#heiji's detective brain going over drive

[hayaku14]

even heiji is like, "what in the gay is going on" LMAO

[stillebesat]

Fanged (4/4)

Detective Conan: Hattori Heiji, Kudo Shinichi Blurb: It wasn’t quite how Heiji had imagined their first meeting would go. But when you���re setting out to find your missing rival, things hardly can go as you expect them. Especially when the supernatural gets involved. Fic Type: Supernatural Overall Fic Warnings: Blood, Injuries, Fighting, Death Talk, Murder Case Talk

To Catch Up: Chapter 1 Chapter 2  Chapter 3

Heiji purposefully chose to not keep track of the time passing as Kudo continued to steadily drink from him.  

Of course, the possible concussion he’d received from being flung about by his rival made it a little difficult to focus anyways. But unlike the first time he’d fed from Heiji, Kudo didn’t take to drinking like a babe to its bottle, ignoring all else but his food source right in front of him. 

Well, he had ignored all else the first minute or so, but now Kudo’s was acting more like a predator hunkered over its prey. He was wary, eyes darting in every direction, body shifting minutely as he adjusted for potential threats, readying himself in case something was stupid enough to attack him while he ate. 

No wonder, Kudo had survived so long out here. He at least had the vampire’s instinct to stay alive. Heiji held still, evenly breathing in and out to allow his heart rate to settle so he wouldn’t startle his rival into flight. 

So long as the half-vampire didn’t sense a threat, he would stay. Stay until he’d drunk his fill. 

Then would be the moment of truth. The reveal of how much of the real Kudo Shinichi was left behind those blood red eyes. 

Between one breath and the next, Heiji’s vision doubled, and he grimaced, blinking rapidly to get the world back in focus. 

Breathe. Just. Breathe. Slow and steady. No need to panic even though Kudo had already managed to drain enough of his blood to threaten him blacking out. Totally nothing to worry about. 

Any other Supernatural Hunter would have pulled away by now. 

Of course, no other Hunter would have let himself be weakened by a vampire letting himself get flung into trees and by purposely giving him blood. No, they would have already been back at the Spa telling the police that they’d found Kudo’s body. They wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him. 

Heiji kept a steady gaze on Kudo’s eyes, watching as the red within the irises began to swirl, showing the human blue underneath. 

He’d never seen a vampire’s eyes change like that. Even when caught in the middle of draining a victim, they’d remain steady in their red shade. 

Definitely not a normal vampire.

Come on, Kudo.

He had chosen to trust him at his word when he said he hadn’t wanted to kill Heiji earlier. But instinct was a strong…a strong...Heiji shivered, gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering from the sudden chill. His other arm supporting him in his half lounging position trembled. 

Stage Two. Weakness, feeling cold, his skin paling. 

His rival had drained about a quarter of Heiji’s blood supply. He wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer before his own life was threatened. Well, more threatened. 

Still. It had to be working. Kudo’s eyes were almost entirely blue now. The red tendrils swirling within moving towards the pupil like water to a drain as he turned his head towards Heiji, ear tilted towards his chest even as his eyes darted elsewhere. Listening. Listening to his heart? 

Heiji gripped the dirt with his free hand, leaning forward. Almost. Almost. He winced as Kudo growled, biting down harder as his fingers dug into his arm. 

Come on Kudo. 

He could feel his heart rate picking up, struggling to get blood and oxygen pumping through his body. 

Kudo wouldn’t kill him. He had to trust him. Trust that even with instinct driving him now. His rival woul--

The last of the red vanished, Kudo’s darkened eyes spring to life, his irises shining a bright fervent soul-piercing blue. 

With a muffled cry, his rival pulled his fangs out of Heiji’s arm, throwing himself backwards to increase the distance between them. 

Heiji exhaled with relief, and let himself collapse onto the ground. “About bloody time, Kudo.” He said rubbing his arm. Again the bite mark was already scabbed over. 

If only his other injuries could heal as quickly. 

He turned his head to the detective. “Getchar fill?” 

Kudo scooted backwards until his back hit a tree. He surged to his feet, fingers twitching as he visibly took a hold of himself. He took a deep breath, before reluctantly meeting Heiji’s eyes. Using the back of his hand to wipe the blood off his lips, he spoke, fangs no longer visible. “Yah…” he glanced down to his hand and grimaced, rubbing it against his pants. “Yah.” 

