AN: Well it's been quite the long journey, but here we are, at the final chapter of this story. I've said most of what I wanted to say about it ending in the previous chapter's authors note, so I won't go into too much detail here this time. It's sad to see it go in a lot of ways, but every story has it's time, and now is this one's time. To those of you who have been with me from the start, especially those of you who kept leaving reviews throughout, I thank you for reading and sticking with me!

There's no next time, but perhaps I'll see you again in the future, with another story?

Phantasmal Black

Chapter Twenty One

Heiji

"I've spotted the target."

"Understood. Permission to move in to secure granted. And remember- we're only seeking to disable them."

"Geez, from the way say that, ya make it sound like I've had cause ta let ya down before, Jodie-han." Heedless of the tension in the air, a hint of a smile strayed onto his face, one hand hovering over the earpiece in his left ear. "I made a deal, didn't I? I'm not about ta go an' break it."

There was a short pause on the other end, before a faint crackle of static came through, the FBI agent's reply with it. "Just consider it a precaution, Hattori-kun. Tonight's target might specialize in sniping, but reports from other agencies indicate that he's rather skilled at hand to hand combat as well."

"Not ta mention, he's the type who probably carries a handgun on him somewhere too." Letting out a short sigh, Hattori Heiji could only lean back a bit, not quite taking his eyes off the person that he had marked. "An' ya won't even let me so much as hold one."

"That was part of the deal." Jodie remarked. "We can't exactly supply a former assassin with weapons. We've gone over this before."

"Awfully stingy with yer employees." Heiji said, clear jest in his voice.

"Officially, you don't work for us." Jodie reminded him. "In so far as the record is concerned, you don't exist."

"Yes, yes, I know, I know." Nodding his head, Heiji let out another sigh, longer this time. Taking a moment to work out the stiffness his neck and shoulders, the edge of his faint smile changed, to something more fierce. "Let's just round this bastard up so I can get back home. Bein' a dead man is no excuse fer missin' my best friend's weddin'. Seein' as I got a chance ta go, I'm not about ta blow it."

"We have a proposal."

It had been five months now since he had heard those words first spoken. It had been Jodie who had laid out the terms of the aforementioned proposal to them- and he had to admit, it hadn't been what he had been expecting, in a number of ways. For what he had done, he expected to be tried and locked up, but it would seem that they had come up with another solution.

And if in the end, he was still being used as a tool because of it, he didn't mind much. Though he couldn't call what he had obtained true freedom, not with the device around his ankle tracking his every move, but it was far more than he had ever expected to get. And above all, tool though he might still be, at least his new job didn't involve him killing people.

The exact opposite, really.

Though as much as he had declared with confidence that he'd never failed her before, there had been a few brief moments in the past when he had come pretty close. It couldn't be helped- not when who he was dealing with here were other assassins, all of whom had far less qualms about killing him than he did them. But while he might have broken a few limbs along the way, he'd held fast to his end of the deal- to not kill.

It was ironic in a way. A former assassin used to catch those who were still active in the trade- but at the same time, he couldn't think of a better way to repent for his sins, other than rotting away in a prison cell. And given the choice between the two, he'd take this over that pretty much any day.

Even if it meant that in the eyes of the world, Hattori Heiji was still very much a dead man. If he didn't exist, then there was no one to charge with what he had done. At times, he had to wonder if the FBI was really okay, cutting a deal like this, remorseful and unlikely to kill again as he was. Still, even as he said that, he could understand why- there was no one who understood an assassin better than another assassin.

Not to mention, if he was the one putting his life on the line, they didn't need to risk any of their agents. In that sense, he was more of a tool than ever, but at the very least, he was being used by the right people this time.

In a way, he felt as if this would appease his past self as well. He might not be a detective, but there was something almost vaguely familiar in the way the gears turned, when he was searching for someone whose face they had no knowledge of. The signs he was searching for were different- things he would have likely never noticed before without experience, but he couldn't deny that a certain level of deduction was involved. It was a dangerous job, to be sure, but he was no stranger to that kind of danger.

At least some good would come out of it.

"Sorry, for calling you out this suddenly." The reply he received from Jodie was a bit softer in tone than those previous. "The tip was just as sudden. Since it's a sniper this time, I was planning on calling on Shu, but he's in the middle of an investigation of his own that he just can't get out of."

