Okay, so in case that some of you are mad at me for bringing back Yukia and Pinoko, here's some of the reasons as to why I didn't do it:

A) I don't feel I particularly have the right to because Pinoko is Tezuka's character (I DON'T OWN BLACK JACK STILL)

B) Black Jack has been through a lot of dirt and so has Yukia

C) I'm kind of a chicken

D) I have other plans

So there's a list of reasons as to why I didn't do it. But I'm not letting them get off so easily, so don't think that it's going to all be a bed of roses for Pinoko and Yukia here on out… Living with Kiriko isn't going to be their only problem, of course.

Anyways, enough yammering! This chapter was really fun and exciting for me to write so I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again and R&R as always!

Chapter Twelve

Black Jack had finally made it to Tokyo after two days of super condensed driving and heavy traffic. He at this point was very tense; worried that Daitaro would have already left the Twin Dragon Inn. After entering the city, he quickly stopped to pick up a map from a coffee shop, and then took to the streets to search for the inn.

He headed down into a rather shady looking part of town, but he wasn't surprised, and he wasn't scared. Kids hung around on the stoops of houses, there were lines of clothing stretched out between the apartment buildings, and the whole place had this sort of fog drifting over it, almost as if it was being choked by gas.

After making a few turns and heading down a couple of alleys, he managed to find the small three story inn that was stationed on the corner of an intersection. Outside the big glass windows that clearly needed washed there was a buzzing neon sign that depicted two dragons encircling one another, the flames from their breath forming the words, "Twin Dragon Inn."

Black Jack gritted his teeth and then entered the inn. Inside it smelled strongly of smoke and various liquors. The walls were paneled with a dark type of wood that had scratches in it from what was likely to be too many bar fights, and the wallpaper that lined the top near the ceiling had various problems: it was torn, it was peeling, it was taped down… The whole place definitely had that rough feel to it.

He came in and sat down at the bar, in front of where a female bartender was wiping up the counter with a soapy dirty washcloth. Her arms were lined with tattoos of various dragons in all sorts of designs and colors, and her eyes were oddly made up, with sharp black lines fraying out at the corners of her eyes, and the tips of her eyelids were lined with a shimmery gold.

"What can I get you?" she asked uninterestedly, not even bothering to look up.

"I'll have just a glass of water."

She looked up at him as if she couldn't believe he was serious. "You come to a bar to get a glass of water?"

"Fine," he responded in a hiss. "I'll have a glass of sherry."

She shrugged her shoulders and then went to get it for him. He turned around and surveyed the area. He couldn't see many people that looked like they were a part of the Jaakuna Gyangu. The henchmen had been wearing suits; these people wore just regular street clothes. Nobody looked suspicious here.

"That'll be 500 yen," she told him, passing the glass his way.

He nodded but didn't reach for his wallet, just continued drinking. She blinked and then propped her arms up on the counter, leaning forward.

"Hey, I haven't seen you around here before," she commented. "What brings you here anyway, scary dude?"

He set down his glass of sherry and looked her in the eye. "Do you really rent out rooms here?"

"Of course we do. We couldn't call ourselves an inn if we didn't."

"Have you ever rented out an inn to a Daitaro Usami?"

Her eyes widened and she recoiled from him immediately.

"Hey now," she hissed, her eyes flashing. "What the hell are you asking me that question for?"

"So the answer is yes, I take it?" he drank from his sherry glass, eying her cautiously.

She crouched down so that they were eye to eye.

"You don't just come in here asking those kinds of questions like it's something casual, alright?" she snapped. "He's a wanted criminal."

"And your inn apparently caters to wanted criminals," Black Jack responded icily, polishing off his glass.

Her tone didn't change. "Sir, I'd like you to pay the 500 yen that you owe me, and then I'd like you to leave."

"Is Daitaro still around?" Black Jack asked, and he withdrew his wallet, not only withdrawing the 500 yen, but an additional small stack of cash.

She eyed the cash greedily, but did not reach out to take it.

"If he's moved on, where has he gone to?"

"I'm sorry," she answered slowly, "but I can't answer either of those questions."

His hand parted his wallet again, but she shook her head vigorously.

"No, sir," she said, stepping back. "I can't answer them no matter how much you pay me."

Black Jack put the money back in his wallet and then tilted his head to one side.

"Hmm. Can I rent a room for the night?"

"What the-!" she spluttered in confusion.

"I'm a paying customer and I would like to rent a room for the night."

She drew back with a skeptical brow arched, and crossed her arms. "Yes, you may. There's a room open right above the bar here."

