~*~Part Three: A Business Proposition~*~
Ten minutes passed in which Misao and Soujirou explained everything that had happened to Chou, as well as polished off a good amount of food.
Needless to say, Chou was less than sympathetic.
"If only ShiShiO-sama was here to see you make an ass out of yourself, brat!" Chou guffawed heartily. "Imagine his fucking perfect smiling killer afraid of ladies!"
Misao glared hotly at Chou. "None of is was his fault," she defended loyally. "Soujirou-kun was just being a good samaritan by returning that lady's purse back to her. How was he supposed to know that she was a crazy lecher?"
"ShiShiO-san's training never included anything about getting rid of pesky ladies," Soujirou muttered defensively. "I don't know why she kept draping herself on me anyways."
Chou rolled his eyes. "I can see that you're still dumb as fuck, brat." He whacked Soujirou on the head. "She was chasing you because she found you attractive, you damn idiot!"
"Attractive?" Soujirou parroted, perplexed, as he rubbed at his head. "I'm attractive?"
"Oh fuck," Chou groaned. "Oi, braid girl! You find the brat here attractive?"
"I already told you that my name is Misao!" She looked at Soujirou and blushed faintly. "Of course you're attractive Sou-kun. You wouldn't be my koibito if you weren't!"
Soujirou laughed. He knew that Misao was only joking but it still felt nice anyways. The idea of her finding him attractive made him feel warm and gooey inside. "Thank you for helping me Misao-san. It was quick thinking."
"Well, what can I say? I'm a master at quick thinking," she bragged, grinning.
"It was definitely quick but I'm not sure it was thinking," Chou drawled out, smirking.
Blue eyes flashed ominously. "Now you better listen up broomstick cuz-"
"Calm down Misao-san!" Soujirou hastily interrupted.
"Keeping your koi in check I see," Chou observed dryly.
Soujirou reddened while Misao threw her rice bowl at the tall blond.
"Oh, please don't throw our dishes!" one of the waitresses cried, hurrying towards their booth.
"Er...sorry," Misao mumbled, scowling at Chou.
"Ahahaha!" Soujirou laughed, rubbing at the back of his head. He really didn't know what else to do.
The waitress swept away their dirty dishes and marched away after throwing Misao a disapproving glare.
Chou leaned back against the wall, his hands folded languidly behind his head. "So, have you brats thought of a way to make some cash?"
Misao exchanged a look with Soujirou. "Funny you should mention that..." she broached.
One eye closed, giving the katana-lover a decidedly freakish appearance. "Lemme guess. You want me to lend you some damn cash."
Soujirou cringed but managed to keep a slight smile. "Chou-kun, I would-"
"I've got a better idea." He opened his other eye and leaned towards them. "How 'bout you guys *earn* the money?"
"Earn the money?" Soujirou repeated, blinking. "How?"
"Well brat, I don't know if you know this but I work for the police as a fucking undercover agent."
Soujirou nodded. "Yes, I'd heard that."
"And so I get stuck with all the shady, keep-it-quiet shit. Catch my drift?"
"Yeah, yeah we catch your drift," Misao cried impatiently. "Just get to the point. What do you want us to do?"
"My latest assignment is to find some guy called Ishiyama Enrou. Apparently this asshole's got a lotta shit on the Meiji government and he's planning to start something big," Chou explained. "Lucky for you guys though, I've already found the guy. He's on his way to Tokyo for business as we speak. All you two have to do is break into his house and steal whatever incriminating information he has, along with all his plans."
"No problem!" Misao raved enthusiastically. "This sort of assignment is a cakewalk for the Okashira of the Oniwa Banshuu! We could do this it our eyes closed, ne Soujirou-kun?"
Soujirou nodded. "But is there anyone else in the house? What about his family?"
"I heard Ishiyama's got a wife but she ain't got nothing on you if you use that Shuku-Chi shit." Chou arched an eyebrow. "Well brat? You gonna take this job or what?"
"Thank you, Chou-kun," he responded, bowing. "We'll do it."
"So with all that out of the way, let's talk money. How much do we get?" Misao demanded.
