Chapter Text
It’s now 10:30 pm. The clock ticked at the silence of the cafe. Y/N was washing the cafe utensils in the sink, her hands full of soap as she scrubbed the sponge across the marbled surfaces of the mini cups. She rinsed them, turning on the tap water. Her hands relished at the chilled feeling of the cold water as she slowly washed the remaining soap bubbles of them. She places them on top of the coffee machine neatly. She grabs the nearest towel to wipe her drenched hands.
She was about to go back and put off her apron when she heard the bell ringing. She turned around and saw a man enter the cafe. His hair was tousled like he just ran away from something, his red strand of hair hanging onto his cheek for dear life with the sweat. His red eyes scanned the cafe as he took another gulp of air. He was wearing all-black, with a black T-shirt down to black tight jeans and black combat boots.
Wow. Talk about style. Fitting for the night, Y/N wondered.
She walked towards the front door from the cashier counter, “Sorry sir, we are closed for today-“
He shushed her, his finger on his mouth. His red eyes stared into her eyes. For a moment, there was only pin drop silence between them. He made a move first as he walked calmly towards her. She could smell the fresh cologne mixed with the scent of pine leaves.
He asked, “Can I ask you for a favor?”
She stumbled and started panicking “Uh…”
He gave her a reassuring smile and pointed on the menu on the desk, “Pretend that I’m a customer.”
She hesitated. That’s very suspicious of him to start pretending, but okay I will play along with it.
She gave him a tight smile and nodded her head. She noticed the hand that he used to point at the menu had bandages wrapped around them. The grey bandages wrapped themselves onto slender fingers. The bandages lead up onto his wrist where a black leather glove that covered half of his palm fitted.
She blurted out, “Where can I get those gloves?”
It took her one second to realize what came out of her mouth. She gasped and closed her mouth with one hand. He looked at her with a cool amused expression, his eyebrow quirked.
“Do you want a pair of these gloves?” He asked.
She hesitated, before giving her answer as a nod.
“I can get them for you. These are not hard to obtain,” he answered with a smile as he looked at his bandaged hands.
“Why do you need them?” He asked curiously.
She stammered, “I l-like the d-design. It g-goes well w-with a d-dress I u-used t-to w-wear.”
Stop stammering, Y/N! Where did all that confidence of talking to other customers go? She wanted to internally slap herself and go to heaven to get away from this embarrassment.
He considered her answer, before giving a reply, “I would love to see the dress with the gloves.”
No way I’m meeting you again! You look like a dangerous person!
Instead, she said, “Sure! If we meet one day.” She even added a nervous laugh at the end.
He smiled and looked at the menu. His red eyes scanned the menu. “What’s your specialty in this cafe?”
Now that is a question that she can work with.
“We recommend frappes, but our most famous drink on sale would be the Latte Frappe!” Y/N started recommending.
“Then I would have one latte frappe,” he ordered.
Wait I thought I said earlier that I was closing the cafe, she thought.
Y/N, just serve one order. What’s so bad about it. It’s not going to get you in trouble, her inner self chided.
“One latte frappe, coming up!” Y/N put on a not-so-confident smile before grabbing a cup. She glanced at him, lifting two sizes of plastic cups. One had a higher volume than the other one.
He answers, “The right one.”
The bigger one it is.
She grabbed her marker on the side of the table, opened the cap with her mouth, and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Kazuha. Just Kazuha.”
“So, your name is Just Kazuha. Nice surname,” Y/N remarked as she scribbled it on the plastic cup.
“It’s just Kazuha. Just isn’t a surname,” Kazuha pouted back.
“Uh-huh. Sorry, pretty boy, I’ll remember you as Just Kazuha now,” she smirked.
He looked at her with a horrified expression that almost made her laugh. She grabbed one of the boxes labeled “Latte Frappe” and grabbed a measuring spoon. As she was making the frappe, she heard the man asking her another question.
“What’s your name then, pretty lady?”
Flirt.
“Y/N,” she replied as she shoved ice cubes into the blender.
He pondered on the name, “Y/N. What a beautiful name suited for a pretty lady like you.”
Her mind savored his soft melodic voice saying her name.
“Do you always flirt with women?” She laughed.
