Viper (Tokyo Rvengers Story)

19 A Test

August 31, 2005

Yūki leaned against the graffiti covered wall of Valhalla's hideout as he waited. Kazutora had taken up his offer and was told to meet up at the arcade.

As Yūki was about to reach for his second cigarette that hour, he spotted Kazutora in the distance. He pushed off the wall he was leaning on and motioned for Kazutora to get closer.

Kazutora couldn’t help but notice the copious amounts of graffiti that was on the outside of the abandoned arcade. The most notable being the headless angel which stood proudly behind Yūki.

"Come on, we don't have all day. I have somewhere to be after this." Yūki called out, urging him to follow as he walked into the building.

When Kazutora finally caught up, Yūki turned to him with a serious expression. "Don't disappoint me. He might not want you as a captain." Yūki knew that no matter what he did, Kazutora was still going to be captain since, technically, he was a co-leader. But he also wanted to manipulate Kazutora, make him feel as though something might happen if he were able to succeed.

'Don't disappoint me.' Those three words rang through Kazutora's head as they continued to walk. Throughout the years of them writing back and forth, Yūki had only ever been encouraging. After a while, Kazutora's broken mind started to depend on Yūki, wanting to hear the praises that not even his own parents would say. In Kazutora's fragile mental state, there were only two people who truly understood and cared for him; the two being Yūki and Baji.

Unbeknownst to Kazutora, that was just what Yūki wanted. He wanted him to be yet another pawn, another puppet, for his plans. Even before Yūki met Kisaki, Kazutora was always supposed to be used.

"Kasu, you coming?" Yūki asked as he saw Kazutora slow down. Kazutora snapped out of his thoughts and followed Yūki into an open area near the back of the arcade.

Hanma sat on top of a table as he watched Yūki step forward. "This who you were talking about, Viper?" He asked with a smirk as he met Kazutora's cold stare.

Everyone turned to look at Kazutora, who seemed unnerved by being there. "This is Kazutora Hanemiya, just got out of Juvie. I feel like he could help you guys out." Yūki smirks up at Hanma. "Do what you will with that info."

As Yūki took a step back, he placed a hand on Kazutora's shoulder and flashed him a reassuring smile.

"So, Kazutora." Hanma slowly said as he started walking toward the middle. "Why'd you get arrested?"

Kazutora tilted his head at the question, making a small jingle ring from his earrings. "Killed someone." He calmly answered as an almost unnoticeable smirk appeared on his face.

Hanma grinned at this and looked at Yūki, hoping to see some sort of reaction or acknowledgement, but all he got was a blank stare.

Unlike his usual playfulness, Yūki was taking this meeting seriously. This wasn't just a test for Kazutora; it was also a test for Hanma. Though Yūki had seen how loyal he was, he still wasn't sure if he could be a proper "leader" to Valhalla. Sure, he wasn't the real leader, but he was still in charge of the ever growing gang.

So Yūki wanted to see just how well two of his pawns would work. He had high hopes for Hanma, but he wasn't too sure about Kazutora. Yūki knew about most of Kazutora's past even before they started talking, but he had yet to see what had changed during Kazutora's time in prison.

After realizing that Yūki wasn't going to give him any indication of what he wanted, Hanma came up with an entertaining idea. "Well, we can't just let anyone into Valhalla, can we?!" He called out, earning loud cheers of affirmation.