FRIDAY, 10:40 AM

The ambulance ride to Japanese Red Cross Narita Hospital had been an absolute nightmare. Satoshi, Takagi, Eri and Kogoro had all piled into the rear of the vehicle, doing the best they could to stay out of the way of the EMTs as they worked on Rui. An oxygen mask covered her face and a bag of saline flowed into her veins as the little girl lay on her right side, allowing one of the EMTs to keep pressure on the wound. Takagi uncuffed Satoshi's wrists, and as soon as they were free, he grabbed Rui's hand and began praying as agonized tears spilled from his eyes. Kogoro and Eri held each other's hands as they tried to avert their eyes, but it was impossible. Rui's face was turned towards them, and for a split second, they saw the face of their daughter appear in a shared moment of grief. Kogoro shut his eyes and buried his face in his hands as Eri audibly wept into his shoulder, both of them rocked to the core by the sight.

A pair of police cars tailed the ambulance to the hospital-Megure, Sato and Kaori were in one, and Chiba, Shiratori and Hiro were in the other. Not a word was spoken in either car as they maneuvered through traffic, every occupant still reeling from the events at the airport. Both Hiro and Kaori remained uncharacteristically silent, but whether it was out of guilt or anger at being caught was up in the air. When the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital, Hiro and Kaori burst out of their respective vehicles and ran to Rui's side as they wheeled her in. Takagi forced his way between them to keep them apart, but still allowing them to keep their daughter company. However, one glance between Satoshi and the Maedas was enough to turn his stomach; Satoshi was hysterical, praying to every god and deity he could think of to help his granddaughter. Hiro and Kaori, however, had zero emotion on their faces. No tears, no grief, nothing. Takagi gritted his teeth in anger as they entered the hospital, where a team of doctors was waiting. With a nod and a "We'll take it from here," the team took the stretcher down the hall and headed for the operating rooms.

That was six hours ago.

It felt like an eternity had passed in that duration, but a glance at the clock proved otherwise. Kogoro tapped his feet relentlessly as he glared across the room at the Maedas, who were kept apart by Shiratori and Megure. Emi had arrived at the hospital an hour after they did, and she was seated next to Satoshi, hugging him and joining him in his vigil. Chiba and Sato were attempting to pass the time by reading some magazines, but to no avail-they only got a few pages in before the weight of the situation hit them once again, and they dropped the periodicals onto the table in frustration. Eri walked back in with two cans of soda, giving one to Kogoro as she sat down beside him and cracked hers open. The noise elicited zero reaction from anyone else in the room as Kogoro absently opened his and set the can on the table without a word. He retreated back into his thoughts and stared at the floor, and it wasn't long before he'd zoned completely out and lost track of time. In fact, he was so out of it that it took Eri jostling him back to attention to notice the doctor that had walked into the room. Kogoro let out a startled cry and rose to his feet as the doctor began to speak.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. Let me just start off by saying, you're lucky you got Rui here when you did. The bullet perforated her pleural cavity, collapsed her lung, and lodged in one of her ribs."

"Did it penetrate the lung?" Eri asked.

"Thankfully, no. When the cavity was perforated, the collapse was almost immediate. We were able to remove the bullet with no long-term damage to the rib, but since there were two perforations, we had to perform surgery. It was a delicate process, but we were able to patch up the holes in the cavity with no issues."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief as the doctor continued. "We inserted a chest tube just to be on the safe side, and we'll be keeping a close eye on her over the next few days. She just got moved from the PACU to her own room, so you can visit her now. Follow me."

