Masaharu nudged his partner. "Who’s that?" he asked, nodding at the
slight, lean figure in black lounging against the fence. Yagyuu finished
a swallow of much needed water and raised a brow.

"I think that’s Yukimura-san’s visitor. The one from the hospital that
no one ever quite managed to meet."

They both glanced over at Yukimura, who was laughing up at Yanagi. Masaharu
smiled. He wasn’t precisely pleased that he and Yagyuu had just been swept
6-2 by those two, but it was good to see Yukimura back in top form. Back
to the question at hand, though.

"Oh, glorious leader," Masaharu drawled. "Did you invite the
extra audience, today?"

For one heartbeat, Yukimura froze. "You noticed, then," he murmured.

Masaharu eyed their visitor’s flamboyantly tailored tail coat and top hat.
"A little hard not to."

Yukimura turned to face the watcher, eyes narrow. "Belial," he said,
low and cold.

"Don’t you think it’s time one introduced oneself to your people?"
the… man? Masaharu squinted… asked. Masaharu had to admit, he was impressed.
He’d never seen anyone stand firm in face of an angry Yukimura, let alone
stay so nonchalant.

"My people," Yukimura repeated, softly. "Yes."

"Of course, dear Seiichi-san, one wouldn’t dream of interfering. Much."
The man (?) brushed a rose in front of smiling lips, and Masaharu shared
a startled glance with his partner. Where had that come from? Their visitor
sauntered closer, running hooded eyes over all of them as the rest of the
team drew closer to see what had caught their captain’s attention. They received
an extravagant bow. "So. Greetings. One is called Mad Hatter."

A frisson danced down Masaharu’s spine as his gaze was caught by eyes blue
as fire, and laughing. Laughing the way someone standing, somehow untouched,
in the middle of catastrophe might laugh. His breath shivered in his chest,
and he only realized that he’d taken a step forward when Yagyuu’s hand on
his shoulder jerked him to a stop.

"And under other circumstances," Mad Hatter murmured with a note
of longing caress, "one would be delighted to have you for oneself.
Ah well." He blew Masaharu a kiss, winked at Yagyuu, and turned back
just in time to meet Yukimura’s purposeful stride toward him with hands spread
against their captain’s chest. "One is most pleased to see you so fully
recovered, Seiichi. One is sure the results will be well worth it."

And he was gone. Leaving Yukimura looking at the place he had been with a tangled
mix of amusement and anger in his face.

"Who," Akaya asked, wide eyed, "was that?"

Yukimura passed a hand over his forehead and sighed. "Do all of you remember
how my condition took a sudden turn for the better, a few months back?"

Everyone glanced at each other and nodded. Sanada and Yanagi, Masaharu noted,
were hovering.

"Well, that was the deal I made…"

End