Return Of A Lost Spirit

Three days later, Beika Central Hospital…

Kudou Yuusaku and Kudou Yukiko walked towards the hospital room number 2612 to check out on Kourin. For the past three days, since Doctor Miyuzaki had declared the operation a success, they kept on convincing Conan to at least go home and have some rest. He happened to take care of Kourin ever since they transferred her to that room to wait for her to wake up.

But the boy didn't want to. He already missed today's school because of that decision.

He told to his homeroom teacher, Kobayashi-sensei that he would take care of Kourin until she woke up and the teacher somehow understood that. She told the boy that he should inform her and Kourin's teacher once the girl woke up from her slumber and Conan agreed.

When the couple opened the door, they saw Conan sleeping on the sofa, along with Ran. They couldn't help but sadly smile at this sight. It would appear that Ran also missed her classes because she insisted that she wanted to help Conan in taking care of Kourin.

The boy woke up as soon as the door closed. Conan noticed his parents approaching him when he opened his eyes. That was why he sat up and waited for them.

"How is she, Shin-chan?" Yukiko asked, mentioning Kourin.

The boy sadly shook his head. "Her vitals are fine and stable but unfortunately, she hadn't woken up yet. Miyuzaki-sensei came here to check her up a few hours ago."

"Is that so?"

The couple went to Kourin's bed and looked at the sleeping girl. Conan soon followed them and he sat on the bed to have a good look at his cousin.

But before Conan could say something, they heard Ran set up.

"I'm sorry. I overslept. Did something happen?" Ran suddenly said and then went near them.

Yukiko smiled at the sight of her slightly panicking "daughter-in-law". Conan could only watch her in amusement. "No, nothing happened. We just want to check out Rin-chan's condition, that's why we came here."

"Is that so?" Ran sighed in relief. "Thank goodness." Then she thought of something. "Maybe I should buy Conan-kun something to eat at the cafeteria. He hasn't eaten dinner last night so I'm sure he's hungry. I'll be going, then." Ran started walking towards the door.

"Wait, Ran-chan," Yukiko suddenly said, stopping the girl from completely walking out. Ran turned as she noticed Yuusaku approaching her.

"Is something wrong?" she innocently asked.

Yuusaku shook his head and then smiled. "Maybe you should eat first at the cafeteria before you go back here. You see, we have something to tell Conan-kun and it's kind of private. It will take just a few minutes. Will it be okay?"

Though Ran had no idea how important was that "something" that the couple was going to tell to Conan, she understood. Yuusaku also asked her to buy some things needed just in case Kourin finally woke up. After that, Ran left. When Conan looked at his parents, he saw their serious faces staring at him.

"What's the serious face, Okaa-san, Otou-san?" he curiously asked. He saw Yukiko's face turn sad from being serious. And that made him feel even more curious than he ever was a while back.

"We're sorry about this, Shin-chan. If we should have told you the truth much earlier, then I guess none of this would've happened."

Conan sighed. "It's already inevitable, Okaa-san. Even if you did tell me that earlier, they wouldn't stop until they finally eradicated Rin and her family once and for all." Then she glanced at the still unconscious Kourin. "What I can't understand is why you didn't tell me everything that had happened to her. You know me. I can keep secrets, especially the important ones that are needed to be kept."

"That's because Rin-chan already knew the predicament you're currently dealing with, so she said to us that she doesn't want to have you involved in her fears and problems. Especially when we found out one specific piece of information that made her decide not to tell you the whole truth," Yuusaku gravely stated.

The boy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Are you sure you want to know that?"

But all that Conan did at that time was to stare unwaveringly at his father after that question was asked. And then Yuusaku nodded.

"Then…" Yuusaku glanced at his wife; he saw her give him a nod as a signal. Then he looked at Conan again. "This is what we found out two weeks after she went here to Japan. The Dark Rose Agency has to be working in coordination with some higher organization that has a dark agenda as they are. And after further investigation and analysis of the situation, we found out that the Dark Rose appeared to be an underling of the Black Organization—the very same organization that you're after for you to destroy once and for all."

The boy froze in shock. "T-the Black Organization?"

"When we told Rin-chan that the Black Organization were after you and Ai-chan, your cousin decided not to tell you that part so you just have to worry about your problem."

