Author's Note: Hehe, you didn't really believe it would go so easily, did you? *evil grin*
There had been silence. That and an awkward tension consuming the room. It felt like time had slowed down and every slowly passing second put a huge weight on Shinichi's chest. Heiji didn't react at first. Like, at all. The face he had made the second before the question had been asked just froze and he didn't move a muscle. When Shinichi couldn't bear the silence any longer, he stood up and while already hastily leaving the kitchen he said: "I'm sorry I asked. It was stupid of me. Forget about it. I leave you alone for now." And he was gone. He ran up the stairs right into his old room.
A coward. That's what he was. To storm out of the room after he had asked such a stupid question. A drama queen. And a bad host, letting his guest sit alone in the kitchen. But he just needed a moment alone. "Actually" he thought "I need a hole to crawl into". He leaned against his door and laid a hand on his face. So stupid. So utterly, totally moronic. Here he was, the great high school detective of the east, acting like a total idiot.
He slowly went to the window and opened it. A soft, warm breeze hit his face and some bird chirped a lonesome song. He took a deep breath and before he realized it he shouted: "Baka!" With an angry shriek the bird flew away. Surprised by his own outburst he started chuckling. Maybe he was more of a seven-year-old than he thought.
This was it. He had to return to Heiji and apologize properly. Surely the young osakan would forgive his stupidity and they could spend the time being with a nice stroll through Tokyo. Or whatever Heiji liked. After all he should not have come the whole way from Osaka just to hear Shinichi babble nonsense.
Right when he was about to open the door he heard a light knocking.
"Oi, Kudo. Are you in there?" Heiji's voice was rather soft.
The shrunken detective was immediately tense again, but just paid it no mind and opened the door. "Sorry Hattori. It seems not you but I am the dork. But did you like my performance of 'damsel in distress'?" He grinned.
Heiji appeared startled at first but then returned to his standard smile.
"Well, the dress was missing. But besides that, I was charmed."
Still grinning Shinichi performed an actor-like bow that made Heiji laugh. Then he sighed, turned around and went to his window to close it. With his back turned to Heiji, he said: "Well, after we've overcome this awkward moment I put us into, what do you like to do?"
"Uhm, Kudo..." Heiji hesitated and Shinichi heard the uncertainty in his voice. He turned back to face the other and said with an abashed smile: "Honestly, I'm really sorry about that, Hattori. I probably haven't thought straight. Please, forget it. If you can that is..." His last words sounded more insecure than he intended them to be.
But Heiji smiled and scratched his head. "Ah, pay it no mind. It's okay, really. Ya just got me by surprise there."
Silence again. They looked at each other. And despite feeling embarrassed they started chuckling.
"Well, ya know, I think we've discovered yet another thing the detective of east and west have in common: our fatuity."
"Today, I won't argue with that- Woah, Hattori!" Heiji had lifted Shinichi's little body and placed him on his shoulders. He knew the serious boy well by now and didn't want him to ponder any longer about his question. So he paid Shinichi's demands to let him down no mind and grinned like a fool, leaving the room.
"Okay, now after that's cleared up, what shall we do, Conan-chan?"
With a blushing face, that Heiji luckily couldn't see, Shinichi stopped struggling and pinched the osakan's ear. "Don't call me that, Baka. And let me down already!"
"Aww, is Conan-chan in a grumpy mood? Ouch! Haha, okay, okay, I'll let ya down." He placed Shinichi onto his feet again and earned a glare. They went to the living room and sat on the couch.
"Now that you're already here, what do you like to do?" Shinichi asked Heiji again. He was very relieved Heiji was such a good guy, to just act as if his dumb request never happened. He was determined to make Heiji's time here as good as he could.
"Hm, I don't know. We could drop by Mouri-no-otchan and join in a case he has."
"Ah, we can't do that. Ran thinks Conan went to Fukui with Haibara and the professor. Besides, the old man is slacking off recently, so he might not have a case anyway."
"Oh, so ya can't leave the house at all, as it is."
"That's... true." Shinichi just realized it now that Heiji was right. And with that, his guest was bound to stay inside his house or stroll through Tokyo alone. "I'm sorry, Hattori."
