AN: Oh hey look, it's the next chapter! Also, I suppose I should start giving people a bit of a heads up- I'll be heading out on a short vacation from the 14th to the 16th and will be in a place with limited internet access. So there might not been any updates of any of my fics during that time. Anyways, thanks for reading as always, and please leave a review if you can!
Until next time!
Devils Bleed Black
Chapter Seven
Things That Creep in Broad Daylight
"This is the first time that you've called me since you got to Tokyo, and you don't even bother to say hello." Shizuka's long suffering sigh was as clear as day on the other end of the phone, doubtlessly wondering where it was that her son had picked up his less than stellar manners from.
Groaning a little, Heiji rolled his eyes. For a devil, his mother could be surprisingly strict on manners. Besides, it hadn't even been a day yet! "Hello. Now, mom, let's focus on the issue at hand here. I got somethin' that I need ta talk ta ya about." Taking in his surroundings, he turned down the first empty alley that he found, leaning against the wall. There was a chance that he might be speaking of things that he wouldn't want people to overhear, after all.
"Very well. What's the matter, Heiji?" Shizuka asked. "That Kudo Shinichi boy hasn't done anything to you, has he?"
"Of course not." Heiji said shortly. "He's really not that bad, mom." He had, after all, invited him to live with him and his half-angel wife, in spite of doubtlessly already having suspicions of him. That in itself was pretty telling. Well- he probably shouldn't mention the half-angel wife part to his mother. "Anyways, that's beside the point. I haven't had a chance ta see the victim in question myself yet, an' only heard about it secondhand," by unintentionally eavesdropping, he didn't feel inclined to note, "...but somethin' strange happened over here."
"Well, given what you're investigating, I'd say that something strange happening would be matter of course." Shizuka said simply. "But do go on. If it's me you're calling and not your father, I've got a feeling I can guess what it's related to."
"That's right." Nodding his head, Heiji's eyes narrowed. "Apparently just after have sensed a powerful aura, the one who had been watchin' our victim claims that he suddenly collapsed without warnin'. He's still alive, apparently, but he's completely unresponsive ta anythin' an' everythin' from the sound of it. In the first place, the person who was watchin' him was apparently doin' so because she suspected that he might be havin' some kinda devil trouble in the first place."
"I see." Shizuka frowned. "That does sound like something within my area of expertise. There are several possibilities that I can think of, though frankly, I would like a little bit more information than what you've given me to go off of. Are you going to be able to see the victim for yourself soon?"
"No." Heiji said frankly, deciding to leave out the fact that he'd basically been kicked out of Shinichi's car. Well, that said, it wasn't impossible that he might have a chance to either see the victim himself later, or at the very least, hear about the matter after the fact from Shinichi. "There's still a chance that I might, but..."
Well, perhaps there really was no need to contact his mother to ask her thoughts on the matter, but on the off chance that Shinichi couldn't figure out what happened, his mother probably would. Still, that did provide the challenge of trying to provide such information to Shinichi after the fact, if that ended up being the case- there was no way he could leave his investigative partner in the dark, but he also didn't want to make himself more suspicious than he probably already seemed.
"I see." With a slight sigh, Shizuka pursed her lips together. "There's a chance that his soul might have been stolen, based on the way you described it. If that's the case, then it might be in preparation for a devil to take root inside of his body. Unlike normal possession, the devil holds full control of the body and can do whatever they want with it. If the proper procedures are set in place beforehand, then they can even slip through barriers to get into the body."
"Well, there's a chance that they might want to simply turn the body into a puppet. I've heard of things like that happening as well." Shizuka told him, a slight frown on her face. "I've done that once myself in the past, and if that's the case, whoever is responsible for it must have a pretty high magical ability. I'm pretty confident in my own magic, but even I had trouble controlling it. Well, that was two hundred years ago, though."
"Well, there's also the chance that they might have just needed his soul for something." Shizuka added, almost as an afterthought. "If that's the case, then I doubt this would be the only occurrence of such an event. There would probably be others in the area who are experiencing the same condition."
"The soul, huh?" Heiji muttered, narrowing his eyes. "That's definitely not good. Well, not that anythin' ever is, when it involves devils. Present company excluded, of course." He added, a quick grin crossing his face. "Is there anythin' that can be done fer him?"