"That's not the case, Otou-san! What if one of the members of the Dark Rose Agency knows about me and Haibara? Then it's not just me but—"

"That's not possible," Yukiko suddenly said, stopping Conan from blurting more of his thoughts. "Even though the Dark Rose is an underling of the Black Organization, they only focus on their agenda and nothing else. They only implement and follow selected—not to mention, few—orders from the boss of the organization."

With that, the boy detective gave up. He glanced at Kourin. "She's really strong, huh?" he commented.

"What made you say that, Shin-chan?"

"She was able to bear all of this by herself. She managed to endure all the sorrow and the pain that she had been through after that tragic night. And she was just an 8-year-old child at that time. All of those tormenting emotions that could drive someone insane…" Conan sadly smiled and held Kourin's cold hand soon after. "I never thought you're this strong, Rin."

"But she doesn't realize that one, though." They saw Doctor Miyuzaki enter the room.

"Miyuzaki-sensei…"

Conan saw the doctor smile. "I know that she will realize how strong she is—one day. But she's not as strong as you think. Every night, since Ryuuki-sama, Rina-sama, and Hitoshi-sama died, her tears never stopped falling. She constantly blamed herself for not having the ability to protect those people important to her. But I think she managed to overcome that."

The bespectacled boy smiled. "You're right. And I know that we have to thank Echizen-kun for that."

Yukiko was about to say something to Doctor Miyuzaki when they heard someone make a sound. And they were surprised to see who it was.

-x-x-

Teitan Elementary School…

It was the free period of Class 1-B but somehow, the Detective Boys (minus Conan, of course) couldn't seem to enjoy it. They only gathered together in one place in that classroom and talked about something.

"I'm really worried about Rin-san. Do you think she's alright? She hasn't woken up for three days straight," Ayumi said in a worried tone.

"She probably grew tired when she endured the pain she was feeling because of the gunshot for more than 3 hours straight. I think the effect of the chemical from the invented bullet of the Dark Rose must have gotten to her. So I guess it's a normal result for her to sleep that long," Haibara stated placidly. But it was undeniable that she was also worried about Kourin's condition. She just didn't want to show it.

"But Miyuzaki-sensei and Yanai-sensei injected some antidote inside of her, didn't they? So when she wakes up, she could move already, right?" Mitsuhiko speculated and Genta seconded that. Even Ayumi did the same thing.

But Haibara only remained stoic. "Maybe. Maybe not."

"But you know, I'm also worried about Cona-kun. For three days straight, as well, he took care of Rin-san even though there was Agasa-hakase who could do it. There's even Miyuzaki-sensei and Yanai-sensei, to add it."

"Hakase is a busy person. So were Miyuzaki-sensei and Yanai-sensei. Even if they do have time, they couldn't fully take care of Rin-san like what Edogawa-kun does," Haibara said in counter to what Ayumi said.

"What about Shouko-san?" Genta suddenly asked.

Haibara only sighed. "Shouko-san is helping the police with regards to what happened at Seishun Gakuen. Most likely, the police asked for her expertise with regards to the case about the Dark Rose since she is one of the most capable undercover agents of the Shinomiya family and the Miyuzaki family."

"Is that so?"

Then Ayumi faced Haibara. "Then Ai-chan, can I ask you a question?"

"About what?"

"What do you think of Rin-san now after all that commotion?"

Haibara had to admit, she was surprised at the girl's question. It seemed that the two boys were waiting for her answer, too, if she was going to base it on how they looked at her in anticipation.

'Now that you mention it, I never even thought about that. What do I think about Shinomiya-san?' When she finally realized it, she sighed. Then she faced the other kids.

"I think of her as someone strong, because she kept all of her worries, fears, sorrows, and pain from us so that we wouldn't be involved in her problems. In the end, she managed to fight back and face her past, the enemies that caused her so many sufferings. If it is someone else, those things would probably…" Haibara shook her head slightly. "No… those things would undoubtedly lose their sanity. Even adults have problems dealing with a situation similar to what Shinomiya-san had gone through. And when I saw her protect her friends, even if it means endangering her own life, I was amazed when she faced the enemies with her head held up high—without the fear that she was feeling whenever the Dark Rose was mentioned. She never showed fear in front of them until the last minute." 'That's right. And those are the things that I couldn't even do especially with the kind of problem that I'm… no… that Kudou-kun and I are dealing with…' she added in her thoughts.

