Chapter 16
Watching Furuya Rei's suspicion values jump up and down like a heart monitor, Usuha Izuki was very happy.
[Suspecting I'm Red side gives one wave of suspicion values, suspecting I'm Black side gives another wave—undercover agents really are point-grinding tools!]
Ordinary people weren't like Gin, constantly suspicious of others.
Even among Organization members, most people defaulted to assuming colleagues were on their side when working together. Only when something actually happened would they start suspecting someone leaked information.
When Samukawa Shinryu walked around without turning off his 'Black Screen Aura,' no matter how strong the aura effect, most passersby would just have a fleeting thought before walking away. They wouldn't dwell on it repeatedly—at most they'd report to police when passing a station that there was a suspicious person around.
Only undercover agents, police, plus curious detectives—these types were the most paranoid and could contribute large amounts of suspicion values.
So Usuha Izuki actually quite liked Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu.
Unfortunately, Furuya Rei didn't think the same way.
He felt Usuha Izuki was constantly targeting... no, indiscriminately refusing to get along with anyone.
Furuya Rei couldn't understand why Usuha Izuki would do this. In any case, having good relationships was better than bad ones, right? Surely Usuha Izuki didn't actually think he had good relationships?
Then he'd probably need to suggest Usuha Izuki see a psychiatrist—this was extremely serious misperception of self that really affected daily life!
Based on this understanding, when faced with the gift Usuha Izuki wanted to give, Furuya Rei couldn't help overthinking.
But as long as Usuha Izuki didn't directly produce evidence saying he was an undercover agent, Furuya Rei would absolutely never show the slightest problem. Therefore, even though his heart was pounding, he asked with an unchanged expression:
"Suits me?"
"Right." Usuha Izuki smiled. "Midorikawa's is the same. Give him one when you get back—you two are identical."
Was Hiromitsu also under suspicion?
Furuya Rei suppressed his palpitations and said casually: "I don't see how this omamori suits us."
After speaking, he looked at Usuha Izuki across from him, discretely observing the other's expression.
The silver-haired youth tilted his head slightly. His green eyes, always innocent yet righteous, now seemed to carry a mysterious smile.
He said nothing more, just forcibly shoved the omamori at Furuya Rei, then left with light steps.
Furuya Rei: "............"
What to do? No answer made him feel even more panicked.
But chasing after him to ask now would be too persistent and a bit strange... Should he just throw them away?
He looked at the two omamori in his hands, wanting to discard them, but hesitating when he glimpsed the cherry blossom patterns.
The point was, he didn't know if Usuha Izuki would cause him new trouble if they met again and he answered that he'd lost them.
Whatever, he'd take them back to check if they'd been tampered with first. If they were just ordinary omamori, he'd find a corner to put them in.
Thinking this, after hesitating for a long time, Furuya Rei still chose to give one omamori to his childhood friend.
When Morofushi Hiromitsu saw the omamori, he was somewhat confused but also happy. Knowing Furuya Rei liked cherry blossoms, he thought Furuya Rei had bought it.
"Why suddenly give this?" He hinted that their current identities weren't suitable for such things.
Furuya Rei's expression was subtle: "It wasn't me. Usuha-kun wanted to give it to you."
Morofushi Hiromitsu's smile froze.
To make Morofushi Hiromitsu more alert, Furuya Rei also relayed: "He said this really suits both of us."
"...I see." Morofushi Hiromitsu came back to his senses and carefully accepted the omamori, squeezing what was inside, planning to open it later to look. "Has he left already? I'll thank him next time."
Why cherry blossoms?!
Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei silently made eye contact, trying hard to communicate through looks.
Furuya Rei slowly shook his head.
Even if they wanted to talk, they couldn't chat in this house full of Organization listening devices. They needed to find a good opportunity.
Usuha Izuki could walk away carefree, but they couldn't leave casually. What if he'd given them this omamori as a trap?
Originally uncertain, if he left and they ran away too, wouldn't that be like setting off a bomb truck?
But staying meant taking risks, so they had to prepare for both possibilities.
Because Japan was small enough, that evening Vodka and Gin finally arrived from the remote area that didn't even have cell service.
Gin looked like he completely didn't care about these two new recruits, directly leaving them to Vodka while he went to circle around Usuha Izuki's room.
This behavior, falling in the eyes of Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu, made both thoughtful.
They certainly wouldn't think Gin was a pervert.
If they guessed correctly, Gin probably didn't trust Usuha Izuki as much as they'd imagined, so he was taking this opportunity to learn more about Usuha Izuki from the traces left behind.
This was good intelligence that might be useful someday. They'd remember it.
Gin wandered around the room by himself while Vodka took on the responsibility of communicating with the new recruits—he'd always done this.
Since there were daily reports, Vodka didn't need to ask much, especially since this mission's success had almost nothing to do with them. Vodka just went through the motions.
