Author's Note: Hello, all! I have been working on this for some time now and finally feel like I can publish it for you all to see! This is my first YuYu fanfic and I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing it! Please let me know how it is! This is a slow burn romance, so buckle in and enjoy! (this has been updated on 08.06.20- yey quarantine and a lot of free time!)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters besides the one I created!
A Pinky Promise
Chapter One
Hana could not seem to shake the feeling that someone was watching her. It began halfway through her shift and now that she was about to close up the restaurant, it was starting to become annoying. She had done her best to ignore the notion but her skin was starting to crawl. She was cleaning off debris from the wooden tables at Sato's Diner, the place she had been serving at for the past month. A few patrons were lingering at a table, oblivious to the fact that she had flipped the sign from 'open' to 'close' over an hour ago. They were so deep in conversation that they did not even seem to notice that she was sloppily knocking crumbs onto the floor.
A quick thought tickled the back of her consciousness as her thoughts wondered while she stood at the end of the table. Perhaps the person staring at her was standing outside? Her mind started racing with the possibilities and she did not realize how tight she was gripping the table. The street outside was dark since the street light had burned out nearly a week ago. The only way she could see anything was due to the light from inside the restaurant. The street looked eerie with the dark cloak of darkness that made every corner look like it was hiding something. Her heart quickened as she continued to stare through the window at the end of the table. Was someone out there? Could they be someone with a knife for a hand looking for their next meal? Or, perhaps a vampire? Her head was spinning with ideas.
She felt someone tap her on the shoulder and she almost jumped from her skin. She whipped around and found Aiko before her in a deep bow. Her hand flew to her chest to ensure that her heart did not burst through her shirt. Aiko was a waitress that Hana worked with.
"Aiko!" Hana gasped nearly falling back onto the table she was halfway finished cleaning. Does she have any idea to never startle someone who is staring out a window in the middle of the night? Hana thought to herself. She must have never seen a horror film before… She did her best to keep her scowl minimal.
Remaining in her bowed position, the elder server spoke towards the floor. "I am sorry that I scared you! That was not my intention..." Hana grumpily rolled her eyes and tucked the rag into her apron. "I ask a favor of you. My husband is home tonight… it has been some time since he has been home and it would mean a lot if-"
Hana cut her off, "okay, firstly, you did not scare me. You startled me."
Aiko bowed even deeper, "of course, I simply meant-"
Hana cut her off again. "Are you wanting me to close so you can go home early?" Light brown eyes glanced at Hana through thick lashes. Hana huffed, still not over her shock. "it's not that big of a deal. Go home and be with your family."
Aiko straightened with a bright smile lighting up her face. "Oh, thank you, Seoul-Oh!" It took three more bows before the woman disappeared to gather her things from the back. Hana rolled her eyes again forgetting about the fictitious killer.
It took another thirty minutes for the remaining patrons to leave. With her time, Hana was able to finish cleaning the restaurant and stand in the corner and glaring until the three got the hint. All Hana had to do now was take the trash to the dumpster and she could finally leave.
The bottles clinked together when she pulled the bag from the plastic can. It was heavier than she remembered from the last time she closed and realized it was probably the whole day's worth of trash. She grumbled to herself about lazy servers as she dragged the full bag down the hall through the kitchen and towards the dumpster in the back alley.
The smell hit her nose before the door could hit the wall after she kicked it open. The warmth from the summer had caused the "break area" to become a feared place. Only desperate cooks and servers could be found back here when in great need of a cigarette. The discarded butts littered the slimy floor. Hana tried tossing the trash bag into the metal dumpster, but the plastic bag was filled to capacity and threatened to tear and spill. Groaning, she tightened her grip and spun and used her momentum to lift and successfully toss the bag into the dumpster. The thrashing noise was loud enough to startle a cat hidden within the alleyway.
"I heard something behind back!"
Hana nearly jumped out of her skin for the second time tonight. It came from the street at the mouth of the alley.
Another voice answered, "well if someone hadn't disappeared, we wouldn't be crawling around in a nasty ass alleyway trying to find her!"
Her heart was pounding and fear-filled theories started running through her thoughts. Was the killer that she had imagined earlier actually real? Was he here to get her? Why else would someone be messing around back here? Before they could get any closer Hana slipped back into the restaurant kitchen and slammed and locked the door tight. Her head was spinning and she realized she had been holding her breath. It took a few big gulps of breath to refill her lungs and a moment longer of waiting to see if anyone was going to tamper with the back door. Her elan vital kicked in, literally kicking her in the back of her thoughts, to get out of there. Waiting for a killer was the start to a terrible horror film and she was not about to be a part of it. She flicked the lights off for the kitchen and guided her way through the blenders and ovens. Under the metal counter in the dining room was her bag and the keys to her getaway vehicle.
The street was eerier now after hearing the voices in the alley. She quickened her pace to almost a run. A quick search for the knife in the side pocket of her bag eased her, if just a little. Her poor heart was thumping against her chest again and she did not stop until she was at the side of her car.
