"Sono molto più abile nel togliere gli abiti di una donna che nel cercare di indossarli," Ezio chuckled as he tugged the ends of his cape around Kagome's waist. Never had he realized that the shops advertising the garments they sold weren't actually inside, although it had been a long time since he had to worry about those things… his laugh died on his lips at Kagome's confused face, pulling his hands back and nodding at his makeshift dress over her skirt, "dovrà fare fino all'arrivo a Monteriggioni."

Kagome turned her hips to examine his handiwork, she'd much rather just take her chances in her skirt than take his clothing. "Now what?"

Ezio swept his arm out and led her from the alley, eyes scanning the port under his hood before holding a finger up to her and pointing to the ground as he disappeared into the crowd. "Not exactly what I had in mind…" she crossed her arms and leaned back against the corner of the building, taking in the scene of 15th century Venice as a large grin spread across her face.

'So cool!' she resisted the urge to squeal excitedly at the thought of everything she could witness. Giggling beside her drew her attention, head tilting as she watched the women draping themselves over weary sailors that seemed just as eager for their touch despite the fatigue their bodies displayed.

Jumping at the light touch against her arm, she brought it up in defense and sagged as Ezio gazed past her to the group that caught her attention, "vieni, ci siamo fatti uscire da Venezia."

"Don't you… uh…" her face flushed as she trailed off, she had seen that look on his face more often than not from her three years traveling through the Feudal country of Japan; they had to have some time they could spare.

"Per quanto io possa desiderare, siamo in un programma stretto ora che la nostra nave è attraccata; a meno che tu non ti offra volontariato," he stole a glance at her quickly, waiting to see if she could notice the change in his tone before his lips twitched upward, she was too innocent for that.

Moving her behind the corner more, Ezio stood in front of her and pointed over her shoulder, "i cavalli sono appena oltre la folla attraverso questo vicolo ... per superarli senza attirare l'attenzione devi sfiorare delicatamente quelli sulla tua strada." His hand cupped her upper arm and moved her carefully to the side, "se attiri l'attenzione, potresti avvisare le persone sbagliate della tua posizione che a loro volta potrebbero mettere a repentaglio tutto."

Kagome pursed her lips and frowned as she glanced at her own hands, she hadn't even realized he moved her until he was finished speaking. Did he want her to do the same? "Like this?" she placed her hand against his side and attempted to push him to the side, narrowing her eyes when he didn't budge.

"Era troppo duro," he explained as he moved behind her, "dovrebbe essere un movimento morbido, che non sanno di essere toccati."

Kagome stiffened when he pressed his chest against her back, his hands grabbing hers and pressing a featherlight touch against her palm. 'Right…' she pulled her hand back and pressed her fingers to his in the same manner he had hers, stepping forward and pressing against his side as softly as she had against his hand.

Ezio stepped easily to the side with a nod, "meglio uccellino." He eyed her a moment longer before moving for the end of the alley, Kagome on his heels as they moved through the crowd, the assassin's dark eyes trained on her as she applied what he told her in her movements. 'Not so hard to teach, even with the barrier,' he nodded as he crossed his arms to wait for her beside the horses.

"Mia moglie è ansiosa di tornare a casa e dire a mia madre di espandere la nostra famiglia e il tuo prezzo equo ci consentirà di fermarci in una locanda stasera, non posso ringraziarti abbastanza." Ezio's arm wrapped around Kagome's shoulder as she approached, confusion filling her face as her gaze shot between them. He could have just as easily taken the horses but for reasons unknown to him he wasn't quite ready to show Kagome that side of him yet, he wasn't above lying for a discount on the animals however…

"Le migliori congratulazioni a lei e alla sua bella sposa, signore. Un viaggio sicuro per entrambi."

Ezio nodded his thanks and pat the closest horse's neck as his arm fell from the woman's shoulders, "cavalchi?"

Kagome blew out her breath harshly and took a step back, this wasn't like catching a ride on Kirara's back or on Inuyasha's… 'how can you be scared of a horse but hang out with demons?' she brushed off Ezio's silent offer to help her up and grabbed the side of the saddle as she shoved her foot in the stirrup, feeling a hand hold her steady as she hoisted herself up and her cheeks burned. "Hands to yourself," she fumbled to fix his cape around hips before tugging it off in frustration and tossing it at him, "now where are we going?"

Ezio fixed his cape over his shoulder and tapped his heels into his horse's side with a smirk, leaving Kagome to follow in a huff.