"If the soul can be recovered, then he should be able to recover." Shizuka said simply. "Provided that it hasn't been damaged in any way. Aside from that... well, perhaps it would be better to leave such a thing to that exorcist," and there was a clear hint of venom in her voice as she spoke, "...that you're working with. Dealing with souls when you have no magical power of your own isn't impossible, but it might be better to leave it to someone who does have it."
"Well, at the very least, I can look into the matter." Heiji said simply. Thankfully, that girl had mentioned where she had been when she had called, and he could probably more or less figure out where that was. He could start looking into the matter there, while Shinichi looked into the matter at the hospital. "Thank ya, mom."
"Stay safe, Heiji." Shizuka said. "Not just from that exorcist, but from whatever it is that you're dealing with here. If they're really dealing with souls in their whole form, then there's no doubt that they're up to something very troubling. Devils might taint human souls, but stealing them is another matter entirely. Even amongst us, it isn't something that's done lightly."
"That much at least, I know." Heiji told her, placing a hand to his chin in thought, his brows furrowing together. Well, whatever these bastards were planning, if they were related to this case- and his instincts were telling him that were- they could bring it on. As long as he shared blood with them, there was no way he would let them get away so freely with things like this. "I'll be fine, mom. I'm pretty tough, after all!"
"I suppose that much is true." Shizuka said, a slight smile working it's way onto her face. "Don't forget to call me sometimes, Heiji. You know I worry about you being all the way out there, and staying with an exorcist at that."
"I will, I will." Heiji quickly promised her. Well, he'd probably forget though. He was great at memorizing things when it came to lines of codes or facts that might be important later, but when it came to things in his personal life, he was pretty bad at that. Maybe he should work on that. Maybe. Another day, though.
"Then later, mom. I have an investigation ta conduct."
"You really keep that in your car?"
Casting a rather dry expression towards the mask that Shinichi had produced from his car's storage, she soon turned such an expression back towards him. Just as he had promised, he had quickly come to pick her up. For a moment, as she slid into his car, she got a faint feeling that something else had been in here with him, and when she inquired about it, he had told her with quite a bit of frankness that it was the high school detective that he had ended up working with on this case. He didn't look surprised in the least when he heard that Ran had already told her about him.
She too, seemed to understand why it was that he'd decided to leave him behind before coming to meet her. Judging from what Ran had told her earlier in the day, about the strange feeling that she got from him, perhaps Shinichi was well aware of such a thing himself, and didn't want the two of them meeting just yet. She couldn't deny that it piqued her curiosity. She would have to ask about it more when she got the chance.
"It's a spare, actually." Shinichi remarked, carefully placing it over his face. As much as their masks were used to make them unrecognizable, they could also be used in lieu of a formal badge, and could grant them entry into various places. "You never know what's going to happen in my line of work, after all. It's always good to be prepared. Besides, given what you described, this'll get us access to the victim much faster than my police ties."
"I suppose that's true." Ai said, heaving a long sigh. "But if the guild gets involved with this, I'm sure you know to keep me out of it, correct?" Placing her hands on her hips, she sent the now masked exorcist a rather challenging look. "I might not be much of one anymore, but I doubt the guild would overlook me if they knew about my existence."
"I know." Shinichi quickly promised her, lips twisting into a smile. "I wouldn't let anything like that happen to you, Haibara. Now, do you want to come with me? You can always stay by the car if you're feeling uncomfortable."
"No, I'll come with you. As embarrassing as it is to be walking around with a masked man." Ai said, shaking her head. "It might be good for you to get a second opinion."
Brushing off her rather barbed quip, Shinichi simply opened the door to his car, tucking his keys away. "A second opinion from a devil, I take it."
"There's no need to say aloud when we both know what I meant." Ai said simply, opening up the car door on her side, slipping out of it. "At any rate, I'm almost certain that this matter has something to do with devils. If that's the case, there's probably not all that much that human doctors can do for this Takashita-san, other than monitor his condition. I didn't notice any abnormalities with his breathing or heartbeat, at the very least, so I don't think that his life should be in danger. That said, I didn't get the chance to look over him very well at the time, not with all those other people around."
"But well, if he doesn't regain awareness, it's possible that could change." She added simply, turning a grim expression towards the hospital. Even from this distance, she could almost feel it crackle against her skin- the desperation and the hope alike that was contained within the building. The perfect hunting ground for a devil, which was why there wasn't a hospital in the world that hadn't equipped themselves with a proper barrier since the revelation of the truth happened.