A sigh escaped her when she slid into her seat, not forgetting to lock the doors first. She was safe now and would be on her way home in just a moment. Something stirred outside of her window and her breath caught in her throat. She should not have paused to catch her breath! She had seen the movies and it always ended like this. Girl runs, thinks she is safe and the killer jumps out before she can catch her breath. It never fails and it was a rookie move on her part.
"I just don't understand how you could be stupid enough to lose her. She was inside all day!" A man with dark, slicked-back hair stepped onto the sidewalk just feet away from her car. He sounded annoyed and like one of the voices she had heard in the alley.
Someone else stepped out of the shadowy mouth of the alley and paused next to the brunette. This one was tall with bright, orange hair. "I don't know what happened! She seemed to be closing up the place so I went for a quick piss, and then she was gone!"
Hana sat further back into her seat and was extremely thankful for her tinted windows. Her elan vital concluded that they were in fact the voices that she had heard in the alley. Her breathing hitched again.
The brunette slammed his fist into his pockets and almost growled. "I swear to God, Kuwabara! If you lost our lead because you were off chasing an alley cat, I will bust your teeth in so badly that even Yukina won't be able to look at you!"
Carrot top grew serious, "Yukina's love for me is much deeper than looks, Urameshi. She will love me no matter what!" He added under his breath, which was a pathetic attempt since Hana could hear him. "Unlike you and Keiko, our love will burn forever!" The crack of knuckles hitting a skull filled the air. The carrot top, called Kuwabara, almost fell off the sidewalk with a large hand rubbing his new bruise. A big, goofy giggle fell out of him- probably a concussion.
"Keiko and I have been married for three years, you idiot." Brunette huffed, returning his fist to his pockets. Her elan vital hit her again that these two goons were probably here because of her and that it was a stupid idea to sit around and listen to their banter.
She slammed the start button next to her steering wheel and the engine roared to life. Both boys jumped, caught in her headlights and resembled stunned deer. The gears shifted under her hand and she was racing off into the night.
Even though it took just minutes to put space between her and the goons, it still took miles to calm her racing heart. Her fingers clenched the steering wheel and she focused on steadying her breathing. Tonight had been too eventful. And, as if on cue, her ringtone sang through her speakers. She nearly drove off the road from her surprise. A green light was blinking on her dashboard next to the radio as the song continued to play. She hit a button on her steering wheel and a part of her dash shifted to reveal a touchscreen.
Dread filled her stomach. What are the chances that someone called her the moment that she escaped the two at the restaurant? The rational side of her brain tried to calm her, informing her that it could be anyone on the other end of the call. However, the left side of her brain was remembering every horror film she had seen where the killer called his victim right before striking and she was hardly breathing. She took a deep breath in and hit the green phone button on the side of her screen. There was a moment of silence before her speakers screamed with multiple voices on the other end of the call.
Not what she was expecting. "Hello?" Roars of engines screeched louder than the caller. Annoyance replaced her fear when she realised it was just a butt dial from her friend Twinkie. She went to end the call until he yelled over the background noise.
"HEY, HANA!"
She grumbled and hit the volume button, anxious that he would blow her speakers. Twinkie was the most recent member added to their crew and she realised that all her fear was for nothing. She normally enjoyed his company, except when he had bad timing with his phone calls. "What do you want, Twinkie?"
He continued to yell over the noises on his side of the conversation. "You need to get here. I brought a new kid and he needs help learning the ropes!"
She rolled her eyes. Having two goons waiting outside of work was more enjoyable than that. "I don't have time, Twinkie. Besides, I know Han is there. Make him do it."
"This kid seems to have some tricks. He's from America, too! It's been forever since you've been to the car park." It was the one thing they had in common, besides being friends with Han. Twinkie was a navy brat who had moved to Japan nearly two years ago from America. He seemed very excited to have someone else here from the states. However, she did not share his enthusiasm and was now even more annoyed that he felt the need to share it with her. When he realized he wasn't going to get her there himself, he added, "Han wants you to check him out, too!"
She deflated and her heated retort disintegrated on her tongue. It was unlikely that Han would share that information with Twinkie, but it had been some time since she had seen her brother. She was contemplating the idea of going to meet her friends at the car park. It would be the thing that could calm her down after tonight's events...
Suddenly the phone shuffled like it had been ripped out of Twinkie's grip and his protest played through the speakers. A thick, American accent replaced her friend's. "I don't know who this is," her inner eye created an image of the classic American cowboy, big rim hat and all. "But, I say you should get here- if you have the balls, that is."
There was a click and her speakers did that annoying hum while it waited to project sound. A streak of anger tore through the calm she had created. It surged through her chest and she found herself gripping the steering wheel. "Who the hell?" She heard herself say through clenched teeth. "This is why I hate meeting new people." Her right foot hit the clutch as she shifted gears, shooting off down the street.