Present

Kagome hissed as she attempted to slide her foot into the boot, grabbing the sides as she sunk lower onto the floor and attempted to pull it over the bandages around her limb. 'Come on…' shifting to sit taller she bit back a pained grunt as she dug her heel into the ground and shoved, inhaling sharply when it finally went in harder than she wanted.

The throbbing in the appendage told her to hang her robes back up and ice her ankle, shoving that thought down quickly as she made for the window. Her stomach rolled as she climbed the fire escape to the roof and took off across the top, jumping the gap between building's with a small gasp and pulling herself up to the next roof.

Batman wasn't going to just show up because she needed him to, she knew that… rolling her shoulders back, she made for the edge and lifted her injured left foot to brace it against the lip of the building. The targets she had found to put herself on Batman's radar were right there and she was more than capable of killing them both but she needed one to raise the alarm.

Her blade slipped free as she lifted her fingers slightly, stepping fully on the wall and exhaling sharply the nerves that gripped her chest. Ezio had told her she would get used to this, but staring down into the dark alley from five stories up had her thinking otherwise. Kagome shifted back and forth between her feet as she shook the tension from her arms, launching herself from the roof before she could think about it.

The blade slid into her first victim easily, her boots landing on his back and pressing his body into the ground.

"What the fuc—"

Kagome's head turned to watch the man as he fumbled over his own feet to get away from her, her blade slipping back against her arm as she watched him make for the entrance of the alley. Stepping from the fallen body under her, she rolled her left ankle with a wince and tested her weight fully on it; it ached but nothing that wouldn't hold up as long as she didn't do anything crazy.

'Like jump off building's,' the thought had her snorting back a laugh before taking off after her target, her blade slipping free as she closed in on him. "Where exactly did you think you would make it to?" she questioned softly, her hand fisting in his shirt and shoving him against the brick.

"Let me go, I'm not who you're looking for."

Kagome hummed and tightened her grip on the front of his shirt and shoved him back as he attempted to step forward, "so you're not Harold Hyde? You're not responsible for the fire that engulfed your apartment and killed your fiancée?"

Harold's face drained of color under the glow of the lamplight, eyeing the hidden blade the Assassin was lifting to his chest, "I'm… you've got the wrong guy…"

"You're socialite fiancée is murdered less than a week ago and you've already moved on, forgive me, seems a little… off…"

"I didn—"

"Hush now, I've already allowed you to talk more than others," Kagome's hand moved to cover his mouth and pulling her other arm back. She could have just put a little more force into her right arm and her blade would have met his heart no issues, but she had been told once she had a flair for the dramatics… maybe that's why she was exaggerating her killing blow.

A hiss escaped at the sound of metal clashing against her blade, knocking it off its mark and hitting the wall beside Harold's head. Kagome and Harold's heads turned, the man sagging in relief against her hold and stilling when she retracted her hand from his mouth to press against his chest, 'that was fast.'

"Batman," Kagome purred softly, this had to be the quickest job she'd have ever completed. Eyes narrowing, her head tilted as she regarded the man, he didn't look anything like she had been picturing.

"Red Robin actually, the big guy doesn't think you're important enough to deal with so here I am."

"Not important enough?" Kagome grunted and stepped away from Harold as she dropped her arm; gazing at the younger man from under her hood before lifting her arm quickly to embed her blade in his chest. "Am I important enough for him now?"

Red Robin's eyes widened behind his mask, reaching behind to draw his bo-staff, "this isn't how things are done in Gotham."

"With all of the crime around here I would have thought otherwise," her second hidden blade slid across her palm, Kagome closing her fingers over the weapons. "Gotham is nothing with Batman… it will be nothing without him."

Red Robin's face hardened under his mask, staff spinning in his hand as he advanced slowly, "more like it'll be nothing without you."

Kagome lifted a shoulder in answer, arm lifting to block his staff before hooking her second blade to catch him in the side. Red Robin flung himself back, pulling a shuriken free and releasing it, tumbling forward to swipe his staff under her feet.

Tucking between the two weapons, she rolled and shot her hand forward, the other lifting to catch his staff as he attempted to hit her across the face. "I'm not here for you, Little Robin."

"Your mistake is coming to Gotham at all." He grunted kicking her arm away, jumping back to put some distance between them and glancing down at his thigh where her blade just grazed him.

"Back off Baby Bird, been wanting to get my hands on this so-called Assassin since he popped up on the news."

"Stand down Red Hood."

"Mind your own corner, Batman."

