Hana was panting slightly by the time she made it back to the squatter building. Rounding the corner, she came to an abrupt halt. There was a van there still. Perfect. She ran for the building, but once she was near the van her eyes widened as she stumbled to a stop.

Oh shit. That wasn't the same van.

She looked back to the entrance when she heard voices, and with dread she recognized them. "You're the perfect little brother type helper fairy character!"

She froze up, her eyes going wide with panic. For a split second she thought of running to hide, but right as she thought that Kyohei stepped out of the building, followed by his friends. Hana swallowed out of nervousness before steeling herself. Twice in one day? What was with her luck?

Walking with them was the boy from earlier, and he spotted her first. "Oh, you're back."

The others looked to her and were surprised. Erika and Walker cheered, "Titania!"

Kyohei blinked at her dumbly. "Hana?"

Hana's shoulders sagged as she released a breath. She closed her eyes, "I need to start checking my horoscope in the mornings..." Kyohei just stared at her confused.

"This is fate!" Walker proclaimed. Turning to Erika he said, "See? Totally the last minute unexpected big sister hero savior type!"

"Savior my ass!" To everyone's surprise, Saburo marched right up to her and seized her by the front of her jacket. "You were here earlier, huh!? Are the Yakuza trafficking humans!? Where's Kazutano!?"

Walker and Erika looked at each other as she whispered, "Titania wouldn't take Kazutano, would she?"

"Whoa, hey, Saburo," Kyohei stepped forward tried to calm him down. "Take a breath. If she was the one who took him then why would she come back so soon?"

"How the Hell should I know!?" Saburo kept his furious eyes on her infuriatingly calm ones. "Well!? Say something!"

While she appeared calm, inside she was cursing herself. Of course this was suspicious. They knew who she worked for. And knowing Saburo's rage, her word wasn't going to be enough for him. "Hana?" She glanced over at Kyohei, seeing him frowning at her in anticipation. Looking over to the otaku's they were growing worried as well.

"It wasn't her." They all looked down at the kid as he sniffed. "She helped me hide. It was three guys."

Saburo glared back at her and she looked back at him. He still had a firm grip on her jacket. "What were you doing here earlier then, huh? Just watching while traffickers kidnapped innocent people!? Huh!?" As he shook her she knew he was hurting. She could see it in his enraged eyes.

What good excuse did she have for not helping? For not stopping them? As he shook her, her envelope fell out and landed on the ground. Saburo paused and looked down at it while Hana went wide eyed. Kyohei stepped forward and knelt down to pick it up. He hesitated, feeling the thing, before standing up and staring at her. Saburo released her and Hana stared back at him, unable to look away from the disappointment. Today was just a shit day for her.

To her surprise he handed it back to her without a word. She stared at it guiltily before accepting it, tucking it away again. If that wasn't enough she had her murder weapon with her. What the Hell was she thinking in coming here? "If you just left before, what are you doing back?" Kyohei asked.

She glanced at him before looking to Saburo and then the ground. "I came back... because I wanted to help." She glanced around the alley, avoiding their eyes. "I see that I'm too late."

"Dammit..." She looked back at Saburo as he clutched at his head. "How the Hell are we going to find them?"

Kyohei looked to him and assured him, "Kazutano wasn't taken too long ago. We can still find him before they drop him off."

"Yeah, but we have to find this inconspicuous van in all of Ikebukuro," Erika pointed out. "What's the plan for that?"

While Hana listened to them from the sideline, somehow the child making his way over to stand next to her, she wondered what she could do to help. She didn't have her own vehicle, but... "I have an idea." The four heads turned to her and she stiffened, not liking that much attention on her. "I have someone I can call who'll help search. I just need a description of the van and a license plate."

"I got you covered there."

Hana looked down at the boy. Erika questioned Hana, "Isn't he a total fairy type character? I bet I can make him a Happy from Fairy Tail cosplay outfit!"

Hana ignored her and asked, "What's your name?"

"Hashim." He then handed her a piece of paper with a license plate number on it.

Hana walked away and turned her back on them as she pulled out her cell phone. While she cut ties with nearly everyone she knew, there were a couple of people she felt she should keep in touch with. "Shinra? It's me."

