I do not own Breaking Bad or My Romantic Teen Comedy SNAFU.
And So, I Never Thought That My Life Would Become More Complicated When a Kingpin Arrives.
After all the necessary procedures have been taken care of, passengers were now allowed to leave the airplane. Groups of the foreign passengers exited through the exit gate of the plane, minding their own business as each and every one of them had different reasons to be in Japan. There were so many people at the American terminal that wanted to go to Japan that some had to stay behind and catch the second flight; Everybody just seemed to want to go to Japan and for different reasons. Some of the passengers had family in Japan and thought that it was time to visit them. Another group wanted to go to Japan for vacationing reasons, but the majority of the group, and the most interesting, came to Japan for business reasons as many of the American passengers wore business suits as they were sent from their respective companies to negotiate with various Japanese companies. The people at the airport didn't pay much attention to the influx of American visitors for American's coming to Japan for business is quite common. It wasn't until half the passengers exited the plane that one passenger in particular stood out among the others. This passenger in particular stood out because he, by all appearances, did not look American. The Japanese people would have thought that he was from Mexico because of his dark-toned skin, but he was actually from Chile. He looked around to be his late 50's or early 60's as his rugged skin showed his age. He had graying black hair and wore glasses. His wardrobe consisted of a dark brown business suit with a red undershirt being accompanied by a red, striped tie and dark-brown dress pants along with black business shoes. Finally out of the plane, the Chilean businessman started to adjust his tie. He has made a habit of adjusting his tie several times throughout the day, making sure that it was on straight and making himself look presentable for anybody he was going to meet. Seeing somebody from South America in Japan is quite a rare occurrence, and he was aware of that because he felt the Japanese peoples' eye look towards his direction as their curiosity was peeked to see a foreigner that was not American. This was to be expected seeing that the minority groups that live in Japan are less than two percent. This phenomenon would prove inconvenient for the businessman because he would rather draw the least amount of attention to himself for his line of work required it. No, it was more like a necessity for his line of work for he was a cautious man.
Following the Chilean businessman, exactly five feet away was an elderly, American man. He was a bit older than the Chilean, but it was easier for people to estimate his age for he looked to be in his early 60's. His facial features consisted of a whiting goatee as the hair around his mouth was mostly white with a few darker strands of hair. He didn't have any hair on top of his head due to his old age. He wasn't dressed as formal as the Chilean man for he wore a blue dress shirt under his black sweater, which would actually go better with his dark brown dress pants he wore along with his black dress shoes. Despite his advance age, the Chilean businessman knows that his American associate is a very capable man, so capable that he would prefer him around than having multiple associates with him for he has acquired very special skills as the years went by. The elderly, American man had an Albuquerque newspaper in his left hand, folded up. He spent spend the majority of his time reading the newspaper instead of playing on his phone like what most other people would have done. He managed to get through half of it, and is planning on saving the rest of the stories of a later time because he doesn't plan on reading Japanese newspaper during his time in Japan. He placed his folded-up newspaper in his back pocket, and started to draw closer to the Chilean business man, but he did not say anything. Both of them didn't say anything to each other. They didn't need to communicate for the old man knew what the Chilean businessman, his boss, wanted. Both of them just stood where they were, looking around the airport, watching the passengers and the natives go on with their business. The Chilean businessman continued to adjust his tie, seemingly out of habit before striking up a conversation with his employee.
"How was your flight?" He asked out of consideration for they didn't sit together on the flight. Even if the passengers on the plane didn't not know the two individuals, He still took precautions for the sake of his company, his empire, and sitting away from his employee was one of them.
"Wasn't much different than driving through the New Mexico desert. Course, I could have been better if I had more comfortable space." the elderly man responded, looking towards the window, making it look like they were not talking with each other.
"I see. I will make better arrangement for the trip back." The Chilean endeavored to ameliorate the situation.
"Don't trouble yourself. I have been on worse rides than this." He responded, remembering the countless number of times he has had to drive through the New Mexico desert to complete certain task for his boss.
