It is a well known fact among all the people that know them that Toyama Kazuha and Hattori Heiji have big, fat ridiculously obvious crushes on one another and they act like a married couple because they might as well be a married couple. This has been the public opinion concerning them since they were kids. And yet, through the years no progress has been made between them to evolve their relationship into what everyone already knows it should be: romantic. For one person in particular the audacious charade had lasted long enough; it was time for them to take the next step, whether they knew it or not.

As Heiji and Kazuha entered the school, having walked there together as they always did, they prepared themselves for the usual onslaught of relentless taunting pertaining to them as a couple. Common jokes were something along the lines of "Hey its Mr. and Mrs. Hattori" or "Come on, how about a kiss you two!" This was not case on this day however. Instead they received friendly nods as they walked through the halls. The guys that saw Heiji merely bumped him on the shoulder and smiled or waved him a quick peace sign. When they finally entered their homeroom, they quickly split up and tried to figure out what was going on.

"Hey you guys, what's with you today?" Heiji asked promptly

"Oh nothing" they all laughed jointly

"I'm serious what the hell is going on?"

"Really Hattori there's no need for modesty, we all heard about your little escapade this weekend."

"Escapade? Would you please enlighten as to my whereabouts on the weekend in question?" he asked, looking increasingly puzzled

"You really are a cocky bastard you know that? Alright fine I will sing your praises for your satisfaction. You were in Tokyo on a case with that detective from the east and you….you know"

"No, I really don't. What are you talking about?" now he was visibly frustrated by the whole situation

"Jeez calm down. We all heard that you"

"He WHAT!" Kazuha can be heard screaming on the other side of the room

"Yeah, I can't believe you didn't know. Your husband shared a kiss with the eastern detective's girlfriend after he asked her to dinner. From what I heard it was very long and passionate" As the group of girls giggled at the thought of such a kiss, Kazuha stared at the floor in complete shock. Heiji noticed and knew exactly what she had heard. He sifted through the hoard of students as fast as he could to reach her, but before he could the bell ran and class began.

Throughout the day, Kazuha spoke little and avoided the topic whenever the rumor was mentioned. Heiji tried his best to relieve her stress by telling it was 'just a stupid rumor made up by some idiots'. But these encouragements were to no avail, and that afternoon he waited nearly an hour for her so they could walk home, but she apparently had no interest in doing so. As he walked home, alone, he had ample time to reflect on what had happened that day. "Is it really that big of a deal? People spread rumors about us all the time but it never seems to bother her. I mean come on, it couldn't be that she's jealous. Why should she be? Even if the rumor was true, wouldn't she be happy that her two best friends were involved like that? I'm sure Kudo wouldn't be" he snickered aloud to himself, then continued "I can only deduce that she's mad at me on behalf of Ran. What if she thinks I took advantage of her emotional state or something? Man, I need to talk to her and clear this up." As he continued home, now at a significantly faster pace, he had know idea that Kazuha had already decided to respond to the rumor in her own way.

Kazuha is seen standing angrily with her arms folded across her chest tapping her foot impatiently as she awaits the arrival of the next train to Tokyo. She had resolved to go see Ran personally and verify the validity of the rumor.

"I'll show her what happens when you try to steal someone from an expert in Aikido!" Kazuha thought viciously, grinning at the prospect of brutally injuring her, up until today, friend. As the train pulled up, she remained irritated as she remembered the hour or two she would be spending on it. When she found her seat, she lowered herself onto it, while still maintaining her facial expression as well as the position of her arms. The train pulled away from the station, and as she watched her hometown disappear in the distance, she was bombarded by a sudden flash of momentary reason. "Am I being irrational?" she pondered "I mean, what if this really is just a rumor and I'm getting worked up over nothing" As she thought this, her phone rang. She had ignored every call from Heiji since school got out because she knew he would only say the same things he had been saying to her all day. When the number was not one she recognized, she hesitated for a second before finally answering

"Hello?" she said shyly into the phone

"Kazuha!" Heiji yelled into her ear "Kazuha where are you?"

"I have some things to do tonight, what do you want?" her voice was cold and apathetic

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to do something stupid."

"Stupid? Like what?"

"Like snooping around trying find out about that rumor at school. Look it's just a silly rumor, and there is absolutely no way it could be true. So don't go talk to neechan or anything okay? Gotta go, bye" After he hung up, Kazuha found herself twice as suspicious as she was before. "Why was he so concerned about me talking to Ran? And why did he sound so nervous on the phone. It sounded almost like he was…" her face turned red with fiery rage as she clenched her fist and thought "like he was hiding something from me." These suspicions soon morphed themselves into thoughts of her beloved childhood friend, the one she had waited all these years to requite her feelings; the one she was in love with kissing her best friend. "How could they do this to me? How could they betray me like this?" she screamed in her head as a few slow rolling tears migrated down to the bottom of her cheeks. The anger she felt turned to sorrow as she looked out the window and imagined the smiling face of the man she had loved for so long "how could he do this to me". She continued to stare out the window as the afternoon drifted toward dusk and the light of the sun slowly disappeared and gave way to subtle moonlight. She had been on the train over an hour, which meant she was nearing Kyoto. As she sensed her destination approaching, her thoughts reverted back to Ran. "She thinks she can go behind my back and steal Heiji from me? She thinks she can get away with that without any argument from me?" Once again the feelings of anger and scorn swirled around her heart and mind as her hands once again formed fists, this time tighter and more fearsome than before. Her face was coarse and anger stricken, with the remnants of tears still present. The train came to a gradual halt and after a few moments the door opened. Kazuha marched off the train with a fist at each side and a hateful gleam in her eye. She flagged down a taxi and gave him her destination : "the Mouri Detective Agency".