Tezuka stops his car in front of the Katsushika Residence’s gate. Hokusai opened the gate and walked up to the car. “

“Hey Gramps, how are things going for ya?” Tezuka cheerfully asked.

“At least, for now, things are going well. How is the Guild doing?” Hokusai returned the question.

“Same old, I try to relax while working on some of my works, the usual.” Tezuka scratched his head, “Also, here’s where I drop you off kids, RemRem stay here.” The members of the Gutai group and Ōi waved goodbye and stepped out of the car, Hokusai told them to quickly take a shower.

“Uncle Hokusai, I’m taking out Rembrandt for dinner, do you want to join?” Tezuka asked with a beaming smile.

“Well, thank you for the offer, Tezuka. But for now, I must take care of the kids.” Hokusai gave a slight smile, “Well Rembrandt, just order me some take-out if you’re alright.”

“No worries Uncle Hokusai, I’ll call you when we get there.” Rembrandt gave a thumbs up. Tezuka and Rembrandt bid their goodbye and raised the window and drove away from the Katsushika’s residence. Tezuka inserted a cassette tape into the car radio and Kiyotaka Sugiyama’s Summer Suspicion started playing over the speakers.

“It looks like you’re a bit down, RemRem. What’s the matter?” Tezuka wondered.

“Tired man, both mentally and physically.” Rembrandt continued trying to laugh it off.

“Oi I told you, Rem, if you got a problem do tell, I’m a friend and all that you know,” Tezuka spoke then continued to hum to the tune, the two drove by a road overlooking the Osaka seaside. “Its views like this that keep me alive, warm summer wind and all.” Tezuka continued, talking to himself.

“It’s way too warm here. I prefer summer in the Netherlands, riding down the road outside the office, I kind of miss that.” Rembrandt added, “Though sadly, my bike broke down.”

“What?! How?” Tezuka was surprised.

“You remember that guy, Fritz Bleyl?” Rembrandt smirked

“Why? What’s up with him?” Tezuka wondered.

“He used his Talent and cut my bike in half by accident.” Rembrandt laughed, somehow finding humor in his own unfortunate circumstance.

“I think I understand why you guys have uhh . . . a hostile relationship.” Tezuka joined in the laughter.

“Anyways, where are we going?” Rembrandt asked.

“That Riverside barbecue place, I have been goddamn craving for some barbecue but Shotaro keeps asking me to ‘eat healthier’ and ‘exercise’.” Tezuka complained, “I just wanna eat some barbecue yanno.”

“Well, on the bright side at least you’re fit.” Rembrandt chortled.

“RemRem, please. He keeps asking me to work on my body.”

The two of them laughed at their ridiculous conversation as the two of them finally reached the riverside barbecue restaurant. While the two were waiting for their turn, someone placed their hand on Rembrandt’s shoulder.

“You think you can get away huh, Rembrandt.” A deep gruff voice called from behind, Rembrandt turned his head revealing two familiar figures to him.

“Long time no see, Rembrandt.” A man in a purple coat spoke calmly, greeting Rembrandt with a medallion in hand. Another man stood near him with short grey hair and was looking at the menu.

“Caspar, Escher!” Rembrandt lunged at Caspar to give him a big hug, “why are you here? How did you know I’m here?!”

“Well, Vincent told us to help here, so we decided to come here for dinner, and here you are, we were about to call you too.” Caspar cheerfully replied. “Escher is also here to help out.”

“Yo, Rembrandt.” Escher greeted without looking away from the menu.

“He didn’t want to come here at first but decided to join after much convincing from Vincent.” Caspar laughed, “Say, who’s your friend?”

“The name is Tezuka, Osamu Tezuka. Nice to meet you!” Tezuka bowed.

“Caspar Netscher, though most call me just Caspar.” Netscher offered his hand to shake, the two of them exchanged words while Rembrandt stepped away to talk to Escher.

“Surprised you’d come here, Escher,” Rembrandt called.

“I didn’t want to, but after Vincent showed me the extent of the criminal organization you are fighting against, I feel like I had to help a brother out,” Escher replied in a monotone voice while still looking at the menu. “Caspar is going back tomorrow, so I’ll be the one dealing with the situation.”

“That’s great to hear!” Rembrandt excitedly answered, “At least with you here we have someone with better deduction abilities.”

