Chapter 12 Conan: Are You Accomplices?
Chi Feichi switched back to his original Phone Card and checked his unread Text Messages. There were over fifty.
Over forty of them were from Zhi Ming Fukuyama, ranging from asking where he was to various Chicken Soup for the Soul messages.
One was from Kitagawa Adachi, saying that he had received the Gift and telling him to be careful and so on.
The remaining one was from his cheap old man, with only one sentence: Call back.
"Father."
"You went to Osaka?"
"Yeah."
"The person to pick you up from the Hospital has already been contacted. Because I couldn't reach you these past two days, I told him to wait until I contacted you again. When are you planning to be discharged?"
"The sooner the better."
"Then return to the Hospital now, and he'll go there tomorrow."
"Got it."
The Communication was still so simple and clear.
Chi Feichi was still satisfied with the result. At least his discharge Time wasn't postponed because he ran around.
If he could be discharged tomorrow, Fei Chi could stay at home for a day first. Otherwise, bringing a Snake back to the Hospital would be quite troublesome.
In the room, Fei Chi was still coiled on the pillow.
Snakes don't have eyelids, so it's impossible to tell if they're asleep or not, but being completely still definitely meant it was asleep.
Chi Feichi reached out and poked it. "Fei Chi, you stay home by yourself today, and I'll come back to pick you up tomorrow."
Fei Chi lazily flicked its Snake Tongue, not moving an inch. "Got it..."
It was completely lacking the energetic spirit it had last night.
Red-Banded Kraits curl up and stay still during the day, are lazy by nature, crawl slowly when not attacked, and prefer nighttime activity.
Only now did Chi Feichi confirm that Fei Chi was a Red-Banded Krait. He was speechless for a moment, then said, "I'll prepare Water for you, don't steal Hamsters."
Fei Chi: "Got it..."
Chi Feichi considered it for a moment. Snakes shouldn't be as destructive as huskies, so there was no need to say anything else.
He went out and returned to the Hospital.
...
That evening, Doctor Agasa's House.
Conan was quite frightened by what Ai had said on the way, and he hurried over. At the door, he deliberately lightened his footsteps and entered quietly, putting on quite a show, only to find that Doctor Agasa was perfectly fine.
Ai entered leisurely, "I'm back."
"Welcome back, Ai!" Doctor Agasa greeted him with a smile. "How was school?"
Ai went straight to the table and put her Schoolbag on it. "It was quite enjoyable."
After being stunned, Conan was speechless. "So I was tricked by this kid..."
"It's your own fault for not remembering my house address," Doctor Agasa said with a smile. "You can only blame yourself for this."
"How could I possibly know?" Conan retorted speechlessly. "I've never sent anything here before. You live next door, I haven't even sent a New Year Card..."
"Didn't she tell you? She's a defector from the Organization that made you smaller... Ah, right, the Things that were delivered!" Doctor Agasa slapped his forehead and turned to pick up a Home Delivery package. "Ai, there's a Home Delivery for you today, I've already accepted it on your behalf!"
"Mine?" Ai asked, puzzled.
"The address is filled in as here, and the recipient is Ai," Doctor Agasa said, also puzzled. "We came up with your name together yesterday, and you've been at school all day today. I don't know how something would be delivered here today... I was going to wait for you to come back and see. If it was sent to the wrong place, I'd contact the person who sent it and return the Things. The sender's Phone Number is left on the delivery slip."
Ai took it and looked at it. "It was sent from Osaka. When the goods were sent, we hadn't decided on using the name 'Haibara Ai' yet. It must have been sent to the wrong place, maybe it's for someone else named Ai, and it just happened to be delivered here."
If it was 'Haibara Ai', it might not be a coincidence, but if it's 'Ai', there are other people who might have that name...
Doctor Agasa was also confused, but he was sure it was just the two of them last night. "Then I'll contact them..."
"Wait! Doctor, shouldn't you first tell me what's going on with her and that Organization?!"
Conan, who had been left aside, finally came back to his senses, feeling frantic inside.
This was about those dangerous guys who made him smaller!
Doctor Agasa actually just mentioned it briefly, and then discussed the Home Delivery issue with her for so long?
Wasn't he being too nonchalant?!
Only then did Doctor Agasa postpone the Phone Call contact and first tell Conan about the Situation.
Unlike when she originally collapsed in front of Kudo Shinichi's House, this time Ai was sent here by someone else, and even entered in a 'threatening' manner.
At first, Doctor Agasa was also startled, and then Ai told him about her Situation, and they came up with a name together...
Doctor Agasa told all of this truthfully.
Ai also talked about investigating the Kudo House and the general Situation of her defection.
"...After I escaped, I had nowhere to go. My only hope... Kudo Shinichi, it's only you."
Conan listened with a serious expression.
Ai continued, "However, it started to Rain at that time. I met that guy on the road, and I started to get a fever again. He took me back to take care of me for an afternoon, and then I asked him to send me to your doorstep. I thought, since you and I are in the same situation now, you should be able to understand what happened to me..."
"What a joke!" Conan roared, "You're the kind of guy who invents Poisonous Drugs, how am I supposed to understand you?!"
Ai was stunned, staring blankly at Conan.
