"But the party is tomorrow!"
"I know, Lady Sorano. But I think the kimono I got the other day will work fine enough."
"No, no- that's for the traditional, formal dinner kind of thing. Taizo's parties are anything but that, from what I hear."
"Well, perhaps I'll get something while I'm out today."
"Hmph. And where did you go the day before yesterday, anyways?"
"To a bar, just for a drink."
A suspicious look comes onto Lady Sorano's face. "You? Out to a bar by yourself? I have trouble believing that."
"I needed to relax and do something different."
"And you're going back to the same place, I presume?"
"No, it was far too expensive. I'm going to try somewhere else," I lie.
"Expensive? On what my father pays you?" Lady Sorano says with a smile.
"Yes… but, I don't go out for drinks all that often, so I may have accidentally ordered the most costly sake they had without knowing it."
"Ha. Well you should try Mr. Taniguchi's. They aren't too bad."
"And what's a lady of your age doing at a bar?"
"A couple of my suitors have taken me there. I'd been refusing everyone my father suggested for a match, and they both were the 'get her drunk first' type of guy, it turned out. We haven't heard back from them yet."
"I can't imagine a young bachelor losing interest in you, Lady Sorano."
"Ha, ha. Well fine. If you don't want to go shopping tonight that's okay, just tell me where you're going."
"Kuraka's Tea Shop," I say. It's the place where I stop to change into Raiko, and is a dozen blocks away from Mr. Taniguchi's. If Lady Sorano is going to try and catch me out, I want to lead her as far away from where I'm really going as I can. "I stopped there my first day here in the city, and I've been meaning to go back for some time now."
"Ah, how like you to go to a tea shop. Well, you'd better get going if you want to be there before the afternoon rush."
"I have a couple things to do in my room first. Now, remember to get started on that mock treaty. I'll be expecting you to turn it in soon."
"Are you really making me do that?"
"Yes. As the saying goes, history is written by the victors- so this is an exercise in making history altering decisions. That will be all for today, Lady Sorano."
"Alright. See you later, Ruza." I give a smile to Lady Sorano, and leave for my room.
Once in, I sit at the desk to think. If Toriko Yotsuki is there, I can't leave the building as Raiko once I'm done with him. With all the attention already on Raiko, that would be a bit too much- so it'll have to be like what I did with Nurari- simple and clean, and let things unravel once it's discovered Yotsuki is dead. But even so, that won't be the end of it. For an organization as smart as the Black Dragons that's under the employ of a man like Taizo, there's going to have to be some kind of backup plan, I'm sure. Sho's a bit of a homebody, so there must be some kind of event away from the palace where they could get to him…
Late in the evening, I'm headed to Mr. Taniguchi's as Raiko. With the shift in the Transformation Jutsu I also included a silk, all-black yukata. Raiko's hair is loose and simply pulled over her shoulder, in the "fashionably messy" style I've seen a few of the younger citizens of the royal city wearing. On the street I see a few young men sneak glances at me as I pass, unlike the other times I've been out as Raiko- but it's not their attention I'm hoping to catch.
The bar is the same as it was last time, with the chandeliers casting a soft glow on the scene and the stained glass lamps lighting up the dimmer corners of the room. The patrons are no less fashionable either, and though still underdressed I don't stick out as much as last time. I give a friendly smile and wink to the bar tender, who again is the only one who glances my way as I enter. In a flash, I understand- he may not be Yotsuki, but he works for him, and definitely knows who Raiko is. "What can I get you this evening, ma'am?"
"I think I'll try something a little fancy tonight," I say with a saucy grin. I lean in and whisper, "Could you get me a Double Dragon?"
To his credit, the young man doesn't even blink. "The drink comes with the private room in the back, which is occupied right now, unfortunately."
"Well, perhaps I'll just have it out here. Would that work?"
The bar tender looks over my shoulder and holds up two fingers. After a moment he nods, and looks back to me. "The room's right over there," He says, pointing to his left. "I'll have your drink in a minute."
"Thank you." I get up a weave my way through the crowd, and see the sign announcing the private room on the wall above the door. I quietly work up a bit of chakra, and use the Chakra Sensing Technique. The private room indeed is occupied- and what's more, by two familiar people. I gulp and prepare, and then confidently open the door. Lady Sorano recognizes me right away, and Taizo has a puzzled look on his face, as if he doesn't quite recognize me, or does and isn't sure why I'm here right now. "Lovely evening, isn't it?"
