November 14th to 20th

From the window, Yuri watched as another snowflake landed noiselessly on the already thick layer covering the streets. Today was Monday, a day when students were normally at school. Still, to anyone accusing Yuri of skipping school, the latter would merely reply that he was following the doctor's instructions to "take it easy during the next two weeks".

Gulping down his fourth cup of coffee, his eyes wandered outside again to the few people brave enough to stand the sudden wave of cold that had struck the country. Apparently the coming winter was going to be harsher than usual, the forecasts predicted snow until January at least; not that Yuri minded. He liked cold and snowy winters, because seeing the whole city covered in white somehow gave him the impression of a pure, taintless city.

Ironically enough, the past four years had been particularly warm, and snow had barely showed up for less than a month. As if to match the four years Yuri had spent dealing with not so clean business. A bitter chuckle escaped his lips at the thought, though his face quickly darkened as another thought came nagging him again. From those four years, one thing remained: a phone number.

Putting down the cup on his desk, Yuri grabbed his phone and walked to his bed where he sat down unceremoniously with a thud. A wince of pain immediately followed and his free hand reached his wound on the side. Since the latter had stopped hurting him continuously, Yuri tended to forget about it, except when making too abrupt movements. The long-haired male cursed silently as he settled a bit more comfortably – and carefully – on the mattress and scrolled down the contact list on his phone.

A twinge of guilt seized him as he scrolled past Flynn's number. Yuri hadn't had any opportunity to talk to the other boy since his last visit at the hospital, and despite repeating over and over again to himself that keeping his distances was the best choice for now, it seemed that another part of him enjoyed reminding him quite cruelly how much he actually wanted to see Flynn. Shaking his head, Yuri kept scrolling.

His eyes landed on the last name which was actually a mere letter. Yuri had chosen to keep a mere 'Y.' instead of the full name, just in case someone had the incongruous idea of sneaking into his stuff, even though he doubted any normal people would even know of that person. The fact remained that Yuri was now more than reluctant to have his name associated with that person; and today he wasn't really sure whether to thank or curse his guts for having kept the number.

Yeager, leader of the Leviathan's Claw, one of the two organizations that ruled the underground world, the other one being Altosk. The rules, no matter which organization you belonged to, were identical and easy: owed favours always had to be paid with other favours, prejudice called for revenge and traitors were disposed of. Most of the business rested on black market, information trade and protection. The protection of the Claw was granted to anyone who asked for it, provided that the requester proved any usefulness with money or skills, or both. Altosk, led by Don Whitehorse, was more or less the same, except that they had taken upon an extra task: keeping the lower quarters of the city under control, which implied getting rid of any excessive troublemakers. A balance of power was kept with the presence of both Altosk and the Leviathan's Claw. It was easy.

How Yuri had ended up in their claws – he almost hit himself at the bad pun – had merely been a sequence of more or less random events. At sixteen, he had left the orphanage with nothing more than Pia's weekly allowances which had allowed him to get a cheap accommodation in the lower quarters for a few months. Odd jobs had been his means of keeping his stomach under control, even if Yuri remembered days when food had been rare. The lower quarters had been a good choice at first, for they were big and the most populated, and those who lived there were either families which couldn't afford the high fees of a crèche for their children; or old, isolated persons who were more than happy to have someone help them with daily tasks such as shopping and cooking.

Cooking. After he had run out of money for his rent, it had been his cooking skills that had saved him, as an old woman had kindly offered him a place to sleep in exchange for keeping her company and making tasty meals. At that time, Yuri had considered himself lucky. However, luck was never meant to last and after the old woman had passed away, Yuri had found himself in a rather delicate situation. A full year had passed since he had left the orphanage. Oh, he had thought of going back there, naturally, but as long as that stubborn Pia refused to kick Zagi out, there was no way Yuri could return to that place.

It was at that moment that his path crossed with Yeager, or more accurately, with two of his protégés. Gauche and Droite, they had called themselves. Of the Leviathan's Claw. They had been observing him for several months, as they always did with every newcomer to the lower quarters. The amount of information in their possession about Yuri had made the latter freeze on the spot, but the two girls had sounded reassuring. He was resourceful, but he was in a pinch, wasn't he? The Leviathan's Claw could help him, in exchange for small favours.

