Bourbon's Identity: Who is Bourbon!?

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

A cross post from another thread, but it works here too
When scar Akai took the duct tape off his eyes in the bank heist, the anime confirmed that the burn and his face were unaffected meaning scar Akai wasn't wearing a mask unless he could fix it rather quickly. This means that if scar Akai is Bourbon, he must have a face shape similar to Akai Shuuichi's and might actually be burned. This corroborates with the scene where scar Akai was filmed leaving the bank; his face wasn't disrupted as duct tape would be expected to do to a mask. Scar Akai might be fast at fixing makeup, but is he fast enough to undo his hands and fix the makeup in ~ 2min? If indeed scar Akai is Bourbon, the burn being real may explain why Bourbon hates Akai. Akai might have been the cause of the burn due to some incident. It would also provide a convenient explanation as to how Gin could recognize scar Akai/Bourbon right away even from a distance. Of course he might be the real Akai (I don't buy it) and the burn was real. Misztina mentioned that a recent burn would look a lot more pink and would probably pour blood if duct tape was laid across it and ripped off.

[Misztina]

Maybe the anime made a mistake here?
I mean, Gosho did shadowed Scar Akai's eyes and surroundings, in the anime (sorry I can't make screencaps now) however the area of the shadow is smaller which might be misleading.
Also when Vodka said that they saw Akai after the bankheist, we couldn't see Scar Akai's eyes or its are, his head was also lowered.

I think the anime misinterpreted this. Well... at least I'll stick with the manga pics. ^^" Me and my doubts... lol.

[shinichi1977]

Maybe the anime made a mistake here?
I mean, Gosho did shadowed Scar Akai's eyes and surroundings, in the anime (sorry I can't make screencaps now) however the area of the shadow is smaller which might be misleading.
Also when Vodka said that they saw Akai after the bankheist, we couldn't see Scar Akai's eyes or its are, his head was also lowered.

I think the anime misinterpreted this. Well... at least I'll stick with the manga pics. ^^" Me and my doubts... lol.

I am bound to agree with this perception. Ever since Raiha Falls we are part of a magic show very much like a box called devil's lock (a tricky wooden box, only people over IQ 100 can open it under 12 seconds), with the key parts missing. The anime production goes many times into assumptions based on misrepresentations and they along with it until they have to correct themselves. Without going into references, I only name 2 from vol.1 and vol.2 (The Shinkansen Bomb case and the Hirota-case) because they simply thought too much BO would ruin ratings.

In the mentioned scene his face is in the shadows and the gun itself covers the rest of his face making it impossible to confirm that it was not a mask. And even if he did wear one, Bourbon still might look like similar to Akai, thus only make him need to do some modifications. We have already seen Vermouth using only a partial mask under a helmet, therefore it possible, of course not a fact that only some parts of his face were doctored.

There are 2 other things that still bug me:

1. It seemed to me, that it has gone unnoticed, that when Scar Akai made eye contact with Okiya, his face went wide and made a shocked/surprised expression. Even if you know someone would tailing you, a person who can act as quickly as Scar Akai would not be surprised to see that person, unless of course Okiya's face (attention on the part face and not person) was familiar to him, so familiar, on a wild hunch I would say he looked into a mirror.

2. Ever since Ikkaku Rock, we know that Shiho assumes the dark presence she felt came from Okiya. Of course it might be the case it still does not explain why Conan is wary around Inspector Yuminaga, who was frequent after and during the introduction of Okiya and before Scar Akai

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

Maybe the anime made a mistake here?
I mean, Gosho did shadowed Scar Akai's eyes and surroundings, in the anime (sorry I can't make screencaps now) however the area of the shadow is smaller which might be misleading.
Also when Vodka said that they saw Akai after the bankheist, we couldn't see Scar Akai's eyes or its are, his head was also lowered.

I think the anime misinterpreted this. Well... at least I'll stick with the manga pics. ^^" Me and my doubts... lol.

Excellent point. You have convinced me to still consider the possibility of a mask and makeup for now.

1. It seemed to me, that it has gone unnoticed, that when Scar Akai made eye contact with Okiya, his face went wide and made a shocked/surprised expression. Even if you know someone would tailing you, a person who can act as quickly as Scar Akai would not be surprised to see that person, unless of course Okiya's face (attention on the part face and not person) was familiar to him, so familiar, on a wild hunch I would say he looked into a mirror.

2. Ever since Ikkaku Rock, we know that Shiho assumes the dark presence she felt came from Okiya. Of course it might be the case it still does not explain why Conan is wary around Inspector Yuminaga, who was frequent after and during the introduction of Okiya and before Scar Akai

Scar Akai never saw Okiya. He just got the "eyes on him" feeling and looked for the source who in the meanwhile had moved behind him.
Shiho definitely felt the aura when Okiya closed in on Aosato Shuuhei who was holding Ayumi at knifepoint. That isn't to say Yuminaga doesn't also have an aura, but it strongly implies Okiya does at least.

[shinichi1977]

Maybe the anime made a mistake here?
I mean, Gosho did shadowed Scar Akai's eyes and surroundings, in the anime (sorry I can't make screencaps now) however the area of the shadow is smaller which might be misleading.
Also when Vodka said that they saw Akai after the bankheist, we couldn't see Scar Akai's eyes or its are, his head was also lowered.

I think the anime misinterpreted this. Well... at least I'll stick with the manga pics. ^^" Me and my doubts... lol.

Excellent point. You have convinced me to still consider the possibility of a mask and makeup for now.

1. It seemed to me, that it has gone unnoticed, that when Scar Akai made eye contact with Okiya, his face went wide and made a shocked/surprised expression. Even if you know someone would tailing you, a person who can act as quickly as Scar Akai would not be surprised to see that person, unless of course Okiya's face (attention on the part face and not person) was familiar to him, so familiar, on a wild hunch I would say he looked into a mirror.

2. Ever since Ikkaku Rock, we know that Shiho assumes the dark presence she felt came from Okiya. Of course it might be the case it still does not explain why Conan is wary around Inspector Yuminaga, who was frequent after and during the introduction of Okiya and before Scar Akai

Scar Akai never saw Okiya. He just got the "eyes on him" feeling and looked for the source who in the meanwhile had moved behind him.
Shiho definitely felt the aura when Okiya closed in on Aosato Shuuhei who was holding Ayumi at knifepoint. That isn't to say Yuminaga doesn't also have an aura, but it strongly implies Okiya does at least.

My mistake, sorry, I really remembered, they had eye contact. As for latter part I correlated to the Vermouth-Pisco situation, Okiya having such an aura might overshadow that of an other person. I of course don't mean, that Bourbon killed Yuminaga, only that he could have replaced him, as an asset on Mouri, hence being his former boss, and although not compelling, it is just noteworthy, that from a secured corner Okiya looks through him to follow the happenings

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

it is just noteworthy, that from a secured corner Okiya looks through him to follow the happenings

'Fraid I don't understand this, but no problem about the mix up, I do it all the time. I thought Gin and Vodka disembarked the bullet train near Tottori, but when I checked it was Nagoya. Whoops.

