It's been awhile since I've written a Heizuha fanfic, and a long one at that. Welp, not much to say but enjoy!
She was hiding something, with that he was certain. He wasn't a detective for nothing. He wasn't her best friend of 15 years for nothing. She was hiding something and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.
The telling? Her marathon smiling streak.
For some reason, she began to smile nonstop to random people, even to people she'd rather not smile to (the latter being most directed at him when he pissed her off).
She was also busy right after school, stating that she wanted to spend more time with her girl friends. He didn't mind, seeing as he could spend his Kazuha-free time doing whatever he wanted. That soon got boring, however, when he had to walk home alone for the 5th time in two weeks.
"What's up with you?" Heiji said one morning as she walked out of her house gates. He had been waiting, determined to at least walk with her to school than from.
Kazuha startled and then stuffed her phone in her bag. "What d'you mean?"
His eyes narrowed at the suspicious act. "Are you hiding something from me?"
"You're an idiot." She said as she marched past him. He followed right behind her with a glare but didn't press further. The more he pried, the more he'd piss her off, and the more likely she'd not walk back home with him. He didn't want to admit it, but he liked their afterschool walks.
"Hey, Kazuha." They were nearing the school gates and he was getting antsy. He couldn't possibly ask this question when their classmates were around. She looked at him with a questioning gaze. He mumbled, "Are – are you gonna be walking back home later this afternoon?"
"Aw, miss me already?" She replied coyly.
Heiji's denial was swift. "Ahou—I'm just asking ahead of appointment."
Kazuha laughed, seeing through him. But it quieted down as a guilty expression filled her face. "Not today, I. I have something to do."
His chest tightened and he stuffed his fists in the pockets of his pants. "I see. Then tomorrow-"
"I'll see you in the classroom, Heiji!" Kazuha interrupted, dismissing him with a wave of her hand as she headed to her friends from the aikido club.
Heiji was pissed.
(He was also hurt. And he wondered if this was how she always felt every time he ditched her.)
With a click of his tongue, he stormed into the school building.
That day, the kendo members went home with an extra set of bruises courtesy of the kendo captain.
...
Heiji stretched his arms, taking in a deep breath of the great outdoors. The sun was shining, he had 2 months of summer vacation, and Kazuha was walking back home with him. Basically, it was a perfect day.
Until she had to open her stupid mouth, that is.
"I, I'll be busy this summer," Kazuha said while picking on the sleeve of her shirt, eyes not meeting his.
Heiji raised an eyebrow. "Of course we'll be busy this summer. We're going to Tokyo, and then we're touring Nee-chan and the brat here in Osaka, and of course, we'll be solving cases-"
"You mean you'll be solving cases while I sit around and watch," Kazuha pointed out.
He shrugged. "Same thing."
Kazuha rolled her eyes. As they soaked up the summer sun, Heiji spoke up, "Let's hang out tomorrow. There's a new movie coming out that you said you wanted to watch. We can grab dinner at the new restaurant Otaki-han told us about. Or to that cafe you said had great coffee."
"I, I-"
He stopped and faced her, a frown on his lips. "Kazuha, we haven't hung out in forever. It's summer vacation. You could at least spare some time for your childhood friend."
It was rare for Heiji to ask first as most of the time it was Kazuha inviting him out. But from her lack of invitations, Heiji felt a loss in his daily routine – only recently realizing that whether he liked it or not, his childhood friend was a permanent part of his life. Without her, his days just seemed to drag on.
"I can't. I'm sorry," Kazuha said in a small voice.
Heiji swallowed the lump in his throat. "Can't you at least tell me why?"
Kazuha hesitated, but then shook her head. The hurt was replaced by anger as a thought occurred to him. "Don't tell me-"
"No, I don't have a boyfriend," Kazuha answered his question before he could ask it. "Just...I'll tell you by the end of the summer."
Heiji crossed his arms. "You're actually serious that you'll be gone the whole summer?"
Kazuha nodded. She finally looked up with a determined glint in her eyes and said, "So entertain yourself while I'm gone and stay out of trouble."
And before he could say any more, she walked away with Heiji staring at her with a flabbergasted expression.
The next day, Kazuha was gone along with one piece of luggage.
...
"Baa-san!" Heiji slammed the door open, calling out for Kazuha's mother. "Kazuha-"
"Ah, Heiji-kun," Kazuha's mother came out, wiping her hands on her apron. "You've missed her. She left early this morning."
"Do you know where she was going?" Heiji asked in between breaths.
