blackmail; shuji hanma

seven. second chances

Keisuke Baji was an...interesting individual, to say in the least. 

After a week of investigating him, (Y/N) found the long-haired delinquent reminded her of Hanma, solely based on the number of fights he got into alone. Other than that, Baji was the complete opposite of him, having an integral part in the Tokyo Manji Gang and close friendships with the other gang members. He was one of Toman's founding members, something she had learned from Takemichi when they had a brief interaction on the train, and if information served correctly, he was about to defect from said gang to join some group called Valhalla. 

She supposed she had gathered enough info, so she met up with Hanma at a café near her house to go over it with him. With her, she brought a file folder of papers and photographs, and all he brought was enough money to cover whatever they ended up ordering. There way she was asking where his money came from, especially when she noticed the dry specks of blood on the money clip he was carrying around, which really just made her exasperated more than anything else.

"This is like our second date," Hanma said, as they sat across from each other at a table in the back of the café. To avoid people noticing her company, he sat with his back to the door, although his stuck up hair with the golden streak was probably quite noticeable to anyone looking over in their direction. 

(Y/N) gave him a look. "It is not. I only said so last time to get us a cheaper deal on our food, we have and never will go out on a date."

Especially since she was mentally twenty seven and he was sixteen, practically a baby compared to her. She would not date like this, even if he was actually interested in her, not until he was a couple of years older and she was certain he did enjoy her company for her and not her information gathering brain.

"What?" He feigned hurt. "You don't want to go out on a date with me?"

"I will not be dating anybody until I am eighteen," she said with certainty, which was true. Well, she had never really dated anybody before, not in middle school and not as an adult eleven years in the future, so her words would never be counterintuitive. 

"So, you'd consider dating me once you're eighteen?" Hanma said with a smirk.

He wasn't asking for the information immediately, like she suspected he would. That made her wonder, did he really want to be around her just because? But there was no way, because in the past, the two of them had a class together and then after middle school, never saw each other again. Shuji Hanma existed in a completely different world than her, one that would use an info broker like a cigarette, throwing it out once he was done with it. His entire aspiration revolved around getting others to do things for him, so there was no way his question was genuine.

Maybe that was why she had the confidence to say, albeit sarcastically, "Yeah, sure."

"I'll be looking forward to that, then," he said lightly, before changing to a more serious tone, "Now, what can you tell me about Keisuke Baji? Is he serious about joining Valhalla?"

Ignoring how he seemed resolute about both things, (Y/N) pushed aside their half-full drinks and opened her file folder, spinning it around so Hanma could see the contents that she had long since memorized. He flipped through them while she talked, but she could tell he was listening to her every word. While, she explained what she knew, she paid close attention to his face for any tells if he already knew bits and pieces before coming to her. Some of it he seemed to already know.

At the end of her spiel, she had to ask. "Why are you so interested in this guy anyways? Are you going to fight him or something and use psychological warfare?"

"No, I'm the leader of Valhalla now," Hanma said like it was nothing.

She stared at him for a good while. "I didn't know that."

"That's because I sent you out learning about Keisuke Baji while I was changing affiliations." Hanma grinned, "Surprise."

"I take back what I said earlier. I'm never going to go on a date with you," she mumbled, pouting, then immediately stopped when she found that pouting with braces made her mouth feel weird. He noticed this and chuckled, and did so even more when she kicked at him from under the table, his long legs in the prime spot for kicking.

"You say that now," he teased. His phone went off, ringing and catching both their attention. The caller id was unknown, but that didn't stop him from picking it up and speaking briefly to whoever was on the other end. Hanma was annoyed by the end of the phone call, although he tried to hide the fact. "I've got to head out, (Y/N). Will you be okay to walk home alone?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry." (Y/N) reassured. 

They got up from the table at the same time and with one last wave from Hanma, she split off from him outside the café. With the file folder in hand, because he said he didn't want it, she made her way home, humming an unknown melody as she went. Her brain was full of all sorts of schemes, since she now knew Hanma was affiliated with Valhalla, a gang she didn't know a lot about, she wanted to learn as much as possible. It would be nice to finally add more to the journal she had on him, especially since it would actual information and not just notes on how annoying he was (courtesy of all the time she spent with him).

After a rather empty intersection, she turned down the street that would eventually become her neighborhood, only to pause when she heard footsteps behind her. Curious, she moved to the side to let whoever it was pass, except they never did - all she heard was the swoosh of metal bat swung through the air and a killer pain in the side of her head. 

...

hanma: *absolutely lovestruck*

(y/n): *oblivious*

it's one of my favorite dynamics, i'm sorry