Chapter Text
“You look terrible.” The sound of Vermouth’s voice reached Rei’s ears as he leaned against the wall, trying to gather enough energy to get himself home. Turning his head to look in her direction, he rolled his eyes.
“Ah, you really know what to say to make a man feel good about himself, don’t you?” He commented, letting out a harsh laugh. Almost immediately he found himself regretting it as the movement sent an agonizing pain through his chest and he had to grit his teeth to keep from making any noise. He had several ribs that at the very least were cracked, if not outright broken.
“It's a talent of mine,” Vermouth replied, a small smile playing on her lips, as if her sometimes partner wasn’t standing there feeling like he’d lost a fight with the business end of a baseball bat.
Rum had contacted Rei the previous afternoon, not long after his shift at Poirot had ended and from the moment Rei had seen the text notification, he’d had a feeling he was not in for a pleasant time. That feeling had only grown once he’d read the contents of the message; Rum wanted to meet and discuss his progress in looking into Kudo Shinichi. Or rather it was more likely he wanted to discuss the lack of progress.
The information he’d provided Rum since being given the assignment was sparse, mostly consisting of details about his life prior to running afoul of the Black Organization. Information from after that point was harder to find. Rum wasn’t a patient man though, and the fact Bourbon was supposed to be the best at information gathering in the Organization and still hadn’t found anything, was probably making him very mad.
Still, it wasn’t like he could refuse to go, that would make him seem like it was guilty of something. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant experience as it was, he didn’t want to make things worse for himself if he could help it. Being late to the meeting was a good way to make things worse for himself as well, so he’d only taken a moment to call Azusa and claim he was coming down with something and wouldn’t be at work for a few days, before heading out.
There were plenty of people that Rei was wary of in the Black Organization, the place was a den of snakes after all, there was no telling when someone might sink their fangs into your unguarded back. Earning a high ranking position required you to do something to distinguish yourself, you couldn’t just kill your way to the top, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t people willing to murder those in their way. They weren’t likely to achieve much that way, not unless they were exceedingly cunning, but it didn’t stop it from happening.
Rei was well aware that there were people within the Organization who would be more than happy to see him killed, not because he’d ever done anything to them, but simply because they envied his position. Watching out for people like that was something he always had to be cautious of, and that was on top of being careful not to do anything that would out him as a spy.
Still, while there were many he was wary of, Rei couldn’t say that there were more than a couple within the Organization that he was actually afraid of. He feared things people could do, the harm they could cause others, but there was hardly anyone whose mere presence could send a chill through him. Of those that there were however, Rum was at the top of the list.
Rei had been on edge from the moment he’d been escorted into the warehouse where Rum was waiting. Without his eyepatch, fake teeth and hair, there was nothing of the friendly sushi chef about him; instead he seemed sinister. As Rei had predicted, Rum had not been happy with the lack of information from Bourbon, his tranquil fury more terrifying than if he had been yelling.
The one thing that Rei had been grateful for regarding the situation was that as far as he could tell, Rum’s anger seemed to be solely related to Bourbon’s incompetence in gathering information, rather than any suspicion that he was a spy. Still he’d been careful to choose his words carefully as he offered an explanation, it wouldn’t do to garner any extra suspicion.
He’d carefully explained that he’d thus far been unable to find anything but unconfirmed rumors about sightings of Kudo and that he suspected there was someone powerful helping him out, but was still working on determining who. As with all the best lies, his words had a hint of the truth to them; when it came to sightings of Kudo, there really were only unconfirmed rumors, any friends who could confirm them were keeping their mouths firmly shut. Of course, Rei had left out one very important bit of information, that he had his suspicions as to just where Kudo was.
Thankfully Rum had bought his explanation, at least as far as Rei could tell. He couldn’t read the man’s mind after all. Still, that didn’t mean Rei had gotten off scot free, the Black Organization wasn’t the kind of place where failure was just brushed to the side. Rum had been very clear in his belief that he thought that Bourbon hadn’t put in enough effort into completing his assignment and that some punishment was in order, he wouldn’t learn otherwise. Naturally that hadn’t equated to a simple slap on the wrist or a dock in pay, the Organization preferred more painful methods for punishment.
Rei hadn’t gotten a chance to look in a mirror since then, but it was no surprise Vermouth had said he looked awful, he certainly felt awful.
“We’ve got a job,” Vermouth informed him, something approaching sympathy visible in her expression. That alone told Bourbon far more than a mirror could about how pathetic he looked.
