Aw, everyone stopped reviewing again... :(

Well anyway, no, I'm not purposely introducing EVERY DC/MK character, it just kind of happens.
Totally coincidental.
It's also fun having characters, who have never met before, in the same room as each other

Chapter 22: Picking up the Princess

"I can't just leave Kazuha! Ya know they'd go after her to get to me if they had ta!" Hattori shouted at Kudo, once we were safely away from his house. "How can I just leave her when they could use her against me?"

"Hattori, we can't protect everybody," Kudo said coolly. "If we take Kazuha, we'd have to take your parents as well, and then they would know something's up. Involving more people is unnecessary, and I'm sure Kuroba-kun doesn't need any more witnesses."

"If it's important to him, I'm fine with the girl coming," I spoke out, receiving a glare from Kudo. A bit more meekly, I added, "Though I can't say that having your parents at my house would be a welcome experience, especially considering who your dad is."

"Hattori, if Kazuha were to come, it would only put her in more danger. Right now your position in this investigation is permanent, but they don't know that. You were seen with Hakuba once and, based on their previous experience, they should know that they can't use you. If Kazuha is seen with us, it would just put everyone in more danger."

"Conan-kun," I bent down to Kudo's level and turned him around so that he was facing me. "Do you think they'd hurt the girl to get to us?"

It took him a while to answer. "It's possible, though I still think she'd be in more danger with us than not."

"I don't like it when people are in danger and I can stop it. If Hattori-kun thinks we should bring her along, I'm not going to stop him."

"What? But it'll just make everything worse!"

"Not for you, Tantei-kun, so I don't think I'm going to let you have any say in the matter." I turned to Hakuba. "Do you mind bringing the girl along? If anyone, this would hinder you and me the most."

"I agree with Conan-kun, in that I don't think it's a good idea either," Hakuba answered honestly, "Though I won't stop Hattori-kun either if he decides to bring her along."

"Ha, it's settled then. Kazuha's gonna come back with us," Hattori exclaimed.

"Wait just a minute! Do you have any idea how much more dangerous this is going to be while we're looking after her too? This isn't some board game where the more pieces you have, the better your chances of winning! If one of them sees either of you on the street, it's going to be like a beacon to our location!"

"But Kudo- damn it! Conan-kun, if we leave her here, they could kill her!"

"Hattori, quit acting like a child! You're a detective, so think like one and use your head instead of your heart! Do you think she'd be in danger here?"

"I don't know 'cause I don't go associatin' with murderers so I don't know what they'd do! I'd feel better if she was with us than on her own and in danger!"

"Excuse me," Akako cut in. "I've got a few questions for you."

"Who's she?" Hattori asked and Kudo just shrugged his shoulders. Akako didn't bother to give him an answer.

"You're working with Kuroba-kun on something dangerous, right?"

Hattori raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged my shoulders in indifference.

"I guess so."

"And you're in trouble because someone is trying to kill all of you?" She said it so carelessly, it annoyed me. With everything that was going on, her interference was one of the last things I needed, or wanted.

"Yep."

"And you have a friend nearby, where we are now, who might be in danger if you leave her here, but would be in danger if you brought her with you as well?"

"No!" Hattori's said in a definite voice. "As long as I'm there, she'll be safe."

"But in the process, you would endanger everyone around you, right?"

"Now just a minute! You've no idea what's goin' on so why should-"

"Uh, uh, uh." Akako waved a hand in front of him, shutting up the Osakan. A strange daze appeared on Hattori's face as soon as the two made eye contact.

That's something new.

"So if she can't be with you, and she can't be here, then there's a very simple solution."

"What's that?" Hattori asked as if he were half asleep. I elbowed Akako to get her to stop whatever it was she was doing while Kudo looked on at us with fear and questions playing around his features.

"Knock it off!" I growled.

"Sorry," she waved her hand again, "reflex. That doesn't mean I don't have the perfect solution to your problem."

"And what would that be?" Hattori shook his head, trying to clear it from whatever Akako had done to him.

"She can stay with me.

We were all silent for a while.

"I wouldn't trust you with my left sock," I muttered, "There's no way I'd trust you with Kazuha-san's safely when there's so much at stake."

