Reunion at Teitan Elementary School

Vodka settled into the driver's seat. A few days later, he once again drove Big Brother's Porsche, picking up Bourbon in the back seat, accompanied by Scotch, whom he had been frequently interacting with lately.

However, as Vodka glanced in the rearview mirror, why did Bourbon's mouth look a little swollen? Hmm, Scotch's mouth also seemed slightly swollen, though not as noticeably as Bourbon's. Did these two fall down the stairs? And both managed to hit their mouths?

"Drive." Gin spoke, and Vodka, like a wound-up machine, immediately dismissed all thoughts, precisely obeying his Big Brother's command.

Gin paid no mind to the two somewhat disheveled figures in the back, lit a cigarette, rolled down the car window, and silently mused on how fortunate it was that Boss had called Vermouth, who had just completed a mission, to leave earlier. Otherwise, seeing Bourbon's appearance, Boss would likely fly into a rage again.

What Vodka noticed, Gin naturally couldn't miss. But his curiosity wasn't as intense as Vodka's, and besides, what little morality he possessed was truly nonexistent. Moreover, in Gin's eyes, the relationship between the two in the back was absolutely dominated by Bourbon. Regardless of outward appearances, the truth must be as he thought. After all, Bourbon was highly skilled at charming people's hearts.

Resting his cigarette-holding hand on the car window's edge, Gin expressionlessly watched the cityscape flash by, driving straight towards the safe house where Bourbon and Scotch were temporarily staying. In his heart, as long as Bourbon wasn't harmed, that was all that mattered. As for Scotch? He was nothing.

But then…

Vodka drove the Porsche to the road in front of the safe house, and Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu got out.

"Bourbon." Furuya Rei had just closed the car door, preparing to leave, when Gin called out from behind him.

Furuya Rei turned his head, his gaze questioning as he looked at Gin.

The silver-haired man glanced at Scotch, who was standing behind him, then instructed the person in front: "Play however you like, just don't let Scotch get caught by the police. The organization is short on snipers." He added, "Bourbon, please be mindful of your minor status. If you act out of line in public, regardless of the circumstances, I won't help you get rescued."

Furuya Rei's mouth twitched. He knew it; his reputation with Gin was already in tatters. But Bourbon still wore a confident smile, as if everything was under control: "Don't worry, I know my limits."

"Best." Gin uttered the last two words, then signaled Vodka to drive straight ahead.

After working tirelessly for days, even the organization's top performers couldn't endure it and needed to return to the safe house for some catch-up sleep.

Furuya Rei and Morofushi Hiromitsu returned to the villa, muttering as they walked: "I feel like my reputation has been ruined by you, Scotch."

Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled, offering no reply. No, by all appearances, his own reputation was the one that would suffer more.

One mission ending didn't mean a life of leisure had arrived. But Gin truly no longer demanded Scotch take on missions from Bourbon's side. It was just that occasionally, when assigning tasks to Furuya Rei, he no longer sent support personnel for him, leaving Bourbon to find people to complete everything himself. His reliability within the organization had increased.

Furuya Rei tossed the USB in his hand, then fumbled with his fingers to type a message to Kazami Yuya on the phone in his pocket. The intelligence here wasn't important to the organization, but it could help the public security police earn more achievements. With the item in hand, Furuya Rei looked towards the unseen area outside the window, waving two fingers forward at his temple.

"Bourbon is retreating, prepare for backup." Morofushi Hiromitsu's lips curled into a smile as he spoke into his earpiece, continuing to stare through his scope at the area near the building where Furuya Rei was. It wasn't until he saw Furuya Rei get into the organization's backup car that he put away his sniper rifle and tucked it into his Bass bag. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he blended into the crowd like an ordinary person, then took a roundabout route, seeing the car that picked up Furuya Rei drive away in a small alley. An outside member, whom Furuya Rei had asked to drive and who was given the title of a "big shot," started the car. After getting out, he watched the car drive away without looking back, taking a deep breath of exhaust fumes.

"After that, there were no more missions." Furuya Rei plugged the packaged USB into his computer, uploading the information inside to the organization's forum database. This mission was considered a complete success.

"What do you want to do?" Morofushi Hiromitsu asked as he drove, because whenever there were no missions before, Furuya Rei would go to high school as assigned and didn't experience anything special.

Furuya Rei put the used computer back into his backpack and took out his phone: "Tomorrow, I want to go to Teitan Elementary School."

"?" Morofushi Hiromitsu stopped at a traffic light, turning to look at his childhood friend with a puzzled expression. Was he addicted to school? Tomorrow was a holiday, and he had been thinking of going out with Zero if they had free time. The recently opened amusement park wasn't bad.

