The cruise ship finally docked at Tokyo Port.
Waiting to greet them were police cars flashing red warning lights.
After Hayasaka cuffed Shoji and escorted him into a patrol car, she looked helplessly at the yawning, visibly exhausted Ritsu and complained,
"I honestly didn't expect you to go on vacation and somehow increase the MPD's arrest statistics."
Ritsu narrowed his eyes in exasperation. He hadn't expected this voyage to solve not only an attempted murder case, but one that also involved traces of the Organization.
"All I can say is that criminals these days have terrible judgment," Ritsu said calmly as he pulled a cigarette from his pack.
"They seem to enjoy committing crimes right in front of police officers and detectives. Anyway, Hayasaka, I'll leave the rest to you.
"Thank you for giving me overtime work."
She rolled her eyes. "Now go home and get some rest."
Ritsu nodded.
As he was about to hail a taxi, he noticed Shinichi approaching him. Apparently, the boy had been suppressing his curiosity for quite some time and had finally reached his limit.
"You want to ask whether I know anything about the large organization mentioned in that letter, don't you?"
Shinichi laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha, as expected of Sensei. You saw right through me immediately."
"I'm not Yahoo. How could I possibly know everything?" Ritsu shrugged.
"But I'll keep an eye on it. As a police officer, I can't exactly let an organization like that run free."
The moment those words left his mouth, even he found them amusing. After all, he himself was entangled with that organization in ways too complicated to unravel.
In fact, the reason he had been able to return to work at the MPD... was also because of that organization's arrangements.
"Well, if you discover anything, let's investigate it together!" Shinichi grinned. "And don't try to shoulder everything yourself again."
"Got it."
Ritsu waved him off. "Now go home and rest. You still have school tomorrow."
"See you later, Sensei!"
After watching Shinichi and the others leave, Ritsu pulled out his phone. Switching the contact information to Augier's phone number, he dialed someone.
About six seconds later, the call connected.
"I was beginning to think you weren't planning on coming to collect the documents, Mr. Augier~~"
Anyone unfamiliar with Rei might have mistaken the rising tone at the end of his sentence for cheerfulness.
But Ritsu knew better.
It meant he was annoyed. Most likely because he'd been waiting too long.
"Making my subordinate wait is indeed my fault. My apologies, Bourbon."
The apology was unusually sincere. Sometimes Ritsu felt as though he owed every one of them an apology.
The fact that he couldn't reveal he was still alive was a burden in itself.
Rei clearly hadn't expected such a straightforward apology. Pressing his lips together, he replied,
"I was only joking, Mr. Augier. As a subordinate, waiting is part of the job. I've already emailed you the address of my safe house. Just don't get lost."
"Understood. I'll be there shortly."
After hanging up, Ritsu pocketed the phone.
Rather than immediately heading to the familiar apartment building, he first stopped by a nearby store to buy something before continuing on foot toward his destination.
Naturally, he also removed his disguise and changed clothes, transforming from Onizawa back into Augier.
----
3:47 PM, 5-Chome, Asao Ward, Kawasaki City
Standing in front of the apartment building, Ritsu hesitated. His eyes were filled with nostalgia. He had once lived here for years under the identity of Macallan.
Even now, he could almost hear Bourbon's voice complaining about Rye. Probably the usual,
"Rye, you idiot! You're smoking in the living room again! Get out onto the balcony!"
Shaking his head, Ritsu forced those memories away.
The metal stairs creaked beneath his feet as he climbed upward. Before he could even ring the doorbell, the heavy security door opened from the inside.
Standing there in casual home clothes was Rei.
"Good evening, Bourbon."
"Good evening, Mr. Augier."
Rei stepped aside. "Come in and have a seat. I'll make some tea."
Ritsu's gaze drifted toward a picture frame sitting atop the shoe cabinet near the entrance. What should have been a three-person photograph had two faces physically cut out of it.
Picking up the frame, he asked, "Bourbon, are you the sentimental type?"
Turning around, Rei immediately noticed the frame in Ritsu's hands. A fleeting trace of disgust crossed his face before he quickly replaced it with a harmless smile.
Taking the frame back, he replied,
"I've been busy lately and forgot to get rid of it. Mr. Augier, are you interested in the other two people?"
"A little."
"You'd be better off not being interested."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow. Striking a match, he lit a cigarette. "Oh? The more you say that, the more interested I become."
