Disclaimer: Detective Conan is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. In three more months, he would have completed a full three years undercover within the Organization. Sometimes, Ritsu almost forgot that his real identity was a public security officer. After all, as long as he couldn't get in touch with Rum, he had no way to report in.
Fortunately, he still managed to meet up with Hiro once or twice a month, and he and Rei constantly reminded each other of who they really were. No matter what, they couldn't let the Organization corrupt them into forgetting their original purpose.
February 14.
Valentine's Day had arrived once again. For single people, a day like this was best spent staying at home and not going out.
By rare coincidence, the operations team had the day off. Ritsu had planned to hole up at home and sleep all day but before dawn even broke, Akemi had invited him over to her place to act as a taste tester.
Slumped on the sofa in the living room with drooping eyelids, Ritsu yawned listlessly, looking completely drowsy. He couldn't even remember how he had driven here, there was a brief blank in his memory.
In contrast, Akemi was full of energy. Holding up several kinds of chocolate with different flavors, she asked excitedly, "Tōru, what kind of chocolate do you think Dai would like?"
Looking at the various chocolates, Ritsu lazily leaned back against the sofa and replied casually,
"If you made them, he'd probably like anything but since he drinks canned coffee a lot, he probably prefers something bitter."
"Then I'll make dark chocolate. And Dai likes whiskey, so I'll try making liquor-filled chocolates."
Akemi didn't usually drink, but since Akai occasionally visited, she kept a few of his favorite whiskeys on hand.
For example, Bourbon, Macallan, and his own codename, Rye.
Honestly, she had no idea if it was some kind of odd quirk, but those were basically the only three he drank. And his alcohol tolerance wasn't great, he usually just had a few sips. Though, of course, he was still much better than Ritsu.
Someone, after all, was a complete lightweight who would go down after a single drink. The last time he visited Vodka's place, he'd only taken two small sips and already felt tipsy.
"Isn't liquor-filled chocolate hard to make?"
As a single guy, Ritsu couldn't understand why this yearly holiday needed so much ceremony. Didn't store-bought chocolate taste just fine? Why insist on making it yourself? Being in a relationship really seemed like a hassle, staying single was better.
"It's not that hard, but I've never tried it before, so I wanted you to help taste-test it."
Knowing the chocolate wouldn't be ready right away, Ritsu simply curled up on the sofa and went back to sleep. Who knew how long passed before Akemi woke him up.
"Tōru, come try this."
"…Okay."
Without even looking, Ritsu picked up a heart-shaped chocolate and popped it into his mouth. The moment he bit through the shell, a sharp burst of alcohol rushed straight to his head, instantly waking him up.
"What did you use for this? The filling is—"
"It's Macallan Scotch whiskey. The same as your codename."
"No wonder... It tastes pretty good, but it's a bit too mature for me."
"Then try the ones made with bourbon and rye. And these over here have more milk and cream added, please try those too."
Ritsu stared at the chocolates in front of him. Even if they contained alcohol, it wasn't like eating a little would get him drunk, right? Ever since that drinking session with Vodka, he'd only touched low-alcohol sparkling wine and even then, just a sip or two.
So he sampled every piece in front of him. After giving his feedback, he suddenly felt his head grow heavy and dizzy.
Thud!
His forehead hit the glass coffee table with a crisp sound.
Akemi hadn't expected his tolerance to be this bad. Even she, who rarely drank, could easily finish at least a third of a bottle of whiskey.
"Tōru?"
"…"
She instinctively checked his breathing, and after confirming he was just asleep, she couldn't help but giggle. Taking out her phone, she snapped a photo of Ritsu passed out drunk. The baby fat still lingering on his face made him look especially cute. Honestly, it was hard to believe he was already 22.
No wonder she subconsciously thought of him as a younger brother, even though he was actually a year older than her.
After covering him with a light blanket, Ritsu stayed sprawled over the table, sleeping until evening. When he finally woke up groggily, his head felt dizzy and faintly throbbing, a hangover.
On the table was a note in Akemi's handwriting,
[Tōru, when you wake up, make yourself a cup of honey water. The honey is in the second cabinet on the top shelf. The kettle has hot water I boiled before leaving. If you're hungry, there are sandwiches in the fridge, just heat them in the microwave. Oh, and the box of chocolate on the table is for you. Don't worry, it's alcohol-free! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)!]