It had been such a big deal back when the first hospital made a pact with an exorcist to have one installed, so to think that now such a thing was commonplace- how the times had changed. The world had come to accept the existence of such things as devils and what they had come to call angels, to the point that the children of today didn't even question such a thing. Only the oldest would still remember the world from before the masquerade fell apart. It had been a very different time.
"Here." Shinichi spoke up, offering her his hand. Although he knew being a near human now meant that she could more or less pass through even barriers that didn't permit her entry, he also knew that it still hurt. The fact that she was coming in with him was testament to how involved she was making herself with this matter- in the back of his mind, he couldn't help if it was for no reason more complex than the fact that this was the boy that Ayumi apparently had a crush on these days. She had told him that much in the car on the way over, detailing to him all the facts that she hadn't been able to tell him during their brief phone call.
"I'm not a child, you know." Ai said lightly, heaving a sigh. Still she accepted his hand, locking her own with his. Taking a deep breath, she felt the barrier crackle lightly over her skin as she passed through it, but thanks to their connected hands, it didn't cause her the pain that it normally would. Only a faint unpleasantness.
Of course, the moment she was through, she tore her hand away from Shinichi, as if she were touching hot coals. There surely had to be a less embarrassing method.
As they strode into the hospital, the nurse at the reception desk took one look at Shinichi's mask, and slowly seemed to come to an understanding as to why he might be here. While Ai's presence by his side gave her a moment of pause, she quickly brushed it off, doubtlessly assuming the girl might be an apprentice of some kind. "If you're looking for the young man who was just rushed in here, he's currently being examined by doctors. Should I inform them that you're here?"
"Please do." Shinichi said simply, nodding his head. Placing a hand on Ai's head, he ignored the glower that action got him. "This girl witnessed what happened, and claims that she believes it might very well be the work of a devil. Since I happen to be rather well acquainted with her, I decided to come and look into the matter myself."
"I understand." The nurse nodded. "I'll inform the doctors right away. Please wait here for a moment, sir exorcist."
She didn't ask for his name- people generally knew better than to ask for an exorcist's name. While Shinichi was a bit more free with such information himself than others in his line of work, some of whom were so secretive that not even their own spouses knew about it, he still wasn't willing to give out his name to just anyone.
When the nurse returned after a few moments, she gave him a polite, if not somewhat nervous smile. "The doctors have made arrangements for you to see the patient. He's on the first floor emergency ward, at the very back, in the room to the right. They've ensured that you can have some privacy with the patient, should you need it."
"Thank you." Inclining his head towards her, Shinichi glanced over towards Ai, who nodded her head. Falling into step behind him, the two of them headed towards the young man's hospital room, passing by the nervous looking doctors who had clustered just a bit outside of it. Only once he had firmly closed the door behind him, did he reach up, taking off his mask, setting it aside for the moment.
"Well?" Noticing out of the corner of his eye that Ai had already begun checking out the body, carefully checking for his basic vitals first. "Do you notice anything, Haibara?"
"It's just as I thought." Ai said, pulling open the young man's eyes, glancing into them, a deep frown setting itself over her features. Her own eyes had shifted into a golden color, carefully studying things that she couldn't see before. Even without most of her magical power, there were still things that she could determine just by looking. "There's no way that this isn't the work of devils. I can't find the exact trigger for it, however..."
"His soul is missing." Turning back to face Shinichi, a rather serious expression written over her features, one hand tightly gripped the railing of the hospital bed. To think that something like this had happened on her watch... she hadn't even noticed a thing. Granted, in her current state, there wouldn't have been much that she could have done to prevent it- but surely she should have picked up some sign of this before then.
She hadn't noticed a thing.
"Are you certain?" Shinichi asked, making his way to the young man's side himself now. No matter how Ai had poked and prodded his body, he didn't seem to stir, or even respond, lying limply in the bed. Checking him out of her himself, Shinichi placed a hand over his chest, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the very same thing that Ai had determined- there was no mistake, his soul had been all but torn from his body. "You're right. It's really not there."