"Now that's not a nice thing to say, Kuroba-kun," she snaked her hand up my face and I felt shivers run down my body. "I won't let anything happen to her."

"We could say that Hattori's on a difficult case and tell her the truth, that someone might go after her because he's so close to her," Kudo started thinking aloud. "It would keep her safe without endangering anyone else."

"Except her," I tried to get Akako's hand out of my face, but she just shifted it to grab the back of my hair. "Akako-san, will you let me go already?"

"Why do you hate me so much?" she asked in a dejected, but still seductive voice.

"I don't hate you," I let Kid's smile wander to my face and grabbed her hand into mine, leaning forward so our faces were less than an inch apart and I could feel her breath on my face. With an embarrassed flush, Akako backed off and I was able to free my hair from her grasp. I took her hand and kissed it, turning my smile devilish. "I just don't trust you as far as Conan-kun there could throw you."

"Kuroba-kun, you…you…" She seethed; still a bit flustered and unlike her usual poised self, I managed to grab her other hand before she could hit me in the chest with it. It wouldn't have hurt, and any other day I wouldn't mind, but I was still injured and I didn't want to risk her hitting me in the wrong spot.

"Akako-san, I'm serious," I whispered into her ear. "This isn't like one of those little games I've played with you in the past. I don't know how this one's going to end, and I can't risk your attitude changing on me."

I smiled and drew away from her slowly, so she could comprehend how important every action I took was.

"Kuroba-kun, I wasn't offering my help because I have ulterior motives. If this was why I was supposed to come here, to make sure that she didn't go back with you, then that's what I'm going to do."

"And the minute you get pissed off at me?" I asked honestly.

"I'll do my utmost not to blame it on some girl who barely knows you, considering I've never seen you go to Osaka, at least not very often."

I looked at her unrelentingly for a few seconds as she held my stare. I really didn't feel like having more people at my house and more people in on my secret, if I didn't have to. So far I'd kept it from the whole of Japan, but with my track record recently, that wouldn't last long if I didn't change something.

"Hattori-kun." The Osakan, along with the other detectives, had been watching us intently, though they hadn't heard our whispered conversation over the noises of the small town, "Would you mind if Kazuha-san stayed at Akako-san's, or would you prefer it if she came back with us?"

"Ah…" he looked to the side. "I don't know. Ku- Conan-kun has a point an' I can understand where he's commin' from 'cause Kazuha's not the kinda girl to keep her nose outta things an bein' with us would make everything harder." He raised his eyes to look at me and waved a hand over at Akako, "But I don't know her, so I can't judge which one'd be the better option."

"So it comes down to which one you think would be better," Kudo looked up at me with clear and doubtful eyes. "I don't know anyone else she could stay with."

"Neither do I," Hakuba spoke up. "If Koizumi-san doesn't mind, I don't see why you're hesitating."

"Grrr," I eyed the witch as she smiled in victory, "I get to decide what to do with Kazuha-san then, right?"

Nods from the others made her smile dim and mine grow. "Fine, then you have to listen to what I say." I placed a hand on the sorceress's shoulder and bent down to her level. "Don't get yourself into any trouble with her, 'kay?"

Akako eyed me doubtfully as I continued to smile.

"I think I'll trust you this one time. Don't let me down."

"Why would I do that? I said I would watch the girl."

"Thanks," I messed up the witch's hair a bit and she glared angrily back with a blush on her face. "Don't do anything too weird around her either."

"Kuroba-kun!"

Unlike Aoko, Akako wasn't as outright violent; though I wouldn't put it pass her to get me with some sort of spell later.

Unfortunately, for Hattori, that wasn't the kind of payback she had in mind.

The Osakan called a cab for us once we'd walk a good distance away so that it wouldn't draw suspicion to his neighborhood. Not that we weren't already suspicious looking, considering that we were three teenage boys, a girl, and a child walking around at whatever ungodly hour of the morning it was.

The taxi driver eyed us for a bit before Akako pushed me out of the way when I tried to get in.

"Hey!" I yelled at her, "What'd you do that for?"

"You sit in the front this time," the witch opened the passenger door for me and I saw a crafty look cross her face.

