Chapter 10: Serious Acting Skills

Dear everyone: I am VERY sorry for the delay. For those of you following my other stories, you can probably understand why, but it still isn't much of an excuse for abandoning this for over a month! :( I just, usually, work only under inspiration, and my newest inspiration has been my newest fic: Recovering the Self *SHAMELESS PLUG ALERT* hehe, but anyway. Finally, we're back! I hope you enjoy it! Please let me know! Thanks soooo much! OH, and as always...THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS!

Quick Japanese (because this is necessary for understanding at least ONE passage in this chappy): Otouto: little brother

R&R~~! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

oOo

"Crap!"

"What's wrong, Hattori?"

"K-k-Kazuha!" He hissed mournfully as he eyed the buzzing phone in his hand.

"Oh, Hei-chan!" Kaito squeezed him around the middle. "Shall I take the call for you?"

"Keep away, Aho." Hattori glared viciously at him, and with a deep breath and an adjustment of his necktie, brought the phone to his ear.

"Uh, hey, Kazuha…"

"HEIJI? What are you DOING, AHO?" Kazuha's voice rang out with utmost clarity despite Hattori's holding the phone a good two feet from his ear.

"Oh, uh yeah. About that. Sorry, Kazuha, but you know I was here with Kudou-uh, no, uh Conan-kun, but…heh, I met up with Kudou and I told him I'd help him on a case so, uh, I won't be able to come back for a while..."

Kazuha's slow, heavy breathing was more terrifying than her yelling. It carried all of the thick, oppressive anticipation of a much worse blow-up.

"Oh, I see. A case, huh? Is Kudou-kun there with you, Heiji?" She asked icily, deliberately.

Thinking about how to answer without contradicting what Ran knew (as the girls would likely trade notes), he said:

"Oh, actually, Kudou's taking care of his relatives right now, so I went ahead. He'll be here to help me soon, though…"

When Kazuha hadn't answered after about thirty seconds, Hattori felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead and palms as he nervously checked to see if she'd hung up on him. At the questioning and somewhat concerned glances Kaito and Shinichi sent him, he coughed and hesitantly said, "Uh, Kazuha? Ya still there?"

Another pause. He gulped.

"Heiji…" She began slowly, threateningly.

"Um…uh, yeah?"

But when she spoke again, her voice held a hint of true anxiety despite its fake-cheerful tone. "So uh, this wouldn't be the same case that's kept Kudou-kun away for so long, would it?"

He froze, suddenly feeling as if a hard, icy hand had gripped his heart, then melting and dripping cold shivers down his spine. It was guilt. And it was only going to get worse…but at that moment, all he cared about was getting that tone, that truly scared tone that did not belong in Kazuha's voice, to go away…Gulping, he said, as nonchalantly as possible, "Nah, Kazuha, it's nothing like that. It's just that I have to travel and so I won't be home for a while, but I'll be able to talk and stuff so…look, I'm sorry, but I'm with Kudou, so I'm sure this'll be done before we know it!"

God, I hope I'm right…

When Kazuha spoke again, her voice was considerably lighter, and Hattori breathed a sigh of relief. "Whatever, Heiji, you still suck for not telling me beforehand! What IS it with you AHO detectives, anyway? Ran-chan's so right! You're as bad as Kudou-kun!"

Shinichi, who had heard this last comment, flinched slightly, and then jumped at the commiserating pat and patronizingly sympathetic look he was receiving from Kaito.

"Hey, I am not! Kudou's mcuh wor-uh…" Meeting said Kudou's dangerous glint, and remembering his current height problem, Hattori steered the conversation in a different direction, and his tone turned serious. "Look, Kazuha, I'm sorry…really. But, I've already… there isn't anything I can do to get out of it, but I promise that as soon as I'm back, I'll make it up to you."

"Mean it?"

"Yeah, I do…" His voice was soft, and his heart was suddenly pounding in his ears, his current company forgotten.

He could almost feel Kazuha smiling through the phone…that hesitant, truly happy smile she only made when she thought no one was looking. The thought made an odd tingly giddiness rise up and settle in his chest.

