"My identity... Then I'll satisfy your curiosity."
Ritsu removed his glasses and pulled out a small vial of transparent liquid from his pocket. Like a magician performing a trick, he wiped it across his face, and the cross-shaped scar beneath his left eye instantly appeared.
The corners of his mouth curled upward.
"It seems Shiho has told you quite a bit. In that case, let me formally introduce myself. Onizawa Takashi is my real name, but inside the Organization, I'm more commonly known as..."
"Augier. That's my codename."
Augier.
The moment Conan heard that codename, his eyes widened.
Even though he had already guessed the answer, hearing his teacher admit it with his own mouth still came as a tremendous shock.
'So Sensei really was a member of the Organization?'
Based on Haibara's evaluation, he was a madman second only to Gin.
'That meant Sensei's hands...'
Noticing Conan's face gradually turning pale, Ritsu naturally understood what the justice-driven Shinichi was thinking.
Leaning casually against the glass aquarium, he watched as the lemon shark behind him lazily swam past.
Detectives are sharks.
Assassins are sharks as well.
The former are obsessed with hunting down murderers whose hands are stained with blood. The latter revel in the artistry of blood after capturing their prey.
"Sensei... could it be that you..."
"Yes, I have."
Conan raised his head to meet those crimson eyes. His teacher wasn't lying.
So he really had killed people.
A criminal considered even more insane than Gin, no matter how hard Conan tried, he couldn't reconcile that image with the teacher he admired.
The oppressive silence was broken by Heiji's Kansai accent. Scratching the back of his neck in annoyance, he complained,
"Hey, what are you two talking about? What's this 'Augier'? What Organization? Why are you speaking in riddles?"
Conan opened his mouth, intending to explain.
But remembering there was an actual member of the Organization standing right here, he decided it would be better to let the person with the greatest authority answer.
Hands in his pockets, Ritsu calmly explained,
"The Organization used a drug called APTX4869 that turned Kudo into Conan. And I am a member of the Organization's operations division, under the codename Augier."
"Do you understand now?"
Heiji still felt overwhelmed.
Could a drug really shrink a high school student into an elementary school child? If such a drug truly existed, mass-producing it would practically allow someone to manipulate humanity.
'Wait... If everything Onizawa said was true...'
Wouldn't he be the culprit responsible for turning Kudo into this state?
So his identity as a police officer was merely a cover for operating in public. In reality, he was a criminal?!
"I'm indeed no saint," Ritsu admitted.
"But you can rest assured that my objective is the same as Kudo's."
Heiji asked cautiously, "What do you mean?"
Out of habit, Ritsu rubbed the side of his left index finger with his thumb. Only now, there was no ring there anymore.
Looking at the two solemn-faced detectives sitting on the sofa, he answered honestly,
"I want to destroy the Organization. But I don't yet have the ability to do so."
Conan frowned in confusion.
"You're part of the Organization, so why would you..."
Ritsu interrupted him directly.
"Being born into the Organization doesn't mean you're destined to become evil. I've done many terrible things just to survive."
"I won't make excuses or try to hide my mistakes. But compared to sending me to prison, the most important thing right now is destroying the Organization and cutting it off at its roots."
People who have lived in darkness for a long time still yearn for the light.
Just like her...
She had asked him more than once to investigate Shinichi. At first, he thought she suspected Kudo was still alive.
Now he finally understood.
She had hoped Shinichi is alive.
Conan lowered his head. When he heard the word prison, he realized, for some reason, he didn't think he could do it.
The righteous side of his teacher had never been an act. A person's eyes couldn't lie. He had risked his own life solving countless cases.
That wasn't something acting alone could accomplish.
"Sensei... Thank you for telling me all this."
"And I'm grateful you're still willing to call me 'Sensei.'"
Listening to the heartfelt exchange between the two, Heiji rubbed the goosebumps on his arms.
"Maaaan, you two are way too mushy. If our goals are the same, then there's nothing more to say."
"If I don't leave now, I'm going to miss the last train."
Hearing that their conversation had ended, Akemi poked her head out with a smile.
"We have a guest room. You can stay the night."
"No thanks. If I stay overnight in Tokyo, Kazuha will definitely nag me nonstop."
Ritsu couldn't help recalling the ponytailed girl who had been standing beside Heiji the first time they met.
'Another pair of childhood sweethearts, huh?'
Judging from what he'd just said... Yeah... He'd probably end up being henpecked by his wife in the future.
"Then I'll have to trouble you to take Kudo home."
"No problem!"
Heiji crouched down with a grin and vigorously ruffled Conan's hair twice.
"Come on, let's go, Kudo!"
He was actually in a very good mood.
Although he'd learned a great deal about the world's darker side, getting to meet someone with reasoning skills as incredible as Onizawa's and discovering that Shinichi had shrunk into a child...
Those two revelations alone were enough to keep him awake with excitement all night.
Looks like he'd have to visit Tokyo more often. It felt like all sorts of interesting cases happened here.
"Hey, Hattori! Stop touching my head!"
"But it feels nice!"
"It feels nice...? I'm not a dog!!!"
As Ritsu closed the door behind them, he couldn't resist delivering one final blow.
"When it comes to cases, someone's just like a dog spotting a loaf of bread. You and a dog are about equally matched."
Listening to the elevator doors close and Conan's indignant protests fading away, Ritsu turned around and immediately met Akemi's gaze.
It was obvious she was wondering why he hadn't told them the whole truth.
"Do you enjoy putting yourself down that much? Is it really so difficult to tell them who you really are?"
Of course it was difficult, especially in front of two hot-blooded young detectives like them.
Ritsu let out a sigh.
"Akemi, have you forgotten who Hattori is? He's the son of the Superintendent Supervisor of the Osaka Prefectural Police."
"Someone like him genuinely hopes to earn his father's approval. And he admires the profession of being a police officer."
"If someone like him learned that there were corrupt scum inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, he wouldn't be able to accept it."
"He and Kudo are both children who have been well protected by their parents. They've never truly experienced the worst of human malice."
"It's still too early to tell them the truth."
Akemi's eyes dimmed slightly.
Thinking about everything Ritsu had gone through, admiration welled up inside her.
How many people gave up after suffering setbacks? How many people, after experiencing betrayal and being torn down by public opinion, never managed to stand up again?
Or ended up walking down a path opposite to justice?
People like Ritsu, who continued to uphold their own sense of justice, were incredibly rare.
In fact, for the sake of that justice, he had sacrificed his entire life.
"You're really a gentle person."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"I don't exactly want to be this way. Sometimes thinking too much about other people is exhausting."
Akemi smiled, clasping her hands behind her back.
"It's alright. This is your safe haven. I know every one of your identities now."
"If something's troubling you, you can always come to me."
Ritsu couldn't help giving a wry smile.
"Don't say things like that. It always makes me feel like you're my older cousin."
"Oh? So you're saying I look older than you?"
"I never said that."
"So turning your younger cousin into your older cousin isn't secretly implying that?"
"...I told you, that's not what I meant."