What if they switched places? An AU roleswap blog, where Toyama Kazuha is the high school detective of the west, and Hattori Heiji is her childhood friend. Questions are more than welcome! I track the tag meitanteikazuha! Ask box is OPEN! Current ask count: currently empty
hello, hello, back with the next roleswap case! Itās the Tottori Spider Mansion case, always a favorite! As always, for more information about this roleswap, please visit the about!
Without further ado, letās get to the fic!
"What's that ya got, Kazuha?"
"Wait, Heiji, don't just take things from me!" Though she just as quickly reached to take the letter that had been so rudely snatched out of her hands back, she found it move just out of her reach instead. "Hand it back already! It doesn't involve ya anyhow!"
"Not a chance~." Taking a step back from her, Heiji flashed her a broad grin, scanning over the letter, ignoring Kazuha's not-so-quiet mutterings about when the hell he'd even gotten here. "Uwah, sounds shady!"
"Right?" Kazuha agreed, finally taking the letter back from him. "An' on top of it, they didn't even give me a number ta contact them by, an' sent me a load of cash ta boot."
"Yer not seriously thinkin' of takin' the case, are ya?" Heiji asked, arching his brows. "Remember what happened the last time ya followed up on a shady letter."
"Yer not gonna let that go, are ya?" Kazuha asked, heaving a short sigh as her friend merely nodded his head in response. "It'll be fine, Heiji. It's not like I'll be on a boat this time. The address is in the mountains."
"So yer tradin' in bein' shoved off ships fer bein' shoved off a cliff?" Heiji asked. "Doesn't sound like much of an upgrade ta me."
"I'm not gonna be shoved off any cliffs!" Kazuha said shortly, plopping back down in her chair, setting the letter aside on the desk. "Besides, ya know I can't just take this money. At the very least, I have ta go an' give it back ta this damn Takeda fool."
"An' ya might as well solve the case while yer at it?" Heiji finished, folding his arms in front of his chest. She almost flinched under that gaze, one that told her he'd read her like a book. "Forget it. If yer that damn worried about the money, just donate it ta charity or somethin'."
"Ya know I can't do that." Kazuha told him, her brows knitting together. "Besides, when did ya become the boss of me anyways, Heiji? I'm free ta do what I want, ya know."
"I'm not-!" Heiji protested, before grumbling to himself, clearly realizing she had a point. Forced into a corner, he grumpily admitted what he was obviously trying to otherwise avoid saying. "Look, I'm just... I'm just worried, okay?"
Letting her shoulders slump, Kazuha gazed up at him. Even if he hadn't admitted it, it was written all over his face. She didn't need to be any kind of detective to tell that much- just his childhood friend, who could read him just as easily as he could read her. "I know ya are, Heiji. But I promise, I'll be careful. No more surprises." She told him. "Besides, if yer that worried, why don't ya just come with me yerself?"
"Oh?" Amused, Heiji took a step forward. "Is that an invitation, Kazuha?"
"What else would it be, idiot?" Kazuha replied. "It ain't a circus animal."
Letting out a snort, Heiji let his hands drop. "Fine, in that case, I'll take ya up on that offer, Kazuha. Be yer bodyguard, maybe."
"I don't need a bodyguard." Kazuha told him- though her amused smile told him that she'd caught his attempt at a joke. A joke that was likely trying to cover up how unusual it was for him to offer to come with her on a job request- unfortunately not well enough that she failed to notice it.
He really was worried about her, wasn't he?
"Besides, with yer luck, yer a lot more likely ta get into trouble than me." Kazuha finished.
"...I want ta deny that, but..." Trailing off a little, Heiji shrugged his shoulders, giving her something of a helpless look. She did have a fair point, loathe as he was to admit it. "Okay then. In that case, ya can act as my bodyguard, Kazuha."
"In that case, why don't ya just not come?" Kazuha shot back, quirking a brow.
"Ya make a fair argument, but I'm still comin'." Heiji told her, his tone firm. "So? When are we goin'?"
"This weekend." Kazuha told him. "I'm worried about the contents of the message, so I want ta get there as soon as I can. Hopefully it's just a bad prank."
"Whoever can throw away that much money on a prank doesn't deserve ta have it." Heiji couldn't help but note. "So? Ya know anythin' about this Takeda place?"
"No, not at all." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "I suppose we'll find out when we get there. If I show 'em the letter an' explain everythin', surely they'll talk."
"How optimistic." Heiji observed, before pausing, a slight frown on his face. "Yer mom... sheās not around, right?"
"No." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "Did ya need her fer somethin'? She's always at therapy around this time of day. Thought ya knew that, Heiji."
"Ah, right... yer right. Just forgot." Rubbing the back of his neck, Heiji's frown deepened, before he quickly tried to cover it back up. "An' don't worry, it's nothin'! Just my mom wanted ta pass on a message ta her since I was goin' over ta yer place, that's all."
Forgot, he said. She had reason to doubt that- and reason to doubt that his mother, of all people would forget her mother's schedule. If she didn't miss her guess, he was double checking to make sure that she wasn't around, so that he wouldn't run into her.
After all this time, he was really still avoiding her, wasn't he?
Well... at least he'd made it inside of the house this time, she thought to herself. That was progress in and of itself, since she could count on one hand the number of times he'd been over here since the incident happened. When her father had told her that he'd shown up at their doorstep early in the morning on the day that she had left for that ill fated cruise, she had been rather surprised- though not unpleasantly so.
It would seem that wasn't merely a fluke, and hopefully, a sign for more positive things to come. It was almost enough to make her want to push him some more, but...
Well, this was progress, and the last thing she wanted to get was pushback. More than herself, the person that Heiji needed to speak to the most was her mother- hence why he was working so hard on avoiding her.
"Then ya can just tell Auntie Shizuka ta call her later." Kazuha told him, getting to her feet. "Since yer here, ya wanna split the pudding I got the other day? It's from that new shop by the station."
"Oh, that trendy one?" Heiji asked. "Sure, sounds great!"
"Technically we only bought enough fer the three of us, but ya can have my father's share." Kazuha told him, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm sure he won't mind!"
intermission time! todayās subject is heijiās part time job and his muscles!
for more information about this roleswap, please visit the about!
canon: detective conan, heiji/kazuha roleswap au
characters: toyama kazuha, hattori heiji
summary: kendo, kazuha decided, did some very great things for a personās muscles.
"What, it's just ya again, Kazuha?"
"There's no need ta sound so disappointed." Planting her hands on her hips, Toyama Kazuha's eyebrow arched, locking eyes with her childhood friend. "I'm a payin' customer ya know, Heiji."
"Ya say that, but I know ya just come here cause ya can get a discount on service." Barely even sparing her a glance in turn, Hattori Heiji merely let out a somewhat disgruntled click of his tongue. "So? What did ya do ta it this time?"
"Don't make me sound like some kind of walkin' accident." Kazuha noted, before letting out a rather curt sigh. "If I knew what had happened, I wouldn't need ya ta look at it."
"Still need me ta fix it though, unless miss detective is interested in breakin' the law today." Heiji noted with a shrug. "Ya towed it in ta the usual place?"
"I could just take it somewhere else, ya know." There was no actual bite to her threat- and he knew it too. "But yeah. I parked it in the usual place."