Both men proceeded to walk through the airport, staying a healthy distance away from each other as to not draw more attention. They both maintain a solid distance of twenty feet from each other. Both of them didn't stop for anything that was in the airport. They didn't need to bring any luggage for this flight for they already have the luggage they need in a very special location that the Chilean businessman had prepared in advance. Eventually, the Chillan businessman exited the airport terminal from the front. He stopped right in front of the sidewalk where people drop off others and go part somewhere else. During his quick sweep of his surroundings, his eyes were left to shift towards a young, beautiful, twenty-year-old girl walking along the sidewalk, having a phone conversation with a friend as far as he knows. She didn't look to be paying too much attention towards her surroundings, resulting in her bumping into the Chilean businessman and being knock on the floor on her bottom along with dropping her phone on the pavement. She winced in pain as she began rub her impacted area while closing her eyes. It was when she started to open her eyes that she was greeted with an extended hand in front of her. Looking to see who it belonged to, her gaze shifted up, seeing the Chilean businessman, offer his help with a quiet low-key smile. She sort looked away and blushed a bit due to the businessman's chivalry before she offered her hand by placing it in his hand. Once back on her feet, the businessman looked off to the pavement, noticing the phone lying on the floor. He knelt down to retrieve it and offered it to her. She found it surprising that her phone took no damage from such a fall without receiving a crack.
"I'm sorry!" She apologies profusely as she bowed multiple times. The business man gave her a small smile.
"Don't trouble yourself. I should be the one asking you if you are hurt." He responded in her language, shocking the girl for she didn't expect for the Chilean businessman to speak Japanese so fluently. From there, the girl reaffirmed him that she was fine before disengaging from their short conversation and headed into the airport. He waited a few seconds until his small, quiet smile faded away, adopting a stern and serious expression before returing his attention towards the view in front of him. Right as she entered the airport, the elderly man with the businessman exited. He witnessed the entire ordeal, but decided to wait a while to let their conversation end. The elderly man began to approach his boss, reaching the area just behind his left shoulder. The businessman didn't turn around at all to acknowledge his worker. Instead, he continued to stare out into the parking lot as the elderly man was focus in another area. Silence reigned in for a few moments before the elderly man took the initiative to start the second conversation.
"Now that we are in the Land of the Rising Sun, is there anything that you need me to do?" he asked. The businessman waited before responding. He kept his gaze on the parking lot before he returned an answer.
"Now is as good as time as ever." He said to himself. "Michael, why don't you pay a visit to our special associate. Now that we are in Japan, we can keep tabs on her for future reference until we leave." He recommended to the elderly man named Michael. Michael didn't have to ask twice as to who his boss meant. It has been a while since Michael has last spoken with her. Last time they spoke, it was not on the friendliest of terms, but then again, he doesn't believe that they were friends to begin with, and she probably thought the same. After all, her knowing about their entire operation was a mistake, but his boss saw it differently. Upon hearing his request, Michael walked out towards the parking lot, giving no verbal response to his boss's order. He didn't need to; the very act of him physically moving was confirmation enough to the businessman that Michael was on it. It doesn't matter where the person is. Whether the person was in Japan, America, or any other place in the world, Michael knows just how to track someone down.
Haruno Yukinoshita increased her walking pace the moment she was out Yukino's, Hikigaya's, and Yuigahama's sight, keeping a smile on her face. Due to the position she has in the family, she was always the spokesperson, always meeting with family associates and putting on a show for them by keeping up her facade, so smiling when it was not necessary had become second nature to her. Having such a task for her family was important, but she has found it to be boring as she continued to do this for her family. However, right now, boredom was the last thing she was feeling this instant. It seems that a new development has happened within her everyday life that ignoring it was impossible. It wasn't because she wanted to, but both parties wouldn't allow it. The reason why she found this new development interesting because she was experiencing something she has not felt in such a long time. Rather, she did cause this feeling to well up within Yukino, Hikigaya, and Yuigahama. She has to admit, this feeling was interesting to her as she felt the harsh adrenaline flow throughout her body, even if the current situation at hand was least desirable for her so to speak. She would have never expected to actually find him here in Japan, waiting on a bench reading some newspaper; she thought that she would never have to see him again, so long as she kept that promise she made with them years prior. For him just to sit there like an ordinary person reading a newspaper was not a coincidence. This is how they dealt with matters whenever they wanted something. He didn't have to leave an actual note or send a text message to get the idea across. The moment she saw him was all that she needed to know what exactly he wanted from her.
He wanted to talk.
Disregarding the obvious message for her, Haruno, being the skillful person she was, ended up doing something that gave too much away for that momentary second of bewilderment was enough for Hikigaya and Yukino to pick up on. She doubts that Yuigahama picked up on it, but seeing that she is with Yukino and Hikigaya, she will undoubtedly play a factor in this. She was not oblivious to that fact that Hikigaya looked around to find what could have possibly caused Haruno to stumble like that. She doubts that he would ever find the source, but then again, one of the reason why she finds him so interesting is for his uncanny ability to notice the subtle, whether in a person's psychology or the material world. She didn't need to think about this too much because the person was an expert of hiding in plain sight. Nobody would ever think twice as to what he was doing there. The best somebody who doesn't know him can guess was that he was on vacation and was waiting for somebody.