"Well, I'd say ya owe me one, but that's not how things work around here." Heiji half joked, rising to his feet, making sure to stick to the shadows as he moved. His already quiet voice dropped several levels as he closed in, peering over the edge of the rooftop down at the sniper below. "I'll contact ya next after I've apprehended them. In the meantime, I'm sure I can rely on ya ta keep the target's target away from the window, big ass though it is."

"This is an official channel, you know." Jodie noted. "But roger. I won't let him get a clear shot in."

"Roger~." Switching off his communications device for the moment, Heiji pulled his hand away from his ear. It was a testament to just how focused tonight's target was that he hadn't even taken notice of him. That was the difference between a sniper and an assassin like him, he guessed- to that guy, the whole world must have shrunken down right now to just what was seen in his scope. He didn't have the presence of mind to focus on what was on the roof across from him, not when they blended in so well with the darkness as he did.

He might not know how to snipe, but he did know what to watch for- and therefore, where the most likely places to snipe from were. Though he'd misjudged the exact rooftop, he'd been able to determine that it would be likely one of the two- and had opted to wait on the slightly taller one. He'd guessed wrong, but well...

...from this distance, jumping between them really wouldn't be a problem. With, granted, a decent enough running start- he'd nearly lost his life twice now, he wasn't really all that eager to find out if the third time was truly the charm, as the saying went. If he didn't end up losing his life to a man who had the advantage of being armed, then he was pretty sure a fall of twenty stories actually would kill him this time.

Not that he was interested in dying. After all, he had a wedding to get to after this.

It was kind of funny to think about, really- him, going to a wedding. When Shinichi had brought it up five months ago, though he had expressed interest in it, in reality, he didn't think that he would have ever actually have been invited for real. Though he supposed in truth he hadn't actually been- when more than half of the attendants thought he was dead, there was no way he could show his face in a place like that.

While that kept them from officially inviting him, and certainly kept them from making him a part of the formal wedding party, it didn't stop them from inviting him to watch the ceremony- just not from where anyone could see him. Luckily, he happened to be rather good at that sort of thing.

Besides, if he knew Shinichi, like he was starting to know him again, he'd be amazed if that guy's wedding went off without a hitch. He seemed to have a knack of getting into trouble that was second only to that of his own- and since the guy had gone so far for him, the least he could do was ensure that his wedding went off without a hitch.

That was what best friends did, right?

(Probably. He still wasn't quite sure about that sort of thing just yet.)

"Ya nervous, Ran?"

"...a bit." Even without her honest admission, the nervous smile that Mouri Ran gave to her friend was confession enough. "It's strange though. I wasn't nervous at all up until now, but seeing the hall in person, all decorated and ready... you know?"

"Unfortunately, I don't." Planting her hands on her hips, Toyama Kazuha allowed herself a moment to let out a quick sigh- before she dashed away such feelings, returning her friend's smile, brighter and with more confidence. "But really, I'm happy fer ya, Ran. I know that ya've been waitin' fer this a long time."

"Has Hattori-kun still not come around yet?" Ran asked. "Come to think of it, I've so busy the past two months that I've hardly had a chance to ask about it. I thought the two of you were making progress?"

"Progress, huh?" Kazuha asked, her sigh this time longer and deeper than before.

It would be a lie to say that there hadn't been some, on all fronts. They were, technically, living together, though she honestly couldn't claim that the two of them were quite dating yet. It was too soon, she told herself- even as every day that passed made it more and more clear to her that in spite of everything, she was still very much head over heels in love with Hattori Heiji.

And for once, it was easy as pie to tell he felt the same way about her too. A little too easy, even.

"It's kind of hard ta make progress when the person yer tryin' ta make it with can barely do so much as take a compliment." Kazuha told her honestly. "It's cute in it's own way, but it does kinda limit what ya can do. Not ta mention the reason why he's like that in the first place... I'm amazed that he doesn't have nightmares."

He might, for all she knew- they lived together, but they didn't room together. She'd learned the hard way that waking up Heiji on a good day was an ill advised idea at best, and at worst... well, the less said about the worst the better. But though there were things that he was open to her about, what his subconscious mind was showing him these days wasn't one of them.

