Thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate it! This chapter may contain spoilers for Meitantei Conan manga volume 28. Proceed with caution.
And because I forgot to before, I'll go ahead and say that Meitantei Conan and Kindaichi Shonen no Jikembo do not in any way, shape or form belong to me. I can only take credit for the original characters that appear in this story.
Chapter 4: Resolving Old Issues
Hajime closed the door behind him to see Heiji speaking in low tones to Mouri and Kinmochi. They nodded, and then he turned to Hajime. There was no sign of Conan.
"Kindaichi, will you join me for a bit?" Heiji asked, heading towards their room.
Hajime looked over at Kinmochi. What he wanted to do was tell him about the letters. But, he knew that he should talk to Heiji and Conan first. "We'll stay right here. You go on," the older man said.
Hajime joined Heiji and Conan in their room. Both were looking over their letters again. "You guys stopped me from mentioning the obvious reason that the girls were attacked. Why?"
"Kindaichi,"Conan said, his voice low. "I need you to do me a favor. Don't mention the fact that I got a letter to the others. Not yet."
"Why?"
"I have my reasons. There are some things I'm going to go check on. Dinner is not for a couple of hours, but I'll be back before then. Just please don't mention my letter until I get back."
Hajime looked over at Heiji, who seemed to be asking him to agree to this. Hajime closed his eyes. "I don't like it, but, okay. I will not, however, keep my letter a secret. Not when there is someone here that is going to hurt Miyuki to get to me." He sounded angry and fought to get better control of himself. He opened his eyes and looked right into Conan's. "And, I may have some rather pointed questions to ask you when you get back. I expect you to be honest with me."
Conan nodded and turned to Heiji. "Hattori, keep an eye on Ran for me. I'll be at dinner." He said this last rather pointedly, and Heiji's eyes widened with understanding. Conan left the two standing there lost in their thoughts.
"Well," Heiji said finally. "I guess this challenge has begun. Do you really think that whoever left us these love letters is going to continue tormenting Kazuha just to get to me? I'll admit I'm pretty pissed off, but I know Kazuha can take care of herself. She kicked that guy out of the bathroom, after all."
"How close are you two, anyway?"
The question totally threw Heiji off. "Close? What do you mean by close? Good friends? Yeah, we've been that forever. Best friends? Sure, I mean, we spend all of our time together. But, all she does is drive me completely crazy and…" he trailed off as he noticed Hajime shaking with laughter. He narrowed eyes. "What's so funny?"
"Yes, a state of denial is what I believe they call it when you start babbling about nonsense when answering a simple question. I was in one for years." Hajime became serious again. "No matter how much you try and deny it, someone has noticed that you two mean more to each other than you care to admit." He held up his hand to stop Heiji from interrupting. "And that someone has already hurt her. I have a feeling that things are going to escalate before we figure them out. Which means that whether it's true or not, Kazuha is your most precious thing in the eyes of our opponent."
Heiji was silent for a minute, absorbing everything that Hajime said before speaking. "Just like Miyuki is yours, and Ran is…" he stopped himself before he could give anything away.
But Hajime had been thinking along those lines anyway. "That's right. Just like Ran is the most precious thing to an elementary school kid."
Heiji said nothing.
"I know that there is more going on with that boy than the two of you are telling me. That's fine, but I have a feeling that we're going to have to work together to get past this guy's challenge. It would be easier if I knew all the facts."
Heiji lowered his head and considered what to say. "You're right, but now is not the time. Wait until dinner. Conan will be back and he promised he'd answer your questions."
"Fair enough."
There was a knock on the door. Miyuki opened it a crack and said, "Hajime-chan, are you in there?"
Hajime walked over and opened the door the rest of the way to see Miyuki and Kinmochi standing there. "Hattori-kun, Kazuha-san is asking for you," Miyuki said.
Heiji looked like a man with a lot on his mind, but at the mention of Kazuha's name, his head snapped up. He wilted under Hajime's knowing glance and left the room without further comment.
"You two better come in. I've got a lot to tell you about."
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Heiji mumbled to himself all the way to Kazuha's room. 'What does he know, anyway? He doesn't know anything about Kazuha and me. He was just irritated because Kudo is being all-secretive. And I'm not in denial.'
Heiji stopped in front of the door to Kazuha's room. Who was he kidding? Kindaichi had hit it dead on. He'd been head over heals in love with Kazuha ever since they were kids. It was a few months ago when he'd almost lost her that he truly realized for the first time how much she meant to him. She had saved his life by catching him before he fell off a cliff, only to fall herself in his place. Luckily, he had been quick enough to grab her with one hand and a tree with the other before she fell to the water below. Hanging there, he watched in horror as Kazuha tried to get him to let go of her so they both wouldn't die. He saw in her eyes that she would rather die than let anything happen to him. As she pierced his hand with that blasted arrow, he knew that his world would end if she fell. So he hung onto her as if his life depended on it, because, in a manner of speaking, it did.
After they had made it back, a new awareness had settled over the two of them. One that couldn't deny buried feelings any longer. They never spoke of it, but what had happened at the cliffs had finally proven that no matter how many harsh words were spoken, Heiji and Kazuha were completely devoted to each other, even though they had yet to express their feelings out loud.
