A/N: Okay, fine…since people have not been giving me reviews as of late, I've decided to start on a new story…if only to experiment. This is inspired by Valentine's Ninja's "Princess of Thieves"…and so to you Valentine's Ninja, if you're reading this, I thank you for being such a good writer. As usual per new stories, your reviews will determine whether or not this story is continued, so do read and review would you kindly?

Things were looking up in this job…the piece that would be taken was a very beautiful work of art, but that was not what was important to her, nor was it her primary objective. It was partially the motive for the girl wearing a form-fitting stealth suit had enjoyed about her work as a professional thief…the adrenaline rush was always there to make her feel that high she needed to get through the day. It also filled her with pride that she managed to get the jump on a hired thug using a combination of a taser and a fast-acting sedative—she also enjoyed stepping on the unconscious thug's body. "How are things looking with the security?"

The com link buzzed, as a woman's voice filled the earpiece. "Tough, but nothing we can't manage. You have fifteen minutes to get to the objective before the mobile lasers are back online, and the loop feeds we have on the cameras start showing the real picture. This is possibly the highest-paying job we've ever done. I guess it's time to put that ninja blood in your veins into overdrive Chou."

After having her bit of fun, the thief named Chou picked up the impromptu security guard and placed him in such a manner that he would look like he was sleeping on the job. "Roger that Neko, I'm in the security office now standing on the unconscious body of a hired thug. Tell Hana that it's time to start her part of the job."

"She's working on it…in fact the interference should be starting right about…now!"

Chou reached for the doorknob and began to move silently through the darkness of the mansion. The owner of this mansion was a fat man…one you shouldn't mess with if you were an average person. Luckily for Chou, she wasn't an average person, which was why Kisaragi Godo had always entrusted her to thieving operations whenever necessary. Such was how this part of the world worked…everybody had to be skilled at something, whether you were a soldier, a politician, a merchant, even a bum had a niche to fill. In her case however, her job was more like…repossession and confiscation in the most subtle way possible. This target was a valuable item with historical value…so much value in fact, that it should belong to a museum…of her choosing. As she moved quickly through the gallery, she found one of the things that she was looking for!

A perfectly cut blue diamond set in an ornate golden necklace of unimaginable craftsmanship and beauty with a heavy Nibelheim-influenced design…legend had it that this necklace was a family heirloom to a noble in Nibelheim. The nobleman fell in love with a woman and was about to present it as a gift to her before marrying her. The problem was despite the fact that she returned the love given to her by the daimyo in equal measure, the fact remained was a peasant…and so the nobleman hatched a plan to elope with the peasant woman—he worked day and night in secret to make preparations for his plan, and to make sure that his property would be in good hands when he left. He spirited the peasant woman away and he presented his family heirloom to her before marrying her. It was said that there was only one like it, and it was a true masterpiece…the necklace was lost forever to the ravages of time, and it seemed to have found its way to a gallery.

This piece of work would have to wait; right now, Chou had bigger fish to fry…and that fish was a particular file in the study. This file contained enough incriminating evidence to put the monster that owned this mansion behind bars. This was one of the main reasons she worked for Godo Kisaragi as her primary client…to make sure that the bad guys go to jail. From there, she started moving swiftly and silently through the rooms…she only had five minutes left! She'd better hurry if she wanted to get her hands on that file and then that necklace!

After about another five minutes of running around, and she finally found what she was looking for…she wasted no time and began downloading the files from the computer. This was taking longer than expected, and now she only had one minute left…the only option would be to sneak out the window of the boss' office. A few minutes were spent finding the receipts and the journal entries before she hit the jackpot. "Come on! Come on! Let's go already!" she whispered to herself. It was then that the files had finished downloading, and she started running back out the room. Thirty seconds left! She lifted the bell jar over the necklace, grabbed it, and stuffed it in her messenger bag before she ran faster…the guards would be here soon!

Ten seconds left…

Almost there!

Nine…

She opened the door and quickly shut it behind her!

Eight…

She unlatched the hinged ventilation grate.

Seven…

Chou stepped on the desk and used it as a spring board.

Six…

She jumped up and into the ventilation shaft.

Five…

The ventilation grate was closed shut.

Four…

The latch was replaced.

Three…

The door opened.

Two…

Chou started crawling away.

One…

The thug's partner had returned for his shift at the cameras only to slap his partner awake.

Neko sat by in the van. Worry was racking her mind as she kept on hearing sporadic chatter from the security force…although she did find herself laughing at the predicament of the hired thugs as they were being chewed out by their boss. Yes, worry was the predominant emotion in the van despite the fun she was having. Hana, their electronics expert was a little more open with her concern. "You think she's going to be fine in this job?"

"Usually she'll give us a communications…although judging by the yelling I'm hearing, it's likely that she should be here by now." No sooner than she had finished the sentence, the van had opened on cue with Chou panting. "Well speak of the devil. How did it go? You get hurt?"

"Teef, you of all people should know that I'm fine! But since you asked so nicely, I'll have you know that I managed to get both objectives."

"You do realize you were cutting it real close right there weren't you Yuffs?"

"You didn't think I knew that? You know what, forget about it, Aeris just drive the hell away and get us to the nearest bar we can find. We're celebrating tonight's victory."

Aeris smiled and started the van. "I'll drink to that!"

The next day…

He sat around at the bar sipping his coffee in District 7. The Seventh Heaven was a reputable bar owned by the Lockheart family…who in turn owed the Kisaragi family for a favor. While Godo Kisaragi was known to be a gang leader of sorts, he was not the sort of gangster that dealt with drugs or casinos, or even money scams of any kind—no, his type of gang was the gang of vigilantes he runs behind the scenes. His reputation for getting the job done had made him a person lawyers could trust to get solid evidence to back up their clients' claims of injustice…assuming of course said clients were actually in the right. He did not get to be a vigilante gang leader for nothing after all.