“You can put it that way perhaps.” Escher stopped looking at the menu. “You’re not so bad of a detective either, though there are some cases you can’t solve alone.”

“Okay . . . thanks?” Rembrandt tried replying with a slightly worried expression.

“RemRem! We got a table for four!” Tezuka shouted.

“Alright, come on Escher, let’s go,” Rembrandt called Escher to join, only to be replied with a silent nod. The four men came to sit together, enjoying their barbecue and a break from the current situation. Rembrandt tried reaching for the menu to order a drink only to be stopped by Escher.

“I thought you were not going to drink alcohol anymore.” Escher stares intensely at Rembrandt.

“Come on, it’s alright. It’s just one drink.” Rembrandt tried to explain.

“No, Rembrandt,” Caspar sternly told him off, “You’ve been sober for two years now, please.”

Rembrandt sighed in disappointment and looked at Tezuka, “He’s right Rem, no alcohol.” Tezuka added, “But speaking of, I’m paying these two with a bottle of Cuervo Gold, gotta give them a big welcome you know.”

Rembrandt sulked, scrolling through the menu and looking for more food to eat while the rest of them enjoyed the bottle of tequila.

“So, Rembrandt,” Escher looked at him again while drinking a shot of tequila. “What’s the case so far.”

“We only have one lead so far, a guy Kyōsai calls Yoshitoshi.” Rembrandt retells the information he received, “For now that’s all I know.”

“Yoshitoshi? I think I’ve heard of him.” Tezuka mentioned, “I heard he’s a hitman.”

Escher rubbed his chin, “Yoshitoshi, huh. Never really heard of him.”

“But Escher,” Caspar spoke up, “didn’t you work a case on him a few years back.”

“Not going to lie, Caspar. My memory is as terrible as it gets.” Escher sighed and looked back into the menu.

“Well instead of talking about murder, we should go order our food.” Rembrandt tried steering the topic away from the case.

Tezuka asked the group, “Is it alright if I order for you guys? I want to get you guys the expensive package.”

“I mean, I don’t mind really.” Caspar shrugged and took another shot of tequila, “I’m here to eat then head back to Amsterdam.”

“I also need to check-in at the hotel.” Escher added, “Thanks for the meal though, Mr. Tezuka.”

Tezuka raised his hand and ordered the group the premium barbeque set while the rest continued their small talk on various subjects. Rembrandt and Caspar were talking about their various adventures. The food arrived not long after and for once, Rembrandt felt some calmness, just enjoying his night with his friends.

“Say Mr. Caspar Netscher correct? How did you end up joining Mercurius?” Tezuka wondered while grilling his pork ribs.

“Well, for one I met Rembrandt and Vincent before Mercurius was found, one thing led to another and the three of us decided to make this private detective agency to make use of our Talents,” Caspar explained while enjoying his meal.

“I swear to god, I feel like a king!” Rembrandt laughed, “Tezuka, why do you always know where to eat.”

“Hey, when Shotaro hunts you down, you need to know where to hide.” Tezuka jokes, “Well he also told me about this place so that’s that.”

Rembrandt looked at Escher quietly eating his ribs while looking at his phone, his attention fixed to his phone.

“What’s the matter, Escher?” Rembrandt asked.

Escher exhaled and pocketed his phone, “Nothing, nothing much. Just looking at the news.”

“You sure, Escher? You seem rather tense.” Caspar jumped in, worried about his friends.

“Jet-lagged, maybe. I’m not sure.” Escher slowly spoke and continued to eat. Tezuka tried his best to keep up a smile, rubbing his shoulder to somewhat calm himself down. Immediately he tried to change the subject, “So uhh, Rem.”

“What’s the matter, Tezuka?”

“Well, I was just thinking if you’re gonna find Yoshitoshi and that Needle Talent User, you can probably call our staff from the Mangaka Guild.”

“I expected you to say that I’ll try asking the Old Man.” Rembrandt chuckled, “Yoshitoshi seems rather dangerous so having more people on board would be better.”

Escher stood up from his chair and stood by the riverfront, seemingly tired of the conversation.

“Hey, Escher! What’s the matter?” Caspar stood as well going after the distraught Escher, “guys give me a sec! Just finish the meal.”