Heiji frowned as he recalled Kindaichi's words to him. Apparently they were more obvious about their feelings than they thought. Someone unknown to Heiji was threatening Kazuha to satisfy a whim. That was as unacceptable as her falling off of a cliff.
He knocked on her door. When she didn't answer, he knocked again. Still no answer. Panic filled him. Would this guy strike again so soon? He opened the door and scanned the room, almost afraid of what he'd find. Kazuha was sitting on the far bed, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her chin rested on her arms and she was staring out the window. She was oblivious to the world around her, and she jumped at Heiji's voice.
"Kazuha! What the hell are you doing? Didn't you hear me knocking? And why are you here all alone?"
Kazuha narrowed her eyes at him. "Why, yes, Heiji, I'm fine. Hiromi-san fixed me right up and my shoulder only hurts when I move it." She sounded extremely sarcastic. "Ran-chan went with her father to call her mother. Miyuki-san wanted to talk to Kindaichi-kun. I asked her to get you for me so I wouldn't have to be alone. But if all you're going to do is yell at me, I'd rather take my chances with the knife wielding maniac."
"Don't get that way with me. I was on my way to come check on you when Miyuki came to get me. Why the attitude?"
"Oh, so he shows concern. Is there something you wanted, or are you trying to get on my bad side?" Kazuha shot back. She was aware that she was being a tad unfair, but being attacked can make one testy.
Heiji threw his hands up in frustration. "I just told you, woman! I came to see how you're doing, but you don't answer the door when I knock, and in light of recent events, I got scared, okay? Am I allowed to worry about you without catching the third degree?"
Kazuha stared at him wide-eyed. "You…you were worried about me?"
Heiji dropped his arms and sighed. He went over to the bed and sat down in front of her. "I always worry about you," he said very softly, purposely not looking at her.
"You do?" she whispered, her irritation fading away as she searched his face for an emotion she knew exsisted, but had yet to see for sure.
He looked up at her and saw for the first time his own feelings reflected back at him. Kazuha was the most important person in the world to him. And he wasn't positive, but he was sure that he meant something to her. It was time to have this out. He reached up and traced her cheek with his finger. He felt both her shudder and her quick intake of breath, but he knew she wouldn't dare move. "You know I'm not about to let anything else happen to you. No more knife wielding maniacs. No more falling off cliffs. And absolutely no more sacrificing lives. I couldn't bear it if you died. You…" he swallowed. "You mean too much to me."
Kazuha couldn't believe what she was hearing. She never in her life imagined that Heiji would start this conversation. Oh, she dreamed of having it, but talking about what had happened on the cliff had been taboo for both of them. They had come way too close to dying and their new awareness of each other was confusing. She knew things had changed since then, and she feared Heiji would never get around to defining those changes. But, here he was, telling her in words what he had only shown before through his actions. That he cared about her. She smiled. "So serious, Heiji, that's not like you. You know I wasn't about to let both of us die when one of us could live. What if that tree had broken? You should've let me go."
"I would've let go of the tree before I let go of you. I couldn't lose you. My life isn't worth much if you're not in it."
Kazuha stared at Heiji as he stared at her. The intensity of the moment was staggering as they both confirmed each other's feelings with a look. There were no more questions. Now that she was certain, Kazuha felt a huge weight lifting off of her chest. They hadn't said the words and they probably wouldn't for some time, but she knew she loved him and he loved her. She was suddenly tired of all the seriousness. Heiji was still looking at her, expecting some kind of reaction to his admission. Feeling giddy, she tilted her head and asked, "Does that mean that if I don't like the outfit you're wearing that I can force you to change and you can't argue with me?" She blinked her eyes innocently.
His eyes narrowed in confusion, his fist closed in frustration, and then the explosion she knew would come soon followed. "I don't know why I put up with you," he yelled as he got up and walked angrily to the window. He missed Kazuha's silent laugh behind his back. "Here I am trying to tell you how much I care about you, and all you can do is make jokes." He was about to continue his tirade when he felt two arms circle his waist from behind and hug him tightly. He stiffened in surprise, then relaxed and clasped Kazuha's hands to his chest.
"It's the same for me, Heiji, don't ever doubt that. I never want to be apart from you. I can't bear even thinking about a life without you. I've been waiting a long time to tell you that. Listening to Miyuki-san talk about doing things I've only ever dreamed of doing made me realize just how badly I needed to tell you. I don't want to be with anyone else but you. And if you don't turn around and kiss me right now, you'll see what kind of torture I can put you through."
Leave it to Kazuha to be bold. Despite the blush on his cheeks, Heiji quickly turned around and complied.
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Conan ran towards Hiromi's house where Haibara and the Professor were staying. They always traveled prepared. Haibara would have what he needed. It was just a matter of convincing her that it had to be done.
Anger filled him like never before. Someone was using Ran to play a game. It was cruel. It was calculating. He really didn't like it. All of the times Ran had been threatened, it had been because of her association with him. Kudo Shinichi. He could only do so much to protect her as Conan. Whoever had sent the letters and attacked Ran knew about his secret. This guy was playing for keeps. Well, Conan thought as he reached the house, it's time to even the odds.