"Fujiwara-kun, what, what are you doing?"
Kayako sat on the steps, her heart pounding as she looked with joy at Toru, who had run back late at night and now stood before her with a convenience store bag in hand.
However, this time, in addition to the food he bought for her, he also handed her a 10,000 yen bill.
"I have some things to deal with over the next few days, so I might not be able to come running over. It could be as short as three days or as long as a week. I might not see you."
"Take this money and buy yourself some food. And make sure to get some good cat food for Komuro, okay? What's with that expression? Is it not enough? I'll give you more if it isn't."
As Toru spoke, he pulled out his wallet again and took out another 10,000 yen bill.
"No, no, it's just... I can't take your money."
Kayako quickly waved her hands.
Compared to the money, what she really cared about was the fact that she might not see Toru for the next few days.
She couldn't help but ask, "Do you have something important going on?"
"Yeah, it's a bit troublesome, and time is tight. But it should mostly be done in a few days."
"Don't refuse the money either. You're too thin, completely malnourished. You should eat properly. Even if you don't care about yourself, you should at least care about Komuro, right?"
"But don't let your family find out about the money."
Toru shoved the money into her arms.
He had to take good care of this little troublemaker and make sure nothing happened to her.
Over the next few days, Toru needed to first finalize his plan and then put it into motion.
Taking down the research institute would already be complicated, and cleaning up afterward would be even more of a headache.
So in the coming days, he wouldn't be able to see Kayako every day.
Come to think of it, he'd basically stood Haruno up for nearly a week. He told her he would be participating in club activities, but he hadn't shown up even once.
In Toru's heart, the task assigned by the higher-ups took the top priority, followed by Kayako, and finally Haruno.
Things had to be handled in order.
The 10,000 yen he gave wasn't much by his standards, but for Kayako, it was quite a sum.
She had never even held a 10,000 yen bill in her life.
Kayako stared blankly at the money in her hands, wondering if this was what the girls at school secretly talked about... finding a sugar daddy? Was this what they meant by 'Papa Katsu'?
Some girls made money this way.
No, no, Fujiwara-kun isn't that kind of person, and I'm not that pretty either. He definitely didn't mean it like that. He just... he just cares about me.
Thinking that Toru cared about her made her feel as if her mouth was full of honey.
Hehe, Fujiwara-kun cares about me. He really does...
Toru glanced at the dazed Kayako, unsure of what she was thinking, but it definitely didn't seem like anything good.
She really is a handful. He absolutely couldn't let anything happen to her.
He'd have to figure out a way to eliminate any potential threats around her that could cause problems.
...
Two days later, in Toru's house in Tokyo, inside the study, a machine inside a box was running.
In under a minute, a lifelike human skin mask was produced in a transparent glass tank.
He opened the machine, took out the mask, and carefully stored the device. Then he selected a special outfit from the wardrobe.
After finishing everything, Toru left the house and hailed a taxi on the street.
The taxi didn't take him to the final destination but dropped him off at a sparsely populated subway station. After paying and getting out, Toru walked straight into a nearby public restroom.
Inside a single stall, he put on the human skin mask, then took off his jacket and turned it inside out.
When he stepped out of the restroom, his appearance had completely changed. He now looked like a European or American man with short blond hair.
Fortunately, this was the Conan world, where surveillance cameras on streets and in shops were extremely limited. That made Toru's disguises incredibly easy to pull off without drawing attention.
If there were too many cameras, many of Conan's deduction tricks would become useless. As long as the police checked surveillance footage, most cases would be solved immediately, and there wouldn't be a need for detectives...
After completing the disguise, he hailed another taxi and, using broken Japanese, had the driver take him to a detached house not far from the pharmaceutical research institute.
"Ding dong."
Toru rang the doorbell. A wary voice came from inside the house.
"Who is it?"
"Pizza delivery."
"What flavor?"
"Pineapple."
"..."
The door opened. Standing behind it was a muscular European or American man fully geared up and holding a silenced pistol.
"Come in."
After entering, Toru carefully observed the surroundings before closing the door.
Inside the traditional Japanese house, including the man who had opened the door, there was a small team of six people. At that moment, they were all checking their weapons and equipment.
HK MP5 submachine guns, HK416 assault rifles, and one man was inspecting an M24 sniper rifle.
These men were all retired special forces from various NATO countries. Unable to adjust to normal life, they continued to roam battlefields around the world.
They were a group of vultures, taking on all sorts of jobs for money, each one a hardened veteran.
"Where's my equipment?"
"In that box."
"Are you all ready?"
"Ready. This time, we're eliminating everyone we see, right?"
The muscular man who had opened the door asked coldly.
Toru put on a Kevlar tactical vest while checking the contents of the box.
"Kill everyone you see, but pay attention. This one needs to be taken alive."
Toru took out a photo and handed it to them. It was a full-body shot of Shiho in a white lab coat.
Shiho was legally employed at the company, so finding her employment photo wasn't difficult.
In case she was still in the research institute, shooting her on the spot wouldn't be ideal.
The six-person team passed the photo around, memorizing the target's appearance.
They were all former elite special forces. Hostage rescues and target extraction were standard training missions for them.
"Understood."
They didn't ask further questions. After all, they had been paid. Their job was just to follow orders.
"Alright then, let's move out. The security personnel at this research institute aren't anything special. There's no need to sneak in. Just storm the place and kill everyone in sight."
Toru waved his hand, and the seven of them moved to a nearby parking garage, where two Humvees were parked.
There was no way this group could have smuggled in such armed Humvees and weapons on their own.
But since Toru had prepared all of this for them, it clearly meant that he had the backing of national resources.
They didn't know his true identity, but they could guess that he was likely an intelligence officer from some country.
Whether it was the KGB or the CIA, their job was just to get paid and complete the mission.
The two Humvees roared through the suburbs of Japan. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the target location.
As a research institute under a famous pharmaceutical company in Japan, the facility had security measures. Secretly, it was also a Black Organization stronghold, and the guards inside were illegally armed.
The entrance was blocked by an iron fence, with a guard booth stationed at the front.
The Humvees pulled up at the gate. The two guards looked a little curious.
They had heard the higher-ups were sending people over these past few days. Could this be them?
The guards walked toward the vehicles but hadn't even spoken yet when the windows rolled down, and two silenced pistols extended from inside.
Pfft. Pfft.
Two muffled shots rang out, and blood sprayed from the guards' heads as they dropped to the ground.
The Humvees slammed on the accelerator, smashing through the iron gate with a deafening roar and charging straight into the research institute's courtyard.
Since the client had requested zero survivors, they were about to cause a massive stir in Japan.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)