“What’s wrong with Mr. Escher today?” Tezuka lightly punched Rembrandt’s shoulder.

“Not sure man, he’s usually fine.” Rembrandt also wondered.

Rarely has he seen Escher in such a state. Rembrandt himself considers Escher to be the calmest member of the detective agency, but somehow he seems to be incredibly tired. A few minutes went on with Tezuka and Rembrandt silently eating their meal, not wanting to talk much. Eventually, after much convincing Escher and Caspar returned to the table, Caspar holding up an awkward smile and Escher seemingly unfazed.

“I dislike talking about cases on the dinner table. I know the two of you are trying your best but please, not on the dinner table.” Escher explained.

“Sorry, Escher. I was just a bit caught up.” Rembrandt spoke trying to lower the tense atmosphere.

“Yeah, we didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.” Tezuka agreed.

“It’s alright you two, just ask me when we’re on the job, not now.” Escher exhaled, “are we done with the meal by the way?”

Caspar looked around their table, “Everything is finished except the Kimchi,” he spoke, “fuck it, I’m going to down it in one go.” Caspar grabbed a spoonful of the Kimchi and ate a large amount in a single bite, “It’s not that spicy, I’ll go and finish it.”

Tezuka gave him a thumbs up and left for the cashier to pay for the meal. Meanwhile, the rest of the group waited and continued talking. Something the three of them had not done in a long time, taking a break and just talking to each other like old friends. Escher was still rather quiet telling Caspar and Rembrandt that he’s still tired from the flight.

Tezuka returned not long after with the bill in hand, at the bottom it showed a grand total of sixteen thousand yen for the entire meal. Caspar and Escher gave their thanks to Tezuka while Rembrandt sat and looked at Tezuka, snickering.

“I told you, Rem.” Tezuka spoke with a smug look on his face, “I can pay for it out of my own pocket.”

“At the end of the month please don’t ask me for food.” Rembrandt grinned

“Just go ask Rembrandt for food, the guy cooks a mean oliebol.” Escher finally comes around to make a joke.

“He’s not joking either,” Caspar barged in, “Rembrandt here can whip up pretty decent desserts.”

The group cleaned up their dinner table and left the Riverside Barbecue Escher was leaving for his hotel in downtown Osaka while Caspar was going to the airport to return to Amsterdam. Tezuka tried offering a ride to either of them which both respectfully declined. Rembrandt bid goodbye and hugged Caspar.

“I’ll see you soon, Caspar.” Rembrandt pats his back.

“You too, Rembrandt. You too.” Caspar returned his goodbye, not long after Caspar’s taxi had arrived and left.

“Really Mr. Escher? You don’t want a ride?” Tezuka asked.

“It’s fine, Mr. Tezuka. The dinner was more than enough hospitality. I appreciate it.” Escher replied, soon a taxi arrived, and Escher waved the two goodbye to check into his hotel.

Tezuka and Rembrandt looked at each other, “Wanna go down to Dōtonbori?” Tezuka looked at Rembrandt with excitement. “Not today, I know you’re gonna take me to that ramen shop again, but that barbecue made me full.” Rembrandt calmly declined.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Tezuka sighed, “alright, let’s go back.”

The two of them got into the car, exhausted but still giggling. “My place or the old man’s place?” Tezuka asked.

“Hokusai’s place, my stuff is there, Tezuka.”

“Sounds fair, alright, what type of song do you want?” Tezuka smirked.

“Kahoru Kohirumaki’s “Love Don’t Disappear”?” Rembrandt beamed with a wide smile.

Tezuka changed the cassette, pulling out one from a stack of them in the glove compartment labeled “For Me to Karaoke in the Car”. Tezuka stuck it into the car’s cassette player, the low hum of the car’s speakers slowly turned to life, the sounds of the music began to spring out and the two of them started driving to return to their area while singing along to the songs in Tezuka’s mixtape.

After about twenty minutes, Tezuka finally dropped Rembrandt off at the Katsushika estate to be greeted by Ōi.

“How was your date night, Uncle Rembrandt?” Ōi chuckled. Rembrandt laughed a little and patted her head, “Riverside Barbeque again, We more or less broke Uncle Tezuka’s bank account.” The two of them laughed and Ōi shut the door to the estate.