"What are-"

"Kuroba-kun, just get in." The detective pushed me from behind, making me hit my head hard against the frame of the car.

"Hakuba, don't be so mean!"

"Don't be so loud. I've gotten very little sleep as it is and I don't want you making my headache any worse, so stay in the front."

"Jerk."

As soon as I settled into my seat, I tried to turn around to look at the back. With my seatbelt on, I couldn't see much. Kudo was forced to sit on Hakuba's lap since the detective had gotten in first. Both of them averted their gaze and looked very uncomfortable. Akako went along the other side and sat in the middle, making it so Kudo didn't have the chance to move. Hakuba took the seatbelt, gingerly making it go over both of them without drawing them closer then they needed to be.

Getting uncomfortable with the seatbelt biting into me, I sat back into my seat and just observed the back through the mirrors around me. The witch was making herself comfortable next to Hattori while he was trying to back away from her with an awkward smile. Unfortunately, for the Osakan, the taxi was small and they were cramped enough in the back that there wasn't much room for him to move.

This is why I hate being in the front; I can't see anything, I complained in my mind.

"So," the seductress started in on him, "What's your name?"

"H-Heiji… Hattori Heiji. And you?"

That made me turn back around. I'd never heard a detective stutter before unless it was something that truly bothered them.

I was surprised when Akako's hand was on his chest, though I noticed the fog was back in his eyes.

"Koizumi Akako." I could see that she was planning something by the wicked smile on her lips.

"Hey Akako-san I told you to-!"

"Knock it off! If you're gonna fidget around in my car, then I'm kicking you out!" The driver startled me by saying. I watched them a bit before letting myself fall back into my seat, still trying to keep my eyes on them through the mirrors. I heard a small laugh escape the witch.

"Am I bothering you, Kuroba-kun?" she whispered toward me.

"No…"

She stroked the Osakan's chest after playing with the zipper on his jacket and getting it down a few inches.

"Good, because I wouldn't want to do anything that would make you mistrust me."

"Akako," I growled, "Stop it."

She took Hattori's chin in her fingers and the dark skinned boy could do nothing, but let her, smiling a little at her touch. She used her other arm and wrapped it in his, snuggling up next to him.

Hattori tilted his head to see her better, and I could have sworn he was about to kiss her.

"Hattori," Kudo's cool voice cut into the atmosphere like a knife and the distance in Hattori's eyes started to fade.

"Ah…" he mumbled, blinking as reality was coming back to him.

"Koizumi-san, what are you doing?" Hakuba's voice added to the silence, though I couldn't see him using the mirrors since he was sitting behind the driver. The witch relented as she disentangled herself from Hattori.

"I wasn't doing anything." She positioned herself back into her seat for the rest of the ride and I was sure that Kudo must have been watching her closely after that. Hattori, for his part, seemed embarrassed and kept staring out the window and was unwilling to meet anyone's eyes.

Kazuha's house was big as well, with a small iron fence surrounding it. We stood outside of it for a while, debating on what to do after the driver had left.

"Hattori-kun," I asked him. "You do realize it's…" I looked at Hakuba.

He sighed and flipped his watch open again, though I noticed he covered it with his hands to stop any light from reflecting off of it. I laughed a little at that.

"It's twelve minutes to three in the morning."

"Right," I started at Hattori, "So are we just going to walk in and say, 'Hello, sorry for waking you up, but you have to come with us right now to stay at this girl's house, who you've never met before for reasons you can never know'? Anyone else see the problems here?"

"'Course I do." He closed his eyes in thought, "But if I talked to her, I'm sure Kazuha would understand. I just don't know how I'm gonna do it with her dad there an' she won't pick up her phone."

"Wait here," I jumped the fence and made my way quickly across the yard. I could hear one of the detectives call my name, but I was unable to distinguish which one it was.

I did a quick lap around the house before coming to the conclusion that Kazuha's room must be on the second floor. I unwound a small grappling hook. The hook worked better than the wire I'd been using earlier, since the wire had the potential of coming undone easier. I ascended to the roof in no time and slipped into an open window I had seen from the ground.

Too bad it's not her window, I thought when I landed smoothly into a largely undecorated room whose only furnishings were a large television and a table in the middle of the room. I tried to be quiet when opening the door, but the sound of old wood was hard to hide when I didn't have anything to put on the hinges. Ok, so I wasn't prepared for EVERYTHING. So what?

