Under the Coat of Red Paint
Confessing by the Big Ben? Pfft. How about breaking the law while doing it?
A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY CherelleHolmes! *throws confetti into space* And I don't think it's hard to guess this "surprise" will be another HeiKazu fic, isn't it? XD Shall not say more and I'll just hope you'll like this one :') And to the rest of the readers, hope you'll enjoy it too! I know it had nothing to do with it but just a little tease for the Movie 21 next year AHHHHHH
Heiji took up a lot of space, somehow, and it wasn't that he was tall or broad shouldered, although he was both. He stood apart from everyone that was around him, with his dark-skin and all, but mainly it was because everyone was giving him plenty of space as well. Maybe it was the scowl that put the people off, or some unconscious awareness of the annoyance that was surging within him. He was alone, and it pained Kazuha to watch him like that.
Unlike anyone else who probably had to fake their confidence to approach him, Kazuha stomped right over to the brooding man, brows furrowed with determination. He didn't seem to notice her, or at least that was what he was pretending to do, until he couldn't keep up with the facade when Kazuha yanked his arm and he snapped his head towards her.
"Come on Heiji," She urged solemnly. "Smile a little."
It took him a while to respond as he stubbornly refute with an uglier scowl. "You're asking for the impossible."
Kazuha sighed, mostly at herself for even trying to persuade him in the first place. "Your father is going to get angry if you're keeping this up."
"I just don't like it here." Heiji shifted his black bow around his neck grudgingly before looking over at Kazuha's dress, his annoyance shelved aside and replaced with genuine surprise. "You were not wearing this when you're in the car."
"I was, just that I've took off my coat." Kazuha rolled her eyes and reached out to brush a white strand of thread that happened to be on the shoulder of his dark black suit. "Anyway, there's a reason why your father brought you to this police gathering event. Don't be so grouchy." She tried to explain, even if she wasn't even really sure why Heiji's father brought his son to a fancy gala like this one. If it was about introducing how brilliant his son was at deductive skills, the newspapers and magazine had done most of the job. At least she was here to accompany her father.
Heiji crossed his arms, creasing his suit while exposing the tightness of his fine muscles under the sleeves, which made Kazuha appreciate it at the moment even though she would rather die than to admit it out loud. "Honestly it was fine, until I saw that guy." He gestured his head over at the other corner of the ballroom.
Kazuha turned, eyes scanning around to see who could possibly ignite her best friend's wrath when she spotted a particular blonde standing with a group of crowd, smiling so charmingly like he was endorsing for a toothpaste. She instantly recognized him as the son of the Superintendent General, as well as Kaitou Kid's dedicated nemesis, a close second after Conan.
"Oh, Hakuba Saguru?" She turned back to him, eyes blinking with curiosity. "What's wrong with him?"
"Everything."
Kazuha let out a scoff. "You're unbelievable."
"Am I?" Heiji flicked his lazy eyes over to her, his finger went straight to his neck to tug irritably on his collar again. "And this bow is choking the hell out of me. I'm going to find Otaki-han to get it change or something."
"Finally there's some positivity." Kazuha pointed over at the other side of the ballroom, where rows of tables were filled with metal trays of foods and delicacies. Even though nothing could have been compared to the Okonomiyaki stand they frequently visited during their free time, food was something they could easily converse over without any jabs or arguments erupting out of nowhere. "I'll be over there, come look for me if you're done sulking. They serve some nice red bean mochi as dessert."
"Yeah I will." He waved her off, but with a hint of promise in his tone.
Or so she thought.
In the end he didn't come, despite how she was portraying herself as a gluttony idiot for standing by the buffet table the entire time.
.o.
It wasn't odd when most of the members in the Kendo Club knew who Kazuha was. She would occasionally drop by during trainings and attend most of the competitions the club went to as if it was her own. She was often part of their routines, to the point when she wasn't around, people tend to ask why.
"Oh. That ahou?" Heiji shrugged nonchalantly when the question reached him. "She's mad at me, that's why."
"I see." Hyuuga, one of the youngest junior member in the Kendo Club, rubbed the back of his neck and gave a little disappointed smile, with a slight mix of sheepishness.
Heiji was inwardly grateful that Hyuuga didn't ask why, which was a long story he really didn't want to replay in his head, yet it somehow did, just because his brain loved to do weird things whenever he wasn't in his proper state. He knew he had garnered quite a reputation for himself, mostly from the successful cases he'd solved and his good looks. And when things about those two were starting to get repetitive to read, people tended to find unnecessary scandals to write for the fans. Like, for example, how Heiji helped the daughter of a Chief Inspector from Fukuoka during the party last night because she sprained her ankle and it somehow turned into A possible engagement coming through for Hattori Heiji!, as quoted from the title of the fan news article. Although Heiji instantly dispelled the rumours, he didn't include the real story of how was actually too busy googling his eyes out at Kazuha's letdown hair before the spraining-ankle incident happened. Not necessary, even if Kazuha was angry at him for the entire matter.
"Anyway, Hattori-senpai." Hyuuga cleared his throat, effectively cancelling Heiji's thoughts. "Do you know what Toyama-san likes?"
"Likes?" Heiji furrowed his brows as he closed the cap of his water bottle and set it back to the ground, picking his bamboo sword up at the same time. "What chu' want to know that for?"
"Umm," Hyuuga glanced away nervously, suspiciously seeming a little afraid to look into Heiji's eyes. "I want to give her a gift."
"Why?" Heiji leaned towards Hyuuga, faces inches apart and eyes narrowed. Kazuha's birthday wasn't anytime soon, and the stupid tradition of giving chocolates back to girls on White Day was long over. It may be mind-boggling to believe, but he did know what White Day was supposed to mean.
An unhealthy shade of red bloomed across Hyuuga's face. "S-She's kinda cute."
"Cute?" Heiji ironically stuck out his tongue even though different images of Kazuha did flash across his mind for some weird reason or another.