The group followed the doctor from the waiting room to the patient wing on the same floor, eventually arriving at room 204. Hiro, Kaori, Satoshi and Emi entered the room first and were greeted by the devastating sight of an unconscious little girl with tubes up her nose and IVs in her arm. A large tube ran out of her side into an assembly on the floor, which prevented air from flowing back into the wound. Satoshi and Emi grabbed a chair each and carried them to Rui's bedside as Hiro and Kaori stood against the wall. The remaining sextet entered the room and were heartbroken at the state Rui was in, none more so than Kogoro and Eri. All the effort they had put into keeping her safe...for nothing. Kogoro clenched his fists and walked to the window as Hiro and Kaori approached the foot of the bed and stared at their daughter. The gentle, loving gestures Satoshi and Emi performed-gently stroking her hair and holding her hand-were immediately offset when Kaori declared, "This is all your fault!"

"Excuse me?" Satoshi demanded as he rose from his seat.

"You heard me! My daughter is lying there because of you! Why the hell couldn't you two mind your own goddamn business?!"

The sheer audacity of her statement appalled the entire room, with shocked glares appearing on everyone's faces as Kogoro's anger built ever higher. "She's not your kid, so stop acting like she is! She belongs to me, and no one else!"

"Oh, fuck you, Kaori!" Hiro got in her face and screamed, "If she belongs with anyone, it's me! You and your dad both tried to kidnap her...shit, as far as I'm concerned, that balances out what I did!"

"HOW?!" Emi exclaimed. "How does faking abuse injuries even compare with what my husband tried to do?! Are you gonna stand there and say you did that out of love?"

"You're goddamned right!" Eri looked at Kogoro and could see he was shaking with rage, trying in vain to bite his tongue. His eyes were wide, his teeth were clenched, and angry grunts could be heard emanating from his throat. "And as for the two of you," Kaori spat as she motioned to Eri and Kogoro, "if you assholes hadn't gotten involved, my daughter would be perfectly fine right now! You had no right whatsoever to stick your noses in our business!"

"That's the first time I've agreed with you in years, Kaori!" Hiro exclaimed. "Who the hell do you two think you are? This is a family matter that deserves to be solved by her family, not some self-righteous detective and a fucking lawyer! Where do you get off-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Any other words they may have had died on their lips as everyone turned towards the source of the angry outburst: Kogoro. His face contorted in rage as he yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you two?! Your daughter needs you now more than ever and you're seriously gonna do this in front of her?! Haven't you selfish assholes done enough?!"

"How can you say that?" Kaori demanded. "Everything I've done has been for my daughter's sake! I've had nothing but her best interests at heart-" Her stubborn refusal to admit her culpability sent Kogoro over the edge, and he cut her off with a thunderous yell of, "BULLSHIT! Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining! The only interests either of you had at heart were your own! You were both more concerned about hurting each other than you ever were about Rui, so stop lying to yourselves-neither of you give a shit about her! Aside from the shoe store and the police station, I haven't heard either of you call her by her name one goddamned time since we met! It's almost like she doesn't fucking exist, except when you need her to!"

Eri stood dumbfounded at the scene before her, thinking, My God. I can't believe he's the one saying this. Satoshi and Emi's faces were a mixture of shock, relief and pride, and everyone could only watch as Kogoro's harangue began to pick up steam.

"Who the hell do you two think you are? Using your daughter, your own flesh and blood, something that you created out of love, as a tool of hate? I know that sometimes the love dies off and it doesn't work out, but that's no excuse to do what you did! There's never an excuse!" Hiro tried to say something in his defense, but he was cut off before he even got a word out. "NO! You don't get to talk! All I've heard from either of you is how much you hate each other, and look where that got you! If you really loved your daughter as much as you say you do, we wouldn't be here! SHE wouldn't be here! This right here," he said as he pointed to Rui's unconscious form, "is your fault! Not mine, not Eri's, not Satoshi's, not Emi's! YOURS! If the only thing that your daughter brought out of you was spite, you shouldn't have fucking had her!"