Unless, of course, it pertained to a memory.

"I'm sure that Hattori-kun is doing his best in his own way though." Ran said. "I think we all knew that this part wouldn't be that easy."

"He is." Kazuha admitted, giving her a shrug of her shoulders. "I just kind of thought that when he started to remember things, he'd open up a little bit more, but that hasn't really happened. Sometimes it feels as if there's more of a wall between us now more than ever."

"I already think he's plenty open with you, Kazuha." Ran noted, giving her friend a smile. "More than he is with anyone else. You just need to give him time."

"Really? I'd say he's plenty open with Kudo-kun too." Kazuha added, a somewhat sour expression crossing her face.

"Really?" Ran asked, blinking a little. "Sometimes I get the feeling that Hattori-kun is at his most guarded around Shinichi, though. It feels like he's trying too hard not to slip up around him, especially now that his memories have started to slowly come back."

"Really?" Kazuha asked, it now her turn to blink in surprise, considering it for a moment. "Come ta think of it, ya might be right. He doesn't see them often, especially his father, but when he does, he's like that around his parents too. It makes it almost feel like they're a burden to him, sometimes. His memories, that is."

They had been coming back- in bits and pieces, here and there. Sometimes they would come completely out of the blue, but more often than not, it was because something was there to jog them. He still had a long way until he truly remembered everything, but he had been making steady progress on that front- bringing relief to almost everyone around him.

Except to himself, it seemed. Even though it was what she wanted, in a way, Kazuha almost couldn't help but feel bad- it seemed that with every snippet of memory that returned, Heiji found something new in it to grapple with. As much as she would like to talk to him about it, he'd been rather close mouthed about the whole thing to her, and in the end, she didn't really know how to bring it up.

It felt a bit like a rift had grown between the two of them, and while there were days when she couldn't help but find it discouraging, she was determined to one day bridge it. They were friends, in the end- and just because they hadn't been part of the other's life for the past five years didn't mean that they couldn't make up for lost time.

"But I guess in the end, it wasn't like we weren't expectin' that much." Kazuha admitted, closing her eyes. "I want ta support him with that, but he doesn't talk ta me much about it. Honestly, of all his old habits, why did he have ta keep that one?"

"Plus that job of his! Sure, I'm grateful that he's not in prison right now, but I can't stand just waitin' around fer news every time. At this rate, even if he had nine lives like a cat, it wouldn't nearly be enough!"

The frustration in her friend's voice strangely brought a smile to her face- and Ran couldn't help but let a faint chuckle escape from her. It was the fondness that was laced into it, even as she levied complaints, that made it clear as day just how much she cared and worried about the person she was talking about.

"Ah, sorry, Ran!" Snapping her eyes open, an almost sheepish expression crossed Kazuha's face. "Here we are on the eve of yer big day, an' all I can talk about is myself an' that idiot. Now, let's get back ta checkin' things over! I want ta make sure that everythin' is perfect tomorrow!"

"Whether or not Hattori-kun makes it back in time?" Ran ventured, watching the faint tint of pink creep into her friend's cheeks. For a moment, it almost felt as if they were high school girls again, teasing the other about their respective crush- it felt almost nostalgic, even though so much had changed since then, and in ways they never could have imagined.

If anything, she only wished that they could invite him properly to their wedding. But the number of people who knew that Hattori Heiji was alive was small, and when she had offered to trim down the number of people attending the ceremony so that he could come in proper fashion, he had turned her down. After all, she hadn't even told her parents about it- there was no way that she could invite him over them, he'd said.

But at least he was here, in the end. More for the sake of the young woman who puffed out her cheeks, giving her a rather intense stare in response to her teasing words than for herself.

"He should." Sensing that her friend was once again teasing her, Kazuha gave her something of a long look. "He said he was comin' in on a flight early this mornin', if everythin' works out tonight. Jodie-san promised me that she would call if anythin' went wrong."

"To Osaka?" Ran asked.

"No, Tokyo." Kazuha told her, shaking her head. "He said that he wanted ta come straight away after he got back. I don't think he intends on missin' it. Well, provided everythin' goes accordin' ta plan, he should arrive here in time. I was gonna go pick him up, though that's a surprise, so don't tell him."

