"Juice, then." Gin leaned back against the sofa in a lazy posture, raising an eyebrow slightly upon hearing that.
Midori's eyes widened in surprise, then he muttered, "Drinking juice now.. Fine then."
She put down the Milk, stood up, took a bottle of Juice out of the Refrigerator, poured it into a Glass. Then, she walked back, handed it to Gin, raised an eyebrow. "You really are a handful!"
Even though she said that, her tone was quite relaxed.
Gin ignored her and took a sip of the ice-cold Juice; the sweet and slightly tart flavor spread across his taste buds, causing the frustration in his heart to dissipate slightly. He placed the glass on the coffee table in front of him.
Midori sat back in her original seat, cradling the glass of Milk with both hands. The warmth from the glass spread through her palms and into her heart. She took a sip of the Milk, then frowned slightly in distress.
What's wrong?
Not really.." The brown-haired girl made a bitter face, looking disgusted. "I don't really like milk..
The slight coolness on his fingertips had not yet dissipated. Gin turned his head to look at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "If you don't like it, why do you still drink it?"
Milk can help me grow taller!" Shiratori Midori's expression was so incredibly serious that it left Gin speechless. "I want to try a little harder.
Gin: ………………
Height was indeed Shiratori Midori's sore spot.
Actually, she wasn't short; she was at least 165 centimeters tall, which was definitely above average for women in Japan—she wouldn't be a burden in the Organization.
Unfortunately, this girl's goal is 170 centimeters..
In this case, one could only say that her ideals were lofty, but reality was harsh.
Gin looked at her bitter expression as she drank her Milk, he felt a pang of pity, sincerely advising, "You're already twenty-one; I'm afraid no amount of effort will help now."
—After all, there is a five-centimeter difference.
Brown-haired girl [male]: You think I don't know?!
"You're so tall, how could you possibly understand my pain!" (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
He rolled his eyes, feeling indignant toward his Companion, who not only spoke without any empathy for his pain but also poured cold water on his head.
And so—
Do you really not want to see Haibara Ai?
The Silver-haired youth wondered, "Why should I see her?"
She couldn't help but carefully contemplate Haibara Ai's current situation. Could it be that she possessed some special value now?
"After all, she's your future romantic interest!" Shiratori Midori said in a mocking tone, speaking with a hint of sarcasm after she finished.
Ah—Sherry!
Bang—
Ah—it hurts!
The girl, brutally suppressed by a flick from the Silver-haired youth, let out a cry and clutched her forehead.
Gin glanced at her, sounding annoyed, "Speak properly."
“I know—” the brown-haired girl said somewhat resentfully, but she still became serious. "To be honest, Miyano Akemi is not as good as her sister. The Organization has already given up on her since her training proved ineffective. Even without looking at 'Spoilers,' you and I both know that, generally speaking, if she has no other noteworthy abilities, she will most likely just be a low-level member."
But Miyano Shiho is different." Shiratori Midori's expression gradually grew cold, her green eyes turning icy, bearing a faint resemblance to Gin in that moment: "She will become a Scientist that even the Black Organization values.. I was thinking, should we..
Shiratori Midori's eyes turned completely cold: "Kill her?"
She usually maintained a peaceful demeanor, sometimes smiling and playing casually, but at this moment, she revealed a genuine murderous intent, proving that her hands were already stained with blood.
Gin was not surprised at all.
If Shiratori Midori were truly a harmless girl, they probably wouldn't have become friends—after all, if she were truly harmless, she wouldn't have survived until now.
In her daily life, she seemed like just an ordinary twenty-one-year-old girl before her, but that was only in her presence.
In any other situation, she would be a Cadre capable of handling everything on her own within the Black Organization.
It was only in front of him that she could be a little more unrestrained, a little more reliant, appear somewhat "unreliable."
As for Gin, although he didn't show such obvious differences like she did, he would still be a bit more relaxed than usual.
And when they faced others, or even enemies, the cold and ruthless side they revealed was naturally accepted by their opponents—or rather, to them, that side was far more expected than the relaxed and smiling side they showed in their daily lives.
The difference between them lay in the fact that, for Gin, both sides were her true self; whereas for Shiratori Midori, the side she showed only before Gin was the real "Shiratori Midori," while the person who existed before the Black Organization was Sherry.
As for why Shiratori Midori wanted to target Miyano Shiho, Gin could guess some of the reasons.
The brown-haired girl also explained, "Miyano Shiho is, after all, an important scientist for the Organization. Her abilities are highly rated within the Organization; although she eventually defected, she worked for the Organization for many years before her defection, making significant contributions."
Her contributions meant an increase in the organization's strength; they also meant an increase in the difficulty of their missions.
In the future, she will become an important Researcher for the Black Organization, making her a difficult target to kill. But for now, she is merely a ***-year-old child whose abilities have yet to be demonstrated; the Black Organization will not place too much importance on her, making the difficulty of killing her significantly lower.
At the very least, it won't stop them.
Gin fell silent for a moment. "You have a point."
"Then—" the Brown-haired girl interjected.
But, if Miyano Shiho dies, many things will not happen," Gin said meaningfully. "What we lose is that Foresight.
