Yui's immediate plans for Gendo after lunch, as he rightfully had no more say in what he could and could not do with himself anymore (as she was a bit too gleeful to point out), was to drag him to the shopping district. "Really, now," she said, "We have to do something about your bed."

"I like my bed."

"Only because you're ignorant as to what a proper bed should feel like," she insisted.

"I like my bed," Gendo insisted right back.

"And while we're on the topic, we should do something about your living room," Yui pondered. "Some nicer furniture, for instance…."

"I don't have a penthouse, Yui," Gendo mumbled, following her down the street towards one of the bus stops. "I have three closets with an entryway. Let's not get ambitious. Besides, how am I going to pay for all this redecorating you have planned?"

"The kitchen, too…."

"Do not touch my kitchen," Gendo snapped. "You know not of what you speak. You are not allowed to do anything to my kitchen."

"Oh, stop whining," Yui snapped. "You have bachelor digs. You want to marry me? We marry into a proper home."

"Hold on a minute!" Gendo stammered, as Yui reached the bus stop and spun lightly around the adjacent lamppost. "Are you saying that you plan to move in to my apartment? You have a much larger apartment than I do. Do you know how loopy we would get in my place? We'd be jostling elbows every five minutes."

"Wouldn't you like that?" Yui said, flashing a pretty smile. She leaned forward and pulled on Gendo's shirt. "Jostling each other in close quarters…."

"Well…I didn't say it would be all bad," Gendo said, his smile goofy. They closed slowly, as though to kiss, and Yui skipped back at the last second.

"Besides," she said, "I've already taken that into consideration. Both our apartments are too small for what I have in mind." Gendo felt a sudden heat under the collar.

"I'm sorry, did you have a place in mind already, or were you waiting to ask my opinion?"

"I have an apartment in mind. A nice place is on hold for us, actually."

"So…wait, we're going furniture shopping, for an apartment that we don't live in, for a marriage that hasn't happened yet, but will most likely be an actuality by the end of the week…if not the day." He spread his hands helplessly. "Do I have any say in this?"

"No, but most husbands don't, anyway. It's the natural order of things. Relationships always work better when the wives are in charge," Yui replied, nodding sagely. She gave him a sympathetic look. "I'm surprised you didn't know this. You're so smart, I figured this would be a given."

"You would think," Gendo mumbled, raising his hands to his face in a gesture that could only be interpreted as a full-body eye-roll. "I take it this is the nuclear option? Bring me to Daddy with an apartment and marriage all under the belt?"

"Hmm…something like that," Yui admitted, seriously. The bus arrived, and she clammed up as the doors opened, and the pair boarded. Gendo studied her as they made their way to the back seats. She had gained a nervous air to her movements and tone. It was a stark contrast to the sheer and brazen manner in which she had behaved just a moment before. When she let the silence carry for a bit longer, Gendo chose to break it himself.

"Why the sudden moroseness?"

"I'm only half-serious about the marriage thing. It was a sudden thing to pop out at you," Yui admitted.

"Second thoughts? We haven't even signed paperwork yet."

"I'm being serious. I mean, right now I'm being serious. I was kind of…shooting from the hip back there."

"So the entire 'let's get married thing'…are you having regrets about asking me?"

"Um, not…entirely? I mean, you were a lot more receptive than I thought you would be, which I kind of…wasn't prepared for. I'm going to admit, I threw up this morning before you got up, I was so nervous!" The thought of Yui being that nervous about anything was something Gendo had a hard time visualizing. Impressed, he pursed his lips in a silent whistle. Yui continued: "I'm really, honestly surprised you were so receptive. I mean, I'm glad you were. I'm really happy you were! But, with you saying yes, I…." She shrugged. "I really only thought this halfway through."

"What are you not telling me?" Gendo asked. "You come to my apartment to make yourself a…a hostage, you're worried about your father."

"I really can't explain it," she replied. "It's one of those things where you have to be on the inside to…understand. To know." She looked up at him. "Still want to say yes?"

"I meant it when I said it the first time."

"You never really agreed to it, you know."

"You did bully me along."

"I did no such thing!" Gendo gave her a long and withering glare. "I did not!" she insisted. Gendo grunted, crossing his arms and leaning against her like a pillow for the rest of the trip, much to her vocal protests.

