CHAPTER 14: Teasing.

The bell had rung and class started once again. Suzume had her arms crossed and leaned on her desk, listening to the teacher talk. Although she barely was listening because of the thoughts on her mind. I wonder if I made Hattori-kun mad… she thought. He seemed a little angry at me teasing him so much… And he even shrugged me off when I tried talking to him before class started.

Suzume glanced at Heiji who sat next to her. Heiji was looking out the window, lost in his thoughts. And because he was so lost in his thoughts, he looked angry. I guess that's a yes… Suzume thought as she looked back at the board and started taking notes.

Heiji looked out at all the cars that pasted the school, one car ever two minutes. He was counting ever car since he didn't want to think about the things that are on his mind.

When Heiji walked into the classroom, he found Suzume chatting and laughing with a boy that sat a few seats away from her. The boy's name was Taniguchi Eijiro, Tani-kun for short. Heiji, at that moment, felt jealousy for some reason.

After awhile he went back to his seat and Heiji took his seat. And that led up to now, the time where Heiji is still trying to figure out everything. I can't believe I got angry over such a stupid thing… … I even ignored Kei when she tried talkin' to me… Am I jealous? Or is it just because I think of Kei as a little sister? That must be it, I'm mad because my 'Little Sister' is talkin' to a guy! That must be it!

Heiji glanced over at Suzume and saw her doodling in her notebook. The same drawing every time, just bigger and different. It looked like a coat of arms or a symbol used by a large company. It was a circle with the two letters 'LM'.

Wonder what that means… Heiji thought.

Suzume felt someone starring at her, so she glanced over at Heiji and saw him looking away. I guess it was nothing… she thought.

The last bell of the day rang, and everyone was up and out before you could even say 'Detective'. Heiji and Suzume walked out together and were now walking down the street, in silence.

The sun was setting and it seemed the Hattori Household was farther then it was this morning. Maybe it was just the silence between the two that made the journey much longer.

Suzume glanced up from the ground and looked at Heiji. Heiji didn't look at her since his attention was on the cars passing by. His hands were in his pockets and it seemed like he didn't even notice Suzume was there.

Suzume looked back at the ground and bit her lip. "Hattori-kun?" she said. Heiji glanced down at her. Suzume played with her hands and seemed a little nervous. "I'm really sorry…" she muttered.

"What for?" Heiji said, curious. He didn't recall her doing anything wrong or doing anything that made him mad, well except for one thing which she didn't know about.

"Well," Suzume said, "it seems like your angry at me. So, I'm apologizing for teasing you a bunch about your nickname…"

Heiji lifted an eyebrow. "That's it?" he said.

Suzume looked up at him. "Am I supposed to apologize for something else?"

Heiji looked away. "No," he said. "Truth is, I'm not mad."

Suzume sighed in relief. "That's good to hear…" she said.

"Oh!" they both said at once, "there was something I wanted to ask you!" They both looked at each other, their faces turning red. They then began to laugh.

"A-Alright," Suzume said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "you should go first, Hattori-kun."

"I want you to go first," he said. "What's the question?"

Suzume kicked a rock with her foot and put her hands behind her back. She looked kind of embarrassed. "Well," she said, "I was wondering if…" she paused for a moment and looked up at Heiji, "…if you have any more books I could read…"

Heiji felt a little disappointed that what she just said was the question she wanted to ask. "Yes…" he sighed.

Suzume jumped with joy. "Yippee!" she shouted. She then remembered that Heiji also had a question. "So what was your question?"

Heiji's face got a little red, thinking that if he asked it would be stupid. But he wanted to know, so he asked. "I was wondering," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "what was Taniguchi was talking to you about earlier…"

Suzume looked up at Heiji and saw him not facing her. "That all?" she asked. Heiji looked at her and nodded. Suzume sighed and looked at her feet. "He was asking me a few questions about myself and then he asked if he could show me around the school…"

"What did you tell him?" Heiji said, his jealousy starting to come back again.

Suzume looked up and smiled. "I told him someone already showed me around the school, but I thanked him for the offer."

Heiji looked at Suzume curiously. "Who showed ya around?"

"No one," Suzume said, blinking like the question was a shock. "I lied. I over heard a few girls talking, saying how he was a player and other things. So I lied and said someone already showed me around."

Heiji laughed and said, "Wonderful job, Kei!"

Suzume joined in a laughed, but she soon stopped with a smile on her face. "Call me Suzume," she said.

Heiji stopped laughing and looked at her, wide eyed.

"I never liked my last name, call me Suzume from now on."

Heiji's face went bright red and same with Suzume's. "A-Alright," Heiji said, looking away.

Suzume looked away and at the ground. Why did I just tell him that? she thought.

The two reached the Hattori household after a few more minutes. Once the two walked through the door, the first person to greet them was Mrs. Hattori. She smiled at the two teenagers who had walked home together, which she found amusing, just seeing how red there faces were still from the previous moment.

"Welcome Home!" Mrs. Hattori said, snickering.

Heiji gave his mother a glare as to indicate, 'Why did you make her go to my school?'

Suzume got the same vibe from him, but she just laughed under her breath.

After dinner the two teenagers worked on the homework from that day and then after they were done, they sat in their rooms doing whatever they wanted to do.

