Chapter V – Back in the Game

The early days of February brought about a sharp chill to Tokyo, with biting winds that felt like pinpricks to exposed skin. The skies remained a crisp blue, with small wisps of clouds lazily ambling by above. Unfortunately, it appeared that Mother Nature had decided to continue trolling the citizens of the city below by granting them sunlight, only to flash freeze them at the same time. It was doubly worse that particular morning for those near water, as they had to deal with lake effect winds and little in the way to guard them from the frigid weather.

"Uncle Minato sure picked an awesome time to come visit," a crimson haired youth said sarcastically as he pulled his black winter coat tighter around himself, fighting his body's urge to shiver, "Dad, I thought you told him to stay in Matsue?"

"I did," the deep baritone voice of Heihachi Tachibana answered with a sigh as he looked around the cordoned off terminal in Haneda Airport, "I made it perfectly clear that Tokyo isn't safe right now, but he insisted…something about his sons wanting to go to school here. In any case, I apologize for having to drag you out here, Akisora."

Akisora Tachibana chuckled and patted his much larger father on the back, "Don't worry about it. You needed either me or Tora-nii to get the security forces together and lock down this part of the terminal for Uncle's arrival, right? And I haven't really gotten the chance to do much the past couple days, so it was a decent chance to get outta the house for once."

The Tachibana head grinned, gripping his youngest son's shoulder in gratitude. Neither of them had changed much over the past few years, save for a new scar going over Heihachi's left eye and his slightly graying hair, and Akisora growing another foot taller, coming to his father's shoulder. His straight, crimson locks hung down to the small of his back in a long ponytail, and he'd packed a bit more muscle onto his lean frame, the signs of an assassin reaching his peak physical form.

Heihachi turned to one of the many purple-robed Imperial Guardians scattered throughout the terminal, "What is the ETA of Minato's flight?"

"He should be arriving in another ten minutes, Heihachi-sama," the guardian replied quickly. The imposing Tachibana clan head nodded, "Good. Tell teams seven through ten to surround the hanger, and put teams three and five on overwatch. I don't want to leave a SINGLE blind spot when that plane touches the ground."

"HAI!" the guardian saluted and rushed off to relay his commander's orders. Heihachi watched the man head off before turning back to his son, "Has your own team retrieved the requested vehicles for the convoy?"

Akisora nodded, his bright gold eyes hardening as he went into business mode, "Hai, otou-sama. They'll be back with the armored transports around the same time the plane lands. We got this covered."

"Funny…you said the same thing about the transport that shuttled Amagai to see Mikamura a couple months ago…that didn't end well, now did it?" a cheeky, feminine voice rang out.

The two turned to face the newcomer, only for Heihachi's face to scrunch up into a disgusted frown while Akisora gave an embarrassed smile and shook his head, "Eh…ya got me. But technically my people were only responsible for transportation. Amagai-jisan opted out on adding them to his guard detail."

"True…I guess I can give you that," Kimiko giggled as she sauntered over to them, stopping when she was about three feet away from the two men.

"What the hell are you doing here, gaijin," Heihachi growled as he leveled the harshest glare he could manage at his clan's best assassin, "I thought I sent you on an assignment to Iwaobetsu. Was the target too much for you to handle?"

Kimiko scoffed, "Please…those 'terrorists' were a fucking joke. They could plan out a bomb strike on Shinjuku, but they didn't have the sense to watch their drinks…pathetic," she turned her lidded blue eyes to the crimson-haired youth, "I thought all three members of the main family were coming out to greet our esteemed uncle. What happened to Tora?"

"Nii-sama's getting some extra rest," Akisora replied with a slight smirk, "He's been burning the midnight candle for a while now to study for exams."

"I didn't know the police academy was that tough," the buxom woman turned her gaze to the tarmac, "So, how much longer are we going to stand here freezing our asses off?"

"We aren't doing anything," Heihachi gestured to the three of them before pointing at the younger woman, "You will return to your post back at the palace and make sure there aren't any surprises waiting for us en route. Akisora and I will greet Minato and his family."

"Eh, let her stay, Dad," Akisora interrupted, getting a grateful wink from Kimiko and a slightly reproachful look from his father, "Officially, she's supposed to be your bodyguard, right? Besides, my team can handle guarding the roads."