In regards to wanting to talk, Haruno knew a decent place to have a conversation. Being out in public was out of the question; she needed somewhere where the general public was absent. There was an unspoked expectation for her to find the meeting place for them to talk. Haruno knew this the moment she exchanged eye contact with him. This is why she had to leave her sister and her friends. She had a completely different agenda for them, but the appearance of him has completely changed it as new priorities have established themselves that are well above meeting with Yukino and Hikigaya.
If there was anything else that he knew about him, it was that he was following her from a healthy distance so people wouldn't get any weird ideas. One of his skills also he has acquired was following others without being noticed. She remembers seeing him in action, which is why Haruno knew about his useful skill for it was required in his line of work.
As for the meeting place, it came as luck that her family gives this mall a donation every year and has allowed her to access areas of the mall that was otherwise inaccessible to the general public. She kept up her accelerated pace, passing through multiple stores, ignoring the mall shoppers as she weaved through the crowds while also saying hello and waving at them to those who recognized her as the spokesmen of the Yukinoshita's. The area in mind that she was heading to was located right next to the bathroom, which are a considerable distance from where Hikigaya, Yukino, and Yuigahama were locate. When she turned the corner, she saw the bathrooms in sight, and located right to the of the men's bathroom was a long hallway. In this part of the mall, there wasn't as many mall shoppers compared to the rest for the mall, making it a bit easier for Haruno to go to her destination with little notice. She walked passed the girls bathroom, passed the men's bathroom, and turned in the hallway. The hallway was rather long with many other doorways leading to other rooms, stairways to different floors, employee lounges, etc., but the room of interest was located at the very end of the hallway on the left. She began her journey in the hallway as the echoes of her high-heels systematically ringed through the hallway with each step. Reaching the end of the hallway, she was confronted with a big, red, metallic door with a metal door handle. On the door was a sign that only read, "Storage." She placed her hand on the door and looked down the hallway. She didn't see anybody pass by, meaning that he is still a bit behind, but she wasn't worried. He is not the type of person to lose people that easily. She turned back towards the door and slowly applied a force to turn the door handle. Once all the way down, she opened it very slowly, creating a creaking sound the more the door opened.
The room itself lied in complete darkness, not being able to see three feet in front of her. She extended her hand to the left, feeling around until she found the light switch and flicked it up. One of the first things that the room needed was more light functioning lights for only a single light lit up upon flicking the switch while the other lights didn't bother to spark. The light that did light up was located right in the center of the room. From what the light unveiled, the storage room was unnecessarily big. At least, that was the impression as the light quickly faded after traveling 5 feet from the center before it petered out. Even the light from outside the room still wasn't enough to light up the room as the edge of the room still remained in darkness, producing a sensation of openness as it looked like there was no walls for they blended into the darkness. The storage room was also home to many tall, metal racks all scattered about the room in a haphazard manner as organization was clearly absent. These racks were also cluttered together, giving off a sense of claustrophobia. The items on the racks were nothing special as they only had duct tape, hardware tools, nuts, bolts, boxes of restriction tape, label makers, box cutters, and other items. She slowly entered the storage room, letting the door close behind her until the room was immersed in darkness, save for the single light bulb that provided light towards the center. Looking at the opposite wall, she could vividly see light seeping through the outlines of a rectangle, suggesting that there is another entrance to this room.