Heiji chuckled, closing his eyes. “Good. I couldn’t give ya much more.” 

“Baka.” 

Heiji flinched as two cool fingers touched the side of his neck, and opened his eyes to see Kudo kneeling next to him frowning with concern. 

“I could have killed you.” 

Heiji snorted, batting away Kudo’s hand as he pushed himself up onto one elbow, wincing as he did so. Why the guy was checking his pulse when he could hear his heartbeat quite clearly was beyond him. “Please. Ya had the strength of will ta pull away tha first time on yar own without me doing anything. I trusted ya’d do tha same thing this time too.” 

Kudo shook his head, taking Heiji’s arm to study the two scab marks, his cool fingers lightly touching them. “You trust rather easily for having just met me.” He muttered.

“I’m a good judge of character and would ya quit checking me over?” He pulled his arm away. “I’m fine.”

Kudo raised an eyebrow. “A good judge of char---I tried to tear out your throat!”  His tongue moved over his now normal human teeth. “That’s hardly…” He sat back on his heels. “Sorry, I just…” He rubbed the back of his head before his fingers moved down the side of his neck tracing the healing wound there. “You’re not fine though.” He stated firmly. “I can...” he grimaced. “I can smell the blood. How bad is your back?” 

Heiji sat up, blinking away the wave of dizziness, holding up a hand to stop Kudo from steadying him. His back felt like it was on fire, but he could deal with that later. “Relax, Kudo. Rivals aren’t supposed to be on friendly terms. I kinda expected ya ta try ta tear my throat out when we first met. Jus didn’t think it would be in tha literal sense.” 

“Rivals?” Kudo fiddled with the shoelace wrapped around his wrist, his eyebrows drawing together as he again gave Heiji the once over. 

Heiji rolled his eyes. “Mhmmm.” Of course Kudo probably didn’t know that. He’d heard his fellow detective had a huge ego. 

He probably only read the news articles about himself.

Heiji pushed himself to his feet cautiously, wincing as basically his entire body protested. “Ya really ova did it with the flinging me inta tha trees by tha way.”

“You tricked me into attacking you again.” Kudo muttered, only half paying attention to the conversation as he too stood, moving to see Heiji’s back and winced. “You noticed I was breaking free and allowed me to. Goaded me into continuing to attack you when I originally intended to just leave.” 

Heiji shrugged, biting his lip as the movement caused more pain. “I needed ya completely focused on me. No betta way than ta make myself appear vulnerable. Otherwise like ya said ya would’ve fled and I couldn’t have that. Trackin ya down tha first time was hard enough.” He glanced around spotting his hat laying in the dirt nearby. “Cus somehow ya still had a bit of a brain ta want ta get away from people even when ya were completely bloodcrazed mental.” Heiji took a step towards his hat, only to have his vision tunnel. Kudo swore as Heiji felt his cool hands grip his shoulders. 

“Baka. Sit down before you faint!” He growled, suiting words with action as he tapped his foot against the back of Heiji’s knees to get them to buckle. 

“Hey!” Heiji complained, flinching as his knees hit the dirt. “Don’t use my moves against me, Kudo.” Though with how much the world was spinning, he didn’t immediately try to get back up.

This wasn’t good. 

He hadn’t bargained on being this weakened after the fight with his rival. If he couldn’t stand up and walk, Kudo could literally disappear now and Heiji would be hard pressed to ever find the half-vamp again. Kudo huffed, kneeling as he pulled at Heiji’s shirt, the fabric tearing easily. “You used your bokken, I used my foot. It’s different.” 

“Keep telling yarself tha, Kudo.” Heiji muttered, blinking his vision clear. “Stop tearing at my shirt.” He said reaching up to pull it off, biting back a groan as he did so. Ow. It just seemed like the pain was getting worse. 

“It’s hardly more than rags, already.” Kudo argued. 

“And who’s fault was tha?” Heiji pulled his shirt, it really did look more like rags now, into his lap and shivered as Kudo’s cool fingers touched his back.  

“Yours.”

 “MINE!” 

“You goaded me into attacking you, remember?” 