Heihachi was about to argue back, but he was interrupted by the deafening noise of an engine as a private jet came screaming down from the sky, flying right above the group before touching down on the runway. The three Tachibana quickly made their way to the hanger, twelve teams of Imperial Guardians flanking them as they went. During their approach to the parked aircraft, a group of sub-branch Tachibana clan members, identifiable by the red and white bands they wore on both arms, wheeled a set of stairs to the side of the plane, the door in the fuselage opening just as the stairs were locked in place.

"Damn, didn't think it was gonna be THIS cold…"

"Tou-san, did they call the cars yet?"

"Hey, I think I see someone downstairs!"

"Wait up for the rest of us, Ran!"

Akisora chuckled to himself as he heard three distinctly male voices chatter animatedly from within the plane.

The first to step out was a boy of about fifteen, with spiky red hair that shot up from his head like a bonfire. His amber eyes shone with mischief and youth as he looked around the hanger. He was dressed in comfortable black cargo pants, a skin-tight purple muscle shirt, and a long red haori draped over his shoulders. Two crests, one for the Tachibana Clan's sigil, and the other marking the boy as a junior Imperial Guardian, adorned the right sleeve. When his gaze fell on the youngest of Heihachi's sons, he beamed before jetting down the stairs, his black tabi boots making almost no sound as he ran towards Akisora.

"Sora-nii!" he called out before stopping right in front of the older boy, slightly panting, "Man, didn't think I'd see you coming to get us! I thought that was gonna be Tora's job."

"Tora-niisama needed to get some extra rest, he's been busy for the past few days," Akisora replied before closing the distance and embracing his cousin, who stood about as tall as he did, "Good to see ya, Ranmaru. But I thought I told you to stop growing, dammit!"

The boy identified as Ranmaru scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "Uh…my bad bro? Don't blame me for getting the good family genes!"

"Good genes my ass! You can blame it on all the fucking milk this guy drinks," another, less brash sounding voice called from the plane. Looking up, Akisora spotted a second boy, who looked almost exactly like Ranmaru. The only differences were in the hairstyle, with the newcomer's hair falling in smooth red waves down to his shoulders, covering the right side of his face. His outfit was similar to Ranmaru's, but with a dark green shirt and blue haori with white diamond-like designs on the sleeves.

"Shut up Rikimaru!" Ranmaru yelled comically while pointing at the seemingly more taciturn young man coming down the stairs, "You're just jealous that I have three inches on you!"

"More like your hair has three inches on me," Rikimaru muttered as he reached the bottom of the steps. He turned to Akisora and smiled, "Anyway, good to see you again, Sora. Hope Tokyo hasn't been too boring."

"Please, like you don't have it worse in Matsue," Akisora joked, also giving Rikimaru a hug in greeting, "I bet you can't wait for Minato-ojisan to hand you guys missions."

Rikimaru scoffed, "Yea right…he's been sending us on chump shit for the past few months…something about team building or whatever. It blows, I tell ya."

"Aww, it ain't ALL bad."

"HOLY SHIT!" Rikimaru jumped and spun around, kunai flashing into his hand ready to slice open the person who'd had the balls to sneak up on him. When he realized who it was though, he cursed, "Dammit Ichimaru! I keep tellin you to stop doin' that shit! I could've killed you dammit!"

Ichimaru grinned slyly, "I had faith that you'd stop before I had to disarm ya. No harm done, right?"

"Some things never change," Akisora sighed as he eyed Ichimaru warily. The last of the Tachibana triplets was a bit of an enigma. Unlike his two brothers, Ichimaru's hair was red with his bangs dyed royal purple, and fell flat against his head. His eyes were squinted, giving him a permanent fox-like expression, however his came off as sinister rather than playful. Like Ranmaru and Rikimaru, he also wore the staple black cargo pants and tabi boots, but with an off-white shirt and matching haori. The lack of color only added to the unsettling vibe Ichimaru gave off, one that not even his family was immune to.

Seeing the three making small talk with his youngest son, Heihachi walked over to join them, "Boys. Good to see you again. How has your training been progressing?"

The three quickly stood at attention before the Tachibana head and replied crisply in unison, "Training has gone well, Tachibana-sama!"

"Now, now, no need to stand on ceremony here," Heihachi chuckled, allowing the boys to relax themselves again, "I understand that Minato has had you running missions, yes?"

