Disclaimer: See previous chapter

Chap. 16

School…

Shin left his classroom and moved through the crowds to the next class. Just one more period and then school would be over for the day. 'And work will begin', he thought solemnly. Not that he hated his job, but it did wear on him at times. Saori often said that he overworks himself, a joke he did not find amusing, but she always did. He was glad he was able to get enough sleep earlier so that he could be ready for the rest of the day. So far, so…

"This is for you, Reiji."

Upon hearing and recognizing the voice, Shin stopped short and moved close to one of the lockers. Peering through the moving student, he was able to see Rei and Reiji facing each other. Rei appeared to have a small packaged item in her hands and she was handing it to him, smiling as she did so. Shin stood frozen. 'So that's what she's been doing. Making a present for Reiji.' Forcing his body into motion, Shin quickly moved into the adjourning hall and approached his class. But as he sat down at his seat, his thoughts ran turbulent. Though it only made sense that Rei would make a gift for Reiji, why would she hide that fact from him? Was she still dating him behind his back? 'No, no. That doesn't sound like her at all.' But then again, her activities as of late were a bit different than usual. 'Perhaps she wanted it to be a surprise?' No, that doesn't make sense. Since it was for Reiji, there would be no need to hide it from him. 'So then, why the disappearances?' He'll ask her about it later. But he had to trust that she had to have had a good reason. Rei had always been honest with him and him in return with her. So that was that. Except for one thing. The scene of Rei handing him the gift and the smile on her face…

'Why can't I get that out of my mind?'

Kenji stepped out of the school after it ended. He had a habit of leaving early and waiting for Uriko. Well, mostly the leaving early part. Today though, he was looking forward to company with his feline compatriot more so than usual. He didn't normally feel that way, but ever since his talk with Uriko, he felt…different. Upbeat. 'She must be rubbing off on me. he mused silently. Kenji shut his eyes lightly and felt the wind blow around him. It was a nice day, with clear skies and…

'Huh?'

Kenji's eyes suddenly snapped open and his gaze shifted toward the rooftop of a nearby building. Just as his eyesight locked there, a blur of an object disappeared from the corner. From any other person, it would have been dismissed as a trick of the light. But Kenji knew better. He recognized a ninjistu vanishing technique when he saw one. Giving a brief glance around, Kenji shot his arm downward and disappeared himself, leaving a brush of leaves in his wake. A moment later, Kenji reappeared on the rooftop where he had seen the seen the blur. His eyes still closed, he used his senses to track down whatever it was he was chasing. His head tilted to the left and Kenji disappeared again, reappearing on the next roof, and the next and the next until he had moved several blocks away from the school. His eyes finally opened and he looked around the seemingly empty roof.

"I should have known you were still alive."

A mist appeared in the air and a silver figure descended before Kenji. The figure arose, revealing a ninja garb that was covering over mechanical parts. The face of the figure was pale with a strange mark on the forehead and a tuff of hair on the side. His eyes were pitch-black with little beads of red within.

"It would take more than a bomb to kill me. Even of my own design."

Kenji hadn't moved, but he was more than ready for a fight if it came to it. "What do you want Kohryu?"

The mechanical ninja gave a dark smile, "You and I have unfinished business."

Kenji gave no reply, nor did Kouryu expect one. Kenji shifted into battle stance and Kouryu did the same, mirroring him in the process.

"Bakuryu..."

A minute later…

Uriko stepped out of the school door and looked around. 'He's gone again?' she pouted after searching a bit. 'I guess he still needs time to think.' After their talk yesterday, Kenji seemed to have changed slightly and was a bit edgy during lunch. Not that she hadn't felt a bit of that herself. She hadn't felt that way since…the dance. Uriko began to slip into her memories of that particular moment. The way he moved… the feel of his arms…those darkly dangerous eyes… A smile unknowingly crossed her face before she realized what she was thinking. Blinking out of her reverie, she shook her head and sat down on the steps. 'Whoa. That was…' The girl gave a light sigh and let her hand drift over the railing nearby. This thing with his dream must have really been bugging him if he was to leave alone twice without her. She was so into her thoughts that she almost didn't feel the wet feeling coming from her drifting hand.

"Ah!"

Her hand immediately jerked back and she looked over to see what had been causing it. A little white dog sat where she had looked. The dog cocked its head and then moved over to the stairs where it climbed up next to Uriko.

"Oh, how cute." Uriko smiled, petting the animal. Only upon closer inspection did she realize that it wasn't a dog, but a fox. "Where did you come from?" she wondered aloud, brushing her hand down its back until it came to its brushy tail. 'Whoa.' She saw that there was more than one brush of fur. Several in fact.

"Wow. You have…let's see. Five…six…nine tails?"

The fox barked lightly and then turned to look at the sun. Uriko turned as well, taking in the glorious sight. Her hand lifted to pet the animal again, but only hit air. Turning back again, she saw that the nine-tailed fox had disappeared.

"Hey, where'd you go? That was fast."

Unbeknownst to her, a little girl in ceremonial robes stood a distance away. She watched as Uriko shrugged and stood up to walk away. The girl lowered her head and then disappeared in a puff of smoke that soon materialized into form.

The form of the nine-tailed fox…

"Another day, eh?"

Shin gave a sigh as he finished cleaning the tables. It was closing time and it had been a busy day today. He was glad for that, for he could make more money through tips and help support the house and Rei. Rei… He found his thoughts straying that way all day. So much so that he almost slipped up a few times today. But he couldn't figure out why. Why was that image of earlier disturbing him?

"Earth to Shin, hello?"

Shin suddenly blinked as he realized that Saori was taking to him.

"Huh?"

The woman lent on the wall and folded her arms, "What's up? You've been like this all day."

"No, it's…"

"…nothing." Saori finished. "It must be a pretty big nothing."

The young man lowered his head, "I'm not sure. I…"

The door chime stopped him and Saori looked up from where she was. "Sorry, we're closed."

"I know. Is Shin still here?"

Shin blinked as he recognized the voice. "Nagi?"

Indeed, it was the dark auburn-haired woman that stood within the doorway. "Hello."

"Hi. Is there something wrong?"

Nagi placed a hand on her hip, "I just wanted to talk to you a bit."

Saori cracked a smile, "I'll leave you two alone."

As she left for the back, Shin took a step toward Nagi. "What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering." she started. "I remembered you saying something about not getting out often. And since I don't have much to do, I was wondering if…" Her gaze began to wander, "You would…like to go out on a date or something."

Surprise overcame his normally calm face, "A date…?"

"Yeah, I know it's out of the blue and all, but then I figured, why not?" She managed to look back at him, "You seem to be a really good guy and a girl could do worse, right?"

"I…guess."

"Well?"

Shin remained silent as he took this in and then answered. "I…I don't…"

Nagi turned her head to the side and cut him off. She had anticipated that he would refuse. 'Oh well. It was worth a shot. "Oh, I understand…."

"I don't know where to pick you up at."

Now surprise was on her face. But that soon changed and her features lit up with delight as she smiled, "I'm staying at the Ohgami's. How's tomorrow sound?"

"I'll have to as Ms. Saori if it's okay, but yeah." he replied. "Tomorrow at 7?"

"Sound great." She turned to the door and waved back, "I'll see you then."