AN: Oh hey, it's chapter two! I hope that everyone has been looking forward to it! And to those of you just joining me with this chapter, welcome, and thanks for reading. We're on the heels of getting an early pollen season here, but I am still here for you, working hard. As always, I love hearing your feedback, so don't hesitate to leave a review!

Until next time!

Chains of Iron

Chapter Two

Out of Season Fireworks

"That's strange. Kazuha-chan's usually more prompt than this."

As she stared down at the cellphone in her hand, Mouri Ran couldn't help but frown. She was certain that she had sent her mail to the right address- she had used the one from her address book after all, so why was it that Kazuha had contacted her yet? If it was a phone call, it would be one thing, but she had sent her a text message, and there would have been no problem for her to send a reply even if she thought she was currently in class.

"Kazuha-chan? You mean that girl from Osaka?" Peering down at her longtime friend, Sonoko couldn't help but blink. She had been wondering why it was that she wasn't responding to her when she tried to call out to her from across the room, but it appeared that the cause was being lost in thought.

"Yeah, she's Hattori-kun's childhood friend." Ran told her, finally setting down her cellphone with a small sigh. "You remember, you've met her at least twice before. Back when Conan-kun was in the hospital, and back at the school play."

"And? What is it about this girl that has you so down today?" Sonoko asked, borrowing the seat in front of her, taking a seat in it backwards so that she could continue to talk to her friend face to face. "Usually when you stare at your cellphone with such a forlorn expression, it's Shinichi-kun you're thinking about. Unless you've decided to change your target?"

"It's not that!" With a slight flush of red to her cheeks, Ran quickly protested, almost not knowing what she was more embarrassed by. "Kazuha-chan has Hattori-kun anyways. I'm just wondering why she hasn't responded to the message I sent her during our last class break yet."

"Message?" Frowning a little, Sonoko quickly seemed to recall something. "Ah, now that you mention it, you said something about going to Osaka yesterday. Whatever happened to that? Weren't you supposed to go today?"

"That's what I thought, but I also thought that our holiday started today." Ran told her, giving her something of a sheepish grin. "So I made plans with her to come over there with Conan-kun starting tomorrow. But I gave it some thought since then, and wanted to see if it wouldn't be too much trouble if the two of us went over right after school lets out today."

"I see." Nodding her head, Sonoko folded her arms in front of her chest. "That brat's got a holiday of his own today, doesn't he? You could have always just let him go by himself."

"I can't do that!" Ran protested. "Conan-kun might be smart, but a child is still a child. Besides, he's always getting himself into trouble the second you take your eyes off of him, and it only gets worse when Hattori-kun is around. I'm not sure Kazuha-chan could handle both of them by herself."

"If you ask me, it sounds like Hattori-kun's more of the handful, considering he's our age." Sonoko noted, shrugging her shoulders. "At least that brat has being a child as an excuse."

"Well, when you put it that way..." Trailing off a little, Ran couldn't help but let out an awkward laugh. "Still, I wonder what's taking Kazuha-chan so long to reply."

"Maybe she doesn't have her phone on her? Since she has a day off, she might be watching a movie or something." Sonoko suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "If you're so worried about her, why don't you give her a call? We're on break now after all, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Well, I guess that's true." Ran said after a moment, picking her cellphone back up. "Ah, but if she really is watching a movie, won't I disturb her?"

"It's fine, it's fine. With one of those high school detective types around, I'm sure that she's used to being interrupted." Sonoko noted, a sly grin crossing her face. "Considering that you're pretty much married to one yourself, you would think that you of all people would understand that, Ran."

"Like I keep saying every time, that's not it!" Puffing out her cheeks, Ran brought up Kazuha's number, giving it a call. Placing her cellphone against her ear, she leaned back in her seat, casting a glance out the window as she waited for her friend to pick up. As the phone continued to ring, she found herself frowning- not because her friend wasn't answering, but what she could see outside of the school gates from here.

"Oh? Isn't that a patrol car?" Sonoko asked, her lips curling into a frown as she took note of it too. "I wonder why it's here. Do you think something happened, Ran?"

"I don't know." Shaking her head, Ran's frown only deepened as Kazuha's voicemail picked up her call instead. Sufficiently distracted by this new occurrence, instead of leaving a message, she found herself hanging up for the moment. If there really was something going on within her own school, this was no time to be leisurely planning a trip. "I didn't hear any sirens, so I don't think it's an emergency but..."