The kids looked at Haibara intently which somehow gave her the creeps. But then, she saw them smile.

"I do agree with that. Even though she has little to no chance of winning against them at all, she faced them head-on. Just for the reason that she doesn't want to put everyone in danger," Mitsuhiko stated happily. Genta and Ayumi agreed.

'I wonder if I could be like Rin-san one day,' Haibara thought. And then she sighed.

But then she heard her detective badge beeped. Soon after, she turned it on.

"This is Haibara," she started placidly.

"I've got the news," Conan said on the other line.

All of them were excited to hear (even though on Haibara's part, it wasn't obvious) that news that Conan was talking about. They just hoped that the news had something to do with Kourin.

-x-x-

Seishun Gakuen…

The classes weren't postponed even after the attack at the school. Somehow, the students managed to overcome the fear and at the very least, forget and act as if nothing had happened. No one got hurt among them, so far. The investigation only lasted for two days so it seemed like it was back to normal. So far, there was no damage done to the school itself so there was nothing for them to worry about.

But not all of them could stay calm and forget everything.

More particularly, it was the Seigaku regulars who couldn't stay calm and forget everything since they had gotten pretty involved in the case. Even though they continued their practice, it would appear that someone among the regulars couldn't give all of his concentration to all their practice matches.

It was Echizen Ryoma.

But no one could blame the freshman rookie, anyway. With that kind of mess he had gotten himself into, no wonder he couldn't give it all. And what was destroying Ryoma's concentration was his worries for his 9-year-old savior. He was worried about Kourin's concentration and according to Doctor Yanai who visited the freshman yesterday, she hadn't woken up yet.

Tezuka could only watch Ryoma like that. He understood his kouhai's predicament and he would let him be like that just until Kourin woke up from her slumber. It wasn't easy to concentrate on a game with so many thoughts being mixed up in the boy's mind regarding that case and the recent incident. The captain could only hope that Ryoma would be able to overcome this predicament.

The practice continued throughout the day with no hassle somehow. But before all of them could wrap up the practice for that day, unexpected guests came to them. All of them could only hope that something good had happened to have those kids as their guests.

Oishi welcomed the guests who happened to be the Detective Boys—of course, minus Conan again.

Since the attack, the regulars and the Detective Boys agreed that they'd let each group know about Kourin's condition who was still at the hospital up until now. Hopefully, those kids would bring them the good news about the young girl's condition.

"We're sorry if we came here suddenly. It's just that… we have something to tell you. And it's not going to wait," Mitsuhiko said as he panted to catch his breath.

But before any of the Seigaku regulars could inquire and let the kids talk, they had them take a rest for a short while and offered them to drink first before they continued which the kids obliged.

"Now can you tell us what's going on?" Momoshiro asked.

Ayumi took a deep breath before she began speaking. "Rin-san finally woke up, according to Conan-kun."

All of the regulars couldn't hide their happiness and sighs of relief when they heard that from Ayumi.

"Then can we visit her?" Ryoma asked with hints of worries and hopefulness in his voice, but then they didn't mind. It was understandable. Among the Seigaku regulars, the freshman had the strongest connection to Kourin. From what they had noticed, he was acting a bit like her big brother.

Mitsuhiko sadly looked at Ryoma. "Unfortunately… we can't."

Ryoma felt disappointed. "Why not?"

"Miyuzaki-sensei said we can't visit her yet for some reasons. But Conan-kun said that we could visit her at 6:00 in the evening if you want."

They looked at each other as if trying to get an answer from each other. After that, they faced the kids.

"Will it be okay if the four of you could wait for us?" Fuji asked with a gentle smile.

"Why?"

But Fuji just smiled at them. "We'll be going to the hospital with you. We just have to finish our practice for the upcoming tennis tournament that we're going to participate in."

The kids looked at each other and after some seconds, they nodded in agreement. Ayumi took the opportunity to talk.

"We don't mind if we wait. Besides, we're kind of excited to see how you play tennis. Maybe we could learn a thing or two about it."