Anyway, she slowly maneuvered herself towards the middle with the limited light provided, passing multiple racks as she didn't bump into any of them and only became easier the closer she got towards the middle. Conveniently, only the surrounding area had racks whereas the middle where the light was didn't have any. It wasn't long after she got to the middle that the sounds of a doorknob jiggling came from where she entered. The door creaked open, revealing a figure at the doorway standing ominously as the light from the outside silhouetted his entire body. Haruno couldn't see any characteristics of the figure, but she already knew just by looking at the overall figure who is was. The silhouetted figure remained at the doorway, meticulously analyzing the room and its inhabitants. There were few things he noticed. The room was in complete disarray, but nothing too important. The only thing that did stick out to the figure was the quiet, hollow smile that can be found on Haruno's face. He made an audible sigh as if he has seen it before and was quite sick of it. He moved his neck around to stretch it out before he entered the storage room, navigating around the racks with minimum effort compared to Haruno. The door closed soon after, placing the two inhabitants in almost darkness save for the single light that provided sight. More features of the silhouetted figure began to unveil itself as drew closer towards the middle, taking note of the aging goatee and wrinkled skin along with his semi-formal apparel. Once he reached the middle of the room, standing a few feet from Haruno, silence still provided the area and neither side wanted to initiate a conversation. Haruno had her arms crossed, still having her smile, staring at him with a false sense of mirth in her eyes. The elderly man was not bothered by her ploy at all. Much like Hikigaya, he found her smile and her demeanor annoying, disgusting, and fake. He stared back at her with a stern, unmotivated face. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of getting a reaction from him for surely that would have given Haruno the upper hand. She always tried to take control of the conversation, but he was not going to allow her for. She has attempted in the past before and it always bothered him that she would, but he would remain vigilant and refuse to play into her hands. Haruno knew that the person in front of her would not budge. She would be unable to toy with him unlike a certain dead-eyed person. Like Hikigaya, the person in front had no interest in keeping up social appearance or social obligations, but the reason as to why these two don't care are different. More specifically for the figure, it was so he doesn't draw unnecessary attention, especially with law enforcement. Behind his unmotivated face along with his dead, uncaring eyes lied a tactical, cunning person waiting for her to make the first move. A sense of impatience began to build between the two. Both knew that whoever spoke out first immediately lost the advantage with the impending conversation. Haruno had no intent of starting it, which is why she does not like the next thing she does.
"It has been a while, Mike-san." She started out in a calm voice that masqueraded the disdained and irritation that she was truly feeling for caving. Michael "Mike" Ehrmantraut gazed at the smiling Haruno, unfazed by her fake joy in her voice. This girl… he thought in his head. Mike has worked with many unique character ranging from a charismatic character like Saul to others that are more serious and hostile, but Haruno Yukinoshita was something completely different for Mike. He knows that nobody would ever stand up against her if they knew what would happen. Of course, given his line of work, her ploys would never affect him and he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He never cared about the kind of stuff that Haruno likes to get herself into regarding social matters; he found it more of a hassle, but he has made the observation that the Japanese care more about social matter compared to the Americans. He looked off to the side, giving another audible sigh to show his disapproval and disappointed before reengaging eye contact with Haruno.
"Kid, would you mind ditching the smile? I feels like I am talking to a salesman here." He requested in an exhausted tone, giving the impression that it wasn't the first time he has asked her for that, but Haruno kept up her smile, her facade, albeit a slight irritation building up in her for she doesn't like it when Mike, or anyone in fact, to refer to her as "kid," even if he was 40 years older than her. She found it insulting, and insulting her would wind the perpetrator in a world of social hell. But she kept her calm demeanor up. There wasn't much she can do to Mike to punish him for calling her that, but as the saying goes, an elephant never forgets. She brought her right index finger up to her bottom lip and placed it there, slightly tilting her head towards the right.
"Whatever do you mean?" She asked in a mock playful tone, feigning ignorance, but Mike was not having any of it for he kept his cold, dead stare on her without falter, screaming at her with his eyes to cut the act as he remained where he was in silence. She knows him better than that given the time they have known each other and knows that Mike does not deal with tomfoolery. In other words, she asked a stupid question. The unnerving silence still existed in the storage room as Mike was not going to debase himself in answering her question.
"Don't you know its rude not to answer a girl's question, not to mention giving a girl such a killer glare like that." She playfully informed him while pouting at him.
Mike was starting to become irritated with her.
"Kid, I just got off a fifteen-hour flight, and as you can imagine, my patience is running thin. Why don't you cut the act before things become more complicated than it needs to be?" he warned her with thunder behind his calm words. Haruno knew what Mike was capable of doing. The people she knew that would endeavor to make a hollow threat would never bother her for she knew that they were liars and cowards, but if there was one thing that she definitely knew about Mike: He always kept his word because Mike never makes threats; he makes promises. Her smile began to deconstruct and unwind as her facial expression became blank, her eyes becoming piercing and cold much like Mike's. Losing would be more strategic than trying to win against Mike because winning might involve pain in the future, not social emotional things like the kids in high school go through, but physical pain, which made losing more appealing than winning. Though she did have martial arts experience, Mike proved to be the better combatant in regards to his line of work.
Haruno hates that idea of losing to anybody.
