OooO Seventeen OooO
Megure and Takagi take Kumoshiro into custody. He will have to face a hard judgment for sure and will be held responsible for the deaths of Shinichi's parents and Kaito's father, as well as manipulating and experimenting on minors.
Ran hopes that it will give Shinichi a little more closure, and she sees how Aoko takes a step closer to Kaito in silent support. She considers walking over to offer her help but notices how the girl's magic already surrounds Kaito with a healing spell. Ran swallows hard and wrings her fingers, wishing that Shinichi were at her side now, too. That she could help him.
"Ran-chan!" she hears Hiroshi Agasa's shout, who is running to them. "He wasn't home, and when I returned, they wouldn't let me back inside. Did you find Shini-"he stops dead in his tracks as he comes closer and recognizes Shinichi's form on the stretcher that now is carried over to the waiting ambulance.
"Shinichi! Ran, what happened here?"
Before she can answer him, she hears another shout of her name. She turns in that direction and sees her father run her way.
Ran almost chokes on the sobs that are lodged in her throat. She flings herself at him, searching for the hold only someone who is family can give you.
"Shinichi, he-"her voice breaks. Talking about it lets the flood work loose, and she can't stop the tears running down her face in hot streams. Kogoro just holds her, letting her know that she is not alone.
They let her cry until she calms down enough to speak again through some lasting hiccups.
"I- I don't know how much you saw from the tribune, but Shinichi got hit by some magical artifact, and now it is inside him. They don't know if they can get it out or what it will do to him."
Kogoro winces. "When that illusion fell, l was wondering what Shinichi was doing out on the field after he didn't participate like planned. But after the boy from Osaka collapsed, most were out of their seats because it became clear that something wasn't right. I'm sorry I didn't make it sooner, but coming down to you through the alarmed crowd was impossible."
Ran takes the tissue he reaches her and dries her eyes that are red and swollen. Then she turns to where James Black is speaking with Inspector Megure.
"Excuse me, Sir, but there is something I don't understand."
Black looks at her expectantly, waiting for her to go on. The tension in her voice is almost tangible.
"You were the one who asked Shinichi to get involved in all this – why didn't you have an eye on him? Why didn't you do anything when he went missing? Even if Professor Amuro told you that he withdrew - you had your suspicions regarding him, why did you believe him? You should have helped him!"
Professor Black sighs. "So, he told you – should have expected that much. As for Professor Amuro, he didn't tell me anything. Actually, I didn't know that Kudou-kun wasn't in the competition anymore until the finals. I was held occupied with talk about support for the school as the tournaments are always grounds for our biggest donors to show up. I am very sorry for bringing Kudou-kun in such a situation, and be assured that I will do anything to aid his recovery."
Ran is not satisfied, but there is not much she can do about it right now. What is more important to her is to get to the hospital to see how Shinichi is doing. Her father understands her pleading gaze and without any questions. They drive to Beika Hospital, which houses two whole wings for magically induced injuries, and they take Hiroshi along as well. The man is a bit wrecked himself, and they don't trust him with driving.
Having him with them turns out fortunate because only family is allowed into the isolation ward where Shinichi currently gets treatment. He can convince the nurses to let them in as well.
As they still are not sure how the power in Shinichi will act, he lies in a room with special magic suppressors. They are used to treat patients who can't contain their magic power on their own, what can happen to old people, or due to an illness.
In front of his room, they sit down to wait for some news. The room has glass walls to make it easy to observe the patient inside, and Ran can't tear her eyes away from his still form on the bed. The red glow is still there though it might have receded a bit.
What if he doesn't wake up? What if he will remain in this state, forever trapped by Pandora inside of him.
Already she can feel how fresh tears sting in her eyes. Why didn't she tell him how she felt – what was she waiting for? He is her best friend, always has been, but for some time now, she felt how their relationship shifted. At first, she was afraid of what that would mean for them. She didn't want them to fall apart over feelings that maybe were only one-sided, so she kept them hidden. She'd hoped for a sign from him that told her he wouldn't draw away from her, maybe even reciprocate those feelings. Now that she thinks about it, she finds those signs everywhere.
How his face would light up when he sees her.
How he always is aware of where she is in a room full of people.
How he acted so jealous of Kaito.
How he reacted when she tricked him with Kaito's help. He had looked so frightened but determined at the same time. Furious and passionate. She has never seen him this way before. The thought that his protectiveness was directed at her like that makes her blush even now.
As soon as she could speak to him, she would confess. Period.