"Then, I'll guess I'll go ahead an' take a look at it." Pushing back his chair, Heiji let out a faint yawn. "Seein' as the boss ain't here right now. Mind the shop, Hei-chan, he said. Should've known I should have never let him speak ta Otaki-han."
"Ya stay up late again last night, Heiji?" Kazuha asked, arching a brow. "That was an awful yawn ya just made right there."
"Yeah, a bit." Heiji admitted, pausing for a moment to crack his neck. "Got really into readin' this online novel."
"Let me guess. It was somethin' occult again, right?" Kazuha asked.
"What's wrong with that?" Arching a brow, Heiji frowned. "Ya want me ta fix yer bike or not, Kazuha?"
"Yes, yes, please do." Kazuha said simply. "I just don't see the appeal."
"Ya don't gotta, seein' as yer not the one readin' em." Heiji noted, tightening his hair tie and letting out another loud yawn. "Well, I'll just get some coffee when I go on lunch break, an' I should be fine fer the rest of the day. What, ya worried?"
"Of course not." Kazuha said simply, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I don't have the time ta worry about what some occult obsessed idiot does with his free time."
"I wouldn't call it an obsession, Kazuha." Heiji said.
"Yer literally in the occult club, Heiji." Kazuha pointed out.
"...okay, fair point." Heiji admitted after a moment, giving her half a grin. "Now, let's go see what ya've done ta yer poor bike this time."
"Don't say that like ya don't get yers into a mess just as often." Letting out a slight sigh, Kazuha followed behind him into the garage proper. "An' it's not like I did anythin' ta it myself, not this time. The engine just stopped runnin' all of a sudden."
"Ya notice anythin' funny about it before then?" Sparing a glance back towards her, Heiji tilted his head. "Seein' as that's kind of yer job an' all, miss high school detective?"
Narrowing her eyes slightly at that remark, Kazuha merely shrugged her shoulders. "Nothin' at all. Everythin' seemed like it was pretty much in order. Besides, yer the one whose good with this kinda grease monkey stuff, Heiji, not me."
Ah, there it was- that smug grin he got whenever anyone praised him. Honestly, he could be such a pain sometimes, but she'd be lying if she tried to say that she honestly didn't like seeing that expression on his face.
...though, it wasn't that that kept her coming back to this shop, though.
"Well, yer right about that!" It wasn't the glow of his radiant smile that caught her attention now, not as he took of his jacket, tossing it aside on a nearby workbench. No, her eyes were currently somewhere else entirely. Ah, it seemed that fortune was smiling on her today- she totally didn't understand why Heiji leaned towards low cut shirts so much, but when it gave her such a nice view, she was hardly going to complain about it.
...kendo really did some great things to a guy's muscles, didn't it. Ah, if only that fluffy ponytail of his didn't conceal his back from view, then she could truly-
"Hey, Kazuha! Ka-zu-ha!"
Snapping out of it, wondering for how long she had spaced out for, Kazuha felt her cheeks turn a bright red, wondering for a moment if Heiji had caught her staring. Taking in the irritated expression on his face, she let out a faint laugh.
"Sorry, I just spaced out there fer a second. What were ya sayin', Heiji?" Kazuha asked.
"...ya sure have a lot of nerve, fer someone who lectures me half as much fer doin' the same." Arching a brow, Heiji folded his arms in front of his chest, totally missing the way her eyes almost seemed to follow them. "Anyways, I was sayin' ya might as well take a seat. This might take awhile fer me ta fix up."
"Ah, yes." Nodding her head, Kazuha carefully made her way through the workshop, taking a seat on the small bench. Watching with a soft smile as he set to work, she rested one hand lightly on his jacket, mentally noting that it was still a bit warm.
She knew the reason why he had taken this job at first was to simply keep his mind busy. It hadn't been easy to convince his parents at first- his mother wanted him to focus on his studies, after all, and she thought that a part time job would distract from that. But, after that had happened...
...well, it seemed that they wanted something for him to occupy himself with just the same.
And to think if that hadn't happened, right now they might be...
"Hey, Heiji-" Kazuha began.
"What?" Pausing to glance back at her, Heiji blinked.
"Ah-" Opening her mouth and then closing it again, Kazuha changed her mind. "Ya got a bit of oil on yer cheek."
"Oh, do I?" Using her motorcycle's mirror to check, Heiji flashed her a quick grin. "Thanks, thanks. I'll clean it off when I'm done here. Should take me awhile longer yet. If ya get thirsty, the water's in the usual place!"
With that, he turned his attention back towards her motorcycle again, leaving Kazuha's gaze transfixed on him. Taking in a long breath, she let out a deep sigh- now wasn't the time to talk about it, she supposed.
For the moment... she supposed she would just enjoy the show.
...kendo, she decided, really was good for a person's muscles.
In Reverse: The Twenty Year Old Murderous Intent: The Symphony Serial Murder Case
Hello yes, itās me again, back with some more Heiji/Kazuha roleswap fic. Please enjoy! If you want to learn about the roleswap, check out the about page here, or start from the beginning of the fic here or here!
Air.
It was the realization that there was none that sent him into a panic. As he gasped for it, water rushed into his lungs, the presence of it's crushing pressure around him only now making itself known.
It was in that instant, as he found himself gasping for what was not there, that he realized that this was most likely a dream. In doing so, the water which had sunk into his lungs expelled itself all at once, leaving him coughing, hacking, but able to breathe. This dream, he dimly realized, was not about himself.
As he caught a glimpse of flowing hair, caught in the dim light of the moon that penetrated the water's surface, he felt a surge of fear that was more powerful and more intense than it ever would have been had the dream simply been about himself. The dark brown color of that hair, the ribbon that broke free in the flowing current...
Though he knew it was merely a dream, he found himself reaching out for her anyways. But as if it were a fate that he couldn't change, no matter how far he stretched out his hand, it simply wouldn't reach, as she instead sunk further and further down into the ocean, a yearning pit underneath longing to become her final resting place.
It was only as their eyes met, the deep green piercing through the darkness of the waters, that he jolted awake from his nightmare. He was drenched, not from sinking into the ocean, but from his own cold sweat, his heart hammering loudly inside of his chest. Swallowing, he placed a hand over it, trying to draw in breath, finding it just as hard to do so as if he were actually drowning.
Slowly though, the pounding of his heart settled, and he forced himself to draw in one, long breath. Swinging his feet out of bed, he reached for his cellphone, already dialing Kazuha's number.
The number you have dialed is-.
Not even letting the automated message finish, Heiji changed out of his pajamas at almost a lightning pace, barely even pausing to grab his shoes and keys. Dimly, he could hear his mother's voice calling out to him as he made for the door, but he didn't stop to chat with her, the grip of fear in his chest too tight.
When he had dreamed about Kazuha being shot the other day, he had been worried, of course. But that dream had been different than this one.
She hadn't looked at him.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get that sight out of his eyes. In the back of his mind, a part of him knew that Kazuha would never be the type to blame others, but the silent message that had been carried in them as they dimmed into lifelessness was enough to make his blood run cold.
This is your fault.
Whether the coming future really was the result of his actions, he didn't know- but even if it wasn't, it wasn't something that he would just idly sit by and allow happen. Once and for all, he would-!
"Heiji?" Until Kazuha's father spoke to him, he frankly hadn't even been aware that he had already made it to her house, much less knocked on her door. He must have though, acting purely out of instinct, if nothing else. For a moment, his head went blank, almost forgetting why it was that he came here.
