Disclaimer: I don't own Detective Conan but I do own my characters.
Ok, just saying but you might see some familiar names from different animes. Don't blame me! It gets really boring just sitting here typing.
(^U^)(^U^)(^U^)
"Can you? Arigato gozamasu!" Shizuka hung up the phone. "Well it looks my old buddy can help pick the locks."
"Really!" Kazuha squealed "this is great! When is he going to get here?"
Shizuka turned a bit bleak "U-Uh you see…"
"Well Obaa-san can you get us unchained or not!?" yelled Heiji
She sent daggers that made Heiji back off a few feet and hide behind Kazuha. She sighed. "He's not going to get here till later."
"What?!" Kazuha exclaimed
"Fine by me" Heiji shrugged coming out of his hiding place
"No way am I going to last till sundown with this guy!" she pointed to the angry little Osakan midget.
"Why you!"
"Yea!"
"Aho!"
"Baka!"
*ding-dong* the front door rang
"At least I'm not a crybaby!"
"Who said I was a crybaby?!"
"Your mom!"
"Kaa-san!" He turned to his mother, but nobody was there
Realization stuck them both and they ran to the front door.
"Is he here?! Exclaimed the both at the same time out of breath
"Oi Hattori." A young boy said. A skinny boy a bit older than the other two with spiky brown hair and blue eyes waited at the door step.
"Ah Ryuzaki." Heiji said "Why are you here?"
"Hattori-kun, I need help finding my cat."
"What" he deadpanned "is that all? Can you not see the predicament I'm in?" raising his chained right hand
"Well I guess your reputation of being a detective is false then…"
"Wait! I'll take the case." Then added something under his breath "bastard"
"Oi Heiji, who is that?" Kazuha asked
"Him? He's Ryuzaki Koga an idiot who's in my kendo class. My sempai by 2 years."
"You got that right kid." He said smiling like an idiot ruffling Heiji's hair. "But this kid's pretty skilled in holding a shinna.
'Oi, oi'
Kazuha was amazed. "You're gonna help him right Heiji?
"Uh yea sure." Heiji stuttered "Okaa-san we'll be out for a while. I promise to come back safe and sound." His mom glared a bit, then he added "w-with Kazuha of course."
Shizuka clapped her hands "Alright be safe minna!"
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"Ne Koga-kun, how long have you known Heiji?" asked Kazuha trudging behind the two boys as they walked.
Koga put his hands behind his head "Well it's been a while."
~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~*
"Yi-ponn! Hattori-san!" the referee raised the red flag for Heiji.
The two kendo swordsmen fought again. Each following each other's movements, finding each other's weak spot, the opportunity to strike.
"Haaaa!" Heiji had struck Kote-buu (wrist protector)
The enemy fell to the floor in pain and Heiji was declared the winner.
The gym was nearly empty now, but Koga was still wincing in pain. 'How could I lose to such a brat?' he scowled
"Here." Koga looked up to see Heiji passing him an ice pack "If you place it on your wrist, I'm sure it'll heal faster."
He didn't accept the ice. "W-Why are you so nice to me? All I want to do is fight you."
"Well, I have two reasons. The first one is that I want to battle you again. You are very skilled and I would love to challenge someone like you. The second reason is because we're friends." He smiled
Koga smiled back
~~~ END OF FLASHBACK~~~
"So you guys just became friends? Just like that?" Kazuha asked
"Yea" the two boys answered in unison
"So what's your story neechan? Koga asked
"Oh I just met Heiji today."
"And you guys are handcuffed why?" Koga asked curiously poking at the chains
"It's Heiji's fault." Announced Kazuha brashly
"What?!" Heiji exclaimed "You just place all the blame on me?!"
"Pretty much" Koga chuckled ruffling Heiji's hair
"Shut up." Heiji grumbled "So what does your cat look like and where was the last place you saw it?"
Koga remember the whole reason he went to Heiji in the first place. "That's right!" his finger snapped
'Oi oi, isn't this the whole reason you dragged me out?' Heiji thought
(^U^)(^U^)(^U^)
"Well here's my cat." Koga pulled out a picture of a white Siberian cat lying in his bed.
"Kawaii~" Kazuha awed
"This is Shima, I've had her for 3 years already and she's pregnant currently. I last saw her yesterday before we went to the movies."
"Did you leave her food and water before you left?" Heiji asked
"Of course! I'm not some heartless person!"
"Does she have any places she likes to go and has she ever wandered like this before?"
Koga shook his head. "This is the first time Shima left, but I know she likes strawberries."
"What about locking? Do you guys have a cat door or something of the sort?"
"We don't have a cat door. As for locking, we would always lock up before we leave."
Heiji pondered his hand on his chin. Seriousness in his face
"Just like a real detective" Kazuha stared
'Cat…strawberries…neighbors…locks…Siberian' Heiji snapped back into reality. "Do you have any suspicious neighbors?"
"Y-Yea Mrs. Namiko, Mr. Yasashiku and Kimi-obaachan."
"Please explain them."