"Hana! Don't have more broken bones I hope."

"No, listen," she glanced to the side as she spoke, feeling the eyes on her. "I need Celty's help. Well- people I know need her help. It's a job I'll pay for."

"Oh? What's the job?"

"Human traffickers took a foreigner. He's... Important." Saburo approached and she tried to avoid looking at him. "A friend of a... acquaintance. I- we- they need help finding this guy. I need her to get the foreigner-"

"Kazutano," Saburo interjected and she glanced at him.

"Kazutano, and keep him out of harm's way."

"Seems straight forward. Got a description of the vehicle?"

Hana nodded to herself, "Black van. Three guys, one was fat and another had glasses. One with a pink sweatshirt was named Kanazawa, I think. We have no idea when they're supposed to meet with their buyers or where they're dropping him off. So the situation is urgent."

"All right, black van you said? Have a license plate number?" She recited the number to him and he wrote it down. "Okay, I'll get this to Celty. Good luck."

"Yeah, thanks."

Hana hung up and turned back around for Walker to ask, "Who's help did ya get?"

Looking sideways she replied, "I called for Celty. She's the... Headless Rider."

"The Headless Rider!?" Erika repeated in shock.

"Her roommate is the underground doctor that fixed me," she explained, looking back at them. "That's how I know them. Anyway, she'll be helping."

"All right!" With a new vigor Saburo jumped back into his van and started it up. "Let's go! No time to lose!"

Walker and Erika loaded up while Kyohei handed Hashim a box of takeout. "Thanks for everything, Hashim." Hana walked over towards them to get out of the road, knowing Saburo's u-turns.

She stood by the bench as Hashim accepted the box, "Sure," and plopped back down on the bench.

Erika rolled her window down and asked him, "Do you like sushi?"

"Yeah! There wasabi in this?" Hana listened to them, but kept her eyes to the ground as Kyohei ran to climb into the van.

Guess she did her part to help them... but it didn't feel like enough. Erika replied, "Yeah, sure!" Hana shoved her hand deep in her pocket, feeling angry with herself. No, this wasn't right. Of course this wasn't enough- and for them? Of all people?

She looked up at them as Saburo stuck his head out and said to Hashim, "Don't worry, kid, Russian wasabi isn't spicy!" He was already in a better mood with some hope. Hana glanced past him and froze up, seeing Kyohei staring at her. He was waiting for something.

She swallowed and looked away. As she approached the van Walker laughed in the backseat and said, "Don't lie to the little guy like that!" Were they always so carefree like this? Even when their friend was kidnapped?

"Saburo..." Saburo looked away from Walker back to her. She kept her eyes to her feet as she admitted, "I screwed up." She dared to look him in the eye to see him merely staring at her. "I should have done something, but I didn't. Now your friend is missing. You don't have to accept it- and I understand if you don't- but I want to help make it right. Especially after all you have done for me."

She didn't anticipate the response he gave her. "Why aren't you in the van already?" She blinked at him. He pointed at her pipe and said, "and keep that thing out of my van. I don't want some guy's old blood flaking on the interior."

She was stunned for a moment. "R-Right." She easily let the pipe clatter to the ground and Erika pulled open the side door with a smile.

"All right, let's go," Kyohei said and Saburo took off before Hana had a chance to sit down, sending her tumbling onto Erika and Walker. She blushed out of embarrassment as they laughed and slammed the side door shut. "Hey, Hana," Kyohei said as she quickly tried adjusting in the seat. "I gotta ask; know any shady places a deal would take place?"

"Yes, a few," she replied.

Hana directed them to a few places that she had visited personally on the Yakuza's behalf, then a couple more places that she'd only heard about. They visited parking garages and used flashlights to check plates, made sure to keep an eye out as they drove, even stopped at road construction to ask the traffic director if they had seen the vehicle. The longer they looked, the more Hana noticed their despondent natures.

They even pulled over so Saburo could give Kazutano's scent to an old dog. Hana watched with crossed arms as the haggard mutt sniffed the offered shoe. During the brief break from driving Erika and Walker went over to the vending machine for coffee and tea. After the dog wandered away from the shoe, leaving Saburo depressed, Hana glanced over at Kyohei, seeing him leaning against the van looking at his phone.

