Chapter 201: Past Investigation Results
Beika Central Hospital. Inside Mizunashi Rena's ward.
The air was thick with tension, a dozen FBI agents crammed into the small space just beyond the curtain that shielded the comatose woman. The room felt suffocating, each breath a proof of their recent failure.
They had just discovered Rikumichi Kusuda's suspicious activity, catching the Black Organization plant red-handed as he photographed patient files. Yet, in the ensuing chaos, he had slipped through their fingers. Shuichi Akai had given chase, anticipating the man's escape route, but it hadn't been enough. Kusuda had found the opportunity to end his own life, taking any potential intelligence with him to the grave.
Now, the enemy was fully alerted.
"We need to move Kir," Jodie Starling insisted, her voice tight. "They know she's here. It's too dangerous to stay."
Her suggestion was immediately shot down. "No," Shuichi Akai's voice cut through the room, cool and decisive. "This is our chance. We'll use her as bait and confront them head-on."
James Black, the senior agent in charge, considered this for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Finally, he gave a slow nod. "I agree with Shuichi. It's a risk, but it's one we have to take."
With the strategy set, Akai's gaze swept over the weary faces in the room. "Everyone, take turns getting some rest. We need to be at our best for what's coming."
Without another word, he turned and left the ward. Jodie's gaze lingered on his retreating back, a faint line of concern etched between her brows. In her subsequent conversation with James, she let slip a mention of Akai's ex-girlfriend, a name that made Conan's ears perk up.
In that single moment, a flood of information washed over the young detective. He learned that Shuichi Akai had once been an undercover agent inside the Black Organization, operating under the codename 'Rye.' He was also the former boyfriend of Ai Haibara's sister, Akemi Miyano. Most jarringly, he was indirectly responsible for Akemi's death—the very event that had triggered Haibara's defection.
The sheer weight of these revelations left Conan reeling. It took him several minutes to process the tangled web of connections. Once his thoughts settled, he slipped out of the room and began to search for the enigmatic FBI agent.
He finally found him on the hospital rooftop. Shuichi Akai was leaning against a wall, the city lights a distant, glittering mix behind him. The screen of his phone cast a pale glow on his face as he checked a text message.
"Um, can I talk to you for a moment?" Conan asked, his voice small as he stood at the rooftop entrance, looking up at the tall man.
Akai glanced down, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. He pocketed his phone. "Sure. What's on your mind?"
"That... Agent Jodie said that you and Akemi Miyano were once boyfriend and girlfriend," Conan began, his expression a little awkward. "And that you're cousins... and that Cointreau was the one who told you. Is that true?"
He knew he was treading on deeply personal ground, but he had to ask. If Akemi and Mr. Akai were truly cousins, then that meant Haibara had a living relative. It could be a wonderful thing for her, but the circumstances were impossibly complicated. Would she ever be able to acknowledge a cousin who played a role, however indirect, in her sister's death?
And then there was the most critical question of all: How did Cointreau know?
Based on Jodie's words, even Akai himself had been unaware of the family tie until Cointreau brought it up. How could an outsider possess knowledge that the person at the very center of it all did not?
At the mention of Akemi, a shadow passed over Shuichi Akai's features. The usual cool confidence in his eyes dimmed into a distant, somber memory. "Yes," he confirmed, his voice low. "Akemi and I are cousins."
He continued, explaining the trail of clues he had followed after Cointreau dropped the bombshell. "Akemi's mother was Elena Miyano. She and my mother were biological sisters. My mother lost contact with her younger sister a long time ago. I hadn't seen my aunt or her family in over a decade... that's why I didn't recognize her."
"It seems they must have joined the Organization back then," Akai mused, his gaze drifting up towards the star-dusted sky. "Cut off from the outside world, all contact was lost. I never imagined we would meet again under those circumstances." He let out a quiet, heavy sigh, the sound swallowed by the night air.
"Then how did Cointreau know?" Conan pressed, seizing the opening to ask the question that had been burning in his mind.
"I don't know," Akai answered, surprisingly direct.
"You... don't know?" Conan was floored. He hadn't expected that someone as capable and resourceful as Shuichi Akai could be left completely in the dark.
"No, I don't," Akai admitted, a note of helplessness in his tone. "To be honest, when he first told me, I suspected it was just some random lie to throw me off balance. I had absolutely no idea Akemi and I were related by blood."
He looked down at Conan, his expression serious. "Cointreau is an enigma—more unfathomable to me than Vermouth, and a more troublesome character than Gin."
Hearing such a high evaluation from Mr. Akai was startling, but when Conan considered the subject was Cointreau, he had to admit it felt right. In their few encounters, Natsume had never once been at a disadvantage.
"By the way, kid," Akai said, his train of thought shifting. "That very capable girl who's always by your side, Natsume. What do you know about her?"
The question brought Akai back to their last meeting at the hotel, and the clear concern Cointreau had shown for the skilled young woman. Worried, he had later tasked his FBI colleagues with digging into her background. The results were puzzlingly clean. The file noted a missing brother and some vague details about her travels to find him, but otherwise, she appeared completely ordinary. There was nothing to suggest any connection to the criminal underworld.
Of course, Akai didn't know that Cointreau, having learned of the cover story Natsume had created, had used the abilities of Nahida and the program known as 'Noah's Ark' to flesh out her fabricated history, making it flawless and impenetrable.
While the official file painted a picture of an innocent girl, Akai's intuition screamed otherwise. She was far from simple, a fact highlighted by her close and complicated relationship with Kaeya.
"I suppose I know her," Conan replied, finding the sudden shift in topic strange. He briefly recounted what he knew about Natsume—the parts he felt were safe to share. When it came to the fact that she was searching for her brother, he hesitated and ultimately kept it to himself. In his view, that was Natsume's private burden, and it wasn't his place to share it without her permission.
He was unaware, of course, that Akai's own investigation had already uncovered the detail about her brother. Seeing that Conan didn't mention it, Akai simply assumed the boy didn't know and let the matter drop.
"Why are you suddenly asking about Natsume?" Conan looked up, his curiosity piqued. Could it be that the FBI also knew about her relationship with Kaeya, and Kaeya's own shadowy ties to the Black Organization? Then again, he reasoned, they were the FBI. It was only natural they would uncover such things.
"That girl's friend has ties to the Black Organization," Akai confirmed, his voice grim. "And she herself is not simple."
He paused for a moment, then decided to lay it all out for the boy. He recounted what he had witnessed at the hotel, relaying the massive amount of intelligence revealed during the heated argument between Kaeya and the man called Tartaglia. Conan would likely cross paths with people like Kaeya in the future; it was better for him to be prepared.
And so, standing on that cold, windswept rooftop, Conan Edogawa experienced the same dizzying cascade of emotions that Shuichi Akai had once felt—a jarring progression from shock, to utter incredulity, and finally, to a state of stunned numbness.
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