13 Distrust

"Kuroo?"

"What are you here for?" Kuroo asked.

"Just...chillin" Atsumu said as he point the stool beside him signaling Kuroo to sit.

"One old fashioned" Kuroo ordered. 

Kuroo sat beside Atsumu who was still looking around the bar gathering any signs of suspicious people inside.

"I don't think you're here just to chill" Kuroo said as he took a sip on his drink.

"Are a regular in here?" Atsumu asked.

"Nope. I'm here to investigate."

"Who ordered you?"

"Sugawara."

"S-sugawara?"

"Well, yeah..? What's with the shock tone you're using on answering me? Didn't you remember I'm with the Strategic team of the agency together with Sugawara?"

"Yeah I remember. It's just weird that Daichi already told me to go in here and yet Sugawara also told you to do so."

"It's weird, right?" Kuroo said while he plays with his glass.

"W-what?"

"I find it weird too. Sugawara told me that the new head of the clan related to the Sakusa clan is the owner of this bar and he visits in here almost everyday. I've been in here for two hours but I saw no one suspicious."

Atsumu roamed his eyes around again and saw someone familiar. The guy he just met earlier.

"Oh. Except that one." Kuroo said as he look at the guy who was sitting in a corner alone.

Atsumu hurriedly faced forward preventing himself from being seen.

"Most of the people drinking in here are famous people but I haven't seen his profile before." Kuroo added still looking at the guy he find suspicious.

"Stop staring! He'll be weirded out if you keep looking at him like that!"

"Oh no...."

"What?!" Atsumu said still facing forward.

"..... he's coming in here." 

Atsumu froze not knowing what to do in this situation. He just met him earlier and he doesn't know what excuse will he give if he'll be asked what he is doing in the bar.

"Excuse me...? You're the guy earlier, right?"

Atsumu slowly turned around and bowed in front of the guy as a sign of his greeting.

"Thank you for treating my wounds earlier. I haven't thanked you properly because I fell asleep that time."

The guy smiled purely and said,

"You don't need to thank me. I should be the one thanking you for protecting him."

Kuroo looked back and forth to these two guys conversing in front of him as if they've known each other for ages.

"I haven't introduce myself yet." The guy handed out his business card to Atsumu and added,

"I'm Ushijima Wakatoshi and I'm working at the Ushijima Medical Hospital located in Tokyo."

"U-ushijima?! You mean the top hospital in Tokyo?" Kuroo shouted that made people around them look at him.

"Y-yes." Ushijima answered, feeling embarrassed about this guy's action making the crowd focus on them.

"I'm Suzuki Atsumu, working at my own flower shop downtown. Nice to meet you." Atsumu said while handing his business card that was made by Sugawara beforehand.

Ushijima accepted Atsumu's business card but still feel conscious of Kuroo who is still staring at him. 

"Is he your friend?" Ushijima asked.

"Ye--"

"No. I was trying to hit on him but I didn't know that he's already with someone tonight."

Atsumu looked at Kuroo, confused of what the hell he is saying. 

"Well, then. It's nice meeting you Atsumu. Hoping that I'll meet you again sometime."

Kuroo stood up and placed an amount of 10,000 yen beside his drink.

"Keep the change." Kuroo said to the bartender.

He lean his face close to Atsumu's right ear and whispered,

"Beware of Daichi and Sugawara."

He smiled, bowed down to Ushijima and waved at Atsumu before leaving the bar. Atsumu suddenly remembered what Kenma said when he was in the mansion resting. Kenma also did mention that he needs to be aware of Daichi and Sugawara because he suspects them as one of the traitors inside the agency. Now, not just Kenma but also Kuroo warned him to be conscious of those two. Atsumu switch gears trying to forget about that topic because Ushijima is still standing in front of him.

"Do you mind having a drink with me?" Atsumu said as he tries to persuade Ushijima in order to gather information about Sakusa.

"Yeah it's fine."

Ushijima sat down beside Atsumu and ordered Whiskey Sour.

"Did Sakusa brought you home after leaving the clinic?"

"No... when I woke up I was in Sakusa's mansion." Atsumu said.

"So... how's Sakusa before you left the mansion? Was he hurt or something?"

"Yeah. I saw a bandage roll wrapped around his left hand and it was bleeding a lot."

"I-i see. So he's not okay."

"You two seem to have known each other for ages."

"We've known each other since we were in grade school so I know everything about him."

"Aren't you fed up being with him? Cause I am at my limit already" Atsumu suddenly blurted out as if he's talking to someone close to him. He then realizes what he said and quickly apologizes to Ushijima who is now smiling upon hearing what Atsumu said.

"I'm sorry for saying something stupid."

"It's fine. This is the first time that someone talked bad about Sakusa because all of his men are afraid of him."