"Well, I'll take you up on that Heiji. Starting with….hmmm…well, prepare to be my shopping buddy for a month at least! Oh, and you can babysit my cousin for me sometime, that would be good, and…"

"Kazuhaaa" he groaned.

"Well, I'll be making a list, mark my words!" With a triumphant laugh, she then said. "Just be safe, Heiji, okay? And you'll call?"

"I promise…I'll definitely be in touch. And, uh…really, you don't need to worry. I'm really gonna try to get this case done as soon as I can, but it looks like it's a pretty big one, so…" His voice had grown uncharacteristically soft and serious again. It had felt good to banter with Kazuha-as if everything were normal and he weren't actually in a body ten years younger than hers…but when the fact that he wouldn't' be around...wouldn't be able to see her, at least as himself, for a while…when that hit him once again, he couldn't find it in himself to joke.

Kazuha had clearly noticed the difference. "Um, Heiji? You okay? You got all serious all of a sudden! I'm not that mad, you know. I'm used to you being a stupid detective. As long as you're not doing some crazy dangerous crap like Kudou-kun's always getting into, I'm…I guess I'm okay with it. As long as you promise to do WHATEVER I tell you when you get home."

"Heh, got it, whatever you want. WITHIN reason, of course. Well, I'll call you later, okay?"

After hanging up, he stared at the bowtie clutched in his fist, wryly thinking about how this little bit of technology was the only thing that allowed him to be himself right now...for Kazuha, at least... He sighed. Aw well, no use feeling sorry for myself, I guess…

He looked up when he felt a gentle warmth on his shoulder. Looking right, he was surprised to meet indigo eyes fixed on him levelly. Kaito was smiling gently, his usual humor almost gone, and for the first time, Hattori realized that he really did see him as a friend, and not just because of their odd circumstances, but simply because he was a pretty damn good guy, all things considered. He loved to prank people and act immature, but that was just so he could get as much fun out of life as possible. When it came to situations that needed to be taken seriously, the magician-thief didn't miss a beat.

Hattori smiled back and then shrugged. "Well, good thing that's over."

Shinichi frowned at him. "Hattori, I…"

"Stop it, Kudou. We're all equally aware of the situation, and there just isn't anything…I mean, you guys are practically twins, by some crazy mess-up in the fabric of the universe, so you can easily pass as each other, but…there just isn't much I can say to her but tell her to wait…" He sighed.

Then, before they could respond, he grinned a little, looking back and forth between them. "I'm still not convinced you two weren't just separated at birth."

"Hattori, you barou! No way I'm related to this…this…" Shinichi just waved his arms in a frustrated gesture in an attempt to express just how objectionable he found the idea. Kaito, however, just grinned manically, something Shinichi noticed with much displeasure.

"What now?"

"Well, Shin-chan, if I didn't know better, I'd have to say I'd agree with Hei-chan, and I for one, wouldn't be ashamed to have you as my otouto-chan!" Shinichi blanched and mouthed 'otouto' in an amusingly fish-like impression which Kaito, lucky for him, missed. Continuing on, grinning manically, Kaito said "After all, you are sooooo cute! A little serious for my tastes, but that's just an unfortunate side effect of being a meitantei, huh? If you'd grown up around my dad, he would have stomped that out of you!" And he nodded with satisfaction as he imagined how much fun his tantei-kun would have been if he had been raised under the influence of one Kuroba Toichi.

Shinichi choked and sputtered, but once he'd regained his bearings, decided not to respond.

oOo

"Well…home sweet home!"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at the surprisingly inconspicuous house. "Are you serious? No turrets? No rainbow-colored roofs or pink smoke from the chimney?"

"Only around Christmas time, Shin-chan, and that would be red and green smoke. I do things right, after all! Oh, and orange and black around Halloween…and pink and red around valentines day, and…"

"Okay, okay, I've got it. I won't deny your craziness any further. You've convinced me."