Perhaps Akai had a twin.
His twin was "Moroboshi Dai"
Dai disappeared mysteriously due to a incident involving burning fire/was in coma
Akai takes the place of Dai; fools everyone, fakes death
BOURBON finds Dai in hospital, decides to disguise as him and walk around
Okiya = Akai knows that BOURBON is not Dai because he knows his own twin

Ok I know that didn't make much sense at all, but I'm TRYING to tie in the Char Aznable thing here!

Recalling an old idea here

Funnily enough I went and reviewed Char's story and the bit that stood out to me was the Lalah Sune story. Amuro Ray and Char Aznable both really dig Lalah Sune, but Lalah is loyal to Char Aznable. Lalah gets involved in a fight between Amuro and Char and winds up being killed by defending Char from Amuro's killing blow. This event profoundly influences both men and they develop a fierce personal rivalry/hatred for one another.

Crazy theory start!
So what would happen if Akai is substituted for Char, Akemi for Lalah, Bourbon for Amuro, and the plot is bent to match Akai's backstory? Akai and Bourbon both really dig Akemi, but Akemi likes Akai. Meanwhile, Akai was slowly distinguishing himself among the ranks of the organization, but Bourbon -who may also be distinguishing himself at the same time or had already done so- doesn't trust Akai. They have the DC equivalent of a competition, which might have taken the form of a joint mission where Akai caught the boss's eye or perhaps a showdown over Akemi's love. The tail end of this "battle" is the incident where Akai is given the codename Rye and is called to work under Gin, but has to pass a "final loyalty test." (Props if this was designed by Bourbon.) Akai is going to meet Gin in a warehouse where, unknown to the MiB, the FBI have set up an ambush for Gin. Meanwhile, a mysterious old man comes in and sits down. (We never did figure out who this man was. It could be Vermouth in disguise, but why send in a high ranking agent into a potential ambush without scoping it out first with a low rank dude? What if it was Bourbon who wasn't so high ranked at the time? The black coat and hat is similar (it's a stretch)) Akai ignores him, but Camel reveals himself and the rest we know about. This incident was the figurative fatal blow intended for Akai, and although Akai escapes it like Char did, it ultimately seals Akemi's fate. Akemi was going to be killed one way or another as a liability. Despite Bourbon's love for Akemi, he would have had to cut himself off from her or risk facing the Org.'s rejection by being labeled a loose cannon because of his emotional attachments. Furthermore, Akemi is still loyal to Akai despite knowing he was "the enemy" and was using her which only salts Bourbon's wounds. This would explain why Bourbon hates Akai's guts.

Note Akemi's name uses the kanji for 明美, "bright, beauty". Lalah Sune is a romanization of "ララァ・スン" which is literally "Rarā Sun". I could see Gosho playing around with the English definition of sun to create Akemi's name. Also Akemi can be written with the characters 朱美, "vermilion, beauty". Vermilion is close to red and Japanese think of the sun as red rather than yellow. (BTW, where does Miyano come from as a name? I can't think of any detectives. Anyone know?) I wonder if "Hirota Masami" would provide more clues?

Edit: If Bourbon did have a thing for Akemi, it might provide a reason why he saved Conan at the bank heist. He would recognize Conan from that newspaper article which showed him at the scene of Akemi's death.

I kind of hope Bourbon's backstory is a bit like this; I think it would nice to see a relationship that involved one of the bad guys. All the organization members so far have been primarily interesting in knocking someone off. Also a story like this might beget an tragic emotional ending: Char and Amuro wound up taking each other out in an epic fashion eventually: Bourbon and Akai may do the same at the climax of the arc. I'd be sad though mostly because of Jodie, but then maybe people would quit whining about DC's romance being superficial.

Of course the amount of evidence for anything like this is practically zip so it's all pure speculation.
----

Edit Edit: On an unrelated note, I just had an "oh duh" moment about why Bourbon is probably a male if scar Akai is Bourbon. If scar Akai could imitate voices well, he wouldn't have had to pretend to be silent in front of Jodie and Camel. When he returned the cellphone he swiped to the man, he spoke. The man would have noticed if scar Akai used a women's voice, so scar Akai must have spoken with a man's tone. While I suppose it is possible a woman without much voice disguising ability could sound like a man, when most women try to imitate a man's voice it sounds raspy and unnatural. I think the guy would have pointed this out to Conan since he was specific about the evil eyes, the hat, and the scar. Thus, I strongly suspect Bourbon is a guy.

[shinichi1977]

it is just noteworthy, that from a secured corner Okiya looks through him to follow the happenings

'Fraid I don't understand this, but no problem about the mix up, I do it all the time. I thought Gin and Vodka disembarked the bullet train near Tottori, but when I checked it was Nagoya. Whoops.

Oh, sorry (these words with Jodie's voice will haunt me for sure ). I do elaborate: if you reexamine the Rolls Royce you will notice, that Yuminaga takes note in Conan far more than usual towards children, no other inspector does that (they think he is smart and has insight but is a kid). When Shinichi texted Okiya he switched the canisters yet he had no reason to stay for the deduction show, and as he watches from the corner he can't see Conan either just as Yuminaga only hear them, but if you want to gather knowledge about that, eavesdropping is enough, so he possibly watched something/someone else, and between him and the car was Yuminaga in his field of vision.

Oh, and before I forget: we should treat Raiha Falls in context, by which I mean just as the BO had a set of ideas in how to retrieve Kir once found, the Akai-murder was just as much planned beforehand, the only random factor was Kusuda Rikumichi.

Since we know there was a short timespan between Raiha Falls and the appearance of Okiya we can assume, that since he cared for his plants, Okiya existed before Raiha Falls, I guess perhaps since vol.36. My theory goes as follows: well knowing returning to Japan would be life-threatening, his second reason fur cut his hair could also serve the purpose to hide it under his blond wig, after being separated from fellow agents he might have lived as Okiya all along except for being on duty.

I guess, Akai simply knows who Conan really is, though he does not know his background, and Shinichi does not plan to since once he has been found out he still remains a random lodger in a neighboring house, thus fooling Ran, and yes that implicates, that they both planned it, since Conan gave himself away in Tomorrow is there directly asking Jodie if he had seen Akai though he was told he is dead and evidence supported that.

Basically, you already have your howdunit

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

Oh, sorry (these words with Jodie's voice will haunt me for sure ). I do elaborate: if you reexamine the Rolls Royce you will notice, that Yuminaga takes note in Conan far more than usual towards children, no other inspector does that (they think he is smart and has insight but is a kid). When Shinichi texted Okiya he switched the canisters yet he had no reason to stay for the deduction show, and as he watches from the corner he can't see Conan either just as Yuminaga only hear them, but if you want to gather knowledge about that, eavesdropping is enough, so he possibly watched something/someone else, and between him and the car was Yuminaga in his field of vision.

My impression was that Okiya wanted to watch/listen to Conan in action. Conan usually doesn't tell people the whole story, so I guess Conan called Okiya and told him to put water in the tank without revealing much or any detail about the static electricity case. Okiya may have been curious. Also, since moving into the Kudo house, Okiya has his first clue about Conan's real identity: the missing family albums. I'm sure he is suspecting that Conan is one of the house's occupants and the prime suspect is probably Shinichi since he has gone missing. Okiya does reveal a proclivity for research during the red shirt case. I won't rule out the Yuminaga hypothesis though.

