Ryoushi and the Rat Pack belong to Scarease. Kaiya and Team Recon belong to me. Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. And they all lived happily ever after. Amen.

Chapter 36: The Bounty Hunter

Kaiya continued to stare at Ryoushi for a moment. "How big's the bounty?"

Ryoushi raised his eyebrows, an amused smile playing on his lips. "You don't seem all that surprised."

Kaiya shrugged and sheathed the kunai. "Like I said, a lot of people have been after me lately. I guess the thought of people wanting me dead isn't that big a deal anymore."

"Fair enough." Ryoushi swept his arms to the side and gave a low bow. "Step into my office, Red."

Ryoushi's "office" was a small alcove carved from the tunnels under the town. It was surprisingly cozy, with two cushy, torn-up chairs, a beat-up desk, and an impressive collection of weapons and scrolls. Ryoushi sank into the larger of the two chairs and indicated for Kaiya to take the one opposite.

"So," Kaiya pressed, leaning back into the surprisingly comfortable chair with crossed arms. "What's up with this bounty?"

Ryoushi held up a sheet from the desk. It showed two photos of her - one official from Konoha's Shinobi registry, one candid from a couple years back - and contained her full profile. Kaiya kept her expression bland, but inside her nerves tied themselves in knots.

"This was passed around the underground about a year and half ago," Ryoushi said. "Funny you should say that about people wanting you dead, though - there's nothing to gain from killing you. The bounty specifies that you be captured alive."

Kaiya leaned forward, trying to get a better look at the text. "Huh, not as big a price as I thought…I'm almost disappointed. Who put this out?" She reached for the sheet, but Ryoushi pulled it back.

"Doesn't say," he answered. "But as it so happens, I have a client coming in today who I am sure will be asking about it. Hold your horses, Red," Ryoushi added quickly when Kaiya half-rose from the chair. "I already told you - I'm not selling you out. I keep my word, and this intel comes to you out of respect for Yuuma. I'll even let you see who the client is. After that, if you decide you'd like the Rat Pack's help avoiding him, we'll negotiate safe passage back to Konoha. Deal?"

Kaiya settled uneasily back into the chair. "How do you plan to let me see this client without them knowing I'm here?"

Ryoushi smirked. "You're not the only one who's been studying Fuinjutsu, Red."

Before he could say anything else, Mouse came running into the small 'office,' fear evident on his face. "Ryoushi-san! He's early - the client is here already -"

Ryoushi's eyes hardened. He stood from his chair, an air of absolute authority coming over him. "Mouse, take the youngest ones into the tunnels. Let Mitsumi take care of stalling him. Red, come with me, and keep your mouth shut."

Kaiya frowned at his tone. This was no longer the smart-ass prankster thief in front of her; this was the Phantom, dangerous and infamous leader of the Land of Fire's most wide-spread underground network. She nodded and followed him without protest.

Ryoushi weaved a short series of hand signs - Kaiya watching carefully, memorizing the series - and pressed his palm to the far wall of the alcove. The script of a seal appeared on the wall and revealed a seam in the stone: it was a hidden passageway.

"In here," Ryoushi pulled her into the passageway. He pointed to a part of the wall shared with the room: there was a small crack, just wide enough to see back into the office. "The seal keeps this area completely undetectable. Watch from here - you'll see just how much you can trust the Rat Pack after this, Red." He closed Kaiya into the passageway before she could respond.

Kaiya leaned against the wall and peered through the crack. The seal's effects made the view a little bit fuzzy, but she could still make out details, and it gave her a clear view of the chair she'd been sitting in. Ryoushi sat back in his chair, relaxed and calm. Kaiya could hear voices coming from the corridor outside the small alcove.

"Well, he's expecting you," said a female voice in a bored tone. "I guess you can go in."

Kaiya's eyes widened when she saw the client. A long, black cloak with red clouds hid most of his form; Kaiya could only make out his eyes over the top of the collar. They were a strange, poisonous-looking green, surrounded by red instead of white. His slashed hitai-ate held the symbol for a small, lesser-known shinobi village: Takigakure, the Village Hidden in the Waterfalls. Something about the guy - besides his obvious affiliation with Akatsuki - set Kaiya's nerves on edge.

"Ah, Kakuzu-san," Ryoushi greet the man. The fact that the jokester used an honorific with the Akatsuki member only confirmed Kaiya's suspicions: this was not someone to be messed with. "Have a seat. To what do I owe the honor?"

The man stayed standing. When he spoke, his voice came out low and gravelly, as though he was gargling rocks. "Phantom," Kakuzu stated. His voice sent chills down Kaiya's spine. "You should have this - it was sent out a while ago." He held up a paper. Kaiya squinted, but didn't have to see details: the red of her hair was easily visible.

