On the Verge of Waking
Charlotte rattled off a few last instructions, and once Ran confirmed she had no other questions, the call ended.
The others exchanged glances for a long moment as they absorbed everything Charlotte had told them.
Then Sonoko turned to Hondo Eisuke. "So, Eisuke — what do you say? Want to get your blood type rechecked? Beika West Hospital is right nearby, it won't take any time at all."
Ran nodded along. "She's right. That way we'd at least know whether Miss Kir really is your sister."
Under the weight of Sonoko and Ran's concerned expressions, Eisuke blinked, then nodded in a daze.
"Yeah... yeah, I really should get it tested. Honestly, I was still little when my sister left, so I've never been sure whether I even had the bone marrow transplant back then."
The truth was, the moment he'd learned Kir's blood type, he had quietly accepted that she wasn't his sister — that she might even be the very person responsible for her death.
But after discovering that blood types could change, a thread of hope had taken root in his heart. What if the transplant really had altered his type? What if Kir really was his sister after all...
He couldn't bring himself to give up on even the faintest chance of finding his sister, so he agreed without hesitation to go back to the hospital and get retested.
And so, once everyone had eaten their fill, Sonoko and Ran accompanied Eisuke back to Beika West Hospital, where a sample of his blood was drawn for testing. The results would take over an hour.
While they waited, Conan slipped away and called Ms. Judy, bringing her up to speed on the latest development.
"Ah~, so this boy has a sister — and it might be Rena Mizunashi..." Judy murmured.
"That's right. We're running the blood test right now. I'll call you as soon as the results come in," Conan replied.
"And he already knew Mizunashi had been seriously injured and hospitalized — he's been searching hospital after hospital trying to find her. There's a real chance he'll track down the one she's in."
Judy didn't sound particularly worried. "It's fine. Only a handful of specific doctors and nurses know Mizunashi is being treated at this hospital. He won't find her."
...
After a few more words, Judy asked Conan to text her once the results were in, and the call ended.
Phone tucked away, Judy stood where she was for a while, thinking. Who would have guessed that Rena Mizunashi might have a younger brother out there somewhere?
Now everything depended on Conan's results — only then could they decide how to handle Mizunashi going forward.
And if it turned out to be true, then Mizunashi was likely an undercover agent herself too. Which would complicate things considerably...
Judy returned to the room where Mizunashi was being treated, and just as she expected, found Shuichi leaning against the wall outside, his unfocused gaze fixed on the figure in the bed, lost in some thought of his own.
She stepped inside, closed the door behind her, and relayed the news she'd just received.
As expected, Akai Shuichi said nothing, though his brow creased slightly.
Judy was just about to say something more when a knock came at the door.
"Come in." She swallowed the words she'd been about to speak and called out toward the door.
The man who entered was Baizhu — the doctor who had been overseeing Mizunashi's treatment all this time.
He gave a courteous nod to Judy and Akai Shuichi, then walked over to the bedside and began his routine examination.
When he finished, Judy stepped forward, unable to hide her concern. "Dr. Baizhu, how is she? When will the patient wake up?"
Baizhu straightened up and turned to her with a gentle smile. "Rest assured — her recovery is coming along well. She'll be awake within seven days, without a doubt."
"That's a relief." At the news that Mizunashi would regain consciousness, Judy let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She had come terrifyingly close to believing Mizunashi might never wake at all — in which case the entire operation would have yielded nothing, a failure in the most complete sense.
But she was going to wake up. Which meant that in seven days at the latest, they would finally be able to learn more about the Organization straight from her own mouth.
Baizhu gave the usual aftercare instructions, then returned to his office. After a moment's thought, he opened a private chat in his mind and messaged the Wanderer, informing him that Mizunashi would wake within three days at the latest and asking him to pass the word along to Cointreau.
As for her location, he had already reported that to them some time ago.
The Wanderer clicked his tongue in irritation the moment the message landed, his brow knitting. Did they really take him for their errand boy?!
Grumbling though he was, he didn't drag his feet. Wearing his annoyance openly on his face, he went off to find Cointreau.
When he tracked him down, the man happened to be alone. He delivered Baizhu's message in a single sentence and was already turning to leave.
"Wait." Cointreau called him back.
The Wanderer halted, glanced over his shoulder, and fixed Cointreau with a look that said if you've got something to say, say it fast.
Cointreau didn't take offense at the rudeness. Truthfully, he'd long since gotten used to it — by his standards, the Wanderer's attitude these days was practically cordial.
He drew out a wristwatch and held it out on his open palm toward the Wanderer. "This is the Organization's newest terminal. Information processing and security have both improved by leaps and bounds. Everyone involved in the operation against Kir is required to wear one so Gin can coordinate assignments — and it doubles as a live field test of the thing's performance."
With that, he extended his hand a little further, gesturing for the Wanderer to take it.
The Wanderer's eyes dropped to Cointreau's left wrist — and sure enough, an identical watch was already strapped there. He'd clearly put his own on already.
He didn't refuse. Muttering a single word — "troublesome" — he accepted the terminal, strapped it onto his left wrist, and turned to go. This time, Cointreau didn't call him back.
Meanwhile, at Beika West Hospital —
More than an hour had passed, and Eisuke's blood test report was ready.
Everyone watched tensely as he held the report, watching him slowly open it.
Sonoko waited a while, but Eisuke just stood there staring blankly at the paper in his hands, utterly unresponsive. Finally her patience ran out. "Eisuke! Say something, anything — what's the result? We've all been waiting here with you this whole time. The least you can do is tell us!"
Eisuke finally lifted his head from the report. He looked at Sonoko, his expression oddly vacant, and answered in a stammer. "The blood type is... it's AB."
Ran's voice rose with delight. "Then Miss Kir really could be your sister, Eisuke!"
Eisuke nodded, still in a daze.
The blood types matched. Could Kir truly be his sister?
He still couldn't quite bring himself to believe it. He had made up his mind — he would find her, and see with his own eyes whether she was really his sister or not.