"You know, its rude to threaten a girl. People just might make you out to be a monster." She added in, adopting an emotionless expression as she took one last stab at him with no feelings, whether genuine or not, behind her words.
"Talk about the complete one-eighty, but it's better than talking with that persona you put on."
"What do you want?" Haruno questioned with venom in her voice.
"Not much really. Just here to see what you have been up to is all." He explained.
"What are you doing here in Japan then?" she asked.
"Wasn't my call to come to Japan. It seems that our product has manage to find some overseas success, specifically in the Chiba area. And now, we are trying to expand by meeting with new clientele." Mike informed her.
"Wait, you don't mean…"
"That's right. The boss is here in Japan. Call it a courtesy greeting if you want, but the boss sent me here to check up on you. Apparently, he still has some reservations about you after all these years." Haruno was always searching for something interesting because everything she does eventually becomes boring if she dabbles around with the same person for too long. It happened to Hayama, but right now, she doesn't think she will ever become bored with this because matter pertaining to Mike and his associates will always be interesting, no matter the circumstances. The word "interesting" was being used lightly in these circumstances. She wasn't dealing with regular social matters that a lot of people care about. This was one reason why she found Hikigaya so interesting because of his disregard for social norms. That alone caused her to take a keen interest in him for he possessed insights from his twisted mind that she forcefully wanted to dissect. But the current situation was something different. It didn't involve anything regarding social norms and twisted personalities that possessed insight. No, instead, matters regarding this are interesting because they don't involve anything that has to do with social status or social awareness. Mike and his associates have no need to dabble with such trifling matters for they were in something elevated, something that doesn't emphasize social matters, but emphasize business. Though she never liked to get into her family's matters regarding business other than meeting with partners of the Yukinoshita's, the business Mike was in was far more interesting than anything her family would ever be involved. Social status and social matters didn't influence the business negotiations in Mike's line of work. The only thing that social matters would really have an effect in Mike's business is respect. As long as you had respect, then everything else would run smoothly; no need to make courtesy calls, check up on partners, nothing. As long as one showed respect, then dealings and business would run smoothly. Haruno has already thought about this a couple of years ago. There were times where she thought about it after, but not much for those thoughts never related to anything she has done after that time, but seeing Mike again after all those years has rekindled that thought process, and it seemed that she has found an alternative for "interesting." Interesting did work, but the more appropriate word to fit this sense to perfectly describe the atmosphere in this storage room was "dangerous" because when things are dangerous, there is never a dull moment, and dull moments is what Haruno is always trying to avoid.
Haruno began to form yet another smile as she was about to speak up but was interrupted by an outside noise resonating from behind her. She turned around and saw light shining through as the door that she didn't go through began to open. Standing right at the entrance was yet another ominous silhouetted figure. Few moments passed by before the figure entered the room, walking passed all the racks as he made his way towards the center. She only expected to see Mike, so she had no idea as to who this other person was, prompting her to look over towards Mike. The look he gave told her immediately that Mike knew who is was.
Mike-san knows who the person that came in is.
Though she would never show this side to her sister of any of her friends, Haruno kept her demeanor, albeit the smile she had instantly disappeared. If she could show it, her eyes' would have widened upon the discovery of the person's identity. She began to feel like Hikigaya every time he met with her… cautious. She looked over at Mike, but something told her to look over at the other person for he was commanding attention.
"…Gus-san…" she quietly uttered in disbelief for she never thought she would meet with him again. She only thought that she would meet with Mike or somebody else sent by Gus, but never would she have thought she would meet with Gus again.
"Haruno Yukinoshita, it has been a while since our last encounter." Gus pointed out in a monotone, professional voice, showing no emotion whatsoever as he is well known for keeping a calm-but-unnerving demeanor. Gustavo "Gus" Fring kept his focus on Haruno. His stare showed no emotion as they only analyzed Haruno, who was staring back at him with a blank expression. If she would have given the expression to somebody else, it would have shaken that person to the core. Just getting a different expression other than her fictitious smile was enough to cause concern for Hikigaya. However, her gaze did not produce those result with Gus. Getting anything out of Gus would prove too far fetch.
Haruno has always been in command of conversations she has with others. She finds is amusing to watching Hikigaya endeavor to take control—one of the reason why she finds him interesting. Haruno liked challenges because they did bring some sort of excitement, but now, the challenge she has in front of her will prove difficult to take control of the conversation. Because of this, she does not attempt to put on her façade; she knows it will not work on Gus. He will not stand for her meddling, she knew it. Putting herself in a social awareness set of mind, she has to proceed with caution.