Eri gasped in shock as Kogoro took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. It was only partially successful, however, as he still shook with rage as he finished his speech. "I'm not a lawyer. But if you want my legal advice, you should stick together. You miserable bastards deserve each other." The Maedas were too shocked to respond as Kogoro grabbed his coat and started for the door. Eri called out his name and grabbed hold of his shoulder, only for him to shrug her off and whip the door open. She ran to the open space and watched him storm down the hall with worry in her eyes. "Kogoro..."

Megure shook his head in resignation and motioned for Takagi and Sato to make the arrest. The Maedas offered no resistance as their hands were cuffed behind their backs and the duo led them out to a squad car. Kaori went in the back first, followed by Hiro as the detectives climbed into the front. Takagi started the engine, then turned around and glared at the Maedas through the protective glass.

"I hope you two are proud of yourselves," he spat in disgust. All Hiro and Kaori could do was hang their heads in shame as Takagi put the car in drive and headed towards the police station.

Kogoro's path led him back to the main entrance of the hospital, and he walked through the automatic doors leading outside. Once the fresh air hit him, he headed for the smoking area and pulled a cigarette out of the pack in his shirt pocket while fumbling for his lighter. The adrenaline still flowed through his veins as he tried to light the cigarette, and his right hand was shaking too hard to get a decent grip. Kogoro cursed under his breath and sat at a nearby table, trying to calm himself down. The opening of a car door turned his attention to the police cruiser parked outside the emergency entrance, and he watched as the Maedas were loaded into the back. He allowed himself a small, satisfied grin as he returned to his cigarette, this time lighting it with little effort and taking a long, slow drag. Smoke trailed from his mouth as his mind began to wander, and it wandered straight into a memory that Kogoro never wanted to relive, but at the same time, couldn't forget even if he tried. The weight of the memory brought tears to his eyes with such force that they blinded him, and after he dragged the sleeve of his jacket across his face, he was more than a bit surprised to see Eri sitting across from him, sick with worry. "Kogoro...what was that? I've never seen you get so-"

"The cherry blossom festival."

Eri raised her eyebrow in confusion and asked, "What do you mean, 'the cherry blossom festival?'"

Kogoro sniffled and said, "Do you remember...when Ran was six, and she wanted to go to the cherry blossom festival in Kyoto?"

"I do," Eri replied. "She said she wanted to see the pretty flowers on the big trees. That was all she talked about for months."

"We told her that we'd all go together if she brought home a good report card," Kogoro added, smiling at the memory. "When she brought it home that day, sure enough, it was a good report card, and she got so excited when we said yes. You bought the tickets to the festival, I bought the train tickets, everything was set..."

"And then we split up." Eri's observation caused the smile to vanish from Kogoro's face. He nodded and said, "Yeah. But Ran wanted us to go together, as a family. So we did. We were having a good time..."

"Until you got drunk."

Kogoro shuddered at the reminder. "And then I started making a total ass of myself. Just...getting loud and obnoxious, like I always do. You lost your temper and started screaming at me in front of God and everybody, and I started screaming back. I can't for the life of me remember what was said, but...people were staring at us, and Ran was just..." The words caught in his throat as Eri removed her glasses and wiped away her tears before finishing Kogoro's train of thought: "She was crying. And we didn't care."

"We ruined what should've been one of the best days of her life because we couldn't act like fucking civilized adults!" Kogoro pounded his fist into the table and continued: "I remember the entire train ride back, we didn't say a thing to each other. Couldn't even look each other in the eyes. When we got off, I took Ran home and you went back to your apartment...and we didn't say a goddamn thing." He flicked the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out before asking, "But do you wanna know what I remember most about that day? The one thing that I've never forgotten, the one thing that still breaks my heart every time I think about it?"

"What's that?"

"Ran's face." He sniffed and wiped his eyes, saying, "I didn't think it was possible for a six year old kid to look so heartbroken. And not just heartbroken, but..."

"Disappointed." Eri finished Kogoro's train of thought once again as he looked back up to meet her gaze. "She didn't talk to either of us for two weeks."

"Can you blame her?"

