Patter… patter… patter...
The sound of water echoed from the bathroom as the shower shut off.
Wrapped in a white hotel bathrobe, Hayashi Yoshiki stepped out, steam swirling around him. The warmth of the shower had finally helped him relax.
But his phone had been ringing non-stop.
Just as he moved toward it, a sharp knock echoed from the door.
He opened it.
Standing there was Haibara Ai, face pale and visibly anxious. Her expression was grim, eyes darting about as if she'd sprinted down the corridor.
"What's wrong?" Yoshiki asked, motioning her inside.
"Have you been targeted?" she asked quietly, stepping in.
"Huh?"
"...By Gin and the others."
Her voice was tight, fragile.
Yoshiki raised an eyebrow.Did she misunderstand something...?
He shut the door and walked toward the desk. His phone was still buzzing—more than a dozen missed calls.
As he pressed the answer button, he turned back to Haibara and raised a finger to his lips.
"Shh."
The call was from Yoko Okino.
She'd obviously seen the news and was worried sick.
Yoshiki comforted her gently, assuring her he was fine.
The moment he hung up, another call came in. Then another. And another.
Reiko Shimizu
Seiran Urashi
Editor Nanae Asamiya
Kaito Kuroba
Heiji Hattori
Eri Kisaki
Tōru Amuro
Hakuba Saguru
Even Akako Koizumi had messaged.
All while Haibara Ai sat tensely at the edge of the room, still waiting for a real answer.
Seeing her worry, Yoshiki—still on the phone—smiled, reached out, and gently patted her head. Then, seeing no available seat nearby, he simply pulled her over into his lap.
Haibara stiffened in surprise but didn't resist.
He made another "shh" gesture.
Finally, after several calls, Yoshiki ended the last one and turned to her.
"Don't worry. It was just a coincidence."
"...Don't be ridiculous," she snapped through clenched teeth.
Still seated in his lap, she stared at him, her hands clenched and eyes burning with worry.
"You're still trying to hide it? Gin would never do something so… unnecessary."
"Unnecessary, huh...?" Yoshiki echoed, raising an eyebrow.
A faint smile crept across his lips.
Haibara watched as he pulled out another phone—this one, matte black.
He dialed.
"Hello? It's me."
The voice on the other end made Haibara freeze—that cold, mechanical voice from her nightmares.
Gin.
Yoshiki leaned back comfortably in his chair.
"Can you tell me what happened?" he asked.
"It was just a coincidence," Gin replied flatly.
"Coincidence? I don't think you're the type to do something that pointless."
Yoshiki absentmindedly ran his hand over Haibara's back, gently like one might calm a skittish cat.
"Your target was Yoshiaki Hara, right? Is he connected to the Organization?" he asked.
There was silence.
"Before he died, he was holding a silver dinner knife. And you know how 'silver' spells in Japanese letters..."
"Gin. (Ginkaku)"[1]
On the other end, Gin said nothing.
Yoshiki continued:
"Careless of you to leave a calling card like that."
Gin ground his teeth.
He often called Vodka an idiot—but today, it seemed the fool was himself.
Still, the irritation didn't extend to Yoshiki. If anything, Gin acknowledged that the young man had simply put the pieces together... and nearly died due to their oversight.
"It really was an accident," Gin finally said. "We were testing the output of a new bomb variant. After Vermouth's last report, R&D increased its payload. We tested it tonight."
"Vermouth..." Yoshiki's tone darkened. "Was this her plan?"
"Hmph. That woman doesn't have the brains for this."
Gin sneered.
"I'll tell you again: 100% accident. We didn't realize you were on the bridge when it went off."
"...I see."
"That's it. We'll talk later. I'll send you your next assignment soon."
Click.
The call ended.
Beside him, Haibara Ai exhaled for the first time in minutes.
"Can we relax now?" Yoshiki teased.
She didn't answer.
Her mind reeled—not from fear of Gin, but from how oddly calm he had been.
He even explained everything… so casually…
To someone like Yoshiki, who hadn't even questioned his authority.
Gin… trusts him.
That realization brought a strange chill over her.
"But seeing you that worried about me makes me kind of happy," Yoshiki said gently.
"Tch..." Haibara turned her face away.
Then, wanting to shift the mood, she muttered:
"You were speaking to quite a few women just now… in a very intimate tone. Are you secretly a playboy?"
"Ah—my greatest secret has been discovered!" he gasped in mock horror.
"Hmph."
Seeing his usual smirk, Haibara couldn't help but snort.
Elsewhere...
After the call ended, Gin placed the phone down.
Vodka, still beside him, finally exhaled.
He didn't tell him it was me... he realized, breathing a sigh of relief.
But then—thud!
Tequila strode over and grabbed Vodka by the collar, yelling in a thick Kansai dialect:
"What the hell happened?! Our man nearly got blown up tonight!"
"Yeah, what's going on?" added Cohen, nodding stoically. "Cointreau's next novel isn't even out yet."
"Let go of Vodka."Gin's voice was calm—but cold.
The large Kansai man reluctantly released Vodka under that icy glare.
Tequila was aware of the mission. He'd recruited Hara Jiaming into the Organization, and knew of his betrayal. Naturally, he kept an eye on the matter.
Vodka tried to explain, awkwardly stammering through it.
"Rooaarr~" giggled Chianti, watching the chaos. "You're in trouble now. Cointreau might hate you for this."
"No way... really?" Vodka muttered, now sweating again.
"Who knows? But if it were me... I'd be pissed."
Vodka sat back at the bar, trying to calm his shaking legs.
I'm in deep...
Meanwhile, back at the hotel room, Haibara was still sitting in Yoshiki's lap, her thoughts conflicted.
Gin trusts him... but at what cost?
As the tension melted, so did her mask.
Yoshiki looked at her gently.
"So? Ice cream again tomorrow?" he joked.
"We'll see," she said flatly, but a tiny smile betrayed her.
[1] tuturuu · special thanks <3