Seat Number Zero

Part 35

"Hello, Asahi."

The former leader of the noirs with permanent bad hair dragged his eyes up. "Zero." He replies, the only indication he gives of acknowledging her presence. He gave her another look filled with contempt before setting his eyes back on the tombstone.

"My condolences," Yumi spoke, and in her arms rests a single white Chrysanthemum. She hands it over to him.

He took one glance at the flower and turned away, rejecting it, "Why are you in the states?" He asks dryly.

"Looking for you," Yumi replies.

"For this?" He asks, tossing over a blade in its protective leather casing.

Yumi caught it and stared at it. It was her knife given to her by her mentor.

"Chef Kojiro Shinomiya, the first Japanese restaurant in France to earn three stars."

"Do you just have this on you at all times?" Yumi eyes him suspiciously, she hooks it into the side of her belt right next to her mother's.

"Just shut up and take it." He rolled his eyes.

Yumi sighs as she bends her knees down to gently place the flower in front of the grave. Ashai watched her closely as she stood back up. "I came for two things."

"What makes you think I'll even listen?"

Yumi sighs, dropping a duffel bag by his feet. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asks.

"Just throw them away," he replies dryly.

"Feel like returning them to their owners for me," Yumi asks, not a shred of hopefulness in her voice.

"Do it yourself." He declines her ridiculous request. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Do you want to hear my second request then?" Yumi asks. She closes her eyes and puts her hands together, and waits for his answer as she properly pays her respect.

"No."

Yumi paused for a moment. "The second thing I came here for is-"

"The answer is still no." He repeats again without a second thought.

She glares at him before taking a deep breath. "I want to thank you."

He blinked at her, unsure of what he heard. "You..." He asks for clarification.

"Well someone leaked the location to a massive illegal smuggling ring," Yumi explains. Her eyes fluttered open and dragged them to the sky. "My two-year-long mission is finally completed, thanks to a sheet of paper.

Her lips curled into a smirk, "It's funny, the same person who blew my cover three years ago is also my saving grace." She draws her gaze back down, and over to look at him. "Want to hear the story?"

"I don't care," he responds flatly. Judging by his expression she concluded that he must've already investigated the whole situation before handing her any information.

"It's confidential, so I can't even vent about it."

"Go bitch about it to your boyfriend."

"I already did," Yumi said as-a-matter-of-factly. "You and your team of noirs weren't the first to initiate an incursion in Japan." She laughs.

"They were the former members of the Elite Tens."

*************

Let's go back in time, just a semester before my suspension. After a series of events, Yumi somehow managed to defeat the Elite ten's Fifth Seat Ayumi. During those days she wanted to keep a low profile because of her condition.