"Isn't she?" Hyuuga laughed and scratched the side of his cheek. "She's also sweet and nice."
"You want to give her a gift because she's cute, sweet and nice?" Heiji rolled his eyes and went back to the mat to continue his training. "Are you playing Santa Claus?"
Hyuuga awkwardly followed him to the mat, his feet shuffling beside Heiji. "You wouldn't mind right?"
"Of course not." Heiji chuckled drily and dangerously swung his sword towards Hyuuga's direction, missing his face by an inch. Then again, if he wanted to strike his face, he wouldn't miss. "Well, Kazuha do like receiving gifts. I guess all girls does."
"Anything specific?" A form of excitement was written all over Hyuuga's face, even after he managed to dodge the sword the second time when Heiji happened to swing near his abdomen.
"She..." Heiji muttered, suddenly realizing it himself that he didn't know the true answer too. He contemplated for a few seconds while practicing his swings, purposely dragging the time until an idea jolted his mind. But before he could consider keeping the answer selfishly to himself and use the idea to represent the apology he didn't know how to say to Kazuha, his dumb mouth blurted out; "A lucky charm."
"A lucky charm?"
"Uh, yeah." He pursed his lips, grumbling under his breath. "She has one hanging on her bag, but it looks old. She might want a new one."
Hyuuga's brightened face made Heiji cringe inwardly. "Thank you Hattori-kun! You're the best!"
Heiji instantly frowned when Hyuuga began sprinting across the mat. "Hey, aren't ya training?"
"Later!" Hyuuga waved over his shoulder. "I'm going to get the lucky charm now!"
Once the door closed shut and the silence echoed loudly in the training room, Heiji ran a hand through his hair and growled out loud. And for the rest of the time, he didn't understand what was vexingly bothering him, and why his head was starting to ache out of nowhere, severely disrupting his concentration for training. So only after swinging his sword a couple more times, he changed out his uniform and went home, alone.
When the next day arrived, Heiji observed that the old charm was still hanging on Kazuha's bag, though he thought it could be because it was still the first lesson of the day and Hyuuga hadn't had the chance to meet Kazuha, yet. He waited for the change to happen after lunch break, but when he returned to class from the canteen, he found Kazuha sitting on her seat and chatting with one of her friends, her old lucky charm still intact.
Did Hyuuga back out on his Santa Claus plan because he was being the shy and awkward guy he always was? Was the lucky charm too ugly that Kazuha didn't want it? Or did Kazuha love the lucky charm so much she kept it somewhere safer so it wouldn't get dirtied? Only after the school bell rang, reminding the students about the end of their break, he finally decided he had enough thinking about this matter already (since he had spent the earlier part of the morning doing so too).
Of course he couldn't ask Kazuha about it when he wasn't supposed to have a clue (And she was still giving him that squinty glare whenever they made eye contact). He would demand answers from Hyuuga during their club meeting later.
"She rejected my gift." Hyuuga woefully told Heiji in the Kendo club's lockers room, his clenched fist unravelling the piece of lucky charm. It was pink and decorated with polka dots, a much prettier and better version than what Kazuha had.
In an instant, a piece of boulder seemed to have rolled over Heiji's shoulders and he sighed in relief. At the same time, it was luckily a good disguise as a pity-sigh for Hyuuga. "Why?" Heiji wondered out loud.
"She said she doesn't want to change her old one out." Hyuuga shrugged. "It's precious and important to her."
"That old piece of rag?" Heiji could only stare up at the ceiling in puzzlement. He knew Kazuha was weird, but not till this extent. "What the hell?"
"Do you want it?" Hyuuga gestured to the lonely and crumpled lucky charm in his hand.
"Nah," Heiji offered a comforting and half-hearted laugh. "You should keep one for yourself."
For the rest of his training, he practiced his moves and taught the juniors a few of his sharp strikes and focused attack. But if anyone could see what was really in his mind; the swirls, messy lines, and bubbles of joy yet slight mix of confusion, everyone would have thought otherwise.
.o.
Since she didn't want a new lucky charm, Heiji bought her a yellow hair ribbon instead. He tried to slip it into her bag during lunch period the next day, but was caught in the act and his plan failed because he was born a detective and not a thief. But the most important part was she was back to her usual self again; the loud-mouth, rude and tom-boyish Kazuha he knew (And she was looking at him with that very sparking green eyes of hers too).
And maybe, that was all that mattered.
.o.
Because of the famous saying sharing is caring, Heiji was sent out by his mother to deliver the gyoza she made to Kazuha's house one late afternoon. It was easy for him to oblige this time when he was getting sickening bored and lazy at home doing nothing but math.
He rang the bell of the familiar door he had gone through for his entire life, fiddling with the knot of the cloth-wrapped bento box in his hand. But what welcomed him when the door opened was blank air, until he looked down to see a little boy staring at him with a pair of large dull blue-coloured eyes.
It was the first dreadful moment of his life, thinking he'd went through the wrong gates when his feet was supposed to be set on automation if he was going to Kazuha's house. Nonetheless, he tentatively stepped back, surveying the house two times before staring back at the boy, who Heiji determined was the one out of place, not him. This was definitely Kazuha's house.
"So who rang the- Heiji?" Kazuha suddenly emerged from the living room and looking as though a gust of wind had blown right at her face. She blinked a couple of times to regain her composure. "What are you doing here?"
Heiji was able to ignore the little kid at the moment since her fluttering eyelashes was worth the distraction. He lazily raised his gift, the signature cloth that his mother often used should be a clear sign for Kazuha. "Gyoza."
She squealed in delight and sang a song of thanks before stepping aside to let him in. "Just in time for you to drop by as well, I need you to do me a favor."
"What?" Heiji frowned, not liking that he had to do things he didn't sign up for, especially if it was something to do with food testing. Kazuha wasn't so bad of a cook, but he wasn't fully on board with the idea on being her usual guinea pig whenever she experimented on her new and unique ideas.
