Sera-kun the mystery detective: Thanks for the review!

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Missjennifer54: Thanks for the review!

Warning: This chapter will be a little darker than the previous chapters. In case there is anyone that gets upset or disturbed easily I will put a ~~ before it happens and a ~~ after it happens. Of course it is not very descriptive because it is a T story, but I wanted to give fair warning in case there is anyone who is sensitive to the darker side of the human condition.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan, Gosho Aoyama does!

Ch 10 Love Interest

Kazuha woke up in Ran's bed. She looked over at the clock, and it was eleven thirty in the morning. 'Man,' she thought as she put her hand to her head, 'I slept for thirteen hours.' She got up and stretched. She got dressed, and went down to the kitchen table. She noticed that Conan and Rishou were sitting at the table, and they were looking solemn. "Ohayo Gozaimashu!" Kazuha exclaimed as she sat down next to them. Conan said, "Good morning!" cheerfully. Rishou didn't look at them. "Do you guys want some breakfast?" Kazuha asked as she went to the fridge. Rishou walked up to her and grabbed her hand. She turned around and looked down at him. She gave him a questioning look and he gave out a little sigh as he looked down. He looked back up and said, "Dr. Agasa invited us over for breakfast." He let go of her hand as he took a step back. "Oh, that sounds great!" Kazuha exclaimed as she clasped her hands together. "Is Detective Mouri coming over with us?" She asked.

"No," Conan replied as he walked up to stand next to Rishou. "He ate earlier; he has to work on the case." She nodded, and put her coat on. On the way to the doctor's house Kazuha had a feeling that something was not right. Everywhere that they went, they always had to look around the corner. They did not go the main way, but they had to go through a few allies, and she was pretty sure they have been going around in circles a few times. Conan looked a little serious, while Rishou looked solemn. Conan was trying to make Rishou feel better. Conan whispered something in his ear. Kazuha could not hear what Conan said, but Rishou looked more irritable than before. Kazuha walked ahead of them, and put her arms out so they couldn't get ahead of her. "We're at an intersection. We need to hold hands." Kazuha said in a cheerful voice. Conan nodded, and held her hand. She grabbed Rishou's hand, and he looked down. Kazuha couldn't see it, but Rishou was blushing a tomato red. They crossed the street without incident. Kazuha opened the gate, and Rishou and Conan followed her inside of Dr. Agasa's house.

She opened the door, and noticed Dr. Agasa, Addy, and Ai sitting on the sofa. "Good morning!" Kazuha exclaimed as she closed the door. The two girls turned, and Addy stood on top of the sofa. She had a big smile on her face. She exclaimed, "Ohayo Gozaimashu Kazuha-neechan!" She then returned to her seat on the blue sofa. She sat next to Dr. Agasa, and she rubbed her hands together. Her tongue was sticking out a little bit. "So, what's for breakfast?" She asked as she looked at the doctor. The doctor had a grave look on his face as she crossed his fingers together. He looked at Addy and Ai, and then back at her. She grabbed a pen she saw on the table, and started to spin it between her fingers. The tension in the atmosphere was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Kazuha did not like the way any of them were acting one bit. She wasn't one that believed in premonitions, but something bad must be happening right now. "Hey, what's going on?" She asked with a little fear in her voice, "Is something bad happening?"

"Kazuha, there's no easy way to tell you this." Kazuha looked in shock at Rishou. She would think that a child would call her Kazuha-neechan, not just her first name. She put her finger to her chin, 'there is something about this Rishou kid that seems so familiar. But what is it?' Kazuha thought to herself. "Kazuha, I'm Heiji." Rishou said as he looked straight into her eyes. Kazuha looked at the kid, and busted out laughing. She held her stomach, and bent her head back. She wiped away the tears from her eyes. She noticed the way that Rishou sat. His knees were shoulder-length apart. He was also holding his chin in his right hand. She knew that look. That was the look Heiji had when he was upset. How could a little kid look like Heiji, and act like him too? That is when a light bulb went off in her head. Kazuha looked straight at him and said, "You're not lying… are you?" She was afraid of what his answer would be. The only answer he offered her was a nod. Kazuha's whole body started to shake. Her vision became blurry as tears fought their way out of her eyes. "It can't…be. You're…you're H..Heiji?" She sobbed. She received no answer from Heiji. Addy came and sat down next to Kazuha. She put her hand on her back and rubbed in soothing circular motions. Kazuha took in a deep breath, and turned to look at the girl. She tilted her head to the side. Addy looked down, and then took her sandals off of her feet. They were red with pink flowers on the strip closest to the feet. "Soooo….." Rishou asked as he looked at her. "Everything okay?" He asked as he stood up to his feet. Kazuha's expression tightened, and she pulled her fists toward her side. She stood up, and did her best to show that she still wasn't crying.