She shook her head. "Kazuha was pretty tight-lipped about it. She just said she'll be gone for two months and that Heiji needn't need to worry." She smiled good-naturedly. "Well, as long that girl doesn't collapse from overwork, then wherever she goes is fine by me. Although it is strange for her not to tell you anything."
Heiji frowned. Indeed it was strange. But her mother's words told him two things. That 1) Kazuha was working somewhere and 2) it was a job that was either too dangerous or too embarrassing for him to know. He presumed the latter but the former was also a possibility.
He paused. Weren't there several dojos that were recruiting aikido instructors?
With a short bye to Kazuha's mother, Heiji grabbed his helmet and proceeded to his dojo hunti— I mean, Kazuha finding.
…
Well, that was a bust.
As he walked down the streets, he passed by a group of teens his age - wasn't that the karuta club?
He approached them. "Mikiko, what are ya'll doing?"
"Hello, Hattori-kun," the karuta club captain greeted, but her smile faded in confusion. "Kazuha-chan isn't with you?"
"Why does everyone assume that we stick together 24/7?" Heiji grumbled. He said, "I thought she was with you, playing karuta and all that."
They exchanged looks of confusion. None of them knew where she was. Apparently, Kazuha hung out with them after school, but it wasn't to play karuta.
One of them said, "Well, Kazuha-chan mentioned that she wanted to get some practicing done."
Heiji's eyes widened. Was Kazuha challenged by Ooka Momiji again?
"Thanks!" Heiji said quickly as he ran, heading straight for Kyoto.
"Ah, no, that's not—"
Heiji was long gone
"—what I meant. Oh well."
Oh well, indeed.
...
It took a whole lot of sidestepping, a few fake promises, and a denial of feelings for a certain childhood friend before he could escape Momiji's clutches. And by then, he was tired and irritated and wrung out.
"She isn't even a detective freak," Heiji complained to no one as he headed for the next likely destination. "How does she even get away with disappearing without any clues?"
But humans were always prompt to make errors. He would soon find out once he reached Tokyo.
...
"Kazuha-chan isn't here, Hattori-kun."
Heiji slammed his cap on the ground. Dammit.
Ran stared at him in mild amusement before opening the door and saying, "Conan-kun will be here any minute now. You can come inside and wait for him."
Heiji picked up his cap and gave a tired nod. "Sure."
He collapsed on the couch as Ran went into the kitchen to prepare coffee. By the time it was ready, Conan had arrived. "I'm back—what's Heiji-niichan doing here?"
The normal-sized detective just gave the chibified detective a tired wave of his hand. Conan dumped his bag on the table and raised an eyebrow at the sight of his friend. Ran came back with hot coffee and cold orange juice. She said, "Conan-kun, I'll be going out to a cafe with Sonoko so watch the house. I'll be back in time for dinner, okay?"
"Okay," Conan chirped, taking a sip of his drink. He waved goodbye as Ran closed the door. Making sure she was out of earshot, he finally asked, "What's up, Hattori? Another case?"
Heiji huffed, "You could say that."
Conan perked up in curiosity. "What is it? A locked-room murder? Kidnapping? Missing person?"
"Kazuha."
Conan's curiosity deflated. "I thought it was serious and it turns out it's just girl problems."
"I'm serious here, Kudo." Heiji slammed his fist on the table. "She disappeared without a trace, just saying she'll be back by the end of the summer."
Conan noisily slurped his drink as he listened with disinterest, "She already said she'll be back by the end of summer. What's wrong with that?"
"She left no clues, no word as to where she was going - she could be in Africa!"
"Her friend's a detective freak. Of course, she'd have a few tricks up her sleeve."
"You're not helping!"
Conan leaned forward and said, "Why are you so hung up on her? She isn't even your girlfriend."
Heiji balked. He got a point. But still. "What if it was Nee-chan who left without saying anything, huh? Would you be able to stay still?"
Conan glared at him. "Hey, leave Ran out of this."
"That's exactly what I'm saying! You'd be worried, wouldn't you?" Heiji pointed out.
"There's a difference between us. I'm in love with Ran. And you—" Conan pointed his straw at him "—are in denial."
Heiji's forehead throbbed with an oncoming headache.
"Ahou! I ain't denying anything!"
"That's exactly what a person in denial would say," Conan leered.
Heiji stood up, pissed off at the kid in front of him. "Fine. I'll find her without your help."
"Sure, you do that," Conan said lightheartedly with a wave of his hand. "Do tell me when you find her."
It was obvious that there was something going on, but Heiji was too riled up to think of anything else. With one last dirty look, he stormed out of the agency and Conan watched him leave with a cheeky grin on his face.