“Not always. My boss used to joke that every time I open my mouth, flowers and poetry comes out like no end. He thinks I should have been a poet in my previous life,” he replies.
“A poet should be nice. I used to read books with lots of poems in them.”
“Oh? Do interest me in them,” he leaned across the other counter, with a wink.
The wink will be that one remaining brain cell struggling to be alive before I die.
Before she could answer, she heard a huge commotion outside her cafe door. She hears a lot of footsteps outside her door. She turns around to look but Kazuha stops her by tapping his hand onto the counter. He made a shaking gesture with his head as he stares outside. She complies, continuing to do her work and ignoring the interruption. When she finishes the drink, the footsteps sounds were gone and the night returned to its normal silent atmosphere.
“Your drink is ready, Just Kazuha,” she smirked as she passed him the drink with a good load of whipping cream on top and a paper straw poked in the middle.
“My name is just Kazuha-“ he protested.
“Yea yea you said it, old man, your name is Just Kazuha. No need to remind me twice,” she waved it off.
“Old man?!” He nearly shouted.
“You keep on repeating your name is Just Kazuha!” She retorted back.
He sighed loudly, “What am I suppose to do to convince you that my name is Kazuha and not Just Kazuha…”
“You don’t,” Y/N cackled.
“I guess I have to try harder to convince you,” he smiled.
What does that even mean?!
He laughed at her horrified expression. She watched as he took a slurp of the frappe. His eyes widened and looked back at your face with a surprised look.
“This tastes really good,” he complimented.
“Told you it was a recommendation,” she shrugged.
“I should ask you for more drink recommendations,” he replied.
“That’s the cafe recommendation, not mine-“
“Then what’s your recommendation?”
She stopped. She had never tried any of the drinks here in this cafe, not even once when she was working.
“I have never tried any of the drinks here,” she confessed.
“That’s impossible. I thought normally all cafe workers usually know what the drinks taste like.”
“Well, I don’t really like drinking coffee.”
“You prefer tea over coffee?”
“That’s right. I would love the smell of earl grey tea over some Arabian coffee smell.”
“That’s a healthy lifestyle.”
“Not really, I sometimes never eat on some days when the workload is a lot.”
“I take that back, that’s not very healthy at all. Eating three times a day is necessary for your body to recuperate,” he expressed his concerns.
“I think my body can handle it. I eat simple things only, I don’t have much appetite for like a luxurious hotpot.”
“You should eat,” Kazuha protested. His eyes had that puppy-loving look.
“Stop giving me puppy-loving eyes,” she said sadly.
“I’ll show you these eyes until you promise me that you will eat tomorrow, three meals in a day.” Kazuha didn’t budge from his position.
They both had a staring contest before she sighed, “Okay, fine. I’ll eat three meals tomorrow. Happy?”
“You better. Or I will know about it.”
“How would you know about it? You don’t even know where I live,” She threw back.
“I have my ways, my dear Y/N,” he smiled.
“I’m gonna lock my doors tonight,” she replied.
“I’m not gonna break into your house,” he gave her a sad face.
“I still don’t trust you, Just Kazuha,” she smirked.
“That nickname is really grounded into you,” he pouted.
“It’s a funny nickname because you said it in the first place.”
“Maybe I should call you Just Y/N next time.”
“Hey! I just said my name is Y/N!”
“Why can’t you have another Just in your name, it’s like a payback for me, hmm, Just Y/N?”
“Why are you taking revenge over a nickname!”
“Because why not?” He whispered with a ghost smile.
Oh. Now that is what you called a certified hot move there, hottie.
She glanced at the clock. The clock struck 11:30 pm.
“Oh my god! I have to go and close the store right now.” She said to him.
“It’s okay, I can wait for you,” he replied.
“No, it’s okay!! You can go if you have anything important in your schedule. You don’t need to wait for me,” she quickly said before rushing to the backroom to take out her apron. She hung her green apron on the wall hangers and stamp her work card. She grimaced at the 11:30 pm time stamp on her card. She definitely was going to get a long lecture from her boss tomorrow. She hurriedly grabbed her bag and closed the backroom door. She turned around to still see him there, slurping on his drink while looking at the forest opposite the cafe.
“You haven’t gone yet?” She asked.
“I was waiting for you, so I can accompany you home. You know, as a thank you for helping me,” he winked.
