Hayato quietly wiped the glass with a thin towel, thankful tonight was a slow night. Not many customers and not much to do, unlike some days which would leave him so exhausted that he would sleep in class. Juudaime always looked nervous for Hayato's sake whenever that happened.
The bar's door opened with a soft click, breaking Hayato's train of thought. A vaguely familiar man stepped in.
Surprise swept across his countenance when his eyes landed on Hayato behind the counter. Hayato bristled defensively, even though the patron's reaction was completely understandable. Not only did Hayato look underage, he was young. The man couldn't have known that Hayato had experience with bartending.
The other man ambled towards Hayato's direction, taking a seat directly across him. Up close, Hayato could see why the man looked familiar. This was the man Reborn-san told him to throw a bomb near when he saw him by the school entrance. He also worked at the restaurant that Juudaime was volunteering at for extra credit, along with the baseball freak and Hayato himself.
"Aren't you too young to be working here?" the man said as soon as he was seated. He raised an eyebrow at him and Hayato scowled.
"Mind your own business," Hayto sneered. "What I do is none of your business."
"Wow, look who got off the wrong side of the bed," the man commented. As though recognizing Hayato was on the verge of bursting (and here he thought he would have a peaceful evening), the man quickly changed the topic, although an amused look was still on his face. Hayato longed to punch that look off; the man was rubbing him wrong in every way, and they've only interacted for a few minutes. "Make me something."
"What?" Hayato snapped, his patience running thin. Vague bastard.
"Anything," the man said, spreading his arms. "Anything."
Hayato stalked away, feeling inexplicably annoyed. For a moment, he considered making him the strongest drink they have so he would get plastered, but then the logical side of him kicked in. Hayato didn't want to cause any trouble for the owner of the bar, not after he allowed Hayato to work here despite being underage.
In the end, he made a semi-expensive drink for the man instead. The man would certainly have enough on him to pay for it, but he wouldn't be happy to pay so much for such a small drink.
Hayato scoffed as he watched the man drink. He pitied those who always looked at the quantity to see if it was worth the cost. To Hayato, it was always quality over quantity. After all, someone could have a houseful of shit and it wouldn't be anything compared to a handful of gold.
"Hey," the man called, drawing Hayato's attention to himself.
"What?" Hayato snapped.
"This is pretty good," he commented. Hayato stared, because he couldn't remember the last time someone complimented him. "Give me another one, kid."
Hayato snapped out of his stupor. "I'm not a kid," he hissed. "And of course it's good. I made it and it's expensive. Can you even afford another one?"
He asked about the price and Hayato told him. If Hayato wanted to see the man's eyes bulge out and stare at the drink he had drank, unable to believe how expensive it was, Hayato would have been disappointed. The man raised his eyebrows once again, before waving off the price.
"It's fine," he said. "Get me another one. I haven't splurged for a while."
"You better have enough to pay later," Hayato warned, before going to prepare another one.
The man smirked. "Don't underestimate me, kid."
"It's Gokudera," Hayato snapped. "Stop 'kid'ing me."
"Sure, Gokudera," he said, and all of a sudden, Hayato regretted giving the man his name. He flashed a smile at him. "Name's Yusuke."
Xxx
"Stop following me," Hayato hissed minutes after his shift ended and he was heading home. "Don't you have anywhere else to be?"
"Nope," Yusuke answered, both hands folded casually behind his neck. "You, on the other hand, do."
"Piss off," Hayato snarled. "What I do is none of your business."
"Look, I'm not really getting all in-your-face, am I?" Yusuke said reasonably. "You're the only one who is so bothered. I'm not giving you shit about your job or even asking why you need one in the first place, like a responsible adult should be doing. I just wanna make sure you get home safely."
Hayato looked at Yusuke, recognizing the sincerity in his voice. "This isn't the first time I walked home at 11," he said, calming down a little but still not willing to back down. "And I'm not someone whose virtue needs protecting. You following me are completely unnecessary."
"You're still a kid," Yusuke pointed out and annoyance within Hayato flared up again. "Just let me walk you home for the sake of my peace of mind, alright?"
"Do whatever you want," Hayato hissed, tired of fruitlessly trying to change a stubborn bastard's mind. A thought occurred to him and he whirled around. "You better not speak of this to anyone."
