Peace Under the Covers

Gin was deathly silent.

Furuya Rei exercised a bit of patience, deciding not to mock Gin, who had nearly fallen for his linguistic trap. After all, what he was about to say next would make Gin look truly pathetic.

Far away on land, Gin quietly took a drag of his cigarette, moving away from Morofushi Hiromitsu (Scotch), who was intentionally trying to eavesdrop on his call with Bourbon.

"Speak."

A single word, yet it perfectly conveyed Gin's impatience.

"Doug placed the hard drive on his female assistant named Collins." This was a lead Furuya Rei had obtained earlier by questioning each of the six individuals who had brought Doug to Japan. The simplest and most foolish method, when dealing with small numbers, could save Furuya Rei unnecessary trouble and time.

"However... she is currently dead. The police have intervened, and it was a gruesome death." Furuya Rei spoke nonchalantly, "It’s practically like a horror movie."

Gin didn't care whether a woman's death was terrifying or not. He understood Furuya Rei's point: the item might fall into the hands of the police.

"Can it be retrieved before the police investigation?" Gin asked. He couldn't blow up the ship since Bourbon was still on it, so he could only wait until the police brought the evidence onto a helicopter, then blow up the helicopter. Although this would cause some trouble later, blowing up a helicopter was much simpler than blowing up a yacht.

"This is the second piece of bad news I wanted to tell you." Furuya Rei's tone grew heavy, hoping Gin could prepare himself mentally.

Gin’s finger, holding the cigarette, paused.

That’s right, Bourbon had mentioned one piece of bad news and one that was even worse.

"If it can't be retrieved, then forget it," Gin said, deciding to stick with blowing up the helicopter.

"It’s not a matter of whether it can be retrieved or not." Furuya Rei’s voice turned somber, "The item is currently not in Collins' room."

"..."

"There is a 99% chance it was taken by Collins' killer." He had just gone to the restroom and used a clue-suggesting device to check if the hard drive was in the culprit's hands. He had received a confirmed answer.

"Then retrieve it from the killer before the police catch them." This wasn't a major issue; Gin still trusted Bourbon's abilities. From the cases Bourbon had participated in, it was clear he had great potential as a detective, perhaps even one of the best.

Furuya Rei leaned slightly against the wall. "Then I’m truly sorry, Gin."

"This case isn't that simple. I’m afraid the killer won't be found anytime soon..."

Gin remained silent. He wished Bourbon would speak properly; if he was going to apologize, he should at least have an attitude to match. He could hear the suppressed laughter in Bourbon's voice.

"Just say everything you have to say." He felt he needed to stay calm. After all, he had asked Bourbon for help from the start instead of Rum's people, and he had prepared himself to be mocked for a while. Being laughed at by Bourbon was better than being laughed at by Rum. He had to endure.

Furuya Rei said nothing, but in that moment, he suddenly remembered why both he and Kudo Yusaku had felt that Hakusui Koichi's state of death looked so familiar.

"Gin, consider yourself lucky, but don't hold onto too much hope." Furuya Rei said, not waiting for Gin to respond, "Originally, Kudo Yusaku and I had absolutely no leads on this case."

"Kudo Yusaku? That novelist?" Gin frowned slightly. Although he didn't care for such trivial novels, Kudo Yusaku's reputation was legendary; even he had heard a few things. "Both of you couldn't find a lead... Wait, Bourbon, do you have a lead?"

"Just a little bit." Furuya Rei’s light tone suggested he didn't take the matter seriously at all. "But don't get your hopes up. It’s just another lead, unlike before when we were like rats scurrying in the dark. I can't guarantee I'll catch the killer."

"It doesn't matter," Gin sneered. "If you don't find it, you can stay in the vast ocean with that yacht."

"Come on, Gin," Furuya Rei asked, "Is your heart really that cold?"

Gin hung up with a "bang" and began arranging the organization's countermeasures in case Bourbon failed to find the killer or retrieve the hard drive.

Morofushi Hiromitsu wiped his sniper rifle. Seeing Gin return, he asked as if casually, "Is Bourbon in trouble?"

Gin glanced at him but didn't speak about Furuya Rei's situation. Instead, he mocked, "Scotch, have you really been conquered by Bourbon?"

Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled. "Because Bourbon is very cute."

Hearing those words, Gin felt as if Scotch had been brainwashed by Bourbon and let out a disdainful sneer.

"Gin doesn't think so because he simply can't see Bourbon's good points," Morofushi Hiromitsu said, his face showing clear sympathy. "Can you truly feel this kind of beautiful emotion belonging to normal humans?"

A face that suggested not being able to see Bourbon's cuteness was a great regret. Gin felt a surge of frustration in his chest from Morofushi Hiromitsu's expression and words.

*Scotch is probably beyond saving,* he thought. *Maybe I should report to the Boss and have him dragged to the lab.*

He threw his cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it hard with his heel, and watched Scotch continue to wipe the gun.

Forget it. Even if he told the Boss, Scotch would be fine as long as Bourbon still held a place in the Boss's heart. He should focus on how to get Bourbon out if it really came to blowing up the ship.

On the ship, Furuya Rei, unaware that Gin had been teased by his childhood friend, stepped out of the restroom, turned on the tap, and splashed some water on his face. He shook his hands dry, took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his hands, and returned to the crime scene with a slightly damp forehead.

"Amuro-kun, are you alright?" Kudo Yusaku was the first to notice Furuya Rei's return. He shifted his gaze from the police conducting the preliminary autopsy and asked with concern.

Furuya Rei shook his head, surveyed the surroundings, and said, "I'm fine. Where's Shinichi?"

"I asked an officer to take him to the dining hall," Kudo Yusaku explained. "Although that boy is quite brave, it's still a bit early for him to be exposed to a scene like this." After speaking, he looked at Furuya Rei. "Actually, I feel that even at Amuro-kun's age, you should avoid this a bit. You weren't feeling well just now, were you?"

Despite the advice, Kudo Yusaku's face showed an apologetic look. "Ah, am I being too overbearing by saying that?"

Facing the undisguised concern, Furuya Rei gave a soft laugh. "I know Kudo-sensei means well, but it's fine. I was just a bit nauseated earlier. I've seen worse situations than this."

"It seems I've said too much," Kudo Yusaku reproached himself with a joke, clearly not taking the previous moment to heart.

Furuya Rei stared at the scene in the room for a long time. Collins' time of death must have been before Hakusui Koichi's. Judging by the color of the blood on the floor, the estimated time of death was likely shortly after the passengers boarded the yacht in the afternoon. Unlike Hakusui Koichi, who had struggled violently before dying right in front of them, Collins showed no signs of struggle, despite the terrifying appearance of the death.

"Yusaku-sensei, you mentioned earlier that you joined this yacht party because you wanted to learn about horror novels from Akiya Wako-sensei, right?" Furuya Rei asked, his eyes never leaving the room as he stood beside Kudo Yusaku.

"Yes, that's correct." Facing Furuya Rei's sudden question, Kudo Yusaku was slightly surprised.

"Then... how much do you know about Akiya-sensei?"

"Not a lot, but because I wanted to consult him, I've read all of his works," Kudo Yusaku said. "I must say, as a leader of mainstream horror fiction in Japan, whether in plot arrangement or the use of horror elements, Akiya-sensei is..."

Kudo Yusaku paused, as if realizing something. He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment, then looked at the situation in the room again. He began to mutter to himself, "So that's it. So that familiar feeling was this?" He looked back at Furuya Rei, who showed no reaction to his actions, and smiled. "Amuro-kun, have you realized it too?"

Furuya Rei nodded. During his conversation with Gin, after mentioning how terrifying Collins' death was, he had immediately associated it with the horror novelist Akiya Wako, who was attending the party today. Akiya Wako's novels weren't extremely popular, for example, they weren't very well-liked among today's students. But in Japan, horror fiction still had a massive market. Some adults, especially office workers, enjoyed reading something scary during their breaks to stimulate their minds.

The first time Furuya Rei had read a horror novel, it was Akiya Wako's debut work. When Akiya Wako first started writing horror, it wasn't like his current works, which had deep connotations and reflected the hidden dark side of the world. Back then, it was purely about horror.

