainly won’t be the same man; he’d be left vacant, as if his soul has already left his body. This is what possession did to people; the pain was to the extent that their mind automatically shuts down to prevent any more damage.

But there is no time for sympathy. It’s not enough to go around, and he has a hunt to complete.

Heiji creeps up behind the creature, and raises his axe, about to swing it downwards when the creature turns and shoves him backwards with lightning fast reflexes. It snarls as Shinichi lifts his gun and shoots at him. That barely has any effect on it, its skin merely absorbed the bullets. The creature spits at Shinichi, narrowly missing him as he jumps out of the way, the wall scorched where he was just a moment ago. Heiji cursed as he got up, trying to catch Shinichi’s eyes.

Fuck, what do we do now?

We have to make a run for it.

It’s gon’ chase us!

Or we can just retreat into the kitchen, the backside of the house, let it think that it’s got us cornered, and just when it’s moving we can—

Their mental conversation is abruptly stopped as the creature suddenly speaks.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the famed Hunter brothers. I’ve heard a lot about you guys, you’ve certainly made a lot of enemies back in Hell.”

“What is it to you?” Shinichi answers, as he slowly inches closer to Heiji. The creature’s eyes follow him, but it’s not making any move to stop him.

“Mm, Gin has got a price tag on your heads. Eternal freedom for your souls.”

“Skip the bullshit, will ya?! What are you and why are you here? Are you under Gin’s command?” Heiji scoffs, swinging the axe to a thud on the wooden floor.

“Impatient aren’t you? Hmm… Then you must be Heiji.” taunts the creature, its eyes glinting under the dim light in a way that looks so wrong in human eyes.

“Yeah yeah, we’re pretty popular. Everyone wants a piece of us.” Heiji smirks, and continues, “If ya tell us, we can try ta work somethin’ out. Unless ya want us to kill ya right away.”

“Let me decide whether I should answer your question or not. What do I get if I tell you anything?”

“We won’t kill you.” Shinichi is next to Heiji now, both of them looking frighteningly tall and formidable against a stooped figure. The contrast is almost comical.

“Do you honestly think that humans of your calibre would be able to kill me?” The creature snorts. “But I shall just answer your questions anyway, since you won’t be living long enough to tell anyone else. Mmm, I’m older than any vampires you’ve come across, any demons or any of those disgusting leeches you find in hell, and I’m here because well, why can’t I be here? And Gin, no, I’m not really a fan of demons. No—”

Its words are prematurely cut off as Shinichi charges forward at him, the element of surprise on his side as he catches the creature’s face with a knife. The wound is deep, and would have killed any normal being, but it only served to annoy the creature as its skin began rapidly patching itself up, leaving an unblemished face just a few seconds later. The creature backhands Shinichi with enough force to send him flying into a cabinet. It grins as it turns to block Heiji’s blow, backing him into the wall and keeping a strong hand on his neck.

Heiji knows he can’t reach for his revolver with the grip that it was holding him, so he extends his hands out blindly for a weapon, something, anything that can be used to defend himself. Black dots are swimming in his vision now, and his fingers forms around something that felt like a large detergent bottle, he angles it upwards and swings it down to hit the—

“How’s your little problem doing, Heiji?” The creature smiles wickedly. “You’re not even in a good shape to help your older brother. And I heard you’ve been hallucinating about Lucifer~”

“Let go of him!” Shinichi angles the axe that Heiji previously dropped at the creature, narrowly missing its head by a hair’s breadth. “And don’t ask about our personal issues.” The creature snarls and lunges for Shinichi, while Heiji aims the bottle at it, hoping to distract it while Shinichi finishes the job.

For some strange reason, or as luck would have it, the creature’s skin started sizzling where Heiji throws the bottle. It burns a hole on its neck and shoulder, and the creature screams as the burn becomes deeper and gruesome.

“What the fuck was that? Get more and pour on him!” Shinichi shouts over the creature’s scream, his face a mask of wonder and incredulity.

“Don’t need ta tell me twice.” Heiji looks over at the bottle and almost laughs. Borax. Fucking Borax can hurt the thing. He grabs a few more from the cabinet and quickly splashes it over the creature, as Shinichi moves to behead it before its accelerated healing abilities starts to heal the wounds.

They finally heaves a big sigh of relief as the creature’s head rolls away from its body, sliding down against the wall. An exhausted cacophony of fucks and what the fuck was all that abouts soon follows.

•

“You two better burn the head or keep it far from the body.”

Shinichi and Heiji nearly jumps as Kaito suddenly appears, the angel has an extremely amused look on his face.

“Why?”

“You know that it’s going to reattach itself if the head’s close enough. And I don’t think you’d want an angry leviathan after you.”

Heiji gives him a blank look.

“Is he joking or..?” Kaito narrows his eyes and turns to the older of the duo. “Don’t tell me that this is your first Leviathan?”

Shinichi merely gives him a shrug. Yep, another achievement— their first Leviathan kill.

Kaito looks no less entertained. Oh well, no harm in explaining before things turn ugly. Although by the looks of it, the fact that a Leviathan was roaming on Earth indicates that something wrong has happened. Something must’ve started to take a turn for the nasty.

“Leviathans are the creatures locked inside Purgatory. They are way older than any vampires, shapeshifters, ghouls, ghosts, and demons. Even older than us angels. They used to call the shots back then before God decided to lock them up. Therefore, them being on Earth is bad news. For all of us.”

“Well damn,” Shinichi mutters. He runs his fingers through his hair in exhaustion. They’ve already got their hands full on picking up after their father’s job without much guidance, also while hellbent on looking for the man. Now this?

“You didn’t even get to see the best part. They usually dislocate their vessel’s jaw and show you their one giant mouth with a forked tongue,” Kaito comments, and seeing the other two staying silent, he adds: “And they have gigantic piranha teeth.”

“So, ya got any idea what they’re planning ta d—” Heiji stops and rolls his eyes as Kaito suddenly zaps himself out of sight again, “Fucking angels.”

Shinichi turns to Heiji, wanting to remind him that Kaito is not one of the bad angels. Although.. Kaito does get on his nerves. The angel likes to zap in and out of thin air as he pleases.

Shinichi settles with a sigh, motioning Heiji to help with the clean-up. Best to take Kaito’s advice before the Leviathan wakes up crying blood.

•

“Ya mind if I drive tonight?”

“No.”

“I won’t drive us off the main route.”

“Dammit, Heiji, no.”

“I promise, no more detours this time, no matter how hungry I am.”

Shinichi spares him a glance of disbelief. Did Heiji seriously think he’ll fall for that? “We’ve talked about this. When there’s a motorbike, you take the wheel. But when we’re with this car, I take the wheel.”

Heiji opens his mouth, as if he is on the brink of retorting something else, but he changes his mind about what he’s going to say next. “How about some dinner? I’m starving.”

Shinichi snorts. Of course. The last food they had was around 6 o’clock last night, before they began tailing the Leviathan. He can see the sky gradually getting brighter now, the dark blue of the night giving way to the a soft yellow. “It’s literally sunrise now. We might as well be getting breakfast.”

“How about omelettes?”

“Make that omelettes and orange juice.”

[smxsonic]

The Second Chapter in the AU where Ran knows about Conan from the beginning.

The two became something of a team since that day, as they quickly realized (to Ran’s embarrassment) That Kogoro Mouri was not the best Detective they could’ve asked for. Ran maintained that it wasn’t that he was bad, just Tunnel visioned.

They weren’t going to get anywhere by just letting Kogoro do his thing. Add the fact that Shinichi Kudo, now Conan Edogawa, was a natural born detective and couldn’t help being naturally curious and snooping around the crime scene. Ran would cover for the apparent child, but none of the adults would take the seven-year old seriously.

Things became easier when Dr. Agasa revealed the first round of inventions. One was a set of custom superpowered sneakers that multiplied Conan’s natural kicking power. The other one was a bowtie that could change the users voice to any other voice the user heard. Later on, he developed a wrist watch that could shoot a tranquilizer at a target.

Kogoro would be the intended target, but Ran felt uneasy about her father being tranqed on a regular basis, so the two started to work a system out  where Conan would solve the mystery through Ran.  Kogoro would still have to do it in a pinch, but now everyone was gushing about the famous Mouri detective family.

Of course, just because Conan was operating through the Mouri Family didn’t mean that Shinichi Kudo just disappeared from the public eye. The official story was that he was overseas tackling a particularly difficult case, while his cousin was sent to Japan to get in touch with his heritage.

Heiji Hattori, being a great highschool detective in his own right, was also rather dense. For being named ‘Detective of the West’, he didn’t really bother to see whether Shinichi Kudo was even in Tokyo when he showed up looking for a detective competition.

Conan, at the time, was suffering from a cold, thus Heiji offered an age-old cold remedy (Which turned out to be some high proof alcohol.) that seemed to make his cold worse.  A case came in as they usually do and Heiji tagged along in hopes that Shinichi would find his way there.

By some miracle, Shinichi did materialize to pretty much everyone’s shock

“How?” Ran asked.

“I don’t know,” Shinichi said, “ I suspect it had something to do with what Heiji gave me.”

“Osakan Liquor is the antidote?”

“Probably not, not by itself at least,” Shinichi struggled through his words, “I can feel myself changing back… I need to solve this case, but you need to find a way to cover for me.”

“Alright..”

So, Shinichi solved the case, and imparted some words of wisdom to Heiji. That being a detective was not a competition, it was a pursuit of the one and only truth.

Which led to Heiji’s second time meeting up with Ran and Conan on a Holmes fan retreat, and the series of cases that popped up there...

“Pretty smooth deduction Ran!” Heiji commended.

Ran laughed nervously, keeping Conan by her side, “Well you know, My dad’s a detective, one of my best friends is a detective, Something had to have rubbed off…”

Heiji smirked as he looked down to Conan, “Or perhaps you’ve had some excellent coaching.”

Conan laughed nervously, “That’s funny, Heiji-nii, But I’m just a little kid! Ran-neechan is just really smart.”

“I’m not doubting Nee-chan’s intelligence, but it is interesting that she seemed to know things that only you and I knew.”

“Um, W-Well,” Ran started but Heiji continued on.

“Your speech also changed once you started breaking everything down, and I’ve only heard one person make deductions like that…”

“Crap, He’s really close….” Conan thought to himself

“L-like I said…”

“You were also very keen on Keeping your mouth covered. The few moments that it wasn’t, your lips didn’t match what you were saying.”

Heiji knelt down to Conan and grabbed his bowtie, “And the Kid was speaking into this.”

He flipped it over to reveal the mechanical workings of the voice changer.

“So how long have you been using your girlfriend to solve mysteries, Kudo?”

“Hey! Hey!” Both Conan and Ran admonished in unison.

“Well, something rubbed off… “ Heiji snarked.

The two blushed and looked at eachother. They both nodded and looked at Heiji.

“Fine, you win.” Conan grumbled.

“We’ll tell you everything, but not with everyone here.” Ran explained.

Heiji smiled triumphantly, and soon got the whole story on the bus trip back.

“I see, so you were shrunk by a poison and then Nee-chan found you,” He surmised as he looked out the window, “Geeze, Kudo, if you were gonna get involved with shady groups, why couldn’t you wait until after we met.”

“Moron,” Conan Grumbled, “It’s not like I planned this…”

“You also shouldn’t call him ‘Kudo’ so freely either,” Ran pointed out.

“Right, Right,” Heiji dismissed, “ Still though, it’s good that you two’re in this together. I wouldn’t last too long if I had to do this by myself.”

Conan rolled his eyes and rested his head in his hand, but then Ran caught his eye and gave him a bewildered smile, and he returned in kind. Things did seem easier with the two of them working together.

[balancingdiet]

Tabula Rasa

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito Characters: Shinichi/Kaito Words: 3000 ish Chapter: (1) ... (12) (13) (14)

Shinichi always finds his neighbour weird. But he didn’t expect to find his neighbour lying on a patch of grass and donned in Kaitou Kid’s costume, too.

Kuroba didn’t lie; the Ramen was indeed splendid and the dumpling didn’t disappoint. And he didn’t lie when he said he knew the Ramen restaurant too, so well that the owner came over specifically to greet Kuroba when they entered and offered both of them an extra serving of char siew on the house. 

Shinichi wasn’t sure, but for the first time he had a feeling this special treatment had nothing to do with Kuroba’s charm. The interactions between Kuroba and the employees during the whole dinner felt real, and rather than being in a restaurant, Shinichi thought he was eating in a private home instead. 

But Shinichi wasn’t complaining. He liked the liveliness, which was similar to what he'd missed experiencing in Cafe Poirot when he was Edogawa Conan. Only this time he was in his true self, and also because he was with—

He had no idea where that last thought came from, and he refused to finish it.

After the dinner and a long chatty goodbye, they both exited the restaurant, the next idea of destination unknown to Shinichi. Kuroba then asked if Shinichi drove, which he did, and that answer seemed to give Kuroba a new idea for the night as he began leading Shinichi somewhere else besides home. 

They stopped outside a shop that sold gardening supplies.

Shinichi glanced at Kuroba’s back as they entered the store. “Why are we here?”

“To save your plants, duh.”

Shinichi frowned. “I—”

“Hello Kaito-kun!” The store owner greeted as she stood up from her chair behind the counter. “The usual?”

“Not today,” Kuroba said, before jabbing a thumb at Shinichi. “Somebody is trying to murder his plants and I’m not going to sit back and watch. Do you have any big pots for repotting Sweet Potato Vine?”

Shinichi glowered, not sure to be annoyed at Kuroba’s unnecessary remark or impressed at his abundance knowledge for plants. But Kuroba didn’t seem to care, or notice, as he disappeared to the other section of the store with the owner, their chatters grew to murmurs that Shinichi couldn’t hear. When Shinichi tried to follow through the aisle, Kuroba was already back with two pots under both of his arms.

Kuroba set them on the cashier counter before gesturing Shinichi forward. “You’re paying for these.” He grinned.

Shinichi grudgingly pulled out his wallet, though he returned a smile when he faced the owner to pay for the items. At the last minute, Kuroba added a pruner tool and a small spade during the checkout.

They carried a pot each on their way out.

“I have a question,” Shinichi said as they were finally heading to his car for home.

Kuroba glanced over. “Hm?”

“Did you previously live around here?” Shinichi asked. An explanation for his guess wasn’t necessary, but Kuroba’s lack of reply tempted Shinichi to fill in the silence between them. “The Ramen place, the gardening store... They’re not close to our district, but you seemed like a regular customer to them.”

“Yeah.” Kuroba eventually nodded. “I used to.”

“Why did you move?”

On the cue, a loud “Bong” echoed through the streets.

Shinichi halted in his steps.

“Bong.”

He turned

“Bong.”

Is that the clocktower? 

Most of the tower was blocked by the surrounding buildings, but the tip and the face of the clock could still be seen against the dark sky. The structure was nothing in comparison to the Big Ben in London, but the clock lights did help to close the gap and make it looked just as majestic and iconic.

Just like the first time he’d seen it up close in the helicopter ride.

Being in the helicopter, Shinichi wasn't aware of the directions and didn’t know the clock tower was actually around this area—which was also the place Kuroba used to live, as mentioned. But now that he did, he wondered if it was a coincidence, or if there was any relation to why Kuroba—Kaitou Kid—decided to not only steal, but save it.

Shinichi turned back.

Though Kuroba had also stopped beside him, he was still looking forward.

And his face seemed too blank for Shinichi’s liking.

But in a blink, some life returned to his eyes, and he turned towards Shinichi.

“Tabula Rasa,” he said, breaking the odd silence and the lingering echoes from the clock tower’s chime.

“…Tabula Rasa?”

“It means a blank slate. Like a moment after a new birth," Kuroba said, turning away as he began walking again. Shinichi quickly followed.

There was something heavy at the end of Kuroba's sentence, like it wasn't completed... 

“And?” Shinichi prompted, trying to test his luck.

“And that’s my answer," was all Kuroba replied.

----

By the time they reached Shinichi’s parked car and drove back home (with the two pots sitting in the back seat), Kuroba had returned to his… normal self. But it wasn’t entirely normal when the first few minutes of the ride was silent, though eventually it was Kuroba that first broke it by commenting about some insignificant things before he started talking about what he was going to do with Shinichi’s plants; and for once Shinichi couldn’t be more grateful for the two pots and tools he was forced to buy, just so they had a safe, neutral and stable topic for the rest of the ride.

“And also, you shouldn’t water it too much either,” Kuroba continued as they got off the car, brought the pots into Shinichi’s house and to the backyard. “It’s like spoiling a kid. It’d grow up bad.”

“Nice analogy,” Shinichi said, placing the new pot beside the old one.

“Huh,” Kuroba looked amused. “Never knew you’d appreciate anything coming from me.”

Shinichi thought there wasn’t a need to correct Kuroba about that. Instead, he focused all his energy on transferring the two potted plants with Kuroba’s guidance, which was also a good distraction that helped him temporarily forget about Ran’s return, the hospital conversation, and all the burning questions Shinichi wished he had answers to, but not at the expense of having to see the sadness in Kuroba’s face…

“Doooone!” 

Shinichi glanced up, watching as Kuroba wiped his forehead with his sleeves. He didn’t need to be a scientist to know that human doesn’t glow, no matter the circumstances, but strangely, under the dark night sky with little light around them, Kuroba seemed to be—

“Hm, thanks.” Shinichi eyed down at the plants in front of him.

“No probs.”

Then, Kuroba continued to share more tips about the plants, something along the line about how to protect the plant during harsh sunlight, but Shinichi couldn’t really hear his words or voice anymore, not when the only thing that echoed in his ears were his slightly loud and erratic heartbeats, thumping faster and faster as he wondered about the cause of it. 

----

“Kudo!”

Shinichi turned, instantly noticing the dark-skinned man among the crowd of people loitering at their agreed meeting venue. He closed the distance by jogging over to Hattori as well. 

“Sorry for being late, there was a last minute meeting.” 

“Nah, I just reached too,” Hattori said before slapping a hand over Shinichi’s back. “Boy, it’s been so long!"

Long, according to Hattori’s dictionary, was akin to several years, even though it was technically only several months since they last met. But Shinichi wasn’t going to say otherwise, given that the meeting was indeed rather short, and it was for work purpose too; he’d gone to Osaka to solve a missing case that involved a resident from Tokyo. 

Shinichi smiled and glanced at his watch. “It’s an odd timing, but do you want to eat? I know a place that sells good Ramen and dumplings.”

“It’s really an odd timing for something so full,” Hattori said as he rubbed a hand sheepishly behind his back, “and I already promised I’m going to bring Kazuha to try the curry rice later for dinner.”

“Oh, Toyama is here in Tokyo too?”

“Yeah,” Hattori pursed his lips, looking somehow reluctant to explain the reason why. And he didn’t. 

Then again, it really wasn’t hard for Shinichi to figure out himself.

Ran.

“How about giving me a tour around your new place?” Hattori grinned, slicing away the mild tension as he wrapped an arm around Shinichi’s shoulders. “You didn’t have a house-warming party, so now’s the chance.”

Shinichi hesitated, but it wasn’t because he wanted to hide his pathetic kitchen, messy study room or the sad little backyard with just two (albeit healthier-looking) potted plants. Instead, what flashed across his mind was Kuroba, his pesky doves, and his beautiful rose garden.

That was how it was to live beside an infamous and wanted thief, perhaps. 

“Well…” 

“C’mon, I already had enough of Tokyo's sight-seeing,” Hattori grumbled. “Just entertain me, would ya.”

“Fine, but—”

Before Shinichi could say another word, Hattori was already dragging him towards the direction of his car.

----

The first thing Shinichi checked when he got out of his car was Kuroba’s house (which was actually like all the other times, even without having Hattori or anyone around). But the sun hadn’t set and it was hard to tell if Kuroba was at home with no lights being on, so Shinichi had to check his mailbox. The lack of the dove’s presence and shit-stain didn’t help to confirm Shinichi’s guess either.

“Damn, it looks just as big as your old one.” Hattori gaped before skipping towards the front door.

Pushing his worries away at the moment, Shinichi followed.

The things in Shinichi’s house were pretty much self-explanatory, and joining with his lack of commentary talent, the "house-tour" was summed up in less than five minute. But Hattori still seemed pretty impressed, like usual.

“Nice place. Highly recommended. Will definitely visit again.” Hattori gave a thumbs up.

Shinichi shook his head. “You sure you don’t want to go somewhere else?” he suggested.

“Nah, oh wait. I haven’t seen your backyard.”

“Uh—”

Before Shinichi could even blink, Hattori had already teleported himself out in the backyard.

“Wow, you have plants,” he said aloud.

Sighing, Shinichi followed as he passed through the kitchen. “They are—”

Hattori suddenly turned, looking over at Kuroba’s backyard. “Eh, your neighbour’s there too.”

Shinichi froze.

“Hello!” Hattori waved.

Oh God.

Shinichi stepped into his backyard and awkwardly turned to look over at Kuroba’s side.

Kuroba was waving back at Hattori with a watering can in his hand, and after putting it down by his rose plantations, he ambled over to the fence.

Shinichi pinched the bridge of his nose. And he’d thought Kuroba would be smart enough and go back into his house… He must have given him too much credit and overestimated how his two remaining brain cells would handle the situation.

“Nice to meet ya.” Hattori placed a hand over his chest. “I’m Kudo's best friend and greatest rival.” 

“And his name is also Hattori Heiji,” Shinichi added. Not that Kuroba needed the information, but for the sake of formality… He gestured over to Kuroba. “And he’s my neighbour, Kuroba Kaito,” he said to Hattori.

Kuroba propped an arm over the fence. “Is it safe for me to say that I’m your best neighbour too?”

Shinichi sighed. “Ok, anyway—”

“Wait a minute.” Hattori frowned, his eyes suddenly turned all squinty as he surveyed Kuroba. “Why does it look so familiar…”

Kuroba blinked.

Shinichi was pretty sure his heart had stopped for a good two-seconds at least. “What?” he said, and it was already a miracle he didn’t stutter for saying that one word. 

Hattori scratched his chin. “I’ve seen it before…”

“What are you talking about—”

“That shirt, ya.” Hattori pointed at Kuroba, “I’ve seen you worn it before.”

With how synchronised they were—both glancing down at the shirt, at each other, and then at Hattori at the same time—Shinichi and Kuroba could have won an award at the Olympics. 

And not just them, Hattori should be awarded as the-most-observant-man in history too; it was indeed Shinichi’s shirt, the one he let Kaitou Kid wear on the night he ended up in his garden with a knife stuck in his waist.

“Uh.” Shinichi cleared his throat. “Yes, what a coincidence—that my neighbour has the same shirt as me.”

Kuroba had probably worked his two brain cells and figured it was better to not say anything, so he only added a laugh for effect. 

Hattori raised an eyebrow. “Right—”

“Anyway, there’s nothing in my backyard besides the two plants, so let’s head back in,” Shinichi said, dragging Hattori towards the backyard door without sparing a glance towards Kuroba. Luckily, the feisty detective complied without any argument.

But getting into the kitchen wasn’t enough. After closing the door to the backyard, he pushed Hattori into the living room too.

“Where are you eating dinner with Toyama?” Shinichi asked, hoping to deflect any sort of conversation related to what happened fifteen seconds ago. “We can maybe hang out around there—”

“No, no.” Hattori waved a hand, his face turned slightly panicked all of the sudden. 

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. It seemed like it wasn’t just him that was trying to do some form of distracting.

Hattori sighed. He rubbed a hand behind his neck. “Kazuha… She’s with Ran-neechan now.”

Oh.

“You do know that she’s back, right?” Hattori added.

Shinichi rubbed an eye. He was thankful, at least, that the aches in his chest had dulled so much to just a fluttering beat when he heard or thought of Ran these days. “Yeah, I know.”

Hattori frowned. “Why do I have this feeling that you know, but not at da’ same time?”

“I knew it through Shiho.” Shinichi explained, “But… I haven’t met Ran personally yet.”

“Yet.” Hattori leaned forward, looking as pumped as receiving a murder case. “Does that mean you are going to find her?”

Shinichi shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

Hattori’s face fell. “Well, I hope you do.”

Shinichi was tempted to give a nod just to assure Hattori, but he didn’t want to make any unconfirmed promises to anyone anymore. And worse, he feared Hattori would hold onto this thought and accidentally tell Toyama about it. And then Ran would know.

And if that happened, what should he do from there?

A buzz suddenly came from Hattori’s pants, saving Shinichi from having to continue his mind-mapping and figure what to reply. 

After silently reading off the message from his screen, Hattori pocketed his phone. “I guess I should go now.”

Shinichi nodded. “Let me send you.”

“Nah, I saw a train station when we passed. I can walk.” Hattori patted Shinichi on the shoulder. “Besides, Tokyo isn’t that big, ya know. You should at least prepare your script before stepping out of your house every time.”

Shinichi gave a wry laugh.