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"My working at a bar," Hayato said. "I don't want Juudaime to worry and I certainly don't want anyone's pity."
Yusuke shrugged. "Sure," he said. "Wasn't gonna tell anyone anyway."
Hayato leveled a gaze at him for a moment, before nodding curtly.
They ambled silently along for a few minutes, before a loud scream rang out. Hayato started, a testament of how much he let his guard down after Yusuke declared he only wanted to make sure he got home safely. Hayato inwardly sneered at his own weakness, jaded mind knowing better than to trust anyone other than himself, before moving towards the scream.
He wasn't anyone's hero, but that didn't mean he wouldn't help someone in need.
Hayato sensed a presence following closely to him and a glance to the right revealed it to be Yusuke. "Leave, you'll just get in the way," Hayato told him, but before Yusuke could reply, he spotted two figures in the alleyway.
Two figures on the ground, one on top of another and the one against the ground was struggling. It wasn't hard to see what was up.
"The fuck are you doing?" Hayato shouted anyway, rushing towards the two.
The figure on the top flinched and looked up. At the sight of Hayato approaching, he scrambled up, the object in his hand glistening in the dark. It was a knife.
The man took one look at Hayato's enrage face and hightailed towards the other opening of the alley.
"Oh no, you don't," Hayato said, quickly whipping out his dynamites. He sent four after the man and booms soon followed. Hayato rushed forward, diverting his eyes and passing the woman on the ground in favor of securing the rapist. Hayato didn't want to think about how he would deal with her later.
"You sick bastard," Hayato growled, pressing a knee against the battered up man and twisting his arm back painfully. The man cried.
"Let me go!" the man shouted. Hayato grabbed the man by his hair and viciously slammed his head against the ground.
"Shut the fuck up," Hayato hissed. In the background, he could hear soft sobs, followed by a low reassuring voice. Yusuke.
Hayato turned and saw Yusuke by the woman's side, looking uncomfortable with the situation and trying to calm the woman down. He was holding out his outerwear to the woman.
When the woman made no move to take it, Yusuke reached out and the woman flinched. Her whole body began shaking and sobs could be heard from her. Yusuke carefully draped the outerwear on top of her, his hand never once making contact.
Yusuke glanced down the alleyway and his eyes met Hayato's. Leaving the woman to herself, Yusuke moved towards Hayato. He bent down to Hayato's level as soon as they were in speaking range, his eyes flicking briefly to the rapist.
"You should go, Gokudera," Yusuke spoke lowly, probably so the rapist wouldn't hear.
"What-!"
Yusuke silenced him with a sharp look and Hayato instantly quiet down without really meaning to. "You're underage," Yusuke said. "It'll be fishy for you to be found around here."
'What does that have to do with anything?' Hayato wanted to asked, except between putting more weight on the rapist to stop him from attempting to buckle Hayato off and talking to Yusuke, Hayato's brain finally worked it out.
Hayato was underage. It was late right now. He had no reason to be out here and had no reason to have come across the scene, except he did have a reason. He was working. Underage. At a bar.
There was no way the police wasn't going to ask about that.
Hayato glanced back at the sobbing woman. "What about her?" he asked.
"I think you came in time," Yusuke said solemnly. "Besides some bruises and scratches, she doesn't seem to be hurt." He paused. "Well, that and she was almost raped, so there is some shock involved."
Hayato nodded, thinking over his options. He really should go. There was nothing else he could do here. Except…
"I'll take care of the rest," Yusuke said. "Go home and get some sleep. You have school tomorrow, don't you?"
Hayato nodded affirmative. "But can you handle this?" Hayato asked, sharp eyes looking over Yusuke. "I didn't capture this guy just to let you accidentally let him go."
Yusuke huffed. "Have more faith. I'm stronger than you think. I can keep him in place for a few minutes to wait for the police to arrive."
But despite hearing the confidence in Uramehsi's voice, Hayato still hesitated. His gaze went back to the woman, feeling as though he should be able to do something for her. Yusuke's gaze followed his.
"You can't do anything to help her now," Yusuke said lowly. Hayato knew that was true. He wasn't a doctor, nor was he a psychologist. There was nothing else he could do there.
Mind made, Hayato gestured for Yusuke to take his place and Yusuke did. "I'll call the police with the nearest payphone," Hayato said, eyes darkening with anger as he gaze landed on the attempt-rapist. "They shouldn't take long, so make sure he doesn't escape until they arrive."
