·120｜Exclusive to Jinjiang·120
They will all be happy.
After the rainstorm, the thick clouds that had shrouded the sky gradually dispersed, and the first rays of sunlight broke through the darkness.
Morofushi Kagemitsu, dressed in a suit, walked out of the Metropolitan Police Department. He looked up at the sky and raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight streaming down from the horizon. Golden particles of light formed pillars, scattering across his face through the gaps between his fingers.
How long has it been since I stood freely in the sunlight like this?
A month ago, the National Police Agency and the Metropolitan Police Department jointly launched a crackdown on the Black Organization. Except for a few escapees, the organization was basically wiped out. Morofushi Kagemitsu also participated in that operation, and he can still recall the expressions on the faces of the organization's rats hiding in the shadows when they saw him and Furuya Rei. They were astonished, shocked, and ridiculous.
During the years he was hidden by the National Police Agency, Morofushi Hiromitsu was only allowed to leave his room under certain special circumstances. The rest of the time, he stayed in his cramped room to train and learn new skills. Later, thanks to a woman named Kudo Yukiko, he was able to leave more frequently to complete the sniping missions assigned by the Public Security Bureau.
But behind that thick mask, Morofushi Kagemitsu sometimes felt like he couldn't even breathe freely. Every word and action had to be carefully considered; a single mistake would not only condemn him, but also Akai Shuichi and Furuya Rei to utter ruin.
Fortunately, it's over. He can finally take off his mask and stand upright in the sunlight, feeling the breeze on his face.
To celebrate the destruction of the Black Organization and the complete freedom of Morofushi Hiromitsu, the former police academy five decided to have a proper get-together.
However, Natalie is currently in her late pregnancy and it's inconvenient for her to move around, so Date Wataru has to stay home to take care of her and can't attend. After discussing it, Furuya Rei and the others decided to leave Date Wataru behind and have a private get-together first, and then visit Natalie together after she gives birth.
As Matsuda Jinpei came out of the convenience store carrying a case of ice-cold beer, he happened to run into Furuya Rei, who was carrying a bag of fresh cut beer.
Matsuda Jinpei smiled provocatively: "Yo, Detective Amuro, not going to be your coffee waiter anymore?"
Furuya Rei retaliated with a light punch to Matsuda Jinpei: "Don't make fun of me."
The two smiled at each other and walked side by side on the way to the Hagiwara residence.
Matsuda Jinpei: "I heard you got promoted?"
In the years-long operation to eradicate the organization, several undercover agents, including Rei Furuya and Kagemitsu Morofushi, played a crucial role.
In the final battle, Rei Furuya single-handedly captured an entire team of core intelligence and research personnel, providing tremendous assistance to the National Police Agency's arrest operation.
To this day, no one knows how Furuya Rei did it, and Kazami Yuya idolizes him to the point of starry-eyed admiration. Only Hagiwara and the others know that Furuya Rei, who seems to be fighting alone, actually carries a Yomi dog in his breast pocket.
The puppy was responsible for using its paws to block the gun barrels, while Furuya Rei was responsible for taking down an organization member with a single punch.
With their guns malfunctioning, the organization members could only watch in terror as Rei Furuya smiled, raised his fist, physically anesthetized them, and then lay down to be handcuffed and taken away.
Rei Furuya chuckled and looked at Matsuda: "You're really well-informed. Yomi told you, didn't she?"
After all, his promotion was confirmed by Mr. Lai Chuan's personal signature and seal.
Matsuda Jinpei snorted coldly: "I thought I could surpass you no matter what I said this time, but it turns out we're on equal footing again."
The Metropolitan Police Department and the National Police Agency have different rank systems, but with a little conversion, their ranks in their respective agencies are not that different.
Furuya Rei punched Matsuda Jinpei again: "You bastard, don't think you can surpass me."
Matsuda Jinpei glanced at Furuya Rei: "Hmph, you can be smug for a moment. When we get to Hagi's place, I'll beat you to a pulp as soon as I put down my beer."
"Ha, what a boastful statement."
The two figures who once wore azure police uniforms have now grown tall and mature, their broad backs radiating responsibility and commitment.
The only thing that hasn't changed is their friendship; they bicker and argue but never break up.
The two walked and talked, and when they were almost at the Hagiwara house, they saw Kenji Hagiwara smoking downstairs from a distance.
"Hey, Hagi," Matsuda Jinpei tossed the beer crate in his hand, "got kicked out to smoke?"
Kenji Hagiwara, looking distressed, stubbed out his cigarette at the ground: "No, that's not the reason."
Matsuda Jinpei raised an eyebrow: "That's...?"
As a result, Kenji Hagiwara looked hesitant, pursing his lips into a thin line, and after a long while, he finally uttered, "You'll find out when we eat."
Rei Furuya: "Is the scenery there yet?"
