#*pick up my phone to call Heiji

[kaitokitty19]

Aptx!AU fancomic (read right > left)

A (kinda) follow up to this

My Aptx!AU sypnosis is here.

(Cont.) Arthur LeBlanc (shrunken Hakuba) joined the Detective Boys and was invited, along with the KID Killer (he already hate that name) to a heist at one of Suzuki Jirokichi’s wealthy acquaintances’s. The target this time is a Chalice, recent excavated from a sight of an ancient holy battle.

Despite telling Kaito that he would not compromise his conscience and aid him in the heist, Hakuba found himself easily disregarding that boundary when the situation became complicated (a person presented at the heist is a BO member) and Kaito’s identity is at risk. In the end, he would always choose Kaito. What he didn’t expect was for that sentiment to be reciprocated…

[sunny-mercya]

Given

01. Arguments

Heiji Hattori x Male Reader

Fandom -> Detective Conan/Case Closed

Masterlist | Previous / Next || Hey, Brother || Based Song

I can't stop my love for you

I'll become your everything, I believe in your promise to never let go of my hand as we walk

The day had started good—weather sunny and temperature mildly warm, a good transition from Spring to Summer—which put a stop to the called Winter-Depression, freeing the soul and make it glow with love for life again—and overall a perfect day to do some adventuring outside.

After getting ready in your hotel room—still too shy to sleepover at Heiji's house (and in all sworn secrecy honesty, you're still intimidated by his father)—choosing a oversized shirt in light blue with prints of stars on it and—besides of how your legs are looking now—some shorts to wear, deciding against a jacket today—you made your way towards the lobby and outside, where Heiji promised to wait for you.

It wasn't your first time in Osaka, had visited the City more than once within the last two years—but it always brought excitement, when you visit again and doing—despite knowing the spots already—sightseeing with Heiji, who lights up like a child on christmas whenever he could show you his city once again.

Heiji greets you with a smile—one of his bashful one, which makes your heart soar from the sight alone—taking your hand in his and started to tell you about the places—you had seeing more than trice—he's going to show you and the restaurants you two would try out.

Sometimes Heiji could be a gluttony, when it comes to any food stall or restaurant in Osaka—always liking to try out new dishes and wanting to eat as much as he could.

»Which Restaurant did you pick this time?« 

»I thought about one of the local ones, where we had went last time. Probably the one with the spicy takoyaki.«

You hummed in response. Spiciness was another topic for itself, while you could stomach only a bit of it—not more than one (milde) spicy dish—before it brings your stomach into uncomfortable cramping rumblings, Heiji couldn't seem to have it spicy enough—adding, when the food was already labelled as Extreme Spicy, even more to it.

Although those spicy Takoyaki were indeed delicious and you aren't against it to eat them again—perhaps more than your stomach could tolerate.

~~~

You hadn't thought much about it—idly strolling with Heiji through the streets and looking at various shops—when you saw the third police car passing by in a speed, but when a fourth car passed—Heiji pulled out his phone and dials a number.

You raised a eyebrow at your boyfriend, not in the mood to overthrow today's current plans—which you had looked forward to—and visiting a potential murder crime scene—once again—having to spending the remaining day, without even having lunch first, there and just standing around like accessories (or a liability).

Before you could ask Heiji, more like reminding him not to chase any criminals down today, he had already ended the call—pocketing back his phone, grabbing your hand—more like sizing your wrist in a tight grip—and dragging you through the crowds of people.

At some point he had picked up on speed and once reaching the park, Heiji begun to run—forcing you to do so too, his grip on your wrist a tad bit tight—and when the first cramps—which you had felt way before already—starting to spread like prickling needles, you know what's about to happen.

»Heiji! Heiji wait! Please, slow down. We need to stop, Heiji!« you shouted, begging your boyfriend to slow down with his running—while dragging you along.

Your legs started to cramp up even more, the sharp pain which shoot through like electricity—drew a hiss from your lips.

Heiji did slowed down, letting go of you, stopping in his tracks and turning around to you. 

»C'mon don't be such a slow poke now. There's a crime scene, probably the next victim of that rumoured Serial Killer and we need ta be there, before the police close up their investigations!«

Bending down a bit and huffing out a breath, placing your hands on your tights—gripping sightly into your skin to accumulate the pain, at least hoping to do so—you furrowed your eyebrows, frowning up at your boyfriend.

»Heiji, I–I can't anymore. My legs are hurting and I need to sit down.....and besides you don't have to be at every crime scene, you know? The inspectors and police officers can handle this on their own. So why don't we just continue with what we have planned for today?«

»As a Detective I hafta ta be there!«

»No you don't! You're actually only a Highschooler and no Detective. You can't just be–«

»Oh really? I'm no Detective?« 

»No you aren't.« you didn't elaborate any further, not having the nerves to discuss this topic—which always seems upsetting for Heiji—once again and trying to explain to your Boyfriend why he technically and theoretically isn't as of current a Detective at all. 

»Well it's certainly not my damn fault that ya being so stupid and got yerself kidnapped and having useless legs now!«

»Heiji?! Now you're being mean–«

»Ya know what. Just stay here, so ya won't be a bother for me.« Heiji scoffed, the annoyance—towards you—showing on his face, turning around and started to jog away—leaving you behind.

~~~

Sitting on the bench, after limping back through the park, you tried to hold yourself together the best you could—not wanting to break down and cry, because that's what seemed to be the only thing you're doing anyways these days—getting sensitive about everything and being a big nuisance of an crybaby, appearing weak.

It hurt what Heiji had said to you and if these were his honest thoughts and feelings towards you, than it's cruel that he hadn't told you such things sooner—because if he had, than maybe you wouldn't feel like wanting to dig out your eyes or hiding in some dark corner somewhere.

It's like a damn curse that wherever you went, be it with Heiji or Conan and Ran, there always happened to be a murder case—as if they were a magnet for such monstrosity crimes or more like, they're the death-angel themselves.

And of course these Cases always had priority over every- and anything, making the minds of certain people blank and nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

You're not against it—far from such thoughts—that Heiji wants to be a Detective—he's a brilliant one and you would support his decision of career the best you could—it's just, sometimes you wished he wouldn't leap right away into the depths of potential danger all the time and risking his life for justice—and sometimes you wished.....(it sounds selfish).....Heiji would be just content enough to only spend time with you.

[elfchensdcartblog]

Special Summer Vacation (6)

For the HeiZuhaWeek on @heizuhaevents Day 6!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

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

They were on their way back from the mountains and had almost arrived at Kazuha’s home when the storm started. The warning had come in on their cell phone earlier: A typhoon was approaching. Not a good outcome to a trip when one had just been camping. But luckily Heiji was able to keep the machine steady for the last few meters. At the front door, Kazuha jumped off and quickly opened the gate to the driveway so Heiji could park his green Kawasaki. Then they took refuge from the rain and wind inside the house.

They breathed a sigh of relief when they were save. Both were soaking wet and shivering from the cold. „What a bummer…“, Heiji commented, pulling his shirt off his chest a bit because it was already stuck there from moisture. Kazuha quickly got some towels and handed him one of them. At least they could both dry their exposed skin a bit that way. Heiji thoughtfully stepped up to the window and looked out into the storm. „Nah… I’m not going anywhere else for now.“ „I wouldn’t let ya either in this weather!“ commented Kazuha sternly, and Heiji grimaced at her. She returned that with a stuck out tongue. Then she pulled out her cell phone and checked to see if she had any messages from her parents. „Hmm… Shoot, Dad decided to spend the night at the office, and my mom is still stuck at yours.“ „Well, can’t help it. Let’s just make ourselves comfortable here.“ Heiji looked around and ran his hand through his wet hair. Best they took a bath right away and then-. His thought faltered when he looked to Kazuha and she was looking at him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. „Huh?“ Quickly, his best friend averted her eyes. „N-nothing! I’ll go get bathwater ready!“ she quickly announced and ran into the bathroom.

Heiji looked after her a little wryly, but then he pulled off his soaking wet shirt, which stuck uncomfortably to his skin, and hung it neatly over the back of a chair to dry. Hearing footsteps in the hallway, he looked toward the door. „Can ya maybe lend me something to wear? From yer father or so?“ „Yes, I will-HEIJI!!!“ she cried out as she stood in the doorway and saw him standing there half-naked in the living room. She slapped her hands in front of her face. „Don’t casually take yer clothes off!!!“ Especially not after he made such ambiguous statements just the day before! Even if they had turned out to be a misunderstanding, they still stirred Kazuha up! Just the thought of hearing such things from him! „Huh?!“ The addressed raised an eyebrow critically. „Ya act as if it’s the first time ya’ve seen me like this. I’m not naked!“ Nevertheless, now he was blushing too, simply because she was making a fuss about it. As if she hadn’t seen him like this often enough. Kazuha made a grim sound and then ran up the stairs to get something from her father to wear. But then she decided otherwise and pulled out the ‘pink oversize hoodie’ joker. Add to that a pair of her dad’s sweatpants and the outfit was perfect. Perfect for punishing him.

„The water’s ready, go to the bathroom already!“ she called down the stairs, picking out another towel. Then she went back down and handed it to him in the bathroom through a gap in the door. „You’re serious?!“ he exclaimed, Kazuha chuckled. „That stupid sweater again?! Did ya stash that one away just for me or what?!“ „Come on, that’s the only one of my sweaters that fits ya! Don’t make such a fuss! No one can see.“ „Stupid cow!“ „Idiot!“ With a hum on her lips, she turned away and went into the living room to get his shirt and throw it in the washing machine. She herself then took off her wet clothes as well and slipped into a jogging suit for now, then threw the wet clothes into the washing machine.

After they were both freshly bathed and warmed up, Kazuha made them each a bowl of instant ramen and they cuddled up on the sofa in front of the TV. Smacking their lips contentedly, they watched a comedy movie - they couldn’t agree on anything else. But there was one thing Kazuha couldn’t let go of. She swallowed some noodles. „Hey, Heiji… do ya actually see me as a woman?“ „Huh?“ He continued to look at the screen and frowned. „Sure, since ya are one.“ „Nah… that’s not what I mean…“ She sighed softly, blushing a bit as she stirred around in her ramen. But she was also too embarrassed to define it further. Especially while her best friend sat next to her in a neon pink sweater, literally glowing. „Haahh… never mind.“

The high school detective glanced at her unnoticed out of the corner of his eye and pulled a few noodles slurping into his mouth while his cheeks turned red.

To be continued...

[Pink sweater based on an old idea of @fuchstastisch (^_~]

Part 7

[taliya-writes]

Trilateralism snippet - DCMK

Between the two Great Detectives of the East and West, Conan and Heiji were able to determine not only the rendezvous location for a drug drop in Osaka, but the person the dealer was meeting with.

It was long after dinner when Shinichi decided to give his fellow detective a call to hear about the aftermath of the drop.  He retreated to the now vacant Mouri Detective Agency office to chat with the Osakan.

“So how did everything pan out, Hattori?” Shinichi needled.  He figured that at close to ten-thirty, Hattori had probably had enough time to stutter through explanations and arguments with Kazuha.

“Oh, shut up, Kudou,” Heiji groused from the other end of the line.  “Do you know how hard I had to work to convince Kazuha that she was just hearing whatever she wanted to hear?!”

Shinichi chuckled darkly.  “Ah, but I have proof!” and played the clip he had recorded: “What do you think you’re doing to my Kazuha?!”

“Kudou,” Heiji choked, “I am going to fucking murder you.”

He yawned loudly into the mouthpiece.  “I somehow get the feeling Ran would not be happy that you’re picking on ‘Conan-kun’,” he teased deviously.  “Nor would Kazuha, for that matter.”

Shinichi could almost feel the steam coming off Heiji through his phone.  “I swear to god, Kudou, I am going to make sure there’s not enough body to bury!”

Heiji ranted for a good ten minutes on the various ways he planned on dismembering his friend before Shinichi decided that the Osakan had probably vented enough of his frustration to speak rationally.  “Vented enough, Hattori?” the Tokyoite queried with a raised brow, though the other detective could not see it.

“Yeah,” Heiji sighed.  “You’re still a dick though.”  Shinichi was quiet as he allowed Heiji to collect his thoughts.  “So Kudou… why’d you really call?”

Shinichi laughed.  “I can't get anything past you, can I?”

“Not at all,” Heiji agreed sagely, “Now spill.”

“You know how KID had a heist last night?” Shinichi asked. At Heiji’s confirmation he continued, “Well, Hakuba Saguru was there as well last night and I noticed something odd about his behavior.”  He said this all rather quickly, as he did not want to get the Osakan started on a rant about the half-Briton.

The remark was enough to pique his fellow detective’s curiosity.  “Oh? How so, aside from the continual stick up his ass?”

“Hattori…” the miniaturized detective groaned.  

“Ruin my fun.  Fine, I’ll zip it.”

Shinichi took a breath to compose his thoughts.  “Personal biases aside, what kind of person do you believe Hakuba to be?”

There was thoughtful silence on the other end of the line.  “Hakuba’s… methodical.  Clinical.  About as objective as one can be given any situation that involves the police.  He’s smart enough to put some rather obscure pieces together.  His record does back up his insufferable arrogance, though.  And he can be a decent guy, provided he doesn’t have his head stuffed that far up his ass.  But whisper a word of this to anyone, Kudou, and I’ll—”

“—ensure no one will find a body.  Duly noted, Hattori,” Shinichi interrupted, growing mildly tired of his friend’s continuing enmity with the half-Briton.  “Now, think about what you just said, and compare that to what I’m going to tell you.”  The shrunken detective then proceeded to describe in detail the events of the heist that occurred the night before, including the other detective’s behavior around his apparent classmate during the ride back to Tokyo.  He included his own observations and inferences at the end but made sure that Heiji knew they were purely his own conjectures.  “So what do you think?”

“I think you’re onto something, Kudou,” Heiji answered frankly after taking several moments to mull over the information Shinichi had provided.  “That seems like rather suspicious behavior coming from Hakuba—especially the timing of that smile.  You really think he might know what KID’s agenda is?”

“I can't think of any other reason,” Shinichi admitted.  “I've thought about it a lot since I got home last night, though admittedly I haven't had as much time today to ponder it over.”

“Because a case with me is more important than a heist with that thief any day, right?” Heiji joked, and Shinichi chuckled at his friend’s not-entirely faked conceitedness.

“If you say so,” he sighed with a grin, and Heiji huffed.

“So what do you plan to do about Hakuba and KID?” the Osakan asked curiously.

Shinichi frowned.  “I think… I think I’m going to talk to them,” he said thoughtfully but with growing determination.  “Getting a hold of KID might not be the easiest thing I’ve done—” and here Hattori snorted with laughter, “—but I can definitely get in touch with Hakuba for a little chat.”

“I’m sensing fireworks,” Heiji said with entirely too much eagerness in his voice.  “Let me know how much metaphorical fur flies, yeah?”

“Hattori…” Shinichi sighed while his friend cackled gleefully.

[celestialices]

QUEST!

Greek Mythology x Haikyuu

Haikyuu!Ensemble x Reader

OVERVIEW. You were just a perfectly normal student at The University of Tokyo, when suddenly a bunch of “normal boys”, as they call themselves, appeared and started to squeeze themselves into your life. Always saying something like “You’re a goddess, we must take you back to Olumpus.” (you brushed it off, convincing yourself it was a silly little compliment) and even absurd sentences such as “You got Medusa’s eyes” and “You’re really Medusa’s daughter!”

008: BAD IMPRESSION

masterlist

previous | next

Shibayama [Y/N].

You weren’t lying if you proclaim that you are the embodiment of normalness itself.

A typical university freshman striving to have a prosperous future. Well, to be honest, you were kinda on the smart side of students, considering the fact that you’re advanced, if that counts. You were originally not planned to be though, you just pleaded with your mother to let you enter school earlier just because you didn’t want to fall behind Hirugami.

Nonetheless, if you were asked to choose a word to represent yourself, it’ll definitely be just the word “normal.”

Being normal has a lot of perks to be honest. No immense dramas, you are a bit known, but not that much unlike Hiragumi, nor you were as active as Hoshiumi. You are just you, living life like how a teenager should, allowing the wind to guide you towards wherever you’re meant to be.

A sudden knock on your door snapped you out of your trance, which is certainly your little brother, probably to remind you that breakfast is already prepared. Recently, you often find yourself lost in your thoughts, always thinking about your family, friends and the life you have right now.

Picking up your things after looking at yourself in the mirror for the last time as it was time to go down and greet your guests, aka your two best friends who never seemed to want to leave you alone, coming over for breakfast.

Hoshiumi sure is fast though, you briefly mentioned your mother’s invite to him yesterday like the good daughter you are, and now he’s already over for breakfast. Does your mother’s cooking have anything to do with it? Hirugami often boasts about how good the meals she serves.

You chuckled at how brazen your friends can be.

“Good morning!” You flinched at Hoshiumi’s greeting, giving you a weird look probably because he saw you laughing to yourself. “You’re such a tardy person. I’m hungry, so hurry up!”

The audacity.

Just like how your usual morning goes, you approached your mother to give her a kiss on the cheek as a sign of greeting. “Good morning, mom.”

She smiled at you and reached for your hand, “Good morning. How was your sleep?”

“I had a good dream last night!” You excitedly said and began to ramble about the dream you had, as the both of you entered the dining room hand in hand, meeting the sight of your friends and little brother conversing with Heiji.

The four immediately noticed your presence, ushering the two of you to sit down quickly so they could start eating as they were “dying of hunger” via Hoshiumi. You stared at him and expressed your disbelief, before sitting down next to Yuki.

A unison of “thank you for the food” was heard before you all munched in, savoring the meal your mother gladly prepared for everyone. “Ah, you never failed to make the best meals, Yumie-san!” Hirugami exclaimed, his mouth full of food.

Your mother only chuckled at his compliment before looking at Hoshiumi who was busy focusing on his food. Huh, was he really that hungry? He looked up with excitement, almost choking because he was hurrying to give your mother a compliment too.