Yusuke rolled his eyes, which was entirely inappropriate for the situation. "Yes, mom. Now go."
Hayato nodded stiffly and went.
Yusuke watched him go, before bringing his attention to the attempt-rapist. He yanked his head up, watching impassively as the man choked. "I'm going to let you up, you hear me?" Yusuke asked lowly. The man nodded quickly, jerkily. "Don't think about running. I promise you you won't get far."
Yusuke didn't wait for the man's reply before tugging the man up. Then, he let go of the man and jumped two steps back. Predictably, the rapist tried to run.
Yusuke sighed mockingly, almost mournfully. "Don't you know not to run in face of a hound?" Yusuke said softly, shaking his head mockingly. His eyes flashed dangerously and in a second, he was in front of the running man. The rapist let out a cry, eyes widening to the point of bulging. "It makes them want to give a chase."
Yusuke's hand slammed into the other man's stomach and he was sent flying down the alleyway. Yusuke followed, slowly and lazily, prowling his way to the other man.
The rapist let out a whimper as Yusuke's shadow fell on him. "Please," the man begged, practically choking his words out through his cloud of pain.
"That's not for me to decide, I'm 'fraid," Yusuke drawled and the rapist let out another whimper when he heard not a hint of mercy in his voice. "Get up," Yusuke ordered.
The man sobbed and curled up on the floor. In the back of his mind, Yusuke noted there was only one sound of sobbing now. Yusuke looked down at the man. "Not gonna move?" Yusuke asked.
The man resolutely attempted to ignore Yusuke now that he knew begging clearly wasn't going to work.
Yusuke gave the man another second, but when he didn't respond, Yusuke brought his feet up and stomped down.
"Arg!" the man cried and Yusuke slowly lowered himself down to the man' level.
"How about now?" he asked, putting more pressure on his feet. The man let out a strangled cry. "Either you move or I'll move you and trust me," Yusuke said lowly, "you wouldn't want the second option."
"I'll…" the man out got.
"You'll move?" Yusuke asked. A smile so at odds with the current situation spread across his face. "Brilliant."
He stood, deliberately stepping on the man a moment longer than necessary, before getting off. The man immediately staggered up, although with great difficulty. Yusuke jerked his head to the woman's direction. "Walk."
The man walked, fearfully and slowly as though to his own execution. Yusuke could see the woman finally stopped crying and was then watching them wide-eyed. She shook as they approached, her eyes darting between Yusuke and the rapist. Like she didn't know who was the bad guy anymore. Her eyes lingered on the rapist, eyes wide like she couldn't believe minutes ago that was the same man who had so much power over her. Now he was just a sniveling man.
"On your knee and apologize," Yusuke hissed. The man dropped on his knees and did as he was told. The woman continued to stare at the man for a long while, before slowly moving her gaze to Yusuke. Yusuke bent down to her level and the woman drew back. Yusuke didn't let it bother him and softened his voice. "What do you want to be done with him?" he asked.
The woman stared at him, like she couldn't believe he was giving her a choice. The man's head shot up, staring between Yusuke and the woman. "I…" she said, her voice cracking.
"I can kill him right now," Yusuke said softly. "Just say the words and this man who had attempted to hurt you would be dead," he said, his voice hypnotic. "Would you like that?"
The rapist let out a choke at those words, able to tell from Yusuke's expression that he was deadly serious, and turned to face the woman. "I'm sorry!" the man cried, slamming his forehead against the ground. "I promise I won't have force myself on anyone ever again. Please, don't kill me," he begged, tears streaming down his face. "I don't want to die."
"You want him dead, don't you?" Yusuke continued. "For daring to cause you so much harm and fear. For making you feel powerless. You want him to feel the same."
The woman's eyes widened with every word Yusuke said, as though drawn by his words. Her breaths started to come shorter.
"Please!" the man begged and the woman started, eyes dropping to the man who was in front of her and on his knees. Broken and begging.
The woman bit her lips.
"I can do that for you," Yusuke continued and the woman's eyes naturally drew to him. "Would you want that?" he asked. "If you say yes, you might feel better." Yusuke waited for that to compute, before continuing. "And that would irrevocably change you forever."
Both of them, rapist and his almost victim, was staring at him then.