"At the very least, I don't see any signs that preparations have been made for anything to slip in in it's place." Ai said, heaving a long sigh, turning her full attention back towards the young man. "So there shouldn't be any issues with keeping him here. The question remains though, exactly how did this happen? And why? According to what Ayumi-chan saw the other day, I don't doubt that his sudden disappearance has something to do with it, but..."
"Where there's one, there's always more." Shinichi muttered underneath his breath. "If there's no signs of preparation for a full possession, then most likely, what they wanted from him was nothing more than his soul. I should probably start checking hospital records from around the area, to see if they've had any similar reports lately. What kinds of things can devils do with human souls, Haibara?"
"Any number of things." Ai told him simply, the color of her eyes shifting back to their more human blue. "So many that I don't even know where to begin. It could be used as fuel for a complex spell, or an offering to break some sort of seal, but there's many more things besides those that they could be used for."
"In other words, whatever it's been collected for, it's probably not good." Shinichi noted, eyes narrowing. Picking his mask back up, he carefully placed it back over his face. "In that case, I had better get looking into this right away. Sorry, Haibara, but do you think you could get the Professor to give you a ride home? There's a chance that I might be paying a visit to the guild headquarters here soon."
"I can manage." Ai told him simply. "Shouldn't you contact that high school detective that you're working with, though?"
"What, Hattori?" Shinichi asked, glancing towards her. "If it's that guy, he's probably already looking into some things on his own." With a slight frown, he took notice of the contemplative look that crossed Ai's face, her brows knitting together in thought. "What's wrong? Did you think of something?"
"Ah, no." Ai said, looking up at him and shaking her head. "It's just that I swear that I've heard that name somewhere before."
"Well, his father is the chief of Osaka's police force." Shinichi told her. "You know, that kind of imposing looking man who shows up on TV every so often, when something big happens in Osaka?"
"Ahh." A look of understanding crossing her face, Ai gave him a slight nod. "I do remember that. He gives off quite the impression, for a human." It was no small wonder that the name managed to stick out in her mind, then. Still, at the same time, somehow, she didn't feel as if that was quite it.
Was there something else besides that?
"How unusual to see you here, Hattori-kun. I could have sworn that your usual territory was in Osaka."
If looks could kill, Heiji was pretty certain that he would have just committed murder. Of course, he knew full well that this guy was a detective as well as an exorcist, the same as Shinichi, however, the two of them really couldn't be more different. Unable to mask just how disgruntled seeing this person's face made him, and frankly, not even really wanting to try to begin with, Heiji found himself glowering at the older detective not even seconds within first laying eyes on him.
Of course, he should have known that there was a chance that this guy might very well be looking into this case too. He did work in Tokyo after all, even if it was usually a different part of Tokyo than Shinichi lived in. Still, he was under the impression that he was deeply involved in dealing with that Kaito Kid thief, or at least he was, the last he heard of him. Given that he had a heist tonight, according to that rich girl from earlier, he was more than a little surprised to see him here, where his own investigation had lead him. He'd been more or less able to discern the identity of the collapsed victim, and from there, he'd started asking questions, tracking down people that he knew to see if they knew anything.
"Hakuba." Heiji half-growled, shoving his hands in his pockets purely so that he didn't try anything against the bastard. Ever since the two of them had first met, he could have sworn that this guy had it in for him. The fact that Hakuba's blood caused his own to boil really didn't help matters, though even that would be something he could manage were it not for the fact that the blonde, half-British, half-angel was so damn infuriating. "What are ya doin' here?"
"I should be asking that of you. And I did, in fact." Hakuba noted, quirking a brow, half wanting to comment on the lack of honorifics for someone who was his elder by a good fiver years. To think that Hattori Heizo could have such an unruly son- something had clearly gone wrong there somewhere.
"A case, a case." Heiji told him frankly. "What else would it be? I am a detective, after all."
"Well, I suppose that much is true, in a sense." Hakuba said simply, all but brushing off the way the young man's glower deepened, even as something in it made his own blood prickle. "Given that we've run into each other like this, it would seem that we might very well be investigating the same thing, even."
That was, if Hattori Heiji wasn't attempting to interfere in the investigation. His records were spotless, but right from the first time he had met him, Hakuba had suspicions regarding the one that people were praising as a high school detective. From the start, he had thought that there was something strange about his somewhat uncanny ability to keep running into cases left and right- although his fellow exorcist detective, Kudo Shinichi, had a similar affliction, such a thing was based out of the curse that he had gotten years ago. The way that death almost seemed to pull at him was a lingering remnant of that curse, the one part that refused to let go, even after all this time, it's main effects long since washed away.