"Do you want to go see?" Sonoko asked, getting to her feet. "Maybe if there's something going on, you can call your husband and get him to help."

"Like I said-!"

Anything else that she might have wanted to say was cut off by the sound of the door to the classroom opening. As their teacher turned in their direction, her face pale, her expression shaken, suddenly Ran couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong indeed.

"Mouri-san. There's an Inspector Megure here who needs to have a word with you." As the woman did her best to hold herself together, Ran felt a cold chill wash over her. "He says it's urgent."

"But it's really too bad, Kudo-kun. That you couldn't go to Osaka today like you had planned."

"When you say it, it doesn't sound sympathetic at all." There were no attempts to keep his tone from sounding dry, as Edogawa Conan turned a long look towards the one walking next to him. He had already parted ways with the rest of the Detective Boys for the day, leaving the two of them alone for the time being. "Or is there some reason that you didn't want me to go, Haibara?"

"No, of course not." Ai said simply, shaking her head. "I know how close you are to Hattori-kun. You must be quite depressed, missing a chance to see him."

"I'm not depressed." Conan grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Besides, Ran and I are still heading there tomorrow morning. It's not like we've missed a chance to see them."

"Is that so?" Ai asked, letting a hint of a smile cross her face. "Well, if you do see Hattori-kun, remind him that I'm only open to brand name bags as a method of negotiation."

"You know you can't even use those things with that body, right?" Conan asked, before heaving a long sigh. There was no arguing with her when it came to brand name products- honestly, not even Sonoko was that stubborn about them. "Fine, I'll tell him. But just so you know, I don't think asking Hattori to try and navigate the complicated world of brand named goods is that good of an idea."

"In that case, I can send him what he'll need to buy me in order to convince me to change my current ringtone myself." Ai noted simply, an amused look twinkling in her eyes. "You really shouldn't look at me with such an expression, Kudo-kun. After all, you're the one who sent me that recording of his confession in the first place."

"I didn't think you would start using it as your ringtone." Conan pointed out, quirking a brow. "I can't tell if you like Hattori, or if you have something against him."

"Well, not all of us can be as easy to read as Hattori-kun." Ai noted, taking a few steps forward, pausing to glance back at him. "He's an interesting person, your friend. If I hadn't seen that lab mouse for myself, even I might have trouble believing the idea that Apotoxin might really be capable of shrinking people, and yet he came to the conclusion that you had somehow turned back into a child all on his own."

"Now that you mention it..." Trailing off a little, Conan couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Well, I really didn't help matters much by trying to pull the Sleeping Kogoro act with him. But that guy's thought process can be a bit strange sometimes. Normally you wouldn't think of giving a child alcohol as a cold remedy."

"Well, you have him to thank for that, don't you? If he hadn't done something like that, you never would have been able to return to normal for the first time. And I never would have been able to begin to create an antidote." Ai noted, closing her eyes. "It's a bit funny how fate works sometimes."

"Oi, oi, don't tell me you're starting to believe in something as nonsensical as fate." Conan remarked, turning a rather long look her direction. "I thought you were a scientist."

"It's a turn of phrase." Ai said simply, the sound of a somewhat familiar ringtone catching her ears. "By the way, mister great detective, your cellphone is ringing."

"Ah, you're right." Reaching into his back pocket, Conan pulled out his cellphone, a slight frown crossing his face. "From Ran? That's odd, she's supposed to be in class right now."

"What's wrong, Ran-neechan?" Placing the phone against his ear, Conan stepped back a bit, getting out of the way of anyone who wanted to get around him. Pressing his back up against the electronics storefront behind him, he watched out of the corner of his eye as Ai shrugged her shoulders, settling for watching what was playing out on the televisions just beside him. "I thought you were in class right now."

The sound of her voice alone was enough to shoot a bolt of panic through him.

"That's not important right now, Conan-kun. Where are you? When I went to check the usual park you play soccer at, you and the others weren't there."

"Eh? Where am I?" Frowning a little, Conan tried to remain in control of his breathing. He knew that tone Ran's voice had taken on, and it was more than enough to fill him with dread. "I'm heading back to the agency right now, with Haibara. I should be there in a few minutes."