Oh, and before I forget: we should treat Raiha Falls in context, by which I mean just as the BO had a set of ideas in how to retrieve Kir once found, the Akai-murder was just as much planned beforehand, the only random factor was Kusuda Rikumichi.

The fake Akai's death plan was definitely not created until after Kusuda's murder. Akai and Conan had to make sure Rena was willing to cooperate with them. They "woke up" Kir using Eisuke and ensured she was willing to return to the org and cooperate with the fake death scheme. The meeting with Rena was either the same night as or one night later (I can't tell) than the Kusuda Rikumichi incident.  

Since we know there was a short timespan between Raiha Falls and the appearance of Okiya we can assume, that since he cared for his plants, Okiya existed before Raiha Falls, I guess perhaps since vol.36. My theory goes as follows: well knowing returning to Japan would be life-threatening, his second reason fur cut his hair could also serve the purpose to hide it under his blond wig, after being separated from fellow agents he might have lived as Okiya all along except for being on duty.

It's hard to tell the passage of DC time, and when you start taking care of plants that were neglected previously, especially underwatered ones, they can improve in appearance rather quickly. I think it is possible Akai could have started his Okiya role right after he "died". However, your theory that he may have prepared an alternate identity in advance in case he needed it is reasonable as well. He may have cut his hair to enable a wig (he could have dyed and straightened it too), but I thought Akai's reason for cutting his hair, freshening up after he "was dumped" by his girlfriend, was believable. It's practically a cliche that women, at least in English speaking countries, will change their hair some way (color change, cutting etc.) when getting over a relationship. I suppose men might feel the same way.

I guess, Akai simply knows who Conan really is, though he does not know his background, and Shinichi does not plan to since once he has been found out he still remains a random lodger in a neighboring house, thus fooling Ran, and yes that implicates, that they both planned it, since Conan gave himself away in Tomorrow is there directly asking Jodie if he had seen Akai though he was told he is dead and evidence supported that.

I think Akai has figured out Conan's real identity after the paper airplane case. Akai already knew that Ai was Sherry, and while he might not know what caused it, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Conan is probably in the same boat. The only thing Akai was missing was the knowledge of Shinichi. The first clue was the mysterious absence of all the family albums in the Kudo house, the second and probably the confirmation, was Ran and Sonoko talking about Shinichi/Kinichi.

[shinichi1977]

Oh, sorry (these words with Jodie's voice will haunt me for sure ). I do elaborate: if you reexamine the Rolls Royce you will notice, that Yuminaga takes note in Conan far more than usual towards children, no other inspector does that (they think he is smart and has insight but is a kid). When Shinichi texted Okiya he switched the canisters yet he had no reason to stay for the deduction show, and as he watches from the corner he can't see Conan either just as Yuminaga only hear them, but if you want to gather knowledge about that, eavesdropping is enough, so he possibly watched something/someone else, and between him and the car was Yuminaga in his field of vision.

My impression was that Okiya wanted to watch/listen to Conan in action. Conan usually doesn't tell people the whole story, so I guess Conan called Okiya and told him to put water in the tank without revealing much or any detail about the static electricity case. Okiya may have been curious. Also, since moving into the Kudo house, Okiya has his first clue about Conan's real identity: the missing family albums. I'm sure he is suspecting that Conan is one of the house's occupants and the prime suspect is probably Shinichi since he has gone missing. Okiya does reveal a proclivity to research during the red shirt. I won't rule out the Yuminaga hypothesis though.

Oh, and before I forget: we should treat Raiha Falls in context, by which I mean just as the BO had a set of ideas in how to retrieve Kir once found, the Akai-murder was just as much planned beforehand, the only random factor was Kusuda Rikumichi.

The fake Akai's death plan was definitely not created until after Kusuda's murder. Akai and Conan had to make sure Rena was willing to cooperate with them. They "woke up" Kir using Eisuke and ensured she was willing to return to the org and cooperate with the fake death scheme. The meeting with Rena was either the same night as or one night later (I can't tell) than the Kusuda Rikumichi incident. 

Since we know there was a short timespan between Raiha Falls and the appearance of Okiya we can assume, that since he cared for his plants, Okiya existed before Raiha Falls, I guess perhaps since vol.36. My theory goes as follows: well knowing returning to Japan would be life-threatening, his second reason fur cut his hair could also serve the purpose to hide it under his blond wig, after being separated from fellow agents he might have lived as Okiya all along except for being on duty.

It's hard to tell the passage of DC time, and when you start taking care of plants that were neglected previously, especially underwatered ones, they can improve in appearance rather quickly. I think it is possible Akai could have started his Okiya role right after he "died". However, your theory that he may have prepared an alternate identity in advance in case he needed it is reasonable as well. He may have cut his hair to enable a wig (he could have dyed and straightened it too), but I thought Akai's reason for cutting his hair, freshening up after he "was dumped" by his girlfriend, was believable. It's practically a cliche that women, at least in English speaking countries, will change their hair some way (color change, cutting etc.) when getting over a relationship. I suppose men might feel the same way.

I guess, Akai simply knows who Conan really is, though he does not know his background, and Shinichi does not plan to since once he has been found out he still remains a random lodger in a neighboring house, thus fooling Ran, and yes that implicates, that they both planned it, since Conan gave himself away in Tomorrow is there directly asking Jodie if he had seen Akai though he was told he is dead and evidence supported that.

I think Akai has figured out Conan's real identity after the paper airplane case. Akai already knew that Ai was Sherry, and while he might not know what caused it, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that Conan is probably in the same boat. The only thing Akai was missing was the knowledge of Shinichi. The first clue was the mysterious absence of all the family albums in the Kudo house, the second and probably the confirmation, was Ran and Sonoko talking about Shinichi/Kinichi.

Hope it doesn't get too long, so I try to post a summary;)

Yes, curiosity killed the neko, though if I were him I still would have stayed in audible reach without being visible. If I understand right, you picture him as someone who also wants to see a resolution flourish not just being filled out like a crossword.

To the second subject: that they could convince Kir to return was IMHO an extra bonus, Akai would have "died" either way. That's because both men knew and know that the organization believed, it was Akai who helped Sherry escape. They wanted him dead, if it wasn't for Raiha Falls, they would have used a dummy in an exploding car, basically I'm saying just like the food poisoning, the gas attack and the fire, the Death of Akai was premeditated as well, the random elements were Kir and Rikumichi's  body.

Last but not least: I like your approach of feminine touch;) I modify my opinion, yes he may have worn a wig a "died" his hair (sure you get the joke:p) now. He cut his hair because of Akemi but that does not disclose the possibility that he had a double-life. Yes, we do know DC is atemporal, still if Akai were to walk alone, Vermouth or Gin would have downed him a long time ago. Actually, they did tried, Calvados IMHO has asked Vermouth in vol. 41 to help him hunt Akai down though it was refused. I think that it was possible for him to be at the right place at the right time almost always because as someone else he could tail almost anyone when he was not on duty, since we did saw as himself when he tailed Vermouth.

