Chapter 1. My Best Friend's Girlfriend
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Detective Conan characters.
This is a story that assumed a very different starting point for the four best friends in DC, i.e., Shinichi and Kazuha started as a couple. Other assumptions: Shinichi and Ran were still childhood friends who grew up together, but while Ran had romantic feelings for Shinichi, the feelings was not reciprocal; Okita Souji and Kazuha were childhood friends growing up together.
"Hattori, this is my girlfriend, Toyama Kazuha."
Hattori Heiji could never forget the first time he was introduced to Toyama Kazuha.
That year, he started a brand new chapter of his life as a college student of Touto University.
That year, he finally got to meet and befriend his counterpart and rival Kudo Shinichi, aka, the Detective of the East, in flesh.
Both young men had known each other by reputation and secretly compared oneself with each other. After all, it couldn't be helped. Not just themselves, but almost all the major media in Japan constantly compared the Detective of the East Kudo Shinichi with the Detective of the West Hattori Heiji. They had their respective fan clubs, which had a good overlap since girls admire their many common traits: smart, handsome, athletic, and of course, arrogant.
Well, before they met, they had already known a great deal about each other. Not only did they have so many afore said and unsaid commonalities, but also because they faithfully read the cases that each other had solved over the years. Between them, there was undeniably a sense of rivalry, but more of it was probably wholehearted, mutual admiration. After all, both of them respect well-tuned brains.
And finally, they got to meet each other at Touto University.
Although it was the first time they met, there was no need for prototypical greetings and self-introductions.
Let's put it this way, they could instantly see themselves in each other, with the exception of skin color: Kudo was pale, and Hattori was tanned. Together, they made a good contrast.
"So, Hattori, do you have a girlfriend?" With a smirk on his face, Shinichi suddenly switched to a less bloody topic, after discussing a good number of tough cases that drew their mutual attentions recently.
"No." Heiji squinted, and felt some sort of challenge in this seemingly casual question, "Why?"
"Just asking." Shinichi shrugged, with the smirk still on his face, "I was thinking if you had a girlfriend as well, we could have double date sometime."
"You mean, you have a girlfriend?" Heiji sneered. "I thought you are a playboy type, with a fan club as big as mine."
"You misjudged me, playboy. I am a loyal family guy." Shinichi ridiculed his new friend, "We may be equal in solving cases. But I am ahead of you in terms of love life." Shinichi absentmindedly stirred the cup of latte in front him, the victorious smile still lingering on his face.
"Ano …" Heiji squinted again, "I wonder what kind of girl could attract a guy that is nearly as perfect as me."
"You will see, you arrogant playboy." Shinichi laughed, "She is very pretty and very smart, perfect for me." He looked at his watch, "She will come any minute now. I asked her to join us after her Aikido practice today."
"Aikido?" Heiji raised his eyebrow, "That sounds violent. I thought you would prefer the sweet and gentle type."
"Sweet and gentle? Is that your type?" Shinichi's blue eyes widened a bit. He was apparently interested in hearing more on this topic from his Western counterpart. As much as they were alike in so many things, would it be possible that they also liked the same type of women?
"Well …" Heiji didn't know how to answer. Frankly speaking, he didn't really know what was his type. There was a certain girl that he considered as his first love. But it was such a long time ago and he didn't even know her name. What was his type now? It was not a question that he could answer himself.
"Anyway," Noticing that the dark-skinned detective probably had no real answer for this question, the pale-skinned detective went on talking about his own girlfriend, "I don't find a girl doing Aikido violent. In fact, I find her quite sexy in her Aikido uniform …"
"Shinichi!" A loud, high-pitched voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
Heiji looked up, and saw a girl with pony tail grabbed Shinichi by the ear, her emerald eyes almost shooting daggers, "Don't use pervert language to describe me!"
"My dear please …" Shinichi put his hand over hers that was grabbing his ear, and then gently held it, "I am sorry … but it is your fault to be so se…" Thinking about why his ear became so red, he quickly changed his wording, "so attractive …" With that, he smiled and gently hugged her.
"Shinichi!" the girl's face turned red and quickly pushed Shinichi away, "We are in public! And your friend is right here watching …"
Looking at these two lovebirds, Heiji's eyes turned half-moon.
So Kudo's real purpose to meet him today was to show off his sexy girlfriend?
While Kudo was still busy placating his girlfriend and the girl still busy scolding her boyfriend, Heiji had a chance to check up the girl carefully from head to toe: high ponytail with green ribbons, porcelain skin, long and curly eye lashes, emerald eyes, small cherry lips, not-too-big and not-too-small breasts, lean figure, long legs …
Well, judging from the outside, she could certainly pass as a beauty.
But still, that didn't change his first impression of her – a loud and violent woman.
While the two finally settled their sweet little dispute, Shinichi made the introduction.
"Hattori, this is my girlfriend, Toyama Kazuha."
And they shook hands. But the moment the two hands touched, Heiji felt an indescribable softness that he didn't want to let go.