The wooden floor wasn't any better, but I compensated by staying closer to the foundation and only taking as many steps as needed.

The first few rooms I peeked into were deserted. When I finally came to one that was occupied, I had no doubt that it was her father's. The room itself was plain and a bit on the obsessive compulsive side by the sheer tidiness of it. The only thing that gave it individuality was the coat that was hung on a hanger on the closet door handle. I quietly closed the door shut, risking the noise, because I was sure the man would notice if it was ajar.

Kazuha's room was right next door and she didn't seem to have inherited any of her father's neatness. Books and bags were scattered across her room, though a desk with a light in the corner seemed to have enough space to work on.

The girl was sleeping in her bed. I managed to make my way over to her without stepping on anything.

"Kazuha-san," I whispered and shook the shoulder that was peeking out from her down comforter. She mumbled something that I couldn't make out, something about the time, and rolled on her other side so she was facing away from me. "Kazuha-san."

"What do you-?" She started to say loudly and I covered her mouth before she could wake anyone up. That was a very bad idea on my part.

Kazuha squirmed around. I tried to give her enough room to move back to her original position and face me, without letting any of her screams get through. That also, unfortunately, gave her enough room to strike out at me and I almost drew back when she elbowed me hard in the chest.

"Kazuha-san, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm here with Hattori-kun," the name seemed to get through to her as the onslaught of fists died down. "I swear I'm not trying to do anything to you. I wasn't trying to scare you. Please don't scream." I wasn't going to explain things until I knew she was calm. I slowly removed my hand and she watched me with wide eyes.

"Who are you? What do ya want?"

"Kuroba-kun. We met earlier," I massaged the place where her elbow had made contact. I didn't know much about the girl, besides her name, but now I had no doubt anymore that she could take care of herself in a fight. "Hattori-kun's outside. He couldn't get a hold of you because you turned your phone off."

"Oh yeah, I remember you," her face went from worried to angry in an instant, "What the hell do ya think you guys're doin' at this time of night? At MY house?"

"Um, it would be better if Hattori-kun spoke with you about that. Do you mind coming with me now, or are you going to put up a fight?" I joked with her. Apparently, she didn't take sarcasm well if her glare and beginning fighting stance was any indication. "Joking!" I held my hands up in surrender while I tried to keep my voice down. "I was just joking!"

"Oh," she lowered her hands and looked at me for a second. I backed up when she leaned over to get something from underneath her bed. "Why do guys hafta act so immature all the time? Sit down!" she commanded me. I sat.

"Ouch," I complained as Kazuha put something cold and wet against my face that stung on contact.

"Let me guess, you ran into a cat too." Her eyes narrowed at me, but she cleaned the few scratch marks on my face that I gotten from falling into Kudo's bushes less than half a day ago.

"We've got some dangerous felines around here." Kazuha knew I was lying, but didn't say anything for a few seconds. "You know you don't have to do this."

"You're not a detective either, right? I know what it's like being around those idiots an' if ya don't take care of yourself, yer not gonna get far."

"Thank you…"

"So Heiji wants to talk to me about somethin', now," she sighed. "That boy had better get a normal time schedule."

"I think we should get going, they're waiting outside." I tried to move away from her when she put the cotton ball against my other check, but she held onto my jacket firmly.

"Let 'im wait! It serves that idiot right!" she paused for a second and got off the bed to look down at me. "Are ya wearin' makeup?"

"Ah, maybe a little," I admitted, she must have taken a good deal of it off when she was cleaning the cuts. I stood up and took her hand. "We really should be leaving now. It's not safe."

"What's not safe?"

I wasn't going to lie to her, but I wasn't going to tell her anything Hattori wouldn't want me to, so I remained quiet. Instead, I dug out a sheet of paper from one of the many clutters around us and passed it to her. A pen was harder to find and it took me a few minutes before one showed up near her bed.

"Write a note to your dad saying that you went to school early. You can explain whatever you want to him later, but for now just put that."

"Ok…" She said doubtfully, "Yer not kidnappin' me or anything are ya?"