Ryoushi nodded. "Hard to miss. She's cute - what'd she do to piss off Akatsuki?"

"None of your business," the Missing-Nin answered irritably. "She was seen in this town just today, though…you wouldn't happen to know where she can be found?" Kaiya held her breath.

Ryoushi smirked. "That depends. What're you offering?"

"The entirety of the bounty on her head."

Ryoushi's brows rose. "It's not everyday Kakuzu, famous bounty hunter, comes here offering to buy intel," he mused. "This girl must be more valuable that the memo claims."

He's giving me information, Kaiya realized. I now have this guy's name, appearance, affiliation…and Ryoushi just pointed out that this guy doesn't like to buy. If he's just after the money, he wouldn't be offering the entire bounty for information; so maybe it IS Akatsuki behind this, then…And Yuuma-sensei was right about being able to trust Ryoushi.

"You haven't answered the question, Phantom," Kakuzu warned. "Don't make me wait…"

"I'm afraid I can't help you," Ryoushi said apologetically, leaning back. "We really don't need money right now. If you had something else to offer, we might be able to deal -"

The Akatsuki member's hand was suddenly around Ryoushi's throat. Kaiya tensed - the man hadn't moved, but his hand stretched away from his arm, connected by what looked like thick wires or threads. Kaiya's stomach churned at the sight. What the hell is this guy?!

"How about I offer you your life?" Kakuzu growled.

Ryoushi grasped at the hand on his throat. Suddenly, strange, black marks began traveling down Ryoushi's arm onto his hand, seeping into the Missing-Nin's own skin. Is that a seal? Kaiya wondered, squinting. No - it's more like…a curse mark?

Kakuzu withdrew his hand. The appendage retracted and attached back to its parent limb. Kakuzu was silent for a moment; the marks on Ryoushi's body also faded.

The Missing-Nin sighed. "I…believe I was mistaken. You wouldn't have the information I seek, Phantom."

"Not a problem. Pleasure doing business with you as always, Kakuzu-san," Ryoushi responded, once again the picture of the calm, collected leader.

Once the Akatsuki member had left, Ryoushi waited a few minutes, then stood and opened the passage Kaiya was in.

"What the hell just happened there?" she demanded as she stepped out. "How did you get him to leave like that? What were those marks?"

"You're full of questions, aren't you?" Ryoushi answered. Up close, Kaiya could see sweat starting to drip down his temple. "Wouldn't matter if I told you, to be honest - you'd just forget, anyway."

Kaiya was confused. Something tugged at her mind, but it was fuzzy…what was she supposed to forget? The bounty hunter had been asking about her, then suddenly wasn't interested anymore…did she miss something?

Ryoushi spoke again. "Let's just say Orochimaru isn't the only one who uses Curse Marks…"

Curse marks…why is he talking about curse marks…Kaiya registered what he was saying at first, but the words seemed to flee from her grasp almost as soon as they were uttered.

Kaiya gave her head a sharp shake, trying to dispel the strange fog that was suddenly present. "Right. Whatever. Look…" She looked up at Ryoushi. "Thank you. Whatever you did or said…you protected me. You kept your word. And it looks like I'll be needing some help, after all."

Ryoushi gave her a now-familiar smirk, barely masking the sudden lines of fatigue around his eyes. "Let's talk."

"Kunai."

"Got plenty."

"Chakra-conducting kunai - great for wind and lightning users, especially."

"Still got plenty, and can get more if I want. Keep trying, Red."

Kaiya sighed. Being on the "needy" end of a negotiation was annoying. She'd refused to trade any intel for the time being (and wasn't even sure she had any to trade), which left items or jutsu. The thief lord was flush with items and money…"Jutsu, then. You said you study Fuinjutsu…"

A slow smile spread on Ryoushi's lips. "Now you're talking, Red. Word has it you were in Uzushiogakure a while back."

Kaiya gave a slow nod. "You really are well-informed - that was only known to a handful of people for a while."

"I've got eyes and ears in places you can't imagine," Ryoushi replied, spreading his arms. "And I've been keeping an eye on you, Red, ever since Yuuma brought you in."

Her eyes narrowed. "Be careful, Ryoushi. The last guy who harped on how much he knew about me, how much he watched me…he wound up unconscious in a cave in the middle of nowhere, stripped of his supplies."

"Really?" Ryoushi's brows rose and he gave her an appreciative nod. "I'm surprised you only knocked him out and robbed him, Red. You don't strike me as the merciful type."

"Eh, what can I say?" Kaiya gave him a dark, slow smile of her own. "The thought of him waking up long after I'd gone, realizing that I'd been playing him while he thought he had the upper hand…it was too good to resist."

