--------------Chapter 10: At the Skating Rink--------------

"Ahh! Baho! What'd you have to go and do that for?" cried Heiji, rubbing his leg and staring at her coldly. "Now I look as clumsy as you!"

Shinichi looked from them to Ran. "Hey Ran," he whispered.

Kazuha had got up, "I'm not clumsy!" This time, she started walking away.

Ran looked at Shinichi. "Hm?" she said, still looking down at Heiji, then back at Kazuha who was walking off.

Heiji fumed at her, staying on the ground for a moment. "Ugh, too cold," with a little effort, he stood up. He watched her walk off and sighed. "Great, now I have to go follow her and cheer her up," he muttered, giving an exasperated glance to Shinichi and Ran, before running off after her. "Oi, Kazuha! I didn't mean it that way!..."

"Do you think we can go down to the skating rink? I haven't had time off enough to go skating in a long time." He looked at her rosy, cold cheeks, hoping she would accept.

Ran jumped up, "Of course!" She almost fell again, but caught herself by grabbing Shinichi's hand and pulling herself up. "We can go right now if you'd like," she said, letting go of his hand.

Kazuha turned around, then slid down the hill as if she were riding a snow board, stopping in front of Shinichi and Ran, "I'd love to go!" She noticed Shinichi's face, "Oh, wait, I uh- have to go somewhere!" she turned around and walked off.

Heiji ran up behind her, "Oi!! Wait!" As he caught up to her, far enough away from Ran and Shinichi, he hissed at her, "What was all that about? Where do you have to go all of a sudden?"

Shinichi tilted his head down a small bit, blushing lightly, as Kazuha went off again. "Th-Then let's go." He turned to Ran and smiled, starting to walk in the rink's direction. His rubbed his hands together, breathing into them. He merely grabbed a jacket off a hook near the doorway before leaving. He had no time to search for gloves, leaving him as the only one with his hands bare.

Kazuha looked into Heiji's eyes. "Oi, Ran hasn't seen Shinichi for I-don't-know-how-long. I just think they need time alone. Okay?" She turned back around and walked off. "Oh, and I think I'm just going to take a walk."

"Oh.. Okay, Kazuha..." Heiji stood back and sighed. "I guess I'll be going for a walk too..." He turned around headed off in the other direction.

Sitting down and putting on her skates, Ran took a look at Shinichi's hands. "Shinichi, your hands are pink." She took off her black gloves and put it on him. "There ya go," she said, smiling and getting up. She circled around him on the ice as she waited for him to put on his skates.

Shinichi looked up at Ran, feeling the warmth of the gloves. "But what about you? Won't your hands get cold?" He watched her, as he knelt down and finished lacing his skates. When done, he got up and skated toward her.

Ran shook her head. "I'll be fine," she smiled. She cupped her hands together. "I'll keep them warm this way!" she said, trying to sound smart.

"No, you don't have to do that." Shinichi took off his right glove. Reaching over for Ran's right hand, he slid the glove back onto it. He then took his bare right hand and grasped Ran's bare left hand firmly. "There. Now we can both be warm this way." He smiled.

Kazuha stopped. "I'm not clumsy," she muttered as she turned around, looking at Heiji. She had her hands behind her back and as she blushed. She looked away and kicked her heel on the ground. "Can I come with you?" she quietly asked.

Heiji stopped in his tracks. "What?" He turned around. "O-Of course you can." He shoved his hands in his pockets and waited.

Kazuha ran to Heiji and stopped as she began to walk ahead of him slowly.

Heiji started walking to catch up to her. "Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it. It's still not because of that cooking comment, is it? Look, if you want to prove yourself better, you can always cook lunch or dinner!..." He stopped, looking at her face.

Kazuha looked down at Heiji, "Of course that's not it." She poked his cheek, pushing him back. "I'm fine," she smiled.

Ran blushed furiously and looked away. "He grabbed my hand! He grabbed my hand." She jumped excitedly as she looked around with a smile.

Shinichi let out a little laugh, feeling just as giddy as Ran did. He squeezed her hand tightly and started skating faster. He turned his head and looked back to her, "I just hope you can keep up with me! After years of soccer practice, my legs are quite well trained- I'm not about to go slowly now!"

Ran was basically dragged. She gave a powerful look, letting go of his hand. She went ahead of him, "Wait, how to stop?!" She looked for what was infront of her. It was a young man with blonde hair. "Watch out!" She fell on top of him, rubbing her head, she looked down at him. "I'm s-so sorry!" she said.

He chuckled. "No, no, it's fine." He rubbed the back of his head. Looking at Ran, he gave a warming smile, "What's your name?"

