Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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John F. Kennedy International Airport.
After finishing Columbia University's graduation ceremony, Ritsu packed his belongings and, under the escort of two men in black, boarded a flight to Tokyo, Japan together with Shiho.
Seated in the VIP lounge, Ritsu idly toyed with his phone, though in reality, he was sending one final email to the man behind the screen partition, informing him that he would soon be returning to Tokyo alongside the mission target.
[After joining them as a new recruit, you will at the very least have a transmitter installed on you for the first three months. You may even be monitored and wiretapped. Once you've passed the initiation trial after those three months, make contact again.]
After reading the contents, Ritsu deleted the email and turned off his screen. He had only just replaced his two-year-old BlackBerry with this new smartphone a couple of days ago, and he still wasn't quite used to it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. Flight EK210 to Tokyo will take off soon. Please proceed quickly to Gate No. 7 for boarding."
Hearing the announcement, Ritsu stood up and lightly tapped Shiho, who had been dozing beside him, to signal it was time to board. With their boarding passes, they arrived at Gate 7. As first-class passengers, they didn't need to queue and were allowed priority boarding. Carrying a black briefcase, he completed the formalities and headed down the jet bridge.
The two men in black didn't share that privilege and were squeezed into economy class. Ritsu glanced at his boarding pass and found his seat, it was next to Shiho's.
After stowing his bag, he leaned slightly to observe the girl, whose small feet were swaying back and forth. Did she really like flying that much? Was it enough to make her this excited?
Sensing his gaze, Shiho turned to him with a faint smile. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Are you really that happy?"
Thinking about how she would finally see her sister again after returning home and with no annoying surveillance around for the moment, Shiho was naturally in a very good mood. She even felt like humming her recent favorite song, The Reason.
"I am. I haven't seen my sister in six years. We only get to exchange letters once every three months, but that's nothing compared to seeing her in person."
'Miyano Akemi…' Ritsu recalled a photo from a high school field trip—long, straight dark-brown hair, slightly drooping sapphire-blue eyes. Her overall bearing made it clear she was a beautiful and gentle woman.
"Is that why you rushed to graduate so quickly?"
"You're quite sharp."
"Thanks for the compliment."
The reason Shiho had finished her studies in just one year and hurried back to Tokyo was simple, she wanted to see her sister as soon as possible. Even catching a distant glimpse would be enough. Her sister was her entire reason for living.
Ritsu quietly considered whether he should make contact with Akemi. But according to the information he had, Akemi was merely a low-ranking member of the organization, not a key asset. She didn't seem particularly useful for his mission.
Still, if he wanted this strong-willed younger sister to lower her guard and become his "friend," her older sister might play a crucial role.
With that thought in mind, Ritsu stood up and took out a foreign biology journal from his briefcase. For a thirteen-hour journey, the best ways to pass the time were reading and sleeping and since he had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar environments, he chose the former.
.
Japan Time: 13:36
The flight landed smoothly at Narita International Airport in Tokyo. After the two men in black helped retrieve the luggage, Ritsu felt that if he just put on a pair of sunglasses, he'd look like some returning underworld heir.
Walking into the arrivals hall, Ritsu used his height advantage to scan the signs held by those waiting, trying to spot one with "Miyano Shiho" written on it.
It wasn't often you saw someone dressed entirely in black. Even before reading the sign, Ritsu's attention was drawn to a tall, broad-shouldered man wearing sunglasses and a black bowler hat.
He wore a deep purple shirt underneath, with a neatly tied black tie. One hand rested in his pocket while the other held a sign that clearly read: "Shiho."
That had to be him.
A known member of the organization, his real name unknown. Within the organization, he was referred to as…
Vodka.
Noticing him at the same time, the two quickly moved through the crowd and stepped past the barrier to approach him. Surprisingly, this imposing and seemingly stern man immediately broke the image the moment he spoke.
"So you're the guy Aniki mentioned, Nanase Toru, right? Hmph, you look kind of scrawny. And your skin's so pale, do you ever even go outside?"
So people in this organization were actually this talkative? The intel clearly stated he was the right-hand man and golden partner of the organization's third-in-command, Gin.
Was the information wrong or was this just a tactic to probe him?
Ritsu put on a professional smile, bowed politely, and extended his hand. "Hello, I'm Nanase Toru. I look forward to working with you."
Vodka hadn't expected this soon-to-be recruit to be so well-mannered. He liked polite people. After a brief handshake, he glanced at the girl he found rather impolite and said, "Miyano, long time no see."
"…Mm."
A cold response, she wouldn't spare even one extra word. Pretty cool.
Vodka didn't seem bothered. He handed the sign to the two men in black, waved them off, and said, "Come with me. Aniki is waiting for you at the research facility."
After a thirteen-hour journey, they weren't even being taken to rest, but straight to the workplace.
Ritsu was already fairly certain that this yet-unseen Gin-san had a tendency to overwork his subordinates.
Fortunately, neither of them was particularly tired. They had both had coffee on the plane. Following Vodka, they headed toward Parking Area B of the airport. When Ritsu saw the car with its headlights on, he raised an eyebrow.
A sapphire-blue Porsche 914, an entry-level sports car released in 1969, capable of reaching a top speed of 175 km/h.
Looks like the people in this organization have pretty good taste. Cars like this are quite rare nowadays.
But there was a problem… it was a two-seater. So where was he supposed to sit? The trunk? Or… the roof?
Sensing his confusion, Vodka grinned and pulled a set of car keys from his pocket, tossing them over. "You can drive, right? Here, take the car next to it."
So his background had been investigated after all. Preparing a car for him to drive… was that a subtle message that everything about him was already known?
Turning his head, Ritsu saw that the car prepared for him was even rarer than the 914, a Porsche 356A. The owner of this car was probably even more important than Vodka.
As Ritsu wondered about it, Vodka chuckled and cleared things up. "If you so much as scratch my boss's car… watch your head."
"??"
Vodka climbed into the driver's seat on the right. After Shiho got in, he said calmly, "I'll drive slow. Just follow me."
"Got it."
He'd better drive slowly indeed, the 356A was practically a vintage luxury car, with a top speed of only around 140 km/h.
Of course, Ritsu had no intention of letting his undercover career end…
Before it had even properly begun.
Just because he scratched a car.
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