"You should not be going out." Ezio commented sternly, eyes following Kagome as she paced the room.

Kagome's brow lifted, signaling she had heard him as her fingers busied against the bracers, she knew he was right; she only had a small window of time before Jason would pick her up for the gala. "I won't be out long."

"Uccellino testardo."* His words came out on a sigh, standing from her bed and approaching to strap the bracers to her arms, "one hour."

"You're not giving me a time limit—"

"You want to remain under cover you must not miss this opportunity, if this man is whom you need—"

"I know," Kagome snapped sharply with a glare, dropping her hands to her sides. "I know what I need to do."

Ezio's eyes darkened at her tone, gripping her chin and tilting his head, "one-hour little bird, then I shall take over for you."

Kagome wretched her chin free and moved for the window, climbing onto the fire escape, and falling the three stories to the ground. She hated when he used that tone with her, 'he doesn't get to show up and start treating me like I'm still new to this.' She turned to glance up to her window, wrinkling her nose in distaste as he peeked through her curtains before flinging her hood over her head.

'This isn't a game,' she pleaded with him mentally, feeling her sleeve catching gently on the brick wall beside her as she moved through the shadows, 'Souta's going to die if I can't pay for his treatments… and I don't even know what we're going to be treating next.'

Her hidden blade slipped free, eyeing the group down the street as they huddled around the back of a van. 'This city is awful,' she darted across the street, plastering herself against another wall and stalking closer, the second blade slipping free as her fingers curled around them into fists.

Her blades slipped into the first two with ease, the thumps of their bodies alerting the other two of her arrival, "why would you boys need a truck full of guns?"

"Get out of here."

"This doesn't concern you."

Kagome's head tilted, shaking her arms to ease the tension in the slightly as their lifted their guns to aim at her. "I miss the days when enemies used swords," she sighed heavily and dropped, lifting the bodies of one of their fallen comrades and held him in front of her as she advanced.

"Alley oop" she grunted and hefted the body at the man closest to her, hand lifting to wrap around the muzzle of the gun and yank it down. "Don't use the gun if you can't hit your target," she smirked, ignoring the sting in her hands from the hot metal. She was no better a shot with the weapon herself but put a bow in her hands—

Whistling near her ear had her turning as the man in front of her fell, his gun held loosely in her hands as the other man jumped from the truck and melted into the darkness. "You ripped my hood."

"My aim was slightly off," Red Hood flipped from the fire escape he stood on, sizing her up behind his helmet before lifting his gun, "you're coming into my territory."oHoOhH

"Your… territory?" she arched a brow and moved to the edge of the truck; her eyes drifted over his form as if to scrutinize before her lips curled under her hood. "I see it now, yeah, you look like an irritated dog."

"Funny, the only bitch I see here is you."

Kagome's tongue clicked against her teeth, slightly sad that she would have to go through him to get to Batman. 'And the rest of the Robins,' she flexed her fingers slightly and curled them around her blades, them she could handle easily, but this guy… "I'm starting to think you're running into me on purpose."

"Like I said," Red Hood adjusted his hold on his weapon, "you downed my favorite Robin."

Kagome's head tilted slightly, retracting her blades and jumping to grip the top of the door, flipping over herself to land on the roof of the truck. 'I hate this man,' she ran the length of trailer, jumping off and running through the alley. She was never going to get a visit from the Bat with this guy on her tail, 'and there's no way you're getting Bruce Wayne.'

Darting around a corner, Kagome pressed the back of her head against the wall, she could try for an aerial assault, but she wouldn't be able to dodge the gun when he pulled it against her. Her head tilted to the sound of his footsteps, slow and controlled as though knowing he had her cornered, 'no more running.'

The fingers of her left hand moved slightly, releasing her blade before lifting it as she spun around the corner, head ducking when he caught her hand. Red Hood's hand tightened, his free hand sailing to catch her in the stomach before a gloved hand grabbed his.

