After a few more moments, Riku took one last sip of his tea. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the bag Raven gave him. He opened it to find a note, and money.
Knowing already how much money was contained in the bag due to agreements prior to the deal, Riku read the note instead of counting the money.
Riku,
Please meet me tonight at 12:00 A.M. exactly in our usual rendezvous point. I have a new job for you, one that will keep you busy for a while.
-Sojuro
After reading the note Riku folded it up and dropped it into his fireplace. His eyes glanced over at the clock…it was late enough that if he wanted to make it on time he would have to depart now. He slid open the door, and closed it behind him. "Yuki, I'm going now." He yelled, and as he suspected he was met with no reply.
With a sigh he was off, traveling through the forest once again. Tree after tree, Riku kept his mind focused only on the destination. It was strange, up in the trees where he was out of sight he felt like he belonged, just an odd sense of security he never had when he was on the ground. This was only momentarily; as soon as the breeze left his face he became apparent of the world around him once again.
Hours later he had finally reached his destination, an abandoned cove in the middle of nowhere. An abandoned harbor lay there, with old rusty ships and wrecks everywhere. This harbor was abandoned due to its isolation and cramped entryway into the ocean.
Riku walked across the water up to one of the few boats that floated and climbed in. Footsteps could be heard from under the steps, probably the guards getting ready for an intruder. 'KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK' Riku did the knock on the deck with his foot, and suddenly a hidden door on the deck opened. Raven's head slowly rose out of the door, and stared at Riku for a few good moments before sinking back down.
He then went down below deck, which was much more nice then the outside of the ship. Below deck was just one large room, and in the center of this large room sat an old man, with short grey hair and a rough beard wearing a black robe.
The old man spoke solemnly with a raspy voice. "Greetings Riku…"
Riku nodded. "….Sojuro."
"Please, take a seat. We have something that needs to be discussed."
With that being said, one of Sojuro's guards pulled out a chair for Riku. Riku thanked them properly, then sat down. While he sat he got a strange feeling in his stomach as if everyone in the room was watching him and his every move. He glared over his shoulder and saw Raven staring him down, then noticed all of the gurads staring at him as well.
"Well can we get on with this already?" Riku asked, feeling rather uncomfortable.
Sojuro closed his eyes. "Yes, yes, yes. Let's get down to business. First off, I thank you for your cooperation in the assassination of my fellow council member Izo. You handled it very professionally, and nobody saw you do him in."
Riku sat quite and attentively, letting Sojuro continue to speak.
"Secondly, I have a job for you. This job will take a while though."
"Well what is it?"
Sojuro got up, and stared at the wall for a second, as if thinking what to say.
"Councilmen Yamamoto. You know who he is right?"
"Yes. He sits in the third chair of the Hidden Mist council, just one away from you."
"Correct. And he has been a pain in my side ever since I stepped into my seat on council. Now I'm going to become a pain in his."
Sojuro then began to pace around the room, walking around the table mostly. "Yamamoto has learned through his contacts that a hit man has been hired to kill him. He has grown worried, scared, and anxious. He has begun hiring bodyguards of various skills and backgrounds, but mostly he just convinces the Mizukage to keep an ANBU by his side at all times."
"Well what does this have to do with me?" Riku asked.
"He is anxious, like I said before. I have taken advantage of this, I have spread the word through the Hidden Mist that you do bodyguard work, and are a perfectly capable one as well. His contacts, which are his eyes and ears of the Hidden Mist, are to have surely picked up on this by now. My guess is that you'll be contacted soon, I'd say at least a week."
Sojuro then put his hands down on the table, and stared Riku dead in the eyes. Sojuro moved his head in close enough to him that Riku actually moved his head back a bit. "You're going to do whatever he wants you to do when he contacts you, so long as it doesn't involve me in any sort of way. Understood?"
"May I ask why?" Riku said, his eyes searching the room from he uncomforting feeling.
"Don't worry why, just tell me if you are in or out. I will pay you in indirect ways every week for your services, I should say you'll be paid quite handsomely."
"Yah I'm in. I just have one question, how am I going to go around the village with my current status as a ninja?"
Sojuro slowly sat down in his seat. He then sighed, seemed to be almost a sigh of relief. "Don't worry. If you're working for Yamamoto he'll probably get your name cleared from the BINGO book. Now get out of here. You have work to do."
Riku then got out of his seat, and climbed out of the boat, onto the deck. His head searched around for any signs that he was followed. Having found none, he took off back into the forest.