“Slow down, child. I won’t go anywhere.” Your mother finally spoke up, laughing when she saw Hoshiumi’s flustered expression. “I’m overjoyed to see you enjoying the meal I prepared for you.”

Hoshiumi smiled, looking at your mother with bright eyes and flushed cheeks. Looks like he found another idol!

“I was informed that you only have them as your friends.” Heiji started another conversation, catching you off guard for a second. You mentally rolled your eyes, knowing too well he was referring to you. “You should make more friends.”

“Oh, oh!” Hirugami beamed, his face lit up so much you got nervous at what he’s about to say. You tried to warn him with your eyes to not say nonsense, but him being him, he totally ignored you. Gulping the food in his mouth before speaking again, “How about those transferees from yesterday? It’s a good chance to expand your social group!”

You sighed. “As much as I want to get rid of these two, I don’t need more friends, Heiji-san.” What’s the big deal in making more friends anyway? Having friends is totally great, but what are they for? You already have two immature boys to take care of, who you can also rant to whenever you have problems.

“Lame.” You glared at Hoshiumi’s comment, just him shrugging you off in return after sticking his tongue out. You’re contemplating on cursing him out like you usually would, but remembered that you’re in front of your family and doing that would cause your demise.

You could always beat him up later.

“I made friends with the other transferee yesterday.” Hirugami said. “His name is Akaashi Keiji, I could introduce you if you want! He’s really pretty, you might even get a boyfriend.”

You almost dropped the spoon at how straightforward he is. Really? In front of your family? “No.”

“Onee-chan just doesn’t know how to hold conversations.” Yuki teased, adding salt to your wounds. He’s a cute little brother alright, but there’s always the time where his honesty annoys and pains you. Very much.

“I’m just not interested.” You were determined to end this conversation, even if that means saying cheesy words to them. “I’m already satisfied with the two of you, so I don’t really see the need to make more.”

“So dramatic!” Hoshiumi mocked you again, but this time you couldn’t hold yourself off anymore and threw a spoon at him, which will absolutely make your mother give you a long lecture. Being the athletic person he is, he easily caught it. Well that saves you quarter of the sermon you’re about to get.

“Have you thought about what food you’d want for your birthday?” Your mother asked after chuckling at your and Hoshiumi’s little show.

“I’m okay with anything, mom! Any meal you cook is the best!” Giving her a thumbs up and a wink, your mother giggled again before squeezing your cheeks.

“Just make more friends so you could invite more.” Heiji insisted again.

“But Heiji!” You complained, not understanding how you need more friends. Will more friends mean you’ll get a higher chance to survive in an apocalypse?

"Your coming of age is once in a lifetime. I want this to be grand and memorable for you. The more guests, the better." Heiji uttered, his kind gaze meeting your eyes. “That’s my wish.”

Your heart softened at Heiji’s words, making you think of doing what he asked. After all, he rarely voice out his wishes for you, always accepting your decisions in life.

“Invite who you want to invite.” Your mother disagreed. “It’ll be memorable as long as you’re with your family, will it not?” You could feel the tension between the two, making you wonder if they argued before this.

You looked at Yuki, who avoided your gaze. Ah, something did happen. Now that you think about it, Heiji kept asking you about friends from the first day he visited. Today he’s asking you to make more.. friends. What is he up to?

Silence consumed the dining room, and it feels awkward to make any noise now. You apologetically glanced at your two friends sitting across from you, they surely noticed the tension by now.

After the deafening atmosphere, you helped your mother with the dishes and bid goodbye almost immediately after you finished. You didn’t want to burden Hirugami and Hoshiumi any longer, so it’s best to leave as soon as possible. Yumie and Heiji will probably talk after this, you’re sure of it. After all, arguments in this household are to be kept short.

“What just happened back there?” Hoshiumi exhaled after you closed the house’s door, stretching himself as he started walking. “You two felt the tension too, right? Did they have an argument?”

“That’s not very of them.” Hirugami answered. Well, it’s true. They rarely fight, the last time was probably when you were three years old.

“Let them be. They’ll get over it.”

Well, you silently hoped that they’ll be back to normal when you go home later. And you’re determined to force Yuki to tell you what happened, because he, beyond doubt, knows something.

The three of you wordlessly enjoyed the peace and quiet while walking to school. Walking with the two made you relax somehow, slowly forgetting the whole quarrel ordeal between your mother and Heiji.

“What’s your first class?” Hirugami asked you as soon as the three of you entered the university’s premises, checking his own schedule on his phone.

“Literature.” You dreaded, suddenly drained when you realize what your first class of the day is, as the two give you pitiful looks. The subject isn’t that bad, as a matter of fact, you kind of liked it. But the new professor on the other hand.. Well, likes to dump exceptionally hard projects every week, as per the rumors say.

They walked you to class, as the ever so gentlemen they are, while you said your worries to them regarding the new professor. Seriously, you liked and you were kinda close with the previous one, why on Earth would she suddenly resign?

Hoshiumi halted, making you release a deep sigh. “Good luck, then. Let’s meet at the new cafe nearby.” He gave you a soft pat in the shoulder. “I’ll treat you anything you want if you make friends!”

You puffed at his words, he makes it sound like you’re a child who’s at her first day of school. Well, it’s somehow like that, you guess. You silently hoped no one heard those embarrassing words of your friend before entering the room, and rushed to sit at your respective seat.

Your eyes caught sight of the transferee who you recognize that was in your class yesterday. He’s sitting one seat apart from your accustomed seat, making you a bit uncomfortable since you’ve never sat beside anyone. You couldn’t pinpoint his name though, remembering only the unique surname you’ve heard.

K.. Komori? Maybe.

Shrugging the thought of befriending him like Hirugami suggested, you just quietly sat down. As you took out your textbook, deciding to read a bit before the professor came in, you sneakily glanced at him again, only to find out he’s looking at you too.

Embarrassed, you immediately looked at your textbook and just decided to stay quiet and lay low. That was probably the most humiliating interaction you've had in class. It took you so much self-control to not bury yourself into your book. So much for making friends!

Minutes later, the new professor stepped in, radiating a very positive energy. Huh, maybe you’ll like her? Seeing her reminded you of the previous professor you had, she is very kind. A lot could tell you were her favorite, and she was yours. Her sudden retirement made you gloomy for days, but you’re still hoping she’ll come back someday.

After introducing herself, she immediately started her discussion. Saying it’s a waste of time for any more interruptions.

Surprisingly, time went by fast. She easily hooked you in the topic, and even made you participate a bit in class. You just scored another prominent professor, and you couldn’t wait to brag about it with your friends.

“Before you all leave, I will announce your first project for this semester with me as your professor.” She excitedly said, earning clashing reactions from the students, including your displeased one. Here it goes! “An autobiography project!”

Oh, that’s not so bad? You thought. Well, as long as it’s not a group project, you’ll embrace it without any complaints. You don’t like group projects that much, one’s always doing so much work while the other’s a freeloader.

“But it will be a pair work.”

Ah. You spoke too soon.

Your English Professor just gave out all the details and what she was expecting regarding the autobiography project, and also mentioned that it shall be presented next week, on Monday. “Now, for the partners!”

Please let the professor pick. Please let the professor pick!

“Since it’s the first project, I’ll let you pick your own partners. Submit it to me before you leave.”

You deflated, is it your bad day? Nothing seems to go the way you want it to. Looking around, you sighed. You didn’t know anyone in this class, well sure you do, but they’re definitely partnering up with their friends.

Is this why Heiji is forcing you to make more friends? You suddenly remembered the importance of Hirugami and Hoshiumi.

Ah!

You excitedly turned to your seatmate, intending to ask him to be your partner. “Hi!” You greeted him, biting your cheek when he flinched. “Do you want to be partners for the project?”

It took minutes before he answered a small “sure.” It gave you relief nonetheless.

Keeping up the cheerful attitude, you gave him your name. He just nodded, seemingly wanting to end the conversation already. Is he some sort of allergic to social interaction? Now is the time to say his name but it never came. You were getting pissed, not gonna lie.

Taking a deep breath, “Oh.. uh, you’re Komori.. right?”

He turned his head so fast that you thought his neck would break. You were waiting for words to come out his mouth but.. silence. He was just glaring at you.

You internally screamed at his offended look. Judging by his reaction, he’s definitely the other guy! A part of you was blaming yourself, and the feisty side of you somewhat convinced yourself that it was his fault. He could have introduced himself before the whole Komori thing!

“Sorry, I’m not good with names.” You lied, well, at least it’s somewhat partially true? You just said something before he may lash out on you. “You’re the other guy.”

His eyebrows twitched in annoyance before standing up. “Sakusa Kiyoomi.”

“Sakusa’s not here again?” Kuroo asked, sitting down next to Oikawa. They had scheduled a meeting in a public cafe, to “present” their recent findings regarding the goddess they’re searching for.

“He’ll be here in a minute.” Komori answered. “He said he just discussed a few things with a classmate.”

“How do you communicate with him?” Oikawa asked, genuinely curious about the two descendants of Artemis. “Do you guys communicate with minds or...?”

“Oh, the birds tell me!” Komori enthusiastically answered. “We communicate through animals just as Artemis trained us to.” He suddenly shuddered, remembering the harsh training they got from their aunt before descending to Earth.

“That’s so cool!”

As Komori said, Sakusa arrived within a minute and flopped down between Komori and Sugawara. He was displaying a large amount of frustration, yet no one dared to ask. He always despised interacting with lowly mortals.

“Anyways, we’re all here.” Aran faked a cough, gathering the attention of the gods. “Who would like to start first?”

Akaashi immediately raised his hand, eyes switching to in a flash. “Just like Sakusa, I encountered a strange human emitting an aura of a goddess, but it immediately disappeared. I don’t know what happened, but it went so quickly I didn’t get the time to process my thoughts.”

“It’s possible that she’s the same woman who Sakusa encountered. If so, we’ll just get her first. We can just erase her memory if she turns out to be normal.” Kita made the decision right away after hearing Akaashi’s story.

“Do you remember her face, Akaashi?” Sugawara asked.

“I don’t.” Akaashi shamefully answered. He was particularly good at memorizing, and he never forgets anything or anyone he came in contact with. So it made him uncomfortable that he doesn’t remember the face of that girl he encountered that day. “Her face was a blur. I don’t know why.”

“How about you, Sakusa?” Komori asked, Sakusa just shaking his head as a response.

“Did anyone go through the same thing?” Oikawa asked, specifically eyeing Iwaizumi who remained quiet in his seat. He never gave up asking about what happened on the beach that night, but Iwaizumi won’t budge. Denying every guess Oikawa said.

No one spoke a word.

“Is someone playing with us?” Suna questioned, making the silence grow and raised the tension more. “I mean, you know. We should’ve gotten her by now. But all of this doesn’t make sense.”

“Suna’s got a point.” Aran spoke, inspecting the gods one by one. It lowkey made him feel bad to doubt his associates, but it was clearly possible. “Someone is definitely toying with us.”

“Now’s not the time to suspect each other.” Kunimi sighed, tiredness lacing on his voice. “We were sent here to work together.”

“But it is weird.” Kageyama sipped the milktea he ordered from the cafe, eyebrows meeting as thoughts raced in his head. “Why would they feel a mystic aura then it suddenly disappears? Is that some sort of power she has?”

“That’s.. a great theory, Kageyama.” Kuroo couldn’t help but feel impressed at what Kageyama said, like all suddenly made sense. Whoever they’re targeting, he’s just certain that it’s powerful.

“Where did you encounter this girl, Akaashi?” Kita inquired.

“At the university’s library.”

“Akaashi-kun!”

All heads were whipped at the new source of voice. All of them frowning except Akaashi himself, who smiled.

“Hirugami-san.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were busy.” Hirugami regretfully glanced at his friend’s companions, bowing his head as his form of apology. “Can I steal you for a moment?”

The other gods looked at Akaashi weirdly, not expecting him to make any friends. But then again, it could probably help them in the future.

Akaashi looked at them, seeking out permission. Eventually, Kuroo nodded, making Akaashi stand up to talk with Hirugami.

“I’m going to introduce you to my friends!” They heard from Hirugami’s mouth. “I mentioned you earlier because you’d definitely get along with this childhood friend of mine.”

Kuroo raised his eyebrows, following the two with his eyes as they left the cafe to approach another boy and a girl. He almost flinched when he locked eyes with the latter, getting uncanny vibes promptly.

He unknowingly smirked after the said girl looked away to chatter with her friends.

Huh. This will be entertaining.

taglist: @underratedmage @lovingcupcakeavenue @astranger83 @voids-universe @helloalex80 @sstepintothedaylight @smileexpo @whalerus @london-quynh

a/n: sorry this took too long ;-; i faced a crisis and had a hard time writing, but the comments cheered me up so thank u :D !! reader start collecting friends who are secretly gods challenge start !

[bentofaxmachine]

I’ve been talking about Heishin exes AU with a few of my friends, so here’s a short thing I wrote for them :)  I didn’t really edit this out of laziness, so sorry in advance for any confusing parts.

---

Shinichi stares and doesn't move from his spot on the bed, not even to call in sick for the day.  He’s suspended in a position he had spent the weeks after their breakup in, hugging his comforter while one leg lies on top of it.

Heiji hadn’t said anything when he left this morning.  He was probably too embarrassed, since the last time he had cried like that was the last night they had spent in this apartment together before now.  They hadn’t even slept on the same bed then, like they just did.

Shinichi knows he can’t block it out forever.  Hesitantly, he lets himself remember last night..  

He had been sitting alone with a soggy leftover meal from the last time Ran was here when the door rang.  Shinichi was drained, took his time putting down the container and stumbling over to the door.  Surprisingly Heiji was standing there.  His hat hides his eyes, but the detective’s slouch makes Shinichi worried.

“I missed the last train. Can I stay the night?”

Shinichi nodded, holding open the door to let him in.  “Not much has changed, has it?” he joked, but Heiji said nothing.

He was probably taking in that the couch that they had fallen asleep on while watching the news together was still there.  Or how the dining room table didn’t bow in the middle with half the amount of paperwork on it.  Or how there’s an empty space on the wall where a photo of their first date was framed, and the area is still lighter than the wall around it.

Heiji looked lost.  He never looked lost.  He shouldn’t look lost, especially not in a place that was supposed to be their home.  Panicked, Shinichi tried to change the topic.

“Today’s case was tough, wasn’t it?  Bloody.”  

Heiji laughed.  He sits down on his side of the couch, playing with the cushions.  “The blood was hardly a concern to me.  It was…”

Shinichi looked at him, expectant.  He remembered that Heiji doesn’t like being pushed so he doesn’t ask questions.  

“It was…”

Before he could say anything else, Heiji started to cry, grasping onto the cheap fabric of Shinichi’s shirt.  It was a half of a missing set, he assumed that Heiji still had the other one folded neatly in a closet back in Osaka.  Shinichi let Heiji rest his head on his shoulder, cradling it with one hand and wrapping the other around his back.

Heiji’s breath was uneven and his back rose unevenly against Shinichi’s arms.  He rubbed his back in the small circles that he always liked and didn’t say anything.  They rocked slightly in an even rhythm that brought Shinichi back to all the moments they would spend together during a spare minute on a case.

Eventually, they pulled apart.  Not far though; their foreheads just touched like they used too and Shinichi couldn’t stop himself bringing a hand to Heiji’s face and wiping the last of his tears away.  

It’s all instinct and it’s all to familiar, and Shinichi’s not sure how much more he can take-

“It was that I saw another person hurt the one that they’re supposed to love, and all I could think was that ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’.”

Their eyes met, hesitant. Shinichi didn’t remember how he had responded, but the next thing he knew, Heiji’s lips landed on his own.  Everything fell into a blur, as the kisses transitioned from hesitant to affectionate, eventually becoming passionate in a way that he hadn’t felt in a long time.  

They made their way to Shinichi’s bedroom and fell onto their bed, a king sized one which Heiji didn’t teasing him about when they had bought together.  For the rest of the night, his heart raced as they whispered their names into each other’s ears - Heiji and Shinichi as they had before - and clung onto each other as if they were scared to let go.

Eventually, the room became dark and quiet, only disrupted by Heiji and Shinichi’s synced breathing.  Shinichi found himself staring blankly through Heiji’s head, running his hands through his hair.  Half of his torso stuck out of the sheets, but they were close enough together that it was hardly a problem.  It’s nostalgic, bringing him back to a more peaceful time when a night like this seemed guaranteed.

Shinichi’s eyes flutter shut.  The next thing he knew, sunlight spilled through the windows, and his bed was cold all around him.  Heiji must’ve left.  

He stays in that position for a very long time.  Finally, he twists to grab his phone on the nightstand besides him.   The other side of the call picks up right away.

“Hi, Inspector.  I won’t be coming in today… I’m not feeling so good, like I’m sick with something… Thank you, I will.”

Shinichi ends the call and lets his arm drop back onto the bed.  He wonders if he should call Heiji.  He almost doesn’t but then remembers:

“I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“We don’t have to.”

Maybe it’s time for them to try again, Shinichi decides.  He sits up and dials Heiji, fingers drumming nervously on his thigh.  

A smile forms on his lips when he hears a “Hello?” from the other detective.

[perhapsitmaybedragons]

I am actually still doing ok on the writing front this year. I desperately wanted to write this Detective Conan one shot and I got it done. It is the longest one shot I have ever written (I’ve seen longer, but this is long for me).

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22690015

Shinichi/Ran pairing with Heiji running around being pals with Shinichi cause I love Heiji.

A Study In Scavenger Hunting

Twenty year old Shinichi Kudo could not for the life of him begin to understand what was going on. Usually mysteries were met with enthusiasm, especially since he’d regained his normal body three years ago. But when it came to his girlfriend, mysteries were rarely welcome. She’d come over for their usual date night then after he took a phone call he came back and found she’d vanished.