"Nah, don't sweat it. It's alright. Then... let's do it like Poirot and Hastings and plan the perfect murder."
Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "We're detectives. We're not supposed to plan murders, but to solve them."
"Ah, come one. I bet I can come up with a plan not even you could solve!"
By the sparkling in Shinichi's eyes, Heiji knew the bet was on. They spent the next hours creating and rebutting murder scenarios. They argued, laughed and joked quite a lot and overall enjoyed themselves tremendously. By the time they agreed none of them could outwit the other, it had become evening. The sky started to get orange for the sun was about to give its farewells for the day.
In the meantime, spread across the sofa, Heiji stretched and then rubbed his stomach. "Hey Kudo, I'm gettin' a little hungry here. Shall we grab somethin' to eat?"
"Well, to be honest, I totally forgot to buy any groceries, so there's nothing to eat in the kitchen. But we could order something."
"Ah, what a shame. And I'd really loved to go to a nice Izakaya with ya. It would be fun."
"Yeah, it would be, wouldn't it? I really miss going out like a... well, like a 'grown' person. Even if we'd go to a place, where we wouldn't run the risk of encountering Kogoro or Ran, you would be stared at for sitting in a bar or such with a child that late in the evening." It was just barely audible but Heiji realized the lightly disappointed tone in Shinichi's voice. He looked at him some time.
Then he asked in an quiet tone: "How fast loose those pill's their effect when used?"
Shinichi was surprised by Heiji's question but answered calmly: "Well, we can't predict that for sure. The first time I used it, it lasted a day. The second time it had only been about 19 hours. So, as I seem to develop a resistance rather fast, the next time could be only ten hours... or even less."
Heiji leaned back, put his hands behind his head and sighed. "Ah, too bad. And there goes my plan to spend some time with my grown-up Kudo again. Such a shame." There was no response and when Heiji looked to his friend, he found him staring. He scratched his head and put a straight hand in front of his nose. "Sorry, Kudo. I didn't wanna make ya feel bad. I'm a fool, just forget it."
There was still no response. Heiji leaned to Shinichi and waved a hand in front of his face. "Oi, Kudo. Are ya alright?"
Suddenly the shrunken one stood up and walked briskly to the door. Heiji was startled and followed him after he realized what was happening. "Kudo, what's up? I'm really sorry, okay. We can just order somethin'. It's totally fine by me. Oi, Kudo! Where ya goin'?"
Followed by the osakan, Shinichi entered the library and finally stopped in front of one of the shelves. Heiji, who nearly had bumped into him, searched his face trying to find out where his friend was looking. His gaze was fixed on a book of Franz Kafka.
"Die Verwandlung?" Heiji read the title without understanding the meaning of it. Puzzled he looked back at Shinichi.
"I'm tired" the short boy said in a low voice.
"Uhm, okay then. We don't have to order if ya-" Shinichi interrupted him. "I'm really tired of it. Of being small, being Conan, acting like a child all the time. I want to go back to high school, want to play soccer with my old team, want to solve crimes as myself, without using a proxy. I want to hang out with friends on a Saturday night." He turned to Heiji. "I want to be me again."
Shinichi's face looked vulnerable and Heiji felt the urge to take him into his arms to comfort him. Instead he put a firm hand on his shoulder and muttered: "I'm sorry, Kudo."
"You know, Hattori, I know it's irresponsible. And rather stupid. But just for one night..." His eyes were keen and Heiji understood. The tanned boy simply nodded.
Shinichi smiled and took the book from the shelf. Behind it was the small metal case he got from Ai. He opened it and Heiji looked curiously at the two red and white gel capsules. "I don't know what I've expected but they look rather harmless."
"Yeah, they do, don't they" Shinichi confirmed. He took a breath and closed the lid again. "Hattori, the retransformation won't take very long, but it will be... difficult. So, I suggest you get ready and wait for me in the living room."
Heiji straightened himself and crossed his arms. "Listen, if ya really want me to stay away, I will, but ya don't have to go through that alone, ya know. Not this time."