And yes, I think, Bourbon had already figured out that secret too, he just hasn't met Okiya yet

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

To the second subject: that they could convince Kir to return was IMHO an extra bonus, Akai would have "died" either way. That's because both men knew and know that the organization believed, it was Akai who helped Sherry escape. They wanted him dead, if it wasn't for Raiha Falls, they would have used a dummy in an exploding car, basically I'm saying just like the food poisoning, the gas attack and the fire, the Death of Akai was premeditated as well, the random elements were Kir and Rikumichi's  body.

And yes, I think, Bourbon had already figured out that secret too, he just hasn't met Okiya yet

I don't think Akai needed to fake his death before the Kir incident. He was doing just fine surviving assassination attempts before then. He was already a high level target before Shiho escaped anyway. I don't remember when, but either Jodie or James Black pointed out Akai has survived hits from the organization several times. Unless there was a sufficient reason, faking death would be inconvenient for the FBI emotionally, morale-wise, and manpower wise. Also, it would be difficult to do in a way that would convince the org that Akai was indeed dead. The alternative to faking death: complete disguise, would probably work nearly as well with less of the fuss.

I think Bourbon may have guessed Akai's fake death trick as well, but it hard to judge since we don't know what he knows. I am going to guess that he knows something Gin doesn't know because Gin could have figured out the trick if he had all the pieces. Bourbon definitely thinks the FBI are in on it or he wouldn't have appeared before them fishing for a reaction.

[shinichi1977]

To the second subject: that they could convince Kir to return was IMHO an extra bonus, Akai would have "died" either way. That's because both men knew and know that the organization believed, it was Akai who helped Sherry escape. They wanted him dead, if it wasn't for Raiha Falls, they would have used a dummy in an exploding car, basically I'm saying just like the food poisoning, the gas attack and the fire, the Death of Akai was premeditated as well, the random elements were Kir and Rikumichi's  body.

And yes, I think, Bourbon had already figured out that secret too, he just hasn't met Okiya yet

I don't think Akai needed to fake his death before the Kir incident. He was doing just fine surviving assassination attempts before then. He was already a high level target before Shiho escaped anyway. I don't remember when, but either Jodie or James Black pointed out Akai has survived hits from the organization several times. Unless there was a sufficient reason, faking death would be inconvenient for the FBI emotionally, morale-wise, and manpower wise. Also, it would be difficult to do in a way that would convince the org that Akai was indeed dead. The alternative to faking death: complete disguise, would probably work nearly as well with less of the fuss.

I think Bourbon may have guessed Akai's fake death trick as well, but it hard to judge since we don't know what he knows. I am going to guess that he knows something Gin doesn't know because Gin could have figured out the trick if he had all the pieces. Bourbon definitely thinks the FBI are in on it or he wouldn't have appeared before them fishing for a reaction.

At that point I have to recall vol.42, where Shinichi states to Agasa and Shiho that without facing Vermouth head on no progress will be made, so merely surviving these attempts was just the same as for Shinichi to wait for a lead. After vol.49 Gin started looking into the Mouri Detective Agency with the intent of finding the link between him, Sherry and Akai (by the way he concluded Mouri's involvement with the false positive of the bubblegum, therefore even if he had the pieces Bourbon had, he still would err) so it was obvious that if and when they retrieve Kir they will use her to kill him just to prove her loyalty, this was the starting point for Bourbon too since he had suspected her return staged as well

[shinichi1977]

We have a saying: A horse has 4 legs yet it still can trip. It should have hit me sooner, I think I know when Okiya Subaru was born, totally excluding him being Bourbon.

After Vermouth has acquired where Ai lives at the same time with the FBI, shortly after the dock incident and Shiho refusing FBI protection, I assume Akai Shuichi stood true to his word and did not let "that browned haired girl" to see him, hence not being the time. I also think he had no knowledge of the confrontation between Shinichi and Vermouth in the forest, therefore he had every reason to believe she will try again, possibly as someone else in disguise so to ensure the best protection he needed an alias. Mizunashi Rena was still investigated as an acquittance of Vermouth, and not as a NOC, hence no basis to speculate, that she could act as a mole.

If Bourbon has similar information or train of thought, it would not be unnatural to copy this method and appear as Scar Akai, to possibly infiltrate the FBI, gather information on how much they know about the organization and Sherry, and if they still are in contact with Akai Shuichi.

[55bored]

I might be crazy, but in chapter 601 the sender for the bombs that the BO uses kusuda rikumichi, I think that might be Bourbon....Some proof is that they sent the bombs while kir was in the hospital, so he would've been a new member, but i have no idea.

[shinichi1977]

I might be crazy, but in chapter 601 the sender for the bombs that the BO uses kusuda rikumichi, I think that might be Bourbon....Some proof is that they sent the bombs while kir was in the hospital, so he would've been a new member, but i have no idea.

We do not have definitive proof, but we do know that Gin dislikes Bourbon just as much he does it with Akai, so while I give you the point, that it might have been Bourbon who had orchestrated the plan to divert and distract once Kir's location has been determined, it is unlikely, Gin would follow his lead, so the order itself has come from Anokata (and possibly that person made that plan in the first place)

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

In another mega-post, I have aggregated some arguments that scar Akai is Bourbon (Edit: updated to include Amuro Tohru), but I would like to note none of it conclusively proves it's him although collectively they are rather suggestive (but not as suggestive as the Okiya=Akai stuff). I feel like a lot of it has been said before, but it just hasn't all been put in one convenient place. Assuming Okiya is Akai, then who is the copycat running around?
Note: picture links may be broken due to DCTP changing the locations of some of the images.

Index
[iurl=#NotAkai]Scar Akai is not the real Akai[/iurl]
[iurl=#SisB]Scar Akai is Bourbon[/iurl]
[iurl=#Amuro]Amuro Tohru is Scar Akai is Bourbon[/iurl]

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Recent train case edit for clarity: The Scar Akai on the Bell Tree Express train is Vermouth. Amuro/Bourbon had been Scar Akai every other time previously, but it seems that this time the Vermouth and Bourbon team decided they wanted Scar Akai to be able to talk in Akai's voice so he could directly confront Masumi. Amuro/Bourbon can't imitate voices (hence the previously mute Scar Akai) so Vermouth took the role this time out of necessity. Scar Akai is simply a disguise that anyone with enough skill can step into, so there is no hard requirement that only one person can act the role.
Consider this a disclaimer then that the theory below applies only to non train case Scar Akai appearances where I believe Amuro/Bourbon was in the role of Scar Akai.

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Scar Akai isn't the real Akai

Spoiler:

Scar Akai is right handed, not left handed like Akai.
Scar Akai used his right hand to fire a handgun and to hand back a cellphone. It is unlikely scar Akai is simply using his right hand because he injured his left. In the "Teito Bank Heist" ("Shaking Heart" V65-5 679), he easily escaped the duct tape binding his hands, yet probably did not use the same method that Jodie used because there was still duct tape over his mouth. It doesn't make much sense for him to put the duct tape back his mouth again afterwards. Removing the tape with only one hand, especially if he is using his off hand, would be difficult if the robbers are watching him. His eyes were covered so scar Akai couldn't be sure that no one was watching until the robbers pretended to be hostages which would give him only a few minutes to escape. Switching handedness after head trauma does not appear to have been documented in scientific literature. That is not to say Gosho wouldn't consider using head trauma as an excuse to switch handedness, but it means that the concept lacks a precedent.