"No...I can't. We really let her down." Eri hung her head as Kogoro stared at the pattern on the table. Both remained silent for a while until Kogoro said, "I'm sorry I brought that up, but...ever since I took on this case, I've been doing a lot of thinking. Honest to God, Eri, this whole experience was a nightmare. Every time those two screamed at each other, it felt like I was looking into a mirror."

"I know," she sighed in agreement. "I felt the exact same thing. In all the years I've been practicing law, I've never seen such hatred between two people."

"And do you know what the damnedest thing of all is?" Kogoro asked. "Ever since this whole thing started, I've been having visions of...of Ran when she was six. Every time I was about to do something stupid, there she was. Every time I tried to drink, there she was. I don't know if it was my conscience or..." Eri's eyes widened in shock at his revelation and she said, "The exact same thing happened to me."

"When did you see her?"

"She showed up in my apartment on Tuesday. Kaori tried convincing me to give up on you after I dropped her, and after I got home, Ran was right there. And it...it felt so real."

"That's because it was real. And not only have I been seeing little Ran, I've been having nightmares. I mean, I told you about the dream I had, and..." Eri noticed Kogoro begin to tremble, and she reached out and held his hand. "It would've been so damned easy for us to go down that path after we split up. Why didn't we?"

"I honestly don't know," Eri replied. "We came close a few times-after all, you saw that restraining order."

"Don't remind me," Kogoro sighed. "We're better than them. I know we are. But..."

"But what?"

Kogoro let out a frustrated groan and declared, "It seems like almost every time I see you, we wind up at each other's throats. If we keep doing that, we're gonna end up losing more than our marriage. We're gonna lose Ran. I...I can't keep doing this."

Eri let out a small gasp of surprise and asked, "What are you saying, Kogoro?"

He gave another weary sigh and replied, "I'm tired, Eri. I'm tired of feeling like a shit parent. I'm tired of feeling like a shit husband. I'm...I'm tired of walking on eggshells around you. Please, just...tell me what I need to do so that we can be a family again. Tell me what I have to do to make you trust me again." Kogoro pointed towards the hospital as fresh tears began to flow down his cheeks. "Because I don't want us to end up like them."

Eri placed her hands over his, gently rubbing them in a sign of affection. "Neither do I." Kogoro smiled and opened his fists, giving Eri the opportunity to hold his hands. She obliged as her husband asked, with complete sincerity, "Can we start over? Can you come home, Eri? Ran misses you." He swallowed hard and choked out the last three words. "I miss you."

"Not yet..." Kogoro's face saddened upon hearing her response, but brightened up again upon hearing her conclusion. "...but I'd be more than happy to help you." Kogoro sat up straight with a relieved sigh and said, "Just tell me what I need to do, Eri, and I'll do it. I am but a blank slate." She reached into her purse and pulled out a brochure, handing it to her husband. His eyes widened as he read through it, and he asked, "Are you sure? This is a pretty big step."

"And it's one you need to take. If you can get through this, you can get through anything."

"And you've been carrying this around for the last ten years, just in case?" Eri chuckled and replied, "I saw this in the waiting room. If you're serious about getting better..."

"As a heart attack." Kogoro sniffled and added, "A journey of a thousand miles, right?"

"Exactly." He grinned and added, "Hey, I can help you too, if you want. After all, I am a master detective."

"Don't ruin the moment, Kogoro," Eri responded with a sarcastic grin.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He placed the brochure in his pocket and walked back to the hospital entrance alongside Eri, but as they approached it, the doors opened to reveal Satoshi being led out in handcuffs by Megure, Chiba and Shiratori. His head was bowed as he walked to the remaining police cruiser, and the weary, sympathetic glares on the detectives' faces signaled that they understood his motivation, but at the same time, that they had a job to do. Kogoro and Eri could do nothing but watch as they climbed into the car and drove off towards the police station.