It seemed she wasn't called his childhood best friend for nothing. She easily deciphered the meaning behind his furrowed brows and chortled. "It's just ten minutes of your life. And it's not any food tasting session. I'm too busy to try out new recipes recently."
"Good." He added and stepped into the house, his eyes finally trailed back to the kid who was standing at the side and looking as though he was left out. Heiji did his best to acknowledge him. "Who's this brat?"
"You've met Satoshi-kun last year," Kazuha closed the door and headed to the kitchen to keep the gyoza. She continued when he didn't reply since he was still running through his memory. "We were supposed to see Kaitou Kid in action together, but ended up stopping a bunch of thieves from stealing the Buddha statue in Nara, remember?"
"Oh." Heiji blinked when the flashes of nostalgic images instantly flooded his head. It had been a wild adventure, sort of. "Kawaguchi Satoshi?" He spoke out loud before looking down at the said kid.
Satoshi nodded and beamed, the proper enthusiasm a child should display. "Yes! Uncle Heiji!"
A vein automatically popped on his temple. "Who are ya calling Uncle again?"
Kazuha grinned playfully and walked out from the kitchen. "Since you two are obviously getting along, it should be no problem to leave Satoshi-kun in your care for the moment." She gave a soft pat on Satoshi's head when she walked past him and grabbed for the keys hanging by the door. "That's the favour I need from ya."
"Wait, what?" Heiji grimaced as Kazuha opened the door, letting a ray of yellow sunshine to fill the house, the same colour as the ribbon she used to tie up her hair today (Stupidly, it didn't dawn upon him at that moment that it was the ribbon he gave her). "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to the supermarket to buy some teabags." She replied just before swinging the door shut behind her. "I'll be back in just ten minutes."
Once the door entirely closed, a deafening silence filled the house instead, but it didn't take long for it to be broken when Satoshi skipped to the dining table that Heiji noted was littered with over a dozen of coloured crayons and pens. He hopped onto the chair and flipped open the closed drawing block, revealing an art piece that was half way done and quietly began to finish it.
If all the kids were as obedient and calm as Satoshi was now, maybe he wouldn't hate children so much, except for Conan, who technically wasn't a kid- Anyway, besides the point, why was he even here in the first place? Heiji trudged over to the table and slumped onto a convenient seat beside Satoshi.
"Why are you here anyway?" Heiji remarked bluntly.
Satoshi changed his crayon from green to red, to colour the roof of a house he had drawn. "My parents are overseas on a business trip so I am staying at Kazuha-neechan's house for the day."
Heiji hummed a low tone of understanding before focusing on the colour-filled paper. Unbelievably, his interest piqued as he observed the way Satoshi was making sure each white little space was filled with red. It was oddly satisfying.
"So you like drawing." Heiji commented casually. Weirdly, he realized he was being uncharacteristically talkative to a kid he shouldn't have cared about, but he easily comforted himself that it was because this boy was a distant relative of Kazuha. It was a necessity to keep check on the people around his follower.
The little artist-to-be nodded humbly, tilting his wrist in a professional manner.
His artwork was what most kids would draw; a 2D house beside a tree with a swing and a three-quarter sun hanging at the corner of the paper. But it wasn't that bad for a kid like Satoshi's age to draw and colour so nicely. He'd once seen his old drawings while cleaning the storage room and wanted to dispose all of them since it was an evidence to prove his lack of talent in arts, but his mother refused to throw them out because it was of a sentimental value.
Maybe it's time to test his skills again.
"Can I have a piece of paper?"
Satoshi blinked and stared at him curiously, one eyebrow raised. But without a word, the boy flipped past his drawing and to the next page and tore one clean sheet for him.
"Are you good at drawing?" Satoshi innocently asked as he watched Heiji fumbling with the markers.
Heiji scoffed and plucked the cap off a purple marker he picked, revealing the round tip. "Don't belittle me."
"I'm not. I was just wondering." Satoshi shrugged and return back to his work. "Kazuha-neechan mentioned that you're bad at it."
"What did that woman say?!" He nearly snapped the pen into two, a heavy frown etched on his face. Even if it was true, she didn't have to tell it to a kid. "Well she's not any better than me, I can bet." He rebuffed, knowing better it was a lie. His DNA could consist anything in the world but just not anything to do with art creativity.
Being young, innocent and remarkably clever to not find sides to stand, Satoshi shrugged again and focused on shading his blue clouds.
Heiji calmed down as quickly as he breathed and stared down at his blank paper before gazing at his pen. Okay, he shouldn't have picked the purple one. What can the he draw or colour with purple?! He glanced over at Satoshi inconspicuously and swiftly exchanged for the green one (So much for wanting to have a good start). After steadying the green marker in his hand, he began drawing spikes on the ground, representing the grasses. He just hoped Satoshi wouldn't suddenly ask if porcupines were green. That would be one blast to his ego.
It was a perfect waste of time but a nice distraction for waiting blindly until Kazuha came home. Heiji capped his blue marker and gave a once over at his finished drawing, feeling slightly pleased with himself. Although his house was crooked and the flowers were almost as big as the trees, at least his clouds didn't look like some blue-coloured barf anymore. He did improve after all.
Heiji didn't realize he had been staring at his art for the past minute until Satoshi tore the paper from his drawing block loudly and put it aside. He glanced over, trying to see what gimmick or talent the kid managed to pull off. There wasn't much changes to what he previously saw, just a few more trees here and there and-
"-the heck?" Heiji dropped his own paper to the table to pick Satoshi's in order to have a closer look. His wide eyes were magnetised to the additional written words at the corner of the paper near the yellow sun, each letter drawn in different colours, making it similar to a rainbow. He would've thought it was pretty artistic and creative, if those letters weren't spelt out as I Love Toyama Kazuha.
"What's this for?" Heiji spat.
"It's for Kazuha-neechan." Satoshi spoke like it was the most basic thing in the world. "I'm showing it to her later."
"I don't get this part." Heiji jabbed accusingly at the words.