Hana pulled into the available parking spot, making sure to not hit any of the bodies already forming around her car. They eyed her Mazda like children at a candy store. It did not take any time for someone to slide next to her as she climbed out from her seat. He was young with dark brown eyes that were not looking at the car. "Nice ride." She could practically feel him eye her up and down. "But, I think I heard it making a weird noise when you pulled up. Perhaps you need someone to look under your hood?"
She jeered, brushing past him. "Save it for the basic models on the lower floor. I'm sure they'd be more impressed with your shitty pick-up line." A chuckle went through the crowd as she pushed through it. She did not have the time or patience to see his reaction and pushed forward to the elevator. The compartment was overcrowded, but she pushed herself on anyways. It was only going to rise to the next floor up, but the old shaft groaned anyways as it took the passengers to their floors. Hana was grateful that it made it without glitching, but she jumped off anyways just in case it changed its mind.
Her grey eyes skimmed through the raised hoods and mingling crowds and found the familiar line of cars against the back wall. She marched towards the Hulk green Volkswagen Touran. The trunk was open and added to the loud music already playing through the garage.
Twinkie saw her first and gave her a big smile, then noticed her scowl. He cursed and almost fell out of the hatchback trunk.
"Don't. Even. Think. About it." She hissed each word when he took a step towards the crowd as if to flee. He turned to her with a sheepish grin when she came to halt before him. "So, who is this new kid that I need to show the ropes too?"
"Now, Hana," he held his hands up as if surrendering to her anger before she could even unleash it. "He was just overwhelmed when we first got here. You know how monkeys like to bang on their chest when surrounded by chimps."
She rolled her eyes. "You wanted me to show him the ropes. Well, here I am Twink, ready to show him who he should watch his mouth with." She stepped closer, certain that he would run instead of answering. "Where is he?"
Twinkie hesitated and seemed to be debating whether to take his new friend to the angry girl in front of him. He took a deep breath in before releasing a sigh full of guilt and indicated over his shoulder with a gentle head nod.
It wasn't hard to find the American, considering he stood an easy foot above the rest of the crowd. She pushed past Twinkie and towards her aloof prey. Each step that brought her closer the closer the pit in her stomach began to boil with anger. When she was just a foot away her anger officially bubbled over and erupted like a mushroom cloud into her head. Her anger nearly blinded her and all she wanted to do was swing at the back of his brunette head. Instead, she tapped his shoulder with her index finger. He turned towards her with blue eyes full of surprise.
"Hey there," she nearly purred. "Are you the new kid I've been hearing about?"
A big, goofy grin split his face. Suddenly his arm was around her neck pulling her close. "Stick around and you'll find out if everything you've heard is true."
"About that," she reached for his hand that had slid down to her waist. She pushed him with her right arm, twisting him around and held his arm behind his back. His head made a solid 'thud' against the innocent silver Hyundai he had been previously inspecting. The joint was trying to fight her and if she applied just the right amount of pressure the arm would pop from its socket. She leaned over him and whispered in his ear, "my name's Hana. I hope these balls are big enough for you."
"Come on, Hana. Give the new kid a break."
Hana glanced into the Hyundai's window. A thin silhouette reflected in it and Hana rolled her eyes. "Mind your own business, Neela." She released her grip anyways but took much joy watching him struggle to straighten. "I was just proving a point." She waited until he had finished dusting off his clothes before turning back to him. "You have a name, new kid?"
Neela answered for him with her Australian accent. "Sean, wasn't it?"
His goofy smile returned and Hana watched as another fell victim for Neela's charm. Hana couldn't blame him, though. Neela was beautiful with flowing brown hair, a cool accent, and was also one of Tokyo's best racers.
Suddenly, they were overtaken by a noisy bunch. They surrounded Hana, successfully trapping her. An arm curled around Neela's neck as if to claim his territory. Attached to the arm was DK, who must have sensed Neela speaking with another male and came running. His usual smug face somehow seemed even more puckered. His dark, nearly black, eyes were sizing Sean up and down. As if determining how much of a threat he was.
Hana couldn't help but roll her eyes at the infamous 'drift king.' It was a nickname given to him by his own peers. His real name was Takeshi and he happened to be the nephew of Kamata, the great Yakuza leader. She avoided his company which was nearly impossible since he was her brother's business partner.
DK tightened his grip around Neela, mumbling something under his breath.
"I'm sorry," Sean shrugged, "I don't speak Japanese."
DK gave Neela's neck a tender kiss and Hana was reminded of a small mouse trapped in the grip of a hungry snake. "Understand that, gaijin?"
Neela sharply warned DK with a glare, "Takeshi!"
"We were just talking." Sean finally broke his glare with DK to glance at Neela, as if reassuring her.
"This isn't your scene," Neela furtively tried to warn Sean, who was clearly out of his element but trying to hide it. Hana could understand the lure of their world that appeared to be just racing nice cars. But, that was for the hobbyist, who only tried racing on the weekend. Their depth within this world was dangerous. Outsiders did not survive and if he was smart, he would withdraw from DK's challenge. It would mean he got to live for another day.
