Comparison

The three boys are similar in some way or another... but they are totally different when they had to deal with other problems that doesn't involve thieving, some criminal organisation or murder. Shinichi/Ran Heiji/Kazuha Kaito/Aoko

Problem 2: They always know how to compliment their girls regarding their special appearance... somehow...

Outside Beika's popular movie theater.

Shinichi yawned as he stared at his watch. The two movie tickets were in his pocket, while some loose notes and changes were in his other pocket, in case Ran might want to buy some snacks or popcorn to eat. Although there's still around fifteen minutes before the show starts, Ran was late. It wouldn't be weird if Shinichi was the one who was no on time, but it's unusual for Ran since she's quite particular about it. Shinichi texted her a few minutes ago, to only get a reply that she's coming soon so all he could do was to wait, but he didn't mind at all since he's always guilty about being late himself.

"Sorry Shinichi! I'm here!"

He looked up to find Ran running towards him in a cute low heels and a long white dress with a light blue denim jacket. What really surprised Shinichi wasn't the way Ran decided to dress today, but it was her face. Today, she had full make up, as if she was going to some really high-class place. It wasn't a bad thing at all, really, because Shinichi found Ran totally and utterly gorgeous.

He gulped and glanced down at his plain T-shirt and jeans before looking at Ran who was standing in front of him, bending forward and trying to catch her breath. Shinichi blushed when Ran looked up and he looked away slightly, scratching the side of his head. "Uhhh, let's go in then."

Ran nodded her head and followed him inside. He glanced back and gave a shivering laugh. "Do you want any food or drink?"

"I guess not." Ran looked down at her waist. "I've been gaining weight since the school holiday starts."

Shinichi stared at Ran's flat stomach but decided not to say anything unnecessary. He gave the attendant their tickets and proceeded in.

..

"The movie is good! I think Sonoko would like it too." Ran smiled. Both of them were walking out of the theater along with other people. Ran then looked over to Shinichi when he didn't give any response. "Do you like the movie?"

To be honest, Shinichi didn't really love watching movies but would rather prefer reading books. But he didn't mind when Ran called him out to watch a movie together, he like spending time with her, no matter what they were doing. He just nodded his head and gave a muffled reply. Moreover... he wasn't really focused on the movie... he was more... focused on her the whole time.

Ran raised an eyebrow as they continued walking down the quiet streets. "Are you okay? You seemed like you're uncomfortable."

Shinichi blinked rapidly before he finally muster the courage to speak up. "I'm just wondering if you're going somewhere later? Like a wedding? Or maybe you're going to have dinner with your mom."

"No I'm not. I was intending to spend the whole day with you." Ran said innocently

Shinichi was trying his hardest not to blush but all he could do was to look away in case Ran were to see his face reddening. He sighed , trying to calm himself down before looking back at Ran again. "Then what's with the outfit and make up today? You look like you're going on a date or something."

Ran inclined her head. "Aren't we on a date?"

He stopped on his track and stared at her, dumbfounded. She stopped too before she started waving her arms in the air. "I-I mean! I-I was just saying that we're hanging out a-and stuff, n-not exactly a date or anything!" She stuttered

Shinichi laughed and wiped an invisible tear. "Yeah I know, I was just teasing you."

Ran pouted.

"But seriously." His laughter died down. "What's with the outfit today?"

Ran looked away and rubbed her head sheepishly. "Sonoko dropped by two hours before I was about to head out to meet you and she helped me to prepare my outfit and make up because I told her I am going out with you." She looked back at him. "Is it ugly or weird?"

"No!" Shinichi almost yelled. Embarrassed, he started walking and Ran followed.

"Then?" Ran questioned, now more curious than ever.

"You lo-look pretty." Shinichi turned back and if Ran didn't react fast enough, she would have bumped right into his chest. "B-But uh, but it's not like you're not when you're in your usual self."

Ran flushed as she silently watched Shinichi coolly continued walking. Smiling to herself, she hurriedly joined him, not knowing that he was trying to hide his blushing face again.

.o.

At one of a cross junction in Osaka

Kazuha rarely doll up herself, but when she heard about how all her female friends were going to turn up at their teacher's birthday party, she couldn't help but feel the need to make herself look a little more better than usual.