"Teitan Elementary School and Haido Elementary School are jointly holding a charity fair, tomorrow." Furuya Rei offered an apologetic smile to Morofushi Hiromitsu. "Don't look at me like that, I want to hang out with Hiro too, but—" "Ahem, well, because a certain important person also wants to go there, I have to check it out." Furuya Rei explained, "Plus, I've already accepted Shinichi-kun's invitation."

That tsundere little detective probably spent a lot of effort building up his courage before calling him with a 'I don't care if you come or not' tone to invite him. At this point, it wouldn't be right for him to refuse. Moreover, Furuya Rei knew that Akai Shuichi was also monitoring this charity fair, intending to strengthen his connection with him to find an opportunity to infiltrate the organization.

"Sorry~" Furuya Rei clasped his hands in front of his chest, his grey-blue eyes looking at Morofushi Hiromitsu filled with an utterly pitiful apology.

Morofushi Hiromitsu turned his head and drove. He didn't know what Vermouth had told Boss before leaving, but after he got Boss's email address, the previously silent email suddenly chimed unusually two days ago. Then came a warning from a certain organization's Boss. It requested that Scotch, while Bourbon (Amuro Tooru) was still a minor, should not appear by his side outside of school pick-up and drop-off times. Otherwise, going with Zero to the charity fair tomorrow wouldn't be bad.

Thinking this, Morofushi Hiromitsu spoke with a melancholic tone: "So why did we choose the minor identity back then?"

"I am very certain and confident that this identity was chosen by you guys back then." Furuya Rei replied. That was the result of everyone's collective wisdom; it had nothing to do with him.

Morofushi Hiromitsu said nothing more. He remembered that he had indeed "added fuel to the fire" back then, primarily to see his childhood friend's youthful appearance. What he had done, no matter how bitter the consequences, he had to swallow himself.

The next day.

Teitan Elementary School was packed with people, unusually lively. Students from both elementary schools gathered there, holding a charity fair. The gymnasium was neatly cleaned, with uniform tents set up. The blue and white colors looked especially vibrant and full of life.

Due to Boss's warning to Morofushi Hiromitsu earlier, Morofushi Hiromitsu did not bring Furuya Rei this time. The minor Bourbon had to diligently cycle there. He then locked his bicycle in an empty lot next to the school, which was designated as a temporary parking area.

There were so many people.

The charity fair had been going on for a while, and many parents were dragged by their children to stalls to watch them run their small "businesses." There were also people like Furuya Rei, who received an invitation from a certain child, walking through the neatly arranged tents, being pulled aside by a few clever children to "market" a batch of goods, happily buying a pile of probably useless items.

"Oh my~" A voice rang out simultaneously, and a pair of hands landed on Furuya Rei's shoulder. Furuya Rei instinctively tensed his muscles and turned his head. A woman with chestnut hair, tied in a single ponytail, wearing large sunglasses, had placed her hand on his shoulder. Very familiar.

"Could you be—Amuro-kun?" Kudo Yukiko removed half of her sunglasses with one hand, her large eyes looking at Furuya Rei. Her son was clearly almost high school age, yet she still exuded a youthful purity only found in young girls.

Kudo Yukiko, formerly Fujimine Yukiko, Kudo Shinichi's mother, Kudo Yusaku's wife… A string of information about Kudo Yukiko flashed through Furuya Rei's mind.

"Hello, Mrs. Kudo." Furuya Rei nodded, greeting her politely.

Kudo Yukiko squeezed the hand on Furuya Rei's shoulder. "Don't be so formal." Furuya Rei only felt that the retired superstar was looking at him with eyes full of murderous intent.

"…" Understood.

Furuya Rei, having mastered social cues, immediately understood Kudo Yukiko's meaning. A smile bloomed on the young man's face: "Sister Kudo Yukiko." After all, he called Vermouth "sister," and Kudo Yukiko and Vermouth were good friends. Moreover, his real age was also younger than Kudo Yukiko's, so there was nothing wrong with it.

"Yusaku and Shinichi always said Amuro-kun was a good child." Hearing Furuya Rei's address, Kudo Yukiko immediately happily covered her mouth and laughed, looking especially cheerful. "Meeting you today, you truly are a very sensible child."

Kudo Yukiko's naturally intimate demeanor was even more natural than Kudo Yusaku's. Because Furuya Rei's use of "sister" pleased her, her way of addressing Furuya Rei immediately became more familiar. Unlike people meeting for the first time, their previous relationship seemed incredibly familiar through Kudo Yukiko's "Amuro-kun."

"Amuro-kun was invited by my son, wasn't he?" Kudo Yukiko finally took her hand off Furuya Rei's shoulder, took two steps forward, and turned to invite Furuya Rei: "Shall I lead Amuro-kun to Shinichi and the kids' stall?"