He blinked, feeling her looking at him, and looked up at her, but her phone vibrated and she quickly pulled it out. It was a text from Celty, [That idiot gave me a grocery list! What's the license?]

Hana's eye twitched at that. That idiot... She quickly texted her back before putting it away with a sigh. "Good news?" She looked back up at him. She approached with a shake of her head.

"She's still searching," she replied and Kyohei looked back down at his phone. "Have a picture of Kazutano?"

"Yeah, here," he handed his phone to her. "You can send the picture to yourself to give to Celty if you want."

She reached on instinct, but hesitated. She'd be sharing her email... She only had a handful of contacts in her phone, including her aunt and uncle that hardly ever kept in touch. Simply when Saki was never responding.

Kyohei watched her face carefully, realizing what she was debating. "You can delete your email after if you need."

She glanced at him. "N-no, it's... fine." Quickly she pulled out her phone and transferred the information. This wasn't a time to think about herself- this was for their sake.

After that she held his phone for a minute and studied the balding Italian man. She glanced back over at Saburo, seeing his miserable expression watching the dog sniff around the immediate area. She looked back down at the phone and read aloud his last message, "I broke a plate..." She could see how the kanji was messed up. She handed his phone back to him, "If you don't mind me asking... Who is this Kazutano?" It was none of her business, but she was curious to how close they all were with this foreigner.

"He's a friend to all of us," he replied and glanced over at Saburo as well. "But this is especially tough for Saburo. Kinda bums me out not even Erika, Walker or myself can fill his shoes for him." Hana's brows knit together, even more curious now. "Kazutano's the last of a dying breed. He's a street side ticket seller, and the guy that gave Saburo the biggest thrill of his life. Tickets to see Hijiribe Ruri."

Hana blinked and looked back over at Saburo. "He's a fan?"

"More than that, and I wouldn't let him hear you call him just 'a' fan," he said and she looked back at him. "He's in love with that girl. He's her biggest fan and is one of the three vice presidents of her fan club. Kazutano got him front row tickets to a show that no one was able to get tickets to."

"I'm impressed." And she was, even though she hardly expressed it.

Kyohei smiled at her briefly. "We gotta find him. If for no other reason than out of respect for Saburo."

"Dota-chin's trying to be cool again!" Erika teased and Hana blinked at her as she and Walker approached with cans of coffee.

Hana accepted hers. "Dota-chin?"

Kyohei frowned, "Ignore that." He took his as well.

"You know, I was thinking," Erika said, "why don't we try to call his cell phone? You never know he might still have it on him."

"Yeah, and if we can reach him we might be able to negotiate with the kidnappers," Walker added.

Kyohei gasped and quickly whipped his phone back out. Sabruo walked over and the three of them crowded around him to listen in while Hana stood to the side. She wanted no part in a group huddle. The call picked up and he asked, "What the Hell? Who's this?" There was a pause and Hana glanced over. "Oh," Kyohei made eye contact with her, causing her to freeze, "It's you." She narrowed her eyes curiously and he quickly looked away. "Where are you? ... What? Why?" Kyohei then blinked and pulled the phone back once the call dropped. "Well, we have our location."

"All right!" Saburo cheered and ran to get back into the driver's seat. "Everyone load up!" As everyone piled in the van, Hana frowned at Kyohei and he avoided her gaze. Who answered the phone?

Her question was easy to answer once they arrived at Taishoken in south Ikebukuro. A children's elephant slide from the local park was lying in the broken road. As they climbed out she eyed it, knowing that kind of damage was only caused by Heiwajima Shizuo after he encountered Izaya. She shot Kyohei a suspicious look that he quickly looked away from. Why the Hell would he act so dodgy if he spoke to Izaya? Did it have to do with the information he told them about her?

Saburo leaped out of the car and ran for the kidnapper Kanazawa who was lying passed out on a pile of trash bags. "Wake up!" He grabbed him by his jacket and shook him. "Wake up, dammit! Come on!" Kyohei walked over and picked up Kazutano's cell phone from the ground."What the Hell's wrong with you!?"