Instead, Morofushi Hiromitsu casually asked: "Usuha-kun has already left. His report..."
Vodka didn't suspect anything: "Oh, I've already read his." As he spoke, Vodka showed an indescribable expression. "You two have it rough."
Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu both relaxed slightly.
It seemed Usuha Izuki hadn't said anything suspicious about them in his report, but they couldn't relax yet—they'd observe more.
Sure enough, after asking several questions, Vodka suddenly pushed up his sunglasses: "The next questions aren't really mission-related, but I hope you'll answer them properly."
Both undercover agents immediately tensed.
"What questions?"
"About Usuha Izuki..." Vodka frowned. "Is there anything you want to report to me?"
Both undercover agents: "............" All this seriousness just to ask this?
Vodka: "............" Why the sudden silence? Didn't you usually badmouth Usuha Izuki quite a bit?!
Morofushi Hiromitsu hesitantly smoothed things over: "I don't know which aspect you're curious about?"
"Any aspect is fine—like relationships, what he likes, what he dislikes..."
Vodka was suffering inside. He didn't want to seem like someone who enjoyed hearing tattletales, but this was all intelligence the Boss wanted them to collect. He had to do it!
Morofushi Hiromitsu was speechless for a moment but cooperated in answering: "He likes peach juice, his favorite fruit is cantaloupe, he likes tempura fried shrimp, dislikes carrots—oh right, he used expense money to buy fruit, a bit expensive, but he said he'd file a report..."
Vodka was exasperated: "He did file one, but what's bought is bought. Could I tell him not to eat it?"
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
He silently adjusted his assessment of Usuha Izuki's position in the Organization.
"Forget it. Since you seem to observe quite carefully, write a report about it later too." Vodka sighed with a headache. Just as he was about to say something, his phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and showed a reluctant expression.
"Usuha?"
"Have you gotten to the safe house? I forgot to take a music box from my nightstand. Help me collect it and give it to me later."
Am I your nanny?!
Vodka took a deep breath and decided to agree, lest refusing provoke another headache-inducing lecture from Usuha Izuki: "I know. Anything else?"
"Also, remind Amuro and Midorikawa not to lose the omamori I gave them. I had such a hard time finding cherry blossom omamori—they really suit everyone."
Gin, who had been standing beside Vodka smoking, suddenly glanced over when he heard this: "Cherry blossoms?"
Both undercover agents instantly tensed with racing hearts.
Gin must have connected cherry blossoms to Japanese police!
Though Vodka looked rough and often asked dumb questions, when he needed to be sharp he was very sharp. He could quickly analyze what his boss meant and immediately helped ask: "Why do you think cherry blossoms suit them?"
While waiting for Usuha Izuki's answer, the two undercover agents' heartbeats actually slowed down.
Time seemed to stop flowing. The brief pause was quiet enough to suffocate.
Finally, Usuha Izuki's voice, carrying electrical static and not very clear, reached their ears.
"Huh? Because I like cherry blossoms. I bought cherry blossom patterned ones for myself—we have to match to commemorate our pleasant cooperation this time, right?"
Furuya Rei: "..."
Morofushi Hiromitsu: "..."
—Just because of that?!
Couldn't you just say so directly?! What was the point of "suits you" and "suits Midorikawa too"?!!
Dirty! Even cherry blossoms liked by such a person are dirty!
Not only were Morofushi Hiromitsu and Furuya Rei nearly driven crazy by this reason, Gin also looked speechless.
"You..." Gin endured wanting to say something but couldn't find words for a long time. "Stop with these useless things in the future."
Usuha Izuki was unhappy: "You know why you have no friends? It's because you don't know how to maintain friendships. Not letting me give gifts to friends—are you jealous that I have more friends? Dream on! Even if I don't give gifts, I still have more friends than you!"
Gin: "............"
Vodka: "Boss! Boss don't get angry, he's just like that—anyone he randomly meets becomes a friend! His friends don't count! Boss's friends are all quality!"
Gin was about to be amused by this pair of idiots: "You think I care about this?"
"Of course Boss doesn't care!" Vodka quickly said. "I just thought Usuha cared."
Usuha Izuki said on the other end of the phone: "Vodka, why are you taking Gin's side? Whose friend are you really?"
Vodka: "...Huh? I'm your friend too?"
No, what does this have to do with me?! Don't drag me into this!
"You already received my souvenir and probably even drank it. How are we not friends?"
Gin looked coldly at Vodka.
How did he end up chatting with Usuha Izuki? Did Vodka have any brains? When dealing with this type of person, ignoring him was the best choice.
Vodka shivered under Gin's gaze and finally hung up, righteously assuring Gin: "I didn't drink it! I just put it on the wine rack for decoration!"
Gin: "............"
Both undercover agents: "............"
Good grief, this was the daily life of Organization executives? Completely different from what they'd imagined!