"Enough of that now," Ezio's smooth voice drifted from beneath his hood, flinging Red Hood behind him to stand between the pair. "Il tempo è scaduto, uccellino,"* his eye glinted slightly in the light from the street as he glanced at her, "partire."*

She could argue, which would do no good and result in some of his old punishments and lectures being used against her, not that she minded he was never harsh with her. "Fine," she grumbled reluctantly, turning on her heel and making for the entrance of the alley way. If nothing else she could look at the damage on her hand from the gun, 'hopefully it's not bad.'

Hearing the pair break out in a fight behind her almost had her turning back, slamming into a body in her blind haste as they both toppled to the ground.

"Watch it you insignificant—well, well, look who's stumbled into my presence." The back of Kagome's hood was gripped tight, forcing her to look into the eyes of the man sprawled on the ground with her, "you must be the Assassin that's sending Gotham into a tizzy."

'Joker…' Kagome grit her teeth and held her right hand against his throat, watching his eyes widen slightly at feeling the sharp point of her blade, "release me."

"You're a feisty one alright," he laughed and shoved her head away, kicking her in the side to give himself room to stand. "I didn't quite believe Harley when she said she bumped into you but here you are, still running from Red Hood, eh? Well, he is the nastiest of Batman's sidekicks."

"I think I've figured that out," she grumbled standing and dusting herself off. 'Wait till I tell Souta about this,' she adjusted her hood and glared at the clown, making sure to remind herself to tell her brother that she much preferred this man when she was waiting his table to the entity she was encountering on the street.

"Say, how about we make a deal? I'm pulling off a heist tonight and I would love an extra set of hands, they're getting too used to my shenanigans but if you show up—"

"I'll pass, I'm here for one job and pulling a Robin Hood isn't it."

Joker laughed softly, the noise coming out more manic the longer it went on before reaching out to grab her hand and squeeze, "it wasn't a request."

Wincing slightly at the pressure against the burns, Kagome stepped forward and watched her blade cut a thin line across his cheek as he stepped away from her, "and I said no."

Mouth twisting in a gleeful smile, the Joker's hands lifted as he backed away, "suit yourself. I'm sure I'll see you around—"

'I prefer him at the restaurant,' she stepped slowly from the spot, eyes trained ahead of her apprehensively. At least she learned quicky to not trust anything this city threw at her, she darted between buildings and scaled the fire escape, slipping through her window and landing gently on the floor as she yanked her hood off her head.

Lifting her hands to stare at her palms, Kagome paced the small room as her eyes traced the burns. They weren't bad, she reasoned as she slowly undressed, she could play it off as a kitchen burn… Kagome slipped the dress from the hanger and stepped into the gown, the silk material slipping over her body and falling like a waterfall against her skin. She wondered again if she made the right choice, her hands skimmed the front of her dress to smooth it down, 'Souta needs this…'

"Quando ti dico di lasciarti... caro Dio, sei Bellissima."*

Kagome's eyes shot from her reflection to the man hovering behind her, hands moving to pull her hair into a strategically messy ponytail. "His bullet ripped a hole in my hood," she gestured to the discarded clothing item, "I need to fix it before I go back out or it could be an issue."

"You're lucky it was only your hood," Ezio lifted the item and fingered the fabric with a frown, "I'll take care of it, you go out and enjoy yourself tonight."

He dropped the clothing to the bed and strode forward, hand finding the zipper at her side and closing it as his finger traced the cowl back of her dress, "this boy is very lucky…"

"It's not like that," Kagome sighed and attempted to suppress her shudder, "I'm doing this for Souta."

"Of course little bird," Ezio dipped his head and watched her eyes flutter as his breath caressed the skin of her neck, "but you don't dress like this just for your brother."