"I'm not entirely clear on why we're buying stuff for my apartment, if you plan on getting rid of all of it when I move into the new apartment…."

"Because I feel like spoiling you for one. And it gives me an opportunity to eyeball things for the both of us, for another. Also, it's not my money, but my father's, and I have no compunction about spending that." Yui let go of Gendo's hand to lean towards a window, admiring a display. "And finally, if I buy things for you, in all your bachelor glory, he'll be slightly less suspicious. See how that works?"

"Not in the slightest, but I will trust you," Gendo murmured. He watched her as she studied the display, perusing it as she would an exceptionally fascinating petri culture or particularly beguiling equation. She was dissecting the patterns, the materials, every element inside. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and smiled serenely. He couldn't really work up anything close to interest in new items for the apartment, but he didn't mind so much if it meant he could watch her…be Yui.

"Watch any closer and you'll burn holes in me," she mumbled. He smiled, and glanced away, for a moment. His skin began to crawl. He didn't know exactly what he saw…maybe someone out-of-place, maybe an intent behind a look…but he felt his soul shudder. That old feeling. He frowned. "I didn't say stop looking at me," she protested.

"Of course not," he mumbled. "Let's look in this store." Yui gave him the barest sidelong glance, but did not say no. For a moment, she seemed to be trying to detect exactly what Gendo's mood was…then turned, her smile sunny and her demeanor playful.

"It's a good place to start!" she said, her voice cheery. She grabbed one of Gendo's wrists with both hands and practically pulled him into the shop. It was one of the nicer brand stores specializing in bedroom and bathroom items, a whole cornucopia of sheets, towels, and other fineries and dandies. Yui seemed taken in by it all. To Gendo, they were…towels, sheets, and blankets. To be frank, for a long time, the three terms were interchangeable to him.

As they moved deeper into the store, to the gushing of Yui, she finally mumbled, "What did you see?"

"I don't know," he said. "I felt something. A hunch, I guess."

"The people who were watching us before."

"Probably. I bet they haven't left."

"That sounds like paranoia." She stop to coo over an especially nice throw pillow. "I mean, it's not misplaced paranoia, but it still sounds paranoid."

"I've had reason to be paranoid, you know."

"Why?"

"I…make a lot of people angry, you know that," he mumbled sheepishly. She gave him a withering look. He shrugged.

"Uh…you know, I step on a lot of toes, cross a lot of lines…I've enjoyed the company of women who…may or may not have been single…at the time." He squinted, biting his lip. Why, oh, why, did he just admit that? It was true, but that didn't mean he should just go blabbing that stuff to Yui. Somehow, in that way of hers, she seemed to draw his secrets out without much effort. Ever since he began opening up about his father, they just…came out.

"Do go on," she said in a grand tone.

"Look, I just get people riled up, and sometimes they decide to do something about it. I've had it happen enough that I know when I'm being followed." He sniffed, crossing his arms. "…And, of course, there was that one loan shark, but I'm pretty sure that's blown over."

Gendo continued to stare at the front of the store, his arms crossed and his tone serious. Yui said nothing, and stood very still next to him. When she continued to maintain her silence, he finally turned and looked at her. She was standing with her jaw open and her eyes scrunched in something between concern and despair, and was squeezing the throw pillow very tightly.

"…A loan shark?" she finally asked.

"My dad wasn't helping with college! I had to get money from somewhere," Gendo said. "You've read my background."

"Gendo, I am very good at bluffing!" she said. "I may or may not have mislead you as to how much I actually know about your background. I mean, I'm pretty sure I hit all the important points, but…a loan shark?"

"And maybe a few other people," he mumbled. Having let that first cat out of the bag, the way was open and all the other cats seemed eager to follow it. "Who…I may…or may not…have conned out of…financial…things."

"Gendo Rokubungi, did you con a loan shark!?" Yui squawked in the middle of the store. Abruptly, her expression changed to clam acceptance. "Actually, in hindsight, that explains so much about you."

"I didn't set out to con a loan shark, it's just that…that's kind of how the situation turned out. Developed." He screwed his face up, sensing that he was digging deeper and deeper. "I'm…I'm really not making this sound any better, am I?"

"No, not really, but keep trying," Yui said, "I can't wait to see what you say next."

"That's all there is to say."

"Really?"