"Hmmm…very devious," Ryoushi purred. "I like it. You've got some darkness to you after all, Red."

Inwardly, Kaiya suddenly realized that her words were true. Kabuto had killed an innocent just to get at her, then threatened rape before invading her mind…In hindsight, Kaiya couldn't deny that she had wanted Kabuto to know that his own mind games had been used against him. She wasn't sure she liked this vindictive side of herself.

Kaiya leaned forward on the table, anxious to change the subject. "Back to the deal. For safe passage back to Konoha - how about a seal? One that would neutralize a target's chakra on contact, either with a tag or - if you're good enough - your own hand?"

"Not bad," Ryoushi replied, "but there are several ways to accomplish that."

Kaiya smirked. "Ever work it into a barrier?"

The thief lord's brows rose at the prospect. "A barrier that neutralizes an enemy's chakra once they're inside…If you give me the formula for such a barrier, you've just got yourself a ticket to Konoha through our tunnels. But," he added with a tone of warning. "We don't let any outsiders use our tunnels and remember the trip. You'd have your memories of the route completely erased upon arrival."

Kaiya felt a sharp burst of panic in her chest. She focused on her breathing to keep her expression neutral. "Maybe that works for some of your clients, but it doesn't work for me. I place a high value on my memories. I've lost them before, and I've had people force them from me."

Ryoushi's eyes narrowed at her statement. "What happened to you?" he asked softly. When she didn't answer, he sighed. "It's for the safety of my pack, Red. It's nothing personal, and it's no scheme to take advantage of you. I made the Rat Pack to be a safe place for the kids society shits on the most; I'm not about to do anything to you that I don't want happening to them. You have my word - as the leader of the Pack, and as a fellow orphan: The only memories you'll be letting go of are the ones about the underground route. Oh, and the hand seals I used on the passageway over there - I saw you watching me, you vixen," he added with playful smirk.

Kaiya thought for a few minutes. Her pulse raced at the prospect of another person playing with her memory, but she could understand Ryoushi's position. If those tunnels were how the Rat Pack stayed hidden, it made sense that they'd never allow an outsider the chance to learn their routes. Even Yuuma had admitted that he didn't know just how widely the underground network extended.

Yuuma trusted him, she concluded. And he did just put that Akatsuki bounty hunter off my back. If Yuuma trusted him…

Yuuma and Kaiya left the underground hideout with two of the forbidden scrolls in their keeping. Kaiya had expected money to be the price, but Yuuma had instead just given the Rat Pack leader a slim file. Kaiya hadn't seen what the file contained, but going by Ryoushi's reaction to skimming its contents, it was probably information that wasn't publicly available. Kaiya wasn't sure she WANTED to know the details. She trusted her teacher and didn't want to believe he'd hand over confidential documents to just anyone.

On their way back to the inn where Hikaru and Gorou still slept, the first hints of dawn showing on the horizon, Yuuma-sensei spoke in a low, quiet voice to Kaiya. It seemed he had noticed her discomfort.

"Reconnaissance and intel aren't always pretty things, Kaiya," he said gently. "There will be times you'll have to deal with some of the worst kinds of characters out there, and money isn't always a payment option. The Rat Pack…well, they're not so bad by comparison, really. But they will deal with almost anyone if it ensures their survival."

"Why would you trust anything they say, then?" Kaiya asked, a frown on her face. "How do we know they're not being paid by someone else to purposely give us false leads or information? Or that those scrolls aren't fakes?"

"That's always a possibility, no matter the source," Yuuma admitted. "But Ryoushi has his own code of honor, so to speak. Tell me: the Rat Pack - what did you notice about them?"

Kaiya thought back. She hadn't seen many of the other members; they'd stuck to the shadows. But when they laughed…"Some of them are just kids," she answered. "Actually, that Ryoushi guy was only a couple years older than me."

Yuuma nodded. "The Rat Pack is primarily made up of orphans and runaways. Ryoushi was one himself. You've seen by now that not all villages in the Land of Fire have an orphanage like Konoha's…"

Kaiya nodded - it had been a shock to realize that by comparison, her life as a ward of Konoha had been pretty comfortable. Many other towns had no facilities or programs for abandoned or orphaned children; they simply left them to fend for themselves on the streets. Hunger and exposure weren't the only enemies those children faced. Other predators - drug dealers, gang leaders, human traffickers - posed just as big a risk, offering a way off the streets in exchange for things no child should have to do or witness.

"Well," Yuuma continued, "Ryoushi has been forming his Rat Pack in order to give those kids a safe place, a family of sorts. He's dedicated to them, and they to him. That's one reason I wanted him to meet you, another orphan with a soft spot for the downtrodden. You have that much in common, and he'll respect that. Things like village ties don't matter to Ryoushi because he never had a caring village. But of course, being outside of the usual village system carries its own risks: there's no powerful group or government to back them up. As such, Ryoushi will make deals with anyone - shinobi, criminals, you name it - if they can offer something the Pack can use."

