I don't own Case Closed/Detective Conan, nor any of the characters.
These 3 chapters are rather long. Oh and I've changed Moore's name to his Japanese name of Kogoro. I'll soon edit his name to either Moori or Kogoro in the previous chapters. Enjoy!
-Alex
That Shrinking Feeling Chapters 19-21
Chapter 19 – Way Home
A while later, Heiji felt his box shake a bit, heard it torn open, and heard his parents talking about something. Heiji was still half asleep, but figured it was easier to fake sleeping for now. His now open box, with him still inside, was carried upstairs and put on a bed in the spare bedroom. When his dad left, Heiji managed to get out of the box, sneak into the bathroom, then instead of returning to the box, he entered into his own bedroom. It had been more or less left the same, but he noticed his wallet sitting on his desk (he forgot to ask about his wallet in his phone calls). With a sigh of relief, he climbed into his own bed and slept for a few more hours.
Around ten that morning, Heiji woke up, but decided to lay in bed for a bit. After a while, he heard his dad coming up the stairs.
"Just checking on him" Mr. Hattori called downstairs to his wife, and then entered the guest room. He came out a moment later, confused and slightly panicked.
"Where did that baby go?" he said, looking around the bedroom and in the hallway.
Heiji delayed a moment, and then called out "I'm in here."
Martin stopped for a moment, thinking the voice he heard was the baby's…thinking how weird it was a baby could talk…and how familiar the voice was.
He took a few steps forward, entering his son's room, and found the infant sitting in Heiji's bed; wearing Heiji's hat and looking exactly like Heiji, but smaller.
"Sorry I didn't come home right away" Heiji said, sounding a bit ashamed. "I didn't think it was the right thing to do, so I waited until now."
"…Heiji?" his dad asked, and Heiji nodded, looking up at his dad, whom was standing in the bedroom's doorway.
"What happened?" his dad said, hurrying in and kneeling beside the bed. "Why are you so small?" Normally his dad's seriousness was job oriented; this strong concern for his son was unusual.
Heiji began to explain. "That night, when I disappeared, I was in the park, just minding my own business, when two men, dressed in black, hit me from behind, and forced me to take a strange drug. Normally, this drug would kill the person who took it, but it has occasionally shrunk people into kids…I know, I probably sound crazy…"
"How do you know about this drug?" Mr. Hattori asked, looking worried and confused.
"Because two friends of mine have been affected by this drug, and were turned into kids themselves. The guy, Kudo, the one I talk about a lot; he's one of them. When I realized I had been shrunk too, I came up with a plan to mail myself to Tokyo, knowing only Kudo could help me. I stayed there the last few days, then mailed myself back here yesterday morning."
Heiji could smell breakfast cooking downstairs. Even though he was starving, he managed to resist.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hattori couldn't figure out which was stranger: a talking baby, or the fact his grown son had shrunk back into a baby.
"Why did those men want you dead? Mr. Hattori asked, slowly making sense of this information.
"They are part of an organization that deals with illegal trades and such. If they need someone dead, they'll sometimes use the drug, APTX 4869, to kill, because this drug can't be traced on the body. Lately, if the Organization even sees someone as a possible threat, such as a detective or a suspicious cop, they'll kill that person to avoid future problems." Heiji said.
"I see" said Mr. Hattori. "Didn't you also mention your friends were turned to kids? Why are you an infant?"
"Getting to that. Usually, the Organization would give one pill to a victim, but lately they have been giving two pills; because rumors of survivors were beginning to spread. Luckily, both pills I got were shrinking pills, but their combined defect caused me to shrink past child size and become an infant. Had one of the pills not had the shrinking defect, I would have died" Heiji said. "Also, I need to keep my identity a secret, so that the Organization doesn't find out I'm alive, and hunt me down. Since I know about their existence, they'll want me dead."
"Is there an antidote for this um…condition? Mr. Hattori asked.
"Sort of…" said Heiji. "The girl who shrunk is a scientist. While I stayed in Tokyo, she'd be up all night, just working in the basement on a cure. So far, it's been tested a few times on Kudo, and he would return to normal from a few hours to a day or two. But currently, there's no permanent antidote." Heiji explained.
