Gin let out an unceremonious sneer.
Aotsuki always ate very quickly. He had no concept of what constituted healthy or nutritious eating; as long as his bodily functions were normal, he felt he was eating fine. His upbringing had determined his ability to adapt to this lifestyle; even after becoming an adult, except for a few rare occasions when he ate with Scotland, his meals would not average more than five minutes.
After swallowing the last piece of meat, he looked up at Gin, his eyes questioning what came next.
Gin was not surprised by this: "You really are sick.."
Whenever it came to matters concerning Scotland, even the most stubborn temper would subside, even the most silent, tight-lipped person would learn to speak up. Although it worked every single time, making him wonder if it was being done on purpose, the facts proved that this was indeed a foolproof method.
He sighed with an ambiguous emotion, "No wonder that person is willing to keep Scotland around."
Aotsuki remained unmoved; he was rarely easily distracted, he pressed with a clear objective, "What did you and Scotland talk about?"
You should ask him what he told me.
Gin curled his lip, making no effort to hide his sarcasm. "He actually came to ask me why I suspected you were the one who brought the police.. I'm truly getting a bit curious about how you act in front of Scotland; even that person is willing to indulge your nonsense."
Aotsuki remained silent. After eating dinner as requested, the door not far away opened silently. Gin's voice did not stop, but he had no interest in continuing to listen to such irrelevant delusions.
The Scotland Gin spoke of was not the same Scotland he had told him about.
It seems Gin is unaware of this matter, so there is no need to waste any more words on him.
So what were you trying to achieve by luring the police there?" Gin asked. "To have them arrest Scotland, then wait until the meeting ended to break him out, only to change your mind when the police actually arrived?
The door was closed again, leaving no response, silence fell.
..
Aotsuki walked quickly through the corridor.
He had been staying in this villa for nearly half a month, the longest stay he had ever had since returning to the Organization.
His room was always kept here, but he only stayed for a night when the villa's owner requested it, most of the time, he would "coincidentally run into" Gin.
That person loved seeing him get along with Gin, even though he knew the two of them were either silent or trading barbs every time, he still took great pleasure in it, one-sidedly believing that he and Gin acted that way because they had a good relationship.
Gin's dissatisfaction with him stemmed mostly from this inexplicable "special treatment."
He had known Gin for too long; Gin knew his past, but only in part, thus often made bizarre conjectures, which occasionally allowed him to judge whether Gin had been leaked information he was unaware of.
Rather than designing a scheme to frame Scotland for arrest, he might as well find a way to lock Gin in prison; even if Gin would break out in not long, it would at least provide some peace and quiet for a month.
But if Gin were actually arrested by the police, he would definitely be the first one sent to break him out of prison, so it would be better to just maintain the status quo.
Figures appeared ahead to block his path, bowing to him and saying, "The gentleman does not wish to see you today either; please turn back."
Aotsuki continued walking straight ahead without looking sideways, two more figures blocked his path; getting past this level of obstacle required no effort at all.
He couldn't wait any longer.
This farce must come to an end.
He had made many mistakes in his life, one of which was impulsively being with Scotland and dragging Scotland into this absurd vortex; every time he resolved trouble for Scotland afterward, he was trying to make up for his mistake, yet Scotland felt it was his own contribution and constantly repaid him.
Only he knew that, between them, it had always only been a matter of appearances, as if they owed each other nothing.
Aotsuki pushed open the study door, sending the curtains fluttering, but there was no one inside.
.. Not here?
As he turned, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, causing Aotsuki to pause. Ignoring the protests still ringing behind him, he strode toward the desk. A brooch lay there, resting prominently in the very center, almost as if it were intentionally waiting for someone who couldn't wait any longer to burst in and see it.
Aotsuki didn't even need to pick up that brooch to recall every single detail about it, just as he could clearly remember every single detail from his first meeting with Scotland.
He didn't make a habit of memorizing such things, Scotland was not the only newcomer he had worked with during that period, but one day, after reflecting carefully, he realized that everything was incredibly clear, making that recent mission feel nauseatingly familiar from beginning to end.