...
The next day, Heiji was back at Kazuha's room, looking around for clues. Everything was in its place. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The only things missing were some clothes and a luggage bag. Heiji raised an eyebrow at the article of clothes missing. "Why'd she only take a majority of her pajamas? Even her favorite swimsuit is still in the closet."
Heiji thought back to the start of Kazuha's behavior. They were heading back home from an okonomiyaki restaurant and Kazuha was staring intently at a distance. It was a couple.
But she said it wasn't a boyfriend, and her favorite cute outfits left in her drawers were evidence that she didn't need to wear anything else aside from a—"Uniform."
Heiji closed the closet, thoughts running a mile a minute. Maybe it wasn't the couple, but what's behind them. Her outings after school, weren't those with her girl friends? Where do girls normally go to?
"Normal girls. Normal people." Heiji reminded himself. "Kazuha is still a normal girl."
She hung out with the karuta club, but it wasn't to play karuta. She said it was practice. But it wasn't practicing for karuta or aikido - it wasn't possible for that type of place. The only form of practice she could do in that place was observation.
Observation and a whole lotta patience.
Heiji grinned, spotting an edge of a paper peeking out from behind her desk.
"She got me good," Heiji chuckled, both proud and annoyed at the same time. "But not good enough."
Because behind her desk, fallen through the crack between the wood and the floor, was a flyer. A recruitment flier for a certain establishment.
Well now, how was he going to surprise her.
...
Her reaction was priceless. Heiji wished he'd taken a picture.
Her glare gave him images of how well she could dislocate his limbs. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What d'you mean? I'm a customer and I want to order food," Heiji said nonchalantly as he leisurely headed off to a table and sat down.
"If you don't leave right this minute, imma bust your face right in," Kazuha growled.
"What a rude waitress." Heiji huffed as he pored over the menu. "I'll take the fluffy fluffy omurice and iced coffee."
"Why don't I take your face and fluff it up—"
"Kazuha-chan." She stiffened at the voice of her coworker. "Is anything the matter?"
Kazuha whirled around and gave her a charming smile. "No problems here, Misaki-senpai."
As Misaki walked away, Kazuha gave one last glare at her childhood friend before storming back into the kitchen.
Heiji grinned as he watched her, delighting in the image of her skirt swaying around her thighs and the apron tied around her waist bouncing with the ribbon in her braided hair. Everything about her was girly and frilly - a far cry from her tomboy self, but it was an image not unwelcomed.
No wonder she never told him. She was mortified that he'd see her in such a getup, thus the fake trails she planted. But he'd seen right through it and he was here to gloat in his victory.
Just then, a young boy around his age took the seat opposite him. Heiji eyed him but didn't say anything. The boy said, "I haven't seen you around. First time?"
"You could say that," Heiji shrugged.
"Who did you come here for?"
The boy wasn't any older than him. Heiji said, "A feisty tigress."
He stiffened but kept his cool. It didn't go unnoticed by the young detective. Just as he was about to say something more, a skirt came in their view.
"You're here again, you alien?"
"Alien?" Heiji looked back and forth between Kazuha's coworker and the teen in front of him.
"I have a name, you know," the blonde teen pouted. But that only made Misaki bristle up in annoyance. With an apologetic look shot Heiji's way, she grabbed her acquaintance's arm and dragged him in the kitchen.
Before Heiji could ponder about the odd couple, Kazuha came back with a plate of omurice and iced coffee. Heiji gave her a smug grin as she grabbed the ketchup bottle. The grin was soon wiped off when she squeezed the bottle and wrote a few choice words on the dish.
"Enjoy your meal," Kazuha said coldly, slamming the condiment down, and went off to serve at another table.
Heiji picked up the spoon with a huff. "She's not cute at all."
It probably had too much ketchup on top, but mad as she may be, she knew exactly the ketchup:omurice ratio he liked; Even if it came in the decorations of ahou and detective freak.
Nevertheless, it was a pretty good omurice. The coffee wasn't half bad either. And even though the other waitresses came by his table, he cheerfully waved them off, saying that he had no intentions of having anyone else wait at his table but the feisty girl in the orange ribbons.
Kazuha wasn't surprised to see him come back the next day. "You're here again?"
Heiji smirked. "What do you mean again? I'm going to come here every day."
And true to his word, he did come every day; which was good profit for the cafe, bad profit for his wallet, but overall worth it for him seeing his embarrassed childhood friend sporting a maid outfit.
...
Heiji glared at them.
