Yuzuya may have been sprawled ungracefully on a fake leather couch, but he still had a shinobi's reflexes no matter how exhausted he was. He jerked awake, one hand going to his hip pocket for a kunai. "Wha? What." Seeing the rec room and a rookie and no imminent danger, his eyes threatened to close again. Yuzu struggled to keep them open long enough to check who the rookie was, and make sure he had no snakes. He remembered meeting Anko only too well.

No snakes. It was that mop-haired kid who'd joined a while ago. What was his name again? Yuzu rubbed his eyes under his glasses. "Hey," he nodded at his awakener. "Sorry."

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Kotetsu's immediate reaction to jerking-awake was to leap back - all the more to avoid kunai and senbon - and crunch heel first into the sprawl of plastic by the couch. A quick glance told him it used to hold something that had been chocolate iced, possibly cake or donuts.

Mm, donuts.

"Hey," Kotetsu said, perching on the arm-rest of the couch. "I don't mind the drooling, but I thought you might."

After all, which guy wanted to be caught drooling? It was bad enough when Tensei found him doing it. Of course, drooling wasn't as bad as being caught half naked in the hallway by a girl, but it was a blow to the image no ANBU wanted to weather.

That and he wasn't going to sit in that particular spot for a while, and snigger when other people did.

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Yuzuya turned onto his back. It was only now that Kotetsu's first words registered. "I am?" One hand went to his mouth, and yeah, sure enough, his cheek was wet. He pushed himself up a bit and blinked sleepy eyes. There was a pretty admirable puddle right where his head had been. Yuzu blinked sternly at the puddle, then removed his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth. His cheeks grew hot. "Ahem," he began, clearing his throat. He dabbed at the drool on the couch with his handkerchief.

Yuzuya shifted his gaze to the dark-haired boy perched on the armrest of the couch. The rookie looked back at him, his face unreadable. Either the kid was very simple, Yuzu decided, or he had a great poker face. There was a long silence.

That was when Yuzu reached for his wallet. "All right. How much will it take to keep this a secret?"

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There was a secret to getting things out of others.

One, have a very good poker face. Two, know when to shut up and just look mysterious. Or unreadable. Either worked.

Kotetsu had learned that a long silence can speak for itself in many circumstances, and when someone had something to hide, the silence could be very accusing. Much better than he could manage with words.

He hit jackpot when the other agent - just where had he met him? Oh yeah, possibly at some of the weekend party things where he sidled in for donuts and to hope for a glimpse of Ginta before sneaking out again - reached for his wallet.

Bingo!

"How much for a bigger TV?" Kotetsu gestured to the old crappy tiny one, half a grin on his face showing it was a joke.

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Yuzuya checked his wallet and frowned at the contents. "Haven't got that much, sorry. Would you settle for a beer? Or perhaps food? I was going to have don--" his words trailed off as he noticed that Kotetsu had apparently stepped on his chocolate-covered dinner. He blinked, his shoulders slumped a bit in disappointment. "I was gonna have donuts, but that's... out of the question now." He picked up his can of beer only to find that it was a little more than half empty and now warm. Yuck.

"How about a cold one, um..." What was his name again? Yuzuya racked his brains for what the dark-haired youngster's name could have been. His brain replied that it was still trying to sleep. "Ha-something, right?"

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If Kotetsu had the ears of a puppy, they would have perked forward at the mention of food. He instead winced at the other man's gaze. Oops. "I could get you donuts," he offered, "if you buy dinner."

Which it definitely was time for, his stomach enthusiastically agreed. "I know where there's a really good bakery that's open now. And they're almost always fresh."

He tucked his guilty foot behind the other, and curled his fingers on the armrest, rubbing his thumbs on the rough fabric of the couch. "Hagane Kotetsu. And you?" He couldn't protest about the other guy forgetting his name when he himself couldn't even remember the first syllable of the other's name, family or given.

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Yuzuya inclined his head and offered Kotetsu his hand to shake. "Shibata Yuzuya. I'm Intel. And... yeah, I'll buy dinner." He sighed and rose to his feet, collecting up the remains of his snacks from the floor to deposit in the trash. The beer can he emptied into the sink, then tossed into the recycle bin. "What do you feel like eating? Anything in particular?"

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Kotetsu was tempted for the moment to do something cheeky to Yuzuya's hand, but he shook it like a good boy.

