Sano did not appreciate having to creep past the few solitary guards he and the ninja had (almost) encountered – but if sneaking would get Katsu back, then he would sneak across Japan. Luckily, the clothes he wore didn't make much noise, though he had gotten a few sharp looks from Shinomori for a step that was a bit to heavy here, a breath a bit to large there. If he didn't know better, he'd say that the ninja was as serious about getting Katsu out as he was – but it was probably just his personality. Man's face'd probably shatter if he had to smile.

They were slinking along a long hallway, Shinomori in front with a blueprint of the house. That map . . . something he should probably thank the bastard cop for, Sano acknowledged grudgingly. Maybe he could find a way to do so that didn't require any actual words. Or . . . well . . . any contact at all. Sano briefly became absorbed in the ways he could absolve his debt to the psycho cop without actually coming within a 50-meter radius of him, and didn't notice when Shinomori came to a complete halt. He did notice when the man's back appeared – out of nowhere – a fingerwidth away from his nose. The furious glare of the ninja was slightly less noticeable as Sano peered around the tall man to see why he had stopped.

Guards – not the little pussy-looking, one-man "patrols" they had skirted by before, but actual large, muscular, kick-your-ass-and-make-you-eat-it bullyboys. There were about ten of them, and they all looked like they'd gladly slit their mama's throat for one rin. The shadowy outline of a door was behind them – but there was no way anyone'd be able to make it past them like that – which meant they needed a distraction.

And Sano was just in the mood to do some "distracting," too. Funny how things worked out that way.

Shinomori reached out and tapped something on Sano's arm, before drawing back with a frown, remembering that Sano couldn't speak whatever freaky-ninja-spy-Oniwabanshuu code he was using. Oh well. Sano grinned, and motioned for the ninja to step back, happy now with the arrangement they had worked out beforehand (which, at the time, was something Sano had protested vigorously against).

Sano stepped back, judging the angle and distance as best he could. It wouldn't be a real Futawe, not really – the impact wouldn't even be close, so his hand should be fine if he hit it just right . . .

The blow to the ground took less than a second. The shockwaves that rippled the ground in the hall and under the feet of the guards (and Sano and Aoshi, but they were braced for it) lasted for no more than five seconds. It took seven more for the confused guards to regain their balance, by which time a wildly-grinning Sano had been able to run up to them and take the first one down with a punch to the skull. By the time Sano counted three heartbeats, Shinomori had already slipped past the confused and angry guards and into the next hallway without them noticing anything.

In the next second, all that could be seen of Sano was a flash of white and brown here and there, as the flailing fists and meaty bodies of the guards closed around him.

The house shuddered and rattled, shaking the many ornaments in their places, and Kijou jumped.

"Madame has not been back in Tokyo very long, has she?" The officer's placid voice caused Kijou to snap her head around again, though the slight panic she felt was being replaced by embarrassment.

"N-no," she replied, no longer shaken, but playing the part of a weak-willed woman who was. It was easier to convince men to do things when they thought she was weak. "I had forgotten about the earthquakes. Please, continue with what you were saying – there is a kidnapper loose in Tokyo?"

Some clarification: 1) If a yen is worth 1 unit, and a sen is worth 1/100 of a unit (which it is), then a rin is 1/1000. That is all nice and official and really the way they do things in Japan, currency-wise (though inflation's so bad, I'm not sure if anyone ever uses rin anymore . . .).

2) Don't ask me for sources, because I can't quite remember, but I am more than reasonably certain that earthquakes are mildly common in Japan, and yes, for those of you that have never lived in a geolocially active place, you can get little ones like that that last a few seconds and don't do much damage -- so I'm not (quite) pulling that part out of my ass. On a related topic -- if the earthquake is strong enough, yes, the ground will ripple like that. Try walking outside during an earthquake: the ground's like gelatin.

And for the people who are going to jump on me for using side effects of both a strong and weak earthquake to describe the same event: Sano's punch was like a very very small earthquake, localized to the few dozen square meters or so from the site of impact. In that area, which is where the guys where, then yes, it was a pretty powerful earthquake -- say 8 something on the Richter scale. Over the whole house, which was where Kijou and Saitou are, it had dissapated, and was much much weaker -- at most a 3, probably even less than that. The range of effect would not last far past Kijou's house (it's a big house).

Right, I'm sure that was more than any of you wanted to know. Now, onto my wonderful reviewers.

Lychee2: Gyah. You must have reviewed 80 just as I posted 81 -- I swear to god I did not intentionally ignore you. ::is beating self over the head:: And yes, that's about what Katsu's gotta do. Man, don't you just wish that someone would just come up and stab her? :-D :-D

Kuroiyousei: Yes, you are teh awesome. We all know this. As for Kijou!dying . . . you know, I was thinking the same thing. She really needs some help . . . I wonder just who could ever do that for her? :-D

Strider: It is abuse! Have you looked at the crap that gets put in that category?? CRAP. Not like mine, oh no. Mine's shit. Some damn high quality shit too. :-D And now you must tell me how you feel about this chapter EVEN THOUGH I KNOW YOU'RE AT WORK. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAAHAHAH! :-P Because that is what you get for giving the author your screen name. And for being her friend. But mainly! s/n! :-D