Hana approached and Saburo shoved the guy back in the trash. He backed up, breathing heavily out of rage while she squatted down and examined the kidnapper. She sniffed, frowned, and leaned closer to sniff again.

Kyohei furrowed his brows up at her. "Um... What are you doing?"

Resting her arm on her knee, she looked back at him and replied, "It's chloroform. The kidnappers must use it to knock out their victims, but this one got it all over himself. No telling when he'll come to." Standing up she said, "It hasn't been too long, and if this guy was drenched in the stuff then the whole van would be filled with the fumes. Kazutano isn't making it easy for the kidnappers. We can safely assume they haven't dropped him off yet."

Behind Kyohei, both Erika and Walker readied their hammers, screw drivers and ice pick. Hana blinked while he frowned back at them, "Hey, back in the bag with those. You'll put him to sleep for good."

Showing her fear, Erika lifted her hammer in protest, "But the longer we wait to find Kazutano then...!"

"She's right!" Walker raised his screwdriver in defiance. "The longer we wait means the closer they get to killing him!"

Kyohei frowned, looking back at the kidnapper. Hana watched him while Saburo kicked the kidnapper's leg in frustration. As Kyohei walked up to them, Hana moved out of his way. He grabbed Kanazawa's ankles and lifted him upside down, shaking the guy out. Some loose change and his cell phone fell out. Hana watched with a tiny bead of sweat as Erika and Walker put away their devices. Were they going to torture him? She wouldn't guess that they were that type. She supposed anything for Kazutano, though...

Kyohei tossed the guy aside and picked up his cell phone. Saburo asked, "So what's the plan?"

Looking through the phone he replied, "I'm going to have his buddies tell us exactly where the drop off place is."

Hana stared down at him blankly. "With your voice?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her, as did everyone else, and she stiffened a bit. She needed to stop drawing attention to herself like that. Closing her eyes a sigh slipped through her nose. "Just- disguise your voice. He sounded pretty nasally so plug your nose. Also, he would be waking up from chloroform, so be sure to sound groggy."

Kyohei smiled at her, "You're pretty clever."

She looked away with a quiet groan. Erika laughed while Walker smiled and said, "Titania can't handle compliments well!"

"Total tsundere type," she agreed. Hana closed her eyes and sighed again. She still had no idea what they were talking about.

Kyohei stood and made the call, making sure to plugged his nose. "Uhh hey, man. It's me." They all watched and waited, then broke into smiles when he continued, "Yeah, sorry, I'm on my way now. Uh, I forgot where we're supposed to meet." So, it actually worked. "Thanks, man." Kyohei hung up and grinned. "We got it!"

Hana was smiling, until they broke into cheers. She went wide eyed, blinking a few times as Erika, Walker, and Saburo broke into laughter and celebration, confetti erupting around them while Kyohei was singing some victory song in his low tenor voice. She took a step back towards the van away from them, shoving her hands deep into her pockets. What- what's going on? Kyohei singing? And he wasn't half bad at it.

Kanazawa began to stir, seeing the four people celebrating while the fifth stood in the back looking awkward. "Hey... Who are you guys...?"

"We are!" Hana went wide eyed as they sang, "The Dollars~!"

"D-Dollars...?" She questioned to herself.

Kanazawa groaned as he was still waking up. "The Dollars...?"

"That's right!" Saburo said, "And don't you forget it!" He then punched Kanazawa hard in the face, knocking him back out.

After that they calmed down a bit. "Let's go!" On Kyohei's order they loaded up again.

"Titania!" Walker called while she just stood there, watching them dumbfounded. "Come on!" She blinked, coming to her senses, and hurried into the van.

As they went speeding off, she had to ask, "What are the Dollars?"

"You don't know?" Erika questioned in surprise and Hana shook her head.

Walker commented, "You must really be out of touch with today's society." She frowned at him, but didn't respond.

"The Dollars is another gang," Erika replied to Hana's surprise. "It's like a color gang, but without a color. No one really knows what it's about, or who's leading it. No one knows who's a Dollar or not; there's no ties between the members."

