A/N: So I hope these updates make up for the lost time. I want to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
I really dislike having people do my dirty work for me.
Natsuko rubbed the sides of her temple and thinned her lips as her eyes took in the shadowy figure of the Yakuza boss, who employed her mother. From all around her, the underlings of the boss eyed her like a bowl of tasty ramen and if she was not Atsuko's daughter then those bastards would dare to touch a hair on her skull.
However, Atsuko was higher-up than those bastards and someone that the Yakuza Boss had promoted to manager.
"Does your mother know that you requested for this meeting?" The boss enquired, placing his head on top of his hand as one of his followers slid a cup of tea towards them. His beady eyes looked faintly amused like he found the whole idea of their interactions to be a joke.
Natsuko lifted up her tea cup. "You know my mother and how much she wants to keep me out of this…life."
There was a rather long pause as the Yakuza boss contemplated over what she admitted. The both of them knew that Atsuko would rather prefer if she never interacted with them. You will have a better future than me and your father. That was what the woman would declare when her body was three and her little brother was two.
Sake poured down into the sake cup and the Yakuza boss took a sip of his drink. "What do you want me to do that you would risk your mother's wrath?"
If Atsuko was like Tsunade or even like Sakura then I would have hesitated. She sipped on the tea and pulled out the brown file from her work bag. Sakura had been rather terrifying when angered, always breaking the ground whenever someone irritated her. Of course, Tsunade had been terrifying whenever she took her money in a poker game.
"I want you to have one of your people ruin this man's reputation and life," she confessed as the man pulled out the photo of her teacher from the envelope. The words hovered and lingered in the air like a horrible pungent. A smile sneaked up on her lips when the man jerked his head at her. "I need you to make him wish that he was dead."
The boss tapped his finger against the envelope. "So you made this meeting for me to waste my men and resources for a man that you punched during your brother's wake? If your mother had wanted that then she would have done it herself."
"My mother doesn't know that the man wants to ruin my future because of my action," she explained, crossing her legs together. The air seemed to have thickened at her comment and the man pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. "Now I can't let him get a way with insulting my brother and ruining my hard work."
Beady eyes gleamed with contemplation and amusement while the underlings exchanged nervous glances. The cold summer wind tickled through the window as the boss pulled out his lighter. He made no indication on whether or not he would accept her request, only lit up his cigarette and regarded her with cold eyes.
"You realize how this is a waste of my resources?" he enquired. "If this was your mother then she would offer me some…pleasure but you have always been like a daughter to me."
Natsuko kept her expression blank and unzipped the bag even further. She dangled the bag upside down as her stomach curled up with disgust at the man's words. There was only one man that she would call as her father. Namikaze Minato might not have raised her but he had been a decent man compared to these guys.
Huge stacks of money smacked the table and the Yakuza Boss picked up the cash.
"Will this change your mind and keep our meeting a secret from my mother?" she implored demurely.
The man sniffed the roll of cash and let out a hollow laugh. "How did you get this much money? Your part-time job shouldn't be paying you this much and the settlement with that driver hadn't been made yet."
"I went to the casino after work and played some cards," she replied.
It wasn't a lie but she was not going to reveal about the shadow clones. It was her trick. Her hidden ace and while in the past, she would have boasted about her feats…well things were different. Life was different. People would think she was a freak or would slowly connect the dots about her.
The Boss hummed in acknowledgment and curled his lips into a cruel smile. "It seems like you inherited all of your mother's luck in cards, maybe even more so because Atsuko can't make this much money."
Translation: I want to test your skills one day. That was what it seemed to be the implication and if the man wanted to play with her then she would give him what he wanted. As long as Iwamoto had his reputation destroyed and quit his job then she would even be his little puppet.
"Will this be enough to convince you to get your followers to destroy this man's life?" she offered him a smile and looked to the window. Even though dark shadows covered almost every inch of the room, she could still make out the various pedestrians who laughed without a care in the world.