“Great,” Rei sighed, not bothering to hide his unhappiness as he pushed himself off the wall. He wondered if this was part of his punishment, having to get right back to work without any time to rest and recover. “Help me put my shoulder back into place first.”
He’d spent most of the past 24 hours with his hands tied behind his back and the position had pulled his right arm out of place; if Vermouth hadn’t come along he’d have been resigned to trying to put it back himself. Walking over to stand next to Rei, Vermouth didn’t say a word before grabbing his arm and roughly shoving it back into the socket. Although Rei had a high pain tolerance, it was hardly the same thing as not feeling pain and he couldn’t but swear in surprise as his shoulder snapped back into place.
“A little warning next time!” Rei grumbled, shooting an annoyed glare at Vermouth, who simply rolled her eyes in response.
“That would just make you tense up and then it would hurt more,” She informed him, before turning and beginning to walk away. “Hurry up, we have work to do.”
Rei had no choice but to follow after her, with each step sending a stab of pain through his broken ribs; ideally he really needed to get to a doctor to have them checked out, but it would be a while before he could do that. The two of them exited the warehouse and headed towards Vermouth’s car; although Rei had driven himself to the location Rum had told him, he’d been brought from there to a second location, so his car wasn’t nearby.
As he climbed into the car, Rei caught a glimpse of himself in one of the side mirrors and frowned. It had been long enough since his punishment had started that bruises were starting to form, turning his face into a mess of blue and purple. He didn’t know what kind of job he and Vermouth were going to do, but he could hardly go looking like that.
“Do you have any concealer?” He asked, collapsing into one of the front seats.
“Check the dash compartment,” Vermouth told him, slotting her key into the ignition and starting the car. Biting back a groan of pain Rei leaned forward and opened the compartment, and began rummaging around in search of the concealer. After a moment of looking he managed to find something and pulled it out, raising an eyebrow at the sight of it; given the frequency with which the two of them worked together he had thought there was a chance she might have some leftover concealer that matched his skin tone, but he hadn’t expected to find a brand new container.
Still, Rei didn’t think too much of it, for all he knew he’d been the one to leave it there and just forgotten.
As Rei opened the container and began carefully covering his bruises, Vermouth shot him a quick glance. “Rum really worked you over,” She commented, before turning her attention back to the road.
Rei didn’t laugh, he’d learned his lesson about doing that earlier, but he did give a humorless smile. “I suppose I should be honored really, how many people can say they were tortured by Rum and lived?” Because that’s exactly what it had been, torture. Rum hadn’t been satisfied with just giving him a beating, he’d caused Rei as much pain as he could without putting him out of commission for too long, and had seemed to enjoy it. “He really wasn’t happy with my lack of progress.”
Something in Vermouth’s expression changed slightly, though it was subtle enough Rei was sure he would have missed it if he hadn’t been working with her for years. “You really haven’t managed to find out anything?” Vermouth asked. Her tone was nonchalant, but Rei could sense she was actually eager to know his answer. Thinking about the suspicions he had regarding Kudo, suspicions that seemed more and more likely to be true given Vermouth’s reaction, he decided to take a chance.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that. I do have an idea of his location, but..” Rei shrugged, ignoring the pain it caused him. “Given the promise I made you, I can’t really do anything with that information.” To openly admit that he was hiding information from Rum was a risky move, but Rei wasn’t too worried, Vermouth would have a vested interest in making sure it stayed a secret after all.
Beside him, Vermouth froze. It was only for a second, but that was more for Rei to feel certain his suspicions were right. Edogawa Conan and Kudo Shinichi were the same person, and Vermouth was well aware of it. How exactly the teenage detective had ended up shrunken down to the size of an elementary school aged child, but he had some suspicions about that as well. If the reason Conan had so many similarities to Kudo was because he was him, then it wasn’t absurd to suspect there were others in a similar situation.
Haibara Ai, who often hung around Conan, was incredibly intelligent for her age, looked an awful lot like a younger version of Sherry and seemed to have a vested interest in avoiding any interaction with Rei; given what he’d already confirmed about Conan, the idea that Haibara was likely Miyano Shiho seemed perfectly reasonable. If that was the case, then Rei could think of one thing that the two of them had in common that might have led to their current state: APTX 4869.
Strictly speaking, Rei wasn’t supposed to know about the drug. His role within the Organization was unconnected to the work of its scientists, and information about what they were up to wasn’t freely shared with those it didn’t involve. Still, he had never been one to pay much attention to the concept of their being information he wasn’t supposed to know, especially when it was related to something he was investigating.
