Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan; it's the only truth I can come up with.
On a rainy afternoon-by Alena S. Anigor
It was a nice, sunny September day, and although the road was still slightly slippery from the rain that was falling the night before, Hattori Heiji was driving recklessly up the winding road, turning sharply to the right and then to the left and ignoring Toyama Kazuha's insults, pleas and shrill warnings every time the tire slipped a bit on the road and she almost fell off the bike.
"Heiji!" She screamed at him as loud as she could, "you ahou! Are you trying to kill us?!"
Heiji heard her remark, albeit faintly, the helmet securing his head as well as his hearing from Kazuha's wonderful screams and comments. He just sighed in annoyance and turned left at the next turn, using his leg a bit to balance the bike up the road. Kazuha's grip tightened around his waist, and he could hear another set of profanities aimed at him from behind. He decided to ignore them, enjoying the ride and the possible risk of ramming into a nearby tree or flying off the road. Yes, Hattori Heiji was a hazardous driver.
"I am never ever going to ride with you on this thing! You hear?!" Kazuha screamed again, and closed her mouth shut, realizing that her tirades had absolutely no effect on him. She sighed heavily, closing her eyes for a moment and tightening her grip on his jacket after the tires bumped across something on the road and she jumped slightly in the air.
This was so not her day...
She reminded herself to think twice about agreeing to go with him on a case and risking her life. Of course she wouldn't let him leave without her; after all – he needed someone to watch over him, since the ahou (and there she glared at the back of his helmet from behind) couldn't quite take care of himself.
She was considerate enough to listen to the weather forecast in the morning, and the man on the screen warned her clearly of possible showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. When she said that to him, he gave her that almighty smirk and replied:
"He said possible, right?"
She frowned at him and resisted the urge to swat that cap off his head. "Yes, but the weather is unpredic-"
"It's sunny and warm outside!" He emphasized his point by spreading his hands towards the window. Kazuha pouted for a few more moments, before she gave up and sighed heavily.
"Fine," she muttered, glaring at him, "but it'll be your fault if we get stuck in the middle of the storm..." Then, as an afterthought, "I'm taking that umbrella with me."
With her jacket tightly zipped to her chin and his helmet on her head, she didn't know where to put her lanky umbrella, so she was trying to come up with various ideas, one of them including the insides of his jacket. He gave her a deadpanned look, snatched the umbrella from her hands and threw it back into the tin can where it belonged, in his not so humble opinion.
"We won't need that! Now come on," he barked, turning around, eager to sit on his bike. "I have a case to solve."
The man who contacted him was an older man in his late fifties, a president of a very renowned company who suddenly started becoming letters in which he was threatened by death for some reason. The mysterious sender never stated why he or she was threatening him and the president had to throw an annual ball for his company's twentieth anniversary that day. His voice was strained and filled with slight panic over the phone when he called him in the morning, saying how he received yet another letter that warned him about the lethal consequences if he decided to throw the ball.
Heiji, never the one to refuse an offer to solve a murder, blackmail, kidnapping, poisoning (you name it) gladly accepted his call. Kazuha wanted to talk him into buying a dinner suit or something more appropriate for the ball, but he only looked at her like she had grown another head.
"Fine!" She yelled after he shrugged and went out to get ready in the morning, "then look like a moron!"
She sighed again, glancing at her own outfit – slightly smeared boots, her usual beige trousers, a navy blue shirt and a jacket. And she didn't care what he said – one did not attend a ball in everyday clothes!
She tried to suggest him that they take a bus to last bus station and then walk for 20 minutes, which was enough time to reach the mansion. He simply put his helmet on, jumped on his bike and looked at her expectantly.
"Are you coming or not?" He asked her in annoyance and she flushed with anger. Why did he have to be so damn stubborn? And why he never listened to her as well, was beyond her.
She yelped when he turned the handles sharply to the right to avoid grazing a car that was coming at them from another direction.
Stupid, stupid ahou!
And of course, they haven't even reached that last bus station when the sun suddenly disappeared behind the heavy, towering clouds, the wind started to blow unpleasantly and she tilted her head upwards to see a few tiny droplets of water on the plastic visor of her helmet.
It started to rain. She knew it! She just knew it!
"Heiji!" She screamed behind him and he turned slightly to glance at her askew, "It's raining, you moron! Didn't I tell you this would happen?"
He turned his head back and sped up a bit, making her shiver involuntarily. Didn't she tell him? But of course – who would listen to Kazuha? What did she know?
The wind started to blow harder, tiny droplets turning into heavy drops and she shivered again, this time because of her half drenched jacket, combined with the constant onslaughts of the cold breeze. She was squinting inside her helmet, wondering how could he see where he was driving and wondering where are they going to end up in the end.