Kenji Hagiwara sighed and picked up the extinguished cigarette butt: "He arrived a while ago and has been busy in the kitchen for a while. Come on, I'll take you upstairs."
The moment the three pushed open the door, the aroma of meat rushed into their nostrils, and the sight of the table full of dishes made their mouths water. Just as Matsuda Jinpei was about to offer his praise, Hagiwara Yomi, wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of steamed fish.
Matsuda Jinpei: "...? You're cooking today?"
Hagiwara Yomi placed the fish in the very center, put her hands on her hips, and proudly said, "Mr. Hikaru and I made this together."
After saying that, Huang Quan hummed a tune, turned around and went into the kitchen, his voice drifting back: "Mr. Guang, I'll help serve the rice."
Matsuda Jinpei turned back to look at Hagiwara Kenji in horror. His eyes were wide, his face filled with shock and fear—Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't know what Yomi's cooking tasted like, so did you, Hagiwara Kenji, not know either?!
Kenji Hagiwara shrugged helplessly: "I think Soft Bread is full of motivation, and it's not easy to stop him. Besides, with Morofumi around, he might be able to create a miracle."
After all, Morofushi Kagemitsu's culinary skills are a miracle in themselves, a delicious miracle.
After Huang Quan and the others served the food, the five of them sat around the table, and the meal fell into an awkward silence.
Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji each held their bowls, neither daring to take a bite. After a moment's hesitation, they both turned to look at Furuya Rei.
Rei Furuya had already reached out his chopsticks to pick up some meat, but the gazes of the two Mobile Unit aces were so intense, it was as if they wanted to make a hole in him.
Rei Furuya stopped in his tracks: "What are you doing?"
Matsuda Jinpei: "It's nothing."
Kenji Hagiwara: "You eat first, eat quickly, eat quickly."
Although Furuya Rei was puzzled, he still picked up a few slices of stir-fried beef, mixed them with rice, and ate them in big mouthfuls before stopping.
Under the eager gaze of the two ace operatives of the Mobile Suits, Rei Furuya's face turned from black to white and then to green. Veins bulged on the back of his hands as he snapped the chopsticks in his hand, grabbed an open beer bottle from the side, and chugged it down his throat.
The bottle of beer was quickly emptied, and Furuya Rei let out a long sigh of relief, revealing a "I'm saved" expression, his face covered in cold sweat and filled with terror.
"What's this!?"
Matsuda Jinpei smiled frankly, even with a hint of schadenfreude: "True Word Bento."
Kenji Hagiwara joked, "I can actually see what Furuya looks like with pale skin, it's a pity I couldn't take a picture."
Jiangu Ling:? ?
So, the Truth Bento makes criminals utter the truth not through magic, but through the taste of hell?
Just then, Morofushi Kagemitsu finished his soup—the pork rib soup he had made himself. He glanced at Furuya Rei, whose face was full of fear, and then at the two smug Mobile Unit captains opposite him, and suddenly realized something: "So what you were saying about... is true."
Morofushi Kagemitsu didn't explain it directly, but Hagi and Matsu understood.
Matsuda Jinpei rested his chin on his hand, laughing teasingly: "What else did you think? Did you really think it was me and Hagi who were smearing this little idiot?"
Upon hearing this, Lai Chuan Huang Quan angrily slammed the bowl on the table: "Eat up! This took Mr. Guang and me a lot of effort to make!"
"..."
The two who were gloating just moments ago were now completely unable to laugh. They shakily reached out their chopsticks, hesitating as they faced the table full of dishes.
Have you ever tried a food blind box? The kind where choosing the wrong one can be deadly. This is it.
Hagi and Matsu looked grave, their hands holding chopsticks suspended in mid-air, unwilling to drop them. Their minds raced, trying to figure out which dish Morofushi Kagemitsu had made.
As a result, only Morofushi Kagemitsu survived the meal, because he and Yomi were the only ones who knew who cooked which dishes.
As for Huang Quan… she was unwilling to give up, believing that with Mr. Guang's guidance, she would definitely not fail this time. But after tasting a bite of the dish she had made, she wrinkled her face and rinsed her mouth ten times, crying.
...
Conan Edogawa has reverted to Shinichi Kudo, but he asks Yomi and the others to keep his identity as Conan a secret and absolutely not to tell Ran Mouri.
Huang Quan was unaware of the connection between Conan, Matsuda (who was involved in the fake liquor scandal), and Hagiwara (a corrupt police officer). Although she was puzzled, she readily agreed.
One day, Ran Mouri, accompanied by her boyfriend Shinichi Kudo, visited the Hagiwara family and mentioned Conan to Yomi.
Ran Mouri frowned: "Conan went back to America with his mother and didn't even write me a letter. I can't get in touch with him either. I'm so worried."
Upon hearing this, the Hagiwara couple both turned to look at Shinichi Kudo.
Shinichi Kudo: "Eek!"
He quickly raised a finger to signal for silence and pretended nothing had happened before Ran turned around.
