She stared at Ryuji in disbelief, unable to understand how he knew her name.
She really was Miyano Akemi but she had never once revealed her identity, not even hinted at it. Her papers were forged, every trace of her history buried so carefully.
So how could he possibly know?
Ryuji only smiled faintly and nodded, as if confirming what he already suspected.
"So you really are Miyano Akemi."
In fact, he hadn't known for certain. He was simply bluffing, piecing it together from the way Gin had spoken to her and the subtle difference in his attitude. If this woman was who he thought she was, then the name alone would be enough to make her react.
If she wasn't, well... Ryuji wouldn't kill her right away. He'd just lock her up in the basement for later. After all, he'd finally gotten himself a proper underground basement; it would be a shame not to use it.
But to Akemi, hearing her real name left her shaken.
"Y-You… how do you know that?!"
Panic flickered across her face. If this man belonged to a rival organization, then she was already as good as dead. Those groups were merciless.
Even Misato was intrigued. She had searched the woman thoroughly and hadn't found the slightest hint of her real identity.
Ryuji only shrugged. "That guy they called Vodka… when he was fleeing, he shouted to the silver-haired one. In the confusion, he called out your name. That's how I knew. Don't look at me like that. You should realize by now... I hear things ordinary people can't."
He chuckled, he was just talking nonsense.
Because, unless he used Observation Haki, his hearing was only a little sharper than most. But Akemi seemed to buy it, sighing in relief.
Her relief was short-lived. In the next moment, Ryuji had slipped her phone from her pocket. She instinctively moved to snatch it back, but Misato pointed a gun at her and forced her back down onto the sofa.
Ryuji flipped through the contacts and chuckled lightly. Gin's judgment in the original story had been spot-on... this woman was far too naïve.
There, bold as day in her phone book: Miyano Shiho.
A criminal carrying around a phone that openly listed her sister's name... it was laughable. Ryuji remembered sneaking into the teacher's office for exam papers when he was younger; even then, he'd been smart enough to disguise himself as a different grade student.
And another name jumped out at him: Moroboshi Dai.
Ryuji knew the truth... Akai Shuichi, an undercover agent. Because of his betrayal, Akemi had ended up on Gin's blacklist and eventually been killed. Akai survived thanks to Akemi's protection, while she paid the price.
Ryuji didn't see anything inherently wrong in that. Akemi was, after all, part of the Organization, while Akai was an FBI agent sent to infiltrate and dismantle it. From a mission standpoint, her death was inevitable. What struck him instead was the waste of a beautiful woman with both looks and figure, died by her own poor choices.
Akemi had discovered Akai's true identity early on. The night before his extraction, Akai confessed, and she helped him escape safely. Afterward, Gin uncovered the truth and set a trap, using Akemi's life as bait to lure Akai. In the end, Akai never came.
With Gin's skill, there was no way he couldn't have gotten the message through. Which meant Akai had chosen not to come, knowing full well Akemi's fate was sealed.
And yet, right up until her last breath, Akemi bore him no resentment. No hatred, no blame... only the blissful thought that perhaps it was better he hadn't come.
A woman who would sacrifice everything for love... even her sister.
Ryuji couldn't help shaking his head. A face and body like that, wasted on a brain so clouded. She had helped an undercover agent escape, lost the Organization's trust, and dragged her sister Shiho's future Haibara Ai... down into danger along with her.
It was tragic, but also absurd.
What Ryuji wondered most was whether a man like Akai Shuichi, raised in a family of hardened agents, had ever truly felt love for Akemi. From the cold way he'd watched her die without appearing, Ryuji doubted it. If going meant certain death, why hadn't he simply called in the police?
It was fascinating, really... exactly the kind of tangled drama Ryuji wanted to see play out. What measures would the Black Organization take against him? What choices would Shiho make for her sister's sake?
"Still," Ryuji muttered, rubbing his chin, "if I'm supposed to be guiding the Sailor Moons… is it really a good idea to get involved in all this?"
Misato tilted her head, eyeing him. "So, what do you plan to do with them?"
"For now, lock them in the basement. I remember there's a toilet down there… it'll do. I'm not finished with them yet."
He paused, brow furrowing as a sudden thought struck him.
"Come to think of it… why does the basement even have a toilet? And a shower, too?"
Only then did Ryuji remember... his basement really was equipped with those things.
"Uh, hey… couldn't you not lock us up down there?" Fujiko suddenly spoke up, her voice flirty and coaxing. "Look, I'm not with the Organization. I work solo. Why don't you just let me go? And if you want… well, I wouldn't mind getting a little intimate with you."
She swayed her body seductively, showing off her charms in hopes that Ryuji's lustful weakness for women would spare her.
Of course, even she didn't believe he'd actually let her go. But people can dream, right?
"Try using that pretty head of yours for a second. Do you really think that's possible?"
Ryuji stared at her speechlessly. Beautiful, busty, and brainless... did she really think he was that easy to deal with?
"Once I'm sure there won't be any trouble, we can talk. Don't worry... your meals won't be bad. In the meantime, keep an eye on her for me. Make sure she doesn't get any ideas about suicide."
He gestured toward Akemi. Ryuji had no intention of forcing himself on her. If he was honest, he preferred Shiho.... Haibara Ai... far more.