That person always believed that as long as he constructed the same scenario and replaced the original characters, he could produce similar emotions and force everything onto the track he desired.
The master has gone out to sketch, he is truly not in," the waiter, who only dared to stop at the doorway, said while hurriedly waving his hand. "You should come out quickly as well; even your husband will be angry. When you did this six months ago, the master flew into a tremendous rage, even smashing an inkwell.
Aotsuki's molars ground slowly.
Of course he remembers.
Half a year ago, in this same study, he burst in despite all attempts to stop him.
The man, who was writing something, looked up in surprise. He stated his purpose directly, but the other person clearly didn't take his words seriously and casually dismissed the bystander.
["Like Scotland? Then how about I change Kurosawa Jin's codename to Scotland?"]
They stared at each other for a moment, that person's smile gradually faded, as he tossed the fountain pen onto the table with a half-smile.
If you aren't afraid of regrets, then go do it.
He nodded and turned to walk out. The moment he opened the door, an explosion suddenly rang out behind him. Glass shards bounced across the floor and slid out the door. A drop of ink splashed at his feet; it must have been a broken ink bottle.
He walked out without looking back.
At that time, he thought: what was there to regret?
It was nothing more than a death.
Author's Note:
----------------------
Chapter 9
Aotsuki had always been clearly aware that he had encountered a madman, but having occupied that position in the past, it wasn't a matter of whether there were better options; it was that there were no other options at all.
To survive, there was only one path laid out before him.
It wasn't that he hadn't resisted; he truly had a few years of freedom, but in the end, he still returned to this organization as a member of Yamawashi.
The reasons for deciding to be with Scotland were manifold; he could not deny that part of it was due to the excessive number of times he was arranged to meet Gin during that period, nor could he deny that he had never harbored even a hint of provocative intent.
Scotland's decisive agreement left him feeling a bit elated. Perhaps it was because he had been in an unusually good mood during that period, making Scotland look more and more pleasing to the eye, he constantly wanted to give Scotland more, even to the point of overlooking the fact that his relationship with Scotland was purely one of mutual interest.
But as soon as their eyes met, he would realize what he had done to Scotland.
He observed Scotland and protected Scotland in his own way; the longer he watched, the more the habit became natural, it seemed increasingly difficult to look away.
He even began to feel that such a life wasn't so bad; when sharing a room with Scotland, even the silence felt relaxed, making him momentarily forget that they were within the Organization, with an invisible hand looming over them.
In this tranquility hidden beneath the undercurrents, one day, he discovered that Scotland had changed.
If you're not afraid of regret, then go do it.
That half-smiling voice traveled through time, beginning to echo incessantly in his ears.
He had once seen two people in the Organization who were almost identical, which made him even more certain that the Organization was capable of cultivating an "artificial" Scotland, or even completing a replacement without anyone noticing.
Aotsuki muttered to himself in mockery, "Field research.."
As they passed the restaurant, Gin had unexpectedly not left yet; he was leaning against the doorway with his head down, checking his phone. When their eyes met, Gin uncharacteristically followed him, walking out side by side.
Footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, Gin's tone was even colder than usual: "Cognac has been exposed."
Aotsuki ran through the possibilities of who Cognac could be in his mind, finally remembering an Asian man with a scar on his temple.
.. Where was he undercover again? The Japanese Public Security?
The two stared at each other expressionlessly. Gin sneered, "Rum wanted Cognac to cooperate in flushing out the rats in the organization, but Cognac ended up exposing himself. Rum hasn't given up; he wants to interrogate everyone who is a suspect, Scotland is among those being suspected."
As expected, as soon as a certain codename appeared, Yamawashi, who had been unperturbed just a moment ago, immediately frowned.
Yamawashi never actively cared about the organization's affairs and was never affected by any incident, so naturally, he didn't hear any rumors. Rum's list of suspects covered nearly a third of the codename members; even long-standing codename members like Pixar had to be investigated to see if there was anything suspicious, just to be safe.