"It's an online group," Walker continued and she looked at him. "You can only join when you've been given an anonymous invitation. There are no rules, no orders, no restrictions. The members are free to do whatever they want."

"They're wildly popular here in Ikebukuro," Erika added. "I'm surprised you've never heard of them before."

"Well, I'm not exactly online-" She was cut off by a sharp turn and was squished between the two of them. While she was squished she managed out, "You're all in this gang?"

From the front Kyohei replied, "Yep, all of us." Looking back at her he added, "One day you might get an invite, and you can join if you want." Join a gang? The mere idea had her looking up at him surprised. He smiled in return and added, "You can even hang out with us."

Hang out with them? There was another sharp turn and she was tossed to the other side, getting squished again, but she dealt with it. Even if there was no rules, no restrictions, and apparently no leader, getting into another gang just sounded like a mess. Besides, she was in a Yakuza. And she didn't hang out with people anymore.

While Erika's face was pressed against the window, she forced her eyes open to stare down the street. She gasped in delight, "There's the van!"

She, Hana, and Walker quickly straightened up and watched as Saburo sped towards the two kidnappers standing in the street by their parked vehicle. They stupidly watched them racing closer until they realized they were going to get run over, and leapt out of the way just in time, falling to the ground. "What the Hell!?" The fat one shouted.

Saburo quickly pulled the van over and they all jumped out. "Kazutano!" Kyohei shouted and the kidnappers scrambled to their feet.

"Kazutano, hang on!" Saburo shouted. "We're coming!"

Getting to their feet, the fat one pulled out a switch blade, "Prepare to meet your doom!"

While glasses readied his short metal pipe, "You're dead!"

"Whoa," Erika smiled in surprise, "Classic lines."

Walker smiled amused and questioned, "Who says 'meet your doom'?"

"Huh?" Kyohei glanced at Hana as she moved forward. She glared the two men down with a dark aura as she calmly walked towards them. His eyes widened- seeing her demeanor change he was suddenly thrown into a flashback of the old days and how she was before fighting Izumii. Seeing that old self in her made him suddenly nervous. "Hey, Hana!"

She had no idea who Kazutano was personally, but she was going to get him back for them, just as they had done for her. Focusing on her, the kidnappers braced themselves and glasses questioned, "What the Hell are you doing here? You said the Yakuza didn't care!"

"They don't," she replied, "but I do." Her glare sent shivers up their spines.

"And just who the Hell are you!?" The fat one shouted, holding his knife at her.

Realizing she didn't have her weapon, her fists tightened. She'd have to beat them bloody with her bare hands. As Kyohei became more worried about Hana, Erika took the opportunity of her silence to reply for her, "She's Titania, the Fairy Queen!"

The kidnapperes didn't know how to respond to that. Then, Hana stopped short- snapped out of a trance when she heard the familiar metallic bray of Celty's Shooter. The kidnapper's faces melted into fear, staring past her, and the others behind her realized the sound as well. "T-th-the Headless Rider...!?" Hana glanced back to see Celty coming down the street. "But we played it safe! We took an old guy!" Screaming in fright, Hana looked back in mild confusion to see them racing back to the van. They yanked the door open and quickly tried to unlock the cuffs on the old Italian man from inside. "Listen, we won't do it anymore, I swear! Please!"

Hana blinked at them, and Kyohei spoke her thoughts, "What the Hell?" Since when was Celty so terrifying? What has she been doing? Kazutano was tossed out of the van onto the ground. "Kazutano!"

"Dota-chinno!" He called back.

Hana's eyes widened when she realized the kidnappers were climbing into the van. "Get back here!" She roared and bolted for them.

Kyohei went sprinting after her as Erika shouted, "Stop them!"

Hana ran for the van, but as it sped forward Kyohei shouted, "Look out!" She was forced to move back as it whipped around in a u-turn and she tch'd, glaring after it as it sped down the street. Kyohei grabbed Kazutano's wrist, dragging him to his feet and the three of them met with the van that Saburo was already driving. "Follow them!" Hana shouted and they quickly climbed back inside. Kazutano hastily climbed over the seat into the very back with Walker while Hana sat in the middle with Erika. Saburo put the pedal to the metal and they sped off after them, leaving Celty in the middle of the road watching them leave.