The new resolve feels good, and when someone calls her name, she is more composed when she turns to the speaker who is about to enter Shinichi's room. The person stops with her hand on the handle, looking at her expectantly. Ran blinks, surprised.
"Miyano-san? What are you doing here?"
When she takes in Shiho's attire, her question sounds a bit stupid. White lab coat, name tag, comfortable shoes. Obviously, she is working here.
"Never mind," she quickly adds. "You didn't tell us you're working at Beika Hospital."
"It didn't come up, but I have to work somewhere, and here I have all the equipment at hand that I need for my research."
Ran nods. They didn't ask many questions back then, more focused on Shinichi's testing. "Yeah, sure, I just didn't expect to see you here. Are you one of Shinichi's doctors?"
"Well, you could say that. As his condition is power-related, I was called to have a look as it somewhat falls into my expertise. If you excuse me, then I will see if I can do anything to help."
"Of course! I didn't want to hold you up. Please, take care of him."
Shiho gives her one of her rare smiles. "It will be alright, Mouri-san. He is stubborn."
That makes Ran smile a bit, too, because even Shiho, who only has known Shinichi for a short time, can already tell as much. Knowing that everything possible will be done for him makes her heart a bit lighter, though the tight feeling in her chest will probably last until he wakes up, and she can see for herself that he is alright.
As the minutes go by and more doctors come and go, Ran grows tired and decides to go for a short walk to keep herself awake. Her father has gone to the cafeteria with Hiroshi to get something to eat, but she has refused to join them. She doesn't feel hungry, and the thought of food is not appealing to her at all.
She wanders the hallways and turns a corner, almost colliding with another person.
"Oh, sorry, I wasn't paying attention- Oh, Kazuha-chan! Of course, you're here as well! Sorry, I forgot about that. How is Hattori-kun doing? I hope he wasn't hurt."
"Ran-chan," Kazuha exclaims, visibly distraught. "It is so good to see a familiar face. Heiji's mother will still need a while to get here as she couldn't make it to the tournament, and Heiji" s father is still needed at the arena. I am all alone here, and though they said that he will be okay, this is not how I pictured this day to go - absolutely not!"
Always quick to comfort others, Ran pulls the girl into a hug. "No, I didn't either."
"Right - what about Kudou-kun? I was so focused on Heiji on the side of the field, and then everything was madness, and I had to shield both of us."
Ran lets go of her and takes a step back, kneading her hands in a nervous habit. "He- kind of was the center of that madness. I still don't know how he is; they didn't tell us anything."
"I'm so sorry, Ran-chan! Here I am, rambling about my stupid worries while you have to deal with such a horrible situation yourself!"
"Your worries are not stupid, Kazuha-chan. Just because others have a hard time, too, doesn't mean your problems matter less. Let's try to occupy ourselves with something while we wait for those unreasonable boys to wake up."
Their laughter is thin and weak, but at least they have each other to hold onto for now.
OooO
Two hours later, Ran, her father, and Hiroshi sit on chairs in front of Shinichi's room again. Kazuha went back to Heiji, hoping that maybe he woke up in the meantime.
Inside the room, they can see Shiho and a few other doctors speaking with each other, Shiho seemingly explaining something that the others take in with matching frowns. In the end, though, they nod and file out of the room, giving the waiting group greeting nods without saying a word. Only Shiho stops in the door and waves them in.
Nervous, Ran gets up and is grateful for her father's hand that takes hers. The warm pressure is reassuring and does not leave her, even as they stand next to Shinichi's bed. At least, the doctors have been able to heal his nose completely, and aside from the red glow that now is only very faint, he looks normal, as if he is just sleeping.
But he is too still.
Ran knows from the sleepovers they have had over time that he is a restless sleeper who tosses and turns a lot throughout the night.
Shiho gives them all a once over as if to decide how much more they can take after this eventful day.
"Alright, let's start with the good news," she finally begins to speak. "Physically, there is nothing wrong with him, aside from the magic exhaustion that all who were involved suffer from. A good night's rest or two will take care of that. What is more worrying is that Pandora's magic has fused with his own, and our awareness mage expects it to be permanent."
She presses her lips together at the gasping sounds around her.
"Our healers tried to separate them to extract the foreign magic from his system, but it has resisted all our attempts so far. It indeed is behaving in a slightly sentient way as it reacts to our interventions with according measures. We don't want to risk anything that could trigger it, so we can only leave it be for now.
"That also means we will have to wait for Kudou-kun to sort this out and wake up on his own. We cannot say how long that will take. When he wakes up and has recovered some, and we are confident that he can control Pandora, we will have to estimate what that means for his magic in the future."
