They walked along a path lined with blooming hydrangeas and arrived at the beach.
Since they came a bit late, and their spot wasn't near the swimming or surfing areas, there were no other tourists in sight. The only sounds were the occasional passing car or motorcycle, and the gentle waves lapping against the rocks along the shore.
It was quiet, just the way they liked it.
Ritsu, worried about getting his shoes wet, simply took off his shoes and socks, rolled up the legs of his jeans, and stepped barefoot onto the soft sand. The beach still held the warmth of the setting sun, it felt pleasantly warm.
Rei, on the other hand, was the type who charged in without hesitation. He ran straight into the seawater with his shoes still on. Whether it was childishness or just a sudden urge to play, he suddenly scooped up seawater and splashed it toward Ritsu.
Lost in thought while staring at the deep blue sea, Ritsu was caught completely off guard and instantly turned into a "soaked rat." He shot a half-lidded glare at the snickering Rei. It wasn't that he was angry, he just wanted to remind him that they weren't the only ones here.
There was also an old smoker nearby, watching while pulling out a cigarette to light up. Could he maybe tone it down a bit?
Akai raised an eyebrow slightly, a bit surprised. He hadn't expected Bourbon from the intelligence division… to be more childish than he imagined.
But thinking about it, everyone in the Organization seemed to have a bit of childishness in them. Even using alcohol names as codenames felt rather juvenile, like playing house as kids, with someone pretending to be the father and someone the mother.
And he'd heard Macallan mention before that Vodka was an idol otaku, a hardcore fan who even tried to recruit others into fandom.
Well… thinking of it that way, it wasn't all that surprising.
After all, this was a massive organization built by a bunch of problematic overgrown children.
Akai lit a cigarette and narrowed his eyes as he looked out at the sea. The last time he'd been at a beach in Japan was five years ago, when he accepted his mother's invitation to go to Atami Beach.
Come to think of it, he'd met a very interesting boy there.
"You've already been found out! Aniki, your true identity is Pierrot, right?!"
At the thought, a faint smile tugged at Akai's lips. That boy who had solemnly declared himself "a disciple of Sherlock Holmes," he wondered if he was still passionate about deduction, still pursuing his path of reasoning.
"Gotcha!"
"?"
Cold seawater came splashing straight at him, dousing his cigarette and leaving a faint salty taste in his mouth. Akai looked at Bourbon, who had ambushed him, with mild annoyance. He really didn't feel like joining their antics but if he didn't teach them a little lesson… that wouldn't do.
"One crate."
"No, make it two."
Now it was Rei's turn to be confused. He blinked his eyes, not understanding what kind of code these two were speaking in.
"Deal."
Akai and Ritsu moved at the same time, instantly pinning Rei into the seawater. The reason for their cooperation was simple, two crates of Calpis.
A fair trade and a classic betrayal. After nearly half a year of living together, they had developed a strangely synchronized understanding.
Rei couldn't believe his best friend had betrayed him. Upon learning their friendship was worth only two crates of Calpis, he fell into a sulky mood that no one could coax him out of.
Fortunately, the fuel delivery arrived soon after. But when the staff member saw three fully soaked adults, his head filled with question marks.
As he rode off on his motorcycle, he couldn't help but call a coworker to complain,
"Ran into three weird people delivering fuel today. They were completely soaked—no idea what they'd been doing."
Their impulsive childish antics meant they returned to the apartment in wet clothes, with the car's AC blasting. As soon as they got inside, all three of them sneezed in unison.
Hopefully, they wouldn't catch a cold tomorrow.
----
September 20th, Thursday.
It had been two months since the "Whiskey trio" began carrying out missions together. They'd completed quite a number of assignments, big and small. To prevent them from becoming too familiar with each other, Gin had issued new orders.
For example, Ritsu's partner for today's mission was Korn, the "brainless one" of the brainless and grumpy duo. Having already experienced just how crazy the other one was, this uncle who was supposedly obsessed with headshots… probably wasn't very reliable either.
Fortunately, today's mission had gone fairly well. And his sniping skills were slightly better than Chianti's, by about half a pinky finger's margin.
That said, his way of speaking was truly unbearable. Ritsu felt lucky he wasn't short-tempered. Otherwise, listening to him talk would've driven him insane.
With a guitar case slung over his back, Ritsu headed toward the Shinkansen station, only to notice Korn suddenly stopping and staring blankly in one direction.
"Korn, what are you standing there for? We're leaving."
"Want that."
"?"
Following Korn's gaze, Ritsu realized he was looking at animal-shaped cotton candy. Something so out of place for the Organization and he actually liked it?
Wait… hold on a second.
If his memory served him right, Korn was the same age as Vodka, meaning he was already thirty this year.
A thirty-year-old, with the appearance of someone nearing forty, wearing round-lens goggles. If that kind of guy stood in line full of kids… he'd definitely be mistaken for a creepy uncle.
"Korn, those things don't taste very good. If you're hungry, we can go to a convenience store—"
"Korn wants this."
'Why are you referring to yourself by your codename like that? A grown man acting cute is downright unsettling!' Ritsu pressed a hand to his forehead. He finally understood why Gin didn't like bringing Korn and Chianti along on missions.
"No. If we miss the train, we'll have to wait for the next one."
Korn frowned at the yellow duck-shaped cotton candy, standing there silently in protest. He had no intention of listening to Macallan, he would resist through sheer, stubborn silence.
He wanted the cotton candy. He wanted to eat it. If he didn't get it, he'd just stand there indefinitely.
Ritsu's mouth twitched. Maintaining his poker face was getting harder by the second, so he finally gave in.
"Fine. Wait over there. What shape do you want?"
"Duck yellow."
With half-lidded eyes, Ritsu joined the line full of children. Feeling slightly embarrassed, he lowered the brim of his cap. In front of him, a middle school boy and girl in uniforms were arguing in a Kansai dialect.
"Huh? Cotton candy should be eaten in its pure form. What's so good about those weird shapes? It's all just food coloring anyway."
"But the little yellow duck is super cute!"
"What's cute about that duck?!"
"It just is! It's like Psyduck from Pokémon, don't you think it's adorable?"
"Not at all. It looks stupid… heh, kinda like you, Kazuha."
"You jerk, Heiji!"
"Hey! No violence allowed!"
Standing behind them, Ritsu watched the elementary school-level squabble with a blank expression. So childish… though he did agree with the boy whose skin tone matched his pet crow.
These artificially colored yellow ducks didn't look cute at all. Especially after a few licks, they'd definitely deform into something grotesque.
"Handsome guy, what shape do you want?"
"A duck."
After paying, Ritsu took the yellow duck-shaped cotton candy. Making sure no one was watching, he handed it to the eagerly waiting Korn.
'Come to think of it… back at the amusement park during the mission, this guy had been staring at the carousel the whole time, hadn't he?'
Imagining Korn sitting on a carousel horse, Ritsu couldn't help but shiver.
Yeah… that was way too terrifying.
As expected, there really were no normal people in this Organization.
----
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