"I see. You're heading home, then." Hearing the sound of her letting out a long sigh on the other end of the line, Conan's frown only deepened. "In that case, I'll meet you there in a few minutes. Is your bag for the trip still packed?"

"Yeah, it is." Conan said, nodding his head. This wasn't like her at all- something must have happened. "Is something wrong, Ran-neechan? You sound so serious."

The long pause on the other end of the line left him suspecting that he had been disconnected for a minute, before Ran finally spoke up again. "I'll tell you about it when I get to the agency, Conan-kun. But everything will be fine, alright? Everything will be fine."

Everything will be fine, she said- but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that, rather than him. Trying to keep what she thought was a child from panicking while trying to keep her own emotions in check- as he thought, something must have happened. But before he had a chance to question her more in depth, she apologized to him, and quickly hung up.

He didn't like this- he didn't like this one bit. Had something happened to her father? She mentioned the bag that he had packed for their trip to Osaka, so did the two of them need to go somewhere? As he was trying to rack his brain for what might be going on, he turned back towards Ai.

And for a brief moment, felt his heart cease beating in his chest.

"Oi, Haibara." He knew that expression on her face- that frozen expression of fear that she wore whenever something terrible had happened. For a moment, his gut reaction was to wonder if one their number was around- before he realized that her expression now wasn't quite the same as the one that she wore when they were around. "Haibara, what's wrong?"

"See for yourself, Kudo-kun." Finally finding her voice, Ai slowly lifted a finger, pointing at the row of televisions in the storefront before her. There was no sound coming from them, but the scrolling news updates at the bottom of the screen were more than enough to paint a vivid picture of what was being discussed.

Doing as he was told, Conan turned his attention towards the news program that was playing out on the television. A breaking news bulletin, and one that caught his attention right away, sending a cold chill down his spine as he slowly began to understand why it was that Ran had sounded that way.

There had been a bombing incident. That was alarming enough in and of itself, but the location was what caught his attention right away, what had him truly feeling as if the earth had suddenly been pulled out from underneath him.

Osaka.

Logically, he knew that the odds of either Heiji or Kazuha, or one of their family members, being involved in the incident were fairly low. But he also knew that Ran wouldn't have called him in such a hurry, with that tone of voice, with that sort of behavior, if they hadn't somehow gotten mixed up in it.

If it were enough to pull her out of school early, then it had to be a serious situation. And for her to react in such a fashion... rather than one of their family members, it had to be one of the two who had gotten involved- or even worse- both.

"Go." Ai's voice snapping him back to reality. "You won't accomplish anything by standing here, gaping like a fish."

"Right." Slowly nodding his head, Conan swallowed back his anxieties. It was still too early to panic- he didn't have all the details yet, and there was a chance that Ran didn't have them either. Even if they had somehow gotten mixed up in the bombing, there was a chance that they might only be lightly injured.

It was easy for the logical half of his brain to tell him that, quickly acting to try and calm him. But it was floundering, the images of a half collapsed department store, and the sound of the badly suppressed panic in Ran's voice, haunting his mind whenever he tried to reassure himself that they were probably alright.

Still dimly aware that he hadn't yet put away his cellphone, Conan found himself punching in Heiji's number, as if by instinct. Even as he raced towards the agency, heart pounding in his chest all the while, he pressed the phone against his ear, the fear within him growing every time it rang, without anyone picking it up.

When Heiji's voicemail took the call instead of his friend, he couldn't even think of anything to say, listening to the sound of the beep from some distant place. There had always been a fear in the back of his mind that his friend might one day get mixed up in something dangerous- indeed, he actually already had. He knew better than anyone the risks that came with detective work, but he'd never imagined it could happen like this.

Not like this.

The only thing they knew was that Kazuha had been rushed to the hospital.

That was information that they had learned from Inspector Megure, who in turn quickly moved to pass it on down to them. Judging from the news broadcast, that Conan couldn't keep himself from fixating on for the entire train ride there, that information hadn't been made public yet- that the daughter of the head of the Osakan police's first division had gotten mixed up in the bombing incident that was on the verge of sending it into a panic.

The only thing keeping it from doing so was the chief of police- Hattori Heizo. But still, the atmosphere that they arrived to was nothing like the Osaka that they had experienced before- there was a tension to the air, thick with anxiety to the point that it was almost hard to breathe.

