Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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1:59 PM, Nishi-Beika Hospital.
It had to be said, Gin had plenty of informants. No sooner had Ritsu parked his car in the hospital lot than he received a call from his superior.
"Macallan, what are you doing at the hospital?"
If someone in the organization got injured, they would usually go to the underground hospital in Block 4 of Beika Town. So when lower-level members from the operations unit saw Macallan heading to a regular hospital, they immediately reported it to Gin.
Ritsu felt a bit helpless. He'd been in the organization for nearly two years, diligently racking up mistakes, yet he was still someone Gin suspected. It was honestly disheartening.
"I ran into Miyano Akemi after finishing my mission, and there was a car accident."
"A car accident?"
Gin, who had just taken a medical kit out of his trunk, frowned and asked in a low voice, "You got injured?"
"??"
Ritsu froze for a moment, his mind failing to catch up. He completely missed the hint of concern in Gin's question and replied, "No. She accidentally hit a pedestrian, so I helped take him to the hospital."
"So you're not injured."
"Right. I was just a witness. As for the injured pedestrian, there's no need to worry, just a mild concussion, nothing life-threatening."
Gin had no interest in an irrelevant passerby's condition. Having heard what he wanted, he said, "Alright. Hanging up."
Listening to the dial tone, Ritsu stared at his phone with a deadpan expression. He had no idea what Gin had even called to ask about… though, as long as it wasn't work, it didn't matter.
Meanwhile, in Room 309 on the third floor of Nishi-Beika Hospital, Shuichi Akai lay unconscious, his eyes closed, his head wrapped in white medical bandages.
In truth, he wasn't still asleep. He was deliberately pretending, dragging it out to listen to what his target might say.
The room was quiet. Akemi, dressed in a red cropped leather jacket, sat anxiously by the bedside. From time to time, she looked up at the wall clock, silently counting how long the man she had hit had been unconscious.
Footsteps approached the door. Ritsu gently pushed it open, glanced at Akemi, then stepped closer to the bed.
"Still not awake?"
"…No. Toru, do you think the surgery didn't go well?" she asked worriedly.
"It was just a mild concussion. With some rest in the hospital, he'll recover quickly. There's no need to worry," Ritsu reassured her. Looking around the room, he noticed it lacked even a companion bed. Given Akemi's personality, she would definitely want to stay and care for the patient—he'd need to arrange a private room.
"That's good… Toru, could you stay here for a bit? I need to call my school advisor."
"You're planning to stay with him?"
"Yes. After all, this happened because of me. I have to take responsibility."
Just as expected. She really was kind. Normally, covering medical expenses would be enough, caregiving could be left to the patient's family.
"Alright. Go ahead, I'll stay here."
"Thank you."
Ritsu paid no attention to the man on the bed. He walked over to the window, looking outside while checking the balance in his bank account.
[Mitsubishi Bank: Dear Nanase Toru, your account ending in 0717 has a current balance of 21,821,900 yen as of 12:49 PM, January 31.]
Ever since paying off his debt to Gin, Ritsu had grown fond of saving money. But if he switched to a private room, it would likely cost nearly 1.5 million yen.
It really hurt to spend his "hard-earned money."
Lying on the bed, Akai hadn't expected to encounter someone the FBI didn't have information on so quickly. He wanted to open his eyes and see who it was but that risked exposing himself, so he continued pretending to sleep.
Akemi soon returned and sat back down. Ritsu mentioned he would handle the hospitalization procedures, but didn't elaborate before leaving.
The room fell silent again.
Realizing he wouldn't gather any more information, Akai slowly opened his eyes. Before he could even turn his head, his target spoke first.
"I'm so sorry… It's my fault you ended up like this."
She was even more beautiful than in the FBI's photos. Her deep blue eyes reflected his image, filled with genuine concern. Her brows were furrowed, her voice full of guilt.
This carefully selected target… this carefully staged accident.
Akai softened his usually stoic tone, adding a gentleness he himself wasn't used to. "It's okay. I was spacing out at the time too."
"Does your head still hurt? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Akemi leaned closer, speaking softly, knowing patients after surgery were often weak.
"I'm fine. Nothing feels wrong."
He wasn't lying. The accident had been rehearsed many times, to ensure minimal injury without raising suspicion.
Akemi finally let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "That's great. I'll go get the doctor, just lie still, okay?"
"Wait. Can you tell me your name?"
She stopped at the door, turned back with a slightly apologetic smile, and said, "My name is Miyano Akemi."
"My name is…" Akai paused briefly, then said, "Moroboshi Dai. Nice to meet you."
Akemi bowed slightly and smiled. "I'm the one who should be saying that. I'll go call the doctor now."
"Okay."
Watching her leave, Akai stared at the ceiling, his emotions complicated.
He hadn't expected Akemi to give her real name. According to FBI records, she had been using the alias Masami Hirota since middle school.
"…"
But the plan was already in motion. Using her identity to get close to Shiho was the best approach and one the FBI had been preparing for over the past two years.
'Sorry… If the FBI operation succeeds one day, I'll tell you my real name.'
Facing that warm smile, lying to her wasn't easy.
Creak—
The door opened again as Akemi returned with the attending physician. They began a series of examinations for Akai, mostly basic questions about symptoms like headaches or dizziness.
He reported only slight dizziness and general weakness.
Even the temporary memory loss sometimes caused by mild concussions wasn't present.
Which meant there was nothing serious to worry about.