I'm back from the holidays at last! Okay it wasn't that bad (even got time to co-write a little hentai ), but where's the joy if not updating a story? Lol.

Is there any Mariah fans here? Coz she's coming up in the next chapter(yes, already written to catch up the time I was away). Can't promise you anything though.

And... Thanks for the reviews:

-Kage Angel: Well, I'm trying my best to update quickly. Oh and I must warn you guys: no lemons in the three chapters following. Sorry XD.

-Crying Sorceress: THANK YOU for your review! I've always liked long reviews anyway so feel free to write as much as you want (lol). I hope you wouldn't mind monologues (I don't know why but I'm writing a lot of them...)

-wasurenaikara: I think you're going to be rather disappointed with the following chapters since there's no lemon in them! Don't worry, I'll do something in the next next next chapter.

-Feeding Ground: Kai being autistic and gay would make quite an impression, wouldn't it? I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed the story. But you'll have to wait some time to see what happened at Miguel's...

Chapter 9

Morning

Kai felt the morning rays penetrating through the curtain blinds, stinging his eyes. He stirred. He found himself in a futon of silks. The room was still in the penumbra but he could make out the forms of a wooden wardrobe at the corner of the room, a shelf and a low table with sofa. Kai sat up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then it all came back to him: the mission, the Palace of Nightingales, the dancer and the yaguzas. He drew a deep breath and looked around more properly. The room was 30 m² long; the door was on the wall facing the bed and the tall windows, two on each side. It was pretty dark but he could see sex toys displaying on the shelf. On his bedside table was an inter-phone, probably to call an attendant or something. A bamboo curtain stood on the right wall, leading, Kai presumed, to the bathroom. He remembered forcing himself into pajamas last night but he didn't use the toilet. He wasn't quite used to alcohol and after having drunk all the young yaguza gave him, he was blacked out for the night. Kai opened his ears for an eventual sound. But all was silent. It must be very early. He recalled arriving at the Palace at five to one so he must have slept later. Even so Kai was too used to wake up at the same time as the Sun Goddess that he couldn't go back to sleep. He founded his watch. It read 5:30 am.

He tampered around the paper walls beside his bed, then finding a hollow place, tore the paper off carefully. He ducked his hand into the hole in the wall. Just as he had expected he found a long package waiting for him there and took it out as if it were a relic. Kai put it on his lap and unfolded the golden wrapping. A katana fell out of it. But it wasn't any normal katana: it was Dranzer, the fiery phoenix's tail sword. It had once belonged to the gods but given to his family as a gift for their loyalty. Yet, not everyone could wield it. Kai knew better than to mess around with such a holy object. It had become his the day he turned into a Samurai. His grandfather gave it to him before he passed away. The katana accompanied him in all his missions and earned him unfailing victories. Kai couldn't part from it like a man to his arm. It was a part of his soul. He preferred the katana to all the machine guns the clan had, all the collections of the Emperor's. He knew that he and he alone could use the sword to its fullest power. After bombing the holy object with caresses more passionate than those of a lover could be Kai wrapped the sword again and put it on top of the wardrobe, under the sheets. Squire Ozuma had been the one who'd reserved his room for him and who'd buried the sword inside the wall. He admitted that he himself was a regular customer and he knew of the hole in this particular room. Kai found it courageous of Ozuma to recognize the fact that he too was sunken in the temptation of the Palace. Strangely enough the confession didn't change his opinion of Ozuma. Maybe he had never really respected anyone anyway.

Kai surveyed the room with a wary eye. The tatami mats seemed freshly spread across the floor. The weak rays lighted the strewn mattresses like pairs of swords attacking a valiant enemy. From the ceiling hung three lanterns of different shapes and colours. They swung discreetly above his head. Kai approached them softly. He remembered the time when he was young, he had lanterns such as these in his bed chamber. They had the family's motto written on them: 'Honor', 'Respect', 'Glory'. Kai reached out his hand as if to touch one of them but hastily retrieved it.