Well. Not vanished. She sent him a text, so he knew she was safe. And they’d talked on the phone since then, so he knew no one had taken her against her will (not that it would have been easy for most people to make Ran do something she didn’t want to do. Her karate skills had only gotten more fine tuned over the years.) But he hadn’t seen her in going on four weeks now. When she went by her parents’ place both insisted they hadn’t seen her, though he noted that Eri looked guilty. Shinichi had been a big help in getting her and Kogoro to see the light and get back together. She’d taken some pity on Shinichi and insisted that he didn’t need to worry. That Ran was just “working some things out”.

“Working things out,” he muttered to himself as he got dressed for work. He’d started going to college first, but the cops kept calling for assistance and before he knew it he had a job offer as a detective, though officially his title was ‘consultant’. He and Heiji had both been hired, and due to Shinichi agreeing to an ill advised bet, he wound up agreeing that the pair would work two years together in Tokyo and two years together in Osaka. He was still kicking himself over that one, but how was he to know that for once the battle Heiji wanted to face off in would be kendo instead of a battle of wits.

But they were on year one, so at least for now Shinichi was on his home field. Which also meant he had time to try to get out of it. Or to at least figure out different living arrangements. He and Heiji were close now, practically brothers, really (though Shinichi refused to admit this). But the pair weren’t suited to living together. They got along pretty well, but competitions between the two could be fierce and they were known to stay up most of the night trying to one up each other. Sometimes Ran and Kazuha joined them, but the girls almost always fell asleep before the guys were done.

“Ya still on about that, Kudo?” Heiji came out of the bathroom wearing only a tank top and boxers, a toothbrush in one hand that he gestured with wildly. “Just call her and ask,” he used the toothbrush to mime a phone call “'Ran! I love ya, why don'tcha tell me what’s going on?'”

Shinichi threw a pillow at him. “You’re going to be late if you don’t get more clothes on.”

“I can get dressed at the station,” he shrugged, “So long as I put some pants on, who cares? Besides, you’re tryin’ to distract from the point. And the point is to just come out and ask her.”

“Like you just came out and told Kazuha how you felt about her?”

“That was different,” Heiji sulked. “You took all the good spots. It took me ages to figure out a good enough place to tell her. And I did tell her…ya know. Eventually.”

“So Ran will tell me when she’s ready,” Shinichi shrugged. “I just have to wait.” He looked mature in the moment, but Heiji could see right through him. They both knew Shinichi was getting impatient and that he desperately wanted Ran to come clean about what was going on.

“What, you think she’s gonna dump ya?” Heiji put the toothpaste on his toothbrush. With a full mouth, he added “and wisha boat da ass her ta,” he brushed quietly for a moment and then ran into the bathroom to spit. “marry ya,” he finished.

“Idiot, who said anything about that?”

“Saw the ring box in your underwear drawer.”

“What were you doing in there?” Shinichi hissed.

“Looking for a clue,” Heiji said with a shrug.

“A clue for what, how to invade my privacy in as many ways as possible?!”

“A clue for why you were acting so funny a few weeks before Ran was. Honestly, I thought maybe you knocked her up or something. But then, she never spends the night here so I’m not sure you two have gotten there.”

“Maybe if you weren’t always here,” Shinichi said pointedly.

“Surprised it’s taken you this long to pop the question. You’ve been in love with her since what, grade school?” Shinichi didn’t answer him, so Heiji continued on. “She waited for you the whole time you were Conan and she didn’t freak on ya when she found out the truth after you changed back. So it’s weird she’s freaking out now, right? That’s why I wondered if you knocked her up, since nothing should have shaken her after the Black Organization got taken down.”

“Or it might make her more nervous,” Shinichi was mostly talking to himself so he moved from the bedroom to the living room. Heiji followed him. “Think about it, when we finally took them down…that was a rough day. We were lucky we all got out alive. Takagi-san got a broken arm and Mitsuhiko, Ayumi and Genta probably really need counseling but weren’t physically injured …but Ran found out the truth the same day we all almost died.”

The outcome had been the best they could possibly hope for, but Shinichi still felt guilty about the whole ordeal. The Black Organization had found him out and tracked him down ..to the elementary school. He and the Detective Boys had all been grabbed from the side of the road on the way home from school, he and Ai identities both having been discovered by the organization. The actual kids had been grabbed as a way to get he and Ai to comply no matter what. A gun to Ayumi’s head got a faster response from Ai than someone threatening her.

It had lead to a final showdown between the police and the organization, with Heiji leading the cops. In just a little over twenty four hours Conan Edogawa went from being a little kid to disappearing into Shinichi Kudo. And with how everything had gone down, the list of people who knew both sides were one and the same expanded from a handful to include Tagaki, Sato, Shiratori, Inspector Megure, the Detective Boys, Kogoro, Kazuha …and Ran.

“Maybe she would say no if I asked her,” Shinichi sank onto his couch and put his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands, looking miserable. “Maybe it’s just too much danger. Ran wants kids,” they’d never discussed it, but Shinichi knew Ran had always seen herself as a mother some day. “she wouldn’t want her husband, the father of her kids to be in danger all the time.”

“She knew the risks,” Heiji didn’t seem to see the big deal. Shinichi didn’t bother to pretend to be surprised. Heiji was a great detective, but he was also a 'miss the forest for the trees’ type when it came to emotions. “She agreed to date you, and that whole mess was years ago now. I bet nothing’s …hmm.” Heiji had been making his way to the front door, probably about to head out (Shinichi momentarily wondered when the guy had put pants on, but he wasn’t about to ask). But now Heiji was holding up an envelope that seemed to have been slid under the door. “Hmm. What’s this?”

“Hand it over,” Shinichi commanded. He could see his name on the envelope, and he knew that handwriting.

“What if I want to see what’s in it?”

Shinichi vaulted over the couch and snatched the letter before ripping it open.

Dear Shinichi,

I want to talk to you and get some things straight, but you’ll have to find me first. Not long ago you made a journey for a second time. Go there and await your next clue, which will be delivered by an irregular crew.

~Ran

Shinichi poked Heiji in the stomach. “All right, whats she up to?”

“You think I know?” he asked innocently.

“I get up earlier than you do,” Shinichi snorted, “ I already went this way multiple times and that letter wasn’t there. You pretended it came, but you actually dropped it from underneath your shirt before you pretended to pick it up. Which means whatever she’s doing, you’re in on it.”

“Oh, Kudo,” Heiji tsked at him, “The lady wants to play a game. You’re just gonna have ta play along with her.”

“And what about work?”

“I told them yesterday that you and I would both be out today,” Heiji gave him a thumbs up sign. “You’re all set. I’m just your guide to make sure you don’t go too far off the path.”

“So you already have the answers?”

“Actually, no,” Heiji admitted. “I helped her a little bit, but she came up with most of it and didn’t give me any clue for where we’re actually going. I’ll be seeing the clues at the same time as you. But I’m not allowed to tell ya anything.”

“Helpful,” Shinichi grumbled, taking his jacket off. If he was going to run around today he wasn’t going to do it in a full suit. The mystery aspect was intriguing and he was quite happy Ran had arranged this for him, but it was a little harder to be enthusiastic when the first clue was this obvious.

“So, where are we off to first?”

“Teitan Elementary school. She’s poking fun at my having to go there twice, and the 'irregular crew’ is the Detective Boys. Ran made a Sherlock reference,” his smile got brighter. “She’s calling them the Baker Street Irregulars. Guess she must have listened to me talk about Holmes so much some of it sunk in even if she didn’t want it to.”

They ran quickly to the elementary school and found the Detective Boys waiting for them at the playground. Ayumi and Mitsuhiko were on swings while Genta stood leaning against the swings’ frame. “Shinichi-kun!” Ayumi launched herself out of her seat and took off running into his arms. The boys followed suit. While they were saddened that “Conan” wouldn’t be by to play with them ever again, they had taken in stride that he and Shinichi were one and the same. Shinichi was now asked to babysit them from time-to-time and he took them to soccer games whenever he could. They didn’t know it yet, but he was currently working out a murder mystery party for them for Ayumi’s next birthday.

Shinichi gave each one a hug before putting them down. Part of him still expected to see Ai with them, but of course she had also returned to her adult body. But she still insisted on all of them calling her Ai, and had told the Detective Boys she really was Ai when they had asked for her true name. Ayumi grabbed his hand and yanked him down to her level, forcing him from his thoughts.

“Hi, Heiji-san!” she called over Shinichi’s shoulder before getting to business. “Your clue is ..umm… let’s see…Mitsuhiko?”

“Your own Auguste Dupin-” he started but Ayumi cut him off.

“Right! Your own Auguste Dupin is within the building, though no apes are in sight. Find her and ask for your next guiding light!”

“Dupin?” Shinichi titled his head to the side as he thought. His first though was to his father. Dupin, after all, was Sherlock’s predecessor. But that isn’t the first character he would pick for his dad, and somehow he knew Ran wouldn’t either. “Auguste Dupin was Edgar Allan Poe’s creation,” he muttered to himself, “similar to Sherlock, but came before him,” he tried to get into Ran’s mindset and let go of his own.

Who would set the framework to Ran’s mind? A builder? No, he was being too literal. Ran was smarter than that. Someone who laid the foundations for someone else, who made someone better. “A teacher?”

The kids nodded and smiled in response. “And we got one more for you!” Genta crooked his finger at Shinichi, indicating he should come closer. “What’s sticky and spotted all over?”

“I uh ….is that a joke one? Is this actually from Ran?” He felt like he’d heard a stupid joke like this sometime ago, but he couldn’t remember the answer.

“You,” Genta answered before Shinichi could process. He’d pulled a bottle of soy sauce out from under his shirt and managed to shake some of its contents on Shinichi’s formerly white shirt.

“Hey, what’s the deal?” He resisted the urge to call him a brat. The Detective Boys were all smiling up at him with the most over the top innocent looks he couldn’t take seriously. Somehow, this factored into Ran’s plans though he couldn’t figure out how. “Well, now I need to go home and change.

“You can’t!” Ayumi cried. “She said it’s important you get to the end as soon as possible. No stopping unless it’s a bathroom break.”

“All right, all right,” Shinichi agreed, trying to make sure Ayumi wouldn’t start crying. “Is Kobayashi-sensei inside?”

Ayumi nodded and wiped at her crocodile tears, forcing back the urge to smirk. She squeezed Shinichi’s hand and lead him into the school, with Mitsuhiko and Genta following closely behind. Heiji kept further back at a more leisurely pace. It was a weekend, so the school should have been closed, but apparently Ran had been calling in all sorts of favors. The group made a bee line for the classroom the Detective Boys and Conan had all once shared. Sumiko Kobayashi was at the front of the class, sitting on one of the desks chatting animatedly with Shiratori.

“Oh, Kudo-san. You’re making good time on this,” Shiratori said in approval. “Heiji-san,” Heiji gave a two fingered salute in greeting.

“Your clue is on the board. Please have a seat,” Miss Kobayashi said. Shinichi awkwardly sat in one of the desks, trying to figure out how to get his adult sized legs comfortably into the seat. “I didn’t mean there,” she said, laughing. “You can sit on a desk the way I was, just pick anything up if you knock it down.”

It was obvious that Miss Kobayashi was the one who had written the note on the board, though Shinichi figured Ran had still provided the clue.

Always a princess, my previous protector. Holding place in a different kind of court.

“Ooh, a princess,” Ayumi cooed.

“But what’s it mean?” Genta asked.

“You kids don’t already know?” Shinichi stared them down. He figured they’d probably crack if he gave them a stern enough look, but all three shrugged.

“She didn’t tell us the answers or what happens at the end,” Mitsuhiko admitted.

“Ok,” Shinichi decided not to press it. The group were usually bad liars, but if they were especially enticed by something they could all manipulate. “Well, we’ll see you guys later.”

“Where are we headed to now, Kudo?”

“The mall, to see one of my least favorite people.”

The mall was crowded, of course, but Sonoko was easily spotted in the middle, her arms crossed and looking annoyed. “Took you long enough, Detective Geek,” she said by way of greeting. Shinichi figured he was probably still making good time but without knowing the end game it was impossible to know for sure.

As he’d explained on the way to Heiji, Sonoko had been the one to defend Ran from bullies before Shinichi came into her life. And given her rich family, princess was only a slight exaggeration.

“So, what’s the next clue?”

“You’re not getting it.”

“What?!” Shinichi’s eyebrow twitched.

“You’re not getting it looking like that,” she pointed at the stain on his shirt.

“The kids did this to me, you think I left the house like this?” he felt a headache coming on. Sonoko had that effect on him sometimes. He didn’t hate her, but it wasn’t like he’d ever choose to spend time with her.

“At any rate, we’re getting you a new set of clothes and then I will give you the hint.”

“Don’t I just need a new shirt?”

But instead of answering him, Sonoko took off forcing Shinichi and Heiji to follow after her through the crowds until they came to an expensive boutique. Sonoko was being handed a package from one of the workers when the guys caught up to her. She thanked the worker and then shoved the clothes into Shinichi’s arms. “Go change. This one’s on me because I love Ran and you will not be seeing her dressed like that. Not today, anyway.”

Shinichi found a dressing room and swapped out his clothes. He emerged shortly wearing a nice, deep blue tuxedo.

“There. Cleaned up about as well as we can expect you to,” Sonoko said approvingly, grabbing his earlier clothes from him and throwing them in the garbage.

“Hey, I still need those!”

“No you don’t,” she insisted, “and you’re going to be late. You want your clue or not?”

He was about to protest, but noticed Heiji fishing the clothes out of the trash behind her. “Fine. Clue, please.”

“Well, for a great detective like myself, this clue would be too easy, but we’ll see how long it takes you to crack,” Sonoko gave a haughty laugh and Shinichi cringed. She was not on the list of people who knew about his time as Conan, and he didn’t want her to be. But he really wanted to let her know that all of her great solves had been him. Especially right now. “Anyway, the clue is:

Back to where you would have begun from,

Back into your den of friendly wolves

Not surprised to see you come,

That pair will give you the goods”

“Why do some of these rhyme?” Heiji wondered aloud. “And wolves/goods? Bad writing,”

Shinichi ignored him and focused on the words. “After all that trouble of you getting us an off day, and now we have to go to the precinct anyway.”

“Why’s that?” Sonoko asked, genuinely interested. “Ran said it was important that none of us know the answers.”

“Because of 'okami’, a not so nice slang term for police,” Shinichi explained. “usually spelled to mean 'one who is above’, but otherwise..”

“Wolves,” Sonoko and Heiji answered in unison.

“Ok, but who’s the pair?”

“The only pair of cops we know that’s dating each other and who knows about Conan,” Shinichi explained, waving for Heiji to follow him.

“What about Conan? He went back to America, dummy!’ Sonoko called after him. Neither Shinichi nor Heiji answered her.

What is Ran trying to lead me to? Shinichi wondered as he jogged along, a little annoyed by Heiji keeping pace next to him. They both raced into the police station, looking around for Takagi and Sato. The pair waved them over.

“Ah, you made it to us already. Great job!” Takagi said encouragingly.

“Though we wouldn’t expect any less of our little Conan-kun,” Sato ruffled Shinichi’s hair affectionately. Sometimes she slipped and called him Conan, but oftentimes it was fairly obvious that it was her intention. This was one of those times.

“Thanks, but could I get the next clue, please? I don’t know what time Ran is hoping to see me by. And she …I haven’t seen her in a few weeks.” He would not have admitted this to most people, but Takagi and Sato reminded him of himself and Ran so much that it made it easier for him to tell them his girl troubles. And they told him theirs in return. They were currently trying to get everything together to save up enough money that they could get married and Takagi could be a stay-at-home dad when they were ready to have children.

“Ok, then,” Sato suddenly stood at attention, “But while your clue was to lead you to us, we don’t have your next clue.”

“Who does, then?!”

“That would be me,” Inspector Megure patted him on the shoulder. He’d somehow snuck up behind him, causing Shinichi to jump. “You all right, there? You’re not usually so jumpy.”

“Sorry. Just too focused on this thing, I guess.”

“I understand,” Megure patted his shoulder before removing his hand. “Your clue is:

I craft something better,

but still stand above,

you can’t out reason me

but I give you my love

Even Holmes needs a home

And that’s all she wrote. Do you need me to write it for you?”

“No need, Inspector. I’ve got it.”

“She really needs to decide if she wants them to rhyme or not. These are all over the place,” Heiji complained.

“You don’t have to come with me,” Shinichi pointed out. “You could stay here and get some work done. I’m pretty sure you’re behind on your paper work.”

Heiji shushed him and gave a nervous glance at Inspector Megure. “He’s joking, he’s joking!”

“Hmm. Maybe I should just check on–” Megure started, but Heiji cut him off.

“Kudo, why don’t you explain what this clue meant? I bet everyone would love to hear, right? Right?” He elbowed Takagi, who nodded enthusiastically. Apparently he was pretty caught up in the whole thing, because he looked excited.

“She’s telling me to go to my parents’ old house and that my father will be there. Because, at least for now…he’s the Mycroft to my Holmes.”

“I didn’t know she knew this much about Sherlock Holmes,” Heiji pondered, “Thought she kept telling you to shut up about him.”

“I guess…I guess she wanted to make this special for me,” Shinichi admitted, considering something. If she was mad, if she was going to say no when he got ready to propose, why would she go through all of this? He didn’t know what was waiting at the end, other than Ran, but he would run like hell and through hell to get to her.

“Well, that’s my exit.”

“What do you mean? Are you actually going to stay and work?”

“Shuddup about that,” Heiji hissed at him. “Ran just said to stay with you until you got the clue to go see your folks. She said once you were there it should be all on you. I got somewhere I gotta be. See you later, Kudo.” he punched him in the arm and took off. Shinichi acknowledged his departure and waved his goodbyes to his fellow officers before making his way back to his old house.

His parents had offered it to him originally, and he planned to take them up on it …someday. For now he had wanted to try making it on his own. Heiji moving in hadn’t been a part of that plan, but it was probably for the best. The lights weren’t on inside, so it appeared that no one was home.

He knocked, but no one answered so he pushed the door open. “Hello?”