Instead, Sean eagerly accepted. "That word you called me, gaijin, or something or other. What does that mean, exactly?"
She held her breath as DK took a moment to explain. It wasn't a bad word, per se. Just a way to call someone non-japanese… if someone used it in the wrong context, it would be considered offensive. And she knew DK and knew that he had meant to mock the newcomer. Everyone in the crowd knew it and the tension thickened around them all.
"It means… turn around… keep walking." Dk lazily explained.
Twinkie stepped through the wall of people, "and that's exactly what we're going to do." He pulled Sean back by the elbow. "Come one, man, let's go." He turned them around and he sharply whispered, "hey man, look, he's Yakuza-" but Sean had turned around before Twinkie could finish explaining what he was doing was stupid. Twinkie's brown eyes met Hana's and she shrugged, knowing there was nothing either of them could do.
"Now, see, that's funny." He stepped back towards DK, "I thought this was, like, a free country where a girl could talk to whoever she wants."
Smirking, DK met Sean in the middle of the crowd. The tension was, if possible, thicker than a moment ago. "Do you know who I am, boy?"
"Yeah," Sean answered, unblinking. "You're like the Justin Timberlake of Japan, right?"
Neela and Twinkie stepped between the two, attempting to ease the situation before it turned even uglier. Twinkie was able to pull Sean back a few feet and Hana reached out and pulled his light grey shirt further away.
She hissed into his ear, "DK is Yakuza. Like the mafia back home, but even more terrifying." He pulled away but seemed unaffected by her words. In fact, his eyes seemed to glow with excitement. Twinkie stepped in between them as if it was enough to barricade Sean.
"Look, sorry, DK." Twinkie gave Sean a glare before turning to Takeshi, with Neela wrapped around him trying her best to distract him. "Monkey didn't have his banana today."
From the back of the crowd, someone spoke out as if they were bored with the situation. "Let's go, DK. It's time to race."
Hana suddenly noticed the man with shaggy black hair with brown eyes. He appeared to be uninterested with the banter happening before him, which was his normal demeanor. She had never known Han to reveal his emotions or thoughts. His dark eyes met with hers and he gave a subtle nod before standing from his perch that was a silver Hyundai.
Hana, Twinkie, and Neela sighed with relief when DK and his entourage turned to leave. That was until Sean called out to DK's retreating back. "Good luck, Justin Timberlake."
She just wanted to hit him in the back of the head. This kid must really have something to prove. DK stepped towards Sean until their noses were almost touching. "You're the one that's lucky, 'cause I'm about to race."
Sean was suave, unyielding from the dark eyes. "Then, let's race."
DK laughed then and never took his eyes off of Sean's grey ones. "With what, huh? Your skateboard?" When Sean did not answer, DK chuckled again. "Easy to sound cocky when you got no ride."
"Take mine." Hana watched as a pair of keys soared through the air. Sean reached out without breaking his glare with DK and caught them.
Twinkie turned to her with his brown eyes wide, realizing what their friend had just given to a complete stranger. The crowd around her was cheering and running towards the elevators. She tried cutting through it to get to the man still leaning against the car- seemingly oblivious to the fact that he had probably just held onto the keys to his beloved car for the very last time. Her elan vital predicted that Sean had no idea what he signed up for. If this was going to end anyway it had for her when she first came to Japan, the car did not stand a chance.
Han gave her a lopsided smile when she approached. She readied herself to give a long speech of how foolish he was being for giving away the car he had spent too much money on building from the ground up to simply give it away to a cocky entrant he hadn't even crossed word with yet.
"Sometimes you just have to see how things work out." Before she could even open her mouth, he was giving her his famous toothless grin. She crossed her arms over her chest.
"You don't go that far out on a limb for someone you don't know." Her words were icy, unapproving of how he was thinking.
He shrugged. "Why not? I did the same thing for you when you were twelve."
"That's not fair." She nearly hissed. "This is totally different! I was twelve years old and trying to steal the rims of Dominic Toretto and he was about to kick my ass, you had to do that then! This is a stupid kid trying to show off for a stupid girl." She realized what she had said, and made a mental note to apologize to Neela later. She was her only female friend and losing her would mean that she only had Han to hang out with.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have snapped the rims and set off the alarm. And besides, Dom wouldn't have kicked your ass." He straightened and popped a snack into his mouth then added. "Well… not too bad."
Before they had met, she was an orphan living in California trying to enter a local street gang. The initiation was to steal the rims from the toughest guy, who happened to be Dominic Toretto. He had recently been convicted after nearly beating a man to death with a wrench. Dom was going to let her go with the intention of scaring the hell out of her. Han, however, seemed to notice something and invited her into their home and the rest was history. She ran away from the foster family she had been living with and began anew with the Toretto's. If it wasn't for Han, and whatever caused him to make his decision, was the reason why she was here. Hana glanced up at the brown eyes of the man she called her brother and a long, defeated, sigh blew out of her.