"Even though there's nine more years before I reach eighteen, my decision hadn't changed yet." Satoshi said solemnly, but his serious demeanour was ruined when a little blush formed on his cheek. "And I want to tell Kazuha-neechan that."
Speaking of the devil, the door swung open after a soft sound of dangling keys and Kazuha stepped into the living hall with a merry smile, waving her successful purchase in her hand. "I'm back! And I've bought some tidbits for you, Satoshi-kun."
Heiji took quite some energy to peel his eyes away from the words. "What about me?" He pathetically interjected.
Kazuha rolled her eyes appeasingly. She took out a candy bar from the bag, tossing it to his direction and he caught it with succession before it hit his face. As she was approaching to Satoshi's side to pass him his share too, Satoshi jumped off his seat and grabbed the drawing from Heiji's fingers and plodded over to her in glee.
"Do you like it? Kazuha-neechan." He proudly showed the paper to her in his hands.
"Of course I do." Kazuha giggled and ruffled Satoshi's already messy hair. She fished out a similar candy bar from the plastic bag (which Heiji thanked god for it because he would definitely embarrassingly and unconsciously rage if their treatment were to be different) and handed it over to Satoshi.
After exchanging bright smiles that Heiji was starting to find irritating, Kazuha headed to the kitchen to stock up her tea bags while Satoshi ambled back to the table and placed his drawing aside to focus on tearing the wrapper of his sweet. Heiji's own candy bar was left unattended on his lap as his eyes remained fixated on the Satoshi's artwork before peering down at his own.
There really wasn't much of a difference, was there?
Heiji stealthily folded his drawing, hiding it perfectly inside his jacket. "I'm leaving now." He rose from his seat and stepped towards the door.
"So fast?" Kazuha appeared from the kitchen and placed a hand on her hip. "I was thinking that we can go to the family restaurant for dinner tonight."
For some reason, the word family curled out from Kazuha's tongue almost as beautifully as the first ripple in a calm pond, which seemed odd in his head because it was weird as hell. He waved a hand, a percentage of the reason was directed at himself too. "I have some stuff to do. I'm just here to deliver the food."
"If you say so." Her voice was vaguely hoarse, but Heiji guessed she was having a flu. She sat on a seat to look over what Satoshi was doing. "I won't be seeing you off. Remember to close the door."
"Yeah yeah." He stepped out, shutting the door behind him.
.o.
Having some stuff to do was supposed to refer to his homework, but for the rest of the evening, Heiji guiltily spent his time staring at his drawing in his room.
"Of course I do." Kazuha's voice echoed, followed by her laughter that automatically played in his head.
Would she direct the same treatment if he happened to draw an extra window for his house? Or maybe two more clouds on the right? Or maybe a bigger sun? When minutes passed and Heiji finally realized how absurd his thoughts were, he pinched the bridge of his nose, finding himself ridiculous. It was already ridiculous when Kazuha's laughter rang continuously in his head in the first place.
Then a thought struck him as he hastily smoothened his drawing on his table.
Maybe it wasn't about the art. Maybe it was something else.
He pulled out a red pen from his stationary holder and added the main difference he knew between Satoshi's and his drawing.
Beside one of the huge-ass flowers he drew, the ink of his red pen flowed out the words I Love Toyama Kazuha.
And then he spent the next fifteen minutes staring at what he had done before crushing the paper into a ball.
What the heck am I doing?! He nearly exclaimed out loud if it wasn't thanks to his hand clamping over his face, muffling his potential shout. He flicked the ball of paper aside, as if it was filled with incurable germs and diseases he didn't want to catch.
His bedroom door suddenly opened, earning him a near heart attack as he spun around in his seat to look at the intruder, who happened to be the very lady of the house. "Heiji, dinner is ready." His mother said, head poking into his room.
"Great, I'm starving." He slotted the red pen back to his stationary holder and pretentiously shuffled his untouched homework together.
"Throw your trash to where it should to be." She eyed at the very ball of crushed paper on his desk.
"Yeah I will." He grabbed the trash and juggled it in his hand. "I'll come out in a minute."
The door was left ajar for that purpose as his mother left.
Heiji let out a long breath, releasing the tension in his body before glaring down at the reason for his stupid franticness. He turned and aimed it for the trashcan, but there was something wrong with his nerve system. His ready arm was raised and poised in mid-air, yet no matter how hard he was urging in his mind, it just couldn't do the final swing.
Darn this thing. Heiji scowled and grudgingly open up the crumpled piece of paper. His written words was the first thing in sight to mock him again. Darn it.
He trudged over to his bookshelves and unconsciously picked out his favourite book from his Ellery Queen series. Folding the wrinkled paper into two, he slotted it perfectly between the pages, afterwards slamming the book shut and putting it back to its place.
Done. He swiped his hands together at his deed and headed to the dining room.
(It wasn't obvious enough to be seen, but at least it was there)
.o.
"Thank you for the gyoza, it tastes delicious like usual!" Kazuha set the cleaned bento box with its compatible cloth wrap on the table. Heiji's mother stifled a modest laugh behind her delicate hand and gestured her to take in the cup of warm tea before it turned cold. She often wondered how would Heiji be if he happened to inherit his mother's calmness and serenity, but the answer in her head was always a point blank. She really couldn't imagine Heiji being anyone else but the Heiji she knew since they were in diapers.
"Anyway Oba-chan, where did Heiji go?" It wasn't like she was expecting him to welcome her to his house, but she was hoping he would be at least around.
Heiji's mother gave a knowing smile, as though Kazuha had said something funny but she was sure she didn't. "It should be soon. He's running an errand for me." She answered before glancing at the clock hanging on wall. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Kazuha quickly shook her head. "That would be troublesome."
"How is that troublesome?" She stood up gracefully in her kimono, something Kazuha really wanted to learn how. "I hope you're not too hungry yet."
