It's amazing, I wrote something not angsty! This hasn't happened for me for a while, so do enjoy a bit lighter reading. Thanks for the reviews and reading!

Chapter 1

"I can assure you Taizu, again, this is a pet shop and nothing more." D chuckled as his companion fumed over a cup of tea. This was his sixth attempt this week at catching a whore or a slave walk out of his shop. As per usual, he had gotten caught in the act with little to no effort. D smiled to himself. Humans never learned and certain ones proved to be particularly stubborn. "Our pets are perfectly legal."

"I say that about all of my business practices, too." Taizu matched D chuckle for chuckle in between bites of cake. The count was not going to get the best of him today. This cross dressing charlatan was going down and he would make sure of it. "So we all know just how much that phrase means in my Kabuki-chou."

Count D was tempted to roll his eyes, but kept his posture regardless. He'd dealt with far more stubborn individuals than Taizu and knew the man would eventually give up, for today at the very least. The fact Taizu had some decent manners compared to other individuals, however, was a tiny blessing. The Count reached set his cup gently down onto it's matching saucer before reaching for a truffle. He had to admit though, it was amusing watching Taizu get his feathers ruffled. He seemed to be a man unused to failure. "Well, unlike you I have done none of what you accuse me. You are truly wasting your precious time as I have nothing to hide from you in this shop."

"Ha, like I'd believe that for a second." Taizu smirked and crossed his arms while leaning back into the chair. "I'm going to prove you've got a slave ring, or prostitution ring, or whatever else it could be if it kills me."

"If you keep at the pace you're going now, it just might." D smirked as Taizu's eyes widened a fraction. Still slightly smug after confirming his thinly veiled threat was received, D smiled when he heard the door of the pet shop open. Rising to greet the new customer, the Count found himself freezing in place when a familiar voice rang out in the hall.

"Hey D! You in here?"

Taizu scrunched his brows at the introduction of a new voice, in English no less, but it was D's reaction that confused him more than a random foreigner. The Count had frozen in place as if he had seen a ghost, even the man's eyes had widened slightly. The man was so shocked in fact, he had yet to even turn around to face whatever it is had made the voice. The business man in him was intrigued by this new development. Taizu turned to the door to see a smirking blonde in scruffy closing pointing a finger at the Count's back while the other seemed to be holding an equally scruffy pack. Shifting his eyes back to the other Chinese man, Taizu questioned him softly. "Do you know him, Count?"

"The Detective?" This could not be happening. D was sure that he had lost that man in Germany! What on earth was the Detective doing here? There was no way that man could have picked up his trail so quickly. D had to force himself to turn around to confirm the American Officer was indeed standing in his parlor pointing an accusing finger. D found himself at a loss for words as he gaped at the intruder.

At the Count's switch to English, Taizu made note to start putting pieces of information together in his head. If that other man was a detective, than maybe he could get Count D on a foreign charge and have him shipped out of the country. Whatever the case, this man caused the un-touchable Count D to freak out and that made him valuable. Things were about to get very interesting in Chinatown, that was for sure.

"Thought you could lose me for good, didn't you!" Leon reminded himself to thank the old man bat-thing later if he ever saw him again. The horrified look on D's face right now was worth every day of travel and searching since he left home. "Well now I finally got you and you're not getting away this time!"

As the harsh, cocky voice of the Detective filled D's ears again he felt an old aggravation returning to his blood. His look of shock settled into his constant polite smile. He couldn't lose control and strangle the Detective while Taizu was present in the room, after all. The man didn't need any more ammo to use against him. Count put his hands together at his waist before addressing Leon Orcott. "My Dear Detective, what a surprise. It's been such a long time since we've last talked."

"Yeah, no thanks to you!" Leon shouted and was nearly giddy inside. He hadn't realized how much he missed fighting with Count D. He dropped his pack against a couch absently as he walked closer to make sure the Count was really standing there with that stupid smug look on his face. "I've been looking all over this damn planet for you!"

Taizu stood from his seat and put on his 'client face' to greet this new comer. It seemed the blonde had yet to notice him, and Rau Wu Fei was not a man who could stand being ignored. Smiling, he addressed Count D. "Count, would you be so kind as to introduce me to your friend?"

