Saya: New chapter!

Disclaimer: Refer to the other chapters with the disclaimer. :D

The Strongest Man in Ikebukuro…Has a Weakness?

"Dad!"

Shizuo awoke with a jolt. Controlling his breath, he realized sweat covered his body. Sighing in annoyance, he moved from the bedroom to the bathroom. Hopping into the shower, the cold water splayed against his body. His skin turned scaly and started to shine in the light. That was his sign to get out. Drying himself, he made a small checklist for the day.

One: Walk around the city.

Two: Stock up on more milk.

Three: Try to control temper.

Nodding to himself, the blond put on his bartender's uniform and headed out.

There are many things that can make a man great.

Shizuo locked the door and went to the elevator. Pressing the button, he waited for the doors to open.

One of them is patience.

The blond's eyebrow twitched. The elevator didn't take too long to reach his floor. Feeling his temper rise, he shook his head. He wasn't going to get mad over this. It wasn't worth it. He walked towards the stairs. When the door was about to close, he heard a "Bing!" A frustrated yell echoed through the staircase.

When he reached the first floor, the blond saw Mikado, Seiji, and Akane eating breakfast together. It had been a few days since Akane's grandfather visited the apartment. Now that she could protect herself, they (the adults and her big brothers) decided it was okay for Akane to return to school. She was reluctant at first, but agreed as long she could walk with her two, big brothers together. This made her babysitters sad they couldn't see each other as often. When the three spotted Shizuo, the little one waved at him while the high schoolers nodded.

"Good morning Uncle Shizuo!" Akane smiled at him. It made his day better.

One of the other things is being a friend to children.

The blond man patted her head, and she closed her eyes while smiling. Mikado and Seiji continued eating, used to Shizuo's fondness for the young girl. When he was done, the man walked away from the high schoolers.

"I'm off."

"Have a good day," Mikado said, with Akane mimicking him. Before the teen returned eating, something shined on the floor. He raised an eyebrow. Getting up, he walked towards the object. Kneeling down, his eyes narrow as he picked it up. It was a zippo lighter. Pure silver too. A gold dragon was etched on it. Flipping it over, his eyes widened. The owner's name was in black ink, and he just left a few minutes ago.

It's Shizuo-san's lighter!

Standing up, Mikado dashed for his bag. Akane and Seiji called him out.

"Sorry! Shizuo-san forgot something! Have a good day Akane-chan! I'll see you at school Seiji-san!" Mikado rushed out the door. He looked for Shizuo. However, he wasn't in sight. Maybe he could give the lighter later on. No. Shizuo smoked on a daily basis. He doubted the man could survive without it. Plus, it looked so expensive. The teen believed the man to be frugal.

If only he had his number!

I got to find him!

Relying on his instincts and magic-sensing, the teen headed off on his mission.

How could a day get better to worse so quickly? Deciding to take a cigarette break, Shizuo pulled his box out and shook one out. Putting it in his mouth, he reached for his lighter and felt a a slight breeze. Looking down, his sunglasses almost fell off. There was a hole in his vest!

"Are you fucking kidding me!?" He yelled, scaring people in the area. The gods above must have been really upset with his recent temper tantrums. Still, it was not a good idea to mess with his lighter. That was especially made by someone special. Growling, he decided to retrace his steps.

That meant he lost the lighter while he was flying to inner part of Ikebukuro. That added another level of frustration to him.

"Fuck!"

That lighter couldn't replaced. Everything was piling itself. Not to mention that dream…

"Hey!" Shizuo turned around and frowned. Several punks started him angrily. "Quit trying to mess up our concentration! We're trying to pick up some chicks!" Taking deep breaths, he told himself that they weren't worth it.

They weren't worth it…

They weren't worth it…

They weren't–

"Hey, we're talking to you bastard! Can't you hear me?! Are you deaf!?"

Snap! Screw using self-control!

"Urrrraaaagh!"

Mikado panted, arriving at the Ikebukuro Train Station. Before his search began, his stomach growled. Right. He was about to eat before finding the zippo lighter. Debating which matter was more important, he decided for a quick snack while searching for the blond man. He couldn't be too hard to find though. Follow the destruction of public property and injured punks, he'd find the blond man in no time.

While ordering fresh takoyaki, the blue-eyed teen wondered about the lighter. Moving his hand, the reflection blinded him for a moment. It was properly taken care of too. No scratches on it whatsoever.

"Hai, your order is ready."

"Ah, thank you."

Instead of running, Mikado took his time and walked while eating. Even though it was hot, it was delicious. No wonder Akane could devour this in seconds and have a red tongue afterwards. He didn't them before because…well, he chickened out when he heard what was inside them. Octopus. Yes, he liked sushi. Octopus…those underwater mollusks with strong suckers and no bones. He thought he'd eat part of the brain.

Once Akane shared hers with his, he wondered when he developed his fear.

Moving on from his past experience, it wasn't his favorite snack though. It was konpeito. His parents bought a bag for him one day. He was separated by his parents when they were attending a fireworks festival. When they reunited, he cried for joy. They were small, like the stars in the sky. Every time you picked one, a different flavor popped into his mouth. The combination of stars and fireworks and food was a brilliant idea.

Maybe he could buy some for Akane.

Finishing the last takoyaki, he resumed his search with a complete focus.

With no cigarette breaks, Shizuo noticed that the afternoon arrived. His stomach growled. Time to eat. Upon finding a restaurant, he seated himself and ordered two bowls of ramen with a glass of milk. He didn't appreciate the waiter's stare at the sound of milk, but liked how fast his order came to him.