Scar Akai's behavior does not make sense if he is Akai.

Scar Akai doesn't appear to have lost his memory
If scar Akai is the real Akai, one must assume he either has his memory or he doesn't have it. If he has his memory, Akai would absolutely not wander around in the open since it puts the undercover CIA Hidemi Hondou at risk with no gains to be made from doing so. The Black Organization's actions in the "Thirteen Red Shirts" case (V67.4-8 700-704) demonstrate the danger.

If Akai has amnesia, then it is plausible Akai would walk around in the open without knowing the danger he is in, however scar Akai's actions strongly suggest his memory is still intact. He seems to be stalking the FBI by appearing before them: something he would not do if he had lost all of his memory. Further emphasizing the point, Akai also apparently left a warning message to Jodie on her drink coaster during the events of the thirteen red shirts case. If perhaps scar Akai recognized the FBI a little and felt comfortable enough to leave Jodie a message, it is strange that he would not speak to the FBI agents since Scar Akai is clearly capable of speaking. ("Silent Clash" 704) Scar Akai also appears to recognize Chianti.("Silent Clash" 704) Would you smile at a sniper if you had no idea who you were?
704.5
704.12
These contradictions are resolved if scar Akai is someone else in disguise as Akai and is trying to gauge from the FBI's reactions whether the real Akai is dead or not.

Scar Akai is faking inability to speak in front of the FBI
Scar Akai has avoided speaking in front of the FBI. Jodie assumed he lost his voice at first, but it was later proven that scar Akai is capable of speaking when he returned a phone.("Silent Clash" 704) One may assume that Scar Akai became deaf but this does not explain why when Jodie called out to him and grabbed his arm, he didn't react at all. Deafness contradicts with his correct and prompt compliance with the robber's vocal demands at the Teito bank heist and the bomber's demands at the Beika dept store. If scar Akai was deaf, he wouldn't have been able to solve the red shirts case because he wouldn't have been able to read the receipts from where he was standing to see the time of purchase. Even if scar Akai could lip read, if he was deaf he would not have been able to figure out the bank robbers' plans and know it was safe to remove his duct tape.
A more reasonable explanation is that Scar Akai is not Akai and avoided speaking because he is unable to imitate Akai's voice.

Gin's actions suggest that he doesn't think Scar Akai is the real Akai.
After Gin called Kir in the Thirteen Red Shirts case (700-704), he held a gun to her head for the duration of the stakeout. After Gin observes scar Akai leaving the department store ( "Silent Clash" 704), he gives the order for Chianti to leave, and he lowers the gun from Kir's head. While Gin might not have wanted to shoot Kir with an unsilenced gun in front of a busy department store that is filled with police, if he thought that Kir was a traitor who had helped Akai fake his death, Gin would not have lowered his gun since Kir may attempt to retaliate in some fashion now that her cover has been blown. The lowering of the gun is concession on Gin's part that he knows or strongly suspects scar Akai isn't the real Akai.
704.13

===========
Scar Akai is Bourbon

Scar Akai is probably a Black Organization Operative rather than an FBI agent, a CIA agent, or a third party.
Haibara gets a very strong fear reaction from Scar Akai when he walks nearby on the train. She even turns to look at him to identify the source. (818 pg 14)

Scar Akai almost certainly isn't in the FBI or CIA because there isn't a single beneficial reason to wander about in the open disguised as Akai, and doing so risks compromising Hidemi who is an asset to both aforementioned agencies. Civilians around where scar Akai appears are also put at risk of becoming collateral damage should the Black Organization attack. The obvious remaining choices are that scar Akai is a member of the Black Organization or a third party.

If scar Akai is a member of a third party, then perhaps he is trying to lure the Black Organization out with a disguise because he knows Akai was a serious threat to them and apparently died; however, this means the hypothetical third party scar Akai doesn't care about or doesn't know about Hondou Hidemi being a spy. If a third party was interested in luring out the Org., then simply appearing as Akai somewhere would be enough. Specifically appearing with FBI agents puts the agents at risk as well as endangering any civilians that happen to be around. Since most third party intelligence or police organizations like Interpol or the PSIA would be allied with the FBI or the CIA, they would avoid doing this. Another issue is that the existence of Interpol, PSIA, or any other agency investigating the Org has not been hinted as was the case with the FBI in the Vermouth arc (V33-11.13-14, V35-4.18) or CIA in the Kir arc. (V56-9.13-16 "The Company") It is possible that scar Akai may be a member of a rival criminal organization, but again there is no evidence of one existing. Finally, third parties run into the problem of how exactly they found out about the circumstances of Akai’s death well enough to time their agent’s arrival and appearance to match Akai. In conclusion, the most likely option is Scar Akai is a member of the Black Organization.

If scar Akai is a Black Organization operative, then he is most likely Bourbon.
At the Beika department store case, Scar Akai was present at the same time as all the other known codenamed B.O. members except Bourbon (and the boss). Assuming scar Akai is a member of the Org, Bourbon is the logical choice. Kir noted that Bourbon is skilled at deduction, a trait that scar Akai shows by solving the red shirt's case and figuring out the bank robber's plans. Bourbon doesn't believe Akai is dead, so it makes sense that Bourbon would create a plan to discover if the real Akai is alive. Gin also described him as secretive which is demonstrated when Gin, not knowing that Bourbon was in disguise as Akai with a burn, set up snipers to kill him thinking he is the real Akai.
The conversation with Gin, Vodka, and Kir about Bourbon (703.03) does imply that Bourbon is a real person rather than a made up agent meant to test if Kir was leaking information.
Gin’s comments about scar Akai suggest Scar Akai is Bourbon. If Gin isn’t talking abut Okiya who is Akai (who Gin doesn't know about) then that leaves scar Akai as the subject of Gin’s monologue. (704.13) (704.14)
Gin: “Hmph... Always doing as he pleases... that bastard irritates me.”
Kir: “Eh? Who?”
Gin: “……… Just as you said…Someone you wish was only in a novel… A great detective, like Sherlock Holmes…”
Gin's line about scar Akai “always doing as he pleases...” implies that Bourbon is doing things on his own, which Gin said Bourbon tends to do. (703.03)

Scar Akai's actions –even the seemingly contradictory ones- can fit with what we know about Bourbon's motives and personality
For more explanation see the long version.

Why would Bourbon be in disguise as Akai? - Bourbon is trying to evaluate whether Akai is dead or not.

Bourbon's motive - He doesn't believe Akai is dead
Gin and Vodka saw Akai’s “assassination” carried out, so this would appear to negate any reason the Org would have to look into Akai’s death; however, Gin spoke to the fact that Bourbon hates Akai with a passion and believes he is the only one capable of killing Akai Shuuichi and is therefore likely to suspect a trick in the FBI agent’s death. (703.03) Thus, Bourbon has motivation to investigate Akai’s death.