"Ah, yes of course. How rude of me." D could feel his eyes twitching. He had forgotten Taizu could be just as annoying as the Detective if he put his mind to it. The thought of summoning the Totetsu to attack the lot of them crossed his mind and helped fuel his smile. "This is Leon Orcott, a detective from Los Angeles. Detective, this is Mr. Rau Wu Fei, otherwise known as 'Taizu.' He's a respectable businessman of high standing here in Chinatown."

"Uh, yeah." Leon stuttered a little as he realized there was another man in the room. Feeling stupid for a moment for being so focused on D he let his guard down, Leon let out a forced cough to clear his throat. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise, it's always a pleasure to learn more about Count D." Taizu let a tiny smirk show to the source of his current aggravations. "It's so hard to come by, almost like pulling teeth."

"Tell me about it." Leon sighed and rubbed his hair. The atmosphere of the pet shop was relaxing him. Must be the incense.

"You must forgive me for cutting our tea time short, but Taizu if you could excuse us, please?" The Count let a malicious gaze fall from his eyes. Any conversation with Leon Orcott was going to require privacy. That man had the annoying ability to make D lose his cool so easily. "The Detective and I have so much to catch up on and I feel it would bore you."

Taizu smiled sweetly, it was fake, but was still sweet. "I wouldn't mind hanging around in the least."

The Count matched his sweet smile. "I must insist."

"What's with the rush?" Taizu took a few steps around the table so he was facing Count D. "You said you didn't have anything to hide in this shop right? Or is he one of your customers that you say don't exist?"

"Are you kidding!" Leon shouted as he overheard that last bit of the conversation. The tension in the air was getting too thick for his blood anyway as it is. There was something off about this Taizu guy that Leon didn't quite like. Leon felt like the man was accusing D of something, and the cop in Leon didn't want anyone to steal his turf. "There is no way I would want to own one of his freaky pets."

"Detective." D muttered softly to himself. He should have known his dear Detective was going to turn things into a bigger mess than they needed to be. And Count D had no desire to explain the happenings of the past few months to Leon Orcott. It might take a few months in itself just to get it into his thick skull. "He's not talking about the animals in the shop."

"Then what's he talking about?" Leon looked over to the Taizu guy again as he frowned. "Do you sell other stuff in here now?"

"I have reason to believe that Count D is running a prostitution or a slave ring on my premises. I'm currently looking for proof, and as a detective I'm sure you'd want to help me in my quest." Taizu replied with a smile, that was quickly replaced by a confused half open mouth of an expression when the detective started to laugh. "Did I say something funny?"

"No!" Leon wheezed a little as he gasped for air between the chortles of laughter. "It's just, that if D had hunnies' like that for sale in this shop than I would definitely have known about it. Hell, I'd probably be his best customer! I mean sure, he's usually got a hot girl around here somewhere, but they sure weren't for sale. In fact, nine times out of ten he was hitting me over the head just for looking at them."

The Count could feel his patience wearing dangerously thin as the Detective fell back into a chair. If Taizu didn't leave soon than D was going to lose it on the imbecile of an excuse for a homo sapien in front of him. And that would just be embarrassing. "Well, it seems you've both had your fun now if I could ask you kindly to leave now Taizu, I have much to discuss with the Detective. Seeing as he's come such a long way to see me it would be rude not to give him my full attentions."

"Fine, you win for now." Taizu shrugged. If that man had really traveled all over the world to see Count D, than he wasn't leaving anytime soon. If he was staying anywhere inside of Kabuki-chou, than he'd just deal with the American later. Taizu switched back to his beloved Chinese to wish the count farewell. "Don't think this is over. I will uncover you for what you are."

"You're welcome to try." Count D smirked. "Do have a good evening."

It was quiet in the pet shop while both Leon and D watched Taizu leave the shop. The air was still a little tense, so Leon broke the waters with the first question on his mind. "So what was that about? Doesn't look like he likes you too much, there. Another one of your mafia boyfriends gone wrong or somethin'?"

