Chapter 34
He had originally planned to send Calvados back to his apartment first, but the mission timer was ticking. To avoid giving Gin a reason to find fault, Bourbon had no choice but to leave Asuka Kazuya in the car for now.
“Who are you going to kidnap?” Asuka Kazuya leaned against the window, ignoring Bourbon’s words, “Don’t get out of the car,” even having the mood to glance at the dessert shop outside the alley. “You’re not going to stuff the person in the trunk, are you? Then what about Scotch’s violin case?”
This guy was actually thinking about it seriously.
Bourbon was puzzled as to how he figured out they were going to kidnap someone, but Calvados’s information network was strange to begin with, most of the people he knew also had secret identities.
Thinking of this, Bourbon didn’t ask further.
“Put it in the back,” Scotch said, pulling down the brim of his hat and nodding to Asuka Kazuya. “We’ll have to trouble you later.”
“Hmm?”
Scotch wasn’t afraid of him at all.
Asuka Kazuya didn’t understand Scotch’s actions, but after thinking for a moment, he politely replied, “No problem.”
While Scotch turned his head, Asuka Kazuya gave Bourbon a thumbs-up, then silently closed the window under Bourbon’s “what did you misunderstand” gaze.
In Asuka Kazuya’s eyes, Bourbon had finally made a friend with Scotch, so he could compromise a little.
Poor Bourbon, he had no friends besides him.
Asuka Kazuya clearly took Bourbon’s previous words, “You have friends, I’m so jealous,” seriously. He put on his headphones and actually sat quietly in the car and waited.
Having been undercover for so many years, how could he not have a sense of danger? Asuka Kazuya always used disposable phones to contact important people, he didn’t even know which sewer they had been flushed down to now.
He first searched for recent news, then for any news of police casualties. After confirming that there were only a mere ten murder cases during his absence, Asuka Kazuya finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He took out the painkillers Chianti had secretly bought him from his pocket and started munching.
[Kazuya-kun]
A message popped up on the screen.
[Are you almost poisoned to death? Should I come collect your body?]
What an annoying tone.
Although there was no contact name, and the number was new—
[Asuka Kazuya]: Can dead people send messages?
[Dazai Osamu]: That’s so mean.
[Dazai Osamu]: I just heard about you falling into Gin’s hands, so I came to greet you out of the kindness of my heart.
[Asuka Kazuya]: Don’t believe you.
[Asuka Kazuya]: The probability of you greeting me is lower than the probability of me spending all my inheritance on crab meat cans. Tell me, what happened?
Asuka Kazuya yawned, rewrapping the bandage on his wrist, seeing a file sent by the other party a few minutes later.
…Couldn’t be a virus, right?
Asuka Kazuya pondered, recalling how he kept virtual pets on his computer at the Metropolitan Police Department, causing everyone’s computers to get infected with a virus.
Superintendent Adachi roared in his office after discovering that all his files had turned into panda patterns.
Afterwards, Asuka Kazuya was caught and made to write a self-criticism essay. The kind Officer Makino smiled, brought a chair, and guided him on how to write something that was both perfunctory and would pass review.
Asuka Kazuya hesitated for a few seconds before finally opening the file.
The content of the file was simple, nothing more than Theos’s series of failed plans.
Besides Asuka Kazuya, to get revenge on the Vongola, they specifically took Sasagawa Kyoko, the younger sister of the Vongola Sun Guardian, hostage. Sasagawa Ryohei, as the Guardian, didn’t tell his companions about this, and was seriously injured when he rescued his sister.
This incident alarmed the Godfather, and even Reborn-senpai, who had been living a leisurely life after the curse was lifted, took action.
[Asuka Kazuya]: Why are you telling me this?
[Asuka Kazuya]: You can’t be trying to frame me, can you? Reborn-senpai isn’t an idiot.
Dazai Osamu, far away in Yokohama, raised an eyebrow, surprised that he admired the former world’s number one killer so much.
[Didn’t Gin-kun tell you?]
[The Port Mafia received news that their people are coming to Japan. Mori-san even asked me to keep an eye on them, I’m too lazy to move.]
