"Kazuha-chan, I'm so happy you're alright!" Ran burst out and embraced her friend for the fourth time since they entered the detective agency.
"Arigato, Ran-chan," Kazuha laughed.
In celebration of Kazuha's rescue, Mori had invited everyone at his place and also ordered some food and beverages. Now, they sat around the dinner table: Conan, Ran, Mori, Kazuha, Heiji, Megure, Chiba and of course Isamu.
"But someone has to tell me exactly what happened. Chiba-san stayed tight-lipped on details the whole time," she smiled.
"I had strict orders," Chiba laughed self-conscious and put another gyōza into his mouth.
"At first, why the police station? I thought the target had been a shopping centre."
"Because of the letter, Onee-san," Conan replied. "The message was smudged too perfect for a coincidence. It wasn't smashed but rather dipped into the puddle. The culprit wanted to set us on the wrong track. We evacuated the building and waited for his appearance. Unfortunately, time was too short to locate the bomb but no one got hurt..."
"And we got the culprit," added Inspector Megure.
"But, who was it?"
"The postman! He said he had 'dropped' the letter, so in the end it was easy," Conan smiled at Ran.
"You're so smart, Conan-kun," she smiled fondly at the little boy.
He raised his hands in a defensive gesture with a nervous smile. "No, Ran-neechan. It's Heiji-kun who found out everything. I'm just repeating his explanation."
"Really?"
"Of course. Right, Heiji-kun?!...HEIJI!"
The past minute, Heiji's attention had laid on the other side of the table, where Kazuha and Isamu were preoccupied in an intimate conversation. He unwillingly turned away and met Conan's eyes, but still in a pissy mood.
"WHAT?!" he snapped at the child.
Conan and Ran looked baffled at him. "Umm…nothing." To change the subject, Ran asked Kazuha about her rescue.
"Oh, yes. I was talking to Heiji on the phone. Told me to listen carefully or something like that. But suddenly my hand was grabbed from behind and pulled me away abruptly, I dropped my phone." Mentioning the last part, she regretted the lost for a moment. Everything on it is gone: phone numbers, pictures… "Next second, someone sent me into a wardrobe and closed the doors. Shortly after, I heard a giant explosion which hit the furniture, causing it to fell forward with us inside."
"I was afraid the wardrobe couldn't bear the pressure of explosion but luckily it did," added Isamu. "I just had a fraction of a second to scan the room and decide for an appropriate place for us to survive the detonation."
"You just run after Kazuha-chan to save her and risk your own life. That's so heroic!" Ran shouted enthusiastically.
"I just did my job," he responded a bit embarrassed. "As a policeman, it's my duty to protect and rescue."
"No, Ran-chan is right. Even for police, you acted very brave and made us proud," Inspector Megure patted him on the shoulder. "We gonna miss such a smart guy in our precinct."
"Will you leave Toyko?" Kazuha asked surprised.
"Yes. I just ended my six-month postgraduate training here and will return to Osaka."
"Seriously! That's so great. So we will be able to meet often. We are from Osaka too. My father is Chief Detective Toyama Ginshiro. Maybe you know..."
"Of course! I heard from him as an excellent detective. Next week, I'm gonna redeploy into his unit and am looking forward to make his acquaintance. What a coincidence that we both met here under these circumstances," he smiled tenderly. Kazuha returned his look with similar expression while someone's face on the other side of the table showed the complete opposite.
Okay, seriously. Is that some kind of stupid joke? Or a silly realty show? That ahou gonna work with Kazuha's dad in Osaka. So, Isamu will smooth-talk him and ogle at Kazuha by the way. Heiji's face darkened more and more. I'd love nothing more than bashing that stupid grin out of his face at the moment.
"But Kazuha-chan, weren't you terrified? Caged into a wardrobe in blind darkness? With a stranger?" Ran asked wide-eyed.
