Win-Win

"See you tomorrow, Miss Enomoto."

Azusa Enomoto withdrew her worried gaze from the attic, looked at Tooru Amuro, and sighed.

"You two had a fight today, didn't you? Tang Ze wouldn't even come down for dinner. Make sure you clear things up with him later, Mr. Amuro." She was no fool; naturally, she could tell how tense things had been between them during the day. But there were many conflicts outsiders could not conveniently interfere in, so she could only hope that her dependable, eloquent, handsome coworker would communicate properly. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Amuro."

After Azusa Enomoto left, Tooru Amuro slowly changed out of his uniform and stood at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing his aching head as he stared at the tightly shut door.

He could neither reveal information about the Organization nor expose his own identity, yet he also had to dispel Tang Ze's hostility and fear. It was far from an easy task.

A knock sounded at the door. Tang Ze, who had been sprawled bonelessly across the bed, sprang upright, quickly arranged his posture and expression, then answered, "The door isn't locked."

When Tooru Amuro pushed open the door, he was greeted by the black muzzle of a gun.

Tang Ze Zhao, his gaze calm and ashen, was curled up against the foot of the bed, holding a black pistol aimed directly at the doorway.

"They're all liars. My dad and mom, and you too." Tang Ze no longer had the fierce emotions he had displayed during the day, only hollow eyes. "'What a guardian should do'... what a joke."

Seeing Tang Ze like that, Tooru Amuro's heart softened.

This child's guardians truly had failed him all along.

He looked clearly at Tang Ze's hands gripping the gun. Rather than respond to the mockery, he took a step closer. "You've never fired a gun before, have you...? Put it down. You could hurt yourself."

"Don't come any closer!" Tang Ze immediately clenched his teeth, raised his upper lip to bare them, and tried his best to make a vicious, ferocious expression. "Stay away from me."

His arms were tensed tight, veins bulging on the backs of his hands from how hard he was gripping it. Tooru Amuro saw the bandages exposed at his wrist and remembered dressing his wounds in the attic two days ago. He felt even more helpless.

"Relax, Tang Ze. I have no intention of hurting you." Tooru Amuro raised both hands to show he meant no harm, then stepped closer again, preparing to take the gun from his hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about your parents' deaths sooner, but please believe me. I mean you absolutely no harm."

"I told you, stay away from me!" Tang Ze shouted, his finger tightly hooked around the trigger. Tooru Amuro had no choice but to stop, lest he provoke him further.

Though he could tell from Tang Ze's stance that he did not know how to hold a gun properly, the safety on the gun in his hands really was off, and it could fire at any moment. Tooru Amuro needed to avoid that extreme possibility as much as he could.

Did Tang Ze know how to use a gun? Of course he did.

But when it came to acting, Tang Ze was serious. The acting skills that had gone unused during the day were already itching for a chance to shine, so naturally, he had to play the part flawlessly.

"You're with those people too, aren't you? They framed me, made me confess, then arranged for you to watch me... Watching me ask you for help and pour my heart out to you—do you think I'm pathetic?" Tang Ze actually let out a mocking laugh. "What exactly do you want me to do? Just say it. Stop playing this game."

Tooru Amuro watched his agitated state and slowly weighed his options.

Tang Ze was clearly emotionally out of control right now. If he admitted Tang Ze's suspicions from Bourbon's position, then directly pressed him with questions like "Hand over the files" or "Tell me what your parents were researching," he could probably obtain the answers he wanted quickly—perhaps even the thing the Organization had been searching for all this time.

But that would completely destroy the trust between him and Tang Ze. It would become impossible to obtain any further information about Tang Ze's case, because in Tang Ze's eyes, Tooru Amuro would become one of the participants in the false accusation.

So he chose to continue with the plan he had prepared.

"...I really have been watching you, but I'm not one of them." Tooru Amuro imperceptibly moved a little closer. "Your parents, like me, had no choice in the matter. None of us were qualified guardians. But our desire to protect you was the same. Your parents entrusted you to me. I'm sorry, I can't take you away, but I won't let them hurt you."

This was a lie.

Tooru Amuro had only guessed that Tang Ze knew the Tang Ze couple had a secret contact, but he did not know who it was specifically.

He intended to try claiming that identity, then package their conversation from that morning as part of relaying messages. It was the best plan for maintaining Bourbon's operation while also allowing Tang Ze to lower his guard.