Hattori Heiji, on the other hand, seemed to have no reason for this. For the most part, he'd dismissed it, chalking it up to bad luck- at least, until he'd had a chance to meet the Osakan detective in person himself. Just like it wasn't that often that Heiji strayed up towards Tokyo, it wasn't all that often that Hakuba found himself in Osaka- but on that occasion, he had, and ended up crossing paths mid-investigation with none other than Osaka's own famous detective.
From the very moment that he had set eyes on him, he knew that there was something wrong with him. His blood told him that much. Were it not for the members of the police vouching for him, and the priestess that was his childhood friend at his side, he would almost have said that the young man he had been introduced to on that day wasn't human at all, but rather was something else- something much darker.
Whatever that was, Hakuba had vowed to one day unmask him- exposing the truth, whatever it might be, for all the world to see. If there was a chance that the one known as Hattori Heiji wasn't who he said he was at all, then whatever it was that he was planning on doing here in this world, he wouldn't let him get away with it. Well, he got a feeling that he knew- after all, posing as a detective to solve the very crimes that they spurred on themselves sounded extremely tantalizing for a devil. There had most certainly been such cases in the past.
It was because of one such case, in fact, that his mother was no longer with him.
Well, on the off chance he really did turn out to be human, he would properly apologize to him. But until the day that he proved himself as such to him, his suspicions would remain.
"Unfortunately, it looks like that's the case." Heiji said simply, finally heaving an exasperated sigh, putting his intense glower aside for now. Rubbing the back of his neck, he turned his attention towards the supposedly abandoned building. "I was followin' a lead, an' it lead me all the way out here, ta this place. What about ya?"
"The very same." Hakuba said, nodding his head, for the moment, giving the young man in front of him something of an icy smile. Well, whatever his intentions were here, he would be sure to keep a close eye on him. "Are you planning on going inside, Hattori-kun? I do believe that with a small amount of force, the door should open with no problem. Well," turning to him, the icy feeling that his smile gave off somehow growing. "...I suppose that for someone like yourself, such a thing would be no problem."
"Sorry fer bein' strong. Last I checked, that wasn't a crime." Heiji grumbled, shooting him a dirty in spite of his earlier resolution to drop it for the time being. Honestly, what was this guy's deal with him anyways? If he was suspicious of him or something, he'd prefer that he come right out of with it. The fact that he had always minded his manners when his father was around certainly didn't help matters- at the very least, his father was willing to believe exactly how it was that Hakuba treated him.
Well, granted, some of his own behavior towards him was definitely less than stellar. But it couldn't be helped- he was really that damn annoying, after all!
"I suppose that it isn't." Hakuba said, shaking his head. "At any rate, if we really are investigating the same thing, then it doubles my belief that this place is related to the case. I'm guessing that whoever the victim is on your end, they were seen by someone hanging around here once before?"
"Yeah." Heiji said simply, giving him a rather curt nod of his head. "Yers not respond ta anyone? Seem totally out of it?"
"That would be correct. Likewise, people around this area sometimes heard strange voices coming from within this building." Hakuba told him. "But I must say, it's a rather unusual case that you've forced your way into again, Hattori-kun. I'm sure you know that any case dealing with devils, as I'm sure that you've realized this one does by now," he said, leveling his gaze on him. "...isn't exactly safe for normal humans, much less high school students."
"Do ya really think I'm interested in bein' lectured on safety by a former high school detective?" Heiji asked, shrugging his shoulders. "Anyways, let's get this over with, before ya make me regret ever bein' born."
"I do believe that's not usually how that phrase goes." Hakuba couldn't help pointing out, quirking a brow.
"It does when it involves ya." Heiji told him, giving him one last, long look before he turned towards the building at hand. Giving the handle of the door a testing twist, he quickly confirmed that it was locked. Testing the door itself for a moment, he nodded his head, deciding that it was more than within in his ability to knock down. Since Hakuba had suggested that he break it down, odds were that he had already determined that the building belonged to nobody. "I'm breakin' it down."
