It had started off as another slow afternoon at the Mouri Detective Agency. The old man hadn't had a case in almost a week and had taken to spending his days watching horse races and drinking copious amounts of beer. Meanwhile, Ran was busy studying for her upcoming exams and cleaning up after her father. Conan had been trying to hold onto his sanity while living as first grader and doing his best to convince the Detective Boys to stop posting advertising posters all over the school. He didn't think he could take another case about a missing cat or a lost library book.
Just as Conan was brainstorming ideas for how to get the old man another case, there was a knock on the door. Before Ran could even answer, the door swung open and the three of them were now in the presence of the Great Detective of the West.
"Yo," he greeted, giving the dumbfounded group a small wave.
"He-Heiji?!" Ran stammered. "What are you doing here?!"
"Ah, I just finished up a case not far from here and thought I'd drop in on my favorite Tokyo detective," he smiled widely and tousled Conan's hair as the boy detective stared up at him, eyes full of malcontent.
"You don't say…" Conan mumbled, still annoyed by his abrupt entrance. But maybe now things would get a little more interesting around here.
"Yep, I figured it's been a while since I've seen you guys so I thought I'd drop in and see what you guys are up to. So Ku-Kah-Conan, got any plans for the rest of the day?" He gave the boy a sly smile, which usually meant he had something up his sleeve.
"Why…" the young boy inquired, eying him suspiciously.
"Well…" he started then bent down to Conan's eye level and whispered, "Truth is, I've got a bit of a tough case that I could really use your help on."
That piqued his interest Conan's interest. It wasn't unusual for the two detectives to run into each other on a case. And once in a while Heiji would invite him along on a case to get his input. But for Heiji to admit he actually needed help on a case…that was highly unusual. This must be something major. This case might be just the thing to get him out of this slump!
He opened his mouth to take him up on his offer when he was cut short by Ran. "Wait a minute! Why do you need Conan for this case?! He's just a kid! Wouldn't my dad be more suited to handle a case like this?"
Mouri looked up from the screen for a moment then gave the group a dirty look, "Unless they're paying customers, I'm not interested," he sighed then tossed another beer can in the trash can (and missed).
Crap. Neither of them had realized Ran had been standing only a couple feet away when Heiji blurted out his big news.
"Oh no no no no- that's ok!" Heiji stammered, giving the girl a weak smile and waving his hands defensively. "No need to get a professional involved. I just needed a child's perspective, that's all," he chuckled nervously and tousled the boy's hair again. Man, that gag was getting old.
He regained his composure a moment later and looked back at Ran, "In fact, I could use your help too."
"My help?!" Ran was taken aback at this. Why on earth would he need her help?! She was no detective!
Conan was equally puzzled. Why would Heiji go out of his way to invite her along on a case? Maybe they were going up against a powerful enemy and he needed her strength and karate skills, but he had a hard time believing Heiji would put her in apparent danger like that. Even Heiji wasn't that reckless. Now Conan was more curious than ever!
"Well…I guess if Conan's going I should come along to keep an eye on him…"
"Great! Let's get going then!" Heiji ginned, already pushing the two out the door.
"I'll be home before dinner Dad!" Ran called and waved good-bye before she was completely out the door.
Mouri mumbled something about bringing back take-out then cracked open his 5th beer.
"So Hattori, tell me more about this case," Conan whispered to Heiji once the two of them were a few paces behind Ran.
"Don't worry Kudo. I'll tell you all about it when we get there," he smirked. The group walked a few more blocks to the bus stop that would take them downtown where their next case awaited them. Conan was practically giddy with anticipation, wondering what exciting new case lay ahead of them.
"I hate you," Conan deadpanned.
"No you don't."
"I really do."
"But I really needed your help."
"I still hate you."
"C'mon, I can't do this by myself; I really need your help. I don't have a clue when it comes to this kinda stuff."
"And you think I do?!"
"I just needed a second opinion…and I didn't want to do this by myself."
"It's your problem. Figure it out," Conan said indifferently.
"How could ya be so cold?!" the Osakan said in mock hurt.
"Heiji!" Ran shouted, running over to the boys. "What do you think about this?" she asked holding up a powder blue scarf.
"Nah, Kazuha has plenty of those," Heiji said dismissively. Ran sighed and went back to combing the shelves.
Much to Conan's chagrin, this was the "big case" Heiji had told them about- finding a birthday gift for Kazuha. They had been shopping at the mall for nearly an hour, looking at four different stores and still found nothing Heiji thought she'd like.
"I still can't believe you dragged us out here to buy a birthday gift for your girlfriend," Conan muttered in exasperation.
"GIRLFRIEND?!" Heiji's eyes bugged out and reeled back as if he'd been electrocuted. "Listen here Kudo-"
"Fine," Conan interjected, "I can't believe you don't have the first idea of what do get for your not girlfriend. You too have been best friends since you could walk!"
"I know. It's pathetic," Heiji resolved. "It's just most years she doesn't shut up about what she wants for her birthday but this year she hasn't said a thing and it's driving me crazy!" Heiji sputtered, clawing at his hair in frustration. "Every time I make a suggestion, she turns it down, saying she doesn't need anything. And I'm almost out of time- her birthday's tomorrow!"