That zippo lighter…

It belonged to his dad, who made it with his own hands. The blond inherited the legacy of smoking. He was seven years old at the time. His dad was in his dragon form, holding a chunk of silver, probably bought it from the Spirit World. Going into his human form, he was a man wearing a green yukata. His sleeves were cut off, showing his biceps. Brown hair was tied in a ponytail as a small beard formed on his chin.

"Shizuo!"

The brunette then flinched at his name.

"Come in! You're going to witness my creation!" Smiling, the kid followed his dad into his small workshop. Shizuo watched in awe as the creation process started. He felt safe when he smelled the smoke filling the air. After several hours, he woke up to his dad tapping on his shoulder. A grin formed on his face, and he showed it to him. A silver, zippo lighter.

"I want you to add something on it," he said. Shizuo never felt so happy before. Going to a different table, his dad pulled out several colors of paint. His kid knew what to paint on his lighter. When it was done, it was a golden dragon. His dad ruffled his hair.

"Great job Shizuo!"

Once he was done with his ramen, Shizuo paid at the cashier and exited the restaurant. It was time to resume his search.

Another thing needed in men is determination.

The sun disappeared from the city, and the night covered the city. Both Shizuo and Mikado searched relentlessly, but they failed in their missions. Shizuo wanted to eat dinner, but chose to rest at Ikebukuro West Park. Mikado texted Seiji if he and Akane got home safely and if he could copy today's homework. His classmate said yes. With two of his three worries gone, he decided to rest his feet. The park was nearby too. When he arrived, the teen dropped to his knees.

"Ah." Shizuo saw him.

"Ah."

"Thank goodness!" Mikado yelled at the sky. Shizuo was surprised by this, but he found out the reason. The teen got up and walked towards him. His eyes widened when Mikado revealed the object in his pocket.

"My lighter!"

"You left this at the apartment complex," he said. "I tried to find you all day." The teen handed it to the blond, who let out a small growl.

"Dammit." Running a hand through his hair, he stared at the lighter and squeezed it in his hand, careful not to crush it. "I thought I dropped it somewhere in the city. Didn't think I'd leave it there." Looking at Mikado, his frown disappeared as a smile formed on his mouth.

"Thanks for returning it to me." The teen smiled back.

"No problem."

"How long have you been searching for me?" Mikado smiled nervously before looking away.

"The whole day…"

"What?!"

"But I knew you needed to smoke on a daily basis!" the teen bowed low enough not to show his face. "I'm sorry I didn't find you in time!" Shizuo stared at him, feeling both frustrated and happy. He didn't like the fact Mikado missed school to find him…but the fact he wanted to return the lighter to him as fast as possible…

"I don't know what I would have done without it…" Feeling a bit courageous, Mikado lifted his head up.

"Is it that important?" Shizuo looked at him funny. "Wah! I mean, I knew it was important to you, but I didn't it'd be really important!"

"Relax kid. I'm not going into my tantrums against someone who returned my lighter." Shizuo patted the empty space next to him. Mikado nodded and sat down. Using the lighter, he lit his cigarette and breathed in the nicotine. It felt so good to smell it again. Putting his lighter inside his vest, he looked at the slithering smoke.

Men need this important quality. Gratefulness. But they need to know the reason behind it.

"And you're right. It really is important. It belonged to my dad." Mikado stared at the blond man. This was his first time hearing Shizuo's past. "He was a smoker and passed the trait to me. Tired of those shit lighters, he decided to make his own. He saved enough money to buy some silver in the Spirit World.

"It took several hours to make the damn thing. It was worth it when we both saw it. However, he wanted me to be part of the creation. I painted the golden dragon on it. He treasured it until his death. When I saw it again, the lighter had a new detail to it. That old man…

"He put my name on the other side, knowing I'll take on his smoking habit. Hmph. Never got to thank him for it."

Mikado stared at him before their stomachs growled.

"We need eat something kid."

"Oh!" Mikado pulled something his pocket. It was a small, cloth bag. Untying the knot, he held the bag to Shizuo. The blond inspected it and tilted his head. "It's konpeito. I planned on sharing this with Akane, but I think you need it more." The teen watched the blond dipping his fingers into the bag. He took one from the bag and tossed it into his mouth. The corners of his mouth twitched up. A good sign. As he helped himself more to them, Mikado continued to speak.

"This is my favorite snack ever since my parents bought it for me. I was five years old, attending the fireworks festival with them. It was my first time, and I held their hands tightly. However, the crowd pushed us apart. I tried to search for them, but they couldn't find me. Feeling that I would never see them again, I cried my eyes out.

"Then, mom and dad found me when the first firework blew up in the sky. They comforted me and had a bag of konpeito in their hands.

"'Mikado, this candy can be both the stars and fireworks in the sky. They're stars because they shine so brightly from each other. They're fireworks because they give you bursts of color. They're the same because they're so different from each other.'

"'Mikado, you are the star shining so brightly in our sky. We hoped you never disappear like the fireworks.'"

Shizuo stopped eating the candy when he started talking about his parents finding him. He guessed since he told a personal story, Mikado returned the favor. He never thought about the candy that way. To anyone else, it was ordinary candy. To the teen, it had the hugest value to him since childhood.

The last thing…

"You know–" Shizuo took the candy and held it to the sky. "You could be a shooting star." He moved the candy to another place. "You may have lost your original place in the sky, so you moved to another place. You took the risk, but burned up trying to connect with anyone. That was how you were in the beginning. But now…

"We other stars found you and picked up the pieces. You became a new star with us. I don't think your parents wouldn't want it any other way." Mikado was surprised by Shizuo's words. But they were welcomed. Smiling, he thanked the blond.

"Then, shall we return to the rest of stars?"

The last thing a man truly needs is compassion.

Saya: Reviews always help! Thank you for reading!