Hitomi sat at the table eating some of the rice she had in front of her and a whole cup of sake to her side. As she goes to take a sip, Munenori swiftly snatches it out of her reach and takes it with him to the other side of the table.

"Hey, Munenori! Give that back!" Hitomi complains like a little child, standing in her seat and reaching for it herself.

"It's too early for you to be drinking. You'll have enough time tonight." He explains.

"Tonight?" Sitting back in her seat in confusion, Hitomi looks back as she hears her father's heavy steps shuffle through into the dining room.

"We will be attending a banquet. A friend has been able to wed off his son and they will be celebrating it." He glares at his offspring, causing the two to frown at him.

Munenori and Hitomi knew that they were the difficult pair in the family. Their older brothers were able to be wed off and have children of their own but the two have had other priorities in mind. As much as he appreciated all the work Munenori has been able to accomplish, he really wishes that he got a wife. Even at the age he was now.

"You still mad that we refused to get married off into some affairs deal?" Hitomi asks as she grabs another cup and fills it with sake.

"Both of you are over 20 years and still refuse to get married. That is the prime issue right there."

"Hey, Munenori, if he wants we can just marry each other." Hitomi laughs with the result of Munenori blushing with a glare.

"Don't joke around about that!" Munenori says through his teeth as he goes to pick up his rice.

"You know, in some countries that is the norm if the siblings do become too old to marry off," Their father comments, causing Hitomi to spit out the sake and Munenori to choke on rice.

"That's not funny!" The two shout in unison, standing in their seats and hitting the table with their fists.

Their father doesn't respond in any way as he becomes preoccupied with the grilled fish in front of him.

~*~ yagyu criminal ~*~

Hitomi dismounted her horse and suddenly felt the urge to mount up again and go back to the mansion. She hasn't even stepped foot on the premises and she already hated the atmosphere. It was a mansion full of rich people who have money to throw around and do these stupid banquets to their liking. Hitomi knew Munenori wasn't really into banquets also but he had friends that he could talk to and stay away from the politics and aristocratic things.

"Hitomi," Hitomi was brought back into reality, finally realizing that she looked beyond pissed from the raised eyebrow on her brother's face. "And you didn't even step foot on the deck yet."

"Heh. New record." She comments as she trails her brother into the mansion, putting up a fake smile as she greets with some people who she hasn't seen in 8 years.

As quick as she was able to hide her disgust with these people she was just as quickly making it to the alcohol station and letting out a groan, her smile fading as she pours herself a shot of some strong sake.

"You just got here yet you don't seem to be enjoying yourself." A familiar voice pauses Hitomi's movements for a short moment before she continues to drink.

"I was never a big fan of social gatherings. I always wanted to be at home with a book or my swords." She explains, turning around and showing Kotaro her look of annoyance.

Kotaro doesn't reply as he makes his way to the counter and pours himself whatever Hitomi was drinking.

"Is there a reason for your visit? Or were you invited to this stupid party also?"

"It's about you." He states. "No matter how I look at it, I believe you're behind these assassinations."

Hitomi doesn't move as his words sunk into her. She wasn't surprised at the least, but she was a bit faltered that he would suddenly just bring it up and accuse her in her face.

"Whether it is direct or indirect, you're killing these men."

Hitomi let out a small laugh, turning to the ninja and raising her glass a bit.

"Kanpai." Chugging down the sake, she fills her cup again before giving Kotaro a smirk. "I confess. I am the assassin. I have tracked down all the men who I want to kill and make them suffer just as bad as they made them feel. You never know, the next one may just happen under your noses."

Kotaro narrows his eyes at the woman, balling his hands into fists and attempting to restrain himself from taking her in and trialing her. But he didn't have evidence, even if she did just confess.

"What's that thing that Westerners say? Karma's a bitch." Hitomi giggles before chugging down another cup.

"Fuma?" Kotaro looks back and finds Munenori with a stern expression, somewhat aware that he may suspect his sister for these assassinations.