"I should help." Kazuha quickly scrambled on her feet, but the elegant lady gave her a look that instantly freeze her movement. It wasn't scary or offensive, but enough to make Kazuha know there wasn't going to be a point in trying to oppose.
"It'll be boring for you to stay here alone. Why not you stay in Heiji's room while waiting?"
There really wasn't anywhere she could think of that could make her comfortable and intrigue for the next hour, so... "Sure."
Heiji's room definitely smelt of... Heiji. Kazuha leapt inside the empty bedroom, all fixtures and furniture in the same place like she pictured in her head. She plopped onto the bed with mint-green sheets; the colour she liked, and started surveying the room like it was the first time she was here. Comparing to Heiji, she might not be the greatest observer or the best with deducing events, but she had enough of an imagination to play with.
Her eyes trailed at the chair that was slanted away from the desk and the uncapped pen over the top of some worksheets. She guessed Heiji was in the midst of doing his work when his mother asked him to run the errand. The empty old hanger hanging on the door handle was probably meant for his jacket, and she knew he must have used it when he went out.
Doing such a silly thing like visualizing what Heiji was doing... it was simple and fun. Everything that involved Heiji running in her mind was simple and fun. Ok. Maybe not. She should minus the word simple and add the word conflicting-confuse-and happy-and sad-and-a-little-delusional.
Just as she was about to cook up more stories in her head, there was a loud chorus of thumping coming from outside. It was faint yet fast, but as it grew louder, it became more hesitant and unstable. By the time when the footsteps was just by the door, Kazuha was up on her feet and in a stance, preparing for whatsoever-
"Heiji?" She blinked, her arms fell back to the side. "Are you being chased by a dog?"
"W-Why are you here?" He spat, almost breathless as he stumbled into his bedroom. "You didn't touch my things, right?"
"What's wrong?" Kazuha crossed her arms, eyes narrowed at how he was looking uncharacteristically nervous about her presence in his room. She had come in here more times than she could ever count, and he should know that too, so what was he so flustered about? She cast a withering look. "Do you happen to have something like a love letter stash in somewhere here?"
"Don't be stupid." He retorted and blindly groped onto his bookshelves behind him for support.
Or was it really for support?
Her eyes narrowed by an inch before she cleared her throat with exaggerated appeasement. "Oh Heiji, I didn't know you're so literate. Look at your bookshelves!" Kazuha chimed with fake enthusiasm and sashayed her way over to Heiji, who visibly flinched. "Care to share some of the books you're reading?"
"Don't touch my books." He spread his hands far and wide, covering the entire column of his Ellery Queen series. She knew Heiji kept his stuff well, but for him to be exaggeratedly overprotective of his collection out of the blue definitely increased her suspicions.
"I'm bored now," Kazuha drawled to emphasize her point. "Let me read one." She stretched her hand over Heiji's shoulder for the book behind him and he yelped.
Wait. Did he just... yelp?
Her fingers only managed to touch the spine of the book before he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, closing their distance to mere inches. By reflex, her other hand slammed onto the other side of Heiji's shoulder for support, which she needed if she didn't want her face to knock into his (Actually she would honestly like that, but it was all thanks to her reflex).
And then the thought about mocking his uncharacteristic squeal left her head, leaving only chaos of mess and a loud pounding heart.
Right at that moment, with their wide eyes glued to each other, along with one of their hands being weirdly tangled together, they should quickly rectify their mistake and move away, perhaps spurting out some nonsensical sentences to ease the situation too, but none of them did. Kazuha could feel his shoulder tense under her touch, and if she slip that hand just a bit lower, she might be able to feel if his heart was thumping as fast as hers. She took in a steady breath, the strong scent of Heiji filling her nose. It was also the second when she noted that Heiji was probably holding his breath, since despite their closeness, she couldn't feel any air between them.
He is warm. It was her turn to hold her breath. And when had his eyes ever wavered like this?
Nothing else in the room, or the world other than the two of them, seemed to exist. At least that was what Kazuha felt, which was why she didn't hear the soft yet steady footsteps coming from the corridor until a voice spoke, disrupting the piece of silence only both of them shared.
"Dinner is about to- Oh my,"
Their head spun towards Heiji's mother in sync, her smile discreetly grew a little bigger. She stepped forward and helped to close the originally opened door, her voice turned faint on the other side when she added, "I'm sorry for the intrusion."
Before Kazuha could even blurt out a word, Heiji had beaten her to it, since she was too busy trying to figure out how to hide her face that was burning like a piping hot Takoyaki. "Wait. Wait no- Mom." His uneasiness had turned into an instant full-grown panic as he skilfully slipped under the Kazuha's arm to fling the door apart, catching his mom down the corridor. "It's not what you think!"
Being alone in the suddenly cold room, Kazuha's flushed cheeks returned back to its original colour pretty easily. Her arms slowly slipped back to her side, eyes lowered to the point she might as well close her eyes and just sleep her slumber of misery and death.
"It's not what you think!"
Guess it really wasn't what she think either.
.o.
Staying inside his house for most part of the evening, it had been a dull Sunday when a certain loud-mouthed woman hadn't yapped by his head at least once.
As Heiji lay on the bed, his pillow giving him the slight support for his neck, he flipped a page of a magazine he borrowed from his mother. He was currently reading about this new famous park that was going to be opened in three more months' time, which was supposed to be none of his business since parks were so boring with all the same trees and same birds and same benches. But this was one idea he could keep at the back of his mind when he wanted to bring Kazuha somewhere in the future, perhaps, if he managed to tell her his stupid feelings or something. He glowered at himself and flipped to the next page, deciding the past five minutes of reading about the park was a waste of time. At this rate he was going, the park might already be demolished by the time they could visit it.
He might consider looking up on the net and search Top Ten Best Places in Osaka to Confess your Love later (And he must make sure to delete his entire browsing history after doing so). Since Kudo got the Big Ben, he needed a grand plan as well. Of course he wasn't going to let Kazuha just read his scrawny words off a stupid crumpled drawing stuck in between a goddamn mystery novel and call it a start to their relationship. How could he explain that to their grandchildren in the future?
