Hey everyone! Here's the second half of Part VII! Enjoy please!
Note: I am SO sorry if you were one of the first to read this with the horrible formatting and no paragraphing! *sniff sniff* I can't believe that nobody complained…my heart is touched. Well, here is the chapter with (hopefully) good formatting~~if you've got time, you can read it again (and probably be less painful .) Again, I apologize so much!
Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan.
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Part VII ~ Resolution (B)
The two Osaka teenagers faced each other. Heiji was supposedly telling Kazuha "something important", but he was mumbling and she couldn't hear a word he said.
"Come on, Heiji, speak up!" Kazuha demanded.
"I like you, okay? I don't want to ever lose you again, Kazuha, because I am in love with you! Yes, Kazuha, in love! I've been head over heels for you ever since Jr. High!" He gasped for breath and looked at her. "There. I've said it." His face was now crimson red. "Are you happy now?"
Kazuha's expression was one of complete surprise. "R-really?" she asked softly.
"Really really." Heiji smiled at her. "Oh yeah, and I'm sorry that I let you in this dangerous plan of ours…I'm sorry that I almost let you go…"
She smiled back. "Don't worry about it, Heiji! I forgive you…and I love you too, Heiji. With all my heart." She waited for him to do something, but he just stood there, grinning at her.
"Well?" Kazuha prompted.
"Well, what?" he asked, startled.
"Ahou! You're supposed to kiss me now!" she said, impatient. "Don't you know anything?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Heiji replied sarcastically. "Maybe I just don't feel like kissing you, you ahou!" He took a step closer to her. "Then again…maybe I do." His hands cupped her face, and she tilted her face. They moved closer, and closer, until…
Their lips met, and the magical moment was complete.
"Kazuha…" he said after he pulled away. "Kudo beat me to confessing his feelings to the girl he loves. But…I'm going to be the first to ask my special girl to marry me." Kazuha gasped as Heiji got down on one knee. He took her hand. "Well, are you gonna marry me or not?"
"Ahou," Kazuha's eyes filled with tears. "What kind of marriage proposal is that?"
"Is it bad?" he asked anxiously. "I thought that it was the best way to go…" She laughed. "Ahou, there's no one else out there for me," she said happily. "So I guess I'm stuck with you for the rest of this life."
"Ahou!" he replied. "What kind of answer is that?"
"I thought that it was the best way to go," she said, smiling, as he stood up and leaned in for another kiss.
~ * ~ * ~
"I can't believe that you already asked Toyama-chan to marry you. I haven't even asked Ran yet," Shinichi grumbled when he and Heiji were alone. The girls were talking excitedly by themselves.
"Sorry, Kudo, but I've gotta beat you at something." Heiji grinned.
He waved that aside. "So when's the wedding?"
"Oh, not for a long time. We've gotta finish high school, and then college, and then I have to start my own agency…hey, you wanna partner up with me? We'll make an awesome team."
Shinichi laughed. "There's nothing more I'd like for a job," he said earnestly. "But I have something to ask you first: why did Kuroba almost let you and Toyama-chan die by ordering the men to set the building on fire?"
"I think that ever since he captured Vermouth—and don't ask me how, because I have no earthly idea—the other members of the organization were just a little bit suspicious of him. In order to keep their guards down, he had to order us to be killed," Heiji replied. Then he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you came on time!"
Shinichi nodded. "Yeah…I'd hate to see you guys as burnt toast. That Kuroba…he's sure something."
"Hey, speaking of him, where is he?" Heiji asked suddenly.
"I don't know," Shinichi frowned. "Home, I imagine. Wait—" he remembered something. "The newspapers said that he had a heist planned for tonight…"
Heiji sighed. "Well, do you wanna go?"
Shinichi thought for a moment. "Not really. He's a good guy. I think that this is his final act. He has avenged his father by putting the Black Organization behind bars."
"Yeah…but still, I want to see his ingenious plan for today."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Shinichi threw Heiji his jacket. "Hurry up!"
~ * ~ * ~
"There he is!" Nakamori shouted, pointing at the roof of the half-burnt building. "Kaito Kid! Get down here!"
Kid stood on the roof in his full uniform, his cape flying behind him majestically. Helicopters, and police cars surrounded the place.
"You have nowhere to go now, Kid," Nakamori laughed. "I'd like to see you try and escape now."
Kid scanned the crowd. There was Nakamori, of course. This time he's called the Beika police department, too? There was Inspector Megure, Takagi-san, Satou-san…Aoko? What the heck was she doing there? He looked into her eyes—there was anger, but there was also sadness.
I have to do this. For her.