"No, just write the letter so we can leave." I had no way of assuring her otherwise; so all I did was look away to prove to her that I didn't care what she wrote, as long as her dad wasn't going to be using every available police officer to look for his daughter when she wasn't there in the morning.

"Done," she said after a few minutes.

"Good." I took her hand back into my own and lead the way to where I had come in, louder this time because Kazuha didn't know how, or wasn't attempting, to hide her footsteps.

The window to the room was still open and the rope hung seamlessly on the obscure part of the house. "Ladies first," I bowed slightly to her and gave her access to the rope.

"Why don't we just go out the front door?"

"Because it's too easy for us to be spotted and this worked well for me when I came in, it should making leaving just as easy."

"This is how you got into my house?" I felt her eyes reassessing me. "Who are you?"

"Just a friend. Now come on before we get caught." I gave her a gentle push towards the window and she climbed down the line faster than I thought she would. Preconceived notions should NOT be counted on in the future, I reminded myself.

I landed in the grass next to her, dislodging the hook and rolling it back up into a pocket that was reinforced to hold such things. We went the long way around the house to avoid walking any closer to her father's room than we had to. The detectives were looking rather annoyed when I perched on top of the fence to help Kazuha over so that the gate wouldn't screech if she opened it.

She must have been athletic, probably some sort of martial artist based on that elbow thrust to my chest, because she was able to get over without my help and wasn't hesitant in any of her movements.

Hattori had his arms crossed and was shivering in the cold. The jacket he was wearing was tied around his waist, with the collar tucked in so that no one could see the blood.

"Kazuha-"

"Heiji, ya'd better have a very good explanation fer this!" She growled at him.

"I do Kazuha, don't worry 'bout it. I'll tell ya what I can, but we gotta get outta here first." The dark-skinned teen showed his agitation at sitting still, though Hakuba and Kudo seemed fine so I took it to mean they hadn't seen any danger while I was gone. I couldn't help looking around anyways. Akako was discreetly eyeing Kazuha and I was grateful she hadn't tried anything on Hattori while I wasn't around to stop her.

"Hey, now that we've got Kazuha-san with us, she can use my ticket." I smiled. "I was thinking about it inside. You three go back together while Hattori and I can take the train. I don't think it would be a good idea anyway if I tried to sneak him on the plane. Someone might found us out."

"Why would you and Hattori-kun take the train? Wouldn't it be easier if Conan-kun or I traveled back with him, since they might already know what you look like Kuroba-kun?" The detective asked me.

"Let's just say I made a small commotion before I left, and I don't want to be around to face up to it."

The real reason I didn't want to go back was because the man had seen me with only green eyes and a slight scar. If there were others that had been informed that Hakuba had been on that plane, then it would be too easy for them to spot me amongst the group. I could wear a disguise, but Kazuha was already suspicious of me so I didn't want to do anything 'unusual' around her.

"We hafta take the train?" Hattori looked at me wearily and held his arms closer to his chest.

"Here," I shrugged my jacket off and handed it to him. "It's not that warm, but I've got a sweater so I'll be fine. You shouldn't have been wearing short selves under yours."

"Like I knew I wouldn't be able to wear my own jacket," He mumbled with half-closed eyes. "Ya sure you're ok?"

"See this," I lifted my sweater off my chest with a thumb, "S-w-e-a-t-e-r. Now see this," I took a hold of his shirt sleeve. "Not sweater. I'll be fine as long as we don't decide to visit the arctic on the way home."

Hattori conceded to my logic and put it on. "Just watch the pockets, will you? I don't want you messing up any of my stuff."

"Nothin's gonna go off on me is it?"

"Not unless you run into a bull or something. Most of my stuff is fail-safe."

"Most?" Hattori paled a little and quickly unzipped the jacket, making it easier for him to take it off later.

"I'm going with you too."

I sighed at the voice behind me. In a good natured way, I turned to face Akako and smiled, "I don't think so. I thought you were here to let Kazuha-san stay at your place. What would be the point of that if you were with us?"

"Heiji…" Kazuha looked at Hattori at this new bit of information. "What's goin' on?"

"Ah, Kazuha, come her a second will ya?" Hattori lead the girl away. As she followed him, she sent the rest of us a very confused and worried look.