Bourbon's mission - Disguise as Akai to test the FBI's reactions.
So far, scar Akai has only appeared in front of FBI agents rather than around Tokyo generally with the exception of Sera. The most obvious reason for a Black Org member to do so would be to gauge from the FBI's reactions to the disguise whether Akai is really dead. The FBI agents scar Akai has appeared in front of so far, Jodie Starling and Andre Camel, were known to be close to Akai and thus would be considered likely compatriots if Akai needed help faking his death. As for why Scar Akai would target Sera, it is widely speculated that Sera is Akai's younger sister. Targeting her confirmed her relationship to Akai, and thus her potential as a tool to lure out Akai later if need be. Sera's reaction to the burned face of Scar Akai can reveal if she has seen or heard from the real Akai in the interim and thus is a contact of Akai's. (It seems she is not.)

Bourbon's disguise- Created with help from Vermouth
The conversation between Gin and Vermouth about getting the boss's approval (V67-8 pg 11) can be interpreted as Vermouth informing Gin of Bourbon's plan to disguise as Akai with Vermouth's help and test the reactions of the FBI agents. In that scene, there is a panel with no speech where Vermouth faces Gin and whispers something to him. This signifies a conversation between Gin and Vermouth that the readers were not allowed to hear. At this time, Vermouth informs Gin that scar Akai is Bourbon in disguise, and that she helped with that disguise as part of a plan to test the FBI's reactions to him to see if Akai is still alive. Gin asks if Vermouth got authorization from the boss to go through with this plan and disguise Bourbon as Akai. Vermouth affirms this and explains that the boss is cautious and wants to make doubly certain the FBI didn't plan a trick with Kir to fake Akai's death.
This conversation implies that the Org lied to Kir about Bourbon's true mission so that Kir could not alert any FBI colleagues that they were going to be probed. Kir was told Bourbon was looking for Sherry. (703.03)
Vermouth's help with the disguise explains the discrepancy between the excellence of the scar Akai mask and Bourbon's inability to mimic voices which requires him to pretend he is mute. Bourbon damaging his mask by removing the tape covering his eyes in the Teito Bank heist explains the artistic reasons why the upper part of scar Akai's face was drawn in shadow and the gun was positioned to hide the damaged scar.(V65-5.14)
Bourbon promising something to Vermouth makes sense if he asked her for her help with disguise and she requested the promise in return.

Bourbon's investigation- He suspects Kir is a traitor.
As additional evidence, scar Akai has Kogoro’s cellphone number either memorized or specifically noted down. Kogoro's landline still seems to be the primary call route for first time clients as of the Kir arc, indicating that it is Kogoro's public business number. An obvious explanation for why a Black Organization operative would have Kogoro’s cell number is that scar Akai got it from Kir’s phone which has a text message from Kogoro with his routing number that was sent sometime after the Ding-Dong-Dash case.(499.16) It would be impossible for Akai to fake his death without Kir being an accomplice, so Kir would be a natural target for anyone investigating Akai's death. Kogoro would have sent the text message later, most likely after looking up his routing number because he didn’t give her the number immediately at her apartment. Kir's cellphone was most likely left in Gin’s car after she changed clothes following the failed first round of the attempted assassination of Domon.(502.15) Kir switched contact methods to a radio with a mike like Vermouth because she was on a motorcycle and wearing a helmet.(503.9) As long as no one else in the Organization tampered with her cellphone while she was in the hospital, it is unlikely the message was erased before Bourbon would have the chance to investigate it. Bourbon may have reason to investigate Kir even before Akai “died”. He may have been suspicious of how easily Kir was recovered, and he suspected she is a spy who planned something with Akai.

Why would Bourbon protect Conan in the Teito Bank Heist case? – There are several reasons

Bourbon's promise to Vermouth may have been to watch out for Conan
If scar Akai is Bourbon, it is unexpected that an Organization member would chose to rescue Conan and shooting a gun would risk calling attention to himself. Much later, Vermouth mentions that she and Bourbon have a promise with one another which went unstated. At the time Vermouth mentioned the promise she was watching an accident scene where Amuro (and the other Bourbon suspects) were finishing up a case that involved Conan being kidnapped and held at gunpoint. At the time Vermouth said Bourbon earned some trust. We know that Vermouth has a soft spot for Conan and Ran so the promise may have involved Bourbon watching out for Conan, which explains why Scar Akai acted to protect Conan at the bank case.

Bourbon thinks Conan is interesting and relevant to Akai related cases
Bourbon may have his own reasons for wanting to rescue Conan. If Bourbon has access to any Black Org. intelligence, as would be expected of someone specializing in intelligence gathering, he may have discovered Conan or someone matching Conan's description has appeared at several relevant cases. The more Bourbon knows about Conan's appearances, the stronger Bourbon’s motive for wanting to make sure Conan is around to watch or investigate because Bourbon may not get all the answers from his other lines of investigation.

• If Bourbon were to recognize Conan from one case, it would be the Ding-Dong-Dash case since Bourbon already has info on Kogoro from that time because he knows the detective’s cellphone number offhand. Beyond that, Bourbon may also recognize Conan from the billion yen robbery case and newspaper picture that ran with the story about Akemi Miyano’s death. Bourbon would most likely have taken note of that since Akemi was close to Akai. The next level up in importance (and danger to Conan), Bourbon may also know about times where Conan interacted directly with the FBI like he did at Haido Central Hospital during the Red vs. Black arc. Akai did warn Conan that his face would be known to the Org then (597.08), and Vodka did say another man was sent in after Kusuda Rikumichi disappeared. (599.02) (Perhaps it was Bourbon, but I doubt he would be under Vodka's orders.) Because of Conan’s connection to these cases, Bourbon may intend to question or observe Conan later if none of his other information fishing methods pan out. Bourbon must not have too deeply incriminating info on Conan yet because if Bourbon realized how brilliant Conan was, knew that Conan had been with the FBI, and that Conan and Akai had a working relationship and spent time planning together, then Bourbon would have chosen to investigate Conan before Jodie or Camel.

Saving Conan made a convenient getaway
Firing the gun also provided a convenient way to escape. If Bourbon is wearing a mask, he would have damaged it by removing the duct tape covering his eyes. The anime shows the scar and presumably the rest of the mask intact, but the manga doesn’t make it clear in either the gunshot scene (679.14) or the video scene (700.02) whether scar Akai’s mask is intact or not. The anime may have made a mistake. Thus, Bourbon would want to leave the bank quickly while Jodie is unconscious so she doesn’t realize scar Akai is a disguise. Firing a gun would bring the police rushing in and would stir up the crowd providing cover. It would also mean scar Akai could leave that much sooner. Scar Akai could have fired the gun at the ceiling or similar, but firing it at Conan's attacker gives his disguise additional credence in Jodie's eyes because the real Akai would have rescued a child.

