File Sixty-Two: Unable to Go Back

"So that's your Detective Koushien outfit?" while sitting on the bed, Conan watched Hattori putting on his black gakuran. "Your school uniform?"

"Well, what can you expect?" he shrugged, fastening the buttons on his jacket. "Before you came along, we were supposed to be all high school detectives."

"Whose fault is that?" he groaned, letting himself drop backwards into the mattress. "Though I was surprised that you knew that guy," he turned his head to him, raising his eyebrow. "And what was that about harassing a student, anyway?"

"... Sometimes, you have to break a few rules to get information..."

Conan's eyes narrowed, prompting Hattori to sigh.

"Remember when I was investigating the death of that doctor in Ekoda and found out about that guy called Hirai?" he finally explained. "I only got that name because I accused his friend of murder, so that I could question him," he pointedly ignored the look Conan gave him because of that. "Hakuba seemed to be studying there and told me the name before I could pressure him further."

Hattori had expected so many things ─ from chewing him for treating people like murder suspects to point, with a blank expression, that was stupid ─ but he didn't expect what he did after that.

Conan just stared at him for a few moments, before his gaze fell on the ceiling, pensive for some reason.

"But it's frustrating, isn't it?" commented Hattori, as a passing thought. "That Watanabe Satoshi's case remained a mystery. I didn't get any clues after that... Maybe we should risk it and try to investigate that Hirai guy further..."

"Ah, no need," Conan replied, confusing Heiji for a moment. "I've solved it already."

"Eh?"

"He isn't dead. He's undercover as the principal at Teitan High School."

"Eh?!"

Sitting up, Conan blinked at the bewildered expression he was wearing, wondering for a moment why he was acting like that. "Ah," until he remembered. "I forgot to tell you about it."

"How could you have forgotten that?!" Hattori was anxious about it. "You know what that means, right? That's the evidence that we need-"

"-to prove that my brother is innocent, yeah," he shrugged. "He most likely was helping those he was supposed to kill and creating a new identity for them. No wonder the Organization got mad when they found out."

Deep in thought, Heiji plopped down next to him, hand on his chin. "That means, at that time..." his eyes closed, slowly, as he tried to recall something else, entirely.

"I do not require your services any longer, Hattori Heiji."

His eyes opened, all of sudden. "Then, that woman I saw in that off-season Halloween party," he mumbled, mostly to himself.

"Which woman?" Conan was clueless.

"I think I met with Kato Momoka," Heiji then explained. "Who had supposedly commited suicide a long time ago," his wide eyes fell on the child. "Do you think Kudo helped her, too?"

The child nodded. There was no doubt in his mind that his brother had reached to her, suspecting that they would come to her because of her lover, Tanaka Taro, who had seen Gin walking out of Watanabe's office and shot in front of Heiji.

"But I guess he didn't manage to get to Tanaka-sensei in time," Heiji supposed. "Then, that Hirai guy was actually threatening him."

"He wasn't."

The detective of the West blinked, unable to understand why the child was so certain about what he had just said. He found it weird, however, that his expression was completely devoid of happiness, or even arrogance, that would often be there, after finally reaching for a conclusion that he had been looking for so long.

"There's something else, right?" Heiji tried to press him. "Something happened, something big and disturbing enough for you to forget to tell me you finally found out your brother is innocent."

A shadow passed by his eyes, but he simply frowned, refusing to look up. At that, Heiji stood up, angrily looking at him, demanding for him to say something.

But a knock on the door saved the child. Kouya excused himself as he opened it, informing them that dinner was ready so they were supposed to come to the dining room.

Childish smile back on place, Conan eagerly nodded and skipped to join Hakuba and Tokitsu, doing his best to ignore Hattori's sharp eyes piercing through the back of his head.

"Oh, by the way," at some point, the detective from the North spoke up. "Has she already gone to the dining room?"

"She?" Heiji blinked.

The detective from Kansai was extremely confused, wondering out loud if there was a woman on that island, until Kouya knocked on the next door. In a matter of moments, it opened to show the detective from the South, wearing a sailor fuku, while complaining about her school's far too strict regulations.