"Ano …" Kazuha got a bit embarrassed after a long 30 seconds, "Hattori-kun, could you please … let go?"
"Ah, sorry." Heiji blushed and instantly retrieved his hand.
"I see …" Shinichi noticed Heiji's way too obvious embarrassment and awkwardness. He grinned, "Jealous that I have a girlfriend while you don't?"
"Of course not!" Heiji denied without thinking, "Who would be jealous of someone with such a bad taste to fancy such a violent aho?"
"Violent? Aho?" Now Kazuha's eyes turned half-moon.
"Hattori!" Frowning at Heiji, Shinichi pulled his dear girlfriend into his arms, "How can you be so rude to Kazuha?"
"Ok, my bad …" Heiji knew it was his fault to give a girl such an unkind comment when they just met, especially given she was a real beauty by all standards. But somehow he couldn't hold his tongue at that moment. He grumbled and quickly offered a nice gesture to rescue himself from the social awkwardness, "To show my apology, let's go to dinner later and the treat is mine."
"Ok, apology accepted." Kazuha beamed while hearing the dinner offer. Not sure why, but her smile struck Heiji like lightning. Have I met her before?
"Sounds good. I assume the restaurant is of our choice?" Shinichi grinned naughtily.
"Of course." Heiji tried to appear more gentleman than he really was, "What type of restaurants do you like?"
"Ano …" Kazuha smiled at Shinichi, "Shinichi always like to take me to upscale places …" Shinichi smiled lovingly at her and gave her a light peck on the cheek.
Damn it, you two! Don't push it too far!
The sight made Heiji really annoyed. But he couldn't tell what he was annoyed about exactly.
Draining his bank account?
Blatantly showing off their love in front a pathetic, girlfriendless bachelor?
Or both?
"But Shinichi," Kazuha winked at her boyfriend, "You know I would be just as happy eating at a cheap takoyaki stand …"
"Takoyaki?" Heiji raised his eyebrow, "That's my favorite food!" He suddenly felt happy at the sudden discovery of her shared culinary preference.
"I know a good takoyaki place in Shinjuku." He grinned. "Well, although it is still not comparable to the ones in Osaka, but it is the best in Tokyo."
"Really?" Kazuha's eyes sparkled. She turned to her boyfriend and almost pleaded, "Shinichi, shall we try it?"
"Of course," Shinichi kissed her cheek again, "Wherever you like."
"Yummy!" Kazuha exclaimed while chewing her first takoyaki at dinner.
"I told you it is good, right?" Heiji was pleased that Kazuha liked his restaurant choice. But he also wanted to make sure his detective friend also liked it so he turned to ask Shinichi, "Do you like it, Kudo?"
"It is good." Shinichi gave a polite smile. Takoyaki tasted not bad, although not as good as lemon pie, his favorite food. But he was happy as long as his dear girlfriend liked it.
"It is not his favorite food, but Shinichi does not hate it, right?" Kazuha gently put her hand over Shinchi's. She understood what Shinichi was thinking and appreciated his thoughtfulness for always going with her preference.
"Next time when we go to Kyoto, I will take you guys to my favorite takoyaki place there." Picking up another yummy takoyaki from her plate, Kazuha extended an invitation to both detectives. She then turned to look at Shinichi and gave him a loving gaze, "Even you haven't been there, Shinichi."
"Are you from Kyoto?" Something suddenly hit Heiji inside.
Kyoto? Could she be …
"Well, we have moved from place to place. I was actually born in Osaka, like you."
Of course Kazuha knew the Detective of the West was from Osaka.
Still chewing and happily savoring the yummy food, she continued mumbling "But my family moved to Kyoto when I was three. And two years ago I moved to Tokyo and transferred to Teitan, the same high school as Shinichi." She turned to smile at her handsome boyfriend again, "Right, Shinichi?"
"I see …" Heiji nodded, still trying to make some sort of connection in his mind. "No wonder you have some Kansai accent …"
Kazuha spent most of her time staring at her plate. But for a moment she realized the dark-skinned detective's eyes were fixed on her, probably for a while already.
"Why staring at me?" She frowned, feeling not quite comfortable with the gaze.
"I am thinking … Have we met before?" Heiji did not notice the slight annoyance in the girl. He was still thinking hard about his own question.
"Yes we have." Kazuha shrugged, feeling a bit relieved that her boyfriend's new friend was just thinking about that. She of course met him before, multiple times actually, but she was almost sure that he didn't remember her in those occasions.
"Is that right?" Heiji raised an eyebrow. But soon his eyes turned half-moon, "Don't tell me you saw me on TV or newspaper."
"Eat your own ego." Kazuha threw him a quick glance of ridicule. It was not that she had any particular dislike for arrogant people. Shinichi was arrogant in his own way, after all. But she somehow felt a bit annoyed by this dark-skinned new friend of her boyfriend.
"I saw you at the National High School Kendo Tournament every year." She suddenly smirked, "And saw you losing to Souji in the finals three years in a row."