He still didn’t know everything related to the drug, but he was aware that Sherry had worked on it and that Kudo’s disappearance had followed having it used on him. Of course, the idea of there being a drug that could turn someone back into a child was rather absurd, but so was the idea that someone could be turned back into a child in general. It was just a theory for now anyway, he’d need to gather more information before he could know if he was right.
Though for the most part Vermouth’s attention seemed to be focused on the road ahead of them, every few seconds Rei would catch her glancing in his direction, her expression thoughtful. After several minutes of that, she finally spoke.
“I’m surprised you would go so far to keep a promise.” Though her tone was casual, Rei could clearly sense her suspicion. Except for a few hours during the night when Vermouth had left to get some sleep, something Rei had been denied, she had been present for all of the questioning and torture Rei had gone through. She knew exactly what had been inflicted on him and no doubt there was a part of her that wondered just what angle he was working to be willing to go through all that.
Although it wouldn’t have done him any good to tell Rum his suspicions when he’d been called in to talk about his investigation the previous day, he still probably would have been punished if not outright killed for withholding the information until then, but he could have said something earlier. From the moment he’d been given the assignment, it had been clear what the consequences would be if he failed and what would happen if he continued to fail, so why?
That was surely the thought running through Vermouth’s head currently.
Leaning his head back against the headrest of his seat, Rei closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “You and me, we’re not good people.” He told Vermouth after a moment of silence. “Maybe once we were, but our hands have been long since stained by the things we’ve done and that’s not something that can be undone. At the very least though, I can try and be someone who keeps his promises.” He gave a slight smile, “Besides, I like those two, I don’t want to see them hurt.”
If anyone were to ask Rei would have blamed his uncharacteristic honesty on the pain he was in, because while the words he had said certainly applied to the identity of Bourbon, they had come from Rei.
Throughout his life there had been many things which Rei had regretted; events he wished he could have changed, choices he wished he hadn’t made, people he wished he’d met sooner. While in hindsight he wished he’d stopped Hiro from following him, choosing to join the NPA and going undercover wasn’t one of those regrets. Even if his decision to join the police had originally been selfishly motivated by his desire to find Elena, he truly loved his country and wanted to protect it and its people.
His work as a spy allowed him to do that, if the Black Organization was taken down it would save so many people, but he knew he’d been irrevocably tainted by his work. It was impossible to keep your cover in a place like the Organization, let alone rise through the ranks, by keeping your hands clean. For the sake of his mission he’d been forced time and time again to compromise his own morals, until he was left feeling like Lady Macbeth, scrubbing fruitlessly at stains that would never go away.
There was not a day that went by in which Rei didn’t miss his friends and wish they were still around, but he was glad they couldn’t see what he’d become. Over the years the Zero they’d known had been worn away by life, before finally dying off with the last of his friends. Furuya Rei still existed, but sometimes he felt like a stranger even to himself.
No matter what name he went by though, the fact remained that even if he was on the side of good, he could no longer consider himself to be anything but a sinner. He wanted at least one thing to cling to though, one line that he wouldn’t cross, even if such a thing was foolish.
Of course, he’d have liked to think that even without the promise he’d made Vermouth, he never would have considered selling out Kudo. Sadly though, that was something that he couldn’t promise was true. Sometimes sacrifices had to be made. Catching and handing over a high profile target to the Organization, even if it was an ally, would do wonders when it came to increasing Bourbon’s status in the Organization and getting him closer to the boss.
He had been willing to offer Akai up as that sacrificial lamb, not that he could go through it thanks to a promise made over tea, but the idea of doing so with Kudo was more complicated. While the kid could admittedly be a bit of nuisance at times, Rei had no grudge towards him and found him quite useful to have around usually; it wouldn’t have sat right with him to leave him in the hands of the Organization.
If things had gone a little differently, he might not have had a choice though. Thus far he hadn’t actually told his superiors at the NPA about his suspicion regarding Conan, partially because saying he thought Kudo Shinichi had been shrunk to the size of a six year would probably make him sound insane, but mostly because he was wary of what would be done with the information. Furuya trusted those he worked directly with like Kazami and he trusted his superior Kuroda, but there were others who concerned him.
Some of the higher ups had been out of the field too long, to them their subordinates and the people they were meant to protect had become nothing more than names on paper. When they made a decision or gave an order, they only saw the big picture and not the individuals who would be affected by their choices. The idea of putting the many above the few wasn’t an unfamiliar concept to Rei, it governed many of the choices he made, but he believed you couldn’t forget the individuals who would be affected.
Careful calculation was required before making a choice, to be sure the outcome was really worth the cost; and if it was, then you had to bear the weight of your choice. He was afraid the higher ups would just see Kudo as a means to an end and not take into account that he was an innocent teenager nor the help he could provide. If they were to order Rei to sell out Kudo currently, he was sure he would refuse; in another life though, one where there was no promise to Vermouth nor connection with Conan, he might not view the cost as too high.
He’d never know though, so he supposed there was no point dwelling on it.
Vermouth had been quiet since hearing his answer, which he supposed was fair, she no doubt had to think about what he’d said and decide if she believed him. It was frustrating to not know what she was thinking though.
Opening his eyes, Rei let out a sigh and leaned forward so he could see himself in one of the visor mirrors, he still needed to finish covering his bruises. He still didn’t know what their assignment was, but he hoped it wouldn’t be anything too complicated and they could finish it quickly. He really just wanted to go home and get some rest.
He’d only taken three days off from work, and one of them was nearing its end already, he needed to take advantage of the time he had left to rest and recover. It would be the weekend soon, which meant he didn’t have any shifts, but there was no way his injuries would be healed in just four days. The bruises alone would take weeks to disappear, with his ribs and other wounds taking even longer. He could hardly take enough time off of work at the cafe for them to heal most of the way, let alone fully, people would start getting worried.
Rei didn’t tend to let other people know where he lived, but it wasn’t like it was impossible for people to find out. If he was ‘sick’ for too long, even if he reassured her he was fine over the phone, he wouldn’t find it too surprising to find a concerned Azusa on his doorstep. There were plenty of other nosy people who could show up as well, a downside of associating with detectives.
However, he couldn’t be honest about the fact he was injured either, it’d have been one thing if he had a simple black eye and a few bruises that could be blamed on a scuffle with a suspect, but his injuries weren’t that simple. There was no excuse he could give that wouldn’t draw suspicion, and he certainly couldn’t tell the truth. That left him with one viable option, which was to hide the fact he was hurt.
It would hardly be the first time he’d hidden an injury, there had been numerous times before, some due to necessity and others because he didn’t want people to worry. Hiro had always been able to find him out, sometimes scolding him for being reckless with his own health and other times he’d just watched Rei in concern, knowing he couldn’t do anything. There was no Hiro around to catch him anymore though, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be careful.
Most of his injuries would be hidden by his shirt, and the bruises on his face could be covered with makeup, it was his ribs and the arm that had been dislocated would be more of a hassle. If they were to properly heal, he had to be careful not to overly strain them, but if he favored them too much then it would be obvious something was wrong; he’d have to balance things just right. It was something he was sure he could pull it off, but it was going to be a real nuisance.
“Do you think you’re capable of driving currently?” Vermouth suddenly asked, catching Rei off guard.
“I probably could if I needed to,” He told her after a moment's thought. It wouldn’t be particularly smart, even ignoring the pain it would cause him, there was the fact he hadn’t slept in over a day; currently he had enough adrenaline pumping through his system that he didn’t feel drowsy, but it wouldn’t last. Driving while tired was something he tried to avoid, especially after Date’s death, but he’d do it if necessary.
“I’ll drop you off at your car then, I can take care of the assignment myself.”
Rei had not been expecting that and couldn’t keep an expression of surprise off his face, which apparently amused Vermouth, judging by the small smile on her face.
“Are you sure?” As much as he wanted to rest, Rei was a little hesitant to accept the offer. He didn’t know how Rum would react if he found out Rei had skipped out on the mission, the man was upset with him enough as it was.
“You’d just be a hindrance if you came, you’re pretty useless in your current shape. I’ll fill you in on what happens later, so you can complete your report.” Her words were rather harsh, and normally it would rankle Rei to be referred to as useless, but he could sense that she didn’t really mean it; at least not entirely. It was just a means to convince him, she was showing him a rare bit of kindness.
Rei really wasn’t sure what to think of such a thing though. The two of them had a rather complicated relationship; it would be inaccurate to call them enemies, at least so long as Rei’s true allegiance remained unknown, but friends wasn’t a term that fit them either. The two of them were far too willing to threaten and blackmail each other to be friends, plus they both knew they’d kill each other if they were ordered to. Mere acquaintances wasn’t an accurate description either however, they knew each other too well for that.
However one described their relationship though, the fact remained it wasn’t the kind of relationship where they helped each other out of the kindness of their hearts. He was sure the only reason for her helping him was because he’d kept quiet about Kudo, but he didn’t know if it was a one time thing or if something in their relationship had shifted. He supposed only time would tell.
“Alright,” He told Vermouth, deciding to just roll with it for now.