The man smiled, showcasing his teeth and let out a laugh. "How can I say no when you are offering this much money to ruin his life?"
I should feel guilty but he deserve to have his beloved reputation destroyed. She stood up from her seat, smoothed the wrinkles of her shirt and picked up her work bag from the table. Kindness and forgiveness were traits that have been always associated with her but she was also a hypocrite. She could forgive murderers and be friends with them but the man that betrayed her son and a teacher who disrespected her dead brother…
Well she couldn't forgive them even if she wanted to try.
"I hope you won't tell my mother that we made contact or about my transaction," she smiled politely. "We can't have her making a bigger fuss over someone as worthless as that pathetic man."
The boss made a zipping motion against his lips.
"She won't know a thing."
With a small bow, she walked away from the Yakuza Boss and felt the growing exhaustion creeping up on her. She was Uzumaki Naru and she would even be the devil if it meant guaranteeing the happiness and safety of her loved ones. This was something she would have done in her past life yet…
Yet, she only began to act like this when she executed the man that betrayed her son and caused his death. The man was the reason that her youngest son never got to hold his children or even name them.
It was funny how the death of a loved one could twist your personality.
(Two days later)
The moment one of her classmates whispered about Iwamoto's dirty activities, was the moment that Natsuko knew that the plan had been set in motion. It hadn't taken long for the old man to have one of his female subordinates talk about her own affair with the man nor long enough for one of his more well-respecting members to cry foul about the man's actions.
She supposed that this was the benefit of being born with a lucky hand and a mother that gained the favor of one of the most dangerous Yakuza's boss in the city. Perhaps if her biological mother had been content to remain a prostitute then this wouldn't be possible but Atsuko did have some…talents if she was being honest with herself.
Now I just have to wait for the rumors to become too much for Iwamoto or until a parent demands his expulsion. Natsuko hummed and nibbled her bun as some of her fellow students skirted to the walls. Their eyes looked at her with so much fear. No doubt, they recalled the fact that she managed to punch their teachers without them realizing it.
Honestly, she had been holding back against them. It wasn't even close to 1% of her strength but of course, no one knew that and there was just no way that anyone would figure it out.
Swallowing down the chocolatey goodness that was her bun, Natsuko let out a small moan and smiled faintly. She looked around the corridors and stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of Kuwabara and his friends. The worried looks on his gang members and the swollen face of the boy told her that something was up.
They looked like it was the end of the world.
"What got the four of you down in the dumps?" Natsuko asked when she stopped right in front of them. The boys blinked and looked at her like they hadn't expected for her to appear right in front of them. Or perhaps, they hadn't expected for her to be back in this school when her brother had been ran over a week before.
The boy with the buzzcut cleared his throat. "U-Urameshi-senpai, what are you doing here?"
"I only came in because of my biology test," she explained, scrunching the plastic that had been once wrapped around her pastry. The plastic curled into a ball and Natsuko tossed it to the trash bin that was on the far corner of the corridor. The ball of plastic swoop down into the trash bin. "I don't want to give Akashi another reason to be pissed off with me."
It felt like a dark cloud loomed over them when she mentioned their science teacher's name. Suspicion began to creep up on her when the waves of irritation flooded her senses. Something must have happened between Kuwabara and that unsympathetic of a man that they called a teacher.
"So want to tell your senpai about what got the four of you in a bad mood?" she asked, crossing her ankles together.
There was a rather long pause before the round boy finally answered. "Akashi-sensei made us promise that we won't get into any fights for the next week and if we break that promise…"
He trailed off and trembled as if the consequence of breaking that promise was the worst thing in the world. Knowing that bastard, he might have found one of their weakness. She wouldn't put pass any of these teachers in probing and bringing out any of their weakness. They cared about their reputation much more than trying to fix the problem.
