Chapter 98: So it's Rei-nee?
[one]
"So next, between you and your friend, who gets more chocolate?" Nozaki Umetarou asked, holding up his notebook.
Morofushi Sora'aki replied, "He has more."
The black-haired, cat-eyed boy said seriously, "Because all the members of the boxing club gave him chocolates."
Nozaki Umetarou seemed thoughtful, thinking this was a great source of material.
"But the more I listen, the more I feel like you guys are playing a trick on your curly-haired friend?" The only normal person, Mikoshiba Mikoto, hesitated and said, "Is it just my imagination?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "An illusion."
Mikoshiba Mikoto: "...Ah, it's just my imagination."
[two]
"Speaking of which, I've had an idea lately." Nozaki Umetarou tapped his pen on his notebook and said, "The plot is roughly that the male and female protagonists switch bodies and then have some interesting stories happen between them?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "Your Name (Kimi no Na wa)?"
Nozaki Umetarou asked, somewhat puzzled, "What?"
Morofushi Sora'aki then remembered that this movie didn't exist in this world yet, and shook his head: "It's nothing, please continue."
Nozaki Umetarou continued, "The female protagonist transmigrates into a man's body, is startled, and finds the room full of female figurines. She then screams and shouts 'pervert!'"
Mikoshiba Mikoto, who suddenly felt inexplicably being mentioned, exclaimed, "...Hey!"
Somewhat bewildered, Morofushi Sora'aki asked, "Mamiko transmigrated into Mikoshiba's body?"
Nozaki Umetarou: "...Eh?"
He sorted out his thoughts and suddenly realized, "No wonder I felt a sense of familiarity! It's Mamiko!"
Mikoshiba Mikoto: "..."
Mikoshiba Mikoto felt offended.
However, he still thought about it seriously: "This kind of setting is quite interesting. There was a similar setting in a game I played before, but it was divided into storylines, and the storylines weren't that many..."
"Speaking of which, why does it have to be a gender swap? While this setup does highlight the differences between boys and girls, doesn't it mean the girl is being seen by a strange man...?"
Mikoshiba Mikoto looked at the two bewildered faces in front of him, his cheeks flushed, and said, "What am I talking to you about?!"
"If you absolutely have to change, why not try a parallel world? Wouldn't it be legal to have the same person in a parallel world, but a different gender?"
Nozaki Umetarou seemed to have been enlightened: "What you said makes sense!"
"This setting is indeed quite interesting."
Mikoshiba Mikoto sighed, "But such a thing could never happen in reality, right? And parallel worlds don't even exist?"
Morofushi Sora'aki: "..."
Morofushi Sora'aki glanced at the amulet that seemed to have flashed for a moment, and tilted his head.
Alright, now we can look forward to seeing who the next victim will be.
[three]
Furuya Rei had been feeling quite tired lately due to a lot of work. He checked the time, rubbed his temples, and remembered that his colleague had invited him to an izakaya tonight.
Before that, Furuya Rei decided to take a short nap on his desk.
Then, he was woken up.
"Amuro-san? Amuro-san—" Enomoto Azusa looked at the blond young man sleeping on the table and asked worriedly, "You'll catch a cold sleeping here. Are you feeling unwell?"
Furuya Rei: "..."
It may be impolite of me, but may I ask who you are? The Amuro you mentioned... Ah, that's a pseudonym I used before, but... who are you?
Furuya Rei's groggy mind cleared instantly when he opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar surroundings. He had just been in the police station office, and it didn't feel like a prank from the same time.
Furuya Rei took a moment to react. Luckily, he had been sleeping. Enomoto Azusa didn't think there was anything wrong with his current dazed state. She simply said, "It's already time to leave work. Amuro-san, you should go back and rest."
Furuya Rei didn't refuse: "Thank you for your help."
Enomoto Azusa was taken aback, then smiled: "It's rare to see Amuro-san with such a serious expression."
Furuya Rei: ...Hmm? Am I usually that indecent?
Furuya Rei didn't show his doubts, but his mind was full of questions.
After leaving Poirot Café, Furuya Rei took out his phone, intending to call his colleague, since they had arranged to meet.
Before the call even connected, he heard someone calling him from not far away: "Amuro-san!"
An elementary school student on a skateboard rushed towards him, quickly stopped, and asked worriedly, "What happened?"
Furuya Rei: "What?"
"You look so serious, something must have happened over there!" the elementary school student said earnestly, "Amuro-san."
Furuya Rei thought about it for a moment and seriously considered how likely it was to be a prank from the same period.
"Sorry." Furuya Rei held up his hand to block the way, then took out his phone and continued dialing that familiar number: "I need to make a call first."
Edogawa Conan's gaze was unusually serious. He watched as the blond mixed-race man dialed a number on his phone, and after a few seconds, he frowned.