"His blood would be on my hand," Yusuke said, "but the stain of it would be on your soul. Remember, you're the one with the choice. Whatever you choose, it'll be on your conscious. So I ask again, what do you want to happen to him?"
The woman's eyes flicked to the man in front of her, someone who almost raped her. She didn't know how she found the strength to stare at him without flinching, but she did. With the man who saved her beside her and promising to execute whatever choice she chose, she felt empowered.
Her eyes flicked away to the man who saved her. But his voice echoed in her mind and she knew she couldn't do it. "Please… call the police," she finally said. "Let the law decide what to do with him."
"Are you sure?" Yusuke asked, even as his enhanced ears prickled. Softly wailing in the distance but quickly approaching their spot was the police siren. Gokudera and the police force of Namimori was fast. He brought his attention back to the woman, just in time to see her nod with her head ducked down.
"Look at me, girl," he said, and despite the fact that 'woman' would probably be a better description, she looked up. "Realize that you chose this, okay? Whatever the law decide for him, it'll also be what you decided because you chose the law. You'll remember this day, sometime later, and remember what happened. When that happens, also remember that here, at this moment, you are the one with the power. Don't wallow in self-pity; don't say you didn't have a choice in the matter. Do that for me, would you?"
The woman nodded, her gesture more firm. "Okay."
Yusuke turned to the other man and he flinched. "I'm not even going to say how messed up raping someone is," Yusuke said. "I really hope you know that. Maybe it's the rush of power, maybe it's something else, I don't give a damn. Remember my punch, remember your powerlessness and the moment when you thought I was going to kill you. Remember that and fix yourself up. In the moments that you thought were your last, what were you thinking about?"
The man opened his mouth to speak, but Yusuke shook his head. "No, don't tell me something that personal. Just know for yourself. This is a lesson learned but you need to pay for your crime." The sound of the police siren could be heard then, even by normal human ears. "The police is here now. What will you do?"
The man swallowed and turned to the woman. "I… I am really sorry," he told her. The man turned to Yusuke. "I'll go."
Yusuke nodded in acknowledgement and together, all three of them stepped out of the alley way and into the light. The police spotted them a few moments later and they were all brought to the station.
Xxx
Saitou Hisano gazed through the one-way mirror with her arms crossed, considering. A strange case had come in, more intriguing than the ones that normally come across her desk. Actually, little to no cases came across her desk anymore, ever since the upstart Hibari Kyoya began taking justice into his own hands.
While she didn't approve beating up all common criminals, she had to admit his ways were rather effective. Most criminals were too cowed by the middle schooler to dare do anything in Namimori, since Hibari Kyoya had long declared it his territory.
Hence her surprise when she received a call about a near victim of rape. She was all ready to go out in search of the rapist, woman naturally on woman's side, only to find out the rapist also was brought in. Both victim and rapist were unusually calm, as though they had somehow attained nirvana. More curious was the man who had apparently saved the victim and subdued the rapist.
Twenty-one years old Sasaki Aoi [1]. He didn't look like much, yet the way both the victim and the rapist looked at him declared he was some kind of leader. Which led to the question of whether this 'crime' was actually a very elaborated prank.
Except specialist told her that when the victim and the rapist gave their story, both were truthful. The victim showed signs of the usual jitteriness that came from being a victim of some kind of crime, and the rapist admitted to have attempted to commit the crime and showed signs of remorse.
Very, very strange. In addition, both of them hesitated when it came to talking about how Sasaki Aoi entered the picture. Both became extremely vague and their eyes began to dart away. They were hiding something for Sasaki's sake and for heaven's sake, Hisano couldn't figure out what or why.
Oh, she knew it probably had something to do with the incredible amount of injures the rapist sustained, but when asked about it, the rapist seemed reluctant to admit it came from Sasaki. More strange was his refusal to press charges. How curious.
"I'm going in," Hisano announced. "It's about time we ask for his side of the story."
"Actually, if you would please wait," a voice called out.
Hisano turned and found herself facing a small figure. He was dressed impeccably and smartly, and in his hand was a lawyer case. Her eyes, however, was drawn to the mustache between his nose and his upper lip. That mustache! Her eyes darted to the side of his face, and omg, yes! Sideburns!