"One car in exchange for knowing what a man is made of is a price I can live with." He said oh-so-knowingly as if it was meant to reassure her. "You gotta make some choices and you can't look back."
She rolled her eyes, "yeah, well let me know how it turns out. I don't think I have the heart to watch."
He curled his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. She dug her nose into his chest and found his cologne. It was smokey and the same it had been the day he found her hidden in Dom's car garage with a crowbar gripped in her fingers. When he spoke, his words vibrated against her ear. "Why do you have to be so dramatic?"
She pushed against him with a huff, "look who's talking."
They walked together to the elevator, Hana still entangled under one of his arms. "You sure you don't want to come up? I have a feeling this kid might be here to mix things up." she shook her head to the side and pressed the arrow pointing down. "I'll see you back at the garage then, you nuisance."
With most of the crowd already on the floor above them, the doors opened quickly. They parted ways with Hana giving him a small wave before stepping onto her own, empty elevator. The soft music played for a moment as it glided to the floor below. She felt the corner of her lips lift as she thought about the night's events. It had been so dramatic, to say the least with new faces and the brief moment of potential stalkers. She had forgotten to tell Han of the events, but now they seemed so irrelevant after the stunt between Sean and DK. For a moment she had really worked herself up over two guys who were probably just trying to catch their waitress after her shift. Her elan vital was laughing at her, and she found herself doing the same- like anyone would want to stalk her. The elevator shook gently when it reached the destination.
Her laughter died when she stepped off the elevator. With the crowd upstairs, she was immediately drawn to the two boys that were poking around a car. It took a few steps to the right to realize that they were inspecting a grey Mazda. Her first reaction was to scare them off with a solid yell, but she reminded herself that they could be racers that were running late and unaware of the race happening upstairs. She started towards them, surprised they did not hear the elevator ding or her approach. She first saw the puff of orange hair and she slowed her march.
It can't be, she tried reasoning with herself. But a few more steps confirmed her suspicions when she saw the slicked-back brown hair. It's the two guys from the restaurant!
Her heart was in overdrive and she feared they would hear it hammering against her rib cage. She took a deep breath in while debating to turn around and get Han. Her elan vital chuckled at the thought. He wasn't much help when it came to physical fighting. His talents were more used for intellectual things. When it came to the brute work this was when she was useful. She took another deep breath in and decided that she would handle this on her own. Besides, these two were clearly seeking her out. Her chest puffed up and she began marching toward them.
She was feet away and neither boy seemed to hear her boots on the ground. She was surprised at her stealthiness but then realized both of their faces were pressed against the windows of her beloved car with no care of what was going on around them. She could have yelled and they would not have flinched. From here, she could see the smudges they left behind and annoyance caused her to twitch. She had spent hours polishing the Mazda last night and it took them just one second to ruin her workmanship. She took one last deep breath in before sliding next to them still gazing through her window.
"Hey there," She tried to be coy, but acting was not one of her strong suits. She held her breath and waited for their reactions.
They both glanced at her with mumbled 'heys' before returning to her window. It took them both a second before realizing who it was that greeted them. In unison, they jumped back and straightened out their jackets. She was surprised to see how young they were, probably her age.
The tallest of the two, the one with orange hair, spoke first. His grey eyes fell down her body, still wearing her server uniform and food stains from her shift. Her skin was suddenly crawling. The man had broad shoulders and was as tall as Han, but his angular face seemed to have been hit once too many times. "You must have a parking ticket because you have fine written all over you."
Her jaw dropped. Had these two gone through all of this trouble just to hit on her? She deadpanned, irritation gnawing at her to just kick his face in. "I get it because we're at a car park. Original."
The brunette stepped forward, tapping his taller friend in the stomach with an elbow. "Sorry about him, he hasn't been people trained yet."
Disregarding the comment with an eye roll, she crossed her arms over her chest and rested her back against her car. "You two have rides ?"
Carrot top answered, rather fervidly. "Oh boy, if only! I'm a sucker for American muscle, though. If I could have any car it would be a 1970 Dodge Charger. It's the epitome of muscle cars! With a Hemi engine it can go from zero to sixty in 5.5 seconds!"
Her lips curled involuntarily at the sudden reminder of Dom. The black charger was his choice as well. Hana turned to the brunette when his friend finished describing every inch of his dream vehicle. "What about you?"
He shook his head from side to side. "I don't trust the things." A goofy grin was across his face, "and I've been a part of too many accidents."
The two boys shared a laugh at the inside joke. Carrot top turned to her with a smile. "This your ride?" He placed a hand on the hood of her car as if petting a dog's head. "You sure you can handle something like this?"
A wave of anger convulsed through her. Her skin was steaming as she tried to hold her anger down. She had heard his accusing tone before from drivers through the years. Few females actually raced and the rest were here for show. The idea of being compared to them was enough to make her blood boil. Her teeth were grinding together to keep the insults in her mouth.
"Why yes, I do." She held up the car's key fob and the lights from her car flashed with recognition. "Care to see?"