"I don't need help," Red Robin grumbled through the comms, spinning his staff a second time, "this is my fight, stay out of it… and it's a girl." He mumbled the last words like an afterthought, wishing he hadn't in case this went in the opposite direction he expected.

Kagome released her blades back into their sheaths against her arms, reaching into the bag against her hip and fingering the dart. Smirking as the man advanced, she withdrew her hand and moved to grab his staff, eyes growing wide when he pulled it back before she could close her fingers around it and ducked to catch her on her heels. 'Damn ankle,' she had thought the cushion between the bandages and the boot would be enough stabilization, dropping like a stone at the hit.

Red Robin held his weapon behind him, eyeing her carefully as he watched her fall with a nod, "Arkham's not too bad this time of year, you'll…" he trailed off at the bite in his leg, glancing down to see the blue dart sticking out before bending to pull it free.

"I don't like using them," Kagome grunted as she shoved to her feet, "sorry kid, this was fun but I'm not here for you."

Red Robin tossed the dart to the side, staff in front of him and at the ready before sweeping it out and shifting to turn his body opposite, smiling in satisfaction when his fist caught her in the cheek. Her hand automatically moved to cup her cheek, rubbing the sore spot with a grunt, she had underestimated him… 'Alright,' her blade slid across the palm of her left hand, shifting on the balls of her feet to deliver a blow of her own.

A gloved hand closed over her fist, mindful of the blade pointing forward as a red motorcycle helmet stared back at her, "time's up."

Kagome hummed and shot her right hand out, fingers splaying across his side as her second blade pierced his skin. A grunt of surprise had him shoving her back, hand closing over the wound to stifle the blood, "you're a feisty one."

"So I've heard…" her eyes flicked to the pale face of Red Robin, backing slowly away from the new fighter as her hidden blades retracted, "that poison dart works fast, I'd see to him."

"The rest of us started swarming as soon as it's been confirmed the Assassin was in Gotham."

'Rest of us?' she didn't like the sound of that, just how many of these costumed kids were there in this city? Keeping her eyes trained on the leather clad man, Kagome inched back towards the darkness of the alley, one of them she didn't mind taking out but two of them, especially when he had a gun? Even she knew when to quit.

"Where do you think you're going now?" The pistol leveled at her chest, ignoring the blue and black clad man behind him tending to Red Robin, "you picked the wrong kid to mess with."

Kagome reeled back as he fired a shot at her, flinching when the wall beside her splintered and he took aim for the next shot. 'Who the hell…?' tumbling over herself she darted down the alley, vaulting onto the top of a dumpster to scale the side of the wall easier. 'Gun, he has a gun; get shot you're dead.'

Her ankle protested the climb, foot slipping against the wall causing her to drop slightly and just miss the bullet that had been aimed for where her head would have been. Placing her feet against the wall, she hefted herself up, jumping for the fire escape beside her and climbing up to the roof. 'So Batman's got some friends… okay… I can handle that…' she huffed as she ran across the roof, placing her feet as close to the edge of the roof before jumping to the next building.

"I miss it when my victim's didn't know how to fight back," she grunted. Shifting on the edge of the building, her eyes swept the area she just left as she attempted to catch her breath. It was no wonder now why the price of Batman's head had been so high, three sidekicks were going to make it that much more difficult.

Standing to her full height, Kagome jumped the two feet off the lip of the roof and turned sharply as her arm shot up to block the punch aimed to knock her from the ledge. 'Too close,' her eyes narrowed, shooting a rib shot under their tented arms. 'Persistent, this guy is going to be an issue.'

"You downed my favorite Robin, you don't get away so easily because of that."

Kagome grunted as he easily overpowered her, hidden blade sliding free as she jabbed it forward only to be caught in his free hand.

"You're not good at this are you?" amusement coated his words as he held her wrists, loving nothing more than to rip his helmet off and let her see him laughing at her before putting a bullet between her eyes. Red Hood tugged her closer, chuckling at the pathetic growl of irritation that came from under her hood, "how about we see just who's under your hood before I put an end to you."

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Kagome pressed against him and ducked as she turned out of her crossed arms, bending over to flip him over her back as her shoulders protested the odd stretch she was putting them through. Reaching into the pouch that held her darts, she flicked her wrist and spun to dart across the roof; grunting at being tackled from behind.

Red Hood flipped her easily, knees holding her upper arms down as he gazed at the dart in his fingers, "this what you used on Red Robin?"

Silence met his ears, glancing behind to see her boot holding his foot before shaking his head, she was persistent he'd give her that. His hips moved away from her as she bridged her body to dislodge him, "I guess Gotham's short on chivalry."