Shinichi skated over to the other two. "I'm so sorry!" he said to both the man and Ran. He held his bare hand back out again so that Ran could get up off of him.

Ran was still sitting on top of the guy as she took Shinichi's hand. The man beneath her got up. "This guy your boyfriend?" he asked, brushing the snow off of himself.

Ran waved her hands back and forth embarrassingly, "No, we're just friends..." she said, smiling fakely.

The man came closer to her and gave a grin, "Then how about me and you grab something to eat?"

Shinichi's face burned red once more. He stepped between Ran and the man. "No thanks. She came here with me, she's eating lunch with me."

Ran smiled nervously. "Well, thank you for your offer," she said, turning away from him.

The man gave a wink at her, "Then I'll see you around, Miss."

Heiji gave Kazuha a curious look, "Are you sure? It seems like you're preoccupied."

Kazuha shrugged, "Eh, I guess I am." Putting her hands behind her head, she rolled her eyes to meet with his, "It's just the snow, it's cold..y'know?" she smiled. She didn't even know what she was saying so she thought to change the subject, "How do you think Ran and Shinichi are doing?"

Heiji smiled and looked down. "My guess is that they're bothering each other enough by now. Then again, they DO have lots to talk about, I'd expect."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kazuha giggled, thinking of the perfect romance scene for Ran and Shinichi, she blushed. "How cute!" She said, jumping up.

Heiji blinked, "It's cute for them to be bothering each other? You really ARE weird." He nudged her with his elbow lightly.

Kazuha rubbed the back of her head. She laughed softly, then looked away. "But really, Shinichi should stay until we find out what happened with Ran's father." She nodded to herself.

"Yeah," Heiji peered up to the bright, afternoon sun. "I hope he can. With that case he has, though, you never know when he'll have to run off again."

Kazuha nodded in agreement. "Yeah," she smiled as she looked up at the sun as well.

Behind Ran's back, Shinichi gave the man a dirty look. He turned back and kept up the pace with Ran. "Ugh. What's with these random guys that ask girls that they don't even know out on dates. It's sick." He skated, his head down and his hands in his pockets.

Ran poked the side of Shinichi's face, "Don't look so down, you were the one who wanted to come, Mr. Detective." She smiled, then giggled.

Shinichi kept looking down, but made a soft smile. "You know Ran, I really admire you... "

Ran slid back an inch or so,"Y-you do?" She blushed, hardly believing it.

"Yeah, I do," continued Shinichi, still looking down. "You've been through so much. Going to all these murder cases, getting attacked, being stabbed through the stomach, losing your father... Then on top of all that, you have to deal with me..." He looked up at her, expressionless, "And yet you still find a way to smile."

Ran lowered her finger, the one she had poked him with. "Oh, that's why.." she said, looking away. "My Dad..." she repeated. She cleared her throat, trying to forget that situation. She looked at him and smiled. "I wouldn't say I have to deal with you, Shinichi." She looked away with her hands behind her back, "It's just hard not knowing when you're coming back whenever you disappear on your friends, your family and everyone else."

"Well it's not easy on me either, you know. I never know when I'll..." he stopped for a moment, thinking of an appropriate way to put it, "... have a free moment to be able to come back home. Heck, right now I don't even know when I have to go back. Whenever I get a call saying that I have to leave, I've got to leave immediately." He look back down, thinking of all the times he abruptly skipped out on her, leaving her alone again. "I'd say that's having to deal with me..."

Ran nudged him in the arm. "I don't want to put it that way, Shinichi. I only worry if you're all right." She frantically looked around, "It's-uh, not-like, we're a married couple or anything, it's just, you're like family," she said, smiling to him.

He closed his eyes. "Ha, yeah. I'm like the troublesome little boy that disappears constantly-" He quickly opened his eyes again, realizing what he said. He turned to her, a strike of fear through his spine.

She had looked up at him, then looked down. Not responding, she sat. It was getting dark and nobody was there anymore. The only light they had to see each other by was the streetlight hanging over them. She looked up at the new night sky, "Should we start heading home?"

Shinichi blinked, looking around. "Wow, we were here for a while, weren't we?.. I suppose we should." He looked down at his one ungloved hand, then over at Ran's. He reached his hand out and lightly touched it, hoping she would understand without words.

Ran looked down at his hand and smiled. Taking it, she got up. She pulled him up and laughed, "Come on, I bet I can run faster than you with my karate kicking legs!" she mocked him. But she stopped, giggling, as she pat his shoulder, "Just kidding."

--------------End Chapter 10--------------