Dang it, seriously. His mind always wandered off to crazy things whenever it got to do with Kazuha.
Still, it was the truth. He needed something big, something impactful. Something bold. Maybe while they were sky-diving? Bungee-jumping? Up on the roof of the Osaka Castle?
The idea didn't seem that bad...
"Hei-chan?" A voice suddenly sounded from the entrance of his room. "Are you busy?"
Distractions had been happening a lot lately, especially since yesterday; That had been one hell of a great distraction. He shook his head roughly to dispel the thoughts and dumped the magazine aside, propping himself up on the bed with an arm to properly see the visitor. "Otaki-han? No, I'm just reading some stuff." Heiji gestured his old friend in. "What are you doing here? Dad went out though."
"I'm just dropping by to visit since I was around this area." Otaki pulled out a chair by the desk and let it face Heiji before slumping heavily onto the seat. "How's everything?"
"Normal like always." Maybe a yawn would have been a better answer. He let his legs swing by his bedside and slouched to lay his head wearily on the palm of his hand, his elbow on one of his thighs.
"Then how's Kazuha-chan?"
"Great question." The words tumbled out of his mouth without him realizing himself. "But I don't know." He muttered the answer.
After that awkward dinner yesterday, he hadn't contact her even until now and vice versa. School might have given him the chance to do so, but now he detested the weekends for ruining his plans. Well, he could plan a visit to Kazuha's house...
"I thought you two come in a pair." Otaki chortled, his shoulders shaking.
Heiji grimaced. "What pair are you talking about?"
"Like two peas in the pod? That kind of pair."
"We're not a pair."
Otaki caught on pretty quickly as he straightened his posture with alert. "Did something happen between you two?"
"Nothing much." His eyes automatically flashed over to the culprit on his shelves, untouched since the incident yesterday. Nothing much his ass. He knew that, but it might be better to just keep that information to himself. The last thing he needed was-
"Oh. So I guess you must have liked it then."
"Like what?"
The older man gave a shy laugh and scratched the side of his cheeks. "Like how... Kazuha-chan is the aggressive type in the relationship."
This was exactly the last thing he was talking about.
"What on earth are you saying?" Heiji nearly spat his lungs out.
"Your mom told me Kazuha-chan was pinning on you and leaning for a kiss or something yesterday. But I thought it was odd."
"Damn right it is odd!" By the next second, Heiji was on his feet, body towering over Otaki as he waved his arms exasperatedly in the air. What stupid rumour was going on in the bloody house? "What the heck is my mom thinking?!"
"Exactly." Otaki nodded his head. "I was expecting the other way around."
"That's not what I meant!" He needed to cool down, fast, or his head would probably explode in the next second. He stomped over to his shelves, leaning a hand on the wooden frame to get some support, but it was certainly a wrong move when he remembered it was the same spot where Kazuha-
He was really considering jumping off the window to end it all.
"Then you mean there's nothing going on?"
His mouth opened, preparing to shout out a hell no there isn't as a reply, but he couldn't do it. There was definitely something going on, between himself, his crazy feelings and Kazuha. It may be a good opportunity for him to lean forward and take the kiss yesterday, but it wasn't the perfect one. The lack of privacy and how his mother walked right into their non-existent scandal proved his point.
Though if he wasn't going to act on anything now, sooner or later, nothing's going on would really be a reality...
But he just might have a way to fix it.
Heiji took in a deep breath to ease the bubbling warmth in his chest and ambled his way to his bed to take the magazine. He flipped to the page where he was reading about the renovated park before showing it to Otaki. "Did you pass by here just now?"
"Yeah, why?" Otaki blinked curiously at the random change of topic.
"Is it nice?"
Otaki blinked again. "Uh, it looks exactly like how it's shown here." He pointed at the pictures of a half-painted red wall and some plans on the half-renovated playground. He didn't say it, but the answer was equivalent to a no.
"Was there anyone there?" The questions continued.
"It's a Sunday after all so the workers aren't working."
Heiji turned the magazine to glance through the pictures again before he broke into a grin. "Great."
"Uh, Hei-chan? Can I know what you're planning?" Otaki made a soft wincing sound. "You might want to inform me before anything gets to your father's ears."
"Maybe you can help to make sure there isn't any policemen patrolling around this area later."
"Why?" Otaki's voice was growing with concern.
He slapped the magazine shut and threw it back to his bed. "I'll tell you if it all worked out."
It didn't satisfy Otaki's curiosity, and Heiji's smirk wasn't helping with the situation, but there wasn't anymore time to waste. He headed to his wardrobe and started searching for his favourite jacket to wear while effectively ignoring Otaki's pleas to know what he was up to.
.o.
17 years. It took Kazuha 17 years to realize that having a heartbreak wasn't only emotionally painful. It was physically exhausting and mentally draining too.
She had spent most of her time in bed, sleeping, daydreaming, looking through her school notes and sleeping again. Her father was on shift for the whole day, leaving her alone in her house without having the need to explain why she was wasting her life away. Besides some small biscuits and snacks, the last full meal she had was the dinner from yesterday at Heiji's house. She remembered how the delicious soup, which was supposed to be sweet and heavenly, gave an unknowingly sour knot at the back of her throat the entire time she drank it, and the effect lasted even until now. Perhaps it was because Heiji scooped the soup for her, and his shifty gazes casted some poison to her food.
Kazuha groaned and slept again, hoping to forget those images by the time she woke up.
It was hard to tell how long had passed since she fell asleep. An hour? Two hours? But she knew she was woken up during the forbidden hour when her phone shrilled loudly beside her ear. She'd forgotten to switch her phone to mute, and given that it was right by her head was a bad idea from the start. Kazuha produced a soft whimper as she stretched on her bed, one hand wearily searching for her phone until she found the metal technology in her hand. If it was some spam message... She pressed onto the home button to look at the notification, her eyes sore even just by peeling it open.