Yuri hadn't hesitated long, though today he wished he had. But what choice did he have at that time? The deal didn't sound so bad, and truth be told, Yuri had been grateful for their help. During four years, he had learnt the ways of the underground, the ways of the Claw and of Altosk. He had learnt to heed Yeager's every piece of advice, and though the man had looked strange at first, Yuri still had the memory of a man who took the protection of his subordinates very seriously. Of course, he hadn't been stupid enough not to realize that most of his activities weren't quite legal, but they had never crossed the crime line.

The reason was easy to understand: it was much handier to work when the police weren't sneaking around too deeply, and though they would regularly patrol in the lower quarters to catch a few troublemakers, they tolerated the presence of Altosk and the Claw as long as the peace in the city wasn't threatened.

In four years, Yuri had fought his place within the Claw well enough to become one of Yeager's favourite subordinates, but as time had passed, a sort of weariness had started taking over him. Maybe it had been tiredness of staying in that world, or the gradual longing to start from scratch again; in any case Yuri had slowly come to realize that he couldn't lead his whole life like that. Tolerated or not, most of his actions were still illegal, and the risk for him to be caught for real was definitely not close to zero. What would Pia say if she could see him like that? And hadn't he fallen much lower than Zagi by now with his actions? It had been those thoughts which had convinced him the most to quit.

Of course doubts had seized him. Would he be considered a traitor if he requested to leave? Would Yeager favour him enough to let him go? The questions had gnawed at him for weeks until he had finally found the courage to talk. Even now, Yuri still had an unpleasant memory of his last encounter with Yeager.

Dark, piercing eyes which reflected no kindness.

"Are you really serious about leaving the Claw? About leaving the family which has supported you all these years?" Yeager asked with a cold voice.

Yuri nodded, schooling his face into what he hoped was confidence.

"You do realize that once you leave, you'll lose all favours from us, don't you? I won't consider you a traitor because you have done a lot for us all this time, but do not expect any warm welcome if you ever need us again."

Yuri nodded again. This time, Yeager sighed, dropping all severity from his face.

"Is there no way for me to convince you to stay?" he asked. "Gauche and Droite are going to be quite disappointed once they learn about your wish to leave."

"I'm sorry. I know all of you did a lot for me, and I'll always be grateful for that, but I feel like this is not the place I'm supposed to be." Yuri replied, knowing perfectly well that his argument was but an empty shell.

"And where do you think you should be? You have no relatives and you cut ties with the woman who raised you. Do you actually imagine that you can suddenly resume a 'normal life' after working so many years for us?"

"I can try. I've managed well before you found me."

"This is not the same, you fool. You managed in the lower quarters, but now you're talking about living in the core of the city itself. People aren't as kind there, Yuri, believe me. They won't accept someone like you, and even if you try to hide your connections to us, someday they will show up, one way or another."

"I've made my decision." Yuri replied stubbornly. "I've already found a job there."

Though Yeager tried to keep an impassive expression, Yuri knew that the last piece of information was new to his boss. A secret pride swelled inside of him.

"Very well." The man said icily. "I see there's no use trying to make you change your mind. I thought you were smarter than this and I can only hope you'll never come to regret your decision. Do remember that we won't welcome you with open arms if you ever show yourself here again."

"I'll remember that."

Yeager would probably be sneering of victory if he could see Yuri right now, unable to decide whether to risk getting in touch with him again or deal with his problems alone. But Flynn had been right. In his current state, Yuri couldn't hope to achieve anything by himself; at least, he needed to heal entirely if he wanted to confront Zagi again – prepared, this time. The only problem was that he couldn't afford waiting for his body to be in perfect shape again. The Claw was his best chance at finding Zagi and disposing of him. They had eyes and ears everywhere, and with a bit of luck, it would only be a matter of a few days before he was caught.

But Yuri had yet to decide what 'dispose of' would imply.

Casting away the last bits of hesitation, he pressed the 'call' button.

"Stop."

At the command, Flynn's arm holding the bow froze and the whole room fell silent. All the students glanced at the teacher except Flynn who knew already what the latter was going to say.

"Flynn, you missed a time. Again."

The other students barely hid the surprise on their faces, giving almost shocked gazes at the blonde male. Flynn, missing a whole time for the fourth time in the same piece?