He was met with silence. He walked in, suddenly wary. Things going wrong seemed to be the rule of his life rather than the exception and part of him felt like he was going to walk into yet another murder mystery. But instead, all that happened was his mother pouncing on him from the darkness.

“I missed you!”

There was the sound of an irritated snort, and Shinichi blinked hard as someone flicked on a light. He had started to adjust to the darkness and the sudden change had his eyesight go all screwy for a moment. It wasn’t just his parents.

Eri and Kogoro were also standing there. And Kogoro looked irritated. He often glared at Shinichi before the teenager had become Conan. Now that he was back to normal the glares had gotten more intense, especially as Kogoro now knew it had been a mentally teenage boy seeing his daughter naked during bath times.

“Hello,” he greeted them awkwardly.

His dad squeezed his shoulder.

“Kogoro, say something nice,” Eri urged him.

“I will only say this once,” Kogoro’s arms were crossed so tightly Shinichi wondered if it was possible for it to cut off circulation. “For now, you make my daughter happy and that is the only reason I will allow this. If you ever make her unhappy…you will be dealing with her.”

“With her?” Shinichi raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

“You know damn well that girl can take care of herself. If you ever do anything to hurt her, I won’t have to come after you. I’ll just help her hide the body.”

“Understood, sir,” Shinichi agreed awkwardly. He coughed and then straightened up. “But I would never hurt her. …I wouldn’t try to, I mean. I love Ran a lot. Actually, I want to…I’d like to…”

“Don’t say it. I know what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear it. It’s between you and her.” Kogoro wasn’t making eye contact and now he looked embarrassed. “I will accept whatever Ran says on it. And that’s as good as you’ll get from me.”

Eri patted him approvingly on the arm. “I have to say I agree with my husband. It’s for Ran to decide.”

“Dad, I believe you have the clue?”

“I do indeed. I offered to make it harder for her, but she wouldn’t let me,” Yusaku looked offended at the idea. “So here we are:

sakura”

“…that’s the whole thing?” Yukiko asked, looking irritated. “You probably forgot some of it, dear.”

“No, that’s it. Shinichi knows what it means.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Because he already left,” Eri pointed out. “Look, he didn’t even close the door after himself.”

“I can’t believe I’ve agreed to help with this,” Kogoro muttered.

“What, you don’t approve of him?” Eri looked amused. “I agree, marrying a detective is always trouble.”

Kogoro muttered something under his breath, but Eri ignored him. “Should we get going, then? His next stop is to her, right?”

“I don’t know,” Yukiko admitted, “She didn’t tell me the clues or the route. Just a general idea of what’s going to happen.”

“It’s the last clue,” Yusako said confidently. “And I think we all know what’s going to happen,” He pulled his wife close to him. “And I think it’s about time.”

His first thought was that Ran would be inside the old preschool, but he found her outside sitting on a bench apparently waiting for him.

“Sakura. For the sakura classroom where we first met,” he said appreciatively. “Solving the clues required knowing Holmes, Dupin and about our lives together so far.” he sat down beside her on the bench. She wore a red dress, and was staring intently at the paper scraps on her lap. Shinichi looked closer and realized they were like the paper badges she had made them in preschool. Wordlessly, she handed them over to him.

The first one had her name on one side. On the other side, what was written was:

Time to play a dirty trick,

Turn about is fair game

Hope I’m not being too slick

So ask about my name

“Your name?” He asked aloud, looking at the other badge. His name was on one side. The other side read

My answer is yes.

“Answer?” he pondered it over, going through the events of today. Starting with the fact that Heiji had brought up the ring box in Shinichi’s underwear drawer. “You mean….Ran?” She finally looked up at him, a gentle smile on her face. “You knew I was going to ask?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t trying to snoop. Sonoko told me I should leave some stuff at your place so I could finally spend a night with you…something about it being easier, I don’t know,” She blushed bright red, “But when I opened your drawer to put some clothes in I found the box and I knew what it was without looking,” she pulled her purse out from under her the bench and fished the ring box out. “I put an empty box back because I figured you wouldn’t look at the ring until you were ready. And I wanted to surprise you with something you’d like. I’m sorry, I know the clues weren’t very elaborate and-” she was cut off by him pressing his lips to hers. He tried to pour all the emotions he could into that kiss. How much he loved her, cared about her …wanted her. How much he appreciated that she would do so much for him. He pulled away only after he felt satisfied he had conveyed exactly how he felt through that kiss.

“You did so much for me, Ran. Thank you,” he grabbed the ring box out of her lap and opened it before sliding the ring on her finger. Diamonds and rubies blended together, since red was both of their favorite color. “But why did you not want to see me the last few weeks?”

“It took a while to put everything together, and when I decided to have a clue to lead to your dad I had to wait for them to come back to Japan from the states. They agreed to it right away, but had some things to wrap up before they could come. Originally Ai and Professor Agasa were going to help, too, but they said they wanted to help with something else.”

“Something else?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “We’re supposed to go to an address they gave me after we’re done here.”

Somehow I think I know what they’re up to, Shinichi thought crossly. Right now he wanted Ran to himself, but he knew what was coming next. He pushed himself up and pulled her up with him.

“But why did you have the kids spill soy sauce on me?”

“So sauce? I didn’t ask them to spill anything on you.”

So that was Sonoko’s idea alone, huh? Figures, he thought.

“Where do you think we’re going?” She asked, handing him the address Ai had given her.

“I don’t know about the where, but I bet I know what will happen when we get there.”

“What’s that?”

“An engagement party!” Ayumi, Masumi and Sonoko shouted in unison as Ran and Shinichi walked through the door. The address had been to a hotel, where a helpful front desk person had ushered them into a large ballroom where all their friends and family were waiting.

“Let me see that ring!” Kazuha said excitedly, pulling Ran’s hand towards her. “ooh, nice!”

“Kudo,” Heiji grabbed him by the collar. “That’s not fair, now I’ve gotta do better for when I ask her,” he kept his voice low so Kazuha wouldn’t hear.

“Have you considered not one-upping me?” Shinichi asked gruffly, but Heiji ignored him.

“Let’s see…can’t ask too soon or it looks like I’m stealing your thunder. Ugh, I don’t wanna spend this much money.”

Shinichi rolled his eyes and left his friend to his muttering. He linked his arm back in with Ran’s. “Did everyone know I was going to propose?”

“Yes,” All three Detective Boys chorused at him.

“It was really easy to figure it out,” Mitsuhiko started. “First, you started to get all quiet and contemplative around her.”

“Then, one day, you stopped looking the same. You looked determined!” Ayumi added. “And then-”

“And then the three of us saw you in the jewelry store,” Genta explained.

Well, that explained it. Those three had seen him, gotten over excited and blabbed at some point. “Do you three want to be in the wedding?” Ran asked them. They all nodded their agreement.

“And what about me?” Ai poked Shinichi in the back and both he and Ran turned to face her.

“Well, I don’t think you’d want to be a flower girl, but you could be a bridesmaid if you wanted!” Ran grabbed Ai’s hands and squeezed.

“You’re too pure and you’re too good for him,” Ai chuckled.

“Gee, thanks.”

“But maybe I’ll take you up on that. At the least, I would like an invitation.”

“Did you guys invite everyone we know here?” Shinichi looked around the party and made mental notes of each person he saw. Some were from old cases he’d solved, some were his high school friends, there were loads of cops running around and of course the Detective Boys were weaving in and out of the crowd. “I half expect to see Kaito Kid pop out of somewhere.”

“Oh, he was here earlier,” Professor Agasa explained, apparently summoned out of thin air.

“What?!”

“He left a gift on the table,” he gestured in that direction.

“Wait…Professor,” Shinichi cottoned on quickly. “What’s your brother’s name again?”

“Brother? I don’t have a brother.”

“So why are there two of you here?”

Agasa took off running, and Shinichi decided not to run after him. The real Professor Agasa was engrossed in a conversation with Shinichi’s mother. And the fake …well, if Kaito Kid was kind enough to bring him an engagement present, he supposed he could let him go this time. Especially since he had more important matters to attend to right now.

“Was that-”

“Yep.”

“Do you need to-”

Shinichi put a hand on each of Ran’s arms and squeezed gently, making sure she was looking him in the eyes. “I’m not running off and leaving you ever again. There’ll be another time to catch Kaito Kid. Right now…right now I just want to be with you.”

[trouvelle]

Emogust 20.08 — Caught in the Act

 A/N: @detectivegeekshin‘s art is golden. That’s all I wanted to say! Here’s what I imagine would happen after Shinichi walked in on Heizuha and literally caught them in the act. @mintchocolateleaves @sup-poki :’D 

Birds are chirping brightly when they stepped out of the station—dark dots framed by warm yellow sun in the blue Osakan sky. A perfect day to start their short vacation. The weather is beautiful, everything is going smoothly, and they’re going to have the city’s famous takoyaki for lunch today. 

Ran, Shinichi and Sonoko are in Osaka for a few days for school break, and they just got to Heiji’s house. The boy said that they have several guest rooms that can be used, so the three of them are staying in his house. Kazuha apologized over their last phone call for not being able to pick them up from the station because she had some errands to run, but she promised to meet them at Heiji’s.

Kazuha hasn’t answered any of their calls, and the last text from her was a while ago when she said she was on her way. Ran figures Kazuha has probably arrived as well but doesn’t know that they are already in one of the guest rooms, so she’s asked Shinichi to look for Kazuha. They need to choose their outfits before going out, that way all three of them can match. 

Ran and Sonoko were initially marveling over the fact that the Hattori household has such a traditional setting and is very spacious. The view from their guest room looked over the house’s private garden, and across from it is Heiji’s room. In fact, their window looked almost directly into Heiji’s.

No eyebrows have initially been raised when Kazuha came into view. It isn’t precisely unusual for the girl to drop into Heiji’s house unannounced and simply walk into each other’s rooms, regardless of whether anyone is in or not. What is unusual however, is the way that Heiji has his childhood friend backed firmly against the glass, hands trailing suggestively low, and the way Kazuha’s head is tilted backwards to allow him better access to her throat for a whole new reason.

Ran’s first reaction is an immense sense of satisfaction and excitement, along with a very sudden desire to jump up and down and squeal like a hyperactive young girl who just got ice cream. Anyone passing by in front of their room would’ve heard incoherent combination of screams of “AH!!” “KAZUHA-CHAN AND HATTORI-KUN!” “AAH!” “OH MY GOD!” “KAZUHA-CHAN AND HATTORI-KUN!!!” “AAAAAHH!!” and much more “OH MY GOD”s. 

However, suddenly hands are wandering under clothes, shirts are riding up and the two of them turn abruptly from the window with Sonoko shouting repeatedly, ‘OH, MY EYES!! MY EYES!!!’

Ran takes a risk for the both of them and turns back to pull the curtains closed. She misses Shinichi opening the door to Heiji’s room by a mere minute. But it takes several minutes for both girls to calm down and come to terms with what they’ve just witnessed.

“Kazuha-chan!” Ran squeals, still unable to bring her pitch down because of all the giddiness, “and Hattori-kun!!”

“Oh. My. GOD!” shrieks Sonoko while clapping her hands together in an uncontrollable excitement.

“They’re already making finally such a huge progress! But why hasn’t Kazuha-chan said anything to us?” Ran asks. “Is she waiting until she could tell us the face-to-face?”

“You know, we’ve been waiting for this for so long. I almost couldn’t believe it’s finally happening!” Sonoko leans back on her hands, shaking her head and staring at the ceiling, “I just didn’t know why we had to witness it.”

Ran giggles, her eyes darting back and forth between Sonoko and the curtains as if she’s trying to keep herself from looking.

“We should tell everyone,” Sonoko squeals and jumps up in determination, “that these two are finally together! I mean, everyone’s had it coming. I bet their parents are gonna be so happy about this. Hattori-kun’s mom is definitely gonna start looking for a ring to be given to him to propose to Kazuha!”

“Sonoko, not everyone is like you!” Ran laughs wholeheartedly. This short vacation is looking great. She’s in Osaka and not Tokyo, for a change. Moreover, she’s with her best friends, two of whom are finally together. “Also, I really need to tell Shinichi about this, he’s gonna be super excited. I’m gonna go look for him to tell him to not go into Hattori-kun’s room.”

Ran is out of the door with a whoosh, leaving Sonoko alone in the room. She averts her gaze to the closed curtains, suddenly having the desire to talk to her boyfriend. “If only Makoto-san wasn’t so shy…” she mutters, reaching to her bag to get her phone. She needs to voice her concern to him.

Whatever. If her precious Makoto-san isn’t brave enough to initiate the next step in their relationship, she is going to take matters into her own hands. They’d been dating longer than even Ran and Shinichi, it only makes sense if they have done more things together... which they have not. Her own relationship is progressing even slower than Heiji and Kazuha, which she’s pretty sure just happened, because it’s only two weeks ago when those two came to Tokyo, where Heiji failed to confess to her again. 

Her silent brooding is interrupted by someone opening the door and slamming it shut abruptly. Shinichi comes into view, huffing and puffing, looking very flustered.

“Hey, where’s Ran?” Shinichi asks distractedly, walking over to the center of the room where Sonoko is sitting.

“She’s out looking for you!” Sonoko replies as casually as she can, choosing to omit the information about what they’ve just witnessed. She’s dying to tell Shinichi—anyone, everyone!—about it. Yeah, the whole entire world should fucking know. “There’s something important you should know.”

Shinichi has stopped listening after Sonoko says that Ran’s not in the room. In that case, he should probably call her to break his news. He HAS to tell her right now. But when he feels his pockets for his phone, he can’t locate it anywhere on him. Shit, he probably dropped it when he’s tumbling through the hallways after walking in on whatever Heiji and Kazuha were doing. Oh man, he gave himself a mental slap, because, ahem, this news is far more important than anything else!

“I’ll see if she’s out in the garden.” he says, making a move to draw the curtains back, and Sonoko practically leaps forwards yelling ‘NO!’ so loudly he takes a step backwards with his hands in the air in surprise.

“Um,” Sonoko hesitates, trying to come up with a good excuse. It was cute of those two, and the act itself would have been cute, yes, but seeing it happen real life is way different from imagining it. She’s sure Shinichi doesn’t want to see what she’d seen as well. “Uh.. We’ve had too much sun today. Heiji-kun’s mom told us the sun in Osaka is harsher, so we have to be careful.”

Shinichi doesn’t look particularly happy with the explanation either. She is obviously hiding something, he knows. 

Honestly he doesn’t really mind because seriously, he’s on cloud nine right now. He’s just happy that Heiji and Kazuha together because it’s about goddamn time. He glances back at the curtains.

Wait a second… He takes a moment to consider the layout of Heiji’s house, which he has frequented a couple of times before. He’s always slept in Heiji’s room whenever he comes to stay, and he’s never been in this guest room before. But if his visualization is right, then this guest room is located right across from Heiji’s, despite the open garden situated in the middle of the two.

Could it be that both Sonoko and Ran found out about them too? Is that why Ran is looking for him?

He can’t deny that he and Ran are so incredibly invested in those two idiots of their best friends. They make it a point to bend over backwards just to get those two to admit their feelings for each other already, for everyone’s sanity.

Whenever Kazuha calls to update Ran about anything that has to do with her love life, Ran always tells him everything. Whether it be Heiji’s erratic behavior (like how he has been staring at her more and more lately, she’s afraid there’s something growing on her face) or the sudden but sort-of-gradual change in his way of speaking (his teasing has been lacking any actual venom lately) or any trips they’re going to go on (Kazuha says she doesn’t even demand to tag along when he goes to cases anymore because he’s always inviting her to go to different places almost every weekend, as she points out to Ran one time. She’s wondering if she’s done something to piss him off and this is his new method of revenge, by completely tiring her out every weekend).

Seriously, he and Ran both agree that Kazuha is just as dense as Heiji, if not more. There’s nothing the two of them want more than to see both their best friends finally getting their shit together. 

Sonoko eyes him suspiciously and asks, “Do you know something we should know?” She moves forwards in that almost cat-like way she does when she wants to intimidate; Shinichi backs away from her.

“You do, don’t you?” she says threateningly, and though he stays silent, suddenly very clear that he does, in fact, know something. The question is whether that something is the same something that she and Ran know. “Shinichi!” says Sonoko warningly, “What do you know?”

Shinichi shakes his head. It’s not that he wants to keep the news from Sonoko, it’s just… he wants to tell Ran first. As Heiji and Kazuha’s respective cupids, both he and Ran have every right to be the first people to know. 

“What do you know?” he counters, looking accusingly at her.

“Oh we can’t tell you,” says Sonoko sweetly, “But if you already knew…”

“We?” Shinichi echoes. His suspicion is most likely correct, that both Ran and Sonoko knows. He is disappointed, to say the least. He’s very excited to tell Ran about what just happened, what he just saw: that his idiot of a best friend is finally making progress and they are finally kissing.

Well, he didn’t exactly see Kazuha in the room. But the sight of Heiji, with his disheveled hair and equally disheveled unbuttoned shirt, sporting a swollen and redder lips than usual (He’s a detective, he’s just naturally observant okay, not that he pays extra attention to his best friend’s kiss swollen lips or anything), not to mention the thick sexual tension that hit his face when he opened the door… He might as well have been sitting in the room and watching them.

“You tell me first,” he says carefully. He has to be cautious, just in case he’s reading Sonoko wrong and what she and Ran want to tell him is of a totally different matter.

“Shinichi!” exclaims Ran as she enters the room, running toward him. “There’s—”

Sonoko ignores her and throws her hands up in the air, exasperated. “I can’t say, because I don’t know that what you know is what we know!” 

The three of them exchange glances, and silence reigns for several seconds, when Sonoko makes a sudden movement and draws her phone from her bag. “Well,” she says, “I think I’ll just call Kazuha-chan and see if—”

“You KNOW!” Shinichi half-shouts, cutting her off.

Sonoko points at him, her eyes as wide as sauce plates. “And YOU know!”

“How did you even find out? Did you see them?” questions Shinichi accusingly.

