"Would anyone... be sad for me?"
Ten years ago, a young Gin had once left behind a childish last will and testament.
He had said: If I die, just throw me and my gun into the sea.
Years passed in a flash. Having endured missions of every scale, he became accustomed to the inherent flaws of human nature. He grew colder, more paranoid, and even bloodthirsty. To him, emotion was a grain of sand in a precision instrument, a crack on a lens, a taboo that compromised clear judgment.
Yet, a man like him had somehow developed a weakness he shouldn't have.
Seeing the dejected expression on the white-haired, blue-eyed youth before him, Gin opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.
The reason he preferred to avoid his only friend rather than let him discover the truth about the drug trials... was precisely because he didn't want to see this expression on his face.
He's acting like I'm actually going to be unlucky enough to die. It's not that serious.
Seeing Gin's continued silence, Satoru Gojo didn't speak either. He simply kept his head bowed, hands covering his face, his shoulders trembling slightly in a way that would evoke sympathy from anyone.
"Caesar..."
No response.
"Satoru? Gojo Satoru?"
Still no response.
"Hey, you aren't actually crying, are you?"
"...I am not, hic." Gojo's voice was hoarse, sounding as if he were choking back sobs.
This is getting difficult.
Gin tried picking up a napkin from the dining table and handed it over. "Wipe your face?"
Gojo remained head-down, looking as though he couldn't hear a word.
The two remained in a deadlock for a long time until Gin finally sighed, uttering a few words in a tone of surrender: "...It was my fault."
"I should have told you sooner... I'm sorry for making you worry."
His voice was low, carrying a trace of uncharacteristic concern.
"And?"
"What?" Gin blinked, startled.
"Besides telling me sooner, there's one more thing..." Gojo lifted his head and made a face, revealing those azure eyes brimming with successful mischief. There wasn't a hint of sadness to be found. "You aren't allowed to leave me on 'read' after seeing the cute photos of my Daifuku!"
Only then did Gin realize he had been played.
As expected, this young master who had been lawless since childhood wouldn't cry that easily.
"You bastard, you really..."
"Look at how tense you were, like you were facing a grand enemy! That was hilarious. 'Sorry for making you worry'~" Gojo mimicked Gin's tone and burst out laughing. "Haha! If I knew, I would've faked it a bit longer to see what else you'd say—"
Gin's face went dark, suppressing the urge to pull out his Beretta.
It took a while for Gojo to stop laughing. He wiped away his physiological tears and, seeing Gin ignoring him and focused on rapidly shoving the remaining sushi into his mouth, let out an "Ah!" of protest. "Stingy! Leave some for me!"
The heavy atmosphere from before vanished under Gojo's antics.
With a tri-colored dango stuffed in his mouth, he mumbled, "Hey... Gin-chan."
"Hm?"
"I was serious. If one day you vanished from this world... I really would be sad for a long time."
"Who knows," Gin snorted.
The unknown reagent could cause cellular changes, and even Gojo couldn't be sure of its full impact on the body. The only certainty was that Gin wouldn't die in the short term—at least, he'd likely live until the final Red vs. Black showdown of the Conan era.
When that time comes... how would such a "Great Villain" make his exit?
Will Gin die for the Organization in the end?
Will Caesar stand by and watch him die?
Will there come a day when they are enemies instead of friends, pointing blades at one another?
Some answers can never be known until the moment they arrive.
Gin watched as Gojo suddenly extended his pinky finger toward him.
"What are you doing?"
"Pinky swear~" The great head of the Gojo clan was as stubborn as a three-year-old. "If you promise me three conditions, I won't mention the drug trial thing anymore."
Knowing the other man wouldn't quit until he got his way, Gin pursed his lips and resignedly hooked his pinky with Gojo's.
"First: you aren't allowed to treat your life like it's nothing."
"Fine."
"Second: you aren't allowed to intentionally avoid me or ignore me."
"...Fine."
"As for the third, hmm..." Gojo had only thought of two points, so he stalled. "How about another hundred conditions?"