"Yagyu," The albino simply nods and glances back at Hitomi before walking off and disappearing into the crowd.

"What was that about?" Munenori asks.

"You want to talk about it in the open like this?"

Munenori shook his head before grabbing his sister's arm and dragging her to the stairway, pulling her behind him as they made it to the guest bedroom and locked the door behind them.

"He still suspects me. Whether it was indirect or direct, he knows I'm behind them." Hitomi explains, sitting down on the futon that was on the ground and crossing her arms in front of her. "I was actually with him when that fifth man was killed. Would have thought that it would have fooled him enough but guess not."

"I understand your reason behind these assassinations but why are you going through with it? Tell the Shogun about their crime eight years ago! These men aren't well-liked, it wouldn't be that hard to put these men on trial."

"That was eight years ago! They aren't gonna open up a case from eight years ago!" She shouts back at her brother. "It's easier to take it up with my own hands."

Munenori watches his sister for a long moment before sitting down next to her.

"Who's helping you with these murders?"

"Jack. A Westerner. He's my husband."

Munenori looks taken aback. That was the last thing he expected to come out of his sister's mouth.

"Wait, you're married?!" Hitomi gives him a small grin before looking out the window.

"I married him a few years back when I went to the mainland. He was a weapons dealer and a hunter for hire." She explains.

"Hunter for hire? An assassin?"

"No. Not an assassin. An actual hunter." Hitomi looks back at her brother for a long moment before looking out the window again. "A poacher you can say."

"Does he hunt humans?" Hitomi laughs at her brother's question.

"On rare occasions. But the next victim isn't gonna be killed by him." Munenori's eyes widen.

"What? You already have another victim?!"

"You'll hear about it tomorrow." She waves her hand, shrugging like she was bored with some game.

Gritting his teeth, Munenori grabs his sister by the neck and pins her down on the futon, easily holding her down with one hand and a thumb pushing down on her jugular. Glaring terrifyingly at her, Hitomi looks up at him with a shocked and frightened expression. She has never seen her brother so infuriated in her life and it was scaring her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! You leave this family on some foolish pursuit to get revenge only to get married to some Westerner who is assisting in these murders! You are nothing but a fucking shame to this family and the name! This is all just some sick game of yours!" Munenori shouts, tightening the grip around his sister's throat as the words spilled out of his lips.

Hitomi felt a tear escape from the corner of her eye, her vision becoming blurry as she was having trouble catching her breath.

"...Nori…" She was able to call before reality hit Munenori.

Releasing his grip, Hitomi begins to cough violently as she gasps for air. The tears though didn't seem to stop. Even as she wiped them away, they continued to fall and wash away her makeup and stain her pale skin. Munenori looks back at his sister for a moment, catching a glimpse of the dark bruise she attempted to hide with the makeup before feeling like someone punched him in the stomach.

"Go home." Munenori simply states as he stood up from the futon and walks out of the room.

Closing the door behind him, he suddenly felt sick to his stomach and the urge to vomit was sitting in his throat. He just really needed to get drunk tonight.

~*~ yagyu criminal ~*~

Ahmya tosses the last ring the man had on his fingers before turning towards the tall Westerner and giving him a smile of satisfaction.

"Good job. You did just as well as Hitomi." He nods his head before patting the top of her head.

"You know you didn't have to come and help out. I easily took him down myself." She mentions as the two began walking away from the scene.

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright. You never know, they could suddenly overpower without any warning." Jack explains, looking up at the half-moon and watching a shooting star cross over the night sky.

"Ooh! A shooting star! Make a wish!"

Jack smiles as he looks down at the girl, watching her wish something silently to herself before looking back up at him.

"Did you wish for something?"

"Yeah, I wished for a full night's sleep." He states as he begins walking away with a grin.

"If you say it out loud it won't come true." She counters, lightly punching his shoulder and running off in a certain direction.

"I'm gonna make sure my wish comes true." He whispers to himself before looking back at the body again one last time.