"…Pretty sure," Gendo said, distractedly. It was entirely possible that there were skeletons in his closet that he had simply decided to forget about, so as far as he knew, he had been completely up front with Yui. As far as he knew, that is….

"I'm still trying to figure out where you ran into a loan shark," she mumbled, tossing the throw pillow back down. She began to make her way over to some comforters. "You know, when I accused you of being a yakuza, I was joking at the time."

"My dad is a degenerate gambler," Gendo said, "It wasn't hard for me to figure out where to look."

"Last time I checked, you had all your fingers. Hold them up like this," Yui said, turning and spreading her hands in front of her.

"I'm not a yakuza," he said.

"Any tattoos? I haven't seen you with your shirt off, so for all I know, you could be inked up all over."

"I'm not a yakuza!" Gendo said a bit louder. He glared at Yui, then turned to look at the two or three women in the store staring at him. "I'm not!" he snapped at them. "I'm not," he added, turning back to Yui.

"You just steal from them, right?" she said. She cocked her head to one side, and began nibbling thoughtfully on her finger. "Though, if you think about it, it's better to steal from them than nice people. Though, if you're stealing from them, by associating with them, you're still just as bad as them. It's kind of a conundrum, isn't it?"

"Accidentally conning someone is not stealing from them," Gendo mumbled.

"That is…that is stealing from them, don't try to quantify that," Yui said, blinking.

"Intent. There has to be intent. I did not…," Gendo began, and turned when he realized someone entered the store. Two men, wearing bad suits. Two men together might be odd for a store like this, but with bad suits…and sunglasses…and that demeanor. Hell, they might as well stamp 'I AM A THUG' right on their foreheads, though that was clearly the point. "I did not intend to con a certain individual out of money and is it possible that your father might have told said individual where I am and how to find me?"

Yui turned to look at the two newcomers. Gendo was slowly pulling her behind one of the displays. "I think it is entirely possible," she said. She tapped him on the chest with her index finger. "Gendo, later, you and I are going to have a long, serious talk about who are and are not acceptable people to associate with, and what you should do when associating with people of either category."

"I think that would be a very good talk to have," he mumbled, distractedly. He felt sweat beading on his forehead. He had a damned good idea who those two worked for. He thought that it was no longer and issue that would…be an issue, frankly. The situation in question was one that had happened not too long ago, but was one of his better acts of obfuscation. It would have taken a true genius to figure out he was involved, frankly, or that the money had come his way in the end. Which meant that, if that fellow was looking for him…someone with a much better insight into how his finances were obtained had informed that fellow.

Apparently, he decided, he had not made the best impression on Yui's father.

"Okay…here's the plan," he said, "I'm leaving by the back entrance."

"Gendo, that's the first place they'll have someone waiting for you," Yui said, exasperated.

"If it's who I think it is, that's fifty-fifty, and they will have someone watching the front," he mumbled. "Either way, I'm still leaving by the back entrance. You, on the other hand, will stay here and—"

"Nope."

"…Nope?"

"Uh-uh," Yui said bluntly. "We came in together, we go out together."

"…That makes no sense," he said, blinking.

"Why not?"

"Because…you're not involved…but you would be if you left with me, and…that doesn't make sense." The two thugs were starting to push deeper into the store, so Gendo, half-crouching, abandoned Yui at the display and began working his way towards the back. He then realized she was right behind him. "Scat," he said.

"I will not 'scat,' don't you 'scat' me," she snapped.

"I'm not having this discussion right now, Yui," Gendo grunted, crawling on all fours to stay concealed behind a bed.

"That's because we're not discussing anything," Yui hissed, crawling behind him, "Because I told you I am going with you whichever entrance you take!" As they continued to crawl, they passed on of the female shoppers who had gazed so apprehensively at Gendo earlier.

"I thought you said you weren't a yakuza," the woman said nervously.

"I'm not," Gendo replied. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "But she's an oyabun."

"Oh, har har," Yui said dryly, as they crawled past the staring woman. "You wouldn't be making jokes like that if I was an oyabun. I'd be a tough one, too." Their crawling brought them closer and closer to the rear fire exit. By now, there were enough display shelves and other items between them and the front of the store that they could stand. They walked briskly towards the door.

"What if it's alarmed?" Yui asked.

