"Kan-chan!"
The person who burst into the hospital room was a black-haired woman with a ponytail. She looked to be around the same age as him, with the kind of beauty typical of a traditional Japanese woman.
Judging by how flustered she looked and the wrinkles still visible on her work uniform, there was no need to guess, this had to be Uehara Yui, the woman he'd spoken to over the phone.
Before Ritsu could remind her to lower her voice, the commotion had already woken the sleeping Hayasaka. She instinctively wiped the corner of her mouth, looked toward the beautiful woman at the door, then raised a finger to her lips and whispered softly,
"Are you Uehara-san? Yamato-san is still resting, so please keep your voice down a little."
Hearing Hayasaka's reminder, Yui immediately calmed down. She gave the two of them a deep bow and gratefully said,
"Thank you for getting Kan-chan to the hospital in time, and thank you for staying here with him."
Hayasaka waved her hands, clearly not expecting such a formal bow of gratitude. Smiling awkwardly, she replied,
"It's just what police officers are supposed to do. Besides, I didn't really help much. Inspector Onizawa did everything."
Yui carefully looked at the white-haired young man before her.
'So this was Inspector Onizawa Takashi from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department?'
On the way here, she'd done a little research on him. Apparently, he'd solved a large number of cases since taking office, and he had previously been active overseas as a criminal consultant.
"Onizawa-san, thank you so much for—"
"You can skip the formalities. I've already paid the expenses. Here's the receipt."
Yui accepted the receipt with both hands. After seeing the total written on it, her brows visibly furrowed. It was obvious she didn't have much money to spare. Police salaries weren't exactly high to begin with, and the balance in her account wasn't enough to cover such an enormous amount.
Naturally, someone as skilled at reading microexpressions as Ritsu immediately understood her situation.
"This counts as an injury sustained in the line of duty, so the medical expenses can be reimbursed. You won't need to pay for it yourself."
"Thank you for covering the expenses, Inspector Onizawa. May I ask… how long until Kan-chan wakes up?"
"Once the anesthesia wears off, he should wake up. I'll leave the emotional support afterward to you. His left eye and left leg can't be treated anymore. The eye has already been surgically removed."
Eye removal surgery.
The moment she heard that, Yui's beautiful eyes filled with pain. She slowly walked to the bedside and gently smoothed the deep furrow between Kansuke's brows, even though he was still asleep.
She never imagined that something like this would happen so soon after they'd parted ways. If Ritsu hadn't found him in time, the consequences would've been unimaginable.
"…I understand. I will. You two should head back and get some rest too. Thank you for your hard work."
"Alright, then we'll take our leave."
Ritsu lightly patted Hayasaka's shoulder. "Let's go."
As he reached for the hospital room door, it suddenly opened from the outside.
The instant he saw the newcomer's face, Ritsu's pupils sharply contracted. However, he quickly concealed his shock.
He never expected to meet this person here.
Nagano Prefecture...
What a coincidence. He actually knew Kansuke Yamato.
The person who entered was none other than Morofushi Taka'aki, older brother of Morofushi Hiromitsu. This was Ritsu's first time meeting him face-to-face.
His features resembled Hiro's by sixty or seventy percent. Though he was older than his younger brother, his paler complexion and softer facial features gave him a more refined, almost beautiful appearance.
What differed completely from Hiro was the mustache above his lips. That distinctive mustache gave off a totally different impression from that unreliable Detective Mouri's, it instead made him look exceptionally sharp and intelligent.
Taka'aki also studied the unfamiliar man standing inside the room. Politely stepping aside to make room, he extended his hand and said,
"This is our first meeting. Thank you very much for saving Kansuke-kun. I am Inspector Morofushi Taka'aki of the Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters."
Ritsu had previously investigated Taka'aki's background. Given his talent, he absolutely could've entered the elite career track through the civil service examination with outstanding results.
Yet instead, he had deliberately chosen the non-career path to become a detective, gradually working his way up to the rank of inspector through promotions.
Considering when he became a police officer, the intention behind that choice was probably, to investigate the case surrounding his parents' deaths.
