AN: Welp, after some delay, the next chapter is finished! We're heading towards the end of this story, folks, so for those of you who have stuck with me thus far, I thank you- especially those of you who have left reviews along the way! I'll be sad to see this story go, but everything has it's time, and nothing can last forever.

Expect for, apparently, the actual Detective Conan manga.

Phantasmal Black

Chapter Eighteen

Aftermath

"Take care of yerself, Kudo."

Jolting awake in an instant, only dimly left wondering when he had dozed off, Shinichi found his gaze darting around the room, trying to find the source of the voice that still lingered in his mind. It took him a moment longer to realize that it was neither here nor there- but rather, the voice, with the distant sound of crashing waves accompanying it, was nothing more than a figment of the past, a vague, dream-like memory.

Of words that he never should have known.

He'd never been able to hear them, in the end- what he had once thought were Heiji's last words. They had been drowned out by the sound of the crashing waves that rocked the boat, the same waves that had spelled disaster for him. Though he had spent many an hour trying to puzzle out what they might have been, he had never been able to figure it out. It had hung over him for the longest, like a cloud of guilt.

Not only had he cost his friend his life, but he hadn't even had the decency to hear the very last thing he'd told him. What kind of friend had he been?

But with everything that had been going on recently, he had almost forgotten about them. Now that they were no longer his last words, not really, he found himself less upset for having been unable to hear them back then. In fact, this was probably the first time he found himself thinking about them since he had first met Paikaru, what nearly felt like a lifetime ago now.

It almost felt like a bad omen.

For a moment, he felt something clench within his chest, a bolt of worry shooting through him over the fact that they had returned to him now, of all times. It only lasted a moment, however- for all the needed to know that his worst fears hadn't yet come true was the steady beeping sound of the heart monitor that was keeping track of Paikaru's pulse.

No, not Paikaru. That was wrong.

He'd said so himself, after all. Though he hadn't been there to hear them himself, Kazuha had shared with them the words that he had spoken there. The declaration, meant of Merlot, but loud enough for anyone else to hear, that he wasn't Paikaru.

He was Hattori Heiji.

What that might mean, he didn't yet know. Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering that he had been shot several times, once very seriously, he'd passed out not long after he had said them. They had gotten him to the hospital in the nick of time, really- any longer, and perhaps he really would have died. While it was a risk having him here, it was a gamble that they couldn't afford not to take- his life hung in the balance, after all.

Thankfully, the doctors had claimed that his surgery had been successful, and that his life was unlikely to be in any danger. He'd escaped death by gunshot once, and it would seem that even he wasn't so unlucky that he couldn't manage the same feat again. He had been sleeping ever since then- around half a day now, if what Shinichi's phone was telling him was correct.

Half a day though, huh... He wouldn't be able to avoid the FBI and the police for much longer. For the moment, Ran had told them that he was being treated for his own wounds, in order to give him a bit of space, but that could only last for so long. Besides that, after having chased after the Organization for so long, there was no way that he could leave the arrest of it's last two members entirely up to Hakuba.

As for the arrest of it's third... no matter what kind of deal he tried to make, in the end, it would be impossible to avoid. He had to pay for his crimes, in the end. There was no way around it, nor should there be. Whatever that entailed... at the very least, he would fight to ensure that what had happened to Merlot's other pupils wouldn't happen to him.

He had narrowly avoided death twice now- so suffice to say, Shinichi wasn't about to hand him over to it a third time. The third time might be the charm, but this was no charm anyone wanted.

Hopefully before that, at the very least, he'd be able to enjoy at least the faintest taste of what he had always wanted- of freedom. He could only hope that wouldn't make the inevitable loss of it all the harder to bear.

They'd asked for a private room, for the time being, and the doctors had complied without much of a fuss. Shinichi's own face was well known across Japan, after all- but if any of them recognized the patient that they had treated as the supposedly dead Hattori Heiji, none of them said anything. It wasn't supposed to be this way- it was supposed to be the two of them, the east and the west, just like it always had been, right from the start.

