Chapter 4: In which there is an abundance of sand and bittersweet reunions.
Disclaimer: I am likely to own Detective Conan and/or Magic Kaito as I am likely to be a middle-aged Japanese man. However, since this is the internet, that's actually a possibility...
The sun had just set and darkness fell over the kingdom. The noises beyond the clearing quieted down; the woodland creatures scurried home. The peace, however, was disrupted every so often when a loud thwack wouldecho through the forest.
THWACK
...
THWACK
...
THWACK
...
THWA—
"Crap!"
Thud!
And the pale instrument slid out of Heiji's grasp, landing on the clearing's hard earth; the blow scattering dirt all over their sleeping bags.
Well, that was what Kazuha2's gonna get if she handed him a pathetic excuse for a sword and expected him to chop firewood (she, on the other hand, went off to hunt dinner). When Heiji had told her that he was good with a sword, manual labor wasn't what he meant.
And don't you use an axe for splitting wood?
With a resigned sigh, he moved to fetch the fallen weapon. Damn sword's too light, Heiji thought. He picked up the sword and examined it once again. It was carved from some kind of rock or coral he couldn't identify. He turned it over in his hands, making sure he hadn't damaged it. There was a small crack on the hilt, but hey, at least it wasn't broken.
After dusting off their camping equipment (Heiji decided that it was probably smarter to not piss off Kazuha2), he sat down by the growing warmth of the campfire. Geez. She wasn't kidding when she said it got cold at night! The detective tossed a couple more logs into the flames, settling himself against a backpack as a satisfying crackle came from the fire.
It had been a long day.
The bounty hunter and the Dreamer had covered a lot of ground. Heiji got to see an actual village made out of candy. But before he could even ask about it, Kazuha2 informed him that there may be people waiting to ambush travelers there. They passed a gorge that seemed to have no bottom, a giant stalk made from bones, and a field filled with little lambs-literally tiny sheep.
A long and strange day indeed, but peaceful nonetheless.
We got through the day without any trouble, he thought. Not a murder or anything! Hah!
He'd like to see Kazuha's face at that! He wasn't cursed! (The ahou actually tried to get him purified at a shrine once.) Heiji chuckled at the memory and instinctively reached for the omamori around his neck- only it wasn't there.
After the initial wave of panic and 'Kazuha's gonna kill me if I lost it' rants, the Osakan teen remembered that he had arrived here without it.
She constantly nagged him to always bring the charm. To save his ears from anymore of his childhood friend's shrieking, he obeyed. It kinda felt weird that he didn't have it; as if he lost his connection to Kazuha.
Well, it wasn't like he believed in the omamori having actual powers, ya know? It's cause Kazuha keeps making a fuss about it...
Yeah.
Right.
Heiji sighed and looked up at the starless sky, wrapping his jacket around himself.
I wonder when I'll get back home.
Kazuha2 came back carrying two bound ducks when Heiji was just about to starve.
"Took you long enough!"
The girl rolled her eyes. "You can't just hunt here, you know. There are rules. The price is death if you actually kill an innocent citizen."
"Citizen? Oh, so you can't eat any of the major animal characters." Heiji surmised.
"Yeah that's ri— wait no!" Kazuha2 caught herself. "For the last time, we're not characters!" But Heiji wasn't listening; he was too busy trying to get the cooking started.
When she realized the boy was hopeless with a knife, she grabbed it from him and started to prepare the ducks. The soft crackling of the fire took over as the two travelers waited for their food to roast.
"What took ya, though?" Heiji said after a while. "I mean, you've got to be used to hunting here and even if it's dark, it wouldn't have taken you that long."
The girl looked at him, surprised that he was observant. "I laid out some traps," the bounty hunter answered. "I'm sure you felt it too."
Heiji nodded. "We're being watched."
The sky was still a hazy dark blue when Heiji was unceremoniously woken up.
"Five more minutes..." he groaned and swatted the hand relentlessly shaking him. It didn't go away.
"Hattori-kun!" someone hissed. "We have to go! A trap's been set off!"
"Later..." was his mumbled reply.
For a while, everything was still and Heiji was once again lost to sleep... Until his companion decided to just drag him out of his cocoon of warmth.
The Osakan's eyes flew open and he immediately sat up. "WHA—"
A hand covered his mouth and he saw the crimson clad girl crouching in front of him, a finger pressed on her lips. "Shhh! Keep it down! A trap's been triggered." she hissed. "I alredy packed most of the equipment last night so help me fix the rest and let's go. Before whoever's following us catches up." When Heiji nodded, she released him.
The pair was ready in no time and continued to head East.
With each step they took, the earth beneath their feet was slowly turning into sand. After half an hour of walking, they finally made it the shore. And just beyond that was the Isle of Youth.
...well, supposedly.
"The map says that the sea's somewhere around here," Heiji said, yawning. Failing to receive a reply, he turned to his companion. He then got a bad feeling when Kazuha2 suddenly stopped.
"Don't tell me we're lost."
The girl in front of him shook her head. "We're not lost. We're going in the right direction but," Kazuha2 cursed under her breath, "It's low tide."
Heiji looked at the vast expanse of sand before him. Low tide was an understatement. "There's hardly any water puddles," he said. The dark skinned teen tried to look where the sea actually began but all he could make out was a small island in the distance. "It's practically a desert," disbelief colored his tone.
