Hi I'm back. What's it been half a year, more, less? Well who cares I'm back thats all that matters right?

Warnings: same as they were before, but none this chapter.

I DO NOT OWN DETECTIVE CONAN

To say the owners and the only employees of the new store were bored would be an understatement. They were bored to death, actually they were bored past death. They were dead and stiff at the counter and the store was the same.

They had had two people walk in, both female and in their late thirties when the female owner/employee bounced over. She was far too perky, overzealous, and seemed to have consumed too much caffeine for the two women to handle. So when she turned her back to get the male owner/employee, they ran for their lives.

When she had turned to address the customers, they were gone. She frowned while her coworker shook his head and sighed. "You have to calm down," he said.

"But they were our first customers since we opened," she whined.

"Calm. Down. Now come over here and wait with me." She huffed and went to go lean behind the counter with her coworker.

And so they had been like that for two hours. The woman was starting to get restless and jittery while her coworker was starting to get worried she'd lose what little control she had and would run around the store in boredom looking for something to do.

And that's when Heiji and Kazuha walked in. Just as the woman was about to jump over the counter, for her coworker was very certain she would, he placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a look that they both knew meant 'stay here'. Her shoulders fell and she stuck her tongue out at him. He didn't mind her childish antics and instead smiled a small victory smile over the fact that he had won the battle of who would greet the new customers.

He stepped out from behind the counter and approached Heiji and Kazuha. He made it half way when something hit his head. He turned around to see his coworker looking off to the side, a pout on her lips, as if she hadn't done anything. He looked down to see a small bath loofa on the floor. He picked it up and proceeded on his way over to the newest customers, keeping the loofa behind his back.

"Hello," he said, his Japanese laced heavy with an American accent, "Welcome to Originality, the original clothing store. We sell, make, and tailor clothes according to our customers' needs. We also have the best customer service you could ever ask for." He let out a small sigh before saying in a louder voice in English so his coworker could hear without having to turn towards her, "Anna please refrain from throwing the pumice stone at me." He turned his head around to look at his coworker, now known as Anna, along with Heiji and Kazuha's curious gazes only to see her wielding a bath brush. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Shows what you know," she said, also in English, crossing her arms as she held the brush, "It's a bath brush." She turned her face away from her coworker, nose in the air, as if she was mad at him for getting her next choice of weapon wrong. This caused his other eyebrow to rise. A few seconds passed before she sighed. "I couldn't find a pumice stone," she said in softer voice.

Heiji raised an eyebrow at the conversation, having understood every word. He then looked at Kazuha who looked like the semi private conversation was half understood and half lost on her. Heiji realized it probably was, considering her English grades weren't the best in the class. He decided not to translate.

The man rolled his eyes at his coworker's childishness before turning back with a calming smile and pressed his fingers of his right hand against his chest. "Hello, I'm Ethan and the child behind the counter is Anna," he said with a small gesture the same hand to indicate the woman behind the counter. She lifted her hand in a gesture of greeting before dropping it and glaring at her coworker.

He offered Kazuha his arm. "Shall we?" he asked with a charming smile.

"No that's alright we're really just looking," Kazuha declined as nicely as possible.

"I insist, besides," Ethan lowered his voice and moved in a little as if to avoid other people from hearing him, "I need to get out from behind the counter she's driving me crazy."

"Um, O.K. then," Kazuha said as she slipped her arm through his.

Ethan took them farther into the store and as they passed the counter he threw the loofa that he was holding back at Anna who was hit in the head by it. Heiji, who was following behind Ethan and Kazuha, watched the whole exchange go on while Kazuha remained in the dark about the whole thing. He raised an eyebrow at the employees' antics and when Anna noticed she hid the loofa behind her back and gave him a smile that one would usually give when they were caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Ethan talked with Kazuha about what the store sold and what he recommended would look good on her and even though Kazuha kept protesting that she and Heiji would be fine on their own Ethan only brushed off her protests insisting that he knew what he was doing and that he would go insane if he had to deal with the woman behind the counter.

Kazuha sighed and just let the man do what he wanted. Heiji was slightly glad he wasn't going to be the one asked how Kazuha looked after she tried on each outfit. He hoped at least he still wouldn't be asked.

Ethan led them to the woman's changing rooms. Outside were small, white, cushioned, double-sided benches. "You can rest here if you'd like," Ethan offered Heiji as he gestured to the benches.

Heiji considered it. Leave Kazuha alone in a store with a stranger, follow the two around while they looked through an unknown amount of clothes being asked his opinion, or lie down on one of the benches and maybe catch a, hopefully, short nap. It was settled. "Have fun Kazuha," he said as he plopped down on one of the benches. He removed his shoes before lying down and bending his knees to put his feet on the bench. "Scream if ya need me," he said as he covered his eyes with his left arm.

Kazuha gapped at Heiji's statement. 'How could he be so, so infuriatin'… leavin' me with a complete stranger,' Kazuha thought.

Ethan on the other hand had different thoughts going through his head, mostly thoughts about young love. "Shall we go then?" he asked as he waved his free hand down an aisle.

Kazuha looked back at the relaxing Heiji once before huffing and then dragging Ethan down the aisle.

Alright like I said I'm back with a short chapter. It was either make it nice and long (and make everyone wait a year or longer) or split it in two (or more) and get up a chapter now. So, yeah short and sweet it is. Its dusty and I still haven't gotten all the dust off.

Alright time for thanks: thanks to the readers who have been waiting for a very long time, thanks to the subscribers, thanks to the alerters, and, drum roll please, Yuuki-Neechan, Lily, Rose Blood Cat, Helen Star, AkemiXchan, Katara Falcon, Crystal Nephesia Hawklaw, PokerFace312, DetectiveLinky, Bright Misdreavus, Haru Inuzuka, and Black Phantom 1412. Special thanks to them for sticking with me even though I'm always late with my updates.

Next chapter they finish shopping and Heiji gets something to eat.

Posted 3/28/11