Heiji rolled his eyes. “Like I had a choice.” He smirked as Kudo growled and glanced over his shoulder. “I told ya I wasn’t leaving without ya. I’m keeping tha promise.” 

“You can barely stand up straight.” Kudo muttered, keeping his attention on Heiji’s back. “I could leave.” he added, voicing aloud Heiji’s fear. “You wouldn’t be able to stop me now.”

“But ya won’t.” Heiji said, putting more confidence into his voice than he felt.

Kudo exhaled and stood, turning his back to him as he ran a hand through his hair. Obviously debating doing just that. 

“Kudo, ya can’t just expect ta live out here, alone for tha rest of yar life.” Heiji said quietly, carefully twisting so he could see the half-vamp without having to strain his shoulders trying to look at him. “Yar not meant ta just disappear.” 

Kudo shook his head. “I should be dead.” His hand dropped to finger the healing wound on his neck. “This wound should have killed me.”  

Should? Heiji narrowed his eyes. “Unless yar healing factor is much higher than I thought...yar wound wasn’t deep enough ta kill ya, Kudo.” 

Kudo froze. “It’s not?” He whispered, staring directly at him, his vivid blue eyes demanding the truth.

With how many dead bodies he’d seen he would know. “Nah. Didn’t even nick tha artery.”  

“But--” Kudo tsked, running his other hand through his hair. “That’s not what I--Is that what he mea--” he growled, pacing in a circle. 

Heiji sat up straight, heart rate increasing. “He? Who’s he? Yar attempted killer? Ya know who did this ta ya?” If he knew who it was then they could track him down. Figure out exactly how much of a vampire Kudo was without having to fumble in the dark because they could just ask the sire, himself. 

Kudo pressed his hand against the wound on his neck as he came to a stop, standing parallel to Heiji, head tilted towards his chest. 

For one known for bringing the truth to light, his rival was being remarkably tight lipped. 

“Kudo.”

The hand on the wound got whiter.

Okay...perhaps this wasn’t the best time to bring up the subject, but at the same time. He had to know.

“Kudo.” Heiji softened his voice, carefully moving to his knees. “Do ya remember who did this ta ya?”  

He shakily exhaled, giving a jerky nod. “I...re-remember---he---the pain---I was dying! Burning. It felt like...like I was…” He gestured to the forest. “...being remade.” He whispered. 

Remade? That was one way to put it he supposed. “I...don know wha being turned feels like.” Heiji said slowly, watching how stiffly his rival stood. “No one does, regular vampires can’t really tell us. But Kudo.” He smirked. “Yar definitely not dead. Whether or not this guy intended ta turn ya, tha fact tha ya survived means ya’re not meant ta vanish.” And if they could find the sire, they could get the answers they needed to help Kudo survive back among the humans.

Kudo shook his head, turning back to him. “You keep saying that--but--”

Heiji pushed himself once more to his feet letting his ruined shirt drop to the ground. He rapidly blinked away the tunneled vision, waving off his rival as he took a step forward, worry etched in his face. “I’ve seen my fair share of vampires, Kudo. Yar nothing like them. Look.” He spread his arms. “As injured as I am, if ya were a normal vampire, I would be dead by now.” 

Kudo flinched, but Heiji refused to leave it at that.

“Ya can see and smell my blood right now and yet yar not trying ta drain every last drop from me. Ya stopped when ya were sated. Normal vampires don’t do tha. They’re mindless, they’re basically parasites.” 

Was Kudo’s sire the same? Was his rival’s case a unique circumstance? All these questions only gave him all the more reason to track down the sire sooner rather than later to find out if Kudo was an outlier or if there were others like him. 

Though with how weakened he was right now...a little later than sooner would be better for him. No need to face any more vampires until he recovered from this encounter.

Kudo recoiled. “Parasites?” he whispered. 

Heiji nodded. “Ya can’t reason with normal vampires. Can’t talk to them. They will fight ta get any blood that is spilt in their presence and guess what Kudo?” He lowered his arms. “Ya haven’t done any of that. Yar no parasite. Believe me. Ya don’t even have yar fangs right now. That’s not normal.” Vampires couldn’t hide their fangs. 

Kudo ran his tongue over his teeth. “True--but.”