Sometimes reality failed to live up to one's expectations, and in the cruelest ways at that. They could only make do with what they were given.

Nevertheless, as he twitched back the privacy curtain that hung around the hospital bed, Shinichi could only find himself smiling. It was a soft, gentle expression- though not so much as the one that currently graced Kazuha's face. She had been by his side all this time, never once letting go of his hand- not even after she had fallen asleep.

It was a peaceful scene, and one that he would hate to disturb. After everything that they had been through, they more than deserved this moment of peace.

Letting go of the curtain, Shinichi stepped back, turning on his heel. It was best if he left the two of them to each other, and return to what he had been trying to avoid all this time. He didn't know how much time they would have left together- because whatever was waiting for Heiji after this wasn't freedom. It might very well be that he would be shipped off to another country to face trail there- and indeed, might be imprisoned there as well.

Hattori Heiji was his best friend, that much was true- but in the end, he was Kazuha's childhood friend, first and foremost. Whatever little time he had left, it should be spent with her- it was only right.

He had stolen that away himself, in the end. Even if that hadn't been his intention, that didn't change the results. If he could give even a little bit of that time back, then he would do so.

"Now then," Keeping his voice at a whisper, so as to not waken the slumbering pair, Shinichi made for the door. "...let's see what I can do about this."

Ugh, not good.

Rubbing at her face a little, Kazuha let out a frustrated sigh, grateful that she had no plans to meet anyone that she wasn't already close to for the time being. The crumpled sheet that she had dozed off on had left an imprint on her face, and although she knew it would fade shortly, nevertheless, she couldn't help but be a little embarrassed by it. She couldn't even recall when it was that she had dozed off- only that she must have at some point.

Heiji still hadn't woken up, which worried her somewhat. The doctors had reassured her that it was normal for a patient to sleep for quite some time after experiencing a traumatic injury like that, which was the only thing preventing her from sinking into that worry. Still, if she had to be honest, she couldn't claim that she didn't find the sight of his sleeping face to be peaceful.

For a moment, as she gazed upon it, everything in the world nearly felt right again.

It only lasted a short while, before she found her gaze drifting down towards his left arm, a slight shudder of reality running down her spine as her eyes traced the scars that split his skin. She imagined that with time, she would grow used to the painful sight, but more than anything, it was an all too keen reminder of not only what he had been made to go through, but of what had been stolen from him.

"Ah, you woke up."

At the sound of Ran's voice, Kazuha turned her head, giving her friend a small smile. She hadn't even heard her come in, but then again, she had been so fixed on her own thoughts that she doubted she would have noticed. Someone had to have placed the blanket on her, the one that she had found sliding off her shoulders as she woke up.

"Yeah, just a bit ago." Kazuha told her, rubbing at the imprint of the sheet again, though she knew it wouldn't help any. "Where's Shinichi?"

"Work." Ran told her. "He finally decided it was about time to face up to it."

"I see." Her gaze briefly dropping from Ran's face, it found it's way once more towards Heiji's sleeping face. "I suppose it's going to be decided today, then."

"Well, they might wait until Hattori-kun wakes up to make any final decisions." Though she tired to keep her tone light, it wasn't hard to guess what Kazuha was worrying about. "Without him, we probably wouldn't have been able to capture Merlot, so I'm sure that will work in his favor."

"Yeah, I know." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "That doesn't make it any more fair."

"I suppose it doesn't." Ran admitted, pulling up a chair, taking a seat next to her. "I wish it wasn't this way either, but we can only do our best at this point. I think Hattori-kun would agree, that he shouldn't go free, after, well..."

"...everythin' he's done, ya mean?" Kazuha asked, a trace of a smile on her face, one cast in sorrow, as she turned her gaze back towards Ran. "Ya don't have ta beat around the bush with me, Ran. I was chasin' after him all this time, so I know. I know exactly what he's been made ta do, so much so that I wish I didn't."

