Exchange (Soukoku & Shin Soukoku)

18- The Plan

"HAAAAH?! Can't you do that?!" Kajii exclaimed indignantly.

"Kajii, don't yell at me," Chuuya requested, his ear ringing from the shout.

"But it's not fair!" the chestnut protested, lowering his voice a bit. "I got you those invitations, and now you won't let me attend the most prestigious chemistry gala in history? That's not right!"

Four days had passed since Chuuya and Ranpo met to discuss Dazai's fate and other matters. They knew the gala would take place in the Asakusa neighborhood in Tokyo. Kajii had obtained the invitations, utilizing his technological skills (because in addition to being a lemon scientist, he was also a hacker), and they were preparing the plan to enter and exit the event.

But things weren't as simple as they seemed.

"Listen, Kajii, we've already talked about this. You're a wanted terrorist in four regions and twelve prefectures in Japan, seven countries in Europe, twenty-two states in North America, and fifteen cities in various countries in Latin America, including Trujillo in Peru, Sucre in Bolivia, Masaya in Nicaragua, and Maracaibo in Venezuela. And that's not even counting the forty-nine municipalities in Colombia where you're banned."

"Oh... Yes, I forgot there were so many."

"How do you expect to enter an international event when you're so wanted? In the best-case scenario, you'll be killed. In the worst-case scenario, you'll be kidnapped and tortured until you reveal the secrets of our organization, and eventually, they'll kill you."

"What a lovely prospect," Akutagawa muttered.

Kajii fell silent, feeling dejected. But Chuuya was right; he couldn't attend without being recognized by someone. The redhead sighed and placed a hand on Kajii's shoulder.

"Hey, you'll be part of the rescue team, alright?" he said. "If things go wrong in there, you'll come for us, and once we're out of danger, I'll let you have a look at the experiments. Deal?"

"Well, I guess it's better than nothing," Kajii sighed sadly. "Deal."

At the table where they were discussing the plan, the boss, mafia executives, Black Lizard (excluding Gin), Kajii, Kenji, and Akutagawa were seated. The latter cleared his throat lightly.

"Excuse me, Chuuya-san," he said. "Where are Atsushi and my sister?"

"They're downstairs, in the basement," Chuuya replied nonchalantly.

"In the basement?" Kenji asked, excitedly. "With the corpses?"

"There are no corpses down there anymore, Kenji," the redhead mentioned, slightly concerned about the younger one's mental state. "Now that you mention it, Akutagawa, I need to talk to Atsushi. Can you go get him?"

"Do I have to be the one?" Akutagawa grimaced in displeasure, but his expression changed upon seeing Nakahara's disappointed face. "Of course. I'll go right away."

He got up from his seat and hurriedly left the room.

He went down to the basement in search of his sister and his Atsushi. Imagine his surprise when, upon opening the basement door and descending the stairs, he found a half-naked Atsushi holding a fabric in his hands. They both screamed, of course, and Akutagawa covered his eyes while Atsushi covered his chest with the fabric.

"What the hell, Akutagawa?!" shouted the albino, trying to cover himself as best as he could.

"What the hell, Jinko?!" shouted the mafioso in return. "Why are you naked?!"

Gin appeared behind a wall and looked at them.

"What's wrong with you two?" she asked, puzzled.

"Jinko is naked!" Akutagawa whispered, blushing.

"Akutagawa saw me naked!" Atsushi whispered, also blushing.

"And that's why you're freaking out? I don't understand you boys!" She approached the tiger and handed him a piece of clothing. "Go try this on."

Atsushi hurriedly left and disappeared from Akutagawa's sight, who was currently having a panic attack. The  cockroaches in his stomach didn't help either, as they continued to walk and roam around.

"Will you calm down a bit? It's not like you haven't seen a naked man before. Besides, Atsushi wasn't naked; he just didn't have his shirt on."

"He was naked!" protested the raven-haired boy. "And the only time I've seen other men naked was at the onsen, and it's not like I'm actively seeking out bodies to ogle."

"Don't be such a crybaby, Ryuunosuke."

They fell silent for a moment, and then the mafioso dared to ask, "What are you doing here anyway?"

Gin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Chuuya-san asked me to design outfits for the gala. I've already finished his, and I'm just finishing up Atsushi's."

Akutagawa processed the information and then blushed once again. "Chuuya-san..." he mumbled.

Chuuya knew that Atsushi was in the basement trying on the outfits Gin had made for him. That meant Chuuya knew he would encounter Atsushi without a shirt. It meant that he had sent Akutagawa to find Atsushi just to embarrass him and make him even more nervous than he already was since their outing with the albino.

Sometimes Chuuya could be terribly insufferable.

"I'm done!" Atsushi announced, coming out of the dressing room. "I think I put it on correctly."

The outfit consisted of a black sleeveless vest over a white long-sleeved puffy shirt, paired with fitted black trousers. Akutagawa's saliva got stuck in his throat. There was only one word to describe how incredible Atsushi looked in it: Sexy.

But Akutagawa would never dare to say that, so for him, the word to describe it would be Magnificent.

"Wow, you..." he stammered. "I mean, you... Wow."

"I did a good job, huh?" commented Gin, proud of her work.

"It's very comfortable, and it looks great," said Nakajima. "I love it, thank you."

"You... You..." Akutagawa couldn't snap out of his trance.

"I know it looks amazing, Ryuunosuke. No need to drool over it," teased the girl. He blushed.

"I'm not drooling!" he exclaimed, then turned to Atsushi. "You look really good! Chuuya sent me to find you because he wants to talk to you! But I'm glad I came because you look really cute in that!"

Then he dashed away like a whirlwind. Atsushi was left speechless. Gin smiled.

"It seems like he likes how you look," she commented. "It seems like he likes you."

"Yeah..." Atsushi swallowed. "Gin?"

"Yes?"

"Make me clothes more often. I like it when Akutagawa likes them."

Gin smiled and winked at him.

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Ooohhhhh, Akutagawa gave Atsushi a compliment. The competition is tough, but who do you think will confess first? Place your bets here -->

Thanks for reading!