It wasn't a surprise. There were very few details available to the public just yet. If anyone had come forward to claim the bombing as their own work, to detail what their motive was, and if there were going to be any further attacks, that information had yet to be released. The only thing the public knew at the moment was the rising death toll, as more and more people were pulled from the wreckage, some just a little too late to be saved, others long beyond any hope.

Ran didn't want him to watch the footage. He couldn't blame her for that either.

It wasn't pretty.

"Don't let go of my hand, Conan-kun. It's probably going to be very packed when we go there." Even within the sternness of her tone, there was no mistaking the anxiety that had gripped Ran to her core. Even if he somehow missed it, the tight way that she clutched his hand, almost as if she was the one who needed the support of it's small fingers wrapped in her own, delivered the message loud and clear.

They only knew that Kazuha had been brought to the hospital, and where that hospital was. They didn't know her current condition, not even if she were alive or dead. There was no word at all about Heiji, at least not that Inspector Megure knew- other than that he was supposed to be with her at the time. They would come to learn later that the one who passed the information on to him was Inspector Otaki, but who the source was, wasn't even something that was on either of their minds at the moment.

They just wanted answers. For good or for ill.

"I won't let go." Turning his gaze up towards her, Conan couldn't help but wish that it wasn't the small hand of a child she was grasping now, but the firm hand of her childhood friend. There would be comfort that he could provide her as Kudo Shinichi, that he just couldn't as Edogawa Conan. Rather, it was Ran who felt she had a duty to comfort and protect him as much as possible- and as a result, she was trying to swallow back her own fears, to push forward in the face of them.

She was strong- but not that strong. With the possibility that someone that she had come to consider a dear friend to her could be in grave condition, if not actually already in the grave, she was feeling it's weight.

"Good." Nodding her head, Ran forced a small smile onto her face, before she drew in a deep breath. Even from the outside, she could tell that the hospital was in a state of chaos. Asking a nurse or a doctor where to find their friends might be out of the question, since no doubt everyone was quite busy at the moment. "Let's go, Conan-kun. Follow my lead."

Her grip on his hand was so tight that he could feel his fingers throb- but he wasn't about to complain. Instead, he followed her into the hospital, sticking close to her so as to not get in anyone's way. He hadn't seen a hospital this packed since the Mizunashi Rena incident- but it was clear that this was far more serious than that. The sounds alone were indicative enough of that.

The wailing of children, and the voices of parents who couldn't manage to calm them down, many seeming to want to wail themselves. Choked sobs and unabashed crying- and they both had to hurriedly move out of the way of an emergency crew rushing a badly burned man in behind them, his cries of pain momentarily drowning out any of the other noises in the room.

In the middle of it all, they spotted a familiar face- though not the one they were hoping to find. Still, it was a face that they knew, and someone who might be able to give them further answers than they already had. Weaving their way through the crowd, they made their way towards the scarred officer that they had come to know during their multiple visits to Osaka, someone that they knew Heiji and Kazuha had known probably forever.

"Otaki-san!"

"Ah, Ran-san. You made it." At the sound of her voice, Otaki paused his conversation, turning to face her. There was a grave expression on his face, his eyes haunted by the events that had unfolded- events that had hit close, too close. There was no need for a deduction there, that much was painfully obvious.

"We came as quickly as we could." Ran told him, nodding her head. "It's going to take dad a little while longer to get out here, since he's visiting a friend right now, but I did call him to let him know. More importantly, how is she?"

Glancing back towards the man he had been speaking with, who they now realized was likely some kind of doctor, Otaki could only shake his head. "Kazuha-chan's still in surgery right now." He told them. "I'm afraid that we can't know anything further until they're done. The rescue workers who pulled her from the wreckage said she was lucky though- if she hadn't been where she was when they found her, she probably wouldn't have made it."

They weren't the words of reassurance that they wanted to hear, but they were enough to take some of the burden off of them. Exhaling, Ran's shoulders slumped, her grip on Conan's hand growing lighter.

"What about Hattori?" For a moment forgetting himself, Conan found the familiar way he addressed his friend in private roll off of his lips. Still dimly aware of his own position in spite of everything, he quickly moved to correct himself, though he doubted anyone would notice under these circumstances. "Heiji-niichan."