"Heiji!" She screamed, trying to reach him over the sharp whistles of the wind, "Stop the bike!" She was getting scared now, fear and anxiety reflecting through the visor in her wide eyes.
Heiji heard her yelling something but what that was, he couldn't decipher. He tried to at least reach the bus station, but the rain was making it hard for him to see anything. In moments like these, he wished he could have a wacky wannabe professor/scientist by his side like Shinichi did to make him a waterproof helmet...and a jacket...maybe even a whole outfit.
Giving up and exhaling loudly, he stopped the bike, his hands cold, wet and fingers trembling on the metallic handles. The engine was still roaring faintly, gas flying out of the exhaust tube behind a bewildered Kazuha and filling the humid air. He stepped away, leaving Kazuha to look blankly at him, expecting to see him perform some kind of miracle. He was standing in the middle of the deserted road, looking around. His jacket was drenched as well, the brims of his dark pants wet around his shoes.
"Heiji?" Kazuha asked meekly, observing the half of his face that was visible inside his helmet. "Now what?"
Turning around, he spotted a forest, vast trees with thick branches standing proudly, scattered around. He ushered her to get off the bike and showed her the nearest tree with a hole in the middle. Kazuha embraced herself and shuddered for a moment, following after him.
He was pushing the bike with him, tires rolling over the wet concrete and then squelching over the slippery, thick mud when they crossed the road and stepped on the forest ground.
Kazuha was shaking, watching carefully not to step too deep into the yucky surface, the heels of her boots already tarnished with mud and dirt. When they reached the hollow body of the tree, Heiji positioned the bike under one of the swaying branches that offered a slight protection from the rain.
Kazuha peeked inside the hole cautiously, expecting some kind of monster to jump out at her from inside, and she almost shrieked when Heiji pushed her brusquely inside. She grabbed the insides of the tree for support and almost immediately removed her hands as if she got burned. Observing the traces of dirt, dust and something green that resembled grass, she wanted so desperately to brush her hands against something to get rid of it. She looked at her pants, already wet and dirty and sighing, brushed her palms against them, leaving dark marks behind.
Heiji stepped in after her and huddled in the opposite corner of the small hole, removing his helmet and taking a deep breath. His brows were furrowed in annoyance and impatience; now he was forced to hide in a tree hole when there were far more important things to do. Glancing at Kazuha, he nudged her and she looked at him, taking that as a sign to remove her helmet as well.
After a few moments spent in silence and mute glaring, Heiji wished he could've put it back on her head.
"You AHOU!" She shouted, her voice mixed with slight tremors in the form of thunders coming from outside. Heiji backed away a bit, when the lightning flashed over the sky above them, illuminating her irate face. It was scary.
Kazuha was breathing heavily, tears of despair and anger gathering in her eyes.
"What did I tell you?" She ventured, now on a roll. "Didn't I tell to take the bus? Didn't I tell you to take the umbrella with us?! DIDN'T I MENTION TO YOU THAT IT WAS GOING TO RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON?!"
The thundering sound filled the sky again; creating an illusion like the whole earth was shaking together with it. Heiji was staring at her teary face for a good few moments until she let out a sob, and plopped down on the cold ground of the tree, sitting on her shins and wiping the tears angrily from her eyes. She hated it. She hated to cry in front of people. Especially in front of him. And right now she didn't give a damn! She was mad.
"Ahou," she whispered, more to scold herself now than him. She was staring outside, watching the long bluish streaks dancing across the sky, mingled with falling rain. The wind was still blowing harshly, playing with her bangs as she stared solemnly at the helmet in her hands.
Next to her, Heiji was looking grimly outside as well, observing the small puddles forming across the forest ground, the heavy, gray clouds reflecting in them, raindrops creating small circular waves.
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He glanced at her bent figure and frowned. So, she was right. It was raining and it's afternoon, and they should've taken the bus and the umbrella with them.
He smiled slightly; wondering briefly just why did he like to provoke her so much - to see her angry and to see her yelling at him? Maybe...But why? He couldn't quite understand that feeling, deep down in the pit of his stomach – like something was swirling and dancing inside. Why was he feeling happy and content when she was angry with him and screaming all sorts of profanities at him? He growled inwardly – this was all too confusing for him. Cases, murders and things alike he could handle; this was something he didn't want to think about. He noticed angry tears falling down her cheeks despite her head being lowered. He didn't like to see her cry, though...
"Kazuha," he said slowly, and sighed when she didn't even look at him. "Kazuha."
No words; an occasional sob filling the tense atmosphere between them.
He resisted the urge to throw a caustic remark at her to make her look at him. He crouched down next to her, almost grinning at her childish behavior when she turned her head away to the other side. She didn't want him to see her cry. She was already feeling miserable enough without his sarcastic comments regarding her appearance.