And that dinner invitation? It was just asking for something terribly decadent and expensive. Mmm.

"How about shabu-shabu?" Kotetsu asked, trying not to look like he had stomachs for eyes, as Moriki used to say. Of course, if a guy offered you something like dinner, you didn't up and ask him for the most expensive thing in town.

When Yuzuya stopped blanching, he'll ask for something a little less upscale. Like sushi. Really.

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"Shabu-shabu." The color drained from Yuzuya's face and he blinked three times rapidly. The very idea, spending a good third of his week's pay on beef for some newbie kid, yeah freakin' right. Then the sensible part of his brain reminded him that he had to play this nicely, or the next thing he knew everyone might be calling him Droolykins or Slobbery-Bobbery... or something dreadfully silly like that. Shibata Yuzuya disapproved entirely of silly nicknames, and he certainly wasn't going to leave himself open to getting one.

He frowned at his poor wallet. "If that's what you want, sure," he agreed, trying to sound ever so cheerful about it.

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There were people who were good at keeping a straight face, even when the target had such obvious reactions. Then there were those who took extreme delight in continuous needling, especially if the other guy took everything seriously. Ryuichi was one helluva serious guy - Kotetsu would push and push, and the other rookie'd take each of his requests with serious consideration, and then shove it down his throat, stuffing it with a blade to make sure it stuck.

Yuzuya, on the other hand, was nowhere near as serious as Ryuichi. It wasn't that Kotetsu was that good at reading people - he could just see the way thoughts flickered across Yuzuya's face, for the moment.

Hell no! Then, No, If I don't he'd... And then the almost-gracious Fine.

Kotetsu wasn't the kind who could keep a straight face, not with such an easy target.

He broke into a guffaw, and dragged both hands through his hair, leaving it as messy as ever. "Just pulling your leg, man." He grinned. "You should have seen the look on your face. Sushi's good, ramen's fine too. I'm cheap."

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Yuzuya regarded his wild-haired companion's smile with a grimace. "Hardy har." He covered his face for a second, trying to gather his energy to get up off the couch. "All right, sushi, then. Let's go."

And so that was how Yuzuya found himself seated on tatami at a low little table in Hibana's down the street. The place smelled like vinegar and alcohol mingled with ginger and the mackerel that had just been delivered to the back room. Yuzuya wiped the greasy fingerprints left on the table from the last customer with his napkin. Then he was left to watch Kotetsu pore over the drink menu. Yuzuya didn't know what there was for the boy to examine so closely. Beer was beer.

"What'll you have?" Yuzu asked, when the waitress was headed on her way over.

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Soda or juice? Juice was nice when it was cool, but right now it was way cold. It wasn't snowing today, but the air had been sharp and crisp, almost making breathing hurt. In fact, just walking the short distance here had chilled him some, but that might have been because he was foolishly dressed with only a t-shirt and a blazer. And soda was even colder with ice-cream.

He might get ice-cream later though. Maybe he'd buy them both ice-cream, cause poor Yuzuya had entertained him beyond belief. Hee.

So maybe something hot. "There's this," Kotetsu pointed, "says here it's honey tangerine tea. Served hot." He glanced up at Yuzuya. "I don't really eat much sushi--" little on the expensive side, "--so maybe you can choose?"

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Yuzu's eyebrows disappeared under his shaggy bangs. "What are you, a little girl? Beer, it's right there." He pointed at the menu with a finger. "Now what brand, and Large or Extra Large."

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"A little what?" As insults go, that was probably one that would really hit there, out on the streets. And a lot of little girls on the streets would kick the insulter hard, in the nuts.

Yuzuya should be glad Kotetsu wasn't a little girl.

Kotetsu snorted at Yuzuya, and pointedly indicated his own drink selection, which was very far from the beer section. "I don't drink beer." Or much alcohol, really. If anyone asked, the answer was that he didn't like the taste. There was only so much he'd admit to being non-macho.

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I don't drink beer. Yuzuya was left stock-still and speechless at these words. He gaped in surprise at the rookie across the table from him for a total of six long seconds.

Then it occured to him. "Wait, wait, I get it. This's another joke, right? Very funny." He waved a hand, reassuringly. "You want something more expensive than beer, it's okay, man. Get shochu or whiskey or whatever. I'll get one too if it makes you feel more comfortable."

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