Detectives Don't Believe In Heaven
By: Aya Anderson
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Storyline
After a bombing case gone awry, Heiji is questioned on whether or not he believes in Heaven.
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Before You Read
A random story I wrote, because I wanted to. It was a drabble. Uh, I wrote it to give some of my friends feels, but I decided to put it here, too. I hope I did alright with their accents, because I kinda made up my own idea as to how their accent goes in English...
Also, my first Detective Conan fanfic, so be nice. Thanks ya!
On with the story.
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Detectives Don't Believe In Heaven
The bomb case was supposed to be simple. To Heiji, it was simple. Walk in, arrest the terrorist, disable the bomb, and have enough time to wash up before dinner. Naturally, Heiji was accompanied by Kudou - oh, Conan - Ran, Kazuha, and a bomb specialist. It would be easy. To Heiji, it was easy.
Heiji believed that the terrorist would not want to set off the bomb while he was inside. As long as they caught him before he made it out, they would live. They were supposed to catch the bad guy, to disable the bomb, to make it out, to continue the time they were enjoying together. That was what was supposed to happen. That was how it was supposed to go.
Upon seeing the detectives, the man dashed away. Heiji chased him, Kazuha close behind him. He was supposed to catch him. He was supposed to win.
But the man was prepared. It was a small overlook. The building across the street was too far for a grapple hook to reach. The man was not supposed to believe that he would make it by jumping. There was no way.
Heiji chased him to the end of the hall, where a large window was the only thing standing between the man and the other building. He was supposed to stop and panic. He was supposed to panic. That was supposed to happen!
Instead, he crashed through the window. He jumped as far as he could. The whizzing of wheels snapped in Heiji's ear as Kudou - oh, Conan! - sped by him on his skateboard. Ran yelled something from far away, and there was a quiet ticking, almost like a clock.
Heiji counted five of those ticks, and then the entire world blurred.
It was like he blacked out. He did remember breathing in - a harsh, cold wind sucked into his lungs - and he screamed. First in fear, then in pain, then back to fear again. Someone else was screaming, a whole octave higher, in the same emotional order.
And then the world grew silent.
…
What felt like hours were actually mere minutes, before the boy finally came to. Smoke and ash fluttered through the air like snow. Almost a beautiful sight.
Almost.
His body was numb, mostly, except for the nagging, throbbing pain a few inches below his knee. Something was not right with his leg, but he had a feeling it was best not to look until his situation was determined. Heiji let his head fall to the side, his gaze parallel to the floor. Bricks and stone laid broken along the wooden floor.
They were still high above ground level. How fragile was the floor? If he moved, would it collapse and would he fall a level?
He tilted his head back, following the destruction to a lump of flesh and cloth sprawled across the floor. "K-Kazuha?" He tried to roll onto his stomach, but a twinge - a warning pain - told him it wasn't best to move. "Kazuha!"
The female laid still for a moment, and Heiji feared the worst - until he recalled how tough she was, and continued to call her name. After four or five more calls, she finally groaned and moved ever so slowly. She pushed herself to her hands and feet, looking for the direction of the voice, before falling onto her side. And spotted Heiji.
She meekly whispered his name and the Osakan male flinched. Her voice was dusty and broken, like an old clarinet. Blood poured from an open wound along her hairline. It didn't look good - not for the both of them.
"H-Hold on," he said, and - despite the earlier warning - he twisted onto his stomach. The pain worsened and Heiji bit his lip to keep himself from screaming. Everything seemed black, except the dark brown floors. Damn... Damn it all!
He took a deep breath, one of smoke and ash, and began to crawl along the ground. His right leg wouldn't move, no matter how hard he tried. There was a strong agony that accompanied his struggle. Broken. It was broken, wasn't it?
Still, he refused to look and continued to drag himself along, praying the floor wouldn't collapse, making his way to the female a meter or so out of arms reach. After some struggling and agony, he finally made his way to her side.
He laid on his side and took a moment to take in her soot-smudged, bloodied face. What a wound. Upon closer looks to the rest of her body, he could see burns on her arms and legs, the hems of her clothes dark and frayed.
