Chapter Eleven

"A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking."

-Earl Wilson

"So, instead of going to Kyoto like we normally do, we will be seeing some of the other things Osaka has to offer," the teacher had told the class, as she attempted to brush glitter off her clothes. (It didn't work very well. She only succeeded in spreading the craft herpes everywhere.)

So here they were, walking through Osaka Castle Park, listening to a tour of the Takoishi (lit. Octopus Stone).

"...and the presumed weight of the wall is 130,000 kg. Does anyone have any questions?" the tour guide's gaze swept over the group of highschoolers.

A hand went up.

"Yes?"

"When is this tour done?"

The tour guide took a deep breath.

"Right now."

And they were off, running in groups of 4 to 5, trying to get to some of the more interesting parts of Osaka before the day ended. The only ones left after the chaos was finished was Ruri's group that consisted of Hakuba, Aoko, and Kaito. (Akako had been sent to another group.)

"Um...what should we do now?" Ruri asked, looking at her companions.

Aoko was busy looking through the brochure with Kaito hanging over her shoulder.

All of a sudden, the two's eyes were sparkling and they held up the brochure and pointed to a little sweets shop on the map.

"Here!" they chorused.

Ruri watched as Kaito polished off his 2nd chocolate sundae, feeling a bit ill.

"How can you eat that much chocolate?" she asked, slowly sipping on her tea.

"It helps me keep my girly figure," he grinned.

Hakuba snorted and Kaito blew him a raspberry.

Aoko sat beside the magician, happily eating a banana and strawberry parfait.

"But you know Ruri-san, I didn't think you drank tea," Hakuba turned to the girl beside him.

"Oh," Ruri turned red. "I'm not much of a coffee drinker..."

Hakuba smiled. "That's just as well. I can't stand coffee myself."

Kaito and Aoko watched as Hakuba and Ruri smiled and shared a short laugh.

Kaito was definitely not sulking. Sure, Ruri was wearing the blue ribbon he had given her in her hair, but...there was something about her talking to Hakuba that just...irked him. KID didn't sulk. Ever. And whatever feeling this was made him uncomfortable.

"Guys?"

Welp. Ruri was lost. Following their excursion to the sweets shop, they had made their way to Dotonburi. Where Ruri had promptly gotten lost.

Now, being 37 years old mentally, Ruri had prided herself on the ability to get through anything calmly and efficiently.

This unfortunately, did not count as one such time. She was currently on the verge of crying and feeling quite disappointed in herself.

"Hey, are ya ok?" a voice asked.

Ruri turned to see two sets of bright green eyes, a tanned face, and a fairly pale face.

"Um..." Ruri hadn't intended to stand out, but she realized she had attracted quite a bit of attention.

"I was separated from my friends..." she told Heiji and Kazuha, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Awww! Ya poor thing! Do ya know where they might be?" Kazuha asked, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to Ruri.

Ruri refused the handkerchief and wiped her tears with the back of her hand.

"I- The last time I saw them was just around here..."

"What do they look like?" Heiji asked.

"Heiji's a detective! Maybe he can help ya find yer friends!" Kazuha smiled reassuringly.

"A detective?" Ruri asked.

"Tha's right! I'm known as the Great Detective of the West!" Heiji puffed out his chest a bit.

"Um...well, there's 3 of them, two boys and a girl. One boy is blond and named Hakuba Saguru and-"

"Did ya say Hakuba?!" Heiji demanded, grabbing Ruri's shoulders.

"H-hai..."

Well, I guess I could've expected this... Ruri gave an inward sigh.

"Yer friends with that blond bastard?!"

"Well, I guess not completely friends, more like classmates, really," Ruri explained.

Heiji finally released Ruri and took a step back.

"Hmph. As much as I hate that blond bastard, I can't ignore a girl that needs help," he huffed.

"Ah! I really appreciate it!" Ruri bowed in thanks.

"Where did Ruri go?!" Kaito yelled.

Ever since the 3 had realized Ruri wasn't with them, they all agreed to split up and look for her. They would meet back at the Glico Man sign in 2 hours.