"You're Berorn!" she exclaimed, nearly squealing. Berorn turned to face her and nodded. "Oh my god, I'm a fan of yours, Lawyer Berorn. The way you fight cases so analytically, and present points that no one ever thinks of, in addition to brilliantly piecing together and unearthing the truth… You prove those who we thought are innocent guilty and vice versa. It's such an honor to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, Officer Saitou," Berorn said, his voice smooth and suave.
Hisano nearly swooned, but quickly collected herself with a cough. "What are you doing here, Berorn? Surely no case in this area is worthy of your interest."
"Actually," Berorn said, "I'm here for Sasaki Aoi."
At the sound of their mysterious witness's name, Hisano paused in her fan-girling. "Sasaki Aoi you say?" she said slowly.
"Yes," Berorn drawled. "Your superior has already given a go-ahead for his release, so if you would please."
"But," she said, eyes darting to her superior whom she had embarrassingly overlooked in face of Berorn. "This isn't the usual procedure…"
"Miss Hisano," Berorn said slowly, "the victim is here and the perpetrator has been captured. He had already admitted to his crime, so why keep a helpful man in an interrogating cell overnight? Is this what a civilian who has kindly and bravely stopped a crime deserve?"
When put that way, Hisano could scarcely remember why she wanted to keep Sasaki in the cell. Except… "Something's not right here," she started.
Her superior cut her off. "Officer Hisano, release the witness." His eyes met hers, smoldering her protest. "This is an order."
Hisano snapped her mouth close. Her eyes darted from Berorn to her superior, lips pressed tight together for a moment, holding back what wanted to burst out. Finally, she managed to force out what they wanted to hear. "Understood."
Xxx
"Finally," Yusuke said, turning to face the door as it opened. "I was beginning to think you guys forgot about me."
Yusuke's eyes flicked to the person who stepped in and whistled. A woman as a cop. How rare. "So?" he demanded, leaning back against his chair with his legs swung up onto the table. "What do you wanna know?"
The cop narrowed her eyes at him, before taking a deep breath and said, "You may go now, Sasaki-san. Thank you for your corporation."
Yusuke blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I've already taken care of the paperwork, Mr. Sasaki. We can go now," a voice said, stepping into the room. Yusuke's eyes automatically drifted down and his eyebrow shot up.
The Sun Arcobaleno, playing cosplay with a fake mustache.
"Arcobaleno, what are you doing here?" Yusuke asked.
Reborn blinked innocently at him.
"Arcobaleno?" the cop spoke up. She looked around. "Who's that? We only have Lawyer Berorn, you and myself here."
Yusuke could feel his eye twitched as he looked at Reborn. "Lawyer Berorn… is it?"
"Mr. Sasaki, let's talk outside, shall we?" 'Berorn' commented. His eyes glistened. "I doubt you would like to stay here all night."
Yusuke felt his lips twitch. Was that a threat to leave Yusuke here?
"Fine," Yusuke said, pushing himself off his chair. He stood. "Let's go then, should we?"
Xxx
The walk to Yusuke's place was quiet, with neither men speaking. It was only when Yusuke was taking his keys out of his pocket, the keys jingling loudly against each other, that Reborn bothered to say anything.
"You live here," Reborn stated. Yusuke nearly snorted. Of course the Arcobaleno would make a question seem like a statement.
"Yeah," Yusuke said, twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open. "Where do you think I live? Besides," Yusuke continued, not waiting for Reborn's reply, "Sasaki Aoi. I'm pretty sure you searched me up by now, right?"
Reborn didn't bother replying and instead, stepped into the room ahead of Yusuke. Yusuke rolled his eyes and followed, reaching out to flick the lights on. "Yes, yes, go right on ahead and make yourself home," Yusuke sarcastically said.
Reborn felt his lips twitch, since he had already invited himself into the apartment. As Urameshi went off to the side to fix them some tea ("since I'm a good host," Urameshi said, combined with a pointed look at Reborn that implied 'and you're not a good guest since you invited yourself in'), Reborn took the opportunity to look around the apartment. He was curious about what kind of place Urameshi lived in.
Initially, he had found that Urameshi lived at this address, but the atmosphere around the area was so at odds with Urameshi himself that Reborn dismissed the address as a random one that Urameshi wrote down on record.
Apparently not, Reborn thought, glancing around the apartment. He should really be calling it a room instead, because that was what it essentially was. He could see practically everything with one glance.
