"Haven't seen you in a while. Alone today, huh?" Tsuyoshi looked up when he heard a customer enter. It was barely a few minutes after he opened shop, even his eyes still had morning glory here and there. He assumed it was just his son coming home after he left early in the morning to jog or practice, but to his surprise, it was a foreigner.

He liked calling him a 'regular' even if it takes him weeks to visit again. Always the same enthusiasm with their fresh and delicious sushi, always the same wide grin. Tsuyoshi liked feeding customers like him, even if he was grinning like a madman half the time.

"The Prince has arrived." Belphegor announced with a short laugh, his signature overly cheery look never wavering. He was dressed casually; you'd think he was just like any other 19-year old in the neighborhood. His plaid black & white flannel shirt were unbuttoned, a purple shirt underneath it. He was wearing combat boots again. Tsuyoshi wondered if he had ever seen him without boots on. And that tiara, too. Kids and their strange fashion! He chose not to verbalize his thoughts.

"You know the deal, old man. If it tastes bad, you're dead!" Belphegor went to his usual spot, his stomach already rumbling. If there was one thing he loved about Japan, it was sushi. And Tsuyoshi Yamamoto of TakeSushi was the best sushi master he's ever come across—he deserved the "you can't kill me, I have amazing sushi" card from Bel!

"Just sit right there, and I'll get you a full tray of the usual." Tsuyoshi returned the grin (although his was kind and comforting, Bel's was simply threatening) and went through the different seafood he had just checked before the teenager arrived. Nothing says a good day than a fresh start from a wealthy customer, he mused to himself again. He couldn't help but wonder where the other one was at. It's been years since he last saw the two of them but for all the times he's served the blond, he was always accompanied by someone who was just as eager for sushi—maybe the baby was sleeping?

Belphegor sat back and relaxed; he was in a very good mood today. Aside from finally getting world-class sushi, he was here in Japan for a very interesting task. Normally he'd go out of his way to avoid the Vongola, but today, he was here to test Vongolo Decimo's guardians—particularly, the storm. An excuse to fight, an excuse to cause pain—what could be better? And after all these years, he can finally have his due revenge. He might have won in the battle of the Storm Guardians, but even Belphegor admits it was an embarrassing win. He was left bruised and injured when it should have been a flawless victory!

Never again, he told himself, his lips tugging upwards into a chesire-like grin. Tsuyoshi regretted checking up on him just to see the young man being... himself.

It took Tsuyoshi a few short minutes to serve Belphegor's usual tray of sushi, years of practice and expertise equipped him with the swiftness to keep his customers from waiting. And for someone with little to no patience, he was particularly lucky that he was.

"I wasn't sure if your friend was going to arrive, so it's the same amount as always. Eat up!" Tsuyoshi said with a wide, friendly smile.

"Shi shi shi, you're a comedic, old man." Belphegor threw a tamago down his throat. "I have no friends."

"You and that snarkly little infant were in good terms the last time you came." Tsuyoshi begged to differ, his own eyes saw how those two were like and it was odd for him to say he had no one to call a friend. "How old is he? 4? 5?"

The old man had his back turned now, busy cleaning up the other side of the counter. Belphegor was tempted to teach him a lesson for prying, but if he killed him now, he'll never have more sushi. He stuffed his mouth with more of the tamago; it was sweeter and denser than last time, and it was effectively calming Bel down.

Yeah... Can't kill this guy. Even his egg rolls sends him to a happy place.

Belphegor was already done with a half of his sushi tray when Tsuyoshi came back with a jug full of water and two cups. You're pushing it, old man. He swallowed, the fatty bluefin tuna belly, successfully telling his stomach the fight wasn't worth it.

"Good morning!" Came a greeting from a new customer. It was from a woman, judging by the sound of her voice, a very bubbly one too. "I'm ready for my lessons, TakeSushi-san!" She sat right next to Belphegor. Great. Another friendly one.

