Monday, February 6th
The alarm he had set didn't go off. Instead, he was woken up by a call from Gin.
Ritsu rubbed his eyes and crawled out of his warm blankets. When he answered the phone, his voice was still hoarse from sleep, thick with a nasal tone.
"Gin… calling this early, what's up?"
"What's your impression of Moroboshi Dai?"
Ritsu threw off the blanket, letting the cold air wake him up a bit. After hearing the question, he carefully chose his words. "I've only met him once. He seems like the calm, steady type. Are you planning to recruit him into the organization?"
Gin got into the car, signaling Vodka to start driving, and replied calmly, "He's the one who wants to join. You know how it's been lately, too many traitors and rats. I don't trust him."
"On his own initiative?" Ritsu sounded a bit surprised. Not many people voluntarily asked to join the organization. That alone made Moroboshi suspicious but it could also simply be for money.
After all, gray income was the fastest way to make cash.
"Mm. He's being discharged today. Go test him first, then bring him to the base in Nishitama City. If there's any problem, kill him on the spot."
"Got it."
The call ended. Ritsu didn't waste any time, he quickly took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and left a note outside Shiho's room before driving off toward Beika Hospital.
By the time he arrived, it was exactly 8:00 AM. Monday morning rush hour traffic had been brutal.
When he saw Moroboshi again, the man had already changed out of his light green checkered hospital gown. He wore a white T-shirt under a black coat, along with a black knit cap.
That afraid of the cold? The heating inside was already quite warm.
Never one to beat around the bush, Ritsu greeted Akemi briefly before turning to Moroboshi, who was eating a simple breakfast, and asked directly, "You want to join the organization?"
'Are people in this organization always this direct?' Akai swallowed his egg drop porridge calmly and met Ritsu's scrutinizing gaze with a faint smile. "Mm."
"Why?"
"No money."
'Saying "I'm broke" with such confidence, this was a first.'
Ritsu couldn't detect anything unusual. Either the man had undergone professional training, or he was telling the truth.
"Moroboshi-kun, do you really want to join the organization?" Akemi asked.
"Mm. I want to be like you."
Ritsu's gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them. He sensed a subtle change in their dynamic. Akemi was always polite with strangers, yet now she had dropped honorific speech.
Something was off. These two definitely had something going on. What had happened in the six days he hadn't been here?
He glanced at the egg drop porridge Moroboshi was eating, it had been poured from a thermos. Which meant Akemi had driven back to her apartment early in the morning, cooked it herself, and brought it here.
Heh. Honestly, Ritsu didn't like using his observation and deduction skills on trivial gossip but with this kind of analysis, it was hard not to suspect that Moroboshi might have "known" Akemi beforehand, fallen in love at first sight, and carefully staged the accident to gain her attention.
And that line, "I want to be like you," was straight out of some melodramatic soap opera Vodka would watch late at night.
…Wait, that actually made sense.
Ritsu's reasoning was completely clouded by the faint romantic tension between the two, leaving him oblivious to the possibility that the man before him might be just like himself.
"I'll go handle the discharge paperwork. Wait here."
"Alright."
After finishing the paperwork, Ritsu didn't immediately return to the room. Instead, he took out his phone and called Gin to report the situation.
"Well?"
"No abnormalities for now. But… he seems to like Miyano Akemi."
"Oh? Bring him to the base."
Gin's tone was calm, but there was an unmistakable hint of displeasure. As for why, Ritsu neither dared to ask nor cared to know.
Finding out that Vodka was an idol otaku had already been shocking enough. If he ever learned that Gin was secretly some hardcore member of an anti-romance group… that cold, intimidating assassin image would be completely shattered.
Why did Ritsu even know about that kind of thing? Because of a certain internet-obsessed idol fan who had filled his head with all sorts of useless knowledge, stuff that stuck whether he liked it or not.
Sometimes, Ritsu found his photographic memory annoying. The things he wanted to forget stuck vividly in his mind, while the things he wanted to recall were harder to bring back. Irritating, to say the least.
At the hospital parking lot, Ritsu spotted Moroboshi already sitting in the passenger seat of Akemi's car. He walked over, knocked on the window, and leaned down. "Moroboshi-san, come with me."
Rolling down the window, Akemi leaned out and asked in confusion, "Tōru, where are you taking Moroboshi-kun?"
"Gin wants to see him."
The name left his mouth, and Akemi's pupils instantly shrank. Gin's presence alone was enough to instill fear, even just hearing his name.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine."
Hearing Ritsu's reassurance, Akemi quietly let out a breath of relief. She had indeed developed some fondness for the man she had met by chance, and deep down, she didn't want anything to happen to him nor did she want him to join the organization.
But… if he wasn't part of it, she might never be able to have any connection with him.
Human emotions were truly complicated.
Akai pushed open the car door and followed Ritsu to another section of the parking lot. Before they even got close, a sleek sports car in the distance flashed its lights.
Its black-and-white color scheme shimmered under the sunlight. The elegant curves, low chassis, and slightly raised rear gave it a dynamic, aggressive look.
The dual exhaust pipes underneath added to its powerful presence. Akai raised an eyebrow slightly, 'This guy's taste in cars wasn't bad at all.'
Noticing his gaze, Ritsu smirked. "What, want a photo with it?"
Akai smiled as he opened the passenger door. "I'm honored just to sit in the passenger seat. I'll pass on the photo."
After getting in, he began analyzing the man beside him. If Gin was personally assigning him tasks, then this wasn't some low-level grunt, likely a higher-ranking operative.
"You're not going to ask where we're going?"
"You're taking me to meet the 'Gin' you mentioned, right?"
"Yeah. When we get there, be a little sharper, wipe that smile off your face. Gin prefers people who look mature and composed."
"Thanks for the advice."
Ritsu hadn't really intended to help. He just didn't know what Gin might do to this guy. If things went wrong and a bullet ended it all… Akemi would probably be upset.
The car fell into silence. Akai gazed out the window, quietly memorizing the scenery. He hadn't been in Japan long, and he still wasn't familiar with the roads.
Twice now, Ritsu had referred to Gin simply as "Gin," not as a title. Could it be a codename within the organization?
It seemed he had yet another person to keep an eye on.
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