"Thank you, Sister Yukiko." Furuya Rei didn't refuse, smiling as he caught up with Kudo Yukiko.

Behind them, amidst the passing crowd, a man in a knitted beanie hat watched the two figures leave with green eyes. It seemed his decision to come to this charity fair was correct. Look, hadn't he already met his intended target?

"Moroboshi-sensei." A child ran up and tugged at Akai Shuichi's sleeve, pulling him in another direction: "Sensei, come see what we're selling, hurry, hurry!" The child urged Akai Shuichi with his eyes.

"Coming." Akai Shuichi noted the direction Furuya Rei had left in, then turned and allowed the child to pull him along.

Kudo Yukiko led Furuya Rei to a small stall located in the central northeast area.

"Shinichi, look who Mom brought!" From a distance, Furuya Rei and Kudo Yukiko saw Kudo Shinichi standing in front of the stall with his friends, inviting customers. Kudo Yukiko cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted.

Kudo Shinichi looked up and saw his mother, who was disguised but not entirely concealed, along with Furuya Rei, who was following behind his mother, poking his head out and smiling at him.

"It's Fujimine Yukiko!"

"So amazing, Kudo's mom?"

"My mom loves her, and so do I!"

The children, seeing Kudo Yukiko arrive, immediately widened their eyes and chattered excitedly. Their gazes towards Kudo Yukiko were filled with a desire to get close but a reluctance to approach.

Taking advantage of his mother being surrounded by his classmates, Kudo Shinichi looked at Furuya Rei approaching, then shifted his gaze to his own stall.

"Want to buy something?" Kudo Shinichi tried to market.

Their stall sold all sorts of adorable small cookies. A short-haired girl with a hair clip and a girl with slightly fluffy hair were in the back, using various animal molds to press shapes onto the cookies. Then they put them into a simple oven on the side to bake.

Furuya Rei naturally recognized these two girls. The second young lady of the Suzuki Financial Group, Suzuki Sonoko, and Kudo Shinichi's future girlfriend, Mori Ran. Hmm, Miss Mori Ran's father was also Mori Kogoro, whom he had admired for a while during his time at the police academy.

While sorting through the reported information, Furuya Rei lowered his head to look at the packaged small cookies on the stall. The fire was controlled very well, and the oven wasn't operated by the children themselves. Inside, there wasn't just one girl baking; there was also a lady standing beside her. She must be the girl's mother; the two looked very similar. Seeking adult help at charity fairs like this was perfectly normal.

"You can try one first." Mori Ran saw Furuya Rei standing in front of the stall for a while, patted the flour off her hands, and came over, enthusiastically introducing: "These bunny-shaped cookies are especially cute." Saying so, she pushed a plate towards Furuya Rei. Her face was full of expectation.

Furuya Rei took a bite as Mori Ran suggested. Quite delicious, crispy, with a rich milky flavor.

"Isn't it delicious?" Mori Ran lifted her small face, practically writing "buy one, buy one" on her expression.

Furuya Rei rubbed his fingers together, brushing off the cookie crumbs stuck to them. "Then I'd like…" He secretly calculated the people he wanted to give them to. Hiro, Gin, Vodka, the four snipers he knew before, Vermouth wasn't here so never mind. Hmm… begrudgingly add Boss too. As for the public security police and those three wretched classmates… Later, definitely later.

"Eight packs." Furuya Rei said.

Kudo Shinichi looked at him: "That's too much; it'll be wasteful if you can't finish it. You don't need to buy it just to help."

Furuya Rei placed his hand on Kudo Shinichi's head, his tone gentle, his words cruel: "If the food wasn't edible, even if Shinichi-kun invited me, I wouldn't help."

Kudo Shinichi was speechless, this cold and heartless guy.

Mori Ran and Suzuki Sonoko, who had come to help package after hearing Furuya Rei wanted to buy things, had finished wrapping everything. They were all freshly baked cookies, still warm.

Hearing Furuya Rei and Kudo Shinichi talk, both girls asked with puzzled expressions: "Shinichi, do you know this big brother?"

"Reluctantly, yes." Kudo Shinichi said.

Reluctantly… what did that mean? The two little girls didn't understand.

"Shinichi-kun invited me to the charity fair." Furuya Rei didn't hesitate to expose the little thoughts hidden beneath Kudo Shinichi's tsundere facade: "The invitation was very, very sincere, like he would cry if I didn't come…"

"Ah ah ah! Don't talk nonsense!" Kudo Shinichi wished he were a little taller so he could cover the mouth of this person who was spouting nonsense. Why would he cry? He clearly said it was fine if he didn't come!

Suzuki Sonoko covered her mouth, secretly chuckling.