But out of courtesy, Shinichi still walked Hattori out of his door and a little further down the street before heading back into his house.

Or not really.

Standing right next to his mailbox was Kuroba, with his chin on the palm of his hand as he watched Shinichi walking closer home.

“You haven’t answered my question,” he said out randomly.

Shinichi frowned. “I don’t remember any question.”

“So, is it safe for me to say that I’m your best neighbour too?”

It was absurd that he didn’t see it coming. Shinichi rolled his eyes. “What do you think?”

Kuroba grinned. “Yes?”

Shinichi didn’t answer. He spun on his heels and went for his front door, but just for the feeling of it, he peeped back over his shoulder at the last moment, to find Kuroba still standing at the same exact spot and looking at him too.

“…What?” Shinichi muttered when they made eye contact.

“Nothing,” Kuroba said, before dusting his hands and heading for his own house.

Shinichi bit his lip. He backtracked, and took a few steps towards Kuroba. “Wait.”

Kuroba stopped. 

“Uh.” Shinichi unconsciously glanced at his mailbox. 

Kuroba followed his gaze. “My doves didn’t shit on it this time.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

Kuroba then tilted his head, promoting Shinichi to fill in the answer rather than supplying any more. Or maybe because he couldn’t think of any other reason to explain why Shinichi asked him to wait too.

And truth to be told, Shinichi couldn’t find any other reason either—

“When are you planning to return my shirt?” Shinichi came up with this idea instead.

Kuroba looked down and pulled the hem of the clothes, contemplating. “Do you want me to take if off now?” 

“Don’t,” Shinichi spat, which caused a grin to form on Kuroba’s face. Shinichi scowled in return. “Just give it back to me next time.”

“Ok. Is there anything else?

“No. I guess not.” Shinichi took a step back, and then another. “Bye.”

“Bye.” 

“…Wait.”

Kuroba turned and flung his hands up in exasperation. “What now?”

Shinichi dug both hands into his pocket, balling them into fists. “Do you… I mean, are you free?”

“Why?”

“By any chance… Are you cooking later? Like fried rice?” Shinichi blurted, almost pathetically. “Can I pay you to cook an extra plate for me?”

Kuroba blinked, his brief annoyance gone like the wind. “I can do it for free,” he said, his whole face all smiley and bright. “But in exchange, you have to answer my question: is it safe to say that I’m your best—”

Shinichi sighed. “Yes, yes you are.”

[jaroslavlewis]

The Same Old You: The Flight Back

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Title: The Same Old You

Chapter 2: The Flight Back

Author: Jaroslav Lewis

Fandom: Detective Conan

Pairing: ShinRan with slight KazuHei

Summary: Time has passed for them to believe that they have changed only for them to realize that some things haven't. Some things just don't.

Chapter Summary: Turns out his trip back to Japan did not only involve revisiting old places but old memories as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan and any of Gosho Aoyama's characters. I simply borrow them when I'm bored.

New York, Sunday, 9:00pm

Shinichi places the last neatly folded shirt inside his luggage. It fits perfectly and completes the whole set of his things to bring when he flies back to Japan for Hattori's wedding. He takes one last look and checks. He finds a decent amount of casual shirts, formal button up shirts, jackets, pants, underwear and toiletries and then he nods to himself. This should be good enough to last his whole trip. He zips the trolley bag and then places it near his dresser. He smiles nervously. He is all set. After ten years, he is going back. He is going home, even for a short while.

He hops onto his bed and pulls the warm comforter up to his shoulders. He closes his eyes but he finds out that he is not sleepy enough to doze off just yet. It is still too early, but he contemplates since he is going to fly very early tomorrow. So he closes his eyes again and he gives it a few minutes.

But instead of drifting into dreamland his thoughts travel elsewhere, back to Japan, back to her. The thought sinks in finally. He is flying back home and he is going to see her soon, at the wedding or maybe even before that. Then his eyes shoot open. He is awake more than ever and then he grabs his phone on his night stand.

He decides to browse through it, maybe go on social media again or play a video game. Then an idea escapes his mind.

'I should probably message her…' He thinks to himself as he clicks on the messenger icon and on her name.

He begins to type,

Oi Ran. I'm coming home tomorrow.

Then he shakes his head and deletes it. The message seems too plain, although it does sound like him. But he figures that it shouldn't be how he should approach her especially since it has been a long time since they have spoken to each other.

He pauses, staring at the blinking line, waiting for him to type. He is unable to think of anything. So, he back tracks their old messages he finds out that their last message dates back to five years ago. He does not even remember what they were talking about back then. He back tracks even more and he notices how their conversations went from really long ones to just simple small talk and then to just hi's and hello's until soon they no longer bothered talking to each other. He feels his heart ache against his chest and then he asks himself, 'How could we have ended this way?'

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

"No more secrets?" She asked. Her eyes searched for assurance as she cupped his cheek with her free, left hand since her fractured right arm was restrained in a cast. He closed his eyes and placed his hand over hers that is holding his cheek. He breathed a sigh of comfort as he leaned onto her touch. Suddenly, he felt warm. His whole body hurt with the injuries but her warm touch miraculously made him feel better, gave him relief.

Her eyes darted to the evident bruises on his cheek, the wound on his cut lip. She took a soft intake of breath as her eyes watered. She bit her lower lip to restrict a sob from coming out of her mouth. She tried to refrain from shedding any more tears only to fail afterwards when he opened his eyes and met hers.

Cerulean eyes looked alarmed with worry as he lifted his hand to wipe away her tears. His pair of sapphires met her amethysts. His delicate fingers brushed through the bruises and few cuts on her face. His heart ached at the sight of her hurting.

"No more secrets. I promise." He assured her as he nodded and gave her a soft smile. He scooched closer to her to get more comfortable as he sat next to her on her hospital bed. He carefully wrapped his arms around her, remembering to avoid holding her too tightly since she still suffered from a number of injuries.

He planted a soft kiss on the top of her head and inhaled her soft scent. He lightly pulled away to gaze at her again. Despite the cuts and bruises on her face, she still looked so beautiful.

Then he leaned in to press a soft kiss on her forehead and then another on her cheek where she was bruised and cut. He lightly pulled away only to lean closer to her at an angle where his lips were positioned just in front of hers. With just barely a millimeter between them the two of them shared each other's breath and then he closed the distance and kissed her so softly. It was chaste and barely lasted a few seconds but it was enough to drive both of them crazy, enough for him to lean in again for more after pulling away so shortly.

So he kissed her again, but this time with a little more boldness than the previous one. Butterflies did somersaults in her stomach as she felt his lips brush against hers in passionate but gentle way.

At the back of his head he noted that it was their first kiss, something he had dreamed of ever since he gained awareness of his feelings towards her. He thought to himself, that the place, the hospital room was probably the most unromantic place to share a kiss but at that moment, it just felt right and it didn't matter where it happened. The only thing that mattered was that they were finally together. No more secrets.

Osaka, Monday, 8:00 PM

It is their first night in Osaka, a week before the big wedding happens. Ran with Sonoko and Sera took an early flight to the city to spend more time with the couple and to plan Kazuha's bachelorette party. Now, they sit at the back of Heiji's car with him driving and Kazuha sitting at the passenger's seat. The couple is kind enough to offer them a ride to their hotel after picking them up from the airport and having dinner together.

"Heiji, don't forget we're gonna meet our parents tomorrow for the final fitting of their attires for the ceremony, okay?" Kazuha reminds her fiancé who remains focused on the wheel.

"What? I thought that wasn't until the day after tomorrow." Heiji reacts while keeping his eyes on the road. Kazuha rolls her eyes.

"It's tomorrow at 12 noon." Kazuha responds and Heiji's eyes widen in shock. His expression suddenly becomes conflicted.

"But I'm supposed to pick up Kudo at the airport that time!" Heiji reasons out. Ran's ears ring at the sound of her ex-boyfriend's surname. Sonoko side eyes at her friend knowingly, while Sera smirks, shaking her head.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Heiji whines, eliciting a scowl from his fiancée. She looks at him with an annoyed, bewildered expression.

"Excuse me? I told you so many times. I even listed our whole wedding preparation schedule on the calendar of our apartment!" Kazuha retorts. Heiji makes a face and shakes his head. It doesn't take much for Ran, Sonoko and Sera to predict that such little issue will lead to the couple bickering. Typical Heiji and Kazuha.

"Well, I can't just ditch Kudo so suddenly. I promised him!" Heiji says, worriedly. Kazuha scratches her head in a frustrated manner.

"Well you can't just ditch our parents as well." She points out. "Kudo-kun will understand. Besides, he's a grown man. He can handle himself."

"Yeah, but it's his first time in Japan after ten years." Heiji sighs. "I'm thinking, he'd at least want someone to be there for him when he arrives and I'm guessing he'd need some help with his luggage too…"

Ran finds herself unconsciously nodding, agreeing with Heiji. Sonoko lightly nudges at her with her elbow and gives her a suggestive look. Ran in turn looks at her questioningly and then shakes her head.

"Well this wouldn't have happened if you took time to pay attention to our wedding prep schedule!" Kazuha scolds. The other three remain silent, awkwardly listening to the couple's fight escalating. Ran clenches her skirt with her fist, silently praying that the little misunderstanding won't lead to another Heiji and Kazuha shouting fest like most of their fights do. She also considers an idea at the back of her head but she doesn't say anything.

"You just never listen to me, Heiji…"

"Ahou!" Heiji's tone raises. Ran flinches at the sound of his voice.

"Ano sa…" Ran begins out of impulse causing Kazuha to turn to her and Heiji to look at her through rearview mirror. She feels her heart pound rapidly through her chest. She bites her lips shyly, at the back of her head she considers the thought that she'll probably regret even suggesting it to them but she also thinks that she doesn't have any choice anyway. "If you guys want, I can go and pick him up in place of Hattori-kun…"

"That's actually-

"…a great idea!" Heiji exclaims.

"…insane!" Kazuha reacts.

Kazuha glares questioningly at Heiji who shrugs at her while he continues to drive.

"Ran-chan, are you sure you're gonna be okay with that?" Kazuha asks worriedly.

Ran opens her mouth to respond but Heiji immediately counters bluntly, "Sure it is! She and Kudo are fine. Besides, it has already been a decade. Ne, Nee-chan?"

'A decade… It's already been that long huh?' Ran thinks to herself, all of a sudden her mouth becomes dry. Realization comes to her. What is she supposed to say to him once they see each other? Suddenly she wishes to undo the events earlier, thinking to herself that she shouldn't have meddled with the couple. But it is too late now…

"Ahou!" Kazuha shouts at Heiji as she hits him violently on the shoulder, causing him to flinch.

"Kazuha-chan, it's okay." Ran assures the bride to be who turns to her with a hesitant look on her face. "I mean, Hattori-kun is right and Shinichi and I are okay. I swear. Besides, we're gonna see each other either way, at your wedding, right?"

"Well then I guess, if it's no trouble for you, then okay…" Kazuha sighs in surrender. She turns at Heiji, giving him another glare. Silence starts to fill the air so suddenly. Ran gazes at her window as her thoughts drift somewhere else.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

She had her fears.

She was aware of the dangers and death threats that his duty came with. She was used to the environment of the crime-solving industry. It did not bother her much because she knew how to defend herself. She was perfectly fine…

Until it happened.

She was put to a situation where she had no control of. She couldn't do anything to save him. She couldn't even defend herself. She was powerless against the syndicate. Both of them were. She almost watched him die right before her eyes.

Since then, she could never get the dark, tortured image of him off of her head. Even after the incident, it still haunted her. She had nightmares about it and every time, she was faced with such image in her dreams, she couldn't do anything.

She blamed herself. Maybe if she had been more careful, maybe if she had been stern enough to stop him from following the suspicious men in black, maybe if she had been more inquisitive and stuck to her gut-feeling about Conan's identity, maybe if she cornered him with her deduction and forced him to confess, then maybe she could've done something to protect him.

He always assured her that she was never at fault but deep down in her heart she still felt like she is responsible for what happened. So, she swore to herself she'd never make the same mistake again.

When things got back to normal, she and Shinichi had an agreement that they'd always know each other's whereabouts. It wasn't because Ran didn't trust him. She merely wanted to monitor his safety and Shinichi wanted the same for Ran so he agreed without second thought.

Ran was not a demanding girlfriend. Neither was she in anyway possessive. In fact, she was very considerate with his schedule. All she wanted was assurance that he wouldn't run into such trouble again and that if he does, she would be able to do something about it in any way she can.

Shinichi was more than willing to give her what she wants. He knew her fears and he understood. He loved her and he wanted to make it up to her. So he complied very well.

He always informed her if he had soccer practice, or if he had to go out with Nakamichi and the boys and most especially if he was needed for a case. He made sure to always text her that he got home safely after his agenda. Ran did the same. Shinichi knew her schedule, if she had Karate training after class or if she had to go out with Sonoko and the girls.

They had no problems.

Until a certain incident happened.

Ran had Karate training. Shinichi ran off to solve another case. Like always, they gave each other a heads up. Ran went home by herself. It was no biggie. She'd just have to patiently wait for Shinichi to call or text her once he got home.

So patiently she waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until hours passed and there was still no phone call, not even a message. It was already midnight. If Shinichi had to extend his hours with the police, he'd tell her but he didn't call. It started to worry her, but she didn't give in to panic just yet. She messaged him via text and via social media and she waited again. Maybe he was busy.

So she stayed up late to wait again, but still no sign of him. She decided to call but his mobile could not be reached.

Suddenly the scenario felt so oddly familiar and then she was scared again. What if he was unconscious somewhere where no one could find him? What if they took all his means to contact for emergencies? What if he is hurt? Or worse… What if he's…

As mindless as it may seem, Ran rushed to find him. She didn't have much of a strategy. All she knew right then was that Plan A: she'd go to his house to see if he is home and if he still isn't, Plan B: she'd go on all night looking for him until she finds him. It was insane and irrational but it is what she did.

So she showed up at his door-step, in her sleepwear and a sweater, panic-stricken and frantically ringing his doorbell while she silently prayed for him to answer. Her eyes stung with tears threatening to fall with every ring that he didn't go out to open the gate to his house.

It took about 8 rings for him to show up with a confused look on his face, still in his uniform and with his hair sticking in different directions.

"Ran, what in the world? What are you…" He didn't get to finish his question as he opened his gate to let her in. He stared at her shaking form. She was shivering not just from the cold and her lack of warm clothing but also because of something else...

He placed his hands on her shoulders. His eyes looked concerned as he looked into her terrified ones. His heart ached. It was the most vulnerable he has seen of her. Ran was a strong woman and it was one thing to see her cry but another to see her so distraught and so frightened.

"You didn't call!" She sobbed. It wasn't an accusation but merely a statement of the reason why she was in panic. "I thought something happened to you! I…"

His arms wrapped around her instantly, taking her into a warm, tight and protective embrace. She continued to shake and shiver against his body. He felt like a total idiot for forgetting and a huge jerk for making her worry. He was supposed to call her soon, but the investigation was too long. His phone died. When he got home he was so tired that he fell asleep on the couch and forgot to tell her he was safe.

"Thank God, you're okay…" She cried with relief. And his heart ached a million times than it already did. How in the world did he deserve such a kind-hearted, loving woman like her? How could he be such an asshole for making her cry again?

"I'm sorry…" He breathed against her ear as he stroked her back, comforting her. "God, I'm so sorry, Ran…"

Tears soaked the jacket of his Teitan Highschool uniform. He felt her shake her head against his shoulder.

"I panicked. I over reacted. I'm so sorry…" She apologized, still sobbing. Suddenly she felt awfully embarrassed and pathetic.

"Shhh…" He hushed before pressing his lips on her forehead. "I should have called you. It wasn't your fault. I'm sorry I made you worry…"

She lightly pulled away to look up at him. She nodded in response and gave him a small smile. At this point, her sobbing has already subsided but her eyes were still watery with tears. She hair was disheveled from all the running she had just done.

He let out a relieved sigh as he ran his fingers through her hair and tucked any stray hair behind her ear. He ran his thumb through her tear-stained cheeks. No more words came out of his mouth for he had no idea what he should do to make her feel better.

New York, Monday, 6:00 AM

Shinichi presents his ticket and passport to the stewardess before boarding the plane. After a brief inspection of his passes, he is able to enter his flight bringing with him his extra hand-carried backpack where all of his valuables are contained. He walks through the aisle while placing his passport and other documents securely inside his backpack. He finds his designated seat by the window. He places his backpack in the compartment, bringing only his smart phone and earphones with him as he sits down comfortably on his seat.

He looks out the window as he waits for the plane to take off. He puts on his earphones but he doesn't listen to any music, instead he quietly observes the dim view of the airport ramp outside. The sun hasn't even risen just yet. He thinks about Japan, how the sun has probably long set there, given the evident time difference. He sits back to relax since he did not get much sleep last night. In about fifteen hours, he'll be back in Japan. It is gonna be a long flight.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

He still had guilt in his heart.

It was hard for him to get rid of, not after she got involved in the syndicate case and endangered her life because of him. He thought the guilt would slowly fade away as time passed, but it didn't especially after he saw her one night, shivering in fright, her expression, panic stricken as she embraced him.

Shinichi knew about her fears and he had fears of his own as well. It was the reason why he agreed to their arrangement, why he promised that for the second time around, there would be no secrets between them. It wasn't just a matter of trust. It was more of a safety precaution for both of them especially after the trauma that the case caused.

He confidently thought he could easily comply to it, but there was one night that he wasn't able to and it resulted to triggering her trauma, driving her to run miles away from home to his house to check on him, just to check if he was safe, if he was still alive.

So once again, Shinichi hated himself. He promised he wouldn't make her cry anymore. He told himself that he would make it up to her, that he would protect her this time, in his second life, their second life together but he failed again.

Still, despite all that she forgave him endlessly. So, he worked hard to prove and make sure that forgiving him was not a pointless decision for her, that he really did deserve it, that he deserved her…

Needless to say, he worked too hard that slowly he began to lose himself for her even when she didn't ask him to…

He never noticed it until then.

It happened after soccer practice, just about a few weeks since he decided to come back to the team to help them win the interschool soccer tournament.

It was a simple prank, done by his teammates. But he was not having any of it. It was a serious matter to him but they did not understand how such simple joke could easily tick him off.

"Give me back my phone." Shinichi demanded in a calm but serious manner when he found his phone missing from his gym bag. Being a detective, and knowing his peers so well, he didn't need any evidence other than commonsense to deduce that they were on to something. He had his hands inside the pocket of his shorts as he stood casually and hid his hands balling into fists so hard that his nails created crescents on his palms.

"Come on, Kudo. We didn't take your phone!" A group of boys his age teased, snickering with obvious intent as they sat on the bench of the boys' locker room.

"I'm not playing around with you guys. Give me back my phone." Shinichi repeated in a serious tone but the boys all laughed.

"Jeez, Kudo. Get a grip will you!" One of his teammates that had 'Akamine' written on his jersey said as he took a red phone from his gym bag ready to hand it over to Shinichi who reaches for it with an annoyed look on his face.

Just then, his phone started to ring. Ran's name and picture flashed on the screen. Shinichi's phone is snatched away once again before he could even get it back from Akamine.

"Ah, Mouri-chan's on time as always! As usual, the missus never misses." Akamine commented jokingly. Shinichi growled in frustration as he lunged after Akamine to reach for his phone but his teammate tossed it to another.

"Oi! Akamine! Give it back! I have to take the call." Shinichi shouted but the guys just kept on playing pranks on him.

"Why do you look so scared, Kudo? Are you afraid she'll kick you in the ass, thinking you're cheating on her because you missed her calls?" Akamine teased, triggering Shinichi's anger even more.

"Damn, Kudo. You really are whipped! Looks like your girl is THAT possessive…" One of his teammates commented. "Jeez. Women. This is why I'm not getting a girl friend."

Ran's worried face flashed before Shinichi's eyes. Suddenly it was all he could think about. His pulse beat harder against his ears, muting the sound of his teammates' boisterous laughter. And then, Shinichi lost it.

Shinichi punched Akamine in the face.

The laughing abruptly stopped. The ringing in his ears faded but his phone's ringing does not.

"What the fuck's wrong with you?" Akamine cursed. Shinichi angrily pulled him by the collar, and pushed him to the lockers with immense strength. He raised another arm, ready give the guy another punch in the face when his team mates interfered.

"Kudo! We were just joking around!" One of them said.

"Look, we're sorry okay?" Another apologized, bringing him his phone.

Shinichi let out a huff of breath, calming his nerves. His grip on Akamine gradually loosened. This time, it was Akamine who was furious.

"I asked nicely." Shinichi explained as he took his phone, gripping it tightly on his hand and lifted his gym bag with the other.

"Coach is gonna suspend you from the team." Akamine warned threateningly.

"I don't care." Shinichi answered with a deadpanned expression as he proceeded to leave. "I quit."

With that, he walked out of the locker room, leaving his teammates shocked.

Shinichi sped up to the hallway with his ringing phone. He took a few breaths to calm himself down so that Ran wouldn't suspect anything.

"Hey, Ran. I'm sorry it took a while for me to answer…" He apologized as soon as he answered the phone.

"Gomene. Are you still at practice? I just called to tell you that mine just ended." Ran replied with a sweet tone. Shinichi suddenly felt his anger subside. He smiled to himself upon hearing the sound of her voice.

"It's okay. Our practice just ended as well. I'm on my way to meet you…" He said, making his way to the school gym where Ran and her team usually held their matches.

Osaka,Tuesday, 8am

Ran is up very early despite barely getting any sleep last night. She sits by the vanity mirror of the hotel room which she shares with Sonoko and Sera. Sonoko stirs in her sleep while Sera continues to snore.

Ran quietly does her morning skincare routine in her bathrobe, her wet hair still in a towel since she just got out of the shower. She starts to put on a little bit of concealer under her eyes to hide the little bit of bags she gained under her eyes for staying up late last night, over thinking. Sonoko sits up to watch her, yawning loudly as she stretches her arms.

"Ah, look at you being all excited to see the ex-husband…" Sonoko teases. Ran's face immediately heats up in embarrassment.

"Sonoko!" Ran whines as she puts on a little powder to set her face, then a little bit of blush to add color to her cheeks and then some mascara on her eyelashes which were already so long. Sonoko hops off of her bed to approach her friend. She grabs a chair so she could sit next to Ran in front of the vanity. Ran consciously reaches for a lipstick in her makeup bag. She looks at Sonoko who still has her eyes on her. Ran feels shy. She always gets nervous when people watch her get ready.

"Not that." Sonoko says as Ran uncaps a red-orange lipstick. "Use the nude one. It's better with your all-natural kind of look."

Ran nods and reaches for a different lipstick. She uncaps it and applies it delicately over her lips. She purses her lips together to even the color out.

"Perfect." Sonoko comments while holding her two thumbs up. "You already picked an outfit?"

"Yeah." Ran replies taking a loose, fluffy hoodie and denim shorts from her luggage. Sonoko shakes her head disapprovingly.

"No way you're gonna see him in that." Sonoko says. Ran's eyes widen.

"Why not? It's cute and besides, I'm not trying to impress him or anything. Also, it's just the airport so I should just look casual." Ran explains defensively. Sonoko rolls her eyes.

"Yeah right. You're seeing your ex okay? Put on something nicer. Still casual but show stopping, you know what I mean?" Sonoko proceeds to rummage through Ran's luggage. Ran observes curiously, cocking her head to the side. It takes only a few seconds for Sonoko to fix up a good fashion combo for her. She hands her a mustard yellow crop top and dark skinny jeans.

"You look hot in this. Put this on."Sonoko commands her. Ran looks at the outfit hesitantly. "Just do it! It accentuates your boobs and your fine ass."

"Sonoko! It's too revealing!" Ran whines.

"So what? You got some goods to show. Flaunt it!" Sonoko encourages, pushing her to the bathroom to change. "Just shut up put it on!"

Ran is left with no choice but to obey her friend. So she changes into Sonoko's recommendation outfit. In a few seconds she is out and ready. Sonoko squeals in delight upon seeing her come out of the bathroom in the crop top and skinny jeans.

Indeed, Sonoko knows best. Ran clearly looks so fine in the outfit for it hugged her curves pretty well.

"Okay, it's still very early. We have time to do your hair!" Sonoko exclaims, pulling Ran back to the chair by the vanity. She unveils Ran's wet hair and grabs a hair blower and a hair iron. She plugs the hair blower and starts to dry Ran's damp hair with it.

Ran sits in a very well-behaved manner. Sonoko meets her eyes in the mirror, smiling at her friend who returns her smile with a soft, nervous one.

"By the time we're done, you're gonna totally knock Shinichi's socks off." Sonoko comments. Ran rolls her eyes and laughs. "You know, I'm honestly kind of still opposed to this whole Shinichi thing."

Ran looks at Sonoko questioningly through the mirror.

"You're the one who suggested this whole Shinichi thing. Besides, we're only friends now, Sonoko…" Ran clarifies with a hint of defensiveness that Sonoko takes note of.