Mafia groups in different regions always maintained a tacit understanding of non-interference, and as one of the oldest mafia families in the world, the Vongola members attracted attention wherever they went.
[You’re the only one who has directly dealt with Theos. As a thank you for treating me to dinner a few days ago, I’ll give you a little reminder.]
[The consequences of beating up a Vongola member as an imposter are very serious.]
Asuka Kazuya was speechless, suddenly seeing everyone as a bad person.
There were two knocks on the car window beside him. Asuka Kazuya turned his head, seeing Matsuda Jinpei’s familiar face.
The young man’s eyes were narrowed, looking very unhappy, gesturing for him to roll down the window.
For once, Asuka Kazuya’s brain was faster than his body.
It was working hours, there was no reason for Matsuda Jinpei to be here. Besides, ordinary people wouldn’t even notice where Bourbon had parked, considering traffic, it would take at least an hour to get here from the Metropolitan Police Department—
If he couldn’t win, he could still hide.
Matsuda Jinpei was silent, watching a lightbulb inexplicably appear above the person’s head in the car.
Asuka Kazuya, his face full of vigilance, slid down below the window like a non-Newtonian fluid.
Matsuda Jinpei: ?
“What’s little Kato doing?” Hagiwara Kenji in the distance also noticed Asuka Kazuya’s actions, walking over, thinking Matsuda Jinpei had said something to scare him.
“…How would I know?” Matsuda Jinpei was speechless, knocking on the car window again with his knuckles. “Even pretending it’s bulletproof glass, is this Zero’s car?”
Hearing Zero’s name, Asuka Kazuya perked up, poking his head out again.
Even more suspicious!
How could Matsuda and the others know Amuro Tooru’s real name?! Only high-ranking officials or evil criminals could get their hands on such encrypted files!
But if it was a disguise, it was too realistic, wasn’t it?
Asuka Kazuya observed carefully, his burning gaze even making Matsuda Jinpei feel a bit embarrassed.
Then he heard this idiot snort, turn his head away, and slide back down below the window.
An illusion! Even though he couldn’t use his ability now, he could still feel it! This was definitely an illusion used by that Rokudo Mukuro!
Asuka Kazuya was proud of his rigorous deduction. He squatted there, quickly replying to Dazai Osamu’s message.
[Thanks for the reminder]
[But when did I treat you to dinner?]
Teasing Asuka Kazuya was quite fun.
In fact, Dazai Osamu was also in the restaurant the day the sniping happened. He specifically asked Kouyou-nee for help with the disguise. If he hadn’t known that Nakahara Chuuya would also come, he would have planned to scare Asuka Kazuya and play with him.
“Hey,” Matsuda Jinpei, unable to see Asuka Kazuya’s phone screen from this angle and thinking he was playing games again, said, “How long are you planning to hide there? I haven’t settled the score with you for disappearing for so many days.”
Asuka Kazuya: “Your tone imitation is quite good. Unfortunately, you can’t imitate Jinpei-kun’s essence, give it up, pineapple head.”
Matsuda Jinpei: “…”
“Pineapple head?” Hagiwara Kenji turned his head, imagining Matsuda Jinpei with a pineapple head. “What’s Jinpei-chan’s essence?”
Asuka Kazuya sat up, narrowing his eyes, a lollipop in his mouth.
“Like this,” he lowered his voice, deliberately using a cold tone. “A mafia executive kind of feeling. It’s completely natural, not like something trained, even I have to admire it.”
“Hahahahaha,” Hagiwara Kenji burst out laughing, patting the gloomy Matsuda Jinpei on the shoulder, clutching his stomach. “So this is how little Kato sees you.”
“And you,” Asuka Kazuya interrupted him. “Don’t think you can imitate Hagiwara-kun just by laughing a couple of times. A mere mafia member can’t imitate Hagiwara-kun’s cheerful aura, I’ll curse you if you imitate him again.”
Hagiwara Kenji nodded, clearly enjoying himself: “So you’re saying you’re closer to me than to Jinpei-chan?”
