Ren had just stepped out from the ward that night when he heard a frantic sound of footsteps running towards his direction. He raised his head to look at who was it. It was a familiar face, the one he was planning to meet soon.
The bodyguards were alerted by the young man running towards them. They wanted to stop him but Ren quickly dismissed them.
"It's my brother-in-law," said Ren to them briefly.
"Brother!"
Satsuki almost slipped when he abruptly stopped in front of Ren. He was breathing heavily as he ran non-stop once he exited the elevator.
"Your sister is sleeping," Ren shook his head helplessly when he saw the panic on Satsuki's face. "She has just taken her medicine."
"I could still see her, right?" asked Satsuki as he was trying to stable his breathing.
"Don't make a sound."
Ren opened the door, letting Satsuki to step inside. Satsuki quickly walked over to the bed where his sister was sleeping. He sighed in relief when he saw she looked peaceful in her sleep.
Aside from looking a bit pale, there was nothing wrong with his sister.
Satsuki couldn't believe that both his sister and brother-in-law didn't notify him as soon as possible. When he heard that his sister fainted yesterday, he was in so much shock that he immediately requested an emergency leave from his boss. He just got the news one hour ago!
"What happened?" Satsuki turned his head towards Ren, asking in a low voice.
Ren didn't answer. He gestured for Satsuki to follow him outside. Satsuki obediently followed his brother-in-law. They sat on a row of chairs located near Tsubaki's ward.
"I wanted to tell you earlier but I think it's best to wait until your sister woke up first. She had told me that you're concentrating on an important project right now," Ren said apologetically.
"But... Nothing is more important than Sister!" Satsuki was frustrated. He was mad because they didn't inform him sooner.
"Yes. But you do know your sister, right? How she would think?"
"Yeah..." Satsuki agreed dejectedly.
Ren smiled slightly. He patted the young man's back.
"Yesterday, we went to visit Kouichi. You know right, the little boy whose mother, Miss Hinata, resembled your sister?" Ren began to tell him the situation. He didn't intend to hide it from Satsuki.
"Yes. Sister has mentioned it to me," replied Satsuki. "But, how could she faint?"
Ren lowered his head. He stared at his large hands. He still remembered the trembling of his hands when he was holding Tsubaki yesterday. As her face turned pale, she laid unconscious in his embrace.
"Aunt Ume, Kouichi's grandmother has a private talk with your sister," Ren spoke after a long period of silence. "She talked about Miss Hinata."
Ren started to recount the story Aunt Ume had told him. Satsuki just kept silence while listening to it. His face contorted in fear as the story came to the ending.
"So... Something triggered Sister's memory because of it?" Satsuki couldn't believe his ears.
This was much more to be a coincidence!
Ren nodded, his eyes were still trained on the floor. He linked his fingers in an attempt to get a grip of himself. What he would be asking Satsuki next might shocked the poor boy.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips. He took out the paper which was given by Akashi earlier. Looking at Satsuki, he handed the folded paper to him.
"What is this, Brother?" Satsuki stared at the paper in confusion.
"Do you recognize the writing?" Ren threw a question over his question.
Satsuki unfolded the paper. His brows knitted as he read what was written on it.
"No. But, this content..."
"This note was the only thing they found on Miss Hinata's body when she was left in front of the orphanage's door," answered Ren.
Satsuki wasn't stupid. He swiftly got Ren's hidden meaning behind his explanation.
"You want to know if this paper was written by my mother, right?"
Ren nodded.
Satsuki was speechless. The first time his sister told him about Miss Hinata and even asked questions about their late mother, he didn't expect that one day it would escalate to this.
But still, his brother-in-law should have a plausible reason on why he was suspecting such a thing. He understood how this man's brain worked.
"This is not Mom's handwriting. I recognized hers because I always saw Sister using Mom's handwritten cook books before," said Satsuki as he was recalling the events in his mind.
"Then, we could say the one who wrote this was truly not your mother," Ren sighed again. He took the paper back from Satsuki's hands.
"But, you said Miss Hinata got all the bad things happened to her 5 years ago, right? Do you think it was related to Sister? You did say you wanted to investigate the matter again."
Ren pursed his lips. It would be better if Satsuki didn't know the depth of it but now Ren needed him to cooperate with him.
"I have an absurd idea," said Ren without answering Satsuki's question. "It might shock you but it's the fastest way to deal with this. If your uncle is here, I could ask him if he knows anything but he's currently missing."
"What it is?"
Satsuki eyed him with confusion laced with suspicion. If Ren didn't bring up his uncle's name, he would have forgotten about the useless man. He never had any fond impression in Yagi Takashi.
This was it. He wouldn't be able to turn back after this, Ren thought to himself.
"I want to make a DNA test between you and your sister," Ren's gaze carried a hint of helplessness as he spoke his words. "What do you think?"
Satsuki gasped. He was totally speechless. He stared at the man before him without being able to say anything. No words came to his mouth.
"I... That's..." Satsuki stuttered. His eyes switched back and forth from Ren's face to the floor beneath his shoes.
"I really don't want to startle you," said Ren regretfully. "But, it's the quickest way."
Satsuki closed his parted lips. He unconsciously gripped his knees. Countless of things popped inside his mind. Ren didn't pressure the young man. He let him thought about it. After a long period of silence, Satsuki dejectedly nodded his head.
"Okay..." His voice was so small, almost being missed by Ren. "Let's do it. The test, I mean."
Ren reached out for the young man's back. He patted him, offering him a consolation. Something he was in a dire need too.
"Let's hope the result is not what we're scared of, alright?"
Satsuki silently nodded his head.
The two men sat there in a silence. Both of them didn't know what should they feel about the situation.