Heiji assumed from her own examining gaze that he looked no better.
He inhaled, lungs burning, and he exhaled a anguished laugh. "C'mon, Kaz'ha. W-We're gonn' get outta here, kay?" She nodded but made no attempt to move. Or maybe she did and he didn't see it. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, muscles straining and bones groaning. Her hand fell to the floor boards beside her and they creaked.
Heiji paused, listening closely. Fire cackled just above them, and a support beam fell a few floors below them. Again, the floor boards moaned and Heiji slowly lowered himself to a lay down again. They would break if they stood.
"O-On secon' though', i's best if we don' move." He smiled nervously at her and she smiled back, except not as nervously. Almost humorously. As though she found his anxiety a comedic show. "Don' worry, Kaz'ha. We'll get outta here."
She nodded again and Heiji frowned. They would get out of here. He just had no idea how. Again, he dug his fingernails into the boards and began to drag himself across the floor. Again, the floorboards creaked and Heiji was left on a few inches from where he had started.
"Heiji... Y'ur leg..."
Heiji glanced back at Kazuha, who was gingerly reaching over to his injured limp, ever so gently running her fingers over the bruised lump. Was that a bone? His stomach turned to metal and he looked away. It was worse than he thought. He wouldn't be able to walk on it. How many more floors were there to fall before they reached the floor?
"Does i' hurt?" she asked. Her voice was still weak and he could barely hear her.
Using his uninjured leg, he slid himself backwards down to her so they could see eye-to-eye. "Yeah," he replied honestly. "Bu' it ain' an'thin' Ah can't handle."
They laid in silence for a while. The fire and the falling of bricks and wood was so loud, but the ringing in Heiji's ears was deafening.
And then Kazuha's voice came, louder than the fire, the falling, and the ringing. "Are we gonn' die?"
"Chau, chau," Heiji chuckled. "We ain' gonn' die." But the more he thought about it, the less he thought their chances of survival were. He could feel the floorboards were beginning to sag in lack of strength without the support beam beneath them.
It wasn't the answer Kazuha was looking for. As though she suspected he was lying, she pressed another question; "D'y'believe in He'ven, Heiji?"
Heaven? An imaginary place that did not exist, only built by those afraid of death. Created in a religious belief that could not be proved (at least, physically) and by a God that was gracious and kind enough to keep Heiji alive this long?
"Yes," he replied.
Kazuha smiled and Heiji returned the gesture. Dust fell from the ceiling into their hair, annoying and dirty. Something was above them. A heavy support beam? He dared a glance and returned his attention to Kazuha. Metal. Heavy. And fragile.
"Ah'm gonn' sleep now, Heiji," she whispered quietly, the voice fading into mere breath. "When y'figure out how we're gonn' get outta here, y'can wake me up, 'kay?"
"K-Kaz'ha!" he stammered. "Y-Y'can't go t'sleep. Y'can't sleep. It's not a time t'sleep."
However, her perfect green eyes closed and she smiled as she drifted. "Ah know y'u'll fin' a way out, Heiji. Y'always do..."
His heart almost stopped beating. Wait, wait. He tasted metal and his breath hitched. "K-Kaz'ha. Kaz'ha, wait. Wait, there's somethin' Ah gotta tell ya!" He grabbed her arm and shifted closer. "Ah got somethin' t'tell ya..." Sweat rolled across his forehead and his gaze tossed back and forth between the gash on her forehead and her peaceful face.
She looked as though she was sleeping. She was so beautiful, even with the blood and the ash smeared across her face, even in the light of the fire that burned brightly behind him one floor up. The more he stared, the more regret replaced his blood and his heart was forced to pump it through his body. Why? Oh, God, why?
Again, the support beam above them shifted.
Death. After death, then what? He didn't expect anything but darkness after death. He didn't believe in a place called Heaven. Heiji bit his lip and shut his eyes, crystal tears turning black as they ran down his face. He leaned forward and pulled her lifeless body into a hold, her head below his chin and pressed against his chest.
The support beam broke and in the whole three seconds he had to take his final breath, he smiled wryly.
He didn't believe in a place called Heaven, for Heaven was there in his arms.