I’ve Never Posted This On Here So

I don't like her!

my only kazuhei fic (a tragedy)

full fic here :)

Chapter 1: A letter?!

'Oi Kazuha! Where d'ya run off this morning!' It was clearly too early to be shouting, but this was basically every morning when it came to Heiji Hattori and his 'not' girlfriend Kazuha Toyama.

'Heiji! Didn't I say I was going to school early today,' she turned to face the boy who just entered the classroom.

'So, my mum still gave me an earful,' He walked over to his seat and put his bag down.

'I don't think that has anything to do with me.'

'It does when she was shouting at me for not walking to school with you.' 

'Well I can't help that can I? One of my friends said something weird was sticking out of my locker, so I came early to check it out.'

'So?'

'So what?' She looked away from him, waving at one of friends in a different class as they walked by.

'Did you find the weird thing?'

'Oh yeah, it was a letter,' she quickly turned back to him, taking the letter out. 'Someone must've slipped it in after school,' the small envelope she took out of her bag seemed nice, it was that pastel orange colour Kazuha thought was cute.

'A letter? About what?'

'I haven't checked yet, I promised I'd open it with my friends,' Heiji seemed slightly confused at how the two things were related. 'They think it's a love letter, so they want to see too.'

'A love letter? For you?'

'And what's the problem with that?' Kazuha was definitely glaring at him now, but somehow he couldn't help it, teasing her was fun.

'Just saying there are nicer girls than you, you know one's with quieter voices.' Oh, he was so going to die.

'Well there's clearly someone who thinks otherwise!' She had somehow opened the letter in the few seconds he looked away to greet a classmate. 'See!' She was holding the letter and a movie ticket, a movie date?

'Maybe they're blind,' he shrugged before taking the letter from her. It was clear whoever had written the letter did care about her, in some way, their handwriting was very neat and they had clearly thought it through. However the obvious part was the movie ticket, a clear invitation to a date, maybe he was wrong. He wasn't going to admit it though. However, before he could say anything, he was pushed out of the way.

'Kazuha-chan! Is that a ticket for that new movie?' Kazuha's friends were crowding round her one by one.

'I heard that they're so hard to get!' Another one.

'Woah, who do you think it's from?' And another.

'Someone obviously hot!' How many friends does she have anyway?

'Well if he's going to settle for you,' he chuckled, 'you might as well marry him.'

'Heiji!' She looked like she might throw a chair at him but was saved by their teacher telling them to get to their own seats.

~ ♡ ~

When it got to their morning break, Kazuha had left the classroom as fast as humanly possible, with her friends rushing out behind her. He thought that was a good thing, after all that meant she wasn't going to murder him. Yet. The one thing he had forgotten about, was the rest of his class. His friends were practically attacking him with questions.

'Does that mean you don't like Toyama?' As a sister.

'She's definitely single?' Probably.

'Do you know who it is? You're a detective right?' That's a waste of my time.

'Do you think it's one of our seniors?' A waste of my time.

'It might be, after all Toyama is pretty popular with the boys.' She is?

'Yeah I heard one of the third years was interested in her.' Really?

'Well she's pretty and has a great body, who wouldn't like her?' It would seem he underestimated her popularity.

Well he couldn't keep quiet while they discussed *his* childhood friend, 'yeah right, that's an immature reason to like someone.'

'Oh Hattori do you think she'll accept?'

'If she does, good for them,' this was really starting to annoy him.

'So you are jealous,' one of his friends chuckled, and the others seemed to agree.

'I am not.'

'You so are, you like Toyama.' He felt like he was back in elementary school when everyone thought they liked each other. Honestly so annoying.

'I do not like her!' And as per his luck, Kazuha just happened to walk in. She glanced towards him, catching his eyes momentarily, before resuming her conversation with her friend. Ah the silent treatment, guess he made a mistake.

~ ♡ ~

The rest of the day seemed to move as slowly possible, with lunch seeming like an eternity away. Except when it came, it wasn't peaceful at all, somehow everyone seems to have gotten wind of the situation. 'Second year hottie Toyama got asked out' (not his words). It would seem everyone had something to gain out of this situation but him, apparently he was now very single and lonely. (Kazuha was not his only friend, he had others), and he wasn't sad at all and definitely did not need one of the third year girls comforting him. Though he was sure that's not what she really meant.

~ ♡ ~

So when the day was finally over, he was relieved that he was finally alone, but now he had to deal with Kazuha. Plus he had something to confirm with her. Obviously having avoided him, she was halfway home before he found her.

'Kazuha!' He started to jog to catch up to her, she was still ignoring her. He grabbed her arm forcing her to look at him, 'look Kazuha, I'm sorry okay?'

'It doesn't matter Heiji.'

'Okay but that's not what I wanted to say,' she shot him an annoyed look, 'isn't the day of the movie one of the days that kid and nee-chan are coming to visit?'

He let go of her arm so she could check, waiting for her to confirm she couldn't go.

'Yup, it is. Wait,' Heiji celebrated secretly to himself, now she can't go, 'that's perfect!' 

Perfect?

'Now Ran-chan can help me,' before Heiji could ask any further she had pulled out her phone to talk to Ran about their visit. She really was excited about this date. The question was why did that bother him so much?