"I'm sorry, miss Khroma." he apologized with not much conviction.

"You're obviously not focused today." the fine woman replied with a soft smile. "I advise you to go home for today and rest your mind. Come back to the rehearsals once you feel better, but don't forget the coming concert. It'd be a pity if you couldn't perform then."

Swallowing back his frustration, Flynn nodded, stood up from his place and left the orchestra silently, under the questioning and puzzled looks of the other members. His gaze crossed with Karol's and he noticed the younger boy giving him a reassuring smile. Really, it wasn't hard at all for anyone to guess that there was something on Flynn's mind, even if no one actually knew the main cause of his concerns. Putting his violin back into its case, Flynn glanced at his watch and pondered for a few seconds if paying Yuri a visit would be a smart idea.

Learning from Karol that Yuri had been discharged from the hospital had roused a feeling of snub – why hadn't Yuri told him himself? – but now he was trying to ignore it for the sake of their relationship, if there was still one. The thought that Yuri could have considered him as a mere, temporary object of amusement kept bugging him, and every time a knot would tie his stomach.

Flynn quickly dismissed the thought. He had to be understanding. Yuri was probably having a hard time as well, and he most likely didn't have the habit of relying on others for help. If Flynn could make him understand the value of friends, then perhaps things would get better. Making up his mind, he exited the school and headed for Yuri's place, despite the cold. It had stopped snowing but his feet sank deeply in the coat of snow at each step. On his way there, he stopped by a bakery, hoping that the pastries he'd bring would be a good excuse enough to stay at Yuri's place for a bit.

It was a matter of minutes before he reached the entrance of Yuri's building. Noticing that the door was open, he kicked the snow off his shoes, entered and climbed to the last floor. As he was about to knock on Yuri's door, he heard the boy's voice faintly on the other side and the first words he caught made him frown:

"... pay if it's money you want. I just need him found and dealt with quickly."

Flynn stood by the door, clearly troubled. Was Yuri referring to Zagi? Most likely. He felt rather bad eavesdropping like that, but he was also quite sure that Yuri would never tell him anything about his plans towards Zagi.

"... Yes, I remember... Yes, I know the rules of the Claw!... Yes... I-I'm ready to do whatever it takes in exchange for your help."

Who was Yuri talking to? Certainly not the police, from what Flynn could hear. What was that claw Yuri talked about? And that sudden lack of confidence in his tone was quite unusual. There was a longer pause, and at first Flynn thought that the conversation was over, but then Yuri's voice rose again:

"... Tonight, 10. Fine."

The faint sound of footsteps indicated Flynn that the conversation had been put to an end. What was he supposed to do now? Knock and pretend he had heard nothing? Surely Yuri wasn't so stupid, especially with such timing. Yet Flynn could definitely not ignore the fact that Yuri was probably getting himself into some kind of trouble. Whoever he had asked help from couldn't possibly be a friend, given Yuri's uneasy tone. And what was going to happen at 10 pm?

Flynn bit his lip, uncertain of the next course of action. He hadn't come here with the intention of messing up the already delicate relationship there was between both of them; at the same time, he wouldn't forgive himself for leaving Yuri on his own out of pure cowardice.

He knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened and Flynn didn't have any trouble reading annoyance, then surprise and finally reservation successively on Yuri's face. The blonde male smiled with what he hoped looked like a natural smile and greeted the other boy:

"Good afternoon, Yuri. I was told you got out of the hospital so I thought I'd pay you a visit. I brought some cakes." he added quickly as he showed the small bag he was carrying.

To his relief, Yuri's gaze softened before a faint smirk appeared on his lips:

"I hope you weren't the one who baked them?" he asked.

"No, I wasn't. It wouldn't be very polite from me to try and poison you after you barely got discharged." Flynn replied, chuckling.

"In that case you are allowed to come in." Yuri said, inviting Flynn in. "Want some coffee? You look quite frozen."

"Do I? Well, I guess the fact that it's -5°C outside must have something to with it." Flynn replied as he removed his gloves, scarf and coat and put them on a chair nearby. "And yes, a cup of coffee will be more than welcome."

"Sit on the bed. I'll bring cups and plates for the cake."

There was no kiss, no hug, nothing. Flynn dismissed the faint disappointment.