2:30 PM

Kogoro walked up the steps to the Mouri Detective Agency, opened the door and walked into his office. When he turned on the lights, he collapsed into his chair and opened the top right drawer of his desk, pulling out the photo of him, Eri and Ran at the park. The memory of Ran's excitement replayed in his head as he stared at the photo and began to laugh, but the weight of what had happened caused that laughter to turn to tears. Kogoro's face contorted in sadness as small drops of water stained the photograph, and he balled up his free hand in a fist and put it to his mouth to stifle the sobs. It was unsuccessful, as a loud cough gave way to devastated sobbing as he put his head down on the desk and buried his face in his arms. Why the fuck did it have to turn out like this? Why? WHY?!

He raised his head and opened the mini fridge, but when he reached in to pull out a can of beer, he remembered he'd wasted all of it reacting to his nightmare. There was a spare bottle of water available, however, and he slugged it down in one go. Kogoro turned the TV on to try and drown out the memories of what he'd seen, but they were too strong and too disturbing to forget. He shut his eyes as tight as he could, breathing heavily and pounding on the desk with his fists. The TV made it even worse, as the local news gave an update on what had happened at the airport that morning. Kogoro turned the TV off with a sad, weary groan as he glanced at the door and saw the knob turning. When it opened, Ran stood in the doorway with her eyes full of sympathy and her face full of shock.

"Oh my God! Dad, I heard about what happened! Are you okay?" Kogoro said nothing as she entered the office, instead merely looking at his teenage daughter. The thing he and Eri had created out of love seventeen years ago. Their reason for being.

"Dad, can you hear me? Are you-" Kogoro responded to her question by running to her and enveloping her in a massive hug, the warmth of which Ran hadn't felt since she was a little girl. As she returned his embrace, she felt small teardrops hit her shoulder as Kogoro rocked her back and forth, saying, "I love you, Ran. I love you always and forever. Please...don't ever forget that."

"Never," she responded as tears welled in her eyes. "Never." Father and daughter remained embraced as Conan walked into the office and shut the door behind him, asking, "Ran-neechan, why are you and uncle crying? Did something happen?"

Ran broke the embrace and knelt down in front of him, wiping her eyes. "Conan-kun...I think you should sit down." An uneasy feeling was in the boy's gut as he did so, and Kogoro said, "Your friend Rui...she's in the hospital." His voice began to break as he added, "She got shot at the airport...I stopped Maeda from firing, but the impact triggered the gun, and..."

Ran hugged him again and assured him with a gentle, "It's not your fault, dad. It's okay. It's not your fault."

"Tell that to my conscience," Kogoro said as he wiped his eyes. Conan's jaw quivered and his eyes glistened with tears as he jumped off the chair and hugged the both of them, wrapping his arms as far as he could around their legs. "Is...is it okay if I go see her, uncle?"

"You'll have to have the professor take you," Kogoro said. "I'm sorry, Conan, but...I just can't see Rui in that condition again."

"I understand." Conan wiped his eyes and picked up the phone.

5:00 PM

Agasa held a small bouquet of flowers in his hands as he and the Detective Boys walked down the hospital corridor. What would normally be a din of good-natured conversation was instead a deafening silence, with no one even attempting to speak. Genta stared straight ahead, Mitsuhiko and Ayumi were audibly sniffling, and Haibara showed no emotion, but Conan could tell that she was barely holding on-she would shake for a few seconds and then regain her composure just as quickly. He put his hand on her shoulder for comfort, and when she looked back at Conan, he gave her a slight smile and mouthed the words, "It'll be okay." Haibara nodded as the group reached Rui's room, with Agasa knocking on the door. The call was answered by Emi Ishida, who asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Yes, ma'am. My name is Hiroshi Agasa, and I've brought some of Rui's friends here to see her. Can we come in?"

"Oh, of course. She woke up from her anesthesia about an hour ago, so she might still be a little woozy."