“Shinichi! Why didn’t you tell me? How long have you known?” Ran asks. Shinichi quickly swivels around to face her.

“Only a few minutes ago!” He bristles when she looks at him skeptically, “You told me to get Kazuha, so I went to look for her in Hattori’s room and I caught them. I came here to tell you THAT!”

“I was looking for you to tell the same thing!!” Ran, in return, is wearing such a huge grin on her face. Her jaw might ache later, but she’s positively over the moon for her friends right now. “Oh my God, Shinichi!”

Hattori finally fucking did it, he finally got his girl! Shinichi so badly wants to scream at Ran, but decides against it because Sonoko is still in the room. Even though they all grew up together Shinichi cannot lose his cool in front of anyone but Ran.. and Heiji, but the dude is his subject of interest right now and is the reason why Shinichi is having a hard time wiping the smirk off his face.

“I’m so glad though! Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun must be really happy!”

Shinichi gives a booming hearty laugh. If they’re happy, he’s more than that—he’s beyond elated. He’s quite literally beaming with exulting pride. The grin he’s wearing now is legitimately plastered on his face, probably for the next few days. “God knows how long Hattori has been wanting to do that.”

“You know, they’re moving awfully fast, for someone who just got together. I thought people only stick with innocent kisses during the first few months of dating.” comments Ran, her index finger tapping repeatedly on her chin. She’s recalling Shinichi and her first few months together, what they had and had not done. The first time Shinichi even did a proper kiss, longer and deeper than a peck, was nearly a year into their relationship. Thinking that brings a slight blush to her face. 

“Yeah well, not everyone is as shy and as slow as you two,” Sonoko is quick to point out. “But I’m also quite surprised. I didn’t know Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan are that bold. They’re in his house, for Heaven’s Sake!”

“His mother is probably as happy as all of us are to find out that they’re finally together. I think she even has their wedding planned since they were babies. But what if his father sees them?” asks Ran, voicing her newly found concern. 

They’re all sat together on the floor, facing the closed curtains in a morbidly curious sort of way. 

“Wait, by doing stuff you mean…” Shinichi trails off when he sees Sonoko and Ran both nod, the latter looking quite red in the face. Damn. He’s lost count of how many times he’s been helping and trying to get them to be together already. Heiji’s progress in asking Kazuha out was extremely slow, but he’s making up for his lost time, lightning fast.

“So they probably know that you know,” says Sonoko, and Shinichi nods again, “But obviously, they don’t know that we know.”

“Let’s just tell them that we already know,” Ran suggests after several seconds of silence, “I’m just really happy that they’re finally, finally, finally together.”

“Or…” says Sonoko slowly, and they turn to look at her. She grins and fans her face—whatever she’s thinking can’t be good.

“What are you suggesting?” asks Shinichi, looking at her warily.

“I’m just thinking that maybe we can mess with them for a little bit. They think they’re so sleek, keeping this from us.” Sonoko replies, and she looks positively gleeful.

“We have the upper hand for now, because they don’t know that we know.”

[raifuujin]

If you had to describe briefly the way the boys approach romance, how would it go? And who do you think is more "marriage material" to least?

I assume you’re meaning more in a headcanon way, and not purely based on what we see for the canon couples.... Most of my thoughts are on the ‘if we look at canon’ way type of thinking, though.

Hakuba is too flirty, in my opinion. I can’t feel that he’s serious about any girls he’s shown any interest in, and while I’m sure he’d be good at courting, I can’t imagine him actually settling down with someone in a nicely romantic way. Might be because he’s so work focused, and seems polite to every woman he meets. I still have hopes for Akako, since she at least makes him flustered and he hasn’t really approached her in canon. Just the phone call from the last chapters. Different enough, but I still feel like Hakuba is more experienced with casual dating than with having romantic feelings. It could go fine, but there’s every chance him dating someone would feel fake from how practiced he is in the beginning.

Kaito isn’t forward in being a romantic. He’s more the subtle caring type, not fully invested in romantic acts unless they’re wanted. After all, his idea of cheering up Aoko is making her mad to get her mind of of whatever is bothering her. He might be sweet occasionally, but more often, he’ll just keep spirits up and make sure the other is okay. When he’s serious about someone, he doesn’t make many grand gestures. (That would put too much attention on him at that point, and praise and admiration at that point would make him self-conscious. Praising skills is one thing, praise for how sweet he is would be another.) Would be cute, but good luck getting him to actually progress a relationship.

Heiji... is impulsive, as per usual. Oblivious to his feelings until he admit they’re there, and then he can’t keep them held back at all. So, he doesn’t really approach romance at all. He’s more the type who’s too much an open book and couldn’t hold back how he felt. The only reason he hasn’t said anything to Kazuha yet is because he feels a need to outdo Shinichi, which isn’t a romantic idea so much as a competitive one. (So in a way I could see him being too romantic. Boy can’t do subtle well at all, he’s just lucky his current romantic interest is also a little dense with romantic feelings aimed at her.) Could come on too strong.

Shinichi is by far the one who has his act together. He knows there’s a time and a place for everything, and he’s gained a sense of awareness for when to not get involved in possible cases. He makes both subtle and more noticeable romantic gestures. If he were fully serious about someone, he’s the type who’s the most loyal and most likely to settle into a defined long-term relationship. So, would also be the most normal, in a way. It’d either be short (if there’s no actual romance blooming), or it’d last a long time. Shinichi isn’t the type who could date casually, he’d prefer developing a relationship if he’s truly dating. (Not as permanent choosing as, say, Makoto, who isn’t the type to date unless he’s already made up his mind. Shinichi would be willing to look, but just one at a time and not entirely casually.)

Marriage material:

1) Shinichi is best marriage material, he picked up the better habits of his parents when it comes to romance, and it’d be a nice give and take in a relationship. No one side relying on the other, so could enjoy each other’s company and work with each other to make a nicely stable life.

2) Mmm.... maybe... Hakuba. I don’t think he’d be the best at building a relationship, but if we’re assuming he actually got married, he seems like the type who’d want to be a good husband. Would be the official head of the house, but still likely to listen and provide for his SO. Just also might get distracted if he gets too busy, and he’s the type to travel somewhere on short notice.

3) Heiji falls under Hakuba mostly because of his impulsiveness. It’d win points in being romantic, because clear about having strong feelings for someone, but getting settled into a married life would get slightly more trouble. Since he’s the type who doesn’t entirely think of consequences or future when it comes to making a quick decision. Or more to say, Heiji’s not quite as careful as the other detectives. He’s more likely to make enemies and create problems, even if they’d also get resolved quickly. (I’d be surprised Heizo doesn’t have more enemies, with his nickname, but then again both his wife and son can kick butt, so. Family as a whole feels like it’d be older Japanese style of life that isn’t entirely peaceful, but works well enough.)

4) Kaito is a mess when it comes to his emotions, and I don’t wish the work that would go into maintaining a healthy marriage with him on anyone. He’s easy to work with on the surface, independent, social, good with kids. But he’s childish, stubborn, is firm when his mind is made up even on stupid decisions, and comes with a lot of baggage. Not least of which would be the fact that whoever is with him would have to deal with a possibility that he could be arrested. Even if Kaito were done being a thief by that time, he might not be entirely off the hook. And his father’s past is what started the mess, his own might be even worse if it came back to bite him. Would be nice and conscientious, but Kaito is the biggest risk when it comes to marriage, and it the most likely to hide things from his SO and go behind their back if he feels things need to be done like that. Could be stable, but the chances of that are slim. Can’t be worse than his parents, though. Probably.

[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.

[kitanoko]

Can I get a jealous Izuku izuocha fanfic? 030 (that's bad wording lol)

   Note: Wow, 3 fics in 3 days HAHA, I’m in love with writing these so thanks for the ask and also for being so supportive! Yay, Eri and Kaibara Sen (Class B guy) play a role in this story. The wiki had no info on Kaibara’s quirk; it just mentions that he does some swirling thing. Also was inspired by a scene from Heiji x Kazuha from Conan. Happy Reading!

In which Midoriya goes undercover 

“Just check out the bridge, Midoriya,” Todoroki uttered intothe phone, “Iida and I will split up and check out the stations.”

“Got it,” the green haired boy replied as he stepped to theside a bit, eyes lingering on the next location, “I’m a few steps away so I’llsee if there’s anything. I’ll give you a call if he turns up.”

“Thanks. Be careful out there.”

Beep.

Midoriya hung up without looking and stuffed his phone intohis back pocket. If experience had taught him anything (other than not tounderestimate your enemy), Midoriya knew that it’s always best to wear adisguise before heading to a drug deal.

Todoroki, Iida and Midoriya were assigned by their agenciesto check out various locations where an infamous yakuza gang were doing theirdrug exchange. It had been a few years since he, Mirio and the otherssuccessfully rescued Eri and despite having minor panic attacks once in awhile, Eri had decided to work for Midoriya in order to contribute herknowledge on gang raids and their functions. It lifted Midoriya’s spirits tothink how impressive it was for Eri to have grown this much since the incident.

Pulling down his baseball cap and zipping up his navy bluewindbreaker, Midoriya slogged through the busy, wet streets of Kamino andstopped at the west side of the bridge. According to Eri, yakuza members wouldusually send a young guy whose appearance isn’t anything conspicuous to do thetrade. Optimal time should be around 6 o’clock where everyone’s rushing backhome from work too. Midoriya lifted his arm to glance at his bulky sportswatch. 5:30 p.m, it read, meaning anything could happen within the next hour.

Hopefully Eri’s right and they didn’t miss it.

As he watched one of the ducks swim across the river belowwhere he stood, he rested his arms on the railings and held his chin in hishand. Such trifling scenery was to be admired often. Particularly for heroeswhose lives and reputation were always at stake. Midoriya knew his career wasnot all glorious even for an optimistic guy like him, and finding work-life balancewas challenging.

At the corner of his eye, a slender girl wearing a brightorange off-the-shoulder dress appeared within his range of view and he turned hishead slightly, still resting on his palm. He looked at the girl, round-eyed.

It was Uraraka, and she wasn’t alone.

“Kaibara-kun,” Uraraka said, standing too close to the boyin front of her in Midoriya’s opinion, “How’ve you been?”

Kaibara was a dark-haired boy from Class B, Midoriyaremembered, and the way he portrayed himself to Uraraka made his head steam.Since both of them had a busy schedule, Midoriya and Uraraka had been hangingout with one another only on the rare occasion that their old classmates would meet up.It’s unfortunate, but being the best of the best was everyone’s priority so noone had the courage or the time to focus on their love lives. Midoriya groanedto himself, his eyes peeled at the pair a few meters away from him. Should he say hi? Midoriya pondered butfought against it. He had a mission. This was not the time to be doing anythingother than his duty as a hero.

However, it was quite odd as to why Uraraka hasn’t noticedhim at all. Given their somewhat close proximity, he would have expected her toat least do a wave. The green-haired boy shook his head from side to side, attemptingto clear his mind completely but failed.

And so he continuedto observe from afar.

“I bought the tickets,” Kaibara spoke as he stuck his handsin his jacket, “see?” He pulled out two pieces of wrinkled paper and Midoriyaassumed they were the tickets, “Beauty and the Beast, you said you wanted towatch it.”

Uraraka’s face brightened, “yeah! I can’t believe you remembered!”She had the voice of an angel and the face of a princess, but Midoriya wishedit was directed at him instead. The boy’s fists clenched watching those two andhe cursed under his breath. Why would they need to watch the movie when Kaibaracould easily be the beast?!

Midoriya grunted. Kaibara’s presence was cringe-worthy, andhis ass was clearly asking for a beating. Suddenly, to his right, a man holdinga bouquet of roses stopped right between Midoriya and the pair, distracting theone-for-all hero from his pensive gaze. The green-haired boy turned around andtook a few steps back, eyes still locked onto Uraraka and felt a vibration.

“Hello?” Midoriya picked up his phone and began to talksoftly, “It’s cool over here. How about you guys?”

Todoroki’s voice was stern, “Nothing over here, Eri messagedand said it’s most likely gonna be at the bridge. Keep your eyes opened.”

“Ah alrig—“ Midoriya froze without warning and stared withhis mouth wide open. Was Kaibara holdingonto Uraraka’s waist? And she seems to be totally fine with it? Impedinghimself from yelling right then, he noticed the two were positioned like peasin a pod. He exhaled to keep composed.

It’s fine. They’refriends, he tried to convince himself, yet he couldn’t drag his focus away. Patience is virtue. Patience is —

“Wait a minute, Todoroki.”

 Without letting go ofthe phone, his arms swung fervently back and forth as he pushed a stranger, whowas receiving the bouquet from the previous man, away. He stomped right throughthat couple and pulled heavily on Kaibara’s jacket, receiving a stupefied lookfrom the latter.

The next sounds that came from Midoriya’s side of the phoneto Todoroki’s was a cry of anguish.

“Midoriya, what’shappening?“ Todoroki inquired as he felt himself sweating from the disturbance.Was Midoriya engaging the yakuza now?

“Whatare you doing to my Uraraka?!” Midoriya yelled as bystanders formed asemi-circle to watch, pointing and whispering.

Uraraka innately grasped onto Midoriya’s arm, causing theboy to drop his phone, “Deku-kun, what are you doing? Let go of Kaibara-kunnow!”

“Midoriya, could you still hear me? I’m heading over rightnow!” Todoroki was still yelling into the phone and Uraraka’s eyebrows lookedas if they were knitted together in annoyance.

With a quick push, Kaibara pried himself out of Midoriya’sfierce restraint, the former taking the heated accusation in stride. There wassomething else Kaibara seemed to be focused on at the moment and as quick as abullet, Kaibara turned to face the other way.

Midoriya darted his eyes towards the same direction andrealized that the couple that were beside them were now running off. The crowdseemed to be in a panic as the bridge began to rumble all of a sudden.  Crap,Midoriya muttered to himself, so it wasthem all along!

“Uraraka,” Kaibara cried out, readying his quirk, “stand infront of me, without my quirk we can’t catch up to them!”

Uraraka nodded quickly, pulling Midoriya behind her in oneswift movement as the concrete bridge swayed back at forth. Must be the villain’s powers. Midoriyaknew he compromised their mission, and his heart paced, feeling as though avoid had swallowed him whole.

Kaibara motioned hisfingers with ease and let out a small puff of air from his mouth. Withinseconds, the puff of air became a torrent and a giant tornado shot out, liftingUraraka forward in a blink of an eye. Uraraka elongated her arms, timingperfectly as she reached the villains and their shocked faces were the lastthing she saw as both of them started to levitate into the air. Writhing theirarms and legs, the villain’s bouquet slipped out of their grasp and soon, whatassumed to be bags of quirk enhancing drugs floated out of the tissue wrappingof the roses. The gravity heroine detained them with handcuffs and within minutes a teamof policemen came.

Uraraka huffed and wiped a sweat off her forehead as Kaibaraand Midoriya ran towards her.

“Excellent job!” Kaibara lifted his palm up and they did ahigh-five in victory. Midoriya’s gaze fixated on her in disappointment.

“I’m so sorry,” Midoriya let out and Uraraka stifled agiggle.

“I can’t believe you thought we were dating! I’ve never seenyou so…irrational before!” Uraraka playfully punched Midoriya and Kaibara beganto laugh as well.

“I’d suggest you don’t let your boss find out that yourcover got blown because of jealousy though,” Kaibara said, looking at theembarrassed expression on Midoriya’s face.

Uraraka sighed, “Our agency was also on this case, so Kaibara-kun and I were undercover. But we weren’t allowed to tell you Deku-kun.” She scratched her cheek gingerly and ablush appeared on her face, “What was it that you said again? Something aboutme being yours?”

Kaibara smirked and walked away from the two, allowing themprivacy.

“I didn’t say that!” Midoriya denied. Abruptly, the eeriesound of his own voice appeared behind him. Turning on his heel, Todoroki stoodthere, one hand on a button of his phone and the other ensconced in his frontpocket.

“What are you doing to my Uraraka—what are you doing tomy—what are you—“ Todoroki kept pressing ‘rewind’ and ‘play’ one after theother on his phone, and thwarted his phone away from getting seized by aperturbed Midoriya as the green-haired boy headed to him.

Todoroki had an uncanny knack for irritating others withouttwitching a muscle.

Hearing the awkward replay of Midoriya’s inadvertentconfession, Uraraka greeted Todoroki with a wave of her hand. Her actions wereflustered, and she began to occupy herself with the police team.

“Ugh, you’re ruthless,” Midoriya groaned, “tell me you’lldelete that from your phone.”

“Nope,” Todoroki said, uncaring, “I want to show Iida. Andprobably Yaoyorozu too. And your mom.”

“….Todoroki, you better not…”

Uraraka shifted her eyes over to the two boys as thepolicemen drove away and her lips tugged upwards toward Midoriya, who wouldalways be displaying his protective side for her sake.

She’s going to confronthim about today for sure. But right now, she needed to concentrate on the responsibilitiesthat await behind the closed doors of her office.

[setsunameioh]

body swap au + heikazu

ah yes, body swaps, one of my favorite tropes. this ended up being pretty open ended, but I might revisit it in the future since there’s just so much potential for funny hijinks with this!

Also you can read this on AO3.

He knew something was wrong from the very moment he woke up.

He’d spent enough time over at Kazuha’s place growing up to have virtually memorized what her bedroom ceiling looked like- even the fresh coat of paint it had gotten since he visited last wasn’t enough to fool him. He also knew that unless he’d picked up one hell of a sleepwalking habit without knowing, that he had no business being in Kazuha’s room first thing in the morning, much less any business being in Kazuha’s bed.

For one thing, if Kazuha woke up to find him lying next to her, no amount of excuses would keep him from being a dead man, which he wasn’t. Though judging from the current circumstances, it seemed as if he might not have quite escaped such a fate just yet.

Because that? That definitely was not his hand.

