Hello loyal readers,

We've made it past 200 reviews! Woohoo! When I first started this story, I had no idea that it would gain this much attention. I'm so thankful for every single one of you!

Today, Kuon gets into some trouble, and we meet Tina and an OC. I like to minimize the number of OC's that I put in my fics, but this one was necessary to tie certain plot points in Kuon's backstory together. Forgive me? :D

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-x-

CH30

While Rick yelled into his mic in the background, Kuon could only stare helplessly at the screen, watching the camera rise and fall with Tango's ragged breathing. She called out to the black-shirted man at the end of the alley, her voice trembling, "Who are you? Why are you following me?"

A salacious grin slid like oil across the scruffy man's face as he took step after step toward the woman. Reaching into his back pocket, he produced a switchblade that he flicked open expertly.

As he continued to advance, the gang's door guard replied in his heavy accent, "You ask for wrong product. Too nosy. Who you work for?"

"Did I ask too many questions? Oh!" Tango straightened, her breathing suddenly even. Her voice abruptly shifted from terrified to pleasantly surprised, the tremble completely gone. "Good to know for next time."

Just then, over Tango's necklace-camera, Kuon saw a dark blur land right behind the assailant from some fire escape or balcony above. In a quick motion, the figure jabbed something into the guard's upper arm. Ducking under the man's clumsy counter-attack, the figure stepped back and let his target crumple to the ground.

Beside Kuon, Rick whooped in victory. Holding out an open hand, the agent turned to Kuon who automatically slapped him high-five. Then Rick was back to business, calling out over his mic to Kilo that he'd better damn-well answer next time.

On the video, Kilo stepped forward. Though the dim light made the video blurry, Kuon could make out that Kilo was – contrary to his name – just an average-sized man in jeans and a hoodie. Kilo knelt next to the body, dragging it to sit up against the concrete wall of the alley.

A male voice, a jovial tenor with a slight accent, came over the line. "My apologies, Romeo. Your crappy American technology cuts in and out. Sometimes, I don't know why I bother."

Rick guffawed and ordered the two agents to just – "Finish up and get your asses back here now."

As they signed out and Tango's video feed went dark, Kuon turned to Rick. "Isn't that guy going to be suspicious when he wakes up? Don't you want to take him in for questioning?"

Rick shrugged one shoulder, lifting his headset off. "The brain is great at filling in gaps to stories it doesn't finish. That drug Kilo dosed him with will help that. And, we'll let him go for now, so that the gang doesn't get suspicious."

Abruptly, Rick threw his arm around Kuon's shoulder. The agent leaned in and grinned. "So? What'd I tell you? Not boring, right?"

"It was grea–!" Kuon realized how excited he sounded, and then pulled away and shrugged nonchalantly, hiding his smile. "It was alright, I guess."

Rick's scoff was interrupted by a solid rapping on the metal of the van's back door. Then the door opened, letting a blinding flash of light into the blacked-out van. Kuon shielded his eyes and blinked black spots as he adjusted to the light.

Beside him, Rick sprang up, almost hitting his head on the ceiling of the car. "Tina! Welcome home, babe!"

Eyes finally adjusted, Kuon watched as a beautiful blonde woman in a black blazer, jeans, and heeled ankle boots climbed into the van and slammed the door shut behind her. She hoisted her bag of contraband onto a table and rolled her eyes at Rick.

"Please don't refer to this hunk of junk as our 'home,'" she groaned, but still leaned back to peck Rick on the lips before pulling on a pair of latex gloves and turning back to the fake luxury items.

Rick simply smirked and turned to Kuon. "Time for formal introductions, now that you're actually conscious! Tina –" Rick motioned with one hand "– meet Kuon Hizuri. Kuon, Tina Albright."

Tina froze. Then turning slowly, she glanced at Kuon over her shoulder.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Kuon held his hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you…"

Looking at the teen up and down and then turning back to place the contraband in evidence baggies, Tina called out over her shoulder. "Uh huh. Yeah. You too."