The Count sighed as he heard the brash man from the couch mumble his question around a cookie. The man truly had no manners at all. Calling him an animal would only be insulting to the pets. "He has made up his mind I am guilty of certain crimes and is determined to find proof regardless of reality. In fact, he reminds me of another stubborn individual that is sitting on my couch and would you put your feet on the floor!"

Leon jumped a little as D's voice rose for that last command. Putting his feet on the soft rug under his feet he grinned a little. He was wondering how long it would take D to notice he had put his feet up. It's not Leon's fault that the Count didn't have a footstool in sight. "Nice to see you, too."

Taking in a deep breath, D headed over to the tea cart in the corner to pour the Detective a cup of tea. He couldn't help but feel old habits falling neatly back into place as he poured, despite the years in between when he last saw the man sitting in his place on the couch. Argue, pour the tea, chat, drink the tea and fight some more about summed up their relationship. For what it was, it was still rather pleasant. "You still take your tea black, I presume?"

"Yup. You're the sugar freak." Leon yawned a little into his hand. Now that he was sitting and the initial excitement of finding D was over, the jet lag was beginning to catch up with him. But, not so much that he'd forget his part of the deal when meeting with D. "Speaking, these are for you."

D looked up from setting the cup and saucer down for the Detective to see a tiny box of chocolates placed on the table. He tried to conceal his excitement at the view of the tiny treats. It'd been so long since he'd had a box! "You were in Dubai's Chinatown. You can only get these little candies from Israel."

"Told you I've been everywhere looking for you."

"So, how did you go from Israel to Japan?" Count D sat gracefully down in his own chair and took a sip of tea. "I'd think you'd go systematically and hit Chinatowns in order as you went across the map."

"That's what I was doing." Leon smirked and pressed himself into the couch back. He needed to find out where D found his furniture. "Then I got a friendly tip-off from a very reliable source. Needless to say I immediately jumped on a plane and flew here. In fact, just got off the plane a few hours ago."

"How honored I am that you'd come straight here." D felt a slight smile grace his face. That was so like the detective to be compulsive and rash. "May I ask what your reliable tip-off was?"

"Q-chan." Leon smirked when D stopped in mid sip. Man, if he would have known he'd see D's face in these contortions when he showed up, Leon would have brought a camera. "Your Grandpa says 'Hi,' by the way."

D could feel the words being forced from his mouth as his teeth grit together. Well, that clearly explained how the Detective located him. "Does he now."

"Yup, though, I told him I'd say 'hi' for him after I punched your lights out." Leon leaned his head back. "Must be more tired than I thought since I haven't done that yet. Knocking your block off was first on my list of things to do."

"I'll consider myself lucky than." The Count had never wanted to hurt his own relative so much since his Father went insane. The next time he saw his Grandfather they were going to have a stern conversation about this. "So, now that you've found me, my dear Detective, what do you plan to do? Other than punching me, I mean."

Leon leant forward in his seat and pulled his pack up closer to the couch. Unzipping it he pulled out a folder that had been kept straight between two sturdy pieces of thin wood. He held out the package for D to take. "You forgot this."

"Did I?" The Count let his fingers fall around the folder the Detective offered and opened it up to see a slightly crumbled crayon drawing. He held it tight in his fingers as memories he had shoved out of his mind came flooding back. It had been years, but that time together with Chris and everyone felt like it had happened the other day. "Thank-you."

"No problem." Leon reached into his jacket and pulled out his packet of cigarettes. He'd let D sit over the picture for a while. At least now he could tell Chris later that D accepted it back with a somewhat good reaction. It would have been horrible if D had rejected it. Tapping the back on his leg, Leon pulled out a stick and raised it to his lips. However, upon lighting his cigarette he felt a pair of mismatched eyes staring intently at him. "What?"

"Isn't there something else?"

"What do you mean?"

"You searched for me for years, all over the globe in addition, just to give me a picture your brother drew?" D waited a beat as the Detective sent him a baffled look. As the Detective began to look more uncomfortable and began to squirm in his seat, Count D couldn't help but bust into laughter himself. "Of course you did. When you set your mind to something you really do, don't you Detective?"

