AN: So this is actually something of I guess, an exploratory oneshot for me in relation to an idea for a proper fic that I want to write in the future. I suppose you could call this something of a prologue for the fic in question, even! I wanted to toy with the idea in writing first for a bit, and this is the result of that, so I thought I would go ahead and present it for everyone to read- and to whet their appetites, I guess. In spite of this oneshot not being very focused on her, it's definitely planned to be a pretty Kazuha-centric sort of story.

Well then, until next time!

Crossroads

AU

Characters: Shinichi Kudo, Heiji Hattori

Summary: When meeting a stranger at the crossroads, it's always a risk to trust what they say.

"Did ya lose yer way, detective?"

The faint sound of bells accompanied the sound of the young man's voice, which worked it's way out of the thick fog that had all but engulfed the road. Barely unable to see in front of him, Kudo Shinichi turned on his heel, narrowing his eyes sharply at the figure that all but seemed to drift out of the fog. With a sword worn at his waist, a pair of small bells tied around the handle of the blade, and a rather lazily worn yukata, the dark skinned man who stepped out from the veils of fog had a rather amused grin on his features. One blue eye carefully studied the young man before him, and only the one- for the other, his right, was covered by bandages, wound tightly around his head. Bells chimed faintly from where they were strung around his ankles, as geta clad feet took a step forward towards him, his amusement only seeming to grow the longer he remained silent.

Vaguely, Shinichi got the feeling that he was currently in the presence of something otherworldly.

"I suppose that I have." Shinichi said slowly, wishing that he had taken up Shiho's offer of bringing some wards with him, not knowing what kind of creature that it was that he was facing now. If he was giving off any miasma, it was next to impossible to tell, given the thick fog that clouded his vision, dancing around the sword wielding, one-eyed young man as if it were paying him no heed. "What of you, fellow traveler? I'm afraid you have me at something of a loss here, for you know as to how I am employed, and yet I know nothing of you. Judging from your sword, a bodyguard of some type, perhaps? Forgive me, but you do not have the look of a samurai about you."

The young man let out a laugh, his lips quirking together in a grin. "Well, let's just say I'm an exorcist, an' leave it at that, detective. I've been watching ya wander about aimlessly within this fog fer some time now. Ya ever plannin' on makin' any progress?"

"Generally it's considered polite to give one's name, before one taunts those they are speaking to." Shinichi couldn't help but note, not buying the story of him being an exorcist. He was no expert on the youkai and spirits that traveled the plane just beyond their own, but he was a rather clever detective, and it was no mystery to him that the person before him was hardly a person at all. Not a ghost, as they still had feet, perhaps, but something otherwise not human. "I'd give you my name, but I'm not certain as to what you'd do with it."

"Perhaps a wise choice, detective." Taking another step, slowly circling around him, the small, round bells twined around his ankles faintly chiming as he walked, the young man's grin didn't fade as he watched the way Shinichi didn't take his eyes off of him even for a moment. "I'm Hattori Heiji. An' don't view me with such cold suspicion, I've come ta lend ya a hand. Where is it that yer tryin' ta go? The capital? I wouldn't recommend it. Nothin' good fer ya lies in that direction."

"Are you an exorcist, or a prophet?" Shinichi found himself asking, grateful when Heiji came to a stop, the faint sound of bells ceasing with it. "I am headed for the capital, for matter of fact. Why do you say I should not go there?"

"A bit of both, really. In yonder direction, towards the capital, lies nothin' but deadly danger fer ya." Heiji told him, casting a glance back in the direction he assumed the path heading towards the capital was. "I recommend that ya head ta the west, in such a direction." Casting out one hand, pointing it in the direction of west, able to discern such even within the thick fog. Shinichi faintly narrowed his eyes at the sight of his hand, bandages twining about it, down to his fingers. Just on the right, much like his eye.

"And what, pray tell, lies in the west?" Shinichi inquired, watching a knowing look surface in Heiji's good eye, knowing that he had sparked his interest.