Days passed, and Riku continued life as normal. This meant just laying low, passing through a few small villages to pick up some things, and just scouting the memories of his past. Most of them revolved around his days as a Hidden Mist Shinobi, serving with Zabuza. Strange, he never liked Zabuza yet most of his Shinobi memories revolved around their adventures. Figures, they were a two-man team after all. Up until Zabuza left the Mist of course.
Then, after his memories of his Shinobi days he would remember his darker days…after the Mist. He'd always just remember that one day…the day he met Orichimaru.
Riku looked up, and sipped his tea served freshly from the little inn he was resting in. Now wasn't the time to drift off into memory lane. He was expecting to be contacted today. There was no lead, no hint, and no sign. Just a feeling in his gut as if he knew today was the day.
After another sip of his tea, which tasted marvelous, he got up from the stool he sat on. "Thank you." He told the counter woman, and slid her the amount of money he owed to her on the counter. The woman didn't seem fixated on the money, she just continued to stare at Riku, which was something he took note of right away.
"Riku Iseya?" She asked.
Riku's eyes skimmed awkwardly. "Yes?"
The counter woman said no more, she simply slipped him a piece of paper and started wiping off the counter, acting as if nothing had happened. No questions were asked, Riku left the door right away.
This is it. If this isn't Yamamoto then I should give up on trying to be contacted, Riku thought anxiously.
He wandered into the forest, ran up a tree, and then checked his surroundings. Nothing, everything was cleared. Anxiously, he hastily opened the note.
Riku,
You may not know me, but I have heard much about you and would like to speak to you about your certain skill set. I would rest easier at night knowing I had a man such as you under my employment. Please speak to me at my residence, the address listed on the back, tonight at 8:25 PM roughly.
Riku then read the address. "This is Yamamoto's residence…Looks like the wait is over." he murmured to himself. He folded up the note, and put it into his pocket. Once again his eyes scanned the horizon. Nothing that he could see or sense at the current moment, that gave him some reassurance.
Once again Riku made the journey to the hidden mist, using back-routes and the forest as cover. Hopefully it would be true that once Yamamoto employed him, his name would be cleared off the BINGO book so he wouldn't have to take these long side routes.
After hours of trekking through forest and roads, the destination was reached. He killed a few hours by resting under a bridge; after all jumping through the trees non-stop for hours was quite exhausting. Eventually it was time for him to visit Yamamoto's manor.
Riku traveled along rooftops evading patrols to reach the manor. He was there within minutes, and stood at the gate. This manor was well secured, complete with walls that the average person couldn't climb without a tool or chakra, plenty of lights, plenty of guards, and of course a few dogs to sniff out intruders.
"Um…I'm here to see the man who gave me this note." Riku called out.
Then two masked guards approached the gate. "May we see this note?" one of them said.
Riku reached into his pocket and pulled it out.
"Toss it in. Slowly." The other guard demanded.
"Alright." Riku said, and he gently tossed the note through the bars of the gate to the other side. One of the guards knelt down and picked it up, then examined it.
"Master Yamamoto has been expecting you Riku, please come in."
The gate then opened, and the two guards walked out and checked the area around the gate to look for anyone who may have followed Riku, while two more came to the gate to watch over it. "Clear over here!" the first one yelled.
"Clear over here as well!" The other yelled back.
The two guards then walked to both sides of Riku, while the others went back to their original posts. "This way please."
Riku nodded his head and followed. Yamamoto must be extremely paranoid these days with security this tight. Can't say I blame him though, with every remaining council member wanting him dead or imprisoned.
Soon Riku was within the Manor, and surrounded by fine arts, fountains, and other luxurious commodities. Taken in by awe of his surroundings he couldn't help but stare at every wall, window, and even the very floor which he stood upon. The two guards led him into one room at the very top of the manor, which had an excellent view of the hidden mist when fog didn't block it. Riku's eyes still stared at his surroundings in awe, before his eyes locked onto a very large slightly overweight bald man, probably in his late 40's to 50's, wearing luxurious red silk robes sitting on a leather chair staring out the window. By his side lay a cane, made out of a mix of precious gems, metal, and a few fragments of polished bone. Probably of some animal…or maybe a man.
The man rose slowly out of his chair and leaned onto his cane. Then, slowly started walking toward Riku "I'm glad you seem so found of my home. Years have been spent collecting everything you have around you. You see that sword on the wall? That dates back to the start of this very village, it was not easy to find this piece."
Then he pointed at the note one of the guards was still holding. "I see you got my letter Riku, I never said my name on it. My name is Yamamoto, I assume you've heard of me?"
Riku nodded. "Yes, you're on the shinobi council."
Yamamoto grinned. "Please, step out onto my balcony and have some tea. I can assure you it is the finest in the land."