"Nightwing's the one that delivers that shit," flipping the dart between his fingers he snorted and pointed the needle down, "best to nip you in the bud before you become a bigger problem."

Kagome's chin lowered with her lower body, holding her breath and twisting and bending her arm under the pressure of his knee. 'You die, no one's around to look after Souta,' she didn't trust Inuyasha with him when he couldn't even do the one thing she had asked of him. Splaying her fingers out, she watched as her blade slid free and nicked his leg; using his jerk of surprise to buck and roll her hips. Knocking the dart from his hand, she shoved it back in the pouch with the others and backflipped away from him.

"It's been a pleasure," she purred, giving him a mock salute from a safe distance before turning and bolting. Not giving it a second thought, Kagome launched herself from the building, flipping in the air and closing her eyes at the sound of the gun firing above her. Her breath knocked from her lungs, eyes peeling open to glance around the sand that surrounded her. 'Dump truck,' she crawled to the edge and swung a leg over the back, dropping to the bumper and jumping to the roof of the neighboring car.

Her body tucked together as she jumped to the sidewalk, pressing into the wall of a building in an attempt to catch her breath.

"Not bad."

Kagome stiffened and glanced at the owner of the voice, blade slipping free against the fabric of her pants, "thanks."

The girl leaned against her mallet and held her hand out, a smile breaking across her face, "Harley Quinn."

The hidden blade retracted as Kagome crossed her arms and glanced behind her, waiting for the guy in the helmet to appear out of thin air. Turning back to the woman, she moved to brush past her, freezing at the mallet against her chest to stop her, "move it now."

"Listen newbie, Gotham will chew you up and spit you out if you're not careful." Harley shouldered her mallet and moved to stand in front of her, "you haven't been doing this long, you can still get out."

Kagome's brows ticked, tongue darting out lick her lips as she tilted her head; it wasn't like she enjoyed it… "Harley right?"

"The one and only."

"How many Robins are there?"

Harley tapped her mouth and began lifting her fingers before dropping her eyes to the woman opposite her, "past or current?"

Kagome's mouth dropped at the question, holding a hand up and sighing, "how many sidekicks does Batman have?"

"Oh that! 10? Maybe more?"

Kagome groaned softly and pinched the bridge of her nose, "thanks."

"Remember what I said, newbie," Harley called after her. Her pigtails swung as she whistled a merry tune, "hey there pal! Harley's here!"

Kagome lifted the edge of her hood enough to watch the shadow the mallet swing, inhaling sharply before turning; there was no way she was taking advice from a woman dressed that close to a clown.


Sono molto più abile nel togliere gli abiti di una donna che nel cercare di indossarli—I'm much more adept at taking a woman's clothing off than trying to put it on

dovrà fare fino all'arrivo a Monteriggioni—it will have to do until we arrive at Monteriggioni

vieni, ci siamo fatti uscire da Venezia—come, I've gotten us a way out of Venice

Per quanto io possa desiderare, siamo in un programma stretto ora che la nostra nave è attraccata; a meno che tu non ti offra volontariato—as much as I may want to, we're on a tight schedule now that our ship has docked; unless you're volunteering

i cavalli sono appena oltre la folla attraverso questo vicolo ... per superarli senza attirare l'attenzione devi sfiorare delicatamente quelli sulla tua strada—the horses are just beyond the crowds through this alleyway… to get through them without drawing attention you must gently brush against those in your way

se attiri l'attenzione, potresti avvisare le persone sbagliatedella tua posizione che a loro volta potrebbero mettere a repentaglio tutto—if you draw attention you could alert the wrong people to your position, which in turn could jeopardize everything

Era troppo duro—that was too rough

dovrebbe essere un movimento morbido, che non sanno di essere toccata—it should be a soft motion, that they don't know they are being touched

meglio uccellino—better little bird

Mia moglie è ansiosa di tornare a casa e dire a mia madre della nostra inaspettata eccitazione di diventare genitori e il tuo prezzo equo ci consentirà di fermarci in una locanda stasera, non posso ringraziarti abbastanza—my wife is very eager to return home and tell my mother about our unexpected excitement of becoming parents and your fair price is going to allow us to stop at an inn tonight, I can't thank you enough

Le migliori congratulazioni a lei e alla sua bella sposa, signore. Un viaggio sicuro per entrambi—the highest congratulations to you and your pretty bride, sir. Safe travels to you both.

Cavalchi—do you ride?