WARNING: Horrible sight at the end of file, make sure you have a strong stomach to read it.

File 2 – A Gruesome Murder

"He will be fine...he's lucky it didn't get any worse," the school nurse said as she replaced the roll of bandages in the first-aid kit, having finished treating Heiji. "Otherwise, he won't be able to even move. I suggest he takes plenty of rest and don't do anything for a while."

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Kazuha said, bowing as the nurse left the room. She turned to glare at Heiji, who was sitting up on the bed and clutching his stomach in pain. "You're lucky! If you aren't injured right now, I would have killed you!"

"If you hadn't barged in like that, I wouldn't have gotten hurt!" Heiji snapped. "You're very annoying!"

"Oh, I'm annoying, and you're an idiot! You promised to---"

"Hey, I didn't say I promised, I just said I won't go for practice, and I didn't mention what practice it is, so---"

"HATTORI HEIJI, YOU'RE HOPELESS!" Kazuha screamed, almost knocking Heiji off. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! YOU'RE HURT AND PRETEND YOU ARE FINE WHEN YOU AREN'T! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT YOU OR EVEN LIKE YOU..."

The door flew open. Kazuha froze, her face turning very red as she realized what she had said. Heiji blinked for a while before turning to see who had entered. It was Sawutaru, already changed, and looking quite guilty.

"Konnichiwa, Hattori...um, are you okay?" he asked nervously.

Heiji nodded, swinging his feet over the side of the bed. "I'm okay, it just hurts a little. The nurse put some extra bandages because it was bleeding again."

"I-I'm very sorry about it, I didn't mean to hurt you!" Sawutaru apologized, bowing his head several times in embarrassment. "I mean, I didn't know you were hurt, otherwise I would have go light on you..."

"Hey, it's my fault, okay? Don't feel bad for yourself," Heiji told him firmly. Then he lit up, the usual grin on his face. "But wow, that was a good move! You have a bright future ahead, just practice more!"

Kazuha narrowed her eyes and sighed. She should have known that Heiji would not mind at all and always pretended as if nothing happened. "Okay, enough," she said, getting up. "It's time to go home, Heiji."

Heiji looked at her. "Oh, okay. Anyway, let's fight again another time, all right?" he said to Sawutaru with a wink, climbing off the bed. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he keeled over a little. "Ow, ow, ow..."

Kazuha rolled her eyes and sauntered up to help him. She put his arm around her shoulders and lifted him up on his feet. "Steady now." She momentarily glared at Sawutaru, who was snickering. Why is everyone like this? she thought in annoyance as she led Heiji out.

---

"Okay, first, we should start thinking up an excuse for your parents," Kazuha said as she helped Heiji down the pavement. "If they find out that you went to practice Kendo without permission and got hurt, they will kill you! I have an idea; tell them you accidentally fell down on the street."

"I'm not that clumsy," Heiji retorted, walking a little unsteadily. His stomach was still killing him. "If we just keep our mouths shut, they will never know. It's not like Otou-san will be around anyway---he's in Kyoto managing something."

"Your okaa-san is a Kendo mistress, she can kill you," Kazuha retorted.

"Oh yeah." Heiji scratched his head. He glanced at Kazuha. Her face was quite near to him, though looking ahead. The fact that she was helping him by having his arm around her shoulders and half-carried him, it made him blush all of a sudden.

"What is it?" Kazuha suddenly turned to him, raising an eyebrow. "Something on my face?"

"Huh? Oh, err, nothing," Heiji said quickly, looking away. Why is my heart pounding all of a sudden? he thought in surprise. Come on, she didn't mean it...did she?

"I heard a lot about that friend of yours," Kazuha suddenly spoke up.

"What friend?" Heiji asked.

"Kudo, of course! When you were in hospital, I've been talking to Ran-chan---she's very nice, you know. From the sound of it, Kudo seems like a great guy!"

"Of course he is," Heiji said as-a-matter-of-factly. "After all, they say I'm like Kudo, and Kudo's like me."

"Ran said he's extremely clever and can crack any cases in minutes even," Kazuha continued, not paying attention him. "She told me lots of the cases he solved, and they were all amazing! Kudo Shinichi is the best detective in Japan!" she said gleefully.

Heiji jerked slightly. "Oh yeah?" he said with a forced smile. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Ran told me how he solved so many cases, and even the time when you first went there," Kazuha replied gleefully. "It's amazing from the way he solved it!"

"Really?" Kazuha didn't notice that she was getting on Heiji's nerve. Heiji would have lost it if someone did not attract their attention in front.

"Hattori-kun! Tohyama-chan!" A boy their age waved at them cheerfully.

"Shunji-kun?" Kazuha exclaimed in surprise as she and Heiji went up to him. "What are you doing here? You haven't been in school for a week now!"

Shunji Eisuke laughed. "Gomen, I've been very busy working for my father. You know, he's in the hospital from the accident last week, and my mother died when I was little, so if I want to earn some income for the family, I have to do something. This is my father's café." He gestured at a little coffee shop in front of him. Then he noticed that Heiji was leaning on Kazuha for support. "What happened to you, Hattori-kun?"

"I was shot three days ago in here," Heiji replied, pointing at his stomach. "Isn't it cool?"

"COOL?! Idiot, you could have been killed!" Kazuha snapped, letting go of him. "Especially after that Kendo mishap!"

"Hey, it doesn't hurt anymore!" Heiji exclaimed, delighted as he took a few strides around. "And you said I would have die---I'm perfectly fine and dead lucky," he snickered as Kazuha glared at him.

"Cool! So you want to come in and have a cup of coffee or something?" Shunji asked, gesturing into the shop.

"Sure," Heiji accepted.

The trio was about to head into the café, when suddenly, the door of video shop next to the café flew open. They turned to see a person stumbling out, grasping his heart for some reason. He tripped at the curb and fell onto the busy road. They were shocked.

"Uso!"

It was too late. A truck came by suddenly, and it didn't stop in time. The front wheel crushed the man's head, causing a most gruesome and horrible death. Blood was everywhere when the truck screeched to a halt. The next thing Heiji heard was Kazuha's horrified scream.