"Yeah right. Friends who are to awkward to hit each other up after a break up." Sonoko slams her. Ran stays quiet, clearly affected by Sonoko's response. "I honestly think you could do better though. Clearly, there are a lot more guys better for you than that nerd. I don't know what you see in him. He's Shinichi. But anyway, it's obvious that you're crazy about him, still are and always have been. It's like he's your measure of standard for guys or something. It's weird but I guess that's love…"

Ran wants to deny what Sonoko had just said. But she knows there is no point in it. Her best friend could read her easily. They've known each other all their lives.

"Well, it's different with him. He was a big part of my life. He was my friend first before he became my first love…" Ran says fondly. Sonoko furrows her eyebrows, thinking hard as she continues to do Ran's hair.

"Until now, I still don't get why you guys had to break up. You guys were supposed to be end game." Sonoko comments with a disappointed sigh.

"We had to grow at some point…" Ran replies with a sad smile on her face, reminiscing a lonely memory in her head that she never forgot so easily. "Even if it meant that we had to do it separately…"

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

Ran wasn't the type to eavesdrop but the mention of her boyfriend's name in some strangers' conversation intrigued her. She stood by the lockers and she was just packing up when she heard the sound of two girls' voices echoing through the almost empty and very spacious girls' locker and shower room.

She noted that they were members of the cheerleading squad of Teitan High, given that they were talking about dance routines and of the upcoming cheering performance they'd have to do on the Japan Interschool Soccer Tournament.

And soon enough, her boyfriend's name was brought into their little conversation.

"Ugh. What's the point in cheering if we're not gonna win anyway?" One of the girls said. She had a shrilly, whiny voice that sounded quite annoying.

"Don't say that!" Another hushed. Compared to the first girl, her voice was less shrilly and sounded more mature. "The soccer team is working really hard despite Kudo-sempai's absence."

Ran's ears perked up at the sudden statement.

'Shinichi? But didn't he just got back on the team?' She thought to herself, confused.

"Why did Kudo-sempai have to withdraw from the team anyway? Is it because of his detective duties again? Guess he's really that big in the industry now huh?" Shrilly asked.

"I guess. But from what I've heard it's not about that this time." Less-shrilly replied. "Rumour has it, it was because of his girlfriend!"

"Mouri-sempai? No way!" Shrilly let out a loud gasp. Ran found herself doing the same thing. Suddenly, she is even more interested to listen. She was confused especially when she had no idea at all about Shinichi's withdrawal from the team.

"I don't know much but some are saying she's pretty possessive." Less shrilly commented. "Not so surprised. She has the vibe."

Ran clenched her fists furiously. She had the sudden urge to smash a locker into a reduced tin can.

"Well, you can't blame her though. With Kudo-sempai walking around looking like a snack, you'd definitely build fences around him if you were his girlfriend." Shrilly giggled. Ran rolled her eyes as she took out more things from her locker, resisting the urge to slam it very loudly.

"True, but there should be a certain limit to it. At this rate, she's just being a hindrance to him." Less-shrilly said. "If you ask me, Kudo-sempai should be with someone up his ally. He's practically a celebrity now but he's going low-key just because he doesn't want to leave Mouri-sempai in the dark. Let's face it, she's too… ordinary..."

"Wow. You're too harsh." Shrilly hissed.

"Just pure facts, darling. The syndicate case should be a good example. Kudo-sempai spearheaded the capture of the members and Mouri-sempai? Wasn't she just a mere casualty?"

The girls were completely irrelevant to Ran but their words pierced through her heart like knives. She wasn't able to notice the tears that fell down from her eyes as she was listening. She sniffled a sob as she closed the door of her locker, in a surprisingly quiet way. She holds on to it for support as she felt her knees going weak. She covered her mouth to avoid making any noise as she cried.

She didn't want to back down on the judgmental girls and become the loser but for some reason, they seemed so spot-on right.

Everything came back to Ran in an instant.

She remembered how back in middle school, Shinichi was supposed to fly to Los Angeles with his parents but he didn't because he couldn't leave her. Then when he got involved in the Black Organization case, he didn't tell her about the situation because he didn't want to get her in danger. And even then, despite going through so much trouble already, he still found a way to protect her. He became Conan for her in Shinichi's absence…

And lately, he had been ditching cases ever since her embarrassing, outburst. She didn't give it much point but since it has finally come to light, she finally realized that all the phone calls he claimed to be "not important" were probably from Megure-keibu but because he wanted to be with her and he didn't want her to worry, he'd immediately shut them all off for her.

So stupidly she believed in his words not because she trusted them to be true but because it gave her relief. Because it saved her from worrying. But clearly, he was giving up a lot of things of her and he was willing to do so even if it meant giving up his own passion just so he could be with her…

Then it hit her. Shinichi always came through for her. He'd always tell her how selfless and kind she was to forgive him after everything he has done. But the truth is, what she did was probably nothing compared to everything that he has done for her.

So, maybe they were right after all. Maybe she didn't deserve him. Maybe he was better off with someone else…

Tokyo, Tuesday, 11am

Shinichi is on board another plane, riding a connecting flight from Tokyo to Osaka after a fourteen-hour flight from New York. But unlike on the previous flight where he completely dosed off, he is wide awake on this one. His neck, aching from the long flight and how he positioned his head when he slept a while ago.

'Only one hour…' He thinks to himself. His palms start to sweat as he feels both excitement and nervousness rush through his veins.

He assumes the possibility that she could have already been there. Knowing Ran, and judging by her comment on the proposal announcement last time, he suspects that she could have already booked an early flight. Besides, she is the maid of honor and it is expected that she is to help Kazuha with the last-minute preparations. Also taking in consideration that Ran is supposed to plan the bride's bachelorette party the same way he is expected to plan the groom's since he is the best man.

So, he makes a bet with himself, that there is a 90 percent chance that Ran's already in Osaka most likely with Sonoko and Sera since they are all-out supportive friends. But he wonders, would she be with Hattori at the airport? He shakes his head no.

There's no way. It would probably be too awkward.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

Shinichi is taken aback by the sudden confrontation. He was shocked when Ran dragged him all the way to a particular bench in their school yard to talk privately. She wasn't mad but she did bombard him with questions about his sudden withdrawal from Teitan High's soccer team. Shinichi never planned to hide it from her. He was merely looking for the perfect timing to do so. But alas, rumors about him spread easily like wild fire and though Shinichi never really cared to explain himself to others, he knew it is his responsibility to clarify things with her.

What surprised Shinichi more is that the sudden news affected Ran in more ways than he could ever think of suddenly, it wasn't just about soccer anymore. It was…

Everything.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, tears started to brim at the corner of her eyes. Shinichi cupped Ran's face in his hands. He looked at her earnestly. He only had one answer in his head.

"Because I love you and I promised to make it up to you, didn't I?" He said sincerely. She shook her head furiously.

"At what expense? You're giving up so much for me…" She sobbed. "You're losing yourself because of me."

Shinichi shook his head in denial. He was stunned. He never knew she had such thoughts in her head. Of course, that wasn't the case. Not to him.

"I just don't want to be the reason for these tears, Ran." He spoke, lifting his hand to wipe away her tears.

"And I don't want to be the reason why you're holding back from doing the things you love…" She said as she looked into his cerulean eyes that she loved so much. "Shinichi, you know it too right? You and I, we both haven't healed since…"

She took his hand in hers and held it tightly as he stared at her with so much sadness in his eyes. He knew what was bound to happen he saw it in her eyes, he felt it when she held him.

"We can't be this broken together…" She said. "We have to heal on our own terms. Separately."

Shinichi wasn't able to speak. He let out a deep breath and looked down. Suddenly his throat went dry. He didn't want it to end in such way but he knew she was right. They would only keep on hurting each other. And as much as he hated it, as much as his heart broke at the thought, his mind told him that it was the right thing to do.

"Is this what you really want?" He asked giving her another chance to take it back even when he knew very well that she wouldn't. She was a woman of word.

"It's not about what we want. It's about what we both need." She replied, letting go of his hands. Shinichi suddenly felt a melancholic coldness surround him at the absence of her touch.

"I just can't believe this is happening…" He cleared his throat and took a deep breath, restraining himself as soon as he felt his face heat up and his eyes becoming heavy with the threat of tears forming. His heart broke and he felt it in his chest. He looked up, to avoid the tears from falling. He wasn't the type to cry and he is not bound to do it in front of her. "I just love you so much, you know…"

He reached up to cup her face. He savored the moment, knowing that it probably would be the last time.

"And I love you too." She said, fighting the urge to cry again. "I'm sorry…"

"I'm sorry too." He told her, pulling her for one last embrace.

Osaka,Tuesday, 12nn

Shinichi is walking through Kansai International Airport while pushing his luggage cart. His feet are still heavy and his neck still hurt from the long flight. He whips his phone out of his pocket to send Hattori a message but it starts ringing. Heiji's name flashes on his screen and he answers immediately.

"Oi, Hattori! I'm here." Shinichi says upon answering.

"And I'm not." Heiji says chuckling nervously. Shinichi's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "I can't make it today, groom duties."

"What?" Shinichi asks, his tone raises in slight frustration but he doesn't get mad because he understands. He just wasn't expecting Hattori to bail on him.

"But doncha' worry. I sent a proxy. I'm betting 100 percent that you'll be more thrilled to see her than me." Heiji snickers over the phone.

"What?" Shinichi asks again as he continues to walk by the arrivals area in search of Hattori, thinking he's merely playing jokes on him.

"Well, gotta go! Bye!" Heiji responds, hanging up. Shinichi is even more confused than he was earilier.

"Oi, Hattori-

He is cut off by the beeping sound on his phone. His eyes search the sea of fetchers in the area until he sees a familiar face among them.

His eyes meet hers for the first time in ten years. She smiles at him and he stops on his tracks, suddenly his feet feels heavier than it did when he got out of the plane.

Tokyo, Ten Years Ago

He dropped all of his bags to give her a proper hug. He held her tightly in his arms, drowning himself in her soft scent that he loved so much. For a moment, he didn't care if it was not proper for him to hold her in such way. So what if she isn't his anymore?

"You take care there okay?" She breathed against his ear as she ran her delicate fingers through his hair.

"You too." He responded as he ran his hand down her back, stroking it comfortingly. Such touch sent shivers running down her spine.

He soon pulled away after a few seconds. The coldness in the air surrounded him upon the absence of her warmth.

"So I guess this is it… LA, huh?" He said, casually putting his hands in his pockets.

"You'll do great." She assured him with a sincere smile. Her eyes shined, almost like she was bound to cry but she doesn't.

"Well, I'm going now… You'll be okay?" He asked, concerned and hopelessly wishing she'd stop him but she gave him a nod instead.

"Have a safe trip." She said, watching him with a heavy heart as he took his bags.

"Good bye, Ran."

"Good bye, Shinichi."

He lingered for a moment, staring at her amethyst orbs, her beautiful face, memorizing her every feature, taking it all in so that it would remain tattooed in his memory. Unknown to him, she did the same, looking at his gorgeous pair of sapphires and his sharp features. Suddenly she felt an urge to cry, but she held it in.

I don't want to be the reason for your tears…

His words rang in her ears.

And then it was time to leave.

I don't want to be the reason why you're holding back.

He kept her words in his head. He gave her one last smile which she returned and then he turned away, walking further and further until he disappeared from her sight.

And when he was gone, she broke down and cry in the middle of the airport for everyone to see.

Unknown to her, he did the same, but on the plane by the window.

Osaka,Tuesday, 12nn

Shinichi remains frozen in his state. He doesn't know how to approach her but his heart is filled with so much happiness. Suddenly it is like he is seventeen again.

"Welcome back, Shinichi…" She says, making him snap out of his thoughts, bringing him back to Earth with the sound of her voice, saying his name as she approaches him. He looks at her beautiful presence. She looks a little bit more mature than the last time he saw her. Her curves are now more defined as clearly shown in her tight outfit of crop top and skinny jeans. She is wearing light make up that accentuates her already beautiful features.

He wonders if she is doing it on purpose but he shrugs the thought away so quickly. He realizes that he probably looks like crap standing next to her. He gives himself a mental kick on the ass. Suddenly he regrets not wearing something better than his plain shirt and jacket. He wishes he took the time to brush his hair since it is sticking in different directions, not to mention that his cowlick is up and unrulier than ever.

But unknown to him, she is secretly admiring his presence as well. She notices his defined, sharper features. He is taller now than when she last saw him. She notes that she looks smaller in her sneakers, standing next to his tall frame, not to mention that his built is now more toned than before. He looks manlier now, with his sharper jawline but his awkward smile made him look more boyish, as though his seventeen-year-old self is peaking through beneath his matured look.

"It's great to be back." He says. They maintain a distance of a meter between each other. "It's nice to see you again, Ran…"

He awkwardly spreads his arms and motions closer to her. It doesn't take too much for her to understand that he is approaching her for a hug. She doesn't deprive him. She meets his distance and wraps her arms around him. Goosebumps creep to his skin as she rests her head on his chest while he leans close to her shoulder. They both drown themselves on each other's scent. She feels him wrap his arms around her waist. His skin brushes against her skin exposed by the crop top. Shivers run through her spine. Even after ten years, the warmth still feels so familiar.

It is hard for them to pull away.

AN: So here it is! I hope y'all like it. It turned out to be a pretty long chapter. I hope I covered everything regarding the break up. If you guys still have questions, feel free to approach me. I don't bite. LOL. This will most likely be the last chapter with inter-cutting scenes since Shinichi is now back in Japan. Yey! Wasn't expecting this to take long to write, but I found it difficult to write the break up scene, tbh. Hope it wasn't OOC.

Anyway, tell me what you guys think. I'll try to update faster but I will most likely update once a week depending on my work schedule and on how long the chapter will take. My goal is to give two updates a week but I'm thinking that's gonna be too far-fetched for me. But we'll see. ;)

~J

Fanfiction.net link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13195514/2/The-Same-Old-You AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17626277/chapters/41749793

NEXT CHAPTER

[sekai-no-koi]

@qxiu​ 

For @dcmk-secretsanta​ !!! 

The morning had been much like any other, with the exception that Shinichi was coming to Osaka. He claimed there were no cases for him at the moment, and he thought Heiji might have one. But something else had obviously been on his mind all day. It went something like this.

“Kudo, I think the woman is telling the truth.”

“Mhm.”

“And the kid made a mistake.”

“Mhm.”

“… And the real killer is a lizard.”

“Mhm.”

“... Kudo!!”

“What??”

“… Gah, never mind…”

 Heiji was getting more and more frustrated. By the end of the case, he was fuming at having been ignored so long. Shinichi asked him vaguely if he’d like to go get something to eat, and he automatically agreed.

If Heiji had known at the time what was on Kudo’s mind, maybe he wouldn’t have been so frustrated. As it was, he found himself giving Shinichi the same sort of treatment as he tried to start a conversation.

“So.. I saw the Tigers are doing well…” Shinichi tried.

“Mhm.” His expression was pure disinterest, which was unusual especially considering the subject Shinichi had chosen. Why wasn’t he boasting about his favorite team?

“.. Soccer is still better, of course,” he cracked a half smile.

“Mhm.” Even that didn’t do anything!!

“… I’m thinking of getting a tattoo.” No he wasn’t.

“Yer WHAT?” Wow, that was angrier than he’d expected!! Didn’t he recognize a joke like he usually would?

“Oh, good, you are listening.”

“…”

|Maybe today isn’t the best day,| Shinichi thought. |But…. I don’t want to waste time…|

 Heiji found himself walking Shinichi to his hotel, even if he was angry. Or maybe just hurt?

“… ehy, Hattori….”

“What is it, Kudo?”

Shinichi swallowed. This was easily the hardest thing he’d ever done. “I… I just… wanted to tell you that.. uhm…” He paused, trying to find words.

“.. Kudo, move!!” He pulled him suddenly. “You can’t stop in the crosswalk, ahou!!”

Shinichi ran obediently with him, flustered. He looked at him apologetically.

Great. Things can’t get worse.

“What is it that’s got you so distracted?!” Heiji snapped.

Shinichi’s heart was pounding. His palms were sweaty. He looked down, trying to summon the last of his courage. “… y.. you.”

“Hah?” Heiji tilted his head. “The hell do you mean, Kudo? I’m distracting you?”

He nodded, swallowing. “… every time we’re together, I…. you’re…”

|Don’t freeze up, DON’T FREEZE UP!!|

Heiji looked at him, trying to hide his own feelings. It was about as easy as it ever was.

|No, Heiji, he told himself. He’s not talking about.. that. This is… something else.|

“… Kudo?”

 He clenched his fists, frustrated. The most important moment in his life, and he couldn’t…

There were people moving around him… it was so crowded… it seemed like everyone was listening…

 “Ehy, Kudo…” Heiji gently pulled him towards his hotel. “C’mon… let’s get inside, you can talk then, all right?”

 Yes… no… no, wait, that would be terribly difficult!!

“Uhm….”

 Shinichi went to bed horribly disappointed. He’d failed.

For today, he decided.

He’d told Heiji something close. “I just wanted you to know I appreciate the way you’ve always been there for me,” he said.  But it was so much more than that… How do you tell someone you’re living for them?

 The next time it was Heiji coming over to Tokyo. This time I’ll tell him, Shinichi decided. That day went a little more normally, although Heiji noted that his best friend seemed a little more… enthusiastic about things than usual. More competitive, more focused.

Previously, he hadn’t really considered that a possibility.

And of course they apprehended the culprit again. But Shinichi went home beating himself up once again.

This isn’t right. This isn’t working. What I need…. What I should do…

.. hm. Yes.

He called Heiji the next morning. “Let’s go to Paris.”

Naturally, he was really confused. “What? A case?”

“No, just an opportunity. I’m allowed to bring a friend. You’re coming, right?”

“….” |Of course I’m coming, ahou.| “.. Yeah, I can come.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up, we’re flying from Osaka!”

Shinichi hung up, his heart beating quickly and his face full of excitement. This time for sure!!

 Shinichi was glowing with excitement on the way to the airport. “… You really want to see Paris, mhm..?”

“Huh? Oh, of course. The… The Eiffel Tower, right?” He smiled.

Heiji blinked, confused. If he wasn’t excited about Paris, then what was he shining like the sun for?

… not that Heiji was complaining, of course.

Shinichi fell asleep as soon as the plane took off, and Heiji knew right then he wouldn’t be getting any rest. He pretended to sleep, and every now and then glanced at Shinichi’s face with an expression of awe on his own.

|… damn… damn cute Shinichi…|

Eventually he fell asleep himself, and it was Shinichi’s turn to peek. |….Heiji… I’ll definitely tell you…. Beneath the Eiffel Tower, with the city lit up beautifully…. I’ll hold both your hands and tell you everything…|

 They arrived in Paris, to a fairly nice hotel. Shinichi blushed when he realized it had a double bed. “Oh… Uhm, I hope that’s not a problem,” he said nervously as Heiji saw it.

Heiji blushed furiously. “N… No, it’s no problem….” |Shinichi and I in the same bed together……. I guess I’m not sleeping for the rest of the trip….|

“I didn’t know it was that kind of room…. Ah, well. I guess we’ll both be so exhausted we’ll hardly notice!” he tried. “Anyway, let’s get going for some sightseeing~!!”

|Oh no, he’s cute…| “Yeah. Where should we go first?”

Shinichi took his hand. “Don’t know, just don’t get separated from me, barou!” He grinned, blushing slightly.

Heiji didn’t pull away. Shinichi chose to take that as a good sign.

 They spent the day together, well into the evening. Shinichi took Heiji to dinner, and that’s when he started getting more and more nervous. He got quieter, fidgeted more. Heiji wondered what was going on, but couldn’t find a way to ask. Still, the food was good and they chatted a little, and had a good time. Then, after they’d left the restaurant, Heiji asked where they were going next and Shinichi smiled a mysterious smile and told him to wait and see.

Shinichi’s heart was pounding. He checked the map for a while and led him to a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower. It was a little cloudy, but that just brought out the lights of the city more. Shinichi’s hands were shaking as they looked up at it together. “… Heiji. I want to tell you something. Please… listen.”

Heiji looked at him, heart in his throat. He nodded silently.

Shinichi promptly forgot everything he’d wanted to say.

He’d wanted to tell him how long he’d loved him. How he thought about him as soon as he woke and dreamed of him every night as he went to sleep. How empty it was without him, and how full, how happy and just – complete – he felt with him.

Instead, all that came out, as he summoned his courage to hold just one of his hands, was,

“I… really, really love you…”

In three seconds, Heiji’s face went from guarded, to shocked, to disbelieving, to shocked again, then –

and then –

Heiji’s eyes went watery, and joyful. He gave a short gasp of laughter, and suddenly time pulled to a stop for both of them as Shinichi closed the last inch of space between them.

Shinichi’s wet, warm, soft lips were pressing against his…. Heiji’s own lips were a little chapped, something he hadn’t been so aware of until Shinichi’s smooth lips were gliding and catching on them.. He breathed, and realized it was Shinichi’s breath filling his lungs… One of his hands was still holding Shinichi’s, the other raised carefully, to his elbow, to his waist, to his back and pulled him closer. Shinichi’s free hand went to his chest willingly, and Heiji felt him smiling. He thought Shinichi could probably feel his heartbeat, it was going so fast. He opened his eyes slightly to look.. Shinichi’s eyes were closed, all the worry creases in his forehead smoothed out into a blissful expression. His heart jumped out of his chest. |I’m kissing…… I’m actually…. Kissing Shinichi!!!|

Shinichi’s eyes opened too, looking up at him and saying all those things he’d wanted to, and more. “Heiji, I…. I’m yours, if you… if you want….”

“Ahou!!” He pulled him even closer. “L-Like I wouldn’t want YOU!! You’re mine!! HE’S MIIIIINE!!!” He shouted for the streets of Paris to hear. Someone clapped from across the street. Shinichi blushed, hiding his face in Heiji’s chest. “…barou….. a-and…”

“And I’m yours.” He finished, tilting his head up with a smile. “… Ehy,” he blushed deeply, suddenly remembering. “Is that why you got the hotel room with the double bed?”

“N-No, I swear!! I-I-I don’t want to d-do anything you don’t want to o-or –“

Heiji was grinning. His hand slipped down to cover his ass.

“…m-mouuuuu!!!”

[setsunameioh]

how about a roleswap kind of thing where the childhood friends were swapped around (as in, ran in kazuha's place and kazuha in ran's place)? canon pairings still though!

I can do that, anon!

For this oneshot, I wrote it mainly with Shinichi and Ran in mind, since their relationship would face the most complications given Shinichi’s whole... situation and all. It’s set around Desperate Revival, given that it’s the first time she would have the chance in canon to meet “Kudo Shinichi” (after their brief meeting in preschool, that is).

you can also read this on AO3!

He hadn't seen her in over ten years, and yet, from the very moment he set on eyes on her, he knew who she was right away.

...alright, so that was a bit of an exaggeration, Shinichi would admit. It hadn't been right away- not until after she properly introduced herself- but he had gotten the inkling that he knew her from somewhere even before that. It counted, right?

She, on the other hand, didn't seem to recognize him at all.

To be fair, that was to be expected- even if she did have cause to remember the boy with whom she had briefly gone to preschool with, she would have expected him to be around her age right now. Not six years old again, as he so happened to find himself. While he'd fallen in love with her at first sight- at first smile, really- he doubted that he'd amounted as much more than a small blip on her radar, easily forgotten as the years went by.

Sonoko, she would probably recognize, but Kudo Shinichi? The odds of that were low.

He'd never actually expected to see her again himself, to be honest. It had all been such a mess after she had transferred away, after that whole Efune mess. It could have been much worse than it was, he knew that now- but at the time, the news that Mouri Ran would be leaving them, moving to Osaka with her father, was nearly enough to devastate him.

He'd kind of assumed that his feelings for her would fade with time- and to be fair, they did, somewhat. But not to the extent that he would have thought- and upon seeing her again, after all these years, all he could think of was that she had gotten even more beautiful than he could have possibly imagined.

And to think, Hattori had been hiding her all this time. Payback for stealing away his own childhood friend, maybe.

He wasn't serious, of course- though it was surprising that they had managed to essentially swap the two of them. He didn't know what to make of it when Hattori Heiji first turned up at the Toyama's place, and he and Kazuha had just started shouting at each other for a good half minute.

If only he could have been half as recognizable as Hattori was, he glumly thought to himself. Not that it would matter much given his current situation.

Right now, he doubted that the girl he was- and apparently was still- in love with, would see him as anything more than the six year old child he appeared to be. Even if he did literally hurl himself in front of her to protect her from a knife.

"Are ya alright, Conan-kun!?"

Still... having her fret over him in concern honestly wasn't really so bad. He should count himself lucky though, that the lucky charm that Heiji had lent him had ended up catching the knife like it did- Kazuha sure as hell was giving him an earful about it, even as Ran tried to calm her down.