Since it was a Tuesday, he had until Sunday to convince her otherwise about this date. That should be easy.

Chapter 2: Saturday? Already?!

(This bit happened on Tuesday (break))

Kazuha knew practically sprinting out of the classroom wasn't her best idea, but she really didn't want to face Heiji, after all she didn't really care if no one else liked her. She just wanted him to. She could barely hear her friends calling her name until one of them had physically stopped her.

'Kazuha-chan are you okay?'

'Kazuha you shouldn't have run away,' she bent over trying to catch her breath, 'man I forgot you did Aikido.'

'Yeah, really Kazuha-chan you should have let us catch up.'

She smiled, she might be sad, but it felt better to have someone around her. She let them catch their breath, before walking with them.

'Say are you going to go, I mean don't you like Hattori-kun.'

'Yeah, you've always liked him right?'

She looked down, it was true, she had liked Heiji for a long time. However it was getting more obvious that he didn't share the same sentiment, so she was going to forget about him and date someone else. 'Well that idiot clearly doesn't like me back so I am moving on,' she declared. 'I mean whoever sent this letter might be way better than Heiji, right?'

'Kazuha-chan,' her friend put her hand on her shoulder, momentarily she regretted everything she just said, 'we're rooting for you!' She blinked in confusion before hugging her friends, okay she was going to do it, she was going to forget Heiji!

Well maybe not forget, they have been friends forever and their parents were close and she knows his house inside out. BUT! That wasn't going to stop her from moving on either. So when he heard Heiji shout as she walked in, she ignored him, after all she was meant to be forgetting him.

~ ♡ ~

(After School)

She nearly gave up when he grabbed her arm to apologise, he practically never apologised, but gave that up when he immediately changed his tone. However, he did bring up a good point that Ran and Conan were visiting that weekend. 

She really needed to talk to Ran, she really needed her help now.

~ ♡ ~

(Saturday Morning)

Heiji's unsure how it was already a Saturday, he had no time at all to convince Kazuha otherwise about that date of hers. After all he barely saw her all week, at breaks she was surrounded by her friends, at lunch she left the classroom before he could stop her and she did something after school to avoid walking home with him. So here he was standing near the entrance of the train station, waiting for both Kazuha, Kudo and nee-chan to arrive. 

'Hattori-kun!'

'Heiji nii-chan!'

'Oh the both of you are here,' he sighed before turning to look around the station quickly. 'What is that girl even doing, the both of you are already here.'

'Kazuha-chan didn't come with you Hattori-kun?'

'We, uh, had a disagreement of sorts,' he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, 'I think she's avoiding me.'

'Heiji nii-chan did you say something mean to Kazuha nee-chan?' He could hear the teasing tone of the brat's voice.

'That's not it!' However, he couldn't finish defending himself because Kazuha had practically materialised out of nowhere next to him.

'Sorry, I'm late I was trying to pick out an outfit,' she smiled at Conan and Ran, but even to them it was obvious she was avoiding looking at Heiji. 'Ran-chan, come on lets go!'

'Ran nee-chan, where are you going?' Conan hadn't heard anything about being left with Heiji, not that it bothered him. He was just curious.

'Oh Conan-kun, we're just going shopping, I thought it might bore you, plus if we took you, Hattori-kun would have to come too. I didn't think either of you wanted to spend all day shopping with us. That's all,' she smiled kindly at him and he had to agree, he didn't want to spend all day shopping.

'Then we're off, Heiji we're having dinner at your place tonight. Don't forget 'kay?' Kazuha gave them a small smile and with that the both of them walked away.

'You want to follow them, right Hattori?'

'You think they're hiding something too?'

'Ran doesn't usually give such long excuses unless she really wants someone to leave her alone. I'm guessing it's for Toyama's sake though.'

'Kazuha, why?'

'You said you fought, right?'

'I told you it wasn't a fight, just a small disagreement.'

'Uhuh. I heard them talking on Tuesday, I mostly heard them talking about shops to visit, but I did hear the words 'going on a date',' Heiji slightly flinching gave it away that Conan had heard those words correctly. 'If it was Ran who had the date, Sonoko wouldn't have let me hear the end of it and I'm pretty sure she would have told me. So that means it's Toyama who has a date, at first I thought it might have been with you, but that couldn't be possible.' He saw Heiji slightly glare at him, 'firstly, you knew we were coming, as stupid as you may be you wouldn't schedule a date then and I heard Ran ask Kazuha why she wasn't talking to you, so I guessed you were fighting again and she had a date with someone else.'

'Kudo, you're completely correct,' the detective looked slightly defeated, 'she got some letter from someone at school and I've never seen her so excited for something before. But the problem is I don't know why it's bothering me so much.'

'That's because you're immature,' he moved out-of-the-way before Heiji could attack him, he continued 'but you want to follow them right? Ran probably wanted to spend time with Toyama alone to cheer her up though.'

'Cheer her up?'

'She sounded kind of upset over the phone, plus Sonoko and Ran always go shopping to cheer either one of them up.' He watched Heiji furrow his brows in confusion, 'but I think they're most likely shopping for her date tomorrow, she was kinda dressed up today.'

'You noticed that, she doesn't usually dress like that,' it looked like he was thinking really hard, but failing to understand.

