File 5 – Cleverest Tantei in Osaka
Kazuha started, almost spilling her coffee. Shunji looked up at her. "Dou shita no, Tohyama-chan? What's wrong?" he asked.
Kazuha shook her head. "Nothing..." But of course, she had lied. She had suddenly gotten the feeling that something was wrong, and she didn't like that feeling. She got up. "Shunji-kun, I'm going to find Heiji. Thanks for the coffee!" She grabbed her school bag and ran out.
Shunji sighed. He turned and started. He looked at the wobbling tower of cups that were on the counter with a sweat drop. How many cups of coffee did she have anyway...?
---
Matsudo looked at Heiji in disbelief. "Meitantei? Wait! Hattori Heiji---weren't you in the finals of the Kendo tournament last year?"
"The only one," Heiji replied. "Admit it, you can't hide."
Matsudo started to laugh. "Yes, I can't hide...but I can make sure you won't tell it to anyone!" He took out a knife and charged towards Heiji.
Heiji dodged, just barely missing him. He was grinning as he did. "Hey, hey...you're trying to fight with a Kendo master, you know that?" He hopped onto a stack of crates as Matsudo tried to stab him.
Just then, he felt a slight sharp pain in his stomach. He winced. Nani---?!
Suddenly, Matsudo knocked down the crates. Heiji quickly jumped off before he fell with them. He winced once more as he landed safely on the ground.
Oh, come on! Don't tell me it's getting worse!
"You're too slow!" Matsudo shouted, charging once more.
Heiji quickly avoided the murderer's wild swings of his knife, at the same time keeping a firm grip on the gun. Thinking quickly, he slammed into the rack, knocking down some video tapes over Matsudo. He took this opportunity to run for the door that led back to the shop.
The knife shot out from nowhere and hit the door where Heiji's hand had been a second ago. He stumbled back in surprise. The knife wobbled at its position.
"You're not going anywhere until I've killed you properly!" Matsudo snarled behind him.
He pounced for Heiji, but he sprang away just in time. While Matsudo fell on the ground in an effortless catch, Heiji started for the back door. He grasped the handle---and it would not budge. "DARN!" he cursed, kicking the door but to no avail.
Then, he was grabbed by the back of his collar and thrown towards the rack. His body slammed against it, and video tapes started to shower over him. He lost grip of the gun. He groaned, feeling pain all over his body---but they did not hurt as much as his stomach. He peeked down and saw blood on his uniform. The wound was getting worse. His mind was subconsciously aware of his surrounding, and he could not move.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Matsudo remarked with an evil grin, towering over Heiji. He kicked the boy hard, causing him to yelp in pain. In the blurry vision, Heiji could see the murderer picking up the gun. There was a click. "I feel sorry for you---really, I do. You're so young...but you have to pay the price for poking your nose into other's business."
Trying to resist the pain, Heiji dragged himself up forward a little. "Y-you won't...get away...with this," he panted. "Someone...will get the truth out...eventually..."
Matsudo laughed. "Oh, I've already got away with it. I'll see you in hell, meitantei-san..." His finger slowly began to press down on the trigger.
Suddenly, the door slammed open. "Heiji---" Kazuha froze at the doorway when she saw the gun in Matsudo's hand.
"Idiot!" Heiji exclaimed. "Get out of here, Kazuha!"
But Kazuha was rooted to the spot. Matsudo suppressed an evil grin. "Looks like I have another person to kill tonight."
"Leave her alone, she does not have anything to do with this!" Heiji growled, still trying desperately to get up.
"Oh, but I think she does." Matsudo pointed the gun at Kazuha. "I'll deal with you first..."
Kazuha's eyes widened.
Just then, Heiji pounced on Matsudo's back, knocking him down. With an angry yell, Matsudo threw Heiji off him. He fired at the boy, and the bullet struck Heiji's leg. "Aaaargh!" Heiji cried in pain, grasping around the wound. Kazuha gasped. "Heiji!"
"You've meddled enough, Hattori," Matsudo growled, aiming once more. "Now you die!"
Clunk!