"I just wish I'd noticed somethin' sooner." Kazuha said, her fists clenching the fabric of her skirt. "Ta think that I didn't notice that the one I was chasin' after was my own childhood friend all this time... if I had, maybe things would be better than they are now."

"It's not your fault, Kazuha." Ran was quick to reassure her, placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "We couldn't have known, none of us. Nobody could have expected this outcome. We thought... well, we thought that Hattori-kun was dead, most of us."

"But I didn't." Kazuha blurted out, frustration etching itself into her features. She had been holding this all within her heart, ever since they had first met each other again at the park, keeping it under lock and key. Now that everything was over, there was barely anything that she could do to keep it all from flowing out, all at once.

"All this time, I always thought that Heiji was alive." Kazuha told her. "I always believed that, from the very bottom of my heart. An' yet, even though I was chasin' his shadow all this time, fer some reason, I never saw it. No," shaking her head, Kazuha's grip on the fabric of her skirt grew tighter as she corrected herself, "...I just didn't want ta see it."

"Ever since I Hakuba-kun got that description of him, it had always been hauntin' my thoughts, an' yet I didn't say anythin'. I didn't want ta face the chance that... that they could be the same." Swallowing, Kazuha forced her gaze downwards, for the moment, unable to face the slumbering form of her childhood friend. "I didn't want such a thing ta be true."

"I don't think anyone can blame you for that, Kazuha." Keeping her voice as soothing as she could manage, Ran drew herself closer. "It's not the kind of reality anyone wanted."

"But it is the reality." Kazuha admitted. "It's the reality, an' I ran away from it."

"But you're not doing that anymore, are you?" Ran asked. "Isn't that what matters the most?"

"That might be true, but even so..." Finally looking back towards Ran, Kazuha drew in a long breath, before slowly letting it out. "I said some brave words ta him, back when we first met again, but the truth is that I don't really know what ta do about all of this. It shouldn't have happened this way."

"No, it shouldn't have. It really shouldn't have." Ran admitted, shaking her head. "But that's not your fault, Kazuha." Nor was it Shinichi's fault either, though she knew he blamed himself without end for it. "If there's anyone to blame for all of this, it's only just Merlot. And besides, the important thing is that you still believe in Hattori-kun, right?"

"I do." Kazuha admitted, turning her attention back towards Heiji once more. Reaching out a hand, she carefully entwined her own fingers with his, a faint smile tracing her face as she did so. They were rougher than she remembered, but there was no mistaking them for anything other than Heiji's hands. "I don't want ta run away from it any longer. Any of it."

"It's just..." Her grip on Heiji's hand tightening, Kazuha's gaze flickered once more towards his face. "Do ya really think he'll ever remember me? I know what he said, but..."

"I'm sure he will, in time." Ran told her. "Hattori-kun always was the type to do things at his own pace, after all. That probably includes remembering things as well. But I think he's taken a big first step towards that, with what he said."

"I think so too." Kazuha said, nodding her head. "An' until he does, I'll remember plenty fer the both of us."

"That's the spirit!" Ran said, nodding her head. "Now then, you must be a bit hungry. I was heading there myself, so do you want me to get you anything to eat from the cafeteria?"

"Ah, would ya?" Kazuha asked, her smile growing somewhat stronger. "Now that ya mention it, I'm actually starvin'."

It had seemed like a good idea at the time, calling all four of them in. Not only would it be easier to tell the story only once, it would also allow him to hopefully avoid a private confrontation with the likes of Hattori Heizo. With the news he had to deliver, he'd rather avoid such a thing. The fact that he suspected that Heizo already had some idea that something was going on behind his back was part of that reason, if he had to be perfectly honest.

Perhaps this had been a mistake, Shinichi found himself thinking, far too late to actually correct it. Gaze darting between the two members of the FBI, and the two members of Osaka's police force, he could only draw in a long breath, digging up his resolve. He'd dealt with more tense situations than this, to be sure, even if he was having difficulty recalling them at this exact second.

Pulling them away in the middle of everything hadn't been an easy task, and if he missed this chance, he might not get another one. Best to get it out now, and not let it hang in the air any longer than it already was- because he knew that if he did that, even for someone like him, the temptation to continue to say nothing would become too great.