How thoughtful.
After neatly folding the blanket, Ritsu followed the instructions step by step. After finishing the sandwich, he didn't forget to wash the dishes. Picking up the chocolate box, he headed out, but before leaving, he wrote a line on the back of the note:
[Thanks. The sandwich was delicious.]
When he drove back to his apartment, the door opened before he could even insert his key. Rei, wearing a gray apron, noticed the chocolate in his hand and immediately wrapped an arm around his neck, laughing as he scolded,
"You've got a girlfriend and didn't tell me?!"
"Girlfriend?" Ritsu gave him a deadpan look and shook him off, waving the chocolate.
"It's just friendship chocolate. Besides, it's from Rye's girlfriend."
"Oh? I thought a stone-hearted guy like you had finally bloomed." Rei walked back to the kitchen, checking the chicken soup he was simmering. "Still, I'm surprised he has a girlfriend."
"Want to see a photo? I've got one of her and Rye."
"If you've got it, sure."
So even Rei had a bit of a gossiping side, despite not getting along with Rye, he was curious about his girlfriend.
Ritsu's photo gallery was nearly empty. He pulled up a picture of Akemi and Rye and said, "Here."
Rei leaned over to look and the moment he saw the familiar face, he nearly dropped the ladle in his hand, barely catching it in time.
"That's quite a reaction. Don't tell me you're jealous?"
"…No. Is her name Miyano Akemi?"
"You know her? Well, that makes sense, the intel division probably has info on Organization members."
Rei shook his head with a bitter smile, recalling a figure from deep in his memories. "No, I knew her from much earlier. I didn't expect she'd have grown up so much."
"??"
"Remember when I said I was looking for someone back in school?"
"Yeah, your first love. The doctor, right?"
"What a coincidence… I never told you the details." Rei recalled the beautiful platinum-blonde woman from his childhood, someone who had filled a void in his heart. Rather than a first love, she had given him something closer to maternal warmth.
"Her name was Miyano Elena. You might not recognize the name, but the surname should sound familiar. She's Akemi's mother and the one codenamed Sherry you're in charge of? She's her daughter too."
No, that name wasn't unfamiliar at all.
Ritsu immediately thought of the APTX-4869 files. Miyano Elena had been one of the lead researchers and had died over a decade ago.
But wait, Rei had been searching all this time for her? Then doesn't that mean—
"Hey, don't ever tell anyone about this."
"Huh?"
Ritsu shot him a flat look. Thinking about Shiho working in the lab, if she ever found out Rei had wanted to become her "dad," the two of them would start off on the worst possible footing.
"But why would you even think that? She was already married back then, right? Were you trying to—"
Rei cut him off immediately, stuffing a freshly fried piece of chicken into his mouth. "Try this and tell me how it tastes!"
"Mmgh!"
The scalding hot chicken made Ritsu's eyes water, he had a sensitive tongue and hated hot food.
"Zer—Amuro Tooru! Are you trying to kill me?!"
"That's what you get for talking nonsense."
"I was just saying what you were thinking, now you're embarrassed—"
Ding dong.
Perfect timing. Who could it be?
Interrupted mid-banter, Ritsu went to the door. Through the peephole, he saw Vodka in a black suit.
"Vodka? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, boss told me to deliver something. Here, take it."
Vodka shoved a paper bag into his hands, then leaned in and whispered, "I gotta go, the online Valentine's concert for Earth Ladies is about to start. Gotta get home!"
"…Right. Bye."
By the time Rei reached the door, Vodka was already gone, vanished like a true idol fanatic.
"What did he bring?" Rei asked.
"No idea. Said it's from Gin."
Ritsu opened the bag. The familiar packaging made his expression darken. When he saw the milk chocolate inside, he fell silent.
"…Gin sent you chocolate?" Rei looked utterly baffled.
"…Should we throw it away?"
"…Yeah. Let's throw it away."
And just like that, the poor chocolate was tossed straight into the trash.
If Vodka ever found out, he'd be heartbroken, that chocolate had been painstakingly made by him. Worried that his "brother" Macallan would feel lonely on Valentine's Day, he had sent it under Gin's name.
Because if it came from Gin, Macallan would definitely eat it.
But what Vodka hadn't expected was that precisely because it came from Gin, Ritsu didn't dare eat it at all.
What if it was poisoned???