(He honestly didn't know if she'd be more or less mad at him if she knew the truth. Probably more, he guessed.)

Well... at least this way, he'd be able to see a lot more of Mouri Ran from now on. Perhaps there would come a time yet with which Kudo Shinichi could try and get to know her a little better- and not just Edogawa Conan.

(Suffice to say, he was very annoyed with Hattori when he turned up next with no Ran in sight. Bring her with you next time, you idiot, and maybe you won't get shoved off a goddamn cruise ship.)

He'd been so focused on the case, that he'd barely had the time to give thought to her presence. Now, however, she was staring him right in the face- and he came to learn later that the person who had actually carried him to the nurse's office in the first place had been Ran.

If it wasn't clear enough that he'd done it on purpose, then the way he escorted everyone else out of the room on some rather thin excuses made it crystal clear to Shinichi. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the alone time with her, but as it stood, the last time the two of them had talked to each other was back when they were both in preschool.

And to think, he'd only taken this form in order to convince Kazuha that he wasn't Conan. At least he'd managed to work things out there.

"We've met before, haven't we?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, Shinichi blinked, before slowly nodding his head. "Y-yeah. We were in preschool together, for a short while."

"I see." It almost looked as if a weight had been taken off her chest- up until now, she had looked somewhat uncertain of herself. "Heiji told me that the two of us had met before, but since ya were never around..."

"Ah, I guess it would be hard to remember." Shinichi said. "We weren't together for very long before you transferred. I'm Kudo Shinichi, by the way. You're Mouri Ran, right?"

"That's right." Ran said, giving him a small smile. "If I recall... ya were the boy I made that paper nameplate fer, right?"

"Oh, you remember that?" Shinichi asked, hoping that he didn't sound too eager about it. From the sound of it, she hadn't remembered it on her own- Heiji's apparent mention of him had likely jogged her memory. He would have to thank him for that later, although he couldn't help but be curious as to what, exactly, he had told her about him.

"Just a little." Ran told him. "It's nice to meet ya again, Kudo-kun."

"You as well, Mouri-san." Shinichi said. "Though it seems like I worried everyone, collapsing like that."

"Are ya really alright?" She'd asked him that question before as Conan too, but somehow, it felt a bit different now. She was asking it of an equal- albeit one that she didn't know all that well, as opposed to a child. "Heiji said that ya'd be fine, so we probably shouldn't make a big deal out of it, but..."

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Shinichi was quick to reassure her. "Sorry about that."

As to be expected, the pair fell into something of an awkward silence there. Racking his brain for something to say, Shinichi cleared his throat. "...did you enjoy the play?"

"Ah, yes." Nodding her head, Ran smiled at that- and lord help him, but he felt his heart pound at the sight of it. "It was very interesting. It's a shame we didn't get ta watch the whole thing through."

"I'm sure if you asked Sonoko, she'd show you the script." Shinichi told her. "I could even ask her, if you want."

"I am a bit curious." Ran admitted after a moment. "But ya don't have ta trouble yerself like that, Kudo-kun. I can always ask Suzuki-san myself."

"I suppose you could." Shinichi admitted, recalling the way that they had been chatting backstage like old friends. As he thought, the two of them really did remember each other- but well, it was to be expected. Still, he couldn't help but admit that he was just a little bit jealous of Sonoko.

...and there was that awkward silence again. Racking his brain for something to say, he decided to try and go out on a limb.

"...are you going to be in Tokyo for awhile, Mouri-san?" Shinichi ventured.

"At least until Sunday evening." Ran told him, tilting her head. "Why?"

Good, he had a chance then. The fact that Ran wasn't showing any outward signs of nervousness was an encouraging sign, but he had to admit, this was a bit of a gamble. The last thing he wanted to do was to force her into doing anything she didn't want- and Ran, as he had learned, was something of too nice a girl to always strongly refuse polite requests. The last thing he wanted to do was to take advantage of that, but well...

Since he had gotten his real body back, he might as well take a chance.

"Actually, I thought it might be nice to give Hattori and Kazuha a chance to spend some time together." Shinichi told her, honestly making this up as he went. "You know, since the two of them seem to be childhood friends in their own right."

"Actually, I was thinking the same thing." Ran admitted, giving him a small smile. "I don't know if ya know this, Kudo-kun, but after he came back home that one time, all he could talk about fer awhile was both ya an' Kazuha-chan."

"Heh, is that so?" He actually knew that already, but as this was information that he had gleaned as Conan, it was best to pretend he had no idea. "So... what I'm trying to get to is, that if you want, it might be nice to maybe... go somewhere to get to know each other a little better while they're doing that."

"Ah, only if you want, though." Shinichi said quickly, holding up a hand. "If you have other plans, then that's fine."

"I don't mind." Ran told him. "Truth is, I don't know what I'd do by myself. If ya could show me around Tokyo, Kudo-kun, it'd help."

"Sure." Nodding his head, fighting the urge to let out a great big victory whoop, Shinichi tried not to seem too overeager. "I don't mind. Of course, we just need to get Hattori and Kazuha to agree first."

Though given the fact that he was pretty sure the two of them were spying on them from behind the door, he didn't imagine it would be hard.

It was only after they had been seated, and handed their menus, that he realized that he might have made something of a mistake.

He'd known, of course, what restaurant this was. When Ran had asked after it, after seeing such a well dressed couple enter the hotel it was located in, he'd been more than happy to tell her all that he knew about it. It was, after all, a restaurant that his parents frequented when they happened to be in town.

When she'd looked interested in it, saying that she really didn't have many chances to eat in such a fancy place, he hadn't hesitated to ask if she would like to have dinner there. For a moment, he almost wondered if he'd gone too far- but she accepted his invitation after some thought. Perhaps she just thought it would be rude to say no at this point, which had been the main worry filling his mind- right up until he realized the bigger problem.

This wasn't just the restaurant that his parents frequented- it was also the restaurant his father had proposed to his mother at.

It wasn't as if he had forgotten, per say, but it had just sort of... not been the first thing that came to mind for him. He was, after all, only trying to make today's 'date'- if one could call it that- about getting to know Ran- and more importantly, giving her a chance to get to know him. So that he could be something more than the boy she'd briefly known in preschool, Kazuha's childhood friend, and Heiji's rival.

Right now, it was all he could do to keep that thought from showing on his face.

"I've haven't been in a restaurant this fancy since Heiji's father was promoted." Ran observed, even as she tried to downplay the way that she was so very obviously looking at her surroundings in wonder. She needn't do so- to be honest, he only thought of it as cute.

"Really?" Shinichi asked, hoping to relax her some. "Truth be told, I don't really come to places like this much myself either. Not unless my parents are dragging me somewhere."

His words seemed to have their desired effect- as Ran gave him a small smile in return. "Your mother is an actress, right?" She asked. "Kazuha-chan mentioned it during the play."

At the mention of his mother, his thoughts briefly drifted back towards what he was trying not to think about- though he really only had himself to blame for this. "Yes, she is." He said, nodding his head. "That's probably why Sonoko wanted me to play the knight so badly."

He fought back the urge to twitch as he said that, trying not to think too hard on the real reason why- namely, that Sonoko thought he was the only guy in the class dramatic enough to say half of the lines that she had written in any earnest. Honestly, if she knew that, why had she gone through the trouble of writing the character like that in the first place?

"Yer acting was pretty good." Ran observed, her smile taking on a more amused edge. "Better than Heiji's, at least."

"...ah." Giving her something of a nervous laugh, Shinichi leaned back in his chair. "If you're going to ask why he dressed up as me, to be honest, I have no idea myself. You'd know him better than I."

"I do, but sometimes even that doesn't help." Ran lightly joked. "I'm sure he an' Kazuha-chan are having a lot of fun right now."

"Probably." Shinichi said, shoulders slumping that she had let go of that topic so easily. "You're staying over at her place, right?"

"Yes." Ran told him. "Her mother always offers ta let us stay there whenever we come visit. I always tell her that it's fine, but, well..."

"Yeah, she can be pretty insistent." Shinichi told her, feeling somewhat more at ease now himself. "Big on hospitality."

There was another, slightly awkward pause then, as the two of them searched for a topic to discuss- and he noted the way Ran's lips pursed together as she scanned the menu. "Is it really alright, though?" She asked. "Fer us to eat in a place as fancy as this. We're only high school students, I mean."

"Don't worry about it." Shinichi reassured her. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable- or even worse, guilty. "My old man lets me use his card every once in awhile for emergency expenses."

"I don't exactly think this counts as an emergency expense, Kudo-kun." Ran noted, lifting her brows.

"Well... what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Shinichi said after a moment, grinning a little. "Besides, I've never actually been here myself, so I got a little curious myself."

"They don't bring ya here?" Ran asked, tilting her head.

"No." Shaking his head, Shinichi cursed himself mentally for walking back into the topic he had been trying to avoid thinking about again. "Never here."

"Why not?" Ran inquired, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. As much as he was glad to see that she was interested in anything regarding him, the answer to that was...

Thankfully, he didn't have to give it. Good fortune must have been on his side for once, for the waitress to interrupt them right at that timing.

...or not.

Of all the timing... he'd just solved a murder case yesterday, he couldn't have possibly run into yet another one, could he? Even his luck wasn't that bad- at least, he didn't think it was.

Debating for only a moment, Shinichi eventually let out a long sigh, pushing back his chair. "Sorry, I better go check that out."

"It's okay, I understand." Ran told him, a knowing look on her face. "It happens all the time with Heiji too. Go on, Kudo-kun."

"So I've gathered." Shinichi observed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "Here, use this to order yourself something nice for dessert. I'll be back when I can."

"Then, I'll wait fer ya right here." Ran told him, taking the card from him after a moment's thought. "At least we were able ta finish dinner first."

Giving her a wry grin at that, Shinichi made his exit. A murder case it was indeed, as it turned out- but nothing that he couldn't solve. He'd wrap this up quick, and return to Ran's side, where he would apology for the delay and would finish the evening by escorting her back to the Toyama house.

At least, that was the plan.

What wasn't in the plan was for a familiar pain to stab his chest- one that left him gasping for breath, and one that he recognized. Though he managed to muddle through it, solving the case at hand, by the time the case had been closed, it was all he could do to stagger into the bathroom, clutching his chest and praying that it would go away again, as it had before.

When Ai appeared behind him, reflected in the mirror, still dressed as Conan, he knew that it wouldn't. As if she were some kind of ominous grim reaper, gazing down at her wristwatch, it sunk into him that Kudo Shinichi would not be returning to the date, so-called or otherwise, that he had left behind.

So much for making a good impression.

"I knew it!"

...eh.

If he hadn't expected Ai to show up, he'd expected Toyama Kazuha to turn up all the less- much less that she would burst forward from one of the stalls. And judging from Haibara's reaction... suffice to say, she'd expected it even less.

"K-Kazuha...?"

He didn't even have the presence of mind to tack a neechan onto that, even though he'd returned to Conan form, all but swimming in the clothes he'd put on that morning as Shinichi.

"I knew it!" Kazuha repeated, a triumphant expression on her face. "You tried to pull a fast on me with Ai-chan here, but you couldn't fool me! I've got you now, Kudo Shinichi!"

At a loss as to what to do in this situation, Conan opened and closed his mouth, before just giving voice to the first thought that came to his mind.

"...this is the men's restroom, you know."

The hand that she clamped on his shoulder was not one that brokered any arguments. "Don't try and weasel your way out of this with irrelevant observations, Shinichi."

"...yes ma'am."

"Good." With a firm nod of her head, Kazuha reached out her other hand, preventing Ai from taking the first chance that she saw to escape. "Now then, I'm going to have the two of you tell me what this is all about, in great detail~!"

Exchanging a glance with each other, both Conan and Ai alike agreed on one thing- that this was not the outcome that they had been expecting of this evening.

(At the very least, after some prompting, he managed to convince Kazuha to keep quiet about this to Ran. She'd even been more than happy to come up with an excuse for her as to why Shinichi had left so suddenly.

...on the other hand, well... he sure hoped his father was ready for tonight's price tag.)

[child-of-malnomen]

Candy

⚠wɑʀɴιɴɢ: ʀɑтєԀ т/м⚠ 〔♡〕ｐｒｅｓｈｉｎｋａｉ 〔♡〕h e i k a i

As Ran's voice vanished, Shinichi almost spit the drink out and Heiji look at her with  open eyes and a really terrified face. Beside him, three women formed a little group and laughed, trying to cover it with their hands over their mouths. And Kaito, who actually should have been one of the most affected, didn't even move.

Hattori stepped back when he saw the magician picking a glass up, ready to keep on going with the dare he had been imposed. The detective of the west's hands moved with dullness due to the alcohol inside him, almost making him slip, being supported by his childhood best friend and the other two girls who were with her. Unlucky. Heiji would have prefered splitting his head in two rather than having them near him because, instead of saving his life, what they had done was prisioning him. Prisioning him so he did that that he didn't want to do even if he were crazy —or drunk, and he already was.

The thief almost broke into laughing when he saw the drama Osaka's detective was doing. Truth was that it wasn't anything from the other world for him. After all, he was used to it, and he was sure Heiji did so too. He had been witness of the amount of fans that man had and, if anyone asked him, it was normal. He was handsome and smart, and based on the analysis Kaito had from him, really interesting. It was impossible he wasn't used to situations like this, because the magician was.

Without hesitating or stopping to think about the situation, Kaito spilt what was on the glass directly to his mouth and put his head back. The heat that ran through his throat heated his cheeks too and made him jump a little before putting the glass back to the floor. Horrified and skin paled, Shinichi, Hakuba and Heiji himself saw Kaito crawling towards the last one and, leaning on his knees, he gripped on his shoulders in order to have more stability. Next thing Heiji knew was that Kazuha had put a lemon slice on his mouth and Kaito had fallen to his lips to take it.

And goodbye to Heiji's common sense. Oops.

The kiss was... Both of them would lie if they said it was bad.

On the background, the girls who had incited the situation screamed in ecstasy with what Kaito was pretty sure was a too shrill voice, but he could't assure it. His mind got blocked when Hattori took his hips and pulled him closed to his body. None of them knew when Osaka's boy had started kissing him back and demanding him to open his mouth. Probably at the same time Kaito put the lips over his and Heiji was able to taste an explosive mix.

Tequila. Lemon. Smoothness. Aggressiveness. Kaito already expected Heiji to be extremely aggressive and possessive in what kisses involves. His impulsive behaviour led him in behaving that way and, as the thief had expected, made him nothing bad at kissing. In fact, he was pretty good. The slide ended up on Kaito's roof of the mouth because of Heiji's tongue, which put pressure on it until wringing the last drop of citric on it. What happened after that was only good for heating more up the ambient.

Hattori got through everything he found on his way: teeth, gums, taste buds. Kaito panted when that tongue wrapped his, although it could be heard as a moan rather than anything else. When the grip on his hips tightened and he ended up completely against the other's body, the magician noticed Kazuha was a very, very lucky girl. He was sure that the force Osaka's detective was putting on suckling and biting his lips came from a possessive desire of marking, and so against of what he would have wanted to think about —because his situation would be really embarrasing if he put away right in this moment—, Kaito wondered if he would be this good at mistreating the rest of his body as he did with his lips.

Heiji's hand ended up on the bottom of his back, touching under the t-shirt cloth by the way. Another moan spilt out of Kaito's mouth, and even though he was very interested in where the detective was leading that to —Ran, Aoko and Kazuha were too, and including a nose bleed—, Kaito wondered if he should be the responsible voice that stopped him before Heiji tried to take his clothes off. Because if he tried, Kaito wasn't going to deny it.

Unfortunately, a greater force than the two teenagers made —and that's already an overstatement— intervened and pulled them apart before they could get to topper phases. Still with desoriented senses, Kaito could be able to hear a possessive and refusal groan out of Heiji, complaining to anyone who had taken his toy away about that he was pretty much liking the game and he wanted to carry on. Uh. Would Kaito have sounded the same?

"You've already done it, haven't you?" An annoyed voice reached his eardrums, probably coming from the person who was gripping his shoulders. Kaito looked in his half-full by lust brain for who the hell this voice belonged to. Eh... Hakuba? No, no fucking way; he had dreamed about that voice, and not exactly educative things suitable for all audiences. Then... "Dare was kissing, not fucking yourselves in front of everybody. Keep your tongue, Hattori; you look like a dog in heat."

Shinichi. Kaito was sure this was Shinichi's voice. He was the only one who could spit Hattori's name this way so... so... his?

When the magician was able to focus a little on reality, he faced a hair disheveled Heiji, gasping and all red, wet lips. Wait. Since when had Kaito had the hands on his hair? Staring more firmly at him, Kaito also noticed that the Osakan's pupils were dilated and his gaze was hungry. He looked like a beast ready to jump over his prey. A shiver went through the magician's spine as the thought that Kazuha was a very lucky girl came back to his mind. He almost felt tempated to ask her for lending him one or two days; time enough for him to see this gaze until he's satisfied. Kaito shivered in anticipation, a part of his body very happy with the idea.

It was then when Hattori's brain seemed to clear a little and he was concious of the situation in which he was. Blood came to his cheeks —thanks to God, because were it to stay where it was, it would have been a disaster— and he rapidly took the hands away from Kuroba's waist, apologising for, in general, almost having ravished him in Kudo's library. Kaito nearly asked him to go to the bedroom if place was what was bothering him, but he prefered to shut up when Shinichi's hands pulled him back towards his chest and his body slid from Heiji's lap. Wait again. When had Kaito ended up there? Uups. Maybe he had gotten too much excited.

The detective of the West scratched his nape, a little uncomfortable, or so he was until Kazuha broke into laughing and, embarrased, Heiji turned around to start a fight with her. Aoko and Ran had faded away due to the lack of blood since the very moment they heard Heiji groaning defending his prey, and Hakuba was carrying them to a couch in order to prevent them from getting torticollis.

With that, Shinichi and Kaito were left ignored. The magician was still a little on his own planet, and the detective didn't make any sound; he was just gripping his shoulders, tighter each time. Maybe this was what made Kaito get out of his antonishment and lick his lips in order to make them get back to their original sensibility. Surprised, Kaito touched his lips and looked at his fingertips only to realize that they were spotted with blood. Wow. Hattori did get too excited too. How hadn't he noticed it earlier?

"Has it been so amazing?"

Shinichi's voice behind him made him get out of his antonishment, and the fact that his breathing was hitting right to his neck made him shiver. He was still sensitive and desoriented. The warmth of Shinichi's breathing directly to his nape was too stimulating for his condition. And he didn't push aside however, because he couldn't deny that feeling it was beyond pleasant.

"It wasn't bad. As I thought, Hattori is quite passionate when it comes to intimate situations. Well, he's impulsive and too much hurried for everything, so I'm not suprised that everything involves kissing too. It makes me be actually a little bit jealous of Kazuha. And although tequila and lemon don't taste bad, maybe if..."

The magician were suddendly shut, and not because he wanted to. His eyes opened abruptly, but when his taste buds reacted to the incitement, Kaito gripped to Shinichi's shirt like a bat out of hell, taking the cloth in fists, and pulled him closer to his body. Hunger Heiji's lips had given him was nothing compared to this, and the thing was that the detective of the east held between his lips one of his biggest vices —he was already one of his biggest vices himself.

Shinichi put his arm around Kaito's waist and held his nape with the other hand, preventing him from getting even a millimeter away when he made pressure on his lips and pushed with his tongue the candy that was between both of them to the other's mouth, dumping himself on it by the way. The magician melt in presence of his favourite detective's taste mixed with sugar and Rum Caramel; three of his biggest downfalls.

Kudo's hand, not nearly happy with his position, moved under the magician's clothes and placed on the bottom of his back. Secretly, it was to erase all vestige of Hattori. He crashed his tongue with the other's and played with it until the candy was completely melt. Needless to say that certain magician, in his own world at this time, was not slightly concious of all the embarrasing, not much concealed noises that left his mouth and which the other's throat, too much thrilled, swallowed with no question. They sounded like music to the detective's ears. Sensual, exciting Kamasutra's recital.

Not wanting to, Shinichi left Kaito's lips. Before the magician could say anything in disagreement, the detective trapped them again, this time between his teeth, and sucked out until something Kaito didn't get, but didn't matter anyway. Those blue eyes were looking at him, hungry and angry? Who knows, but the magician's sensitive condition was getting too much excited with all this game.

When Kudo left his mouth free —not that Kaito wanted him to, but anyway— at least, he could see a more than noticeable blush covering the detective's cheeks. Great, because Kaito found it pretty unfair being he the only one turned on in all of this. Too much hot kissed for one day. He needed a bed, and it really didn't matter for which of its uses.

At least Shinichi was considerated enough for waiting until the magician's legs were stabilished enough so he wouldn't fall on his face the very moment the detective left him. And he ended up sitting on the floor however —in case someone doesn't remember: they were knelt.

The detective stood up and stretched his hand to him. Kaito took it and stood up —as if he could have done this by himself—, still with his head on the clouds. His senses were clouded again, but at least he did find reasonable to ask Shinichi what the hell was that.

"You like sweety things, don't you?" Kudo interrupted right in the moment Kuroba opened his mouth. He was looking anywhere but him, blushed cheeks and unsteady eyes between his face and the wall. Nevertheless, he hadn't let go of his hand, and this time it wasn't in order to guarantee the magician’s stability. "I just gave you something you like... And I guess —just guess— maybe I wouldn't mind doing it again.

And then, Shinichi went to prevent Heiji and Kazuha from breaking down his library, because they had begun throwing books to their heads. Typical.

The magician stood for a moment he used to put one hand on his lips and think about the words of his beloved Tantei-kun. Uh. He liked how it sounded. A smirk curved on lips, because he definitely will; he will ask for more.

Much more Shinichi could ever imagine.

A/N: Author-chan wants to say thanks because her English really sucks~ xd Anyway I’m so happy if you’ve come to this point and you understand what the hell I wrote ;u; I did my best, so I hope it... uh... wasn’t as awful as I think it was xd

In case you guys wanna read its original version (in Spanish, I mean xd), here it’s: WATTPAD.

[lisatelramor]

Interesting Times

Summary: Kurama was supposed to be enjoying a family vacation, but of course something would go wrong. He didn't expect to run into a few familiar human faces while trying to solve his problem.

AN: Ahaha, so when I said I didn’t know when I was posting next.... Yeah. I wrote this, have the thing. It’s a continuation of the other two YYH/DC crossovers I did, this time with Kurama running into both Shinichi and Heiji at the same time. But with less flirting as a crossover pairing wasn’t my intent this time. 

Go on a family vacation, Shiori had said. It would be fun, she said. Kurama was not finding this trip very fun. Oh, it hadn’t been too bad at first. It had been a long while since Kurama had a chance to visit Osaka—over a century in fact. The sprawling urban landscape that greeted him wasn’t what he remembered, but it hardly surprised him. The food, however, was just as delicious as he remembered it being. He could appreciate visiting Osaka Castle and its park and could tolerate attending a baseball game since it made his step father and brother happy. He’d even enjoyed visiting the aquarium, his mother’s first choice in things to see, but the fun family outing had become decidedly not fun after a visit to a shrine had apparently made its spirit guardian angry. Just by existing so far as Kurama could tell. Now he’d had to excuse himself from his family to keep it from targeting them too, and dodge the damn spirit all around the city.

He couldn’t kill it, as much as he’d like to. It was a shrine guardian. If he killed a shrine guardian he’d be in trouble with Koenma for sure. Or at least have to endure a long tirade of complaints and thinly veiled threats to his short-leashed freedom. Telling a white lie to his family to have them continue on with day plans without them was the lesser of two evils until he could figure out a way to get the shrine guardian to either calm down or lose interest in him.

Kurama sent a bust of youki into a bush several feet behind him. It reached out and tangled around the shrine guardian as it barreled after him. It would only slow it down, but honestly, that was about the best Kurama could hope for at the moment.

He slipped down another back alley and out along a road lined with picturesque shops, probably with family apartments above them. There were plenty of plants in pots or trees tucked into gaps in the pavement here, perfect for if he needed more things to slow it down with. A few too many people, but that couldn’t be helped.

Kurama jogged on, trying to appear as if he were exercising, not running from a spirit. Down the road, take a right, slip past someone’s tiny back yard and up over a fence. If he headed to a park... But no, while it would give him privacy and ammunition, it wouldn’t take care of the problem. Another shrine? Enough spiritual energy surrounding him could mask his presence, the spirit would lose him, and it would eventually give up so he could return to his family vacation in peace. He clicked his tongue, irritated at the lack of options, but sometimes the simplest routes were better in the long run even if it would be more time consuming. He was already having to remind himself why he couldn’t kill it. He hated being inconvenienced.

He took a sharp turn, mental map providing him with a potential shrine location, provided it still existed. Kurama took four long strides before twisting to the side as he almost ran someone over.