'You know we're going to lose them if we continue to stand here.'

'Oh right.'

~ ♡ ~

'Kazuha-chan you look really pretty today!' She beamed at her friend.

'Really? I tried putting on make-up today, I haven't really dressed up like this, not since my birthday anyway.'

'Kazuha-chan did you really mean what you said about giving up on Hattori-kun?' 

Kazuha was slightly taken aback by her straightforward question, but she had expected it. Unlike her, Ran was much stronger, despite not seeing Kudo Shinichi for months, she wasn't going to ever give up on him. 'I'm not like you Ran-chan, Heiji doesn't like me in that way. It's not like you and Kudo-kun, he clearly loves you,' she chuckled, her smile sort of sad, slightly at the girl blushing. 'Don't worry about me Ran-chan, this is my choice, I'll be okay.' The other girl nodded, not entirely convinced, but instead she smiled and let her lead them to another shop.

Kazuha-chan I'm not strong at all, I do miss him and I'm sure Hattori-kun cares for you in his own way. One day he'll realise it, so I hope you hold on a little longer.

~ ♡ ~

Heiji and Conan were sitting on bench, completely exhausted. 

'We've been absolutely everywhere they would've gone! How could we not have found them, Kudo where could they have disappeared too?'

'Lunch probably, I'll ask Ran if we can join them, hopefully she'll tell us. That is of course if Toyama doesn't mind.' He cast an accusatory glance at Heiji, she was technically avoiding him and him only.

Ran had picked up on the third ring 'Conan-kun?'

'Ran nee-chan, we were wondering if you lunch yet? We could have lunch together.'

'Ah Conan-kun, I'm sorry we just got lunch,' she sighed before continuing, 'don't tell Hattori-kun, but Kazuha-chan doesn't really want to see him, okay Conan-kun? Could you keep him busy for me? Please? Kazuha-chan looks happier now.'

'I'll try Ran nee-chan,' with that she cut the phone, leaving Conan to deal with boy standing next to him.

'What did she say?'

'Are you sure it was just a small disagreement?'

'Um,' the Osakan looked away.

'She told us to stay away for now, maybe you should work out how to apologise to her.'

'She said she didn't care when I did that, man, women are confusing.'

'I've got to agree with you there.'

He sighed before getting up 'come on let's at least get lunch, you can tell me about your cases this month.'

~ ♡ ~

Fortunately they didn't come across any cases that day and made it back to the Hattori residence on time. Ran and Kazuha had already come back and were helping Heiji's mum with dinner.

'Heiji-kun! Come across any cases today?' Kazuha's parents were also here, hopefully they hadn't heard about their fight, he didn't particularly want her dad to press him about it. He could definitely be very scary.

'Not today, any interesting cases pop up recently?'

'Not that we need your help with and Conan-kun, we haven't seen each other since that once case right?'

'Yes, have you seen Ran nee-chan?'

'Ah Kazuha and her friend were helping out in the kitchen, but I think they went to get changed.'

'Changed?'

'Kazuha wanted to show Shizuka-san and her mum the dress she bought for tomorrow.'

Heiji's dad interrupted, 'is tomorrow important?'

'I think she said something about a date? You wouldn't know anything about that would you Heiji-kun?' The question was polite enough, but Heiji still felt slightly threatened.

'Ah yes, she'd going on a date with someone from school tomorrow.'

'Not you?' Heiji felt his face heat up at the question, but before he could answer he could hear Kazuha and Ran's voices from down the corridor. 

He only caught a glimpse of Kazuha's outfit as they passed by the door. He now knew one thing: he was very much screwed for tomorrow.

Chapter 3: Best Friends

'Heiji-kun? Are you okay?' Heiji's brain had stopped being able to function properly. What was he even supposed to say? He could only hope his face wasn't as red as it felt.

'I think Heiji nii-chan is tired, we walked a lot today. I'll take him to his room.'

'Ah okay, don't push yourself too hard.'

After finally getting to his room, Heiji fell into his bed. He sighed and turned towards the boy sitting on the chair, 'Kudo what on earth is wrong with me?'

'Hattori, how many times are you going to ask that? You kinda need to figure that out for yourself.'

'Say Kudo, how long have you liked that nee-chan of yours?'

The other boy blushed, looking at something outside the window, 'how is that important? That doesn't really matter now.'

'Oh so it was practically love at first sight, huh?'

'Oi Hattori, don't you have other issues to deal with right now?'

Heiji started to say something, only for Kazuha to burst into his room, 'ah, the both of you are here. Dinner's ready, we're going to eat.'

'We'll be there Kazuha nee-chan,' he smiled at the girl as she closed the door, 'come on Hattori, we can deal with your problem tomorrow, let's eat.'

'Fine.'

After dinner Ran had decided to stay the night at Kazuha's house, leaving Conan with Heiji. His mum made them go to sleep as soon as possible, on the count of Heiji looked drained. Which was true in some part, he looked exhausted despite not having done much that day but going to bed early didn't help whatsoever. Instead he spent most of the night tossing and turning, for some reason he didn't want tomorrow to come.

He was woken up by Conan, who had been struggling to wake him up for a while. It was about 10 in the morning, Kazuha's movie date was at 4, giving him very little time to stop her. 