"I assume you've heard about what happened a year ago."
Rei turned his back. He simply couldn't control his expression.
"The incident where an FBI infiltrator killed an Organization executive." His voice became noticeably colder.
"It was nothing more than a rat... And the Organization member killed by that rat. You'd be better off not digging into such unpleasant matters, Mr. Augier."
"Oh, that incident."
Ritsu's tone revealed nothing. "I've heard a little about it."
As he smoked, he followed Rei into the living room.
The furnishings were practically unchanged. Everything looked exactly as it had before.
"Please sit down, Mr. Augier. I'll go get the documents."
"Very well."
Rei turned and entered his bedroom. Murderous intent flickered through his grayish-purple eyes. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he couldn't help but frown.
He still wasn't mature enough.
Whenever the topic involved Ritsu, he struggled to keep his emotions under control. Fortunately, he'd turned his back in time.
Augier probably hadn't noticed anything.
Letting out a long breath, he picked up the documents from the desk and once again arranged a flawless smile on his face.
But the instant he opened the door and saw what was happening on the sofa...
That smile vanished.
Sitting comfortably on the sofa, Ritsu was stroking a plump black cat.
A pure black Bombay cat.
His cat-petting technique was so practiced that it bordered on professional. The black cat kept burrowing deeper into his arms.
The intimate display made it look as though Ritsu were the cat's actual owner.
Rei froze.
Disbelief filled his eyes.
After all, Kurotan wasn't even that affectionate toward him. So why was it throwing itself at a complete stranger?
A terrifying possibility suddenly surfaced in his mind.
'Could Augier's true identity be—'
"I heard you have a Bombay cat and that it's very friendly." Ritsu smiled.
Truthfully, he hadn't seen Kurotan in a very long time. He had also noticed the ring hanging from the cat's collar.
'So Rei had been the one who kept it. It hadn't been lost after all.'
Suppressing his shock, Rei handed over the documents and muttered,
"Kurotan isn't friendly. The fact that it likes you surprises me too."
He carefully observed Augier's face, searching for even the slightest flaw.
But there was nothing.
Not a single crack.
Was he simply overthinking things? Yet Kurotan's behavior was real. Cats loved the scent of their owners. And Kurotan's owner had only ever been Ritsu.
"Really?" Ritsu stood up while accepting the documents.
"It seems to like me quite a bit."
He made no attempt to linger. Smiling, he walked toward the door.
"Good night, Bourbon. And good night to you too, little chubby cat Kurotan."
As though unwilling to let Augier leave, Kurotan hurried after him. But just as it reached the entrance, it abruptly stopped.
Something had fallen from Augier's pocket. The cat immediately began rolling around on top of it.
The security door clicked shut.
Rei crouched down and picked up the object.
Only then did he realize it was a sprig of catnip. His expression instantly darkened. The theory he'd just formed suddenly seemed ridiculous.
He tossed the catnip outside and gently stroked Kurotan's fur.
"Good kitty, Kurotan. I'm giving you a bath today. Being touched by suspicious people will make you ugly, you know."
...
The apartment's soundproofing was just as terrible as ever. Every word reached Ritsu's ears clearly. Shaking his head helplessly, he descended the stairs.
The entire reason he'd hidden nearby was to see whether his little precaution would work.
Apparently, it had.
Rei wasn't suspicious anymore.
Looking at the discarded catnip on the ground, Ritsu smiled faintly. He had purchased it specifically for this purpose. Only something like catnip could explain Kurotan's unusual affection toward him.
Standing at a crosswalk, Ritsu looked up at the sunset.
"Catnip really is amazing."
A clever little trick.
'And it had successfully fooled someone as smart as you.'
...
As the taxi carried him back toward Beika Town, Ritsu rested his chin on one hand and watched the scenery blur past outside the window.
The damp evening breeze ruffled his hair.
A stray gingko leaf drifted onto his glasses.
As he reached up to remove it, he noticed a blonde woman standing beneath a gingko tree. She wore a bucket hat. And the loneliness on her face caught his attention.
'Waiting for someone?'
The traffic light changed from red to green. The taxi continued forward. The woman standing beneath the tree silently got into a nearby car.
Ritsu withdrew his gaze and let out a faintly mocking smile.
Looks like the person she was waiting for never came. Sometimes... he truly wished the people waiting for him would stop waiting.
Because honestly...
It made them look like fools.
----
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