“Woah!” a familiar voice said. “Careful. Where’s the fire?” Dark skin, green eyes, Osaka native—the teen from the woods a while back. ...And an equally familiar friend.

Kurama’s eyes met the other teens’—the detective from the smuggling case. There was recognition in the detective’s eyes and surprise.

“Minamino-san,” the detective said.

“You know this guy, Kudo?”

“Yes,” Kudo said, Kudo...Shinichi if Kurama remembered correctly. “He was involved with that ice murder I told you about a few months ago.”

“That guy, huh?” Kudo’s friend gave Kurama a once over and from the faint blush on Kudo’s face, Kurama didn’t have to wonder what sort of things had been mentioned.

He tried to appear relaxed, but his attention was less on the detectives in front of him and more on his plants and the spirit he’d left them tangling around; roots and vines only lasted so long. He shifted and sharp eyes locked onto him.

“You’re running,” Kudo said. “Why are you running? Last time you were running someone got killed.”

“I’m here on vacation, not hunting down cat thieves this time,” Kurama said. He wondered what their expressions would be if he mentioned that most of the time when he ran something or someone ended up hurt or dead; probably horrified for humans with such firm moral fiber. “This time I’m running from a dog.”

“A dog,” the Osakan detective said skeptically.

“I seem to have upset it somehow and it’s rather tenacious.” There was a faint feeling of the plants he’d touched earlier being torn, the spirit breaking free. Dammit. “I hopped a fence a bit ago, but that’s not going to keep it long.”

“Why not just go in a building?” the Osakan continued. “Not like a dog can follow you there.”

“As I said, it’s tenacious. Tried that already.” Kurama felt the prick of boiling anger directed at him—really, what had he done to the thing? Murdered a priest that belonged to that shrine in his past life? He couldn’t remember anything like that—and the spirit guardian rounded the corner. It paused when it found Kurama with two humans, locked on to him with beady eyes and all the focus its tiny brain held. It would be simpler if it was a bit smarter, then it could be reasoned with. It was stupid though so that was out of the realm of possible options.

“What,” the Osakan detective said, “the fuck is that.”

“A...shiba inu?” Kudo said, glancing at his friend in bemusement.

“Try komainu,” he returned, fixating on the dog-like spirit’s horn and curly pelt. “What the hell,” he said, looking hard at Kurama, “did ya do to piss off a shrine guardian.”

Of course he could see what it truly was. He’d seen what Kurama was and through the boar demon’s illusion too. Kurama gave him a wry smile. “Exist? I would love to know the answer to that question, but there’s not exactly a way to ask that.”

“It’s a spirit, ask it.”

“It has rock for brains.”

The spirit snarled and took a slow step forward.

Kudo looked between the spirit and his friend and Kurama. “...Hattori?”

His friend winced. “Look, Kudo, I’ll explain later. Once this Minamino guy proves he’s not an evil spirit.”

As if the detective could do anything if he had been one. Kurama huffed and stopped pretending to be nervous and human. Clearly he wasn’t going to get to a shrine to chase it off. The spirit was still approaching, slow like it had cornered him, like it thought Kurama was caught. Why? Kurama flung out his senses and oh, the Osakan detective, Hattori, had more than just that charm from before. He had several small objects of power on him, enough to feel like a low level priest or exorcist. It probably thought it had encountered an ally. Kurama glanced at the shops around them and—perfect.

“I’ll do that in a minute,” Kurama said, grabbing both detectives by the wrist.

“What’re ya—?!” Hattori sputtered. Kudo went calmly in comparison, though perhaps that was because he appeared to be dissecting the scenario and coming up with questions.

Kurama dragged them both into a nearby shop. Instantly his nose was assaulted by several dozen scents. If he wasn’t half scent blind in a human body, this would be hell for his nose. As it was, the scents made his nose itch. He pushed the detectives to the back corner where the scent of sandalwood was strongest and focused on killing his aura as much as possible.

“Incense?” Hattori said. He tried to free his wrist unsuccessfully. “So it can’t smell you, sure, but how’s this supposed to—”

“Shush,” Kurama said. He pulled the detectives in front of him, then proceeded to lean full bodied along Hattori’s side. “If you could focus on your omamori please.”

“Omamori?” Hattori touched it with his free hand. Kurama felt the energy from it spike and kept his own spirit energy output dwindling, counting the seconds. To the komainu, it would feel like he was dying from exposure to the charm. “Why’re ya touching me?”

“Keep holding your charm,” Kurama said, “then look out the window and see if the dog is still there.” There were worse ways, he reflected as Hattori did as he asked, narrowed eyed all the while, to avoid a spirit than plastering himself against two fit young men. Very fit; Hattori had the muscles of a swordsman and smelled nicer than the incense behind them.

He felt the komainu’s attention spike, then dwindle, fooled. Kurama breathed out slowly and finally relaxed.

“It’s walking away,” Hattori said. As Kurama relaxed, he only got tenser. “What the fuck was that about?” he asked as Kurama let him and Kudo go.

“As you so eloquently put it, I pissed off a shrine guardian. Somehow.” Kurama plastered on his enigmatic smile that often left human girls tripping over themselves. Human boys weren’t immune either; Hattori had a slight pause before suspicion overrode the smile’s charm.

“Right. Now what kinda evil spirit are ya for it to be trying to kill ya?”

“I’m human as you can see,” Kurama said, arms open, putting himself on display.

“Yeah, and what else? I know spirits can take on human form.”

“If you won’t take my word for it, I’ll leave that to your imagination then,” Kurama said, shrugging. “As for the komainu, I don’t know what it took offense to. I’ve been to dozens of shrines and never had a problem. I suppose I should stay away from Sumiyoshi Taisha.” He’d visited Osaka maybe twice in his previous life. He’d stolen something, but the details were fuzzy with time, and it hadn’t been a great prize or anything. There hadn’t been anything of note, so either the shrine guardian had it out for kitsune or one of his actions had been far more important to someone else than it had been to him at the time. As an afterthought and because he wanted to see how the detective would react, he added, “I am generally a patron of Inari anyway.”

Hattori’s eyes flicked to Kurama’s red hair, to his smile, to his eyes, and Kurama saw the realization click into place. He took a large step back; even if he didn’t remember their last encounter, his hind brain probably retained the fear of his last encounter with a fox spirit. “Human my ass, yer a kitsune.”

Kurama kept smiling, staring him down. He was gripping his omamori like it would actually do him any good if Kurama did decide to suddenly attack him. Honestly, Hattori’s arm muscles would be more use than a scrap of fabric with a bit of unpracticed spirit energy sewn in it.

“Hattori,” Kudo cut in, demanding. “Explain.”

Hattori winced. “Uh, so, remember that camping trip I went on a while back?”

“The one where you came back from and bought Kazuha a gallon of chocolate ice cream and she thought you were dying?” Kudo frowned.  He kept his eyes on Kurama even though he was talking to Hattori. Hattori did the same.

“Yeah. That one.” Hattori pulled out his phone and tossed it to Kudo. “Scroll through my pictures. You’ll know it when ya see it.”

Kudo looked down at the phone. Ah, Kurama hadn’t thought to check for cell phone pictures. Would Kudo be able to tell what the body was if he couldn’t see the komainu for what it was? Then again... Once the boar demon had died in his true form, it was pretty clear he wasn’t human. The rules spirits had in being viewable by humans were pretty varied.

Kudo’s eyes narrowed. “...This isn’t faked is it.”

“Nope. Memory’s still kinda patchy about what happened, but definitely ran into a corpse and it definitely wasn’t human. Kinda pig-like. Pretty sure I ran into another spirit too cuz something had to mess with my memory.”

“Huh.” Kudo handed back the phone. Kurama had expected more doubt or surprise. Instead, Kudo just looked thoughtful. “The murder in that bathroom was similar to this, wasn’t it?” Kudo said, catching Kurama’s eyes. “It wasn’t about cats at all.”

“No,” Kurama said. “It wasn’t.”

“Would you answer truthfully if I asked what it was really about?”

“It wasn’t a secret,” Kurama said, “but most people don’t believe in spirits. Reiki was smuggling human children into the demon realm. He was in trouble before he killed that woman.”

“And you were trying to catch him. Why?”

Why. ‘Why’ always mattered to detective types. Kurama supposed ‘why’ had begun to matter to him as well since he accepted some human morals into his life. “He committed a crime and I was told to collect him for his punishment.”

“Yer, what, a bounty hunter?” Hattori asked, nose wrinkled like the thought was abhorrent.

“Mm, closer to detective, actually.” Kurama grinned at their expressions. They were the detectives. “In name, though I suppose in function it’s more being a dog sicced on any problem that crops up involving the human world.”

“Are there a lot of spirits that commit crimes?” Kudo asked. “Attack humans?”

“Some.” More than there used to be thanks to the lowered barrier between realms. “But for every one that causes harm, there are dozens who just want to go about their lives.” Kurama shrugged. “It’s more trouble than it’s worth when the law cracks down on you.”

Kudo murmured something to himself about a whole separate legal system. While he tried to process the existence of a whole realm outside his experience, Hattori stepped a bit in front of his friend.

“And yer one of the ones that just wanna live their life?” he asked.

“As I said, I’m human.” Kurama’s smile had a bit of fangs, persona of schoolboy be damned. “For the most part. I go to school, live with my family, and occasionally hunt down criminals. Most of my life is downright mundane.”

“Like gettin’ chased by komainu.”

“I see you’re still stuck on that.” Somehow he didn’t think he’d be convincing Hattori that he wasn’t an evil spirit anytime soon. Kudo on the other hand... “I’m not here to cause harm or hunt anyone. I’m on a perfectly normal, entirely human, family vacation.”

As if to prove his point, his phone began to play the Waltz of the Flowers, the ringtone for his mother. He answered immediately. “Moshi moshi, Okaa-san.” He could feel both detectives lean in behind him, blatantly eavesdropping. Kurama rolled his eyes. They wouldn’t gain much from this conversation about his double life.

“Shuichi, where are you? We finished up early and went to see if you were feeling better, but you’re not in the hotel room.”

Of course they had. Kurama closed his eyes, guilt mixing with irritation. He had a loving family; naturally they would worry and he liked that they cared. He felt bad for worrying them, but they could have better timing. “I was feeling a bit better so I went for a walk,” he said. “I think the fresh air has helped. Sorry for worrying you.”

“Oh, no, I’m glad you’re feeling better! We were about to head out to get dinner and wanted to see if you were up to joining us.”

“Ah.” Kurama looked at the detectives. The detectives looked back. Hattori raised an eyebrow. He apparently wasn’t getting away without more discussion. “Actually, Okaa-san, I ran into an acquaintance from Tokyo on my walk...”

“Bring your friend along!” Shiori said. “I always love meeting your friends. You so rarely bring them home.” There was a reason he didn’t bring friends over often. The idea of Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara all in his mother’s dining room was a terrifying thought. Perhaps one at a time when they were on their best behavior... Although his mother was fond of Kuwabara.

Kurama had the sinking feeling that if he showed up alone, his mother would be very disappointed. Just as disappointed as if he didn’t go at all. Hattori flapped a hand at him, a ‘well?’ expression on his face. “Of course, Okaa-san. We’ll join you at the restaurant. My...friend...has another friend with him, so expect three of us.”

“Wonderful. I’ll send you the address.” The sound of his mother’s smile made up for the sinking feeling in his stomach. This was going to be an interesting meal. “Take your time getting there, we’re still changing.”

“Of course. I will see you soon.” Kurama hung up the phone.

“Well she sounded human enough,” Hattori commented.

“My mother is human,” Kurama said. He sighed and pinned them with a cold stare that never failed to intimidate opponents. It worked now too, both detectives looking wary and on guard. “You’re not going to mention anything about spirits or komainu or youkai. My family isn’t involved in any of that.”

“Right.” Hattori snorted skeptically. “Well we’ll see I guess.”

Kudo hummed in the back of his throat, thinking face on again. “You didn’t use your phone call back then to call your mother.”

“No.” Kurama’s phone buzzed with the restaurant’s location.  He read it, placed the location in his mind, and started walking leaving the others to follow at their own pace. Leaving the incense store was a literal breath of fresh air.

“You called your employer,” Kudo continued, keeping pace beside Kurama.

“More of a coworker than employer, but yes.”

“You had to know they’d call your mother anyway.”

“Of course, but I was hardly going to call her and have her arrive to see me covered in blood,” Kurama said. He was beginning to lose patience.

“So much more makes sense,” Kudo muttered, half to himself. “The melted ice, the way only some people saw the murderer, that weird whip you had... And your reaction to the murder.”

“Death is something I witness a lot, yes,” Kurama said tersely. They weren’t too far from the restaurant actually, just one train stop away.

“Flirting with me was to keep me from dwelling on the inconsistencies, wasn’t it?” Kudo asked. Beside him, Hattori made a choking sound.

“No, that was because it was amusing,” Kurama said. “The distraction was a welcome side effect.” Kurama gave him a sideways look. “You’re cute, but not my type.”

“And what might that be?” Hattori quipped. “Foxes?”

“My boyfriend,” Kurama said, catching them both off guard. “So short, grumpy, and vindictive.” He smiled to himself and didn’t bother looking to see what expressions that left on their faces. He already knew they would be good ones.

*

They were almost to the restaurant when Kudo next spoke. Kurama had enjoyed the quiet on the train ride for the brief time it lasted.

“Why could Hattori see the spirit and I saw a dog?” he asked.

“He’s more spiritually sensitive,” Kurama said. Hattori touched his omamori as if that was the reason for him seeing. They stopped outside the restaurant, but they were early. Enough time to talk then. “It’s usually something you’re born with.”

“Then how come I don’t see stuff all the time?” Hattori asked.

“Maybe you do and don’t even realize what you’re seeing.” There were people like that. “Or perhaps it depends on how focused you are. It’s a bit like using a muscle; the more you use it, the more aware you are and the stronger it becomes.”

“Can people gain that ability?” Kudo asked.

Meaning could he gain the ability. Kurama knew Kudo must be wondering if he’d run into supernatural cases in the past besides the one Kurama was involved in. Cases he might have had the wrong information on. Cases he could do right by if he could see. Frankly, Kurama was of the opinion that it was better not to go halfway. Either you immersed yourself in spirit abilities or you lived in ignorance; only learning a bit about spiritual energy was a disaster waiting to happen. “They can,” Kurama said finally, “but most of the time it involves a close brush with death or influence of spirits or demons. In rare cases people who dedicate themselves to religious or spiritual tracks can gain that ability too.”

“A close brush with death...” Kudo echoed.

“If nearly dyin’ll do it, Kudo shoulda been able to see spirits ten times over,” Hattori said.

“Perhaps he doesn’t have the aptitude,” Kurama said. “If you really feel you have to look into the matter, I can give you the contact information of someone who could help you.” Genkai wouldn’t be happy with him sending people her way. But Hattori at least seemed to have enough power that it would be better if he wasn’t running around completely untrained.

Hattori gave him a suspicious side eye. “That’s awful nice to do.”

“Would you consider that perhaps I don’t have any intention of harming you?” Kurama asked drily. “You’re hardly the first people I’ve run across that have had supernatural encounters and I haven’t harmed them either. I don’t strike first.” There was so much more to be learned in waiting and using strategies against their creators. Kurama only struck first when it was advantageous to do so and he had the whole picture to begin with. “Oh look, there’s my family. Play nice.” Kurama waved at Shiori as she led the way through the streets.

“Ya don’t look anything like them,” Hattori observed.

“They’re a step-brother and step-father. My mother remarried. Is that a problem or are you against remarriage as well as anything supernatural?”

Hattori shut up. Kurama put on his best human son face as he greeted his mother. She immediately felt his forehead to check his temperature.

“Good, you don’t have a fever,” Shiori said, smiling at him. Her arms were bare in the heat, scars clearly visible. Kurama would never stop feeling a sliver of guilt when he saw them. It was lessened by how happy she looked, old stress lines relaxed as they had been since she remarried.

“I feel fine now, Okaa-san,” Kurama said. “It must have been something I ate.” He nodded at his step-father and brother. “Kazuya-san, Shuichi-kun.”

“You had to leave me all alone with them to see the rest of Sumiyoshi Taisha,” his step brother said with an exaggerated sigh. “Tou-san wanted to take pictures of all the historical architecture. I think he’s going to drag us to the other shrines just to compare styles.”

“What a burden,” Kurama teased back. “It’s a pity you love history.” His brother laughed as Kurama had intended. Kurama turned back to his mother and made introductions. “This is Kudo Shinichi and Hattori...”

“Heiji,” Hattori supplied.

“Hattori Heiji. Kudo-san is the acquaintance from Tokyo that I mentioned.” Kurama turned to his family. “And this is my mother, Hatanaka Shiori, and her husband Kazuya and his son Shuichi.”

“Does it get confusing with both of you having the same first name?” Kudo asked, looking between him and his brother.

“Not particularly.” Kurama was Shuichi to his mother, Shuichi-kun to Kazuya, Nii-san to Shuichi, and Shuichi was Shu-chan to his mother and Shuichi to Kazuya. To anyone else, Kurama was Kurama or Minamino, not Hatanaka.

“Is one of them your boyfriend?” Shuichi asked, not nearly as quiet as he thought he was.

“No.”

“Am I ever going to meet your boyfriend?”

“We’ll see.” Kurama smirked at Shuichi’s brief pout. His mother had met Hiei. That was enough for now. Kurama stepped back and watched his mother take over, shuffling them all into the restaurant and asking the detectives questions about themselves. It turned out Kudo was repeating a grade because he’d missed almost a year of school from a case and had spent extensive time in America. And Hattori was an Osaka native and had plenty of suggestions for tourism ideas for the remainder of their stay. Both detectives had been active in investigations for several years and planned to pursue it as a career once they graduated from school.

It was amusing to sit back and watch people interact. They had no trouble talking about their cases or tourism, but the moment the topic turned around onto themselves and their goals and motivations, Hattori and Kudo got a bit tongue tied.

“And are you planning on attending university?” Shiori asked.

“Uh,” said Hattori.

“I was thinking maybe courses on criminology or psychology?” Kudo said like it was a question.

“That’s wonderful,” Shiori said, as genuine as she had been when Kuwabara confessed that he wanted to become a veterinarian or a doctor in the future. “Shuichi’s planning on studying botany.”

“I plan on opening a flower shop.” What better way to keep a human front with minimum effort? Plants came easy as breathing and he could make his own hours.

Hattori gave him another incredulous look. Kurama just smiled.

“I’ve always liked flowers,” he said innocently.

Kudo, who remembered the rose thorn whip, looked a bit pained.

Toward the end of the meal, when Kazuya went to pay, Hattori leaned over and whispered, “Okay, yer family’s painfully human. Point made.”

“Is it?” Kurama asked. “Because if you’re not convinced that I’m just living my life, you’re welcome to join us in visiting the Sakuya Konohana Kan. I’ve heard the botanical gardens are in full flower this time of year and I intend to spend several hours looking at as many plants as possible.”

Hattori looked a bit terrified of being stuck with Kurama in a glass building full of plants. How much did he remember from the woods?

“No?” Kurama finished the last bite of his dessert. “What a pity. I could have told you all about the rare orchids. Or perhaps the carnivorous plants in their tropical plant section. Some of them are large enough to digest small vertebrates.”

“Nope, I’m good. No meat eating plants for me.”

“Most of those only eat bugs,” Shuichi said, catching the tail end of the conversation. “Though I guess the corpse flowers are kind of cool in a disgusting way. I mean, who wants to be around a flower than smells like rotting flesh?”

Hattori looked a bit sick.

Kurama patted his arm, mock consolatory. “There probably won’t be any there in bloom at the moment. It does ruin the tourist aspect if your visitors can’t be in the same room for the smell.”

There was a flicker from the corner of his vision, something insubstantial passing through the wall and darting for the kitchens. Kurama caught a glimpse of an oar before it went out of view. Moments later screaming came from the restaurant kitchen. Ah, a ferry girl. Kurama was on his feet with Kudo and Hattori before the first scream died down.

“Minamino-san, don’t let anyone leave! Hattori, you’re with me!” Kudo said, taking control of the situation.

“Right,” Kurama murmured. He set a hand on his mother and brother’s shoulders. “It seems like something has happened in the kitchens; everything will be okay, but we need to stay here and stay calm until police arrive and figure out what happened.”

Not waiting to see what they had to say, Kurama moved to the door and pulled out his phone to call the police. Kudo and Hattori darted into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Hattori left and circled around to the bathrooms and then to the back door. No one had tried for the exits yet, too alarmed to think about moving. When the phone picked up on the other end, Kurama calmly reported the murder and their location—for it likely was a murder with its suddenness and the prickling feeling he had at the back of his neck.

It didn’t take long before word got out that someone was dead and the first people tried to leave, but thankfully the arrival of the police meant that Kurama no longer had to guard the door. He returned to Shiori’s side and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as people were questioned. Unsurprisingly, Kudo and Hattori had singled out a small group of suspects for the police to question.

The murder victim’s spirit had chosen to linger for a bit, the ferry girl hovering beside him. One look and who he lingered angrily near gave away the murderer, a young woman in her late twenties who didn’t look nervous at all. There was a steely determination about her along with conflicting resignation. She knew she wouldn’t escape but felt she was in the right. Kudo’s gaze lingered over her more than once, picking apart tiny details.

The police officer in charge said something, too low to hear. Kurama let a trickle of youki into his ears to strengthen their range.

“—as by poison,” the officer said. “It’s not clear yet how he ingested it, but he clearly ingested a lethal dose a little before seven-oh-nine. His body was found less than five minutes later, correct?”

“Correct,” Kudo said. “Which leaves a ten minute window between when he was seen and when he died. Although I have to say, keibu, the method of ingestion is quite clear once you take other factors into consideration.”

“The victim was a smoker,” Hattori continued, “smoked a cigarette every hour on the hour.”

“You’re suggesting he was dosed in his cigarettes?” the officer asked.

“Not quite,” Kudo said. “Hattori?”

“The victim had a fancy lighter—collector’s item, only a few of ‘em.” He held up a small, shiny object wrapped in a handkerchief. “You’ll find traces of poison on this. He also had the habit a chewing a mint when he was done smoking. Right handed, touched the lighter and the mint with the same hand and poisoned himself that way.”

“With a bit of searching,” Kudo said, “we found this in one of the restrooms.” He held up an identical shiny object. “The lighter was a gift from his late wife who was friends with the creator. Everyone who knew him knew the story, but not everyone would have been able to get ahold of a duplicate lighter.” His eyes cut to the young woman, freezing her on the spot. There was a lot of force of will behind that look and it was a little puzzling that Kudo didn’t show signs of spiritual abilities because in all other ways he showed potential for it. A bit of training and he could wield that strength of will against lower level demons as effectively as his friend could already ward away things. “Chise-san, you are the only one who both has the connections to obtain one and had the time to swap the lighters from his locker and throw the original in the bathroom. He was your father and you killed him.”

The woman didn’t try to protest or refute the claim. If anything, she stood straighter. “I did,” she said. “And he deserved it. He drove Kaa-san to suicide and he’d have tried the same abuse with me if I hadn’t gotten out of there. She was my mother. He as good as killed her and deserved it.”

“He was yer parent too,” Hattori said quietly.

“You have to actually care to be a parent,” Chise said. Her father’s ghost still looked angry. As she held out her arms to be arrested, he finally allowed the ferry girl to usher him onto her oar.

Kurama released his enhanced hearing. He realized at some point he had gripped his mother’s hand and her hand gripped back with equal strength. “It looks like things are being resolved,” he said with a reassuring smile.

“I can’t believe someone ended up dead,” Shuichi said. Shiori and Kazuya reached out to him at the same time and it was a testament to how shaken he was that he let them coddle him.

Kurama looked up as Kudo and Hattori returned. “Will the police need our statements?” he asked, though the police had technically already gone around to the patrons.

“Nah,” Hattori said. “They got what they need. Kudo ‘nd I’ll go up to the station later and finish up some paperwork, but we can go.”

“This is a bit of a damper to a nice meal,” Shiori said.

Hattori and Kudo shared a look. Hattori shrugged. “Eh. It happens a lot. We’re used to it.”

Shiori looked more concerned at hearing that, but Kurama cut in before she could start asking questions and mothering them. “I’m sure they have other things to do with their day that don’t involve us or the police,” he said. “We’re very glad that you took time to join us for dinner nevertheless.”

“Yes,” Kazuya chimed in, “always nice to meet people Shiuchi-kun knows.  He meets such interesting people.”

That was one way to put it.

“Uh, yeah, it’s uh, nice to meet ya too,” Hattori said, more uncomfortable by friendly parental gazes than a group of police officers and a murderer.  

Shiori smiled and patted Kurama’s arm. “We’ll let you say your goodbyes and catch up at the hotel.”

Kurama nodded. It was moments like this when he wondered if Shiori didn’t know something about him wasn’t as straightforward as he acted. She gave him moments to discuss what he needed to with Kuwabara and Yusuke and Hiei too. “Thank you,” he said.