"Is he going to be okay?" Ran asked, concern in her voice. "Hattori-kun doesn't do too well on long plane rides, does he?"

"Not at all." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "Well, he'll probably be fine. He always was the type who could get up an' go even when he hadn't had that much sleep. I don't really think that's change, but just in case, I'll probably bring some coffee with me. Otherwise I'll just have ta put up with his complaints about the store brand."

"Ah..." A rather understanding look crossed her face at the mention of coffee, an almost sympathetic note in her voice. "His taste in coffee really has gotten strange, hasn't it?"

"Less strange, an' more painful. I don't know how he can stand that stuff." Kazuha noted. "But don't worry about him, Ran. He was so excited about it the other day, so I'm sure that Heiji wouldn't dream of missin' this day fer the world, not fer any reason. It's just..."

Trailing off a little, Kazuha quickly shook her head. The fact that he wasn't invited as a proper guest wasn't Ran's fault- in the end, it was just another result of the deal that he had struck with the FBI. She wasn't willing to complain too much about it, since it kept him free, to a degree, but it certainly had it's inconveniences.

A wedding of their own was probably out for them, huh.

"...Shinichi really did want him as the best man, you know." All but sensing what her friend was thinking, Ran found her gaze straying up towards the altar, where she would tie the knot once and for all tomorrow afternoon. "But in the end, I guess we'll just have to put up with Hakuba-kun instead."

"Doesn't sound like a very fair trade off ta me." Kazuha quipped, before shaking her head, putting such negative thoughts out of it. "Now then, let's finish up here, Ran. We can't leave Sonoko-chan an' Sera-han waitin' all night!"

Long plane rides and him really didn't go together.

It had always been that way- in a certain sense of the world always. If it had been like this before five years ago or not, that he wasn't sure of yet, but as far back as he could clearly remember, he'd always hated them. Not only was there too much time to himself, alone with his own thoughts, but there were also far too many strangers around him, preventing him from so much as catching even a wink of sleep.

And after he had been up till late the previous night... as he thought, the lousy cup of coffee that he had gotten from the chain shop wasn't going to cut it. Their strongest brew, his foot. Well, it hadn't been the first time he'd gone without sleep like this, but it surely did leave him in a rather sour mood, especially-

"Heiji!"

Well, that voice perked him right up.

"What are ya doin' here, Kazuha?" Glancing around, half out of habit, to make sure that no one around would have noticed the mismatch by the name he had been called by, and the name on the fake passport he had shown the customs officials, Heiji felt his shoulders tense, before relaxing slightly. "I thought ya would be with Neechan fer sure."

"I wanted ta surprise ya." Kazuha told him frankly, forcing her expression not to falter as she watched that hard edge surface in his eyes briefly. "Plus, I thought that ya might want this." Lifting up the thermos that she had strapped to her shoulder, she looped it from around her arm. "Ya don't like store bought, do ya?"

"...ya got me there." A trace of a smile finally surfacing on his face, Heiji held his barely drunken cup forward. "Wanna trade?"

"Trade accepted." Taking the cup from him, Kazuha passed him the thermos, almost grateful to be rid of it. Even though it was tightly sealed within, she swore that she could still smell it's strong, bitter aroma. "I thought that ya might be a bit short on sleep."

"Ya caught me there too." Heiji noted, wasting no time in popping open the cap, barely noticing the way that Kazuha crinkled her nose out of the corner of his eye as he took a long drink from it. "That's more like it! I don't see how those chain places even stay in business, with coffee that weak."

"It's because most people have normal taste buds." Kazuha told him simply, taking a sip of the coffee that she had received in exchange, making a slight face. It was a bit too bitter for her tastes, but compared to what Heiji was drinking... it was practically smooth. "So? How did it go? Seein' as yer here in one piece, I'm assumin' that ya got whoever it was that ya were sent after."

"Of course." A slight indignant note to his voice as he twisted the cap of the thermos back on, licking a bit of stray coffee from his lips, Heiji slung it's strap over his shoulder, alongside his bag. "Who do ya take me fer?"