"He's bossy and arrogant, isn't he?" Ushijima added.

"Most of the time."

"He came from that kind of family so that can't be helped. He was thought by his father to be like that and he suffers everytime he disobeys his father's rules."

"I remember what Sakusa told me while he was sterilizing my wounds at the clinic, he suddenly told me that the reason why he was good at treating wounds was because it was handy when he was young."

"So he even told you about that?"

"What does that even mean? Is his father that brute? But Sakusa is his son, right?"

"Son, huh?"

"Eh?"

"Nevermind. He's father has always been like that. When we were young, I sometimes sneak in where Sakusa taught me a shortcut to get inside the mansion and everyday, I saw him getting beaten up by his father. He was even called 'The living punching bag' by his father's bodyguards inside the mansion."

"Does his mother don't do anything to stop her husband from abusing Sakusa?"

"His mother died after giving birth to Sakusa that's why no one was there for him when he suffers. I wanted to help him so bad but I don't know how. I tried talking to my parents to call the police to arrest his father but my parents were afraid of the clan. I tried to call the cops myself but they just shove me away not wanting to be involved."

"Why didn't he escaped? I mean, he's already grown up now and he has several chances to leave everything behind so why does he continuously lives in pain and sorrrow?"

"The Sakusa clan has been the most influential clan in ages so what do you expect when he tries to escape? His father has a lot of connection inside and outside Japan so there's no way he can't be found."

"But he haven't tried it out, right?"

Ushijima suddenly looked at Atsumu, suprised on what the other said.

"Hey, Atsumu. What's the main reason why you join the clan?"

"The truth is, at first I want to avenge my twin brother who was killed by the cops mercilessly without gathering enough evidence because he was suspected as a drug dealer. Sakusa invited me to join the clan in order to help but in return, I'll be one of the hit men of the clan. But now that I've heard that Sakusa is only doing this because of his father, I want to protect him even if it costs my life." Atsumu said while looking at Ushijima. "Damn, I want to puke what the fuck am I saying right now?" Atsumu thought. 

"I'm glad Sakusa has you. I'm happy he's with someone he can be comfortable with and has a friend that will protect him no matter what."

"I'm happy doing it for him."   "I need to fucking scrub this dirty mouth as soon as I get home."

"Ushijima, are you a regular in here? This is my first time in here and I really love the ambiance it gives off."

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"I just wanted to ask who is the interior designer since I have plans renovating my flower shop and I'm looking for one. Do you know the owner so I can ask him directly?"

"I haven't seen him yet. As far as I know, the owner of this bar is the new head of the clan related to Sakusa and what I heard is, he's the same age as us."

"Haven't seen him? But according to the info Sugawara gave to Kuroo, the owner is here almost everyday." Atsumu sipped on his drink trying to figure out and stitch each story in order to understand the real situation.

"What do you mean by clan related to the Sakusa clan?" Atsumu asked.

"That clan isn't well known so I think you haven't heard of them. What was the name of the clan again.....?"

Ushijima stared at his drink as if the answer will come out of it. It's been three minutes after that conversation and Atsumu patiently waited for Ushijima to answer.

"Ah.... now I remember."

"What's the name of the clan?"

"Shibayama clan."

"Shibayama.... why was that name familiar to me. No wait, that's not him, right? Shibayama is a common surname in Japan so don't think too deeply about it." Atsumu thought wondering if the guy he know is related to this clan.

Hinata: "Didn't Mr. Shibayama discuss this with you? Did you just accepted this because he asked for you?"  The name of the guy who called Atsumu to be part of this case was also called Shibayama. (see chapter 2 for this)

"Do you know what happened to the previous head?"

"Sakusa's father dethrone him from that position because he was incompetent and the whole clan lost a lot of money because he spend most of it gambling."

"He has the rights to do that?"

"Yes. Sakusa's father is still the main head of the clans even tho he already gave his position to Sakusa. The main clan which is the Sakusa clan, Kita clan which manages the collections and the Shibayama clan which manages all of the deals inside and outside the clan."

"Wow. So each clan has their own roles, huh?"

"That's why the Sakusa clan has been reigning through the years."

"Now that I think about it, when they had a ceremony passing the throne to the previous head's son, Sakusa sent me a picture of the new head. I ignored this message cause I thought it was just him being judgmental of people's appearances and he even called him 'Rooster Head'. He was laughing so hard so the picture is kinda blurry. I hope this might help you when you visit in here again if you have a chance to meet him to ask about the interior designer."

Ushijima opened his Line account and scrolled all the way up to look for the picture Sakusa sent him last year. 

"Wait isn't this him?" Ushijima asked, dumbfounded of what he saw. 

He handed him his phone to Atsumu and said,

"This is the guy you were talking to earlier, right?"