Dino wakes up feeling refreshed and slightly optimistic. All things said and done, he was having a pretty good week. Sure, Reborn kicked him out of Italy and into Japan for a "practical assessment" where Dino has to travel to various parts of the country and grasp the way their underground scenes work, but he's ended up having a relatively good time doing both his assignment and enjoying an actual vacation as an actual tourist. And sure, he got kicked into a pool, which caused Enzo to go on a rampage, but he got a new friend out of it! An actual friend, not a new subordinate or political ally! A friend who looks a few years younger than him, but is pretty much around his age and is Flame Active and is really good at fighting! A friend who didn't scream and run away from Enzo like a normal person would! A friend who gave him a tour of Namimori and a breakdown on how the town has an extremely low criminal presence in exchange for the Hibari family's absolute authority over Namimori's inner workings!

"Dino, you ready to go yet?"

A friend who sounds exactly like— huh?

Dino turns around. His new friend, Namimori resident Hibari Yayoi, is perched on the railing of Dino's twelfth floor Tokyo hotel room balcony like he isn't meant to be several hundred kilometers away and a hundred feet closer to the ground.

He screams.


Yayoi isn't exactly sure why Dino screams at the sight of him. Is it because Dino hasn't gotten dressed yet and is half naked? Maybe. They're both dudes though, surely some upper body exposure isn't that big of a deal. Is it because Yayoi's on his balcony? Maybe, but judging by the greeting Yayoi got earlier, Dino's teacher is Reborn, and surely Yayoi's uncle's coworker can do things as mundane as arriving on a slightly tall balcony. Is it because… hmm, no use pondering about it. He just has to get to know Dino better, and the answer to his actions (and reactions) will come with time.

"You done yet? Let's gooo."

"Where are we going," Dino says, clearly stressed. "I mean, I know where I'm going, but where do you think we're going?"

"We are going to circle around Tokyo," Yayoi replies primly, "to finish your homework assignment. And then we are going to Italy, so you can do your criminal boss stuff and I can go sightseeing. You learn about Tokyo's shady businesses, I learn about Italy's shady businesses, we get to travel together like buddies. Win-win-win. Let's go!"

Yayoi pulls the now fully dressed Dino out on the balcony and over to the railing. Perhaps sensing something foreboding, his blond friend digs his heels into the ground and shakes his head vehemently, but Yayoi is stronger. He leaps over the railing with Dino securely in his grasp.

Dino screams the entire way down. Didn't anyone teach him about neighborhood disturbances?