The brunette was shaking his head from left to right, but the carrot top almost tackled her. "Really? Hell yeah!"
"Kuwabara," the brunette sharply warned. "We don't have time. Remember we have to meet up with the guys."
She smirked at the hidden qualm in his voice. "It'll only take a minute." She pushed off her car to stand straight, "I promise I'll be gentle."
Her fingers curled around her steering wheel and took a deep breath in. It was time to find out what these two were up too. She slid a hand under the wheel and found the secured leather pouch under the steering wheel. Her fingers made work of the snaps and waited as the boys played a quick hand game. Brunette lost and he crawled into the back seat.
"Quite the seat belt you have here." Carrot top noted after oafishly falling into the front seat and began to fumble with the four-point buckle.
"Well, you can never be too careful." She nearly purred. "You two ready?"
Carrot top chuckled, finally figuring out the seat belt. "Sure, sweet-thing. Show us the best you got."
A smirk pulled at her lips. She had been hoping he would say something like that. Her fingers were nearly tingling when she hit the engine start button on the dashboard.
Brunette in the back appealed, "wait! I haven't figured this thing out yet."
The engine had already spurred to life and she was shifting gears. The car shot back and around towards the exit. She could hear Brunette's head slamming against the window.
"Hold on," she mocked sympathy and shifted gears again. Tires screeched in protest as she shot towards the exit.
"Easy!" Brunette yelled when they flew through the traffic gate and onto the street. The cars she cut off clamored at her with their horns. Their headlights disappeared in her rear-view mirror as she zig-zagged through the cars littering the street.
"So," she turned to them. "You two have names?"
They howled in unison. "Will you pay attention to the road?"
She smirked. "What's the matter? Don't think I can handle it?" She shifted gears again, cutting through the slower traffic so she would take the turn. Her tires cried out as she twisted around the corner. Straightening out with ease, she shot down the empty street. "So, names?"
"I'm Kazuma Kuwabara," Carrot top squeaked when she drifted around another corner. "The guy in the back is Yusuke Urameshi ."
"Yeah, and the guy in the back wants you to slow the hell down!" He paused as brown eyes caught something through the front windshield. "I never thought I'd say this, but thank god the cops are here." He nearly sighed with relief, "this death ride is over."
She smirked and shifted gears to gain more speed. They shot past the perched police officers, their yellow vest a flash through the windows. Glancing into her rear-view mirror, she watched the two officers check her speed, shrug and continue gauging the speed of the other drivers.
"WHAT!" The two cried in unison again.
"Police cars are factory-tuned. That means they can only reach 180 KMH. If you can do better than that, they won't even bother." She stated oh so matter-of-factly.
Kuwabara seemed to relax, "sounds like you've done this before."
Her elan vital snorted its nose at him in a 'that's right' sort of way. She brushed it off, focusing on the real reason why they were in her car. "I've never seen you guys around the car park before."
"We heard some kids talking about it and wanted to check it out," Yusuke explained, almost too quickly.
"You didn't hear about it while at Sato's Diner tonight, did you?" They both went still and the air was suddenly stiff. "I find it really peculiar that you two would be so willing to hop into a stranger's car and drive off into the night." Her fingers curled around the gripped handle tucked away in the leather straps. "I don't know about you, but my mother always told me to not get into cars with strangers."
She was watching Yusuke through her rear-view mirror. He was still, jaw clenched and brown eyes much harder than they should be for someone his age. The brown eyes transformed from a caramel brown to nearly black and they glanced at what was in her hand. He lunged, but the seatbelt kept him seized in the backseat. She shifted the car and freed the Beretta from the leather holster. When the car came to a squealing stop the gun was aimed at Kuwabara's temple. She glanced back at Yusuke, who had his fingers clasped together in the form of a gun as if mocking her.
She could not help but chuckle, "think that is going to help you here?" He did not answer. "So, I will assume that you two already know who I am?" Both boys were stiff, but they slowly nodded their heads up and down. "It was you two outside of Sato's Diner when I was leaving?" Again, they silently nodded. "Who do you work for?"
They remained silent, but this time did not move. She pressed the safety button off to active the pistol. Adrenaline was coursing through her now, almost causing her blood to burn. Still, neither boy answered her. So, she swung. The sound of a nose breaking filled the car.
Kuwabara cried out and gripped his face with both of his large hands. Already, Hana could see the bright red blood leaking through his fingers. "I'll try one more time. Who do you work for?"
She turned to Yusuke since his companion wouldn't be able to answer at the moment. His brown eyes were hard, calculating. Her elan vital stirred, cautioning her. Those brown eyes had seen more terrifying things than a gun pointed at them. Usually, when she brought out her Beretta, her victims would consent to her demands. Yet, Yusuke was unyielding and even mocked her with his finger gun. Would she be forced to use her weapon in her car? The idea caused her elan vital to chill.
"We don't work for anyone." Kuwabara was the one to answer, but she rolled her eyes at him. That's what they all say at first.
