I DO NOT OWN DETECTIVE CONAN
Warnings: same as they were before, but none this chapter.
The bus took awhile to arrive, allowing Kazuha to tell Heiji about the store she was dragging him to. Apparently the store was new and they were going to the grand opening. Heiji only half listened as Kazuha rambled on, his mind going back to the attack that he just couldn't comprehend.
It was annoying him that this was a mystery he couldn't solve, but he just didn't have enough information to figure out what was going on. It wasn't a murder that he could solve, or at least he hoped it wasn't a murder because then it would be his murder and that would just be weird because he wasn't dead. Murders were easier to solve then this. Murderers had motive, opportunity, and incentive. All of which Heiji did not know, except maybe opportunity.
"Ahou!" Kazuha yelled right into Heiji's ear causing him to almost fall off the bench they were sitting on. "Ya said ya wouldn't think 'bout any cases or anythin' involvin' a case for one day, and here ya are thinkin' 'bout a case," she yelled at him. No one was around so she didn't see why she should keep her voice down and besides she had a point to make.
"A-a-ahou, I wasn't thinkin' 'bout a case," he tried to argue, but it came out small and scared.
She gave him a deadpan stare for a few seconds. "You're a terrible liar," she said as the bus hissed to a stop.
They got on and found out the bus was crowded. Not overly crowded but it was hard to find two seats together. Some people were standing even though there were a few empty seats. They paid the fee for the bus and walked down the center to an empty seat. Kazuha found one in the middle of the bus and Heiji grabbed the straps above the seat and leaned over Kazuha.
To keep his mind from drifting to the alley the night before and since Kazuha was talking about the store and what she had heard about it he decided to observe the people around him. Never know when observing someone could come in handy, as a distraction or for a murder investigation.
The bus started off with a jerk sending its occupants swaying. Near the front there was a man in a suit, tie, and glasses. He was standing and reading a newspaper. There was no open seat near him but there was one farther back, so he thought it was because the man's stop was close. He had an irritated look on his face and he didn't look like he was concentrating on what he was reading. Heiji figured he was probably going into work and considering the time of day, he was probably going in to fix something that wasn't done right and needed fixing, on his off hours. Probably a well paying job too, considering the fine quality of his suit.
Closer to them was a middle age, heavy-set woman with two kids who wouldn't sit still. She had a brown bag on her lap probably filled with groceries. She looked exhausted and just about ready to lose it with the next person to bother her, who would most likely be her kids.
After finding all the interesting people in the front of the bus, everyone else having nothing that would make them stand out, Heiji turned towards the back of the bus.
About three-fourths into the bus was a young man and woman, both in their early to mid twenties. They were on the opposite side of the bus. They were in the same positions as Heiji and Kazuha, the guy standing while leaning over the girl while she talked.
The girl was wearing a pink, knee length skirt, a white blouse with a pink jacket over it, pink high heels, and a wide pink headband holding back long, golden-blond, wavy hair. She had blue eyes that twinkled with happiness, pale pink lips and white teeth that were revealed when she smiled or talked. Heiji guessed that with her pale complexion and facial features she was a foreigner, probably of a western decent. She was beautiful, like the girl who plays the mean popular girl in movies, but she seemed less of a bitch then the role those girls played.
Her face wasn't the only thing that was attractive either. Heiji's eyes slid to the tips of her pointed toe, four inch spike, feet-killing shoes up the shaved athletic legs of a runner. Heiji's eyes slid farther up her body over nice hips and a lean stomach that was neither too thin nor or too muscled. His eyes slid farther up to a chest that wasn't too big or too flat and accented nicely without popping out of the young woman's top. Not that the top would let it, the top just dipped under her collar bone.
Heiji's eyes slid over to the girl's companion. Again, Heiji guessed he was also a foreigner of a western descent because of facial his features. He was lightly tanned. He had short, messy, dark hair and dark eyes and he was about Heiji's height. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. From what he could see the guy wasn't overly muscled, but also not scrawny and thin. He wore a black leather jacket that looked like to was well taken care of, a white T-shirt, and black jeans.
At that moment the guy looked down the aisle towards the front of the bus and spotted Heiji staring. He blinked once before he smiled and raised his right hand in greeting. Heiji blinked at being caught, but before he could wave back he watched as the guy's gaze turned towards his companion. Heiji's gaze followed his and noticed that the girl had grabbed onto the guy's jacket and was looking at, as if she was asking a silent question. Without moving his lips the guy pointed towards Heiji and the girl's gaze caught Heiji's gaze. Like her companion, she smiled and raised her right hand in greeting. Heiji did the only thing he could at being caught staring, he waved back.
Heiji watched as the guy placed his right hand on the girl's left shoulder. She turned away from Heiji and watched as her companion pulled the rope to signal that they had to get off. The girl nodded and collected her handbag that was pink, matched her outfit, and had been placed out of Heiji's line of sight.
The bus stopped, sending all the occupants swaying and holding on to the supports and their belongings. Heiji turned back to Kazuha and scooted out the way of the couple as they made their way off the bus. Heiji noticed as the bus took off again that Kazuha either wasn't aware of what he had been doing or wasn't going to admit that she knew what he had been doing. She just rifled through her purse looking for something.
After a half hour more of the bus ride Kazuha said that their stop was next. As they stepped out of the bus Heiji noticed that the temperature had risen and the humidity was making the temperature even hotter and more unbearable. Heiji groaned at the unbearable weather conditions.
"I told ya didn't need a jacket," Kazuha said.
"Shut up," Heiji muttered, "Where is this place anyway?"
"Its not very far from here."
Heiji groaned again as they walked towards this mystery store of Kazuha's. Even though it was hot and humid, Heiji tried to shrink into his coat. For some reason the sun had starting irritating his skin again and it was annoying him to no end. "How far?" he whined.
Kazuha glared at him. "Ahou, stop buggin' me," she nearly shouted.
"Ahou," he muttered. Sure, he did promise that he would spend the day with Kazuha with no mysteries and no murders, but he really didn't want to spend all that time shopping. He grumbled again at the feeling on his skin. Well, getting out of the sun wouldn't be so bad if it stopped the skin irritation. He was desperately trying not to fidget to get rid of the irritation.
After a short walk, no more then ten minutes at the most from the bus stop, Heiji and Kazuha made it to the mall the store, or 'the store of evil and horrors' as Heiji thought to call it, was presiding in. As they entered the skin irritation disappeared and Heiji's mood lifted from annoyed to being tolerable at being dragged around shopping.
As the irritation disappeared and Heiji's mood lifted his stomach growled. Kazuha glared at him as he looked away sheepishly. "I didn't eat this mornin'," he explained. Kazuha shook her head, grabbed his elbow, and dragged him to the grand opening that was her original destination as Heiji complained about wanting to go to the food court to get something to eat.
Sorry this story takes so long to update, but the saying is "Better late then never." Although I don't know who said it.
Time for thanks: Thanks to the readers, to the people who reviewed (Crystal Nephesia Hawklaw, Katara Falcon, Yuuki-Neechan, AkemiXchan, Helen Star, Rose Blood Cat, and Lily)and the people who favorited and alerted this.
SORRY FOR MAKING YOU ALL WAIT!
Posted 8/6/10