-----
-----
"Get off me already. How long are you planning to crush me like this?"
"Ugh, that's annoying. You're poking me!"
Hearing Vermouth's irritated voice, Steven shifted off her.
His proud little brother stood tall: survived a disaster, good fortune ahead!
Making her mad wasn't a big deal. As long as he coaxed her properly, he could still keep using it.
"The survivor you left behind accepted the FBI's witness protection program. He could become a serious threat to the Organization. By the rules, you should be eliminated."
"Honestly, I didn't get it either. Gin, of all people, suddenly showed mercy. My task was just to scare you, give you a warning, not to take your life."
So that was it.
After Vermouth's explanation, Steven finally understood.
Gin letting him off was clearly because he valued Steven's combat strength and efficiency in completing missions.
"But I'm not as generous as Gin. Women, you know, tend to have little tempers."
"You heartless bastard actually shot me. From now on, we're sleeping separately. The villa has plenty of rooms. Pick whichever one you want."
Vermouth rubbed her waist, sulking.
"Can you be reasonable for once? You were the one pointing a gun at my little brother first. What I did was self-defense."
"Heh. Since when do women need to be reasonable? If I say it's your fault, then it's your fault."
"Thanks for the reminder. I'm not reasonable either. I'm best at using guns to deal with women who talk nonsense."
Seeing that Vermouth refused to listen, Steven made his move again.
In a single motion, he had her completely restrained, then powered up with his legs and mounted her, gun at the ready.
Throwing a tantrum?
Steven had plenty of ways to teach her a lesson. If once wasn't enough, then twice. He'd keep going until Vermouth was completely subdued.
"You… don't push it. If you dare spray me in the face with that gun again, you'd better sleep with everything covered at night. One day you might wake up a eunuch…"
Ring ring ring!
As Vermouth struggled fiercely, the phone on the bedside table started ringing.
"Wait. I need to take this."
What a mood killer.
Steven shot the phone a look and cursed under his breath, then got up and blocked the doorway, just in case Vermouth tried to escape while answering.
Today, he had to make things right with her. His little brother couldn't celebrate for nothing.
"Yukiko? What made you think of calling me?"
"Oh, Ran was just being polite. Saving her was nothing, really."
"I'm free right now. Write down the address…"
Yukiko again. And Ran Mouri too. What kind of act was this?
Steven's head filled with question marks.
He couldn't hear the other side of the call, but he could roughly guess they were coming over.
"Alright, bye!"
Vermouth hung up and looked at Steven, who was posing dramatically in front of the door.
"Ran heard from Yukiko that I'm in Tokyo. They're planning to come visit. Your identity's already exposed. Shouldn't you avoid them for a bit?"
She did that on purpose, didn't she?
Steven saw through her immediately. Agreeing so readily to Yukiko's request was obviously because she was still annoyed and didn't want to practice couple yoga with him.
"Is that really necessary? You're a master of disguise. Just change my face a little and I can be your new assistant."
Since his identity was already blown, he might as well go all in.
Steven wasn't worried at all. In fact, he vaguely felt that Yukiko suddenly coming from New York to Tokyo, and specifically bringing Ran along to visit Vermouth, probably wasn't just a friendly call.
As for the truth behind it, he couldn't be bothered to guess.
Only the weak get troubled. The strong never waste time.
"Oh? Now you remember how useful I am? Want me to disguise you? That's easy. Beg me."
Vermouth changed clothes, wearing a smug, irritating grin.
"Fine…"
"Begging means kneeling, you know!"
Kneel?
Steven stared at her in disbelief, wondering if she'd gotten a little too confident.
"Did I say I'd beg you? I kneel to heaven, kneel to earth, and in between, I kneel only to my parents and ancestors. You think knowing a cheap trick means you can make me bow my head?"
"Ridiculous."
"It's just disguise work. I can do it too."
Wolf Bro had run wild on the prairie for a reason. Disguise was one of his hidden skills.
It couldn't compare to Vermouth's mastery, but it was more than enough for small scenes.
Steven rummaged through the room and found a pair of glasses, an afro wig, and some fake scar stickers.
He sat down in front of the mirror and started working on himself.
In Vermouth's eyes, though, it was nothing more than sticking on a fake mustache, wearing a wig and glasses, and slapping on fake wounds. Amateur stuff.
It might fool a three-year-old or an idiot. Anyone with half a brain could spot the flaws.
"Every man with a scar on his face is a legend!"
Steven touched the fake scar, extremely satisfied with his work.
Pfft!
Vermouth couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at? An afro, a scar, and glasses. Isn't that handsome?"
He didn't care what others thought. Steven thought it looked badass.
Refined on the surface, scum underneath. Perfect outlaw vibes.
"You call this disguise? Please don't insult the word 'disguise.' Yukiko's a professional. She'll spot your flaws the moment she lifts her eyelids."
Vermouth mocked him mercilessly, still refusing to help.
"So what? You're the one who won't help. If my identity gets exposed, don't pin it on me."
Steven shrugged, spreading his hands. He'd done all he could.
"I don't care."
Vermouth never worried about being exposed.
With her godlike disguise skills, she could switch identities anytime.
If she was found out, she'd just stage a random incident like before, slip away, and continue living under a new identity.
Ding dong—
The doorbell rang. Vermouth quickly went to open the door, then froze when she saw the three figures outside.
Besides Yukiko and Ran Mouri, the third person was Yusaku Kudo.
This was bad.
A surge of danger washed over Vermouth.
Because of her close, almost best-friend relationship with Yukiko, she knew quite a bit about Yusaku Kudo.
The world's most popular mystery novelist. A man who had helped Japanese police and the FBI crack countless major cases. His status and influence were extraordinary.
He rarely made a move, but when he did, cases were always solved.
Connecting this with the news reports about Yusaku Kudo being hired by the Okinawa police as a consultant to investigate the Jo Murakami case, Vermouth instantly guessed his purpose here.
Walking into the living room, Steven also spotted Yusaku Kudo, which further confirmed his own suspicions.
People don't visit the temple without a reason.
So Yukiko and Ran coming over were just setting the stage. The real star of the show was Yusaku Kudo.
Interesting.
A faint, meaningful smile flickered across Steven's lips.
Running into one of the Detective Conan world's top-tier geniuses meant only one thing.
A good show was about to begin.
"....."