"It's ok, we can figure this out," Ran soothed, hearing the commotion and running over to calm down the situation. "What sorts of things does she like? Does she have any hobbies?"
"Well...aikido is really her only hobby, but she also likes cooking, playing puzzle games, and reading supernatural and romance manga… Does that help at all?"
"Hmmm…well, kitchenware doesn't strike me as sentimental and since we don't really know what kind of puzzle games and manga she already has, it would be kind of a gamble to pick one at random. What else could work?" Ran placed her thumb and forefinger on her chin, like she had often seen Shinichi do when he was in deep thought.
"Let's just browse through a few more shops. We're bound to find something eventually," she said with a wink. "C'mon," she urged, pulling Heiji into another boutique. Conan shot him a jealous glare, but the teenage sleuth didn't even notice.
Finally, after over two hours, a dozen stores, and countless turndowns from Heiji the group had all but given up on finding the "perfect" gift for Kazuha.
Conan was getting tired of getting pulling around the mall and having Heiji turn out every suggestion they made. He knew Ran was too, but was just too polite to say so. She looked so disappointed every time Heiji turned down one of her perfectly acceptable gift ideas. Why did he even bother inviting them along in the first place?
"Why are you so sure that she doesn't want any of this stuff when you don't have the faintest idea what she does want?"
"I dunno. I just know, ya know? It's like detective work. A lot of it is just gut instincts and my gut was telling me that none of those gifts were right for Kazuha," his eyes softened and he got this far off look on his face.
"AHHHH! Just forget about it! I'll just get her a gift card or somethin'! She can pick out her own birthday present!" He stormed off in the direction of the bookstore, resolving that a gift card would have to be good enough this year. He couldn't stand any more of this.
"So much for the 'Great Detective of the West…' Beaten by a single shopping trip," Conan quipped under his breath.
Heiji had almost reached the bookstore when a brightly decorated in window display caught his eye. He paused to take a closer look and that's when he found it- the perfect gift!
"What is it Heijii-kun? Did you find something?" Ran asked once she and Conan had caught up with him.
Heiji's grin persisted and he pointed to his newfound treasure.
"That?!" Conan replied doubtfully.
"Ah, no offense Heiji, but it doesn't really seem like Kazuha-chan thing…" Ran added, trying to hide her skepticism.
"Trust me. It's perfect." The Osakan detective grinned confidently and marched into the store to retrieve his prize.
It was the evening of Kazuha's birthday. Ran managed to convince her dad to let her take the train back to Osaka so she can Conan could celebrate Kazuha's birthday with her. Kazuha was delighted by the surprise and invited Ran and Conan to spend the night at her place the previous night.
The four of them had spent the day traveling around some of Kazuha's favorite parts of the city and visiting some of the attractions she and Conan missed last time they were there. The group had just finished eating Hayashi rice Kazuha's mom had prepared for dinner and afterwards it was time for gifts. After her parents and Ran had given their gifts, it was Heiji's turn to present his.
"So Heiji what did ya get me get me this year?" she smiled slyly.
"What makes ya think I gotcha anything?" he replied curtly.
She smacked him in the back of the head then held out here hand giving him a cold stare, "C'mon, cough it up."
He pulled the small box out of his pocket and gave it a hard stare before passing it over to Kazuha.
She undid the wrapping and ribbon trying it together then slowly opened the small box. She let out a small gasp as her eyes lit up and a soft smile spread across her face.
Ran and Conan peered over to take a closer look at the gift. "So…you really like it?" Ran asked tentatively.
"I love it," she said softly, taking out a delicate glass elephant figurine and holding it to her chest. "I used to have one just like it when I was younger. My grandma got it for my 8th birthday and it was one of my greatest treasures. It was the first gift I received that wasn't just some toy or book. I was so happy that Grandma trusted me with something so precious. But one day when Heiji and I were playing, he bumped into my bookshelf and knocked it over and it shattered into a million pieces. I was really mad at Heiji after that, we didn't speak to each other for weeks before I finally forgave him. See, my grandma had passed away earlier that year and this was one of the few things I had left of her…" Heiji blushed slightly and stared down at the floor, unsure of what to say.
She gently took the elephant from the box and stared fondly at it. "It's not quite the same, but every time I see it, I'll think of my grandmother." She gently set down the box on the coffee table then walked over to him and gave him a quick hug, "Thank you, Heiji."
His blush deepened then he crossed his arms after she released him. "Yeah, yeah, not like it was that big a deal or anythin'."
"Or brother," Conan muttered. Heiji better find a way to pay him back for this. Maybe he'll even invite Heiji to go shopping with him when Ran's birthday comes around…
A/N: I'm glad I finally got around to writing a Heiji and Kazuha story. I just love the chemistry between these two! I hope you guys enjoyed my story. I wrote it rather hastily, but I hope that doesn't reflect too much in the story. Please feel free to leave a review sharing your thoughts or criticisms. Thanks for reading!