"You'll get half."
"Haaaaaalf?" Misao wailed, outraged. "I say we should at least get three quarters!"
"Half is better than nothing," Soujirou reminded her.
Chou named the figure.
They both stared at him, stunned.
"Half of that?" Misao managed to squeak out. "No way!"
"We'll be able to journey to Kyoto ten times over!"
"So we have a deal then," Chou clarified.
Misao and Soujirou nodded avidly.
"Alright then, here's how it's gonna work." Chou pulled out a folded map of the city and indicated the house circled in red ink. "Ishiyama lives here. All his partners and friends live around him so you two gotta keep this as fucking quiet as possible, understand?"
"Quiet is my middle name," Misao boasted.
Chou rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I can see that. Now this," He pulled out a key and held it up. "will open a door that leads to the basement. That's where Ishiyama keeps all his shit. But the frigged part is that the door lies in Ishiyama's bedroom. His wife will be there and it's rumored that she's a real slut. She'll prolly be getting it on with a few guys in there tonight."
Soujirou blushed and tugged at the collar of his gi uncomfortably. "Then we'll have to wait until...er...she's finished."
Chou was thoroughly enjoying embarrassing Soujirou and watching him squirm. The boy may have been one of deadliest killers ever but he was still so fucking innocent. It was obvious that he was developing an infatuation with the loud-mouthed Ninja girl. It was also obvious that he didn't have a clue what to do about it. It amused Chou to provoke reactions from the boy. He still smiled all the time and was unfailingly polite but now he got embarrassed and annoyed too. It was a shit-load of fun.
"What if she's having a fucking orgy?" Chou wondered, swallowing the impulse to snicker.
Soujirou's face whitened and the girl blushed floridly. They both looked horrified.
He couldn't resist. "Do you brats even know what an orgy is?"
"Oh would you just shut up!" Misao erupted. "Let us worry about the details, alright? Just stop toying with us!"
"Who's toying with you?" Chou asked innocently. "I'm just providing you with all possible details."
"Well is that everything then?" Soujirou asked, fiddling with the sleeves of his gi as he quickly changed the subject. He *really* didn't want to talk anymore about bedroom activities and so on. Chou had always been crass but that was hardly the sort of thing to talk about in front of someone as young as Misao-san. And himself, of course. It wasn't as though he had much experience in the ways of women.
He barely repressed a shudder at the thought of that crazy woman and her unmannerly antics. What a crazy woman she was! How unmannerly her antics had been!
"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Chou said, thrusting a worn bag towards them. "All the info you need is in there. You brats have the rest of the day to do whatever you want. Just stay outta shit and I'll find you tomorrow morning. You'll get your cash then, deal?"
"Deal," Misao echoed, taking the bag.
"Deal." Soujirou glanced at his former teammate and tilted his head slightly. "Uh...Chou-kun? How come you decided to let us do this assignment for you? Not that I'm complaining or anything but-"
Chou's expression was smug. "I have a date tonight. I was looking for a way to ditch this shitty assignment and then I found you guys, broke and causing a goddamn scene."
"A date?" Misao started to laugh. "Who on earth would wanna date a broomstick like you?"
As if on cue, a light alto, *very* recognizable voice cut through the noise of the restaurant.
"There you are, Chou-chan! I was looking everywhere for you, koi!"
Soujirou boggled with wide eyes as Kamatari came prancing up to their booth and hurled himself onto Chou, kissing his cheek. His eyes got even wider as a faint red tinge colored Chou's cheeks.
"Kamatari-san," he gasped, staring in shock.
"Oh Sou-chan!" Kamatari gushed. "You're here too! I haven't seen you in so long! And look, even that ugly girl from Kyoto is here!"
Misao's jaw opened and closed a few times before she could finally speak. "You're dating *Chou*?!!!"
Chou glared as he slung his arm around Kamatari's delicate shoulder. "What the fuck is wrong with that?"
"Now I've seen it all," Misao groaned, shaking her head.
Kamatari giggled.
Soujirou felt a headache coming on as he valiantly attempted to stay smiling.