"Like what?"

"Oh, intel, jutsu, things like that," Yuuma answered. "Intel they can trade with others for higher-cost things. Jutsu, they use to protect themselves and complete the jobs they're hired for. Sometimes they'll take money or weapons, though they have other ways of getting those, too."

"They steal."

Yuuma smiled. "Ryoushi himself is a bit of a kleptomaniac, actually - he'll steal just for the hell of it. But yes, they do steal when needed." He sobered, stopping them before they reached the inn. "Kaiya, I meant what I told Ryoushi back there: I won't be around forever, and someone will need to take my place, making these sorts of exchanges for the good of Konoha. Remember what I told you three after your first mission as Genin?"

Kaiya again nodded. "You said that information could be the difference between nations being at peace or going to war."

Yuuma held up the two scrolls they'd bargained for. "These two scrolls in particular contain techniques that could devastate entire villages. Ryoushi doesn't care about nations or villages, so I knew he wouldn't care too much about letting these go, as long as we could give him something that helps the Rat Pack. Now we can secure two dangerous scrolls, and provide enough evidence against that merchant to keep him from trading such things ever again."

Yuuma placed the scrolls in his pack and put a hand on Kaiya's shoulder. "A good intel-gatherer uses what sources they must, and a great one never reveals those sources to others. I see in you the makings for a great intel-gatherer, Kaiya. That's why I let you follow me tonight. But you must understand -"

"Don't tell Hikaru and Gorou," Kaiya interrupted, giving a slow nod of understanding. "Or anyone else, for that matter. Don't reveal the source."

Yuuma nodded again, a mix of pride and sadness in his eyes as he looked at his prized pupil. "Exactly."

"Okay," Kaiya nodded. "The formula for working a chakra neutralizer into a barrier, in exchange for passage through tunnels that I won't remember, but will get me to Konoha without running into that bounty hunter." Kaiya reached into her pack for some paper. She froze, then glared at the Thief Lord. "Ryoushi."

"Yes, Red?"

"The journal."

Ryoushi burst out laughing. "I was wondering when you'd finally notice!" He held up the small, leather-bound book. "What's so special about a blank book, anyway?"

Suddenly, Kaiya saw an opportunity. It's not like I've had any luck…She gave a sigh. "Fine…honestly, I'm not even sure. It was troublesome to obtain, though, so I'm hoping something. For all I know, it could contain every secret ever held in Konoha, or it could be the daily journal of some lower-level shinobi. I've tried everything I could think of to get anything to show up on the pages…"

"Stumped, huh?" Ryoushi gave her a self-satisfied smirk. "Need some help?"

Kaiya raised a crimson brow. "And what would that cost me?"

"Honestly?" Ryoushi flipped through the pages. "I'd do it for free. Should be fun. If it's got useful intel in it, that's payment enough."

"Fair enough," Kaiya replied. "If I accepted your help with this, I would need to insist that if you do crack it, you do not read it yourself, or allow anyone else to do so. I'll be happy to share anything of use that doesn't jeopardize the people of Konoha, but I need to make that judgement myself."

"I'll even sign a binding contract to that effect - in blood," Ryoushi promised. "Provided you do the same, of course, saying that you'll reveal nothing about the Rat Pack to outsiders."

Kaiya nodded. "Let's write up that contract, then."

True to his word, once Kaiya finished the formula for a chakra-neutralizing barrier and they'd each signed a seal-enforced contract in blood, Ryoushi led her to the tunnels. When Kaiya arrived back in Konoha, she remembered the Rat Pack, the bounty hunter, the negotiations over her safe passage, leaving the journal, even the banter between her and the thief lord on their trip underground…she just couldn't say how the Pack had gotten her back to the village.

Thank you again to Scarease for collaborating and lending me the Rat Pack! We'll be seeing Ryoushi again later ;)

Note about the weird memory thing: Ryoushi has a curse on him called the "Legacy Curse" (another creation of Scarease). The mark will essentially wipe all memory of his existence from the world when he dies. He can use the mark's power a bit to make others forget things in a pinch, but it takes a physical toll on him and speeds the curse's process.

So! Kaiya's getting her feet wet in the real world of intel-gathering - often involving negotiations with very "grey area" individuals. She may have gained an ally of sorts, though - and some help with cracking the mysterious journal.

Next Time: The Trap is Sprung! We see the results of Kaiya's work in Suna, and check in with some of the people interested in her…maybe even see some alternate perspectives on earlier scenes…;)