Taking a deep breath, Heiji cringed. He wasn't good at this.
"Kazuha," He said again, this time in a somewhat pleading tone, "I'm...I'm sorry, okay?" He spluttered the last two words in a hurry, kicking himself mentally when he heard how they came out. Damn it, why was this so hard?
Kazuha was still not looking at him. Heiji sighed in annoyance, putting a hand on her shoulder to make her at least yell at him.
"Kazuha..." He started then stopped abruptly when he felt her shivering under his palm.
Kazuha turned around suddenly and looked at him with a gaze that could burn holes. "What?" She replied bitterly.
He smirked at her retort, which seemed to aggravate her even more. "Ahou!" She yelled and turned her head away again from his grinning face, trying not to blush at the way he was looking at her. She noticed that strange gleam in his eyes that somehow managed to make her cheeks turn red every time. Damn him and his eyes.
Still grinning at her antics, he took a deep breath and embraced her, his arms lacing around her shoulders and making her jump slightly. She blushed a deeper shade of red, trying not to squirm. His embrace wasn't too tight around her shoulders, but she still felt safe and secure in his arms, reluctantly leaning in and allowing him to embrace her completely.
"Heiji..." She gulped, trailing off and daring to spare a quick glance at him. He was looking straight ahead, his eyes filled with something warm and reassuring that she couldn't stop staring at him.
"We'll have to keep ourselves warm," he replied steadily, her head under his chin and she could feel the faint vibration in his throat when he spoke.
"Ahh..." She nodded clumsily, and taking a deep breath, relaxed in his arms, watching the rain falling and enjoying her time with him in silence.
---
She jerked a bit a few hours later when he moved behind her and she opened her eyes, wondering for a moment why they were closed in the first place.
"You awake?" She heard his voice from above and quickly turned around to look at him in surprise. Awake? Had she fallen asleep?
He looked at her somewhat oddly when she looked around as if trying to see where she was again. The tree, her helmet, the bike parked outside, the rain...stopped falling? Oh...
As if reading her mind, he got up slowly, leaving her to get up on her own and put his helmet back on, glancing at his watch before that. It was past 7 pm and he frowned. He was already way too late.
"The rain stopped falling," he notified her and only told her what she already knew. She peeked outside, watching the clouds rolling away slowly and observing the drops slopping down from the leaves and the branches slowly. Heiji walked past her, sliding the visor down and showed her to follow him.
She sighed, wondering how on earth she could doze off like that, but when she remembered the warmth of his embrace, she quickly blushed and put the helmet on, running up to him to sit on the seat behind him. He wiped the remaining drops with the back of his sleeve and it took him a few minutes until he finally started the bike again. The round lamp in front flashed and she put her arms around him quickly before he rolled the gas handle and the bike roared again.
With a few difficulties, they managed to make their way to the road again and Kazuha screamed again when he resumed with his reckless driving.
"You ahou!" She yelled into his ear when she almost lost her grip on him and fell back. This time, he only grinned at her and she blushed again. Damn him.
When they finally reached the mansion, they noticed a few police cars parked in front at the large parking space. Heiji quickly jumped off the bike, taking his helmet off and started running towards one of the inspectors who was currently talking to a very shaken-looking butler. Kazuha managed to run up to him, making squeaking sounds in the process and leaving mud traces after her.
"What happened?" Heiji asked exasperatedly, watching the butler and the inspector intently. The inspector eyed him warily then scribbled something down in his notebook.
"Hattori Heiji?" He asked him and raised his eyebrows at him. Heiji nodded slowly, already having a bad feeling about the whole thing.
"Well, it seems like you came just in time," the inspector replied in amusement, "to solve the murder." Heiji gaped at him for a moment, then at the butler, then in the end at a puzzled Kazuha behind him who was fidgeting with her helmet.
"A murder?" Heiji exclaimed incredulously. He didn't...No...Damn...
"Yes," the inspector informed him and offered a handkerchief to a sobbing butler next to him. "The president was found murdered in his study one hour ago."
Kazuha blinked. The inspector smirked at his bewildered expression and the butler choked on a sob.
Hattori Heiji took a deep breath and sighed heavily, resisting the urge to slam his head against the helmet.
This was so not his day...
Author Notes
Uhm...well, that was it. My first Heiji/Kazuha fanfic. Well, sort of...
Anyway, I hope you liked it. I didn't want to make too many fluffy scenes because I thought that would make them OoC. So, I settled for this.
Oh, and if you see some strangely formatted words - blame it on the FF-net's formatting. It's been a real pain in the butt for the last few days!
And that's about it. /grins/