"I see, how did you meet him in the first place?"

"Through Miyuki actually, you see Miyuki was asked to replace a model, but the model replaced Miyuki, there was also a murder case and the model was behind the killings for complicated reasons, the model has completed her sentence now but...it's as hard on her as it is on my fellow officers, harder actually since the model is Li's youngest sibling, his only sister"

"I see...and were you close after that first case?"

"No, that actually happened when I went back to Hong Kong and was accused of murder by a person who was manipulated by someone called Takato Yoichi, also known as the Puppeteer from Hell"

"What made you close after that case?"

"Various things really, when Miyuki and I learned he was missing we were still in High School, when he was declared dead...it wasn't pretty believe me, and then I was delayed in entering the police for a year because I needed to heal from injuries"

The session ended soon afterwords and Kindaichi leaves while the therapist was simply in awe of what Kindaichi had gone through and how loyal he was to someone who lived far enough away that distance between the people was only natural. Eventually though Kindaichi had to go home and everyone knew he was disappointed and frustrated with the fact that no further leads had come up during his time in America, but with a promise to continue the search and let him know immediately if any new leads regarding Li came up, Kindaichi left the States more willingly than he might have otherwise orders or no orders. Once he landed he saw that Akechi was waiting for him

"Hey Akechi"

"Kindaichi, it's good to see you, I'll explain more once back at the station but while Kenmochi and I are a little upset that no further leads were given while you were in the States, the fact that last we knew Li was alive is soothing for us"

"But he might now be..."

"More than likely though he's still alive, if they've kept him alive this long I doubt they'll kill him so easily now"

"Okay...okay I guess I can believe that"

"It's the only thing we can do now Kindaichi, now then once you're rested you have a case alongside me and it's in Hong Kong"

"Wait but...why are we going to Li's...?"

"They requested our help with a confusing case, one that practically screams of Takato Yoichi"

"I see, then let's go"

"Not until you've had rest and reported back in, our superiors know about the case but they need to talk to you about something else first"

"Understood, and I guess you're driving me home?"

"Considering the time of day and your flight hours yes"

"Fine"

Once in the car Kindaichi quickly falls asleep as Akechi knew he would and so he simply lets him sleep until they got to Kindaichi's apartment where he helped the sleepy man to his bedroom and though he knew Kindaichi wouldn't remember it spoke quietly before leaving

"I'll pick you up in the morning if possible, I'll also let the bosses know that you might be in a sleep coma"

Once he left Kindaichi's apartment he called one of his contacts in the US at the department Kindaichi had been at and learned that Kindaichi had stayed up for practically forty-eight hours catching fifteen minute catnaps if that in the time leading up to the flight and Akechi knew that Kindaichi didn't sleep on airplanes, not since an incident during his police training which made Kindaichi paranoid about falling asleep no matter how long or short the trip was

"I understand, I will let our superiors know that he won't be in for a few days"

Akechi then talks to his superiors about how Kindaichi would be asleep for quite some time and then contacts Hong Kong and let's them know of the situation as well, fortunately everyone on all sides was understanding of the situation, though Hong Kong had yet to be informed of the fact that Li was alive, this was a decision actually made by Interpol which the US agreed on since it was very likely Li would be found dead or at the very least temporarily put into custody while everyone figured out just how willing he was in doing whatever tasks he had been given by the criminal organization he was with up to and including fighting law enforcement

"So how long do you now expect it to take?"

"About a day and a half before he can be debriefed completely sir"

"Understood, I just wish he would ask for help regarding his plane issues"

At hearing that Akechi simply sighs and shakes his head

"That's the thing sir, he's asked for help regarding the plane issue and every therapist he's gone to has stated that he'll never be able to sleep on a plane again, or if he ever does it will only be for short periods of time, they've done everything they can for him because there was a time he contemplated never getting back onto a plane again and that would have prevented his police career"

"I see, then we won't speak further regarding his flying issues, though before that happens I do have to ask how often he still sees this therapist"

"He's down to twice a month visits and the only reason he never spoke to them about Li is because this therapist is a specialist for flying issues and has actually requested their patients to see another therapist for any other issue they might have"

"I see well in any case let us know when Kindaichi's actually coherent so that we can have that needed talk before you two head to Hong Kong, though if he's asleep long enough then Kenmochi will be able to join you on your trip"

"Indeed, that...that would be nice, are you and America certain that it's better we keep Li's survival a secret?"

"This is an order from Interpol Akechi, granted while they technically have no legal authority over us we've agreed to go with their suggestion because of the fact that it's better that they don't know that Li's alive until we have all the facts regarding his situation"

"Very well, in any case I'll check up on Kindaichi later today and see how he's doing"

When Akechi finally does check up on Kindaichi he found his young friend definitely still asleep and so simply stays the night just in case Kindaichi did wake up and wasn't completely aware of where he was because that had happened to all three of them in the past two years when dealing with long cases where they stayed up extreme hours to catch the criminal, which is what actually happened twenty hours after Kindaichi came home and so Akechi helped Kindaichi get back to bed after taking care of basic necessities and two days later Akechi knew that Kindaichi was truly coherent with a simple sentence

"Hey Akechi, what are you doing at my apartment?"

"Hello Kindaichi, making sure that you're okay after what you did in the States and then flying for as long as you did"

"Ah, makes sense, have an appointment with the therapist soon by the way"

"You'll need to reschedule it"

"What for?"

"Guess you don't remember me saying that we're needed in Hong Kong"

"I don't"

And so Akechi explains that Hong Kong wasn't going to be told about Li but at the same time they knew that Li trusted the three officers from Japan and so asked for help since it looked like Takato might be involved in the case and also explained that originally Kenmochi wasn't going to be going to Hong Kong with them but now was since he was back from his own case, he also mentioned that their superiors wanted to talk to Kindaichi first about something else