After they'd got changed and had some breakfast, the girls had come over to pick them up. The both of them were quite dressed up, well more so than usual.

'Ran nee-chan? Are you going somewhere special?' He looked up at her, trying and failing not to blush.

'Oh Conan-kun, not really, Kazuha-chan was embarrassed to dress up by herself so I offered to do so as well.' Ran had chosen a pink summer dress, it was off the shoulder and a mix of baggy and fitting that definitely flattered her.

Kazuha on the other hand had chosen a light orange halter neck dress, it was backless, and had a belt that gave it some shape. The dress itself fell mid-thigh, paired with a cute pair of deep green block heels. Luckily for him, Heiji had chosen that precise moment to go look for his hat. She had hair up in its usual ponytail, with a matching green ribbon. She was wearing little makeup, scared she'd overdo it, either way she looked beautiful, which was precisely what Heiji was scared of.

'What's taking Hattori-kun so long? Conan-kun could you check on him?'

'Sure Ran nee-chan.' However, he couldn't find the Osakan detective anywhere, that was until he walked into one of the back rooms. Heiji was sitting there talking or arguing with his mum, it took him a while to realise that Conan was standing in the doorway.

'Ah Kudo, I can explain. But could you tell the girls to go on without me, just make something up.'

He didn't bother questioning it, when he made it back to the girls he told them that he couldn't find Heiji nii-chan and that they should go ahead. He then had to promise Ran that they would join them for lunch at least. 

Heiji on the other hand was facing some sort of crisis, he couldn't possibly face Kazuha now, when he caught a glimpse of her this morning his heart definitely did a flip, which was not good. His mum hadn't helped either, he fished out a bunch of pictures of the both of them when they were younger and it didn't help that they looked very close. Whatever feeling he was feeling, it was making him very uncomfortable, he couldn't possibly be in love with her, they were best friends. That's it, anyone would be annoyed to see their best friend be close to someone else. That's all, he didn't want to lose a good friend like Kazuha.

'Hey Kudo!'

'You owe me one Hattori.'

'Ah thanks Kudo, what did they say?'

'They want us to at least join them for lunch, some cafe, 12:30.'

'We have an hour and a half Kudo, what d'ya want to do til then?'

'I still haven't seen the Osaka Police HQ'

He grinned at the request, 'you've come to the right person.'

~ ♡ ~

After a tour that could only interest police officers and keen detectives, they had made it just in time for lunch with the girls. When they got there, Kazuha and Ran were deep in conversation, but had stopped by the time the boys had gotten to the table.

'Glad you were able to make it Hattori-kun.'

'Ah yeah, no problem.' Kazuha shot him a small glare, suggesting that, that was not the best possible reply. However, in a way it showed that things were becoming normal between them.

'Say Ran-chan, what time are you guys leaving today?'

'Our train is at 7:30, you don't have to worry about seeing us off, just enjoy your date.'

'Say Kazuha, how are you getting back home?'

'I haven't really thought about that, he'll probably walk me back, right?'

'He?' Heiji blinked at her, slightly confused, before realising who she was on about. 'Oh, you're boyfriend~' he chuckled, just a little teasingly.

'Heiji!'

'Kidding, kidding,' but he was still laughing, ignoring the slight twist in his stomach.

~ ♡ ~

Heiji, Ran, and Conan hid behind a random pillar as they watched Kazuha meet up with her date. It turned out to be one of the third years, he was good-looking and probably popular. Ran slightly gasped as they linked arms and walked into the cinema.

'Hattori-kun, let's go.'

'Go where?'

'Don't you want to spy on them too?'

'Uh, I don't think that's a good idea Ran nee-chan,' he tried tugging on the hem of her dress gently, but she wouldn't be swayed.

'The both of you can go somewhere else if you want, but I'm staying.'

'Do you even know what movie they're watching? Or what seat they're in?'

'Well, I wouldn't be suggesting this if I didn't, they're watching the new Okino Yoko movie and their seats are in the middle. If we get seats at the back, they won't know.'

'You know that sounds like a very risky plan Ran nee-chan, I think it would be better if we didn't.'

'Yeah, we have time 'til your train, how about we do something else.'

She glanced between the both of them, realising there would be no way to convince them she sighed, 'fine, got anything in mind?'

~ ♡ ~

Heiji was talking to Conan and Ran as they waited for their train, they'd sent the last couple of hours walking around many different shops. Conan had managed to stay away from buying more versions of Sherlock Holmes from a book shop they had found. Ran had bought herself a cute purse. Heiji on the other hand was slightly preoccupied, as much as he did not want to admit it, he cared about Kazuha and her date.

He couldn't tell whether it was a good or bad thing he had turned down Ran's offer to follow them, after all was it so bad to be curious about his best friend?

Just as the train was arriving, they heard a shout, 'Ran-chan!'   'Kazuha-chan? What are you doing here?'

'To see you off,' seeing her friend's slight confusion, she added, 'I'll tell you about it later, kay?'

'Oh okay,' she turned to face them both, 'thanks for having us, come visit us soon.'

'No problem, we'll see each other soon.' 

'Make sure to check your phone later on, 'kay Ran-chan?'

'Sure, we'll see you guys next time.'