"That guy... is a girl?" he mumbled, unable to stop staring.

"Obviously," Conan rolled his eyes, causing the other detective to glare at him.

"You noticed as well?" Tokitsu asked, partly amused at the situation in hand.

"Yeah, by the moment I saw you two sitting together," he explained, as if it was a matter of fact. "Your shoulders were far more wider than hers. Her torso was also a bit longer," the child then turned to the girl in question, hands latched against each other behind his back, and an innocent smile plastered all over his face. "There's also the fact that Koshimizu-san's voice is about an octave too high to belong to a man. That's how I knew."

"You're quite observant, little boy," the girl smiled at him.

"That's why I said he is surprisingly good," Hakuba said, as he gently guided Natsuki to the dining room, shooting Hattori a glance. "Unlike some detectives here, he does know how important observation is in this field."

Hattori growled, and Conan could do nothing but to let out a nervous laugh.

Tsuchio Hiroo, the director, never showed up for dinner, causing the group to set off to search for him. Yet, when they got to his room, he didn't answer even when they knocked on the door. Because of the lack of response, they tried to open the door, only to find out that it had been locked.

The disturbing fact, however, was that there was blood, all over the knob.

"Is there a master key?" asked Natsuki right away.

"No, there aren't any keys," the caretaker explained. "It's like your rooms, you can only lock them from the inside."

"If it's like our rooms, there must be two windows," Tokitsu reasoned.

"Then let's check from the window-!" Saguru suggested.

A loud, banging sound stopped them before they could even move, causing the two detectives to turn and gasp at the sight of the representative from the West trying to break the door open.

Eventually, he did and what they saw inside the room made them stop in their tracks, shocked to see Tsuchio lying in the ground, completely tied up. "Tsuchio-san," it was the child, however, the first to react, falling into his knees beside the man, with Hattori following close behind.

His little fingers pressed against his neck, searching for a pulse and sighed in relief. "He's alive," he informed the teen at his side.

Mirroring his expression, he began to untie him. Conan watched him work for a few seconds, before focusing on the others, who were already investigating the crime scene. They didn't even bother checking if he was alive before considering it a murder case, Conan grumbled, annoyed at them. What kind of detectives are those guys, really?

There was something they all had agreed. Windows and the door had been locked before Heiji had bursted in ─ a locked room mystery.

Tsuchio groaned, letting everyone know that he was about to wake up and prompting Heiji to help him to sit up. Then, he explained that someone had knocked at his door but nobody was there when he answered. When he was going back, however, he was suddenly drugged from behind.

"Detective Koushien: Case Number One," everyone was mildly surprised when they heard the caretaker say those words, in a deep, serious voice. "Solve the mystery of this locked room, write down your deduction in a letter and quickly bring it to me. If your reasoning is correct, you'll advance to round two and learn how to escape from this island."

Conan's hands slipped into his pockets with a sight, eyes travelling around and searching for a hidden camera ─ could he have missed it?

All other detectives smirked, however.

"In other words," Heiji commented. "The battle's already begun."

"Then, does that mean there's a hidden camera somewhere?" questioned Hakuba.

"Please don't even joke about that," Conan shifted, uncomfortably, already picturing everyone hearing his deductions about Natsuki's real gender.

He was slowly getting more comfortable with the idea of showing people his deduction, but that didn't mean he was ready to have it broadcasted to all Japan.

Then again, he found it weird that he hadn't noticed one around ─ he had been paranoiac enough as to check for them everywhere. Somehow, the thought of no cameras around made him even more uncomfortable.

"What a surprise," pointed out Natsuki. "I thought having us find out this guy was a fake director would be the first round."

On top of all that, that guy, indeed, wasn't the director. But if figuring out he was fake was not a task... Is this really a TV show?

He had suspected this wasn't it, but he had hoped he was mistaken.

They didn't get the chance to discuss the director's true identity any longer, however, because Tokitsu suddenly announced that he had solved the trick, greatly surprising the other detectives by how quickly he had managed to do it. The caretaker stopped him before he could say a word, claiming that only those that solved the trick by themselves would get the chance to participate in the next round, since that one was definitely not the last one.