"He's waiting for Kazuha-chan to get out of surgery right now, with her parents and his mother." Otaki told them, a grim expression on his face. "Apparently he was outside of the department store when the bombs went off, waiting for her to come out. He's sustained injuries of his own, but he's refusing to let anyone treat him until we have further word on Kazuha-chan's condition."

Those words too, brought with them an uneasy sense of relief. Given that they had no news about him at all, just knowing that he was alive, and apparently well enough to be on his feet, was a huge relief.

"Can we see them?" Ran asked, taking half a step forward. "I'm worried about Kazuha-chan."

"Of course. Hei-chan told me to wait out here in case the two of you showed up." Otaki told him, managing to work a hint of a smile onto his face. "I'll show you the way."

Usually when they saw each other, something in Heiji's face would light up, as if he were reuniting with an old friend, rather than someone he had only met six months ago. That bright smile could light up a room, though his best ones were reserved for the one that he had actually known forever.

There were no smiles today. In fact, he barely even stirred as they greeted him, as if he were in a distant place where he couldn't hear their words. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, on the glowing red sign that indicated the surgery was still in progress. If it weren't for the fact that he was breathing, it might have been easy to mistake him for a statue- he was that still.

It was downright eerie. A Hattori Heiji that he had never known before. As if he was contemplating something beyond his imagination.

Still, when he did finally acknowledge them, something of a faint smile graced his lips- a far cry from it's usual power. No one could blame him.

Otaki had been correct- in spite of not being in the building himself at the time of the explosions, he hadn't exactly made it out unscathed. It was hard to make out with the dark color of his hair, but there was dried blood clinging to the back of his head, cuts from glass and shrapnel that had exploded outwards on his face and chest. But that wasn't what was making his mother hover so close to his side, not giving him his space in spite of his silent message that he wanted it.

It was his hands and arms that were in the worst shape. The burns were light, nothing in comparison to the man who had been rushed in as they entered. It was as if the flames had merely nipped at him, leaving traces wherever they touched- but even light burns were something to worry about, and were doubtless painful.

If he was in any pain, he wasn't showing any signs of it. It felt as if part of him wasn't really there, but was somewhere else- though where that might be, Conan couldn't even begin to guess. Even in his faint smile, there was something distant, as he finally returned their greeting.

"We came as soon as we could, Hattori-kun." Ran was the one who spoke first, sucking in her breath. There were words dancing just on the edge of her lips, as if she wanted to chide him for not seeing a doctor for his own injuries- but she couldn't bring herself to say them. If there was one thing that she had come to understand about Heiji, it was how stubborn he could be- and that when he decided on something, it was very hard to change his mind. It was both a good thing and a bad thing- and in this instance, she couldn't help but feel it was a bad thing.

"Thanks, Neechan. I'm sure Kazuha'd be glad ta hear it." Heiji told her, his gaze flickering back towards the doors that were still shut tight, glowing sign above indicating that this was far from over. Even from here, they could still make out the sounds of the barely controlled chaos that was the rest of the hospital. They would likely be kept busy well into the night, and even into the next day.

"Heiji-niichan." It was in times like these, that he couldn't help but wish that he could be as he should, so that he could address him freely in the way that the wanted to. But even in times like these, he had to keep up the act, pretending that he was nothing more than a first grade student. It ate away at him, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about his own problems, when one far more immediate loomed in front of him. "How are you holding up?"

"M'not dead." Heiji muttered, his words barely audible. Ignoring the burns that singed his hands, he tucked them into his pockets, fixing his gaze fully back on the doors of the operating room. "So there's that, I guess."

"I'm sure she'll be alright, Hattori-kun." Ran told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. What should she even say to him in a situation like this? She knew what she would want to hear, if something like this had happened to Shinichi, but just because she knew what she would want someone to say, didn't mean it was the right thing to say to him. "Kazuha-chan's tough."

There was a long bout of silence, one that seemed far longer than it actually was due to how unusual it was for him. When he finally spoke, his words were welcome. "...I suppose that's true."

"That's right!" Conan chimed in, carefully letting go of Ran's hand, and making his way to Heiji's side, staring up at him with an expression of concern that didn't fit his childlike face. "Otaki-san told us about it, Heiji-niichan. That they said Kazuha-chan was lucky."

"If she was really lucky, she wouldn't have been in there in the first place." His words were curt, and punctuated with anger- but not anger that was directed at the one he was speaking to. His hands balling together into fists within his pockets, Heiji gritted his teeth. "It's my fault."