The apartment was really just one huge span of area with all the usual rooms combined into one. The bed could be seen pushed back against the wall once they step in through the door and to the left was the stove. There was a refrigerator to the right of the stove and on the left was the sink. Under the sink was a small pull-out section for holding utensils. Windows were built along the top section of the wall, and in the middle of the apartment was a low table meant to be used when sitting on the ground. There was a line of hangers stuck in the wall on the right of the room, but otherwise, it was empty. All in all, it looked desolated and impersonal.
"These furnitures came with the room, didn't they?" Reborn said as he settled himself in front of the mini-table.
Urameshi blinked as he walked towards him with two steaming cups in hand. He handed Reborn one as he took a seat across from Reborn.
Reborn inhaled, and he could already tell from the aroma that the tea leaves were of high quality.
"What gave it away?" he asked, casually crossing his legs.
Reborn's eyes flicked up to him. "Your furnitures all match the apartment," Reborn commented, "and there's nothing more than the bare necessity in the room. You're not planning on staying here."
Urameshi shrugged and took a sip of his tea. "Not sure," he replied. "I haven't really decided yet."
Reborn studied Urameshi, trying to pick him apart. Urameshi looked up and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"What's your motive here, Urameshi?" Reborn questioned, almost to himself.
Urameshi started, spilling some steaming tea on his own hand, and Reborn blinked at the reaction. "Fuck," Urameshi hissed, quickly putting down the cup on the desk. He pressed the burnt part of his skin against his mouth.
Meanwhile, Reborn was trying to decipher what prompted Urameshi's startled reaction. It couldn't have been Reborn's question. He had more or less been questioning Urameshi about his motive and identity ever since they've met. So just had alarmed Urameshi?
Reborn's mind quickly shuffled through their conversations, before finally coming to one difference in this conversation that had never really came up in their other interactions. "Urameshi," Reborn said experimentally, and Urameshi's head shot up.
Interesting. So it was his surname that Urameshi was responding to.
Urameshi dropped his hand from his mouth. "Don't call me that," Urameshi said with a scowl, as soon as he realized he reacted so promptly to his surname.
"The reason being…?" Reborn questioned, dark eyes gazing unerringly at Urameshi for a response. "You gave me that name yourself, at the arcade."
Urameshi's mouth tightened for a moment, before he finally sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You know what, never mind," Urameshi said dismissively. "Just call me Yusuke and be done with it."
Reborn raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Do you not mind me calling you by your first name?" Reborn asked, despite knowing he was being repetitive. But he wanted to be certain. He knew in Japanese culture, calling someone by their first name indicate closeness, and he was almost certain that Urameshi Yusuke was Japanese. Reborn and Urameshi himself also weren't exactly what people would consider close.
Urameshi rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't be telling you to call me Yusuke if I mind, would I?" he said. "Besides," he added, picking up his cup of tea again, "practically everyone call me by my first name."
Reborn thought back to Urameshi's interactions with others and yes, most people who interacted with him did call Urameshi by his first name. Reborn wondered how he didn't notice, although in his defense, Italians didn't put as much emphasis on the implication behind the first name basis as Japaneses.
"Why would I change how I call you?" Reborn said carefully, "especially when it hardly matters to me what I call you by."
There was a pause, before Urameshi sighed. "Fine, fine," Urameshi said and for a second, Reborn thought he was just going to let the subject go. "One question," he negotiated.
Reborn inwardly smirked, while outwardly grasping at the opportunity presented to him. There was a glaring question that had been bothering him ever since he arranged the extra-credit assignment at the girl's restaurant. "What does the name Mammon mean to you?" he asked, referring Viper by his widely known assassin name.
Reborn observed Urameshi, watching him as his eyebrows scrunched up. "Mammon?" he asked, sounding somewhat bemused. "The assassin/informant?"
A hint of excitement went through Reborn at Yusuke's reply. So he did know Mammon.
"What is your connection?" Reborn prompted.
Urameshi raised an eyebrow and scratched his head. "Connection? Not much, really," he replied. "I've heard of him before, of course, but it's not like I've ever met him."
Truth, Reborn decided, noting Urameshi showed no signs of lying.