Hattori scratched his head as they walked out the door. “How’re you so...eh...and they’re so nice?”

“Are you saying I’m not nice?” Kurama asked innocently.

“Nice isn’t the first thing that comes ta mind.”

Kurama smirked. “It’s awfully convenient timing that you were here when the murder was committed.”

“Kudo’s cursed,” Hattori said. “Runs into dead bodies all the time.”

“Hattori,” Kudo complained.

“What? Doesn’t happen nearly as often when I’m alone. Face it Kudo, yer a murder magnet.”

Kudo rolled his eyes. Kurama wondered if it didn’t have some truth. Another thing to mention to Genkai if they ended up talking to her. On that subject... He picked Kudo and Hattori’s pockets for their phones to enter his and Genkai’s number into. And to get their numbers of course. One never knew when that could come in handy. To distract them while he did it... “I can’t help feeling a little bad for the murderer.”

“The murderer?” Hattori said. “Why the hell would you feel bad about that?”

“Well, she was looking for justice for her mother,” Kurama said. “There’s a lot I would sacrifice for my mother.”

“That wasn’t justice,” Kudo said quietly, “that was revenge. No one gained from this. She’s going to jail and another person is dead.”

“Hm.” Kurama cocked his head to the side. “You could see it that way. To her death was the worst punishment she could think of, I suppose, one she’d willingly give up everything she had for. It was righteous enough intention to avenge her mother against her abuser, but a bit short sighted. There are so many worse things than death.”

Both detectives shivered, giving him wary looks again.

Kurama smiled his human smile and knew it would be all the more unnerving. “If she truly wanted vengeance, all she had to do was subtly lead him down the same road her mother took. But I suppose it would be hard to play such a long game.” He finished with the phones, sliding them back with ease.

“I think,” Kudo said after a moment, “that if everyone hurt everyone who hurt them, the world would be a pretty awful place.”

“Hm,” Kurama agreed. It wasn’t the demon way, and it certainly wasn’t how all humans functioned, but he could see the value in it. “It is good that there are people like you or grudges would never end. I’m not one of those people though.”

“Noted,” Hattori said. “I’ll keep an eye out for bodies leadin’ ta you.”

“If I was the one who killed them, you’d never find the body.” And that, Kurama thought, was his cue to leave. “Kudo-san, it was good to see you again, you as well, Hattori-san.”

“This’s the first time we met,” Hattori said.

“Is it?” Kurama asked. As he sputtered, Kurama turned to Kudo. “You have a number in your phones under the name Genkai. She can help you both with learning more about spiritual power. Just tell her Kurama sent you and she’ll be agreeable enough.” As much as Genkai could ever be called agreeable.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!” Hattori asked, finally managing to speak again.

Kurama waved and walked away.

“Oi!”

“See you around Tokyo, Kudo-san.”

“Minamino, you’re a creepy bastard!” Hattori yelled after him.

It was always satisfying to leave an impression. It would be interesting to see what happened if they ever met again. Messing around complete, he turned back toward the hotel room. He had a family vacation to continue.

*

“That was the detective who cleared you from the murder suspect list, wasn’t it?” Shiori said much later, just the two of them drinking tea on the hotel room’s balcony.

“It was.” Kurama sipped jasmine tea and enjoyed the fresh air, cooler now that it was evening.

“I hope you at least got a chance to thank him for his help,” Shiori said. “I can’t imagine what you’d have done if he hadn’t been there.”

Escaped due to spirit world meddling, Kurama assumed. “I did. As you saw, he handles that sort of thing pretty often.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show proper gratitude when someone helps you.” Shiori set down her tea cup. “I should have thanked him.”

“I thanked him enough for both of us.” Genkai’s contact information was more than enough thanks. Debt repaid and all that. As if he would ever let himself remain indebted.

“I insist,” Shiori said. “You did get his contact information.”

“Phone number. I could probably get an address if I looked him up.”

“Please do.” She settled back in her chair, still beautiful and as kind as she had been his whole life. “I’ll bake something. Teenagers are always hungry, right?”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate anything you make,” Kurama said. If he didn’t, he’d better pretend to or Kurama would have words with him.

“I’m glad to see you making more friends,” Shiori said. She’d said that every time he brought someone new home. He hadn’t brought anyone home for a long time so of course she was glad to see her son showing signs of normal socialization. He’d have to keep trying harder to be the best human son he could be for her.

Kurama let her hug him and leaned into the touch, savoring it while he still could. The length of a human lifetime could be so short, as today could be a reminder of. It was no sacrifice to do little things to make her happy for as long as they had together. Thank you he thought to her. For caring, for sticking with him, for knowing him even if she didn’t know all of him. Out loud he said, “I’ll be sure to get you his address.”

“Thank you, Shuichi,” Shiori said. It was always bitter sweet to be thanked when it was always him who should be thanking her.

They sipped their tea in companionable silence and watched the sun sink down below the horizon.

*

Kurama put the meeting out of his mind for a while. It was not that he forgot that it happened, but more that he had no reason to actively think about it. Neither Kudo nor Hattori called him with the number he’d helpfully placed in their phones, and Genkai didn’t mention them getting in touch with her either. If he thought about it at all, he assumed that they’d decided to stay as far away from the supernatural as possible. He did pass along Kudo’s home address to his mother (it was very easy to find) though so perhaps him knowing Kudo’s address had scared Kudo off as well.

In the meantime, Kurama had homework and cases and family time to fill his hours. And a bit of time in there to just revel at how his powers continued to grow by sparring with Hiei every now and again. It never hurt to stay in practice.

Today was one of the days he was visiting Hiei, going to Genkai’s temple instead of Hiei visiting him. It was a bit of a trip to make, but being surrounded by the forest on the long trek up the mountain was more than worth the time it took to get there. He liked any occasion to be more surrounded by nature, really. Training was going on when he got there, he could feel the fluctuation of spirit energy the closer he got. It wasn’t a familiar presence though, weaker and more flickery than Yusuke or Kuwabara. There was Hiei’s strong presence and Genkai’s steady one, Kuwabara near Hiei but not fighting him. If he strained his senses, he could feel Yukina, contained and cold with a mirror smoothness to his spirit sense at odds with Hiei’s jagged warmth.

Genkai was waiting for him at the top of the stairs, standing on her porch and glaring at the world. “I’m blaming you,” she said when he came closer.

“For what?” Kurama asked.

“For bringing me more idiots to keep track of.”

Ah. It clicked, the unfamiliar presences lining up to the impression of Hattori’s unpracticed spirit energy and the sharp focus Kudo had held. “Then they did contact you?”

“Obviously,” Genkai said with a snort. “I can see why you sent the one, but the other was a problem.”

“Oh?”

“He had a block on him. It’s gone now, but he has no idea what to do with what he has.” She turned away. “At least they’re not complete idiots like my thickheaded apprentice,” she grumbled. For Genkai that was practically a compliment. “Come in.”

Kurama followed. Kudo Shinichi was in Genkai’s living room sitting across from Yukina, looking around him with a fascinated expression on his face. He was the flickering presence, weak then strong when he focused on something in particular, like he was figuring out how to catch his energy and direct it without a real understanding of how much energy was needed or really what he was doing at all. He looked at Kurama and stared.

“Oh. That’s different,” he said. “You’re purple and gold.”

Kurama raised an eyebrow and looked at Genkai.

“He’s been seeing auras since the block came off. Not sure what else he can see yet. We’re trying to work on controlling that before moving on to anything else.”

“I see.” Kudo’s eyes flicked over Kurama like he was tracing individual strands of color, seeing where they mixed and separated.

“It’s pretty,” Kudo said, with another flare and diminishing of energy, “but distracting. Are you multiple things?”

“I’m a demon spirit fused with a human body,” Kurama said, “so I suppose that I am.”

Kudo blinked and focused in a different way, seeing Kurama instead of his aura. He frowned, likely trying to figure out how that was possible.

Yukina gave Kurama a smile and then turned back to Kudo. “Kudo-san if you would try focusing on the different seals around the room again?” she said, patient and encouraging. She would be a good teacher. She was good with control and didn’t have Genkai’s abrasive nature. It was probably for the best for Kudo’s sake not to have Genkai’s particular brand of encouragement until he got a bit more used to even having spirit energy to begin with.

“Right,” Kudo said, refocusing on the room.

Genkai huffed and jerked her head toward the dojo. “Your other stray is that way,” she said.

Kurama went. He could hear the clack of practice swords before he got there and the occasional burst of energy, not focused enough to have much damage potential yet but it had the same promise that Hattori’s energy had held when he focused on the omamori.

Hattori sparred with Kuwabara, exchanging controlled blows while Hiei looked on from the shadows. Hiei caught Kurama’s eye and smirked a few seconds before Hattori managed to wrench Kuwabara’s sword away.

“Wow, you ever learn how ta use a sword?” Hattori teased, retrieving his opponent’s sword.

Kuwabara snatched it back, face red. “Shut up! I’m supposed to be teaching you, not the other way around!”

“Ya fight like a brawler. Swords are an art.” Hattori moved into a basic stance. “Fer instance if ya kept yer elbows in a bit more you’d have less openings.”

“I’ve been doing fine so far,” Kuwabara grumbled. He mirrored Hattori though. It was a bit funny to watch because Kurama could remember Hiei saying something similar a long while ago and Kuwabara ignoring it entirely.

Hiei flickered to Kurama’s side. “Shockingly, the oaf is actually learning something,” Hiei drawled.

“Hiei,” Kurama said. He couldn’t quite make it into an admonishment, and Hiei knew it.

Hiei smirked and went back to watching. “The other idiot knows how to use a sword,” Hiei said, “but he has no instinct for taking any opening he can. Too structured and used to fights having rules.”

“You’ll break him of it,” Kurama said.

“Hm.” Hiei didn’t insist that he wouldn’t and that was as good as a confession that he was actually interested in seeing Hattori’s progress. “He has no idea what he’s doing with spirit power. The oaf can at least teach him that much.”

“Was that a compliment to Kuwabara’s spirit abilities?”’ Kurama teased.

“He’s not as horrible as he used to be,” Hiei said. “He just left his hip wide open,” Hiei said suddenly, directing his voice at the fighters. “Take advantage of every opening no matter how underhanded.”

Hattori jumped and whirled. “How long have you been there?” he asked, looking between Kurama and Hiei.

“The shrimp’s been here the whole time. Kurama just got here,” Kuwabara said, taking the chance to wipe sweat off his brow. “You gotta work on your awareness, not just trying to focus energy to your sword.”

“Right, yeah, I’ll work on that,” Hattori grumbled. He pointed at Kurama, irritation bleeding off him. “You.”

“Me?” Kurama said, wary of the slight spike in Hattori’s spirit energy in his direction.

“You were in the woods weren’t ya? With the dead pig guy.”

“Boar demon,” Kurama corrected. “And yes, I was.”

“You messed with my memory! I still can’t remember everything right.”

“He didn’t do anything to your memory,” Hiei said. “I did.”

“Geeze, guys, since when’re we doing memory blocking,” Kuwabara muttered.

“Since we started having witnesses who can see but aren’t involved,” Kurama said. “Actually, there’s been a lot of memory manipulation going on. The number of times demons have attacked heavily populated areas lately has had Koenma’s people in a tizzy doing cover up.”

“No one tells me these things!” he complained.

Kurama ignored his dramatics and turned back to Hattori. “Out of curiosity, what do you remember?”

“Uh...” Hattori frowned. “Kinda remember trippin’ over the dead guy, then running? Uh. Kitsune? Maybe? Then... Wait.” He narrowed his eyes. “You fuckin’ kissed me!”

Kurama snorted with laughter as Hattori and Kuwabara had the same expression of horror on their faces. “One,” he said, “I’m a demon fox, not a benign spirit. And two, I could have knocked you out some other way, but it was funny to see your expression.”

“I was thought ya were gonna eat me!” Hattori said.

Kurama laughed.

“You two have a sick sense of humor sometimes,” Kuwabara said.

“Wait,” Hattori said. “Ya said you had a boyfriend. How’d he feel about ya kissing strangers?”

“He tolerates the occasional ridiculousness,” Hiei muttered.

Kuwabara looked between Kurama and Hiei. “Wait. Waaaaait. Kurama, what the hell?! How long have you been dating Hiei?!”

“You’re using terms for a non-human relationship,” Hiei informed him.

“A while,” Kurama said, leaving it vague.

“We refer to each other as partners and you didn’t notice?” Hiei continued.

“You’re married?!”

Hiei looked at Kuwabara like he was debating sending fire his direction. If Kurama wanted to it would take a few words to tip them into a brawl and let himself sit back and watch the show. For Hattori’s sake, unused to Kuwabara and Hiei’s dynamics, he held off. “It doesn’t quite mean the same thing,” Kurama said. “Think more a pact to have each other’s backs, pool strengths, with an added physical and potentially emotional benefits.”

“Allies with benefits,” Hattori choked, under his breath. Kurama ignored that.

“It implies more trust and intimacy than an alliance.”

“Is that what you meant every time you mentioned a partner?” Kuwabara’s face screwed up before he started shaking his head like he was trying to get rid of unwanted thoughts. “Gah, really?”

“It’s not our fault you’re just dense,” Hiei said.

“Shut up already!”

Hiei smirked and then he and Kuwabara were sparring. So much for holding back his words. Hurama made his way to Hattori’s side. He squinted at the blurs of motion, trying to track Hiei’s inhuman speed.

“Short, grumpy, and vindictive, huh?” Hattori said, not taking his eyes off the fight.

“He’s also extremely loyal, capable, and constantly striving for improvement,” Kurama said. “But I will admit that his vindictive side was part of what caught my eye.”

“Uh huh. And he likes ya cuz yer scary as hell, huh?”

Kurama smirked. “Why Hattori-san, do I unnerve you?”

Hattori grimaced. “Not gonna touch that.”

Hiei’s sword sparked against Kuwabara’s spirit sword, lighting his bestial grin with a hellish glow. Hiei at least was having fun. Kuwabara would complain later, but he didn’t hate it or he wouldn’t start half the fights he did.

The fight ended shortly after Kudo wandered in and started following the movements around the room with his eyes, no trouble at all. One false step from Kuwabara and the glowing golden sword was gone from his hand and he was hitting the floor, hard. He chose not to get up, growling in frustration. This was a frequent sight though. Hiei scoffed at Kuwabara’s sputtered insults and sheathed his sword.

It was Kurama’s turn to spar now. He sent Hiei a glance. Hiei’s stance shifted and Kurama reached for a seed.

“You might want to stand closer to the door,” Kurama suggested to their guests. The surprise on Hattori’s face when Kurama pulled out a rose was nothing next to when he turned it into a whip. Kurama met Hiei’s eyes and telegraphed that he meant to make this a show. Hiei humored him. He’d deny it, but he enjoyed showing off at least as much as Kurama did for the right audience.

*

“Botany,” Hattori said after the spar. “Botany.”

“Fitting,” Kurama said, content after a good workout even with holes singed in his short and a few slices he’d have to sew later. “Isn’t it?”

“The more I see the more things make sense,” Kudo said.

Hiei, covered with thin scratches where he barely dodged Kurama’s whip, brushed past them to go find Yukina before Kuwabara could start flirting with her again.

“Are you getting more comfortable with your vision?” Kurama asked.

Kudo shrugged. “A bit.” He looked at the room, the various signs of battle in it, and back at the people still in it. He was hard to read, but Kurama guessed he was still overwhelmed. “Thank you,” Kudo said, “again for giving us the number.”

“Consider it repayment for helping me out of a difficult situation,” Kurama said.

“And thank your mother for the cookies.”

“I’ll pass that along.”

“I don’t think I’d have been able to handle knowing that this existed but not having a way to know if I was dealing with something like this,” Kudo said. “So I’m glad.” Even if it was disorienting and difficult, Kurama read in the silences between his words.

“And I’m glad ta learn how to fight back,” Hattori said. “So thanks even if ya are kinda a jerk fer the whole woods thing.”

“Keep learning,” Kurama said, “and figure out what works for you.” It wasn’t altruism. You never knew when more allies would be useful and he wouldn’t be surprised if in the long run they had two more spirit detectives on their hands. “Now, I believe we should all go help Genkai with chores or we will all be in trouble.” Genkai was particular about people who frequently used her space, and even more particular about anyone she trained. The detectives would learn fast.

“More warning about her personality woulda been nice,” Hattori muttered.

Now where would the fun in that be? Kurama went and they followed. Things, he decided, were going to be interesting around here for a while. That was fine. Kurama preferred an interesting life.

AN2: Komainu, for anyone interested, are those sort of lion-dog statues that some temples have and are meant to ward off evil spirits. Komainu doesn't seem to be a term only for the dog statues though as Inari shrines have fox komainu, and there are other possible animal shapes.

Why botany and future flower shop for Kurama? 1) it would be amusing (really do you expect anything else considering my method in this fic?) 2) it gives him human ties and a respectable life for his human front to keep his connection to his mother but costs him little time and effort due to his abilities. 3) due to this, he could easily spend time in the future going back and forth to makai and having his double life. 4) gives kurama a potential excuse to do future research on plants he might find interesting in the human world which he'd probably enjoy considering his seed collection.

Shinichi has weird sight at the end partly because he's always the one to see details in the series and it's doubling as increased insight with aura reading ^_^ He may or may not be able to see ghosts now (it's really not clear in YYH how many people can, or how common it is to have ghosts as that bit kinda gets tossed aside in favor of demon battles early on in the series).

Hiei/Kurama because I ship it, but the bit about 'partnership' vs boyfriend is because I can't see it fitting into anything that would be traditionally considered a 'romantic relationship'. Also I imagine a lot of demon social constructs would be different. Take Hiei giving Mukuro her childhood tormentor in a half-life state to torture to her heart's content. That would be what passes as a romantic gesture to a demon, personally. (I also don't feel like there'd necessarily be exclusivity in relationships unless it was more of a personality thing. Dunno. Eh, whatever, it isn't actually relevant, it's just musings. That bit with Mukuro or not,  I am still a Hiei/Kurama shipper >_>)

[presumenothing]

it’s a bird, it’s a plane,

it’s a cloud of detective bats, coming to a crime scene near you!!

or, my first (and probably overdue) Official Contribution™ to halloweenverse au here on tumblr dot com, with long-distance bats to @deductionfreak​ and @aonomiki​ aka my conan and heiji enablers respectively

-

it was, perhaps unsurprisingly, difficult to have a sleepover when neither of you actually needed to – well, sleep.

...this was possibly a problem they should've seen coming. maybe.

not that conan claimed himself to be an expert on sleepovers or anything, but he was fairly certain a proper one was going on over at the toyama house right now, involving at least a reasonable amount of sleep (because ran was there and she'd already made a list of things she wanted to see in osaka tomorrow, which she wasn't going to give up for anything short of a double homicide).

meanwhile, it was quiet enough in the hattori residence that conan could hear hattori take a breath in the moment before he spoke.

"y'know, I heard from the witchy neechan that you've lately been spending an unusually large amount of time in..." hattori paused, waving around in what was presumably an attempt to catch a particularly low-flying word. "...bat form? is that what it's called?"

"well, it is more than one bat, so I suppose the plural would be more accurate." conan glanced over. "but I assume that wasn't your original question."

"actually – " hattori frowned. "I mean, have you ever counted how many there – well, you are? is it, like, a fixed number?"

"have you ever tried counting yourself?" conan asked dryly, though the question was obviously rhetorical. "usually 20, and still not the question you were about to ask."

the sound of hattori clamping down on his next irrelevant question was probably audible from hokkaido. "right, yeah. anyway. excessive bat time. what's up with that?"

a moment of silence passed between them, only filled by the slightly static crackle conan associated with heiji recharging.

"...bat time, really? that's the best you can come up with?"

"shut up, it's accurate ain't it?" hattori muttered. "besides, now you're the one stalling, don't think I wouldn't notice."

"right, because you're observant about everything except kazuha," conan said as distinctly as he could with his face buried in a pillow, ignoring the sound of protests. "ugh, I can't believe ran put you up to this."

"well, she didn't exactly ask, I just – I overheard her telling kazuha about it, and she did suggest this trip herself for once, so – " hattori sat up, tugging at his pillow (halfheartedly, because both of them going at full strength would probably leave it in tatters). "c'mon, kudo, I'm here to help. even kazuha's noticed something off about the two of you, and I don't want her upset."

"in case you lose a limb again?"

"not funny, kudo. believe me, even being a vampire won't protect you from a properly angry kazuha."

conan grabbed his pillow back, hugging it as he turned to stare at the ceiling. "honestly, it's... nothing too major, really, just – I guess bats kind of perceive space – or spatial dimensions – differently? especially when it comes to my own size, and..."

"...being twenty small bats is better than being one small human, is that it?" hattori asked when he didn't continue. conan nodded –

– and let out an oof of surprise when another pillow (hattori's, confirmed by the faint spark of a static shock) landed squarely on him.

"you're right, kudo, it's nothing too major," came hattori's voice from somewhere beyond the impromptu upholstery fort. "because suddenly losing your body as you know it is nothing major at all. no big deal."

conan opened his mouth to say something –

"trust me, I would know," said hattori, with enough irony to rival haemoglobin.

– and shut it again abruptly.

"you're a real idiot sometimes, kudo, did you kno-" hattori dodged the pillow thrown his way, and snickered. "I'll take that as agreement, I think."

"I don't know, you're usually more complimentary towards my intellect," conan grumbled. "now hush, some of us need to sleep."

"no you don't!" hattori announced cheerfully, and conan promptly went bat(s) as one dubiously resurrected detective pounced onto his bed.

hattori attempted to glower at him.

this was considerably complicated by the need to do so in nearly two dozen directions at once, and also by the fact that hattori had tripped over and yanked out his charging wire while doing so.

"owowow," muttered hattori, wincing-or-glowering in some vague direction over the chorus of wings as five bats dove down towards where the wire had fallen. "thanks, kudo, I really apprecia–"

hattori looked up,

.

and saw the same five bats rapidly gaining height as they held on to his charging wire, all while being careful to stay clear of the live end.

"–'ppreciate it," heiji finished flatly. "very mature, kudo. ha ha."

flapflapflapflapflap, went the five kudo-bats, as they stopped rising to hover two feet above where he was lying down, safely out of reach.

"you can't stay up there forever, you know." heiji paused. "besides, I can just – "

flapflapflapflapflap, went all the other kudo-bats, as they promptly landed on him before he could move to get up.

heiji glared. various numbers of bats stared back, depending on the direction he looked in.

(he had a sudden and foreboding premonition of himself being stuck here until tomorrow morning, pinned down by – heiji did a quick headcount – yep, 20 holmesian bats who were going to take it in shifts to replace the ones holding his charging cord up in the air, all while he slowly but surely ran out of battery.)

"c'mon, kudo, you can't stay up there forever and I feel like I'm talking to myself," heiji said, in a completely sensible and reasonable manner. he didn't know much about bat anatomy, sure, but he was fairly certain that bats weren't supposed to be able to shrug.

twenty bats shrugged at him, including the five who somehow failed to drop out of the air or lose any altitude at all.

(this was ridiculous. they were ridiculous. it wasn't like heiji hadn't seen kudo hitching a ride on the neechan's witch hat, so he knew that the bats could cling onto clothing just fine, and even if any of them fell off they could literally fly, so there was really nothing stopping heiji from getting up right now and –

well. except that dying had done no favours for his night vision, and the last thing he wanted or needed was to accidentally step on and/or electrocute any kudo-bats, because that would be a quick road to homicide via witchy neechan if kudo was out of commission tomorrow, and he didn't think even kazuha could revive him this time.

ugh.)

heiji rolled his eyes and reached up to tug a pillow under his head. if he was going to resign himself to getting stuck here, at least he could do it in comfort.

two of the bats that'd been on his arm took flight as he moved, swapping places with another two who'd been holding up the wire.

"anyway," heiji continued when relative peace had been restored, "you should tell the neechan. she'd understand, you know."

the airborne bats rose another foot, which was about the highest his wire could go.

"you don't want to tell her?" heiji raised an eyebrow. "why, because – that'd remind her that she can't fix whatever curse thing you got?"

the bats went down by half a foot, which heiji took to mean that he'd deduced correctly.

and it wasn't like he didn't understand, kinda – kudo didn't want to make that neechan feel guilty about stuff she couldn't fix, which. well. given the still-improbable stunt kazuha had pulled when it came to him, he wasn't really in a position to say anything.

but, still. letting her worry wasn't much better, at least not in his book, so. “if you don't tell her, I will."

that got no movement on the bat front, though he distinctly felt like he was getting something of a judgemental look from the bat in his direct line of sight – the same kind of Look kudo had when things weren't living up to his particular standards.

the effect was further enhanced by the distinct cowlick each kudo-bat sported.

"...fine, you're right, I wouldn't do that." heiji sighed, and wondered: did each of the bats get allotted 5% of kudo's brainpower, too? or was it more like... cloud computing, maybe, some hive mind thing?