As long as he kept Akemi alive, Shiho would never have to shrink down into a child, and that alone would be enough to twist Conan's entire storyline in his favor.
"W-Wait, how about we go to the bedroom and talk it over?"
Fujiko tried again, reluctant as ever. She had already marked a gorgeous set of jewels at an upcoming exhibition. If Ryuji locked her away now, not only would she miss the payout from her cover job, she'd also lose the chance to grab those sparkling jewels.
"The problem," Ryuji cut her off with a chuckle, "is that you're a prisoner now. So behave yourself. Unless… you'd like to test me?"
He snapped his fingers. At once, countless streams of water rose and coiled around Fujiko's body, hovering threateningly close.
Fujiko looked at the water with a bitter smile and finally nodded. "Fine. But at least be gentle with me, okay?"
So it was to be a little imprisonment play. She could work with that. Once they were in bed, after all, she never lost.
Akemi, on the other hand, only pressed her lips together and stayed quiet. Just being alive was already a blessing. She had long prepared herself for the worst. If Ryuji ever tried anything, she would end her own life before giving in.
"Down you go, then."
With another amused laugh, Ryuji gestured, and the water lifted the two women and guided them into the basement. He shut the door and locked it behind them.
The basement itself was simple... two beds and a simple washroom with a toilet. Other than the single entrance door, there was no way out. That was precisely why Ryuji felt confident leaving Fujiko there. Not because the lock would stop a master thief like her, but because of his own abilities.
Drawing one of his katanas, he melted the blade down with dragonfire and poured molten iron over the seams of the door, welding it shut completely. With that, he was certain nothing could go wrong.
No ordinary person could pull off something like this. But he could. When he wanted to open it again, he could simply burn the iron until it melted, reopening the door with ease. But anyone trapped inside? No matter how skilled at lockpicking, they weren't getting out.
The door wasn't just locked.... it was fused into one piece.
"You're ruthless," Misato muttered. She had been about to warn him that the locks in this house were laughably easy to pick... if a professional thief couldn't pick them, she'd hardly be worth the title. But when she saw him use his powers to weld the door, she only gave him a thumbs-up.
"Hmph. That woman thought I was some lust-driven fool. This is what she gets."
Ryuji tossed the key aside and stretched, heading for his room. After everything that had happened today, he was exhausted not physically but mentally. As for paying with Fujiko... here was no need to rush.
Better to wait a couple of days. He wanted to face her at his best, to defeat her thoroughly.
And as expected, the moment he left, Fujiko slipped a slim set of professional lockpicks from her skin-tight outfit, smirking to herself.
"Really? No shackles, no chains, and just this door? He's dreaming if he thinks this'll hold me."
She felt a surge of irritation. He had ogled her shamelessly, then brushed her off like she was nothing. Did he think she'd take that? Tease her, stir her up, then ignore her? Fujiko Mine didn't suffer that kind of insult lightly.
Her lips curled into a wicked smirk. "Just wait. When I get out, I'll lace your precious water with enough aphrodisiac to drop a bull, you bastard...."
Talking to herself, she slid her picks into the lock. In moments, the simple mechanism clicked open. Confident, she pushed on the door.
"See? Easy as.... huh?"
Her forehead nearly slammed into solid steel. Only then did she see the thick iron welded around the edges, binding the entire door in place. Her eyes went wide.
"You've got to be kidding me… welded?! He welded the damn door shut?!"
For once, Fujiko was stunned into silence. Her mind raced through every cruel punishment she could imagine. The worst? Being sealed down here, food cut off, until she and Akemi tore each other apart like animals.
Her stomach dropped. For the first time in a long while, Fujiko Mine felt she might be the one who was doomed.
Meanwhile, in his room, Ryuji tossed and turned. Loneliness gnawed at him. It had been days since he had shared a bed with anyone, and the emptiness felt unbearable.
"Having a teammate really is a pain," he muttered, clutching his head. Misato was kind, upright, principled. If he wanted to win her over, he had to play the gentleman. But he was no longer used to acting that way.
"It seems like power has changed me more than I thought."
Scratching his head, he shifted positions and forced himself to sleep. He had made his decision and had no going back.
As for Fujiko's little lockpicking attempt? He had noticed it instantly. He simply didn't care.
If Fujiko had the ability to open that door, Ryuji thought, she never would have let herself be caught in the first place.
"Well then… sleep tight, ladies."
With that, he finally drifted off.
Elsewhere, far away in her own home, Ran Mouri stirred restlessly beneath her sheets. An uncanny ripple of power washed over her... the strange "world power" seeping into her dreams, wrapping around her like a whisper.
"Mr. Ryuji…"
Her legs shifted together, rubbing unconsciously as her face flushed crimson. The sensation carried her into a haze of embarrassed, intoxicating dreams.
And in another room entirely...
"What's happening to me?"
Eri let out a low sigh. Her heart was pounding; her body flushed in ways she hadn't felt in years. Biting her lip, she slid a hand down between her thighs clad in pantyhose, chasing the heat rising within her.
She didn't suspect a thing. To her, it was nothing more than loneliness and desire resurfacing after too long.
~~~~~~~~~~
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