“Yar eyes aren’t red anymore either. Fully satisfied as ya are...ya look completely normal, Kudo. And if ya can blend in and not attack anyone--” Heiji shrugged. “Then I believe ya can return.” 

Kudo pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “You’re not thinking this through. I may be fine now, but what about when I need more blood? It’s not like nearly draining you cured me of…this.” He dropped his hands, moving away from Heiji towards his hat and picked it up. Turning it over as he studied it, eyes hidden behind the fringe of his hair. “Even now...I don’t feel normal. I can tell I’m different, my senses heightened, my instincts--” He grimaced. “But if I’m similar enough to...actual vampires to need blood...then how would I get more when I need it? We don’t even know when I’ll need more. It could be in an hour, it could be in a week! I can’t just continue drinking from you regardless.” 

That was true. They would need more sources of blood than just him. Would need to test and see just how much human blood he would need. How much animal blood could sustain him. See if he could still eat human food or if he was now fully on a liquid diet.

“There’s...a lot of unknowns here, Kudo.” Heiji said, holding out his hand for his hat. “I mean, ya’ve already survived over a month out here on jus animal blood and ya didn’t go crazy from it an tha’s a lot easier ta obtain than human blood.” Though human blood had helped to bring back the detective’s mind so they could have this conversation in the first place. That was a fact. Heiji smirked. “And if ya don’t need ta feed as often, then I can still be a donor ta ya if ya need ta feed from humans ta be more human.”

“There’s too many variables.” Kudo whispered, holding completely still. “If I’m not like the others, like him--I mean he blended in well enough with--but we basically have no foundation to go off of. I may be fine now but in an hour? Who knows how often I need to--if I can even be around other people--It’s--” 

The sire could blend in with humans? That was...concerning. How long had Kudo interacted with him before the sire had decided to reveal his true self? How many others were there? 

Heiji took a step forward, resting his hands on Kudo’s shoulders, ignoring how his rival stiffened at his touch. “One step at a time Kudo.” He said with as much confidence as he could muster. “I don have tha answers yet. But ya won know ya limits if ya stay here in da forest. Doncha wanna know why he did this ta ya? Why he left ya here? Doncha wanna know tha truth?” He would ensure that Kudo found those answers. Found his sire. The half-vampire just had to come with him to do so.

Kudo shifted, vanishing from Heiji’s grip to stand six feet away, fiddling still with his hat.

Geez. Heiji lowered his own hands. Did Kudo even have to think before he moved that fast or was it instinctual now? “I’m not askin ya ta go full tilt back inta yar old life.” He said, working to keep his voice soothing. “But ya need ta be found, Kudo. Ya need to return. Ease everyone’s minds that you’re okay. Ya won’t find answers here hiding out alone among tha trees.” 

“I still...I still think I shouldn’t come with you...back to...everyone” Kudo whispered, looking up, again piercing Heiji’s soul with his bright blue eyes. “But.” He dusted off the hat, and in a flash stood before Heiji before he could blink, placing the hat on his head. “You do have a point. I can’t find any answers here.” 

Heiji grinned, relaxing as he adjusted the set of his hat. “Ya got tha right.”

Kudo smiled in return. “Well, you wouldn’t be much of a rival if you weren’t able to outthink me occasionally, Hattori.” He shrugged. “I suppose, since you know vampires, that I can trust you in whatever plan you have in mind to get me out of here and keep me from going, what did you say? ‘Bloodcrazed mental’ again.”

Heiji threw his head back in a laugh, clapping his rival on the back. Kudo was staying. He was coming with him! But more importantly, he pulled the brim of his hat to face backwards. “Ya know who I am?” And here he was thinking he’d have to introduce himself.

Kudo’s eyes narrowed, studying the new position Heiji had placed his hat in before he relaxed and raised an eyebrow. “Hattori Heiji, Detective of the West, Rival to me, Kudo Shinichi, Detective of the East. Why wouldn’t I know of you?” 

Heiji scratched his cheek. “Well...ya kinda come off as…” 

“As an egotistical self-centered jerk?” 

He said it straight faced, but Heiji could see the glint of humor in his eyes. 

He grinned in return. “Ah. So I don’t have ta break tha news ta ya.”  