“I don’t need someone to accompany me home. Besides, I don’t want you to get a wrong impression on me,” she protested.
“Impressions never matter, I’m already happy with your impression. It brightens my spirits for a while,” he replied.
STOP FLIRTING WITH ME, YOU DUMBASS.
She hesitated. She never liked to walk with strangers. Especially not to her house. After all that happened to her, she never trusts anyone. Not even her work colleagues. He is no exception. What if he is some dangerous person? What if he would strike her dead the moment they reach her house? What if he decided to rape her, just like her relative? What if-
"Y/N? What's wrong?" His voice broke through her line of thoughts, like a blade cutting through sheets of paper.
She smiled and shook her head, "Nothing! I may have zoned out for a while."
Kazuha looked at her with a questionable look, "If you want someone to rant on or vent on, I'm all ears."
"Thank you for the offer, Kazuha, but I can't bring up my past so easily," Y/N smiled sadly.
"That's alright. Please take your time," Kazuha replied, raising his hand.
They both walked out of the cafe in awkward silence, him still slurping onto the frappe while she locked the doors with the key. A rattle can be heard from the door as she slides the lock in place.
"So, Just Kazuha, what do you work as?" Y/N started up a conversation as they both walked side by side. The roads were empty except for a few convenience stores lighting up the way. The lamplights shone a warm yellow light as they walked down the pavement.
"I work as a florist," Kazuha quipped.
"You wearing bandages on the hand doesn't sound like you work as a florist," Y/N pointed.
"And what makes you think of that?" Kazuha dared back.
"First of all, I have a colleague who works as a florist as her part-time job. Second of all, how can you get hand bruises when handling flowers? I understand if it's roses, but you don't wrap your entire hand because of that injury! Third of all, and last point, you spouting flower language doesn't match with being a florist!" Y/N counted off her fingers.
"Oh, Y/N. You're mistaken. I work as a florist as a main job," Kazuha smirked.
"Yeah, so my point is a stan- wait what?!" Y/N exclaimed in surprise. "You have multiple jobs?"
"If you put it that way, then yes."
"And one of them involves running?"
Kazuha scratched the back of his head, "That one wasn't even planned."
"Now I have a feeling you're like a secret agent from some government agency."
His eyebrows quirked up again, "Government agency?"
"Normalize people running away from something," Y/N muttered.
"There are multiple things to run away from. I could be running because I could be late for an important meeting," Kazuha reasoned.
"Uh-huh. I'm not buying that excuse," Y/N shook her head while laughing.
"You're a terrible person to convince. By that, it gives me a much better challenge of convincing you," Kazuha playfully narrowed his eyes.
"Stop trying to convince me, oh great Just Kazuha. I am a very stubborn person," Y/N smirked evilly.
"Oh? Are you challenging me, pretty lady?" Kazuha softly said.
When he said that, they both reached her apartment complex. Her apartment complex was on the edge of Inazuma, facing the sakura trees towards Byakko Plains. She could still smell the fresh breeze of the sakura blooms. She had plans to go pick up the sakura blooms so that she could make dangos on the weekends, but since she talked to this interesting man for an hour, she can't definitely wake up at 6 am for flower collecting. She sighed, she had to go the next week.
"If we meet again, pretty boy, then yes I will take up your challenge gladly," she softly answered. "It was great knowing you, Kazuha. May we meet again soon."
She left him standing at the apartment gates as she walked, a vigor in her steps than earlier. She was really eager to get out of that man's sight. Something about him felt uneasy to her, and she never liked the feeling of uneasiness on a cold night. As she reached the doors towards her apartment, she was yanked to the side with a rough hand. She gasped as she was forced to look at her intruders.
"So where's the money, girl?" The guy growled.
The debt?
"I h-haven't got the m-money you asked," Y/N confessed.
The man slammed the wall beside her, "We gave you a long time to finish the debt. Now, I don't want to hurt beautiful girls like you, but our boss is angry right now. He needs the money right now. So hand over the money and we best be off on our separate ways."
"I need time, mister. I need a week to get your loan payment back in full." Y/N argued.
"Three days. That's all the boss is giving you."
"That's not enough, I need more time!" Y/N protested.
The man clearly had enough of her problems, and his hand snaked onto her neck. He tightened the grip around her neck, making Y/N gasped for air.