"Inspector Nakamori," he said. "Today is the day that I have avenged my father's death."
"Father?" Nakamori asked.
"Yes. My father was…Kaito Kid. Eight years ago, he was assassinated by the members of a secret organization. When I learned of this, I became the second Kaito Kid in order to find this organization—and destroy them. And today, this task was accomplished. The fall of the Black Organization. Although not all members were captured today, I know that the police department has obtained records of their whereabouts, and they were be caught quickly enough. I am happy that I was able to be part of the team that made their downfall possible."
The crowd murmured. Kaito Kid was involved in capturing the Black Organization?
"And now that there is no more need for me to be Kaito Kid, I shall rev—" he stopped at the sight of Shinichi and Heiji. "So they're here, too," he said softly to himself. "I do wish…" he sighed.
"I shall reveal my true identity and accept my terms of punishment." With that, he took off his top hat and removed his monocle. Kuroba Kaito stood before the crowd.
He jumped down and walked over to Aoko. "I'm sorry, Aoko," he said. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she couldn't speak. "I'm sorry to have caused you and your family such pain and discomfort. I hope that…I hope that you and your family will be happy from now on." He smiled sadly and wiped away her tears. "Don't cry anymore because of me, okay?" he asked softly.
She nodded and smiled weakly. He walked over to Nakamori and held out his arms. "Well, I guess you can handcuff me," he said.
Nakamori's eyes widened. So that's why Kaito Kid wasn't as eager to keep his plunder as the old Kaito Kid was. He was just a kid, after all.
"Let's go, Kuroba-kun," he said, trying to appear gruff. But Aoko saw through his act. "O-tousan!" she said. "Please! Don't—" he turned around and shook his head. More tears fell from her eyes as she watched them slam the car door, shutting Kaito inside.
"Kaito!" she screamed. "Kaito, come back here so I can beat you! Remember? I told you that I would beat you if you were Kaito Kid?…Kaito…"
But he was gone.
Shinichi and Heiji looked at each other. They knew what they had to do. "Nakamori-san," they said. She turned. "Who-who are you guys?"
"My name is Kudo Shinichi, and this is Hattori Heiji," Shinichi introduced themselves. "We're friends of Kuroba's…we're detectives."
"R-really?" Aoko asked. "Did you guys know that Kaito was—"
They nodded. "Yes, he told us a few days ago. Before we knew his secret, we were bitter rivals," Heiji gave a small laugh. "Anyway, Nakamori-san, we're definitely going to help you and Kaito," Shinichi said. "Don't worry about it, okay? Remember—he's Kaito Kid!"
Her look of surprise changed to that of reassurance. "Okay," she said smilingly.
~ * ~ * ~
"What? Kaito Kid was caught?" Kazuha exclaimed.
"Not caught," Shinichi corrected her. "He turned himself in. But I think that they'll let him out soon…" he winked at Heiji, who grinned.
"Yup, he'll definitely be released sometime in the near future. There is no doubt about that!"
"Huh?" The girls were utterly confused now.
~ * ~ * ~
Kaito was lying on the damp ground, thinking of the ingenious way that he had captured Vermouth.
Kaito, disguised as an older businessman, purposely bumped into Vermouth on the sidewalk, knocking her down. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he apologized and offered his hand in helping her up. She unsuspectingly offered him her hand.
As soon as he grabbed it, a pair of handcuffs appeared from thin air, and they were quickly fastened onto Vermouth's wrists. "Now, I think you're coming with me somewhere…" Kaito grinned and led her to a "taxi", which was really a getaway car driven by his butler.
He took her to the building and chained her to a hook on the wall. "Now, you wait here for one of your old friends…" he winked at her, who was glaring furiously, and turned to leave.
"Oh yeah," he suddenly turned around. "Almost forgot. Gotta check and see if you have any weapons on ya…" He did a quickly pat-down. "Guess not. Oh yeah, and don't forget the gag…" he stuffed a towel into her mouth. "Ta ta, Miss Vermouth!" Laughing, he ran out of the building…
Kaito was happily dreaming of this victory when he heard the door to his cell opening. "No way," he muttered, and turned around.
The jailer was holding the door open for him. "Kuroba Kaito, you're free to go," he grumbled.
"Really? How did this happen?" Kaito asked, completely shocked.
"You did return all the articles that you've stolen to the original owners, and in your plundering never harmed anyone, and we found records of the original Kaito Kid, so you're a minor—and free to go. Hurry up and get out! I never want to see your face again," the jailer said sternly.
He stood up and saluted. "Yes, sir!" Then, he ran straight to Aoko's house. There was something he had to tell her.
