The Sign of Four [Shippings]
Heiji x Kazuha

Here we are again, with the second installment of Around the World in Eight Shippings. Thank you to those of you who reviewed my Shinichi x Ran. Constructive criticism is welcomed.

This is probably going to be one of the hardest shipping stories for me to do, because I personally do not support it. The only story I'm guessing is going to be worse will be my Conan x Ai/Shinichi x Shiho, because it's my least favorite pairing in the entire Detective Conan fandom.

Warnings: bad writing, TOTALLY cliche, etc., but mostly OOC-ness because I'm new at this. After all, this is only my second fanfic.

Anyway, enough chatter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. If I did, do you think I would be a lonely cat-lady-in-training who types love stories in order to satisfy her need for romance?

Disclaimer 2: I don't own "ギリギリ Chop" (aka Heiji's ringtone) either. Ya think?


It was a brilliant day, a day with a sky so bright it looked almost artificial. A breeze cavorted through the heat-laden air, looping multiple times around a slowly walking pair of people fresh from an okonomiyaki restaurant.

Half of the pair was a tall, tan boy wearing a backwards baseball cap, and the other part was a slender, pretty girl with hair in a high ponytail. Otherwise known as Hattori Heiji and his childhood friend Toyama Kazuha.

The two were walking in a comfortable, companionable silence when a ringtone suddenly shattered the serenity.

Girigiri gake no ue o yuku yoo ni... Furafura shitatte ii ja nai ka yo...

Heiji jerked to a stop and reached into his pocket, extracting a vibrating cell phone. Quickly glancing at Kazuha, who looked irate, he flipped it open and said, "This is Hattori Heiji." His inquisitive expression suddenly changed. "Lil' girl? From the professor's place? What happened? It's – huh? What? Kudou? He – that can't be, I'm comin'!"

Looking shocked, Heiji snapped his phone shut and turned to run before pausing. "Kazuha..."

"Heiji..." Kazuha warned. Her grip on her bag tightened at the sight of her best friend smiling apologetically at her.

"Kazuha, I'm sorry, but this is... this is really importan'. It's Kudou. He's been shot."

Kazuha didn't get another word out as Heiji actually did leave, sprinting quickly off and weaving through the throng of other pedestrians. She stood there, crossing her arms as she watched the end of her enjoyable day approach.

With a sigh, Kazuha pivoted and began to walk briskly off, her thoughts a completely jumble. Kudou. It's always Kudou-kun. Kudou-kun's the one he runs off for; Kudou-kun's the one he always visits. He always picks Kudou-kun over me.

Suddenly realizing what she was thinking, Kazuha let out an audible gasp and quickly looked up to see if anyone was watching. Kazuha, you ahou! Why are you getting jealous of KUDOU of all people? Kudou-kun is a guy. Plus, he's barely ever around. It – It can't be.

Or can it?

Kazuha brushed off the thought; it gave her shivers just to imagine anything happening between Heiji and Kudou-kun. She stopped walking, suddenly wondering where she could possibly be.

She prided herself on knowing the streets of Osaka fairly well, yet she had no clue where she was. Her surroundings were storefronts, a deserted street, and a well-kept sidewalk. There was no intersection handy to use in order to figure out what street she was on.

Guess I'd better call Heiji to pick me up, Kazuha thought with a tired sigh. Her cell phone was in her hand before she dropped it, realizing Heiji was probably on his way to Tokyo that second. Great. Now I have no idea what to do.

Maybe I should cross the street, she realized. Then I could ask one of the store owners where I am. Though I will look like a fool.

Checking cautiously, Kazuha stepped tentatively into the street. Her actions seemed fairly safe; she was almost certain there were no cars. She began to walk slowly and warily across the street.

Suddenly, a speeding object seemed to come flying out of nowhere. It took Kazuha a second to realize that the object was a car, a white car, and it was coming directly at her.

And by then, it was too late.

I wonder if Heiji would come for me, she thought before she tunneled into a deep blackness.

"Gah!" Heiji clutched at his omamori.

"Hattori, are you okay?" Conan, looking concerned as he lay on a puffy white hospital bed.