A minute later, Yuri put a tray with the aforementioned items on the bedside table and settled himself next to Flynn, a plate of cake in his hands.

"How is your wound?" the blonde boy asked, warming up his hands on the cup of coffee.

"Healing quite well. It doesn't hurt too much so I guess it's fine. The doc wants me to come back to the hospital in two weeks for a check-up, though. In the meantime I'm supposed not to move around too much."

"That's good to hear. So we won't get to see you at school for the next two weeks?"

Yuri shrugged. "That's the one advantage at being stabbed. Oh, you picked a nice chocolate cake." he added, his mouth full. Flynn wanted to believe that Yuri was acting normally, and yet the distant tone the latter had used didn't help him much.

"How about your job?"

"Ah, I guess I'll make an exception for that. I can't afford three weeks with no income."

"If that's the only problem, I can cover for whatever expenses you have. Your recovery comes first."

"I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather work by myself." Yuri replied, his voice suddenly hesitant. "I... As much as possible, I prefer not to owe anyone anything."

"You wouldn't owe me anything, Yuri." Flynn retorted, gazing straight at Yuri. "I'd be more than glad to help you in any way I can."

"Thanks, but hey, don't worry. I'm tougher than that. It's not like my job is particularly exhausting." Yuri went on with a lighter tone.

"Alright. But if you need something, don't hesitate to ask." Flynn replied, slightly disappointed. Yuri was willing to ask for help from some probably shady people and yet he refused Flynn's support. Taking a sip from his cup, he pondered on whether to talk about the conversation he had overheard earlier.

In the meantime, Yuri cleaned up his plate without another word and put it back on the tray before sitting back, leaning against the wall. A small sigh escaped his lips.

"What's wrong?" Flynn inquired.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Various stuff."

"Yuri... If it's about Zagi, then I keep thinking that you shouldn't handle this on your own. This could be dangerous and you can't-"

"Flynn, listen." Yuri cut him in. He then turned to Flynn, a crease between his brows. "I'm grateful for your concern and all, but let me repeat this once again: it's my own business, and I don't want you to meddle in it." he declared, dead serious.

The blonde boy stared at him for a few seconds.

"You're asking me to leave you alone in this mess." he finally said. "How can you expect me to do that?"

"Because this doesn't concern you, and I don't need more people mingling into it." Yuri replied, his tone hardening. "What could you do anyway? It's not like you have the power to find Zagi and send him back to jail in a second."

Flynn looked away and bit his lip. Yuri was partly right. Partly, because Flynn actually had the power to do such a thing. In theory. His family had enough influence for that. Now the main obstacle – and not the smallest one – was how he could use his name without his parents realizing it. If at least their business had anything to do with law or justice, he could have used it as an excuse; unfortunately the Scifo were merely the owners of one of the world's top companies in oil, gas and renewable energies. Sodia, being in the pharmaceutical department, couldn't be of much help either – not that Flynn would have wanted to owe her any favour.

"It doesn't mean you have to take care of this all alone." he replied, barely convinced by his own words.

"Maybe not, but I also don't need people who can't help me." Yuri let out with disdain.

Deep inside, the dark-haired male was struggling against himself in order to keep a cold and detached voice, but each word he pronounced seemed like a trial to him. He desperately wanted to keep Flynn by his side; however, he couldn't afford dragging him into what could turn into a hazardous chase. For now Zagi had proven that he was willing to kill with no hesitation. It had gone far beyond children's quarrels.

"You'd only get in the way." he added.

Right. Look at me with those hurt eyes of yours.

"And besides, I know a few people who could actually help me."

Ah yes. That typical puzzlement whenever you're upset. You're too predictable, Flynn. Now ask me who they are.

"Who? You said you wanted to deal with this by yourself."

And of course, that half-repressed angry tone. My dear Flynn, anger is still the one emotion you always fail to hide.

"Some acquaintances."

You're not satisfied with this answer, are you?

"Whom you were talking to earlier?"

Bang. I was right to think you may have heard me.

"Eavesdropping now? That doesn't sound like you at all."

"It wasn't on purpose. But don't change the topic. Who are they?"