Mitsuhiko agreed. "We also wanted to see how Ryoma-niichan plays tennis."

The regulars could only smile at that. But then Oishi suddenly remembered something.

"Won't your parents be angry if you stayed outside late at night?"

"They won't be angry since they have me as their guardian," someone answered the vice-captain's question and they were quite surprised to see who it was.

"You are... Miyuzaki-san..." Ryoma murmured. Shouko smiled at him.

"I'll wait along with them. My sister told me that I have to guard you even though the danger was over. Rin-chan would feel bad if something terrible happens to you again."

The freshman showed a smirk at that comment. But deep inside, he was happy that someone like Kourin would care for his safety like that. And so, the Detective Boys watched the Seigaku Regulars continue their practice.

-x-x-

Kourin was lying on her hospital bed while looking outside the window as she watched the sunset and waited for her private visitors. This was the main reason why Doctor Miyuzaki didn't allow Ayumi and the other kids to visit her yet.

As she continued to watch and admire the red-orange sunset, she suddenly heard a knock. Then she turned her head to the door.

"Come in," she said in a formal voice.

She saw a couple come in, along with a young woman that she could guess was about the same age as Shouko; the three people were smiling at her. She couldn't help but smile at them, as well. She tried to sit up as she waited for the three people to come toward her and take a seat on the chairs placed on the side of her bed.

"We're so sorry that we asked Miyuzaki-sensei a small favor to talk to you," the older woman said apologetically.

Kourin shook her head and looked at them with her eyes started to regain the same light they once had. "It's okay. It might be a little important and… secretive for you to talk to me in private. You can say I understand that. So I don't mind." She faced them seriously. "May I ask who are you?"

"We're Ryoma's parents," Nanjiroh answered and gestured to Nanako. "And this young lady behind me is my niece, Nanako. You could say she's my cocky son's cousin."

Nanako bowed to her and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

It took some time before that realization sank into Kourin's mind.

Nanjiroh continued speaking. "We came here to thank you for what you did to my son. I never thought I'll be endangering my son's life because of the secret that your father had entrusted to me many years ago."

But the girl remained silent. Kourin already knew what Nanjiroh was talking about since the two doctors and Conan already told her the truth, including Nanjiroh's involvement with the Shinomiya family.

"You don't have to worry about it. Ryoma-niichan might not have any idea about it but I know that he'll understand the sacrifices that you did for the sake of my father and your family a long time ago." Then the girl faced Nanako. "I should be the one thanking you for saving my life, Mieno-san. Miyuzaki-sensei said that you're the one who donated the blood that I needed to survive. So thank you." She then gave a small bow.

Nanako smiled gently. "It's the least I can do. We owe you a lot because of what you did to save Ryoma-san's life twice. You did that to someone who was a stranger to you."

But Kourin could only keep quiet about that. Even she didn't know the reason why she saved Ryoma from drowning and completely dying from hypothermia in the river. But when she took the bullet meant to kill him, she knew the whole reason why she did that. And it was something that she would never forget.

"But to me, he's not a stranger anymore," the girl murmured.

'She's just like her father when it comes to treating strangers that they rescued,' Nanjiroh couldn't help but to comment this inside his mind about the girl in front of him. 'But she looks just like her mother, Rina. Her hair, her eyes, even her skin complexion… she's just like the younger version of Rina wherever you look at it.'

"In any case, we owe you a lot. And now that I think about it, thank you would never be enough to express our gratitude for what you did."

Though Kourin felt a little confused about what Rinko said, she just smiled.

"There would still be time for that. And I guess I can wait. So you don't have to worry much about it, okay?" The couple, even Nanako, couldn't help but to smile and agree with what the young girl said. Kourin was right. There was still time.

That day continued with the four of them having a good conversation.

For Rinko, Nanjiroh, and Nanako, it would be one memory they would never forget. One that would stand out since Ryoma became involved in danger. Saving this girl's life had made them into somebody they never thought they were. This girl had shown them the importance of family.

As for Kourin, meeting Ryoma's parents was one unexpected thing. But it sure felt like… having a family once again.

This encounter would be engraved in their hearts for as long as they live.

At least, they were all sure of that.