Part 2 of the Taming of the Shrewd. This time though, it's an entire chapter on Youhei. Maybe I should change to a better title. Any suggestions??

Disclaimers: I own anyone that does not belong to Inoue Takehiko. =P

The sound of bike engine being cut off echoed off the walls of this particular street. Mito Youhei took off his helmet & stuffed it in the back of his scooter. Climbing the steps rather tiredly, from the earlier marathon away from a pissed-off girl, he stopped short. A man in a navy blue stood primly in front of his house, checking his watch & glancing around the corridor, unfortunately, catching sight of Youhei turning & getting ready to run downstairs.

"Oi, chotto matte!" he quickly strode over, grabbing Youhei's shoulder.

"Hanase," he growled in a deep, menacing voice. When the hand refused to leave him, he reached behind, grabbed the hand & pinned the guy in the suit to the parapet, twisting the arm behind his back.

"Woah~, you're good!" That remark caused Youhei to blink in surprise. "Listen, could you please loosen your grip? I have something to give you," And he did. The guy gave a sigh of relief & adjusted his suit jacket. "I'm here today to inform you that you are required to be at the Watanabe Firm tomorrow at 3pm. I'll be at the lobby for you."

"And you are…?"

"Oh! Right… I'm Yamada Kazuki, this is my name card," Youhei watched in amusement as the guy fumble with his briefcase to retrieve the said name card & something else. A white envelop with his name printed in bold on it. "This is also for you. We'll go through everything tomorrow,"

'Why would a lawyer personally come down to find me just to give me a letter?' he thought suspiciously.

"Yamada-san, I don't think a lot of lawyers would do house calls, since you can't charge by the hour, so could you stop beating around the bush & tell me why are you here?"

"…Gomen nasai. I knew you'd feel skeptical about this. I tried raising this to my boss but they said they have to follow exactly as the will said,"

"Will? Who else died & why the hell am I included?" He felt blood drain from his face. The reason he went to his "special place" today was that he received word that both his parents died in an accident in Hokkaido. The local authorities are getting the full story & Youhei knew he would have to look for a lawyer to push forward his emancipation soon. He was still considered a minor & there wasn't anyone related to him who could be his guardian. All of them are either dead or at least 10 miles away. Even if he had some relatives, he wouldn't want to trouble them.

"…We'll know everything tomorrow ok?"

'We? God, this guy is pathetic…' Youhei grimaced inwardly. '…Now I'm starting to feel like the angel of death or something. Everyone within the 1-metre radius of me will start dying…'

"Ok, I'll be there tomorrow. I have to know why…and you ain't giving me answers"

"Ok!  See you then,"

~~~

"Yo, Hanamichi. I wouldn't be going to the extra lesson later. Cover up for me okay?"

"Youhei, are you alright? Your eye bags are so dark we're gonna call in the WHO to inform them that we have a missing panda with us,"

"Sakuragi Hanamichi!! You just cracked your first real joke!! I'm impressed!" The familiar sparkle finally returned to his best friend's dark eyes. "Coz most of the times, you were making lames jokes."

"Kono yarou~!!" the redhead slapped Youhei's back, causing him to almost trip. "Promise me that the first thing you do is go catch some Zs. I don't want to see you fall asleep on your two feet. You're still human, Youhei. Don't overwork yourself, okay?"

"Yes mom," Youhei forced a grin on his face. He hated lying to people, especially people who cared. But he hated being pitied even more. "Well, I should be going so, see ya tomorrow then."

"Okay,"

Sakuragi Hanamichi, the same red-head monkey who slam dunked on someone else's head, the same red-head monkey who crashed into the gym doors or walls countless of times just to keep the ball in play, the same red-head monkey who forced him else too hard and developed a back problem was lecturing about pushing himself over the limit.

'The trip to America did do him more good, not only to his back…' Youhei caught himself thinking that thought & hastily stopped himself. He chuckled & boarded the train bound for Watanabe Firm.

~~~

"Konnichiwa, Mito-kun. You're punctual, unlike most youngsters this days,"

"It's what my parents always taught me, Yamada-san," Youhei plastered a small smile on his face & followed the lawyer. It was only now he had a chance to see Yamada clearly & he was shocked to see that his lawyer was young—25 perhaps. The trip up the elevator was silent, except for the music playing in the background.

"Well, here we are…my office," the older man held open the door for Youhei to enter. A simple table made of redwood sat in the middle, one armchair on the side near the floor-to-ceiling window, 2 metal frame ones on the other side, facing the armchair. A surprisingly striking lime green couch backed against the wall to the left stood out like a sore thumb in this standard executive office.

"Thought this place looked too dull so I added a little personal touch to it," Yamada nodded towards the couch.

"Sou ka?" The good-natured smile hardened as he let Mito to the table.

"Now, Mito-kun, I'm betting you're wondering who left you the money, am I correct?" the dark-haired youth nodded.

"This person had done a lot to keep his existence unknown to you. But even though he does not approve of your parent's marriage, he still considers you as family," He paused, trying to read the emotions of the currently stoic boy. "I'm sure you could guess who this is by now, can't you?"

"My grandfather?" Mito whispered weakly. For all his life, his only kin were his parents & now, a whole family tree dropped in.

"Yes, your grandfather. He left you a hefty sum but on one condition,"

"…Hai?"

"You have to adopt the lifestyle of the upper-class society,"

"What!?!?" Yamada grinned.

"I know. But think of the money, lad. Other people would kill for that amount of money & all you have to do is to live like the rich!!"

"But my school…I wouldn't be changing school, would I?"

"Nope. Everything stays the same,"

"Phew! For a second there, I thought I would have to study with spoilt rich snobs,"

"Well, you don't have ta. But you DO have to learn all the rules, etiquettes & such," the lawyer gave a light chuckle. "Personally, I'd really like to see how you turn out. Although we've not known each other for long, I do believe you're not accustomed to rules & regulations, especially to your life, no?"

"Uh…jackpot,"

"Alright then, my pauper-turned-prince, I'll have to go through the legal stuffs," Mito groaned & rubbed his temple. "Sorry Youhei-kun, it's in my job description to bore clients with law school jargons."

And thus, the rest of the afternoon was spent going through the details (in simple words at Youhei's insistence).

T.B.C.

Well, I continued it. I had another idea with Youhei in mind after I finished half of the original part 2 so I scraped the 1st one & used the second idea. It seems more fun. Hope I don't get trashed… More of Shira next chapter…if I remember to write the next chapter.

Read & review people.

^_~