All it took was one body blow for the door to give way, tearing off it's hinges. It was pretty old anyways, probably even Hakuba could have broken it down if he had tried. Rubbing his shoulder a little, Heiji stepped in side the building, glancing around the darkened room. Searching for a light switch, he gave it a flick, and was rather unsurprised to find that it did nothing.
"From the looks of this place, it's been abandoned fer a long time. Whoever was usin' it didn't seem in much of a hurry ta clean it up." Heiji said, stepping aside to allow his fellow detective in after him. Watching as Hakuba produced his cellphone from pants pocket, switching it on to illuminate the room somewhat, he frowned, hanging back a bit. Judging from the way he was acting, there probably wasn't anything magical in this place that he needed to worry about- he was sure that Hakuba would be able to pick up on what he couldn't.
Still, if this guy really was involved in this investigation, this was going to be a pain. The last thing that he wanted was for him to cross paths with Shinichi, not when he knew that he was already starting to become suspicious of him. While he had confidence that Shinichi wasn't the kind of person to take the sort of view of him that Hakuba had, it was something that he would rather not deal with.
Rather, if Hakuba heard from Shinichi that he was somewhat suspicious of him, it would only provide Hakuba with more proof of his theory. That might finally give him motivation to act on it- and that was something that he wanted to avoid. In spite of Hakuba's general bad attitude towards him, he knew full well that the detective wasn't the sort of person to act without proof, no matter how suspicious he was of someone.
He could more or less guess what it was that he was thinking in regards to him, if only because it was something that he was afraid that people would think ever since he had started doing detective work to begin with. The fact that he kept being drawn to the scenes of case had everything to do with his nature as a devil, sure- but it was just because that overwhelming negativity that was given off before a murder happened tugged at his blood, nothing more.
Over time, he had learned what it had meant, and had learned to follow it. Sometimes, if he got there in time, he could prevent it from becoming an actual murder, the case ending at an attempted murder. But other times, far too often, really, he didn't make that quickly. He'd learned to live with that- there were limits to what he could do, after all.
"Well, it's also possible that it could have had an illusion cast over it with magic." Hakuba remarked, shining the flashlight down towards the floor, narrowing his eyes. There were signs that people had been here, at the very least- there were distinct footprints in the dust on the floor. At the very least, he had sensed any magic surrounding the building at the moment- if there were any traps set up, they were probably of the more traditional sort. "Well, now that we've found this place, I doubt that they'll use it again."
"That's probably true." Heiji said, stooping down to take a good look at the footprints on the floor. Although they mixed together a bit, there was a variety of sizes. "I doubted that whoever the culprit of this was bothered ta rent this place out legally. Since ya told me ta knock down the door, I'm guessin' ya already know that, though."
"That's correct." Hakuba said, nodding his head. Well, regardless of what Hattori Heiji was, and what his intentions were, if anything, at the very least, he was willing to acknowledge that he was pretty clever. "That avenue was the first that I followed before even coming here. I'm going to check out the second floor."
"Then, I'll stay down here an' look over the first floor." Heiji told him, sending him a slightly challenging look, getting the feeling that he almost didn't want to let him out of his sights. Honestly, what an exhausting fellow. "It'll be faster if we split up, right?"
"...I suppose." Hakuba relented finally, casting a skeptical look towards the young man. Well thus far, he hadn't don anything suspicious, at the very least. "Do take care to not recklessly ruin any evidence, Hattori-kun."
"I've never done that before!" Heiji retorted, his glower returning. This guy really did make his blood boil- exactly where had his parents gone wrong to raise such an unpleasant guy?
"Well, there's a first time for everything, especially when the detective in question is as hotblooded as you are." Hakuba said simply, paying his glower no mind. He'd dealt with worse, after all.
"Sorry fer bein' hotblooded." Turning away from him, Heiji pulled out his own cellphone, using it to light up the place. Of course, he could see pretty well in the dark on his own, but if he didn't do this, then Hakuba would only grow more suspicious of him. Watching out of the corner of his eye as Hakuba finally left the room, Heiji rolled his eyes.
"Honestly, I really do have lousy luck."
"Honestly, Shinichi, if you were going to be this late, you could have called and said something!"