“Nah,” Kudo waved a hand vaguely around. “Ran’s given me plenty of lectures on the topic.” 

Ouch. “If she’s anything like my Kazuha, I can bet it was an ear-full.”  

“Mm.” Kudo gave a half shrug, moving to pull Heiji’s arm over his shoulder, supporting him as Hieji turned them towards the resort.  “I suppose you’ll find out soon enough. If she’s---there...once we--” 

“Once ya return home.” 

Kudo drew in a shaky breath, fingers trembling on Heiji’s arm. “Yah...once...once I do that. You do have a plan right? To...explain,” he gestured to Heiji’s lack of shirt and wounds and then to himself. “All this to the police?”

Well...no. He hadn’t actually thought that far yet. Kudo being an unusual vampire needing to find his sire again without the police involved, was a snag that he hadn’t yet had time to untangle. But best to keep that to himself.

He gave a low laugh, squeezing Kudo’s arm as they made their way up the hill. Back to the resort. Back to the people who had no idea that the supernatural was very very real and still needed to be kept in the dark about it.

“I have some thoughts.” He said, glancing to Kudo, meeting his blue eyes. 

His rival raised an eyebrow, tilting his head as he gave his own small smile in return. “I’m listening.”

End. 

[mintchocolateleaves]

Law Unto Themselves (5/??)

Summary: Heiji has to wait to find out whether the guns en-route to Osaka made it. Dark!AU where the good guys are the bad guys, and vice versa.

[Beginning]     [Previous Chapter]

They call him Kudo's dog.

Not that Hattori Heiji really minds what others call him, especially when they're just criminals awaiting prison time, but there's an element of annoyance that just makes him want to lash out. Instead of being a right hand man, he's likened to an animal, and frankly, Heiji doesn't want to prove them right.

The only one person who's opinion matters within the criminal underworld, is Kudo's.

And after that, in the every day world, there's only two additional opinions that hold any sway over him.

“Bam, bam!”

Heiji turns, from where he's leaning over the kitchen counter, pouring coffee into a mug. Kazuha's leaning against the door frame, clad in her pyjamas, gaze directed on the small toddler that bursts into the room. She's also wearing pyjamas – a onesie with multiple Disney princesses in the middle, each pulling various poses.

If he had to choose a favourite – and Heiji has, his daughter is a curious thing, constantly asking question after question now that she can talk – he'd have to choose Mulan. The princess is in the back, looking typically bad-ass and quietly waiting to fight if anyone needs her too. Heiji sympathises.

“Morning Chi,” Heiji says, glancing down at the girl. Her short brown hair is already tied back in pigtails, a routine she’s loved doing each morning with Kazuha since they'd bought her white bows for her second birthday.

“Bam, bam!” Hattori Chiyo's voice isn't loud, but it travels. It's shrill, excited, and she runs up to Heiji with her hands clasped together, her index and middle fingers stretched out in a pretend version of a gun. “Daddy's gonna take down all th' bad guys today!”

Heiji reaches down as she stops in front of her, to ruffle her hair. With his other hand, he picks up his coffee cup, sipping at the coffee to avoid commenting on bad guys and the fact that while he's taking many down, he can't exactly take them all down when he's a part of them.

He hums his approval instead. It's the closest thing to a lie he can give her. He may have to lie to Kazuha, sometimes, but he'd decided shortly after Chi was born that he'd never lie to her. At the time, he'd thought that would mean getting out, but now it means avoiding the subject.

Kazuha closes the kitchen door behind her. It's seems almost lighter with the door closed, now that light isn't being swallowed by the dark corridor between the staircase and the kitchen. It's not usually dark, but they don't tend to turn the light on during the early morning, relying instead on natural light from the rising sun.

“Tell Daddy where we're goin' today Chi,” Kazuha says, and she leans down, so she's practically face to face with their daughter. Chi turns towards her, scrunches her nose as she attempts to think about the question.

After a few seconds, she shakes her head.

Kazuha smiles. Lifting her arms, she cuts them through the air, acting out the breast stroke. Chi claps her hands together, stars on her sleeves shooting towards one another from the sudden movement.

“Swimmin'!” The two-year-old turns, glances up at Heiji. She moves both hands to her hips, mimicking the times she's seen Kazuha do the same, ordering Heiji to do something around the house. “Daddy's comin' too!”