It would probably be for the best that he avoided mentioning that he'd been nicked by a bullet. As he thought, the bastard was carrying a handgun on him as well. Thankfully, he'd only had the one, and once he had disarmed him of it, it turned that his rumored hand to hand combat skills weren't really that much to write home about.

"A reckless idiot." Kazuha remarked. "That part of ya hasn't changed in the least."

"I'd deny that if I could." Heiji told her. "But I told ya that I'd make it back in time, didn't I? When have I ever let ya down before, Kazuha?" Almost predicting her protest, he held up a finger, cutting her off. "-in the last five months, that is."

"...fine, ya got me there." Kazuha admitted, before she let out a sigh, a smile spreading out across her face as she did. That was certainly one change that she didn't mind- though sometimes, she had to wonder exactly how long it would last. "Then shall we go? I know ya don't like crowded places, an' we do have a weddin' ta attend this afternoon an' all."

"...I'm not that bad with them anymore." It was a protest that fell in deaf ears- especially because no sooner than he had made it, he felt himself stiffen, someone skirting too close to him for his own comfort. Unable to quite meet Kazuha's eyes, for a moment almost feeling like a child, he averted his gaze downwards. "...maybe just a little."

"Just a little, huh?" Kazuha noted, arching her brows.

"Just a little." Heiji repeated, this time with more confidence.

"I see." Kazuha said, a hint of a sly smile crossing her face. "Then, I take it ya don't want ta hold my hand or anythin' like that?"

"Who needs ta hold hands with ya?" His protest wasn't fooling anyone, not with the bright shade of red his cheeks turned. "Like I keep tellin' ya, I'm not a-!"

"...child?"

The shift in mood was something that Kazuha had come to learn well in the past five months, as well as the almost contemplative silence that accompanied it. She'd learned to use the furrow of his brow to determine what it was that he might be remembering, and to gauge his mood towards it.

This time, said furrow of his brow was accompanied by a rather puzzled expression, as if the wheels that were trying to turn were failing here and there. Tilting her head, she watched as Heiji's silence deepened, a hand straying up to his chin. On the surface, it almost appeared as if he had completely forgotten his surroundings, but she already knew that wasn't true. In a way, it was when he was distracted like this that he was most dangerous. Though that wasn't a thing that she liked to say, she couldn't deny what was true.

At the very least, they didn't come with headaches any longer. Bit by bit, the mental wall that had kept him from them all these years was slowly coming down.

"Heiji?" Kazuha ventured, watching him snap out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice, an awkward smile working it's way onto his face. Shifting on her feet, she couldn't help but hazard a guess as to what kind of memory it was that had left him so speechless. "Did ya remember somethin'?"

Giving her a curt nod of his head, a hand straying up behind his neck, Heiji's awkward smile only grew more so. "Yeah. It kinda doesn't make much sense though. I mean, Kudo-han's our age, right?"

A look of understanding dawning over Kazuha's face, she couldn't help but let a long sigh escape. This was why she'd said it would be for the best to just tell him about the whole Conan thing ahead of time- he was having enough trouble with his memories as it was, he didn't need to deal with ones that didn't quite seem to make sense! But in the end, the call had come down to Shinichi himself, and he had been rather stubborn in that area.

But well... nobody had said that she couldn't tell him all about it if he did start to remember on his own.

"About that, Heiji," Kazuha said, wondering if the amused twinkle in her eyes was half as obvious as she thought it was, "...why don't we talk about it in the car? It's a pretty long story, an' a pretty amusin' one at that!"

"...amusin'?"

"Yeah." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "Amusin'."

"Amusin', huh."

"Did you say something, Hattori?"

"Ah, no, it's nothin'!" Flashing a quick grin, for a moment, Heiji couldn't help but be grateful that he tended to smile awkwardly to begin with. Were it not for that rather incomprehensible flash of memory he'd had at the airport, he almost would have thought that Kazuha was pulling his leg about the whole thing- I mean, who ever heard of a human being shrinking?

Come to think of it, there was that strange child from the photo albums that no one had ever told him about. Now that he thought about it, there were an awful lot of pictures of him with that kid- and not so many with the one who had been his rival at the time. He'd thought it was strange at the time, but he never could have imagined...

Either way, he figured that his wedding day wasn't the best time to ask about it.