"More like errands," Ranmaru grumbled, with Rikimaru nodding his head in agreement, "He only sent us out on, what, three assassination missions? Or was it four?"

"It was five, little bro," Ichimaru's condescendingly smooth voice chimed in, earning an annoyed glance from the more fiery triplet, "not that we really had to do much. They were just crooked businessmen and thieves. Barely put up a fight."

Heihachi nodded, "Well that's normal. Since you're still young, you won't be seeing many of those types of missions so soon. Even Akisora is only just getting started on larger assignments, and he'll only be able to do a few due to his academics."

"You say that as if he won't manage to find a way to do more behind your back."

Five sets of eyes turned to Kimiko as she sauntered up to the group, stopping next to Akisora. Turning to the triplets, she smirked. "Well would you look at that…the little guys are all grown up now. I remember when you were all adorable little babes drooling in your cribs…my, where does the time go?"

"I donno, maybe you should go find out, gaijin," Ranmaru growled, leveling a harsh glare at the assassin, Rikimaru following suit. Ichimaru's expression remained unchanged, the boy going so far as to extend his hand, "Don't mind them…they're still cranky from the flight."

"When do I ever mind them, Ichi-kun?" Kimiko scoffed mockingly as she shook her cousin's hand, "While some boys mature when they grow up, others seem to get worse…this is just an extreme case."

"If you are quite finished," Heihachi growled, having grown tired of Kimiko's presence, "Might I suggest you go help the rest of the sub-branch members get the boys luggage loaded up? We're on a tight schedule here."

Kimiko's eyes narrowed imperceptibly, "Sure thing…Sora, I'll see you later."

"Later, Kimi-nee," Akisora replied as the woman walked over to a group of sub-branch servants who seemed to be struggling. Turning back to his father, the boy sighed, "Did you really have to do that, dad?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Heihachi dismissed as he walked back to the plane, "In anycase, I believe Minato is about to disembark."

Right on cue, the last person to step off the plane was a grizzled looking man who was more massive in bulk than Heihachi, with long, wild black and red hair that went down to the small of his back, intimidating amber eyes, and a scruffy beard. Dressed in his full Imperial Guardian uniform, comprised of a rich purple gi, gold hakama, and a more elaborate looking haori than his sons', the man could be mistaken for a member of the imperial family rather than their guardian. Heihachi stepped back a bit from the stairs to give the man some room, "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Minato."

Minato Tachibana strode over to his younger brother until he was literally a few feet away, and fixed him with a hard stare, "…you've grown fat."

All eyes in the hanger turned to the two large men, some of them fearfully. No one had ever insulted the clan head in such a way before to his face, with good reason as Heihachi towered over nearly all of them all like a monstrous body-builder. The two brothers however weren't even paying attention to the crowd around them, only focused on staring intently at the other.

The stand-off was finally broken when Heihachi slowly walked up to his brother and, to everyone's surprise, began rubbing the older man's sizeable stomach, "So…how many months?"

"Hah! You cheeky bastard!" Minato replied jovially as he playfully swung at Heihachi before embracing him in a fierce hug, "It's good to see you, otouto-sama."

"The same goes for me, aniki," Heihachi replied as he released Minato and guided him and the others to the waiting convoy, "As much as I'd love to catch up, here isn't the best place to do it. Come, the cars are over here."

"Look at this place…seems so damn peaceful, you'd never think a random assassin was picking us off one by one," Minato mused as he watched the town of Hinata fly by in the window. Heihachi nodded solemnly as he reached for a bottle of expensive sake to the side. The limousines that Akisora had obtained for the convoy all came with only the finest amenities, along with being engineered to physically withstand anything short of a full out military assault…or a natural disaster. Pouring two small cups of the alcohol, he passed one to his gruff brother, who nodded his thanks.

"Ahh, just what I needed," Minato chuckled before a grave expression came over his face, "So…down to business. There still aren't any leads yet, right?"

"None in the slightest," Heihachi growled as he sipped the sake, "we have every police division in Hinata and the surrounding three towns and cities searching, but it's as if this assassin is a ghost. He leaves no clues, no DNA, nothing!"

The bearded man sucked his teeth in aggravation, "Bullshit! There's no such thing as an assassin that leaves no proof! If those sorry bastards haven't found a Buddha-damn thing yet, then they haven't been lookin right!" he fought the urge to spit on the ground, "If only I could've brought Ruumari with me. He'd find this murderin sonuvabitch in no time flat and show him the clan justice he's been asking for!"