But Scotland was different from the others on the list; he was added specifically.
Gin watched with satisfaction as Yamawashi's expression grew increasingly grim.
With the plan ruined, Rum was at his most irritable, seeing Scotland all alone, it wouldn't be Rum if he didn't target him specifically.
Yamawashi turned around and walked away without a word, prompting Gin to throw a sarcastic remark at the guy who had left him far behind: "You'd better walk faster; Rum is holding a grudge against you."
All that was left for him was a back shrouded in a low-pressure aura.
It had been many years since he last saw Yamawashi like this; this person truly looked much more pleasing this way. Gin's mood suddenly brightened, even the slight irritation regarding the traitor within the Organization dissipated. He lazily lit a cigarette.
He didn't care whether Scotland received special treatment from Rum, but he was more than happy to see a conflict erupt between Rum and Yamawashi.
Given what happened back in the training camp, it was impossible for Yamawashi to get along with him; only that person would wishfully believe that he and Yamawashi would have common ground, would try to arrange them to be together every few days.
As long as Yamawashi doesn't stand on Rum's side to oppose him, he doesn't care which side Yamawashi takes.
In any case, he was the one who had received the favor, so what Yamawashi thought was unimportant; however, this also made him even clearer that within this organization, the returning Yamawashi was the most troublesome fellow. Whoever received this assistance would be able to reshuffle the organization's internal ranks.
The cigarette held between his fingertips burned down to the end, Gin casually crushed the butt.
Luckily, Scotland was not a competitive person, which saved him a lot of trouble.
But this was clearly Scotland's misfortune.
Whoever gains Yamawashi's attention will ultimately incur someone's dissatisfaction, but a foolproof chip is clearly far more useful than a dead white moonlight.
If something were to truly happen to Scotland at Rum's hands, Yamawashi might not be the first one to lose his temper.
Rapid footsteps approached. Gin turned his head as a waiter ran over, looking relieved, said while panting, "Sir, please come over here for a moment."
**
During the time Yamawashi was away, Hiromitsu Morofushi was busy with a major matter.
The high-ranking members of the Organization had long suspected that there was an undercover agent hidden within their ranks. Rum had scattered several pieces of intelligence in various forms to different codenamed members; as long as the undercover agent planted within the Public Security Bureau confirmed the intelligence being sent back to the Bureau, the scope of the target could be rapidly narrowed down, or even directly pinpointed.
This was the fundamental reason why his undercover identity was suddenly exposed.
This situation should have been unsolvable, but Yamawashi's intervention pushed the situation toward another extreme.
He didn't know how Yamawashi had known about this in advance, nor did he know what Yamawashi was thinking when he made such a decision after learning the news. This was not just because they didn't know each other; in fact, they hadn't been in contact for over a month.
From the beginning of November until the abrupt start of early December, the only time he saw Yamawashi was the scene of her suicide, which he witnessed when he received the order to arrest the traitor.
It was an unsolvable puzzle, but because Yamawashi was his lover, there was a logical explanation for how she could receive intelligence from him and then pass it on to the Public Security. Therefore, once Rum's plan concluded, Yamawashi, who had been excluded from the test list, instead became the only exposed "traitor."
Why would Yamawashi do such a thing?
Opinions within the Organization were divided on this matter. Some mentioned that when Yamawashi was a mercenary, he killed all his teammates to embezzle their rewards, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had been secretly bribed by the Public Security Bureau. Others felt that Yamawashi was dissatisfied with the Organization or simply wanted to double-cross Rum, given that Rum and Yamawashi had never gotten along anyway.. In short, there was too much evidence that could be used to argue that Yamawashi had always had motives to betray the Organization.
Sitting in the crowd listening to the rising tide of various speculations, he also wondered about this question: why did Yamawashi do this?
He tried hard to recall what had happened during that meeting with Yamawashi at the end of October, but it seemed as though nothing special had occurred. They hadn't even spoken to each other. Yamawashi returned to the safe house late at night, just like any other quiet night before, they slept back-to-back, once dawn broke, they each rushed off to their respective missions.