Ran's eyes search Shinichi's sleeping face, hoping to see any signs of waking. "Is there nothing we can do?"
"Well, nothing this hospital can do at least," Shiho says.
"What do you mean by that? Are you saying there is a place that is better suited to treat Shinichi-kun? Do you suggest to transfer him?" Kogoro asks.
"No, not at all. This hospital is one of the most specialized for magical injuries the country has. But - I might have an alternative approach to traditional medicine, though I can't promise anything as I obviously never had a case like this to test it."
"Explain, please," Ran urges, ready to reach for every chance they have.
"Agasa-san and Mouri-san both were present when Kudou-kun worked on unlocking his magic, and they may remember the drink I always gave him to treat the after-effects."
Ran nods. "Yes, it looked like water, but Shinichi said it tasted funny. I can affirm that Shinichi always recovered more quickly after he drank it then when he trained on his own."
"That is because it was indeed water, but infused with healing magic," Shiho explains.
"Healing magic?" Hiroshi asks, frowning. "I thought it was just some fancy energy drink. Who did this for you? I don't know anybody capable of enriching foods or fluids like that, else they would be rich by selling the stuff."
A small smile tugs on her lips. "I did that myself."
"You did that? But aren't you-"
"An achromatic? Yes, I am, but - and what I tell you now cannot leave this room - Pandora is not the only magical artifact. My family owned a stone for generations, much like the Kumoshiro's owned Pandora. My parents were scientists and knew about its capabilities. They told me when I was eight but always stressed how important it is that it wasn't made public. Too many people would want to get their hands on it and make a profit from it.
"After my parents died, I took care of the stone and found a way to use it even as an achromatic. By simply putting it in water, the stone releases magic particles that support recovery if drunk, but that is all I could gain from its healing capabilities."
She gives Ran an earnest look. "Mouri-san, as you are a healer, you should be capable of unlocking the stone's true potential, and maybe you can help Kudou-kun to bring order into his magic system."
"Stop, stop, stop," Kogoro cuts in. "Shinichi-kun is in some magically induced sleep you don't know when he will wake up from because of some weird old artifact, and now you want my daughter to use another one of those thingies to help him? I can't allow that! What if she ends up in a hospital bed as well? You said Kudou-kun eventually will wake up on his own, so let's give the boy his time and wait for that."
Shiho sighs, understanding where he comes from but fighting down her exasperation nonetheless. She is just not good with people.
"Yes, I did say that, but I also said that I don't know how long that will take, and with that I mean everything is possible from days to a few years."
The gears in Ran's head just stopped as she gapes at Shiho, dread clawing its way up her throat.
"Did you say – years?"
"Unfortunately, yes. There is no set time frame for Kudou-kun's recovery – if he can recover from it at all because, as I said before, there is no other case we can take to compare the process."
Kogoro's hands that are clenched into fist go slack. That is not what he wants for the boy he has known all his life, who comes over to them for lunch or dinner, and makes his Ran laugh - the boy his daughter likes.
No father is pleased to see that his little girl is falling for a man, but he had so much time to get used to the idea that he already sees Shinichi as family. He is just waiting for the two of them to finally figure it out and admit their feelings to each other. Though he certainly intends not to make it too easy for Shinichi.
Now it looks as if that might never happen, and he knows that it will break not only Ran's heart when he doesn't wake up.
But the alternative of letting Ran use such a dangerous artifact makes him nauseous. How can he let her do that, knowing that it could land her in the hospital, too?
Ran seems to sense his inner turmoil and meets his eyes with a steady gaze that lets him know that he has already lost. She has made up her mind, and she can be just as stubborn as her mother once she is determined.
"Dad, please, let me do this. I know I can help him. I am the one who knows his magic best – I have healed him more often than I can count. I can do this!"
"Gets into more trouble than can be called normal, the little rascal," Kogoro grumbles, not without affection. The problem is that he knows Ran is only asking for his consent out of politeness. She wants him on board with this, needs him to have her back, but if push comes to shove, she will go through with it anyway. She might have to wait until graduation, but that is only weeks away, and after that, the decision is all hers.
He can choose to support her or to let her walk this path alone.
The answer is obvious.
"Dad?"
He sighs deeply. "I am not happy with this, and I demand that every possible precautionary measure is taken that can protect you – and him. No one will take unreasonable risks if we can avoid them by waiting a week or two, understood?"
Ran's smile is, well, not beaming, the situation is too dire for that, but she looks at him with so much gratitude and love that he rolls his eyes to hide how touched he is.
"Come here," he says and hugs her. "You will bring him back – we will bring him back."