Stupid girl, Black Jack thought with a smug smile.

She led him up the staircase towards the back of the bar that was cut off by a strand of rope. The stairs creaked and groaned under their weight as they headed up.

"I don't know what's with you, mister," she said, fishing in the pocket of her trousers for a ring of keys, "but you're a total weirdo, and if you cause anymore trouble, I'll report you to the police."

She opened the door for him, and he shoved her inside, and then quickly shut the door behind him. She was on her knees on the floor, and she was cursing now quite vulgarly.

"Alright, that's it!" she got up and charged at him, but he threw her back easily since she was so puny and not muscular.

She fell onto the floor again, hissing as her leg banged into the corner of a wall. She clutched at her leg, glaring at him. He approached her with icy, lifeless blood red eyes, looming over her like he was Death himself.

"What the hell did Daitaro do to you anyways, you freak!"

"I asked you nicely." Black Jack's eyes closed and then opened. "And you refused to meet my demands."

He grabbed her and then lashed her wrists together with a bit of rope, as well as her ankles. She struggled but once again he overcame her.

She tugged at her restraints but to no avail. Black Jack stood then and circled her.

"I'm not going to be very patient with you," he warned her angrily. "So, tell me where Daitaro is."

She spat at his shoes and he dodged it smoothly. She grimaced.

"I'm not going to tell you where he is," she responded.

"Oh, you're not?"

He withdrew a scalpel that was concealed underneath his cloak, and pressed the dull edge to her throat. Now she was whimpering in fear.

"Daitaro did something to me that is unforgivable," Black Jack hissed, his eyes locking on with hers. "So I would advise that you give up the information, or otherwise, I'm going to make a horizontal cut right across that pretty little jugular vein of yours…"

She gulped, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. Black Jack waited two minutes, and when she didn't respond, he turned over the blade. She recoiled violently and screamed for him to stop.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" she hollered, tears running down her cheeks.

She shook her head a few times and then nodded slowly, shaking. "Daitaro has… already moved on. He left three days ago. He's in the Shinjuku ward now!"

"Shinjuku. Where in Shinjuku?"

"He said… he said he was going to do a business deal with a friend of his! A-a gunsmith or something…"

"Where?" Black Jack snarled.

"At a place c-called the Fire Spot!"

Black Jack's eyes flashed. "If you're lying…"

"I'm not lying!" she screamed at him. "I'm his girlfriend! Why would he lie to me?"

Black Jack stopped dead in his tracks. His girlfriend?

"You're his girlfriend?"

"Uh huh!" she licked her lips, looking rather prideful. "He and I have been together since my freshman year of high school!"

Black Jack paced slowly in front of her. She waited, and then burst out again.

"Hey! I told you where he was! Aren't you going to let me go?"

"You would sell out your boyfriend that easily?"

She shrugged.

"Even though you love him?"

"You were threatening to kill me with a scalpel, dude!" she snapped. "Like, seriously?"

"I can't believe this," Black Jack grumbled. This stupid kid, probably not a lick older than sixteen, was apparently dating one of the most notorious gangsters around?

And lying about her age, because she was working at a bar.

She was crying again now, sniffling a little. "Daitaro said he wasn't going to come back for a while… He said that he had a lot of business, and he barely stayed, so I didn't get to see him much…" she looked up at Black Jack, blinking away her tears. "But he makes money, you know? And that's what matters."

Money. Black Jack thought, the word ringing through his head. He reached behind her and then cut off her restraints on her wrists.

"You. Are a stupid, stupid girl," he told her. "Getting yourself mixed up with a gangster for money—"

"—Hey, I said I loved him!"

"I think you're lying," Black Jack said with a soft chuckle, shaking his head.

Her cheeks burned furiously and he stood up and started to walk away from her. She couldn't get up and follow him because the rope was still tied around her ankles. He stood briefly in the doorway, and his shadowy figure turned around to meet her.

"You know… based on what Daitaro did to me, I should have killed you anyways," he told her, grimacing. "But it's obvious that if he were to leave you here alone and unprotected, he doesn't really love you after all, does he?"

Her eyes widened and she was stunned.

"I'd advise you cut ties with him," he said, pulling his cloak closer around him. "But, you know, that's just me. Have a good day."

The noise from the bar was so loud that no one would probably hear for a while her screaming in frustration for someone to untie her.

Black Jack lit a cigarette the moment that he climbed back into his car. Shinjuku… Why was Daitaro running around so carelessly?

And that girl… Black Jack shook his head. She would probably report him to the police as soon as possible.

That meant he had to act fast.