Moonlight streamed through the balcony's sliding glass door, outlining the handsome features of the young man on the sofa.
He put away his gun and leaned back, long slender legs crossed. His expression couldn't be clearly seen, but those pale blue eyes looked unfathomably deep in the dim light like a suffocating abyss of the deep sea.
"W-Who are you?"
With his back pressed tightly against the wall, the still half-dazed Yoshiaki sobered up instantly. He even noticed the living room air conditioner was set very low, the floor felt cold against his bare feet.
The black-haired young man on the sofa stood up. More polite than expected, he slowly walked forward, reached out with his left hand, and turned on the main light switch. In a low voice, he said,
"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me, Yoshiaki-san. You can call me Nanase Tōru."
Clear, gentle eyes. Slightly flushed lips. Could such a handsome young man really be a home-invading criminal?
Though appearances can be deceiving… with a face like that, he could make a living anywhere, couldn't he?
The fear in Yoshiaki's heart gradually subsided. Lowering the arms he had raised defensively, he asked cautiously, "Nanase-san, what do you need from me?"
"There's something I'd like to entrust to you. I need you to design a firewall system. I wonder if Yoshiaki-san is interested in this deal."
Design a firewall? Was there really any need to barge into his house just to scare him like this?
But what Ritsu said next made the fear in Yoshiaki's heart surge again.
"Of course, you can refuse." Ritsu raised the gun again and pressed it under his chin, his expression indifferent.
"You have the right to refuse. And I have the right to… clean up those who refuse to cooperate."
Not kill. Clean up.
As if he were nothing more than an unimportant file tossed into a computer's recycle bin, taking up space, ready to be deleted at any moment.
Yoshiaki's legs went weak. He hurriedly said, "I-Is there anything I can help you with? J-Just tell me, I can do it! L-Let's talk this through, please don't shoot!"
"Create a firewall according to the requirements listed here. You'll have one year. Someone will contact you when the time comes."
"O-Okay… could you please put the gun away first, sir? No need to make things tense…"
Ritsu returned the handgun to the holster at his waist. He knew simple threats weren't enough. If he wanted to prevent Yoshiaki from calling the police or running away, he needed to apply more pressure. But the next steps wouldn't require his involvement. He could leave it to Rena.
"Don't call the police. Our people will be watching you at all times. You can't escape, so behave. Understood?"
That was enough for today. If he pushed too far and broke the man mentally, the software wouldn't get done. Ritsu walked out as if leaving his own home, taking out a key to unlock the already bolted security door. He waved at the stunned Yoshiaki.
"Rest well, Yoshiaki-san."
Hearing the door close, Yoshiaki wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He tiptoed to the entrance, listening for movement outside. He was about to peek through the peephole when that low voice sounded again from the other side.
"Yoshiaki-san, get some rest."
"!"
Yoshiaki dropped to the floor in fright. He hadn't left?!
Trembling, he got up and staggered toward the bedroom, diving straight under the covers, too scared to show himself. It felt like someone was watching him from the shadows.
The thought of calling the police vanished instantly. He believed what the man had said, someone really would be monitoring his life, every move he made.
Curling up under the blanket, he used the faint light of his phone to read the note. He had no choice but to complete the new firewall they demanded and quickly. Those lunatics might "clean him up" if he worked too slowly.
Back in the car on his way to the apartment, Ritsu put on his earpiece and called Rena, issuing his instructions.
"Hello, Kir. It's me."
"Macallan? It's so late, do you need something urgent?"
"You could say that." Ritsu lightly tapped the brakes at a red light and said calmly,
"I've installed bugs and micro-cameras in Hara Yoshiaki's home. He probably won't dare change the locks. I'll bring you the key tomorrow, go over periodically to move the devices around. Keep him under surveillance until he finishes the firewall software."
"Understood. Anything else?"
That actually stumped Ritsu. He had planned to copy Gin's style and hang up immediately, but he'd already missed the timing.
"Get some good rest. Things might get busy soon."
"Okay. You too. Good night."
Beep… beep… beep…
"?"
Ritsu never expected Rena to hang up before him. What annoyed him even more was that the "good night" he'd wanted to say got stuck in his throat.
'Since when did she pick up bad habits too? Of all things, she learned Gin's lightning-fast hang-up. At least I'm her superior… this really kills my authority.'
Back at the apartment, he unlocked the door to find the living room lights still on.
At some point, unless someone stayed out overnight, they had all started waiting until the last person returned from a mission before going to bed together. Three people with different surnames living in a small apartment, yet somehow it felt like they were real brothers.
Except the eldest, Akai, and the second, Rei, were naturally incompatible, probably cats and dogs in a past life.
Rei, who had been curled up on the sofa watching a late-night variety show, had fallen asleep at some point. Ritsu quietly walked over, picked up a blanket, and draped it over him. Even such a gentle gesture disturbed Rei's light sleep.
"Mmh… Macallan, you're back."
"Go sleep in your room. Don't you have a mission in Mie Prefecture tomorrow?"
"Yeah, you should get some rest too."
As Ritsu cleaned up the snack wrappers on the coffee table and carefully sorted the trash, he saw Akai returning from the balcony after smoking, phone in one hand and a can of beer in the other.
"Go to bed early. You can deal with your studies tomorrow. Good night."
"…"
No need to guess who he was talking to. Ritsu hadn't expected to get fed such fresh PDA from Akai. Half-lidded, he said irritably, "Didn't Akemi tell you to quit smoking? Smoking and drinking… are you trying to die early?"
"Heh." Shuichi teased, "Why don't you say that to Gin instead?"
'Because I'd like to live a few more years, I'm not looking to die young.'
"Go to sleep. Your dark circles are starting to rival China's national treasure, the giant panda." Ritsu still couldn't treat Akai like a real older brother. After all, this dense "big brother" hadn't recognized him at all.
After watching Akai head back to his room, Ritsu turned off the living room lights and went to the bathroom to wash up. By the time he finally lay down in bed, it was already 2:42 a.m.
There were less than four hours left before tomorrow's mission.
Ritsu couldn't help worrying about his health. He really didn't want to be a workhorse.
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Bonus chapter @20 PS