"Don't worry, I'm not telling it right now," his arrogant smirk widened. "Well, the result will be the same whether it's the final round or not."

"I don't care how the trick was done," Natsuki added. "I just wonder if Tsuchio-san didn't tie himself up after locking the door."

"How could that be? Wouldn't the representative from the West have noticed when he untied the rope?" he replied, followed by a shrug. "No matter how incompentent a detective he may be."

"I-Incompetent?!" of course, Heiji wasn't pleased to hear that.

"It was most unsatisfactory," Hakuba agreed, with a slight shake of his head. "When you discovered blood on the door knob, you immediately smashed in the door."

Conan frowned at his words. To presume the victim is dead before seeing them is the most unsatisfactory option, he thought, watching as Heiji's blood seemed to boil with anger.

"In that case, it's best to check the situation inside from the window. Afterwards, you can decide whether to smash the door or break the window glass. If Tsuchio-san were dead and leaning against the door, you would have destroyed potential evidence when you smashed in that door."

"He was eager to get to the crime scene before the rest of us," the detective from the North added. "Doesn't that disqualify him as a detective?"

When Hattori's mouth opened to speak, Conan decided that it was time to join the conversation. So, with a very serious look on his face, he stepped up.

"He's not unqualified."

Surprised by the intense glint on his eyes, Tokitsu turned to stare at him, completely taken away and curious at the same time. Conan did not waver under his sharp gaze, nor did he glance at Hattori upon noticing the teen's gaze on his form, stunned and touched at the same time.

The intensity dulled when a sweet smile drew itself in his little face. "Heiji-niichan is simply hot-blooded!" he chirped, happily.

Heiji's gaze turned into a glare in less than a second.

The others simply giggled, amused at his childish sincerity before Tokitsu decided to leave, just after telling them that he would be upstairs, setting his room like that locked room, which would take around an hour.

"Ah, I'll tell you this just to be sure," he had added, however, before disappearing behind the door. "This trick doesn't require any foolish behavior from any violent detectives. Thanks."

"Well, he won't repeat the same mistake," Hakuba smirked. "The one who made his name because his father is the famous Osaka Prefectural Police Director General. Isn't that right, representative from the West?"

Heiji didn't answer, besides letting his annoyance show by a dry, humorless laugh.

The child beside him stared at Hakuba for a few beats before he crossed his arms behind his head, humming as he did that. "Now that I think of it, I haven't heard about Heiji-niichan before I met him a year ago..."

The teen in question blinked the young sleuth for a moment or so, before he raised an eyebrow. What side is he in, that little rascal?!

"But, then again, I hadn't ever heard of you either, Hakuba-niichan, at all, except when I started to look into Kaito KID," for less than a second, a smirk crossed the little boy's face. "Which you haven't managed to do yet," it was gone the next second, replaced by a blinding grin. "I guess being famous for a case you hadn't managed to solve must be quite disappointing, right?"

It took a moment for Hakuba to react, more than strictly necessary, before he let out a snort. "You're right," he admitted. "That's why I have to capture that thief. With my own hands."

Blinking at him and humming, Conan pretended to be interested, while ignoring Heiji's questioning gaze on him. Natsuki, who was watching them all the entire time, let out a giggle, before turning to the detective from Osaka.

"But you know," she smiled at him. "I like hot-blooded detectives like you."

"... Eh?"

Seemingly amused by his puzzlement, the girl giggled once more before leaving the room, followed closely by Hakuba. Meanwhile, Hattori simply stood there, unable to stop blinking, and stopping wondering what had just happened.

"I'm so telling Kazuha-neechan about this."

Startled by the young voice, Heiji jumped slightly, spinning around to meet a pair of plain, bored looking eyes staring straight at him.

"What's your deal?" he glared, once the initial shock had passed. "Calling me hot-blooded..."

"You are," he shrugged, causing Heiji's glare to intensify. "What's your problem? I even called you 'Heiji-niichan' and all."

Raising an eyebrow, he kneeled down right in front of him. "We both know you did it for the sake of your innocent little boy act." He said, pressing his finger against his little chest, accusingly. "You manipulative little bastard."

"But I am innocent..."