(okay, jeez, he'd never paid attention in those classes – with good reason, they'd never been directly relevant to him and actually still weren’t. he knew enough about the physical characteristics of each species insofar as crime scenes or fights were concerned, of course, but otherwise... his lack of knowledge of other aspects was slowly but insistently becoming apparent.)

his thoughts were interrupted by a yawn, which was more a habit than necessary reflex by now. "point still stands, though, so work out something to tell her before she figures it out herself. and you'd better return my charger now, unless you really want to explain to kazuha and your neechan why we have to stop and look for a high voltage electrical outlet midway through sightseeing tomorrow."

the kudo-bats let out a collective squeak of justified terror at that, and descended with due haste and a wire before collectively swooping down on the backpack he'd brought along.

heiji plugged himself back in before sitting up to watch the bats tug open the bag's zipper and dive in to retrieve – a string of magician's scarves?

...nope, heiji corrected himself, the pieces of fabric were too misshapen to be anything scarf-like, and looked almost like –

one dropped in his lap.

– yep, tiny bat sweaters.

twenty of them, in fact, wielded by a flock of suspciously innocent-looking bats that apparently constituted the Detective of the East.

now in bite sized form, his mind supplied. some rivalry this had turned out to be.

he picked the sweater up, and the bat who'd dropped it circled down to hang upside down from his hand, wings tucked neatly in on either side.

was it the same one from before? maybe, maybe not. honestly, heiji didn't think anyone but the neechan could tell, they all looked too identical each other. and speaking of which – well, witch –

"your neechan made twenty sweaters for you?" he asked, and the bat nodded as heiji flipped it right side up and tried to figure out how to put the tiny garment on. "I don't think kazuha even knows how to knit human-sized ones.”

the now-sweatered bat gave him another of those Judgemental Looks as it shuffled along up his arm to make way for the next bat to land.

heiji shook his arm slightly, and the two bats yelped, wings flailing as they clung on. "fine, fine, I wouldn't be here without her stitching skills, okay?"

the bats appeared to agree with that, from how they were forming a mid-air queue as he put yet another sweater on.

each one was a different colour, he'd quickly noticed, so it was just as well that they hadn't just dumped all of them in his lap at once. that'd have been like a multiple choice question with a negligible 1-in-20-factorial chance of getting the correct answer.

(or, again, basically impossible for anyone who wasn't kudo's neechan. he was starting to see why the two of them were inseparable – in the literal sense, sometimes.)

anyway: bat, sweater, bat, sweater – it was a pattern he was quickly getting the hang of, though he paused halfway through to complain about the massive weight imbalance until the bats deigned to redistribute themselves evenly over both his arms.

he'd pretty much lost count by the time he reached the last bat (dark red sweater, this time), and heiji contemplated the veritable rainbow of bats now dangling from both his arms as he helped to tug the sweater on. "we're real lucky to have them, ya know."

dark-red-sweater-bat chittered in response, and the others echoed in apparent agreement, though they sounded a little sleepy.

well. he supposed that was to be expected – vampires might not exactly need sleep, but kudo was practically a baby by their standards (much as heiji himself tended to forget that) and that probably counted for something.

the bats took flight again – in erratically clumsy paths that landed them on the bed in a haphazard patchwork of knitwear and bat – as heiji tugged at the covers and lay down, trying not to dislodge anyone. "g'night, kudo," he said between yawns.

he was answered only by the briefest flap of wings, and then –

heiji grinned. it wasn't like he was going to tell anyone that kudo-bats snored, was he?

not for now, at least.

-

-

(it's futile, heiji, ran already knows and she thinks it's c u t e)

then they somehow overslept and heiji accidentally overcharged himself and therefore spent the rest of the day bouncing off walls rip

EDIT: NOW CONTINUED HERE

[yesyunniechan]

Detective Conan File 993 [Japanese to English Translation]

Both love and case

Are cut with a blade?!

TN: Ahaha. Pun. Like: Yaiba (blade) as MANGA (Okita) is added to the love (ShinRan and Heizuha) and to the case (Okita is an IDIOT)

[10 minutes before the tournament starts...]

S: The criminal behind Nukitani-san's murder had been hiding in the restroom up until the police arrived...

S: So it must be one of you three...

S: But we can't do much until we figure out where the box cutter that was used to slice Nukitani-san's throat went...

T: Yeah... Looks like this might be a tough one...

S: There's nothing we can do! Could you contact the tournament organizers and tell them to come here so we can explain the situation and tell them to cancel the event?

S: I'd like to know more about how Nukitani-san got here and such...

T: Right!

[Wait! 10 minutes is should be more than enough time...]

[A murder happened at the Kendo Tournament!! Looks like Heiji discovered the truth?!]

T: Eh? 

S: More than enough... Don't tell me you already figured out who did it?

H: Aye... which one of these three did it...

H: And how they killed him!!

O: I've figured it out as well!!

O: Since we can't seem to find the murder weapon, no matter where we look...

O: The criminal is this blind...

O: Ojii-san with a cane!!

TN: LMAO 

Y: Eh?

O: He was lying about the supposed criminal mentioning a box cutter on the phone!

C: Lying?

C: You'd think that even if that was a lie, he wouldn't have just sat on this bench right next to the corpse, but would rather have tried to get out of here...

H: Besides, he can't see... How would he have killed him?

O: Isn't it obvious? That cane contains a sword...

O: Just like Zatouichi, he calculated the distance between him and his target by sensing his presence...

O: And sliced this occhan's neck with a single, sudden draw!!

O: So? I'm right, aren't I?

O: Can you say 'Life is pain'?

C: Oi, Hattori...

C: Is this guy... an idiot?

O: You're supposed ta say that at the end, ya know! <3

H: Sorry... Ignore him...

H: So? Ya learned who the criminal is?

C: Nope, all I know...

C: Is that although the victim's bag contained a drink...

C: Someone must've taken it after he was killed...

C: And the one who took it...

C: Is probably the ex-SDF officer, Sakamori Akane-san...

A: Wha?!

S: Why do you think that?

C: Well, you see, there’s some powdered medical residue left around Nukitani-san’s mouth, yet he doesn't have any water on him!

C: That's why I believe that the warmth that melted the chocolate in Sadamori-san's bag stemmed from a plastic bottle containing a warm drink!

A: A-as I said, the chocolate simply melted in my pocket...

C: Then it should’ve melted evenly! However, since only those closer to the tip melted, something else must have given off its warmth... You probably got it from the vending machine, added the poison, and then kept it in your bag until you got a chance to give it to Nukitani-san, right?

C: And you didn't tell us that you had a warm drink... because you thought that might arouse suspicion if someone finds a plastic bottle cut into little pieces...

S: That's why you were hiding in the restroom... to get rid of the evidence...

A: T-That was not poison, that was a laxative! I just wanted get back at Nukitani-sensei for rejecting my love!!

A: And when I came by to make sure he’s stuck in the restroom... He was dead. So I grabbed the plastic bottle because I knew everyone would get the wrong idea!!

A: I swear I’m telling the truth! Please believe me!!

C: I don’t think she's the culprit! She practiced Kendo in high school for three years, so she’d at least know how to wear a hakama properly...

C: And the culprit appears to have put the hakama on backwards!

T: Then all three of us must be innocent! After all, I practiced kendo too…

C: Did you really practice Kendo back in the day, Yokote-san...? 

C: You didn't even know that victory poses are forbidden at Kendo tournaments...

C: Isn't that right, referee-ojii-san?

N: Y-yeah... As per the guidelines...

N: 'An excessively emotional display of pride following a successful blow is considered unsportsmanlike conduct and will result in the strike being annulled, regardless of whether or not it was previously considered legal.'

S: See... Yet you were bragging to your girlfriend about striking a victory pose after landing a strike...

S: And you got angry when Nukitani-san humiliated you by calling you out on your lie...

Y: Y-Yeah...

Y: I wanted to get back at this ossan by embarrassing him myself...

Y: So I followed him and secretly took pictures! If he'd shown any weakness or shameful habit, I'd have exposed him through the internet!

Y: And when this woman went went for the same restroom he'd gone to....

Y: I figured that they might be having some sort of secret date...

Y: That's all there is to it!!

Y: I wanted to leave ASAP, but then this kid and those guys got here...

Y: Then while I was in the restroom, I deleted all the pictures I'd secretly taken of that ossan!!

T: So that's why it says that you haven't taken any pictures this month?

Y: Y-Yeah...

S: But you're also the only one who doesn't know how to put a hakama on...

S: So you'd have to be the one who killed him.

Y: A, no...

S: Right, Conan-kun?

C: Hmmm...

C: But Yokote-san....

C: Doesn't have a box cutter with him...

S: H-hey, Conan-kun?!

T: R-right! I don't have one with me! And I at least know how to wear hakama, because I practiced kendo a little!

H: Then how 'bout ya put that tare on? Forensics can give ya some gloves...

T: O-okay... I’ve got this!

T: Take this long one... make a cross in the back...

T: Then fasten what's left behind... and ready!

H: Nope! Tare's knot shouldn't be visible, so yer supposed ta lift the maedare* and make a knot under it!

TN: Apron :"D

H: See? After fastenin' it... Ya can see the blood left at the maedare, right?

S: B-but that's...

H: Yep! Anyone who is used ta wearing bougu would wear his hakama backwards on purpose... Ta make it look that it was done by somebody who never did kendo…

H: And the only one who had ta do it must be wearing referee clothes, and thus hold a rank...

H: Only ya, Norimura Nenji-san!!

K: No way?!

K: Ya still haven’t found Heiji?! The match starts in 5 minutes!

K: And Ran-chan and Conan-kun aren’t here either... Maybe they know where Heiji is?

R: A phone call from Kazuha-chan... If she'll learn where Hattori-kun is, she'll head straight over here...

R: But if she gets here before the case is closed...

R: We can’t afford to waste any time...

R: Because Hattori-kun...

R: Has to confess to Kazuha-chan!!!

[B-but.... The criminal used a box cutter as a weapon, right?]

N: I don't have one of those on me...

H: We were wrong about that from the start...

H: The victim, Nukitani-san, was talking to someone on phone...

H: And he said...

H: 'The cutter is stained with blood, I can't cut with it... please bring me the spare one!'

Y: Yeah! Exactly! 

C: I don't see anything wrong with that...

H: In kansai, 'cutter' can refer to a dress shirts! Ya guys just call those "Y-Shirts" instead!

TN: HA! I was right uvu

H: Add to that the fact that Nukitani-san got a nosebleed because of Okita's opponent...

H: And we've got this...

H: 'My Cutter shirt is stained due to my nosebleed, so I can't wear it....

H: Bring me the spare one!'

TN: Kiru = cut, kiru = wear

T: I see! That's why Nukitani-san's wife is coming here with a Y-shirt!

S: So Nukitani-san wanted to change his shirt, and chose this remote restroom by accident?

H: Yeah... 'cause all the other restrooms were taken...

H: That said, even without a nosebleed, if ya stained Nukitani-san's shirt with a hand smeared in ink... He woulda come here anyway, which is just what ya wanted, right?

N: B-but the murder weapon?!

N: I don't have anything sharp with me, right?

H: Ya do!

T: Y-you think I'd slice a throat with a shinai?!

H: It's a modified shinai...

H: If ya'd swung horizontally with a sharpened bamboo tip cut as thin as a katana...

H: The centrifugal force woulda helped ya slice the throat!!

O: Well, even with a simple shinai’s strike... there are ways to slice his throat so that the blood won't stop flowing...

H: Yep... the throat is the most vulnerable part of the human body after all...

H: The sound heard in the restroom was the sound of... Ya trying to dull the edge of yer bamboo sword, which was as sharp as a katana, so ya rubbed it against wall...

H: And the sound that was heard right after the sound of the bougu being thrown out of the restroom window...

H: After ya took off the blood-drenched bougu ya used in yer plan, ya changed into the coat ya prepared earlier, put the murder weapon - yer bamboo sword - inside the shinai bag, and were gonna leave as if nothin' had happened...

H: But then lotsa people arrived, so ya couldn't leave the toilet and realized ya’d have ta do somethin' with that sharpened shinai...

H: So it oughta still be left inside yer shinai bag, right?

H: Nukitani-san's blood!!

S: We’ll check!

N: Yeah... I thought it will show the blood stains... so I washed it in the restroom just in case...

H: My bad, Kudo... I took over at the best part. <3

C: That's kind of frustrating...

S: But why shinai? It'd be easier to cut the throat with something sharp...

N: This shinai...

TN: Was a gift from him on our first date, so I wanted to end his life like that - doing his favorite kendo with the sword he gifted me... I thought about rollercoaster, but meh, this idea is better. What? Wrong case? Oh.

N: Belonged to my son... 

N: Whom Nukitani-san drove to suicide 2 years ago...

S: D-drove to suicide?

N: At the grand finals of this tournament series'  team league, two years ago... My son pulled off a masterful strike in the decisive game... But in the passion of the moment, he struck a victorious pose, and the strike was annulled...

N: My son's high school was eliminated as a result... He felt responsible, and took his own life because he couldn't bare the shame... Nukitani-san was the referee on call for this match...

TN: Oh, I like my idea with the first date better... Poor boy :(

S: But the rules of Kendo are written in stone - there's nothing he could have done about, right?

N: Yes... I thought that Nukitani-san had made the right call, and that my son had been in the wrong...

N: But yesterday, a student from the Kyoto Senshin High School also struck a victory pose after scoring a point during the team league's grand finals...

N: And he flat-out ignored it!!

S: R-really?

N: Yes! And not only did this guy not annull the point, he encouraged this student!

N: He played favorites with him because he was from the kansai area, same as him!!

N: T-that's why I... This prejudiced bastard...

N: With my son's shinai...

O: He probably...

O: Held this charm...

O: The jihou* from the first grade told me 'I want ta win!' and borrowed that charm from me...

TN: Second player

O: This is a charm from the Hachidai shrine, passed in my family fer generations...

O: With this I never lost...

O: After one blow, it showed from under his the dougi, and after noticing it he said 'Kami-san, thank ya' while holding it with teary eyes... 

O: Maybe ya just mistook it for the winning pose? 

N: That’s a lie...

O: It's true! And the referee told them 'never ta show tears during a match'...

N: It's a lie... a lie...

N: A lie!!!

R: Phew...

C: S-strong...

R: What are you doing?! QUICKLY!!!

T: A, wait...

S: Hm? That charm...

R: A, Kazuha-chan!! I brought them!!

K: R-Ran-chan!

K: The match ended...

[Win without playing!]

R Eeh?!

K: What were ya doin'?! Heiji, ya idiot, idiot, idiot!!

M: Well then, let's retreat?

I: You’re not going to meet Hattori-sama?

M: I’d like to wait...

M: For a better opportunity to meet my future husband...

O: This is all ‘cause somebody here took their sweet time solvin’ that mystery, isn’t it?

H: We lost all that time 'cause of yer Zatouichi blabbering!!

K: Mystery... don't tell me ya ran into another case?

K: Those detectives...

C: Life is pain...

[Be sure to watch the ‘Crimson Love Letter’ now in screening!! Starting from the text issue, Magic Kaito returns after 3 years!!]

[mintchocolateleaves]

Cost of Freedom (30/52)

Summary: In which everyone prepares for the heist. Prison!AU

[CoF full chapter list]

The heist notices burns a hole through Aoko’s pocket. Or rather, it scalds her skin, through the fabric of her clothes, leaving her with second degree burns.

She’s not sure whether it’s because she’s just finished looking around the murder scene that’s partially blaming Kaito – Kaito who she’d been with the moment the murder had even happened – or because she needs to figure out a way to give the heist notice away without giving away any clues to any of the detectives she’s seen.

The burn, is guilt, as Aoko realises she’s going to have to lie.

And the longer she leaves the heist notice in her pocket, waiting for the ‘right’ time to give it to the police, the hotter it burns. Beside her, Hattori doesn’t seem to notice anything, closing his eyes as he tries to piece everything together.

She’d been nervous when he’d started taking pictures on his phone, but it had make her think. There is something to Hattori that she can’t quite place, and she’s suspicious, like she’s been suspicious since he’d first shown up. Why is would he need pictures from obscure angles, when they don’t show quite as much as the pictures forensics will print them later.

Aoko isn’t sure.

“Hattori-kun,” she mutters, grabbing his attention from the plug sockets he seems interested in. There’s some blood by the switch – a dying message? Or just coincidence? - “What were you studying when Hakuba-kun rang?”

Hattori glances at her, tilts his head. “About th’ murder?”

“No,” Aoko shakes her head, “what were you studying when he asked for Kudo’s files?”

For a moment, Hattori is quiet. He shrugs his shoulders and says, “radical equations, I think. Why?”

Aoko puts her hands in her pockets, feels the heist notice between her fingers. It’s a little thicker than card, but smoother and she almost feels her pulse in her ears, knowing she has something the police force are bound to be searching for.

She brushes her finger across the notice again, before shaking her head, standing up.

“I was just wondering, is all.” She stands up, pulls her hands from her pockets and turns away. “I was thinking that I shouldn’t be here, I’m not the detective, I should be at home finishing my homework.”

Hattori’s tone sounds almost as guilty as Aoko feels. He says, “if ya go home now, you’ll be turning yer back on ‘em.”

Aoko bites her lip, steels her voice and says, “I’m in this to catch them, Hattori-kun, not to prove their innocence.”

She moves before he can grab hold of her wrist, moving towards the doorway. As she rushes down the stairs, under police tape and out into the streets of Shibuya, she heaves out a sigh.

Hattori Heiji, she thinks, is a terrible liar. He’s convincing, yes, but without a fully formed cover story, he’s practically an amateur. Kaito would be better – Kaito is better. KID weaves cover stories until he has a brand new personality, and maybe Aoko had been angry about it, but it had also been admirable.

Kaito would have remembered that he’d told someone he was solving a case when he’d answered the phone – he would not have been so easily fooled into changing the cover story.

At least Aoko can help. If she leaves now, she’ll be able to get the heist notice to the station – for Kaito’s sake – and it’ll leave Hattori with a window of opportunity to take whatever his pictures are for, to… To Kudo-kun right?

That must be it. The reason Hattori had shown early this morning, helping the criminals break in, the reason he’d not known his own cover story.

Hattori Heiji is their accomplice.

Aoko glances back at police cars, lifts her fingers to her lips. They come away bloody, having punctured her teeth into the skin. If Hattori is the accomplice, then the murder – the idea that a third man grabbed the murder victim – falls flat. With all three of them in Tokyo, there had been no one to…

She bites her lip, makes her way towards the station.

For now, Aoko decides to believe in Kaito, in Kudo’s innocence – she’ll find a way to keep people from figuring Hattori out. And to keep them from looking too deeply into Hattori… she’ll have to direct their attention.

Aoko needs to send in the heist notice.

And she needs to do it convincingly.

“We need to go to the museum,” Ran pulls away from the window, eyes clouded with something – Saguru isn’t certain whether it’s determination, or reservation – before crossing her arms. “If we want to talk to KID and Shinichi, then our best shot is that heist. And we need to figure out KID’s planned routes in and out.”

Saguru agrees.

He doesn’t know much about the museums in Ueno, but he does know the museum Kuroba has hinted at. Just as much as he knows the gemstone – Kuroba has started with the very heist location that had got him caught in the first place.

The Cullinan diamond. Kuroba had failed on his first attempt to receive the gem. One of the taskforce had torn the hang glider he’d used for some escapes, making it impossible for him to use his most efficient exits. With the handicap, Kuroba had been forced to the lower floors, where he’d attempted to climb from the first floor down to the road below.

Saguru isn’t completely sure what had happened during those minutes. He’d been inspecting one of the vents, wondering whether KID had used it to get to the upper floors undetected, when all units had been notified of KID’s capture.

We’re unmasking him now, Nakamori had said, while Saguru had pushed through the crowd of police officers, towards the centre of the ring. And off with the disguise.

He’d discarded the top hat and the monocle until all that was left was Kuroba Kaito sat with his arms shackled, squirming in an attempt to get away before the task force checked to see if this was his true face. Saguru had stopped breathless, staring across the crowd at Aoko as she’d stared, wincing as he’d realised that soon she’d know the truth.

Now off with this mask, Nakamori had pulled at his cheeks, pulled until he was certain it was skin and not glue, until he was certain his mind had not been playing tricks on him. Kaito…?

And KID – Kuroba Kaito – had simply smiled. Not angrily, or sadly – Saguru can only recall the smile being amused. His eyes had been alight, wild in a way Saguru had never even seen as he’d laughed, ‘you all made it so easy.’

Back then, Saguru hadn’t know why he’d done it. Why he’d aggravated the Nakamori’s, when all he’d gotten out of it was tightened handcuffs that had dug into his wrists. It had taken a while to realise the smile had been Kuroba’s version of control, his words designed to keep the Nakamori’s angry rather than sad.

“I’ve got the plans to the museum from the last heist,” Saguru says after a moment, biting the inside of his cheek. He’d kept them, although frankly, Saguru isn’t sure why he hadn’t thrown them away after the capture, maybe he’d felt bad that he hadn’t actually been the one to apply the handcuffs… maybe he just wanted to remember, “I’ll ask Baaya to bring them.”

Ran nods, rubs at her ear as she tries to think. Then, her eyes widen, confusion swimming through periwinkle irises. She says, “KID never steals from the same place twice.”

“You’re right,” Saguru nods, plucks his phone from his pocket. “He’s picking up where he left off.”

The arrival of a fourth person to the safe house seems to leave Kuroba reeling.

Heiji watches as the other boy frowns, practically glaring at the toolbox he’s brought with him, unscrewing some sort of capsule.

It’s difficult to see what it is, but Heiji supposes it’s going to be filled with some sort of gas. Sleeping gas is the most obvious choice, based on previous heists, when he’d taken to sneaking behind police officers, forcing them into unconsciousness before stealing their identities.

“Yer still gonna do a heist despite th’ murder,” Heiji tries not to let the disapproval sink into his voice, but it does, festering with the sickness that keeps settling in his throat every time he thinks about the murder scene. “Even though someone died.”

Kuroba shrugs, glances away from the gas capsules. His expression morphs from annoyed to blank as he says, “people die every day. Should I stop my heists for them too?”

“Yer a murder suspect!” Heiji digs fingernails into his palms, closes the door behind him.

“Yes, and the heist is the explanation for why we set foot inside the station. To avoid catching the attention of the people who’ve made Shinichi and I into suspects.” Kuroba turns back to his tools, placing the capsules down. He picks up his monocle – something Heiji remembers being rumoured to offer night vision to the thief.

“It’s dangerous…” Kudo mutters, and Heiji nods his approval. “…But… It’s not like we can stop you.”

Well, Heiji thinks, they could. Just not in a way that would leave them all outside of a prison cell. Instead he watches Kuroba’s expression flicker. One second, there is amusement sparking in his eyes, the next, Heiji can only read seriousness.

“Don’t worry,” Kuroba says, and Kazuha looks up now, lips pressed together. She’d been texting on her phone, but now she places it down, offering them all a stern expression – Heiji’s pretty sure she’s thinking the same as him – a heist is too much of a risk.

Not that Kuroba would listen to either of them, he’s only known Kazuha a day, and Heiji for three. He sighs.

“I’m not going to get caught,” Kuroba promises. “And you guys are going to stay back here, so it’s not like you’re at risk, you know?”

“They’ve got just as much time t’ prepare as you,” Kazuha says. She lifts the papers she’s been looking at up into a pile, straightening them out. Since Heiji has stepped inside the room, she hasn’t so much as sent a look his way. “and they’re gonna treat ya as a murderer, meaning you’ll be at a big risk.”

Heiji’s been thinking about it too – how the danger doesn’t only mean recapture, but that there’s also a risk of being shot. Before, KID wasn’t seen as a high risk, but working together with a so-called serial killer only makes him a huge risk to civilians.

And Heiji knows what the police are willing to do to keep the general public safe.

“They’ve got a day to prepare.” Kuroba says after a while, crosses his arms. “I’ve had months.”

“What do you mean you’re closing the heist to the public?”

Ran is trying to be calm, she really is, but the moment the announcement pops up on her phone – KID heist announced for tomorrow, police blocking roads around – she feels vision glowing red, voice boarding from annoyed to outright outraged.

“It’s too dangerous,” Inspector Nakamori says, rubbing the back of his neck. He looks slightly sick at the thought of a KID heist being dangerous, at the idea of the boy he’d practically helped to raise being dangerous. “No civilians, and that involves you kids.”

“Inspector,” Saguru says from beside her, “with all due respect, that’s insane. KID’s a thief, but the only person he poses a risk to during this heist, is himself.”

Nakamori grabs a mint from his desk, fiddles with the edges of the wrapper. He doesn’t look at them when he speaks – maybe the thought of KID being dangerous, hurts to imagine as much as imagining Shinichi to be a murderer does. “You went to the crime scene.”