The teenagers watched as their friends got on the train, waving at them as they walked to their seats. They waited for a little bit before heading back. 

'Say Kazuha, I thought your boyfriend was taking you home today.'

'As if, he was so annoying,' she glanced at Heiji before continuing, 'he would not shut up at all, worse all he did was talk about himself.'

Heiji chuckled earning a small glare from her, 'sorry, carry on.'

'After the movie, he wanted to take a walk somewhere, and guess what. He tried to give me a necklace with our initials on it.'

'A necklace?'

'Yeah, it was a leaf, or something, but we aren't even dating, isn't initials going a bit too far?' She watched as Heiji nodded albeit a bit confused, 'so I told him I'd think about it.'

'But you're going to say no?'

'Obviously, I don't know how though. He's just not my type.'

'Wow, so what's your type, guys who fall asleep during movies?'

She smiled at his attempt at a joke, 'of course not, ones who talk about the movie at the right points, oh wait a second Heiji.' She stopped and using him for balance took off her heels, 'that feels so much better, I don't know people walk in these all day.'

'Want me to carry you?'

She laughed at his offer, 'as if you could carry me all the way back home, no offence Heiji but I doubt you're that strong.'

'Yeah right, get on I'll prove it to you,' he bent down slightly to let her get on his back.

'Sure, what should we bet on this.'

'Loser pays for okonomiyaki next week.'

'Oh it's on.'

~ ♡ ~

Needless to say Heiji had lost, not because he was weak, more like Kazuha had leaned in front to say something and Heiji who had turned to ask her something was surprised at how close their faces had gotten, and dropped her. 

Kazuha chuckled as she brushed her clothes lightly, 'guess you owe me lunch.'

'That doesn't count, you scared me.'

'Your excuses won't work now Heiji,' she shot him an innocent smile before continuing to walk back.

'It's not an excuse!' He jogged to catch up with her, for now their relationship had gone back to what it normally was. How long that would last was unclear, but for now, walking back together felt perfect.

Just as best friends. For now.

~ ♡ ~

doodle reqs except it's my au mweheheheheh

Happy new year everyone!!

My only resolution this year is to finish as many wips as I can 😭😭 some of them really need to see the light of day

This year has been so fun! Love the little parts of the fandoms I’m part of! Wishing you all the best for the next year!!

All eyes on me いつのまにか deepfaker

(music. nisekao _ yama)

close-up!

This was fun to draw because I haven't tried drawing this type of expression yet. Also here's what I spent 30 minutes for no reason;

haibara and her ayumi shaped blind spot

New products and print size in my ko-fi shop! ✨ Here's a sneak peek of the new print set I made of the teitan girls 🩵❤️💚

There's also a new Heiji print, and things for a couple more fandoms, including tgcf, jjk and the Apothecary diaries!

Ko-fi

Visit Det_shin's Shop!

I've opened a shop. Come take a look!

I hope everyone can help my family🙏

Hello everyone,

I will tell you my story about the war in the Gaza Strip, and I hope you will help me get out to safety. Thank you very much. I am Ali Miqdad, 33 years old, and my wife, Aya Hamdan, 25 years old. I have two children, my beloved, who is 5 years old and Adam, who is 2 years old

In light of the war on us, we lost everything: home, money, business, and even clothes. I paid everything in the house and business that I had because of the bombing that we witnessed throughout the days. To this day, we have been displaced several times, and the first night was very difficult. In the morning, it was our first displacement and exit from the house, and then we lost. We all lost our beautiful memories and the wonderful things that me and the family used to live on

We lost our beautiful memories and the wonderful things that my family and I used to live on. The hardest thing we lost was safety and peace due to the violent bombing that surrounded us at every time and moment and in all the places to which we were displaced. Also, the days that we spent in displacement several times were difficult due to the lack of work to obtain. For money, clothes, food, water, and meeting the needs of the family and the needs of the children, especially since we are in tents and there is no healthy food or medicine due to the spread of diseases.

Through the process of repeated displacement, we lost the stable and recreational life that I used to live with my wife, my children, Habiba and Adam, who lost their beautiful childhood, the first days of their childhood, and their toys that they loved and played with all the time. My daughter, Habiba, lost her studies in kindergarten, and my wife, who suffers from fatigue and exhaustion all the time. As a result of displacement from one place to another, and from tent to tent, which completely changed the nature of our lives from a beautiful house to a tent in the middle of the street in which we sleep.

I need your cooperation and help in raising money to leave the Gaza Strip because the exit from the Gaza Strip is due to the war

I hope everyone will donate for my family and children🙏❤️

Vetted by:

@gazavetters

@appsa @sar-soor @sayruq @stuckinapril @heritageposts @neptunerings @feluka @malcriada @queerstudiesnatural @rizzylu @determinate-negation

Priorities

a crackfic with zero plot

Deuce winced as he heard the familiar voice; they had managed about two days without getting into a fight. Which may be a record for Ace, but with how close Isuka’s voice was, it was just a matter of time before they were fighting. Deuce was unsure whether Ace had heard it too; he was easily distracted by the food surrounding them. They were in a market area, and if Ace hadn’t heard her voice, it would be best to keep it that way.