"Then how come you sounded normal when you called?" Mr. Hattori asked.
"I borrowed Kudo's voice changer. I never tried the antidote, also because we weren't sure how much it would actually help me; since I shrank farther then they did. I'd probably need twice the antidote for it to do anything." Heiji said.
"I see…Well, I'm just glad you're home safe, Heiji, your mom's been so worried. You should probably have breakfast, and we can explain to her meanwhile what you just told me" Mr. Hattori said, as he picked up his son and carried him downstairs.
--
Chapter 20- Babysitter
A few days after Heiji had come home, things were more or less back to the norm at his place. The only tell-tale signs of difference were the high chair in the kitchen, and more stepping stools around the house then usual. Neither baby toys nor baby care items were visible; but rather books, a computer, videogames, and magazines.
Heiji spent most of his time at home, watching the news on TV, talking to Kudo on the phone, or pestering his dad on the latest cases. One weekend though in particular was a bit different then normal.
"There's been a case in another city, and I've been asked to help with the investigation" said Mr. Hattori that Saturday afternoon. "Even though it's not far from here, your mother and I will be staying there a day or two. She's coming to visit friends in that area. I don't want to take you, given your situation, but I can't leave you either. It's against the law to leave children at home alone. The only option is to find you a sitter."
"What!?" Heiji yelled. His size was embarrassing enough already, the last thing he wanted was a babysitter.
"Well, I could at least ask Kazuha, so it'll be someone you know; she might accept." Mr. Hattori said.
"True" said Heiji, noticing he hadn't seen her since he shrunk, and was starting to feel bad for it.
"I'll call Kazuha then" said Mr. Hattori, as he picked up the phone and dialed her number.
Mr. Hattori approached the house, carrying Heiji and a bag of Heiji's belongings. He rang the door bell, and Kazuha appeared a short time later.
"Hello, Mr. Hattori" Kazuha greeted. "Hello there…What's your name?" she said, indicating the infant as she leaned forward and smiled.
"This is Eric; he's a second cousin of Heiji's. He's visiting from Canada with his family, but I was hoping he could stay here a few days, since my wife, cousins, and I will be out of town. He has no allergies, and he's well behaved; I don't think he'll be much trouble" Mr. Hattori explained.
In the early summer heat, Heiji could hear the cicadas in the distance, and then he remembered that summer vacation just started. He looked down to see a small inchworm on his light blue pajama sleeve, and he gently flicked it off. "Lots of bugs" Heiji thought.
"Sure, I can look after him" said Kazuha, as Mr. Hattori passed Heiji and his belongings over to her.
"Thanks so much!" said Mr. Hattori; about to start walking back to his car.
"No problem…Say, any idea when Heiji will be back? I haven't heard much from him." Kazuha said.
"I bet he'll let you know soon" Mr. Hattori said, smiling a rare smile, on the way back to his car. He got in, called 'Take care!' out the window, waved, and drove off.
"Mr. Hattori seems a lot…friendlier…I wonder why" Kazuha thought. "Oh well, I'll get you settled in, Eric" Kazuha said aloud, smiling at him as she went in her house and closed the front door.
--
Chapter 21- Kazuha
Kazuha placed Heiji down on the couch next to her, handed him an old baby toy of hers that she had found in her room, and then channel surfed on TV. She would often glance at Heiji, whom pretended to have interest in the toy so as to not worry her. Once she found a decent movie that wouldn't bother a young child, she sat down and watched it.
After a while, since Heiji was so quiet, Kazuha seemed to forget he was there. He wasn't surprised through, since she had been so used to Heiji after all these years. Because it was still technically Heiji she was sitting next to, and not a stranger, Kazuha felt oddly normal next to the infant, and not knowing why.
"Gah…this movie's boring, I've seen it before" Heiji thought. He noticed that Kazuha's house also had a word search puzzle book, along with a pen, on the coffee table. Kazuha didn't notice when the infant picked up the book and started working on it. After he found a few words, he got bored of the puzzle and started writing random doodles and words in the empty space beside the word list. When the space was filled, without thinking, he tapped the book a few times with his pen, which got Kazuha's attention.