As she was looking inside her bag to check her prepared gift, she almost wanted to use her Aikido skills when a man approached her suddenly, to find out it was none other than Heiji. He was wearing a hoodie and jeans, or rather just his normal wear whenever he and Kazuha goes out. He blinked at her before looking at her from head to toe. Without even saying a thing, Heiji went and fiddled with Kazuha's untied hair and frowned. "You look weird letting down your hair ya."

Kazuha scoffed and turned around, he followed quickly beside her until they stopped while waiting for the red light to turn green. She slightly glanced at Heiji, who was still staring intently at her face before she couldn't take it anymore and huffed. "What's wrong now ya?"

"Are ya wearing make up?" Heiji blurted.

"What's wrong with that yeah?" Kazuha blushed when Heiji was leaning towards her closely, observing her eyes intently.

Heiji squinted his eyes. "Your eyeliner had smudged at the corner of your right eye."

Kazuha yelped and stepped back before fishing out a mirror from her bag to check her make up. She sighed heavily when what Heiji told her was exactly right. She shut her make up mirror and turned around to find Heiji glancing over her shoulder, shocking her and causing her to almost falling back.

"Why do you keep creeping on me ya?!" Kazuha spatted

"Ehhh..." Heiji snatched the mirror from Kazuha's hand as he started inspecting it in the air while Kazuha began jumping to yelling to get her mirror back.

"Give it back to me! Stupid Heiji!"

Heiji snorted and handed it back to her without any argument. "I neva' realize a tomboy like you will have such things."

"No matter how tom-boy I am, I'm still a girl." Kazuha muttered to herself, keeping her mirror safely in her bag.

Heiji looked up and noticed the red man already turned green before he grabbed Kazuha's arm and crossed the road. "Let's hurry, we're already this late because of ya."

Trying to ignore their body contact, Kazuha gritted her teeth and exclaimed with a fist in the air. "You're the one that was late!"

..

The party was still on-going, but Kazuha didn't feel well and decided to go home. Heiji, without a word, volunteered to send her back, causing the entire class to tease them, leaving a puzzled-and-not-knowing-what-is-going-on Heiji and a blushing Kazuha. Finally after some small bickering with the class, they both left.

Kazuha sighed and rubbed the back of her sore neck. She had tied up her hair to a usual pony tail since she felt weird letting her hair down other than when she was sleeping. The long hours of having her make up on also caused her cheeks to itch a little and she didn't have a choice but to ask someone for make up remover to clean her face.

After a while of silence, Heiji coughed. "Who are you even trying to impress ya?" He rubbed her nose and gave a bored look.

Not wanting to understand what he meant, Kazuha just blinked tiredly. "What do ya mean?"

"Wearing those make up doesn't make ya more like a girl." Heiji remarked.

In a split second, Kazuha, who originally didn't want to waste any more energy on her childhood friend, growled in anger. "So what if I'm trying to?! You stupid!" She yelled and stormed off. She would have run if she were in her normal shoes, but wearing heels? Running would be the same as seeking death.

Heiji easily caught up with her, and he was using the his normal and relaxed speed. Kazuha wasn't sure if he was mocking her or not. Heiji then spoke. "I'm just trying to say what's the point of wearing those things ya." He continued quickly when Kazuha was about to interrupt. "It's not like you need to conceal anything ugly on ya face. You looked fine. Or maybe there is something ugly on your face but I didn't notice yet."

Kazuha didn't know if she should be mad or happy about what Heiji had said. Was that even a compliment or was he actually mocking her? All she could do was to open her mouth, close it and open it again like a sick goldfish.

"But even if ya want to put make up, at least don't smudge it in the end. Isn't that an embarrassment?"

Throughout the entire night, Kazuha was holding onto her heels, her arms in the air as she chased after Heiji all the way home.

.o.

New Year Festival; At a shrine in Tokyo.

Kaito looked at his phone and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had been staying up all night to plan for the heist the day after tomorrow. Stretching mindlessly, he looked around, watching all those girls in pretty and bright colored Kimono coming from the entrance. He raised an eyebrow at a few girls, who he thought that had a nice figure and sometimes, he would think about Aoko. If Kaito had to describe her best friend in one word, it would be natural. Natural flat boobs, natural flat butt...