Matsudo's eyes rolled to the back of his head before he collapsed into unconsciousness with a big lump on his head. Kazuha was standing behind him with her bag above her, panting. Heiji smiled weakly at her. "G-good hit." He cringed, grasping both his leg and stomach.
Noticing this, Kazuha immediately rushed over in panic. "Heiji! Are you okay?"
Heiji managed another wan smile. "Never---better. Aik..." His face was getting pale.
"Hang in there, Heiji, I'll call the hospital!" Kazuha told him, fumbling for her cell phone frantically. But just as she was dialing, she saw Heiji losing consciousness. "Heiji!" she shrieked, shaking him lightly. "Don't scare me, Heiji, wake up! HEIJI!"
---
Mouri Ran burst through the doors, running down the hospital corridor quickly. Conan was following behind her. They halted to find Kazuha sitting outside a ward. Kazuha looked up, and immediately sprang up. "Ran-chan, thanks for coming!" she shrieked, wiping her tears away before hugging her Tokyo-jin friend. "I'm so sorry for all the trouble, I-I just don't know w-what to do..."
"It's okay," Ran comforted her. "I won't let my friend down. How's Heiji?"
Kazuha shook her head, sniffling. "I don't know. He had finished an operation three hours ago, but he hadn't woken up yet. The doctor's still seeing him...it's all my fault! What if---what if Heiji---"
While Ran tried to comfort Kazuha, Conan tried to peer through the glass into the ward. He managed to spot a doctor, a nurse, and a bed that Heiji was supposedly in. He couldn't see Heiji though---the doctor was blocking him. He found himself hoping that his friend was all right.
Just then, the doctor emerged out of the room with the nurse. "You can see him now, but please don't stay for too long," he told them solemnly. Kazuha didn't like the tone in the doctor's voice---she could be wrong, but she could not think at that moment.
"O-okay. Arigatou gozaimasu," she murmured as the doctor and nurse left them alone. She looked at Ran, who nodded her head. Biting her lip, Kazuha turned the knob with a trembling hand and entered the ward.
It was rather dark inside. The heart monitor was the only sound that could be heard in the quiet room, although quite weak. Heiji was on the bed, his eyes closed, and his face quite pale. Kazuha didn't like the look. She stood by the bed, leaning close to him. "H-Heiji?" she whispered.
Heiji did not stir. Kazuha was close to tears. "Heiji, c-can you hear me? Heiji?" She clenched her jaw when she got no response. "Heiji, please don't die!" she cried, tears rolling down her face as she hugged her childhood friend.
"AAAAAARGH, IDIOT! GET OFF ME!"
Kazuha jumped. Heiji had suddenly got up and screamed at her, his eyes glaring and looking no worse. Ran and Conan both had sweat drops as the heart monitor went wild before going normal. Heiji grasped his stomach, grimacing. "Owww..."
"Y-you're not dead?" Kazuha stuttered.
"Are you cursing me? Of course I'm not!" Heiji snapped. "Only stupid girls like you think stupid stuffs!"
Kazuha's vein throbbed. "Oh, so I'm stupid, isn't it?" she retorted. "I guess if I punch your stomach, you'll still live!"
She made a motion of punching Heiji's stomach, startling him. "Y-you wouldn't dare! Okay, okay, fine! But for the price of it, I say you owe me a month's worth of lunch for getting me shot again."
"Hey!"
Ran giggled as the two continued their fight. "Definitely a natural pair!"
Conan laughed awkwardly with a sweat drop. He has nine lives, that Hattori...
"Oh, shut up, Heiji," Kazuha finally said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "The cleverest tantei in Osaka should be getting his rest."
Heiji lit up. "Cl-cleverest tantei in Osaka?" he blurted almost a little too happily.
"Of course! You solved the murder cases not very long ago and the police arrested the murderer already. You're definitely the greatest!" Kazuha said brightly with a smile.
Heiji blushed. While Kazuha turned to talk to Ran, he waved Conan over. "Hear that, Kudo? I'm the cleverest tantei in Osaka, and I definitely haven't lost to you yet!" he whispered gleefully. Conan could only give him a confused look that seemed to say, 'What?'
END
Author's Note: Yup, short story XD After all, these murder cases don't last for very long like any other, so there! Thanks for reading and I hope you had enjoyed it!