"Sure. Mrs. Namiko is a widow, her husband left and she has a sick 5 year child named Toya in the hospital. Occasionally me and my family would visit her and help her with the cleaning since she has two jobs to pay for her son's hospital bill. I wouldn't really call her a suspicious neighbor though. She lives to the right of my house."
"Poor woman" Kazuha said
"Mr. Yasashiku is a polite business man, I've seen him once or twice when he works with my father and he seems to get along with Shima because every time he comes over, Shima goes to him. I think he lives in the apartment complex nearby"
"That guy is suspicious!" Interrupted Kazuha once more
Heiji shot a glare "Please shut up, please" he begged
Her face pinched up 'Stingy'
"Lastly there is Kimi-obaachan. She would always complain about how we don't use 'proper' care for Shima, like using expensive soap for her fur and everything. She lives in the house across from me and has a bunch of cats."
"Thank you, with that I've cracked the case behind your cat's disappearance and I have a feeling that this is more than a simple runaway case." He smirked. "C'mon let's go to your house Ryuzaki."
"What do you mean more than a runaway case Heiji? Koga-kun's cat, Shima didn't run away?" Kazuha asked as they were running.
"Just wait!" Heiji smiled as they ran, eyes full of confidence "My deduction should be right is that is there."
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They arrived at the 2 storied house. All of them out of breath but all determined to finally find out the truth. Heiji rushed to the front door dragging Kazuha and followed by Koga.
Kazuha stepped to the side as Heiji leaned over to observe to keyhole which had tiny scratch marks around it.
"I'm home!" Koga yelled into his house
A reply came almost instantly "Welcome home Nii-chan, did you find Shima yet?"
Everybody looked at the young 5 year old boy in the door step. He was wearing a blue sweater and short pants with his hair lying in from of his eyes obscuring the wide eyed hopeful eyes.
"Sorry Sota, I didn't find her yet." Koga said sadly
"Oh…" the young boy replied sadly
"Don't worry!" Kazuha smiled, cheering up the kid "I know Heiji is going to solve this case no time!"
"In fact I already found the truth." Heiji smirked, looking away from the keyhole. "Why don't we greet this kidnapper or should I say cat-napper.
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They all walked slowly on the sidewalk, everybody following Heiji. The air was intense and quiet. The group stopped at the blue house to the right, with the name plate that said Tomo.
"Eh? This is…" said Sota
"Namiko-obaasan's house" Koga finished "What are we doing here Hattori-kun?"
"Don't tell me!" Kazuha yelled in slight disbelief
Heiji walked over to the front door in complete silence, ignoring the cries of his friends.
"Hey!" Koga grabbed his shoulder "You don't think!"
He replied back with calm eyes "I do."
"What about proof?! You can't just go accusing an innocent woman for kidnapping!"
"I do have proof, here's my deduction. Last night when you and your family left for the movies Tomo Namiko-san snuck into your house. By picking the lock with a bobby pin or something of the sort she gained access in. the proof I have of lock picking is that there were tiny scratch marks by the key lock."
"Wait Heiji!" Kazuha said "That's not enough either 3 of them could have done that."
Koga agreed "What makes her so suspicious? What about Mr. Yasashiku and Kimi-obaachan?"
"The motive." Heiji replied firmly
"Huh?" Koga and Kazuha said in unison "What do you mean by that?"
Heiji blinked a bit amazed at the fact that they spoke at the same time, twice! Never more he cleared his throat and continued with his deduction. "Their motive. Mr. Yasashiku doesn't have a motive based off what you said. He probably just likes cats or he doesn't have a pet. No reason for him to kidnap your cat. Kimi-obaachan doesn't have a motive either. Since she has other cats, she probably is just worried about your cat's health. Lastly we have Namiko-san. You said that her only son is in the hospital and she works 2 jobs, it's obvious that it wouldn't be enough money though. You also mentioned that your cat is a Siberian. Those are rather rare in Japan; I deduce that she stole your cat for the money."
They all looked at him in complete shock. "That can't be true!" Sota cried "Namiko-obaasan is so nice and caring though!"
"I don't want to believe it either." Koga said, turning his head to the ground. "I'm sorry Hattori-kun, but I refuse to believe it. No way she would kidnap my cat!"
Heiji rang the doorbell. "We'll see if that's true."
No answer came to the door. He tried again but to no avail. Finally he tried opening the door. "Ah le le. It's open."
"Wait! Heiji!" Kazuha tried to stop him, but was eventually dragged in with him. "Pardon the intrusion" she whispered, not wanting to be rude. The other 2 boys followed in behind the two.
The gang walked down the hall quietly. I mean you're in someone else's house uninvited, who would want to get caught? The only sounds that could be heard was the occasional squeak of the wood covered ground. They passed multiple photos of a happy family together smiling.
"They seem happy." Kazuha said.
"SHIMA!" Sota yelled in excitement as he stopped his white fluffy cat. He immediately ran towards her and began cuddling. Shima licked Sota on the cheek and he would burst out in giggles. "I'm so glad I found you Shima."
