We don't talk about Jouno

Family

Jouno knew this was coming, but even with the heads up, he really didn't want to deal with Fukuchi. "That was something for the record books." Fukuchi said, as he sat down in the chair beside Jouno's hospital bed. "I don't think I've ever seen Tetchou as annoyed with someone. He's asked that you two aren't partners in the future. I've given him a week to think about it."

If this was a cartoon, Fukuchi would have seen Jouno's heart shattering. "What?" Jouno asked aloud. In Jouno's memories, Tetchou had never done that. Was Jouno really messing things up so badly? He'd only been sixteen again for half a day, and already Tetchou hated him!

"It's okay." Fukuchi said quickly. "I don't think he'll go through with it. It's not like I have another partner lined up for him." Jouno shook his head. Whenever he thought of Fukuchi, he thought of two things: him trying to kill Jouno, and him succeeding at killing Tetchou. But that wasn't what Fukuchi was now. Jouno had to keep reminding himself of that. Now, Fukuchi really was the world's greatest hero, no decay of the angel strings attached. He had killed Jouno's parents, but it clearly wasn't for the reason he'd said. He wasn't Kamui back then, leaving Jouno with a mystery to solve. But Jouno had to remember that Fukuchi wasn't evil at this point. Not yet. And Jouno intended to keep it that way.

"Why is he so mad that I wanted to protect him?" Jouno asked. It took Fukuchi a while to react. "Because he feels responsible for you getting hurt. Tetchou cares about you as well, even if he'd die before admitting it. He doesn't want to work with you if it means you get hurt." Oh. That made a bit more sense, then. But Tetchou had been really harsh about it. Why couldn't he just say he was worried about Jouno?

"What happens if he still doesn't want to be my partner by the end of the week?" Jouno asked. "Then I'll tell him I lied, and you're his partner anyway." Fukuchi said casually. "I wanted him to come to the decision that he actually wants to work with you, though." The workings of an evil genius indeed.

"Do you think he will?" Jouno asked. He didn't like how insecure he was here. However, the book had made Jouno sixteen again. Jouno couldn't pick and choose what character traits he wanted to keep. "Yes, I think so." Fukuchi said. "But you have to give him time. Tetchou is stubborn."

No one said anything for a few seconds. "Do you have your mission picked out yet?" Jouno had a momentary panic before he remembered what was going on here. Any time someone joined the hunting dogs, they got to pick one mission for Fukuchi to lead. Usually, it was something important to the person, but it would also be a way for Fukuchi to test what their planning might look like.

Now, Jouno was presented with an opportunity. His mission when he was sixteen, the first time around, was to go after the leader of the criminal organization Jouno used to be a part of. That was a very revenge fueled mission, though. Jouno had to pick something different. He would also have to choose something strategic, that would benefit one of the people Jouno knew in the future.

Just like that, the answer appeared to Jouno. "From my time as a professional thief, I know all sorts of things that happen in the criminal underground. One of the most disturbing ones were the labs." He could practically hear Fukuchi's frown. "What do you mean, the labs?" He asked. Even when Fukuchi was at his worst, he always had a moral code, and wanted world peace. Specifically, a world where bad things didn't happen to innocent people. Chuuya's backstory seemed like something that would really get Fukuchi angry.

"Labs that experiment on people. Usually kids. They were created during the war, to try and create people with incredibly powerful artificial abilities. However, they didn't all shut down when everything ended. There's one that's been going this whole time. I say we shut it down." For a few very long moments, Fukuchi was silent.