Chapter Text
Beika Town was suddenly hit by rain.
A blond man arrived at a mansion with ‘Kudo’ written by the gate and rang the doorbell.
A man wearing a beanie hat opened the door. Seeing the visitor, he looked genuinely surprised.
‘…Well, this is rare.’
‘Sorry for showing up uninvited,’ the blond man said.
‘It’s fine. What brings you here, Furuya-kun? Why didn’t you bring an umbrella? You’re soaked - do you want to come in?’
The man named Furuya Rei lowered his head slightly. ‘No. I’ll leave soon.’
Raindrops slid down the ends of his golden hair.
‘I came to say… Akai-san, I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you in the past…’
Akai Shuichi looked at Furuya with a somewhat surprised expression.
‘The National Police Agency should have already expressed their thanks to the FBI. But personally, I want to say… for me, and for my fellow Public Security officers - you’ve really gone through a lot because of us…’
Furuya spoke with his head bowed, hiding his expression.
Akai let out a light sigh. ‘I see. That’s unusual of you. It’s fine... don’t worry about it.’
Furuya lowered his head even further.
‘Goodbye,’ he said, turning to leave.
‘Wait,’ Akai called out, ‘didn’t you drive here?’
‘No. My car’s being repaired. I walked here.’
‘Then let me drive you back.’ Akai spoke as he pulled a coat off the rack by the door. ‘Wear this so you don’t catch a cold.’ There was firm insistence in his voice that brooked no refusal.
The car glided smoothly along the streets of Beika Town.
The two of them sat in silence.
‘I’ve said it before… regarding him, I felt deep pain and regret,’ Akai began slowly. ‘If things had been handled more carefully back then, perhaps we wouldn’t have lost him.’
Furuya kept his head low, saying nothing.
‘I never expected you to forgive me. After all, I was the only one who could have saved him at the time. But what’s done cannot be undone, and life must go on. If he knew from the other side, I’m sure he wouldn’t want to see us remain at odds forever.’
Furuya still didn't say a word.
Akai turned to glance at him. ‘Sorry, I spoke out of turn. Perhaps you’re not ready to talk about this yet. We’ve arrived - is this the place?’
‘Yes. Thank you.’ That was all Furuya said during the entire ride.
Furuya got out of the car and walked toward his flat, Akai’s words still echoing in his mind.
Yes, he too had replayed it over and over - if only he had been stronger, more alert, more cautious back then, perhaps Hiro wouldn’t have died…
After the Black Organisation was destroyed, as the only remaining undercover agent in Public Security, he had countless reports to write. Among them was one he could not possibly avoid: the report on how Morofushi Hiromitsu - his partner, and also his lover - had perished during the undercover operation. Although he had vaguely anticipated it and had mentally prepared himself, when the truth about that rooftop finally came to light, Furuya couldn’t help but bury his face in his hands and sob uncontrollably.
At this point, he no longer had any excuse to wallow in the past to escape reality.
Just as Akai had said today - life must go on. As someone who had survived, he knew the only way to honour the deceased was to continue living with effort and purpose. But, before he could do that, Furuya felt he needed to put a proper end to everything. That was the reason he had gone to visit Akai.
Coming back to his senses, Furuya realised he was standing in the entrance of his flat, still wearing Akai’s coat.
He took it off and hung it up. Having completed this task he had been preoccupied with, he didn’t feel the sense of relief he had expected.
After knowing Akai for so many years, even Furuya had to admit that he was a highly capable and resolute man. Clear-headed and sharp, brave and decisive in action, he was a trusted ally - though Furuya had never liked how, during their time in the Organisation, Akai always meddled in his action plans, as if he thought Furuya was incapable.
In truth, Furuya didn’t believe that Hiro had been driven to a dead end by Akai. He just needed a reasonable and safe outlet for his grief, anger, resentment, and guilt.
Yet he still couldn’t understand why Akai had shouldered all the responsibility, accepting the blame without ever defending himself.
Furuya sat down at his desk, rubbing his temples, his eyes falling on a stack of reports about the Organisation.
Come to think of it, ever since the Organisation was eliminated, Akai had been the only person still closely connected to this chapter of his life. If only they could be completely open with each other from now on, without any shadows between them…
Furuya shook his head, unwilling to dwell on such thoughts any longer. He turned to focus on tackling the stack of reports.