Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Living in a room without windows made it easy to lose track of time. Ritsu thought he had slept until noon but in reality, it was still before dawn.
He stepped into the bathroom and took a quick shower to wake himself up, then changed into the same style of clothing he wore back at Columbia.
A light blue shirt paired with dark gray slacks, topped with the essential white lab coat. To make himself look more like an associate director, Ritsu even put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Standing in front of the mirror, he examined himself and couldn't help but feel he gave off the vibe of a refined scoundrel.
After tying his tie, Ritsu opened the door just as there was movement from the room across the hall. Seeing Shiho wearing an oversized lab coat that nearly dragged along the floor, he asked, "Good morning. Need help adjusting the length of your coat?"
Still half-asleep, Shiho reacted like a startled kitten, glaring at him with wide eyes. "I'll grow taller, I don't need you to remind me!"
"…"
His good intentions had not only gone unappreciated but were also misunderstood. Ritsu could only swallow his frustration.
Forget it. No point arguing with a kid going through a rebellious phase.
Instead of heading to the lab, he walked toward the main hall. Spotting the two men in black guarding the side entrance, he asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me where the cafeteria is?"
"Up the stairs on the left."
"Thanks."
He went up the stairs and arrived at a cafeteria with a futuristic design, so much so that it could pass as a theme restaurant in an amusement park. The pure white color scheme lifted his mood immediately; he liked clean and orderly dining environments.
A sign at the entrance listed meal times, and the serving hours spanned such a wide range that food was available nearly 24 hours a day. It was surprisingly considerate.
There were plenty of breakfast options. In addition to traditional Japanese breakfasts, there were American and English ones as well. It would almost be a waste not to have a cup of morning tea.
Ceylon tea paired with an English breakfast was a classic combination. Carrying his tray, Ritsu casually found an empty seat and sat down. At this hour, the cafeteria was nearly empty, only a couple of tables were occupied by lab-coated researchers whispering among themselves.
Ever since he and Shiho entered, those people occasionally glanced in their direction, though it was unclear what they were discussing.
Ritsu took a sip of his Ceylon tea. It had a light floral aroma, smooth and not astringent. Adding a slice of lemon with a pair of tongs gave it an extra layer of flavor.
Shiho brought her tray over and sat across from him. At some point, she had developed the habit of eating with someone else. Something unlike her past self, who had always been alone, both within the organization and at school.
Her breakfast: maple syrup croissants, berry pancakes, and creamy corn soup was essentially sweet plus sweet plus semi-sweet. Could her stomach really handle that first thing in the morning?
"You eat this much sugar every day, don't you get tired of it?" Ritsu asked.
"Starting the day with sweets helps keep my mood up," she replied.
"I see."
Ritsu didn't press further and focused on his own meal. The baked beans were authentically done, it seemed likely the cafeteria had a British chef. The sausage, bacon, hash browns, and scrambled eggs were all fairly standard.
The only thing he didn't touch was the black pudding, one of the few dishes he simply couldn't accept.
After breakfast, the two returned to the lab the same way they came. After entering the password, scanning their palm prints, and swiping their cards, they finally got inside. Since Shiho, the lab's director, hadn't yet received any research materials from the organization, the two of them had nothing to do for now.
Just as they were idly chatting, the sound of someone entering the password came from the door.
The only people who could enter this lab, aside from Ritsu and Shiho, were Vodka and Gin. Which one would it be?
Not seeing that flash of silver hair, Ritsu felt a faint sense of disappointment. Shiho, on the other hand, let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Vodka looked at them with a grin. "Nanase, come with me."
He didn't explain what they were going to do, and Ritsu didn't ask. Setting down the book in his hand, he followed Vodka out of the lab and took the elevator to the third floor, where Labs No. 2 and No. 3 were located.
"You're not even going to ask why I brought you here?" Vodka said.
"To discuss academic matters with other researchers, or to conduct a comprehensive physical examination?" Ritsu replied.
Suppressing the urge to give a thumbs-up, Vodka chuckled. "Heh, you got it. Aniki told me to bring you here for a physical assessment. Go on in."
A test arranged by Gin? Was he planning to transfer him out of the research department?
That would actually be perfect, exactly what Ritsu wanted. He had already been planning to move to another department after learning about the drug research. Staying in the lab all day would make it difficult to gather more information, and even harder to meet up with Rei once he joined the organization.
What incredible luck.
"Takai, I'm leaving him to you."
Since he didn't have a codename, it seemed the head of Lab No. 2 wasn't part of the organization's upper ranks.
"Vodka-san, you can leave it to me. Nanase, please go change first."
Takai treated Vodka with great respect. Though both he and Shiho were lab directors, their standing within the organization was worlds apart.
No need to build a relationship here, pass.
In the changing room, Ritsu switched into a thin white patient gown. Following instructions, he lay down inside a machine and underwent a full-body examination.
Unlike hospital equipment, he could even feel faint electric currents from the patches attached to his body.
After about fifteen minutes, Takai removed all the equipment and said with a smile, "Nanase, the physical assessment is complete. You can get up and change now."
"Alright, thank you."
After changing back into his clothes, Ritsu stepped out. Takai was working at a nearby computer. Two minutes later, he turned to Vodka and said, "Vodka-san, all the data has been sent to your email. All backups have been deleted. Please verify."
Vodka checked the computer for a moment, confirmed there were no backup files, and patted Takai's shoulder with satisfaction. "Good work."
Then he turned to Ritsu. "Nanase, you can head back to the lab."
"Got it."
After leaving the facility, Vodka forwarded the email contents to Gin without even reading them himself, suppressing his curiosity before deleting the message. It was clear his loyalty to Gin was absolute.
Meanwhile, in Yamanashi Prefecture, Gin was carrying out a mission. He pulled two small packets of methamphetamine from his pocket and tossed them onto the ground, staging the corpse to look like a suicide born of guilt. After erasing all traces, he left the scene.
Getting into his car, he noticed an unread email on his phone. After carefully reading its contents, a faint smile appeared in his usually cold, sharp green eyes.
Gin forwarded the email to an unsaved address and added a line at the end.
[Sir, I recommend that Nanase Toru, the one you've taken an interest in, be allowed to undergo training with the operations division. Approval requested.]