Winter had swept over the land with a vengeance. Snow weighed down roofs and ice made the roads slick and dangerous for feet. Home and business owners warred with each other over where the excess snow would go. It was not uncommon to see Juugo outside on a roof, sitting with the winter birds.

Winter didn't slow the work of the underworld. Jobs poured in with fervor and the team of four accepted every job posted. Their contact to the local crime boss suggested they set up a shop and buy and ad for the paper. Suigetsu ended up convincing them to get a better place; part of an old warehouse. Sasuke moved with them but only seemed to haunt the upper edges of the building.

His team had begun to move independently of him since he had returned. Whatever he had done over his three-day absence, they could not deny the change to his character. It was like living with a ghost.

Sasuke sat on the sill of an empty window, watching the world grow white. A new job had come up, the order flapped in the wind. The pads of his fingers scraped across the material as he inhaled.

He didn't remember much from that night she pulled him from the promise of a cold death. He could still smell the sting of medical alcohol and it made the place where his left arm should have been tingle. He only knew he hadn't stayed and she couldn't keep him there. He did the only thing he ever did when those feelings surfaced: he ran.

For days he had run. The faster the better as the whirling thoughts seemed to get lost behind him. Eventually he stopped his run at the edge of a frozen lake. There he had remained for another day before a hawk had swooped down to perch on his shoulder. His team wondered where he was. There was a job that needed to be done. And with so little incentive Sasuke returned.

He stuffed the paper into his shirt and slid out of the window. His sandals slid on the icy tiles until all that was left was air and then the hard cobblestones. The slimy contact was skulking by the gate of another warehouse.

"Yo, good to see ya buddy." The man fell into step next to Sasuke, surprisingly at ease with the ninja. "I've got a great job for you, big paycheck. Boss would take it well if you did this one." Sasuke held out his hand for the folder. He let it fall open and skimmed the pages.

"This isn't the usual job." He commented. The contact sneered.

"Yeah well we dip our fingers into more than Ice and alcohol. We run respectable businesses too!" He stuck his thumb at himself. "And when the competition gets tough we only handle it with the finest finesse." He pronounced the last word wrong. Sasuke sighed and closed the folder.

"I will not waste my time intimidating some competitors." He spoke softly as they turned a corner. The contact frowned.

"We ain't asking you to intimidate. They've ignored every threat we've made. We want an example made of them." He stopped and pushed the file open to stick his finger into a picture."

"This one holds all the cards. Take her out, string her up, make it gory, whatever you like. Once she is out of the way we can handle the rest." Sasuke kept his eyes on the contact.

"What, are you too scared to fight her yourself?" The contact recoiled with a sneer and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"She has a lot of friends in this town. Better to have a stranger take her out." He turned to go. "Get it done in the next few days or we send in our own and keep the paycheck."

Sasuke scoffed before looking down at the folder. Immediately his throat constricted. The picture was too familiar, even with the greasy fingerprint smudging the photo. Hayashi, Kaori was written neatly under it.


Her building was new but it connected to an old warehouse complex that looked liked it was ready to collapse in some places. Sasuke crouched in the shadow a curved eave as he staked out any security that could get in the way. Two guards stood at the entrance but they were too casual to be serious.

The device in his ear crackled and he fidgeted with the tuner until muffled voices could be heard. The night before he had taken the opportunity to slip a device into one of her associate's briefcases. It had made it through without notice and heading up to the meeting room. He adjusted the tuner and settled in next to an old bird's nest.

The greetings were formal enough and it was rather boring to listen to someone rattle of a summary of profits, expenses, and business contracts. He strained to hear from her as the table debated different methods and ideas. He imagined her sitting at the head of the table, crisp and focused.

"Our study does confirm your plan, Ishihara-san. The vendors in Iron aren't as interested in tin as they were three years ago. Importing anymore without a solid demand would be risky." There she was. Sasuke hadn't realized he had been holding his breath.

"If we don't bring in enough we will lose their patronage. Monogu has ordered four tons expecting a fresh demand."