As Kuon let his hand drop awkwardly, Rick shot the teen an apologetic smile. Before the CIA agent could say anything further, the van door opened again.

Climbing into the van was a dark-haired Asian man in jeans and a hoodie. Past his glasses, his eyes widened in pleasant surprise. He shot Kuon a warm smile before closing the door.

"Ah, yes! And here comes our resident ninja, himself!" Rick exclaimed and squeezed past Tina to clap the newcomer on the shoulder.

The man – Kilo, Kuon assumed – chuckled quietly, shaking his head. "You Americans and your fascination with ninja."

Jokingly miffed, Rick crossed his arms and muttered, "I'm half-Japanese too, you know?"

Ignoring Rick, Kilo approached Kuon, crouching so he wouldn't hit his head on the van. The man ducked a polite bow as best he could in the tight space. "It is very nice to meet you, Kuon-kun. My name is Shizumino Kaiso, Japanese Public Security Intelligence Agency."

Remembering his brief course in Japanese manners from his dad, Kuon performed a clumsy bow at the waist. "It's nice to meet you too, Shizumino-san."

"Kaiso here is on loan from Japan," Rick said as he came up behind them. "The Japanese always clean up their messes, eh, Kaiso?"

"It is true!" Kilo laughed again, a gentle sound. Pushing up his glasses on his nose, he turned to Kuon. "Tokyo is one of the cleanest cities you'll ever see. You should come visit some day, Kuon-kun."

On instinct, Kuon wrinkled his nose. "Not if I have to learn any of that dumb kanji."

"Oh well, Kuu. You tried," Rick sighed dramatically to the air. "But your son is still more American than Japanese."

As the three laughed and Kaiso continued extolling the beauties and wonders of his home country, Kuon noticed that Tina had come over and tapped Rick on the shoulder. She whispered something in his ear. Rick nodded and the two exited the van, standing just outside.

Growing more and more curious, Kuon edged toward the door. The Japanese national merely gave the teen a bemused look and turned around to unhook himself from his gear.

As Kuon neared the door, he heard Tina hiss, "You can't be serious, letting this brat tag along."

Rick responded, "C'mon Tina. We both owe it to Kuu–"

Kuon felt a heavy, familiar weight build in his gut. Even here…

"Kuu is one thing. But his son? Have you seen his record? He's just a time bomb waiting to go off in our faces."

Then Rick spoke. "No, Tina."

"What?"

"This kid – no, Kuon – he's got good potential. Just because he's gotten himself in some trouble doesn't mean he's a hopeless case. I mean, if I had to constantly live in the Hizuri shadow, I'd probably crack a little too. We all would."

At Rick's words, Kuon felt the knot in his stomach loosen.

"Rick…"

"Tina, it's just for a couple of months. Let the guy spread his wings a little."

A pause, then Tina sighed, resigned. "Fine. I… I just worry about you sometimes, Rick."

Kuon peeked out the door long enough to catch sight of Rick gathering Tina into his arms and planting a passionate kiss on her lips. The agent grinned into the kiss. "When do I ever give you anything to worry about?"

Tina grinned back, swatting Rick in the shoulder. "All the damn time, you fool."

As quietly as he could, Kuon scooted away from the door, back into the darkness of the van. It felt wrong witnessing such a private moment. Besides, he felt better – lighter – hearing Rick defend him like that. Maybe Rick would be an alright mentor after all…

Behind Kuon, Kaiso chuckled as he coiled up a wire around his mic's transmitter. "Ah, young love…"

Pouting now, Kuon made a gagging noise. "Gross…"

"Well," Kaiso sighed and looked skyward. "You are only 15, I suppose…"

-x-

The next month crawled by. Stakeouts, tracking gang member movements, and slowly but surely gathering evidence to shut down the gang took patience and time. Both of which, Kuon felt, were luxuries he didn't have.