"You said there was something more about this matter that you needed to discuss with us, Kudo-kun?" Sensing the tension in the room, Jodie piped up, trying to break the ice- which he was rather grateful for.

Drawing in a long breath, steeling himself with it, Shinichi prepared to go into battle. It was a different one than the one he had fought not half a day ago, but one that was no less important. His friend's life was on the line, after all.

"That's right." Shinichi began. "I believe I've mentioned it in brief to you and Akai-san already, Jodie-san. This meeting is about that matter."

"If it's about that matter, I must confess, I'm rather curious about the fact that you chose to call Osaka's chief of police to this meeting as well." Shuichi was the one who spoke up next, his gaze flickering over in Heizo's direction. "If this is about Paikaru, then I believe the FBI would have more jurisdiction over him, considering a fair number of his crimes happened in America."

"He's right." Jodie mused, a slight frown on her face. "As far as we know, Paikaru hasn't committed any crimes within Japan."

"He hasn't." Perhaps he had been a bit too quick to reply to that, and for a moment, he wondered if he'd shown too many of his cards at once. Still, there wasn't anything else he could do but press forward. "Hattori-san and Toyama-san are... relevant to this matter nonetheless."

He didn't need to look in the man's direction to know that Heizo's eyes were fixed on him. The intensity of his gaze was enough to make his skin crawl- it would seem that his theory that was right on the mark. He didn't know exactly how much he had pieced together, but it would appear that he had some idea of why he was called here, and what relation he might have to the matter of Merlot's pupil.

This wasn't going to be easy. But then, he never thought it would be.

"Relevant?" Shuichi asked. "How?"

"Let me start at the beginning." Shinichi told them, reaching into his jacket pocket. He'd borrowed Hakuba's digital camera, and had the photo that he had taken printed out. For a moment, all he could do was tightly grip the pair of photos, before he let out a breath, sliding them down the table, one copy for each pair. "From this photograph."

"This is-!"

"Yeah." Nodding his head, Shinichi turned his attention Jodie's way. He wasn't yet ready to see what kind of expression Heizo wore, so hers was the easiest to deal with. "This photograph was taken by my associate, Hakuba Saguru, around two weeks ago. He happened to take it while he was on the trail of a certain man."

"I know." Taking the photograph in his hand, Shuichi merely quirked a brow. He'd never had any direct interaction with the young man depicted in them, but had nevertheless been aware of his existence. "So this is why someone as paranoid as you decided to trust an Organization member."

As expected of Akai Shuichi, he figured it out fast. Almost a little too fast for Shinichi's comfort really, and he could only hope that his flinch hadn't shown half as much as he thought it had. He dared not look Heizo's way just yet, the man's continued silence a heavy weight in the pit of his stomach.

"That's one of the reasons." Shinichi admitted freely, closing his eyes. "I wasn't lying when I mentioned to you that there was no one else in this world who despised Merlot as much as Paikaru. That's part of it too."

"But since when...?" Jodie trailed off. From the way she hadn't finished her sentence, Shinichi could tell without looking that she was locked in thought, doubtlessly trying to piece together since when Hattori Heiji had been a member of the Organization. How they could have overlooked something like that.

"After." Shinichi told them, opening his eyes, yet not directing them towards anyone. "It was after I- we- thought we lost him. And in a sense... we did. The one to find him first was Merlot, and ironically enough, it's thank to her quick action that he lived, however..."

"Amnesia."

The sound of Heizo's voice nearly made him jump, but Shinichi steeled himself, not letting it show. Finally forcing himself look the man's way, he took in the deep expression of consideration on the man's face, feeling a vague sense of relief with it. He didn't know what kind of deal he could cut for Heiji with the FBI, but at the very least, he wanted to get out of this without his parents hating him.

His mother, he doubted, would ever do such a thing. The real challenge therein lay with his father. Ran had told him about Paikaru's reaction to learning the identity of his father, and in truth, his reaction had been far from baseless.