Why would Bourbon not tell the other B.O. agents what he is doing? – Bourbon has a secretive personality.
I doubt Bourbon would expect much help from his fellow operatives seeing as how Gin, Vodka, Vermouth, and Chianti assumed that Akai was dead. Also, Gin specifically pointed out that Bourbon was, “like Vermouth, he’s [Bourbon] a secretive one… I have no idea where he is or what it is he’s doing...” (703.03) Bourbon is a lone-wolf secretive agent and hasn't kept Gin and friends in the loop about his private investigation on Akai’s death. He also had to make sure Kir would not learn about his real mission as she might tip off the FBI that they were going to be probed.

Why would Bourbon do something risky like text-message Kogoro? – Bourbon isn’t adverse to taking risks.
Bourbon has consistently engaged in behavior that can be seen as risky: he chose to appear in front of the FBI dressed as Akai despite not knowing how they would react, he shot the robber holding Conan in the bank, and he didn’t tell his fellow operatives about his disguise-as-Akai plan which almost caused him to be shot by his own side. Bourbon was cautious about mailing Kogoro in that he made sure to leave no fingerprints on the random man’s phone he “borrowed”.

How could Bourbon tolerate disguising as his most hated enemy? – Bourbon is willing to suck it up because he wants to find out about the condition of the real Akai.
If Bourbon truly believes he is the only person who can kill Akai and deeply despises him, then he would be willing to disguise as Akai in order to achieve his goal. In the Shiragami case, there is a comparable scenario where a teenager who wanted to get revenge on Shinichi Kudo underwent plastic surgery to copy Shinichi's appearance exactly and then attempted to carry out and blame Shinichi for a murder. Also, appearing as Akai will rub salt in the wounds of the agents who cared about him. Bourbon might be vindictive like that. Besides evaluating the FBI agents’ reactions to seeing “Akai,” scar Akai may potentially be attempting to infiltrate the FBI. I don't think scar Akai is attempting to infiltrate the FBI but I thought I would throw that possibility out there.

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Amuro Tohru is Scar Akai is Bourbon
Please consider looking at the DCW version. I generally keep the DCW version more up to date and it is more organized the one here.

Direct Evidence

Amuro is a skilled detective, yet chooses unethical courses of action that are harmful to others.
Amuro is a detective and very skilled at intelligence gathering as Bourbon was stated to be. That said, unlike other detectives so far, Amuro is a calculating type who chooses avoidable courses of action (or non-action) that may result in harm to others that the "ethical detectives" in the series would have found unconscionable.

• Amuro doesn't intervene when a suspect he knows to be innocent is half a step from destroying his exonerating evidence because it seems he was testing Kogoro.
  Although it appeared he messed up in his introductory case, Amuro likely threw case on purpose to test Kogoro/Conan (depending on how much he knows) which will be explained below. While other characters have tested detectives by throwing cases before (ex. Sera and Conan, Hattori and Conan), what makes this case different from the others is that Amuro was prepared to let the innocent suspect destroy the proof of his evidence had Kogoro (really Conan) not intervened at the last second. This kind of recklessness was not warranted because Kogoro had given no indication of understanding the case or noticing the clues, and Conan has not spoken up about the critical clue either.
  Amuro deliberately antagonizes the main suspect, Banba, who is drunk, by accusing him of being his fiancé's murderer. Banba into goaded into rushing him, so Amuro dodges and trips Banba. The condition of the bottom of Banba's shoes is important for the case, and Amuro asks Kogoro to hold Banba's legs. This whole interaction suggests that Amuro knew the bottom on Banba's shoes was important to the case, yet he seemed to overlook the now visible information on the bottom of the shoes that would have proved Banba's innocence.
  Later, Banba is about to be lead away and the clue destroyed by walking outside in the rain. Amuro's "..." (795.4) as Banba prepares to leave seems to indicate that he is waiting for Kogoro to intervene, yet Amuro does not try to stop Banba when Kogoro does nothing even as Banba is halfway out the door. After Kogoro begins his deduction, Amuro explains the genetic condition that the dead fiancé had in great detail without using any references perhaps indicating he may have known about it or suspected it beforehand.
  Assuming Amuro purposefully got his deduction wrong, that means Amuro didn't speak up even at the last minute when Banba was about to go outside and inadvertently destroy the critical clue showing his innocence. If you think about it, this kind of behavior isn't normal for good detectives in DC. Good detectives never want innocent suspects to be accused even if this means more trouble for the detective to prove it (unless they have told the police ahead of time they are doing a trick and are trying to get the real culprit to incriminate themselves). This shows that Amuro isn't like the normal DC detectives, but is calculating instead.
  
  Amuro noticed that Conan was alone with a murderer and considered that Conan might have been kidnapped, yet said nothing about it until others realized Conan and the murder suspect were gone.
  Amuro's calculating behavior is further shown when he disregards Conan's safety in pursuit of a case connected to the murder at Mouri Detective Agency. Amuro had already deduced a particular suspect was the likely the culprit, and thus she was bad news. Later, he notices her and Conan's shoes are missing, and that Conan hasn't appeared in some time. It is impossible for him not to have guessed that Conan went with the likely murderer, but instead he fails to bring it up. Only later when the others draw the same conclusion does Amuro reveal his thoughts. This failure to care about Conan is obvious when contrasted to everyone panicking.

Amuro went missing when Scar Akai appeared. Amuro had just learned about Sera before she was targeted by Scar Akai.
He was absent from his job at the Poirot when Scar Akai appeared outside the detective agency in 801 where Sera was walking, likely to "test" her as he did with the FBI. Also 800 was Amuro's first time encountering Sera (recently) as far as we know. Scar Akai wouldn't be able to pinpoint Sera without knowing who she was associating with and where she hangs out, both of which Amuro learned in 800.

Amuro matches Gin's description of his personality
Gin said Bourbon was irritating. (V67-8 pg 13-14). Amuro has a type of personality Gin would not like because Amuro acts cheerful and friendly. Amuro does not hide his emotions and is quite expressive. He is also manipulative. Amuro is also a good detective.

Amuro is much richer than would be expected for his job
When Amuro offers Kogoro an unknown "tuition" per case Kogoro brings him on, the amount he offers is enough to get Kogoro excited and accept Amuro as an apprentice without hesitation. This is strange because Amuro would not be expected to have much money because he is young, lacks a formal agency, and works part time at restaurants in one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. Amuro also owns a nice car (RX-7), and maintenance, parking, and upkeep are not cheap.

Amuro placed himself close to the Mouri Detective Agency. Scar Akai is known to be interested in the agency as well.
Amuro has an interest in the Mouri Detective Agency shown by him taking a part time job at the Poirot and asking to be Kogoro's apprentice despite being a better detective than Kogoro which Ran points out. Amuro will be able to access the agency and track Kogoro and Conan's movements with relative ease. Bourbon should have an interest in Kogoro/Conan because Scar Akai has seen two Conan cases as well as saw fit to keep Kogoro's cellphone number with him. Kogoro's number was on Kir's phone, whom Bourbon should suspect to be a traitor if he believes Akai is not dead.

