Ritsu understood perfectly why Rei had deliberately stepped outside to make his phone call.
The National Police Agency had been investigating the mole who had infiltrated the MPD. Judging from Matsumoto's probing of him last year, his own name was most likely still on that list of suspects.
So Ritsu had deliberately stayed inside, pretending to know nothing, hoping to dispel as much of their suspicion as possible.
Only when he heard footsteps approaching did he turn around to look at Rei.
The gray suit Rei was wearing was just as tattered as his own.
The moment Ritsu noticed it wasn't the outfit Bourbon usually wore within the Organization, he suddenly remembered what day yesterday had been.
Neither Bourbon nor Tooru Amuro would ever wear clothing like that.
The only one who would wear that suit was Rei himself.
If he hadn't been kidnapped while meeting Hiro, then there was only one possibility left.
He had gone to Beika Cemetery.
Which meant...
Today was February 7th. The anniversary of his death.
Ritsu brushed the bangs from his forehead.
At last... He understood the culprit's true objective.
Whether through disguise or plastic surgery, the culprit had altered his appearance to resemble Ritsu's.
But judging from how youthful the face looked, the culprit only knew what Ritsu had looked like during his Police Academy days.
Anyone who knew Rei's true identity could only be one of three kinds of people,
Someone within the National Police Agency.
A fellow Police Academy classmate who had spent time with them.
Or... a relative of someone involved in one of the cases they had investigated together during their academy years.
The first two possibilities were highly unlikely.
After all, both he and Rei had effectively disappeared from the public eye for a very long time. Most people probably didn't even know that Ritsu was dead.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so few people visiting his grave.
The two of them had only spent six months together at the academy. For the following seven years, there had been no contact whatsoever.
Who would remember them after all that time?
At most, someone might casually bring them up during a conversation.
"Hey, remember that blond guy from the Police Academy? Furuya? He graduated second in the class. I heard he never became a police officer."
"Isn't Sasajima even more of a shame? He was a genius who got perfect scores in every subject, and he ranked first in practical training too. It's such a waste that he didn't become a cop. Honestly, I thought he'd end up as the future Commissioner General."
"Neither first nor second place became police officers... I wonder what they're doing now. Well, smart people probably succeed no matter what they do."
That... was probably all anyone would say. Because they had never shared a particularly close relationship.
They had simply been classmates.
No unforgettable memories.
Given enough time, people would eventually forget.
So this culprit was most likely connected to one of the cases the five of them had solved together back at the Police Academy.
"Hey!"
Rei's impatient voice snapped Ritsu out of his thoughts.
"I'm talking to you!"
Ritsu looked up in confusion.
"What did you just say?"
"I asked for your name."
He looked Ritsu over.
"With hair like yours... you're not that detective from the MPD, are you?"
Hearing Rei continue to play dumb, Ritsu put on an equally convincing act. He extended a hand.
"I'm Onizawa Takashi, First Investigation Division, Violent Crimes Section Three, MPD. Nice to meet you."
"You can skip the pleasantries."
Rei shrugged.
"I've already called someone to come fish me out of here."
"I thought your first instinct would've been to call the police."
Rei froze.
Looking into the meaningful smile on the detective's face, he realized...
'Sharp as ever.'
Onizawa had already noticed that his identity wasn't as simple as he'd claimed.
A normal civilian's first call should have been to the police. Instead, he had subconsciously forgotten the role he was pretending to play.
'That was careless.'
"Because I was worried the kidnapper might still be nearby."
Rei calmly explained,
"If they saw the police arriving, they might trigger whatever's inside these collars and make the two liquids mix. That would blow us up."
'Nice recovery.'
Ritsu silently complimented him before nodding.
"That's actually a pretty reasonable way to handle it."
He smiled.
"Ever thought about taking the Police Academy entrance exam and becoming an officer?"
"...?"
Rei almost felt a giant question mark appear over his head. Frowning, he asked,
"And why would you say that, Officer Onizawa?"
Ritsu feigned surprise.
"Hm? Aren't you a college student? My mistake. I just assumed you were one based on your height and your face."
Rei struggled to keep the smile on his face.
'So this is the genius detective Hiro and the others kept praising? What an irritating man.'
He conveniently forgot that he himself had praised Onizawa's abilities more than once.
Having thoroughly danced across every possible minefield, Ritsu noticed that Rei had no intention of responding.
He quietly resumed thinking.
Once they escaped this place, he needed to find a way to visit the prison in Fuchu City. If he wanted answers, there was one person he absolutely had to see.
...
Meanwhile, Hiro had just received a call from Kenji.
Kenji had examined the remains of the bomb from last night's explosion.
"The bomb at the scene is different from the ones used seven years ago and three years ago. It looks more like some kind of new explosive that doesn't exist on the commercial market."
"Kenji... are you certain?"
Hiro asked.
"This thing nearly blew me to pieces."
Kenji raised a hand and unconsciously touched the eye covered by his eyepatch.
His expression grew serious.
"I'll never forget the internal structure of that bomb. The culprit isn't just the surviving bomber. I'm sure he has an accomplice."
"An accomplice..."
Hiro frowned.
If that were true, then things had become far more complicated.
Everything about their investigation had been based on the assumption that the bomber from before was the mastermind.
If he wasn't... then they'd have to reconsider the motive from the ground up.
'Come to think of it, why had Zero been kidnapped?'
With his abilities and level of vigilance, that shouldn't have happened. It looked like he'd have plenty of questions once they met.
"Kenji. I'm heading to rescue Zero. Want to come with me?"
"Rescue him?"
Kenji blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Adjusting the earpiece in his ear, Hiro gave a bitter smile.
"Zero and Onizawa are both being held inside an abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city. The signal from his phone is extremely weak. I'm guessing they're somewhere underground, probably in a basement."
"What?!"
Kenji hadn't expected something this outrageous.
But...
Very few people should know Rei's real identity. Could it be... the culprit's real target had never been the MPD?
Had he joined forces with the bomber simply to mislead the investigation?
'Heh... So that's how it is.'
"Hiro... I just had a pretty terrifying thought. Want to hear it?"
"Oh?"
Hiro smiled faintly.
"Go ahead. Let's see if we're thinking the same thing."
Kenji's expression turned solemn.
"I think... The culprit's real target... might be us."
Hiro smiled the moment he heard those words.
Even though they now worked in different departments, their tacit understanding hadn't diminished in the slightest.
"Exactly what I was thinking. So do you need me to come pick you up?"
"No. I'll let Jinpei and the others know."
"Actually, I'm more worried about those two. They've probably already started searching Tokyo Tower by now."
"All right. We're almost there, so I'll hang up."
"Okay. Stay safe, Hiro-ya~"
"You too."