"Haruno, you seemed troubled. How can I help you?" he asked as he noticed the change of demeanor in Haruno even though her blank facial expression hasn't changed. Haruno remained silent, starring at him with her piercing, emotionless eyes that would have most-definitely shocked Hikigaya. A cold, silence remained in the storage room. Nothing can be heard except for the sounds of the outside world barely slipping through the walls. Haruno kept her stance as she faced her silent assailment as both exchanged blows with each other using nothing more than their eyes. Mike would remain where he was with his clasped together, waiting patiently for the two of them to hash out what they needed to. He would occasionally glance back to the door both he and Haruno entered through. Going back to the stare-down, both remained vigilant, until the sound of a voice rippled through the room.
"If you do not want to share your troubles, then it was fine by me. In any case, what have you been up to lately. I hear that you plan to obtain a BS through a national University." Gus broke the silence, giving a small victory over to Haruno, though there was still some concern as to how he knew about her future plans.
"I make it a point of interest to learn of all of my associates' activities, and that includes you, even if the circumstances surrounding our agreement are… unique." He explained, looking over at Mike towards the end of the sentence, confirming Haruno's suspicions about how he obtained that information, but she wasn't surprised. She knew what Mike was capable of obtaining personal information; he probably would obtain her medical records if Gus demanded them.
Whenever matters involve Gus, there was always a constant, always a matter that will never change. The situation and the circumstances will always be interesting. This is due to one thing.
Gus was an interesting person.
He was nothing like Hikigaya, but there still loomed a sense of interest around him. It might be because Gus is dangerous, and danger tends to be interesting if handled in certain quantities. But with Gus, there is no telling just how much danger he brings to the table when he just stands there with professionalism and silence looming from him.
"I didn't know that you'd keep tabs on a woman like me." she pointed out without giving a smile. "Who would have thought Gus-san would go out of his way just to meet me? I probably should feel honored. Tell me, am I part of your business that you need to do in Japan?" she asked as she crossed her arms. Gus was not amused by her statement. As a matter of fact, he didn't like it one bit. He took two steps closer to Haruno, building up a sense of silent intimidation as his presence alone was intimidation enough. It was only when he remained silent that Gus can seem scary, and judging by the lack of talk and only allowing his body movements to speak for him, he might as well be fear itself. He looked down at Haruno, and she kept her eye contact on him.
"Haruno, I always have business to attend to. It doesn't matter when or where. You will always remain a business priority for as long as your lungs are filled with air." He took one step closer. "However, the business I have with you is not desired. Your background may have been the reason why I was forced to handle the situation much differently, but we are not in Albuquerque anymore." He took another step closer. "However, the original agreement still stands. Understand your place in the grand scheme of things, Haruno. Me entiendes?" he asked, switching to Spanish at the very end in a very serious tone. She remained silent.
"Me entiendes?" he repeated himself more forcefully.
"…Te entiendo, Gus-san." She answered.
The tension remained even after getting confirmation from her. With his business concluded with Haruno for now, he had no more reason to be here. He kept eye contact with her until he passed her, making his way towards the door he entered through. He opened the door up, letting light seep into the storage room as he became a silhouetted figure once more. He stopped right in front of the door frame and turned towards Haruno.
"Continue with your usual affairs, Haruno Yukinoshita." He suggested ominously before walking out of Haruno and Mike's sights as the door closed on them, leaving the two alone in the storage room. Haruno found herself to smile mischievously once more the moment after Gus left the area.
"Well that could have gone better than I expected. I don't know if you're brave or just that stupid." Mike informed her, walking up to a rack, observing the content on it.
"Mike-san, it is not nice to call a girl names. You should know how to treat a women better." She advised him as she started to walk up to him, but stopping short about three feet from him. Mike stopped examining the contents on the rack and turned to face Haruno.
"Hmmm, is that so? You know, in America, a person is considered an adult at the age of 18 as opposed to 20 in Japan. As far as I'm concerned, you are a fully grown woman as far as the American government is concerned, and a cocky one at that. Consider yourself lucky that Fring doesn't hold your actions against you. He is not the type of person to forgive that easily" Mike explained.
"Doesn't forgive that easily. That sounds sort of like him. He wouldn't be interesting if he forgave people that easily wouldn't you say?" She asked, drawing a bit closer to Mike. "Mike-san, Do you always do what you are told? Do you ever make your own decisions, or do you let Gus-san make them for you?" She prodded at him. Mike grunted and confronted her, standing right in front of her, looking down at her.