Koga was overwhelmed with joy that his cat was found but also realized that since the cat was found in that person's house, it meant she was really the kidnapper. He walked over to Heiji, who was in thought, and his right hand which was being dragged by Kazuha admiring the cat. "I'm sorry for not trusting you Hattori-kun. I guess it was hard to believe that such a nice woman like her would kidnap my cat."
Heiji was in deep thought, with one question. Where is the culprit? 'I know that this is her house, but she's not anywhere to be found.' A thought came to mind, a very scary thought. He ran to the nearest restroom dragging Kazuha along with him.
"Heiji! Where are we going Heiji?!" she said trying to pace along with him.
He didn't reply and arrived at the bathroom they had earlier seen. Rushing, he forcefully opened the door to a clean and clear restroom.
Koga and Sota caught up. "Quick! Tell me where the other bathrooms are!" Heiji yelled at the two
"There's one upstairs in her room." Koga replied in doubt of what Heiji was doing. "Why?"
"Maybe he needs to use that bathroom." Kazuha shrugged running along with Heiji up the stairs.
The other two boys followed behind then "but there was one right there." Sota said
"It's not that aho!" Heiji said out of breath but still running. "I'm worried that tat woman would be feeling guilty!"
They all ran to the bathroom, and what they saw truly scared all of them. There she was a middle aged woman, her head lying on the brim of the bathtub and her left arm in the water. The water wasn't normal either. It was hot and overfilling not to mention red with something horribly gross.
Kazuha gasped and screamed at the sight. Heiji immediately told Koga to take the younger boy away and call the cops and ambulance. The other two left hurriedly.
"I-Is she?" Kazuha asked shakily
The two walked towards the woman avoiding the large puddles of hot water. Heiji in the lead and Kazuha hiding behind his back.
Heiji reached out his right hand which was connected to Kazuha's left hand. "No I don't want to!"
"C'mon. Don't worry I'll be right here."
She nodded and continued together with Heiji. Together they touched the woman's neck to find a pulse. It was there but weak. 'She's only unconscious.'
"Alright." Heiji said full of hope. "It's up to us to save this woman's life."
Together they lifted the woman's arm out of the water and preformed first aid. They first found a tall bottle of hairspray and a towel. Heiji wrapped the towel over her upper arm using the hairspray to bind it tight. Kazuha tried her best to help to by turning off the water and unplugging the drain so most of the water would leave.
"This should stop the bleeding but we still need to get her to the hospital." Said Heiji
"Don't worry they're already on their way." Koga walked up to the door, little Sota behind him
The youngest boy slowly approached the older woman who was resting against the sink cabinet. "Namiko-oneesan?"
"It's fine Sota-kun, she'd just sleeping." Said Kazuha in a motherly tone
"Why? Why would Namiko-oneesan do all this?"
The older kids looked at each other for the answer. "Humans are imperfect. Sometimes they tend to forget about the little things to protect the ones they care for."
The woman shifted slightly. One eye cracked open revealing the violet-blue color. The other eye followed. The first thing she saw was 4 kids in front of her. She tried to move but found it hard to move her left arm. Observing a little bit more, she found she was in her bathroom surrounded by murky red water.
"Are you ok?" asked the little girl in the yellow sundress.
The older woman replied with a nod. "I'm fine. Thank you for asking."
Sota was in tears now. "N-Namiko-oneesan you're alright!" He leapt into her arms.
"Y-Yes I'm ok Sota-kun." She wiped away the tears like a mother would.
"I was so worried for you when I saw you in the dirty water." He smiled
Suddenly the woman burst into tears. She held Sota closer. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't do anymore for you Toya!"
A little later the ambulance and police came. They took Namiko in and got the testimony of the 4 children.
"Is she going to be alright in there?" Kazuha asked
"Don't be stupid. She's a tough woman; after all she worked 2 jobs for a long time. And if she truly regrets what she's done, I'm sure she'll be just fine." Heiji smiled
The young detective and his chained accomplice said their goodbyes to their new friends as they started on their journey back home.
"I think you were really cool back there." Kazuha said a bit shy.
It caught his attention and he turned to face the girl. There was a very long awkward silence as they slowly walked.
"H-Hey Kazuha." Heiji stammered blushing a bit.
She faced him and turned pink herself "Yea?"
"Do- Do you want to be my follower?"
"Sure, but what's a follower?" she tilted her head in confusion
"Well. You would accompany me and help me on stuff… Like today. You were pretty helpful finding clues and other stuff…"
"I accept!" she yelled in joy, squealing.
"That means you won't look at anybody else and be with me through everything understand?" he said in deep seriousness
She stuck out her pinky. "It's a promise." They shook on it.
"Ok, so anyway we got the chains off soon after we got home and I left. How's that for a story?" Kazuha finished.
She looked to her peers and deadpanned. They were all sleeping! She sighed and placed a blanket over everybody.
Stopping by Heiji, she smiled. 'I promise.'
Note: YES a flashback can happen within a flashback
Phew! That was long, 11 pages. SO proud of myself for writing a mystery. Well hope you enjoyed it and I hope I didn't OOC any of them.
Please PM me if you have any idea how to continue this cause I'm all out of ideas XD