But it wasn't the case anymore when the message she received got her eyes cured and widened till it was on the verge of popping out.
Come out of your house. I'm outside.
Not a spam message. Not a wrong message (hopefully). It was none other than a text from Heiji.
This was unexpected though. Knowing him, Kazuha thought there wouldn't be any follow-up from yesterday since nothing could have gone through his dense head, be it her fluttering heart or feelings that may have been as obvious as day. Although this was something hopeful, she wasn't sure if she wanted to invest all her feelings into this hope; the message. She was afraid once she skipped out of her house in her nice jeans and hair that she combed for thirty times, it would be hard to hide that disappointed look on her face if the reason he was by the door was because he wanted to borrow her homework to copy for tomorrow lessons.
Still, it was a fact that she had been miraculously revived from her dying state with just one single text from him (Treat poison with poison, that sort of saying). She managed to find the energy to fling herself off her bed and change out into her favourite jeans before combing her hair around twenty-nine times. It had been a habit as of late so she didn't need to check the drawer to skilfully pick that special yellow ribbon Heiji gave to her and used it to tie her hair. After scanning herself in the mirror twice, she dashed towards the door, wondering what kind of snarky remarks Heiji was going to say for her slowness this time.
But when she walked past her gates and stood by his side, preparing for the his scornful jabs, he only made a grunt in acknowledgement and led the way to somewhere he said he wanted to bring her to. Ok. So it wasn't about homework. Then what else could it be? To his house to do his homework? But he would have mentioned straightaway that it was his house instead of being dubious and calling it somewhere. After a couple of turns and a short distance walk, she didn't realize they'd arrived to their destination until her face hit his back and she stumbled for a few steps, since she was so busy running through her thoughts the entire time.
A bundle of warmth grabbed her wrist, pulling her steady to her feet.
"Focus, ahou." He looked down and shook his head at her.
"R-right." She didn't have any excuse to argue. It was also the moment when she registered there was a plastic bag hanging by Heiji's wrist, the only hint of the content was the shadowy long can-like features. Was that a can of cola? Were they going for a picnic under some stars? That was one weird thought.
Heiji gestured over at the entrance of a dim-lit and isolated park, the dirty-white brick walls stretched down the streets, but halfway through, the wall had changed from the dull colour to a nice, clean crimson red. It seemed the painting job wasn't completed.
"Ok, uh so, do you like it here?" He asked, his tone slightly tainted with a pinch of nervousness. If the moonlight was bright enough to light up his features for her to see as a proof, she might be convinced her ears wasn't doing tricks. Why would he be nervous anyway?
Kazuha looked around, still trying to figure out what he was up to but she gave up in the end. "What are we doing?" She didn't want to reply a yes or a no first. If he was asking if she liked here just so he could mock her about a new place for her to burn her calories, then no. It he was asking if she liked here just so they could enjoy some quietness together with the trees as company, then yes.
"I'm going to paint something." He replied in a heartbeat.
This wasn't the answer she was expecting, ever. "Paint?" She echoed dumbly.
"Yes." From the plastic bag hanging by his wrist, he scooped out a can of spray paint and began shaking the bottle till he was satisfied. He pulled off the cap and chucked it inside the plastic bag.
"Wait, what? Are you serious?" Kazuha glanced around frantically. The street was deserted and the lamps nearby weren't functioning since the renovating park didn't see a necessity to need it yet. But still! They could be seen from somewhere! "Th-that's vandalism, ahou! You're breaking the law."
"They are going to paint the wall red later anyway, it's fine. And also," he sneered. "It's graffiti."
"Graffiti is an art." She let out a loud snort, part of her worrying was abandoned to focus on trying not to snicker. "You can't even draw a bird without looking like it comes from another planet."
"And that's what I'm going to prove to you. That you're wrong." He placed the remaining coloured cans on the ground and shook the one he had in hand even harder like a challenge. When he was satisfied with his exercise, he pressed the nozzle to test out the paint first before looking over at Kazuha with a goofy smile. "Let's start with something easy. A house."
With his black spray paint, he positioned his hand stiffly and started by drawing a roof. Despite the lack of light, she could tell with a glance at how hard he was holding the can, to the point his hand was slightly shaking. Ended up, the triangle roof he drew was a little disproportionate, but the effort he placed in it was enough to make Kazuha smile in glee.
He finished the house with a square box under the triangle, followed by two windows and a door. And with that, he produced a triumphant smirk and waved a hand over his artwork. "Over ten, what's the score?"
"Six." Kazuha tried to suppress and hide the smile that had been aching her cheeks the entire time.
In a second, like what she expected, he gave a nasty scowl. Kazuha chuckled. Six hundred over ten was what she thought, but she decided not to add the word hundred behind her given answer, just because she could enjoy the little fury he would display. She approached towards the plastic bag and whipped out a random can, which was the colour of green.
"It's too plain." She tossed the cap away and shook the can. "There should be trees around." She began her artwork.
It was his turn to laugh when she finished "You aren't any better. It looks like a broccoli."
She stuck out a tongue. "You don't have brown paint to spare."
His eyes were still twinkling from his previous chortle. "Is there anything else."
"The house looks small. Does it even have a kitchen?"
"No kitchen." He declared before walking around her to the other side of the wall and began drawing something similar like a table. On the table, he added a couple of black dots.
"What the hell is that?" Kazuha couldn't breathe, her sides were aching from laughing her lungs out as she tried to wipe a tear that was starting to form in her eye. "It looks like some kind of burnt- I don't even know what to compare it with."
"It's a Takoyaki stand." He grinned this time, looking far from offended despite her mockery. "We're going to eat Takoyaki every day."
"Nuh uh! Not just Takoyaki!" Kazuha hopped over to the white wall, a small distance away from the house. "There should be an Okonomiyaki stand like here too."
