Gokudera wakes up to a ringing phone. His birthday had come and gone, and now he was just recuperating from the massive hangover he has.
"This had better be good."
"Oh trust me it is. I have some very good news."
"Reaper...I am not in the mood."
"Well if you don't want to talk to me, I'm sure that Phoenix could tell you."
"I would ask her but I don't know where she is!"
"She. Is. Following. You! How many girls with long red hair are there around your hotel! There is a high chance that one of them is Phoenix! Please use your head for five seconds. I had heard that you were smart but apparently that was a lie."
"True shit, but still! I didn't see her at all. Now I'm just at the hotel and I haven't seen any suspicious people. Through I do have a feeling that someone's watching me. AND SHUT UP! I am smart! I just find it hard to believe that she'd go through all that shit for me."
"Well she should approach you now. Also you are out of the deal, so would you like to know what I found out about our little Birdy's family?"
"Of course I wanna know."
"Well it seemed that your ninth never ordered her father's death. Hell, he was even going to take care of the family if her dad went to jail. Apparently the hitman didn't like the order and acted on his own."
Gokudera pinches the bridge of his nose.
"The shit I have to deal with..." He sighs. "And why exactly are you telling me this? The truth, I mean. Didn't you let me out of the deal?"
"You should ask Phoenix about why I let you out of the deal. And I told you the truth because I may be a psychopath but I am a man of my word."
"This...I don't like where this is going. Wherever it's headed."
"Oh, just ask her."
Reaper hangs up his phone and Gokudera looks down at his.
"What the..."
The silver haired teen walks over to the window, groaning as he is confronted by the sun light. He looks down at the street, looking for any sign of a girl with long red hair but sees no one.
Gokudera makes it back to Japan without one phone call from Reaper or Phoenix and honestly, it was starting to worry him.
"I'm sure Phoenix is fine. She's a strong girl and she can take care of herself."
At that moment Gokudera's phone rings and Phoenix's name flashes on the screen.
"Finally! I thought you'd forgotten about me."
"Nah, just thought you'd want to be alone on your birthday...all things considered."
"Oh...uh...thanks."
"No problem. Hayato, I...I just want to thank you for being such a good friend to me. Honestly, I don't know what I would have done without you. Just...thank you so much for...everything.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING DIE ON ME! The last time I heard shit like that, one of my Famiglia members just off'd himself."
"I thought I told you that I'm not going to die! Phoenix's are reborn in their death flames for thousands of years before they actually die and I'm only sixteen! I have a few years left!"
Phoenix laughs and Gokudera smirks.
"Oh fucking please. By the way...should I call you by your codename or real name? Without thinking, sometimes, I call you by your real name, but you probably fucking hate it. So just let me know which name you want me to call you."
"I really don't care what you call me. Just as long as you don't call me Lynch."
"Why the hell would I call you Lynch?"
"Lynch is my last name and people called my dad 'Lynch' so I don't like people calling me that."
"Lynch..." Gokudera rolls the name around his mouth. "Hm…good name I guess."
"It's Irish so...well it explains a lot."
"Irish...with red hair." Gokudera laughs. "You're so fucking perfect."
"Excuse me?"
Gokudera blushes.
"I mean...uh...What I meant to say was...um."
Phoenix laughs.
"You scared me there for a second Hayato."
"Oh shut up."
"Never. Hey, Hayato...did Reaper let you out of your guys deal?"
"I don't even fucking know. He said he did and he held up his end and told me what I wanted to know but then he told me something creepy...Have you been following me around?"
"So Reaper told you. Well I got my best guy watching Tsuna so I figured why not the second best on the right-hand man?"
"Jesus Christ, you were following me? Did you follow me to Italy as well?"
"I still can't believe you didn't figure it out. Three seats behind you on the plane both ways, blue hoodie and purple headphones."
"That was you! I just glanced over you but paid no attention. Were you wearing a wig?"
"I thought you had recognized me to be honest. I'm surprised you didn't. Of course I was wearing a wig, Reaper has people everywhere."
"You look good with black hair."
"Thanks...I think...Hayato I have something...wait, you said Reaper told you what you wanted to know right? What was it?"
"...What is it you wanted to tell me? I'll only tell you what Reaper told me if you tell me."
"That...sounded a lot like what I would say. How about this, you tell me what you got to say first and I'll get my guys to show themselves to you and the Vongola."
"Uh, yeah, no thanks. I'd rather you tell me what I wanna know in exchange for what you wanna know."
"Ah come on! It's a good deal! Just take it and tell me! Hayato, please, anything Reaper tells you is going to be about my family. Please, just tell me what Reaper told you.
"Well since you put it that way, I'm just gonna be honest and tell you. HA! No. There's no way in fuck I'm gonna make a crappy deal like that. I wanna know shit, and I wanna know it now. Whether or not you wanna tell me depends on how much you wanna know the information I have."
"Dude! It's a good deal! My people will never be found, except possibly by Reborn. And I know you wanna talk to them. To find out for yourself if they are good enough to guard Tsuna. Please Hayato, just tell me."
"Nope, not gonna cut it. I trust they're good men, And even if they're not, Juudaime still has me. Now spill it or I'm not saying shit. And trust me, you want to know."
"Oh come on! That is a low blow! Just trust me, once I tell you what I am going to tell you, you won't stop to think about this. You won't tell me then so just tell me now...How about this. You tell me and I tell you how to get Lambo to leave you alone.
"...Sounds tempting. But I fucking trained for this. No. I can deal with him. Plus, I risked my life for that brat more than once. I just hope he gets better in the future. You know, I'm a stubborn person. When I want something, I get it. I want to know your info, so I'll tell you what I got if you spill it. Take it or leave it."
"And I'm Irish. We don't give up that easily! Listen I could just go to Tsuna and have him...order you to tell me...Or I could frame you for destroying the school, thus having your cloud guardian kill you. So you going to tell me or not."
"Juudaime wouldn't give in so easily. And...you wouldn't..."
"Oh I would. I'm standing across from the school now and I can see five different ways to do some real damage. I am a trained physiological killer. Most of my marks killed themselves after I had one conversation with them. So are you going to tell me what Reaper told you?"
"Hm, let me think..." Gokudera stares hard at the floor before speaking again. "Okay, before I tell you, answer this: why don't you wanna tell me?"
"I have my reasons. Now tell me."
"Nope. I'll take my chances with Hibari if I have to. Just so you know, you're stunting my education and thus, I might not be able to survive in the world if you do so. Just putting that out there."
"Yeah right, like you're not already far past anyone in that school." Gokudera smiles. "Oh...OH! I have an idea...if you don't tell me I will send Reaper messages about our...feelings for each other. See if he leaves you alone after that."
Gokudera laughs.
"What feelings? Reaper already knows it's all in his head. And you wouldn't do that to your own reputation. You wouldn't wanna put yourself in a compromising situation with a guy like me. Even I know you wouldn't like it."
"Try me Hayato. Just try me. And my reputation is already in the gutter, so it doesn't matter."
"What are you talking about? Your reputation isn't in the gutter. At least not from what I know."
"No. It is...pretty badly actually. I may not be able to get a new job if I live through this."
"Yeah fucking right."
"No really. People don't take kindly to traitors, which is what I am." Before Gokudera can talk Phoenix speaks again. "Listen, when you're ready to tell me what I wanna know, give me a call. Until then...we won't be talking to each other."