"What are you doing? Attempting a word search?" Kazuha asked, gently pulling the book and pen out of Heiji's hands; he didn't resist.
"Word searches aren't for infants….Wow, you actually found a few words!" said Kazuha, surprised. "Let's see if I find any" she said, looking at the word list, and finding it hard to read with the doodles surrounding it.
"Did you start this puzzle, Eric? I don't recall working on this page" Kazuha said. She read over the word list again, when a little doodle in the bottom right corner of the page caught her eye. She read the words 'I missed you, Kazuha', which was circled to separate it from the other doodles. Another doodle was also circled, and it appeared to say 'Heiji' in fancy letters, as if he was practicing his signature.
"This is too odd…Did the baby write this?" she thought about it as she glanced at the infant, whom pretended not to notice. She had to be sure though.
"Can you find more words, Eric?" Kazuha asked, as she handed him back the book and pen. When he held the book however, he flipped to a new page and began writing something in the word box's space.
"I could look for words…But I would much rather talk to you, Kazuha" Heiji wrote.
Kazuha read the message, and then asked aloud "You want to talk to me? But you haven't talked to me. We just met." Kazuha was quickly noticing something was weird about Eric.
Heiji began writing: "I actually can talk, I'm just not fond of it. I've known you longer then you think, and my name isn't really Eric. Nor am I from Canada."
"Well, what is your real name then?" Kazuha asked.
After a pause, he responded aloud "It's 'Heiji'. Sorry, that I waited to tell you."
"Heiji…? But…if that's true…how did you get so small?" Kazuha gasped in shock, and Heiji explained to her what happened the night he disappeared; where he went, and why. He told her Kudo and Ai shared a similar fate, and why this should all be kept secret because of the Black Organization. Half way through the explanation, Kazuha picked up Heiji, and held him close, almost crying at one point.
"I was really worried about you" she said, sniffling, and still hugging the infant.
"I know" he said, and he returned the hug. "I probably shouldn't have told you, your life could be at risk. But all I can hope for is that I'm harder to recognize as an infant, and that the Black Organization limits its activity in Osaka. Anyways, you can't tell Ran or Kogoro; as the Organization is highly active in Tokyo. Kudo's been suffering all this time in silence, to keep the secret from Ran.
"If he's keeping it a secret, how did you find out?" Kazuha asked.
"I could see the clues Kudo was leaving; it wasn't hard for me to figure him out." Heiji joked. "Anyways, it's nice to see you again, Kazuha. Plenty of time to talk with ya while I'm over here."
"Nuh-uh, you're going back home" said Kazuha, as she stood up, still holding Heiji, and started to walk to the front door. "No boys sleeping over, it's mom's rule."
"Since when?!" Heiji protested. "Anyways, can't. 'No young children are to be left home alone for any length of time.' Country law" said Heiji, smiling slightly. "C'mon, it won't be so bad, it'll be like a sleepover between friends."
Heiji was noticing that he wasn't embarrassed of his baby voice in front of Kazuha, maybe because he had been friends with her for so long. She got his attention again when she put him down on the floor.
"Fine, stay here. But I'll only be serving you baby food" Kazuha said, looking for some in Heiji's bag while smiling mischievously.
"Didn't bring any, sorry" said Heiji, his smile turning into a grin.
"Dang it!" said Kazuha, as she put his belongings back in the bag. "I guess I'll just have to share dinner with you" she said, as she picked him up, carried him into the kitchen, and then placed him back on the floor.
Heiji stayed in the kitchen while Kazuha made dinner, to keep her company. When she was done, she carried the two plates of food and eating utensils out to the dining room, and then sat Heiji on the table. There were no decent chairs for Heiji to sit on at her house, they were too low. But there was enough room on the table for him to sit on, which made for a comfortable height.
With just the two of them in the house, they ate dinner together while listening to the cicada's humming outside.
end