"But still, look at ya!" A much more natural smile taking place of the awkward one, Heiji hesitated for a brief moment, before he patted the detective on the shoulder. "Lookin' pretty handsome there, Kudo-han!"

"Thanks, Hattori." Rubbing his shoulder a little where it had been struck, wondering if he was aware of how much force he was using, Shinichi couldn't help but smile. "I'm glad that you could make it. How did it go, by the way?"

"Perfect, perfect." Nodding his head, Heiji folded his arms in front of his chest. "Guy didn't know what hit him. I left Jodie-han ta take care of the rest, though, so if ya wanted ta learn more about it, ya'd have ta ask her."

"No, that's fine." Shinichi said, shaking his head. In truth, he was still uneasy about it- the terms of the deal that had been struck in the end. It was far more than he had been expecting, but at the same time, he only wished that there was an alternative that put him in less danger. He'd already been through so much already, so to have him return to that kind of world again... it almost seemed cruel, seeing how he had wanted to escape from it in the first place.

Even the freedom that he had longed for wasn't really granted to him. He could probably escape from the ankle monitor if he really wanted to, but that didn't change the fact that he every move he made was being tracked. It felt like less than he deserved- while at the same time, he knew full well it was probably actually far more.

But if it bothered Heiji any, he wasn't letting it show.

"Still, I'm sorry, Hattori. I really wanted you to come to the ceremony itself, but..." Shinichi trailed off, shaking his head. "You didn't have to turn Ran's offer down, you know."

"Of course I did!" Heiji told him. "There's no way that I can let Neechan hold anythin' less than the ceremony of her dreams! Besides, it's not like I won't be watchin'. I already scoped out a perfect viewin' point!"

"As one would expect from an assassin."

"Former assassin." Narrowing his eyes, Heiji peered behind Shinichi, his shoulders tensing. "What are ya doin' here, Blondie?"

"I am the best man, in case you forget." Clearing his throat, Hakuba Saguru stepped through the doors of the dressing room, wondering when it was that Heiji had even slipped in here. He had heard that he would be coming, of course, but he hadn't been here when he'd stepped out of the room not even ten minutes ago.

"Yeah, I forget." Heiji said, his tone decidedly less cordial than it had been before. "Trouble with my memory an' all, ya know."

Sensing that he was trying to get a rise out of him, Hakuba merely sighed. What as he, a child? Either way, he wasn't about to give him what he wanted, and this wasn't what he came for either. All but brushing the former codename off, Hakuba turned his attention back towards Shinichi. "The ceremony will begin in exactly ten minutes, Kudo-san. I believe you should be making your way to the altar about now."

"Is it already that time?" Glancing up at the clock, Shinichi almost winched. "I didn't notice at all. Sorry, Hakuba, I'll be right there. And sorry, Hattori, it looks like we'll have to save the rest of our chat for later. You remember where the reception is, right?"

"That I do remember." Heiji noted, taking a step back, casting a bright grin at Shinichi. "Be sure ta save me some cake, detective~!"

"Don't worry, Ran wouldn't forgive me if I forgot to feed you." Shinichi noted, pausing for a moment to make sure that his tuxedo was in order. Drawing in and letting out a deep breath, he couldn't help but think that compared to everything else that he had been through in his relatively short life, somehow this was what managed to make him the most nervous.

If anything, he'd thought it would be the other way around.

"Then, ya'd better hurry up, Kudo-han. Ya wouldn't want ta miss yer own weddin'." Tucking his hands into his pockets, he didn't miss the slight way that Hakuba's gaze shifted towards them as he did. That guy really didn't change.

"Right." Nodding his head, Shinichi returned his smile. "Thanks, Hattori."

"Ah, one more thing." Catching his attention as he turned around, Heiji took a moment before he continued, lingering over the words. He hadn't been quite comfortable with saying it just yet, and in truth, he still wasn't quite there yet- but today, he thought, was special.

"Congratulations, Kudo."

Though it was the sort of thing that he'd come to learn was best not to voice, he couldn't help but feel that it was perhaps for the best that he wasn't a part of the wedding ceremony. That sort of thing really didn't suit him.