She stared at the blue carpet, and then her right foot moved, and then her left foot moved in front of her. This continued until she was towering over Heiji. She took her right fist and hit him over the head with it. He fell over as he grabbed his head. He rubbed his head, and gave an angry expression towards Kazuha. Kazuha then fell onto her knees, and pulled Heiji into a hug. She laid her head on his shoulder, and her nose was pushed against the crook of his neck. He could feel his shirt wetten as tears fell out of Kazuha's eyes. Her shoulders ere shaking, and she was taking in deep, quick breaths. "I thought something bad… happened to you! Why…why didn't you…tell me?" She asked as her grip around Heiji tightened. Heiji was at a loss. He didn't know how to respond to Kazuha's quick embrace. He lightly put his arms around her shoulders. "I missed you… so much! Why… why?" Kazuha said as her sobs became louder. Addy walked over to Kazuha and put a hand over her shoulder. She gave it a few pats before settling her hand there. "Kazuha, he had no choice," she said as she rubbed her back with her thumb, "I know how you feel." Kazuha released her hold on Heiji and turned around to speak with Addy. She fell to the floor, and she had to look up to her. Addy stood there. Her eyes showed sadness, and empathy. "What does that mean? You know how I feel? You're just a little kid!" Addy shook her head and said, "I know what it's like to stay up all night wondering if he is safe. I remember sitting by the window gazing at the stars and wondering if he was looking at them too. There were days that I thought he was in danger, and I felt so helpless. And there were days where I would sit on my bed and cry because I believed he would never come back."

Kazuha gave the girl a queationing look, and sighed. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "And you would know how that feels because?"

"Because I'm Mouri Ran." Kazuha had to give everything it took not to fall over. "Wait, what happened to you?"

"I've shrunk, just like Heiji," Ran said. Conan walked from the blue couch, and stood by Ran, and he put an arm around her, "And like me." Conan said. "Wait… you're not Shinichi?"

"Yeah, that would be who I am," Shinichi said. Kazuha's eyes widened, and she looked at the two of them. She then glanced and looked at Heiji. "What happened to you guys?"

"We were drugged," Heiji said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "And it was the same guys that were in Donburi last night." Kazuha gasped, and her eyes grew wide. 'They already went after Heiji,' Kazuha thought, 'don't tell me, oh God, please don't tell me,' Kazuha looked at Heiji and asked, 'Heiji, they're after me now, aren't they?" Heiji nodded, and then looked to the right. Kazuha released a few tears from her eyes, and fell against Heiji. He caught her before he collapsed as well, and allowed her to put her head against his chest. "Yes, they are." Said a voice. Haibara Ai came from behind the couch, and was now standing beside Ran. "Kazuha, you'll need to come with me, I will explain what your next move needs to be." Kazuha nodded. Ai went to a door that was a few yards down from the front door. She opened it up, but didn't follow it inside. "Go inside, I'll be with you shortly. Oh, and please don't touch anything." Ai went to Ran and said, "I will need you to get the thing that I was talking about earlier." Ran nodded and ran into a room behind the kitchen. "Bring it inside!" Ai shouted as she shut the door.

Kazuha was sitting in a chair by the computer. Ai walked until she was standing in front of her. "I will explain everything." Ai said as she looked up at Kazuha. "The men you saw at Donburi were Gin and Vodka, and they were the people that have us into hiding."