~ * ~ * ~
"Hey," Aoko greeted him with a warm smile. He grinned at her. "Thanks," he said.
"For what?"
He frowned. "Didn't you find my stash and return all my plunder?"
She shook her head. "No. Your friends, Kudo-kun and Hattori-kun, they just told me to wait for you."
"Kudo and Hattori?" Kaito asked.
"Yup, Kudo and Hattori," a voice spoke up. He turned around. There they were—Shinichi and Heiji.
"What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
"Hey, we DID get you out of jail, you know," Shinichi said, offended. "Is that any way to speak to your saviors?"
"Thanks, guys," Kaito said and beamed. "I really owe you one! Now, I have something very important to talk about with this girl here," he pointed to Aoko, "and you're not invited to hear it." They laughed and bid farewell.
"Now, Aoko, as you now know, I am a thief," Kaito said slowly. "I can steal anything and everything that I want."
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Kaito, is there a point to this?"
"Yes, I promise!" he said quickly. "Anyway, I've stolen many things—and returned them, mind you—but there is one thing that someone has stolen..from me."
"What? Are you missing anything?"
"Not missing. It's still there, but it just belongs to someone else now." He gave her a sweet smile. "You'll find out someday what it is."
"Oh, Kaito," she buried her face in his chest. "I'm…I'm just so happy that you're back. And that everything is okay."
He put his arms around her and gave her a hug. "Me too."
"I can hear your heartbeat."
That's what you stole from me, you silly girl, Kaito thought. This heart of mine…belongs to you.
Suddenly, she reached up and kissed him. He was shocked, but a warm, sweet feeling washed over him.
"Silly girl," he said. "There are some things, you should let the guy take the initiative." Then, he leaned down and gave her the sweetest kiss that he could give.
~ * ~ * ~
"So, Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun are engaged, huh?" Ran asked. Shinichi nodded nonchalantly.
"That's so great! I knew that they would one day see their feelings for each other," she said happily. "Shinichi, what's wrong?"
He shook his head. "I'm just…thinking."
"About what?"
He looked at her. "You really want to know?"
She smiled and nodded.
"I'm thinking about the best way to ask you to marry me. So far, I've come up with…" he stopped in mid-sentence, got down on one knee, and took her hands in his.
"Ran, I love every part of you with every part of me," he said seriously. "So will you marry this mystery-loving idiot?"
She smiled. "This is the first marriage proposal that I've heard of with the word 'idiot' in it," she said. "And yes, I will marry you, you mystery-loving idiot!" He stood up and smiled in relief.
"Do you know what I feel like doing right now?" he asked.
"What?"
"Picking you up and spinning you around!" he laughed, grabbed her by her waist, and spun her around and around.
"Put me down, Shinichi! I'm dizzy!" she shouted. When he finally stopped, he didn't let her go but planted a kiss on her lips. She grinned happily and returned the kiss.
"Shinichi?"
"Hmm?"
"Are we all going to live happily ever after?"
He set her down on the ground. "Baka…of course we will."
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Did you like the ending I gave? I thought that maybe it was a bit corny, making everybody really happy and with the one they love. But, how can I not? Detective Conan is my favorite anime, and I want everyone to have a great life! The ending may seem cheesy, but I'm sure that you'd prefer this over an ending in which everyone dies, right?
So, please review for this chapter! I worked hard on this chapter! Also, Epilogue will be up during the timeframe of Sunday to Tuesday, depends on schoolwork. If I feel nice (and I get lotsa reviews ^_~ *hint hint*), I may even post it on Saturday!
Review Responses~
Starstruck272: Yup, I'm posting a lot faster than usual! Thanks to your teacher for reading! I hope that you like this chapter~~
Ke: Thank you! I like to update quickly because I'm afraid that people won't read my story anymore if I keep them waiting too long. But maybe for my next fic I'll make everyone wait...hahahaha...But thanks for reading! And I hope that I'm "keeping it up"! (By the way, I really like your original fic ^^)
Kari Ishikawa: Thanks for being my ever-faithful reader/reviewer! What does "jeje" mean? Are your questions about the plan cleared up now? I realize that I may have confused some people because I wasn't really specific, so I added a small section. Aoko-chan's in this chapter, as you've already read! I'm so glad that you like this story!
starfruit-22: Yeah, you're famous! Can I have your autograph?? :D
Cherry Arrow: I'm so glad that you found my story! Thank you SO much! I don't know about a sequel, but I'll post my epilogue in a few days. Please check back soon~~!
That's all for now, folks! See you in a few days~~
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Thank you very much! Domo arigato gozaimasu!