"Certainly, it would be an honor."
"Skilled an respectful?" Yamato asked. "We're going to get along well Riku, please follow me." He then began walking toward a door at the right end of the room, and waved Riku to follow him. Riku gladly followed him at a respectful distance, wanting to leave a good impression of course.
He was led onto a balcony that stretched around the entire manor, then right to the center of it one north side, which had a spectacular view of the village but was covered by thick fog. Yamamoto led him to a small table with two chairs and an umbrella, and pulled out a chair for Riku before sitting down in his own seat. Riku slowly took a seat, and within moments of taking a seat a servant calmly came out of the manor. The servant was dressed in a very nice traditional gown with a pot of tea and two clay cups. She set them down on the table and bowed. "Your tea Master Yamamoto."
Yamaoto set one cup in front of Riku, then one in front of himself. "Thank you. Please resume your day as usual."
The servant stood up straight, and calmly walked away. After she left all Riku could hear was the sound of Yamamoto pouring Riku his tea, then pouring himself tea. Then it was just silence. No birds chirped, and the wind was faint. Aside from these sounds Riku could just hear the sound of his heart nervously beating, but he kept on his poker face to show no anxiety.
Riku began sipping his tea delightfully; this was by far the best tea he had ever tasted.
"So you like my home Riku?" Yamamoto asked.
Riku grinned. "Yes, I have never been in a home as spectacular."
Yamamoto sipped his tea, then set it down. His eyes remained locked on his cup. "I find it quite Ironic how us Council members have such luxurious homes yet we play a hidden game that savages would play. All because we want more power in what happens in this village. This is the way it has been in the Mist. This is the way it will always be in the Mist. It's no secret that us council members have been plotting against each other, but the Mizukage won't act on it. Do you know why?"
"No. Not really." Riku replied.
Yamamoto raised one finger in the air. "Because if she were to act on it, the other hidden villages would find out and sense weakness."
After sipping his tea again, Yamamoto continued. "You see Riku, the hidden villages are like wild animals. When wild animals sense weakness in other wild animals they strike that wild animal down, so there is less competition. The Mizukage won't act because she doesn't want the Mist to be struck down like a wild animal. So, us council members will continue to be able to wage this hidden war uninterrupted unfortunately."
"You sound like you don't want part in it?"
"I don't. I hate politics." He took another sip. "I guess that's why I'm an honest politician."
Riku's eyebrow raised curiously. "Well why did you join the council?"
Yamamoto shrugged, and sipped his tea once again. "Necessity I guess. I knew this village needed honest politicians." Yamamoto's head then turned off the balcony, and he caught a glimpse of the Hidden Mist through the fog. "You know Riku, this village is changing; it's no longer the blood mist that you and I grew up in. So I figured that its politics should change with it. That's why I joined."
"I thought you said that the council would never change."
"Hmph. Well it was worth a try when I started. It has taken me years to figure out it wouldn't change." Yamato said bluntly.
The two of them then sat there for a good minute or so silently. All Riku could think of was about what could happen next. Every second Yamamoto didn't speak the anxiety in Riku's chest grew, and he began thinking. What if this is just a set up? What if ANBU, or assassins ambush me right now? No…this man would never do that would he?
Riku then put his hand over his eyes, and took a deep breath to give himself some reassurance. He then worked up the courage to ask "Why am I here?"
"I have a work offering for you."
"What kind of work?" Riku asked quickly, letting out a quite sigh of relief.
"I'll get to that. But first I need to explain to you my situation."
"Go on then."
Yamamoto looked out at the Mist beyond the balcony, then back at Riku. "As you already know the four remaining councilmen want me dead or worse. I fear for my life as is but I fear greater for the lives of my family members. I have one son, a pregnant daughter in law that I consider my own daughter, and one grandson. I stay awake at night terrified of what could happen to them."
Riku looked down at the table, and started thinking. I know that feeling,
"What I want you to do is to protect my grandson for a few weeks or so, with the way things have been escalating these past weeks I just know something is going to happen! My son is a merchant, always gone so he can't protect him. I have guards by them but none of them are skilled Shinobi like yourself. My one ANBU that has been assigned to me can only protect me because that's his orders."
"Please Riku, if you do this for me I will pay you very well."
"I just have one question, how am I going to be able to protect your grandson with my current status as a rogue shinobi?" Riku asked.
"I'll pull a few strings and get your name cleared. I have a few friends in the right places that owe may a favor."
"Alright. I'll do it." Riku said.
"Thank you." Yamamoto said, and he extended out his hand to Riku for a handshake. Riku gladly shook his hand.