"I trust that last night's activities went well?"

The girl that walked on over to Godo's table had a bit of a smug grin on her face. "It was a bit harder, but I managed to get all the files."

"You didn't manage to get yourself a bonus did you?"

"Yeah…although Tifa seemed to chew me out for a bit due to how close I was cutting it."

"You do realize that if you keep doing that, I might have to disown you? But enough of this banter…do you have it on you?"

The girl slipped a thumb drive into the older man's hand. "All the data from the computer I could get is in that drive. Hopefully we'll put Carlos Villalobos into jail with this amount of information."

"And the case is closed. You did well Yuffie."

"Just cross your fingers that he rots in prison." No sooner than she said that until a young woman with wine-colored eyes walked up with a tray carrying an extra cup of coffee. "And here's to prison for Villalobos." The two of them toasted in celebration for the successful mission. Yuffie and Godo drank up their coffees—it would have been sake, but the policy on these premises was that alcohol was only to be served starting around 10:30 in the morning.

Putting her mug down, Yuffie looked at Godo with an eager look in her eyes. "All that aside old man, is there another job for me to perform? I can tell by your eyes that something else has come up."

"I'd rather you not do it Yuffie. True, many of your ancestors were exceptional ninja in the art of theft, but even they had limits. Do it too often and I'll accuse you of being an adrenaline junkie and a workaholic! No, you need to lay low for a while and unwind…I'll let you know of the next job."

"Godo, I promise you that the second I take care of this job I'll take a vacation…and probably bring back some illegitimate grandchildren for you. Nah, I'm just kidding…but I'm serious about the vacation bit."

"Yuffie…I'm really certain that this job will be too hard for you."

"Lay it on me. I'll be the judge of that."

Godo knew that stubbornness…and he cursed the fact that that girl could be so stubborn. But then again, so was he. "Very well then; how much did you hear about Don Corneo?"

"This and that…I've heard stories that he was practically in charge of the Sector 5 slums. Does the works; his rap sheet would be the size of a phone book if you could count even the minor crimes he's committed."

"Well my client is after Corneo himself."

The look of outrage was clear on Yuffie's face as she almost spit the coffee back into the cup. "Is he bored of living? Corneo is practically untouchable…I despise the man over all other gang leaders for what he did to us, but there's no way he can get a lawsuit over him."

Godo understood the reason behind the outburst, and he didn't blame her. Don Corneo was untouchable because he always had a perfect alibi for every crime he ever committed. Coupled in with the fact that he has lawyers that would rather strangle babies in their cribs than to lose a case, and that people were too scared to stand up to him, and you have someone that is practically invincible. "That's what I thought…but then I learned that he had witnessed his daughter getting raped by Corneo. If you do this, then don't bother with the valuables…just go in, get the information, and get out as fast as you can."

Yuffie looked at her client with curiosity in her eyes. Godo rarely ever asked for a rush job, and it showed whenever he asked her to forgo any bonus she might earn from a job. Whatever it was about that job's speed requirement must have been important enough to know. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

"You've heard about the string of assassinations that have been going on as of late have you?"

"Yeah…so far, there were ten high-profile assassinations in the past six months or so. All of the assassinated people were crime bosses who seemed to be too full of themselves and were apparently very powerful—so powerful in fact, that many assassins would rather work for them rather than against them despite the rather high price on their heads. Police have suspected a lone hitman being responsible for those kills…and not just any hitman, but a full-blown professional assassin."

"There's a rumor circulating around the underworld that Don Corneo has finally gained that price on his head. Most assassins would flock at the chance to work for him knowing how much money he is worth, but this assassin would kill all the bosses that gained a price that big on their heads—and even worse, nobody knows who it is that's been ending them. All that's known about the assassin so far is that he goes after high-profile gang bosses…and he apparently uses random methods to ensure they die a quick and painless death—mostly up-close and personal due to the fact that so far, many of the victims were found in isolated locations with knife wounds or gunshot wounds caused by .45ACP rounds. You still want to pull this job?"

She didn't know what to say…the fact that that rumor was being circulated meant that Don Corneo would be on the defensive, making the job all the more difficult. And if the rumors were true, then that would mean that she had to really move fast before Corneo gets assassinated. She felt the fear creep up on her spine at the prospect that this was her most dangerous mission yet. That was until it was quashed by the promise of pure adrenaline filling her veins. With that said, she let out the dangerous words that may or may not have condemned herself to a most painful death. "I'm in."

Godo sighed. He should have known better. It was then that he opened up the briefcase and pulled out a manila folder. "Here's everything I managed to gather for you…it wasn't easy at all to get this information. If I give you this, you have to promise me that you'll be extra careful on this job. I've already lost your mother to men like Corneo…I refuse to lose my only daughter as well."

Yuffie only smiled as she took the file. She knew how much her father loved her. "Don't worry about it Dad. I'll come back to you alive…I've yet to give you those illegitimate grandchildren after all. Besides, I've always wanted to see him behind bars after what he did; not just to your client, but also to mom…this is the day I've been waiting for."

"I know. But once you take this mission, you'd better be sure to go all the way…once started, there's no turning back. All I ask is that you come back to me alive."

She picked up her purse and left. But not without kissing Godo on the cheek.

Songs Used:

"Kasumi Goto Stolen Memories: Infiltration" from "Mass Effect 2"—the thieving job.

"Ten Wolf Suite" by Noriyuki Asakura from "Rurouni Kenshin"—discussing the next job

Vocabulary/Culture Notes:

Chou—Japanese for 'Butterfly'

Neko—Japanese for 'Cat'

Hana—Japanese for 'Flower', but can also mean 'Nose' depending on the spelling.