Asuka Kazuya pulled a long face: “No.”
“I saw you recording, are you planning to use it to sow discord between Jinpei-kun and me later?”
Hagiwara Kenji was trembling with laughter, planning to play it for Kato himself after he sobered up.
“Did you drink?”
Matsuda Jinpei, unable to bear it any longer, replied through gritted teeth.
“Or did Zero not treat you properly? Aftereffects of the attack? You’ve completely gone insane, haven’t you?”
A soft click came from the car lock.
Asuka Kazuya was shocked, trying to escape through the other door before Matsuda Jinpei opened it.
Unfortunately, Bourbon had locked all four doors before getting out of the car to prevent him from running around. Asuka Kazuya, remembering Dazai Osamu’s words, resisted the urge to punch the “enemy” in the face, resignedly moving further inside.
“It’s just Theos’s information,”
He confessed in humiliation.
“Don’t hit me, I’ll talk, okay?”
Matsuda Jinpei had no idea what he was talking about. But based on past experiences, this was probably another abstract performance by this talented abstract artist.
His gaze swept over the bandages on Asuka Kazuya, finally landing on the empty medicine packaging on the side.
The phone was turned off. The hospital was definitely not visited. The medicine was overdosed. And it was an unknown drug.
“No need to talk,” Matsuda Jinpei said. “I’m not going to hit you, why are you hiding so far away?”
Asuka Kazuya: !
Asuka Kazuya: He wasn’t here to ask about Theos’s information, was he really here to arrest him?
Asuka Kazuya’s pupils constricted, unable to think of how he had offended the Vongola.
It was just that when he was young, he took Hibari Kyoya’s bird from Italy back to Japan while he wasn’t paying attention, what did it have to do with Rokudo Mukuro? Weren’t those two at odds with each other?
“I understand,”
Asuka Kazuya closed his eyes, putting on a heroic expression after figuring it out.
“No wonder you keep clamoring about taking over the Vongola’s body, but you haven’t received a single penny in salary, working for them for ten years for free. It must be lonely without friends, don’t worry, I’ll tell you the secret to making friends.”
“…”
Matsuda Jinpei glanced at Hagiwara Kenji beside him, who was squatting on the ground laughing, his blood pressure reaching 200 for the first time in his life.
He thought Asuka Kazuya’s brain might be fried, even transferring his anger to Amuro Tooru, who had hung up on him.
“Come out.”
“No.”
“Are you some kind of animal that only feels safe in small spaces? Come out quickly.”
“That’s my line, don’t think you can threaten me just because you’re in the Vongola, be careful, I’ll curse all the pineapple leaves on your head to fall off, and you’ll fall into a sewer as soon as you go out.”
The two of them started arguing incoherently. Bourbon, just emerging from the building, saw Matsuda Jinpei pressing someone against the back seat of his car, trying to pull Asuka Kazuya out.
Hagiwara Kenji: “I think this is a bit strange.”
Matsuda Jinpei: “Why don’t you help? This guy ate an entire box of pills, are you planning to leave him here unconscious?”
Bourbon was speechless, silently watching this scene until Scotch also emerged from the building.
“Wha–”
Making eye contact, Scotch, still carrying his sniper rifle, also fell silent.
He glanced at the disheveled Calvados, then at his long-unseen classmate.
“…What’s going on again?”
This sentence lacked confidence, especially after Matsuda Jinpei noticed the unconscious man Scotch was dragging.
“Part of your mission?”
Matsuda Jinpei said, pulling away Asuka Kazuya’s hand, which was messing with his face.
“Kidnapping someone from their home in broad daylight, completely ignoring the patrolling police?”
…How could you say that with a straight face?
Bourbon glanced at Asuka Kazuya, who was trying to gesture that it was the mafia while Matsuda Jinpei covered his mouth, feeling a slight headache.
Scotch also understood what Bourbon meant. He sighed, throwing the mission target into the trunk in front of the two police officers.
“Matsuda,”
Scotch said.
“Aren’t you also kidnapping Asuka?”