"A girl, bereft of her mother, taken from her by those of wicked intents." Heiji told him. "She seeks someone of yer skill, detective, an' that is why ya've found yerself in this fog in the first place, for there are those who do not want you ta find yer way ta her side, ta aid her in quest."

"And who is this girl to you, that are you are so interested in seeing me aid her?" Shinichi asked.

"No one." Heiji said simply, giving him a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I merely find her interestin' ta look at sometimes. No more an' no less. Head ta the west, detective, an' seek out the daughter of the second in command of the western city's police."

"I've been told that trusting a stranger who stands at the crossroads is generally not wise, especially not one as strange as yourself." Shinichi said simply, locking eyes with him, watching as Heiji burst out into laughter at his words. "Why is it that I should trust you, Hattori-san?"

"Why is it indeed that ya should trust me?" Heiji asked in turn, grin still not fading from his features. "In both directions, danger lies. Ta be frank, detective, whether ya live or die, I don't care that much, but I'm rather interested in seein' ta it that this girl succeeds in her quest with little harm done ta her. An' I've heard of yer reputation, young yet though ya are."

"An' because I'm the only one who can guide ya out of this fog." Heiji added, almost as an afterthought.

"So in other words, I don't have much of a choice in the matter." Shinichi noted shortly, watching as Heiji once again let out a loud laugh. "Very well then, exorcist. I suppose I'll go see this client of yours."

"A wise choice yet again, detective." Heiji told him, taking a step forward, reaching into one of the pouches that hung from his waist, opposite the side his sword hung from. With a swift motion, he twisted the cap off of a container, and with his un-bandaged hand, cast a line of it's contents over his brow, invading his personal space before Shinichi had much of a chance to protest. "The path to the west will be clear to ya now, so head onwards an' make good time."

"Are those well wishes, or a threat?" Shinichi couldn't help but ask.

"A bit of both, really." Heiji told him with that easy grin of his, taking a step back, tossing him the small container that he had just used, which he caught with one hand. "Should yer vision start ta cloud again, wipe another stroke over yer brow."

"I thank you for the gift then, exorcist." Shinichi said, tucking the container away in one of his own pouches. "I have one more question for you, before you go back to whence you came, however."

"Oh?" Tilting his head slightly to the side, Heiji's brow arched, a note of undeniable curiosity to his voice. "Whatever might that be, detective? I can't promise ya an answer."

"From whence did you come, exorcist?" Shinichi asked, holding Heiji's gaze with that of his own. "From the path leading out of the fog, or the path leading into the heart of it?"

"Well now, that is the question, detective." Heiji said, taking a step back, the sound of bells faintly breaking apart the silence of the misty forest. "As I told ya before, I'm a fellow traveler, an' a humble exorcist. Perhaps more, perhaps less, but that's fer me ta know, an' you ta riddle out."

"You've a strange way of asking a man for favors." Shinichi noted aloud, before merely heaving a sigh, sensing that he was not going to get the answers that he sought from him. "But I thank you for the kind directions, and the prophecy as well."

"Do take care, detective." Heiji told him, something twinkling within his one good eye, an echo of which was written into his smile- mischief. "Perhaps if ya follow the path that I've set, ya might even eventually come across the one it is that you seek in the first place."

At his words, Shinichi took a step forward, a surge of anger almost shooting through him, knowing at once what and who he meant. The reason that he had become a detective in the first place- there was no way he could ever forget. "What do you know of-"

Silence. Not even the sound of bells echoed through the misty forest, as Shinichi once again found himself alone at the crossroads. Taking in a breath, he took a step back, before turning around on his heel. Just as Heiji had promised, the way ahead was now clear to him. The path that stretched towards the western city of Osaka now fully visible, trees having long since burst through the blackened earth, reducing the road to barely anything more than rubble, only one path clear, the stark white line down the center holding fast, even as time passed.

Generally speaking, it was rather ill advised to take directions from a stranger one met at a crossroads. But the scent of a case was tantalizing- as was the promise that it may very well lead him to the one he sought, the childhood friend that had been lost to him so many years ago.

Taking a step forward through the fog, Kudo Shinichi began his journey west.