"As if I would believe that!"

"Give me a break. I still did it, even if I barely stopped myself from puking at the same time."

"Hey..."

"The Lavender Mansion Murder Case."

Conan didn't know why, but those words from the representative from the South had made the fake director grow pale, as if he was nothing but a ghost haunting the old lodge ─ which was oddly fitting, considering how dark it was outside, and the rain pouring over only made it seem more eerie.

Just after Conan had started to tell Hattori about the case ─ a young mistress' death ruled out as a suicide, but got changed to murder half a year later, for unknown reasons ─ and while Natsuki had commented that the cuprit had commited suicide before being apprehended, Tsuchio had suddenly stood up, and claimed that he had forgotten his cigarettes in his room.

Now, the child could only wonder. Not only about the reason for the fake director's sudden leave, but also if everything was somehow related to that case. Lavender flowers had been put all over the lodge, filling every single part of it with their aroma. The dessert he had been served had a lavender-coloured sauce dripping all over it, too...

Whatever the case, Tsuchio came back after a while, looking more terrified and soaked wet ─ which didn't make sense, unless he went out to look for cigarettes or something. He soon claimed he had stepped out for a moment, though.

Two hours had passed since the representative from the North had gone to his room to prepare the trick, but he had yet to return. So the caretaker went to ask how longer it would be, only to return with a worried expression, saying that he had knocked several times yet had no answer.

This time Hakuba, Hattori and Conan checked from the other side of the window, and found him, lying by the window, blood completely covering the side of his face.

Predictably, Heiji ended up smashing the window so he could unlock it from the outside.

Unfortunately, he was dead.

Once they all went inside, they all found out he had been killed by the hammer that lied on the floor right beside Tokitsu's body, which had probably been taken from the toolbox in his room ─ every room had one, whatever the reason.

"A locked room murder," announced Conan, stating what it was obvious. "Koshimizu-san, Kouya-san or Tsuchio-san, it's one of you."

Panicking at the thought of being blamed for murder, Tsuchio confessed that there was no Detective Koushien, and that he had been paid by someone to act his part as the director. He also told them that, instead of fetching some cigarrettes, he had gone to use the radio in the shed to call for help, only to find it smashed in pieces.

Someone really wants us to trap us here, thought Conan, glancing at his phone with a frown. We're out of range, of course.

In the middle of the interrogation, a breeze blew by Natsuki's head and a loud thunder roared, prompting the female detective to scream. "I hate thunder!" pressing her hands against her ears, she fell on her knees. "Please, close that window! Please!"

Instantly, Hattori complied. Hakuba, on the other hand, rushed to her. "It's alright," he assured her, as he helped her back on her feet. "I'll take care of the thunder and the case for you."

... Seriously? Conan couldn't help but roll his eyes, before turning to the three culprits. "Maybe you three should wait in the dining room," he offered them an apologetic smile. "This guy here and I are going to look around for a bit."

Hattori didn't appreciate the way he had been addressed, but Conan didn't even bat an eye.

"Be careful, Conan-kun," Hakuba declared. "You should probably keep an eye on that detective over there."

"Eh?" Heiji's eyebrow raised.

"Because you're so hot-blooded, or should I say uncivilized?" he turned to glance at the broken window behind their backs. "You've scattered glass everywhere and got your muddy footprints on the desk. That's a horrible situation."

Looking at the place where Tokitsu's corpse sat, the little boy beside them noticed that, indeed, it was a mess. That the crime scene had been altered beyond repair because of the Osakan detective's rash actions.

But...

"Could you have carelessly touched the lock with your bare hands?"

"Yes, to open it! Got a problem with that?!"

Hakuba only shrugged, his arrogant sneer still present. "I'm disappointed in you," he added, walking right past the angry detective. "My father had me thinking you were a better detective than this," his hand fell on the knob, standing right beside the rest of the group. "Anyway, after I take them to the dining room, I'll begin investigating again. Try not to get in the way, representative from the West."

The door finally closed behind the guest from abroad, and with that, all sounds were taken away, leaving the two people inside silently still, unable to make a sound.