Her grey eyes met with the brown ones again, both not willing to blink. Her thumb pulled back the hammer and the bullet clicked into place. She waited again for an answer.
"Yes, we were looking for you." Yusuke was incredibly somber as he answered from the back seat. "You have a connection to someone we are looking for."
She tightened her grip around the pistol. "And who could that be? My contact list isn't very long."
"Urameshi," Kuwabara tried protesting but the blood was still pouring from his broken nose and had even gone into his mouth. "Don't."
"What's the point, Kuwabara? We're literally facing the end of a barrel." He turned to Hana and her elan vital shrank away, as if knowing before she did, that the answer was not going to be pleasant. "We are looking for Kamata."
She choked. "Kamata? You mean like the mafia boss?" She found herself laughing before she could control it. "And you thought I had a connection?" The accusation was funny enough for her to drop the Beretta. It took her a moment to stop laughing. She straightened and wiped a tear away from her eye.
"Aren't you Hasegawa's business partner?" Yusuke questioned with a thick eyebrow raised.
Slowly she shook her head left to right and the car filled with an awkward silence. She had known the name but could not put a face to it. Yusuke was suddenly fuming in the backseat. He had dropped his finger gun and was mumbling to himself incoherently. She had a sudden thought that caused her grip around her pistol to tighten. "Are you cops, then?"
Urameshi nearly fell out of his seat if it wasn't for the seatbelt keeping him in place. It was Kuwabara that answered. "Not. Cops."
Her elan vital believed him and it began scolding her for breaking his nose. The nose had begun to clot and allowed Kuwabara to remove his fingers. It was at an odd angle and her stomach squirmed with guilt. She had broken it really good. "Since I kinda ruined your night by being the wrong person," she slid the pistol back into its harness under the steering wheel. "Let me fix your nose."
"You got a first aid or somethin'?" He sounded more nasally than before.
"Are you able to get out of the car?" She had already opened her door.
Yusuke was fighting with his seatbelt, now trying to figure a way out of it. "Can't you fix it in here?"
"Why? So you can get more blood in my car?" She ignored his retort and slammed the door shut. "That isn't easy to clean, you know."
When she made her way to the other side of the car, Kuwabara was struggling to get his long legs out. He curled his fingers around the window panel and pulled with all of his might to extract himself from the car and into the cool summer night. The poor Mazda shook and Hana prayed for her shocks.
"Do you have a broken nose kit?" He pondered, confused why she was continuing to stand before him and nibble on her bottom lip as if she was unsure about something. He tore his eyes away from a girl with raven black hair in the server uniform, to his friend still in the vehicle. He hoped to find Yusuke at the ready if she did anything funny again. However, the brunette was even more tangled up in the seat belt than before. Kuwabara slapped a hand to his forehead fortunate that they had a plan B hidden within the shadows. If things got sour… hopefully, he would help out, but Kuwabara had never known him to leap into action for his sake. Even after all these years of working together.
Hana was rubbing her hands together. "No, but I've done this before." She recalled all the bones she had replaced in the past, and all the bullet holes she had sewn together. A broken nose was nothing compared to some of the gore she had seen, but she knew it would still be painful. "Ready?"
Kuwabara nodded his head and she stepped forward. Her fingers touched his nose and could feel the broken bone under the skin. His blood was still wet and warm under her fingers.
Here goes nothing. She took a deep breath in and squeezed her fingers around his nose. Instinctively he flinched and pulled away. "Please, stay still." She softly instructed. He could mess it up even more if he struggled.
She pushed with all her might with her fingers and suddenly she was spinning and darkness had engulfed her. Arms were around her, lifting her back onto her feet. A shirt was clenched in her grip and she tried to get enough air back into her gasping lungs. Her heart hurt and her skull felt as if a knife had been plunged deep into it. All she wanted was to lay down and sleep. When her eyes were able to open, Kuwabara's grey eyes crossed and examined his nose. Yusuke's face was pressed against the window with brown eyes the size of saucers.
Kuwabara took a deep breath in through his nose and groaned as if it was the best thing he had ever done. "This is great! I haven't been able to breathe this good since Urameshi broke it when we were five!" He slapped her back in appreciation, but she had not regained full control of her legs and fell forward. Fortunately, her Mazda caught her. "This is almost as good as Genkai's healing sessions! How'd you do that anyway? I didn't sense any spirit energy coming from you at all."
It took her a moment to push off from the car. Her arms were wobbly and she was sure she was about to hurl. The pounding in her head made it difficult for her to understand what he was saying, or why Kuwabara was reacting much calmer than she had anticipated. Her thoughts were swirling together and she said the first words that made sense to her, "what's spirit energy?"
Suddenly, Yusuke fell out of the car. "Where did you say you were from, again?" His brown eyes were serious again.
