Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
----
January 4th, Wednesday.
In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. Ritsu welcomed his 598th day within the organization.
Time really flew. He hadn't expected to already be celebrating his second birthday in the organization. But unlike the first, this one was spent at the research institute because those two workaholics, Gin and Vodka, had gone overseas on a mission during New Year's Eve.
Holding a fried chicken bento he had bought at a convenience store, Ritsu sat in his car, eating slowly. At some point, his spending at convenience stores had increased more and more… he was starting to resemble Gin and the others.
He definitely didn't want to become a workaholic.
After hastily filling his stomach, Ritsu had no assignments from the operations team today. Instead, he received instructions from the National Police Agency.
Thanks to the intelligence he had provided while undercover in the organization, he had been exceptionally promoted to Superintendent and assigned to form a new unit, Shadow.
Glancing at the time on his watch, there were still thirty minutes before the agreed meeting at 1 p.m., just enough time to reach the AEON shopping mall in Ikebukuro a few kilometers away.
He stuffed the empty bento box into a plastic bag, tied it up, and tossed it onto the passenger seat before driving to the underground parking lot of the AEON mall. After confirming he wasn't carrying any bugs or transmitters, he pulled on a black cap, tightened his long black coat, and cautiously made his way toward the second floor.
[Two more days until you reach 600 days undercover. Consider this an early surprise gift.]
Thinking of the message in that email, Ritsu couldn't quite understand its meaning. For him, a surprise gift would probably mean being able to leave the organization.
And from Kenji, he had learned that Rei had also disappeared. Ritsu had asked the Agency whether Rei had infiltrated the organization, but his question had been ignored.
That left him puzzled.
Even more puzzling was,
He had never encountered Rei within the organization, which ruled out the possibility of him joining either the operations team or the research division. Given Rei's abilities, if he had infiltrated, he would have earned a codename within a year.
Ritsu often checked the organization's internal system for new codename members, and the answer was clear. The only person to receive a codename in the past year was his colleague, Shiho.
At the end of last year, Shiho had officially been granted the codename "Sherry."
So where exactly was Rei?
Was he being secretly trained by the Agency, waiting for the right time to infiltrate?
By the time Ritsu finished thinking, he had already arrived at the supermarket entrance.
He pushed those thoughts aside. For now, it was better to focus on exchanging recent intelligence with his contact and establish a proper code for communication.
Instead of going straight to the second floor, he wandered around the first floor until it was close to the appointed time, then took the escalator up.
Holding two bottles of Calpis, Ritsu stood in the instant food aisle. As he picked up the chocolate-flavored cereal mentioned in the email, he noticed a man across the shelf selecting items.
It was indeed a surprise.
One he hadn't expected at all.
Hiro, who had been smiling as he pushed his shopping cart, froze the moment he recognized the person standing across from him. His expression turned to shock, clearly, he hadn't expected that the person he was assisting would be Ritsu.
"…"
Ritsu was the first to react.
His slender fingers tapped rapidly against the box of chocolate cereal in his arms, his gaze drifting casually over other items as he transmitted his message.
Morse code, their favorite little trick.
Hiro quickly understood. Pushing his cart away, he suppressed the smile tugging at his lips and headed toward the refrigerated section.
After symbolically purchasing a few items, Ritsu returned to his car and drove to an open-air parking lot near the Beika Central Bridge, then walked toward the lakeside nearby.
Resting both hands on the railing, he hoisted himself up and sat on it. Compared to when he was fourteen, it felt much easier now. With his long legs, the only way to keep them from touching the ground was to tuck them up slightly.
Tilting his head, he gazed at the calm surface of the lake.
This place had changed too, it had become more bustling.
He hadn't expected Hiro to end up at the Agency. Ritsu had chosen to infiltrate the organization himself so that Hiro could stay away from it.
So why had he come here anyway?
Was it fate? Some things couldn't be avoided, they would simply take another path to unfold.
Hiro approached, carrying a plastic bag, just like back then, beer and dried squid.
But unlike before, he didn't rush down the steps. He walked slowly, step by step, toward Ritsu.
"The beard."
Hiro paused, touching his chin with a smile. "Surprisingly suits me, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Makes you look more mature and steady."
There was so much they wanted to say to each other.
But time didn't allow it and meeting like this was already risky.
Ritsu took out a prepared envelope and handed it over. "I'll keep this short. The contact codes are written here. Memorize them and burn it. Don't tell anyone."
"Got it."
"The newest codename member is Miyano Shiho from the research division, codename Sherry. Our drug research has progressed to the molecular modeling stage. Also, the serial murders in Mie Prefecture last November were carried out by a member codename Glenfiddich. The three victims were all lower-level organization members."
"Do you know why they were executed?"
"At the beginning of the month, the three of them committed a bank robbery without orders. One of them even left fingerprints. The organization treated them as traitors and eliminated them."
Hiro nodded, glancing at Ritsu's left hand. Beneath the black leather glove, there was a slight bulge on his index finger, proof that he was still wearing that ring.
"Anything else?"
"No. I should head back to the institute."
The longer they stayed, the greater the risk.
Ritsu walked toward the parking lot. Just like back then, they headed in opposite directions.
"Ritsu…"
His steps faltered for a moment. Pressing his lips together, Ritsu gave a bitter smile. "Nanase Tōru, that's my name now."
"No matter what… stay safe, okay?"
There was no reply.
Because he couldn't guarantee it.
Ritsu turned back to look at Hiro, who stood there with a worried expression. Raising his right hand into a fist, he lightly tapped it against his left chest, a silent reassurance that he would be fine.
Hiro didn't watch him leave.
Instead, he walked to the railing and sat down the same way Ritsu had. The metal was cold in the winter air but the spot Ritsu had just left still held a faint warmth.
'Ritsu… you and Zero both have to stay safe. I'll do everything I can to support you.'
----
[Author's Note: Contact person Hiro has entered the scene! Ritsu and Zero belong to different units—one to [Shadow], the other to [Zero], so Kazami remains Zero's handler~]