Then he remembered, and fought back a shudder.
It might seem silly, to put so much faith into mere dreams- but they'd never proven to be wrong before.
"Is Kazuha around?" Heiji asked, only now half considering the fact that he probably looked like a mess. He'd taken the time to change, but he hadn't so much as taken a brush to his hair, leaving it to stick out in every direction, and upon second glance, he was actually wearing two different pairs of sneakers.
Composure, he supposed, was not really an option.
What time was it even, he found himself wondering. Usually he was the type to wake up before the crack of dawn, but the sun was already high overheard. Dimly, he recalled that he had stayed up rather late doing... come to think of it, he couldn't actually remember now what it was that he had been doing the previous night, all of his other thoughts more less drawing up blanks. It was probably much later than he would have liked it to be, he realized with a small grimace.
"No, she left about an hour ago." The words were spoken so casually, and somehow, they still managed to make his blood run cold. "Is something wrong, Heiji? You look out of sorts."
"Did she say where she was going?" Heiji pressed, ignoring the question about himself for the moment. Why had that idiot left to go somewhere without him?
"Just that she was going to Tokyo." Ginshiro told him, shaking his head. "I assumed that she was heading to the place of that Mouri Ran girl that she's become friends with lately. Is there something wrong with my daughter?" It was at this point that Ginshiro leveled a far sharper gaze on the disheveled young man, a tight frown forming on his face.
This wasn't exactly the first time that he had come over to their house, early in the morning, looking for Kazuha in such a state. It was, however, the first time since that incident, which for once, seemed to be the furthest thing from his thoughts. He'd been putting in an effort to avoid the Toyama residence since then, so whatever it was that had driven him to come here must have been something indeed.
"Ah." Opening his mouth, and then just as quickly shutting it, Heiji forced a smile on his face. At the very least, if she was really with Neechan, he could at least call her and tell her to keep an eye on her. It didn't provide him with much comfort, but with some, enough to compose himself... or as much as he could, given his appearance.
"No, I just had a bad dream, an' she wasn't pickin' up her phone, so..." Heiji told him, taking a slight step back, a hand straying up behind his neck. "I see, so she went ta Neechan's place in Tokyo! Then, sorry ta bother ya, uncle. Maybe I should head there myself!"
"Heiji-." For a moment, it seemed almost as if Ginshiro wanted to say something else, before he thought better of it, instead shaking his head. "Make sure to wear a matching pair of shoes this time."
"Aw, but I was tryin' ta start a new trend!"
If she had to be honest, she was actually feeling a bit nervous.
It had nothing to do with the strange letter she had gotten, even if it had been stuffed to the brim with no small amount of money. It hadn't been the first time she'd gotten an odd letter with no return address- it had already happened once or twice before. If anything, th reason that she was so nervous was simply because...
...well, she'd never actually been on a ship this big before.
It wasn't as if she was entirely a stranger to the fancier things in life- Heiji's mom did seem to have some fairly impressive connections, so she'd been to a formal party once or twice before. Still, it was never an environment that she could find herself staying calm in, especially not when she was alone.
It wasn't as if the letter had told her to come alone or anything. Actually, she had tried to invite Heiji that morning, before she left, only to find that he was still in bed for a change. Since that was usually a sign that he hadn't gone to sleep until the early hours of the morning, she had decided to let him be, and had instead come to Tokyo herself.
Really, she'd been hoping to invite Shinichi and Ran as well, but that hadn't worked out either. She'd called, but nobody had picked up. Since there was a chance that she'd miss the boat entirely if she went to check the agency herself, she instead decided to go straight to the port where she was to catch it.
Just as the letter had said, showing one of the old style bills that she had gotten in the letter had let her right on. At first, she had thought it was meant as payment- but instead, they had let her keep the note, confusing her to no small degree. Well, while she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the month, it certainly went a long way to make this whole trip even more mysterious.
But speaking of sleeping in... letting out a loud yawn, Kazuha blinked her eyes, the fact that she hadn't gotten that much sleep the previous night either only now sinking into her. Though they hadn't left port yet, the rocking of the boat didn't really help with her exhaustion, only adding to it, if anything.
Well, they still had some time before they departed from the sound of it, so a quick nap wouldn't hurt. After all, one couldn't conduct an investigation on so little sleep!
...though it would be kind of nice to know what, exactly, she had been called here to investigate.
Ā "A detective? You mean there's another one on board?"
Ā "That's right. They don't look that much like one, though."
In hindsight, those words should have perhaps served as something of an omen. Still, when Toyama Kazuha burst out of the room they had been trying to gain access to, irate at the noise that they were making, he'd found himself being taken by surprise. Perhaps not quite as much as the person in question herself, though her surprise had very quickly turned into delight.
Which had just as quickly turned into curiosity, as she asked after the reason why they had been making so much of a racket in the first place. Not that he ever doubted it from beginning.
"The Gray Planner?" Kazuha asked. "Now that ya mention it, I've heard that name somewhere before... I think my father mentioned somethin' about him once before. I thought he was dead, though."
As she let Kogoro catch her up to speed on the one once known as the Gray Planner- or rather, Kanou Saizou, his real name was, Conan didn't miss the way he saw gears turning in her head. Once he had the chance, he'd have to ask about it later- what, exactly, had brought her to this ship today. Given the situation, he doubted it was just a coincidence.
Well, then again, she might have just seen the ad in the paper and had decided to come. She did seem like the type to like dolphins.
Which, apparently, was just as much Ran's theory as his own.
"Eh? It wasn't because of the ad that you came, Kazuha-chan?"
"I'm not sure what kinda ad yer talkin' about Ran-chan, but my reason fer bein' here is different." Kazuha told her, shaking her head. For a brief moment, her gaze flickered over towards Conan, and he could only twitch at the slightly teasing expression that lingered on her face. No doubt she found some amusement in the idea of him going along with Ran on a three night trip to spot dolphins. "I got a weird letter in the mail, filled with old bills, so I decided ta come on this ship both ta see what it was that they wanted, an' ta return the money."
"I see." Ran noted. "I guess you didn't bring Hattori-kun with you this time."
"I tried, but he was still asleep when I went over ta his place this mornin'." Kazuha told them, pausing to a sip of her tea. "He'll probably be full of complaints when I get back, though. Ever since that incident with Sakata-han, he's been awfully noisy whenever I try an' go off ta case without him."
"Isn't he just worried?" Ran asked. "You did get shot, after all."
"I guess." Kazuha admitted. "But well, if I have ta be honest, it's just a bit annoyin'. Between the two of us, he's got the worse luck, so bein' lectured about somethin' like that is sort of... ya know?"
Well, whatever the reasons, if he had to be honest, Conan was almost grateful that she hadn't brought Heiji with her this time. He wasn't a bad person, he supposed, but he was someone that he found himself having trouble getting along with. It was a combination of the fact that he perceived him as a child, and very clearly did not have any idea as to what one was supposed to do with a child, and the fact that he was just a bit too perceptive for Conan's comfort.
Well, he supposed that with his father being who he was, that much was to be expected.
"I think it's cute, though." Ran noted. Though the smile on her face was bright, there was a trace of something else beneath it. Knowing her as well as he did, Conan quickly picked up on it- and hoped that Kazuha hadn't. Were she to, he knew that he would be in for another chiding about keeping secrets, something he'd rather avoid. "Having your childhood friend worry about you that much."