"What if it's alarmed?" Gendo asked back, pushing the door open and stepping out into the daylight. No alarm rang, and they hurried through the door, and then skidded to a stop. Three men were slouching in the alley. The door slammed shut behind them, and they turned to see two more, one of them leaning on the door. Gendo's heart began racing. Before, he had been mildly concerned, if admittedly on the verge of panic. Now, he was panicking. He was truly trapped, with nowhere to run, about to receive…if he was lucky…the most severe beating of his life. Yui would see that, and she might herself get some sort of injury out of it, if just to spite Gendo.

"Lookit that," one of the men said. Gendo focused on the face, trying to place him. What was his name? The face was familiar. Gozu? Was it Gozu? It was hard to remember a person's name when you expected that person to cave your skull in, but it was such an important detail in those circumstances. "Lookit that," the man repeated. "Gendo Rokubungi."

"Naw, that's—" He swallowed, his throat suddenly sore and tight. "—That's Yui Ikari," he finally managed, his voice cracking a bit. "It's an easy mistake to make."

"That right there?" the man said, pointing a hand laden with rings at Gendo, "That is a sense of humor. You just don't see that sort of spunk anymore, not these days. Most guys in this situation, they'd start pleading. They would be crying, pissing themselves. A few, a very few, would probably buck up and take it like a man. But Gendo Rokubungi? He makes a joke." The man began clapping. "I like that. I do, I really do. You know who else does? One-Eyed Tanaka. He says hi, by the way."

Yui crossed her arms and stared at Gendo. "You knew a yakuza named One-Eyed Tanaka?"

"Um…yes, yes, I did…do. Yes, I do," he said.

"I could write a book about you," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "Does he really have one eye?"

"Actually, no, he's got both."

"Then why do they call him 'One-Eyed—'"

"This might not be the time and place to tell that story, Yui," Gendo said quickly. Why was she so calm? How could she be so calm? Was she naive? Was she really this naive and he didn't realize it? How did she fool him for so long?

Those thoughts fled his mind as…why couldn't he remember his name, was it Gozu?…took a few steps closer to Gendo. "I'm going to be frank; while I would normally kick your teeth in and demand the money back, with interest, by the end of the week…I just feel that wouldn't be sufficient here. I mean, considering how long the money's been gone, all that accrued interest, you wouldn't be able to get it by week's end. And more to the point, you did get a lot of people in trouble who didn't have to get in trouble."

"I wouldn't know about that," Gendo said. The man made a nasty face, held up his left hand, and pulled the pinkie finger off. Gendo shrugged helplessly. He had nothing to say to that. Not a thing.

"Gendo, I think you got this guy in trouble," Yui murmured to him.

"…Yeah, I'm thinking that, too," he sighed back. His kidneys hurt very badly right now. The-man-who-might-be-named-Gozu tucked the pinkie into his pocket, and Gendo began to place himself between the large man and Yui. He swallowed. "I'm not going to apologize," he said, "And I'm not going to beg."

"And I can respect that, because it wouldn't matter either way," the man said, and with a casualness that surprised Gendo, he punched him…hard…in the stomach. It was a fast and careless motion, and Gendo never had the opportunity to defend against it. He collapsed on the ground, retching. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't see through the tears that filled his eyes. His diaphragm spasmed for a bit, and he curled over, waiting for the kicks to come. He continued to wait...but they never came. Presently, he heard voices, and realized, as he uncurled himself…slowly…that Yui was no longer behind him. She was in front of him, and yelling at Gozu. He tried to say her name, but he couldn't speak. He began to push himself up, and as he did, the world seemed to level out a bit.

"—and that's if I'm feeling generous!" Yui was saying.

"Talk all you want, but we have business with your boyfriend there. And it isn't looking good for him, so I suggest you say your good-byes, walk out of this alley, and forget you ever met him."

"And if you want to be able to go back to your idiot-named boss, you're going to gather up your little super sentai squad here and piss-off back to whatever rathole you crawled out of right now before you make me even more mad, because you cannot even comprehend the kind of ruin I can bring into your world," Yui snapped.

"Look, that's irrelevant, because it's been agreed on. This is outside of your control. So move aside, or we will move you aside," Gozu said.

"No, you won't," someone said from behind them. Gendo turned his head, to see more goons in black suits. Only these were very nice suits. These fellows weren't wearing sunglasses, so he could see their eyes. They were hard, and cold, and had nothing behind them. "If you will recall, you were not to lay a hand on Ms. Ikari."