Ran Mouri glanced at her boyfriend with a puzzled look, then looked at the Hagiwara couple: "By the way, Yomi-nee, let me tell you a secret. Don't let Conan's usual precocious appearance fool you; he seems particularly afraid of Inspectors Hagiwara and Matsuda. Once, he rushed home in a panic, grabbed my hand, and insisted that I pack my bags and come with him. When I refused, he lay on the sofa crying and rolling around, saying that those two bad officers from the SMAT Squad were coming to kill him."
Hagiwara Yomi: "...?"
She turned to look at Shinichi Kudo, completely bewildered, and raised an eyebrow with a playful expression.
Kenji Hagiwara calmly took a sip of tea: "Oh dear, Conan gets along so well with the officers of the First Investigation Division, yet he's afraid of the SMAT Squad?"
"I think it's probably because the First Investigation Division members all wear suits, while we wear riot gear when we're on duty, which makes the atmosphere more oppressive."
Ran Mouri: "I see... That makes sense. Usually when I see Inspector Hagiwara in private, you're always in a suit. Conan probably just happened to see you and Inspector Matsuda in police uniforms that day."
Shinichi Kudo: "..."
Although he desperately wanted to jump up and defend himself, to shout out the truth, he chose to remain silent after a moment's thought.
Rather than letting Ran Mouri know that he is Conan, taking a bath with her while wearing Conan's face, and crying and making a scene on the table because his team lost, it would be better to just distance himself from "Conan" and blame all the embarrassing things he did on "Conan".
However, the conversation ended abruptly before it could last long—Hagiwara Yomi received a call from the police department informing her that her father, Mr. Raikawa, had suffered cardiac arrest and died suddenly at his post.
In the cold morgue, Mr. Lai Chuan lay quietly on a small bed only a meter wide, his eyes closed as if he were asleep.
Once upon a time, Mr. Raikawa Yomi lay here. He held her hand, weeping with trembling emotions. But now he was pale and lifeless.
When Yomi Hagiwara rushed over, Rei Furuya was already waiting there. He dismissed the others, leaving only Kenji and Yomi.
Hagiwara Yomi didn't say anything. She moved a stool over and sat down next to Mr. Raikawa, holding his already cold hand tightly.
Huang Quan looked down at the man in front of her, the cold touch spreading from his palm to her whole body. Her red lips trembled slightly: "You stinky old man, I'm going to empty your big villa, so get up and yell at me."
No one answered.
Rei Furuya stepped forward and gently patted Yomi's shoulder: "My condolences."
Huang Quan nodded, his gaze lingering on Mr. Lai Chuan's face.
Minutes ticked by, but Yomi remained seated, silent. Just as Furuya Rei quietly moved his numb ankles, trying to speak to Yomi again, the white sheet covering the corpse suddenly moved.
The next second, Mr. Raikawa, who had been dead for a long time, suddenly sat up.
Jiangu Ling:? ? ? ?
grass!?
Unlike Furuya Rei, who was startled and took a half-step back, Hagiwara Yomi's eyes sparkled as she excitedly rushed over and hugged Mr. Raikawa: "You naughty old man, welcome back~!"
Kenji Hagiwara, who had been standing to the side with his arms crossed, stepped forward, patted Rei Furuya on the shoulder, and explained, "It's the Administrator. When Soft Bread completed the mission, the Administrator said that when his timeline dies suddenly, he will come back to take over this body."
Rei Furuya frowned and tilted his head, a question mark slowly appearing in his eyes: "So you knew from the very beginning that Mr. Raikawa would come back to life?"
Kenji Hagiwara coughed lightly and guiltily looked away: "Yes."
"And what about Mr. Raikawa in this timeline? Where did he go after he died?"
"Enter the Time and Space Administration Bureau, become the administrator of the past, and access causality."
“I see…” Furuya Rei said thoughtfully, then smiled frankly, “But this also means that everything is over, right?”
“Yes,” Kenji Hagiwara said, putting his arm around Rei Furuya’s shoulder, “it’s all over.”
He softened his gaze and quietly watched his wife snuggle into Mr. Lai Chuan's arms—the administrator—and said with a smile, "Just like a story that will eventually have a perfect ending, everyone will go on to their own bright future."
"The story will continue, but there will be no more sacrifices and tears."
They will all be happy.
[Author's Note]
The giveaway is currently in cooldown. Once the cooldown ends (around the end of December), I will draw 120 lucky winners and give each of them 100 Jinjiang coins.
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Thank you all for your companionship! I hope to see you all again in the future! Wishing you all a wonderful new year! And wishing myself a successful surgery this Friday!
Matsuda and Soft Bread's story can be found in my column; I started writing it right after my surgery. By the way, I'd like to recommend my upcoming novel, "How to Reject a Marriage Proposal Using Detective Conan's Method," which features everyone sticking together—pure romance, proceed with caution.
I love you all, I'm so honored to be liked by you!
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