Letting out a snort, Kazuha only rolled her eyes. "There's nothin' about Heiji that I'd call cute, Ran-chan. When he was a kid, maybe, but..."
Realizing in that instant, she had already said too much, Kazuha turned a bright shade of red, slamming her teacup down. "A-anyways, let's forget about that guy!"
Come to think of it, they had disagreed like this the first time they met, too.
Perhaps disagree wasn't quite the right word- arrived at different conclusions was better, if not more wordy. In truth, it was a thing that made her nervous- the last time she had come to a different conclusion, she had allowed herself to be mislead by the culprit, falling into a trap that they had set up. Normally, she wouldn't have made a mistake like that, but though the challenge hadn't been her idea, she had nonetheless found herself getting caught up in it, being blinded by it.
Though, suffice to say, she didn't expect her first impression of Kudo Shinichi to be that of a guy who looked like he was about to collapse on his feet. No wonder Ran had been so worried about him at the time, she had thought- it was only later that she had come to understand the reason behind the source of his strange sickness, as well as both his sudden appearance and disappearance.
That too, had been Heiji's idea, come to think of it- going to that Holmes fan gathering, that was. In truth, she didn't care all that much for Sherlock Holmes- the mysteries were interesting, but the as for the man himself, well... she always had preferred female detective stories, and for a reason. But Heiji had seem convinced that she'd run into Kudo there, and in a way, it almost chafed her to admit that he'd been right.
Especially since the logic behind his assumption had been so strange to begin with. But well... this was the same guy who not only believed in ghosts, but believed that if one tried hard enough, one could definitely punch them.
Still, nervous though she was, she didn't think that she was wrong- at least, not until she saw that. It was as if everything had clicked, all at once- everything but the culprit, that was.
Because she wasn't the only one who had been wrong.
"Then, if it's not them, then who...?"
When the answer struck her, it was quite literal.
It was the sound of something falling into the ocean that caught his attention. Even if it were a small sound, it would have still piqued his curiosity, but the loud splash that caught his ears nearly caused his heart to skip a beat.
Call him paranoid if you will, but the first thing he thought of was to ask where Kazuha had gone to. When one of the crew members had informed him that she had borrowed a large flashlight to look around the deck of the ship, he swore for a moment that his heart stopped beating entirely.
While his legs might be considerably shorter now than they had been in the past, when he wanted to, he could more than make up for that gap. If that splash was what he thought it was, then...
When it came to someone being in danger, his act tended to slip. But since he'd outpaced everyone who was following after him, it barely concerned him, calling out Kazuha's name until he made his way up to the deck, from where the source of the sound most likely came from. It was only when he was met with nothing but empty ocean, and the burnt remains of the corpse that had started this all, that he found himself halting.
Even then, it only took him a few seconds before he pulled himself up onto the ship's railing, once more calling out her name to the open ocean. It couldn't be... it couldn't be!
If she'd really gone overboard, in a place like this... and in the darkness of night, at that! Something like that couldn't have...
The ocean had no answers to give.
She supposed that she should count herself lucky that the blow to her head hadn't been enough to knock her out. Even though it hadn't managed to do that, it still disorientated her for longer than she would have liked- by the time she finally broke to the surface, gasping for air, the ship was already long gone.
Expelling the last of the seawater that she had swallowed, Kazuha fought to keep her head above the water. Already, her mind was racing, trying to figure out the best way out of this predicament- of which there weren't that many options. Even if she knew which way it had gone, there was no way she could catch up with the ship, and trying to swim against the current would only tire her out faster than simply trying to stay afloat.
The best thing to do was wait for rescue- hopefully someone on the ship would noticed that she was missing, and put two and two together. Failing that, she'd have to do her best to draw one to her. A quick check proved that the flashlight that she borrowed was still in working order- thank god, it must have been waterproof.
That bastard... if he really thought that she was going to just give up and die that easily, he had another thing coming! While she could count on Shinichi to solve the case in her absence, there was no way she would be satisfied with that. She'd definitely survive this, and come right back, and make him pay for what he'd done.
The life of high school detective Toyama Kazuha wouldn't end this easily!
"Achoo!"
"Are you alright, Kazuha-chan?" Hovering worriedly by her friend, Ran could only frown. She had been worried when they couldn't find Kazuha anywhere, but she never could have imagined that she had been pushed overboard! It must have happened back when Conan had heard that strange splash, and she couldn't help but blame herself for not acting sooner.
Thank god though, things had turned out alright.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kazuha told her, giving her something of a sheepish smile. "I'll be better when I can get back ta my room. Thank god I brought a change of clothes with me, or I'd be in trouble!"
"Trouble...?" Ran blinked. "Ah, that's right, yours must be soaked."
"Ah, well..." Glancing away from her, feeling her cheeks tint a bright shade of red, Kazuha drew the blanket that she had been given closer around her. She knew he was worried too, but honestly, that Shinichi- couldn't he hover somewhere else? If there was one thing that she was grateful for, it was how long the blanket that she had been given was. "That's true, but that's because most of them are still in the ocean."
"Eh, you mean...?" Placing a hand over her mouth as she realized, Ran's face turned a bright shade of red. For just a moment, her gaze flickered down towards Conan, so fast that Kazuha nearly missed it. It seemed to be enough to spur her into action though, scurrying behind her, pressing her hands against her back. "I-in that case, let's hurry and get back to your room, Kazuha-chan!"
"Ah... yeah." Slowly nodding her head, Kazuha pursed her lips together, briefly wondering what that was about. Well, to be honest, right now she really did just want to change into a nice, dry set of clothes, so any other worries could come later. "Let's go, Ran-chan."
"Then, can I come with-?"
"Conan-kun," there was something in Ran's voice which very nearly bordered on a threat, if he wasn't mistaken, "...you can stay here."
"Kazuha."
"...nice ta see ya too, Heiji."
She had to admit, she hadn't expected to see him here at all. She knew full well that he'd be annoyed that she had ditched him, but not to this point. How had he even known where to find her anyways?
"That's all ya got ta say ta me?" Heiji asked, taking a few steps forward, all but brushing aside Ran's greeting. Though Heiji and anger were two things that often went together, it was rare to see him this angry. "Ya went an' put yerself in danger, an' all ya got ta say ta me is that it's nice ta see me?"
Not much of one to be a shrinking violet, not even in the face of the rather intense anger that was radiating outwards from him, Kazuha narrowed her eyes, straightening her back. "Yeah, that's all that I've got ta say ta ya, Heiji! What's with ya lately anyways? Ya've been actin' like ya think I need an escort or somethin'."
"Ya nearly drowned!"
"Nearly. Didn't." Kazuha told him, folding her arms in front of her chest, locking eyes with him. "Big difference."
"Barely a difference." Heiji insisted, clearly not backing down here. "Ya could have died, Kazuha."
"I didn't." Kazuha told him simply, her shoulders slumping slightly. Angry though he was, the source of it was concern for her- and it wasn't like he was entirely wrong. She really was lucky that a fishing boat had come along, especially so late at night. If it hadn't, she probably would have...
...ah.
So that's why he was so angry.
"I'm alive, Heiji. Short one change of clothes, but alive." Kazuha told him.