"I'm sure that's not true, Hattori-kun!" Shaking her head, Ran's words escaped her almost no sooner than Heiji's had left him. "Don't say something like that!"

For a moment, it almost looked as if there was something that he wanted to say in response to that- but whatever it was, he swallowed it down, closing his eyes. Drawing in a deep breath, Heiji unclenched his fists, withdrawing them from his pockets, casting a strained smile towards Ran. "...Maybe if she didn't hang around with someone like me all the time, then my bad luck wouldn't have rubbed off on her."

"Hattori-kun-" Opening up her mouth to protest again, Ran cut herself off, feeling a small hand tugging on her own. Glancing down, she met eyes with Conan, and watched as he shook his head, telling her that it would be for the best if they just let him be for the moment.

Nothing that they said right now would be able to console him. There was a deep wound that had been inflicted in his heart, and as if by instinct, he knew that it was from more than just the tragic out of season fireworks that had shaken the city to it's core. What that something more was, he couldn't even begin to say- but he was sure when the time came that they could all breathe a bit easier, he would tell him about it.

There was no need to press him, not now. He was a detective, but right now, his role wasn't to solve the case that had just happened- his role was to stay here, by the side of someone he had come to value as a friend, and wait for any news, be it good or bad. As much as he wanted to press Heiji for details about what had happened, as much as he wanted to rush headlong into investigating the case, that was something that he couldn't, and shouldn't, do right now.

If even the west's own high school detective wasn't chasing the truth right now, then there was no place for the east's to do so. He would wait, holding his breath, for something to happen.

Something good would be vastly preferable.

Four hours after multiple explosions had destroyed an Osakan department store, they came to know two more pieces of information.

The first, and one that sent a chill down their spines, was that this was far from over. The group claiming responsibility for the attacks had not given their name, nor had they said anything about their motives- but they had made one thing very clear- that this was not going to be an isolated incident, and that there was more to come.

It was news that Heiji took in while barely even blinking, as if it were something that he had already known. To be certain, it was something that the police had been suspecting to be the case- they had gathered that much from Kazuha's father. But rather than just suspecting, it almost seemed as if Heiji knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this wouldn't be the end.

That this was only just the beginning.

The second piece of news was better, though not by much. Kazuha had pulled through surgery, but while her condition was a bit more stable than before, and her life was out of immediate danger, there was no telling how the future would turn out. She was still listed as being in critical condition, and was closely being monitored by doctors and medical devices alike. Still, for what it was, it provided them with some small degree of relief- the long wait for news was finally over.

With that, a few things changed. Though it was clear that he didn't want to depart, Kazuha's father had very little choice in the matter- as the head of division one, he was going to be needed now more than ever during this crisis. He had whispered his goodbyes to his wife, and promised Shizuka and Heiji alike that he would come if there was any further news, as soon as he could.

He had lingered for a moment, while speaking to Heiji, as if he could sense something from the boy he had known almost as long as his own daughter, that neither Conan nor Ran could. He could think of nothing to say, and merely settled for patting him on the shoulder, telling him to take care of himself, his gaze dropping to Heiji's own burns as he spoke.

When one of the doctors who had been treating Kazuha came to check up on him, Heiji had instead directed them away, muttering underneath his breath that he was fine. There were patients here a lot worse off than him, so he should go and deal with them first, before worrying about someone who hadn't been hurt that badly. The doctor wanted to protest, but Heiji had glared him into submission, forcing him to back off.

With Kazuha secure in a hospital room, Heiji excused himself. Really, Conan had wanted to follow after him right away, but he was stopped by Ran, who told him that Heiji still clearly needed his own space right now. It took him quite awhile before he could escape from her, not until she was deeply involved in a conversation with Heiji's mother. Though he barely knew the layout of the hospital at all, it wasn't hard to guess the places that Heiji might have gone.

If he wanted to find somewhere quiet, in the middle of all the noise, the most likely place was the roof. Sure enough, that was where he found him, catching him just as he hung up his phone, swears hanging silently off of his lips as he caught his friend out of the corner of his eye.

"Kudo."

"Hattori." That name was surely better, he thought to himself, as he took a few steps forward, casting a serious look up towards him. "What happened?"