"Sorano, do you know her?" Taizo asks. Lady Sorano looks furious, but amazingly holds her tongue. Taizo faces me again, and says, "Well, it's nice to meet you ma'am, but I had this room reserved. So if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you left."
"What are you doing here?" Lady Sorano suddenly asks, now looking more sullen than angry.
"No special occasion, just here to while the night away sipping a Double Dragon." Aha- there, for a split-second, I see a flash of recognition and surprise cross Taizo's face.
"If you couldn't afford an umbrella, how could you afford something from here?"
"Sorano? Who is she? Taizo asks, concern in his voice.
"S- she's…"
"I'm The Rainmaker." I turn to Lady Sorano, a knowing smirk on my face. "You didn't tell you brother about me?" She opens her mouth to reply, but I cut her off. "I forgot, your brother already knows who I am, sorry. So, Taizo. How've you been?"
"I don't think we've met."
"Oh, well, I suppose we haven't been face to face before."
"No, we definitely haven't… but if you're after my sister-" At that moment a man walks into the room- the clean-shaven man with the sunglasses I noticed my last time here. Taizo almost jumps; Lady Sorano doesn't take her eyes off of me.
"Lord Taizo, Lady Sorano," The man says. He has a rich voice.
"Mister Taniguchi, I reserved this room. What is that woman doing here?" Taizo asks.
"I'm here to discuss a bit of business with him. Would you and your sister mind leaving the room so the grown-ups can talk?"
Lady Sorano closes her eyes, heavy emotions twisting over her face. "Taizo… who is she? Be honest…" There's a tense, ugly silence that fills the room, and Taizo looks extremely nervous. "Taizo...?!"
"...She's the woman who killed my friend Nurari." The man who Taizo called Mister Taniguchi is startled by this, and turns to me.
"Lord Taizo, would you mind giving me a moment with this woman?" Taizo nods, and takes Lady Sorano by the arm and makes his exit.
"Mister Taniguchi" sighs heavily and sits down at the table next to me. "Are you really The Rainmaker?"
"Are you really Toriko Yotsuki?"
With another sigh, he takes his glasses off. I can see now a few slight wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, which are a light hazel. "Yes."
"How are things going with the Black Dragons?"
"Thanks to you, very well. We've been able to step in where the Akiyama Group used to hold ground and set up business there."
"And business here in the royal city?"
"Ha."
"I know you're working with him. Where does he have you next?"
"Right where we are now. We had to move things up, but that doesn't really change anything."
"And what would the Akiyama Group's part in those things have been?"
"The same thing they always did for him: the drugs and girls, and the little out of the way place to stash them."
"And that's where you come in, providing the facade to get Sho into Taizo's little funhouse, right?"
"Basically. He made it out to be something like Sho was starting to experiment with hallucinogens, and needed something nice and easy to start with."
"Alright. I'll see what I can do to get Sorano off his back." Yotsuki nods, and before he can blink I leap up and land a strike to his heart point. His lips move soundlessly, and his eyelids slide down halfway. I pull out the blank scroll I bought earlier in the afternoon, and seal his body into it. I perform the Optic Delusory Jutsu, the private room now giving the illusion of Raiko slumped over on the table in sleep. I shift the Transformation Jutsu to take Yotsuki's appearance, and stride out of the room. The bar tender is only a few steps away, and I stop him to whisper, "Change of plans, I'm headed out on business. I put the woman out cold so you don't need to bother with the drink." The young man nods, and I make my way out of the bar, winking at a red-headed young woman as I pass.
Once out of the bar, I walk down the street and step into the alley. I'd thought about just letting Yotsuki disappear, but if I'm going to stop Taizo, I think I need more than that. Moving into the shadows of the trash cans, I unseal Toriko and take out the small knife I'd bought earlier. It takes me a second to get ready, and then I open his shirt and carve "ASK TAIZO" on his chest with the knife, and then reseal him. When I was looking at the map to plan an exit route earlier, I made note of the wider and more well-traveled streets in the royal city. Instead of staying away, I'll be headed right towards them. The main avenue leading to the palace is out of the question, but a few streets branching off close by the bar would do well. Sticking to the alleys, I walk over, and then leap onto a roof. I'm out of view due to the store's facade, and very carefully, I unseal Yotsuki and push him over to towards the street. I hop back down and hear the commotion start to grow behind me, and looking to make sure no one's in sight, shift the Transformation Jutsu back to Ruza's appearance. I sigh, more than a little disgusted with myself. That's two now- no more, unless somehow I can get away with the third being Taizo...