"Honestly, it's none of your business. I don't have to report to you every person I know." Yuri replied harshly. "And it seems that you misunderstood something. I don't know if you thought that you are some kind of knight and I'm the damsel in distress, but if that's the case, then get that stupid idea out of your head. I've managed all those years pretty well by myself, and it's not some filthy rich kid who's gonna teach me how to live. You can't help me, so I don't need you. If you have nothing new to tell me, I suggest you don't waste more of my time – and yours. Surely you must have plenty of other stuff to do beside annoying me?"

The last answer triggered the final act. Flynn stood up abruptly, clearly offended, and stared at Yuri with a mix of anger and disappointment. It took a few seconds for words to come out, but in the end the only thing the blonde boy replied was:

"I see. I guess I was probably wrong about you. Thank you for showing me who you really are."

The seconds that separated those last words from the moment when the door of Yuri's studio was slammed shut could have almost been counted on one hand.

Yuri let out a loud sigh and leant his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

"Shit." It had been tougher than what he had believed. But at least now he didn't have to worry about Flynn anymore.

Strangely enough, the thought definitely didn't comfort him at all.

Flynn was a mess of rage and fury and the whole snow of the world wouldn't have been enough to cool him down. The taxi driver had made an attempt at conversing, but Flynn's icy response had been enough to convince him that it was a better idea to shut up.

The blonde male still couldn't believe how much of a fool he had been to believe that Yuri could have held a genuine interest in him. Apparently he must have thought it fun to seduce a 'filthy rich kid' and then dump him afterwards. So Yuri had been playing all along. And he had played well. All the time they had spent together had felt real enough for Flynn to be completely tricked.

Too real, actually. So real that doubt flashed through Flynn's mind. Was it really possible for someone to pretend that well? From what he could remember, Yuri had always looked quite pleased in his company. Maybe he had actually enjoyed some parts of their short relationship, after all. If Flynn had been in a cooler mood, he may have believed it; yet right now he could only shake his head at his own credulity.

Furthermore, the fact that Yuri had messed up dramatically with his personal life made the whole matter much more difficult to digest. It was because of Yuri that he had turned Sodia down, it was because of Yuri that his well-planned future had crumbled to pieces, it was because of Yuri that he had started working hard on projects to become independent.

All for nothing.

No, not quite. Flynn was going to keep working hard, for himself, to prove to his parents that he was strong enough to stand on his own and that he didn't need anyone to write his future for him. There was still a long way until his goals were reached, but he wouldn't forgive himself if he were to give up now.

At least, that short adventure with Yuri wouldn't have been completely useless.

Strangely enough, the knot in his stomach didn't loosen up much at the thought.

10.30 pm. Still no one in sight in the narrow and badly lit street in the lower quarters. Yuri swallowed back his impatience, knowing fairly well that Yeager was making him wait out of sheer amusement. Half of Yuri's face was hidden behind a thick scarf, and the warm coat he was wearing was preventing him from being completely frozen; still, it wasn't a pleasant wait.

Finally, a voice rose behind him:

"Good evening, Yuri. Glad to see you again."

From the darkest end of the street, two silhouettes soon appeared and Yuri didn't have any trouble identifying the two girls walking to him, their faces almost identical save for the hair, pale green on one and dark pink on the other one.

"Oh, if it isn't Gauche and Droite!" Yuri greeted as naturally as he could. The sole street lamp lit the girls' smiling faces. The smiles didn't reassure Yuri that much. "How have you been doing all this time?"

"Better than you, I guess." Gauche replied.

"At least we weren't stabbed by an insane guy seeking revenge." Droite added.

"That was just bad luck." Yuri shrugged.

"You got softer, Yuri. A year ago, whoever attacked you would end up in a pretty bad shape." Gauche went on.

"I got careless. That won't happen again."

"We hope so, for your own sake." Droite said. "Anyway, we have a message from Yeager. He said that if you want us to find Zagi for you, you'll have to be ready to pay back the favour at any time he requests. Should you fail to keep your end of the bargain... well, you know what happens."

"What exactly does he want from me?" Yuri asked.

"For now, nothing since Zagi hasn't been found yet. But you should expect to get back to work once we get a grip on him."

"By 'get back to work', you mean-"

"We hope for you that you haven't forgotten too much about everything you've learnt from Yeager those past years."