She looked down to see an old dog approach, sniffing the ground. The dog looked up at her and barked, having located the scent. Should she just go home?

!

Saburo was laughing like a mad man. "Think that you can just slip away!? Wrong! And turning right!"

Hana quickly grabbed the oh-shit handle at the top of the door and held on. The rest of them were squished to the far side while she and Kyohei hardly moved- a real man only using his abs. They turned so hard that the side wheels came up, and when they came back down the three of them were tossed around, Walker falling over the seat and Erika sliding to the floor.

Lifting his head, Walker said, "This is the first time we've done something like this since we've joined the Dollars, right, Kyohei?"

"Hey, sit your ass back down," he called back.

Instead, Erika leaned forward towards Hana and said, "About the Dollars; they're not an angel that flies through the sky shouting 'pi-piru-piru-piru~' flashing her panties! Right, Dota-chin!?"

Hana only blinked while Kyohei blushed lightly and shouted, "I told you don't call me that!"

The black van turned sharply down a narrow road. Saburo slowed, rolling down his window, and then sped off again. Hana was surprised when he turned down some stairs and accelerated down them, gaining on the van right up next to it. Having an idea, Hana yanked open the side door and Kyohei exclaimed, "What are you doing!?"

She ignored him and held her hand out to Walker, giving him her signature look. He grinned and fished out a mini ice pick, handing it to her. Erika cheered, "Go, Titania!" as Hana leaned out and climbed onto the top of the van.

"Watch the paint!" Saburo shouted. Hana crouched and tensed up before leaping across the gap, landing hard on the other van and digging the ice pick into the hood, anchoring herself down. She could hear the kidnappers scream from inside.

Saburo sped up and turned in front of them, clipping the black van as it swerved in the other direction. Hana bared her teeth and hung on tight as they lost control and rammed into the chain link fence. The side wheels were lifted and though the engine revved they went nowhere. Hana yanked the ice pick back out of the hood and the doors flew open, the guy with glasses making a break for it. Hana ran down the front and jumped on him, tackling him to the ground and holding the ice pick to his throat to keep him in place.

She looked over her shoulder to see the fat one trying to climb the fence, but Saburo's van raced up and Kyohei jumped out. He grabbed the kidnapper by the back of his jacket and pulled him off, throwing him to the ground. He grabbed him by the front of his jacket and lifted him to his face. "I think it's about time we have a chat. About those human experiments you pricks are involved with."

Hana grabbed her kidnapper by the ankle and dragged him back towards the van while he clawed fruitlessly at the ground to escape. They tossed them in the back of the van and drove to a more secluded location. The sun was beginning to rise and Hana blinked at the horizon. She'd been out all night? She'd have to visit Saki in a few hours.

Kyohei and Kazutano left for a convenience store while they popped open the back hatch. Saburo stood with his arms crossed, glaring down at the dirt bag kidnappers. Erika and Walker were leaning over the back seat while Hana took a seat on the back of the van, causing the kidnappers to huddle closer to each other away from her.

She glared at them, "Tell us where you're dropping off humans."

"I know who you are, you hypocrite," Glasses snapped at her. Her brows went up in mild surprise as Erika and the others glanced at each other. "Since when the Hell is Mikajima Hana a vigilante?"

"Hey- yeah!" The fat one grew some backbone. "You're a murderer just like the rest of us!"

That pissed her off. She glared at them darkly. "So, you figured out who I am."

"Y-Yeah," they tried to act like hot shit, but they were intimidated.

"That's good. Then you know I don't make idle threats. Don't answer my question and I'll murder you next."

"Oh, come on," Walker said lightly and she glanced up at him. "It's no fun if you don't get to torture them a little bit first."

Erika brought over a stack of manga and set them in front of the kidnappers. "Here, pick any one of these books and we'll torture you just like they do in the book!"

Hana blinked at the manga. Ladies x Butlers? Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan? Reading the titles, Hana decided to carefully step away of the van and stand beside Saburo. "Whatever," he said, "you guys can have your fun. But no gasoline in the car this time, okay?"