It wasn't just because of the noisy crowd of people, though they had certainly been a loud bunch. That old man with the mustache who had been crying through almost the whole thing- he was pretty sure that one was Ran's father, given the way he had given Shinichi the stink eye when it came time for him to say his vows.

Even the old man's crying couldn't do much deter what a lovely ceremony it was- if he allowed himself to get into such sentiments. A white Christmas wedding, with the wedding party all dolled up in white- even the guests had seemed to get the memo. Really, the only thing that it needed to make it picture perfect was snow, something which had failed to manifest.

Just watching the scene unfold before him, hidden within the shadow of a tree was enough for him. It was probably for the best that it hadn't snowed- though he'd managed to escape from that world of black, it still clung to him, at times more literally than others. Dressing in black had become something of a habit at this point, one that wasn't so easy to break, though Kazuha had certainly tried.

Speaking of Kazuha though... it was almost unfair, the way she looked today. Today was supposed to be the bride's big day, and though Ran looked lovely in her wedding dress, the one who stole his attention away was her bridesmaid. He had surely never seen her more beautiful, for if he had, he was certain that it would be something that he would never be able to forget.

Ahh, Shinichi had been right. He was totally head over heels for her. At least now that he had been able to spend time with her, getting to know her again, both by speaking with her, and from the fragments of memories that had been trickling in, he could understand why. To think that she had been waiting for him for so long, even while everyone else around her thought him dead... he couldn't ask for a better childhood friend.

Honestly, what a terrible guy he was, going and forgetting her for so long.

And frankly, he couldn't help but feel that he didn't deserve her. Of course, if he ever told her such a thing, she would just chide him about it, telling him he was wrong, but... what was true was true, in the end. Toyama Kazuha deserved the best, and though he was slowly starting to work through his negative feelings for himself, he still knew that at the end of the day, he wasn't that, and would never be.

He wasn't that, but he was the one that she had chosen- but understanding that and accepting it were two different things. Honestly, watching her like this from a difference, as her face lit up as the bridge and groom stepped outside of the wedding hall, only served to illustrate that. At times unintentionally, and at others intentionally, he'd been putting distance between the two of them- a distance that had only grown since his memories slowly began to return to him.

As much as he wanted them back, and as much as he was happy to see them come, they only managed to prove what he already knew- that Hattori Heiji really was a different person from him. Similar, but different, in all the ways that mattered.

Still...

At the way Kazuha turned, her gaze falling on him, Heiji couldn't help but feel his shoulders relax, a soft smile spreading out across his face. He'd certainly changed too, the current him- in the past, he never would have been able to make such an expression. It was a slow but steady change, and one that he had no intention of resisting.

She'd done it once before, back when this had all started. He had to wonder if it was just because his gaze was that intense, or if it was simply because it was his eyes on her, that she managed to feel them. Not to too his own horn, but he was pretty good at watching people while going unnoticed- and even if they did manage to notice him, figuring out where he was watching them from was another thing entirely.

For Kazuha, that wasn't a problem.

Ah, and damn- now she was smiling at him. That radiant smile, in that fancy get up of hers? He'd had keeping his cover drilled into the very fiber of his being, and yet, that smile alone was almost more than enough to make him want to totally blow his cover, and go to her. What would be the problem anyways, if a hundred or so people were to learn that he was actually alive?

But he wasn't about to blow his one chance like that, so instead, he forced himself to remain hidden. Kazuha understood, he knew, though it almost pained him to watch her gaze slide away from him, and back onto the newly minted husband and wife.

"Okay!" Ran's voice broke through the cold winter air, just as sharp and clear as the air itself. Lofting her bouquet into the air, for just a moment, Heiji thought he saw something flicker in her gaze, as if she were communicating with someone in the crowd. "Here we go!"

A mop of barely tamed black hair, an impish grin, and a faint, almost squeaking sound from Kazuha were all the clues he needed to deduce what might have just happened- detective though he might no longer quite be. What it didn't do was stop his cheeks from turning a bright red color, almost match for match to that of Kazuha's own face, as she tried to comprehend what exactly had just fallen into her hands.

Weddings might not exactly be his thing, but he sure as heck knew what the meaning of catching the wedding bouquet was.

(In a world where Hattori Heiji once again existed, slowly but surely, things were beginning to move forward again.)