Gin's eyelid twitched. "Rejected."
"Alright~ then let's put it on hold. I'll decide later when I think of something."
After hooking fingers, they both turned their thumbs upward and pressed them together.
"It's a promise. No changes for a hundred years."
"...Understood. You're a pain."
Despite the complaining, Gin never once refused.
Having reconciled, the two finished lunch and left the sushi shop side-by-side.
The sun was shining brightly outside; it was wonderful weather. The warmth instilled a sense of lazy contentment in one's heart.
"It's already October and it's still this warm. Not bad."
Gojo put his sunglasses back on and stretched like a large cat.
"By the way, Gin-chan, that hair-dye excuse of yours wasn't very clever."
Gin looked at him. "Oh?"
"You should've just said you aged prematurely from all the overtime, so your hair turned white~ I might have actually believed that."
Gin glanced at Gojo's hair—which was even whiter than his own—and, having developed an immunity to the man's annoying remarks, fired back a sharp retort.
"Oh? So did you start working overtime while you were still in the womb?"
Just as Gojo was about to argue back, he heard the wail of police sirens. He looked up to see several uniformed officers jumping out onto the street.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Conditioned by years of tracking and counter-surveillance, Gin's left hand instantly moved to his Beretta. His muscles beneath his turtleneck were as taut as a drawn bow.
Gojo nudged Gin with his elbow, enjoying the chaos. "You think they're here for you?"
Fortunately, the potential crisis was resolved moments later.
A masked thug suddenly burst out of a jewelry store fifty meters away. Diamond necklaces leaked from his bulging pockets, looking quite expensive. The police swarmed and apprehended him while a crowd of bystanders gathered to film with their phones.
It was just an ordinary robbery.
As expected of the "Kohan" world; he could run into a case just by stepping out of the house.
After all, if the police don't usually question Gin in his suspicious black trench coat (a suspected plot hole), there was no reason they'd notice him today when he was dressed normally.
Gojo watched the arrest with interest, but Gin turned to leave without looking back.
"What, leaving already?"
Gin gave a cold sneer. "You enjoy hanging around the feds?"
The implication was clear: We are criminals; be careful not to draw fire.
"That's all they're good for," Gin continued mockingly. "It takes this many people to catch one robber? Are Tokyo's police all useless? They should go back to the academy and start over."
Gojo really wanted to retort: If they weren't "useless," the Organization would be in real danger.
But...
Police... Academy...?
The combination of those words seemed to spark something important in his mind, though he couldn't grasp it immediately.
Seeing Gojo standing there in deep thought, the silver-haired man lit a cigarette. The dancing flame of the lighter illuminated his sharp jawline.
"You must have plenty to do at the Gojo house, right?"
Gin walked to the edge of the intersection and tilted his head. "It's time to head back, Clan Head."
Gojo snapped out of it. "Wait! We finally met up, why don't we walk around a bit?"
"Do you have a plan?"
"Hmm... First, of course, we go to Sendai to buy Zunda Cream Daifuku. That flavor is amazing~"
Gin was speechless. "Didn't you just order a ton of sweets and eat them all?"
"That was just an appetizer at best. So, how about it? Want to go to Sendai with me..."
"Pass." Gin declined politely, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "I have my own time off."
Though Gojo teased him for being a "Model Employee," he wouldn't pass up an opportunity for paid leave.
Seeing that Gin was truly leaving, Gojo waved and shouted, "Right—remember to be nicer to your subordinate when you get back! When I talked to him earlier, he was really worried about you!"
"If you were gone, he'd be really sad too—!"
Vodka was perhaps the only person besides himself who genuinely had feelings for Gin.
The silver-haired man waved a hand, signaling that he heard.
Gojo watched as Gin's silhouette shrank into the distance, his mind returning to the important detail he couldn't quite remember.
...Wait, there it is.
Police Academy... The Academy! The Wild Police Story Five!
If he remembered correctly, wasn't their enrollment coming up soon?
Gojo smacked his forehead.
Crap, how could I forget that!
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