And so it continued for another hour before the various associates and partners began to trickle out. When his device was finally out of range Sasuke slipped out from under the eave and dropped down a few floors. The meeting room had the largest windows in the building. He pressed himself against a wall as he peered in.

She was slumped over the table, almost as if she had just collapsed. Sasuke's teeth groaned as he ground them and his hand slipped onto his sword.

Her head rose as someone opened the door to the room. He sunk back against the wall and released his grip on his sword. He watched her as she gathered her papers and stood. Her face never turned towards the window.

It would be better to just walk in, he thought as he jumped down to the street. People milling about paid little attention to him. A simple change in clothing and a hat was enough to keep eyes moving past him as he trailed by the door. He had missed the extra security inside. Apparently, the company took the yakuza's threats more seriously.

The contract seemed to burn in his breast pocket and he scratched at it unconsciously. His mind rolled over his plan to get in and finish the job. He continued to walk past the entrance to the building and was about to turn a corner when he saw them.

Ninja had a particular way of carrying themselves. Even civilians could pick it out if they looked closely. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the group of three that lounged across the street. They were rough and lively and they were staking out the same building as him. One of the men eyed him and grinned toothily. Sasuke stayed perfectly still as the man reached into his belt and unfurled the same piece of paper Sasuke had in his pocket. He shook it out but Sasuke didn't need to look closely to see the face that was circled in red.

Competition.


Sasuke didn't like the yakuza's hangout. It wasn't dirty, not on the upper level at least, but it gave off the aura of too much money and blood. It was ironic considering his profession but Sasuke had always thought himself to be better than the crime bosses he served.

The contact was there, choking on his drink when he saw Sasuke. Sasuke ignored him and searched out the boss. He sat far away from the main entrance, having a quiet lunch with a few men in suits. Sasuke wasted no time in approaching the table.

A few men stood as he drew near but the boss made a point of ignoring him until there was a tattooed hand on each of his shoulders. It was only then that he looked up at Sasuke from over his fat cigar.

"Ah, gentlemen, may I present one of my associates, Mr. Fan." Sasuke's nose crinkled at the nickname. The men at the table turned and appraised him carefully as the boss linked his fingers together and resting his chin on them. "Such an unexpected surprise, what can I do for you?"

Sasuke held out the order. "There is another team staking out the target. Do you expect me to split the reward?" His tone was low and gravelly. He realized he hadn't spoken aloud in two days. The boss idly looked at the order and chewed on his cigar.

"Well, you see we are in a bit of a rush here. My good friends have been having a hard time getting by and with the next market season opening up we thought swift action was better." He grinned, nearly biting off the foul tube. "But you have been my most successful associate so far. That other team won't see a penny if they do your job before the end of the week. After that, however," he shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm just afraid my friends can't wait that long to see results. You understand."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he let his arm fall. The boss held his gaze resolutely.

"Why her?" he asked. One of the men at the table leaned over and whispered to another. It seemed as though the boss had been waiting for that particular question. He took a long drag and let the smoke trickle out between his teeth.

"It's a shame really, I do like the girl myself. She has a… certain something about her that is just so entertaining, so alive." He waved his hand nonchalantly. "But the fact of the matter is that this is a man's game and she has overstepped for too long. She wouldn't take a hint and it is a dog-eat-dog world out here."

The men at the table chuckled. Sasuke waited as the boss put out his cigar. "You can take her out nice and clean. That's what I like about you; always quick and clean and she deserves that. Those three vultures like to a make scene about it. I mind a bit but it gets the message across loud and clear." His thumb crushed the cigar butt in the ashtray like a bug. "Either way I get what I need. What will you get out of it?"


She stood alone in the crowded market. Sasuke could see her red hair above the rest. She had lost her hat on her walk and he had picked it up. It hung from his belt but now that he was so close he suddenly didn't want to make himself known to her.

It had been years since he considered killing someone so carefully. He had never thought about what would happen to the untied portions of her life; who would claim her belongings, who would care for her cat, who would attend her funeral, who would pick out her grave.

He would have made it quick. She wouldn't feel a single thing. He could snap her neck before she even noticed his elbow cradling her chin and his hand cupping the back of her head. He suddenly felt nauseated and leaned his shoulder against a nearby post. She slipped out of his view.

