The command was followed by tense silence as both of the couch occupants stared at the bartender with fear in their eyes. Anna opened her mouth to protest but Kusangi quickly cut her off by ordering the child to return to bed. The pout and eyes burning with determination battled against the smoker's order, until finally the child's brows furrowed and she stomped her way out of the room. Yata and Kusangi both knew she wouldn't go back to sleep.

"C'mon, upstairs. Now."

He quickly followed the short demand and was sure to walk behind the bartender. He didn't know how his shaky legs managed to walk him to the room.

Danger wasn't anything new to Yata. He ollied through a fucking window just to interrogate some bastards they thought killed Totsuka-san. He beat up any dumbass that would try to challenge him and most of the time all he had for a weapon was his bat. But he still kicked ass and rarely felt fear.

But right now.

Right now his legs felt like they going to go out on him, and his stomach felt like it was about to empty its contents. He followed the bartender with a large gap between them, and when they entered the room Izumo-san chose, he gulped loudly when the door was slammed closed.

He stood still and did not dare to move until the other told him to. His hands began to shake when he felt the bartender close the gap between them. A hand pushed between his shoulder blades towards the bed in the room. "Damn it; sit on the bed before you fall over."

Without a retort, he more or less collapsed on the bed. His eyes immediately began to close but a series of quick sharp snaps had him rushing to sit up and look at the other. He stumbled and tried to say his part before the other could begin his tirade.

"I-Kusangi-san-"

But he was too late as the bartender easily cut him off. His lips pressed thin, and his hand hovering over his pocket, where Yata knew laid his cigarettes. But with the surprising news he just received he wouldn't dare smoke in front of Yata. Instead he clenched his other hand into a fist and in a tone which told Yata not to interrupt he asked.

"Why did Mikoto leave you and the rest of Homra money?" He waited for an answer but Yata remained silent. Answering his own question he peered at the younger man's eyes and answered angrily "He left you money so you could enrich your live! He didn't want your life to revolve around Homra after his death. Mikoto hoped that you would be smart enough to move on and start building your future. Go back to school, or find a damn job. Anything to start your future! But now-"The bartender stops and looks down at the other's stomach. His face falls and he wipes his face angrily.

"You have no future now."

The entire time Kusangi was scolding Yata, he had to bite his tongue in order to not reply angrily. But the last remark was too much and Yata would be damned if he didn't defend himself.

The skateboarder stood up, his eyes furious and hands balled into fists. He unclenched his jaw and with venom in his words he spat at the bartender. "You're a real asshole if for a second you think that I didn't try like everyone else. I tried to go back to school, shit I even tried to find night classes, but no one would accept me. Because what everyone tends to forget is that I'M YAGETSURA . I'm a known criminal. I was to fucking mixed in!"

The bartender tried to interrupt but Yata didn't let him.

"From the moment I joined, I was being thrown into jail. That shit stayed on my record. My record that is filled with crimes that I committed but thankfully Mikoto-san bailed me out on. I can't get a job, go to school…I can't do shit! And I guess it's my fucking fault for not being fast enough to run from the police and Scepter 4…BUT you don't get to stand there and tell me I'm not doing shit with my life. Cause that's not fucking fair!"

"So you don't have a job. Care to explain where you've been going when you claim you're going to your job

His air of confidence after his defense instantly deflated as the bartender locked on only one piece of information during his retort. His stomach dropped and he tried to reply but stumbled. "I-I have a job I-"

"Now is not the time to lie to me Yata!"

The yell silenced him. Taking a deep breath Yata prepared himself to tell the truth about his job. If the bartender could take the news that he was pregnant ok, then this wouldn't be too bad. Or so he hoped.

"I'm a delivery guy." He answered feebly.

"What do you deliver?" The bartender shot back.

Yata gulped and wondered how the hell he was going to get the truth out of his mouth. Licking his dry lips he croaked out the heavy word between barely open lips. "Drugs."

Yata watched as a series of expressions ran through the other's face. They were small but for there to be any was significant from Izumo. Now yelling the bartender demanded. "Are you working with the same guys who you were getting your stuff from?"

"Well yeah I hung out with them for a while and the guy offered and I-

"Why the hell would you go back to those scumbags!"

"Because-"

"Give me one damn reason why you chose them over everyone at the bar. What could possibly make you choose them over us!" The bartender was close to his face now and Yata could feel his anger becoming too much. Give him one reason. Oh he would give him a fucking reason. So with anger laced into his reply he yelled back. "I NEEDED MONEY TO PAY RENT, FOOD, TO FUCKING LIVE!"