"I told you many times not to call me that..." Tsuyoshi sighed, but nonetheless, he greeted the girl with the same friendly smile he had given Belphegor.

"But calling you Yamamoto-san reminds me of Takeshi-kun... Hahi! I know you!" The girl exclaimed and was now staring at Belphegor. He was in the middle of savoring his last Unagi—obviously a very crucial moment. He didn't even bother acknowledging the girl and continued eating.

"... well aren't you rude." He could hear a loud 'hmp' coming from her direction. Bah. Women.

"Anyway... TakeSushi-san... Can we get to it right away? I want to surprise him before he wakes up..." Her tone quickly changed to something softer, something gentler. There was just a hint of sheepishness there, and it made Belphegor spare a glance. She was looking expectantly at 'TakeSushi-san', wide eyed and determined, nothing but her pink cheeks hinted that she was feeling a bit shy and flustered.

"Of course, of course. Any friend of my son is welcome here. Now if only you'd surprise him instead." He gave out a hearty laugh before the phone rang and he had to go out to the back.

"Ano... why is the Varia here?" The girl was trying to talk to him again, the name of their Squad sparked his interest and finally, he gave her his attention.

"Shi shi shi..." Belphegor was making her nervous, he can easily tell by the way she flinched and held back what he assumed was a 'hahi'. "Who wants to know?" He asked playfully, his fingers playing with a salmon skin roll.

The brunette shook her head, apparently already giving up, much to Belphegor's dismay. "N-nothing! It's nothing!" It was as if she had just realized what a bad question it was and chose to retreat while it was still early.

Belphegor couldn't allow that. "Japan is a good place to have a vacation." He tried to sound sincere, even pushing his tray forward to offer some of his sushi. Don't take any. He was mentally threatening her despite the wide grin on his face. "I came for the sushi." At least that part was true.

"Oh!" The girl automatically perked up, relief obvious in her face. "In that case, welcome to Japan!"

She took the last fatty bluefin tuna belly and even muttered a thank you. Tsk.

"Haru assumed you're not a very friendly bunch... Except for Lussuria-san! He was very friendly." Mentioning the name of his colleague sparked a bit of interest again. This girl was obviously Vongola, but she seemed too dumb and weak to actually have a part in it. "You used to be Viper-san's partner, right?"

Definitely dumb.

Belphegor took back his tray and couldn't help but frown, "What of it?" Sushi. Just keep eating sushi.

The Hahi-ing Haru pouted when the tray was taken back, but whatever verbal complaint she had, she kept in. Again, she shook her head. "Nothing! It's just she looked very tired and sad. Lussuria-san said it's because she works alone all the time. I think she's getting lonely…"

"That's has nothing to do with the Prince."

The conversation ended there, Tsuyoshi already back with an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry for the delay, Haru-chan. Are you ready?" She quickly nodded, already standing up.

"Need anything else before I head back?" He asked Belphegor, his overly-friendliness already useless on the Varia Prince. Belphegor waved his hand, dismissing him as if he was one of his servants. His attitude was already useless on the kind man, too.

"Ingredients are right there, Haru-san. Let's start with..."

When Belphegor had his fill, he didn't waste any more time at the sushi place. He already found himself eavesdropping at the short Sushi101 session being held near him. Once in a while, he'd look and watch for a while before deeming himself too royal to care about cooking. That's what servants are for, he'd grin to himself right after.

Weird kid, Tsuyoshi would think after catching a glimpse of him doing so.

He paid what he owed and walked out right away, ignoring the good bye of the two. That was enough social interaction for the day. He was already getting sick by allowing himself to be in a room full of happy-go-lucky idiots that he couldn't kill. One was too important to the world of food and the other was Vongola. Even he couldn't get away with harming any of their members if they found out it was he who did it.

"Rude Prince! Wait!" Belphegor kept walking.

"Haru knows you can hear her!" He jumped from house to house.

"TakeSushi-san has something for you!" He stopped, now looking down from the top of a small house's roof.