Even as a phone started ringing on the nightstand- Kazuha’s ringtone, he knew it well- Heiji could only grumble, wanting nothing more than to close his eyes and go back to sleep. This very well could still be some kind of weird dream, even though all of his senses were informing him that probably wasn’t the case, however bizarre the situation he’d landed himself in was. He was half tempted to do just that, keen on pulling up the covers to drown out the sound of the phone, before he slowly realized that not only was that Kazuha’s ringtone, but it was also the ringtone that she had set for him.

And since he sure as hell wasn’t anywhere remotely close to his own cellphone at the moment, that left only one option.

Groaning to himself, mentally noting that that was definitely not his own voice, Heiji reached out an all too pale hand, picking up Kazuha’s cellphone and finally answering the call. The person on the other end of the line piped up before he even so much as had a chance to say anything.

“Ya finally picked up, Heiji!”

That, on the other hand, was very much his voice.

“How long were ya plannin’ on sleepin’ when there’s an emergency like this, ya idiot!?”

Groaning again, Heiji let his head fall back on the pillow- or he supposed in truth, it wasn’t so much his own head, as it was Kazuha’s. It was probably a good thing he was still half asleep, since hearing the sound of his own voice yelling at him from the other end of the line would have been too much to process all at once.

“I just woke up, give me a break, Kazuha.” Mentally noting that it was with Kazuha’s voice that he spoke now, Heiji groaned, forcing himself up into a sitting position. The lure of the pillow was too tempting, and unlike himself, Kazuha was not really a morning person. “What if one of my parents overhears ya screamin’?”

“Ya sound like yer takin’ this development well, Heiji.” Kazuha noted, with an incredulous tone that sounded downright out of place on his own voice. “Fer all we know, we might be stuck like this, so ya’d think ya would try an’ panic a bit more here.”

“I’m still half asleep, that’s why.” Heiji told her, swinging his feet out of her bed. “I’ll panic more when I’m a bit more awake. When did ya go ta sleep last night anyways, Kazuha? I’m wiped.”

“A little past one. I was busy with somethin’.” Kazuha recounted for him, before she quickly recalled the far more important subject at hand. “More importantly, don’t ya dare touch anythin’ until I get over there, Heiji! I’ll be comin’ right away!”

“Ya plannin’ on bringin’ me over here in my pajamas? I wouldn’t mind, but I don’t know how ya’d feel, paradin’ down the street in nothin’ but a tank top and some boxer shorts.” Heiji pointed out, letting out a loud yawn. Usually he’d already be wide awake at this point- no wonder Kazuha was so much more hyped up about this than he was.

As sunlight caught on the mirror that had been set on the closet door in front of the bed, Heiji turned his attention towards it. Though he had already pretty much confirmed it, seeing Kazuha’s reflection stare back at him was overall, very strange. Sticking out his tongue, and watching the Kazuha reflected in the mirror make the same expression, Heiji let out a long sigh.

Suffice to say, this was not how he had been planning on starting the day.

“…I’ll change.” The sound of his own voice almost meekly muttering those words was strange to his ears, to the point where he was almost glad when it’s current owner snapped at him again. “I’ll change, so don’t ya dare touch a thing till I get over there, ya understand, Heiji?! Not a thing!”

“I get it, I get it.” Reaching up a hand, Heiji used his free hand to rub the back of his neck, still glowering at the reflection the mirror was showing him. It was an expression entirely unsuited to Kazuha’s face, but like hell he was going to stop making it. “Put some faith into me, ya idiot.”

“Don’t forget it!”

With that, the other end of the line went dead, leaving Heiji to stare at the phone in his hands. Kazuha’s phone, in Kazuha’s hands. There was no way he could ever mistake them for those of his own- skin color aside, the long, slender fingers were very much not things that belonged to him. Not to mention the lack of the calluses he’d gained from years of kendo practice, not to mention the missing scar on his right hand.

Kazuha’s hands, Kazuha’s face, Kazuha’s body.

“What the hell kinda joke is this?” Leaning his head back against the headboard of Kazuha’s bed, Heiji closed his eyes, hoping that maybe when he opened them again, he’d wake up from this strange dream. He still couldn’t even begin to imagine how something like this had happened- had he set off some kind of weird flag somewhere?

But well… he guessed if it were possible for someone his own age to turn back into a child, then switching bodies with your own childhood friend maybe wasn’t such a stretch.

It was that thought that had him snapping his eyes open, all but jolting awake all at once. If Kudo tried calling him now, not knowing that the person on the other end of the line wasn’t him, then…

Crap.

He had to do something about this fast, or he was going to end up blowing a lot more this week than just his confession. And if he couldn’t find a way to fix this, then he might have no choice but to warn Kudo about what had happened, before he went and blew his own secret without knowing it.

Which meant…

Catching another glimpse of Kazuha’s face in the mirror, Heiji could only heave a long, exasperated sigh, hoping that he would be able to find a solution to this matter quickly. Because he’d really rather avoid having to deal with what he was almost certain his rival’s reaction would be- provided he could even manage to convince him that he was telling the truth.

But there was no point in worrying about that just yet. For all he knew, all they needed to do to fix the problem was bash their heads together, or maybe fall down a flight of stairs or something. That was how it always worked in this kind of story, right? It might even be over in the span of a day, and by the time they woke up tomorrow, they would be back to normal.

Spending one day as each other probably wouldn’t be that bad. That would only be for one day though- if this stretched out beyond that, well…

Well, even if it did, he’d figure it out. While the body he was currently inside was not that of his own, it didn’t make him any less of a detective. There was no point in throwing in the towel without first trying, and as much as he was in love with her, he really had no desire to spend the rest of his life as Kazuha.

And while she might have been using his voice, it wasn’t that hard to tell that Kazuha probably felt exactly the same way.

It wasn’t going to go away on it’s own.

Nearly four days had passed since the two had woken up in the other’s body, and though they had tried various methods to switch back, nothing had come of it other than bumped heads and bruised knees. Nor had they, at any point in time, woken back up in the correct body. As such, as the fourth morning of their swap began, it looked as if they needed to start preparing to be in this for the long haul.

Which included deciding who to tell, and who to keep it a secret from.

“No. No, no, no. There’s no way we’re tellin’ him.” Narrowing his eyes, Heiji could only glower up at his own face, for once finding himself grumbling about how needlessly tall he was. Fat lot of good it did him when he wasn’t the one in there. “We’re not tellin’ yer old man either. He’s definitely goin’ ta try an’ kill me if he knows!”

“It won’t be that bad, Heiji.” Kazuha tried to convince him, her words sounding strange when spoken with his own voice, though she’d gotten somewhat used to it coming out when she spoke. “Besides, do ya really think we can keep it from them forever?”

They were already suspicious enough as it was already- their efforts in trying to keep everything under wraps were already starting to wear thin.

“Yes.” The answer was quick and blunt, even if he wasn’t fully convinced of it. If his father were to find out about something like this… he didn’t even want to know what that old man’s reaction would be. “Tellin’ our moms is one thing, but our dads don’t need ta know!”

Somehow, Kazuha’s glower was even more impressive than that of his own, Heiji couldn’t help but mentally note. Still, in the end, she let out a long sigh, placing her hands on her hips- or rather, those that would have been his own. “Alright, alright. Fer now, we won’t tell them. But they’re goin’ ta get suspicious eventually Heiji, especially if ya keep carryin’ on the way ya are now.”

“What do ya mean?” A tight frown setting itself on what was his face for the moment, Heiji returned Kazuha’s glower, to the best of his ability. “I think I’ve been doin’ pretty well, all thing considered!”

“It’s that, it’s that!” Heaving another sigh, Kazuha placed a hand on her head, feeling a vague headache coming on. “Ya make a lousy girl, Heiji. Fer starters, I don’t refer ta myself usin’ ore. If ya don’t cut that out soon, then people are goin’ ta start thinkin’ I’m weird! Not ta mention the way ya sit, an’ yer body language… it’s all a mess!”

“Well sorry!” Folding his arms in front of his chest, he froze for a moment, still not having quite gotten to the point where he could fully process the softness they backed up against. “In case ya haven’t noticed, I’m a guy. I’ve heard ya use atashi sometimes too, ya know.”

“Well right now, yer me, so ya’d better try a little harder ta act like it.” Kazuha pointed out. “Ya’ve got a point there though, I’ll admit that, but I haven’t slipped up half as much as ya have.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll try harder.” At the glower he caught from Kazuha then, he could only flinch, realizing that he had made another mistake. Letting out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping, his gaze flickered away from her, a hint of red on his cheeks. “…I’ll try harder.”

“That’s more like it!” With a bright smile on what would be his own face that was definitely that of Kazuha’s own, she nodded her head. “Now then, are ya sure about tellin’ Ran-chan an’ Conan-kun? I’m okay with it, but ya seemed awfully insistent about it earlier. Why?”

“Ah, well…” Starting at the question, now averting his eyes from her for real, Heiji could only sweat. “T-that’s because of Neechan, ya know! If she thinks I’m you an’ does somethin’ around me that she might regret, there might be problems right? I don’t want ta put her in an embarrassin’ situation, an’ it’s not like we can just cut contact with them!”

There was no way he could tell her the real reason.

Something was fishy here, Kazuha couldn’t help but think, watching what would have been her own face take on a flustered expression at the question. It was one that she knew well on Heiji’s own face, but when the one wearing it was her, she couldn’t help but feel strangely embarrassed.

Still, well… he did have a point.

“Then, we’ll tell ‘em this weekend, when we heard up there.” Kazuha said finally. “Fer all we know, things might have sorted themselves out by then.”

“Let’s hope.” Heiji said, unable to help but grin. “It kind of feels like we took bein’ handcuffed ta each other ta a whole new level.”

Unable to help herself, Kazuha let out a loud snort.

He laughed.

Bust a gut, really.

Convincing him hadn’t been that easy, but once he had, he’d burst out into a fit of laughter so loud, that it had very quickly startled him. He could only hope that things were going a bit easier over on Kazuha’s side, since they had decided to divide and conquer when it came to telling them.

Still though, this damn guy… was it really that funny?!

“What are ya laughin’ so much fer, Kudo?!” His displeasure came out all the sharper with Kazuha’s voice, and for once, he almost enjoyed having it. “This is a serious situation!”

“Sorry, sorry, it’s just…” Somehow managing to catch his breath and gasp out some words besides that, Conan had to bite down on his tongue to keep from laughing again the moment his eyes met with the green of Kazuha’s. “You’re Hattori.”

While there was still no small part of him that was reeling at the implications of this, even that part of himself couldn’t deny that the situation was kind of hilarious. There was no way it was a lie, either- if it were, then not only had Heiji blurted out his secret to Kazuha at some point, but she was also one hell of an actress. Granted, he couldn’t even begin to fathom how something like swapping bodies was even possible, but he guessed in that regard, he didn’t have too much of a leg to stand on.

He’d noticed it when they had first walked in the door, that something was wrong with the Osakan duo. It wasn’t just the fact that Heiji had made a beeline for Ran, and that Kazuha had made a beeline for him, but there had been other tells as well- namely that of their body language. If it had been masked somewhat before, it was now on full display- once they were alone together, Heiji had given up on any pretense of pretending to be Kazuha.

The exterior might be that of Toyama Kazuha, but the contents were none other than Hattori Heiji- what a sight!

“If it wasn’t, ya’d have a tough time explaining why yer callin’ me by that name.” Heiji pointed out, quirking a brow. “Ya done laughin’ at me already, Kudo? An’ here I thought ya might want ta help, seein’ as Kazuha an’ I have been like this fer darn near a week now.”

“C'mon, you have to admit, it’s a little funny.” Conan told him, finally drawing in a much needed long breath, steadying himself a little. “But you’re right, sorry. It’s already been a week?”

“Yeah.” Letting out a long sigh, Heiji rubbed the back of his neck, an irritated expression still lingering on his face. He knew that Kudo was going to react that way, the asshole- and it would seem that his expectations had not failed him. “We just woke up like this back on last Saturday. We’ve been managin’ ta make do somehow since then, but let me tell ya Kudo, it isn’t easy!”

By the time they had broken the news to their mothers, it would seem that they had already pretty much figured them out. It was a damn near miracle that nobody else had done the same.

“An’ besides, ya should be at least a little grateful ta me.” Heiji told him, narrowing his eyes. “Kazuha’s the one with my phone right now, so just imagine if ya called her, an’ started goin’ on about Hattori this, Hattori that. Yer cover would have been blown right away!”

Freezing for a moment, as if he hadn’t considered that, Conan could only feel a great sense of relief that he had in fact, not called Heiji during the duration of the past week. He’d certainly come close to it, and could only be grateful that various circumstances had ended up preventing it.

“W-well, usually one wouldn’t think something like body swapping was possible, right?” Conan finally piped up, already mentally kicking himself as the line came out of his mouth, since he already knew what Heiji’s retort would be.

“I don’t want ta hear that from mister sixteen goin’ on six.” Somehow it sounded all the more biting when spoken with Kazuha’s voice, Conan noted. “Well, I guess this puts us both in weird situations though.”

“Fair point.” Conan admitted, deciding to bite back a comment that Heiji’s situation was arguably the weirder. “And? How are you holding up, Hattori?”

“It could be worse, I guess.” Heiji admitted with a shrug. “At least it’s Kazuha. Cause lemme tell ya Kudo, as it turns out, bein’ a girl is a right pain in the ass. Not ta mention that I haven’t even figured out how this happened ta us in the first place, so as far as fixin’ us goes, I don’t even know where ta start.”

“That would complicate things.” Conan noted, finding himself carefully studying the person before him. Toyama Kazuha’s body and Hattori Heiji’s body language were a strange mix, and now that he had calmed down a little, it was starting to bug him. “That’s… really you in there, huh, Hattori?”

“What, the reality just finally sinkin’ into ya after all that laughing from before?” Heiji asked, before letting out another long sigh, kneeling down in front of him. “I might look real cute right now, but I can assure ya, inside I’m still the same Hattori Heiji as I ever was.”

“Cute, huh?” Conan asked, arching his brows, before he let out a small snort. “So? What do you plan on doing about this? From the sound of it, it doesn’t seem like this is going to wear off on it’s own.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.” Heiji mused, letting out a long sigh. Resting his elbow on his knee, he leaned his chin into his hand, wondering if he’d get used to how soft they felt sooner or later. It sounded like such a cliche, but really, everything kind of felt soft. “If I can’t find a way ta fix this, I don’t know what I’ll do. I said I wanted ta be with Kazuha forever, not live as her.”

“I guess confessing to her is off the table for the moment, huh?” Conan couldn’t help but ask, almost half regretting the question the moment Heiji fixed a glower on him.

“Yer damn right it is.” Heiji told him flatly. “There’s no way I could do somethin’ like that now. Not when I’m her, an’ well… she’s me.”

As one would expect, not only did Ran have an easier time believing it, but her reaction involved no laughter whatsoever. She had been rather curious when Heiji had pulled her aside that morning, seeing as he usually made a beeline for Conan whenever he came to visit, but as soon as it was explained to her, she quickly understood why it was that things had seemed so off this time around.

“K-Kazuha-chan? That’s really you, Kazuha-chan?”

“It’s me.” Giving her what she could only hope was her best imitation of her own smile- Heiji’s mouth seemed rather predisposed to set itself in his signature grin, whether she wanted it to or not, Kazuha let out a slight breath. “Right now, Heiji should be tellin’ Conan-kun more or less the same thing. Still don’t see why we couldn’t do it together, though.”

He had seemed rather insistent on that as well, come to think of it. He could be a weird guy sometimes, that Heiji. Thinking of that only made her grumble, though she managed to keep that internal- she didn’t want Ran to think she was mad at her, or anything. She didn’t know if she was more annoyed that all of that eccentricity was packed into her body now, or because she was the one who was going to have to try and imitate him, but either way, neither thought pleased her.

“But how did…?” Trailing off a little, Ran quickly shook her head, rethinking her question. “Are you okay, Kazuha-chan? I mean, you’re…”

“In a guy’s body?” Kazuha finished for her, shrugging her shoulders. “I mean, at the very least it’s Heiji’s, so it could be worse. It’s definitely a weird feelin’ though. Hearin’ his voice whenever I try an’ say anythin’ is the probably worst of it, though I’m gettin’ used ta it.”

“Ah, that’s true.” Ran mused. “I wouldn’t like it either, but if it was with Shinichi…” Trailing off there a little, Ran felt her cheeks heat up a bit, quickly coughing into her hand to try and cover it up. It was too late though- it was obvious that Kazuha had already caught where her mind went to, she could tell that much in her eyes.

Though seeing as said eyes actually belonged to Heiji, seeing that familiar glint reflected back in them was somewhat awkward. Even if it did serve to help her recognize her friend a bit better within his body. She believed her, of course, there was no reason not to, but in truth, she was still having a bit of trouble fully grasping it.

“Don’t act like you haven’t.” Ran huffed, half averting her gaze from her. “I know you well enough to know that.”

“Ah, well that…” Letting out a nervous laugh, Kazuha could only tuck her hands into her pockets, suddenly not sure of what to do with them. “I might have, just a little. But the guy walks around half naked so often anyways, it wasn’t like there was that much ta be left ta the imagination!”

Besides, she was pretty sure Heiji had done the same to her, as much as she had warned him against it. If that was how it was going to be, then two could play at that game!

“Eh? Hattori-kun does things like that?” Ran asked, before pausing, considering her own words. “I guess that would explain that one time a bit.”

“One time?” Blinking a little, her words more than piquing her curiosity. “What do ya mean by that one time?”

“Ah, that one time on the boat, you know.” Ran said almost absently, before she realized that she was not actually speaking to the real Heiji, and therefore, the person inside might have no idea what she meant. “When he fell into the ocean. He was complaining about how he had to take off all of his clothes aside from his boxer shorts, and just kind of showed them to me, probably without thinking.”

“He did, did he?” Heaving a long sigh, Kazuha folded her arms in front of her chest, shaking her head. “Sorry about that, Ran-chan. Though I’m guessin’ if it was Kudo-kun who’d done it, ya wouldn’t be havin’ any complaints, would ya?”