"Three days shows how generous our boss is willing to give you. If you don't comply within three days, we would have to take drastic measures. You wouldn't want that, would you?" the man threatened.
"If you're willing to take a dare against our boss, who knows, he might sell your organs. We are very much on a ticking bomb situation, so we would love for you to hurry up with the payment, Y/N." the man whispered silently.
Y/N squirmed in fear.
"Fi-" she started, knowing that her fate is sealed once again in another debt.
"Might I ask how much she owns you?" someone familiar voiced out.
Oh no. Not him. Definitely not him.
The man looked above her head to see the person behind her. He scowled and seethed, "You're not involved in these affairs, so it's none of your business. I suggest you to leave before you make the situation worse."
"Only cowards hurt people around them with empty threats. Is that how you handle debt collection?" Kazuha snidely remarked.
"You seem to know a lot about debt collection, hmm? Why don't you come closer and get a taste of my fist?" the guy still had Y/N on chokehold.
"Release her first, then I'll gladly take up your challenge," Kazuha said, his voice still had that humorous tint.
Is he really provoking him like that?!
The guy had that boasting aura around him, Y/N could tell. He immediately took his hands off but still shoved her sideways. She fell onto the ground with a harsh thud and hissed as her knees skidded across the rough pavement. The rocks cut through the skin of her hands as well. She turned her head up to see the man walking towards Kazuha, as he let out a roar and pull out a fist coming towards Kazuha.
He's going to get hurt! Why would he be so stupid to anger that guy? I've seen him beat up so many people before. He's not going to make it. He's-
Her line of thoughts stopped when she saw Kazuha effortlessly dodged the punch by tilting his head to the side in a playful manner. He grabbed the other guy's arm and twisted his arm. The guy shrieked in pain as Kazuha held him with an iron grip. She gawked at him. His red eyes didn't had that calm expression like the time she spoke to him. They were all frosted over like a frosted apple held in dry ice. His eyebrows were furrowed and his lips were set on a straight line.
When he spoke after a moment, it gave her the chills, right onto her bones.
"Pathetic. Is that what you call a punch?" Kazuha snarled softly, his voice had no sign of that relaxed atmosphere. It felt like the surroundings around the group had dropped to several degrees.
He whispered something to the guy's ear. Y/N noticed the guy's eyes widened in shock before squirming in fear. Kazuha held his hand for a few minutes, before letting his hand go. The guy immediately retreated back to where his goons were, both of them shaking in fear at the sheer intensity of Kazuha's chilly stare.
"Our boss will know about this! You won't run away!" The guy shouted before running off, his goons following him.
Y/N and Kazuha were left alone. For a few moments, Y/N's mind were full of questions about Kazuha. Who was he? What job did he employ with those type of skills? Is he some sort of secret agent? Or someone from the mafia? Someone who have a dangerous past with dangerous enemies? Her mind was bursting with all the possibilities about him, she didn't even noticed him walking towards her.
"Y/N, are you alright?" Kazuha softly asked.
She turned towards him to see his eyes back to the relaxed expression. He offered a hand. She let him help her pull her up. His hands were warm despite the cold breeze blowing in between them.
It felt like she was safe in his hands.
That doesn't sound right. I don't know him either! How am I suppose to feel safe in his hands! He looks like a dangerous individual!
She shook her head, "I might need to patch up my knees and hands."
Kazuha looked at her with concern, "Do you want me to help?"
She shook her head, forcefully took out her hand from his soft grip. Her mind immediately regretted taking it out, suddenly missing the warmth. "Thank you, Kazuha, but I need to go now. Thank you for helping me. Good night, Kazuha."
Y/N quickly walked through the doors and entered the elevator that just came at the nick of time, leaving Kazuha standing there, all alone under the moonlight.
-
Kazuha reached his apartment at around 1am in the morning. His hands were fumbling with his house keys as he took them out of his right pocket. His mind was still reeling from that encounter. He saw the conflict in Y/N's eyes. She was thinking on whether she could trust him or not, but she took the latter. She harshly told him she had to go, forcing her hand to let go of his, and walked as fast as she could out of his sight. He knew, that revealing his true job, would scare her away, so he had to lie that he worked as a florist. Now, with this situation, she probably didn't trust his lie enough. He sighed. He really wanted to know her, the urge to go after her was strong, but he had to repress it. He wanted to give her time despite him missing her prescence.
