Night had fallen, yet sleep still refused to come. Or rather, even if he wanted to sleep, he simply couldn't.
Wearing a white bathrobe, Ritsu lay flat on the bed with his eyes closed, resting. He was clearly exhausted, yet his mind remained painfully alert. This feeling had tormented him for over a year.
The person sleeping in the room next door was probably still awake as well.
Since sleep wasn't coming anyway, Ritsu propped himself up, switched on the bedside lamp, picked up his phone, and opened Yahoo. He began searching for information on his transaction target.
Knock, knock.
"Come in. I'm not asleep."
Dressed in a white bathrobe, Vermouth entered carrying two glasses of red wine. After placing one on the bedside table, she sat down on the nearby sofa and raised her glass.
"A toast... to you, my fellow sufferer."
Ritsu picked up the glass and took a small sip. His eyebrow lifted in surprise. "Amontillado sherry? Heh, you really are obsessed with Sherry."
"That girl is useful to Boss, so naturally I won't go against Boss's wishes. But that doesn't mean I've forgiven her."
Swirling the amber-colored wine in her glass, Vermouth inhaled its faint hazelnut aroma, one of her favorite scents.
"Just like how you're obsessed with those little FBI kittens."
Ritsu's expression darkened slightly. His gaze shifted to the phone screen, where information about the transaction target was displayed.
Unexpectedly, the man was a celebrity of sorts.
Moriya Teiji, male, 46 years old. A professor in the Architecture Department at Toto University and one of Japan's most renowned architects. At the age of thirty-four, he completed the design of the Sumida Canal Bridge, earning the Japan Institute of Architects' Rookie Award.
"Are you familiar with architect Moriya Teiji?"
"The name doesn't ring a bell, but the surname sounds familiar."
After thinking for a moment, Vermouth recalled a reception she had attended in London years ago.
"About sixteen years ago, at a party in London, there was a Japanese architect whose surname was Moriya."
"And his name?"
"Moriya Sadaharu."
For an ordinary person, concealing one's identity was no easy task. It took Ritsu little effort to confirm that Sadaharu and Teiji were the same person, the former had simply been his previous name.
The reason he had changed it to Teiji was his obsession with symmetry. It was akin to obsessive-compulsive disorder or germaphobia. He was an absolute perfectionist.
Whether he was a perfectionist or loved symmetry didn't interest Ritsu in the slightest.
What interested him was why Teiji had purchased explosives through underground channels and enough explosives to manufacture plastic bombs.
As an architect, Teiji should have legitimate access to demolition companies.
Buying explosives anonymously didn't exactly suggest good intentions.
"He's your transaction target?" Vermouth asked.
"Yeah. I'll need to make some plans... Sir assigned me an additional task."
"Swallow him up too?"
"That's right. Want to be my accomplice?"
Vermouth immediately lost interest.
She wasn't a workhorse like Gin. If possible, she'd happily spend every day playing the role of a glamorous movie star. If she could avoid missions, she absolutely would.
Unless the mission involved something she cared about. Like Yukiko's son and his childhood friend.
"Hey, Augier."
Standing against the light, Vermouth's sea-green eyes shimmered gently.
"Do you believe angels exist in this world?"
"No."
Ritsu answered without hesitation. "You know me. I've always been a materialist."
"I used to think gods didn't exist either."
Though Vermouth left the sentence unfinished, its meaning was clear.
She now believed they did.
—
"You might need a motive to kill someone, but when you save someone in an emergency, you don't stop to think about things like that, do you?"
—
Shinichi's words suddenly surfaced in Ritsu's mind. Recalling what he had witnessed, he lowered his head and chuckled softly.
That was the difference between a hot-blooded young man filled with justice and someone like himself.
If the person represented "evil," he would never extend a helping hand. Because he couldn't be certain whether that evil, once saved, would go on to harm others.
"Are you sure you have nothing to say to me?" Ritsu asked proactively.
Vermouth paused mid-step.
'How annoying.'
Talking to intelligent people always meant having your thoughts seen through. Turning around, she replied calmly,
"Then I'll have to trouble you. Keep an eye on them whenever you have time."
"Sure. I won't tell anyone about what happened today."
"My, my~ Are you trying to curry favor with me?"
"No. I just think it's strange that a witch would be interested in something other than pharmaceuticals."