His finger trailed higher, ghosting along the strap over her shoulder as a knock resounded through the little apartment, stepping back to give her room. Kagome could feel his eyes on her as she shoved her heels on with shaking hands, smoothing her wayward strands of hair from her face as she moved for the door. A quick glance over her shoulder to ensure nothing would be seen showed Ezio slipping back through her window into the darkness, determined as ever to help as he vowed.

"Hi," she plastered a smile on her face as she swung the door open, head tilting as Jason stood with his hands in his jeans, "um… did I get our dates mixed up?"

"No, no…" he blinked quickly and glanced away, "didn't want to get the suit dirty."

Kagome nodded and reached behind her to grab her keys, slipping into the hall and locking the door behind her.


"Enjoy the quiet," Jason smirked holding his hand as he opened the car door for Kagome, his fingers curling around her hand gently to help her stand, "all the rich people of Gotham are going to be here and they're far from quiet."

"That's surprising," Kagome attempted to ignore the flipping of her stomach at the gentle holding of her hand, 'it's because of earlier…' She hated the hold Ezio's touch still had on her, 'don't even get me started on feelings for Jason…' her eyes slid to the man beside her, the white streak in his hair drawing her gaze up before glancing away quickly before getting caught. 'This city is an entire problem.'

"Kagome, good to see you again." Bruce smiled and turned from assessing the last-minute decorations, "Jason."

"Bruce."

Kagome's gaze bounced between the two of them as her brow lifted, that hint of tension she detected between them hadn't gone unnoticed, curling her fingers when Jason dropped her hand to shove his in his pockets, "it's good to see you again too, Mr. Wayne."

"Call me Bruce."

She swallowed hard and glanced away quickly from his eyes; there was no way this guy was Batman, or maybe it was her hoping it wasn't him… "your home looks amazing."

"Thank you," Bruce smiled and inclined his head slightly, he liked this girl. "Jason why don—"

"Don't tell me to get ready like a child," Jason rolled his eyes and gestured for the stairs, "I'll be right back."

It was clear he had been talking to Kagome, tossing one final glare at the man in the room before taking the stairs two at a time.

"I think you made his night coming," Bruce mentioned carefully, head tilting slightly as the woman's eyes bounced around as if looking for an exit, "he—"

"Father, they need you in the kitchen." Damian appeared silently, face twisting as Kagome narrowed her eyes at him, "you know they're helpless without guidance."

"Alfred has it under control."

"Pennyworth is handling the situation in the ballroom."

"Alright," Bruce smiled and shook his head, "as many of these as I throw and always something goes wrong."

"That'd make it too easy if everything went according to plan."

Bruce chuckled and nodded as he moved to walk away, "that's true, Damian take care of our guest alright."

"Of course father," Damian nodded obediently, turning swiftly and striding across the floor when his father was far enough away, "Higurashi."

"Little al Ghul."

"Glad you could make it."

"Are you? That wasn't a very convincing welcome," she smirked as he bristled, wondering briefly if he knew about Ezio before deciding not. If he had, she reasoned, he wouldn't be so worried about what she did in her spare time. "Aren't you a bit young for these?"

"I'm father's heir, of course I need to be here."

'Poor little kid, you're going to be so disappointed in yourself if I can pull this off.' "Have a great night tonight Damian, try to loosen up." She ruffled his head and laughed when he bristled in annoyance at the gesture, changing her face to look innocent as Jason trotted down the stairs, staring at the buttons of his coat.

"Get lost Demon Spawn, this is an adult get together." Jason made a shooing gesture as he adjusted his coat, he wouldn't admit it out loud but he enjoyed the fancy gala's. 'And my date looks amazing,' he smirked and lifted his head, "come on."

He held his hand to Kagome and wrapped his fingers around her hand gently, "we're going to grab a drink before it starts, trust me, we'll need it around these guys."

Uccellino testardo—stubborn little bird

Il tempo è scaduto, uccellino—time is up, little bird

Partire—leave

Quando ti dico di lasciarti... caro Dio, sei Bellissima—When I tell you to leave you… dear God, you are beautiful