Ah, that's right. Blinking a little, Shinichi took a slight step back, giving his wife something of a nervous laugh. He'd been so caught up into looking into the matter, that he had completely forgotten to call Ran and let her know that he was going to be late. Sparing a glance behind her, he took quick note of both Kazuha and Heiji alike watching them with some interest, the former sparing a glance over towards the latter, whispering something to him that he couldn't quite make out.
Whatever it was, it got a pretty loud response of 'idiot!' from Heiji.
"I'm sorry, Ran." Shinichi told her, carefully taking one of her hands and pulling her a bit closer to him, planting a quick kiss on her lips. Though she tried her best to remain angry with him for a moment longer, it didn't last, giving way to her heaving a long sigh, casting a smile towards him. "Is there still dinner for me?"
"There should be, unless Hattori-kun's eaten it all." Ran commented, glancing back towards the pair. "He's got quite the appetite."
"Heiji's just a glutton, that's all." Kazuha said simply, her smile only growing at the glare Heiji sent her way. She wasn't going to wilt under something like that!
"Don't worry, don't worry, I left plenty fer ya, Kudo!" Heiji grinned, watching as he took off his shoes, making his way to the table, taking the seat next to his wife. "So? How did that case go? Ya know, the one that ya had ta dump me fer. Given the time ya spent lookin' into it, it must have been pretty serious."
"I'm surprised." Shinichi noted, casting a glance over towards him. "I could have sworn that you were listening into the phone conversation that I was having, Hattori. Didn't you do some investigation of your own?"
"Ah, so ya caught that." Letting out a slightly awkward laugh, Heiji rubbed the back of his head, briefly averting his eyes from him. "Yeah, I did. I found the place that was mostly likely used ta draw people in, but not much came out of it after that. I doubt that they'll be usin' it again now that it's been smoked out. I can still give ya the address if ya want."
For the moment, he was going to leave out meeting out Hakuba.
"What about yer end of things?" Heiji asked.
"Well, at the very least, I was able to determine that this wasn't the first case of such a thing happening. There have been others around Tokyo who have collapsed because of the same reason." Picking up his bowl of rice, Shinichi quickly got some down him, before continuing. "I didn't find any more business cards when I looked into the personal possessions of the victims, so I have no evidence, but my hunch says that that Foundation is related to this."
"Well, I have ta agree with that." Heiji observed, setting down his own bowl of rice and getting to his feet. "Anyways, I'm full. Sorry, Kudo, but I'm gettin' a bit tired, so do ya think we could pick this up tomorrow mornin'?"
"Sure, I don't have a problem with that." Sensing it for a lie, Shinichi decided not to question it, leaving the matter be. Given the fact that he was keeping things from Heiji as well, he had no right to be all that pressing about whatever it was he was keeping secret. "Sleep well, Hattori."
"Ah, then, I'm finished too." Kazuha said quickly, knowing that gleam in her childhood friend's eyes. Quickly piling her plates together, she smiled at the both of them. "Thanks fer the delicious dinner, Ran-san."
"No, no, it's no problem at all." Ran said simply, shaking her head. As both Osakans gathered together their plates and dropped them off in the kitchen before heading upstairs, she turned towards Shinichi, a slight frown on her face. "Does this maybe have anything to do with what Ai-chan came here about this afternoon?"
"Yeah. Just as I thought, it would appear that this case is going to turn out to be something quite serious." Shinichi said, his expression turning somewhat grave. "I heard from Hakuba that he's started looking into the case as well. Apparently one of the students in his class collapsed suddenly, and he's been looking into it ever since then."
"I see." Ran said, a slight frown on her face. "In that case, the two of you should meet up soon to discuss the case. I would feel a bit better if there were two of you working on it."
"There are two of us, though." Shinichi noted, glancing up the stairs the way Heiji had gone.
"You know what I mean." Ran said with a sigh. "Exorcists, exorcists. I would feel better if you weren't the only exorcist working on the case. Hakuba-kun's pretty reliable in that regard."
"Well frankly, with Hattori involved, I'm not sure how deeply I want to get Hakuba involved with us." Shinichi admitted. "You know how he is about that sort of thing. If there's a chance that Hattori's actually... well, I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this."
"...A bit." Ran confessed after a moment, turning back to her plate, her frown deepening. "I really don't think he's a bad person though, Shinichi. I don't think Kazuha-chan would be friends with anyone who wasn't." She said, pausing for a moment, seeming to recall something. "He was pretty angry about something when he came back late this afternoon, though. He wouldn't say what, at least not me. It was pretty surprising."