Heiji raises an eyebrow. “Am I?”

He sips at his coffee and thinks about reasons why he can't, rather than reasons why he could.

Firstly – he does actually need to function as an adult, and if Chi even wants to go swimming in the first place, he needs to earn the money to pay for the session.

Secondly – There are bruises down his back, from the previous night, when he'd had to intervene with a fight outside the gun deal. He doesn't have a suitable explanation for that yet, meaning he needs to go to work to create one.

“Chi,” Kazuha says, and she leans forward to pick the toddler up, depositing her in her high chair. She leans forward to ensure she's strapped in, before shaking her head. “We're going swimming with Ran-chan today, not Daddy.”

They receive a pout. It would be cute, if it didn't send a slither of guilt down Heiji's spine. “I want to go swimmin' with Daddy.”

Heiji gulps down his coffee. Swimming really is a bad idea, especially if he's fucked up the deal because of his father, but almost wants to go despite it. He's got a free weekend from work – well, Friday and Saturday off – and he's pretty sure Kudo will understand if he asks for a break from their night-jobs for long enough to spend a weekend away.

“We'll do something this weekend,” Heiji promises, making eye contact with Kazuha. He's not sure what they'll do yet, or if he'll be able to take them out of Tokyo for a few days, but he's got time at least. “Just the three of us, okay Chi?”

Chi grins. As she nods her head, she kicks out with her feet, giggling as she says, 'yay, play time with Daddy!'

Heiji smiles back.

It takes him twenty minutes to drive to work.

Today, it takes him twenty-five, because he stops for coffee, ordering enough for both him and Kudo, before driving to the station. He's five minutes early for his shift, which means he's actually ten minutes late by his usual standards.

He's hoping to pile through whatever paperwork is lying on his desk by midday, and while ten minutes isn't exactly a lot of time to lose out on, he feels like his joints are tired enough that he needs them.

And with the impending case load of the task force soon to include Pisco... Heiji thinks he's going to need all the extra time he can get if he's going to lessen his case load before his days off. He wonders if he's still got any Ritalin left in his desk, wonders if he's worked his way through the prescription already.

He hopes he hasn't, because he really needs full focus for work today.

Opening the door to his car, he shimmies out with two coffees in his hand. He rests them on his roof as he closes his door, locking the car up. He's almost glad that he hears the footsteps coming up behind him, because else he'd jump at the sudden appearance of Sharon Vineyard beside him.

“Hattori-san,” She just seems to appear sometimes, and Heiji is glad he's not jumped while holding coffee like last time. He turns to glance at her, tries not to show his surprise. “Good morning.”

She's only been a inspector in division one for three years, which means Heiji's got more experience with murders. However, she's still his senior, mainly because she'd been working in Arson for years.

“Mornin' Vineyard-san,” Heiji says in response, the two of them walking towards the basement entrance of the precinct.  He doesn't really know what to say to the woman, she's always been mysterious in a way that's grown increasingly irritating.

“Did you hear about the fire?” She asks, raising an eyebrow when they reach the elevator. Division one is on the third floor, and three flights of stairs is too much effort at 7 a.m. “In Shimokitazawa. I was listening to it on the radio.”

“No,” Heiji shakes his head, although he vaguely recalls that Pisco had lived within that area, “I listen to my CDs in the car. Why, was it serious?”

Vineyard – Vermouth, as Kudo's named her – nods her head. She says, “Apparently the house belonged to Masayuma-san. You remember him from when you started working here, right? The police are already linking it to arson because of his ties to the police.”

Heiji lets his eyes widen. It's natural to feel surprised, although Heiji's mostly alarmed by the sudden police intervention. He supposes, however, that it's mainly Gin's influence that has set the police on the right track, due to Kudo's answering his call the night before.

“Was he inside?” He lets a certain element of horror fill his voice, mixing it was the familiar apathy police officers develop after working a magnitude of cases.

“He wasn't,” Vermouth says, pressing the button for the third floor, the doors closing on them. She turns to him, her lips pursued. She's not usually this talkative, especially not to him. Heiji supposes when he sits down at his desk, he'll have to think it over multiple times. “But no one can reach him either.”