Two girls suddenly came in from the entrance, wearing a pair of matching pink Kimono and nice hair accessories on their head. Kaito nodded his head with an agreeing look. The two girls seemed to have notice something they were interested in as they hastily ran towards a direction, only then Kaito realized those two girls were blocking another person behind them.

This girl was wearing a light blue, butterfly pattern Kimono, her hair tied up in a nice and neat bun with a pretty white flower hair pin stuck right in it. Her lips were red, her cheeks were healthily pink, her sharp nose, pretty eyes and her long, fluttering eyelashes. Kaito couldn't help but stare at the girl for a longest time, not realizing that she was looking back at him.

"Kaito!"

He blinked, the girl he had been staring at was skipping towards him with a cheery grin. "Sorry I'm late! It's rather hard to climb those stairs up."

He couldn't believe his own eyes. This girl was... Aoko?!

"Uhh..." Kaito straightened his posture, trying to find words to reply. "Yeah, true..." He finally mumbled, still not able to register what was happening in his mind. Why couldn't he recognize the girl he knew for more than ten years right in front of him? He cleared his throat and stood up from his seat, putting his phone in his pocket. Rubbing his cold hands, he signaled her to go as they headed to the shrine to pray before finding some food to eat.

Four years ago, Kaito was always alone at home, watching TV or sleeping, not bothering to come to shrines to pray. His mother wasn't in Tokyo and Jii-chan wasn't contactable after his father died... so he didn't cared at all. That's when Aoko begged him again and again to come to the shrine with him during new year. It didn't really change his life or anything, just that he would have to go out in the cold and have some fun, that's why when Aoko asked him the next year, he agreed without hesitating.

But for the past four years, Kaito never once thought much or Aoko's appearance. She looked just like any other girls on the street. A girl in Kimono with a tied up bun. For this year, something sparked within him for some unknown reason, a hot flame within his chest, burning him and it's very, very uncomfortable, despite the cold. Was Aoko this different? Was she ever different?

"Let's eat that! Kaito treats!"

"Hell no! You treat me! You were late."

"Come on, it's not like you were never late before."

..

After a long walk around the shrine with a full stomach, both of them would go to this quiet and secluded place, which they found two years ago all by themselves. They sat on the bench, the two of them rubbing their own stomach at the same time.

"I'm so full, it's like I'm pregnant." She huffed.

"Who's the father? Your fats?"

Aoko wanted to hit him but Kaito moved away in time and she was too lazy to move again. She leaned against the bench heavily and looked up at the starless sky.

"Will we do this every year, for the rest of our life?" Aoko asked sincerely.

"Perhaps." Kaito answered, in a serious tone. "Unless you decided to ditch me and go with some other guy then I guess it's goodbye."

Aoko scoffed. "I should be the one saying that. One day you'll just get yourself a girlfriend and forget all about me."

Kaito glanced at Aoko who was still staring intensively at the sky. He could sense that her tone sounded sad, even though she forced it and made it sounded as if it was a joke. He softened his eyes and sighed inwardly, not knowing if he should even bother to reply. How could he even get a girlfriend when he was so busy being a theft that he didn't have time to spend with his childhood friend. And furthermore... the only women he really knows and cares about in his life were just his mother...and her.

All of the sudden, Aoko turned and he quickly turned away, pretending to rub his full stomach.

"Hey, how do I look today?" She stood up and turned around. "Keiko and I picked this Kimono after a few hours searching all the stores."

Kaito looked up. He wanted to say a lot of things, about how pretty she looked today that he almost couldn't recognize her. But he decided not to, yet. One day when he and his burden were finally free, he'll tell her everything. For now... he'll act like how the usual stupid and childish Kaito would reply.

"It's good, I mean, since this Kimono makes your boobs looks bigger and not that flat."

Aoko clicked her tongue. "You pervert!"

"Hey! That's a compliment!"

They spent the whole time calling each other all the possible nicknames they could think of until Aoko's father called and asked her to come back home early because he was hungry.

PHEWWWW Finally manage to complete it! I've been holding onto this idea for a very long time but didn't get to type it out because I'm that lazy.
Reviews are appreciated!