"Gaso-what!?" The fat one exclaimed.

"Saburono!" Kazutano's voice called from behind and they turned to see him walking back with Kyohei and some bags of groceries. "A time for a morning ritual! We bought-a milk for scary friend, too!"

Hana blinked at him. Was she the scary friend? Kyohei tensed and was quick to cover it up, "Kazutano, I think you mean to say uh- pretty friend."

Kazutano grinned, "Oh, si! Pretty, scary friend!" Hana merely stared as Saburo shut the back door on the pleads of the kidnappers. She watched as the boys pulled out cartons of fresh milk. Kazutano handed her one and said, "Is a man's morning ritual!"

"I'm a girl," she replied. Saburo laughed while Kyohei pressed his hand to his face.

"You honorary man then today!" He beamed a grin. Hana let a sigh slip through her nose and accepted the carton.

She stood with the men and chugged the milk with them. However she had to give up halfway through, unable to keep up, and the boys finished with a loud belch. After Erika and Walker explained to the kidnappers all the fun ways they could get information out of them, they could hear them scream, "Okay fine we'll talk! We'll talk! We'll tell you everything, just let us out of here!"

After tossing the trash away, including the kidnappers, they loaded into the van again and drove to the building where the humans were taken to. Kyohei rolled down his window and eyed the building. "Yagiri Pharma, huh?"

Saburo leaned over to spy the building as well. "That's a big ass cooperation."

"Too big to take down with just us," Hana murmured, peering around Erika.

"I don't know," Walker said from the back, "You guys really think that's true? You really think they experiment on humans in there?"

"Looking at the front end of the building, no." They all looked to Hana as she spoke. She thought about the clean and typical corporation office of the Awakusu-kai, the fancy yet empty art gallery she met Akabayashi in. "That being said, all things generally have two sides to them. Especially in Ikebukuro. There's stuff hidden around here that would probably surprise you." Saying that she sat back and crossed her arms, closing her eyes.

"Titania's so deep," Erika teased and she ignored her.

"Come on," Kyohei smiled at the rest of them. "Why don't we go get something to eat?"

"I'm in!" Walker called.

"We go for breakfast at Russia Sushi!" Kazutano said.

"Yeah, perfect," Erika agreed, "Let's go!"

"Then it's decided," Saburo said and pulled away from the building.

As they drove for Russia Sushi, Walker stuck his head between Erika and Hana and said, "We get to chase down bad guys and have breakfast with Titania! We'll have to call this the Legendary Kazutano Incident!"

"Si!" Kazutano did the same and Hana eyed the man sideways. "Gratzi, pretty, scary, girl-boy for your a help!"

Erika and Walker busted out laughing while Hana closed her eyes again, a blush growing on her face. "You're welcome." She opened her eyes again, her blush disappearing as she suddenly thought differently. "Although... You shouldn't really be thanking me." The laughter died down at that and Kyohei looked back, Saburo glancing in the rearview mirror. "It was my fault in the first place that you got kidnapped. I didn't stop the kidnappers from entering that building."

"Nonsense!" Hana glanced at the man, seeing him smiling at her. "You-sa come back for me, no? You and I know not a thing about one another! You help my friends, and you help-a save little ol' me!" Cheering that last word he tossed his arms around her in a tight hug.

Hana went wide eyed and became stiff, her face turning red. "W-wait- what are you doing? What are you doing!? Let me go- let me go, please." She was trembling from the embarrassment.

"Me-sa never let you go!" He cried. "You my hero!"

"Hooray!" Erika laughed as she and Walker joined in on the hug.

"Titania's the best!" Walker agreed. "Coming to save the day even when she had no reason to!"

"It- it wasn't anything!" She argued, squirming to try and get them off, her panic rising. "Just- let me go! Let me go!"

"Never!" They cried.

Kyohei smiled as he faced forward, and Saburo did the same. He glanced at Kyohei while the four of them were busy and said, "So, you think she's pretty, huh?"

Kyohei blushed as he suddenly tensed. "Wait- what?"

"I heard what you said to Kazutano," he smirked at him slyly.