Heiji decides that he needs to think his response over carefully. Quickly too, because Vermouth is quick, and as much as she can be mysterious, she's also good at solving mysteries too.

“Do you think the arson team will need to consult us on this...?”

Us meaning Division one.

Vermouth nods her head, “I think so, yes.”

By the time the elevator doors open, letting them both out, Heiji feels like even a knife wouldn't slice through the tension. It stagnates, neurons sending a message through his brain that everything with Pisco is only just beginning.

Kudo is sat at his desk when Heiji finally enters the division headquarters. They're not a high enough rank to have their own office, so they both have desks opposite each other. It's better than a cubicle, Heiji thinks, although he isn't sure he likes the constant noise.

The other detective looks up when Heiji appears, letting a smile form on his face. It's a genuine one, not one of his faked ones, and for a moment there is relief in his expression. Then, he spots the coffees in Heiji's hands and he lets out a groan.

“Hattori you're a life saver.”

Heiji passes him the coffee cup, before pulling his chair out from beneath the desk. It rolls – one of the tiny yet amusing element to his job is his wheeled chair – and Heiji almost collapses into his seat. He doesn't though, wants to look professional as he waits for Kudo to tell him about the verdict on last nights deal.

“It's just coffee,” Heiji says, and he turns his monitor on, preparing for work today. “It's not big deal.”

“Coffee is a big deal,” Kudo replies automatically. They've had this conversation so many times that at this point it's just part of their work routine. “I'm so tired it's unreal.”

“Yer just not big on mornin's,” Heiji responds, sipping at his own coffee as he waits for his computer to load. “You'll feel better in a hour or two.”

He receives a grunt. Heiji decides to take that as an acceptance that he's right about his not being a morning person. He's much more of a night owl, which shows in the fact that they carry out their shady dealings during the middle of the night, like a walking cliché.

“I suppose you're right,” Kudo says.

Heiji types his password into the computer, waits for his desktop to load. It doesn't take long; For once, the server seems like it's not going to have a cyber breakdown, is for once able to cope with the pressure of hundreds of logins at the beginning of the morning shift.

“I am.” Heiji says, and offers a small grin. Kudo raises an eyebrow, (exasperated maybe? But certainly not annoyed), before shaking his head. For a moment, the Osakan's smile slips, and he takes a moment to pause.

He pulls up his emails, the sheer amount sitting in his inbox surprising him. They're not all related to case work, some are email chains between detectives in other departments. Other's from his acquaintances in Osaka.

The words seem to blur together, and he opens the second drawer in his desk. He fishes out the Ritalin easily – it's on top of files and paperwork – unscrewing the lid. He washes two down with his coffee, before glancing back at his screen.

“Hattori,” Kudo's says after a while, stealing his attention before he can even focus it on the first email. “Let's get tempura for lunch today.”

Heiji grins. The deal must have gone well then, because whenever they go bad, Kudo doesn't take his lunch break any further than the vending machine. He has to suppress the sigh of relief that spreads through him, nodding instead.

“Tempura sounds great. Same place as last time?”

Kudo nods.

Then, he tears his gaze back to his own computer, reminding Heiji that he needs to actually start his work as well. It seems easier now, mainly because he doesn't need to worry about whether he'd lost Kudo millions of yen.

The first email opens a chain about gang activity in Shibuya. It's an ongoing investigation – not one he's working actively on, but he's been looking over it in the hopes he can help the team in Shibuya – including youth crime and increasing criminal activity.

That's what Heiji had thought this was to begin with. Youth crime. Nothing as big as the mess he's caught up in now. This situation he's slowly suffocating in, purely because he'd walked in on Kudo committing a crime and had been unwilling to report it.

Heiji supposes,  at the root of it all, that's why people call him Kudo's dog.

Crime isn't something he enjoys. It isn't something he revels in or profits from. It's just an side effect that comes with being Kudo's closest friend – he wonders if Kudo's realised it. How couldn't he? His... underlings have realised that the only reason he hasn't thrown the organisation behind bars is his loyalty to Kudo Shinichi.

It's why he's determined to get Kudo out of this mess innocent and alive.

Hattori Heiji's biggest flaw is his loyalty.

It's why he's the organisation's dog.

[Next Chapter]