As for another possible reason, it was likely the two people inside this hospital room: Yamato Kansuke and Uehara Yui. He probably wanted to rise through the ranks together with them.
"Likewise. I'm Onizawa Takashi from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. No need to thank me, it's simply what a police officer should do."
A first-time handshake naturally didn't linger long. Their hands merely touched briefly before separating.
"Then I'll be taking my leave now."
"Take care, Onizawa-kun."
The temperature difference between indoors and outdoors was quite drastic.
The moment Hayasaka stepped outside, a blast of cold wind made her sneeze repeatedly. Rubbing her hands together, she searched through her shoulder bag for the car keys when she suddenly felt warmth settle over her body.
Turning her head, she discovered that Ritsu had taken off his trench coat and draped it over her shoulders.
Thinking about his frostbitten hands, she frowned unhappily. "Your hands still haven't recovered. What if you catch a cold?"
"We'll be in the car in a second. Hurry up and find the keys, or there'll be two people catching colds instead."
A faint warmth stirred in her chest.
This guy, whose mouth was always so irritating, suddenly didn't seem all that annoying anymore.
Thinking back to the way he desperately dug through the snow without caring about himself, Hayasaka suddenly realized she might not understand him very well at all. It felt like there were still many admirable qualities about him she hadn't discovered yet.
What a strange person.
Maybe it was just her imagination, but that irritating, carefree attitude of his almost felt like a disguise.
As though he deliberately used it to hide who he truly was.
"What are you spacing out for? Are you seriously trying to make me catch a cold?"
Ritsu wrapped his arms around himself and urged impatiently,
"Are you doing this on purpose to freeze me to death? Hayasaka, I never thought you were such a vicious woman... I really misjudged you."
Seeing the pitiful, aggrieved expression on his face, Hayasaka suddenly felt that all her earlier analysis had been completely wrong.
This guy was just a full-blown drama queen. She'd definitely overthought things.
"I know, I know! I'm looking for them already!"
"Then hurry up."
By the time they drove back to the villa, it was already two in the morning.
Dragging their exhausted bodies, the two washed up on separate floors before finally returning to their own rooms to sleep.
Lying flat on the bed, Ritsu tried to fall asleep, but even after an exhausting day, he still couldn't enter that state.
He let out a heavy sigh and calculated the time in America in his head.
It should be around one in the afternoon there.
After confirming it wasn't a time that would disturb anyone, he placed the call.
"Hi, handsome guy~"
The moment Vermouth answered, she immediately switched the phone to speaker mode. Sitting elegantly on the sofa in her hotel suite, she was enjoying filet mignon personally prepared by the head chef, paired with a glass of her favorite sherry wine.
"Vermouth, you seem to be in a good mood."
"Of course I am. Calling at this hour means... you haven't betrayed me."
After letting out two sultry laughs, Vermouth deliberately lowered her voice and whispered, "Augier, congratulations on suffering from insomnia again."
What a woman incapable of saying anything nice.
'Why hurt your own people like that?'
Ritsu wasn't annoyed in the slightest after hearing her "congratulations." He'd long since grown used to Vermouth's way of interacting with people.
After all, he'd already heard enough of her outrageous remarks and experienced enough of her outrageous behavior. She understood boundaries, so unlike before, he no longer "feared" her the way he once did.
"Thanks for the blessing. I wish the same upon you."
"Let's talk business." Vermouth swallowed another bite of steak and gently swirled the sherry in her wine glass before leisurely continuing, "You may need to come to America soon and assist me with a mission."
"What kind of mission requires me?"
"I don't know yet. We'll have to wait for That Person's instructions. Probably just another one of those jobs where we kill using someone else's hands."
"Your capabilities are more than enough already. Bringing me in feels unnecessary."
"But did you forget?" Vermouth chuckled softly. "America has a group of not-so-adorable little kittens waiting for us~"
Ritsu suddenly felt the gunshot scar on his abdomen faintly ache again. Curling his lips into a slight smile, he slowly said,
"Is that so? Then let me wish us in advance—"
"A pleasant cooperation."
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