"You could have gotten all that and more from here. What makes you think we wouldn't!" Izumo wasn't satisfied with that answer and right now his usual cool attitude was diminishing from the other's stupidity.

But Yata wasn't done yet as he screamed back. "BECAUSE I COULDN'T GO HERE. I COULDN'T SEE YOU GUYS. THIS PLACE WAS KILLING ME!" He felt lightheaded but he continued, this time without the screaming. "Five months ago I couldn't step into this place because everyone got messed up after Mikoto-san's dea-" His voice gave out on him and even though it had been five months he still couldn't voice the fact that his King was dead.

"I lost Homra, my apartment, and…we lost two important people all in two fucking weeks. I didn't know what to do and I couldn't come back here. So I just roamed the streets for a couple weeks. Sometimes I would pass by the bar and see at least three of you guys here. But I couldn't, I couldn't go in."

The bartender remembered those weeks well, how the skateboarder was slowly backing away from the group and not returning to Homra. He had been scared that he or the others would find the skateboarder dead in an alley. Well the day he finally found Yata, it wasn't that far off from his fear.

That morning when he went to take out the morning trash was one he would never forget.

He had simply been going outside to throw away the trash when a sight of something in the corner of his eye made him turn. The sight of Yata leaning against the wall pale, chest barely moving, and his lips a tint blue of color made his mouth fall and cigarette with it. The bag of garbage had slipped through his fingers as he rushed to the side of the fallen skateboarder.

Holding the skateboarder's head between his hands he slapped his face a couple times. "Yata! Yata you open your eyes right now."

Eyes sluggishly opened and revealed pupils so small that the bartender felt fear run through his veins. Speaking of veins, his eyes strayed from the other's face to his arms. A groan escaped him as he picked up Yata's arm, and inspected the bulging swollen vein.

"RIKIO!"He called out loudly. He needed to get Yata to the hospital. The sound of heavy footsteps followed by several others, no doubt worried about the panic tone in the usual level headed bartender's voice.

The footsteps halted abruptly and a series of muffled groans were heard as everyone bumped into each other and into the large body of Rikio. The large man stared with wide eyes at the duo on the ground. Sunglasses could not hide the emotions that ravaged the man's face as he stared down at his dying childhood friend.

Izumou however did not have time for feelings and he quickly snapped at the other. "Rikio grab this idiot, I'm going to get the van. Be quick. Bandou, Eric watch Anna and don't leave the bar until we get back."

Thankfully they reacted quickly and ushered Anna away from the scene. The bartender barely grabbed the keys when he felt Rikio right behind him. Quickly sprinting to the van with the other on his trail he quickly drove to the hospital. The entire time Rikio held his comrade and stared at the limp body in his hands.

His eyes never strayed too far from the skateboarder's chest and watched as it barely moved. However when the skateboarder's hands which would spontaneously spasm, his eyes would study the fingernails were a sharp blue, just like the veins on Yata's arms.

"Heroin?" He asked out loud. He wasn't expecting an answer really. But the bartender who's thoughts was on the same track replied. "Most likely."

"One of the newer guys was into that stuff. I had my suspicions but then I saw his arm during the battle, veins were popping out of his arm."

Izumou didn't have a reply to that information so instead he remained silent. The sound of shallow breaths was the only noise that filled the van. By the time they ran into the entrance of the hospital Rikio was muttering that he could barely feel a pulse. The words barely left his mouth before the body in his charge went uncomfortably still. It only took a moment for Izumou to see that Yata had stopped breathing and screamed at the nurses and doctors to help the kid.

The rest of the day was spent with Yata unconscious on a bed while a doctor gave him jargon medical terms describing how the skateboarder had deprived and destroyed his body over the past few weeks.

Staring at the still body of the skateboarder, the bartender thought to himself how disturbing it was to see Yata so quiet. But being hospitalized or not, he was still going to scream and yell at the idiot. Yata needed someone at the moment, and the bartender knew he and the others back at the bar would be there willingly. But that was only if Yata would accept the help.

The moment, the other regained consciousness he would deal with the consequences. He would only get one chance. If he threw away that chance then that was his fault.

Now the bartender really wanted a cigarette but instead he sighed. "So instead you went to fill your body with drugs with other dirt bags. That makes perfect sense, I can now see why you chose them over us.

"Don't twist the situation!"

"I'm not twisting anything. You just said that you would come to the bar but then go to the drug dealers to get a high. And after you almost died, you then become a pack mule for them, delivering drugs at night." He let that sink in and was happy to see that whatever retorts the other had, died on his lips." What the hell was going through your mind?"