• Scar Akai thinks the Mouri Detective agency may be related to Akai.
  If we consider what Gin said about Bourbon is true, that he doesn't believe Akai is dead, that means Bourbon’s logic requires Kir to be a traitor who assisted somehow in making it seem like she killed Akai because trying to come up with a plausible way Akai could survive where Kir doesn't knowingly participate is practically impossible. Bourbon (as Scar Akai) has done investigation on Kir, he knew Kogoro's cellphone number somehow in order to text Kogoro the answer in the 13 red shirts case. I looked back through prior cases, and a few clients have phoned through Kogoro's cellphone as part of a case, but no new clients first contact Kogoro using it. That leads me to believe that Kogoro’s cellphone is likely a private number given out as needed, while his main business number is his landline. So where did Scar Akai get Kogoro’s number? The likely answer is from Kir’s cellphone, which Kogoro texted his bank routing number to after the Ding Dong Dash. Kir’s cellphone was left in Gin’s car when Kir changed clothes and we don’t know what happened to it after Kir was captured by the FBI. If Akai’s closest FBI friends don’t seem to know that Akai is still alive, then Bourbon needs to find other suspects. Kogoro was involved with Kir, is intelligent (according to the news), and was suspected of being involved with the FBI earlier although seemingly cleared by Akai’s intervention. So Bourbon starts looking for excuses to check on Kogoro. You could possibly add Conan to the equation as well if you consider Scar Akai observed Conan making a very good deduction and at least heard him using a voice changer during the Teito Bank heist.

Amuro keeps a bug detector with him - only Organization members have been shown to do this.
Amuro conveniently keeps a bug detector with him. The Black Org has been shown to keep those on hand (24-8/239), while normal detectives like Conan do not.

Amuro's physical characteristics match those of Bourbon and Scar Akai

• • Amuro Tohru is right-handed like scar Akai.
  • He is male as the codename Bourbon implies. The naming scheme is hard liquors for men and Kir used a male specific pronoun (kare) for him back in the red shirts case.
  • He is young enough to rival with Akai and be new to codename (29).
  • He has the right body size, height, and face shape to disguise as Scar Akai.

Literary device arguments

Amuro's name origin is a pun on the mortal enemy of Akai's name origin
Amuro Tohru's name is a pun on Amuro Ray who is the mortal enemy/rival of Char Aznable. Furuya Tohru voiced Amuro. Akai is named after Char Aznable (The Red Comet) and his voice actor Shuuichi Ikeda. Bourbon hates Akai, so naming Bourbon after Amuro makes sense. As further proof, Amuro Tohru drives a white RX-7. Amuro Ray flew a white RX-78-2 Gundam.

There was a Bourbon plot reminder in Amuro's introductory case
In chapter 793, one of the case suspects orders a bourbon on the rocks from Amuro. While the drink itself is unrelated to the case, nor has any relation to Amuro's identity, it may be a deliberate reminder to think about the Bourbon plot.

Minor points - i.e. weak arguments

Amuro wears black
He changes into a black outfit when out of uniform (796).

Amuro mentions some Akai and Scar Akai themed clothing
Amuro's hypothetical disguise suggestion in 795, a knit cap and long windbreaker, are articles of clothing Shuichi Akai and Scar Akai wear respectively.

Amuro's dark skin color may have been revealed when Scar Akai's duct tape was ripped off
If you look at the below picture, what we assumed may have been shadow may have been Scar Akai's real skin color that was revealed when the tape disrupted the mask/coloring (whatever Amuro used to change his skin color).



Amuro is not Akai

Amuro's handedness differs from Akai's
I think that Amuro is right handed, while Akai seems to be left-handed.

Conan does not recognize Amuro or treat him like they have met ever
Assuming Conan helped with the plan to fake Akai's death (likely because of the cellphones) it is strange that Conan shows no recognition of Amuro if Amuro is Akai. Even if Akai had hidden his role from Conan, you would think something would have tipped off Conan by now.

Amuro tests Kogoro which the real Akai would not need to do because Akai knows Conan runs the show
If Amuro was Akai, then there would be no need to test Kogoro's intelligence because Akai knows about Conan's gadgets and intelligence already. Some of Amuro's decisions would also seem uncharacteristic for Akai. Not mentioning something to Ran or Kogoro about Conan disappearing at the same time as a murderer is one. Akai has had to directly or indirectly bail Conan out twice for getting in over his head (Vermouth and Org vs FBI), so trusting Conan to be safe wouldn't be expected. Another would be coming very close to having an innocent suspect accused, assuming Amuro threw the exploding car case on purpose.

Akai doesn't have a good motive for becoming Mouri's apprentice
The motive for becoming Mouri's apprentice is also unclear if Amuro is Akai. Couldn't he move in nearby or stick with working part time in Poirot without becoming an apprentice? Why not start working directly at the Poirot instead of going through another restaurant? Why leave Haibara out of the picture?

It would be really hard for Amuro to alter his skin color to Akai's and vice versa
Amuro/Akai would have to use a relatively long term, even-coloring, abuse-tolerating disguise that darkens his skin color. Tanning is one method, but it is difficult to get a tan with complete coverage. (in the folds of the ears, on the scalp.) How dark is Amuro's skin anyway? A skin stain to darken skin on the hands, face, and neck is possible, but difficult and would likely require a professional to apply which leaves a witness. A mask would work for the face and neck (who would make these masks though?), but waitering involves hand abuse and spilled liquids and there is no such thing as a latex mask for hands.

Amuro is not a spy infiltrating the Black Organization
If Amuro is a spy, it will be difficult to account for his actions so far, some of which have been dangerous without good reason. If Amuro is a spy he is highly unethical and/or works for someone no good.
If Amuro is infiltrating as Bourbon, it is strange for a spy to be sidetracked by hating and/or hunting down Akai. I doubt something like that would be sanctioned by any intelligence agency Amuro might belong to, nor would they tolerate Amuro getting off course on it as it seems completely unnecessary to Amuro's infiltration mission. If the hating Akai thing is an act (it would have to be a good one) or Amuro was a spy for a less than reputable group, like a rival Organization, his behavior might be overlooked.
In contrast to Kir only doing bad things she is forced to do, Amuro makes negative decisions without prompting. If Amuro intentionally threw his introductory case to test Mouri as described above in the direct evidence section, that's a strike against him. The suspect was halfway out the door with the critical clue and Amuro didn't stop him. Amuro also recklessly disregards Conan's safety in pursuit of a case connected to the murder at Mouri Detective Agency, also described above in the direct evidence section.
If Amuro is Scar Akai, he probably isn't a double agent for a lawful agency because disguising as Scar Akai is threatening Hidemi's safety for no reason that appears to be relevant to continued infiltration. Even if Amuro didn't know about Hidemi, he deliberately endangered civilians by wandering around in crowded public places dressed as Akai whom the Black Org really wants to kill. In the red shirts case, Chianti and Korn were stationed so that they would fire into crowds because of Scar Akai's actions. This rules out pretty much all the intelligence agencies, assuming Amuro is not a half-rogue agent.
So far Gosho hasn't hinted at any intelligence agencies or other organizations. In the Vermouth arc the FBI was both hinted at by Jodie ("'The Bureau' is short for the FBI") and then appeared directly with Akai. The Kir arc's CIA appeared in clues related to "The Company", the pun on NOC, and a CIA stock phrase Hidemi used. Nothing similar has happened in the Bourbon arc so far.