"Aw, but Shi-"

"BAKAITO! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"

In horror-movie-worthy slow-motion, they shifted their frozen limbs to face the irate girl. Kaito was the most nervous of all, but when he turned to see Aoko, he noticed she wasn't even looking at him. Of course…

Stomping towards Shinichi, she stopped inches from his face, glaring fiercely before poking him in the nose. "How about picking up your DAMN PHONE? And what have you done to your hair?" She blinked a little at the last, leaning back a little and narrowing her eyes as she inspected her 'best friend's' appearance. She frowned. Have hiis eyes always been that blue? Weird…

Kaito had snapped out of his own shocked stupor at seeing Aoko, first of all, ignore him, and second of all, treat Shinichi as she always did him…even though he knew perfectly well that this had been the plan all along, it was definitely different actually seeing it in action. I guess I know, now, how Shin-chan felt all those times he had to watch me impersonate him and flirt with Ran-chan. An unfamiliar twinge of guilt tugged at him for an instant at the thought, but he immediately brushed it aside, instead dragging himself back to the present. And the present was showing a shocked-still Shinichi and a suspicious-looking Aoko. Something had to be done.

Quickly, he raced over and grabbed onto one of Shinichi's hands with both of his, jumping up and down energetically. "Kaito-niiiiichan! Is this Aoko-neechan? The one you've told us so much about?"

Shinichi blinked, suddenly shooting back to the present himself. Looking down, he almost cracked up at how well Kaito could play an innocent little kid, but he knew this couldn't be easy for him… Aoko was…well, as far as he could tell, Aoko was kind of Kaito's Ran…the thought made him fill with sympathy and a fierce desire to do this right.

Slapping on a manic grin, as Kaito-like as he could, Shinichi crouched down and mussed Kaito's hair. "That's right! This is…what did Kaito call say he calls her to rile her up? Hmmm, but that's so rude! Oh well, it'll clear up any doubts she has about me…And clutching to everything his actress-mother had ever ironed into him, he mentally gritted his teeth and grinned up at the messy-haired girl. "Ahoko!" And he widened his grin, trying, desperately, to convince himself that he wasn't just walking into a frying pan wearing paper clothing…

A nerve twitched in Aoko's head, and out of nowhere, she brandished a certain something used in household affairs…

Kaito just blinked in shock as he watched Aoko take off after Shinichi with a mop. He wasn't doing badly, either, though his avoiding tactics were quite different from his own. Where he tended to favor cartwheels and handstands, Shinichi was doing some interesting footwork, and made a few impressive dodges with his upper-body, too…

"He's pretty used to running from neechan, I hear," Hattori commented from the side, grinning at the scene before them.

"Yeah, well goooood thing. Because I'll tell you. Aoko packs a punch with that mop!" Kaito shivered as several bad memories phased through his head.

"Heh, guess I should be glad Kazuha's a little more normal than the women you two have to deal with," Hattori grinned. "Not that she isn't crazy, but at least she keeps her hands off the household cleaning things…though, honestly, she'd probably do well to learn to use a mop to clean her room one these days, the damn messy aho…"

Kaito chuckled as he listened, cocking his head. "You two seem pretty close. I'm guessing it's a similar situation to Shin-chan and his…?"

Much to his chagrin, Hattori began to blush as much as would show on his darker skin. "A-Aho! No, we're…we're just friends, dammit! We're…uh, I mean…" He sputtered and Kaito laughed good-naturedly, putting a hand on Hattori's shoulder.

"She seems like a good girl, though." Looking up in thought for a second, Kaito pounded one fist in his other hand. "I remember her! Toyama-chan, right? She was around one of the times I impersonated Shin-chan!" He grinned at the memory. "She's definitely into you!" He said with great conviction and a manic smile, becoming more manic as Hattori looked more and more uncomfortable.

But then Kaito frowned a little. "But I know that just makes it rougher, Hei-….Heiji." Hattori's eyes snapped up at the use of his name less-honorific. There was some slight pain breaking through Kaito's usual poker-face, and Hattori's expression softened.

