The next day was just as Heiji had predicted it would be, long. The day was not without its fun and enjoyment but it was definitely an arduous day. Ran and Conan came from Tokyo to spend the day with them, sending Kogoro's regards. He was apparently 'busy' so he had elected to stay in Tokyo. The three and half teenagers spent their day sightseeing, trying to visit as many Osaka landmarks as possible. They first visited Osaka Castle, then the recently completed Police Precinct followed by an amusement park that Kazuha recommended. Despite Heiji instinctive opposition to the idea, he kept quiet for Kazuha's sake. By the time they were done at the amusement park it was nearing sunset and they hadn't eaten since breakfast. Thanks to much prodding from Heiji they elected to eat at the okonamiyaki restaurant Heiji had recommended in the past.

"Conan-kun you're gonna love this okonamiyaki! It's the best in Osaka!" Kazuha said enthusiastically

"More like the best in Japan!" Heiji yelled, thoroughly overshadowing Kazuha's excitement

"Hattori-kun isn't that a little…well, dramatic?" Ran said hesitantly, not wanting to push him into any more high volume ranting

"Not at all Ran-chan, he's completely right" Kazuha insisted, earning her a grateful glance from the tan detective seated next to her. 'This is not normal at all' Ran and Conan thought, unknowingly in unison 'they never agree, ever.'

"Ran-neechan, I need to use the bathroom!" Conan said cheerfully, having learned to very effectively masque his adult intellect with childish mannerisms

"Okay Conan-kun, but don't take to long, the okonamiyaki should be ready soon"

"Hai!" And with that, he walked off happily to the bathroom. Once he entered, however, his face became suspicious and deathly serious "I have to figure what's going with Hattori and Toyama-chan, they're acting very strange." After confirming his own intentions audibly, he reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He clicked one of the speed dials on it and lifted the phone to his ear. Meanwhile, back at the table where Ran, Heiji and Kazuha were talking, Ran had become uncomfortable with the vibe her two friends were emitting. This wasn't the usually repressed love/romantic tension that Ran had become so familiar with. This was something completely different; this was more like a mutual affection. As she continued to ponder the change in their relationship dynamic, Heiji phone began to ring. He looked and looked at the caller I.D mystified

"Kudo?" Ran's thought was suddenly broken when she heard the name

"What?" The relationship between her two friends quickly fell to the way side as her own personal life was brought up. "Shinichi called you? He hasn't called me in two weeks! Let me see the phone!" Heiji quickly jumped out of his seat and out of range of Ran's hands

"Sorry I gotta take this, I'll remind him to call you" he smiled fearfully as Ran's fist struck the table angrily, shaking the drinks they had placed on it along with the floor beneath it. Heiji put the phone up to his ear and walked outside the restaurant "What's this about Kudo? Are you calling me from the bathroom?"

"Oh no, Hattori, I'm asking the questions. What happened between you and Kazuha?" Conan was now curled up on a toilet in one of the stalls. His knees were pressed to his chin and his eyes were focused on the view of the door he had from his position.

"W-What are you talking about Kudo?" Heiji's voiced was shaky and obviously insincere

"You think you can fool me? You as a detective should realize how obvious you two are. Now, tell me what's going on."

"Okay look it's not a nig deal, we may have…kissed. But only once or twice so it's nothing to get all excited about" Conan sat red faced, mouth agape in disbelief

"So…so you're….going o-out now?"

