The outskirts of Tokyo, near Toda City, weren't exactly remote.
Ritsu took out his phone. Earlier, he'd only pretended that the battery had died. After all, the only people who could come rescue him on such short notice were members of the Organization.
Hayasaka and the others were undoubtedly busy in the city, and he had no intention of dragging them into this case.
"Vodka, are you free to come pick me up? I've shared my location with you."
"Hm? I'm currently on a mission with Aniki—"
Vodka's voice abruptly stopped.
A moment later, Gin's voice came over the line instead. He had apparently taken the phone away. Holding the phone, Gin asked in an irritated tone,
"What happened?"
"I ran into a little trouble. The culprit is targeting police officers, and I got caught up in it."
"Oh. I'll have Calvados come pick you up."
"Works for me."
After hanging up, Ritsu hid behind a tree while watching Hiro drive away. Only after confirming that both of them had left did he finally step out into the open.
About half an hour later, Calvados finally arrived in his sports car.
By then, Ritsu had already removed his disguise and returned to Augier's appearance. Pulling open the passenger door, he got in and gave him the address of his apartment.
Calvados secretly studied the silver-haired young man.
'So this is the newly appointed executive, Augier? How did he end up looking this miserable? Should I ask if he's alright?'
After hesitating for quite a while, Calvados cleared his throat and cautiously asked,
"Mr. Augier... would you like me to give you some basic first aid?"
"No. I'll take care of it when I get back."
"Then may I ask what that thing around your neck is? It actually looks pretty cool."
Ritsu raised an eyebrow, folded his arms across his chest, and answered bluntly,
"It's a bomb. Want one? I can have the culprit put one on you too."
The moment Calvados heard the word bomb, he instinctively stepped harder on the gas pedal.
'No way! I haven't even won Vermouth's heart yet! I can't die young like this!'
'Still... How on earth did Mr. Augier end up with a bomb around his neck?'
Despite the countless questions swirling through his mind, Calvados wisely kept them to himself.
He knew how to read the room.
If it had been Chianti instead, she probably would've already started grilling Augier for every last detail, including exactly how the collar had been put on him.
"Mr. Augier, we're here."
"That will be all. You can go."
Waving dismissively, Ritsu hurried toward the apartment building.
Naturally, he didn't enter through the main lobby. In his current condition, he couldn't risk anyone seeing him.
Instead, he walked into the underground parking garage and took the fingerprint-access elevator that went directly to the forty-seventh floor where he lived.
Whether it was the sound of his footsteps or the elevator doors opening, the moment he stepped out, he heard movement from inside the apartment.
The front door opened.
Standing there weren't just Akemi. Conan and Haibara were there as well, having apparently left during their lunch break.
Ritsu hadn't expected the two of them to be in his apartment.
Fortunately, the dried blood covering his face did a good job concealing the cross-shaped scar on his face, making him look much less like Augier.
"Sensei! Are you okay?!"
"...Do I look like someone who's okay?"
Conan hurriedly waved his hands.
"No, I mean... weren't you kidnapped?"
Ritsu had no intention of letting anyone get a close look at his face. After taking off his shoes, he quickly headed inside while saying,
"Akemi, could you bring me the first-aid kit? I need to treat my wounds."
Haibara frowned as she carefully examined his face. Without his glasses, he looked even more like Augier.
But with so much dried blood covering his face, she couldn't make out his features clearly.
'Still... how did Onizawa get kidnapped? His counter-surveillance skills should be excellent.
Who exactly is this culprit?'
After entering the bathroom, Ritsu was about to take off his clothes when he sensed someone watching him.
Looking into the mirror, he immediately spotted Haibara peeking through the crack in the bathroom door.
'She's still suspicious of my identity, huh? Well... don't blame me for saying something weird, then.'
With a cheerful smile, he turned around, opened the bathroom door, and said,
"My, my~ Peeking at an adult man while he's bathing isn't a very good habit, you know. Besides, this big brother is already married."
Haibara instantly froze into a blank-eyed stare. She could even feel the strange look her sister was giving her from behind.
She was about to yell at him when—
Bang!
Ritsu slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it. Then, as if it were an afterthought, he casually added,
"Oh right, I almost forgot. You're like Kudo, you shrank after taking that drug. An eighteen-year-old girl definitely shouldn't have a bad habit like this."
Haibara never imagined she'd be accused of being a peeping tom.
Infuriated, she kicked the bathroom door hard before storming over to her sister and plopping down beside her without saying another word.
Conan was laughing so hard he nearly passed out trying to hold it in.
'Sensei's sharp tongue was truly on another level.'
There was probably no one else in the world capable of irritating Haibara this badly.
Knowing exactly what Ritsu was trying to hide, Akemi gently patted her little sister's head and said softly,
"Shiho, he was only joking. You..."
"Nee-san..."
Haibara looked at her with half-lidded eyes, her face practically screaming I'm angry.
"You're not actually serious with him... are you?"
"Hm?"
Still wearing her displeased expression, Haibara muttered,
"I refuse to acknowledge that guy as my brother-in-law, so maybe you should think about getting a divorce."
Akemi smiled bitterly.
"Only by marrying Takashi can the Organization believe I still have value. Otherwise, I would've probably been executed by them already."
Haibara's expression changed. These peaceful days had almost made her forget how the Organization operated.
She was right.
If not for Onizawa, after Shiho escaped, Akemi would've been deemed useless... and quietly eliminated.
Her gaze drifted toward the bathroom.
'...I guess that annoying guy is useful after all.'
.
Inside the bathroom, Ritsu quickly washed the dried blood from his face before reapplying his makeup to become Onizawa once again.
Roughly twenty minutes later, he finally came back out.
"I checked my injuries. Nothing serious, just some basic treatment is needed."
Sitting down beside Akemi, he said, "Akemi, could you help me—"
"I'll do it."
"...?"
With an expressionless face, Haibara picked up the disinfectant and sterile bandages before saying coldly,
"I'm far more professional than my sister. Leave this to me."
"..."
Ritsu could only accept Haibara's kindness with a bitter smile. Sure enough, while disinfecting his wounds, she deliberately pressed down harder than necessary.
He could only grip the leather sofa tightly with both hands while forcing himself to maintain a smile.
This simple, rough method of disinfecting...
'It's strangely nostalgic.'
"There. Done."
"Thank you, Haibara-chan."
Ritsu stood up, straightened his white dress shirt, grabbed the black trench coat hanging from the coat rack, and said,
"Akemi, I need to go investigate something. Please look after these two while I'm gone."
Conan immediately became anxious.
"Wait! Sensei, you're not taking me with you? Isn't it dangerous to investigate alone? And you still haven't explained what's around your neck."
Ever since they first saw Ritsu, Conan and the others had wanted to ask. But he'd gone straight into the bathroom before they had the chance.
Now that his treatment was finally finished, he was already preparing to leave.
"This is a new type of liquid bomb. If I don't solve the case within eleven hours, it'll explode and kill me."
Ritsu described the horrifying device with remarkable calmness. Squatting down, he patted Conan on the shoulder and smiled.
"It's not that I don't want to bring you. I want you to stay here and protect Akemi."
"Sensei... could it be that this culprit..."
"That's right. The target is the police. As one of the MPD's most prominent figures lately, it was only natural I'd become a target. Besides..."
He paused briefly.
"The place I'm going isn't somewhere I can take you."
"Where are you going?"
"Fuchu Prison."
He smiled faintly.
"To meet an old acquaintance."