"I have some…suspicions, regarding this assassin's identity, or at least the identity of those who may have hired him," The Tachibana head admitted, earning a questioning look from Minato, "Contrary to publicized belief, it has not just been Main branch families that have been attacked. Four sub-branch families were systematically taken out as well about three and a half years ago."

"Is that right?" Minato scratched his beard in thought, "Well, it's not like we really give a damn about those branch trash gaijin…so why the sudden interest?"

"…because it was only those four sub-branch families whose head members took part in the incident four years ago…"

Minato nearly spat out his sake and sputtered, "What?! Impossible! The only people who should have that knowledge are either clan members or six feet under where we put 'em!"

"That was my impression as well," Heihachi said, taking another sip to calm his nerves, "However, there are signs in these assassinations that lead me to believe that may no longer be the case."

"What signs are you talking about?"

Heihachi paused for a minute before reaching for a thick manila folder on the seat next to him and tossing it to Minato, "look through this file and tell me if you spot a pattern."

Minato opened the folder and glanced through the many documents, including pictures and police reports detailing the murders. As he read through the gory details, his eyes slowly narrowed until they were barely slits, "…they all burned to death…or if not that then were killed before being burned to the point of rendering them unrecognizable."

"That's not all," the Tachibana head interrupted, "From what the coroners and other medical experts were able to determine, the corpses belonging to either the heads or heirs to those sub-branch families possessed grievous injuries associated with torture…"

"…the ones who took part in the massacre…" Minato felt a small tendril of anxiety run down his spine the realization dawned on him, "…how…how could he know EXACTLY who to go for…I'm tellin ya 'Hachi, the only ones who have that knowledge are those of us in the clan-"

"And those who we killed," Heihachi finished for him, his amber eyes locking with the grizzled man's own across from him, "Kurotora made sure he killed every last one that was in that house. He told me so himself."

Minato leaned back, hesitant with his next words, "He may have…but are you absolutely sure that he's absolutely sure he killed them all?"

Before Heihachi could respond, a knock came on the glass partition, "Heihachi-sama. We've arrived at the main compound."

"Thank you," Heihachi turned to Minato, "Speak no more of this matter in the household while the others are around. I'd rather not concern my son with this matter so soon before his academy exams."

"Consider these lips sealed, Hachi."

The two waited for the limo to come to a full stop before disembarking, the rest of the convoy having arrived before them. The Tachibana compound was massive, located to the southeast of the Imperial Palace, with a formidable wall surrounding the entire complex. The main building that served as the residential complex for the Imperial Guardians was a grand feudal-style mansion, with clay tile roofs and stone walls. Large stone steps led to an extravagant entrance with small tori gates to each side of the entry way. Spotting Akisora conversing with his triplet cousins, Heihachi quickly waved him over.

"Sora, can you go get your brother? I'm sure he'll want to greet the rest of the family."

"Will do, Otou-sama," Akisora bowed respectfully before heading back to his cousins. After hearing where he was headed, the three assassins-in-training followed him into the spacious home.

"Well there they go," Minato grinned as he watched the boys walk off, "Hope Kurotora-kun doesn't mind the company."

Heihachi grinned, "No…I think it'll be good for him. He's been very mature in handling his responsibilities as of late, but he's still a boy. A break every now and again won't kill him."

"Holy shit, you guys seriously live here?!" Ranmaru looked around in wonder at the fine art and ancient armor and weapons that dotted the hallway. The four boys had gone straight for the bedchambers on the third floor of the mansion, and along the way, the three visitors had seen many pieces of exquisite artwork and revered national treasures. Akisora grinned at the bewilderment in his younger cousin's voice, "Well…personally I spend more time at our main compound on Rishiri Island, but since I want to attend a university around here, I'll be moving in with aniki."

"I definitely wouldn't mind staying in a place like this," Rikimaru grinned, his normally stern eyes alight in glee at the prospect of living the high life right in the country's capital, "So what school are you thinking of applying to? The three of us are lookin into Kaisei Academy in the city."

Akisora chuckled, "I'm not sure, but probably Tokyo-U. I toured there a while ago and I thought it was pretty cool, but Tora-nii hated it. Ended up dropping out to go into the police academy three weeks after the semester started."