'This is so boring,' Kuon mentally griped as he spun around in the van's swivel chair. They were on day four of a stakeout following a particularly mundane middle-class Japanese-American secretary. Kimura Jin was a person of interest, Rick had earlier explained, because as a secretary, he had access to the customs official's log at the port of Long Beach. Ideal for covering up a contraband smuggling operation.

However, Kimura was very methodical – home, then work, then the bar afterward to relax with coworkers, then back home. Rinse and repeat. Kuon was pretty sure that the guy even ate the same thing for lunch every day. The teen hated it.

A small object suddenly smacked Kuon on the face. Startled, the blonde jumped in his chair, which almost skittered away on its unsteady wheels.

"Just trying to keep you on your toes," Rick sniggered from across the van. Kuon picked the thrown cracker piece off his shirt and shot the agent a glare.

"Rick, I'm seriously dying here!"

"Aw, c'mon Kuon. It was just a cracker."

Wilting at his mentor's bad joke, Kuon groaned, "You know what I mean…"

Rick considered him for a moment then grinned. "Well… If you behave yourself, maybe I can convince Kaiso or Tina to bring you with them next time they go out to gather intel."

"Really?" Instantly brightening, Kuon scooted his chair over to Rick. "You mean it?"

"Yeah! Of course. I'd say you're ready," the CIA agent said as he began to rise from his chair. Cricking his neck to the left and then to the right, Rick tossed Kuon the van's keys. He headed to the back of the van. "I'm going to go take a piss. Keep an eye on the monitors for me."

"Sure thing," Kuon called back before scooting back up to the screen, enthusiasm renewed. As he flipped through the camera feed from outside the K-Town bar (it was relax-over-drinks time for Kimura), Kuon's mind raced with the possibilities.

Tina was currently out, submitting reports to the local CIA office. Kaiso was reporting to some higher-ups at the Japanese embassy. But both were due to return later at night. Would Rick let him go out in the field tonight? It was possible!

Alone in the van, Kuon allowed himself to do a small, private victory dance in his seat. However, as he turned back to the screen, the teen paused.

A lone figure, grainy in the low light, stepped out of the back exit of the bar, looked both ways, then began to walk briskly down the street behind the strip mall. Kuon leaned forward, squinting at the screen. Was it Kimura? It was so hard to tell… And there was only one camera angle that captured the back of the bar.

Then the figure was gone. Kuon leapt from his chair, then stopped, hand halfway opening the car door. If it was Kimura, then this was an unprecedented break in his pattern – something extremely suspicious. This could be their big break for the investigation.

But on the other hand, if it wasn't Kimura, Rick would be so pissed that Kuon had left the van…

However, Kuon argued with himself, Rick had even said that he was ready for fieldwork. And while he was sitting here deliberating, the man – possibly Kimura – was getting farther and farther away.

"Dammit!" Kuon growled and launched himself out of the van. Locking the door, the Hizuri popped the hood of his sweater up as he trotted across the street to the bar. As he walked, the blonde boy decided on a compromise. He would take a quick peek through a window, and if Kimura really had left, Kuon would call Rick.

The restaurant was situated at the corner edge of an aging strip mall, surrounded by green mesh-covered chain-link construction fences. In addition to a grimy glass door, the restaurant had several square windows along the bar. The windows themselves were plastered with sun-faded posters advertising various Korean dishes and soju brands, providing the bar's patrons inside a modicum of privacy.

Now hugging the edge of a fence, Kuon snuck a glance behind him then quickly crossed the dark side street to duck under a window. He crept forward, still crouching, until he found an ad that was peeling up at the corners, leaving a small triangular clearing.

Making sure the flash was off, Kuon slowly, slowly raised the camera side of his flip-phone and snapped a series of shots, praying that the brightness levels would be adequate. Bringing the phone back down, Kuon quickly flipped through the pictures.