"Good idea." He began his paint job again. A similar table, but with bigger circles. It really wasn't any different from the Takoyaki stand, but Kazuha was more than happy to mind about the details. As long as she knew — they knew — what it was, it was enough.
As they continued their little town they built for themselves (which she didn't realize in the first place until she noted how Heiji was repeating the word We the entire time), their exchanges were mostly filled with teases and wheezing laughter. It was almost as if she'd forgotten everything she had been through during the earlier part of the day. Right now was the moment that was important, the moment she would remember for the rest of her life.
"You really suck at art." Kazuha stifled a laugh as she placed her spray can on the ground, done with her deed.
"Speak for yourself." Heiji pointed at one particular spot on the wall, which was supposed to be a picture of a dog that Kazuha drew, but it looked like some worm with four legs instead. "I don't think you have the rights to mock me anymore."
Kazuha stuck out a tongue at the back of Heiji's head. "Now what?" She interrupted him mid-sentence when he was rambling on about the monsters she created and returned her attention to look over wall again with both hands on her hip. There was their small house situated right next to a forest of broccoli, a couple of alien animals and a sea of food stalls. In Kazuha's opinion, it was like a big map of a town they created for themselves, but in the eyes of others, the only thing they could see was probably one huge mess of coloured spray paint. "The wall is almost filled up."
Heiji turned slightly over his shoulder, only one side of his face showing. "There's enough space left for one thing." He looked back at the wall and nodded almost to himself after surveying whatever he was looking.
"What thing?"
He fully faced her. "Close your eyes."
Her face flushed in instant horror. "If ya going to spray my face Heiji, I'll kill you."
"I'm not going to do that, ahou." He rolled his eyes and made a shooing gesture. "Turn around. No peeking."
She eyed him one last time and decided she should believe in his capability to stay true to his words. She crossed her arms and spun in her heels, back facing Heiji as she heard him shaking his can again, the sound of the sizzling spraying filled the silence at the next moment. Kazuha took the time and chance to look up, a little amazed at the vast numbers of twinkling stars littering all over the black sky. For as long as she was born, she'd never knew Osaka was a good place to star-gaze, then again, with Heiji around her most of the time, it was hard to notice anything else.
"It's not what you think!"
What a foolish girl, wasn't she? She felt her eyes sting and she rubbed her eyes, pretending it was because of an itch. After whatever fun they had now, Kazuha inwardly decided to call Ran the next morning. She really needed someone to talk to. Not about the stars, that's for sure.
"Oi."
Kazuha set her hands down and away from her eyes before gasping out loud at Heiji, who was standing in front of her with the spray can near her face. She was about to whack him upside down for breaking the promise when she noted that he wasn't intending to spray her. At least she knew he couldn't be, when his eyes seemed so distracted that it wouldn't be surprising if he missed his aim, despite how they weren't standing that far from each other.
"W-What?" She spluttered.
"Take this."
She curled her fingers around the cool metal tin and stared at it for a while. "What? Are you done with your art?" She turned back to the wall, wanting to see what sort of masterpiece or surprise Heiji could have-
Could... have...
In that tiny space between the edge of the wall and their house roof, there was an addition of six words. Six words, with one big question mark at the back of the written question; Will you go out with me (?)
"Y-Your answer." He stammered.
He stammered! It wasn't only her that noticed. He glanced away and rubbed a hand against his neck, his mouth muttering some incoherent words that she would like to hear and understand, but there was some more important matters on hand now.
"My answer." Her eyes flickered back and forth between her two favourite things in her life. It was really a blessing from heaven than she didn't stutter like him at all.
"Yeah." Heiji blurted, eyes dancing across the wall but not at her. "Let's build a home like this together in the future."
17 years. It took 17 years for Kazuha to feel, for the first time, something in her positively melt. She felt her legs wobble in excitement as her face was growing warmer and warmer, to the point it was getting hard to breathe. The only thing that was making her stand in position and face looking straight was because of the spray can in her hand. She needed an answer! She needed to give an answer now! Her head was about to explode with the chaos and screams bursting in her mind, and that was why the next sentence that came out from her mouth wasn't the gentle sort of reply most girls would say after they received a confession; She gave a loud yell like she was about to fight a war. "Close your eyes too!"
He stepped back in reflex to prevent himself from turning deaf. "Ok! Fine, don't friggin' shout in my face." And tentatively, he closed his eyes and looked away from the wall.
But it wasn't the wall Kazuha was planning to show her answer. Unbeknown to Heiji, she closed the distance between them with slow steady steps and reached out to one side of his jacket she knew was his favourite and pulled, plunging her lips into his.
This, was her answer.
The spray can fell onto the floor with a loud thud, regrettably forgotten. But Kazuha had her reason. She needed that very hand to slide it across Heiji's hair while he was pulling her in, that's why.
.o.
"So this is the legendary wall you always talk about?"
"Yes." Heiji smirked over at the blank piece of red wall. The painting was finished around a week ago. "This is the one I'm talking about."
"And you were never caught?" Conan ran a finger down the brick, feeling the rough edges against his skin.
"They did attempt to investigate, but since it was going to be coated over anyway, they just simply rule it as some elementary school kids' doing."
Conan glanced up the wall and shook his head. "No kids can reach that high. And if they are ignoring that fact, I guess it must be really bad — The graffiti— for it to be blamed on the elementary school kids instead of other levels of education."
"I didn't call you down from Tokyo to insult me, ya know." Heiji wrinkled his nose.
"I wouldn't hope that I've come down all the way to Osaka just to analyse this wall either." Conan tugged both hands into his pocket, a small sincere smile reached his lips. "But anyway, took you two long enough."
Heiji's phone vibrated in his pocket and he fished it out to view the new message.
Ran and I are on our way! See you later xxx
"I know." He finally muttered out a reply, his grin couldn't grow any bigger as he continued staring at his phone for the next one minute and a half.
(Their map and dreamhouse, under the coat of red paint, couldn't be seen anymore. But it didn't matter, because as long as they knew it was there, it was enough)
.end.