"So much! But Isamu-san was very nice. He calmed me down, explained the situation and took me in his arms. Just to give comfort," Kazuha added with burning cheeks.
Shortly after, the front door was slammed.
Conan found Heiji sitting on the steps near the entry of Mori's detective agency. He took a seat beside him.
"So, you want to catch some air?" he asked to break the silence.
No response.
"He seems very nice, don't you think," he continued provoking.
"Have you also joined his fan club? Like everyone else…" Heiji responded annoyed. "He's a pain in the ass!"
"Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Oh, come on! Don't you see it! Soo smart, soo nice, soo brave. Soo annoying! There's something suspicious about him. I can't tell but…"
Conan threw a disbelieving look at him.
"Maybe just a good detective notices such details," Heiji commented huffy.
"Maybe a good detective would figure out the right conclusion about his own feelings without stupid excuses," he replied dryly. Before Heiji might get the possibility for a suitable answer, Conan tried to defuse the situation. "Look, you're a great detective, but when it comes to love you're so oblivious. And yes, I'm speaking of Kazuha-chan."
"I have to take care of her. She's my…"
"Don't bring up again that nonsense with the subordinate."
"…best friend, I wanted to say. The same attention I pay for my other friends. Like you."
"Oh, please. Don't do it the same way for me or I'll be unmarried till my fifties," Conan pleaded with a smirk.
"Funny," he commented humourless.
At once, Conan put on a serious look. "You know, your current situation is my worst nightmare." When he met Heiji's questioning look, he continued, staring into the distance.
"Someday, Ran will meet a man who realize how great, lovely and kind she is. Someone she also likes. Someone who will treat her the way she deserves. And she will move on. And there will be nothing, I can do against it. Not in this body. Someday, I will lose her. This accompanies me every single day I wake up as Edogawa Conan."
Shinichi! Heiji gave him a look of commiseration.
Conan directed his look back to Heiji. "Do not wait too long. In the end, it's too late and you will lose her."
Back in Osaka, every day life returned very fast. Heiji was waiting for Kazuha like every morning.
"Konnichiwa Heiji!" Kazuha run up to him with a radiant smile on her face. For a moment, He was mesmerized by her smile. The realization made him blush a little. It seemed that not everything was back to normal for him. Since Tokyo, he saw Kazuha with different eyes.
"Ahou, we gonna be late for school because of you. Let's hurry," he snapped at her to hide his embarrassment.
Kazuha pout but was too eager to tell him the news than to argue with her best friend. "I could not get earlier because otōsan wanted to talk to me. He invited Isamu-san for dinner tomorrow. To thank him for my rescue. And he also invited you and your parents. Your father already accepted. Great, isn't it?"
"We have to go now. Hurry! I will not be late because of this Isamu."
"I don't understand your problems with him. Okay, he took your seat at the train but you can't still be mad. That's ridiculous. You two have a lot in common. Like you and Otaki-san. He's really smart and seems as crazy as you with solving criminal cases. He told me yesterday about a case he is working on."
"You two talked yesterday?" Heiji asked suspicious.
Kazuha's face turned bright red. "Umm…yes. He asked me out for tonight."
"And you said yes," he concluded.
Kazuha simply nodded while turning into dark red.
"You know that we meet tonight? Like every week?"
"Yes, but as you said, we do that every week. I thought we could skip this time. I mean you ditch me all the time when a corpse appears somewhere. And he saved my life. It would probably be rude to decline him."
"But it's okay to turn me down. I saved you countless times," He responded upset.
"But just your detective stuff brought me into such situations," she retorted angry.
"I will never let you be hurt," Heji snapped back.
"However, this time you weren't there," she blustered out but regretted her words immediately as she saw Heiji's hurt expression. Kazuha realized for the first time how much he blamed himself for not being there for her.
"Heiji, I…," she started.
"I'm going to school now. Don't want to be late," he turned and left her.
Thanks for reading and please review!