"Hey, it's okay. It's gotta be rough for you, too, right?" He motioned unnecessarily to where Aoko was still chasing Shinichi down the street, the detective obviously getting tired as the mop kept getting increasingly close to whopping him upside the head. "She's…well, I mean…can't say I've seen anything of this girl except her trying to murder Kudou, but…" he grinned. "But if she's that mad at ya for vanishing without telling her, I think that says something."

Kaito's face tightened a little and he looked up, somewhat wistfully, at Aoko before sighing. "Yeah…she's, well…she hates it when I don't call her, so she's probably been about ready to have her dad call out a search party. But even though she jokes around, she really does get worried. I mean, after her mom passed away, and my dad, we kind of…"

Hattori moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's why we're gonna work together, right? We're gonna kick those bastards to hell in a flaming motorcycle-"

"And dance on their remains?" Kaito finished, grinning up at him. "Yeah, thanks, Heiji. I…appreciate your support, I really…" He sighed, but their conversation was then brought to an abrupt close by an exhausted, and slightly bruised detective slamming down on the grass in front of them.

"Oh no, Kaito! I didn't mean to actually hit you!" Bending down in worry, Aoko began to shake Shinichi's shoulders, and he blinked. "Ra-" then catching Kaito's frantic shake of the head, his mop-mottled brain managed to right itself. "Aoko…hey…"

"Are you okay? I …normally you have more endurance than that, Kaito! I didn't think you'd get tired so easily!"

Shinichi blinked. Easily? And I thought I'd really held my own…just what IS Kaito? How can he keep up with this…and then he answered his own question. Oh right. He's Kaitou Kid. And this girl's his childhood friend, so he's used to this kind of thing. Based on how much he likes his pranks, I'm willing to bet she gives him a work-out like this almost every day.

To Aoko, he grinned and said, "Heh, I've just had a slightly tiring few days is all, but nothing to worry about. But hey, sorry I worried you, Aoko, I've just been busy."

She blinked and a little flustered, pink tinge dusted her cheeks. "I…I wasn't worried…" She began to nervously play with her skirt as she looked away from Shinichi. Then her eyes settled on the real Kaito for the first time.

Kaito's heart shot into his skull when those familiar bright eyes met his. She looks shocked. Oh no, I bet she knows it's me! Damn it…Aoko, I'm sorry, I'm… And then whatever else he had intended to think was flushed away as his vision was obscured in soft, brown hair, and warm arms wrapped around him, pulling him in. It took him a second to register. Aoko's…hugging me?

Frozen in shock, he slowly began to relax in her grip as her warmth melted through him and he closed his eyes, just savoring the feeling of her. He was home, even if just for a second. Keeping his eyes shut tightly, he tried to forget. Forget that he wasn't big enough to hug her back, to comfort her, to tell her the truth. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms as far as he could around her back, frustrated that his short arms couldn't even meet around her tiny waist. Slowly, she pulled back, and she looked a little confused.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure…" She blushed a little before grinning. "You're just so cute, I had to hug you! But…I didn't mean to for so long. I didn't scare you, did I?"

Poker face slamming into place as quickly and with as much frantic force as possible, Kaito smiled sweetly and shook his head. "No, neechan, not at all!"

She smiled at him again, starting to reach forward as if to touch his cheek, but seemed to think better of it. She shook her head, but her eyes still looked troubled. She turned back to Shinichi, who was standing right behind her, wearing his own impressive poker-face, having watched the aforementioned proceedings with an uncomfortable, coiling pain. A sympathy of déjà vu and guilt and anger at those damn bastards who were responsible was welling in him.

"Who's this boy, Kaito?"

Shinichi grinned and crouched down next to Kaito, running a hand through his hair-a motion uncharacteristic of Shinichi which he hoped Kaito understood for what it was-just to say 'hey, I understand. I'm here for you.' To the girl, he said: "Aoko, I'd like you to meet a distant relative of mine. Edogawa Conan."

She blinked. "Hey, isn't he…?" She blinked as she looked at Kaito. "Aren't you the boy people have been calling Kaitou Kid's rival?"