The anger didn't quite fade from him, but at the very least, she'd told him something he clearly wanted to hear. Just seeing it with his own two eyes apparently wasn't enough- it must have been a very bad nightmare indeed if he needed a verbal confirmation. In that sense, she couldn't entirely blame him for being angry.
That wasn't to say that she liked it. Or rather, his anger was fine, understandable, even. The problem was... well, the problem was that she didn't really care to hear words that she knew he was repeating from his father come out of his mouth. She had thought that she had helped distract him from what was troubling him the other day, when they went to the amusement park together, but it seemed like she had been mistaken.
"Why'd ya go without me?" Heiji asked finally. "I would have come with ya."
"Ya didn't hear from Auntie Shizuka?" Kazuha asked. "I did, but ya were still fast asleep. Since that's not like ya, I figured it would be best just ta let ya keep doin' that, an' went ta Tokyo on my own."
Opening and shutting his mouth, as if there was something that he wanted to say to that, Heiji let out a long sigh, finally stepping back and giving her a bit of space. "Ya invited Neechan."
"She just happened ta be there, that's all. Besides, from the sound of it, I would have thought ya'd have liked it better if I wasn't alone." Kazuha told him, ignoring the fact that it had been her plan to do so in the first place. "I'm really fine though, Heiji."
"...ya sure?" Heiji asked, his shoulders finally slumping. In truth, he was more relieved than anything. "Ya didn't get hurt anywhere, or anythin' like that?"
"Nothin' serious." Kazuha promised him. "Now then, Heiji, are ya gonna ignore Ran-chan an' Conan-kun fer the rest of the mornin', or are ya gonna at least acknowledge they exist?"
"Ah." As if only now fully realizing that he had ignored them, in spite of bringing up her name earlier, Heiji could only flash them a sheepish smile. "...my bad."
(Kazuha) Are you afraid of ghosts, or do you believe in them at all?
Heijiās the one ya wanna see if ya wanna talk about occult stuff. He aināt afraid of it though (not usually).
I say that, but he did get quite the fright back when we had ta deal with that fake demon dog anā that fake nue... though Iāll be honest, the latter did give me a bit of a surprise too at first!
I donāt really believe much in that sort of thing, myself. Thereās no way that things like ghosts could actually exist in this world.
(anā even if they did, thereās no way Heiji could just punch āem like he thinks he can.)
Hello everyone! Another intermission type oneshot for the Heiji Kazuha roleswap AU! If you want to learn about the roleswap, check out the about page here, or start from the beginning of the fic here or here!
Then, without further ado!
"Kazuha, can I speak with you for a moment?"
"It's not about what happened in Tokyo the other day, is it?" Glancing up from her notebook, Kazuha gave her father a small smile, setting aside her pen. "It's not like I meant ta set out an' find a case."
"No, it has nothing to do with that." Returning his daughter's smile, Toyama Ginshiro took that as his signal that he could enter her room. "Or perhaps it's a bit connected to that, actually, now that I think about it. Did something happen while you were gone with Heiji?"
"A murder case." Kazuha stated bluntly. "But I'm guessin' that's not what ya meant."
"No, that part I knew already." Ginshiro noted. "And I am proud of you, by the way. From what I understand, he was a friend of Shizuka's, the victim."
"Heiji, too, a bit." Kazuha noted, pushing her chair away from her desk, spinning it to face her father. "I think that's part of the reason why he's kinda in a mood lately. Apparently he used ta visit that place when he was still real little, with his mom."
"So you've noticed, then." Ginshiro noted, before he shook his head. "Well, I suppose that's only natural, given how close the two of you are."
There was a slightly teasing note in her father's voice that made Kazuha's lips curl, but she wasn't about to give him what he wanted there. Sometimes he could be awfully easy to read, that father of hers. She knew full well that he was rather fond of the idea of the two of them getting together, as something other than just friends, but for her part...
Well, for her part, she didn't know what she thought about that. Sure, she cared about Heiji a lot, and he was an important friend, annoying as he could be, but as for being in love with him... she didn't know about that.
She did appreciate his damn fine muscles, though, but she was pretty sure that wasn't the same thing as love. Kendo sure could do a world of favors for a guy, that much was for sure. And it wasn't as if the only reason why she always went to the bike shop that he worked at part time for repairs on hers was because she hoped to catch a glimpse of them there! They just had good customer service, that was all!
...okay, maybe there was a bit of something there after all. Still, she wasn't sure if it was what she could call romantic love or not, though.
"It's hard ta miss when he's in one of his moods." Kazuha noted. "When he's not bein' more snappy than usual, he gets all quiet, an' that's just creepy! Being contemplative isn't like him at all."
"Well, I'm sure he must have a lot of things on his mind." Ginshiro noted, letting out a slight laugh at the way his daughter's cheeks puffed out. "In any case, that was why I wanted to ask if anything more had happened. I know Heiji doesn't care for dealing with crime scenes..." and for a moment, he let his words hang, something unspoken in between the silence, "...but his mood seems worse than usual this time."
"I just think it's because it was someone he knew." Kazuha told him, a more serious expression crossing her face. "As a kid, at that."
"...I see." Sensing what she hadn't said out loud, Ginshiro closed his eyes, drawing in a long breath. Things had certainly changed since then, so if careless words had been spoken... it was no wonder he was acting the way he was right now. "In that case, I might have just the solution."
"Eh?" Blinking a little, Kazuha couldn't help but give her father something of a skeptical look. "The last time ya said that, I ended up havin' ta deal with a double homicide, ya know."
"I'm sure that won't happen again." Ginshiro told her, an edge of doubt to his voice that he couldn't entirely conceal. On her own, Kazuha didn't generally run into that sort of thing- most of the cases that she got involved with were ones that she was requested to help solve. But when she was together with Heiji... well, things were usually different then. He was starting to suspect that the boy had ticked off some kind of god in his past life.
"They're from your mother, at any rate." Ginshiro continued, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the pair of tickets. "She won them in a raffle at the shopping street. She told me to pass them on to you."
"From mom?" Taking them from her father, Kazuha checked him over. "Oh, amusement park tickets! But are ya sure, dad? The two of ya haven't had a date night in awhile, ya know~?"
If he was going to tease her, then teasing him back would be fair game! Or at least, that's what she would like to say, but of course, her words didn't faze him at all. Adults could be so unfair.
"You know amusement parks can be a bit difficult for your mother." Ginshiro told her. "While you and Heiji are enjoying yourselves there, I'll take her out to a nice dinner and a movie instead."
"Well, that's good, then..." Trailing off a little, Kazuha pursed her lips together. It would probably be for the best not to mention to Heiji that it had been her mother who had won the tickets. That would ruin the whole point of going there in the first place. "Then, in that case, I'll take them."
"That's the spirit. Well then, I'll leave you to your homework, Kazuha." Ginshiro told her, taking a step back. "Make sure to tell us when you plan on going, though. You should probably go ahead and tell Shizuka in Heiji's place, you know how he is about telling people his plans."
"...ya've got a point there." Kazuha admitted, giving her father a small smile. "Then, thanks, dad. Thank mom too fer me when ya pick her up later."
"I will." Ginshiro told her. "Well then, study hard!"