"Shut up!" Leon could feel his face turning red and he wished he was two inches tall. No make that miniscule, he wanted to disappear. And damn that D for laughing! "It's not that big of a deal."

D calmed down and smirked at his cute little pet. To be honest, he was glad Leon didn't seem to be holding grudges, but D figured they'd be having a more serious conversation soon enough. "So, I take it you really didn't think about what you'd do once you'd found me and given me the picture, have you?"

"Hey! Give me a break!" Leon took a vicious drag on his cigarette. "I had two goals, okay? Give you the picture and knock your lights out! Sue me if I didn't make it past that."

"You wouldn't be you if you had." D tilted his head into the couch and found himself relaxing. He shouldn't enjoy the Detective's odd company as much as he did. This was one of the reasons he had to leave Los Angeles, but maybe for right now it'd be fine. "It would be out of character."

"Yeah whatever." Leon took a sip of tea and muttered into his cup. God, he needed some sleep. "Maybe I missed the damn incense and tea a little, too."

D smiled as he watched the Detective's eyes droop a little as he drank from his cup. He wondered if the Detective had intended to say that last part outloud. "Didn't get much sleep on the plane I take it?"

Leon shook his head a little as he tried to wake himself up. Falling asleep on D's couch after claiming he wanted to deck the guy wouldn't be the brightest of ideas. "Screaming kids."

"Ah, well I promise you I will still be here tomorrow if you wanted to retire for the night." Count took a small sip from his cup of tea. "I have a feeling at this point if you had any reason to believe I'd leave, you'd never get out of this shop."

"Damn straight." Leon mumbled while scratching his arm. "I just hope I can find someplace to stay before I fall asleep on my feet."

D paused for a moment and took in the sleepy detective's form again. "You really did come straight here from the airport, didn't you?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Leon held in a yawn and willed the caffeine in his tea and the nicotine in his cigarette to start working. Tolerance was a bitch. "Got off the plane, spent an hour trying to find Chinatown, spent over an hour trying to get here, than wandered around until I found the shop."

"It can't be helped then." D smiled softly and stood up. "Why don't I set up a room in the back for you to use. I don't think you'll have much luck as you are finding a place, not to mention I doubt you know any Chinese. Or do you?"

"Not a word." Leon sent a suspicious glance towards the back of the shop. "Though I think my chances might be better surviving somewhere else. I'm half surprised something hasn't tried to eat me already. Where the heck's the goat, anyway?"

"T-chan is off in the back somewhere taking a nap I believe." D chuckled. "I'm sure he'll be angry he didn't get to rip you apart when you walked in the door."

"See, this is why I should just find a hotel." Leon stood up and stretched. "Assuming you really are going to still be here, 'cause if you aren't I'm totally going to just sleep on your couch."

"Yes, I will be here. I give you my word." D walked over to his telephone stand, his robe flowing around his ankles as he moved. A few graceful flicks and he had a dial tone waiting for someone to pick up. "Well, if you won't take me up on my offer I guess I can do you this service."

"What are you doing?" Leon hated how hard it was to focus. Maybe sleeping on the couch wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"Calling you a reservation in a lovely hotel down the street, followed by a cab call." D chuckled. "You're swaying, Detective."

"Thanks." Leon shoved his hands into his pockets. He tried to listen in on D's phone call, but found himself unable to pay attention. Before he knew it, the Count was already at his side with that same little smile on his face. "Done, I take it?"

"Yes, everything's been arranged. Here, why don't I walk you down to the cab to make sure you get there." D smiled a little as the Detective yawned yet again. "As much as I hate to admit, it is good to see you again, my dear Detective."

"Yeah, maybe I'm glad to see you, too, or something." Leon picked up his bag and followed D out of the shop. "This place you called, it's not expensive is it? I'm kinda short on cash."

"You're always short on cash." D laughed. "The owner is a client and is doing me a favor, so don't worry for your bank book."

"Ha, should have figured as much." Leon smirked and for the first time, felt truly relaxed. It was good to have things back to normal, if only for a little bit.