"I don't believe you." There was no sign of Tang Ze's tense arms relaxing. "If that's true, why didn't you explain it sooner?"

Tang Ze really did know there was a contact communicating with his parents, and he did not know who the other party was. Otherwise, he would not have said, "I don't believe you," but something more outrightly dismissive, like "You're lying."

Convinced that he had made the right bet, Tooru Amuro breathed a sigh of relief.

"I told you, we're both unable to act freely." Tooru Amuro put on a sigh. "I'm not the only one watching you. They don't trust me. Telling you directly would only put both of us in danger."

What he said was half true and half false. And considering that the person in charge of the other surveillance team was Whiskey, he felt not the slightest guilt about shifting the blame. He only wished he could dump even more of it on him.

Tang Ze stared at his face as though waiting for something.

Tooru Amuro met his eyes and detected a trace of hesitation and relaxation in his expression. He understood that their conversation had reached its most crucial point.

Tang Ze had never directly contacted the secret contact, yet there was regular communication between them.

Based on that guess, after ending his conflict with Tang Ze that day, Furuya Rei had immediately contacted Zero Division and ordered them to investigate every method Tang Ze Zhao used to communicate. Whether it was phone calls, emails, SNS, or forums, any account that held regular periodic conversations with Tang Ze or was checked at regular intervals had to be investigated.

In the end, his poor subordinates, worked to the bone, helped him identify a suspicious account on an anonymous forum.

Earlier today, that account had once again posted a meaningless message on the anonymous forum, causing the person's suspicion level to skyrocket.

Tooru Amuro now had to say something—something that could make Tang Ze believe he was that person.

"'The weather is nice. I like spring. I hope everything is well. I'm truly sorry.'" Tooru Amuro repeated the content of the post they had uncovered, then added an uncertain form of address. "Akira."

It was the romanization of Zhao from Tang Ze Zhao's name, and also the signature used every time that account posted. That was precisely why they had further narrowed down the suspect.

After saying that, Tooru Amuro raised his guard to its highest level and waited for Tang Ze's reaction.

If he failed to earn Tang Ze's trust, the gun ready to fire in Tang Ze's hand would deal him a devastating blow at point-blank range.

Tang Ze slowly lowered the muzzle.

A second before Tooru Amuro was about to smile, Tang Ze suddenly raised the gun again and pressed it beneath his own chin.

"Goodbye." Tang Ze smiled victoriously and pulled the trigger.

Tooru Amuro felt his heart suddenly constrict, his blood freezing for an instant with his movement.

"Don't!" Tooru Amuro lunged at Tang Ze almost on reflex, trying to shove away the hand holding the gun, without time to consider that a bullet fired at such close range could hurt him too.

But the moment he grabbed the gun in Tang Ze's hand, Tooru Amuro froze.

Knocked backward by Tooru Amuro's tackle, Tang Ze hit the back of his head against the wall and hissed in pain, quickly releasing the gun to clutch his head.

Tooru Amuro lowered his head and looked at the gun he had seized.

It had been modified to some extent, and its paint job was flawless. Even Tooru Amuro, who had handled many firearms, had not noticed without holding it in his hands for a close look. But no matter how realistic it looked, it was still a toy gun that could only fire BB pellets.

"...Tang Ze Zhao!" He pronounced Tang Ze's name one word at a time. Watching Tang Ze start laughing without restraint, Tooru Amuro felt like he was about to die of anger.

That little brat had clearly believed him, yet he still had to pull this stunt just to test his reaction!

"Ha ha ha, did I scare you?" Tang Ze grinned childishly. "You scared me first. I spent the whole afternoon afraid that several people would suddenly burst in, drag me away, or just dump me in Tokyo Bay..."

Slap! Tooru Amuro smacked Tang Ze on the top of the head irritably, making him wince and clutch his head again, cutting off the aggravating nonsense pouring from his mouth.

...Was there really some so-called "middleman"? Of course not.

Tang Ze's source of information was Shuichi Akai, who had confronted him directly.

The account Tooru Amuro had tracked down was the original Tang Ze Zhao's alternate account on an anonymous message board. It was hosted on a server through a dedicated scheduling program, and at a fixed time every month, it sent a letter he had written to his parents—one that would never be delivered.

Still wearing the triumphant smile of a successful prank, Tang Ze sat upright again.

Now Tooru Amuro had a new identity, and he had a new relationship to play as well. At last, they could begin exchanging deeper information.

No one had lost. It was a win-win, wasn't it?