The grainy low-light photo showed a scattering of Asian businessmen sat at the bar, but no Kimura.

Cursing under his breath, Kuon pressed the 3 on speed dial. The line rang… then rang… then went to voicemail.

"Dammit Rick…" Kuon hung up and pressed the button again. Still no answer.

Uttering another curse, the Hizuri teen began running, still doubled-over under the line of windows. Finally reaching the back of the restaurant, he straightened into a full yet silent sprint, his head whipping to the left and right to try and catch sight of his quarry.

Fortunately, there was only one way down the side street at the back of the restaurant. Kuon leapt down the gravel path, hemmed in on both sides by the construction fencing. He tried to quiet his noisy breaths and scuffling sneakers. As he ran, he continued to try to reach Rick. Two more calls went to voicemail.

Giving up, Kuon flipped his phone closed and pocketed it. He needed to focus. Approaching a right angle turn in the path, Kuon slowed, crouched, and peeked around.

At the end of the path, about fifty feet away, was a large gate in the chain-link fence, the type that would have been big enough to accommodate bulldozers and other vehicles. Shadowed by the gate, a lone figure unlocked the padlock and unwound a chain that held the gate closed. The man gave two tugs on the gate, which swung open with a resistant screech. With a quick look behind him, the figure slipped past the gate and into the construction zone.

Waiting until he was sure the man had gone, Kuon crept forward and slipped through the open gate.

-x-

Whistling and hands in pockets, Rick strode back down the street. The gas station with the restroom was a fair distance away from the van and the restaurant, but that was just as well. Very few people could follow him to and from each location with his circuitous route over fences and through Korea Town's grimy back alleys.

Things were going well with Kuon too. The angry, brooding teen that Rick had met at the Hizuri residence had morphed over the span of a month. Kuon was sharp, asked good questions, and was eager. Sometimes a bit too eager, but still, couldn't fault the guy for his enthusiasm.

Rick smiled to himself and found his hand drifting to the brown leather strap of his watch. A very long time ago, Kuu had rescued an aimless, troubled teen. Kuu had given him a purpose in life. Now, Rick was finally repaying that debt.

Approaching the van parked at the edge of a vacant lot, the agent brought his hand up and rapped against the rear door.

Kuon didn't answer. Frowning, Rick tried the door handle. Locked.

Rounding to the front of the van, Rick tried peering in the driver's side window. The light wasn't on in the back; the monitor's dim glow wasn't even visible.

Feeling a nervous weight begin to settle in his stomach, Rick tried knocking again and when that failed to elicit a response, he slipped his lock-picking tool out of his boot.

"I swear, if that kid is just napping or something, I'm going to give him the biggest noogie…"

Picking the lock took the longest minute of his life. Finally, Rick swept the rear door of the van open.

"Kuon-!" The cry died on his lips. The van was empty.

Rick's eyes darted about, his mouth suddenly bone dry. The only thing that responded was the blinking glow of his cell phone screen as it lay, forgotten on the side table.

Hurriedly, Rick snatched up his phone. The screen read, "Kuon Hizuri - 4 missed calls".

Rick sighed in relief. At least Kuon was still alive and well enough to call him. Pressing the button for redial, the dark-haired agent held the phone to his ear, ready with a thorough lecture for the teen.

However, the phone rang twice before abruptly dropping the call. Rick stared at the phone, puzzled. Kuon had hung up on him?

Before Rick could hit redial again, a loud, echoing BOOM-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP reverberated through the ground.

Dashing out of the van, Rick whipped around in all directions. A plume of wispy dust spiraled up from a construction site behind their staked-out restaurant. Rick cursed and began running.

"This kid!" The CIA operative growled, "He's totally going to be the death of me."

-x-

MAILBAG – I choose the 5+ most interesting reviews and reply to them here.