"You mean why Ran, Heiji, and Shinichi had to use aliases?"

"Exactly. I would know who they are, because I used to be one of them." Kazuha's jaw dropped. Kazuha was not expecting that. She was expecting anything but that. Ai then continued on. "I made the drug that turned those three into children, and which also turned me into a child. My real name is Miyano Shiho, and I am also seventeen years old." Kazuha gripped the arms of the chair tightly. 'If she did this, what else could she do?' There was a knock at the door. Ran opened the door, and then closed it. She walked down the few chairs, and placed something on the table against the wall. It was a pair of underwear, a yellow long sleeve shirt, a pair of yellow tights, a blue over-all dress, and a pair of brown shoes. To many people, this would not seem confusing. However, to Kazuha it was because the clothes put onto the table was not something she would wear. She would not wear them because they were children's clothes.

Ran looked at Shiho, and tilted her head. "You haven't told her yet? Have you?" Ran asked. Shiho shook her head, and looked at Kazuha. Features of realization had made its presence known across Kazuha's face. "You mean, I have to shrink too?" Kazuha asked in a small voice. Both Ran and Shiho nodded. "But why? Won't I be drugged by Gin and Vodka anyway?" Ran opened her mouth, but Shiho was quick to interrupt her. "No." Ran let out a 'huh' as she looked at Shiho. "The fate that would befall you if you ran into Gin and Vodka would be much worse. If they wanted to drug you, they would just do it. But if they meet with you, they plan on doing it again."

"What does that mean?" Kazuha asked.

"I have seen them doing this tactic hundreds of times. They will meet with someone that they want to target. They will then follow you home, and follow you around for a week. "

"Wait, is that why Heiji and Shinichi took that weird route?"

"Exactly. I had ordered them to not take the main path. This is why they went in circles as well."

"Was it really necessary?"

"Yes. We had to take every precaution necessary to make sure that you were safe."

"But why?"

"You wouldn't want to know what they do to people that they hold hostage."

"It couldn't be worse than them drugging you."

"I'm going to tell you so your curiosity will be quenched. If you are drugged, you are lucky. I would rather be drugged a million times than be held hostage by them for one day."

"But why?"

"While I worked for the organization," Ai said, "there was a woman named Inoue Hina. She saw Gin and Vodka kill a man. They did not drug her like they did to us. They followed her everywhere around in Fukuoka, her hometown. Vodka talked to the woman at the park, and she thought that nothing was wrong with him. Unbeknownst to her, by the end of the week they knew where she lived, where she worked, where she liked to hang out, everyone in her family, and who her friends were. After leaving from work one evening, they both kidnapped her. They took her to headquarters, and locked her in a cell underground. There was nothing in the cell except the ceiling, walls, and the floor. They brought her food only once a day, and it had as much nutrients as a single pocky stick. Every day they would beat her. They would never call her by her name. It was always by derogative words. Worthless, stupid, fat, and slut just to name a few. Other members of the organization decided it would be fun to rape and sodomize her." Ai said.

"That's so horrible," Ran said.

"That's not even the end of it," Ai said, "there is more." Kazuha looked shocked, but did not say a word.

"I remember walking to her cell after only her third day there. I was to deliver her a piece of bread. What I saw in that cell is something I'll never forget. It had been when I had worked early in the organization, but I still remember it vividly. The girl looked like she was knocking on death's door. Her skin was blotched with bruises covering ninety percent of her body. The majority of her hair was in the left corner of the room. She had pulled it out going mad, and the only hair on her was on the back of her head. The one thing that haunts me, however, was the look in her eyes. I have seen the look someone has when they're happy, sad, angry, scared, and even that of a cold blooded killer. But the look in her eyes were… of nothing. I remember giving her the bread, and she just looked at it. She never touched it. I told her to eat, and she shook her head at me. I asked her if there was anything that she wanted, and she told me she wanted to die. They took a girl that had a life, a person who was happy. In three days, they made her look like death was inches from taking her away. In three days, they made someone who wanted to live life to the fullest, and turned her into someone who didn't want to exist. Because after they took her, that's the only thing she did: exist. She was a soul trapped inside of a body. A soul, who just wanted to escape this world and never again glance at another person."