Edogawa Conan: ...Something's definitely wrong!!
Then he watched as Furuya Rei dialed another number, two, three.
Furuya Rei fell silent, his brow furrowed. Even if his classmates were playing a prank, surely they wouldn't cancel their own phone numbers? Why are they all disconnected?
At that moment, Furuya Rei suddenly discovered a major problem—the time on his phone was four years in the future.
Furuya Rei's expression grew even more serious. He looked at the elementary school student who had been waiting for him and frowned, saying, "Can I ask you a question?"
Edogawa Conan immediately tensed up, his eyes lighting up: "Of course!"
Then Furuya Rei asked, "Can you tell me what year it is?"
Edogawa Conan: "...Hmm?"
[four]
Amuro Tooru squinted and rubbed his temples: Oh no, I fell asleep while Poirot was at work...
Just then, he heard his phone ring. Amuro Tooru picked it up with his eyes closed, and just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice came from the other end of the line: "Hey! Zero, we've arrived. How much longer are you going to take?"
Amuro Tooru's mind cleared instantly. He stared at his phone in shock at the message displayed: "[Matsuda Jinpei]." All his suspicion and vigilance surged. But then, he noticed his surroundings… Wasn't this the Public Security Bureau office?! Shouldn't he be at Poirot's? How did he suddenly get back?!
Just as Amuro Tooru's mind was in turmoil, the person on the other end of the phone continued, "Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything! Zero, what happened?"
Furuya Rei stared at the number and the phone, a strange, unbelievable fantasy forming in his mind. Then, the person on the other end of the line changed: "Furuya-chan? Is it inconvenient to answer the phone? Are you still there—Moshi Moshi?"
At the same time, Date Wataru's voice came through the phone, sometimes near, sometimes far: "Wouldn't it be better if we didn't schedule it for today? I remember he's been quite busy lately; he just snatched a case from me today."
"Hmm...you're complaining about that squad leader, aren't you?" Hagiwara Kenji hit the nail on the head.
Date Wataru laughed heartily: "Furuya, you're the only one left, aren't you coming over?"
At this moment, Morofushi Hiromitsu took the phone, gestured to his other friends, and then said softly into the phone, "Zero? What's wrong?"
Furuya Rei, who had been listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, closed his eyes, tilted his head back, and said softly, "I'll be there soon."
With that, Furuya Rei hung up the phone. He paused for a moment, then opened his eyes again, looking at the time he had just selected on the computer screen. Some of the jobs on the desktop were familiar to him; he seemed to have done similar work a few years ago.
The surrounding environment, the voice on the other end of the phone, the contact names on his phone, and the photos in his album—everything seemed to tell him that this was just a beautiful dream.
Since it's a dream, it shouldn't be a problem to indulge myself a little, right?
Amuro Tooru reviewed the chat history, confirmed the address, and then left the police station.
When they arrived at the izakaya, the four people in the room had already had a few drinks. When they saw the familiar figure enter, they immediately greeted him.
"You're so late, you should be punished with a few more drinks, right?"
"Are the police that busy?"
"After all, he's a very busy person, Furuya-chan."
"Haha, come sit down, Zero." Morofushi Hiromitsu smiled and waved his beer glass. "It's rare for us to get together, so it's okay to put work aside for now, right?"
Amuro Tooru smiled and said, "Okay, of course."
"After all, it's rare for everyone to get together," he repeated.
At this moment, the other four people in the room were stunned.
Matsuda Jinpei rubbed his arm, clearly a little uncomfortable: "Hey, why are you imitating Hiro's smile?"
Amuro Tooru immediately composed himself: "Tsk."
Matsuda Jinpei: "Hey!"
[five]
Five grown men rarely get together at an izakaya. They complain about work, talk about recent events, and the squad leader mentions that he plans to meet Natalie's parents and that things should be settled soon.
Everyone had a good tolerance for alcohol, and since they had to go to work the next day, they didn't get too drunk. After they had drunk enough, they said goodbye and went home.
Just as Amuro Tooru was about to leave, Morofushi Hiromitsu grabbed his hand and said with a smile, "Didn't we agree to come to my house today?"
Amuro Tooru was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Hmm, I forgot."
Morofushi Hiromitsu maintained his smile, but a different emotion flickered in his upturned blue eyes. He hadn't mentioned this to Zero at all today.
Morofushi Hiromitsu had said he would be home today, so the house had left the light on for him. Morofushi Sora'aki, who had come downstairs to get a drink of water, noticed the sound of the door opening and said, holding his water glass in both hands, "Welcome home, brother, and Rei-nii."
After saying that, Morofushi Sora'aki noticed the fleeting unfamiliarity in Amuro Tooru's eyes and instantly realized the answer.
Okay, the victim has been found.
So, is this just Rei now? Recalling Nozaki's wish, Morofushi Sora'aki thought to himself.