"I told you! I need the money for my apartme-"

"There's always been a place for you here Yata! There's rooms here that you can take and-"

This time it was Yata who interrupted and finally gave up and revealed what he had been dreading. "Those are Mikoto-sans! Fuck this is his room!" The skateboarder suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Damn it. Fuck..I'm not; I wasn't able to move like the rest of you guys. Every time I stepped into Homra I couldn't stand it. I expected to see Totsuka-san or Mikoto-san on the couch and-

That comment was what made Izumo lose his control and he raged "You don't think we all felt like that! You don't think Anna wasn't hurting from losing them."

The words struck Yata and he couldn't form a reply. He dropped his head and shame was written all over his body language. The bartender looked at the exhausted pale body in front of him and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I am getting off topic. We are here to talk about what that strain did to you."

He was a little relieved when the kid finally got some color on him by blushing. "So from what Saru told me, this strain-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Yata quickly cut in.

The kid was testing his patience and he snapped back in a sarcastic tone. "You don't want to talk about it?! You don't want to talk how this is going to change your entire life. How this can actually take your life. Do you even know if you're capable of carrying this…this thing that the strain gave you? How do you know if this strain even gave you the miracle of pregnancy? These are a lot of questions Yata are you sure you don't want to talk about it?!"

After his rant of questions, the bartender realized he was blinded by anger for a moment. Because he remembered that Yata was blushing, not being a deathly white when he started talking. And that's when it finally hit him.

Yata is only nineteen years old. He was just a kid. Of course he wouldn't be thinking of all this. The dangers, and potential risks he is going to face now cause of this strain's 'gift'. He had seen how Yata dealt with stress, and what he was doing was not helping him.

He quickly tried to right the situation. "Hey. Hey Yata." The attempt at gaining his attention failed and just further worried him. Stepping forward he gripped the other's shoulder and looked down till the other's eyes met his.

"I didn't- I didn't think about this hurting me." The shaky unsure voice caused him to sigh and he tried to console the now shaking figure. "God damn it Yata. You shouldn't be thinking that." He sighed and combed his fingers through his hair. "You're just a kid."

Yata didn't reply but instead laid himself on the bed. He turned his back towards the bartender and tried to bury himself into the bedspread. He heard the other get up and opened the closet. "Looks like you're about to drop dead." He dropped a thick blanket on the small body and advised. "Sleep until Saru comes back."

Not waiting for a reply the bartender left the room. Emotionally and physically exhausted Yata closed his heavy eyelids. He didn't know where the hell his future was going but right now it didn't look that great. Everything that Kusangi-san had asked him was now bringing up ugly thoughts, memories and fears. Curling into himself he quickly covered his face so no one could see the tears begin to fall.

He was nineteen, male and a strain had gifted him with life.

The frantic breathing that filled the room sounded very similar to sobs, but Yata denied that.

He didn't know when he fell asleep but what felt like a moment later, he heard a familiar voice calling him. Quickly standing upright he hastily walked out of the room and towards the voice. In his haste he almost slipped down the stairs but thankfully a thick arm caught him. The arm became a hand that gripped his bicep and held him upright.

"Yata-san?" Rikio questioned him, no doubt worried about his appearance.

He didn't reply and instead used Rikio to go down the rest of the flight of stairs. The arm steadied him long enough for him to look at the scene at the bar.

Saru and Anna were glaring at each other. Anna observed him through a red marble, her mouth turning downwards with each passing moment.

"He's leaving." The third in command told the child in a no argument tone.

"Staying." Was the blunt reply. Whatever Anna saw in Saru's thoughts were not to her liking and it seemed that the child was not backing down.

"Just fucking fantastic." He complained to himself. Unfortunately his presence was noticed by the two and he was greeted by two pairs of eyes, each one telling him to agree with them. He unknowingly walked into the argument of the century, and by the looks of Anna and Saru it looked like neither of them was going to back down.

"Fuck."

That last line is what I said when I saw the last time I updated. I'm sorry that I've been so late with the updates, please forgive me. School has been in the way and right now I'm off to a conference but the guilt of leaving you guys hanging was killing me. So here it is and again I'm sorry if it's not up to par. I had this chapter written in my head so I tried my best to get it all out but things like the names and what are the proper ones are really killing me since I was in a bit of a time crunch. Again I apologize.

Well happy Friday, and if you can, can you please leave a review about what you thought about this chapter. And thank you for reading my work.

Bye!