Letting out a breath as her father closed the door behind him, Kazuha felt her shoulders slump, as she turned back around in her chair. Gazing down at the tickets in her hand, she pulled her legs up onto the chair, another sigh escaping from her. Free tickets to the amusement park were good and all, but given the circumstances, she'd rather not have them at all.
"Well, there's no point in wastin' them now that I've got them." Kazuha noted, pulling her chair forward and dropping her feet back down again. Pulling out her cellphone, she leaned back in her chair as she listened to the sound of the phone ringing.
What's Heiji's relationship like with Kudo/Conan? Do they get along well?? (This is a really fun au by the way! Thanks for sharing it!)
The kidās weird.
I mean, itās not like I hate āim or anythinā like that, I mostly just donāt know what ta do with āim. Iām not that good with kids in the first place, but that kidās kinda in a class of his own.
I mean, what kinda kid is so at ease around murder scenes even if he does wanna be a detective when he grows up? Itās good that Kazuhaās watchinā āim, butā¦
I guess heās an okay kid though, other than the weird part. Wonāt let me check out those gadgets that that Professor makes, though. It wouldnāt hurt if I just took āem apart a little, right???
Iām not entirely convinced heās human.
ā¦and why are ya lumpinā his name together with that Kudo bastard anyways?
In Reverse 2: The Night Before the Wedding Locked Room Case
Have some more of the Heiji/Kazuha roleswap fic! If you want to start from the beginning, hereās the link to it on AO3!
"You're sulking, aren't you?"
"W-what are ya talkin' about!?" Looking startled at the question, Heiji quickly moved to deny any such thing. "Of course I'm not! Why would I be sulkin'?"
It wasn't that he was the least bit annoyed that his plan to lure that Kudo Shinichi guy out had failed once again. He had thought for sure if they called Ran out to come and pick them up at the station upon arriving Tokyo, that the Kudo guy would have shown up with her, but it would appear that he was wrong. The only people who had come alongside Ran was that mustached geezer, and that weird glasses kid.
Who had, incidentally, been hogging all of Kazuha's attention ever since they had gotten here. For some reason, it bothered him. He knew that Kazuha was good with kids, but what did she even see in a brat like that anyways? He wasn't the least bit cute!
"You are!" Ran insisted, unable to keep the bright smile off of her face. "Kazuha-chan told me, you know. About your plan to try and trick Shinichi into showing his face here."
"I don't know what ya mean!" Folding his arms in front of his chest, Heiji averted his eyes from her, doing a splendidly bad job at lying. "I don't care about that idiot high school detective one bit!"
"Which one do you mean by that? Shinichi? Or perhaps Kazuha-chan?" Ran couldn't help but ask. Really now... even when he wasn't being honest, he really couldn't help but be honest. He might deny it, but it was written all over his face- his jealousy, that was.
"What does it matter, which one I mean?" Heiji asked, daring to glance back in Ran's direction and instantly regretting it. What was that look on her face for? Was she making fun of him?
Honestly, he really didn't get this Neechan sometimes.
"It matters a lot!" Ran insisted, nodding her head. "You like her, don't you? Kazuha-chan, that is."
"Ya said somethin' like that before too, but lemme tell ya right now, I don't think of Kazuha that way." Heiji insisted, as he turned his gaze back outside the car window, eyes narrowing a little as he caught sight of Kazuha and that kid exchanging some words with each other. What was so much fun about talking with a kid anyways?
"Then, if you don't think of her that way, why are you so upset about Shinichi?" Ran asked, tilting her head. "It seems an awful lot to me like you're jealous, Hattori-kun."
"Je-" Sputtering a little, Heiji's face betrayed him, turning a bright red color at her words as he turned to look at her. "I'm not! I just wanna make sure that Kazuha's not hangin' around some kinda weirdo, that's all!"
"Besides, I don't see what's so great about the guy anyways!" Leaning back in the car seat, Heiji's brows furrowed together, an irritated expression on his face. "He didn't come ta visit her even once while she was in the hospital. From the way she talks about him, it sounds like the two of 'em are friends, but what kinda lousy bum friend doesn't come visit ya after ya've been shot?"
"Well that's..." Trailing off for a moment, Ran had to admit, Heiji did have a bit of a point. Even if it had just been in the leg, the fact remained that Kazuha had been shot- and had the scar to show for it now, too. "I'm sure Shinichi was just busy with a case. He can't even come see me that often, so..."
"What's so interestin' about cases anyways?" Heiji muttered, once more averting his eyes from her- this time for a different reason than before, Ran sensed. "Ya'd think after the case Kazuha might think twice about detective work, but she's just as gung-ho as it as she usually is."
"That's just how they are." Ran told him simply, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't really understand it myself either."
"Hmm." Not looking entirely convinced by such a half hearted explanation, Heiji could only let out a small sigh. "Well whatever, I guess. No point in sulkin' over it, I guess."
"Ah, so you were sulking!"
"...shut up."
"Ah, he's lookin' this way again."
"Hattori-kun, you mean?" Following Kazuha's gaze, Conan could only frown, just barely catching the person in question looking away from them. "You're right."
"That's the fifth time already." Kazuha observed, her smile growing somewhat amused. "Do ya think he's jealous or somethin'?"
"Considering that he stormed in during the middle of our tour demanding to know where Kudo Shinichi was, I'd say he's jealous." Conan noted, merely lifting a brow, not missing the way that Kazuha briefly flinched at his words, averting her eyes. "But not of me. I'm just a kid, after all!"
"Nah, he's probably jealous." Kazuha noted, glancing back Heiji's way again.
"Of a kid?" Conan asked, unable to help but sound a bit skeptical. "I thought you said that you weren't even interested in him that way, Kazuha-chan."
"I'm not, I'm not!" Kazuha said quickly, the hurried nature of her response leaving room for skepticism. He was starting to get the impression that perhaps there was a bit more going on between the two than either was willing to let on- or perhaps they had both simply failed to notice the nature of their own feelings. "I just think it's kinda funny, really. That he'd be jealous of me talkin' ta what he thinks is a kid."
Well, he had gotten a bit of a weird idea planted in his head after the last time, but it was better not to tell Conan about that. It would pass in time- or rather, even if it didn't, she doubted Heiji would arrive at the truth. His mind could work in awfully strange ways at times.
Either way, it was probably nothing to worry about.
"Funny's not really the word that I would use to describe it." Conan pointed out, turning his gaze back towards the car, a slight frown crossing his face as he watched the occupants of it enjoy a conversation between the other. It wasn't as if he thought Heiji was any kind of threat, or anything like that- but seeing things like that only really served to remind him that he couldn't be in that place himself, right now.
It left something of a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Does he always try to challenge boys who spend time around you to fights?" He couldn't help but ask. Hopefully by the time he returned to his real body for good, he'd be over such feelings. Given the way he seemed to be hitting it off with Ran, he could only assume that they would be seeing much more of him in the future.
"Not always." Kazuha said, shaking her head. "Actually, this is the first time, come ta think of it. He always does get kinda grumpy when it's someone he doesn't know, though, but he's never actually tried ta fight them, or anythin' that. But I'm sure he's not serious about that, Kudo-kun, so ya don't have ta worry!"
"No, I think he's plenty serious." Conan dryly remarked. "More importantly, did you two really only come out here just for a wedding?"
"Really, really." Kazuha reassured him, giving him a smile. "I'm sure nothin' like last time will happen again. My luck's not normally that bad." Pausing for a moment, she let her gaze drift once more, her expression speaking volumes. "My luck, at least."