"He seems to have something of a powerful temper." Reaching a hand over towards her, he rested it on her shoulder, giving it a light rub. "Well, I do agree with you that he doesn't seem to be a bad person. If there's something really going on with him in relation with devils, I'd like to be able to help him... but that's only if he wants to open up to me. I don't think it's something I should force."
"That's probably true." Placing a hand over Shinichi's own, Ran smiled over towards him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "Now then. I'm already finished with my dinner as well, so I'm going to retire to our room."
"Eh? You're not going to eat dinner with me?" Shinichi asked, his hand hanging in empty air as Ran lightly swatted it away, rising to her feet. "I'll be lonely, Ran!"
"Consider it your punishment for not calling me, Shinichi." Ran told him. "Ah, that's right. We'll have to work on trying for our little detective sometime later. We can't do that sort of thing with Hattori-kun and Kazuha-chan here, after all. It wouldn't be appropriate."
Cheeks turning a bright shade of red at her words, Shinichi very nearly choked on his food. For once, he was actually starting to regret his rather generous offer to take in the pair of freeloaders.
"Wait Heiji, are ya sure about this?" Keeping her voice to a quiet whisper, Kazuha refused to release her grip on Heiji's wrist, nails almost digging into his skin from the effort it required to keep her stubborn friend in place. "I don't really think it's a good idea fer ya ta wander around Tokyo lookin' like that, at least not right now!"
"It's alright, it's alright." Heiji was quick to reassure her, grinning from ear to ear, exposing canines that protruded a bit more than they usually did. "I've got my mask an' everythin'. Even if someone runs into me, they're not gonna recognize me."
"Well Kudo-kun obviously does, ta some extent." Kazuha hissed, fierce green eyes glaring up towards golden ones. Frankly, it was a miracle that taking on this form wasn't setting off some kind of alarm in the Kudo manor- how reckless could he get? Just because the Kudo couple was asleep now, doesn't mean that he could be this careless.
She was glad that she had gone to check up on Heiji. Frankly, she shouldn't have be the least bit surprised to have found her half-devil best friend opening up a window to the room he was staying in, preparing to jump out of it, given what she knew of him, and yet, she had been anyways. Every second that he remained in his devil form, she only grew more and more nervous, keeping her ears strained for any sign of Shinichi or Ran, even though she knew full well that Heiji would pick up on such a thing far quicker than she would.
"Kudo's one thing, Kazuha." Heiji was quick to reassure her, finally managing to free his wrist from her grasp, shaking it out a little. Resting a hand on her head, he gave it a light pat, careful to avoid scratching her with his claw-like nails. "Besides, it's easier ta move around in this form, an' I might be able ta pick up on those guys better. Since I'm here, I might as well patrol. Besides, it's not like I'm doin' this recklessly. See, I've got a hoodie."
As if to demonstrate, Heiji lifted up the hood of his hoodie, which only caused Kazuha to roll her eyes as it did absolutely nothing to conceal the curved pair of white horns that rose up from his head. That might have worked when he was a child, and they were still small, but now-!
Honestly, for someone who worried so much about keeping his secret a secret, all of that was thrown out of the window whenever there was a scent of a case to chase.
"Fine." Kazuha said after a moment. "As long as yer careful, Heiji. An' as long as ya remember ta take my charm with ya!"
"I'm wearin' it, aren't I?" Heiji asked, placing a hand over where the charm was tucked underneath his shirt, his tail slightly bristling as he spoke. "I'll be fine, Kazuha. I've been a lot more careful about it ever since then, ya know that, right? Learned my lesson, ya could say."
"I know that." Kazuha said finally. "I just wish ya didn't have ta learn it that way."
"Well, it could have gone worse. I'm not really sure I care ta find out if I can actually be sealed away or not." Heiji said simply, masking his own feelings with a simple shrug of his shoulders- and his literal mask as well, placing it over his face. "I'll be back by mornin', I promise ya that. On the off chance I'm not, I'll leave what ta do up ta ya."
"I understand." Kazuha said, slowly nodding her head. "Then, if yer goin' ta do this, go give 'em hell, Heiji!"
"Of course I will!" Heiji told her, a rather cheeky grin spreading across his face. "I am a devil, after all."