Shinichi looked at the tanned one, surprised. "And besides that," Heiji continued with a grin "I really wanna see that metamorphosis with my own eyes. Because I still can't believe somethin' like that can really happen."
The detective of the east smiled and shook his head. "Then be my guest. But it won't be pretty."
"Don't sweat it. I already know what ya looked like before." Shinichi glared at him but when the taller one started laughing, he had to join in.
They went to Shinichi's room and sat on the bed. Shinichi opened the lid of the metal case again, and looked at its contents for some time. Heiji just sat with him quietly. He already knew that the transformation had to be kind of painful. He had seen him before and after it had happened, exhausted and covered in sweat. It must hurt a lot to grow so much in such a short time, he thought. But that was exactly the reason he didn't want Shinichi to go through this all by himself. He would stay with him, start to finish.
Shinichi suddenly began to shift nervously. "Uhm, Hattori, there's one other thing. When I'm turning back, Conan's cloth won't fit me anymore, so... I have to put on something different..."
At first, Heiji didn't understand why his friend mentioned this but then he cleared his throat, stood up and turned to the window. "Of course, sorry. Tell me when ya ready."
He heard a closet door opening and the rustle of textiles. While he waited, he asked himself why his friend was so shy about changing in front of him. And why he himself was so flustered by the thought of it. At the moment the other boy had the body of a seven-year-old, so it was even more innocent. But he couldn't finish his line of thought as Shinichi called him. "I'm ready. Let's get this over with."
Heiji turned around and saw the other sitting on the same spot as before, now dresses in a wide, white shirt and black jogging trousers that were far too big for Conan. He placed himself next to him again and nodded.
Shinichi took a deep breath and then swallowed one of the capsules. He put the metal case onto the nightstand and then burrowed his hands into the sheets. Heiji just watched him expectantly. A while nothing happened, but the osakan noticed the growing tension of the small body beside him.
And suddenly Shinichi moaned and grabbed his shirt in the height of his heart. His breathing became more rapid and he started sweating. Heiji could see the pain in his face. The moaning got louder until he couldn't repress a scream any longer. He bend over and started shivering. Now, Heiji, too, grabbed the sheets seeing the torture his friend was going through. He hadn't imagined this transformation to be so hard for his fellow detective. After Shinichi let out another scream, Heiji just wrapped his arms around him and held him tight. "Hold on, Kudo. It will be over soon."
He pressed his own head to the neck of the other and felt the cold sweat and the trembling. It hurt Heiji to see his friend in so much pain. Why hadn't he stopped him from doing this? Why had he stupidly gone on and on about going out and wanting to see the old Kudo? He wanted to slap himself. Hard. But there was no turning back now, and everything he could do, was to hold his friend and try to comfort him with words.
Then he realized it. The small body started to enlarge itself under his embrace. He felt the chest and arms grow underneath him, fitting more and more into the shirt. Shinichi didn't even try to contain himself anymore, moaned and screamed and held on to Heiji. "It... hurts, Ha... Hattori. It hurts... so badly."
"I'm so sorry, Kudo." Heiji wanted to cry. When would this whole ordeal be over? He couldn't bear seeing Shinichi in so much pain any longer.
"Baka... yaro... I wanted this... myself..." And then the trembling stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Heiji didn't let go of the other, just waiting. The breathing of the pale skinned boy calmed down slowly. After a while he shoved Heiji softly aside to look at him with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Hattori. I'm back."
Author's Note:
An Izakaya is a Japanese kind of a bar or pub, but with some (great!) differences. They serve drinks and food and are the very best place to spend time with friends I ever encountered. :D For more information I'd suggest you read the Wikipedia article (especially "Dining style"), for it tells you everything you need to get a good impression of them. It will help you with the next chapter. :)
...
(-no)-otchan (slurred -ojichan; polite: -ojisan)
Suffix, used for blood-related uncles or middle-aged men
Beta-Reader: Tojatic - I'm sorry for the Kafka-pun (we both detest him) but I couldn't resist. XD
Thank you all for reading. *bows* Please leave your thoughts with me. I will fondly take care of them. ^^
