It was a nice Wednesday evening, with a nice warm temperature and a sky full of stars. I-pin peeked out of The Dragon's kitchen, and sure enough, she was there, seated at one of the bistro's window seats, scribbling away.

The girl—or young woman, more correctly—that I-pin was watching was dressed, as always, in a black hoodie, dark jeans, and leather boots that shone under the bistro's lights. Silky, plum-colored hair tumbled onto her shoulders, and her pale cheeks sported two twin fang-like marks, each a nice purple. She was listening to her small, black MP3 and noting something down onto a piece paper.

"Ah. I-pin-chan."

I-pin turned to see her teacher and employer striding towards her, smiling benignly.

"Viper-san is here," she said, indicating to the girl in the hoodie. Fon smiled, nodding his head a few times.

"Every Wednesday," the Chinese man agreed. "Now, I-pin, customers are waiting."

And without further ado I-pin headed out and took orders of the customers and eventually came back, balancing on her serving platter the exact things that they had ordered. Then she bused the dirty dishes back to the kitchen's sink.

And eventually, like all Wednesdays, Fon-sensei came to her holding a bowl of his specialty, sweet red-bean soup. Without a word I-pin took it and hurried out the door, being careful not to spill honeyed liquid. She moved around tables until she came to a stop in front of Viper-san's table, the latter of whom had finished both her dinner and her work and was now idly reading a volume of Sherlock Holmes while sipping a glass of strawberry milk (I-pin knew for a fact that the only reason Fon-sensei had strawberry milk on the menu was because Viper drank it).

I-pin coughed, earning herself the attention of the plum-haired girl, who looked up, her eyes hidden by the shadow of her hoodie.

"Fon-sensei hopes you enjoy this. It's on the house, of course," she said, and quickly set down the dish.

Viper spared her no other glance as I-pin hurried away. Back behind the curtain that hid the kitchen from the view of feasting customers, I-pin watched as Viper nonchalantly began spooning red bean soup into her mouth.

For some inexplicable reason, I-pin was irritated. And very, very curious.

/o\/0\/o\

Exactly seven days and thirty-two minutes later I-pin found herself hesitating as her beloved teacher handed her a piping hot bowl of his special red bean soup. Fon noticed the way she was rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and raised a questioning brow. His student, who was used to his silent signals, opened her mouth to voice her worries.

"Fon-sensei..," she began as Fon smiled indulgently. "Why do you keep sending Viper-san free red bean soup? Why not Reborn-san or Colonello-san or Luce-san or anyone else? Why is it just Viper-san?"

And why do you keep strawberry milk on the menu if only she drinks it? And why do you always have this funny look on your face whenever you see her?

…Sensei, you like her, don't you?

"An excellent question," the Chinese man acknowledged with a small tilt of his head. "As to be expected from my protégé."

I-pin waited patiently as Fon wiped his hands absent-mindedly on a cloth. Her teacher sighed and set the towel down, a small smile on his lips.

"Why do I send her, of all people, freebies?" Fon seemed to muse aloud, his tone strangely pensive. He chuckled and brushed his unruly bangs from his eyes.

"Well, I suppose it's because I love her," Fon said simply, and I-pin nearly jumped a foot into the air at his nonchalance. It was startling to hear him declare his feelings aloud in such a straightforward way, even to one who had speculated that her master had said feelings for the purple-haired miser. "Because I love her, I give her what she likes. It's a rather bad habit of mine."

"B-but," I-pin stammered, in her mind's eye picturing the way Viper always accepted her master's gifts without a thought (granted, Viper would take anything free without a thought), completely ignorant of Fon-sensei's feelings. "She…She doesn't know that they represent your heart! Is…Sensei…really okay with that?"

"So long as she's happy, yes," Fon laughed as he gently steered I-pin towards the serving door by the shoulders. "Run along now, before the soup gets cold, I-pin-chan."

I-pin nodded, flushing slightly at her presumptuousness, and scurried out the door.

/o\/0\/o\

"…"

Viper looked up and stared hard at I-pin, who, even after conveying her ordered dishes, was still standing next to her table awkwardly. I-pin bit her lip, fidgeting. "Muu. What is it?"

I-pin shook her head, but still couldn't bring herself to leave. So many questions were threatening to burst through her lips: Do you know why Fon-sensei gives you so many freebies? Do you even like Fon-sensei? Why is your hair purple? Have you ever seen the look on Fon-sensei's face whenever he looks at you? Don't you feel anything for him?

Viper shrugged dismissively. "Don't waste your time here then, girl. There are customers to be served. Every second wasted is a penny wasted." With a sharp jerk of her chin she nodded towards a customer who was waiting by the door. I-pin wanted to protest and say that the customer could wait, but sighed and went to seat the young man.

"This way, sir," she said, trying not to show how dejected she was as she lead him towards a table only a few paces away from Viper's. She blinked as her face was tilted upwards by a firm grip, and found herself looking into very familiar, sharp grey eyes. "H-h-hibari-san!"

Fon's younger cousin frowned as he gazed down at her with piercing scrutiny. "Omnivore, what is it?"

"N-nothing," I-pin whispered, blushing heavily in mortification. Hibari looked like he didn't believe her, but opted to let the matter slide.

"Hamburger steak," he said without looking at the menu she held out to him as he sat down.

After a moment he looked up at her and knocked her gently on the forehead. "Don't be so absent-minded." I-pin quickly nodded, her face still glowing like a heat lamp.

She then scurried off to take the orders of others.

/o\/0\/o\

When she returned with his food, Hibari-san looked up at her and blinked sharply.