Realizing that he had been waiting for a response, Shinichi slowly nodded his head. "Yes, that's correct. Because of that incident, Hattori experienced severe memory loss, a condition that was taken advantage of by Merlot. It would seem that at some point, your son's skills caught her interest, and so she decided to take his condition as if it were some kind of divine gift to her."

"Up until two weeks ago, he didn't even know his own name. He was lied to, and given a false identity, under which he's been living for the past five years. He was manipulated into what he is now, he didn't become as such by choice." Those words were not so much meant for the FBI, as they were for those who had known him. For those who had watched him grow, from a little baby, to a high school student, and to those who had thought that they had lost him as one.

"To be honest, he still doesn't remember anything." Shinichi told them. "However, after I confronted him, he expressed interest in working with me even before I told him anything about who he really was. Hattori has-" he began, before shaking his head, quickly correcting himself, "...Paikaru has been looking for an out from the Organization, and that lifestyle all this time."

"So this is why you want to ask for a deal." Jodie mused aloud, her brows furrowing together. If this was true, then it was a rather delicate situation. It wasn't as if any of that was good enough reason to not punish for the crimes that he had committed- but it did make the entire situation more complicated. At the very least, it was something that needed to be taken into consideration.

"To be frank, yes." Shinichi said finally, almost feeling a small weight leaving his shoulders now that it was out in the open. "Of course, I'm not asking that he walk free. The fact that he killed people can't be agreed, and I think that Hattori would probably agree with me. I get the feeling that Paikaru would agree as well."

"You speak of them as if they're different people." Shuichi noted, his face unreadable.

"It is a bit like that, in a sense." Shinichi admitted after a moment. "He's spent the past five years believing he's someone else, after all, it's inevitable that this would affect him. Still, underneath that, I don't think that he's changed all that much, that Hattori. Even though he could have run at any time, he stuck with us until the very end."

"And? Where is he now?" It was Ginshiro who spoke up this time, almost surprising Shinichi, considering that he had been silent this entire time. "I'm going to assume that wherever he is, my daughter is probably with him right now."

"That's right." Shinichi said, nodding his head. "He was injured while were apprehending Merlot, in which he played a very large part. When I left him, he was still sleeping. Ah, but speaking of which-" blinking a little, Shinichi turned his head back towards the pair, a curious expression on his face. "...how did you know it was amnesia, Hattori-san?"

"Instinct." Heizo's response was simple and concise, even as he didn't break his eyes away from the photograph before him. It was a face that he thought he'd never get to see- the face of his grown up son. For the longest time, it had been frozen in time, as a second year in high school. He never imagined that the frozen time would ever move.

Certainly not like this.

It was an unpleasant situation.

To think that something like this had been allowed to happen... While their relationship had always been strained, his position and reputation alike creating a shadow from which Heiji always felt he had to escape, it wasn't as if he didn't care for his son. To know that he had been alive all this time, forced into a lie, used in such a way- as a father, it made his blood boil.

Even so, he was a lawman through and through. Just because the one who had committed such crimes was his son, it didn't lessen the severity of them, nor change his opinion of them. As much as he knew the face that stared back at him, even with the changes that time had brought to it, in a sense, it was almost as if he were staring back at the face of stranger.

Amnesia had always been one of Kazuha's theories, a reason as to why Heiji wouldn't return home, even if he was still alive. Rather than think that his son had willingly joined such people, it was the easiest to think that such a thing had been possible after all- that Kazuha had been right all along.

It was a bitter pill to swallow.

"I see." Frowning slightly, Shinichi sensed that there was a bit more to it, but for the moment, decided not to press the matter. "Of course, I'll bring you all to meet with him if you desire, once he wakes up, but both for his circumstances and his assistance alike, I think that's grounds enough for something to be done for his case."

"What was it you were thinking of requesting?" It was a rather direct question, on that naturally came from Shuichi. "Regardless of circumstances, you must know that we simply can't allow an assassin to walk free."