"What did he threaten you guys with?" she folded her arms against her chest and tilted her head. "Akashi-sensei is just like Iwamoto-sensei when it comes to his attitude to delinquents."
The round boy trembled and looked ready to weep. "He threatened to take away my permission to work! And that isn't all, he just added an extra condition of us passing our biology test."
I should have gotten more food. She rubbed her jaw and darted her eyes at the four boys. Between the four of them, only Kuwabara looked like he had been beaten up into a pulp. The younger teen had bruises around his face and a swollen eye but something told her that he hadn't been in a fight.
Actually, the fact that Akashi suddenly added a new condition meant that he watched them and had a growing fear that those boys could last a week without getting into a fight.
But she had to be certain.
"Kuwabara, you didn't fight the delinquents that gave you those bruises?" she asked.
The boy shook his head and winced. "I didn't fight back! Okuboro needs his job and I won't jeopardize his job!"
Okuboro teared up while the other two boys slumped their shoulders. I could talk to Takenaka-sensei about the self-defence and he would support them but…the other teachers won't be supportive. They couldn't differentiate between someone defending themselves and someone actually picking a fight.
It wouldn't be a problem for a normal person but Kuwabara was the leader of his little gang and probably made a lot of enemies in the past two years. If I was his enemy and I knew about this then it would be the perfect time to attack. If she thought like that then Akashi must have thought about it as well.
She wouldn't put it passed him to have informed one of the leaders.
I'm going need to get proof and get the Principal involved in this matter.
It would be helpful if she got Keiko's parents involved because they had no connection with anyone shady.
"You think you can tell me which middle school those delinquents came from and what they looked like?" she asked Kuwabara. The four boys blinked and exchanged glances like a bunch of rubber chickens. She kept the annoyance down and forced herself to give them a fake smile. "I have got…an idea on how to fix the problem."
Kuwabara shook his head. "This is our fight! Urameshi-senpai, you don't need to—"
"—It became assault when a teacher put his own student's lives at risk," she said flatly. "And you aren't going to pass your exam if you have a bunch of delinquents destroying your brain cells."
The blond-haired boy bobbed his head. "You should listen to Urameshi-senpai! If she can help us get the conditions changed then at least you can defend yourself during this period of time!"
"Listen to your friends," she tried to keep her tone from becoming stern but it was difficult when those bruises screamed of the unfairness of what happened. Kuwabara opened his mouth and she held her hands up in the air. "This is about the ability for you to defend yourself because I doubt Okuboro here is happy about what you are putting yourself through for his sake!"
Kuwabara flickered his eyes to the boy and dropped his shoulders. "Urameshi-senpai, if it doesn't work then Okuboro can lose his job because you interfered with the promise that we made to Akashi-sensei."
"But if it works then Akashi-sensei is fired."
Only the sound of the birds chirps could be heard as the four boys processed the end-goal of her plan. Hope stirred in two of the boy's eyes while Kuwabara looked at her like she was some kind of weirdo for having that kind of plan. Hopefully, Shikamaru has rubbed off on me and this plan will work. There was just no way she could allow these boys to be targeted in this way.
Dirty tactics were fine in a fight and wars but against civilian students?
Well it should be considered a crime and Akashi was going to find out that he wasn't the only one that could play dirty. Besides, this is revenge for his comment during Yusuke's wake. She just had more reason to attack him through such underhanded methods and if getting those delinquents to confess to being informed by Akashi…
Well she hoped that he could find a school willing to hire such dirty hands.
"I had my doubts about Natsuko being your sister but the way she beat that guy up tells me that you two are related," Botan commented, watching the blond-haired girl as she stomped her foot against a squirming delinquent's hand. "It seems like you aren't the only delinquent in the family."
"Natsu-neechan is only doing this because that bastard Akashi fought dirty," Yusuke retorted and it took all of his effort not to wince when the delinquent let out a scream of pain. "But…I've never seen her be so badass! It looks like I rubbed off on her more than I realized!"
