Catching Up

[Word Count: 1331]

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"Is there anything else you need?" Shouzou asked, handing Leo his wallet.

"Yes," Leo replied solemnly before putting his wallet back in his pocket. "I'm actually going to Germany next month."

"Oh really? Any particular reason?" Shouzou inquired, taken aback by Leo's sudden seriousness.

"I'm going to visit Santa Claus," Leo answered.

"Hmm, I have a feeling there's more to it than that," Shouzou commented.

"Yeah, I think so too," Leo agreed.

"Is it necessary for you to go?" Shouzou asked.

"I heard that there might be something there that I want, but that's all I know," Leo explained vaguely.

"You're always so busy," commented Shouzou. "At the rate you're going, you'll burn yourself out."

Leo's somber mood was lifted when he chuckled at Shouzou's comment. "I think I can keep going for another decade before I burn out," Leo said with a smile. "And that's with breaks included."

Shouzou sighed, clearly not entirely convinced. "You shouldn't burn yourself out so soon. You have kids to take care of, don't you?"

"This one instance is personal, but after that, I'm burning myself out for them," Leo said with a hint of determination.

"Listen," Before Shouzou could voice his opinion further, Leo stopped him.

"It's fine, Shouzou. I made up my mind," Leo said with a smile. "A decade is plenty."

"A decade is anything but plenty, Leo," Shouzou exclaimed while holding back his anger. "You can't seriously expect me to sit by while you get yourself killed."

"Who said anything about dying? I'll burn myself out, yeah, but I'll still be kicking," Leo said confidently, smirking at his worried cousin.

Shouzou rubbed his temple, feeling both exasperated and concerned. "There's always a catch with you," he said, releasing a sigh, and getting a chuckle out of Leo.

"It'll be fine Shouzou. I don't know if you noticed but I'm strong as heck," Leo said flexing his arm.

"Yeah yeah, the strongest devil hunter and whatever stupid shit the news writes about you," Shouzou brushed off, still exasperated.

"You know they're being forced to write that right?" Leo said getting his cousin's attention.

"Are you not the strongest?" Shouzou asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In terms of devil contracts? Yes. In terms of just strength? Not by a long shot. I'm sure my teacher could kick my ass up and down through Japan if he wanted to," Leo answered casually.

"Then why?" Shouzou asked clearly confused. "No offense but you're a total piece of shit, why put your face on the covers?"

"For Order," Leo replied while his eyebrow twitched in mild annoyance. "Only a hand full of people know but I'm a wanted felon by Public Safety," he said proudly.

Shouzou did a double take as he stared at Leo blankly. "What?"

"A little over a year ago, I barged into Devil Hunters HQ and stole a devil while killing a few other devil hunters in the process," Leo revealed casually. "Part of the reason my face isn't on a wanted poster is because currently there are only two devil hunters who could reliably take me on. My teacher, and a redheaded devil disguised as a human."

"The redhead, will she be a problem?" Shouzou asked.

"100% she will," Leo confirmed. "She has a contract with the prime minister making her semi-immortal. So in the future, if we want to take her out it'll have to be a packaged two-for-one deal."

"So you could take her?" Shouzou asked.

"I'd wipe the floor with her," Leo boasted.

"Will this be happening anytime soon?" Shouzou asked writing some things down.

"No," Leo said flatly.

Shouzou stopped writing and looked at Leo with a raised eyebrow. "Then when?"

"Killing the Prime Minister so I can kill the Control Devil would be the easy part, it's what comes after that's hard," Leo contemplated. "We can replace the Prime Minister easily enough but my teacher taking the redhead's position after she's gone is all but guaranteed."

"How's that a problem?" Shouzou asked, leaning on his chair.

"I'm pretty sure he's still on the fence about killing the redhead," Leo stated. "He can tell something is going on but it'll be a while before it becomes apparent. So in the meanwhile, I rather avoid stepping on any toes before we set anything in stone. I'd rather not make an enemy out of him if possible. He never taught me jack shit, but he's good people."

"I see," Shouzou said, placing his hand on his chin before leaning forward and picking up his pen. "Well, for now, we'll take baby steps to orchestrate the death of the Prime Minister, get his schedule and whatnot, and get a replacement in office once the time comes."

Leo chuckled as Shouzou was writing down the future plans getting his attention.

"Look at us," Leo remarked. "Starting with the entertainment industry before moving on to politics. We're turning into the Illuminati."

Shouzou couldn't help but shake his head, a mix of exasperation and amusement. "It's always something," he said, "but I suppose it would be boring otherwise."

"In any case," Shouzou finished writing on a paper before putting his pen down. "When do I get to meet them?"

Leo pouted his lips slightly as he looked at Shouzou's notes before looking at him.

Sucking air through his teeth, Leo shrugged. "Four... maybe five years."

"The fuck?" Shouzou muttered.

"They're odd, Shouzou," Leo stated. "And smart, unnaturally so. They did their first blackmail not too long ago. Even I was never that savvy, so I doubt it has to do with genetics," he breathed out. "There's something I want to test out. They feel familiar, but at the same time, entirely different."

Shouzou looked at Leo with a skeptical look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I... don't... know..." Leo muttered. "It's right on the tip of my tongue but I can't quite put my finger on it."

If Leo didn't have such a serious look while spewing nonsense, it's unlikely Shouzou would've believed him.

"I want to figure it out before introducing them to this cool shit I do," said Leo. "I rather they figure out what they want to be before I put the options I can give them, ya know."

"Don't want to influence them too early, huh," Shouzou muttered.

"Exactly," Leo replied, snapping his fingers. "They're too smart for their own good."

"What are their names anyways? Did you name them?" Shouzou asked.

"No," Leo admitted instantly. "I'm terrible with names. The boy's name is Aquamarine, for his striking blue eyes, and the girl is Ruby... for her captivating red eyes."

Shouzou stared at Leo blankly, his lip occasionally twisting upward.

"That's..." Shouzou coughed into his hand. "That's original."

"The most," Leo breathed out staring at Shouzou before running his hand through his hair. "In any case, is there anything we can do now? Got any names? Addresses?"

Shouzou shook his head. "Not on hand. We'll have everything planned out and on a whiteboard when the time comes. Like I told Mr. Manager, once everything is on paper, everything can proceed like normal. We'll most likely get everything started by next week if everything goes according to plan," he finished, getting up from his seat and putting on his jacket.

"For now, go home," Shouzou said, adjusting his jacket while walking to the door. "Or better yet, go do your job, set an example, and whatnot."

Leo stared at Shouzou's back, amused, as he closed the door behind him.

Meandering his way to Shouzou's chair, Leo plopped himself down as he chuckled. "Set an example, huh."

Swaying side to side, Leo contemplated if he could even be a good example. Every step he took to get this far was taken by stepping over someone, whether indirectly or not.

Leo let out a deep sigh as his gaze landed on the hung photos on the wall. His expression melted, fitting the one he had in the picture—somber. He couldn't be Yuki... not completely, anyways.

Pushing himself off the chair, Leo walked out of Shouzou's office. A lot was done today and preparations for the following days needed to be made. He couldn't sit around all day and wait for changes to be made; they had to start somewhere.