Ran, for her part, at least had the decency to look guilty for hiding it from him. Conan just took a noisy slurp of his iced chocolate drink. Took him long enough.
"You knew?" Heiji hissed.
She smiled as she took a bite off of her cake. "Well, Kazuha told me to keep it a secret."
"Were you the one who introduced this job to her?" His tone of voice was accusing, as though he was an overprotective guardian who disapproved of her bad influence on his charge.
"We had a bet," Ran said simply. "She lost, so she had to do this."
"If you didn't realize, this is the sort of establishment that encourages crime," Heiji said vehemently. "Stalking, being 'in love' to the point of obsession which endangers the safety of the staff, customers taking pictures without consent—"
Ran rolled her eyes. Sometimes, his meddling was just as bad as Shinichi's. "It's a café, Hattori-kun."
"Heiji nii-chan, you're benefitting from said establishment," Conan pointed out innocently. Heiji sent him his most withering glare.
"But still—"
"Are you jealous?"
Heiji's brain stopped working for a whole 3 seconds. It spluttered back on with a "Jealous? Who? Me? Why should I be? I'm not the one wearing an apron!"
"You're jealous that Kazuha-chan's attention isn't solely on you anymore," Ran said cheekily. "Kazuha-chan is pretty—"
"Her face is okay," Heiji grumbled.
"—that's why so many come to the café just to see her, and you're only one of many." His dark expression clearly stated that he knew it was true and he did not like it one bit. Ran stirred the foam in her coffee and added, "But even with so many dangerous things that this 'establishment' brings, Kazuha's feels safe knowing that you're here every day protecting her, y'know."
Heiji grumbled that that last comment was unneeded.
As his eyes fell on the image of his childhood friend waiting tables, he couldn't help but feel a sense of that green feeling creeping up at the leering stares of the other customers. But whenever a flicker of uncertainty crossed over her features, she would look over at Heiji and see him already watching and she knew that if ever as much as a finger be laid on her, he would be there in a heartbeat.
(As was proven by that one bold customer. He never saw what was coming to him. That customer left with a distinct shinai mark on his stomach and a twisted wrist curtsey of the maid he tried to touch.)
…
The café held a graduation ceremony for Kazuha even though her job was just temporary. Nevertheless, it was quite an extravagant affair with balloons and party streamers and the café's special cake. Kazuha had several loyal customers who cried as they took their last pictures with her. Only one customer was happy to see her graduate. But of course, he was too stubborn to show it on his face.
And as the next day came, that faithful customer was now the one doing the waiting.
Heiji leaned on the gate, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he stared up at the sky, trying to push down the giddy feeling welling up inside. Along with annoyance, of course. And that somebody was taking her damn time for far too long.
"Kazuha, hurry up," Heiji called out in irritation. "We're gonna miss our flight."
"Five minutes!" She called out from her room.
"That's totally a lie," Heiji muttered.
Fifteen minutes later, the door slammed open and Kazuha walked out with her luggage behind her. Heiji rolled his eyes, muttering, "Finally," before stopping in his tracks as he looked at her.
Her hair was back in its normal ponytail tied up with a yellow ribbon. She wore a simple blouse and jeans, and at that moment, Heiji thought to himself that she was way cuter in those clothes than in the maid outfit.
Without a word, he took the luggage off her hands as they flagged down a taxi going towards the airport. Kazuha gave a questioning look, but Heiji faced away, not ready to deal with the fluttering in his stomach. He saw her smile knowingly and his ears burned.
…
Kazuha flopped on her bed with a sigh. "Home sweet home."
The past few weeks were quite an experience, but she didn't hate it. She was quite proud of holding off Heiji for the first few days. That was something she could hold over him. Speaking of Heiji…
Kazuha lifted her head up and saw her friend at the side of her room, loitering about with an indecipherable expression on his face. "What are you doing there in the corner, Heiji?"
Heiji rubbed the back of his neck, and he mumbled, "Let's hang out tomorrow. There's a new movie coming out that you said you wanted to watch. We can grab dinner at the new restaurant Otaki-han told us about. Or to that cafe you said had great coffee."
Kazuha was sitting up and a smile was growing on her lips. He missed her, she knew. But of course, his pride would never admit to that. "Or we can hang out tonight too. We can cook up some instant ramen and watch re-runs on TV."
The brilliance of his smile matched hers.
"Race you there!"
And thus, the two childhood friends sprinted down to the living room, determined to fill up the time they had spent away from each other.
I hope you liked it! Stay safe and always wear a mask! See ya'll next time!