Reborn inwardly let out a sigh, feeling slightly disappointed. If Urameshi didn't know Viper/Mammon, then just was their relationship? Why had Viper refused to give Reborn information about him, and even refused to say the reason behind his decision? He briefly wondered if he should have asked another question, such as one about Urameshi's identity or past, but discarded the ideas as soon as they came. That would take away most of the fun of the game.
"A deal's a deal," Urameshi said, as though able to read his thought. Reborn's mouth quirked at the thought. The idea of that was vaguely amusing, considering the fact that Tsuna always accused him of a mind reader.
"Yusuke," Reborn said aloud, just to make a point. He watched as Urameshi's lips quirked up.
"Berorn," Urameshi quipped back. "Mmm, I wonder who's that," he said, looking pointedly at Reborn.
Reborn's lips twitched. "Surely I can be more than just a hitman."
Urameshi rolled his eyes. "Lawyer," Urameshi stated. "Fine. Get your mafioso friend outta jail in case they slip up or anything. I get it. What I don't get is how the cop didn't find you fishy."
Reborn's eyebrow deliberately went up a notch, although he had an idea of where Urameshi was heading with the line of questioning. "Elaborate," Reborn ordered.
"You're a goddamn kid," Urameshi stressed. "How the fuck do you convince them that you were Berorn?"
Reborn struggled not to laugh. There was something amusing about how Urameshi appeared to be so fixed on that. "Simple," he said, outwardly remaining calm. "Aura and composure. People rarely see more than what we project."
"Your whole body is literally around the size of someone's head," Urameshi deadpanned. "Don't people find it fishy when they realize the Great Berorn Lawyer is beheaded?"
Despite Reborn's intention, he laughed at Urameshi's description. "Beheaded?" he commented. He didn't wait for Urameshi's response before continuing on. "But no," he said, "it's what I mentioned before and I have great cosplay skills. I've long been introduced as Berorn the successful lawyer with that set of costume, so when I wear it…"
"People automatically see Berorn the Lawyer," Urameshi finished.
Reborn nodded approvingly. "Exactly."
"Damn," Urameshi said. He laughed. "Should I say cool or should I say creepy?" He paused. "Actually, let's call it cool. It did get me away from the police, after all."
Reborn quirked an eyebrow. "You were the one who told Gokudera to call them," he pointed out.
Urameshi shrugged. "Doesn't mean I wanna be there," he said. "How did you know anyway?"
"What do you think?" Reborn asked. He wanted to see how much Urameshi knew.
Urameshi hmmed. "You were watching Gokudera and were alerted when he came across the rapist. You came to get me when you saw I got him away but got stuck with the police myself."
Exactly, Reborn thought.
"What makes you think so?" Reborn asked aloud. Did Urameshi have a network?
Urameshi shrugged. "I dunno. You just seem like the kind of person who keeps track of everything. Since Gokudera is part of Tsuna's family and Tsuna is your charge…" Urameshi shrugged again. "Makes sense that you keep an eye on Gokudera. Since you and I both know that Gokudera would have been in trouble if he was found with the police, you technically owe me for telling him to go home first. To even out the debt, you came to get me from the police."
"You knew I was going to come get you," Reborn stated.
Urameshi looked at Reborn. "Honestly, no. I would of gotten away either way if you didn't come get me, since they got nothing on me, so I wasn't exactly waiting for you. All of that stuff I just told you" – Urameshi grinned boyishly – "a hunch after the deeds are done."
"A hunch," Reborn repeated. "You deduced all of that based on a hunch?"
Urameshi shrugged nonchalantly again. "Sure, why not? Saved me dozens of times, ya know."
And somehow Reborn knew that although anyone may claim their instincts have helped them in their lifetime, perhaps only Urameshi Yusuke could ever say to have received that much info from just instincts alone.
(1) Sasaki Aoi - Yusuke's official fake name on the passport he used to get into Japan. It was mentioned very briefly in the previous chapter, so I don't blame you if you forgot.
If you are curious about how Yusuke's apartment looks like, it's something like this, but a little less fancy: http:(slash)(slash) goo . gl (slash)ancu4u
Just put / in place of (slash) and take out the spaces.
That, or search up Sawada Shin apartment. The first image that pops up in google is it.
Btw, Sawada Shin is a character in Gokusen, an amazing manga/anime/drama about a yakuza female teacher and her wonderful class of delinquents. I absolutely recommend it.