"I didn't." Her fingers were rubbing her temple as an attempt to curl her sudden and painful headache. Yusuke's tone was much more serious than his friend's. It was like he had caught her doing something illegal. He reminded her of a cop questioning her. "But, I'm from here." Quicker than she could process, he stood and was standing before her with his watch an inch away from her face. His brown eyes studied something on the watch's face. It made a robotic beeping noise, and his caramel brown eyes were suddenly confused.
"Where did you learn how to do that?" He pointed his other hand at Kuwabara, who was busy again taking deep inhales with his nose. "You made your fingers glow."
Glow? She glanced at her fingertips, so very confused. "What do you mean?"
Yusuke's eyes turned to slits, as if skeptical of her confusion. He nudged Kuwabara in the side with an elbow and the two had turned their heads together. She suddenly felt on display as they whispered behind their hands, brown and grey eyes studying at her up and down
"I broke the nose once, and I'll do it again." She was suddenly regretting being so helpful. "What the hell are you talking about? And, what was that thing you mentioned earlier? Something about spirit energy?"
Their whispering paused behind their hands. Yusuke was next to her with a blink of her eyes. "Oh, that? That was just Kuwabara seeing things." His arm curled around her shoulder.
"Yeah, it must have just been my eyes playing tricks." He laughed far harder than he should have.
She glanced between the two boys, her elan vital did not believe any of their words and nudged her to keep asking. But, a small voice spoke in the back of her thoughts. If she did, it would mean she would agree that something was different about her, and that would really open up a can of worms. Even though her elan vital was waving a flag with red exclamations all over it, she had to brush it off. "You must have just seen a glare or something." She agreed with both of them.
They nodded their heads in agreement, much too eagerly. Still skeptical, however, she slipped out of Yusuke's grip. "So… we're cool? You guys won't follow me around anymore and I won't have to break your nose again?"
"Of course, little lady!" Kuwabara clapped her on the back again, this time her knees buckled under her and was able to keep her from stumbling forward.
"First," She nearly scoffed. "Stop calling me that. Second, whatever business you have with Kamata, or the Yakuza, just forget about it. I may not be a direct link for you, but I know that he is not a man to be bothered. He will have you killed, and no one will be able to do a thing about it. If you value your lives or the ones you love, don't come back here and leave the Yakuza behind."
Yusuke shrugged, "thanks for worrying about us, but we've faced off with worse things before."
"And besides," Kuwabara added, "if we do all that, we'll never see you again."
This time, she really did scoff. "Trust me, you don't want to. And, before this night gets any crazier, I'm leaving." The boys watched as she crawled into her grey monster that purred to life when she was situated. Gracefully, she did a doughnut around them, the tires screaming against the pavement, and she shot down the street.
They sensed him land between them. "Smooth, detective. She wasn't even the right contact, and then you go and let her break the dimwit's nose." He spoke over Kuwabara's rant, "and then you almost reveal Makai to a stupid human." Maroon eyes rolled, "why do I even bother helping you three?"
Yusuke turned to the shorter male clad in all black. "It's not our fault pacifier breath messed up." He dug into his pants pockets to find the crumpled piece of paper. Once found, he tossed it for the other to see. "Did you happen to sense any spirit energy from her at all?"
"Hn." Maroon eyes skimmed the hastily written down notes. "No."
"Aren't you going to apologize for calling us dumb? Koenma was the one who messed up, not us." Kuwabara puffed his chest out proudly.
Yusuke knitted his fingers together behind his head. "This was a waste of a night. I hope Kurama is having a better one than we are." He turned to the smaller of the three. "Have you heard from him, Hiei?"
Suddenly a small slit appeared on Hiei's forehead, underneath the locks of black hair that had fallen onto his forehead after he removed his white bandana. The fissure blinked and revealed a large, purple eye. His own maroon eyes closed with concentration. The two boys watched him, quietly. "He has not caught onto his scent yet."
Yusuke cursed with frustration. "This fast and furious case we were promised is turning out to be a drawn-out pain in my ass."
Kuwabara nudged Yusuke in the side, "what do you think about Hana? Do you really think she's just a normal human? How would she be able to fix my nose the way she did?"
"Too bad she couldn't fix the rest of your face." Hiei deadpanned, returning the bandana around his head.
Yusuke was so lost in thought that he did not realise the two on either side of him had begun to bicker. It was strange that a normal human girl was able to fix a nose with what appeared to be spirit energy when even the Spirit Detective Spirit Tracker Watch could not sense any spirit energy from her. He wanted to get to the bottom of this case, it was just unfortunate that he was already knee high in shit-business from Koenma. The thought of the Reikai's ruler turned his attention from the mysterious girl to anger. With all the technology that the Reikai had to offer, how could it confuse this? They were seeking out Kamata's nephew's business partner and unfortunately the girl they found was not that...
"Don't bother wasting another moment on that female, detective." Hiei must have been listening to Yusuke's thoughts. "She has nothing to do with this case."
"Yeah, yeah I get it." he brushed off the apparition even though his gut was telling him something different. "Now, let's get back to Reikai so I can kick Koenma's ass for giving us the wrong information."