‘Hey, wasn’t that Isuka?’ Deuce cursed under his breath. He could never catch a break.

‘I don’t think so. Why would the Ensign be here? Hey, isn’t that your favourite snack,’ Deuce was using all his powers of distraction, but for some reason, Ace wasn’t listening.

‘Nah I’m pretty sure that’s her, where do you think it came from?’

Deuce sighed, ‘why do you go looking for trouble? If she hasn’t seen you yet we should probably leave.’

‘So you did hear her!’ He said incredulously.

‘Yeah at this point hearing her voice puts my body on autopilot, we need to leave.’

‘Oh come on, it would be rude to leave without saying hello.’

‘Since when have you cared about manners?’ Maybe he lived just to annoy Deuce; if he died early, the cause of death should be listed as Portgas D. Ace.

They hadn’t been able to pinpoint her location just yet, the marketplace was a bustling hub in the middle of the city, and one would think the Marine’s uniform would stand out. 

‘Hey I’ll pay!’ They heard Isuka argue with someone, and Ace twirled around to see Isuka, not in her uniform but in casual clothing. There were two little kids next to her; one of them was clinging onto her leg, and she had a hand on the other one's head. From their angle, they couldn’t quite see who she was arguing with, but it was clear she was close to this person; otherwise, they wouldn't be arguing over the bill. 

‘Who are those kids,’ Ace turned to Deuce, who looked just as confused; they didn’t know anything about her personal life.

‘Why don’t we order double, then we can both pay,’ Isuka’s shoulders sank, but it was because she was laughing. Ace grimaced slightly; Isuka barely ever laughed around them; she was too busy fighting them. Deuce wanted to point out that it wasn’t his fault Isuka didn’t laugh at his jokes. It was really that they were on opposite sides of the law and that most of them were insulting the Marines. He couldn’t, however, deny that she looked good when she wasn’t scowling. She looked younger and more peaceful.

‘Fine, fine, I can never win with you,’ she pulled out her purse and took out some bills while her friend asked for more from the vendor, who seemed quite pleased with all the sales he was making. Isuka carefully took the little parcels of food and gave them to the kids, the little one clutching her one and the older one grabbing a few more.

Both pirates snuck a little closer, trying to get a closer look at the other party. By the voice alone, they could tell it was a man, but nothing else. As they stopped, hidden behind a cart of sweets, they were finally able to see his face. He had one of those faces that exuded calmness. He was good-looking if you preferred plain and boring guys. He seemed tall and well built; he was probably a Marine, but what was really bothering Ace was why would the both of them be on vacation together.

‘Maybe we should help them with the food, we have quite a few parcels,’ the man suggested as he took a bag of food.

‘Yeah, we should,’ Isuka ruffled the younger one’s hair. She leaned over to take one of the bags from the man, but he refused to fork one over and pushed her forward instead. She held the younger one’s hand instead, carefully leading them through the crowds. They passed Ace and Deuce, the latter diving behind a stall to hide; Ace stood watching as they disappeared.

‘Do you think her radar is broken?’

‘Radar?’ Deuce questioned as he dusted himself off and apologised to the startled drink vendor.

‘Yeah her ‘Hunt Fire Fist’ at all costs one,’ Deuce decided he must’ve lost his mind out of hunger and tried to push him towards the food stalls. 

‘I think you need some food, you’re talking crazy.’

‘No, you know how she never gives up on a chase, and no matter what crazy turns I take she always manages to find me, how? Her crazy find me radar.’

Ace looked proud of his explanation, but Deuce could only sigh, ‘sure buddy, but it looks like she’s taking a break, maybe she doesn’t want to fight you.’

‘Nope, how many times has she abandoned what she was doing to chase me?’ He pointed out, ‘no, something's going on, we’ve got to find out.’

Deuce buried his face in his hands and groaned, ‘why can’t things go my way for once,’ but Ace was already dragging him in the direction she was heading in.

They were walking for a while before Ace decided to jump on someone’s roof to try and locate the pair walking together. He caught sight of them walking toward the slums to the north of the city. He jumped back down to tell Deuce and broke into a run to catch up with them.

When they reached the slums, the little kid who had been holding onto Isuka’s hand let go and ran towards another kid, holding out the little parcel of food. Soon little kids were surrounding the two Marines, and they were handing out the food to whoever was there. Isuka was crouching down to talk to them, ruffling their hair and accepting little hugs. The little kids seemed overjoyed, running back to their houses to share. 

When the food ran out, Isuka stood back up; they had just about enough for everyone. ‘It’s a good thing we bought double.’

‘See this is why you should listen to me, I’m always correct,’ he nudged her shoulder with his.

‘This is coming from the person who thought the red line was a literal red line in the middle of the sea,’ she pressed back.

‘I was 10. Give me a break,’ there was a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks.

Ace was getting more annoyed as she playfully teased him. Deuce, on the other hand, was more shocked to see this side of the Ensign that usually chased them. In her pursuit, she was ruthless and powerful, but now, seeing her laugh carelessly really proves how little they knew about her.

‘How about lunch,’ she suggested as they began to walk back. Deuce pulled Ace into a random house to hide, apologising to the terrified occupants.

‘Yes I am starving, it’s my treat though,’ he emphasised.

