Part 4

"Hey, hey!" cried Keiko, jabbing Nakamori Aoko in the arm. "Did you hear what happened? Kid's accused for murder!"

Aoko's expression twisted into one of anger. "I knew that Kid was no good. He's probably going to keep Otoo-san up all night about this!"

Koizumi Akako happened to be nearby. She pretended that she hadn't been eavesdropping and frowned to herself.

Kid? Murdering someone? That's...Kuroba would never do that...

---

Meanwhile, Kaito was getting more amused by the second. "Well, seems like everyone's here, even that no-use time-crazy Hakuba. An FBI agent too! Interesting!"

"Inspector, I found a knife!" Kaito turned to see a police officer running up, holding a bag containing a bloody knife carefully. He instantly recognized it as the one he had thrown down. Uh oh, I didn't leave any fingerprint, did I? he thought in shock. Wait, I was wearing gloves, he remembered in relief.

Nakamori-keibu took the bag rather roughly. "Where did you find this?" he demanded.

"There, sir!" the officer said, pointing somewhere into the crowd. "It was on the floor!"

"This is definitely Kid's!" Nakamori-keibu shouted. "I'm going to arrest him!"

"That doesn't prove anything," Heiji drawled. He turned to the half-British boy. "And who are you?"

The smug smile passed on the half-British detective's face, even as the ridiculous unfashionable Holmes hat hid part of his face. "Detective Hakuba Saguru. Pleased to meet you." He turned and saw Ran and Conan. "We meet again, Ran-san. Conan-kun."

Hakuba strolled past Ran and towards Sonoko and Kazuha. A bright red Sonoko almost dropped her beverage. She practically melted into a puddle. "I haven't seen your around here before," the detective stated as a matter-of-factly.

"You okay, Sonoko-chan?" Kazuha attempted to steady her with a hand, as her other one was still holding the half-full paper cup. She cast a brief annoyed look at the detective standing in front of her. "My name is Tohyama Kazuha. Hajimemashite," she said simply with a bow.

"GET THESE TWERPS OUT OF MY FACE!" cried Nakamori-keibu, still infuriated with Heiji for the card-ripping fight. "These inexperienced brats are nothing but trouble!"

Jodie chuckled. "Maybe we should have them keep an eye out for anything suspicious. It's not like they'll do it again anyway...and besides, kids will be kids." Her last remark was in English, and Nakamori-keibu raised an eyebrow.

"Kids will be kids," repeated Jodie, this time in Japanese.

---

Kaito had raised an eyebrow when he saw Sonoko glancing at him for a moment. Uh oh, she better not recognize me. But why should I worry? It's not like anyone know I'm Kid, he thought with a laugh. Oh, Inspector, you better not stress out, he teased silently.

"Kaito!"

Kaito jumped when a hand slapped down on his shoulder. He turned, glaring. "Aoko, I told you to go home!"

"Why should I listen to you?" Aoko retorted. She saw his wrapped hand with some blood on it. She gasped, grabbing it. "What happened to you?" Before Kaito could stop her, she unwrapped it and saw an open wound from a knife. "How did you get hurt? Look at you!"

From a distance, Akako watched closely. Be careful, Kuroba...

She slipped away from the gathering crowd at the crime scene.

---

Meanwhile, Hakuba grinned sheepishly at Kazuha. "180 cm, born August 29, with the blood type A of I have never met anyone as divine as you. The name is Saguru. Hakuba Saguru." He gently kissed Kazuha's hand.

Kazuha twitched. Her eyes were wide in confusion. Her mouth opened to speak, but she was not sure what to say. She flushed slightly, quickly removing her hand from Hakuba's reach, holding it idly near the opposite shoulder. Ran was startled as well and blushed almost as much as Kazuha when Hakuba stated her measurements. Meanwhile, she backpedaled slightly.

Heiji glared as Hakuba kissed Kazuha's hand. He had forgotten about everything else. After all, he did like Kazuha---he just did not want to admit it. But this was not the time to pretend. "Back off, Hakuba," he growled, stepping in between Hakuba and Kazuha facing the half-British boy. "Kazuha does not belong to you."

Kazuha blinked in surprise when Heiji pushed her away from Hakuba. Mentally, she was quite grateful for that action, almost silently thanking him for doing so. She smiled. "T-thank you, Hakuba-san, but...I'm taken."

Ran blinked when Kazuha said she was taken. Narrowing her eyes in amusement, she grinned at Kazuha. "Are you saying you're going out with Hattori-kun for sure?" she asked slyly.

Kazuha paused, her mind taking in her friend's question. "Eh?! Wh-what do you mean, Ran-chan?! Of course not, of course not! Why would I go out with that idiot?!" She was blushing all the while during her rant. Finally, her rant rolled down to a slower pace, her eyes narrowing, glancing to the side. "Geez...I mean, really..."

Ran laughed at Kazuha's expression. "I'm sorry," she said a little breathlessly. "I didn't mean..." Only she did mean it, and she swallowed her words with a giggle. Only it made her a little nostalgic for Shinichi again, though---but it was much the Kid heist and the murder as anything else, she reflected. Shinichi would have excelled here.

Meanwhile, Heiji had turned so red that it was visible from afar even with his tanned skin. He had heard every word of it. "ANYWAY," he said very loudly, coughing slightly as he walked over to Nakamori-keibu, "shouldn't we get back to the crime?" He snatched the weapon from the inspector and walked over to a lamp post to examine it.

"Hey!" Nakamori-keibu shouted angrily. "Give that back, you---"

"Otou-san!" Nakamori-keibu turned to see Aoko running out, pulling Kaito with her. "What are you doing here?! Go home!" he roared furiously.

"You're so hot-tempered," Aoko retorted. Kaito was trying to struggle away, looking around anxiously.