Conan just watched the older detective with his wide, round eyes. Upon noticing his gaze had yet to leave the door, and the shadows of doubt dancing behind them, he felt his lips pressing together.

For the first time in a long while, he genuinely didn't know what to say.

"Hey," but still, he tried. Soft and hesitant, his voice travelled across the room. "I would have done the same thing you did... Had I been strong enough to burst a door open, or to jump high enough to smash the window..."

Slowly the teen turned around and stared at him, for so long that Conan wasn't sure if his comment had been appreciated or not. Just stared, pensive for some reason.

"Well," so Conan shrugged, letting his eyelids drop. "If that's worth knowing, anyway."

His eyes snapped open at the feeling of something resting on top of his head ─ definitely his hand ─ causing him to blink twice and to look up, confused. Heiji's bright grin met his eyes and, at that moment, he knew.

He knew it had been worth knowing.

So, he smiled as well.

Heiji had accused Kouya for murder, saying that he had gone to see the victim just as he had been finishing his preparations and attacked him.

Saguru had stepped up, claiming that the culprit was none other than Tsuchio, who had been able to force open the padlock on the shed with a single wire. According to him, the man had made a small hole in the window, which had allowed him to lock it from the outside. Then, Heiji had broken the glass and the evidence had been completely wiped.

"I think you're wrong," the young voice came from the door, however, causing everyone to look at the little boy there. "Even if he could predict that Heiji-niichan would smash the window glass, he couldn't have known which of the four panes he would break."

He turned to Hattori next, expression not changing a bit even as he said:

"And what's more, no matter how hot-blooded Heiji-niichan may be, if there's a hole, I think he would have noticed it."

The Osakan detective didn't seem to be so unfazed about it, however, given the fact that he scoffed and looked away, as if offended.

Unlike him, though, Saguru was unable to tear his eyes away from the little boy, as he gave out a perfect explanation to Natsuki about how the trick had been done. There was... something.

Something in the way he smiled, confident about his own deductions. Something about the way he spoke, clearly, concise yet not letting a single detail escape him as he explained it. Something in the way he slid his hands inside his pockets, and his sweet smile turned into a knowing smirk.

His sharp blue eyes fell back on the girl. Hakuba was still unable to look away.

"Which means, the one who-"

A hand blocked Saguru's line of sight. "Allow me," interrupted Heiji, confidently. "Yeah, the one who happened to be the last to go to Tokitsu's room, Kouya-san, it must have been you."

"W-What are you talking about?! That guy-!"

Completely disregarding the urgency of the little boy's words, Heiji continued to accuse the caretaker, even claiming that he had proof. True to his word, he pulled out something from his pocket, which he had supposedly found in the victim's room.

"This screw with its head cut off."

Conan and Hakuba's eyes widened in shock, realizing what he was intending. Hattori paid no mind, continuing to accuse the poor, stammering old man, until he turned around, all of sudden.

Natsuki gasped and frowned, realizing that Heiji was holding into her arm, pulling her hand away from her pocket, where her hand had been. The boy then revealed he had taken that screw from the radio in the shed, with the intention of figuring out where she was keeping the rest.

Loads of screws rolled into the floor, and the representative from the South had no other option but to admit defeat.

"Well," Heiji added. "I expected you to at least have the one you picked up when pretending to be scared of thunder."

"Ah, no," Conan spoke up. "She didn't miss any."

"Eh?"

Hakuba walked closer and, gently, pulled her hair aside, revealing that her ears were pierced ─ which was weird, considering she had talked about her school's strict regulations. So, she admitted being secretly twenty.

As Conan had suspected, the Lavender Mansion Locked Room Murder Case had played a critical role in her actions. Her friend had been acussed for murder by Tokitsu's mistake and had decided to take her own life because of that, leaving one single clue behind about the detective's true identity: he was a guy that spoke strangely ─ Hakuba's English-accented Japanese, Heiji's strong Kansai accent and Tokitsu's particular way of refering himself as 'shousei' were all valid options.

The window had been tampered with by Tsuchio, a lousy thief that had wanted to rob the place later. Kouya had been a butler that knew that the mistress had planned to commit suicide, but hadn't had the heart to speak a word about that.