"Seriously? But what about all the...y'know…scenery?" Ranmaru grinned lecherously, his mind running rampant with images of beautiful women all over the campus…along with other R-rated images of what he'd love to do to them.

"Such a beast you are, Ran," Ichimaru whispered quietly, shaking his head at his brother's antics.

The eldest of them chuckled as they came upon a large shoji door. Just as he was about to knock, Akisora paused, "Hey…did you guys hear that?"

The triplets stopped a foot behind their cousin and shook their heads in confusion, "Nope. What did you hear?" Rikimaru asked.

Akisora was about to reply, but was interrupted by a strange noise coming from inside the room.

"….was that giggling?"

"….."

'Giggle giggle'

"…yes Ichi that was definitely giggling…"

The door suddenly slid open, and the triplets could only stare as a young woman with long black hair, dazzling purple eyes, and pale, delicate skin came out of the room, garbed in a tight blue dress that accentuated her perfect hourglass figure. Upon seeing the newcomers, she giggled in an angelic voice and called back into the room, "hey Tora-kun…Sora and a couple guests are out here!"

"Oh? What's up, Sora?"

"Nothin much, aniki! Catch ya at a bad time?"

"Nah, it's cool. Yumi, let em in!"

The lovely woman named Yumi gave the four a smile before standing to the side. Ranmaru and Rikimaru stared for a moment longer before running into the room, steam pouring from their ears and perverted looks on their faces, Ichimaru sighing and sauntering in behind them. Akisora chuckled and turned to the woman, "Sorry if we interrupted you two."

"Oh, it's quite alright," Yumi answered with a small smile, "I was just leaving now anyway. Originally I planned on just stopping by for a quick breakfast, but well…you know Tora-kun…" her voice faded out as she stared back at the door dreamily, accompanied by a faint red blush on her cheeks.

'…yep…Casa-Tora strikes again,' Akisora laughed and waved her off, "Why am I not surprised. Anyway, you remember the routine, just talk to the guards at the door and they'll get you to wherever you want to go."

"Thanks Sora-kun," Yumi replied before placing a gentle kiss on the red-head's cheek, "By the way, Risa's been asking for you a lot. I think the poor girl's in love," she smiled cheekily. Akisora gave the woman an exasperated sigh.

"We already set up a date for this weekend…sheesh, you show a girl a good time ONCE and you pay for it forever..."

After waving goodbye one last time, Akisora went into his older brother's room, where he found the boys sitting around with no Kurotora in sight.

"Where's Tora-nii?"

"He's getting changed in the bathroom," Ichimaru answered, pointing his thumb at the other end of the room. The assembled group didn't have to wait long before the door opened, revealing Akisora's older brother and the heir-apparent to the clan.

Like his brother and father, four years hadn't changed much on Kurotora Tachibana. His skin was still pale as paper, and his red hair still fell down in wild spikes, only now it hung below the small of his back in a high ponytail. He was currently dressed in only a black hakama and tabi socks, leaving bare his well-muscled chest and arms, with several scars clear against his skin from many years of harsh training and running missions across the world. His trademark cat-like yellow eyes still possessed their ability to mesmerize those who gazed into them too long, something the triplets were now subject to.

"Huh, I didn't know you guys were comin today!" Tora greeted enthusiastically, walking over to the assembled group. Ichimaru waved from his seat, while Ranmaru and Rikimaru stood and bowed, "What's up, future head!"

"Aww shut up with that dammit, it aint official yet!" Kurotora laughed as he hugged each one in turn, before walking to his closet to grab an elaborate black and red men's kimono, "So I notice you two were making eyes at Yumi. Gorgeous girl…met her at a strip club a year or two ago while she was working the floor. She's MY favorite though, so hands off."

"Dammit!" Ranmaru pouted, earning another laugh from the others, "Oh well…once we get into Kaisei, I'm sure we can find girls that look just as banging as her!"

"Uh huh, good luck with that. And Kaisei? Don't tell me you guys are gonna aim for that shit-dump Tokyo-U after you graduate, are you?" Kurotora grimaced. Akisora smirked at his brother's reaction, "I already told them that you hated the place, but hey, to each their own. Anyway, we'll let you get ready. Meet us downstairs when you're done, aniki."

