"Here's your coffee Rino-sama," said Tsunade as she served coffee to the customer. "Have a nice day."
She looked out the window and sighed. Tsunade had been filtering out voices for Reborn's so that she could ask for a break before he came in because she had a feeling that if Keiko found out she was taking a break to have lunch with Reborn, she would take it the wrong way and complicate matters. It's just an information gathering meeting, she thought, not a date.
Finally, she heard Reborn's voice a few shops away from the café. Tsunade walked over to where Keiko was clearing away an empty table. "Um, Keiko-san," she asked, "May I take my lunch break now?"
Keiko flashed her usual bright smile and said teasingly, "Tell you what: I'll let you go on break if you call me Keiko-chan."
Tsunade could hear Reborn's voice getting closer. "Is that really necessary?"
"Say it just once and I'll let you go on break," said Keiko, her smile widening.
Tsunade could almost see Reborn out of the café window. "Fine," she said with a sigh, "May I please go on break Keiko-chan?"
Keiko grinned from ear to ear, "Sure Tsunade-chan! Why didn't you just say so?"
Tsunade rushed to the back of the store and took off her apron. I don't know why Keiko-san is so insistent that I call her Keiko-chan. She saw Reborn walk through the door with Leoko, Kureko (who was tackled to the floor by Keiko again) and Iemitsu, who had been hanging around the café anyway. Well at least I got my break without Keiko-san misunderstanding.
It was at that moment that Reborn caught sight of Tsunade and waved, "Ah! Tsunade-chan! I thought you forgot that we were having lunch together today."
"Dammit," cursed Tsunade under her breath as realization dawned on Keiko's face and she looked with a mischievous glint inher eyes from Reborn to Tsunade.
"Ohhh," said Keiko loudly, "Now I know why Tsunade-chan was so eager to go on break!" She winked at Tsunade, who blushed. Stop it, Tsunade chided herself, your acting like a 13-year old on her first date. Anyways, she thought as she joined the others at a table, who gave him permission to call me Tsunade-chan?
"Iemitsu-kun, Tsunade-chan, it's so great of you guys to join us for lunch today," said Leoko, leaning back in his chair. Tsunade twitched. They've only known us for a day, and yet they're addressing us as close friends, she thought, they must really want information.
"The pleasure is all ours, Leoko-kun," said Iemitsu smoothly, matching his conversation style with theirs.
The group ordered and began to relax around each other. This is a perfect time to start getting information, thought Reborn. "So Tsunade-chan," he said, "You still owe me a little bit about yourself."
Tsunade grinned; Time to give some hints pointing the wrong way. "Well Reborn-kun," she said, "I was born in Osaka 19 years ago. I lived with my mom, dad, and identical twin brother. My parents were chemists who worked for a chemical company that developed special drugs."
That explains how the "Black Hunter" has special bullets that tranquilize rather than kill. He must have learned that from their parents, thought Reborn.
"My brother and I were rigorously trained in martial arts and other fighting techniques. We were a strong pair, slowly earning a reputation as the greatest sibling team in Osaka. However," said Tsunade with a sad look in her eyes, "one day, I caught a bad cold and couldn't go with my parents and my brother to his kendo competition. On the way back, their car was crushed by an eighteen wheeler." Her eyes filled with tears.
"Oh there, there," said Leoko in a soothing voice. He walked over and began massaging Tsunade's shoulders.
I know he's only doing this so that she'll tell us more about her brother, thought Reborn as he watched Leoko comfort Tsunade, so why do I feel irritated?
Reborn wasn't the only one who felt annoyed, If he doesn't get her hands off of her, thought Iemitsu with a dangerous glint in his eyes, I'm going to pry them off and toss them, along with the rest of him, out of the window.
Tsunade hid a smile as tears streamed down her face. These idiots, she thought. She sniffed and gently placed a hand on Leoko's hand, which made more than one person at the table bristle. "Thank you, Leoko-kun," she said, "I'm sorry, it's just it still hurts when I think about it. My brother was a huge believer in fate, and I guess his death was just part of it."
Reborn, who still wasn't sure why he felt annoyed, smirked. Another part of the puzzle is revealed, he thought smugly, His belief in fate, his upbringing as a fighting genius, it fits the persona of the Hunter perfectly.
Iemitsu watched Reborn's expression change slightly. Oh he's good, Iemitsu thought as Tsunade continued talking about her brother's belief in fate, But not good enough to not be read by a highly trained Interpol agent. Tsunade isn't telling a single lie, yet they're slowly believing what she wants them to. You've come a long way, Tsunade. He turned to look at her convincing performance. That's one of the reasons I… Iemitsu shook his head. No, I have to concentrate. I have to help Tsunade complete her deception and soon, her brother's true fate.
"After their death, I was adopted by a single relative that lived nearby," said Tsunade, "That's when I met Iemitsu-kun, who became my adopted brother—for a while."
"For a while?" asked Kureko.
"Yeah, I broke the adoption contract after I turned 18," said Iemitsu, "My dad left to go 'mining' (Lol sound familiar? XD) when I was young and left my mom with me alone. When she died, I was adopted by Tsunade's same adopter."
"Although he's not my nii-sama by name anymore," Tsunade said while glaring defiantly at Iemitsu, "he'll always be my nii-sama deep inside."
Reborn saw Iemitsu flinch at Tsunade's words. Ah, thought Reborn, So he left her family because his feelings passed the boundary between brother and sister. He smiled. Such a shame.
Tsunade got up with a sigh, "Well, I have to get back to work," she said reluctantly, "It was nice meeting you Leoko-kun, Kureko-kun." She smirked at Reborn. "Reborn-kun." Tsunade walked to the back of the café to get ready for the rest of her shift.
"I've got to go too," said Iemitsu, "I have to get ready for my Computer Infiltration class."
"Oh? You're majoring in Law Enforcement with Tsunade-chan?" asked Reborn.
"Not exactly," said Iemitsu as he gathered his stuff, "Same major, different fields. She's working to be more of a field agent and I'm better with the fancy deskwork." He walked out of the café, the door closing behind him with a 'ding'.
"I can't believe it," said Kureko, shaking his head, "You actually might be right about her dead brother being the Hunter."
"Yeah, said Leoko, "Everything just fits perfectly."
"That's why we will resume operations tomorrow," said Reborn, leaning back in his chair with a smug smile, "I'll attend the tradeoff and see if I'm able to confront the 'Black Hunter' with this new information."
"It's a shame to let such a pretty girl go to waste," said Leoko, staring at Tsunade who had resumed her duties as a barista, "Maybe I could have some fun with her—"
"No," said Reborn sharply, shocking not only Leoko and Kureko, but himself too. He shook his head, "I'm sorry, Leoko-kun," said Reborn, "I don't know why I reacted that way. It's just that since you tend to play around, we might end up losing her trust."
As Leoko and Kureko agreed to his logic, Reborn found his gaze resting on Tsunade. Why did I react that way, Reborn wondered, Why did I disagree so strongly to Leoko? I never disapproved of Leoko's ways in the past. Maybe it's just because I don't want to lose such an important source of information on the man ruining my company. I couldn't care less about the person herself.
Right?