Leaning against the doorframe, Vermouth smiled. "But I've always been interested in you. Why won't you ever give me a chance?"
"Interested in me?"
Refusing to back down, Ritsu met those beautiful eyes that held laughter but no warmth.
"Looks like you prefer people being direct. Just like how you feel about—"
"That's enough."
Her smile remained, but her tone turned dangerous. "If you keep talking, I'll get angry."
"Fine. I hope you have a pleasant dream."
"Good night, Handsome Guy."
Ritsu shook his head lightly.
There were far too many people in the Organization who couldn't be honest. Those who excelled at lying often ended up deceiving themselves most of all.
Just like him.
Only when you managed to fool yourself could you truly call it a success.
And Ritsu felt he was already halfway there.
Putting those thoughts aside, he lowered his head and resumed researching Teiji.
Only by thoroughly understanding the man could he exploit Teiji's plans and complete the task Sir had assigned him.
Whether as Onizawa or as Augier, neither identity seemed suitable for approaching Teiji. Would he have to create an entirely new identity?
Ritsu rested his chin on his hand in thought.
The identity he had prepared for approaching the Suzuki Financial Group wasn't particularly suitable here.
Still, there was a week before the transaction. More than enough time to find a proper solution.
After setting his phone to silent mode, Ritsu switched off the bedside lamp and lay down, attempting to fall asleep.
Perhaps it was the Amontillado sherry. Or perhaps it was the exhaustion from traveling long distances and completing the mission.
For once, he actually fell asleep.
Unfortunately, his dreams soon disturbed him.
Less than three hours later, he woke up.
A thin layer of sweat soaked his bathrobe. Brushing back the bangs hanging over his forehead, Ritsu thought of the countless faces that had appeared in his dreams. His lips pressed together silently.
After sitting there for a long while, his morning voice, slightly hoarse from sleep, echoed through the empty room.
"Things I was never going to forget in the first place... why do you have to remind me like this?"
"...Would it kill you to let me sleep properly?"
He knew he was talking to himself.
He knew no one would answer.
Yet he said it anyway.
The tightness in his chest had nowhere to go, and this was the only way he could ease it.
Rising from the bed, Ritsu headed for the bathroom and let the shower wash over him, carrying away the lingering fatigue.
After dressing properly again, he opened the door and immediately caught the scent of something delicious.
"Morning, Augier."
Maybe it was his imagination, but Vermouth seemed unusually happy today.
"Morning, Vermouth."
Having experienced the pleasure of genuine sleep for the first time in a long while, Vermouth carried a simple English breakfast and smiled.
"Finish eating before heading to the airport. There's plenty of time."
"Oh. Thanks."
"I'm not taking you to the airport. I have something else to do."
"I'm not three years old."
When no reply came, Ritsu glanced up. Sure enough, Vermouth was acting strangely today.
Normally she would have responded with something like, 'Ara ara, but aren't you a child in my eyes?'
"Thanks for the meal. I'm heading to the airport."
"Take care."
After watching Augier leave, Vermouth finally pulled out her phone and dialed a number she normally never contacted.
Absentmindedly playing with the suppressor in her hand, her gaze settled on the neatly folded handkerchief resting on the coffee table.
The moment the call connected, her voice effortlessly shifted into Sharon Vineyard's.
After exchanging ordinary pleasantries, Yukiko was out doing her morning exercises in a park asked,
"Sharon, don't tell me you noticed Rose was acting strangely after that incident?"
"Mm. I've always been sensitive to those kinds of things. I just never expected her to kill someone."
Setting down the suppressor, Vermouth gently pressed her left hand against her still-aching abdomen and smiled faintly.
"Enough about that. Yukiko, could you pass a message to Ran for me?"
"Hm? Sure."
"Tell her... she was right."
"...I've found my own angel too."
"My! That's actually a pretty nice line."
"It's not bad, I suppose. I still have things to do, so I'll hang up now."
'When a witch gains a human weakness, what kind of ending awaits her?'
Putting away the handkerchief, Vermouth slowly stood up.
Even she hadn't expected that after spending so long in darkness, she would still long for salvation in the light.
Perhaps he was the Silver Bullet she had waited for all this time.
A silver bullet capable of piercing through darkness and destroying the blackness within it.
For the first time in a long while, she found herself looking forward to the future.
----
Happy memorial day to Scotch (Morofushi Hiromitsu) in the original canon.(lol)