Kurotora nodded as the four boys left. Sighing to himself, the young heir looked around his room, taking in the comfortable bedroom, with fine wooden furniture, a western-style king-sized bed with red silk sheets, a 60' flatscreen mounted on the wall across from the bed, and balcony with a breathtaking view of the Imperial Palace and its gardens.

'Looks like another awesome day,' he thought as he went over to his dresser. Standing on top of it was a golden sword stand that held his birthright and most trusted companion, the nefarious black katana, Juuchi Yosamu, which he'd formally inherited two years ago. Gripping the handle, Kurotora could feel the dark ki of the blade resonating within him.

"Good morning to you too, buddy," the red-haired heir greeted warmly, "Let's go…bad manners to keep family waiting."

Dinner that afternoon was a spirited affair, with Heihachi and Minato's families gathered around for the first time in months for dinner while sub-branch servants milled about placing various dishes on the table. The only person not present was Kimiko, who had immediately taken her leave once the convoy arrived at the compound. At the head of the table, Heihachi and Kurotora laughed uncontrollably at Minato's stories regarding his work at Akasuisei, along with the few times they were able to steal a contract from Nagareboshi. At the middle of the table, Akisora and the triplets traded their own stories about school, training and their social lives.

"So then me and her start, y'know, getting to know each other better," Ranmaru grinned as he regaled Akisora with one of his many trysts, "and then next thing I know the door slams open and this huge fucking burly dude stomps in. First thing out of his mouth, 'WHO THE FUCK'RE YOU AND WHAT'RE YA DOIN TO M'DAUGHTER!?'"

"Hah! The classic 'dad walks in on you smashing his little girl'…you should've locked the door," Akisora chuckled, absently waving off a sub-branch member who had inquired about taking away the half-empty dishes of food in front of him, "So what did you do?"

"What do you think I did?" the youngest Tachibana triplet paused for dramatic effect, "…I pointed to my haori lying on the chair in her room. He saw the Imperial Guardian badge and clan sigil and almost shit himself!"

Rikimaru shook his head with a smirk as Ranmaru cracked up at the end of his story, "Yet another abuse of power by our own Ranmaru, ladies and gentlemen. So that's how many times you've avoided certain death via enraged fathers?"

"Oh, I KNOW you're not talkin smart to me bro," Ranmaru countered, "Remember Nagoya? That senator's daughter? From AMERICA?"

"Oh I remember that one," Ichimaru's smile grew as he noticed how red in the face the older triplet had become, "that temporary bodyguard detail we had. You really did a 'bang-up' job o that one!"

Rikimaru glared at his brothers, as if he was willing the planet to open up and swallow them whole, "All…my…hate…you bastards."

"We love you too big brother!"

"Looks like they're having a good time," Kurotora noted, watching his younger brother and cousins laugh at another of Ranmaru's exploits. Minato chuckled before taking another sip of sake, "Those boys can be a handful at times, but by Buddha, once they start focusing, they can be pretty damn scary."

"Well so long as they behave themselves and do not fall back on their…bad habits," Heihachi warned, leveling a serious look at his older brother, "As we've stated a hundred times, Hinata is not that safe for us, despite our power and prestigious position."

Kurotora gripped his sake dish tightly, causing it to crack, "It still burns me up dad…those first four gaijin families we passed off as flukes. Then Ai-obasan's body ended up washing ashore in a cheap pine box…chopped to pieces and burnt black."

Heihachi gazed grimly upon his son as he began fuming over the deaths of their family, "Yes…Ai was the first. Then Mamoru three months later. And four months following his pillar's deaths…"

"…Tomoko," Minato choked out, "Buddha dammit, she never deserved to go out the way she did. Such humiliation in death," he could barely finish his sentence as he fought back the tears in his eyes.

"I remember how pissed off Yusuke-jisan was…he flew off the handle and took his whole family out to search for Tomoko-obasan's killer," Kurotora's dish shattered in his hand, but strangely he suffered no wounds from the porcelain shards, "next we heard of them, they wound up blown up in a warehouse explosion…faulty gas line they said."

Heihachi set his cup down, "and now…Amagai," Minato tensed at the mention of the most recently slain Tachibana Pillar, "This was the first time a child was slain as well. With the others, the children were at least eighteen, so we thought the young ones would be safe. Now we know that to be false."