Ran’s voice dies in her throat. They have theories about that, but nothing concrete, and she doesn’t want to offer any answers before she knows for certain that they’re true. That’s why they need to go to the heist.

“We did.” Saguru answers for the both of them. He rests a hand on Ran’s elbow, offers some stability as she the taste of  blood catches in her throat.

She doesn’t fall.

“I don’t want to believe that Kai- that KID did that,” Nakamori says, “but until we get evidence against it, we’ve got to proceed along the lines that KID is dangerous. And with the added risk that Kudo might show as well-”

“You don’t want to risk any hostages.” Saguru mutters.

“Exactly.”

Ran feels herself still – Shinichi, at the heist? He’d be smart enough not to attend. He’s not like KID, he won’t be able to get in and out as easily. And maybe KID is used to immediate captures, is used to reacting immediately with smart plans, but in Ran’s experience, Shinichi needs time to plan everything over.

She don’t want him to attend. But… But it does give her an idea.

“Make an exception.” She says. Nakamori frowns, but she pushes onwards anyway, “make an exception for Aoko-chan and I.”

The frown doesn’t cease – if anything, it deepens. Nakamori says, “absolutely not.”

Saguru, however, seems to catch on to her meanings. He nods, “it’s not a bad idea. The only visitor Kudo-kun sent for, was Ran-san. And Kuroba has always had a soft spot for Aoko-san.”

Nakamori pops the mint into his mouth, glances up at them both. He says, “If we can get the two of them to stand down, it’d be easier. You’d have to wear the same protective wear as the task force…”

Ran holds her breath as she realises that he means wearing a bullet proof vest – because if things go badly, KID and Shinichi will have targets on their backs. But ultimately, she understands.

She nods, “Okay.”

“They’ve closed the surrounding area down, how are we even going to get in?”

“Listen, if we can stay out of their grasp this long, we can avoid the police as well.”

“It’s too big a risk.”

“It’s a chance to live a normal life again. Just me and you.”

“…”

“I’m certain KID will know how to reach Kudo Shinichi,” a sound causes the two figures to turn, eyes wide as they ensure it’s nothing dangerous. “And when we find Kudo Shinichi, he can help.”

“He won’t trust us.”

“Leave the worrying to me, alright Shiho? I’m the big sister, after all.”

Daytime blends away into evening with orange and pinks as the sun sets.

After hours of trying to settle himself long enough to fall asleep, Kaito goes out onto the roof instead. He sits, looking out at the city. Every so often he think he catches sight of stars shooting across the sky, but they disappear from his vision before he can appreciate them for what they are.

The moon, waning, offers a faint light – but Kaito doesn’t need it, not really. Despite it being evening, Shinjuku is restless, awake and busy. People bustle between theatres, bars and every other establishment designed to dig into the pockets of workers after a long day in the office.

Kaito glances at the roads below. The masses crossing roads, finding their way down the subway to the metro lines. What do they think of KID’s return? People had loved him once, but then he’d been locked away – will they still applaud him even now that they know who he is?

“I was wondering where you were.”

Kaito doesn’t turn. Instead, he steps to the side, offers Shinichi some room to lean against the wall and breathe in the evening air. The other boy had been asleep when he’d come to the roof, exhaustion having dragged him into unconsciousness. Not that Kaito can blame him – Shinichi’s sleep pattern in prison had always been inconsistent, and even after the break out, he’d not slept as long as he could have.

“I should have written a note.”

“You left the door open slightly so you could get back in,” Shinichi says, “so in a way you did.”

Kaito hesitates, decides not to answer. Instead, he watches cars as they move through the streets, tries not to let the police lights burn against his vision. He fails anyway, reds and blues searing his retinas until he has to squeeze his eyes shut and remind himself that he will not be caught.

“I-” Shinichi trails off, “will you be okay tomorrow? With the heist?”

Kaito glances at him, offers a grin. “Quit worrying. We’ve got this far, so quit thinking everything’s going to go wrong.”

Shinichi breaks eye contact. His skin pales and suddenly, Kaito doesn’t know how to describe him. He doesn’t look like the self-assured detective he’d been before his imprisonment. He wears his expressions differently to the prisoner he’d been, back when he’d willingly fought to keep himself safe from other prisoners.

He doesn’t look like the person Kaito’s grown to know. Now, instead of looking confident in himself, or even certain they’ll succeed, he looks almost… scared.

“I should be happy, right?” Shinichi says, and if his voice cracks, neither of them point attention to it. “That things are working out for us. We’re free, we retrieved my case files…”

Kaito glances at him from the side of his eye. His fingers are white from where he’s holding them so tightly.

“I should feel something other than dread.” Shinichi continues, “but I can’t. There’s someone dead, and it’s because we left. Kaito… I don’t know if I can solve this.”

Shinichi shudders. He heaves in a sigh, a deep breath, and suddenly Kaito can see him as he is. Not as a brave detective or a cunning prisoner, but rather as a shattered reflection of Kaito himself, a piece of someone lost to time.

The realisation is jarring. It is an ache, a feeling that spreads through his body like ice, as he realises the depth of just how… hopeless the situation is. But still…

“You will.” Kaito says, voice quiet, yet steeled. Shinichi sends him a doubtful look, so Kaito repeats it. “You will. We’ll find a common link and we’ll track down that stupid organisation. We’ll find the organisation and we’ll tear it down – even if everyone think we’re the bad guys while we’re doing it. That’s what detective’s do, isn’t it? They solve things. You are a detective, right?”

Shinichi lets out a shallow breath, a shaky, almost choked sound. He wipes at his face with his sleeve, before turning, making his way towards the exit, back down to the safe house. He stops by the exit, turns back to face Kaito. Then; a nod, the smallest dip of his chin as he mutters, “yeah.”

He leaves Kaito to the city.

[trouvelle]

Dreams

A/N: I apologize in advance for any mistakes and errors in the story. Fandom: Detective Conan/Case Closed Pairing: Hattori Heiji/Kazuha Toyama Rating: G Genre/Tags: Soulmates AU Summary: His mother told him that the dreams would go away, that the dreams would stop. They never did. The dreams never stopped coming.

How can you miss someone you've never met?

Heiji didn't know how that works, all he knew was that it felt like there's an enormous, painful hole in his chest that refused to go away. It got worse when he woke up, when the dreams were still fresh in his mind, branded into his memories.

He had been having them for as long as he could remember, dreams filled with an wide eyed child about the same age, full of images of a life that wasn't his. Now, Heiji wasn't an unhappy child by any means—he's pretty loud and rowdy—but the only time he felt truly happy, was when he was asleep. When he was awake, it just felt wrong.

Like something was missing.

Someone.

Some nights the dreams didn't come to him and those were the best and worst nights of all. They were the best because he wasn't haunted by visions of big emerald eyes, free to actually dream like a normal person, but also the worst because somehow the emptiness grew even larger with the absence and eventually engulfed him, suffocating him.

He'd only ever told one person about his dreams. When he was younger he hadn't realized that other people don't dream of the same person over and over and over. That it's not normal. His parents had dismissed it as an imaginary friend, someone Heiji had created in his mind.

He had believed it too for a while.

But there were things that made him doubt.

He never saw his imaginary friend during daytime, to start with. He never played with her, not even in his dreams. It was more like catching glimpses through the window to someone else's life. He had seen her play with other children but never with Heiji. It was very odd.

The only face he seemed to be able to remember upon waking up was that one girl—chubby cheeks and pig tails and skinny limbs—no matter how many people she encountered and interacted with in his dream.

He was expecting to grow out of his dreams just like his mother said he would. One day, she had said, he wouldn't need his imaginary friend anymore and the dreams would stop all on their own.

They never did.

It didn't matter how many friends Heiji had, how many parties he went to, how much he had grown. They never went away. Always the same person, the same girl.

Heiji thought that maybe he's mad.

When he was younger, Heiji wanted to be friends with her. The moments when he watched her, playing with her friends in his dreams, she always looked like she had fun.

She's a bit prickly, not liking to be the butt of anyone's jokes, pleasantly overbearing and easily overwrought, but she never seemed to bear a grudge about it. Just a quick thump and whump on the arm ("Kazuha-chan, that hurts!" whined one of the other kids—freckles and braids) and then they're back to running around like idiots.

No, Heiji wasn't lonely. He had friends at school. He played over at their houses. But there was just something about this girl that had him intrigued. It was strange because she didn't really seem the type Heiji would hang out with normally (all of his other friends were, well, boys. No girls allowed!). He did play around but he seemed equally happy to be quiet.

He liked reading. He liked playing police and thieves. He couldn't sit through any movies without any talking—unless it's a mystery movie. He often wondered whether this meant he and the girl in his dreams couldn't be friends if, you know, the girl was real, because people always said opposites attract.

And Kazuha was just as loud and as boisterous Heiji was.

That thought made him quite sad. Not that he was turned down (which did make him sad for a day or so but he got over it quick enough) but that she wouldn't like him. Heiji liked her a lot, but he didn't want to change himself just for her to like him. That was not Heiji's way of ninja. Heiji was not going to change for anyone. Instead he'd just have to bother the dream girl until she likes Heiji back. That'd definitely work.

Once Heiji grew older he realized more and more how childish that sounded. 'Bother her until she likes me back'? He sounded like a kid who was plotting to pull his friends' pigtails to make them notice him.

...which actually seemed like a fantastic idea. Although there's a slight problem now. Kazuha no longer wore her hair in pigtails. She had been keeping it in a ponytail ever since she joined her school's youth cheerleading club and started taking Aikido lessons. He wondered if pulling on a ponytail would have the same effects as pulling on pigtails.

Stupid, he thought. He's nine. He's grown up enough and observed enough to realize that if he wanted to be Kazuha's friend—best friend—he needed to tow a fine line between playful banter and genuine annoyance. You know. If Kazuha existed. That's what he'd do.

He was twelve when he finally found out where Kazuha probably lived. He was reading the last chapter of one of his Ellery Queen book in his father's office when he was practically forced to put it down and greet his father's guest. The tall stern looking uncle called Ginshiro was once his father's partner, and Heiji's eyes shone bright when he heard that he was previously the Chief Detective of their police district. That was, before she eagerly took a transfer to Interpol, and was allocated to London afterwards.

They were chatting, probably updating each other about their current lives. He eagerly revealed that he had a child, pulled out a photo and showed it to Heiji’s father. Now, Heiji was a tall and growing boy. From his height, he could make out the silhouette of a girl in a school attire that wasn’t commonly seen in Japan. Heiji watched Kazuha often enough to immediately recognize that the outfit in the photo was in fact, her school uniform!

Before Heiji could ask if he could see the photo as well, the topic of their conversation was already changed, and the photo was shoved back into Uncle Ginshiro’s wallet.

—

He was seventeen when he first realized he's in love with the girl and he felt sick. He knew because she was all he had ever thought about (aside from cases and kendo and school lessons, of course. He may be a detective but he's still in high school).

He had no choice at night but even during the day he found himself remembering what movie Kazuha had been watching. He thought about Kazuha's seemingly soft hair and toned arms. He daydreamed about Kazuha's wide eyes and how much wider they would go if Heiji surprised her with a kiss.

A kiss. Sharing a kiss with Kazuha.

Kazuha, who wasn't real.

Heiji woke up then.

That night before he went to bed, he put his hands over his burning cheeks. He had fallen for someone who didn't even exist. It's abnormal. He had imagined a person and then fixated on them like some kind of creep and that was absolutely messed up whichever way you think about it.

He spent the next two years of his life dating anyone who asked him out. The relationships never lasted. He could admit to himself that he wasn't really interested in any of them the way he should be. They were pretty, he enjoyed their company and everything was cool but something just wasn't right. Never seemed to be enough. So bad they weren't even relationships anymore.

It felt like he was searching desperately anyone to fill the hole in his chest, to take away the ache he felt when he woke up and realized once again that the girl he was in love with didn't even exist.

Then Kazuha's mother died. Heiji's dreams were filled with heart-wrenching sobs so painful that he wished he could reach out and comfort Kazuha. She never cried during the day, only at night.

Heiji watched day after day, night after night, as she withdrew into her shell. He heard her calling out for her mother, repeating it until it sounded weird. He wanted so much to hug and kiss Kazuha's pain away.

Heiji tried to stop sleeping after that.

It wasn't what he wanted anyway. Heiji wanted love. Seeing Kazuha mourn over her mother made him realize that he should make the most of the time he had. He didn't want to waste time on meaningless relationships anymore. He didn't want to think about some unreal person anymore.

He knew that until he got rid of his feelings for Kazuha, he wouldn't be able to move on. The only problem was that he simply didn't know how. But he knew for sure that he couldn't just spend the rest of his life hung up on a figment of his imagination.

He had tried dating other people and that hadn't worked. He even tried not sleeping for three days in order to break the cycle. It turned out to be a terrible idea. He had collapsed in class, raving about imaginary people around one beaming, glowing one, and unfairness, and the same wide eyes and ponytail.

He was not doing that again in a hurry. He didn't know what else to do except burying himself in studying and friends and hoping it all goes away eventually.

So that was exactly what he did. He continued dreaming and waited and hoped always.                                                

Hattori Heiji was now twenty one, a third year criminology student. He had been solving even more cases than he used to in high school, sometimes competing with Kudo Shinichi, but most of the time teaming up with him instead. His grades were impressive, as per normal, but things had been such a constant and he really needed more activities aside from studying and solving cases and kendo.

So when his their other friend (Kuroba Kaito, excellent Mechanical Engineering student and magician, also a prankster) told him one of their friends (Hondou Eisuke, surprisingly competent future Environmental Engineer) had had to leave his part-time job due to university commitments and was looking for a replacement, Heiji jumped at the chance. A job's after all. A young man’s gotta save up as much money as he could.

And that was how Heiji ended up working at the one and only invention shop which sold geeky gadgets in the city. The owners, one very lovely but unique old man called Agasa (who in fact, was Shinichi's neighbor) and one girl who turned out to be Shiho (Shinichi's sarcastic girl BFF nonetheless).

Eisuke was one of the clumsiest person Heiji had ever met so how any of the gadgets in this shop survived was a mystery to Heiji. Or at least, how Professor Agasa was able to invent and fix and refix and refix. Heiji figured he was probably the most patient old man alive.

Then Shinichi started helping out at the invention shop too.

It's pretty dull, he'll be honest. There's rarely any customers, so Heiji did more homework than he did actual shop assisting. And solved more and more cases.

Once, Shinichi showed up with dark, dark circles under his eyes. He looked miserable and horrible. Heiji guessed he must've looked just as miserable and horrible when he avoided sleeping back then.

"Haven't been sleepin' well?" Heiji teased him.

Shinichi rolled his eyes and stifled a yawn. "Ugh. You wouldn't understand, Hattori."

“Oh? Try me.”

—

A few months after Heiji started working that he met the girl in his dreams.

It was just another day. No customers, no rain, no cases, no particularly good food. He had already cleaned the place so there was nothing to do but try to work on his recently assigned essay.

The bell rang. Someone walked in and Heiji looked up from his papers to give the customary greeting of the shop when the words died in his throat.

Standing before him, the all too familiar emerald eyes already scanning the gadgets lined up in the shop, is the girl from Heiji's dreams. She's a little taller than Heiji was expecting, less than five inches below Heiji's own height, but he would recognize that face anywhere. The girl didn't seem to notice him, just going about her business in the shop, eyes darting back and forth at the racks, seemingly at random.

Heiji felt like his brain had stopped.

She's not an imaginary friend. She's never just an imaginary friend. She's real.

Finally she plucked something out from one of the compartments—it might be Agasa's voice-changing bow tie or whatever, Heiji really wasn't paying attention to it at all, he was too engrossed in observing her features, her expression—and headed to the register. She looked up. Their eyes met. Time seemed to stop.

There's a momentary widening of the girl's eyes but then, nothing. She didn't recognize Heiji. Heiji didn't know how he felt about that.

Relieved? Scared? Excited? Worried?

Heiji rang up her purchase and mumbled his way through the sale—he didn't remember what he said, he was just so fixated on the girl's face—and then she's gone, just like that, walking out of the store and Heiji's life.

Of course this was the moment Kaito chose to waltz through the door, loudly announcing his entrance with a 'Tadaa!'. Heiji didn't even greet him back with his usual 'Yo!".

"Hattori, you okay?" Kaito said, in an uncharacteristic show of concern as he approached the counter. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Yeah." Heiji says distractedly. "Fine. Just tired."

He's not fine.

The girl of his dreams did exist. She's real. And had a life that apparently did not include weird stalker dreams of Heiji.

Oh God.

Is he insane? Is he a psychic or something?

Oh God.

Kaito gave him a skeptical look. "You don't look fine. You look like shit."

Then Shinichi and Agasa walked out from the stockroom (seriously, why was everyone coming at once? Heiji simply wanted to freak out in peace goddammit).

"Kaito-kun!" Agasa called. "It's nice to see you! You haven't been over in so long!"

"Hakase!" Kaito shouted back, immediately draping himself over the elderly man. Both Kaito and Shinichi indulged Agasa's need to bestow affection on them at this time. At least it meant they weren't paying attention to him.

His mind was all over the place, trying to comprehend what just happened. He didn't even know where to begin.

It made him dizzy. He looked around and saw Shinichi watching him like a hawk, his expression inscrutable. He had his detective mode expression on. Heiji gave him a weak grin but Shinichi didn't return it—he just made some kind of humming noise and turned around.

Maybe I should wait till I get home ta think about this, Heiji decided.

He'd never told anyone about Kazuha and with good reasons. He's not going to let anyone find out now.

—

The rest of his shift was a torture. Time had dragged on like a limping athlete crossing a finish line and he's all but ready to weep tears of joy by the time the end had rolled round. He hadn't thought about Kazuha at all, but he had thought about not thinking about Kazuha more than he'd care to admit. It's frightening.

Kazuha.

His mind raced. How was this even possible? Honestly he almost preferred the idea that he was a creep with an imaginary friend than this—that he'd been dreaming of a real person.

He knew Kazuha so well. How she looked when she smiled, what would make her cry, the ticks that show she's nervous. While he's glad he's not the kind of psycho that made up a person down to those fine details, it's just weird to know these things about a person you've never ever met. Or supposedly just never met. Whatever.

Maybe it wouldn't have been so weird if Kazuha had shown any sign of knowing him but she hadn't. She hadn't so much as blinked in Heiji's direction, let alone gasped or anything that might have shown that Heiji wasn't alone in this madness.

Could Kazuha had been dreaming about him too all this time? Isn’t it possible, if Heiji had been dreaming of the girl? Maybe it could be true the other way around too. Heiji needed to know. It's so tiring, carrying a secret alone. Besides, Heiji was not the type to sit around passively when opportunities are handed to him.

That's it, he decided, I have to find her.

Worst case scenario Kazuha thought he's crazy and well, if that happens it's probably because Heiji really was going crazy.

Best case scenario Heiji gained a friend.

Friend or not, he just really wanted to see her up close in the flesh. He decided everything was worth the risk.   

—

Three days later Heiji was again at work and there's still no sign of Kazuha. In addition, Heiji had gotten no further on his quest to find something more concrete about her. His dreams were full of Kazuha's smiles (which were very beautiful and Heiji appreciated them, honestly) but nothing that might lead to them meeting again.

There were notebooks in his vision but he didn't have time to read them. Files. A lecture hall. Is Kazuha a student here then? But there were plenty of universities in Tokyo so that's not much help at all.

Heiji groaned and let his head fall with a thump onto the desk. Why hadn't he paid more attention to his dreams before? Maybe he could have even found Kazuha way before this, if he'd actually entertained the thought of Kazuha being a real person.

Then the bell on the door rang.

Heiji lifted his head from the counter. Time seemed to slow. There, standing in the doorway, framed by the sunlight cascading into the shop was Kazuha. The girl of his dreams. For a second Heiji thought he might still be dreaming.

Time seemed to slow.

"Kazuha?" He whispered.

Shock passed over Kazuha's face.

"Do you know me?" She asked slowly. Heiji mentally kicked himself because this was not how he wanted to reveal this. Maybe after he talked to Kazuha like a normal person instead.

"I…I know you."

"From school?" Kazuha looked curious now. Her eyes did that slight widening thing that Heiji had seen them do in his dreams when Kazuha was interested in something and, holy moly, she's even cuter in person.

He should answer. He wanted to but the words kept getting stuck in his throat. His palms were sweating. His face might be sweating. He's pretty sure he looked gross and all that cycles round his brain was this is not how I wanted this ta go, this is not how I planned this!

"Not really." He managed to say.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I'm not good with faces." Kazuha shrugged apologetically but Heiji was sure she's acting. The Kazuha he knew from his dreams was very good at remembering faces—and acting. Did this mean the Kazuha in front of him is not his Kazuha? Or was she lying?

"Yes you are." He accused mindlessly. "Ya've always been good at it."

Then he realized what he had just said.

Kazuha was looking at him like he's a particularly interesting puzzle, which was one better than disgust or panic but there's nothing deeper than Heiji can read. Blank.

"Why do I hate the swings in the playground?"

"Huh?"

"Why do I hate the swings in the playground?" Kazuha repeated calmly.

He looked up at Kazuha, who was waiting patiently on for Heiji's answer. She seemed calm. A little defiant even. And… nervous?

Could it be? Could it be that Heiji wasn't alone in this?

"Your mom," Remembering a certain word he used to hear in his dreams, a person who used to be the main source of her great distress, he answered carefully, knowing full well that this was a particularly touchy subject for her. "You and your mom used to play on the swings all the time. You don't hate them, they just remind you too much of her."

Kazuha's expression didn't change, but something in her eyes did. Heiji felt his heart sink in his chest. Had he read the whole situation wrong?

"I've never told anyone that." Kazuha said grimly.

"I know."

"You dream of me."

And it wasn't a question.

Heiji stepped out from behind the counter. It took two seconds to cross the distance between them and gather Kazuha up in his arms. She smelled good. Kazuha's arms wrapped around Heiji and he let out a sigh of relief.

"You're real." He murmured. "Thank god."

"Of course I'm real, aho." Kazuha muttered into Heiji's collarbone. "Just took me a bit longer to find you than I'd anticipated that's all."

There's a million things Heiji wanted to say to that—how did Kazuha know he's not a figment of her imagination? How long had she been looking?

He wanted to apologize for not looking for her himself. He wanted to thank Kazuha for doing the searching for both of them. But of all he wanted to tell her—

"I love ya."

Kazuha sighed. "I know. You say it a lot, you know?"

Heiji smirked. He picked Kazuha up by the waist and swung her around in the store, barely missing an electronic flying surfboard.

"Aho! Watch it!" Kazuha squeaked. Heiji grinned again, but stopped.

"I love ya." He said. He waited for a response, marvelling as he did so at the gorgeous woman he had in his arms. Kazuha looked like she's trying very hard to suppress a smile.

"I'm not saying it." Kazuha whined grumpily. "You've still got to make it up to me for not believing I was real and making me do all the work."

"How long will that take?" Heiji asked, aghast.

Beamed she did. "Forever. You better start now.”

—

Heiji introduced Kazuha to everyone as his childhood friend who had just recently moved back to Japan from London. Which was... extremely true no matter how they think of it, because it turned out that she had also been having dreams of Heiji for so long since she could remember.

Also, the dreams had stopped.

But he no longer felt empty when he woke up. In fact, on some mornings he woke up to find her curled up next to him, and he dared not kid—it was one of the best feelings ever.

But he hated it when they had morning classes, which meant his joyful morning routine had to be ruined by waking her up.

His joyful morning routine included re-draping their sheets over her bare shoulders and just.. watching her sleep and breathe. Dreams or not it didn't matter, he loved watching Kazuha.

And waking her up could get disastrous. She was an excellent actress (no worries, he's an excellent detective who could see through her masks) and she could be very very persuasive. And most of the time, he ended up back in bed with her.

Not now though, he was sitting in a coffee shop with Shinichi and Kaito, both of whom were successfully persuaded into having blind dates with Kazuha and her two friends. Heiji grumbled. Not that he minded hanging out with his buddies and girlfriend-slash-childhood friend-slash-girl of his dreams. But he wanted to have more alone time with her, seriously.

Kazuha didn't keep them waiting for too long. And when she stepped into the coffee shop with two other girls who looked disturbingly alike (one with side fringes called Mouri Ran, and the other with slightly messier hair by the name of Nakamori Aoko) that Heiji thought were twins had it not been for his sharp observation skills, he saw Shinichi’s and Kaito's eyes went as wide as saucer plates.

At first Heiji didn't think of it much. He merely smirked when he saw his friends rendered speechless, probably striked by their beauty or something.

Kazuha's hotter, he thought to himself.

But when he heard Kaito and Shinichi murmuring what sounded like "Oh God." and "She's real?” simultaneously from his left and right, realization dawned on him.

"Yeah," Heiji whispered, a grin on his face as he turned to watch Kazuha, who was ordering her food. He could finally talk about the dreams he used to have.

"They're real."