"No..." Heiji muttered before quickly replying, "Yeah, I'm fine, Kudou. Honestly, wha' were ya thinkin', confrontin' an armed suspect? That wasn't safe now was it?"

"You're not okay, Hattori. Something's wrong. I can tell," said Conan, propping himself up with a loud wince. "And why are you grabbing that omamori?"

"Uh...nothin'. Heartburn," Heiji lied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Something's wrong," Conan repeated simply, falling back onto his bed as he stared searchingly at the detective of the west.

"Okay, yeah. But I'm sure it can wait!" Heiji shouted with forced cheer.

Girigiri gake no ue o yuku yoo ni... Furafura shitatte ii ja nai ka yo...

Oh God. What happened? Heiji worried as he snatched up his cell phone and answered it with a forced, "Hattori Heiji here."

"Hei – Heiji?" murmured a shaking voice.

"Detective Toyama?" Heiji looked at Conan with a frown, the shrunken detective's expression mirroring his own.

"Heiji. It's – it's Kazuha. She's in the intensive care unit. She... she was in a hit and run. She wasn't discovered until only forty minutes ago, and she was hit nearly an hour before that. It's not looking good, Hei –"

"KAZUHA!" Heiji's action was immediate and explosive, running for the hospital room door without another word to Detective Toyama or Conan.

He's realizing his feelings, Conan deduced as his door swung shut with a slam. Grinning, he reached for his battered copy of A Study in Scarlet and started happily on the first page.

Heiji was jumpy and completely freaking out as he sat in the airplane for the second time that day. I'd never forgive myself if... if...

The second the plane's wheels touched down, Heiji leaped out of his seat impatiently and went running for the airport, ignoring cries of "Hattori-sama!" and "Wait!"

"Can't you go faster?" Heiji snarled at his taxi driver, who was sweating profusely as he wove through the traffic.

Nearly three hours after receiving the call from Detective Toyama, Heiji ran down the hall and found the detective, along with his father, pacing outside of a hospital room. Both looked pale and tense.

"Where is she?" Heiji yelled, panting as he slowed to avoid collision with the two older men. "Where's Kazuha?"

"In there, but she's weak and not ready for visi –" Hattori Heizo began to explain, but Heiji was having none of it. He raced straight up to the hospital door and ripped it open, ignoring Detective Toyama's protestations.

"Kazuha! Oh God, Kazuha!" Heiji hurried up to the bed and grabbed her wrist, staring imploringly down at the face of his childhood friend.

Kazuha raised her eyelids ever so slightly at the pressure on her hand. Seeing the face she least expected so close to hers, she would've spazzed if it had been normal circumstances, but the situation was far from normal.

"Hei..." she managed to breathe. "Hei...ji."

"Kazuha?" Heiji said, his voice softening.

"Heiji," reiterated Kazuha simply.

Then Heiji turned back to his normal hot-headed self. "You ahou! Why the hell didn't you look both ways before crossing the street? You are so... so... stupid!"

"Hei...ji... I...love... you..."

The words cut Heiji's rant short. They had been stated so calmly and so casually that he had barely comprehended their meaning.

"You ahou," he repeated quietly, face turning red as he looked away."

A smile creased Kazuha's face. "Who... are... you... calling... an ahou, you ahou?" She closed her eyes, relaxing. "But...thank... you... for... coming." With that, she drifted off into a deep sleep.

Heiji grinned, swiping off tears as he stood up (A/N: Sorry, ylvglo if you're reading this, but I couldn't help myself. Heiji CRYING? This is why I warned for OOCness).

"I'm an ahou, all right," he said softly, placing a hand gently against the slumbering Kazuha's face. "Your ahou."


AHHHHHHH! SO SAPPY! Sorry for the extremely late update, BTW, because I just started InuYasha (because Yamaguchi Kappei is in it! Duh!) and am extremely addicted. Inuyasha x Kagome forever!

Wow, this one is short.

...

すみません (Sumimasen / I'm very sorry) to all Heiji x Kazuha fans. Sorry. This fanfic is extremely horrible because it is infinitely harder to write romance fanfics when you don't support the couple.

La'ers. (BBC Sherlock reference, anyone? ^_^)

Up next: KaiShin. A fave of mine.