"I'm not asking for that, as I said previously." Shinichi told him frankly, forcing his expression to remain as neutral as possible. "But at the very least, I'd like it if the death sentence could be avoided."

It was as if the weight that had been lifted off of his shoulders had returned all at once, creating a deep tension in the room. For the longest, nobody spoke- before Jodie finally broke the silence, what was obviously a strained smile on her face.

"We'll see what we can do for your friend, Kudo-kun." Jodie told him. "But I can't give you any promises."

"I didn't expect that you would." Shaking his head, Shinichi released his held breath. "But if there's anything that's in your power to do, Jodie-san, I would appreciate it."

He'd done all he could for now- the rest was up to the FBI.

"Kudo-kun, a moment."

It wasn't as if he had been expecting to slip out of Osaka's police headquarters without being cornered by Hattori Heizo- but he certainly had given it his best shot. The man knew it too, he could already tell that much. That alone was more than enough to make Shinichi sweat, for a moment, feeling as if he were a small child again.

"Of course, Hattori-san." Quickly composing himself, Shinichi drew in a breath. "If it's about not telling you about Hattori earlier, that was..."

"No, it's not about that." Though he could almost feel the disapproval on Heizo's voice as clear as day, for the moment, it would seem that he had chosen to put it aside. As usual though, his face was rather hard to read, which was not helping matters. "Where is he?"

"Ah, Hattori, you mean?" Shinichi asked, blinking for a moment. "I did say that once he woke up, that I would..."

"No." Heizo cut him off, his tone one that brokered no arguments. "Regardless of the circumstances, I need to see him. If possible, before the FBI agents you brought have a chance to."

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that..." Shinichi began, his gaze trailing away slightly from Heizo, flinching a little when it instead caught Ginshiro's. He hadn't even noticed that the man had joined them, his superior's presence dominating to the point where it was hard to sense anyone else. "He is your son, after all. I'm sure you've got any number of things you want to say to him."

"Yes." Once more, Heizo's voice and tone alike were unreadable, giving him no clues as to what the man might be thinking. "I'd like to meet him for myself."

"And I'd like to see the face of my increasingly elusive daughter." Ginshiro's comment was clearly one meant to be private, though he'd said it somewhat louder than intended.

"And then what?" The question escaped him before he had a chance to stop himself, but now that it had, all he could do was own up to it. "As I mentioned before, Hattori still doesn't remember anything. According to the person I had look into the matter of his memory loss, there's any number of complications in relation to his memory returning."

"That's why I want to meet him." Heizo said simply. "To see what kind of person that foolish son of mine has become."

"Ah." For a moment, that was all Shinichi could think to say, before he gave the man a rather curt nod. "He's not... all that bad, you know. At the very least, for what it's worth, he has plenty of regret."

Or rather, it was more like he was learning to regret- but he supposed that in a sense, it was the same thing. Much like his memories, much of his heart had been sealed off for the past five years- now that he had a taste of living at least something like a normal person, he had started to open up more, started to soften out.

Never completely. The changes that had been made were too fundamental, too bone deep. But Heiji would adapt.

If he were given the chance, that was.

"Mm." Heizo's reply, as well as his expression, were both equally unhelpful. "So we'll see."

"You're here, huh?"

"So it seems."

"Guess I can take from this that I'm not dead just yet."

"So it would seem."

"Can't complain much about that." Closing his eyes, drawing in a long breath though he knew this was merely a dream, a hand strayed up to the back of Paikaru's neck. "Can't say I'm much interested in dying, not that this point."

"I personally can't recommend it." With a shrug of his shoulders, and something that almost seemed like a grin, Heiji could only let out a small laugh. "Nothin' good comes from it."

"Well, you'd be the expert there." Paikaru noted, tilting his head a bit. The specter of his former self that had been haunting his dreams ever since he had first learned of him seemed a bit different this time- fainter than before. "I'm not going to see you again after this, am I?"

"Probably not." Shaking his head, Heiji placed a hand on the brim of his cap. "In the end, I'm nothin' more than a figment of yer subconscious. An' ya don't really need me around any longer."