"Look, you may be Frane Selek when it comes to Fring, but that doesn't mean that luck applies to me. You are on thin ice as far as I'm concern; You have been on thin ice ever since you made that deal with Fring in Albuquerque years ago. I don't know what Fring was thinking, and I don't plan on questioning him about it. I just do what I am told; that is my job. That also applies to you too. As long as you keep to what the deal entailed, you won't have any problems with Fring, and you won't have any problems with me." Mike explained in a harsh tone as he was tired of her antics. Haruno can clearly see that she was getting under his skin; evoking such a reaction from him was sort of fun for her, but his state of mind still remained intact. If this was her sister, then things would have become a bit more interesting for her. Seeing her come to a brick wall was always interesting for Haruno. However, she still has to remember that Mike does have a limit before he decided to take physical action.
"Mike-san, I am perfectly aware of what I agreed to." She whispered into his ear in a mischievous voice before backing up to about an arm's length away.
"I am also aware of the consequences if I break that agreement."
"Remind me again what would happen if you break that agreement." He inquired.
"The mind does start to go as you get older, but that can't be helped." She smiled at him, once again drawing real close to him. "If I break the agreement, then I get a bullet to the head." She answered with no warmth behind her words, not even a fake happy tone to mask the truth in her answer. She stepped back, looking at him with coldness in her eyes, even though her expression exploited mirth. The atmosphere began to soften as everything that needed to be said was said, but they kept eye contact with each other.
"It looks like I overstayed my welcome. Besides, it is starting to get boring anyway." With nothing more for them to talk about, Haruno began to walk towards the door she entered, but Mike suddenly blockaded her path, signifying to her that she should leave from the other exit. She would oblige him this time and do what he said with his action. She began to make her way towards the door Gus took. She opened in, but remained in the door frame. Without turning around, she asked one more thing before she left.
"Mike-san, will I be seeing you again?" Mike didn't say anything, but that was answer enough for her.
"I see. Until next time…" she finished before disappearing from the door frame. With Mike now by himself, he waited for a few moments, taking a deep breath and sighing once more for the predicament he found himself in. He began to head towards the door he came through without making too much noise for he doesn't want to alert the interlopers of his awareness. He placed his hand on the handle and hesitated before opening the door. He felt a resistance on the door in the form of three bodies, but he easily overcame it has he applied more force. He heard the sounds of stumbling and gasping as he pushed forward. With him now in the hallway, he cast his eyes on three individuals with one of them on the floor. There were two girls and one guy and they were all in their adolescence, about sixteen or seventeen as far as Mike and tell. The first girl he took notice was the one on the floor as the second girl came to her aid. The girl on the floor had short, pink hair with one side having her hair tied up. She wore some sort of T-shirt with some capris shorts with pink sneakers on. She looked rather afraid as she looked up at him seeing that he was responsible for pushing her on the floor, but it served her right for eavesdropping. The second person was the teenage boy. He looked to be of about average build with short black hair, but the characteristics that stood out the most was the single strand of hair sticking up along with his fish dead-eyes. He wore a green sweater with light-brown pants with black shoes. He wasn't the most fashionable person within the three, but Mike could respect his bland apparel. However, the one person that Mike took more interest than the rest was the second girl within the group. She had flowing, black hair with sky-blue eyes. Her wardrobe consisted of a long dress with some sort of shirt covering her shoulders along with black opened-toed shoes. Most would be stunned by her beauty, but the thing that interested Mike the most was her resembles to Haruno. The moment he laid his eyes on her, he could instantly tell who this person was. Mike watched the three interlopers as Yukino helped Yui up while Hikigaya kept his gaze on Mike, weary of his appearance. Mike grunted for he didn't want to be in such a situation where he was with Haruno's younger sister and her friends. It should be mentioned that Gus has asked Mike to look into all of the Yukinoshita's before coming to Japan. Gus felt that it would come in handy if there was any situation that would come up, and certainly this would qualify as one. Regardless, Mike has no reason to talk with them, but it seems that they have reason to talk to him.
"You three are not as sneaky as you think you are. Especially when it comes to following somebody." He revealed as Mike was aware that the three of them followed him. All three of them exchanged looks with each other, trying to find some sort of excuse as to why they were but,
"What?! No. We weren't following you. We were, like, trying to find the bathroom, and we sort of got lost, heh, heh, heh." Yui exclaimed, obviously being the first thing that came to her mind. She looked at Mike, and could easily tell that he was not buying it. He raised his right hand, pointing down the long hallway.
