Chapter 165: The Siblings Meet
"Our best course of action now is to wake Kir as soon as possible and get more information about the Organization from her," Shuichi Akai said, his voice a low murmur. He reached the door of the hospital room and pushed it open, his gaze falling upon the woman lying still and silent on the bed.
As the door swung inward, Jodie Starling and James Black followed him into the ward, their footsteps soft on the polished floor. They approached the bedside, their expressions somber.
Looking down at the unconscious Kir, James frowned, a line of concern creasing his brow. "Although she's out of life-threatening danger, she still hasn't regained consciousness. There's no telling when she'll wake up."
"It seems we can only wait," Jodie said, turning to her superior. "I don't suppose that hospital director has any ideas on how to wake her?"
James let out a heavy sigh. "He's done everything he can. He told me it's up to Kir now—we just have to wait for her to wake on her own. There's little anyone else can do to help..." He paused, a memory surfacing. "However... he did mention something to me earlier. The hospital went to great lengths to recruit a new doctor who will be joining their staff soon. According to the director, this doctor's medical skills are extraordinary. They once successfully woke a patient who had been in a coma for many years."
James's gaze shifted to the bandages on Kir's head. "If Kir doesn't wake up after a prolonged period, perhaps we can find a way to have that doctor take a look."
"Yeah," Shuichi Akai agreed, his eyes fixed on the patient. "That's our only option."
"But if Kir is absent for too long, the TV station won't just let it go without asking questions," James wondered aloud.
Hearing this, Jodie walked past him to the window. She drew the curtains aside just enough to peer out, a faint smile touching her lips as she spotted Conan standing not far below. The boy was holding his signature voice-changing bow tie, expertly impersonating Rena Mizunashi to request a leave of absence from her work. "It's fine," she said softly. "That little boy will handle it for us."
Shuichi and James joined her at the window. As they watched Conan's careful performance, Shuichi's gaze sharpened, a flicker of intense scrutiny in his eyes as he studied the child who was anything but. "It's that boy again. Who is he?"
"A detective, probably," Jodie mused. "Besides, the girls who are always around him seem quite skilled." She thought of Mouri Ran and Natsume, then shot a knowing, subtle smile in Shuichi's direction.
"Yeah." The single word was laced with memory as Shuichi recalled their encounter on the bus. Outside of the Organization and that mysterious new group that had surfaced, it was rare to encounter a young woman with such refined combat prowess.
"So it's this child," James nodded in recognition, remembering an incident where he had accidentally crossed paths with Conan and his friends. "He's remarkably clever, almost like a young Sherlock Holmes. He even offered some suggestions for protecting Kogoro Mouri and the others this time."
In a quiet corner of a coffee shop, Natsume leaned back in her chair. "So, you rarely bother to meet me, and it's just to ask about something so trivial? Bro... ther?" She drew out the final word, her tone dropping to a deceptively sweet, threatening purr.
"Ahem, of course not!" Cointreau's hands shot up in a placating gesture, a flicker of genuine panic in his eyes as he denied her accusation. He had the distinct feeling that admitting the truth would lead to a very unpleasant fate.
Besides, it's not a trivial matter, he silently retorted in his head.
Before his sister's mood could sour further, Cointreau quickly changed the subject, sharing the intelligence he'd received from Vermouth. He framed it as the primary reason for their meeting, making his inquiry about the love letter seem like a mere afterthought.
The man sitting before Natsume—her brother, Aether—was still in his public disguise as Morikawa Shiro. They were tucked away in a booth for two, screened by lush potted ferns and broad-leafed plants that granted them a bubble of privacy, making them difficult to see without looking closely.
"And I'm worried about you," Aether said, his voice dropping to a gentle, earnest tone. He leaned forward, his expression a perfect mask of concern, as if he were picturing his sister already ensnared by some silver-tongued charlatan. "You're still young. You don't understand how cunning men can be."
A corner of Natsume's mouth twitched. "...Putting aside the fact that you're a man insulting yourself, I don't even know who sent that letter. Why are you so worked up about it?"
Though she couldn't fathom why her brother was so obsessed with a letter from a stranger, Natsume mentally filed away the information he had just shared. She made a note to tell Ningguang later so she could prepare accordingly. The detail about Curaçao was particularly important; the data suggested she possessed a photographic memory. It seemed Ningguang and the others would need to be extremely careful not to let her see anything sensitive.
"So you don't know yet. That's good." Aether breathed a sigh of relief, though the tension didn't completely leave his shoulders. There was still a chance Natsume might take it seriously once she found out who the sender was. "So what exactly did the love letter say? Did it ask for a reply?"
Just then, a waiter arrived with their desserts. Their tastes were similar; both had ordered tiramisu.
Natsume's eyes lit up at the sight of the confection, her mind, which had never cared much for the letter in the first place, drifting even further away. She took a bite, savoring the rich flavor, only vaguely recalling Aether's question.
Remembering something, she swallowed the dessert and frowned slightly.
"What is it?" Seeing her expression shift, Aether put down his own spoon. "Did that person write something in the letter that made you unhappy?"
'It's not that,'she thought.'It just felt a bit strange when I first read it, which is why I didn't pay it much mind.' She hadn't expected Aether, who had been missing in action for so long, to finally show up just because of this.
"Oh, right," she said aloud. "The letter also invited me to the restaurant on the second floor of the Beika Hotel tomorrow. It said there are some things the sender wants to tell me in person."
"You're not actually planning to go, are you?" Hearing this, Aether's expression immediately soured.
"I am considering it." Natsume finished the last of her dessert and looked up at her brother, finally noticing the deep reluctance etched on his face. She offered a few words of comfort. "Alright, alright. Things like this are best settled in person."
"They'd better be," Aether muttered under his breath.
Having gotten the key information he wanted, he didn't press the matter any further. In any case, he had already made up his mind. He would make time to come to Beika again tomorrow and see for himself just who this man was who dared to send a love letter to Natsume—and had designs on his sister.
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