AN: Just a short interlude. This had been planned and written since Chapter 7, can you believe it? So I thought, best not to keep you guys waiting, even though Chapter 11 has not yet been finished...

The next chapter will be coming out after a looong time. So, till then... sorry for the wait.

Enjoy~

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"Dialogues"

'Thoughts'

Interlude: Kazuha

Kazuha had first heard it from Miya-chan – who'd heard it from Shuuko-chan, who'd overheard Mizuki-kun and Fusue-kun talking – that Heiji was going to class 2-B, every break, without fail to meet with Amane Shiori-san.

At first, Kazuha had been sure that Miya-chan was joking. Heiji, and meet with a girl? Not possible.

All Heiji had in that detective riddled mind of his, was cases, cases and more cases. Which was why Kazuha had been surprised it was true. Of course, it made much more sense to Kazuha when she learnt of the reason he met her for – to borrow a newspaper.

"What's so important about the Tokyo Times?" Kazuha had asked Heiji, "Tokyo's in the eastern part of Japan! Shouldn't you be more concerned about the west? Like Osaka?"

That was when she'd first heard of Kudo Shinichi, the so called 'Great Detective of the East' and Heiji's self-proclaimed rival. Heiji kept following Kudo's cases in the newspaper for three whole years, and Kazuha had long since stopped paying attention to Heiji's interest in that detective.

...

Heiji had admired a good many detectives, most of them soon losing that admiration when Heiji surpassed their level.

Maybe it would be different when it came to Kudo – who was apparently the same age as Heiji – but Kazuha did not truly believe that. Heiji had been the best detective she'd ever met, apart from Heizo-jii-san, and Kazuha strongly believed that Kudo could never match up to her friend.

When Heiji had suddenly gone off to Tokyo to look for Kudo, she'd been surprised and shocked. Heiji was actually paying so much interest to this Kudo? Perhaps, Kudo was a better detective than she believed him to be.

...

Heiji lost.

That was never something Kazuha thought she'd hear when it came to deductions. Heiji was the best detective she'd known! What was baffling was that Heiji did not truly seem to take the loss badly. He was almost… happy? Yes, happy. Not because he'd lost, Kazuha didn't think so, but because he'd met Kudo.

That was when the doubt trickled in. This Kudo – was she a girl? Heiji couldn't seem to stop talking about their meeting – okay, so she was exaggerating a bit – but it certainly seemed so to her.

And everyone had been using gender neutral pronouns while describing Kudo, even Shizuka-baa-chan and Heizo-jii-san. It was natural for her to doubt.

...

When Heiji had gone off the second time – and on a Sherlock Holmes tour, too! – Kazuha's doubt on Kudo's gender seemed to double. Was Heiji actually going to see some girl?

It was natural to think so. No boy had ever held Heiji's attention for so long – all of them were too slow to keep up with him, Heiji said – and Heiji only ever interacted with one girl: her.

So, the only conclusion Kazuha could reach to, was that Heiji had actually, finally, regretfully, found a romantic interest.

Not that Kazuha thought of Heiji in such a manner – of course not! – Well…perhaps she did, a little bit. Only slightly, though!

Thinking about Heiji with another girl was painful.

...

The good thing about the whole situation was that Kazuha had the one thing with Heiji that Kudo did not – familiarity. Kazuha had known Heiji since they were kids. They had played together, laughed together, learned together, and grown up together. They'd made memories with each other!

Kudo, for all she had – the brains, the intelligence, the interest in detective work; all of on which, Kazuha would admit, that she was never on par with Heiji – would certainly never match up to her!

'But,' a traitorous voice whispered in her mind, 'what if Heiji doesn't want you? What if he wants Kudo? She is perfect for him! A detective, a challenge, a rival! Someone who could understand parts of him that you will never be able to…'

Kazuha had stubbornly squashed down those insecurities though. She could not really do anything about the situation when Heiji went off to Tokyo to meet Kudo.

But she knew, like any proud Osakan, Heiji would invite Kudo to Kansai. And when he did, she'd make certain to tell Kudo that Heiji was hers – so could she please keep her hands off him? And if Kudo didn't back down…well, she didn't have a Second Dan in Aikido for nothing.

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Second Dan - second highest level in Aikido for black belt holders

Thanks to Rockster for pointing out what Dan Kazuha has.

xxx

AN: Hope you liked the interlude! It was short, yes, but since it was only an interlude, I hope it is okay...

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To winx club - Thanks for reviewing! Glad you liked it! Also, "Consequences Of Our Actions" will be updated soon. Just give me a bit of time. Juggling all my stories and exams is slightly hectic. But, I'll be posting it soon, don't worry!

To Rockster - Thanks for reviewing! You wouldn't believe how anxious I was for your review for the last chapter! 'Coz, you are my most harshest and honest critic, and I knew that any praise or criticism I recieve from you will be honest! So, really REALLY happy that the original case lived up to the readers' expectations! :) I loved writing about that too, in fact, there used to be guys in my class who would actually do it, so I thought Conan bending under the desk to receive phone calls? Perfect idea! Let's use it! :P

I think what you say is true as well...checking if you're right with your most trusted comarade is perfectly natural. Yeah, that no one has EVER figured out who Conan is because of Heiji's little slip ups is honestly surprising :P Hey...you know, I never really thought why Heiji didn't use his own phone. I just used the manga and anime as referrence and since they showed him using the home phone to call, I just put it there in the fic...

HA! Heizo letting his son borrow a police car seemed unbeliavable to me the first time I saw the anime, and even now that I'm rewatching it! But, he has to get permisssion from him somehow, so that was my take on it...

Also, yes, ' "That fine?" Heiji asked, ', is a purpsoeful typo for showing the Osakan drawl that I never seem to get down completely; writing "you" instead of "ya", "your" instead of "yer" and "for" instead of "fer". So, when I do remember, I try to incorporate it...

And, if you have the time or inclination, do check out "A Case Of Identity". Oh, wait...you don't really prefer M/M pairings. Sorry... :( I was hoping for your comments on it since there's a friendship genre in it as well, even though it IS primarily Romance, but... oh well :/

DO let me know how Kazuha's thoughts panned out, okay? I hope her reasoning for believing Shinichi is a girl is fine :)

Also, yup, next chapter will have a good deal of Heiji and Conan detective solving and friendship, and I hope I get the dream right, since it plays a huge part in the story...but you'll let me know that, right? :) And 800 episodes are a bit daunting, I agree. Shinmei Nintaro's case will get its completion in the next chapter too, I'm afraid. Didn't have the right setting before... Thanks once again! Hope you enjoyed this Interlude!

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P.S. - Hey, readers! Have any of you watched 'Kimi no Na wa' (Your name) ?

It's a movie/anime, original source, and it's wonderfully written! The plotline may not be oh so unique, considering all of us must have come across it somewhere in various fanfic archives, but it is really well done!

It's about a girl (Mitsuha) and a boy (Taki) who switch bodies one sudden morning. They live in different parts of Japan, one in a town/village of Itomori and the other in the hustling city of Tokyo. Their lives are also varied, and now, stuck in each other's body, living each other's life is hard. What's more, it isn't permanent. One morning they're themselves, the other they're not and the next, they've switched again.

What is the cause for this? And what does the comet Tiamat have to do with it? Soon, realising the predicament they've found themselves in, they try to search for each other...all the while feeling like they're missing something. And their names, so simple and easily memorable, keeps slipping out of their minds...as if it was never meant to be...

A slightly supernatural story with a happy ending!

If my short preview interests you, do go and check it out!

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REVIEW!