'Should I call the police?'
Kōda quickly rejected the idea. If they could fire that warning shot, they could just as easily kill him the moment he tried to call the police or the instant he stepped out of the living room.
He couldn't gamble with his life. The only option left was to find out what they wanted.
He picked up the phone. That devilish whisper returned.
"Kōda-san, do you still think I'm just some ordinary scam caller? You received the little gift I sent you, didn't you?"
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Kōda forced himself to calm down, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
"W-What do you want?"
"I've come with sincere intentions to discuss cooperation. We're very interested in the research project you're currently working on, so we'd like to invite you to join our team. What do you say?"
A polite invitation on the surface but a threat underneath. If he refused, the bullet embedded in the wall would be the next one lodged in his skull.
Kōda wasn't afraid of death. He knew his research couldn't fall into the hands of the wrong people and these men were clearly not good people.
As he mustered the courage to face death, Rei glanced at the photo in his hand and said,
"Kōda-san, your daughter is very cute. How old is she this year? Elementary school, right?"
"!!!"
His courage shattered instantly.
He hadn't expected them to be so despicable as to threaten his seven-year-old daughter. He knew there was no other way. Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled.
"I…"
"My answer is, I'll join you."
Rei silently let out a breath of relief. If Kōda had refused, it wouldn't just be one life lost. Even the little girl in the photo, smiling brightly with her twin ponytails, would have been killed.
"Then I'll send people to your home right away to escort you. In the meantime, please don't leave the living room."
"…Understood. I won't leave."
Rei took out another phone and sent a message. The men in black who had been lying in wait near the apartment building began moving inside. Speaking into his earpiece, he said:
"Mission complete. You can stand down."
Akai packed up his sniper rifle and chuckled. "That was an easy job."
Ritsu narrowed his eyes. He had noticed earlier that Kōda had been prepared to die but the organization always exploited people's weaknesses.
"Once someone has something to protect, they have a weakness. If you expose that weakness to your enemy, they'll use it against you," he said calmly. "Rye, let's move out."
"Roger."
After packing away the sniper rifle, Ritsu wiped away any traces he'd left on the rooftop, took the elevator down, and met Akai exiting the neighboring building.
"Bourbon will escort Kōda to the lab. Let's head to Haido Station and wait for him," Ritsu said.
"Haido Station? Another job today?" Akai asked.
"Yeah. Simple one, just collecting payment. We'll go once Bourbon gets there."
"Got it."
They took the JR train, transferring a few times before finally arriving at Haido Station.
But during their second transfer, Ritsu's sharp instincts and heightened awareness of danger picked up something off. Someone's gaze lingering on them, following them all the way to Haido Station.
Akai noticed his expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Behind the load-bearing pillar to the left, someone's been tailing us."
At that moment, the person hiding behind the pillar peeked out and happened to lock eyes with Akai. Realizing they'd been spotted, the person froze in panic before quickly ducking back behind the pillar.
Recognizing who it was, Akai frowned, his tone turning stern. "Come out!"
Five seconds later, a short boy, about 150 cm tall, stepped out from behind the pillar. He had short, slightly wavy hair and wore a blue-and-white striped shirt. Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, he looked like he was thinking, 'Ah, I got caught.'
Dark green eyes, faint dark circles under them… Hmm? He looked a lot like Akai.
Ritsu's gaze shifted between the two. The more he looked, the more similar they seemed.
"Why are you here? Go home. Now." Akai stood with his hands on his hips, scolding him like an elder.
The boy lowered his head, looking aggrieved. "I… I don't have money to get home. I don't know how to get back."
"Stay here and don't wander off. I'll go buy you a ticket."
'So Moroboshi actually had a younger brother.' Realizing their relationship, Ritsu's expression softened. That would make him… possibly his younger brother too.
Seeing the boy on the verge of tears, Ritsu walked over, set down his guitar case, and took out the all-black electric guitar. He crouched down and asked gently, "Hey, want to try playing the guitar?"
He needed the kid to believe they were musicians. Teaching him a little would help sell the act. Luckily, Ritsu had taught himself, unlike a certain unreliable someone who didn't even know basic fingering and carried nothing but a rifle in his guitar case.
The boy blinked his big eyes nervously. "C-Can I?"
"Of course. I'll teach you some beginner techniques."
"O-Okay!"
'Is he Shu-nii's friend? His eyes are so pretty… different from Shu-nii. And he smells nice too, like soap.' Watching those elegant hands on the strings, the boy thought, 'His hands are really beautiful…'
Ritsu patiently crouched there, guiding the boy's hands as he played. About ten minutes later, Akai returned with the ticket and raised an eyebrow at the unexpected scene.
"Alright, time to go home."
The boy puffed his cheeks, wanting to protest, but swallowed his words when he saw Akai's expression. Taking the ticket, he walked toward the train, looking back every few steps, clearly reluctant to leave.
"Macallan, why are you holding an electric guitar? Busking?" Akai asked.
Ritsu turned and saw Rei had arrived. Picking up his guitar, he replied, "No. Finished on your end?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
After putting the guitar back into the case and slinging it over his shoulder, Ritsu glanced at where the boy had been standing. He was gone, probably already on the train home.
With a hint of amusement, he looked at Akai's serious face and said, "Aren't you a bit too strict with your little brother? He probably just wanted to see you play guitar. Though he did have a cute smile, little fang and all."
Akai couldn't help but chuckle softly at the word "brother." Looking at Ritsu's confused expression, he explained, "She's my sister."
"??"
So the one he'd been teaching—was a girl?
Ritsu's face flushed slightly in embarrassment. A girl?! Good thing he hadn't called her "little bro," or that would've been really awkward.
Akai quickly dropped the subject. "Let's go collect the payment. I'm getting hungry."
Rei, who had no idea what had just happened, gave him a half-lidded look. "What, were those two bowls of rice at breakfast for nothing?"
"…"
Akai chose to ignore him. He'd only used hunger as an excuse to change the topic.
Sensing the two were about to start their usual bickering again, Ritsu quickly nudged Rei forward. "Yeah, let's finish the job and head back to rest."
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