Kyohei sighed and stared out the window. "Shut up, that's not what I meant."

"Whatever, man." Saburo chuckled while the others in the back laughed, Hana fruitlessly trying to pull the side door open for her to jump out.

Things eventually calmed down by the time they made it to Russia Sushi. Hana found herself joining them at the sushi bar and eating breakfast with them, stuck between the two otaku's as they rattled on about anime, manga, their methods of interrogation, and Erika's avid love of romantic male relationships in manga and novels. Getting to that last part Hana nearly choked on her food while Erika whispered to her details. With a burning face, Hana made quick work of changing the subject. She inquired about their lives in the Dollars, and there really wasn't much to it. They chatted online occasionally, but no orders ever came down from up top. People really just did whatever they wanted to do. So, they worked. Hana learned about their different occupations, and she was surprised. They were living very normal lives since the fall of the Blue Squares.

"Hey, you could help me make jewelry!" Erika suggested happily and Hana froze. Kyohei glanced down the row to see her face obscured by her hair.

"Or if you're not into that I can teach you to ice sculpt," Walker suggested. "You're still looking for a job, right?"

Hana set down her piece of sushi, quickly losing her appetite. "What time is it?" She asked, ignoring his question to their confusion.

Saburo pulled out his phone to check, "It's almost eight. Why?"

Hana stood and pulled out her brown envelope. She set a big bill on the counter saying, "I need to go. Thank you."

As she walked away, Erika called after her, "Wait! We didn't exchange emails!" Hana ignored her and quickly left the restaurant.

Hana stuck her hands deep in her pockets and began walking down the street towards her apartment. She needed to clean up and change before seeing Saki. She frowned as she stared at the ground. She felt surprisingly lighter after hanging out with those guys. It had to be because she was deprived of human contact. The only people she really saw were Saki, Akabayashi, Shiki, Izaya on rare occasion, and then various people the Awakusu-kai sent her to deal with. She sighed to herself, her brows furrowing up. She needed to go back to old routine. She needed to focus on-

"Hana!" She stopped short from surprise. She turned back to see Kyohei running up to her. "Wait up!"

She merely stared at him. "Kadota. Something wrong?"

"What?" He came to a stop and looked at her confused. "No, nothing's wrong. We were just wondering if you wanted to hang out with us later today."

She narrowed her eyes and quickly turned her back on him. "Can't. I work tonight." She started walking again, but again he stopped her.

"Hana, wait a second." She stopped, but didn't look back at him. He frowned at her, "That envelope... There was a lot of money in that." She didn't respond. He sighed, "I think I know what that payoff was for, but I want to be wrong. Is it true what Izaya told us-?"

"What business of it is yours?" She snapped.

He was taken aback slightly from her sudden harshness. He sighed again, tucking his hands in his pockets. "It's not," he replied, "and I know that. But... does your sister know?" Judging by her silence, he figured not. "I don't claim to know the girl, but I wouldn't think she'd be happy that her big sister went from a gang to a Yakuza."

When she replied, her voice was unnaturally quiet, and with a quiver in it. "Don't you think I know that?" She looked back at him and he was surprised at her mournful expression. "I don't do this because I enjoy it. I hate it." She looked to the ground, "I'm disgusted by it. I'm disgusted with myself..."

"Then do something else," he pressed. Holding his hands out he offered, "I can talk to my boss and basically guarantee a job. We need to hire more people anyways."

"Enough, Kadota." She turned to face him fully and glared at him. "Stop trying to help me. I don't need it- and I hardly even know you."

"You hardly know me, you hardly even know my friends," he replied, "but you helped us save Kazutano, someone you've never even met before."

"I helped you to repay you, that's all," she said firmly. "You helped me save Saki. I owed you at least that." She glared to the side with a painful expression. "It's not a clean job, but I need it. Carpentry, jewelry making- that won't help pay Saki's bills. I do this for her, and I will do anything for her. So just do me a favor and let me be." She turned to leave and added, "One more thing; do yourself a favor and quit talking to that snake Izaya. He isn't to be trusted."

Kyohei frowned, but didn't stop her again as she walked away.