Hitman Reborn: A New Generation

Haine sighed. "You probably have nothing better to do than to follow a teenage delinquent as he goes off to sneak a smoke somewhere or something. What were you curious about? It seems everything that happened on the roof was pretty straightforward. After all, that kid's just sticking his nose where it'll get chopped off. Maybe if I threaten him enough, it'll work and he'll stay away from stupid things like gangs and mafia."

Kiyoshi twitched slightly when he told her she probably had nothing better to do, "I do to have better things to do. I could always walk up behind some prep and set her fake blond hair on fire with a lighter." She muttered, having done it before she pulled a purple lighter from her pocket and flicked it on, watching the flame dance for a moment before flicking it off.
"No, I wanted to know what you were talking about...the Mafia? That's crazy shit for a teenager to get involved in. You mean like...Yakuza?" Kiyoshi shook her head, long black hair swaying lightly. "And why are you so bitter and angry? You don't scare me that much for the record. You just seem like a very, very angry boy." She told him. Maybe she should be scared being up on a roof, alone, with Haine, but she wasn't.

Haine laughed when he heard the lighter joke. Now there was some fun. But all too soon the conversation got serious, and with it, Haine remembered to shut away his heart. 'An angry boy am I? Well maybe its true.' Haine looked at her for a long time, thinking. It seemed no matter how hard he tried to get away from his past, and his father.'What kind of father adopts a son just to look good politically, then sends him to school in Japan so he doesn't become a public embarrassment?'
"No, not the Yakuza, the Yakuza is a joke compared to those European mafia. The mafia are professional. Their assassins, thugs, and connections reach farther than you can imagine. I thought I was done with stuff like that when I came here."

Kiyoshi tilted her head to the side when he laughed, smiling a little but then saw his change, and with that came a frown, "You would have a right to be angry then...if you don't mind me saying, he's a jackass for that. I kind of get what you mean, when I was a baby, my dad ran off on my mom and now he's trying to marry some twenty year old Play Boy Bunny-Wannabe in Hawaii." She sighed. "I might want to go repeatedly beat someone sometimes but I don't do it."
Kiyoshi blinked, looking a little frightened now, "You were...in the Mafia?" There was a mixture of sympathy, sadness and worry slowly appearing on the girl's face.

Haine looked away, he didn't want to talk about this. But he'd already started talking, and stopping now was hard to imagine. Haine's harsh laugh came out as something between a laugh and a choke."Me? The mafia? Ha, if I was in the mafia, I wouldn't be here right now, I'd be living the high life, or more likely, already dead. I made the wrong choice when I took on a job from a mafia member. The rival mafia had me in a gutter and left for dead in a week. I couldn't do anything, I managed to, take out a few of them, but they had a sniper, in case i took out the guys on the ground." Haine remembered the helpless feeling of lying in the gutter, with the cold night seeping into him, the wound in his shoulder paining him. He swore if he lived he'd turn his life around. Hah! A fine job he'd done of that.

Kiyoshi blinked, feeling bad for Haine, she cautiously gave the boy a semi-awkward hug, "I'm sorry." She said, looking at him with innocent purple eyes. After a brief moment she just sat back and crossed her legs again, "I hope I didn't ask you anything that upset you too much...but I'm pretty sure I did." Kiyoshi frowned, wishing she had just kept quiet or asked better questions, lowering her head so her silky black hair fell around her pale face.

Haine stiffened when she hugged him. He'd purposefully avoided all forms of emotional attachment. Not to do so was to leave an exploitable weakness open to your enemies. He looked away when she let go. "I'm fine, and I've yet to come across anything I can't handle since"But there had been so many close calls, he thought. "I think we're done here, wouldn't you agree? And if you see that Leon kid asking around about the mafia again, give him some bruises."

"Okay...I'll try." Kiyoshi said, quietly. She still wanted to ask him something though, Haine continued to remind her of a shard of glass, cold and hard, if you touch it you'll cut yourself if not careful. Kiyoshi was pretty sure he didn't want her around though anymore, so she stood, putting her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble." She told Haine honestly, trying to keep any particular expression off her face.

Haine didn't respond, simply staring out across the rooftop into the city. Things were happening with which there would be no turning back. What would happen then? Would they live, die, or remain unaffected? Haine knew the time would soon come when he may have to do something to save his hide. But he'd rather avoid it if possible.