Yuri gritted his teeth, despite having expected the outcome. So Yeager wanted him to work for him again. Though he was in no position to argue, he didn't feel comfortable agreeing to the deal so easily. He had a life as a student, a part-time job, friends, Pia... he tried not to think of Flynn. Later, when everything was settled, he'd go back to Flynn. If the latter still accepted him.

Apparently, his hesitation was visible, for Droite went on:

"Don't worry too much. You know Yeager, and he's not a cruel man. Normally, after one equivalent favour you'd have been out of your debt, but since you left us despite Yeager's warning, he'll expect you to repay the Claw with something bigger. But once you're done with it, you'll be clean again. Consider yourself a normal customer. Well, not exactly normal, but something like that."

"He'd let me go that easily?" Yuri asked sceptically.

"Who said it's going to be easy?" Gauche asked back. "Requesting our help after leaving is a big deal, and you'll have to be ready to pay a higher price than usual."

"You aren't giving me much choice."

"Of course we are. You can choose to refuse our deal and we'll pretend this conversation never existed. Naturally, it may become harder for you to retrieve Zagi."

Yuri forced a laugh. "Yeah, let's call it an option. Well, I made my mind before coming here. I know the rules of the Claw, and I'll follow them. But just make sure you find the bastard before someone else is hurt."

"That will be a child's game." Droite replied with a grin. "Yeager will be much pleased with your answer. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll go report to him now."

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Yuri." Gauche added.

It was a matter of second before both girls vanished from Yuri's sight. Now the only thing left for him was to wait.

Flynn frowned as he saw the name of the person who had just sent him an email. Raven Schwann. Flynn had never had any class with him, so why? The subject field was blank, increasing Flynn's curiosity. He opened the email and read the extremely short message:

'Dear Mr Scifo,

As Mr Lowell's friend, I'd be very grateful if you could come to my office tomorrow at noon and take the lecture notes of the classes your friend has missed recently.

Sincerely,

Raven Schwann'

The request by itself held nothing strange; yet Flynn couldn't help but frown as he read the message again. He started typing a reply, then hesitated as he remembered that he was no longer Yuri's friend now. Well, he could always give the notes to Karol who'd hand them to Yuri.

The next day, he knocked at the door of Raven Schwann's office and waited for the answer before stepping in. The middle-aged man greeted him with a smile:

"Ah! Mr Scifo, come in. Please close the door behind you and take a seat." he gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

Flynn frowned mentally at the invitation. Wasn't Schwann simply going to give him a few papers? Apparently his silent question reflected well on his face, for Schwann chuckled before speaking:

"Ah yes, I hope you do have a few minutes to spare as well, since I'd like to inquire about how Mr Lowell is faring."

"Oh, of course, though I fear there isn't much to say." Flynn replied as he sat down. "Yuri has been discharged from the hospital, and he's supposed to go back there in two weeks for a check-up. For now he's resting at home, as instructed by his doctor."

"I see. Any news about the culprit? Did the police say anything?"

"Nothing that I've heard of."

Raven nodded distractedly to himself. "I figured as much. Having a student stabbed for no apparent reason is quite a rare case here, and the police are very slow to react. Your friend really has no idea why and who attacked him?"

"...I-He told me he doesn't know." Flynn replied, but seeing the teacher narrowing his eyes, he knew that the faint hesitation in his tone had betrayed him.

"This is an important matter. He could have died. Well, I guess you must wondering why I'm insisting like this since I'm not even a relative of his, but he's still one of my students, and it's completely understandable to be confused when facing such a situation. That's why I'm asking again: are you certain there isn't a single detail you or Yuri remember and which can help identify the culprit?"

Flynn lowered his gaze, pretending to search his memory while he was actually considering what to reply. Raven Schwann was a mere teacher, what could he do if Flynn told him the truth? At the same time, there was nothing to lose by telling him. Maybe, as an adult, he could even convince Yuri to stop acting stupidly. Flynn couldn't help but feel that the man sitting in front of him looked much more resourceful that what he let appear. It was perhaps due to that tempered look in his eyes along with that aura of self-confidence mixed with fake carelessness.

It was at that moment that Flynn remembered a quite important detail: he wasn't supposed to worry about Yuri anymore, as the latter had clearly made him understood that he was a hindrance. Flynn's fists clench unconsciously at the thought. What did he owe Yuri? The latter had brought him more trouble than anything else, and Flynn was determined to dismiss that short episode of his life from his mind as quickly as possible.