His legs were moving swiftly, almost running as he wove through the crowd. The snow had started to fall in fat, fluffy flakes. They clung to his hair and sizzled on his skin. He slid a little when he stopped outside of the store she had gone into. Puffs of hot breath floated before his face. His chest heaved slightly.

She noticed him immediately as she stood at the register. Her eyes were wide. She had grown very still. The woman behind the counter looked between them carefully before placing the last bag on the counter.

"300 ro." She said. The cashier repeated it before the woman noticed and handed her a bill. Sasuke kept to where he was as she gathered her change and her grocery bags. She paused at the steps of the store for a long moment before walking down.

He half expected her to walk away from him, or even run, but she was suddenly toe-to-toe with him and held his gaze with those fierce jeweled eyes. His fingers twitched.

She blinked when he held out her hat. It was the last thing she expected from him and it took her a minute before she shuffled forward and caught it on the top of her grocery bag.

"Thank you."

Sasuke nodded but didn't move. She eyed him and looked around, searching for something to say or somewhere to go.

"Do you want to walk with me?" He never remembered her being so soft when she spoke, as if she feared a loud noise would break him. She nodded her head towards the end of the snowy street as an invitation. Sasuke inhaled deeply and dipped his head once. They set off together at a slow, measured pace, neither one wanted to outstep the other.

Her grocery bag was slipping for the fourth time when Sasuke reached over to catch the paper bag. She struggled for a moment to move her arm out from under his and let him take it without so much as a remark. He refused to look at her as they continued down the stone street.

"I didn't think you'd come back." She admitted as they turned up a winding and narrow side street. She walked a little ahead of him now and had put her hat in her coat pocket, the same one it had fallen out of earlier. He merely watched the road ahead. Her breath rushed out and fogged the air and her glasses. He hadn't noticed those before.

"I don't know if you remember it." He did, he did and he didn't want to think about it. She kept going but spared him any looks. "You were saying so much I wasn't really sure what to do to help."

"It is not your place to help me." He said quietly. She almost turned.

"No? I'm just supposed to fuck you, right?" her tone became biting like the cold wind. He licked his dry lips and curled his fingers around the bag. She was storming ahead of him but not fast enough that he thought she wanted to get away from him. He still had her bag after all.

She stopped some ways up at a beautiful stone and wood building, pressed in closely by others like it. She was digging through her pockets for her keys. He stood behind her and waited. She cursed and jammed them into the door.

She held it open with her body and toed off her boots. He followed her and let the door fall shut as she stepped onto the wooden floor and bumped the light switch. The slap of her bare feet on the wood followed her into the next room. He was much more careful walking into her home.

"I moved." She explained as if he had asked. The dark of the evening was banished as she stood in the bright kitchen. Her back was to him as she pulled out item after item. He lingered by the edge of the light until she finished.

"You can bring that here." She patted the counter and started putting things away. Sasuke slid the bag down and handed her a carton of eggs. He pretended not to notice her glances. They worked in silence until the bags were empty and her cat had stuffed herself into one of them. The kitchen was suddenly quiet and heavy. They kept their backs to each other.

"Would you kill me?" He flinched at the sudden question and looked over at her. Her shoulders were hunched and her hands griped the counter as if she would fall. Her back heaved with each shuddering breath.

Sasuke took a long moment to respond. The crackling sound of the cat tearing into the paper bag pierced the air. The feline popped out, brushed his leg with her tail before standing on her back legs to beg from her owner. The woman turned and knelt to furiously pet her cat.

"Are you worried that I will?" Sasuke asked. Her hair kept her eyes hidden from him but she heard. Her hands paused.

"Yes." She admitted. Sasuke sucked in a long breath and crouched down to her level even though he was clear across the kitchen. He held out his hand and the cat trotted over to sniff his fingers.

"When I enter this house… your home… I do not bring my work with me." It was as close to a promise as he could get. She had sunk to sit with her legs folded on either side of her. Her face looked weary.

"I wish I never met you."

At that, Sasuke could agree.