The smile on his face broadened as his older sister released her foot from the crying delinquent's hand. Even from where he floated, he could see the footprint, from his sister's flats, on the delinquent's hand. It just showed that his sister placed a lot of pressure on the boy's feet.
"Now will you be willing to confess to my Principal that you and your stupid gang started this whole mess?" His sister asked, lips curved into a smile. The boy trembled and then vigorously bobbed his head at her. "You will also tell them who told you that Kuwabara couldn't fight? And who told you about the little promise?"
The delinquent gulped. "Y-Yes, Ma'am!"
Natsuko smiled faintly and lowered her body until she patted the boy's cheek like she was patting a scared little dog. It was almost frightening how his sister had managed to turn a simple delinquent into being her lap dog. All it took was for his sister to beat the boy up and looking at him with cold eyes, for the boy to tremble like there was no tomorrow.
He always thought Natsuko could be the devil but this just showed that he didn't really know his sister.
"Your sister figured out quickly that your teacher was behind this," Botan observed, looking torn between vomiting at his sister's actions or to praise her for being that observant. "And while her tactics are violent, this should get the teacher's off of Kuwabara's back."
Yusuke crossed his legs and glanced down at his stone-faced sister. "Natsu-neechan has always been the smart one in the family and she is always quick when it comes to thinking of plans."
He put his hands behind his head and stared at the clouds. They floated towards him like a slow-moving river, taking its sweet time to go pass him. With a quiet roll of his eyes, Yusuke drifted to the left and looked down at his sister. The evening sunrays had cast a dark shadow over his sister, almost giving her a rather frightening appearance.
Of course, he had never seen her to be an angel like the other students had but she certainly looked like someone that could work for the Yakuza.
"And you won't tell anyone that I threatened you, will you?" his sister said softly with a very faint smile. "Then again, will anyone believe that a tiny girl like me took you down? I'm sure your classmates will praise you for being beaten by a girl."
That…would be humiliating for the guy to admit. Yusuke grinned and looked down at his sister, who seemed to be growing more and more amused as the flushed cheeks of the man grew pale. Everyone knew that no respecting man would come out and admit that they got their ass whooped by a girl.
"So…who are we watching?" an unfamiliar voice asked from behind him.
Yusuke blinked and swirled his whole body around until he met a pair of familiar blue eyes. A young man, who seemed to be in his early twenties, stood right behind him. From right behind him, he heard Botan shrieked. Shit! How did this guy sneak up on me? He hadn't even noticed him.
"Oops, Koenma told me that I should stop sneaking up on people," the man laughed. "But it's so fun to see you and the Shinigami react like that!"
Yusuke's eyebrows twitched. "Didn't your Mother teach you that you shouldn't sneak up on people?"
"Actually, my mother encouraged it!" The man let out another carefree laugh and Yusuke clenched his jaw. He took several deep breaths and stared at the young man in front of him. There was something about his appearance that seemed familiar, except he didn't know any males with inky black-hair and blue eyes.
Botan grabbed her ore and whacked the back of the man's head. "Takibi! You scared us!"
"You know my daughter could hit harder than you," the man commented, not looking one bit bothered by the hit.
The blue-haired Shinigami scowled and cradled the ore closer to her body. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be assisting Koenma with his duties alongside your Uncle?"
Oh, that's why he looks familiar. Yusuke nodded and stared at the man. He hadn't been able to recognize him without the piles and piles of papers in his hands. Now that there were no papers, he could clearly see that the man was spirit like Botan…except he didn't know that the blank-faced man was the guy's uncle.
"I asked Koenma if I could join in on your observation," Takibi answered with a shrug. "I wanted a break and it has been a while since I visited the human world. Maybe I'll go and visit my descendants and see what they have been up to since I last visited this realm."
Yusuke blinked. "D-Descendants?"