Still... No matter how much Yuri had deceived him, the fact remained that a person's life was most certainly at stake, and Flynn knew he'd regret it if he decided to simply ignore that fact. Looking up at Raven again, he finally spoke:

"Actually, there is something you may want to know..."

"Hello Raven."

"Ahh, my dear Judy, how pleasant it is to hear your lovely voice tonight!"

"Is there something I can do for you? I guess you haven't phoned me just for my voice." Judith chuckled.

"You underestimate the power of your voice, my dear." Raven replied charmingly, but his tone soon turned serious. "Anyway, today I had a small talk with Flynn Scifo about Yuri Lowell's case, and you'll never guess what he told me."

"I'm listening."

"Apparently the one who stabbed the kid is an acquaintance of his who seems to hold a grudge from the time they were living together at an orphanage."

"That's a serious grudge, if that acquaintance went as far as to try to kill Yuri."

"And it's not the best part of the story. Flynn mentioned that he overheard Yuri talking on the phone about the rules of the Claw."

"The rules of the- Raven, don't tell me-"

"I'm quite sure you must have an idea of what he meant. I just need to confirm it myself."

There was a second of silence before Judith spoke again:

"Raven, it sounds completely unrealistic for Yuri to be involved with the Leviathan's Claw. Maybe Flynn misheard."

"That's what I thought too, but it doesn't hurt to do a little background check."

"It's been a long time since I last heard you talking about investigations. Missing some action?"

"You can say that."

"Be careful, Raven. You've left that world a long time ago, and you told me yourself that you prefer your current life as a teacher far better."

"Not that long ago! You make me sound older than I actually am." Raven pretended to sound offended. He heard another chuckled.

"Right. So you plan to get in touch again with Alexei?"

"The police? Nah. I already owe quite a lot to Alexei, I don't want to increase my debt towards him. Since the Leviathan's Claw is apparently involved, I was more thinking of asking the Don."

"Oh. So you want to dig directly underground, don't you? Well, if that's the case, why are you telling me this?"

"Another opinion is always welcome. And I thought that you may be interested in joining me."

"Well, even if you keep pretending that you'd rather spend a quiet life with no trouble, I know you well enough to tell that you're getting bored. So I won't be the one to stop you. And though the idea of joining you is appealing, I'm afraid my duties are keeping me too busy. However, I'm interested in anything you'll have found. Also, just a warning: several years have passed, you can't be sure that nothing has changed during that time. Make sure that you're still in the Don's favours. And... there's still that matter with Yeager... If the Leviathan's Claw is really involved, you may not-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. About the Don, there shouldn't be any problem on that side. He remembers his friends well. As for Yeager, what can I say? This story belongs to the past."

"If you say so."

"Well, my lovely Judy, thank you for your concern. I'll keep you informed if I find anything interesting."

"Alright. Let's hope it's not something too serious."

As Raven hung up, melancholy flashed in his eyes for a second at the reminiscence of that 'matter with Yeager'. A single name escaped his lips silently as the smiling face of a woman painted in his mind.

"Casey..."

A faint smile soon adorned his lips, though. It had been so long since he had last chatted with Don Whitehorse.

The end of the week arrived quickly, with no news from Yeager whatsoever, which started to make Yuri worried. Was Zagi hiding so well? Or was Yeager deliberately taking his sweet time as payback?

There were also a few other topics of concern for him: his friends. Karol and Rita had dropped by during the week to give him some lecture notes on Flynn's behalf. Karol had naturally asked if the two of them had gotten in a fight; and while he had taken Yuri's negative answer with a satisfied nod, Rita had narrowed her eyes with suspicion. Estelle had phoned him for news and hadn't seemed to suspect anything.

Yuri had to act as naturally as he could in order not to raise too many questions, and yet the memory of his last talk with Flynn kept nagging him ceaselessly. He simply couldn't forget the hurt look in those sapphire eyes, or the contained anger in his voice as he left. But it had been the best choice, Yuri repeated to himself for the hundredth time. He'd simply need to go and apologize to Flynn once everything was over.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: And there you have some of Yuri's past. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!