"So it's time to lay Hattori Heiji to rest, you're saying?" Paikaru asked, a slight frown crossing his features. "There's people who will be sad to see you go, you know. You shouldn't leave."

"Idiot, didn't ya say it yerself?" For what felt like the first time, the detective lifted his head, revealing his eyes from underneath the shadow of his cap. "I'm leavin' the job of bein' Hattori Heiji up ta you now, Paikaru. Give it yer best shot, come what may."

"Life in prison, if I'm lucky." Paikaru couldn't help but observe, even as he felt the faint edges of a smile tug at his face. "But are you sure about this? I'm still me, after all. I don't think I can ever really be you."

"Well, ya can start by losin' that god awful standard Tokyo dialect of yers." Heiji noted, his grin growing even as his form slowly began to fade, rendering him nearly see through. "Regardless of whether yer ready or not, ya said it yerself, so I'm goin' ta have ya take responsibility fer yer words. It's too late ta back out now, Paikaru."

Letting out a long breath, Paikaru folded his arms in front of his chest. "Well, if ya put it like that, I guess I have no choice. Since I'm here, I'll take care of things in yer place, I guess."

"That's what I wanted ta hear!" With a firm nod of his head, the detective strode forward several steps, until he stood in front of the other version of himself. Were it not for the height gap between the two, they would have been nose to nose. "Take care of them, ya hear. I told ya that much already, but if ya mess up, I might get so mad that I'll come back from the dang dead just ta bother ya."

"I'll keep that in mind, since it feels like ya really would." Paikaru noted, locking eyes with ones that had become a bit easier to recognize as those of his own. "I'll look after them fer ya, so you can finally rest in peace, or whatever it is that the dead do."

"I don't suppose this deal comes with our memories, does it?"

"Who knows?" With a shrug of his shoulders, Heiji reached up, plucking off his cap, seeming to consider it for a long moment. "I'm only just a figment of yer subconscious, after all. I can only know what ya do."

"Helpful." Paikaru half-joked. "Well, I'll do my best ta live as a proper human from now on. I've got promises ta keep, after all."

"Ya'd better." Heiji noted, once more glancing up towards him, a serious expression on his face. It only lasted a moment longer, before that bright grin returned, an expression that Paikaru could only wonder if he would be able to make in complete earnest one day. "Well then..."

The bright grin on his face unfading, Heiji carefully placed his cap on the other's head, taking a step back, out of his reach, once he was done. "...that's yers now, so take care of it. An' everyone else as well."

Reaching up to place a hand on the brim of the cap, he could only watch as the specter of his former self grew even more transparent than before- and yet, for some reason, he could only find it in him to return his smile, as best he could.

"Yeah, I will."

So he wasn't dead after all.

At least, he was fairly certain he was alive. The afterlife probably didn't look like the ceiling of a hospital room, with lights that were far too bright glaring down at him. And judging from the person by his side, who stirred the moment that he roused himself, he was going to assume that he hadn't landed himself in hell- Toyama Kazuha, after all, had no business being there.

"Hei-!" As if my instinct, Kazuha spoke his name, before drawing back, wondering if it were really right. He had passed out basically right after he had said those words, after all, so there was a chance that he might not even remember them. "Ah, that is..."

"No, it's fine." From the way his voice cracked slightly as he spoke, he must have been out for at least half a day. Licking his lips, feeling how dry they were, he drew in and let out a long breath, before he continued. He couldn't such important words hanging for very long. "Heiji's fine, Kazuha."

To be honest, he was still pretty sore, and the bright lights overheard didn't do much to help his mood. He didn't quite care all that much for waking up in hospitals- it might have been an underground one that he had been treated in, but the layout of the room was alike enough to bring up some rather unpleasant memories.

"Do ya know me?"

"Of course I do. You could say that I'm your mother, Paikaru. I've raised you ever since you were a wee babe. I'm Merlot."

Even so, for her, the only expression that he could wear was a smile.

"That's my name, after all."