Chapter Text
THE insistent ringing of a mobile phone woke Toto up. He stretched his arms and legs, until he realised that he was lying on his futon in Asakusa.
Huh?
Was it hours ago when he was at the hotel with his brother?
He felt out of orbit when he tried to get his phone from the nightstand but was too late to answer it. The caller decided not to wait on him.
Disorientation continued when he read what day it was on the display.
“What the fuck happened?” He muttered to himself.
Touching his head, there was no trace of allergic attacks that he suffered a while ago. His nose canals were clear. His headache was nonexistent. The hives, even the swollen puffy eyes, vanished. He was not certain himself how long was he out, but if the display on his phone was correct then it meant he missed two days of his waking life.
Eli’s medication worked. But at what cost?
He thought of calling his brother but ultimately clenched his fist. He remembered their long-time ago conversation.
“You don’t call me. I call you. Always. I never own any gadget that can be traced back to me. But please keep in mind that our communication may not always be analogue.”
His brother once told him. Toto felt so stupid. He was so gullible he knew that now. Why would he believe that his brother never had any malicious intentions? After all, the Moriartys brought him up.
Beating himself up, his phone rang again. There was no number registered. Definitely a disposable one that he utilised every time he called the police officer.
“Eli, what the fuck?!” Toto opened his mouth, blurting out expletives was not like him.
“Toto, is that how you greet your brother? You are so unlike the prim and proper police officer everybody knows. Are you showing me your true self? What will Amamiya-senpai say?”
The voice sounded disappointed, yet almost mocking, deriding him.
“Cut the crap. What happened after you drugged me?”
“Nothing… significant. I didn’t drug you. Nothing stupid. Or anything that will harm your reputation.” There were noises in the background. The familiar screaming of brown-eared bulbuls that reminded Toto of a death rattle meshed in with the voice of his brother. “It was medicine after all.”
“What kind of stuff did you do?” He walked around his flat, scratching his face to calm himself down.
“For one, I helped improve your performance in the police force and second… haven’t you tried going for the next stage of your relationship with Ron Kamonohashi?”
It sounded ominous, all of it. Toto would love to strike his own brother. Only if he were standing in front of him.
“What happened, Eli? This runaround is making me curse you not wanting to see you ever again.” Toto almost screamed.
“Why don’t you see for yourself? It is my birthday gift for you!” He released a sigh as if fed up with the world. “While you were sleeping on your bed wearing your cozy pyjamas recovering from allergic reaction, I did what I could. And everything in your favour.”
The conversation ended there. A static buzzing replaced his brother’s voice now gone for the time being.
“Eli?! Eli?!” Dumbfounded, he wanted to throw his phone against the wall. If only he didn’t need it. On the other hand, maybe he should just to let go of his anger and frustration.
Birthday gift, huh? As if it is not your birthday too, asshole.
The moment he wanted to use it like a discarded ball, his phone rang again. He noticed that he missed several messages too. All from Ron.
“Hey!”
“Toto?! Uhm, you are awake.”
“Yeah. What’s up?” Toto could hear his own heartbeat racing so fast. Afraid and nervous at the same time of his twin brother’s interferences to his life, mostly when it came to the matters of the heart, he loathed of what Ron had to say.
“I wonder when are you coming back to the apartment. I heard that you solved a case yesterday and now you are free. Would you mind returning here today?”
Again?
“Ahh, sure. But I’ll pass by the station first and ask Amamiya-senpai if she has anything I can work on.”
Did Ron want to trap him and make himself confess that an impostor tried to trick him?
“I miss you, Toto.”
Huh? Miss me? What?
“Ron…”
“Oh well, I’ve said enough, but be sure to come over here. It is very important.”
What ever happened between Ron and the supposed him?
~ tbc ~
PS: The rating will go up after this chapter.