"But hey, hold on..." Hattori worried. "Since you brought those two here because you hated them..."

"Yeah, no rescue ship is going to come," she admitted. "I told that ship's captain if he didn't keep it secret he wouldn't get the rest of his money. We'll all die here together," all of sudden, her eyes fell on the youngest of the group and a sad smile made its appearance. "I'm sorry, little boy."

"No need," he shook his head. "Since we will be rescued anyway."

Nobody understood right away what he meant with that, yet they did when they heard it. They all rushed outside, and were more than pleased to see something in the distance, far away in the horizon, illuminated by the first rays of light of the rising sun.

A boat was coming, which meant that Kazuha had understood Heiji's message.

For the longest time, no detective said anything, content with just gazing at the boat slowly moving closer. Only Tsuchio's shouts, as he moved his hands around to be seen, broke the silence that had been settled.

"So they exist..." before long, Natsuki decided to speak. "Hot-blooded detectives like you."

"Eh?" Heiji blinked.

"Busting down a door over a bloodstained knob, or breaking in through the glass," she admitted, with a faint smile. "That's why I put the body against the window. If you rammed your way in and disconnected the window, I would have been found out."

"Sorry about that, because you know..." Heiji rolled his eyes, annoyed at this point. "I'm hot-blooded."

But she simply shook her head. "The right thing is... to have faith in life, until you're sure of death. That's what makes a great detective," she offered a sweet smile down at the little boy. "Right, boy?"

Conan simply stared back.

"Ah, if God ever forgives me..." sorrow and regret painted her voice. "I'd love to do a real Detective Koushien... with you."

None of them knew what to say to that, but she paid no mind. With a rueful smile, her gaze fell on the sky.

"... And return to the days when everything was easier, simpler."

"I don't think that will ever happen, Koshimizu-san."

Not expecting him to talk, the three detectives turned to look at the kid, who simply stood there. Hands in his pockets, a frown on his face and his eyes staring ahead, emptily.

"Once you get innocent people caught in your own mess, you will never be able to go back," his eyes closed, slowly. "Ever again."

Natsuki stared at him, eyes wide, for a few moments, until she sighed. "I guess you're right."

Followed by that statement, the girl looked back at the boat, and Hakuba did the same.

Yet Heiji didn't. His eyes just narrowed, studying the boy in front of him.

"Are you still disappointed?"

At the young voice, Hakuba instantly turned around. Upon recognizing the small figure in front of him, he sighed and leaned against the rails of the boat that was going to get them home.

"In the end," the child continued, with an innocent smile. "Your father was right when he spoke so well about him."

"I have to admit, the representative from the West beat me," Saguru let out a chuckle. "Are you here to laugh at me?"

"I won't deny it, it was fun to see," he shrugged, before his smile dropped and a solemn look took over. "But... I believe that you shouldn't consider it a defeat. Someone died, for real. To consider it a competition is... not right," the child moved until he was right beside him, hands resting in the rail. "A detective's first and only objective is to discover the truth, not to step over everyone and prove you're correct, right?"

For the longest time, Hakuba said nothing, just gazed into his sharp blue eyes, before he let out a defeated smile. "To think that such a young boy would be so much wiser than most adults," he confessed, turning around so he could watch the sea with an unreadable look. "But, did you know this? You actually remind me of someone I know."

Conan blinked twice, staring at him with curious eyes, and prompting Hakuba to chuckle and to begin walking away. Only then, did the child realize that Hattori was there, staring at them.

"Well, rest assured, I won't look into that certain incident anymore," he told the kid. "I already found the answers I had been looking for," he paused, and gave the young sleuth a smirk. "I will leave the case to you, Little Detective of the East."

Unable to know what to make from his words, the kid simply watched Hakuba walk by Hattori, patting him in the shoulder as he passed. The other detective stared at the blonde, eyes wide with shock, not straying away from him until he disappeared.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked the young boy, still stunned, pointing at the place where he had just been.

"Beats me."

Shrugging, Conan turned back around and climbed on the rails, until he could sit there, feet dangling on the air. "H-Hey!" Hattori rushed over there, instantly, a bit of panic in his voice. "You'll fall down, idiot!"

