Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was already July.
Without realizing it, Ritsu had grown accustomed to living under the same roof with others. Wearing his pajamas and walking barefoot into the bathroom, he washed up, then checked his phone. Seeing an empty inbox, his mood instantly shot up.
That meant no work today, he could laze around at home. Even if it was already 3:30 PM, with half the day gone.
He grabbed some toast and his favorite Calpis from the fridge, curled up on the couch, and started watching a rerun of the morning news. Before long, however, a whiff of cigarette smoke drifted over. Never fond of the smell, he frowned, grabbed a cushion from the sofa, and hurled it with perfect accuracy at a certain smoker who had just brushed his teeth and immediately lit a "good morning" cigarette.
Akai wasn't annoyed at all. He bent down, picked up the cushion, tossed it back, and asked, "Did you make a portion for me?"
"No. Go get it yourself from the fridge."
Do people like Gin all have a thing for smoking? Ritsu seriously considered getting his lungs checked during this year's Christmas physical. After all, secondhand smoke wasn't exactly harmless.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell, something that practically never rang, sounded on a day off. A bad feeling crept up on him. Ritsu had intended to order Akai to open the door, but that guy grabbed the remaining half-bag of bread and slipped out onto the balcony to smoke, pretending not to hear.
"…"
Well played, Akai. Just because he'd earned his codename after half a year, he was already ignoring his team leader.
When the doorbell rang again, Ritsu walked over and peered cautiously through the peephole instead of opening it right away. The moment he saw that familiar blond hair, he quickly unlocked both deadbolts and pulled the door open.
Rei Furuya… no, he should be called Tooru Amuro now or perhaps, Bourbon.
He had received his codename alongside Akai last month. The reason? His exceptional intelligence-gathering ability had helped the organization land two major deals, essentially extorting two large corporations.
Since there were others present, Ritsu kept a blank expression as he looked at the faintly smiling man before him and asked, "Bourbon? What are you doing here?"
Rei always wore the mask of a smiling fox within the organization. With a grin, he rolled out the suitcase he'd been hiding behind him and said, "Starting today, I'll be working with you. Macallan, Rye, pleased to be working with you."
Akai stepped in from the balcony, cigarette still in his mouth, noticing the intelligence agent who had received his codename at the same time as him. It was their first meeting and for some reason, he could sense an inexplicable hostility directed at him.
Naturally, they had to keep up appearances. Ritsu leaned against the wall and lifted his long leg to block the doorway, stopping Bourbon from entering. Slightly taken aback, Rei still smiled and asked, "Macallan, are you not welcoming me?"
"I need to confirm with Gin. I didn't receive any notice about this."
"Such vigilance, it hurts my feelings."
The two played their roles flawlessly. At least in Akai's eyes, Ritsu's caution was perfectly reasonable.
Ritsu pulled out his phone and dialed Gin. The call connected in under five seconds. Gunfire echoed from the other end, apparently Gin was training those three snipers today.
"Gin, you want Bourbon to stay here?"
"Yeah. Bourbon's strong in intelligence gathering, he's suited to work with you," Gin said. Noticing Chianti had failed her 500-yard sniper training, his tone turned harsher. "Make sure today's mission is completed. Bourbon will brief you."
"Got it. I'll hang up now."
After Ritsu ended the call, Bourbon smiled. "So, can I come in now?"
Instead of answering, Ritsu lowered his leg and walked toward the bedroom with his hands in his pockets. He needed to change into his mission outfit. He had planned to spend the day as a couch potato in pajamas but the mission came too quickly.
After changing into slippers, Rei noticed Akai still smoking and immediately dropped his smile, frowning. "Rye, could you not smoke indoors?"
"…Fine."
Akai suddenly felt that his "peaceful" cohabitation life was about to change. This new intelligence agent didn't seem easy to get along with. He stubbed out his cigarette and returned to his room to change.
After placing his belongings in the empty room, Rei began inspecting the apartment. He wasn't worried about cleanliness, Ritsu was fairly tidy, but he was concerned about their diet.
Opening the fridge and seeing it packed with instant food, drinks, and alcohol, he sighed. Just as expected.
Fortunately, before joining the organization, he had learned cooking from Hiro and even worked part-time at a Japanese restaurant as part of his cover. His cooking skills were about sixty percent of Hiro's level.
Dressed in a black hoodie layered under a dark gray bomber jacket, with a red-and-black plaid shirt tied around his waist, ripped black jeans, and low-cut black sneakers.
It was a style that perfectly fit the organization: practical, convenient, and discreet. The shirt tied at the waist effectively concealed a firearm, a clever choice.
Ritsu put on a black baseball cap and looked at Rei, who was still checking the fridge. "Bourbon, what's the mission?"
Closing the fridge, Rei replied calmly, "A software company in Kanagawa Prefecture is developing a new anti-tracking program, something the organization needs. Our task is to steal the software, which has already reached the construction stage, along with its design files."
"A software company's security must be tight. There's no way we can just walk in, we'll need serious preparation," Ritsu said, crossing his arms. "So how much intel do you have?"
"Some time ago, I applied for a job there. Got lucky and got close to the president's daughter. Here's the access code and fingerprint needed to enter the 15th floor, don't lose it."
"Got it."
'Most likely a honey trap,' Ritsu thought, but didn't point it out. He memorized the 12-digit code and secured the fingerprint data. Then he turned to Akai, wearing a black coat over a white T-shirt, and asked, "You driving?"
After freeloading rides for half a year, Akai smirked. "I haven't finished getting my license yet."
Ritsu's expression darkened. After six months of being the driver, he walked toward the door and said flatly, "Bourbon, you're driving."
Rei couldn't understand how an operations agent could not know how to drive. How had he even earned a codename? Did he rely on Ritsu to advance?
At that thought, his expression also soured. He grabbed the car keys and slammed the door shut behind him.
Akai chuckled softly, clearly amused. Taking a fresh pack of cigarettes from the entryway drawer and slipping it into his pocket, he strode downstairs.
Life was about to get interesting.