"Takibi and his uncle are…rather special spirits," Botan explained. Her cheeks almost burned a light shade of red when she commented about Takibi's Uncle and Yusuke fought the urge to tease the Shinigami. "Takibi, for some reason, haven't decided to move on to heaven while his Uncle was sentenced to help King Enma, and now Koenma with their work."
Why hasn't this guy moved on? It seemed rather weird because shouldn't he have moved on? Shouldn't he want to move on and be with his family? The guy sounded like he was an old ghost so why would he linger? If it was him then he would want to just move on with whatever sentence that he was supposed to get.
Yusuke eyed him. "Don't you feel bored helping Koenma?"
"No because I actually got a better appreciation for my Mom when I help Koenma," the man admitted, leaning back. There was almost a hint of regret as if he wished that he had better appreciation for his mother. "My Mom actually never complained about the paperwork and doesn't try and find any excuse not to do paperwork."
He blinked. "Your Mom was some kind of big shot?"
"Oh yeah," he answered, nodding. "She had to manage a whole village when I was alive and I always resented her for caring about a village more then me and my brothers but…it's funny how things changed when you die, right? I thought my parents wouldn't give a shit but my Mom was always crying whenever she was alone with Dad."
They did that a lot. His mother had almost went for the bottle again but luckily, Natsuko had managed to put an end to it. Yusuke shook his head and looked at Botan. She just stared at Takibi like she hadn't expected for him to say something like that. Her eyes almost flashed with concern before it faded.
"She must have cried even more when she saw you."
The man snorted.
"I don't think she will cry when she sees me because…would she even remember me?" he asked quietly, looking almost bitter. "That bastard was just so quick to stamp on her paper, didn't even give me a chance to say to her that I'm sorry or that I'm grateful for her raising my twins when my girlfriend passed away from childbirth."
His expression must have showed his confusion because Botan explained. "Takibi's mother is a rather special case in the sense that King Enma allowed her soul to reincarnate."
"Probably for the best that she reincarnated. Maybe he put her in a loving family for once because Mom deserved a happy family," Takibi commented, shaking his head. Yusuke blinked and tilted his head, and the black-haired man rubbed his jaw before looking down at the scene below them. "It is a story that is even older than Koenma but long story cut short, my mother was abused growing up and saved humanity despite what they did to her. Both of my parents didn't have a normal…childhood."
Yusuke nodded and decided for the sake of the conversation to ask. "And what about your Old Man? What happened to him?"
There was almost a dark look on the man's face and for the first time since his death, Yusuke shivered. He had never felt so much icy coldness from someone's gaze. Botan must have felt a similar sensation because she rubbed her arms and looked at the man with fear in her eyes.
"King Enma doesn't have the same forgiving heart as his son! My Father spent a lifetime making up for his actions but that bastard sentenced him to hell! He was barely there for me and my brother because of my Uncle's actions!"
Grief and rage colored his eyes while Botan quivered just a little bit from the words that boomed through the air. Yusuke scratched his neck and looked down at his sister. Natsuko froze like a statue and worry crept up in his stomach when his sister trembled. Did he miss something? It certainly felt like he missed something.
"He didn't deserve it."
His sister's words carried to the wind and Yusuke watched with suspicious eyes as his sister picked up the confession letter from the ground. She turned towards them and if he didn't know better, her eyes seemed fixed on Takibi. The man trembled and stared at his sister for just a second before turning away from her.
He couldn't make out the strange expression on Takibi's face.
For just one second, the craziest idea that those two knew each other came to his mind but then it faded as his sister strolled away from them with her hands gripping her bag like there was no tomorrow. The idea had been insane because Takibi sounded older than Koenma and there was no way that they could have met.
(It was only 7 months later that he found out the truth and even then, it took a dead body of a multi-trillionaire for his sister to admit that Takibi was her youngest son from her first life. That it was her own descendent from her first life that had been kidnapped alongside Yukina).
A/N: I hope you enjoyed a little background knowledge on what is going on.