"I'm sorry," Gozu said, his voice dripping with venom, "But are you here to babysit us? Because that implies a lack of trust, and I don't appreciate that."

"I am here to ensure Ms. Ikari's safety," the other man said. "You can continue what you were doing before, so long as you do not touch—"

"Which we weren't going to, so don't start with that!" Gozu was saying. Gendo rolled onto his back, his mind racing…and was surprised to see Yui march over to one of the more-oblivious looking thugs. He looked uncomfortable by her aggressive movement, and highly defensive. As Gozu and the Head Suit continued to bicker, Yui reached out, yanked off her chosen victim's sunglasses, and jabbed a finger into his eye. He cried out in pain, glared at her, and acting on pure adrenaline and anger, reached out and grabbed her jaw to force her onto the ground.

There was an explosion of movement as men collided with each other, and the alley became confused with brawling men. The Suits had produced collapsible batons, and were very, very skilled with them. The thug that had pushed Yui had disappeared under the heavy blows of two Suits, and they ruthlessly beat him into the pavement. Yui scrabbled backward towards Gendo.

"Are you okay?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Yui…you know, it's been a good run," he gasped, "And if you feel like calling it quits, I won't hold it against you at all…."

"Stop being melodramatic," she sighed, standing up and brushing her hands on her pants. She blinked and stepped aside as someone flew past her. "I'm ready to leave, I think. How about you?"

"…Please," he mumbled, standing on unsteady legs. She braced him as they skirted through the violence and out of the alley unnoticed. Once they made it to the street, Yui shrieked. Gendo cried out, and nearly jumped out of his skin when she did.

"Help! Oh, somebody help!" she was screaming. "There are yakuza and terrorists fighting in that alley! Oh, my God, they nearly killed my fiancé!" She was sobbing hysterically, and crying for help as she guided Gendo along the sidewalk and down the street, while pointing towards the alley they just exited. Most people watching her simply stared…but a few were dialing on their phones. Gradually, Gendo's torso became less and less stiff, and he was able to start walking more naturally and quickly.

They were a block away when they saw three police cars pass them going in the opposite direction. He watched them speed by, and then turned to Yui. She looked very smug, and quite pleased with herself.

"Don't go patting yourself on the back," he said.

"I don't need to, because you can do that for me," she said, presenting him a most beatific smile. "Go ahead, try it." He obliged her, gently patting her on the back and then leaning into her as his stomach cramped again.

"I'll be honest, I was very scared back there," he said.

"I noticed."

"You weren't."

"Not especially," she said, "I figured my father would have someone around to try and extricate me if things got hairy."

"I don't think I want to meet your father now," Gendo said.

"Oh, don't hold this against him," Yui said, "After all, you're going to marry his daughter. I think that's revenge enough, don't you agree?"

"Maybe, but that still doesn't change that I've…got thugs looking for me and…I probably can't go back to my apartment now, if they haven't already broken in and set everything on fire."

"Well, just come to my place, then," she said. "You've been there before, and the couch does fold out into a futon." Gendo sighed, his mouth quirking into a half-smile and his gaze somewhere far away and not in the moment. He was so tired. Having such a near brush with calamity had left him spent. Yui poked him on the side of his head.

"Don't think this means your off the hook. I intend to lecture you silly until I can be certain you won't do anything this stupid every again."

"You aren't actually still trying to marry me? After all that?"

"I'm not going to let minor vices like ties to organized crime get in the way of what could be a very happy relationship," Yui said, patting Gendo on the back. "In all seriousness, I refuse to hold it against you. It's something in the past you aren't proud of, and it's over and done with. Right?"

"Unless someone pushes the issue, yeah. And that's how I'd like it to stay." He glanced back behind them, and began laughing. The tension and stress released, and he couldn't stop laughing. He laughed and laughed, and finally relaxed. He looked up at Yui, and she gazed back with open delight.

"If I knew life-threatening situations would get that sort of reaction out of you, I would have arranged one sooner," she said. Then she turned serious. "You are all right, aren't you? I mean, he punched you pretty hard…."

"I'll be fine. Let's just get somewhere off the street for now," Gendo said. Yui nodded, and the two walked towards a bus stop.

"So," Yui asked. "Why is he called One-Eyed Tanaka?"