"Somethin like that. Yeah, I guess we are" Heiji was amazed by how comfortable he felt saying the words. Conan was left completely speechless, no retort, no congratulations, just silence. After a few moments of just breathing noises being heard from both sides, Heiji finally elected to end the conversation "Well, if that's all I'm gonna return to the table, the food's probably cold now thanks to you." With that he abruptly hung up the phone. When Heiji returned to his seat, the girls had of course continued to chat, even despite the fact that the food had already arrived

"So" Ran said, with a sinister grin "What did that jerk want?" Her eyes were fierce and her fists were clenched under the table. Needless to say, Heiji was uncomfortable

"Ran-chan" Kazuha said smiling reassuringly "It was most likely something boring about that case he's working on. Don't worry about it, if it was a personal call he would have called you" Ran's relaxed her fists and took to eating her okonamiyaki. Heiji gave a relieved sigh and for the second time in the last ten minutes gave his girlfriend a grateful glance. Kazuha smiled back and continued to eat. Meanwhile, still curled up on a toilet seat, Conan stared blankly at the door to the stall in front of him. He was greatly perturbed by the development in his friend's life. 'I'm happy for Hattori, really, but it really is unfair. Ran and I are forced to continue on being miserable while they get to spend all the time they want together.' He pulled his body in tighter, trying to release some of the anger he felt. 'I hate this. I hate this body, I hate everything that's happened to me and I hate that Ran has to cry over me. Every night I watch her, staring out that damn window praying silently to herself as if no one's watching. I'm always watching Ran, you have to believe me, I'm always watching'. With that thought, he took a deep breath and hopped down from where he had been sitting. He tried his best to manufacture a smile, but as soon as he exited the bathroom and saw Ran beaming happily as she talked to their two friends, he felt his inside's burn with guilt and envy. He walked slowly toward the table and sat down. He could hear Heiji and Ran ask him what had taken him so long, but he ignored them. He simply started eating his okonamiyaki. It tasted like dirt, but he knew it had nothing to do with the food. After another twenty minutes, they exited the restaurant and walked toward the bus stop. The sun had just about disappeared by this time and the sunset cast a brilliant shade of orange on the city.

"Oi Kazuha, stay here with 'neechan, I forgot something at the restaurant and I'm taking the runt to help me find it" She nodded and Heiji firmly yanked Conan by the arm and began to walk back toward the restaurant. "Okay Kudo, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Conan turned confusedly, having just recently become aware that they had left the bus stop

"You heard me, you've been hardly conscious since you came out of the bathroom at that restaurant. What's wrong with you?" His tone was hardly considerate, if anything it sounded irritated

"I…I don't know I'm just tired I guess" he could barely formulate a sentence without trailing off and losing his train of thought

"Weren't you the one that told me something like 'As a detective you should realize how obvious you are'?" Conan processed the comment momentarily before averting his eyes away from Heiji and lowering his head

"Hattori" his voice was now harshly serious "Do you think it's fair?" Heiji looked down at the child in bewilderment. He couldn't muster a response, and instead just kept quiet. After a minute or so of this awkward silence, Conan finally continued "that you and Kazuha are together while Ran and I are forced to remain separated?" The grave tone Conan had adapted only became darker as he continued to speak. Heiji was stunned and stopped walking, visibly befuddled.

"Kudo…." was the only word he could push out of his mouth. Conan walked forward a few more steps and then turned halfway around so only his head was facing the detective

"It's not your fault Hattori, it just….when I see you two together and happy it reminds me of better times. And it also reminds me of just how miserable I am." He turned back around and ducked his head down. They both just stood there, in the middle of an empty sidewalk, completely silent. Heiji at this point had almost fallen to his knees, feeling his weight collapsing on top of him.

"Kudo, there's something you need to know" his voice strained. Conan turned around once again, sensing the pain in his voice. When Conan had turned all the way around, Heiji lifted his head up and stared him in the eyes "Kazuha's leaving".

Meanwhile, back at the bus stop, Kazuha and Ran had fallen into silence after Kazuha made an awkward joke about how desperate Ran was to see her 'beloved knight' again. Ran grinned devilishly as she reared her head back toward Kazuha. Kazuha noticed the look on her face immediately

"W-What?" she asked apprehensively. Ran looked away, maintaining the still evident smirk on her face

"You and Heiji…." She said teasingly, tempting Kazuha to finish her thought

"Its not what you think!" Kazuha screamed involuntarily. After she screamed she covered her mouth shamefully

"Kazuha you liar!" Ran yelled back insistently. Kazuha fidgeted her fingers nervously while trying to formulate a response. After some intense thought, she finally released a heavy sigh

"You caught me"

"Oh Kazuha-chan I'm so excited for you! You must be happy right?" Kazuha tried valiantly to produce a smile, but fell to her knees and found herself crying instead.