Doctor Agasa sweated a bit. Those words were a little hurtful. He quickly stepped forward, "Shinichi..."
"Do you even understand?" Conan continued to question Ai, "Do you know how many people have been harmed by the Drug you invented?!"
Ai withdrew her gaze, her expression calming down. "Whether you believe it or not, I was also forced to do it out of helplessness. I didn't intend to create Poison in the first place..."
The first Communication wasn't very smooth.
Doctor Agasa smoothed things over, mentioning the Antidote, which finally shifted both of their attention to the Antidote.
In the end, Doctor Agasa drove them to Professor Hirota's house to get the Disk.
On the way to Shizuoka, Doctor Agasa muttered, "It's 150 kilometers to Shizuoka, will three hours be enough?"
"Doctor..." Conan in the passenger seat lowered his voice.
Doctor Agasa tilted his head in confusion.
"Don't be too careless with that woman," Conan said.
Doctor Agasa glanced at Ai sitting in the back seat, and also lowered his voice. "You mean Ai?"
"Yeah, although she said she escaped from the Organization," Conan whispered, "but she didn't tell us her real name and age. When asked about her activities in the Organization, she also evaded the question. What she just said might just be made up to deceive us."
Doctor Agasa said, "I don't think so..."
"And this name Hirota Masae, I feel like I've heard it somewhere before," Conan said, stroking his chin, "and the man who sent her here, maybe he's her accomplice. Didn't you say that young man was wearing black clothes and looked indifferent..."
Ai had been pretending not to hear Conan and Doctor Agasa whispering, but she couldn't help but say when she heard this sentence, "He's not."
Conan didn't expect his whispers to be heard, and he was a little embarrassed for a moment.
"If he were a member of the Organization, even if he didn't know my identity when he helped me, he should have known about my defection in the past two days. He should have already started contacting and investigating, or directly found Doctor Agasa's place," Ai analyzed. "After all, he knows where I am, it's impossible for him to sit idly by, and I don't think he's an enemy."
Conan ignored the last sentence and had to admit that this analysis made some sense.
"I didn't expect a famous Detective to also talk badly about people behind their backs," Ai said, still unhurriedly, "However, being suspicious is very much in the style of a Detective."
Conan felt inexplicably guilty, so he simply stated it clearly, "My suspicion is normal. You said before that you didn't tell him your identity, and you didn't ask about his affairs, and you don't even know the other person's name. Do you think that's normal?"
"Not normal, but that's the fact," Ai said without changing her expression.
Conan: "..."
When someone picks up a Little Girl in the Rain on the Street, shouldn't they at least ask about the Situation? Like her name, where her home is, why she's alone on the Street, and so on.
And when another person is helped when in trouble, they should at least ask the other person's name.
They've been together for a while, how is it possible that they don't even know each other's names?
No one would believe such a blatant lie!
"Cough," Doctor Agasa smoothed things over, "I almost forgot, we said we were going to contact the person who sent the wrong Home Delivery. Shinichi, I need to drive, I don't have a free hand, can you help me make a Phone Call to tell them? The Home Delivery is in the back seat, so please trouble Ai to help check the other person's Phone Number. If it needs to be sent back, we can go to a Home Delivery drop-off point on the way."
"Okay." Conan also felt that the atmosphere was a bit dull, and followed Doctor Agasa's cue, taking out his Mobile Phone.
Ai also didn't want to make Doctor Agasa feel embarrassed, took the Home Delivery, and reported the number.
Doctor Agasa breathed a sigh of relief. He was really racking his brains for the two to get along well.
Conan made the Phone Call. It rang a few times and was picked up.
The person who answered the Phone was a female voice, "Hello, may I ask if you're looking for Mr. Chi?"
Mr. Chi?
Conan didn't know who the owner of the Mobile Phone Number was, but it didn't prevent him from explaining, "It's like this, we received a Home Delivery with this number as the sender, but the Home Delivery seems to have been sent to the wrong place."
The other party heard that it was a child and was a little surprised. "Okay, please wait a moment, I'll let Mr. Chi speak to you."
Then, there was the sound of hurried footsteps.
When the Nurse rushed to Zhi Ming Fukuyama's Office, Chi Feichi had already cooperated and completed the tests, and was listening to Zhi Ming Fukuyama preach Chicken Soup for the Soul with nothing to do.
"Mr. Chi, you have a Phone Call."
Chi Feichi immediately raised his eyes and turned his head.
The Nurse's eyes met those indifferent purple eyes, she sweated a bit, handed over the Mobile Phone, and explained in a low voice, "It's a little boy calling, saying that you sent the wrong Home Delivery..."
Chi Feichi took the Mobile Phone. This is why he didn't like the Mental Hospital...
Electronic devices like Mobile Phones and Computers have to be kept in custody as soon as you step into the Hospital. Although Doctors and Nurses won't casually browse the contents inside due to professional ethics, the whole person is like being locked in a transparent cage, and every move is noticed.
"Hello, this is Chi Feichi."
"Hello, Mr. Chi," Conan heard them mention 'little boy' on the other end, and decisively used a childish voice to act cute, "You have a Home Delivery sent from Osaka to 2-22 Tokyo Beika Town, it seems to have been sent to the wrong place..."
(End of Chapter)