The kid only gave him an unimpressed look, before he sighed. "It's fine," he groaned, and added without really thinking. "How many times have I said that already?"

"Have you said it much lately?"

Realizing his mistake, Conan's mouth clicked shut, instantly fixing his attention at the sunrise in front of them. Noticing this, Heiji sighed and leaned his arms against the rail, right beside the boy, and pressed his chest over them. There was a thoughtful look in his eyes, as he contemplated what to say next for the next couple of minutes.

"Once you get innocent people caught in your own mess, you will never be able to go back," Conan didn't react, even when his own words had been quoted to him. "That wasn't about Koshimizu-san, was it?"

Again, he only graced him with silence.

"You're worried. Worried that you had involved too many people in this. That's the reason you hadn't asked me whatever you wanted to ask me before," Conan wasn't really surprised that the detective had noticed that. "But why are you blaming yourself? It isn't like you told Kudo to join that organization-"

"I basically did, Hattori."

Not expecting that, the detective of the West blinked at the boy, who wouldn't look back at him, just stared ahead, an indiscernible gaze that was painting his features. The kid just sat there, still as a rock even when the breeze blew his hair around.

"... When I was four... A girl disappeared, and I wanted to solve the case. On my own," a humorless laugh escaped him. "It was like a game to me."

His fingers were wrapping around the rails so tightly his knuckles had gone white, Heiji observed.

"But she wasn't kidnapped, she was hiding. She left a message to her sister so she would find her, which I discovered, deduced part of it," his brows knitted together. "But I trusted the wrong person. She got discovered and I got kidnapped. And Shinichi-niichan... Oniichan found me."

"Then, what happened?" Hattori didn't completely understand. "You're alright now, aren't you?"

The boy turned, and gave him a long, pained look.

"That girl was Haibara-san."

Heiji's eyes widened at that, finally understanding what had really happened, and the implications of his last sentence. Seeing that his words had finally gotten through, Conan looked away once more and sighed, deeply.

"Haibara-san certainly didn't want me to remember, but I guess you can't keep a detective in the dark for long, huh?"

He didn't add a word after that, so Heiji figured out it was his time to talk. To say something.

"You and Kudo are definitely brothers," then, the older detective added, then explained when he noted the confusion pinching the child's face. "You did it once, didn't you? When all you knew that Kudo had simply vanished without a trace. You looked for him. You got involved all by yourself."

The puzzlement drained, and a tired expression took hold. "You know it's not the same, Hattori."

"It is. Just imagine this, for a moment," he continued. "What if, instead of all this, you found out that Kudo had just followed after some suspicious men in black he saw at Tropical Land and everything took a turn for the worse?"

"That would be plain stupid."

"Yeah, but what would you do?"

"Of course I would be mad!" there was some annoyance on his tone now. "To risk his life like that, so recklessly..."

"And then?"

"Then what?"

"Would you blame him?" Hattori grinned, as if he already knew the answer. "For involving you, without even knowing."

"... No," after a brief pause, he gave him his sincere answer. "He couldn't have known it would end like that."

"There you go, then."

Conan fell quiet after that, an action that Heiji only interpreted as him assimilating his words, thinking over his points over and over again. Hattori only smiled wider, contented with his unspoken answer, and continued.

"That little girl tried to protect you from the truth. I'm certain she doesn't blame you, either. She wouldn't have tried to keep you in the dark otherwise, would she?"

He didn't answer.

"So don't be so hard on yourself," he continued, his eyes softening at the surprised look this child was giving him. "You were... are young. You're allowed to make mistakes," his smile widened, if possible. "But you have let us, older people, help. Ran-chan, Occhan, Kudo, me. Let us in, Conan."

Conan's lack of reaction was worrying at first sight, but upon closer inspection Heiji realized that the troubled frown had gradually disappeared, and that his hands had stopped gripping in the rails as tightly as before. So, he waited patiently as the younger boy seemed to study him, before looking back at the sunrise.

"... Mizunashi Rena," before long he spoke up, softly and almost hesitating. "I was... hoping you could help me with something."

Heiji's grin didn't take long to appear.

"Tell me all about it."