"She's not stupid," I mumbled. "Hattori-kun can lie to her, but I think she'll figure us out before long. Hopefully, she stays put long enough for us to take care of everything."

"She should. It's not like she knows where you live. And even though I don't know Akako-neesan, you seem to trust her. I don't think she'd give your address away just because Kazuha-neesan's worried," Kudo remarked quietly and turned to smile at the witch, "Right?"

She gave Kudo a dark smile, but that was how she normally looked. "No, you're not ready to die just yet," she said when she looked up at me.

"Ha, how ominous," I laughed. "So when am I going to be ready to die?"

"After I've gotten you for myself of course." The witch walked up to me and folded my collared shirt so it was tucked into the sweater. "No one is allowed to have you before I do."

"Well Guardian Angel-san, I think that-"

"Heiji, do ya really expect me to just sit still while you go off runnin' inta danger?" Kazuha's yell broke up our conversation and Akako let some distance grow between us while I turned to watch the two argue.

"Shhh. Be quiet will ya? Are you tryin' to get us noticed?"

"But Heiji-"

"Nope, ya ain't commin' with. So you can either stay here, where it may not be safe, or ya can let me relax a little by knowin' yer somewhere that is."

"Do you still have it?" She asked him in a quiet voice, so quiet I almost couldn't make out her words.

"'Course I do," Hattori pulled out the little pouch around his neck that I'd taken from him earlier. Now that it seemed like something important, I was disappointed that I hadn't looked at what was inside. "Now will ya go with them?"

"Sure thing Heiji, but… be careful, ok?" Kazuha whispered and turned away from him. Hattori smiled back at her, though she couldn't see it, and made his way over to me.

"So we're goin' right? I can pay for the cab."

"How is it that all you detectives have so much money?" I grumbled.

"It's because we come from rich families. Even if we didn't though, I'm sure that we'd still be detectives." Hakuba laughed at me, "Though it is quite funny that we all have more money than you do."

"You don't receive money in my kind of work."

"Which is where the controversy begins," the detective added, lowering his voice so Kazuha couldn't hear us. "A thief who doesn't make money off of what he steals."

"Oh yes, that's hilarious. I feel so good knowing that I could be swimming in cash if I wanted to."

"Why don't you?" He narrowed his eyes at me, "What's the purpose of stealing if nothing is gained by it? Is it some sort of game for you?"

"Uh, Uh, Hakuba. I thought we agreed that we weren't going to bring this subject up again." I waved my finger in front of him. "Go satisfy some other need of yours."

"You can't keep the truth from me forever you know." His grin was just a few shades short of the smug one he used when threatening me; he was serious. "I am a detective after all. Our job is to find the truth."

"You can try, though it's not like you've succeeded in anything when dealing with me in the past."

"Oh, I've succeeded more than you'll ever know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Hakuba shrugged his shoulder. "It means nothing."

I eyed him for a bit before two cabs showed up. Hattori and I get into one and the other four get into the other. Kudo purposely went in first and got dibs on the front seat, probably so that neither girl would be tempted to put him on her lap.

"Akako-san!" I shouted out the window before the witch got in. "Thank you."

She nodded to me as our taxi driver took off towards the train station.

I sat back into my seat and looked at Hattori.

"Don't meet her eyes next time and you should be fine. I'm not a hundred percent sure that will work though, since I've never had anyone who really tried it."

"Has she ever done that to you?" Hattori flushed a bit at the memory, though it was hard to tell with his dark skin, "I mean, I didn't want her and then all of a sudden she was just, there. Like there was no one else but her and I just wanted to be near her."

"Nope, never happened to me." I continued to look at him, but he seemed downhearted by the fact that he was the only one who it had happened to. "But I'm special. I've seen her do it a dozen times before you."

"How do ya stop it?" He turned back to me and I could tell he was angry at himself.

"I don't know. I guess I must do it unconsciously. If I did know, I'd tell you. I think it's good that it works on you though, it means you're normal." Well, as normal as an Osakan teenage detective/kendo champion who's best friend is a shrunken detective, could be.

"And you aren't?"

"Me? Normal?" I smiled impishly. "Whatever gave you that impression?"