February 6th.
Inside the arrival hall of Tokyo International Airport, Rei stood at the edge of the waiting crowd with an openly displeased expression. He wore a black turtleneck sweater layered beneath an off-white denim shirt, his tall frame making him stand out easily.
Due to the weather, the flight had already been delayed for over an hour, gradually wearing away what little patience he had left.
Gin hadn't clearly explained who exactly he was supposed to pick up. All he knew was the person's codename.
Augier.
A codename he had never heard before.
Augier Cognac Brandy. The Augier brand was an ancient cognac house with over four hundred years of history.
Rei pulled out his phone to check the time.
It was already noon. He wanted to finish this pickup quickly so he'd still have time to enjoy tomorrow's day off.
Tomorrow was an extremely important day to him.
At the same time, aboard QR807 from Zurich International Airport, a white-haired young man sat comfortably in the first-class cabin with a black sleep mask over his eyes.
He couldn't care less how long it took to arrive in Tokyo, unlike the other impatient passengers quietly complaining about the weather delay.
Sensing someone approaching before they even touched him, the white-haired young man subtly withdrew his left arm. Pulling down the sleep mask, he revealed a pair of crimson eyes and lazily asked,
"What's wrong?"
The flight attendant politely leaned down and handed him several forms with a smile.
"Excuse me, would you please fill out these forms before landing? You'll need them when you go through Customs, Immigration and Quarantine."
"OK. Thanks."
The white-haired young man picked up the fountain pen he carried with him and quickly filled out the paperwork.
It was as though every piece of information was already engraved into memory, he completed the forms without even needing to think, finishing everything within two minutes.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
"Don't mention it."
Soon after the attendant left, another announcement echoed throughout the cabin.
This time, however, it wasn't another apology about the weather delay but good news announcing their imminent arrival at Tokyo International Airport.
The white-haired young man stored the sleep mask inside the leather briefcase he carried and stretched leisurely before gazing out the window at the increasingly clear view of Tokyo International Airport below.
One year.
Who knew how much Tokyo had changed in that time?
The slight turbulence during landing barely registered to him. But deep down, the white-haired young man knew very well, his emotions were far from calm.
Following the orderly line of passengers off the plane, he retrieved his luggage and dragged a large thirty-inch black suitcase toward the exit.
He still didn't know who had come to pick him up today. Apparently, Gin was overseas on assignment and had no time to meet him personally.
Still, he was familiar with nearly everyone in the Tokyo branch of the Organization. And in the past year, he hadn't heard of any lower-ranking members being promoted.
Which meant the one picking him up was most likely someone he already knew.
Sure enough, thanks to his height advantage, the white-haired young man only needed one glance around the hall before spotting a blond young man standing in the corner, similarly scanning the crowd.
As expected, his appearance hadn't changed much at all. Even his skin tone remained exactly the same, not any paler, not any darker.
One year apart.
For some reason, it felt as though an entire lifetime had passed.
'An entire lifetime?'
The white-haired young man curled his lips in self-mockery. Honestly, that description wasn't entirely wrong.
Suppressing those thoughts, he dragged his suitcase over while pretending to scroll through nonexistent content on his phone screen. Stopping directly before him, he slowly asked,
"You're Bourbon?"
Rei had been looking elsewhere when he suddenly heard someone call out his codename. His grayish-purple eyes instantly narrowed.
He clearly hadn't realized anyone had approached him so silently. Not only had the newcomer made no footsteps whatsoever, but he had completely concealed his presence.
Turning slightly, Rei carefully examined the white-haired young man standing before him.
He appeared to be around twenty-five years old. His unusually pale hair almost resembled albinism, while those crimson eyes carried an unmistakable aura of violence, as though no amount of killing would ever satisfy his bloodlust.
But what drew Rei's attention most… was the cross-shaped scar beneath his left eye.
It gave his entire face an inexplicable sense of maturity. The scar almost seemed capable of speaking, tempting curiosity upward in a whisper, 'I have a story. Do you want to hear it?'
This was definitely no ordinary member of the Organization.
Judging solely from the fact that he had approached completely undetected, he was undoubtedly a highly trained assassin. Conservatively speaking, his skill level likely surpassed anyone currently in the Operatives Division.
The white-haired young man quietly pocketed the phone he had originally planned to use as part of an act. He had intended to pretend he needed a photo to confirm Bourbon's identity, but Rei hadn't even noticed him at first.
That's right.
Even though he had changed his appearance. Even though he had changed his identity. The white-haired young man still hadn't forgotten those memories.
He was still Sasajima Ritsu.
Only now, no one else knew it.
Sensing Rei's continued scrutiny, Ritsu chose not to point it out. Instead, he extended his right hand and pushed the black suitcase toward him calmly.
"Where's the car?"
"…"
Rei stared at the suitcase being shoved into his hands and realized the other man held a higher position within the Organization than he did.
Suppressing his irritation, he gripped the handle and forced out his trademark professional smile.
"Please follow me, Augier-san."
With both hands tucked into the pockets of his black trench coat, Ritsu followed behind at an unhurried pace.
Only after reaching the parking lot and spotting the familiar white RX-7 did he raise a brow slightly and comment,
"Nice car."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Though Rei smiled politely, the courtesy itself created distance between them. It was essentially his way of saying, 'I don't want to talk to you, so kindly keep quiet.'
Ritsu didn't continue pushing the conversation, though some habits were hard to suppress.
Reaching into his pocket and finding it empty, he turned toward Rei, who remained expressionless behind the wheel.
"Bourbon, got a cigarette?"
Cigarettes.
That was something Rei absolutely hated. The man he hated losing the most… had loved smoking.
And plenty of people within the Organization smoked as well.
Thinking back to the gradually cooling body that had once rested in his arms, Rei tightened his grip on the steering wheel while desperately maintaining his smile.
"I don't smoke, so I wouldn't have any."
"Oh. I see."
Then he'd just have to endure it. For some reason, Rei suddenly remembered the phrase that person used to say all the time.
In his memories, he could still see those half-lidded annoyed eyes, the look of disgust on his face, even the way he pinched his nose to avoid secondhand smoke.
Every detail remained engraved vividly in his mind.
"Augier-san."
"Hm?"
"Smoking is harmful to your health. You should smoke less."
"…"
----
[Author's Note: Just mentioning this here, Ritsu's date of death is set as February 7th, which was originally Date's death anniversary.]
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