“Geez, don’t tease me!” Ran protested, puffing out her cheeks. “But you’re right.”

“See, I knew it!” A bright grin on her face, Kazuha nodded her head. There was some part of her that was aware how strange this looked when her exterior was that of Heiji, but well… at the very least, around Ran, she wanted to be able to act a bit like her usual self. She wasn’t able to as often as she liked anymore, and while the same could be said for Heiji, she had put in a fair bit more effort than him at it.

Trying to pretend to be Heiji around those they hadn’t told could be rather exhausting, especially when she had to cover for him on top of everything else. Though he had promised to be a little more careful about not making obvious mistakes, Heiji was Heiji, even when he wasn’t, and he always was the type for whom old habits died hard.

Letting out a faint laugh, Ran could only smile. The outside might be different, which was a bit awkward, but inside, it was the same Kazuha as always. Still, that said, this was going to take a bit of getting used to.

“But what are you going to do, Kazuha-chan?” Ran asked, quickly getting them a bit back on topic. “You said that it’s already been a week, right?”

“Yeah, more or less.” Kazuha told her, shrugging her shoulders. “The worst part is tryin’ ta pretend that I’m actually this idiot, especially when I have ta clean up his own messes left an’ right. He doesn’t even make a convincin’ girl, much less a convincin’ me. At this rate, we’re gonna be exposed in no time.”

“Mm, I guess he wouldn’t.” Ran remarked. “But you’re right, that could cause a few problems in the future. Do you want me to help? Between the two of us, I’m pretty sure we could manage to whip him into shape in no time!”

“Oh, would ya?” Perking up at the offer, Kazuha could only grin. “That would be a big help, Ran-chan!”

“…Are you okay, Hattori?”

“Y-yeah. I just kinda. Got a bit of a chill fer some reason.”

[sunny-mercya]

Hey, Brother do you still believe in one another?

15. Osaka Trip - Survival

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

Fandom -> Detective Conan/Case Closed

Masterlist | Previous / Next |

My friend, I can't wait to see you again

You're my hope, you're my everything

We can fly if you believe in my love!

Getting shot two times in a row—even when the bullets were only grazing your right leg and upper arm and missing its target, burying themselves somewhere else deep into—wasn't fun and never would be to remember.

You stumbled a bit, cursing loudly when the pain flared up, but didn't stop in your running. You didn't even know where to run and hide to, not knowing the area—which looked more than just devastated empty of any civilisation—you're in.

Somehow you ended up in the ruins of a empty school—either elementary or middle school—it didn't matter, right now Conan and you needed a place to hide—to catch some breath and rethink of a new tactic to survive this psychopath.

Picking up on your speed, you run inside—trekking the stairs up to the second floor, kicking open one of the classroom doors and ducked inside.

Leaning against the wall, you pulled out your phone, reading Shinichi's SMS once, twice and a third time again.

Dialling your brother's number, holding the phone against your ear, you waited with bated breath for him to pick up—hoping to hear his steady voice of reassurance again.

„Apologies, this number is currently unreachable, please try again later.“

Biting down onto your lip, you slid the wall down—closing your eyes and taking a deep breath—clutching your (f.colour) flip-phone, with its silly keychains and the few even more silly stickers on it, against your chest.

Nothing had actually changed, hasn't it? How desperate stupid could you any more be—believing, especially in that false—hope crushing and heartache bringing—SMS, that Shinichi would come back at all.

Asshole. Asshole, asshole, asshole—Shinichi is such a fucking asshole.

When you needed Shinichi the most—in a situation where you felt nothing but inner turmoil of being anxious scared—he wasn't there.

At least not when it comes to you, because you're certainly sure that he calls Ran—when she's scared—that's Shinichi's only priority, besides solving cases and being a wannabe detective.

»[Name]......?«

»I can't do this, can't do this......it's pointless.....I'm dumb, so fucking dumb....«

»No [Name], don't give up now! We're gonna–argh!« Conan couldn't finish his sentence, feeling a shock of electricity through his body—being grabbed and thrown to the sides.

When Daiki found you and Conan, he had easy play with you—pushing you onto the floor and kicking you against your already bruised stomach and you were like a helpless doll again.

»Mhm, should have destroyed the damned phone right away when I took you. Now, let's see what made you so defiantly.«

Daiki read the SMS, grinning wickedly as he kicked you in the stomach again when you were about to get up. A scoff left his lips, dropping your phone to the ground and stepping onto it—breaking it in half.

»No!« you shouted, looking at him with wide eyes.

The only message you've gotten from Shinichi—ever since his abrupt disappearance—the only sign of him, that he was still alive—still here, somewhere—and hadn't abandoned you—was now crushed like the last bit of hope left in you.

You glanced at Conan, feeling guilty with what you were about to say next—admitting defeat, for once, freely. Though with what Daiki had said next, brought a wave of anger back.

»Hah! You really believed such trash? Please, we both know that your dear brother is nothing but a liar. Don't fool yourself.«

»Shut up.«

»Huh? Repeat that, I didn't quite hear that, dear.«

»Shut the fuck up! Don't you fucking dare calling Shinichi a liar ever again!«

With an uproar you sprung back up, pushing Daiki with full force into the tables and throwing one or two chairs onto him. Grabbing Conan again, holding him against you, you run out into the hallway—overthinking every route of escape you could take and decided for another drastic move.

Setting Conan down, you pulled off your jacket—putting the jacket then onto Conan, hood over his head—and taken him back into your arms.

»What are you doing [Name]?!«

»It's gonna be okay, just close your eyes and hold on tight.» you hugged Conan closer to you, arms secured around him. Taking a deep breath and then you sprinted towards that one window where you knew was a roof overhang below.

Hah! Sport tournament was nothing against a good old jump—through the second floor window, you thought. Picking up on your speed, ignoring the next grazing bullet against your leg, you jumped—twisting your body in a way that your back collided with the window, sending you crashing down onto the tin roof and pressing the air out of your lungs.

The short moment, in your free fall, of where you had seeing a glimpse of the darkening sky above you—reminds you of what you always would fear, death itself.

And while death itself scares you, even though you had days where you are close to step into the realm of afterlife, the last shimmer of sun-rays brought back a wish of once lost dream.