"Anesthesia?" Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "What happened?" His question was answered as the sextet entered the room and saw Rui laid up in her bed, an ugly clear tube running from her side to the floor assembly. Shinichi recognized the severity of her injury right away as he thought, A collapsed lung. God damn you, Hiro. Genta and Mitsuhiko let out simultaneous gasps of horror and Ayumi began to cry, burying her face in Agasa's pant leg. He led her out of the room and into the hallway, sitting against the wall and hugging her to calm her down. Haibara shook her head in sadness as the remaining group approached Rui's bedside, and while she was able to recognize them through her post-anesthesia haze, her voice was thin and tired as she said, "Oh...the Detective Boys..."

"Hi, Rui-chan," Haibara said with a weak smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay...but I just woke up from a long nap, so...I'm sorry if I don't feel like talking..."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Genta said as he wiped his eyes. "You don't have to apologize for anything. We understand."

"Yeah," Mitsuhiko added. "We're all happy you're still alive."

"As am I," Emi said as she sat down beside Rui and held her hand. "I don't know what I would've done if you didn't pull through, dear. I love you so, so much."

"Thanks, grandma." Although she was happy to see Emi's smiling face, the absence of Satoshi's was not lost on her. "Wh...where's grandpa? Is he..."

Emi bowed her head and wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rui, but...your grandfather is at the police station. They...arrested him for trying to kidnap you. And they should have arrested me too...because I helped him." The Detective Boys gasped as Emi said, "I was the getaway driver on Sunday, and I was waiting for you in the parking garage at the airport. When your grandfather called and told me what happened, I came straight here."

The only thing Rui could do was ask, "But...why, grandma? Why would you do something like that?"

"Because...you deserve people who care about you. You deserve to be loved. Did you ever feel that with your mommy and daddy?" Rui thought about that for a long time before she frowned and replied, "...No. No, I didn't."

Conan shook his head and said, "That doesn't excuse what you two did. I understand that you love her; anyone could see that. But two wrongs don't make a right."

"I know," Emi sighed. "But desperation makes people do crazy things."

"Be that as it may, what happens if Satoshi is put in jail? What if he names you as an accomplice?"

"We had countless discussions about that, and every time, he said to tell the police that I was forced to participate. He never cared about the jail time. All he cared about was keeping Rui safe." Emi held her granddaughter's hand and said, "When you love someone, you'd do anything to keep them from harm. You're still young, but when you get older, you'll meet someone who will change the way you see things...even the way you see yourself. And when you do find that person and you discover just how much they mean to you, you'll understand why Satoshi and I did what we did."

Emi's words had a profound effect on Conan as he stood before her, unable to speak. It was as if she'd seen through his disguise and discovered his true identity. His voice quavered as he replied, "Thanks for letting us visit. Get well soon, Rui."

"Thank you, Conan-kun." He nodded and put his hands in his pockets, not making eye contact with anyone as he left the hospital room and headed for the small bathroom just down the hall. He locked the door upon entering and pulled out his cellphone, cycling through the pictures until he found one of Ran. Her smiling face brought one to his as he stared at the photo and thought, I do have someone, Emi...and I do understand. I guess you and I aren't so different.

Conan removed his glasses and wiped his eyes before he exited the bathroom and saw Haibara standing outside the door. Her face was full of concern as she asked, "Are you okay, Kudo-kun?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"You sure? You look like you've been crying."

"Nah, nothing like that. Just got something in my eye, that's all." Haibara caught a glimpse of the picture of Ran on his screen as Conan put it back in his pocket and thought to herself, You're a terrible liar, Kudo-kun. He joined her as they headed back to the professor and their friends when he heard his phone chirp the familiar sound of a received message. When he pulled the phone from his pocket to see what it was, his jaw dropped and his eyes blazed with fury. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"What? What happened?"

"The Maedas pleaded not guilty!"

Haibara's jaw dropped as she said, "You've gotta be kidding me."