Kaito was fairly certain that he had run the entire length of Dotonburi twice just to look for the girl.

"Why can't she just answer her phone?" he sobbed.

Ruri was staring down at her now dead phone in dismay as they rode the train.

"Ya ok?" Kazuha asked, looking at her.

"U-Un...nothing to worry about!" Ruri faked a smile.

Might as well milk this chance for all it's worth, she thought.

"Hey, have ya seen any of the great places in Osaka?" Heiji suddenly asked.

Ruri looked up in shock and shook her head.

"Then how about we give ya the Osaka special tour?"

"I-well..."

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!" Kazuha chimed.

I...ok..." Ruri smiled.

"Ruuuuuuriiiiii...where are yooooou..." Kaito groaned.

2 hours had passed and Ruri was still not found.

Hakuba had contacted the local police and they promised they would call him if anyone matching Ruri's description turned up.

Aoko had tried to call Ruri but she wasn't able to get through, no matter how many times she tried.

All of a sudden, Hakuba's phone started to ring. The teen detective reluctantly answered the phone with a tense, "Moshi moshi?"

Within a minute he was standing up straight, eyes wide, and talking animatedly.

He hurriedly shut the phone.

"They found her!"

It had been 2 hours since Ruri had met Heiji and Kazuha. They were both funny and fun to be around. Heiji was surprisingly responsible.

Until he insisted they meet his father at the Osaka Prefectural Police Headquarters.

"But I don't think we're supposed to be here..." Ruri had said when they reached the entrance.

Both Kazuha and Heiji assured her everything was fine and managed to get her inside.

When they came face to face with Heizo however, he was rather mad at the two Osakans.

"She was reported missing 2 hours ago!" he yelled.

"Ano, what do you mean 'reported missing'?" Ruri asked.

The stoic man turned to her and sighed.

"We got a call from Hakuba Saguru who said that one of his friends had gone missing in the Dotonburi prefecture," he explained.

"Ruri-san!"

Ruri turned to see an out of breath Hakuba, a worried Aoko, and a rather mad looking Kaito.

"Thank god you're ok, Ruri-chan!" Aoko ran to Ruri and gave her a hug.

"What were you doing?!" Kaito demanded. "We tried to call you!"

Ruri flinched. "I-my phone died..."

"Kuroba!" Hakuba stood in-between Kaito and Ruri, trying to form a shield around the girl.

Kaito frowned and stalked out the building.

"I'm sorry..." Ruri mumbled.

"Don't worry, Ruri-chan. He was just worried about you. We all were," Aoko assured.

Hakuba turned to Ruri and pat the top of her head.

"We're all glad you're safe," he smiled.

"Geez, Ruri-han! Ya have some pretty good friends there!" Kazuha commented, smiling.

"Un!" Ruri had to agree.

It was nice to be wanted by someone. To have someone who worried about you and who came looking for you if you got lost.

"Ano...Kaito-san?"

Kaito reluctantly turned toward the voice.

Ruri was shuffling a little bit.

He patted the seat next to him.

Ruri took the offer and a gingerly sat down.

"Um...I'm sorry I made you worry."

Kaito made a noncommittal sound.

"I'm sorry I didn't-"

She was cut off by an unfamiliar weight on her head.

It was Kaito's hand.

They sat in silence for a while, Ruri enjoying the kind feeling.

"Don't do that again," he whispered, his chin resting on the top of her head.

"Aoko-saaan..." Ruri cried.

The girl had found Ruri on the couch next to Kaito who had fallen asleep on her head, apparently.

Unfortunately for Ruri, Aoko had no intention of helping the girl. It was just too funny.

"Gomen-ne, Ruri-chan," she clapped her hands together silently and shuffled away to grab a camera and show Hakuba.

AHAHAHAHA imsorry I couldn't help it! I had to add in a little bit of a worried Kaito! I also had to put in some fluff there at the end DX I'M SORRY!

Anyway, I hope you'll leave a review and continue reading!

DFTBA YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE!