In Gin's view, the youth he had personally discovered was long capable of standing on his own. Even if he was unwilling to establish his own organization for some unknown reason, it was not something for others to criticize.
But in Borse's view, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
In fact, he quite liked the sound of this wind.
Because—
In that case, I'll be able to stay in touch with you.
..
Volume 2: Part 2—
As Borse grew step by step, the most direct manifestation of his progress was his increasingly sophisticated methods and his steadily rising position.
From being one of the many codenamed Cadres of the Black Organization at the beginning, to a name that alone could intimidate many a Newcomer, this always cold and indifferent youth used his own strength to give the codename Borse a unique significance.
He had proven himself once again.
In the Black Organization, status is often tied to strength. Money, fine liquor, luxury car—his living conditions were already worlds apart from those of his youth.
However, for Borse, these seemed to make no difference.
After all—
Even though he had become one of Gin's confidants, Borse did not follow Gin every moment of the day.
So for Borse, his life had not changed much in any way worth mentioning compared to when he first came under Gin's command.
Sometimes, he even envied the man codenamed 'Vodka'.
Vodka is the traditional liquor of the fighting nation of Russia. Its quality is clear and its color is transparent; it is a famous liquor and one of the six major base liquors in the world.
This kind of liquor, which provides a sensation like burning flames the moment it hits the throat, seemed completely inconsistent with that man with the almost honest-looking face.
After facing Vodka's various speechless questions and actions, even the calm and indifferent Borse could not help but feel a hint of curiosity:
How did this man become a Cadre with a codename?
Naturally, for Gin, a subordinate of Vodka's caliber is clearly of no help to him—he's barely even good enough for a supporting position.
Perhaps the only thing worth noting is that Vodka is sufficiently loyal and obedient.
Vodka at least has enough self-awareness. Knowing his own limited abilities, he obeys all of Gin's various commands without question, it looks like he is about to become Gin's personal driver.
Many people were very puzzled by this group, wondering why, given Gin's strength, he would deign to choose an obscure person, someone whose deaths even Gin didn't know the count of, to be his Subordinate.
However, due to Gin's personality, no one would ask him. Thus, this matter gradually became a mystery.
Borse actually had some vague suspicions regarding Gin's thoughts—
—Because Gin himself is already powerful enough.
Most of his colleagues at the same level were either High-level members or prospective High-level members of the Organization; while working together occasionally was no issue, it was clearly Impossible for them to become fixed partners.
Even if he is not as good as Gin, he has his own subordinates, okay?
It's fine to bring several powerhouses together at critical moments to occasionally fight a Boss, but where are you going to find so many Bosses for you to fight?
Gathering them together like this is an absolute waste of resources for the Black Organization, okay?
And there are not many Newcomers that the Silver-haired youth finds worthy of his attention. In Gin's eyes, most people are nothing more than the difference between being unskilled and being even more unskilled, or being stupid and being even more stupid.
As a Level 90 expert, do you really care whether your subordinate is Level 20 or Level 25?!
Is there any difference between the two?!
Since there is no difference, it would be better to just pick someone who is obedient and loyal!
Every time this happened, Borse, who had already completed his training, really wanted to say to Gin: Boss, I don't need to strike out on my own; I want to team up with you!
Even though many who claimed to be experts looked down on Vodka, Borse did not feel the same way.
In fact, sometimes, he would feel a faint sense of envy toward Vodka.
..
Volume 2: Part Three—
As is well known, as a Level 90 powerhouse who is fiercely loyal to the Black Organization, Gin's daily life is also very busy.
Perhaps because he could not bear to see his capable subordinate running around all day every day, with few people around him capable of sharing the burden, one of the members of the seemingly excellent new "Whisky Trio" among the new generation of Cadre was assigned to Gin.
—Years later, facing the real identity of those three Whiskeys, Borse's mouth twitched, he remained speechless for a long time.
Borse, who had just returned to Tokyo after finishing a mission, felt momentarily dazed upon receiving such news.
The Newcomer—perhaps he can no longer be called a newcomer, but to Borse, he is still a newcomer—has the codename 'Rye Whisky.' I heard his skills are excellent, his marksmanship is even better.
Strictly speaking, Rye was slightly older than him, but in terms of seniority, Borse could easily call himself a Senior.
He had not met Rye, he felt no extra emotion toward this Newcomer.
Gin is certainly arrogant, but he holds a high position after all, he has quite a few subordinates. Almost every year, several Newcomers are assigned to the Silver-haired youth, whether they stay or go, live or die.
Everything is uncertain before the dust has settled.
But what Borse did not expect was that he would soon meet that Newcomer.
..
Volume 2: Part 4—
Borse doesn't actually like teaming up with strangers, but since it was a mission arranged by Gin, he certainly had no objections.
Thus, for the first time, he met the black-haired youth codenamed 'Rye' whose real name was Moroboshi Dai.
Moroboshi Dai was a tall man with cold, sharp features; he seemed difficult to approach and hardly spoke throughout the journey.
This was exactly what Borse wanted, after all, he didn't much want to speak to that man either.
Both of them were taciturn youths who completed the mission so quietly, with only a few lines of dialogue throughout the entire trip. However, after a round of cooperation, they both had a clear understanding of each other's strength.
Borse felt that Rye and Gin were somewhat alike.
Both are left-handed, both are silent and cold, both have long hair, both possess exceptional marksmanship.
But—
Borse felt that he did not like Rye.
..
Volume 2: Part Five—
Rye seemed to say something to Gin.
The Silver-haired youth tilted his head slightly, turned around, walked in another direction, ignoring him.
Such obvious disregard clearly did not make Rye give up. He walked around the car door to stand in front of Gin, blocking his path, then spoke a few more words.
From Borse's angle, the Silver-haired youth's green eyes remained cold, however, the corners of his mouth seemed to curl into a tiny arc.
Gin replied with a single, cold word, then reached into his black coat pocket, pulled out a lighter, tossed it to Rye.
Rye caught the lighter mid-air, a slight curve appearing at the corners of his lips as he offered a word of thanks, a trace of a relaxed smile in his eyes, completely devoid of his usual coldness.
Borse took in everything in his sight, then lowered his eyes slightly.
He thought, he indeed did not like Rye.
..
Volume 2: Six—
This kind of 'dislike' quickly turned into 'Hate'.
Rye—or rather, he should be called Akai Shuichi—was confirmed to be an FBI undercover agent within the Black Organization, the one who exposed his identity was none other than Gin.
Akai Shuichi's identity was exposed during Gin's final test, the man, who was later referred to by some in the Black Organization as the 'Silver Bullet', quickly fled Japan.
The process was very difficult, it is said that Akai Shuichi was even wounded—after all, the Black Organization's retaliation and pursuit are not something that can be easily handled.
However, just thinking about how he had originally intended to capture Gin.. Borse felt an impulse to skin him alive and strip him to the bone.
However, as a half-involved party, Gin did not show any dissatisfaction.
Even though his words conveyed the meaning that he "definitely would not let the Traitor off," Borse, who had been by Gin's side for many years, knew that Gin was not that angry.
Even—
Everything seemed to be within his expectations.
..
Volume 2: Part 7—
But this did not diminish Borse's hatred for Akai Shuichi in the slightest.
..
Final Volume: Part 1—
The relationship between Gin and Bourbon had become close at some point, though it was unclear when it had started.
Although in the eyes of outsiders, Gin seemed no different than before; as someone close to Gin, Borse was still keen enough to notice Gin's nearly softened attitude toward Bourbon.
This "softening" was not only reflected in the conversations between the two; it was also reflected in certain matters, where Gin would silently go easy on Bourbon.
And Bourbon, who has always been known as a 'mystic', seemed to have a different kind of fondness for Gin than ordinary people do.
As long as Gin wants, he can contact Bourbon anytime, anywhere.
But as for whether there was 'trust' between the two, it seemed to be a question truly worth pondering.
At least for Gin, he never let Bourbon know the most core intelligence or the most secretive matters.
The Silver-haired man would entrust his private matters to Borse, to Heine, even to Sheila.. but among those he chose, Bourbon was never one of them.
This once left Borse feeling quite bewildered.
But in the blink of an eye, he stopped thinking about this question.
After all—
He only needs to follow Gin.
..