Getting up, had you no time to regain your breath, smashing the next window and stepped with Conan into the first floor. Another sprint, time was sacred now, searching for another place to hide in.

~~~

Hiding in the girls restroom, was a good decision or at least sounded like one. Sitting Conan onto the counter, you barley took a glance at yourself in the mirror—not wanting to see the brutal truth of ugliness and insecurity in it, which is just a reflection of you.

Rubbing your face and leaning against the counter as well, you let out a tired sigh—breathing heavily as you tried to regulate your breath again.

Your lungs burned, feeling so sandpaper dry—like your voice used to be hours ago—and your body ached from exhaustion. You wanted nothing more than to sleep, god, does sleep sounds so promising—so peaceful.

Fishing out a package of cigarettes, a lighter and two small bottles from the jacket, you lighting one up and took a long drag from the cigarette, letting the burning smoke invade your already heavy lungs—why you had cigarettes packed in the jacket, Conan didn't know and he also didn't knew that you smoked, but that was a question for another time—before taking the cigarette and pressing the tip onto your wounds.

»You know Conan–« you begun, didn't know yourself why you start to feel so nostalgic—so sentimental—and wanting to share a memory—from your childhood, so pure and with so much happiness in it—about Shinichi and you with Conan.

Perhaps it was because time was running out and you wanted to cherish in the past again, once last time.

Or maybe—and that's sounds more likely—it's the mix of morphine and adrenaline you gulped down, seconds ago, in one go—like a shot of vodka—choking on it as the taste was anything but pleasant and taking it on a empty stomach was not good, wanting to vomit up right away—because apparently you still weren't feeling mad-hatter and joker enough.

Whatever it might have been, in this moment it just felt right to share this sacred moment.

»Just mere moments ago, I wanted to give up once more. For final this time.«

»And why didn't you?«

»Besides the asshole insulting my brother? A thunder of thoughts, a flashback, struck me.« you stopped again, smiling at Conan and ruffling through his hair.

And then you told Conan about the most treasured memory you had;

It was during elementary when Digimon had its rookie-start in the TV. Shinichi and I would've watched it everyday and the openings—and few songs in it—had me so awestruck with joy, that Shinichi once begged our parents to buy him a walkman with the tape.

Shinichi didn't wanted any other presents for his birthday, except for this and when they gave in and brought it—Shinichi, proudly and happily grinning, had giving me the walkman.

Telling me—in all seriousness he could muster with his chubby face—that whenever I would start to feel sad again—back then, our parents already knew what started to happen with me, but all Shinichi and I knew was that I was feeling immense sadness and sometimes pain—it was also during the time, where I tried to drown myself in the bathtub for the first time and I will never forget the frightful and worried face of my knightly brother on that day—I should listen to the tape.

Because Shinichi had believed, that when I listened to the tape, the sadness would go away and somehow it did—but not really because of the music itself, but because—and it took me some years to understand—of Shinichi himself, who always acts so selflessly just to make me laugh.

Conan never wanted to tell you so badly, that he's Shinichi—that he's here with you, like how he always promised you and that there's no need to ever be sad again, because your brother is here and everything is gonna be alright.

But Conan couldn't, just couldn't do that. It would brought you more trouble and in danger—making you another target for the Men in Black and being an achilles heel to himself—than you already had.

The truth would cause more harm to yourself and could bring you into, perhaps, final collapse with your fragile mental health—and the thought of you being mad at him, Conan just couldn't stand and wouldn't forgiving himself for it.

»And whenever we've listen to these songs, which I still do nowadays, Shin-Chan would tell that all our dreams and wishes would come true.«

»Did they come true? Your dreams?«

»They did. At least for Shin-chan, who is, besides my wonderful boyfriend of course, the greatest detective of all times«

»And what about you [Name]?«

»Me? Well, I don't think I ever really had something akin to a dream or goal in life. Till now. Meeting Heiji, you, having the people around me which I love so much, make me realise something,«

Taking off your necklace, which had Heiji's promise-ring—and a pendant with Shinichi's and your parents names (and birthstones) engraved on it—looped in and putting it around Conan, tapping his nose.

»Besides me wanting to die on some days, it is worth to live after all. So I'm gonna promise you Conan, here and now, that I won't die tonight and neither will you. We're gonna survive this night and see the sunrise once more.«

And then you told Conan the next steps of your new reforming plan. Telling how you will smash Daiki—even though the fucker deserves a headshot, but Shinichi once said; killing someone out of self-justice, makes you not better than a murder themselves—into the ground and making him regret everything he had done.

Living like you're dying isn't living at all

We are, we are, we are gonna be alright

We got, we got, we always got the fight in us

[meitanteikazuha]

In Reverse: The Twenty Year Old Murderous Intent: The Symphony Serial Murder Case

Hello yes, it’s me again, back with some more Heiji/Kazuha roleswap fic. Please enjoy! If you want to learn about the roleswap, check out the about page here, or start from the beginning of the fic here or here!

Air.

It was the realization that there was none that sent him into a panic. As he gasped for it, water rushed into his lungs, the presence of it's crushing pressure around him only now making itself known.

It was in that instant, as he found himself gasping for what was not there, that he realized that this was most likely a dream. In doing so, the water which had sunk into his lungs expelled itself all at once, leaving him coughing, hacking, but able to breathe. This dream, he dimly realized, was not about himself.

As he caught a glimpse of flowing hair, caught in the dim light of the moon that penetrated the water's surface, he felt a surge of fear that was more powerful and more intense than it ever would have been had the dream simply been about himself. The dark brown color of that hair, the ribbon that broke free in the flowing current...

Though he knew it was merely a dream, he found himself reaching out for her anyways. But as if it were a fate that he couldn't change, no matter how far he stretched out his hand, it simply wouldn't reach, as she instead sunk further and further down into the ocean, a yearning pit underneath longing to become her final resting place.

It was only as their eyes met, the deep green piercing through the darkness of the waters, that he jolted awake from his nightmare. He was drenched, not from sinking into the ocean, but from his own cold sweat, his heart hammering loudly inside of his chest. Swallowing, he placed a hand over it, trying to draw in breath, finding it just as hard to do so as if he were actually drowning.

Slowly though, the pounding of his heart settled, and he forced himself to draw in one, long breath. Swinging his feet out of bed, he reached for his cellphone, already dialing Kazuha's number.

The number you have dialed is-.

Not even letting the automated message finish, Heiji changed out of his pajamas at almost a lightning pace, barely even pausing to grab his shoes and keys. Dimly, he could hear his mother's voice calling out to him as he made for the door, but he didn't stop to chat with her, the grip of fear in his chest too tight.

When he had dreamed about Kazuha being shot the other day, he had been worried, of course. But that dream had been different than this one.

She hadn't looked at him.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get that sight out of his eyes. In the back of his mind, a part of him knew that Kazuha would never be the type to blame others, but the silent message that had been carried in them as they dimmed into lifelessness was enough to make his blood run cold.

This is your fault.

Whether the coming future really was the result of his actions, he didn't know- but even if it wasn't, it wasn't something that he would just idly sit by and allow happen. Once and for all, he would-!

"Heiji?" Until Kazuha's father spoke to him, he frankly hadn't even been aware that he had already made it to her house, much less knocked on her door. He must have though, acting purely out of instinct, if nothing else. For a moment, his head went blank, almost forgetting why it was that he came here.

Then he remembered, and fought back a shudder.

It might seem silly, to put so much faith into mere dreams- but they'd never proven to be wrong before.

"Is Kazuha around?" Heiji asked, only now half considering the fact that he probably looked like a mess. He'd taken the time to change, but he hadn't so much as taken a brush to his hair, leaving it to stick out in every direction, and upon second glance, he was actually wearing two different pairs of sneakers.

Composure, he supposed, was not really an option.

What time was it even, he found himself wondering. Usually he was the type to wake up before the crack of dawn, but the sun was already high overheard. Dimly, he recalled that he had stayed up rather late doing... come to think of it, he couldn't actually remember now what it was that he had been doing the previous night, all of his other thoughts more less drawing up blanks. It was probably much later than he would have liked it to be, he realized with a small grimace.

"No, she left about an hour ago." The words were spoken so casually, and somehow, they still managed to make his blood run cold. "Is something wrong, Heiji? You look out of sorts."

"Did she say where she was going?" Heiji pressed, ignoring the question about himself for the moment. Why had that idiot left to go somewhere without him?

"Just that she was going to Tokyo." Ginshiro told him, shaking his head. "I assumed that she was heading to the place of that Mouri Ran girl that she's become friends with lately. Is there something wrong with my daughter?" It was at this point that Ginshiro leveled a far sharper gaze on the disheveled young man, a tight frown forming on his face.

This wasn't exactly the first time that he had come over to their house, early in the morning, looking for Kazuha in such a state. It was, however, the first time since that incident, which for once, seemed to be the furthest thing from his thoughts. He'd been putting in an effort to avoid the Toyama residence since then, so whatever it was that had driven him to come here must have been something indeed.

"Ah." Opening his mouth, and then just as quickly shutting it, Heiji forced a smile on his face. At the very least, if she was really with Neechan, he could at least call her and tell her to keep an eye on her. It didn't provide him with much comfort, but with some, enough to compose himself... or as much as he could, given his appearance.

"No, I just had a bad dream, an' she wasn't pickin' up her phone, so..." Heiji told him, taking a slight step back, a hand straying up behind his neck. "I see, so she went ta Neechan's place in Tokyo! Then, sorry ta bother ya, uncle. Maybe I should head there myself!"

"Heiji-." For a moment, it seemed almost as if Ginshiro wanted to say something else, before he thought better of it, instead shaking his head. "Make sure to wear a matching pair of shoes this time."

"Aw, but I was tryin' ta start a new trend!"

If she had to be honest, she was actually feeling a bit nervous.

It had nothing to do with the strange letter she had gotten, even if it had been stuffed to the brim with no small amount of money. It hadn't been the first time she'd gotten an odd letter with no return address- it had already happened once or twice before. If anything, th reason that she was so nervous was simply because...

...well, she'd never actually been on a ship this big before.

It wasn't as if she was entirely a stranger to the fancier things in life- Heiji's mom did seem to have some fairly impressive connections, so she'd been to a formal party once or twice before. Still, it was never an environment that she could find herself staying calm in, especially not when she was alone.

It wasn't as if the letter had told her to come alone or anything. Actually, she had tried to invite Heiji that morning, before she left, only to find that he was still in bed for a change. Since that was usually a sign that he hadn't gone to sleep until the early hours of the morning, she had decided to let him be, and had instead come to Tokyo herself.

Really, she'd been hoping to invite Shinichi and Ran as well, but that hadn't worked out either. She'd called, but nobody had picked up. Since there was a chance that she'd miss the boat entirely if she went to check the agency herself, she instead decided to go straight to the port where she was to catch it.

Just as the letter had said, showing one of the old style bills that she had gotten in the letter had let her right on. At first, she had thought it was meant as payment- but instead, they had let her keep the note, confusing her to no small degree. Well, while she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the month, it certainly went a long way to make this whole trip even more mysterious.

But speaking of sleeping in... letting out a loud yawn, Kazuha blinked her eyes, the fact that she hadn't gotten that much sleep the previous night either only now sinking into her. Though they hadn't left port yet, the rocking of the boat didn't really help with her exhaustion, only adding to it, if anything.

Well, they still had some time before they departed from the sound of it, so a quick nap wouldn't hurt. After all, one couldn't conduct an investigation on so little sleep!

...though it would be kind of nice to know what, exactly, she had been called here to investigate.

 "A detective? You mean there's another one on board?"

 "That's right. They don't look that much like one, though."

In hindsight, those words should have perhaps served as something of an omen. Still, when Toyama Kazuha burst out of the room they had been trying to gain access to, irate at the noise that they were making, he'd found himself being taken by surprise. Perhaps not quite as much as the person in question herself, though her surprise had very quickly turned into delight.

Which had just as quickly turned into curiosity, as she asked after the reason why they had been making so much of a racket in the first place. Not that he ever doubted it from beginning.

"The Gray Planner?" Kazuha asked. "Now that ya mention it, I've heard that name somewhere before... I think my father mentioned somethin' about him once before. I thought he was dead, though."

As she let Kogoro catch her up to speed on the one once known as the Gray Planner- or rather, Kanou Saizou, his real name was, Conan didn't miss the way he saw gears turning in her head. Once he had the chance, he'd have to ask about it later- what, exactly, had brought her to this ship today. Given the situation, he doubted it was just a coincidence.

Well, then again, she might have just seen the ad in the paper and had decided to come. She did seem like the type to like dolphins.

Which, apparently, was just as much Ran's theory as his own.

"Eh? It wasn't because of the ad that you came, Kazuha-chan?"

"I'm not sure what kinda ad yer talkin' about Ran-chan, but my reason fer bein' here is different." Kazuha told her, shaking her head. For a brief moment, her gaze flickered over towards Conan, and he could only twitch at the slightly teasing expression that lingered on her face. No doubt she found some amusement in the idea of him going along with Ran on a three night trip to spot dolphins. "I got a weird letter in the mail, filled with old bills, so I decided ta come on this ship both ta see what it was that they wanted, an' ta return the money."

"I see." Ran noted. "I guess you didn't bring Hattori-kun with you this time."

"I tried, but he was still asleep when I went over ta his place this mornin'." Kazuha told them, pausing to a sip of her tea. "He'll probably be full of complaints when I get back, though. Ever since that incident with Sakata-han, he's been awfully noisy whenever I try an' go off ta case without him."

"Isn't he just worried?" Ran asked. "You did get shot, after all."

"I guess." Kazuha admitted. "But well, if I have ta be honest, it's just a bit annoyin'. Between the two of us, he's got the worse luck, so bein' lectured about somethin' like that is sort of... ya know?"

Well, whatever the reasons, if he had to be honest, Conan was almost grateful that she hadn't brought Heiji with her this time. He wasn't a bad person, he supposed, but he was someone that he found himself having trouble getting along with. It was a combination of the fact that he perceived him as a child, and very clearly did not have any idea as to what one was supposed to do with a child, and the fact that he was just a bit too perceptive for Conan's comfort.

Well, he supposed that with his father being who he was, that much was to be expected.

"I think it's cute, though." Ran noted. Though the smile on her face was bright, there was a trace of something else beneath it. Knowing her as well as he did, Conan quickly picked up on it- and hoped that Kazuha hadn't. Were she to, he knew that he would be in for another chiding about keeping secrets, something he'd rather avoid. "Having your childhood friend worry about you that much."

Letting out a snort, Kazuha only rolled her eyes. "There's nothin' about Heiji that I'd call cute, Ran-chan. When he was a kid, maybe, but..."

Realizing in that instant, she had already said too much, Kazuha turned a bright shade of red, slamming her teacup down. "A-anyways, let's forget about that guy!"

Come to think of it, they had disagreed like this the first time they met, too.

Perhaps disagree wasn't quite the right word- arrived at different conclusions was better, if not more wordy. In truth, it was a thing that made her nervous- the last time she had come to a different conclusion, she had allowed herself to be mislead by the culprit, falling into a trap that they had set up. Normally, she wouldn't have made a mistake like that, but though the challenge hadn't been her idea, she had nonetheless found herself getting caught up in it, being blinded by it.

Though, suffice to say, she didn't expect her first impression of Kudo Shinichi to be that of a guy who looked like he was about to collapse on his feet. No wonder Ran had been so worried about him at the time, she had thought- it was only later that she had come to understand the reason behind the source of his strange sickness, as well as both his sudden appearance and disappearance.

That too, had been Heiji's idea, come to think of it- going to that Holmes fan gathering, that was. In truth, she didn't care all that much for Sherlock Holmes- the mysteries were interesting, but the as for the man himself, well... she always had preferred female detective stories, and for a reason. But Heiji had seem convinced that she'd run into Kudo there, and in a way, it almost chafed her to admit that he'd been right.

Especially since the logic behind his assumption had been so strange to begin with. But well... this was the same guy who not only believed in ghosts, but believed that if one tried hard enough, one could definitely punch them.

Still, nervous though she was, she didn't think that she was wrong- at least, not until she saw that. It was as if everything had clicked, all at once- everything but the culprit, that was.

Because she wasn't the only one who had been wrong.

"Then, if it's not them, then who...?"

When the answer struck her, it was quite literal.

It was the sound of something falling into the ocean that caught his attention. Even if it were a small sound, it would have still piqued his curiosity, but the loud splash that caught his ears nearly caused his heart to skip a beat.

Call him paranoid if you will, but the first thing he thought of was to ask where Kazuha had gone to. When one of the crew members had informed him that she had borrowed a large flashlight to look around the deck of the ship, he swore for a moment that his heart stopped beating entirely.

While his legs might be considerably shorter now than they had been in the past, when he wanted to, he could more than make up for that gap. If that splash was what he thought it was, then...

When it came to someone being in danger, his act tended to slip. But since he'd outpaced everyone who was following after him, it barely concerned him, calling out Kazuha's name until he made his way up to the deck, from where the source of the sound most likely came from. It was only when he was met with nothing but empty ocean, and the burnt remains of the corpse that had started this all, that he found himself halting.

Even then, it only took him a few seconds before he pulled himself up onto the ship's railing, once more calling out her name to the open ocean. It couldn't be... it couldn't be!

If she'd really gone overboard, in a place like this... and in the darkness of night, at that! Something like that couldn't have...

The ocean had no answers to give.

She supposed that she should count herself lucky that the blow to her head hadn't been enough to knock her out. Even though it hadn't managed to do that, it still disorientated her for longer than she would have liked- by the time she finally broke to the surface, gasping for air, the ship was already long gone.

Expelling the last of the seawater that she had swallowed, Kazuha fought to keep her head above the water. Already, her mind was racing, trying to figure out the best way out of this predicament- of which there weren't that many options. Even if she knew which way it had gone, there was no way she could catch up with the ship, and trying to swim against the current would only tire her out faster than simply trying to stay afloat.

The best thing to do was wait for rescue- hopefully someone on the ship would noticed that she was missing, and put two and two together. Failing that, she'd have to do her best to draw one to her. A quick check proved that the flashlight that she borrowed was still in working order- thank god, it must have been waterproof.

That bastard... if he really thought that she was going to just give up and die that easily, he had another thing coming! While she could count on Shinichi to solve the case in her absence, there was no way she would be satisfied with that. She'd definitely survive this, and come right back, and make him pay for what he'd done.

The life of high school detective Toyama Kazuha wouldn't end this easily!

"Achoo!"

"Are you alright, Kazuha-chan?" Hovering worriedly by her friend, Ran could only frown. She had been worried when they couldn't find Kazuha anywhere, but she never could have imagined that she had been pushed overboard! It must have happened back when Conan had heard that strange splash, and she couldn't help but blame herself for not acting sooner.

Thank god though, things had turned out alright.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kazuha told her, giving her something of a sheepish smile. "I'll be better when I can get back ta my room. Thank god I brought a change of clothes with me, or I'd be in trouble!"

"Trouble...?" Ran blinked. "Ah, that's right, yours must be soaked."

"Ah, well..." Glancing away from her, feeling her cheeks tint a bright shade of red, Kazuha drew the blanket that she had been given closer around her. She knew he was worried too, but honestly, that Shinichi- couldn't he hover somewhere else? If there was one thing that she was grateful for, it was how long the blanket that she had been given was. "That's true, but that's because most of them are still in the ocean."

"Eh, you mean...?" Placing a hand over her mouth as she realized, Ran's face turned a bright shade of red. For just a moment, her gaze flickered down towards Conan, so fast that Kazuha nearly missed it. It seemed to be enough to spur her into action though, scurrying behind her, pressing her hands against her back. "I-in that case, let's hurry and get back to your room, Kazuha-chan!"

"Ah... yeah." Slowly nodding her head, Kazuha pursed her lips together, briefly wondering what that was about. Well, to be honest, right now she really did just want to change into a nice, dry set of clothes, so any other worries could come later. "Let's go, Ran-chan."

"Then, can I come with-?"

"Conan-kun," there was something in Ran's voice which very nearly bordered on a threat, if he wasn't mistaken, "...you can stay here."

"Kazuha."

"...nice ta see ya too, Heiji."

She had to admit, she hadn't expected to see him here at all. She knew full well that he'd be annoyed that she had ditched him, but not to this point. How had he even known where to find her anyways?

"That's all ya got ta say ta me?" Heiji asked, taking a few steps forward, all but brushing aside Ran's greeting. Though Heiji and anger were two things that often went together, it was rare to see him this angry. "Ya went an' put yerself in danger, an' all ya got ta say ta me is that it's nice ta see me?"

Not much of one to be a shrinking violet, not even in the face of the rather intense anger that was radiating outwards from him, Kazuha narrowed her eyes, straightening her back. "Yeah, that's all that I've got ta say ta ya, Heiji! What's with ya lately anyways? Ya've been actin' like ya think I need an escort or somethin'."

"Ya nearly drowned!"

"Nearly. Didn't." Kazuha told him, folding her arms in front of her chest, locking eyes with him. "Big difference."

"Barely a difference." Heiji insisted, clearly not backing down here. "Ya could have died, Kazuha."

"I didn't." Kazuha told him simply, her shoulders slumping slightly. Angry though he was, the source of it was concern for her- and it wasn't like he was entirely wrong. She really was lucky that a fishing boat had come along, especially so late at night. If it hadn't, she probably would have...

...ah.

So that's why he was so angry.

"I'm alive, Heiji. Short one change of clothes, but alive." Kazuha told him.

The anger didn't quite fade from him, but at the very least, she'd told him something he clearly wanted to hear. Just seeing it with his own two eyes apparently wasn't enough- it must have been a very bad nightmare indeed if he needed a verbal confirmation. In that sense, she couldn't entirely blame him for being angry.

That wasn't to say that she liked it. Or rather, his anger was fine, understandable, even. The problem was... well, the problem was that she didn't really care to hear words that she knew he was repeating from his father come out of his mouth. She had thought that she had helped distract him from what was troubling him the other day, when they went to the amusement park together, but it seemed like she had been mistaken.

"Why'd ya go without me?" Heiji asked finally. "I would have come with ya."

"Ya didn't hear from Auntie Shizuka?" Kazuha asked. "I did, but ya were still fast asleep. Since that's not like ya, I figured it would be best just ta let ya keep doin' that, an' went ta Tokyo on my own."

Opening and shutting his mouth, as if there was something that he wanted to say to that, Heiji let out a long sigh, finally stepping back and giving her a bit of space. "Ya invited Neechan."

"She just happened ta be there, that's all. Besides, from the sound of it, I would have thought ya'd have liked it better if I wasn't alone." Kazuha told him, ignoring the fact that it had been her plan to do so in the first place. "I'm really fine though, Heiji."

"...ya sure?" Heiji asked, his shoulders finally slumping. In truth, he was more relieved than anything. "Ya didn't get hurt anywhere, or anythin' like that?"

"Nothin' serious." Kazuha promised him. "Now then, Heiji, are ya gonna ignore Ran-chan an' Conan-kun fer the rest of the mornin', or are ya gonna at least acknowledge they exist?"

"Ah." As if only now fully realizing that he had ignored them, in spite of bringing up her name earlier, Heiji could only flash them a sheepish smile. "...my bad."

[taliya-writes]

Trilateralism snippet - DCMK

He stood staring at the empty street for several more seconds before he cursed one last time and backtracked.  After walking for a reasonable distance and checking to ensure that he was not being followed, Shinichi pulled out his “Conan” phone with the soccer ball charm and pressed the speed dial for his best male friend and Western counterpart, Hattori Heiji.  The phone rang twice before the call was picked up.

“Hello, Hattori,” Shinichi greeted.

“Yo, Kudou,” Heiji greeted back in his thick Osakan accent.  “How’s it going?”

“Aggravating,” the young detective grumbled.  He glanced around to check for anyone within hearing range before he mumbled, “I think I just missed a lead on Them.”

“WHAT?!”

Shinichi yanked the phone away from his ear at Heiji’s outburst, wincing at the ringing in his right ear canal.  He switched the device to his other ear, rubbing the abused organ as he bit out scathingly, “Hattori, do you think you could be any louder, you jerk?”

“Sorry,” he said, though he did not sound apologetic at all—rather, he sounded upset.  “But you just told me you went after Them again.  Alone.”

The shrunken detective recognized that particular peeved tone of voice from his friend.  “Hattori—”

The physically older detective snarled.  “Don’t you ‘Hattori’ me, Kudou!  I told you before that you don’t have to deal with this alone, and I’m holding to that promise.”  There was a short but thoughtful pause.  “It’s only Wednesday, but I could nab a ticket on the Shinkansen and—”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Shinichi growled into the phone. “I’m not going to be responsible for you dropping out of school due to absences just because of every little incident related to Them I run across.”

Shinichi could hear the scowl across the line.  “But Kudou—”

“No, you listen, Hattori,” the Tokyo native insisted. “Nothing happened.  And besides, I’m not sure I would have been able to successfully tail this one, since he disappeared like a ghost.”

There was silence as Heiji considered his friend’s words. “If this guy really was like a ghost, you wouldn’t have known you had died until you became the ghost.”  Shinichi maintained his silence as he continued walking, and the Osakan finally relented with a soft sigh, the sound hissing through like static.  “If you’re sure, Kudou…”

“I’m sure, Hattori,” Shinichi maintained softly but firmly.  “Please don’t worry.  I’m already back at the agency.”  And he was, for now he leaned against the sun-warmed brickwork just outside the ground floor’s Café Poirot as he watched the restaurant’s two servers, Enomoto Azusa and Amuro Touru, go about their business.

Heiji released another hissing sigh, and Shinichi could imagine his friend ruffling his hair in agitated resignation.  “Fine.  All right. But call me if anything happens. I mean it.”

Shinichi smiled warmly, feeling immensely grateful to have a friend like Hattori Heiji.  “I know.  Thanks for having my back, Hattori.”

“Back at you, Kudou,” the Osakan replied, his voice filled with an equal amount of sincerity.

[presumenothing]

13, for some ran and kazuha, if you want would be lovely!

(fluff trope prompts!)

I most certainly do want, anon, so here you go. 

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13. watching fireworks

Ran startles when her handphone rings late one summer evening, just as dusk is setting in.

She’s even more surprised to realise that it’s a video call, though she picks up anyway when she sees the contact name. “Moshi moshi, Kazuha-chan?”

“Ah, Ran-chan!” The camera image blurs in and out before focusing properly on her friend. “Can you see me?”

Ran can’t help her smile – Kazuha’s wearing a yukata in a bright shade of forest green that would’ve looked terrible on anyone else, and Ran can’t see very clearly on the video feed but she’s fairly certain that Kazuha has changed her hair ribbon to match. “You look wonderful, Kazuha-chan. What’s the occasion?”

“It’s July 25th, July 25th!” Kazuha’s excitement is clearly audible even over the phone. “Don’t ya know about the Tenjin Matsuri, Ran-chan?”

Ran frowns, thinking. “I’ve heard of the festival, but I don’t really know much about it. You’re there with Hattori-kun?”

Kazuha rolls her eyes. “I’m supposed ta be – we came here together, but that ahou got lost somewhere and I’m not even gonna try finding him in this mess.”

Now that Kazuha mentions it, Ran does indeed notice quite the crowd in the background of the camera. It’s getting dark enough that she can only make out the vague outlines of people, but there’s almost an air of anticipation, instead of the usual bustling motion of festival-goers. “Are you waiting for something?”

“You’re quite the detective, Ran-chan!” Kazuha says cheerfully, and the camera pans around wildly for a moment before it refocuses to show…

…the dark surface of a river, dully reflecting the buildings on either side.

Ran blinks in confusion. “Ano, Kazuha-chan? What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Sorry? Hang on, lemme get my earphones so I can hear you better.” There’s a brief crackle of static before Kazuha’s voice comes back on, much clearer this time – her earphones must also have a microphone built into them, Ran thinks. “What were ya sayin’, Ran-chan?”

Ran squints slightly at her phone, trying to figure out if she’s imagining the vague shapes amidst the darkness. “Are those boats on the river?”

“Just ya wait, any minute now,” Kazuha says almost conspiratorially instead, and Ran’s just about to ask what she’s talking about when –

– every single boat flares quite literally to life, fire and light caught in dazzling glimmers on the river surface as far as the eye can see.

The view shifts slowly but steadily as Kazuha turns the phone, and with the flickering light of the boats Ran can now see the throngs of people lined up along both banks of the river. She can’t help wondering how early Kazuha arrived to secure such a good spot, but the view is definitely worth it.

Even from her small screen, Ran can make out boats holding everything from giant lanterns to Noh performers to oil fires, all reflected equally in the water beneath them. It’s almost like something out of a movie. “That’s stunning, Kazuha-chan.”

Kazuha’s grin is obvious in her voice. “Isn’t it? We should really come together next year, Ran-chan, ya can ditch Conan-kun with Heiji so we don’t have ta worry about them.”

Then she adds, “Oh, but ya haven’t seen all of it yet!”

This time, Ran doesn’t even try to ask as Kazuha rotates the camera abruptly, so that it’s pointed up at the pitch black sky.

And, with crackling bangs that are no less deafening through her phone speakers, a seemingly unending chain of fireworks light up the night sky in brilliant hues of red and orange and white.

“It’s amazing, ain’t it?” Kazuha still sounds a little awed, even though this can’t be her first time at the festival.

“Yeah, it is.” Ran props her handphone up against one of her textbooks, and settles in to watch the show. “Thanks for showing me this, Kazuha-chan.”

“Anytime, Ran-chan,” Kazuha answers, as the next set of fireworks fill the air.

.

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disclaimer: have never attended a matsuri in my life so apologies for any inaccuracies, but afaik the Tenjin Matsuri is indeed a thing as described above, and it looks like a blast tbh, 10/10 would attend