Kazuha2 drew out a long breath. "It's her doing. I forgot it becomes like this before dawn."
Heiji cocked an eyebrow. "Be more specific, will ya?"
"The sea is gone so kids can get to the Isle easily. If they don't leave before dawn, they end up staying there forever," his companion explained.
"And those who aren't children cannot pass before sunrise, if you've forgotten, princess," another voice spoke above them.
Heiji turned at the familiar voice, but Kazuha2 didn't even look up. A little blonde girl was floating in mid air, dressed in a long leaf-green shirt with matching tights and a hat (a bright red feather stuck out of it).
Isn't that the little girl living with Agasa-hakase?
"Ai-chan," came the curt greeting of Kazuha2.
"It's been a while, your highness," the flying child replied with a knowing smirk. "Who's your companion?"
Before Heiji could speak up, a group of kids dressed in animal pelts came rushing to Kazuha2.
"Zuha's back!" A freckled boy wearing a fox hat cheered.
"Princess Kazuha, I missed you!" Cried a little girl with bunny ears.
"Who's the tan guy behind her?" A large boy wearing bearskin asked.
With that last comment, Heiji's limited patience was wearing dangerously thin. "Oi! Will someone tell me what's going on? Who are you squirts supposed to be anyway?"
The kids seem to have brightened at that question.
"We're... The Lost Boys!" They proudly announced, complete with a pose.
Heiji felt his lips twitching into a smile. Of course the Shounen Tantei would still be the same enthusiastic bunch in this world.
"Princess? Why aren't you doing it too?" Ayumi asked as she broke the formation.
Kazuha2's eyes wouldn't meet the young girl's as she said, "I'm not a princes anymore, so please don't call me that. I'm a bounty hunter now."
"I've heard of those! They capture people and get rewards for it," exclaimed Mitsuhiko.
The bunny girl looked Kazuha2, eyes wide and glassy. "You mean...you hunt the bad guys?"
"Y-yeah..." The older girl replied awkwardly. "It's not that dangerous, so don't wor—"
"That's so cool!" The Lost Boys cheered.
"Will you teach us cool fighting moves?" Genta asked eagerly.
"We're actually in a bit of a hurry," the bounty hunter replied. "Someone's following us."
"Then we'll start the flying test immediately," Ai announced coolly.
"Flying test?" Heiji asked, incredulous. "Ya mean faith, trust, pixie dust and all that crap?"
Silence.
"...the dark one's pretty stupid, ne?"
"AHOU! Who ya callin' stupid? I'm a renowned detective!" Heiji barked at the kids. "And don't blame me, that's what it said in the movie!"
While the children and the Osakan bickered, the girl in green then floated down to Kazuha2. "A Dreamer, I see. That's a lot on your plate, princess."
The older girl ignored the comment.
"They've missed you," Ai said.
There was a sigh. Kazuha2 turned her gaze to the group of children now poking fun at Heiji. "They look... they're exactly the same..." she told Ai wistfully.
"You wouldn't have aged either if you had stayed," the blonde replied indifferently.
The girl in red looked down. "It doesn't matter anymore. I can't stay here like before." She turned to Ai and gave her a sad smile. "You're still young but you look so tired."
"While you've grown older and vulnerable," the blonde countered. "The princess, no longer innocent, but just as fragile as the day she left."
"And the girl who never grew up, still as lost as the day she ran away?" Kazuha2 quipped.
"I escaped," Ai corrected. "There was nothing left for me there."
Red Rider sighed and stared at the sand once again. "And there's nothing left for me here too."
"You must face the demons you've created," Ai said, her voice just a whisper.
She could have been talking to herself or to Red Rider, but it didn't really matter. They both knew it was true. Kazuha2 looked back at the kids and Heiji; Ai followed the older girl's gaze.
The two let silence fill the years they had spent apart.
Ai flew back up and cleared her throat, catching the attention of the detective squabbling with the Lost Boys. "This test doesn't involve any pixie dust but it does measure your faith and trust in yourself. The more you doubt, the harder you fall."
"Alright then," Heiji gave a shrug as he turned away from the kids. "We better take the test now if we don't wanna lose our head start," he told the girl in crimson. "Whoever's after us will get out of your trap eventually."
Kazuha2 seemed to be debating with herself. The fearsome girl looked so unsure, it was making Heiji uncomfortable.
"You alright? You look sick."
"Just give me a minute," the bounty hunter scowled. Kazuha2 took a deep breath and stared into the expanse of sand. Heiji watched her as she was lost in thought. She seemed to be concentrating on something. Suddenly the detective felt his lips pull up into a smile. He usually saw that look of determination on a certain ponytailed girl back home. Hopefully, she wouldn't chew him out for disappearing.
The girl beside him exhaled loudly. She finally turned to him and nodded.
"Okay. Let's go."
A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had half of this chapter finished months ago but well, it was only half until recently. heh. This whole story's planned out already buuuuuuut writer's block and laziness do not mix well. I renamed this story to Mukashi Mukashi because I like saying it. Also because I think it suits the story better. Thank you for your time! Please leave a review if you have any comments, suggestions, or violent reactions XD