"Omnivore, you still look distracted," he said as snagged a piece of meat with his chopsticks. I-pin blushed heavily, and began to stammer, but was quickly silenced by the hand that the young man held up. "You should just get it off your chest."

With that, he waved her away, giving her a look that told her clearly that he would not talk to her again until she solved her problem. I-pin decided that it would probably be a good time to talk to Viper-san.

Funny how Hibari-san, of all people, could give good advice.

With a steeled heart and shaking limbs I-pin walked slowly towards Viper's table, where the purple-haired young woman was finishing the last of her soup. Viper looked up as she approached, her hood shifting slightly to reveal a glint of amethyst and ice blue. She twirled a silver chain loop around her fingers languidly, and it was with a pang of pained recognition that I-pin realized that it was the necklace that Fon had asked I-pin to help him pick out for Viper's birthday last year.

"Muu, what is it?" she drawled as I-pin came to a stop in front of her.

"Uh, Viper-san…Fon-sensei…hopes…that you…enjoyed…your…meal," I-pin stammered awkwardly, staring hard at her silken shoes. Viper didn't say anything, merely turning back to her book.

I-pin twitched. And abruptly exploded.

"Do you not think of Fon-sensei at all?! How could you, Viper-san!" I-pin almost wailed, wringing her hands agitatedly. Several guests—including Hibari-san—turned to stare, but I-pin quite contentedly ignored them. "Don't you care about Fon-sensei at all?! After all he's done for you! Don't you know that Fon-sensei loves you!?"

Then I-pin realized what she had said and quickly covered her mouth, shutting her eyes in fear. When Viper said nothing, I-pin slowly peeked her eyes open. She was quite surprised to see that Viper's lips were twitching in what looked like a painful manner, and the miser got up, threw a few bills down, and ghosted out the door without a word.

I-pin gulped; she hadn't meant to get anyone mad, much less Viper. (Especially not since Fon-sensei liked her. Plus, Viper was just plain scary…)

But there was no point lamenting over shattered eggs, and I-pin went back to business.

/o\/0\/o\

"Oh! Kyoya-kun!" Fon said as Hibari strode through the door the next morning. "It's strange to see you here so early in the morning. But of course it's a welcome pleasure."

Hibari snorted as I-pin entered, her eyes widening with surprise. "Shut it, herbivore."

"Hibari-san!"

"Good morning to you too, omnivore," Hibari muttered as he threw his jacket haphazardly onto a chair. "I hope you've fixed your problem."

Fon gave her a perplexed look as he went back into the kitchen, choosing to give them their privacy.

I-pin squirmed. "Eh...not really…Hibari-san…"

Hibari shrugged, plopping himself down onto a chair. I-pin opened her mouth to say something—to apologize or whimper, she really didn't know—but he nodded his head towards the door.

"Someone's coming," he told her. I-pin began heading for the door, but paused for a moment.

"You aren't…mad at me, are you, Hibari-san?" she whispered quietly. Hibari gave her blank look and bluntly said, "No. Now get going, omnivore."

With a lighter heart I-pin trotted towards the door. "Welcome!" she chirped as she bowed as the customer came through the door. Then she blinked; the customer was Viper. And it was not a Wednesday. Nor was it nighttime.

Ha! I knew Viper-san wasn't a vampire! Lambo owes me five yen!

Then I-pin noticed the way Viper's lips were still twitching, the edges of her thin lips jerking up and down in minute movements.

"Get your unfortunate boss out," the older girl ground out from between her teeth, and I-pin blinked in confusion.

"Unfortunate…Boss?"

"Yes. Get him."

It was with a perplexed face that I-pin went and got her teacher. In only a few moments she returned, Fon right behind her. Fon smiled welcomingly when he caught sight of the purple-haired miser.

"Viper, it's nice to see you again so soon."

But Viper paid no mind to his words and stormed across the room. And it was at that moment, while she watched the small, avaricious introvert's lithe movements, that I-pin felt, for the first time in her fifteen-year-old life, fear for her teacher.

Fon-sensei was, after all, an expert martial artist who had never before been defeated in battle. He knew how to take care of himself. Also, Viper was barely taller than I-pin, who didn't even come up to Fon-sensei's shoulders. Who would believe such a frail slip of a girl would be able to pose a challenge to such a formidable martial artist?

But the evil aura that Viper was emitting made I-pin shake in her Chinese-style slippers; perhaps her master had finally met his match.

Viper's lips were still twitching, and she rasped out in a dark voice, "Fon, you piss me off."

Fon blinked, confused, as she grabbed him by the braid, yanking him down so that his face was level with hers. Then, much to both Fon and I-pin's surprise, Viper pressed a rough kiss to his lips.

Fon blinked again as Viper pulled back and strode away and out the door, throwing an imperious "Seven o'clock, tonight" over her shoulder.

And I-pin watched with raised eyebrows as a pleased smile slowly bloomed across her master's face. In a few moments Fon was back in the kitchen, humming cheerfully to himself as he cooked. I-pin sighed and shook her head as she went back to work, unable to keep a smile of her own hidden.

Hibari just snorted and rolled his eyes.

/o\/0\/o\

A/N: A FonxViper/Mammon fic in which I made Viper the clueless one instead of Fon! (Because Fon's usually the oblivious one in all my plot bunnies. So expect clueless Fon in my future fics…if I ever get around to posting them…

-shot- Aaaaanyway, I hope you liked it~! No Bel cameo this time, but oh well. We get Hibari instead! (Thanks to Derpina Doppelganger for giving me the idea of Hibari being involved)

I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you very much for reading!