Suzume sat in her room, starring at her locket. She's had the locket for a long time and she remembered getting it her seventh birthday. It was the only thing she still had that was close to her parents.

A knock was heard at her door and the door opened. Heiji peeked in with soaked hair. "Showers all yours, Suzume," he said.

"A-Alright," Suzume said, trying to keep her face from getting red.

The door shut and Suzume swore she could hear Heiji whistling. Is he having mood swings or something? Suzume thought as she peeked out her door and saw Heiji walking into his room.

Suzume grabbed her things and went to take a shower. After that she brushed her teeth and then headed back, but she decided to do something before going directly to sleep. She walked to Heiji's room, with the book he gave her in hand.

Suzume knocked on the door. From the other side she heard Heiji say, "It's open!"

Suzume opened the door and found Heiji sitting in a chair, his feet up on his desk and he was reading. Suzume walked in and handed him the book. "Thanks for the book," she said, "and thanks to you, I'm hooked!"

Heiji laughed as he set the book on the desk. "Your welcome," he said. He got up and walked to the shelf, pulling out the next two books of the series. He then handed them to Suzume. "Read them slowly this time."

Suzume gave a big smile. "Thanks, Hattori-kun!"

Heiji gave a grin and sat back down in his chair and picked up his book again. Right before Suzume left, she noticed Heiji's hair was still wet. Idiot… she thought. She grabbed the towel and put it on Heiji's head, covering his eyes. She then began drying it.

"You'll catch cold if you don't dry properly…" she muttered. Suzume's face was as bright as an apple by now. She felt strange doing such a thing, although it didn't feel like a motherly thing.

Heiji didn't say anything, even though he was going to earlier. His face was red from embarrassment, but he was quiet comfortable with her just touching him even though it wasn't directly.

Suzume pulled her hands away and grabbed her books. "Try it properly next time…" she said, walking to the door. She opened the door and looked back at Heiji. "Good Night," she then shut the door as she finished her sentence, "Hei-chan…"

Heiji sat there, just looking at the door that Suzume disappeared out of. At that point, he was angry at her for calling him by his nickname, in fact he quite enjoyed her saying it.

Suzume closed the door to her room, still feeling her heart race. "I think I'm sick…" she said, quietly. She set her books on the desk and jumped into bed. She then hugged her pillow as she blushed. "I wish my heart would be still…"

Suzume then shut her eyes and fell into dreamland. But her dream wasn't a dream, but a vivid memory that she knows perfectly.

Suzume ran in a park, searching for something that she lost. Something that was important to her, she lost in that park.

Suzume stood there, tears running down her face. "I can't believe I lost it!" her seven years old voice said.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she quickly turned around, scared to see her grandmother standing there. But instead, it was an eight year old boy with dark skin and black hair. Suzume stood there shocked at what the boy was holding. In his hand was the thing she lost, her golden locket.

"Ya loss this?" he asked.

Suzume nodded as she wiped her tears away. The boy gave her the locket and smiled. "I found it near the park bench yesterday!" he said. "I thought you would come back for it, so I held onto it."

Suzume smiled and said, "Thank you so much!" When she looked at the boy once again, she saw he was blushing and then she started blushing.

"Suzu!" her grandmothers voice shouted for her.

Suzume turned around and saw her grandmother waving at her. Suzume looked at the boy again and hugged him. "Thank you!" she said. She then let go and ran to her grandmother, leaving the boy stunned.

Suzume took her grandmothers and they walked away, Suzume's locket around her neck once again. "Did you have fun?" her grandmother asked.

Suzume nodded. "I met a really nice boy who found my locket!" she said. "I wonder if I'll ever meet him again…"

Her grandmother smiled. "I'm sure you will," she said, "you never know. The next time you come to Osaka you might just meet him."

Suzume's eyes opened as the sun shinned in her face. She sat up and laughed softly. "I almost forgot about that…" she said, rubbing her eyes. She then stopped, her eyes wide opened. Wait, Osaka? she thought. But I've never… Oh wait, Grandmother took me to Osaka a few weeks after my birthday… I can't believe I didn't remember that… And now that I think about it, I wonder if that boy still lives in the area…

Suzume got an idea, so she jumped out of bed and ran out her door to Heiji's room. She opened the door and shouted, "Hattori-kun!"

Heiji turned over and put his pillow over his head. "Leave me alone, Suzume!" he said.

Suzume rolled her eyes as the door shut behind her. She jumped on Heiji's bed and hugged him. "Come on, Hattori-kun! I need to talk to you!" she said, trying to get him up.

"I said leave me alone!" he said, putting the pillow tighter on his head. "School doesn't start for another hour."

Suzume sighed. "Please, Hei-chan!" she said, knowing that it would get him up.

Heiji sat up on his elbows and looked at her. "What do you want?" he said. He then looked at the position they were in. Suzume's arms were still around him and her pleading face looking up at him as her face was near his face, about an few inches away. Heiji's face went bright red and Suzume's cheeks were beginning to get read from embarrassment.

"Take me out Saturday," she said, pleading with him, "I want to go somewhere with you!"

(I forgot to mention this, Kazuha never existed in this story… Just thought I'd point that out. Sorry for those who are fans of the Kazuha and Heiji match up, I really am sorry. But this is a Suzume and Heiji romance, not Kazuha… Anyways, don't hate me.)