"Shinichi…" Mori Ran still wanted to save face for her childhood friend, praising: "Shinichi is also very good at pouting!" Her tone was firm, as if it were the absolute truth.

"No… no, it's not…" Kudo Shinichi was going crazy. What was Ran-chan saying?

On the side, Suzuki Sonoko finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. Hahahaha, the arrogant guy's choked expression was so rare; she had to laugh her fill.

Kudo Shinichi, unable to explain himself, looked at Furuya Rei, his mouth slowly, slowly turning down. Annoying!

"What are you kids doing?" Kudo Yukiko, who had just struggled to escape from a group of child fans, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and seeing her son looking at Amuro-kun with eyes that wanted to devour him whole, she asked.

Furuya Rei acted as if he had done nothing, and Kudo Shinichi had turned out this way on his own: "Just teasing Shinichi-kun a little?"

"Ah, ah." Kudo Yukiko understood. "Shinichi is very easy to tease, isn't he?" Her tone was as if she had found a kindred spirit. Furuya Rei and Kudo Yukiko exchanged glances, tacitly understanding each other.

"Oh no, we're almost out of flour." Mori Ran, who was about to roll out a fresh sheet of dough, peered into the flour bag and saw the bottom.

Kudo Shinichi, who particularly didn't want to stay at the scene, immediately said: "I'll go to the classroom to get some." He then made to leave.

"I'll go with you." Furuya Rei asked Mori Ran and the other girls to hold the cookies he had bought, then caught up with Kudo Shinichi.

Kudo Shinichi turned his head, baring his teeth, looking extremely fierce.

Furuya Rei raised both hands, appearing to surrender: "I apologize, truly sorry." His grey-blue eyes stared at Kudo Shinichi, full of sincerity.

"…" It wasn't a big deal anyway; he wouldn't pursue it. Kudo Shinichi quickly made peace with the younger kids.

"Alright, Mom will help too." Kudo Yukiko, who was kept back by her son and his new young friends, rolled up her sleeves, ready for a big battle, and joined Mori Ran and Suzuki Sonoko in using the molds.

Furuya Rei followed Kudo Shinichi to the lecture hall area of Teitan Elementary School. Inside, there was a large classroom specially prepared for children selling at the charity fair, with storage lockers where the children put their own cooking ingredients into assigned lockers.

"Do we still need milk?" Furuya Rei looked at the remaining items in the locker, then at Kudo Shinichi, who was struggling to pull out a large bag of flour, then easily bent down and hugged the bag to his chest.

Kudo Shinichi, who had just lost the bag of flour, stood up in a daze, looking at Furuya Rei, then at his own small body. "…"

"Take, take it up." Kudo Shinichi said, reaching for a carton of milk.

"That's why I say, strawberry flavor is the best."

"I still prefer blueberry."

"Watermelon isn't bad either."

Furuya Rei and Kudo Shinichi, along with a few others, chatted as they passed children coming to get things. At that moment, a man in a black coat entered the door. At a glance, Furuya Rei thought he saw someone from the organization.

"Just these, let's go." Kudo Shinichi locked their locker, carrying the carton of milk as he spoke to Furuya Rei.

But just as he took a step, Furuya Rei reached out and stopped him.

"What…" Before he could finish asking, the two men at the door pulled out two automatic pistols from their coats and fired a volley at the classroom ceiling.

"Ah—" The sudden commotion made the children in the classroom scream. The incandescent light bulb on the ceiling was hit by a bullet, and its outer glass shattered. One incandescent bulb, perhaps due to years of neglect, had its connecting wires detach and fell straight down. The boy standing below, unaware of what was happening above his head, was so frightened his legs trembled. Then he saw a blond older brother rush towards the boy, and the two slid a distance on the ground, blocked by another person. The light tube landed vertically on the ground, and due to the impact of the fall, it snapped into two with a "clack."

"Amuro-kun, you're not… Uh… Moroboshi-sensei?" Kudo Shinichi ran over, looking at the man who had blocked Furuya Rei and the boy, a little surprised.

Furuya Rei held the boy and stood up, turning to look at Akai Shuichi behind him, frowning as he asked: "Why are you here?"

"I'm tutoring this child in English." Akai Shuichi said, glancing at the two armed men who had rushed into the classroom, herding everyone to squat in one spot, then signaled to Furuya Rei. Beside his feet was a boy who looked about eight or nine years old. "The boy invited me."

Oh, Furuya Rei nodded; he understood. Holding tightly to the boy he had saved and Kudo Shinichi, facing two automatic pistols and threats from two men carrying bombs, Furuya Rei ignored Akai Shuichi and obediently squatted down beside them. Life wasn't easy; the FBI was performing for a living.