"Ah." Simply leaving it at that, Conan merely cast another glance back towards Heiji, lips twisting in a tight frown.
Come to think of it, they had only gotten involved in that case after Heiji had appeared.
In so far as keeping secrets went, Toyama Kazuha was not precisely terrible at it. For the most part, she managed to keep careful track of what she said, and aside from that one time, generally was able to keep track of what to call him. Putting aside the fact that she had spoken a little more freely about Kudo Shinichi than he would have liked within private circles, she was mostly quite good at it, in fact.
Mostly.
"Well? How does it feel to be the great detective of the Heisei Era?"
"It's incredible for me too! My cases are solved so easily, like in a dream..."
That loud snort that Kazuha let out in response to his words was anything but subtle. Though she'd tried to cover it up with her hand, that had only served to draw more attention to it, in the form of an assortment of odd looks from around the table. Sending her the best glower that he could manage under the circumstances, Conan took some small satisfaction in the way she paled at it.
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Holding up a hand, Kazuha let out something of an awkward laugh. "I just remembered a funny joke I heard the other day, that's all. Don't mind me!"
For the most part, the occupants of the table seemed to buy the excuse, and the topic had changed rather quickly. Heiji's gaze had lingered on Kazuha for a moment longer than those of others, a slight frown on his face, before he too, seemed to brush it off.
This guy might actually be slightly more perceptive than he had first thought- he would have to be a bit careful, in that case. His type was the last type that he wanted his secret to be known to- he couldn't imagine anything good would come of it.
Well, Kazuha was probably right. Only she and Heiji would be spending the night here, after all- he'd be going back home with Ran and Kogoro after dinner was over. Since nothing had happened yet, he doubted anything would at this point- especially after the fiance in question finally showed himself.
For the time being, he could take it easy.
Which would be easier, were he not seated right next to someone who had very blatantly expressed an intent to fight him the last time they'd met. It was one of the very few times in which he'd found himself grateful that he wasn't, well, himself at the moment.
While he wasn't one normally to believe in jinxes, perhaps that was the best way to describe the events that had unfolded. He'd been certain, so certain, that nothing was going to happen this time- only to be proven wrong in the span of an instant.
The sound of shattering glass had brought with it an ill omen. Sure enough, not only was the butler of the family nowhere to be found, but they also had a locked room to deal with- one that turned out to have a corpse inside. It was of none other than the missing butler, a man by the name of Shigematsu Akio, who appeared to have been rather well acquainted with Heiji.
He'd been stabbed in the chest, and the murder weapon in question was nowhere to be found. A locked room case- and a rather annoying one at that. The fact that they had to put up with the annoying attitude of the son didn't help matters at all- even if his own actions had lead them to a clue that they might have missed otherwise.
"Maybe that story's true, then?"
"Story?" Kazuha asked, peering up towards Heiji, only briefly wondering when he had gotten there. Conan had been a bit more startled by his sudden appearance- not that she could blame him, Heiji didn't seem like the type to move quietly when he wanted to. "What story, Heiji?"
"Somethin' my mom told me once." Folding his arms in front of his chest, Heiji cocked his head in the direction of the retreating form of Sakuraba. "I overheard Morizono-han just a second ago askin' if he could start the burial arrangements fer Shigematsu-han. Said somethin' about buryin' him near his wife."
"So? What's that got ta do with anythin'?" In spite of words, it was clear from her tone that the story had nevertheless piqued her interest. Heiji had come here quite a few times as a child, from the sound of it, so there was a chance that what he might say could prove to be useful.
Since he was a child, though... she supposed she was grateful that nothing had been said that would have caused his temper to flare during dinner. Be it good luck or sensitivity, she'd rather not have to handle dealing with one of Heiji's moods on top of solving a case. Those two things never mixed well.
"I'm gettin' ta that." Heiji grumbled. "Honestly, here I am tryin' ta help ya out a little, an' ya gripe at me."
Ah, so he was in a bit of a mood after all, Kazuha noted, merely letting out a sigh. Well, she couldn't say that she didn't expect it. Generally speaking, Heiji hated being around crime scenes, so she guessed it was only natural that he'd be a little more testy than usual. "Yes, yes, finish yer story already Heiji. I want ta hurry up an' go back ta check out the crime scene already."
There was a slight pause there, before Heiji frowned, turning slightly on his heel. "If those two are really in love with each other, then it'd be the same as in the past. Apparently the one that Morizono-han's wife always came ta see wasn't him, but Shigematsu-han. He just got the wrong idea, an' thought that she was comin' here ta see him instead, an' ended up proposin' ta her."
"Well, he probably figured it out afterwards, though." Heiji added with a slight shrug. "I guess it's what they say about history repeatin' itself."
"Yer right, it is similar." Kazuha noted, exchanging a brief glance with Conan. She got the feeling that the matching pendants weren't entirely unrelated to the case at hand, and she was pretty sure he felt the same way.
"Right?" His grin only momentarily shifting at the way that Kazuha and Conan exchanged looks, Heiji tucked his hands into his pockets. As he thought, that kid really was weird- he'd been following Kazuha around like a shadow the entire time. For that matter, he didn't seem all that disturbed by the appearance of a corpse either.
Come to think of it, it had been the same way the last time too. Not to mention, what kind of kid just dove in to take a knife for someone by instinct like that?
Edogawa Conan, apparently.
"I don't think it's gonna work, Kudo-kun."
"No, we can't say that yet, Kazuha-chan." Conan noted, peering down over the balcony, trying to more or less eyeball the distance between it, and the one below. "That's why you're going to test it, to find out."
"No, no, that's not what I meant." Kazuha told him, shaking her head. "I know ya asked me ta do it seein' as yer a little short on height," and unable to help herself, she let out a faint snort there, "...but I'm not all that tall myself, all things considered. The only suspect I have the same reach as is Kaede-san."
Glowering slightly at the short comment, Conan nevertheless recognized that she did have something of a point there. If her arms weren't long enough to reach what she needed to in order to get the balcony below them, then rope or not, doing the experiment might actually put her in danger. Needless to say, he didn't want that.
"We still need to test it somehow, though." Conan pointed out, a tight frown on his face. This did complicate things a bit. "I'm not sure how much luck we'd have in convincing Uncle to try it. If I asked Detective Takagi, maybe..."
"Ah, there's no need fer that." Kazuha said, holding up a hand. "If it's just someone with longer arms than me, I got the perfect person in mind."
"Who?" Blinking a little, Conan looked up at her, slowly catching her drift as he did. "You can't be talking about-?"
"Yeah. Heiji'll do it if I ask him too." Kazuha told him, nodding her head.
"There's no way he'd actually just-"
"Fine, I'll do it."
He stood corrected, apparently. From the way he had grumbled about it at first, he'd been almost certain that Heiji was going to turn her down- but apparently, he'd be wrong, and she'd been right.
Well, they were childhood friends, after all, and he, on the other hand, had only just met the guy- and barely, at that. He got the feeling that Heiji was trying to avoid situations in which the two of them would be alone together. Judging from the vibe he gave off, he was pretty sure it had to do with him being fully aware of the fact that he wasn't really all that great with children.