Shiho took a full glance at the two women in the room. In the middle of the story, Ran had fallen to the floor and was still crying. Kazuha, however, was shellshocked. She didn't move a finger. 'This could have happened to me,' Kazuha thought, 'I could be that girl wishing that the only thing I could do was die, and not caring what Heiji would be thinking.' Kazuha was so deep in thought; she didn't realize what Shiho was saying. It wasn't until Shiho shook her that Kazuha realized that the girl was talking to her. Kazuha twitched a little, and said, "Yes, Shiho?"

"Did you not hear what I was saying?"

"No. Sorry."

"What I said was that would have been the same fate that would have befallen you, and we are not going to risk that." Kazuha nodded and looked around nervously. She had no idea what was going to happen next. She looked to the ground while she asked herself questions such as 'Is it going to hurt?' and 'Will I ever be able to return to my old life?' When she looked back up, she noticed a futon being placed on the floor. "Kazuha, please sit down on the bed." Kazuha nodded, and did as she was told. Ran, who went upstairs, now returned with a glass of water. She locked the door before coming down the stairs. "Don't drink it yet." Shiho warned, "you need this first." She was holding a pill that was red on one side, and white on the other. Do not ask me any questions. Take it, and lie on the bed." Shiho placed the pill in Kazuha's hand and took a step back. Kazuha put the pill in her mouth, and drank some water. She laid down, and then Kazuha's eyes widened. Never before had she been in so much pain. The pill made her body temperature rise. Her body felt so hot that she felt that the pill had caused a fire to be placed inside of her body. She felt that her body was so hot that her bones were melting. Kazuha started screaming, and she was squirming on the bed. She could hear knocking from the other side of the door. "KAZUHA!" He screamed, "KAZUHA!" She could hear the doorknob turning, but it would not open. She could hear someone trying to break the door down. But then it stopped, and Kazuha was slowly losing consciousness. The continuation of the vain attempt to open the door was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

Kazuha woke up with a start. The first thing that came into view were Ran's and Shiho's faces looking down at her. She sat up and looked down at her body. She jumped before she realized what had happened. She had been shrunk as well. She then looked back at Shiho and Ran. They gave her the outfit and she had gotten dressed. She went upstairs and what she came upon shocked her. Heiji was asleep on the floor, but that is not all. Kazuha noticed that something weird was wrapped all around Heiji's body. It looked like Conan's suspenders. Her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed that Conan wasn't wearing any suspenders. Kazuha shook Heiji, who awoke startled. He looked around wildly before he saw Shinichi. He glared at him, but there wasn't much he could do because he was tied up via Shinichi's suspenders. "What were ya thinking baka?"

"Bakaro! You were the one that started freaking out when you heard Kazuha. I had to tranquilize you, but as soon as you woke up again, you started to freak out even more. I had to tie you up so you wouldn't do something stupid." Shinichi said as he pushed the button that untied Heiji. Kazuha blushed when she heard Shinichi's story. 'Heiji was upset… because I was in pain?' She asked herself. 'So that was what I was hearing… Heiji was trying to get to me because I was in pain… that is so sweet.' She smiled when she thought that. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek. She was blushing, and she noticed that Heiji was blushing too. What she didn't see was that he was wearing a huge smile on his face. "Isn't she missing something?" Dr. Agasa asked as he came through the back door. "What do you mean?" Shinichi asked as he scratched his head.

"Kazuha needs a name."

"Nikki." Heiji said as everyone looked at him, "I like the name Nikki."

"Isn't that Ellery Queen's love interest?" Shinichi teased. Heiji hit him upside the head, and Shinichi let out a little wince. 'Nikki Porter,' Kazuha thought as she blushed. Of course she had heard of him, 'Heiji spoke about her. She was Ellery Queen's secretary. '

"But what about her last name?" Dr. Agasa asked.

"Watanbe. I like the last name Watanbe." Kazuha said. The rest of them agreed. Toyama Kazuha would now be known as Watanbe Nikki."

Please R&R. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but no flames please!