‘No it’s mine, take it as a way to congratulate you for your promotion.’

‘Exactly! My promotion, I should be treating you with my pay rise.’

She laughed, ‘you’re an Ensign now, I know exactly how measly the pay rise is. Let me treat you, plus I am older than you.’

‘By like 3 months, you don’t have to keep bringing that up.’

Ace waited for them to turn the corner as they walked past the house before following behind. Deuce thanked the family before running after him.

‘Ace I think we should stop now, clearly there’s nothing wrong, she’s just enjoying some time with her friend,’ Deuce stopped next to him and took a couple of breaths. ‘Although it’s a little weird seeing her so happy, I think the only time I’ve seen her smile was that time Kotatsu jumped her and ended up tickling her with his fur.’

‘Nope,’ he was being stubborn for no reason at all, ‘we have to get to the bottom of this mystery.’

‘What mystery? Last I checked we’ve been pointlessly following around a Marine and her probably Marine friend.’

Before he could get an answer out of Ace, the pair they were following turned a corner, ‘come on we’re going to lose them!’

It was a little while before they seemed to finally make a decision on where to eat. It was a restaurant that had a riverside view. They waited for them to be seated before entering themselves.

‘Could we get seats that have a clear view of that table?’ Ace pointed to where Isuka was sitting on the deck overlooking the river. She was finally using those sunglasses she always had in her hair.

The waitress seemed intrigued and was glad to help them spy on the two of them, she must’ve thought something was going on, and Deuce felt the need to clarify that there wasn’t anything actually happening. The waitress remained unconvinced and showed them upstairs to a seat on the balcony overlooking where Isuka was sitting. She bought them menus and a jug of water, and Deuce couldn’t stop fidgeting. They were at a semi-fancy restaurant, and they were following a Marine.

‘Hey don’t you think this has gone on for long enough?’ Ace simply glanced at the menu. ‘She seems happy, and that’s good because I don’t particularly want to spend the rest of our time at this island running from her, she’s kinda scary you know.’

‘Pffft, Isuka? Scary? You must be out of your mind,’ he paused, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of him,  ‘she’s just mildly terrifying.’

‘See, even you have to admit she's clearly a lot more at ease right now and we should let her be. Wasn’t there like a million things you wanted to see, you’re not going to have any time if you spend all your time following her.’

Ace sighed, looking down at the pair of Marines; she was laughing at something he’d said, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was beautiful in a gentle way, looking soft in the way the sunlight hit her. She was beautiful in the way she fought as well, fierce, like fire. 

Deuce rolled his eyes; Ace was never subtle; the look in his eyes as he watched her gave away his reasons. He said goodbye to all his plans, seeing as how Ace was simply not going to let this go.

'Fine, let's at least eat something while we're here,' Deuce called over the waitress so they could order something.

Ace immediately dived into the food as soon as it arrived, but he still managed to keep tabs on what Isuka was doing. Watched as she sipped her glittery drink and the way she gripped her cutlery.

It felt like hours had gone by as he waited for them to finish their conversation. Deuce was more shocked that Ace hadn’t spontaneously fallen asleep during the meal than by how long they could keep a conversation going.

When Isuka got up to pay, he watched as they fought over the bill before getting up himself. Before Deuce could point out that they needed to pay, Ace had left. He pulled out his wallet and placed some cash on the table before running after him.

~ ♡ ~

Deuce was already beyond bored as they hid behind a bush. Isuka and her friend had spent hours walking around town, visiting different shops.

Isuka had tried on so many clothes they’d never even thought she’d wear, but she looked stunning in all of them. There was this blue dress that had Ace tripping over the mannequin they were hiding behind. 

They waited outside a bookstore for close to an hour, sat on a bench and shared a large newspaper to hide their faces. Isuka came out with a bag full of books at the end of it.

When they’d finally tired of walking, they sat on a park bench, and Ace decided to hide in a bush nearby in the hopes of catching parts of their conversation. Deuce mumbled something about his butt hurting from sitting on the hard ground, and Ace shushed him. To his dismay, they chatted about the books Isuka had purchased, something about them being a series she loved as a kid and didn’t know there were more books in the set. Ace still paid attention to her every word, no matter how boring. Deuce ended up lying down on the ground and taking a nap.

It was darker when Ace hurriedly woke him up, saying they were going to a bar to get a meal and some drinks. He pulled him up and continued his pursuit, with a sleepy Deuce trying not to bump into the street lights.

It was harder to sneak into the bar without the two Marines noticing them. It was much smaller than the restaurant, and they barely managed to make it to a table before Isuka saw them.

Isuka could clearly hold her alcohol as she easily downed many cups of liquor. That’s one thing they had in common, Ace loved to party and could easily outdrink most people. Unluckily for him, he often collapsed, making people think he was a lightweight. On the other hand, Deuce was a terrible lightweight, so he sipped at his cup, hoping no one would notice he was on the same cup from the beginning.

‘D’ya think she’s given up on me?’

‘Who Isuka?’ Deuce poked the table with his fork as they waited for their food.

‘Yeah, we’ve been following her all day and she hasn’t noticed us once. I know we’re not exactly amazing at subtlety so has she just given up?’