Kaito blinked, met Shinichi's eyes, blinked again, and then grinned sheepishly at Aoko. "Um, well Aoko-neechan, I'm not sure if I'd go that far, but I do like playing with Kid-niisan at his heists. They're really fun!"

She frowned and hmphed. "Maybe you think they're fun, but he's still a stupid thief! So don't let him brainwash you, you hear me?"

"Um, yes, neechan…" He gulped. An Aoko slightly smaller than you is scary enough. Aoko over twice your size? Terrifying.

Then she blinked as she noticed the other member of the party. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! What's your name?" She said sweetly, crouching down in front of Hattori and resting her hands on his shoulders.

"I'm um…Soji. Akagawa Soji, oneesan…"

She smiled. "Soji-kun, huh? So, are you another surprise relative of Kaito's?"

Hattori nodded.

"Oh! You are? I was kind of joking…Bakaito! You didn't tell me you had so many kids in your family!"

After exchanging a glance with Kaito and receiving some quickly whispered pointers, Shinichi swaggered over to Aoko before crouching between them and mussing Hattori's hair playfully. "Again, they are distant relatives. We've only met a few times before now, but…Soji-kun's family is…" And with remarkably believable concern for 'Soji-kun' being reminded of bad things, Shinichi leaned over to whisper to Aoko, saying "They're dealing with some pretty serious problems, so I'm having to help them out right now. He'll be staying with me, but that's why I was gone this weekend…and I'm going to be going back with him to help again soon, too. Sorry to leave you alone, Aoko, but this just isn't something I can say no to, you know?"

Aoko's eyes filled with sympathy for the little boy as she imagined what kinds of 'serious problems' 'Kaito' might be talking about. "Of course," she said softly, and smiled. "Well, you guys are here right now, so why don't we do something fun to celebrate?"

"Something fun?"

"Yeah! Like…hmmm…ooh! There's a new place I want to try for dinner and then, Kaito, let's go to that ice cream parlor we always go to! You know, the one where they have your favorite double chocolate chip ice cream in choco-cones!" Shinichi had to hide the wince and look of disgust which were frantically trying to make their way onto his face. That sounds like a frickin…why the hell isn't Kaito 300 pounds? Oh, wait. He's Kaitou Kid. And again, Aoko and her mop… Shinichi chuckled a little to himself, something, unfortunately, which Aoko took as a 'yes' to both suggestions.

"Okay, well I have to get some stuff from home, so I'll stop by in a few hours and we'll head out, okay?"

"Oh, sure, but are you sure you don't want us to come meet you somewhere half-way?"

She blinked at him like he'd grown an extra head. Shinichi paled, realizing that he must have said something slightly…off.

"Kaito…what are you talking about? You want to meet me in front of the gate between our houses?"

Shinichi's eyes widened as realization hit him. Peering at the next-door mailbox, he saw, written in bold emblazoned characters: "NAKAMORI."

Oh. Next-door neighbors. I see…that….might make things more interesting. WAIT a sec. That means…Kaitou Kid plans all of his heists…his…everything…right next door to Nakamori-keibu's house?

The thought was so hilarious that Shinichi burst out in laughter, earning him a few odd stares. Luckily, Aoko interpreted this as his admitting the stupid joke he'd been playing with his previous comment, and she let him go with a light slap on the head. "Okay, Bakaito. You get ready in something MILDLY presentable." Crouching and grinning and Kaito and Hattori, she whispered covertly, "You guys keep your niichan in line, okay? Make sure he doesn't blow up the house before we go to dinner!"

"Hai, Aoko-neechan!" They chirped in unison, and she smiled more widely before waving and running around the fence to her house.

The second the three performers made it through the door of Kaito's house, they all collapsed in a mottled heap, variously draped on the rug, couch, and each other, groaning and/ or rubbing residual bruises…

There's chapter 10! Hope you guys liked it! :D I figure Shin-chan would have gotten SOME acting talent from his kaasan, but will it be enough? That's the question, isn't it? Good news: Summer break's almost here, so that means plenty of time to write! So, there shouldn't be as much of a hold-up with this story!

Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it! Please remember to review~!

Thanks so much!

tess4aria