"It's so unfair!" she screamed, holding her face in her hands. Ran wrapped her arms around her friend and comforted her as best she could.

"Kazuha, what, what's not fair?" Kazuha sniffled a few times before looking up at her friend

"Ran, my dad is moving us to America. We leave tomorrow. He wants me to go to college there too. Ran I don't know what to do, Heiji and I are so happy with each other now and I'm leaving." Ran looked down lovingly at her distraught friend, knowing the situation all too well.

"Kazuha, I've only seen Shinichi a few times in the last year and a half. It hurts, but I'm alive aren't I? You'll be fine as well. As long as you talk often and hold him in your heart you feelings for him won't diminish." Ran smiled softly as Kazuha's tears began to dissipate.

"You're right Ran-chan." She half-smiled before dipping her head back down "It's still hard though". Ran rubbed her back lightly and lifted her from where she had been kneeling

"It is, but if he's worth it you'll be okay" They shared a moment of peaceful silence before changing the subject and moving on from the whole episode.

Meanwhile, Heiji and Conan were walking back toward the girls, having not said a word since Heiji's very unfortunate news.

"So Kudo" Heiji muttered uncomfortably "what's it like, ya know, to wait for someone you l-l-love" he still had a hard time with that word. Conan gave the question some thought and then responded simply

"It's awful." Heiji frowned at the lack of positive support "I'm sorry, Hattori, I'd be lying if I told you otherwise" They continued to walk in silence after that. As they came closer to the bus stop, Heiji saw Kazuha and began to grimace. He was happy to see her, but those thoughts were far outweighed by the stomach-turning despair he could already feel. She hadn't even left yet and the thought was already killing him. As they got closer, Conan whispered something nonchalantly to him as he ran off toward Ran

"But it makes you appreciate every moment you have with her even more" With no time to respond, Heiji just smiled and kept walking, allowing Kazuha time to notice him coming and smile, blushing a little at the look he gave her back. Before he got to her, he could already see Conan hugging Ran tightly and Ran staring at him puzzled. When he finally reached Kazuha, the sun was shining behind her, bathing her in golden/orange light. He took her by the shoulders for a moment, appreciating how stunning she looked in the moment before leaning in and kissing her. She was shaken at first, embarrassed by the fact that her friend and a little kid were watching, but quickly accepted his kiss despite them. They kissed for a while, leaving Ran and Conan to watch silently and enviously.

Once the bus came, they all boarded and carried on genially throughout the ride. When the bus stopped in front of the train station, Heiji and Kazuha bid their friends goodbye and Ran demanded a call the second Kazuha landed in the U.S. After they were gone, Kazuha leaned on Heiji shoulder and fell asleep. They remained that way until the bus pulled up at their stop. He delicately jarred her to consciousness and they exited the vehicle. They held hands and walked toward her house. Once they arrived, they took an extensive lapse of time to say goodbye. It was a goodbye filled with hugs, kisses, tears, stares and pain. Once they had finally completed what they considered a satisfying goodbye, they parted ways and Heiji made his way home. Both Heiji and Kazuha wrestled with the idea of calling one another throughout the remainder of the night but both came to the conclusion that it was best to leave things as they were. They would talk the next day anyway and they were both already emotionally worn out. The following morning, Heiji found him self awake at an unorthodox hour, having awoken from a nightmare. With no urge or will to return to sleep, he simply readied himself for the day and took a seat in front of his house, awaiting the sunrise. And so we arrive at the present.