"Thanks a bunch, Heiji!" Clapping her hands together, Kazuha smiled brightly at him. "I promise I'll pay ya back later. We'll go get some takoyaki at yer favorite place when we get back home, my treat!"
"Ya don't need ta treat me, Kazuha." Gaze flickering slightly away from that of her own, Heiji's eyes narrowed. "I mean, it's not the weirdest thing ya've ever asked me ta do."
Conan couldn't help but take a bit of interest in his body language- all the more so since it was more subtle than what he had started to become accustomed to seeing from the dark skinned Osakan. Just like the rest of him, his body language was generally boisterous and easy to read, even by someone who had only just met him, but this felt... almost considerably more schooled.
It... bothered him a little, actually.
"I'll do it anyways!" Kazuha insisted, her tone leaving very little room for further argument. "Then, I'll head outside so I can watch from the ground with Ran-chan. Do ya think ya can watch things up here fer me, Conan-kun?"
"Sure!" Deciding to put it out of his mind for the moment, Conan nodded his head. If there was something going on between the two of them, he supposed it wasn't really any of his business. "Leave it to me, Kazuha-neechan!"
"Oi, yer not seriously havin' the kid watch my rope, are ya?" Suddenly turning a shade paler, Heiji almost looked as if he was reconsidering his offer. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"It'll be fine, Heiji!" Kazuha almost chirped, a bright smile on his face. "Conan-kun's the reliable type! Ya might be able ta learn a thing or two from him yerself, really."
"He's five." Heiji protested.
"Six." Conan quickly clarified. "I'm six."
"No way!"
In hindsight, he should have guessed that Kazuha would have more than a few problems with the idea. She was the daughter of a police detective, something that seemed to come hand in hand with a strong sense of justice. It was to be expected that she had more than a few issues with a tactic that involved accusing an innocent man.
"I'm against it, Kudo-kun!" Shaking her head, ignoring the few drops of rain that managed to find their way through the canopy of the tree, Kazuha gripped the branch tightly. "Sure, we're lackin' proof, but there must be some other way than ta just waltz into the trap that bastard set up!"
"I get what you mean, but..."
"If ya want ta do somethin' like that, yer on yer own, Kudo-kun." He already somewhat understood as much, but as he thought, Kazuha could be rather scary when she was angry. Combined with her stubborn nature, arguing with her on the matter might be pointless. "I'll help ya corner the guy afterwards, but there's no way I'm doin' somethin' like that!"
She'd already done something very much the same by mistake, and it had left a sour taste in her mouth ever since then. There was no way she was going to fall for such a trap the second time- even giving the appearance of doing so was enough to make her skin crawl. Besides, if the motive was what she thought it was, then there was no way she was going to take part in giving that bastard even a fraction of satisfaction about his plan working.
Even if he said they would tell the police beforehand that they were trying to lure the real culprit into a trap, it just didn't sit right with her.
"I get it, Kazuha-chan. I won't make you do it." Conan told her. There was no point in butting heads over something like this, and he wasn't about to force someone to do something they were so very clearly against. "I'll just use uncle for it."
It would be a little bit of an annoyance, but he didn't want to force her to do anything that she was clearly uncomfortable with. Though she wasn't saying it in so many words, it was clear that her miss from before, from the first time that they met each other, was still bothering her.
"Then, thanks." Kazuha said after a moment. She was grateful that he had listened to her, stubborn as she knew she was being, but it wasn't as if she wasn't aware that she was putting him out, at least a little. "An' sorry, Kudo-kun."
"It's fine." Quick to reassure her, Conan glanced downwards again. "We'd better hurry up and get out of this tree though. I get the feeling if we stay up here any longer, Ran's going to come up to get us."
"I'm amazed that she even let ya climb it in the first place, given what just happened."
"The only reason I'm even up here is that she couldn't catch me first."
"In the end, it's like we came all the way out her fer nothin'."
"Don't say that, Heiji." Shoving her bag in the overhead compartment, Kazuha firmly closed it behind her, sliding into the seat next to Heiji. "It's a good thing we came! If we hadn't, the police might have arrested the wrong man."
"They sure as heck seemed ta be in a hurry ta." Heiji muttered, turning his head to look out the train window, brows furrowing. "Can't believe it was all part of a trap ya set up that mustached uncle. Doesn't seem like yer kind of thing, Kazuha."
"It wasn't my idea." Kazuha pointed out, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I would have preferred somethin' more direct myself! But as it stood, we had no evidence, an' everythin' we did have pointed ta Sakuraba-han."
"Hmm." Gaze flickering back towards her, Heiji frowned a bit. "Well, whatever. Since it all worked out in the end, I guess it's fine. Still, I gotta say, I didn't think the sleepin' part was so dang literal. It thought that old man was asleep fer real!"
Biting back a comment that he was, in fact, fast asleep, Kazuha merely let out a laugh instead. She didn't really care for lying to Heiji like this, but if it was to keep a secret for someone else, she'd put up with it. "Right? It surprised me the first time too!"
"Guys gonna get himself killed someday, if he keeps dozin' off at crime scenes." Heiji muttered, leaning back in his chair, letting out something of a loud yawn.
"He's not actually sleepin', Heiji, I just said as much." Kazuha told him, frowning a little. "An' that sounds like somethin' yer father would say, not you. Did somethin' happen?"
"Nothin'." Turning his head to look out the window again, Heiji tried to ignore the expression he saw on Kazuha's face, cast in reflection. "Shigematsu-han just said some stuff, that's all."
"Heiji-" Opening her mouth to say something, Kazuha quickly shut it, withdrawing her words.
Learn when to pick your battles, someone had told her once. It was advice that had nothing at all to do with Heiji, but she often found it applied. She'd bicker with him about all sorts of things, but speaking of this topic now, right here, she knew, was very likely not to end well. There would be a time when she could broach the subject with him- but now wasn't it.
She just wanted him to understand already that it hadn't been his fault.
"I've been thinkin' there's been somethin' fishy about ya fer the longest now, so I'm gonna have ya fess up today, kiddo! Yer way too smart ta be a normal kid no matter how ya look at it, so there's only one answer. Yer obviously some kinda cryptid, aren't ya?"
Iām kind of on the fence about it, because we donāt quite yet know why Momiji is so into Heiji. Itās possible that her reason could be something that would still make sense for the roleswap, so I donāt want to jump into anything ahead of myself.
(Kazuha) Do you often help your father with cases, or do you just solve cases that people ask you specifically about? ((good luck with this ask blog, by the way!))
My father doesnāt normally need my help, so most of the cases I work are requests sent ta me.
Thereās also all of the cases Heiji stumbles on by himself, but those tend ta get... kinda weird. Not ta mention that I always seem ta run into āem with Kudo-kun.
Heiji says we should take Kudo-kun ta a shrine or somethinā ta get him exorcised, but I donāt think he really realizes heās basically in the same boat there, sāfar as that sort of thing goes.
Hey there! Iām Toyama Kazuha, anā over here is my idiot of a childhood friend, Heiji! Iām known as the high school detective of the west in some circles, anā I thought it would be fun if I made a blog like this so yāall could ask me some questions!
I guess ya can ask āem of Heiji too, if ya want, though I donāt see why yaād wanna.
(An ask blog for a Heiji/Kazuha roleswap, in which Kazuha is the detective and Heiji is the childhood friend. This is my first detco ask blog, so please be kind, and send in some asks!)