His phone rang, distracting him. He took out his phone and answered.
"Mission success?" his boss asked.
"Mission success. I cleared their bodies. The payment should be done by the end of this week." Kazuha answered monotonously.
"Good," his boss complimented, "A payraise should suffice for you. You'll receive it by the end of the week, prior the payment of the...deceased victims."
"Ayato-sama. I think I have found leads on that one payment that you have been missing for weeks," Kazuha informed him.
"Is it the one that is owned by someone by the name of Childe?" his boss asked.
"That is correct, sir. I think I have a lead on their trail," Kazuha answered.
"How did you get it?" his boss asked curiously.
"I bumped into someone, she actually owns them a huge debt, that his goons had to use force to make her pay off the debt."
"That's quite a rare coincidence."
"They would probably be after her. I'll use her as bait to get them."
"You were always good as using baits, I could never understand how you don't feel regret after that."
"I do feel regret, Ayato-sama. I don't like using people to my own benefits, but to aid the company, I will use whatever methods to make sure all debts are paid in full," Kazuha said sadly.
"It feels like yesterday when you said you wanted to explore the world instead of doing this dirty business," his boss chuckled.
"I wish to, but I owe you a life debt, Ayato-sama," Kazuha quipped.
His boss went quiet for a while.
"Then have a good night rest. Tomorrow, you have a new mission at 5am in the morning. Get some shut eye, Kazuha." His boss hung up the phone at that moment.
Kazuha sighed. He entered the door to his apartment, setting aside his gun, kept on his belt. He also took off all the mini knives sheathed on him. He peeled his gloves using his mouth and tossed them aside. He took out his shirt and unwrapped his bandages aorund his fingers. His fingers were still full of scars, each line decorating his skin like abstract art. He grabbed another set of bandages, and slowly wrapped them around his fingers, the fibers of the bandage slowly giving him the comfort and the itchness that he had endured over the years. After he finished wrapping, he took a cup from the table in front of him and opened a bottle of sake. He poured a small amount and drank it, savouring the sourness.
The opposite of what he tasted from the bittersweet lingering taste of the latte frappe.
He felt the regret seeping into his bones on using Y/N as bait.
-
The guy who sought out Y/N for her debt was seen dangling over chains, not even recognizable by the huge cuts and slashes on his body. The blood dripped from his fingertips, almost never ending. His eyes were blacked out, his bones all cracked, and no signs of breathing. His goons lied on the ground beneath him, arms severed from their bodies.
The orange-haired man that goes by the name of Tartaglia stared at them, his azure eyes lifeless. His clothes were splattered by their blood, his face had a streak of blood across his left cheek. His hands still gripped the twin short blades, with whithened knuckles.
He found out that they accidentally bumped into someone they shouldn't have attempted an attack on: Kaedehara Kazuha. The right hand man of the debt collector, Kamisato Ayato. The infamous killer who killed three entire organizations and lived to tell the tale after falling off a tall building. Tartaglia knew he couldn't hide the debt he owned Ayato for long, although he was praying that Ayato would even forget that the debt existed. He felt rage consumed his mind when he heard from the three of them mentioning a man who had a streak of red hair, he knew that he could never hide from Kazuha. That man lived long enough to have experience in all fields of spying and collecting intel. Once Kazuha got a lead, he would always find them in the end.
He had to kill them brutally. Or more like he had to take out his rage on them, because of their clumsiness, his hiding will not work anymore. He asked his men to kidnap the girl by the name of Y/N and sell her organs in an auction. Immediately. His men ran out, not wanting to disobey his orders. With his current state of emotions, he would probably snap at any resistance.
He cursed at himself. If he doesn't pay back Ayato by then, Kazuha would have his head.
But then, he could never step back on an opportunity to face Kazuha. He knew the man is a killing machine, a well-trained oil machine who honed the art of assassination at a young age. He wanted to experience a fight against him. He wanted to beat him. He wanted this man dead. He wanted to die by his hand and his hand only.
He smiled into the night, and waited. For he is waiting for his death, soul ripped from his body by the reaper who only goes by the name of Kaedehara Kazuha.