The brunette finally caught up to him, she was running to keep up, and now she was left panting and out of breath. "W-wait…. Just one second!"

No one will know I killed you if I do it here. He amused himself, already imagining gliding a knife across her neck. No one was around to be a witness, and he wasn't an obvious suspect... especially if her body disappeared. He'd do it slowly, cutting her fingers first for taking his sushi, and then slicing the sides of her mouth, making it wider so her grin could almost match his. Once he's done toying with her, her screams long gone, the blood already drying,, he'd send her sliced head to Mammon, with a note that read, "I heard you were lonely."

It was perfect.

But then he noticed a package in her hands, a bento box, from the looks of it. "What do you want?" He gave her a chance to live, the bento box intriguing him. If it was from the old man, more sushi wouldn't hurt, right?

"He says you should bring this to Viper-san! He heard our conversation, you see. And he made this and said she should come back sometime wit—HAHI!"

Haru dove to the ground, quickly crawling for cover. If she didn't respond as quickly as she did, she was sure the knives he had thrown would hit her directly in the eyes.

"T-that wasn't funny!" She was scared. He could sense it. He could hear it. And now, he can almost taste her blood.

Belphegor's laughter filled the quiet, empty streets. He was just entertaining his bloodlust earlier with thoughts, but now? All he wanted to do was shut that mouth of hers. Permanently.

"Nosy, little hare, aren't you?" He was stepping down from the roofs, taking his precious time down, allowing her fear of him to completely sink in. "Shi shi shi, why are you hiding? The Prince simply wants to play."

Leaping towards her hiding place, head facing the ground, his legs aimed high, Belphegor spotted her crawling away through the trash piles. As if that would help. His lips tugged into a wide grin when she yelped as another knife found its way in front of her. He sent another one on her way, just as she tried to turn, and this time, it scraped her face. I can see you~

Haru quickly stood up and turned around, about to make a run for it, when Belphegor landed right in front of her. His hands were tucked in the pockets of his pants, acting all innocent and harmless— his Chesire-like grin begged to differ. "Do you seriously think I'll let you get away that easil—"

He could feel the red dripping down his mouth, the throbbing pain from his broken nose igniting hysteria. He was looking at the side of the road, spotting his silver tiara rolling to the gutter.

"…you again..."

He was all too familiar where that surprise fist came from and it made him all the more excited, his entire body now trembling in delight. As Gokudera Hayato ran to the injured brunette's aid, Belphegor simply laughed, ignoring the blood that ran all the way down his neck.

"Oi—Haru, the hell are you doing with this freak?" He sounded concerned, worried, and angry at the same time. It was a familiar tone, one Belphegor couldn't point out. He sounded like that once.

"H-hayato!" she sounded happy to see him. Or happy that it was him that came to her rescue. Whatever it was, Belphegor just wanted to tear them apart. "Haru is fine…" But she wasn't, Vongola's dynamite freak clearly didn't believe this was all just for fun. He stood in front of her, ready to shield her from any harm.

"Stand behind me." He said gently although, his cold gaze towards the Prince was far from being loving and sincere.

Belphegor simply dashed forward.

Word Count: 2,256

Notes:

Japan Visit! For the next few chapters, i'm taking the story away from Varia HQ and to good ol Namimori. Just giving aquick update…might release the next one some time this week :)

In case it wasn't obvious, there's already a time skip between this chapter and the last one. Our Prince is getting older (insert hearts here)

Thank you for the awesome reviews by the way! I love hearing from you guys!

What do you think of our side-characters for this 'arc'? TakeSushi-san makes me want to pigout on good ol sushi =A=

If you like this story, reviews are very much appreciated. They urge me to write more and updates faster u

It'd be really cool if you follow the story if you're curious to know what happens to these two, and a few words as a review would be rad.

Oh and since I normally write stuff from Midnight to around 6am, typos and stupidity is inevitable. Feel free to point them out!

Thanks for reading!