But we have to change the 'Plot' eventually!" Shiratori Midori frowned. "Besides, I don't think losing a portion of 'Foresight' will affect anything—not to mention, even if it's changed beyond recognition, you still won't be afraid, right?
I indeed won't be afraid," the Silver-haired youth said, her eyes darkening as her fingertips tapped lightly on her knee. "But there is no need; the drawbacks it brings are greater. To put it simply, it is 'not worth it'.
Pausing for a moment, Gin added, "I will 'change,' but not now."
Shiratori Midori fell silent for a moment, before finally nodding in compromise, "Alright."
..
Small talk is one thing—it can't even really be called small talk anymore—but business is business.
For them, their current business was, naturally, the mission.
Actually, considering their ages, they should be in university by now.. but it is clearly a foolish act to try and reason with the Organization.
Gin can postpone a Mission due to time conflicts arising from important university matters, but it is more troublesome for Shiratori Midori. Only some unimportant minor missions can be postponed or rescheduled; if a mission is important, she still has to take leave.
As for those who were even more.. than Shiratori Midori..
Hehe, either take a School Entrance Leave properly, or find a way to manage on your own.
The timing of this mission was quite unfortunate, falling just a few days before Midori's Final Exam.
This means that once Sherry completes the mission, Shiratori Midori will have to rush back to Kanagawa via Shinkansen and prepare for her exams—assuming, of course, that the mission can be completed before her Final Exam.
I hope I don't get injured, I'm definitely going to be pulling all-nighters..
When she first learned the details of the mission, Shiratori girl had nearly broken down.
However, looking at her now, she didn't seem depressed at all.
We're about to start the mission, there's no point in dwelling on this.. And! Besides!" Speaking of which, the Brown-haired girl's green eyes lit up, like new leaves glistening after the rain: "This is my first time going on a mission with you as your subordinate! I feel so excited!
Gin: …………
Heh.. for you, this second reason is probably the most important one..
He suddenly felt as if he had lost the ability to speak.
..
The danger level of this mission wasn't particularly high; the difficulty lay in completing it and leaving without attracting attention—or, if attention was drawn, without leaving any traces.
There were three people in the lineup: Gin, Shiratori Midori, another New Cadre, Bagdad.
Actually, considering the difficulty of that mission, it would have been enough to have Shiratori Midori and Bagdad handle it; there was no need for Gin to get involved at all.
However, Shiratori Midori had just been transferred to Gin's subordinates and was still in her probation period. As her "guardian," Gin had to observe and test her abilities according to the rules.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the other two were to find their own ways to complete this mission, while Gin would observe and evaluate from the side, only intervening when absolutely necessary.
In order to meet the criteria of "not attracting attention" and "leaving no traces," although the three of them had brought handguns, Shiratori Midori did not intend to use a gun.
She arrived at the Hotel where the target was staying ahead of time, making it convenient to make her move.
Then, she obtained surveillance footage of the hotel from the organization's intelligence personnel. When they were preparing to head out, she pretended to have an urgent matter in the hallway and rushed into one of the Bodyguards. A mere Bodyguard would not cause much alarm, allowing his to discreetly plant a Bug.
Then, intelligence regarding their detailed route on a certain day was obtained from the Bug.
"That's about it.." After carefully analyzing the route, the Brown-haired girl shared her plan with her Partner.
Bagdad would first cause a minor car accident at a specific section of their original route. During this time period, a car accident on this road would certainly lead to a traffic paralysis on this stretch, since the Target Mission has matters to attend to, he will not allow himself to be late.
They will inevitably choose another, more remote route.
There are no surveillance cameras on that road.
Shiratori Midori watched their car turn left toward the street she had planned, her green eyes darkening slightly.
While counting in her head, she slowly approached the corner of the street and then pressed the detonator of the micro bomb in her hand.
..
Gin frowned slightly.
The micro bomb planted by Shiratori Midori was pre-installed at the rear of the car, near the fuel tank and the rear axle. Once detonated, because it was a micro bomb, its firepower would be insufficient to cause a total vehicle accident; however, due to its proximity to the fuel tank, even a micro bomb would trigger a fuel tank explosion.
And the fire caused by the fuel tank explosion would cover up the traces of the micro bomb left behind. As long as Shiratori Midori disguised herself as a female traffic police officer inspecting the scene and wiped away the evidence before the actual Police arrived, it would look like a serious car accident, making it difficult to find any evidence of human tampering.
Logically speaking, everything was proceeding according to plan, it was just..
It was just unexpected that someone had actually managed to escape!
Sherry, the most promising of the New Cadre, quickly regained her composure. She scanned the surroundings, found no one nearby, immediately closed in, pulling a folding knife from her waist. He flicked the blade out with his thumb and swung it toward the Survivor.
If he were to kill him now, as long as the wound wasn't too large, it could still be faked as a death in a car accident.
Gin nodded silently, but..
He watched coldly at the corner not far away, where the blonde-haired boy with slightly dark skin stood.
Author's Note:
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The last youth is a character from the original work; I am sure you can guess who it is.