After confirming no one was following him, Ritsu finally felt at ease and headed toward the pier, boarding the return ferry. As he thought about the piano he had seen earlier in the community center.
This was the age when the internet was rapidly taking off. After setting the case down, Ritsu pulled out his phone and searched for related information.
#Tsukikage Island Piano#
Very quickly, the answer he was looking for popped up on Yahoo, it was a news article.
Five years ago, a pianist named Asou Keiji had committed suicide along with his entire family, dying inside the piano room of Tsukikage Island's community center. Before his death, he had even played Moonlight Sonata amid the flames.
"No wonder he was so afraid of that piano and even chose it as the transaction site."
Ritsu immediately understood the reasoning behind it. But he had no intention of overturning an old wrongful case right now. Besides, Tsukikage Island was tied to the organization's drug trade, this wasn't something he could interfere with at this stage.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the island gradually receding into the distance. This place had rotted from the roots… it should have been renamed "Poison Island" five years ago.
After returning to Tokyo, Ritsu immediately called Gin to report that the mission had been completed.
"Mm. Well done. Next, store the goods in a locker at Beika Station and hand the key to the organization member outside the apartment."
"Understood, Gin-san."
After hanging up, he received a bank notification, one million yen had been deposited.
Though, for missions that didn't involve killing, the pay was always lower.
Ritsu returned to Akemi's apartment building and handed the locker key to the team leader. After watching them leave, he decided to just spend the night in his car… It was Shiho's birthday, after all, better to let the sisters enjoy their time together.
Sleeping in the car wasn't comfortable. After smoothing his hair, Ritsu stepped out, stretching his sore neck and back. He then went to a nearby convenience store to buy a disposable toothbrush, toothpaste, and bottled water, finding a spot to freshen up.
Checking the time, he figured it was about right and headed upstairs, ringing the doorbell.
A tangerine-colored dress with a white collar, it was the first time he'd seen Shiho dressed like that. Oh right, she hadn't brought a change of clothes, this must be her sister's. It suited her much better than the lab coat.
"Let's go once you're ready."
Just as he said that, Akemi hurried out in a light blue dress, looking slightly exasperated. "Shiho, didn't I ask you to bring breakfast for Nanase-kun? How did you forget?"
With her own little agenda, wanting to monopolize her sister, Shiho turned her head away with a tsundere huff, reluctantly handing over the "lovingly prepared breakfast."
"I just forgot, that's all."
'Not forgot, you just didn't want to give it to me… Siscons are scary.'
"Thank you for preparing breakfast for me, Akemi-san."
"It's not for you, it's just leftovers I couldn't finish."
Akemi tilted her head, puzzled why her usually adorable sister could sometimes be so… aggressive.
A gentle, kind, almost angelic older sister, and a possessive, tsundere younger sister prone to getting prickly… the Miyano sisters were certainly interesting.
Ritsu gave an awkward smile, politely said goodbye to Akemi, and drove back to the research institute. Naturally, the first thing he did upon returning was check on Kurotan in his room.
Sure enough, Kurotan had been well taken care of. In fact, Ritsu wondered if it was his imagination, but the cat seemed slightly fatter than yesterday.
What puzzled him, though… was why the cat smelled faintly of tobacco. Wasn't smoking prohibited in the facility?
Shiho, who had followed him in, narrowed her eyes. "Hurry up and eat your breakfast, then get ready for the experiment. It'll get cold if you wait any longer."
Even though she clearly didn't want anyone else eating the breakfast her sister had prepared, she also didn't want her sister's effort to go to waste. Tsunderes were truly complicated.
"Alright. Then take care of Kurotan, I'll eat in the cafeteria."
"Mm."
Leaving the lab, Ritsu headed to the cafeteria. At this hour, there shouldn't have been many people eating breakfast… but...
Two extremely familiar men were sitting there, radiating an unmistakable "keep your distance" aura.
'Gin and Vodka?'
'What were they doing here?'
There was no way he could pretend not to see them and walk away. Bracing himself, Ritsu approached, holding a pink lunchbox, something that might easily be misunderstood.
"Back already?"
Gin took a sip of coffee. Ritsu hadn't even gotten close yet, but he had already been recognized.
Vodka was pouring milk into his cereal, stirring it together, accompanied by fried eggs and sausages. Judging by the two empty plates beside him, this clearly wasn't his first serving.
That's quite the appetite for breakfast.
In truth, Ritsu didn't realize that these two, one a workaholic by nature, the other by necessity, rarely had time to sit down for a proper meal. Ninety-five percent of their meals were eaten in the car, with convenience stores as their lifeline.
Vodka could confidently claim that no one knew Tokyo's convenience stores better than they did, which one had the best coffee, which one sold the tastiest bento.
Back to the point, after a brief hesitation, Ritsu chose to sit in the empty seat next to Vodka. Setting down the lunchbox, he kept a calm expression despite his unease.
"Gin-san, Vodka-san… what brings you here?"
"Of course it's—"
"Since you already returned to Tokyo last night, why didn't you come back to the lab?"
Vodka's words were cut off by Gin. Ritsu blinked, a bit nervous, how did Gin know?
"My apologies, Gin-san. I took it upon myself to let Miyano stay overnight at Akemi-san's apartment," Ritsu said, lowering his head in admission.
Gin didn't respond immediately. His gaze shifted to the pink lunchbox as he said coldly, "Don't let it happen again."
No punishment? That surprised Ritsu. Looking at Gin more closely, the heavy dark circles under his eyes suggested he hadn't rested well.
Gin stood up, hands in his pockets, and coolly walked out, without even clearing his tray. Vodka hurried to follow, downing the rest of his milk cereal in one gulp before leaving.
So… they were just leaving the mess for him to clean up?
Ritsu turned his head and noticed a faint black strand of fur on Gin's silver hair.
That wasn't human hair. It was from an animal.
Combined with the dark circles, the tobacco smell on Kurotan, and Gin's earlier promise to have someone take care of the cat…
'Wait, don't tell me—'
Ritsu's mouth twitched.
He had never imagined that the one taking care of Kurotan… was Gin himself.
Was Gin actually a cat person?
The logic checked out but the answer was absurd. Ritsu simply couldn't picture Gin taking care of a cat. Poor Kurotan, spending the night under the care of a fierce-looking killer.
What Ritsu didn't know, however, was that Gin had even quietly approved of the cat because it was black, fitting the organization's color.
When it came to black… Gin had an inexplicable attachment.