‘Isuka would never, she’s got that stubbornness about her,’ Deuce took a small sip of his drink, ‘she would never stop chasing you.’

Ace laughed, but it was sort of sad. Deuce patted him on the back, ‘maybe we’re just better at stalking people than we thought we were.’ And this time, Ace laughed for real.

For the next two hours, Ace had seemingly forgotten about Isuka laughing and chatting away on the other side of the room, and he joked with Deuce like normal. That was until Isuka had gotten up to pay and leave. She placed her sunglasses on the bar as she handed the shopkeeper some bills but left them there when she left the premises. Ace was immediately up and bolting out of the restaurant, grabbing her sunglasses to follow her.

Deuce shouted after him, but it was hopeless; he’d already gone. Begrudgingly he took out his wallet yet again and paid before running after him. 

When he caught up, Ace was somehow on a rooftop, following the pair from a distance, and Deuce considered clambering up to join him but decided to stay on the ground.

They followed them for a while until they heard Isuka gasp loudly, and they stopped.

Isuka had been walking quietly and enjoying the crisp, cold air. She took a deep breath in and decided this was the best moment. She reached up to her head and feigned shock, ‘I left my sunglasses at the bar!’

‘Want me to come back with you?’

‘No, no, you go on ahead, I’ll get them myself,’ she pushed him forward before turning around to head back to the bar.

She turned the corner before leaving against the wall and calling out, ‘I know you’re there Fire Fist.’

He jumped down from somewhere, and Deuce simply stepped into the light. He was smiling at her, ‘how did you know?’

‘You’re not subtle,’ she smiled and held out her hand, ‘I’d like my sunglasses back, I assume you grabbed them on your way out. They were a gift from someone important.’

His smile dropped, and he stepped towards her, grabbing the sunglasses out of his pocket. He ignored her outstretched hand; instead, he stopped, unusually close to her. He placed the glasses back on her head, trying to remember the exact angle it fit between the vermillion strands of hair.

‘Where are they from him?’

‘Huh?’ Isuka was taken aback. She’d barely managed to register the fact that he was trying to adjust her hair, tucking loose strands behind her ear, let alone pay attention to his words.

‘You said they were a gift,’ he retracted his hands, happy with his work, ‘was it from him?’

‘Who? Ryu? No!’ She buried her face in her gloved hands; 'a different friend got me these, she’s a swordswoman like me. I haven’t seen her in ages.’

‘Oh,’ Ace rubbed his neck sheepishly; he’d jumped to conclusions again.

‘Why were you even following me Fire Fist, shouldn’t it be the other way around?’

‘That’s what I said!’ Deuce looked exhausted, and Isuka sympathised; keeping up with someone like Ace was hard work.

‘No reason,’ he looked down, kicking a random stone, ‘just thought it was odd you didn’t notice me.’

She couldn’t see his expression because his hat successfully covered his face, but she could easily guess that he probably looked like a sad puppy.

She burst out into laughter, and Ace looked up in shock, ‘of course I noticed you! It would be impossible not to! That hat is so obnoxiously orange!’

‘You did? Then why didn’t you do anything? Usually, you’re chasing me before I even see you.’ He chose to ignore the hat comment; to him, it was a perfectly acceptable colour.

‘My priorities have changed Fire Fist,’ she explained, but he looked so utterly shocked she had to elaborate further. ‘Well I’ve been receiving complaints from my crew lately about how catching you can’t always be my priority and that I also have to relax and enjoy meals. You know, not abandoning whatever I’m doing to pursue you.’

Deuce failed to suppress a laugh, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were aware how annoying it is.’

She glared at him but continued, ‘so when I saw you at the market I decided you weren’t my priority, my friend was and that I wasn’t going to abandon an old friend who I haven’t seen in a while to chase you.’

‘Aw, I’m not a priority anymore?’

‘Trust me Fire Fist, as soon as this little vacation is over you’re number one on my list. Right now my priorities are slightly different.’

‘Kinda sucks not being on your mind all the time.’

‘It’s kinda hard to forget you when you spent the whole day following me,’ she grumbled.

‘My bad, you know what, you have my word I won’t bother you the rest of your trip.’

‘I’m not sure the word of a pirate means much to me, but okay, no bothering each other.’

‘Deal,’ he smiled, sticking his hand out to her. She took it up begrudgingly, and he took the opportunity to pull her closer, ‘that blue dress was the best, you should totally get it. Also have fun with your little boyfriend Isuka.’

He pulled back and smiled at her, and before she could deny it, he jumped back to where Deuce was, ‘see you later, Ensign!’ He tipped his hat towards her and began to walk away, ‘just so you know, you’re always a priority to me!’

She blushed at the statement, though she didn’t know why, ‘he’s not my boyfriend you moron!’ She didn’t know if he could hear her but felt the need to clarify.

Deuce glanced over at Ace, who was grinning widely as she shouted at him. He rolled his eyes; what an odd pair.

~ ♡ ~

no because i seriously will never get over tsujimura’s mother. ordering her ability not to protect tsujimura, as would be the logical command, but to prevent tsujimura from ever being able to commit murder, and as a result making her immune to ayatsuji’s ability and therefore kyougoku’s plan. kyougoku was too busy playing psychological chess with his pissy blond student while this woman was running laps around the entire cast