Shizuhoe - Haha I was wondering if someone would catch that! In my head canon, Kuu is using both hands. He just wants to be as efficient as possible in his food consumption. Because - let's face it - if he were to eat that amount of food like a normal human being, he'd be at the dining table all day! Glad I could get a chuckle with the riceball comment. And yeah, ever since I was planning out this fic, the plan was always for Kuon's backstory to have multiple chapters because at least in this AU, Rick is Ren's primary motivator for revenge. Hope you continue to enjoy the ride!

brennakai - Haha, my floor WAS visible after finishing moving everything in but now has become cluttered with misc LIFE things (gifts for family I need to wrap, items we need to donate, clothing I forgot to put away...). As you can tell, I'm not very OCD, which is probably why it was so easy to unpack and so fast to become undone and messy again. Really glad you enjoyed the Hizuri breakfast scene! Kuu and Juliena are a delight to write, but unfortunately that's the first and last time they will be appearing in this fic. :( I was thinking of having a Kuu visits Japan arc, but that would've just made the story a bit more bloated and dragging than needed. Also really glad that you like AU Rick! In the manga, he seems so serious, so uptight, so... Japanese haha. I figured if he's an American in America, he's going to realistically be more loose and fun-loving, maybe to the point of a teensy bit of irresponsibility. Thanks my angst-o-meter! Praying that no matter how tragic his back story, my Kuon will never turn into a Sasuke-level of angst -_- Thanks again brennakai!

Guest - Thank you very much! I'm very grateful you took the time to leave a review! It's very encouraging to know that people are enjoying what I write. As for Delta's past, yes! There will be a bit of backstory, but nothing as extensive as Kuon's here. And please don't shoot me, but... I've never finished reading the HP series! Furthest I got was Sorcerer's Stone! Leave a name if you review again so I can do a specific shout out to you!

MWEH - Were you also disappointed with this month's chapter? I was a little... I know it's necessary to show Kyoko's thought process and her reaction to Kimiko dropping out of the audition, but... again! Nothing happened! *sigh* Sometimes I can and can't believe that this manga has been going on for longer than a decade. Haha As for Kuon and Kyoko as kids, I don't think I've directly addressed it, but in one of the earlier chapters, Kyoko as a child mentions that she's met someone who can do magic. It's a very brief line haha, but yup! The corn stone and them meeting as kids is a thing in this AU. Good luck on your Delta quest ;)

HoshiNoTsuya - Of course it wouldn't be easy, as a secret agent! ;D And of course I wouldn't let you guys off the hook without yet ANOTHER cliffhanger! muahahaha... Glad you enjoyed the Hizuri breakfast scene and find it realistic that Kuu and Juliena are probably some of the most cavalier parents out there in the SB universe. xD And you were right! Action-packed chapter in two weeks! It was actually so action-packed that I couldn't pick a good stopping point and had to make this chapter a little shorter just so that one can be a stand-alone chapter. And indeed! You were the 200th reviewer! Thanks so much! *huggles*

Aikori Ichijouji - Thanks! I'm really glad you like my Rick! It's been really fun to write him. I was thinking and I can't really pin-point who I've based him on. A little bit of Jiraiya (Naruto) and a dash of Chat Noir (Miraculous Ladybug), perhaps? And yeah, by all means! Use my method of reveal as a case study. I honestly think I'm dragging out the Delta reveal a bit toooo much, but hopefully throwing you guys other mysteries to keep you busy (AKA what happened to Rick?!) haha. Hopefully it can help you build an even better, more intense climax to your story! :D Yeah, I want to definitely take my time reading your stuff! Maybe I'll get to it over Christmas! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Crazy4Animation - What kind of tea? My fave is genmaicha - nutty and earthy, with a bit of caffeine. I'm so flattered that you've been watching out for my new update! But just so you won't be on tenderhooks, I update every other Fri night/Sat :) LOL and thanks for your encouragement! Thanks Elina!

Thank you all so much for your reviews! Don't forget to leave me a Christmas present with a Fave, an Alert, or a Review! Love you all!