"What do ya mean, what happened? A building blew up, with Kazuha inside, that's what happened." For a moment, there was a flash of anger brewing inside of him- before he bit it back, swallowing it down. He knew full well why he was being asked that, and instead let out a long sigh, tucking away his cellphone into his jacket pocket. It was in tatters from the flames that it had been exposed to, but he probably hadn't even thought about taking it off.

If Conan had to be honest, Heiji looked like a wreck- and probably felt like one too. He had been able to gather from his mother, as well as from Otaki, that Heiji had tried to go into the building after Kazuha himself, even as it was still collapsing around him. He had to be dragged out by force by one of the first responders, and refused to even leave the scene until they had found Kazuha.

Since he looked half near ready to fight anyone who tired to protest this, he'd been left alone, to do as he pleased, so long as he didn't try and enter the department store himself again. That was where the burns had come from- and why they were the worst on his hands, Conan assumed.

He must have been in pain, he decided, but was ignoring it. If he didn't know it would have the exact opposite effect, he would take his hand in his own, and drag him down by force to have them looked at. If he let him be, then in due time, Heiji would calm down and allow himself to be treated properly- he was just stubborn.

"...I don't know what happened, Kudo." Heiji told him finally, narrowing his eyes as he spoke. "Just that it's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Hattori." Narrowing his eyes, Conan couldn't help but frown. "You were the one who said it was Kazuha-chan who wanted to go to the department store this morning."

"So yer sayin' it's Kazuha's fault, then?" The glare that Heiji shot at him was enough to send a chill down his spine for a second. That had most obviously been the worst possible thing to say.

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say at all!" Conan protested, running a hand through his hair and heaving a long sigh. He wasn't good at this sort of thing- especially not when he was going up against someone with Heiji's personality. "I'm just- you can't blame yourself for something like this, Hattori."

"I should have been able ta tell. Should've been able ta tell that somethin' was wrong." As he told him that, Heiji turned on his heel, facing away from him. "An' I did, even, but I ignored it. Look how that turned out fer me now."

"Hattori, that's-" Conan began, biting back an instinctive response that it still wasn't his fault. He of all people, knew the kind of burden that sort of thing placed on one's shoulders- it sounded like such a good thing to say on paper, but in reality, they were words that stung like no other. "...You're only human."

"Infinitely aware of that, Kudo."

"Hattori-" Conan began again, before he cut himself off, realizing that he didn't actually know what to say. Usually the two of them were so in sync, but that couldn't be less true at the moment. "You really should let one of the doctors treat you."

"Ya sound like my mom." Heiji couldn't help but note, finally turning back around to face him. Though there was a hint of a grin on his face, it felt as if it were almost there just for show. "I'll have 'em look at me when things calm down a bit around here. It's not bad. Just a little itchy."

Heaving a long sigh, Conan felt his shoulders slump. He had been right earlier- nothing that he could say was going to get through to him- and it still felt like there was something that he hadn't told him yet about this. There were a million questions that he wanted to ask, a million things he wanted to do- but instead of any of that, what came out was-

"Don't itch them."

"Now ya really do sound like my mom." Heiji couldn't help but quip, and for a brief moment, a shadow of his usual grin appeared. "I won't. I'm not an idiot, after all."

"People have protested to that before." Conan couldn't help but say, almost half regretting the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Even with Kazuha being so freely brought up, Heiji's expression didn't shift, and for a moment, Conan found himself letting out a breath of relief. "You know you can rely on me, right?"

"I know." Pausing to bend over in front of him, Heiji ruffled his hair. The unreadable nature of his expression didn't exactly comfort Conan- but at least he was acting a bit like he usually did. "I know that, Kudo."

Pulling his hand away from his friend's head, he took a few steps forward, lingering just in the doorway. He knew that. Of course he knew that.

"Kudo?"

"What is it, Hattori?" Turning around to look at him, half wishing that Heiji would do very much the same- he wanted to see his face, not his back, which told him nothing.

"...Sorry."

It was a strange choice of words. Usually in that situation, what one would normally say was some form of thanks- not an apology. It was something that he had certainly thought about- but it hadn't been something that he had dwelled on overmuch.

If he'd stopped him then, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so out of hand. But there was a saying about hindsight, and one about foresight to match- and it would seem that it wasn't a saying that even a great detective could truly escape from.