He turned away through the bamboo curtain, into the bathroom and watched his face in the sink. He stared at the image in the mirror. His strong-jawed face was swollen and his skin paler than usual. There were circles under his dark pitch eyes and his hair was messier than ever. He groaned and took off his clothes. He filled the bathtub, which was as big as a swimming pool and slid himself in the warm water. He rested his head on the edge and closed his eyes. The moutain-side brothel was cut out from civilization but all that was needed was available here. The Shogun told him to act like any customers and remain as discreet as possible.

"You are clever enough not to let them suspect you, aren't you?" the Shogun had said. "This case is very important for the shogunate. We must regain our dignity after what happened in Hokkaido. Do you understand? The Emperor isn't happy. His counselors seek our dismiss and have them enter those foreign soldiers. We can't let that happen!"

Suoh was a man who liked power. That was why he and Kai didn't get along very well. Both of them were deeply ambitious. Suoh's most fear was to be thrown down by his Samurais and Kai was waiting for the day of becoming something else. Yes, the rank of Samurai seemed to low to Kai. He was born in an old aristocratic family who had great influence in the old days. He wasn't about to let it all go. His determination of finding his sister might be one of the factors issuing from the main fact of his wanting to conserve his family's honor. Family was an important notion in the society. He couldn't turn up to be the only one left if he wanted to rise higher. Because Kai wanted and desired secretly to be raised above all creatures that roamed the Earth, he passed all limits oppressed on men. Many people within and out of the clan admired him but his extreme coldness and nonchalance saved him from unwanted celebrity. Kai got out of the tub and got changed in his bedroom. He needed more than celebrity. Celebrity was for the stars who had no more than looks. But he was conscious that he was above all that. He believed in gods, something quite lost in the present society yet he wasn't underneath them. His katana showed it.

After praying, Kai placed his hands on the door and still not hearing a sound, slid it open and walked out. He had taken his sword with him but had it hidden in his cloak. The corridor was deserted. From where he was standing he could see the main hall below him. The smoke had cleared off and the place looked different in the morning light, which wasn't so bright. The high ceiling was actually made of glass. The sky outside was still marine blue but little streaks of vivid pink glowered. The Sun must be rising. He jumped down into the hall and landed silently on the floor, dusty with cigarettes' rests. He carefully brushed himself and turned to have a look around. The Shogun told him that the Palace concealed a secret hideout for ninjas. Though it had been inspected once or twice since its opening, nothing had been found. The building was rather new in spite of its traditional architecture. It aged only 30 years and further renovations improved their facilities and comfort. Where can the hideout be? Kai paced through the corridor behind the stage. It looked age-worn and smelt nasty. But when he passed his hands across the breaking wood, it appeared to be only an illusion. It is most possible that the palace was one of the modern-fending-old buildings so in trend now. The illusions that helped the building look old must be the very same that saved the ninjas from discovery. Kai frowned. Maybe he could ask the young yakuza about it? He would very much like to have a talk with the landlady but her appearance last night made him knew of how her suspicions could lead him to his doom. He wasn't scared of Madame Cho but he wasn't reckless either. The only thing to do was to crouch and wait for a good opportunity. Like a tiger. Oh, his grandfather was one all right. He always lured his preys into his traps before breaking them down. Kai had never liked the taste of his grandfather's victories. They were unworthy, cheated and maimed. I am very happy that he is dead. Why didn't he die sooner? I would like to see the scorn on his face washed away by the upcoming death. But no, he died too graciously. Too graciously for an old rat. Kai brushed the thought away as if disgusted and turned at the winding staircase. It was made of the purest metal and seemed to crank at each contact. Kai raised himself a few inches from the air and floated up the steps without touching them. It must be the prostitutes' apartments. The decoration was less elaborated: the paper looked old and stained and the floor remained unclean. Dirty garments lied across the long corridor separating the rooms in six blocks, with three rooms each but more yet smaller corridors led deeper in the apartment. Kai could hear the regular breathing of the prostitutes coming from all sides of the corridor but the one at the end interested him most. He could feel a small breath, resembling a snore that had grown with age. The person must have a difficulty in breathing or be having a bad dream, because the sound was rough and animal-like. Kai crept towards it, slowly like a predator finding its prey. The door was standing only at ten feet apart from him when suddenly it slid open.