"There is a bathroom out there. Now, if any of you have any more burning excuses, I'm all ears. Otherwise, you are all wasting my time." Mike explained. Yui backed off, but as she did, Yukino was the one to approach Mike with determination and curiosity in her eyes.
"Who are you, and what were you doing with Nee-san?" she got right to the point, her voice cold whenever matters involve her older sister.
"Have you ever heard the saying ignorance is bliss? I suggest you take it to heart. The business between Haruno and me is private, and it doesn't involve you." Mike stated. Yukino took notice that Mike didn't use any sort of formality when addressing her sister. Anybody would have mistaken this as a sign that Mike and Haruno were on good terms, but Yukino knew better. The question that burned in Yukino's mind was how Haruno knew Mike in the first place. He is not some sort of family friend of business associate of the Yukinoshita's. Nonetheless Yukino pressed forward.
"I have heard of that saying, but I do not intend to turn a blind eye to this." Yukino declared to Mike, causing him to sigh as he did not want to be dealing with this.
"Look, Yukino. I just spend the last 15 hours on a plane reading a newspaper, and then I had other business to take care of as soon as we landed. I need my sleep." Mike explained, but he noticed that Yukino's cheeks were turning a very bright red. He looked around and saw the amazement on the pink-haired girl and on the dead-eyed boy, but he didn't look as surprised compared to the two girls.
"Oh yeah. That's right, Japanese people use each other's last names compared to using their first names. You only use their first names if you are on very good terms with them." Mike thought out loud. "Regardless whether you find it embarrassing to call you by your first name, I don't plan on telling any of you about my business and I don't want to know yours." With that, Mike started to walk down the hallway until,
"Wait, how did you know Yukinoshita's first name." The guy of the group asked, causing Mike to turn around to address him.
"How do you think. I got it from Haruno. Now if you excuse me…"
"What did you talk about with Yukinoshita's older sister?" the guy asked again for Yukino. Mike once again gave an audible sigh.
"Look, kid, if you really want to know, why don't you ask her, but I doubt she'll tell you anything. You of all people should know that, Yukino." He explained as he shifted his eyes toward Yukino, causing her to avert her eyes away from his as he used her first name again. All three of them couldn't think of a reason to get Mike to spill the beams. Plus, Hikigaya, Yui, and Yukino all felt that Mike was somebody that they shouldn't continue to prod. They can't explain it well, but they felt that they shouldn't continue to ask Mike questions. To Hikigaya, this feeling felt similar to when he is with Haruno, but unlike her, he felt more threatening, not in a social way like she does, but more of a physical way. Also, the look in his eyes suggest that Mike has seen and done things that they shouldn't know. Overall, there was a looming sense of danger surrounding Mike. With this realization being arrived at, Hikigaya, Yukino, and Yui didn't press more questions onto Mike, allowing him to depart once more, but not before giving them some sound advice.
"Believe me when I say this. You should all just let this go. There is no need for you to all get involved. Think of this as a professional courtesy." This was the last thing he told the three of them before he exited the hallway and entered back into the masses, leaving the three Service Club members alone in the hallway, all pondering as to what had just happened.
"Umm, what did he mean by a professional courtesy?" Yui asked.
"It means that nobody else knows about what he just told us." Hikigaya filled her in.
"Regardless whether this was a courtesy or not, there is still the matter as to why Nee-san met with such a person." Yukino stated.
"Do you plan on talking to her?" Hikigaya asked.
"Yes, I will ask Nee-san about him."
"Yukinon, he said that we should forget it. The way he looked and sounded kind of freaked me out."
"Yes, Yuigahama-san. I have also arrived at the same revelation. Regardless, I still will endeavor to learn more about that man." Yukino explained. All of them then began to walk out of the hallway. Once they reached the end, Hikigaya spoke out.
"Hey, Yukinoshita."
"Yes, what is it, Hikigaya-kun."
"… be careful…"
"Oh… I will take your advice under consideration then."
With that subtle warning, Yui, Yukino, and Hikigaya all returned to the main halls of the mall. They may have not learned anything, but they did gain a newly found sense of curiosity, but there were some reservations with all of them, and the only thing that Hikigaya kept on thinking was,
Curiosity killed the cat.
And that should rap it up. As far as I'm concern, these will be short stories that the characters from both series find themselves in. Feel free to comment on this fanfic; This is the first time trying my hand at a genre that SNAFU places itself in compared the other stories that I have written (Straight forward).