"Souji?" Heiji frowned at this name. "You mean Okita Souji from Senshin High School?" Okita Souji was his biggest rival in the Kendo Dojo. He did not feel proud to have lost to that guy in the past three years.
"Yes." Kazuha couldn't have felt any more proud, "I attended Senshin in Kyoto before I moved to Tokyo, and Souji and I have been best friends forever."
"I go to all of Souji's kendo games." She winked at Heiji, feeling victorious, "So of course I have seen you, Hattori Heiji, who have lost to my best friend in finals in the past three years."
"Now that you mention it …" Heiji frowned, recalling seeing the girl with high ponytail cheering for Okita from the audience. Well, it was actually hard not to notice her at the kendo games, as she was obviously quite close to Okita, handing him towels and water bottles during breaks, and bandaging his wounds after the games. He never asked his opponent before, but he assumed she was Okita's girlfriend.
But she just said they were just "friends."
"Don't take it as an offense." Kazuha continued talking with an elevated spirit, entirely oblivious of Heiji's slight grumpiness, "But every time before Souji's game, I go to the Kiyomizutera and pray that you lose to Souji."[1]
Heiji frowned. How could he not be offended by such a comment?
"I am sure my club of fangirls pray exactly the opposite." That's the best fight back he could think of on top of his mind.
"Souji has a large crowd of fangirls as well." Kazuha was quick to counter, "I guess Japanese girls prefer his type. You know, the pale-skinned type."
Heiji frowned again at her comment. He was now definitely annoyed.
"You defend Okita as if he is your boyfriend." He turned to his detective friend for help, "Kudo, discipline your girl!"
"Hattori!" Shinichi raised an eyebrow. He could see that his Western counterpart was a competitive guy. Obviously as much on Kendo field as on crimes scenes.
"Souji and I are merely childhood friends." Kazuha shrugged. It was true that Okita and her were quite close. They attended the same school all the way from kindergarten to high school, until Kazuha moved to Tokyo. Since they lived quite close by, they commuted to school almost everyday and also spend quite a lot of together on weekends. People always joked about their relationship, calling them a married couple, but Kazuha knew that as much as she liked Okita, the feeling was not at all romantic.
She was embarrassed in the beginning as these gossips were overwhelming and never subsided. A handsome samurai and a pretty Aikido champion, what a nice couple! But by and large, she got used to it and knew how to respond it quickly and composedly.
Heiji, for some reason, felt a little bit relieved at her comment. But then he realized another problem:
"How do you manage to find a boyfriend that has exactly the same face as your 'merely childhood friend'?"
"Hattori!" Shinichi almost yelled. True, he himself found it quite annoying when he saw Kazuha's best friend for the first time. He couldn't believe how alike they looked that he even wondered if his father had an affair and produced this half-brother. Of course, that assumption was vehemently dismissed by his parents.
Kazuha looked at Heiji with even more annoyance. Well, she was also surprised by the physical resemblance between Shinichi and Okita in the first place and that question couldn't be helped. But somehow Heiji put it in the most annoying way.
"Souji and Shinichi may have the same face." She still tried to keep her composure. "But they are very different people. Souji is a most caring friend and the best swordsman, but –"
She paused a little bit, and turned to Shinichi with a bright smile, "But I always know I will be with a detective, be it a police detective or a private eye."
She gave Shinichi a naughty wink, "My Dad is a policeman, after all. And I am no stranger to crime scenes and mysteries. I like to see Shinichi solving cases."
"You Dad is a policeman?" Heiji raised an eyebrow.
"Kazuha's dad is the Chief Criminal Investigator of the Metropolitan Police." Shinichi explained on behalf of Kazuha, seeing his girlfriend's more or less unwillingness to further carry out any more conversations with the dark-skinned boy.
"Chief Criminal Investigator? Your Dad is Toyama Ginshiro?" Heiji was apparently no stranger to the high rank officers in the Metro Police.
"Yes." Shinichi nodded.
"Hey I know Toyama ji-han!" Heiji's spirit was suddenly elevated, having finally found some other connections with Kazuha, "He used to be the Chief Criminal Investigator of Osaka Prefectural right? My dad was his immediate boss."
"What are you trying to imply?" Kazuha, on the other hand, was not pleased with any type of connections with this ahou at this point, "My dad is inferior to yours?" She squinted.
"No!" Heiji couldn't believe why she was thinking so negatively, "I am just trying to think if we met as kids since our dads were colleagues …"
"Maybe …" Kazuha shrugged and looked away from him "But sorry, I was too little that time and I really don't remember much about Osaka."
Shinichi sighed hopelessly. As much as he enjoyed finally meeting his Western counterpart, it was obvious that his girlfriend did not get along with the dark-skinned detective …
Too bad … he had hoped to spend more time with Heiji solving cases together, now that the Detective of the West was also in Tokyo and attending the same college with him. But what should he do if his girlfriend detested being around when Heiji was there?
Shinichi definitely hoped that their friendship could take a turn for good, hopefully sometime soon.
To be continued ...
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