In Furuya Rei's actual middle school life, there were many times he was so scared that he wanted to sleep under the same blanket as Morofushi Hiromitsu. It wasn't until university, especially after entering the police academy and having his spirit cleansed by straightforward materialism, that he stopped fearing ghosts and such. Later, he preferred reading Akiya Wako's more recent works.

However, it must be said that the debut novels of that horror novelist had left an incredibly deep impression on Furuya Rei. It wasn't because of the fear after reading them in middle school, but because after that fear, he could walk home with Morofushi Hiromitsu after school and share a blanket at night.

At that time, Morofushi Hiromitsu had been adopted by a paternal uncle, while Furuya Rei lived in a large villa. To say he was alone wasn't entirely true; there was a nanny sent by his father, with whom he had a poor relationship, to look after him. But after Furuya Rei entered high school, he sent her away. Therefore, for a child who secretly read super-scary horror novels, such a large, empty villa was a bit too terrifying. Moreover, in the middle of the night, he was so scared he had no one to talk to.

After staying awake for three consecutive nights, he was discovered by Morofushi Hiromitsu. Hearing that he couldn't sleep because of a horror novel, that "white on the outside, black on the inside" childhood friend laughed without restraint.

"Hiro!" Furuya Rei was truly fuming at the time.

On the way home after school, the two stood facing each other. The blonde youth, with an embarrassed expression, stood opposite the black-haired youth, reaching out several times to cover the other's snickering mouth. The young Morofushi Hiromitsu laughed and dodged, then grabbed Furuya Rei's wrist with one hand, his cat-like eyes, rounder than in adulthood, blinking.

"If Zero is scared, you can come to my house," Morofushi Hiromitsu said. "Two people sleeping together won't be scary, right?"

"I'm not scared!" Furuya Rei said stubbornly, his neck stiff and his face defiant.

Morofushi Hiromitsu said indulgently, "Right, right, Zero isn't scared. Then may I ask if Rei-kun can stay with me tonight?"

Furuya Rei pouted. He didn't want to stay in that house that looked empty but felt like people were everywhere at night. He naturally followed Morofushi Hiromitsu home. Furuya Rei only had a nanny at home, so he didn't need to inform his father, whom he rarely saw. He packed two sets of clothes for bathing and left.

The uncle who adopted Morofushi Hiromitsu was very familiar with his nephew's best friend and welcomed Furuya Rei warmly. Morofushi Hiromitsu's aunt enthusiastically laid out an extra mattress in Morofushi's room for the two of them.

In the room at night, Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu lay side by side. Furuya Rei kept his eyes wide open. The moonlight filtered through the thin curtains, casting blurry shadows on the ceiling. He knew they were shadows of the trees outside Morofushi's house, but he couldn't help but imagine the scenes from the novel in his head.

"!!!"

Oh god, the more he thought, the more scared he got, and the more scared he got, the less he dared to close his eyes. Other people scared of ghosts would quickly close their eyes, fearing something strange would appear. Furuya Rei was different; he stared wide-eyed, believing that as long as he didn't blink, the monster wouldn't appear.

He stared like that for an unknown amount of time. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from beside him, startling Furuya Rei, who turned his head stiffly. He didn't know that Morofushi Hiromitsu, who was supposed to be asleep, had woken up and pulled his bed closer to Furuya Rei's.

"?" Furuya Rei looked at Morofushi Hiromitsu's face, which still held a hint of sleepiness, and a question mark slowly formed in his mind.

He saw Morofushi Hiromitsu lift his own blanket, draping half of it over Furuya Rei while he crawled into the space under the other half. By now, the distance between them was very close. Morofushi Hiromitsu's blue eyes were brilliant even in the dark. He moved his head closer to Furuya Rei. He reached out under the blanket and patted Furuya Rei gently, like soothing a child. "It's okay, it's okay. Zero isn't scared."

"..."

"!!!"

In the middle of the night, Furuya Rei shamefully blushed again. However, the distance where they could feel each other's warmth, the peace of mind at that moment, seeing Morofushi Hiromitsu's profile upon opening his eyes, the hand held tightly by Morofushi Hiromitsu for comfort under the blanket, and the indescribable affection in the air between them... It was an incomparably beautiful memory that Furuya Rei still couldn't help but chuckle softly at today.