The clan head turned to face his older brother, a stony look etched on his face, "This is why I'm telling you to keep your sons in check, aniki," the clan head turned to the larger man, "I know of their past discretions…the cover-ups, the throwing around of our name and power. For the duration of your stay here, that must END."

Minato nodded fiercely, his face starting to show signs of inebriation, "I'll talk to em as soon as I get the chance."

"You might want to do that after dinner," Kurotora interjected before subtly pointing down at the table. Heihachi and Minato looked over discreetly, just in time to see Ranmaru flipping up the skirt of one of the sub-branch serving girls. The girl, a mousy-looking redhead with brown eyes and a modest figure, could only shiver in fear as the youngest Tachibana triplet continued to torture her, running a hand along one of her admittedly luscious legs. She squeaked when he reached her firm rear, and ran off in tears while the rest of the boys, minus Akisora, laughed at the spectacle.

"Yea…I think I will have that talk with them right after dinner."

"Hah! Did you guys see her face when she ran off?! It's like she's never been touched before!" Ranmaru guffawed as he and his two brothers headed back upstairs after dinner, "I thought all the sub-branch women were fucking whores or something?"

Rikimaru chuckled, "Not all of em, you idiot. Regardless, we probably should be a little more…considerate."

"Ouch, how hard was it to actually get that word out, big bro?" Ichimaru asked, chuckling at how Rikimaru seemed to hesitate.

"Pretty damn hard. I mean, they're blood traitors who've tainted the blood of the clan by marrying outside it. But these are Heihachi-sama's servants, not ours. We can't really treat em the same way unless we wanna get in trouble with the big guy."

"It's not just him you have to worry about, son."

The boys froze when their father walked into the hallway from a side passage, a stern look in his sharp amber eyes, "Ranmaru. Ichimaru. Rikimaru. I've been looking for you. We need to talk."

"Yes father," the three answered simultaneously before following Minato to his guest room. The living space given to the four of them was about the size of an upscale apartment in Tokyo, with four posh bedrooms, a living room, a small kitchen, and two bathrooms. Once inside, Minato shut the door while the boys took their seats on the plush chairs and sofas.

"I probably should've told you boys this back before we took off," the burly father of four began as he looked each one in the eye, "I don't really give much of a damn about what you do within these walls. Here is home. Here is safe. Outside of these walls though, different story. Your usual shenanigans that you idgits like to pull," he cut his hand across the air to emphasize his next words, "That all stops here."

"Seriously dad?!" Ranmaru whined, nearly jumping from his seat, "C'mon, it's not like we've done anything THAT serious!"

"Tell that to that girl you three messed up back in Matsue a couple months ago," Minato growled, silencing any further protests, "Your older brother Ruumari's been doing his best to sweep that under the rug as a favor to you three, and lemme tell you…he's right pissed at the lot of you."

Ichimaru's smile dimmed a fraction, "I don't see the problem, pops. She knew what she was gettin into the minute she let us take her back to our place. Commoners like that should be grateful we even notice em."

"I'll let you say that to Ruumari yourself when he eventually gets here," Minato countered, sending his middle triplet a dark smirk, "Let's see how long you live after that."

Ichimaru promptly shut up after.

"As I was saying, whatever you wanna do with the sub-branch gaijin traitors here is on you. But I better not hear a damn thing about you three messing with some outsider beyond these walls…or there'll be trouble. Comprende."

"Yes father," the boys replied reluctantly, but promptly.

Minato nodded, satisfied at their compliance, "That's what I thought. Don't let all this easygoing atmosphere shit get to you…we're in a dangerous place."

"It won't be dangerous for long though…"

Minato turned to the source of the interruption, only to find Kurotora sitting in the window sill of the living room, "When the hell did you get there?"

"I've been here the whole time, uncle," Kurotora replied as he hopped down to the living room floor and walked over to his relatives, "Guess your senses are just dulling."

"Or maybe you're gettin too good for this old-timer," Minato joked before sending the future heir an apologetic look, "My apologies for dinner. I didn't mean to bring up an old wound like that. Tomoko's…a really bad subject for all of us."

Kurotora waved him off, "It's fine…she was one of my favorite aunts…and was close to mother," none of them missed the slight hitch in Kurotora's voice at the mention of his mother, "But that's all the more reason for me to find this bastard."

Minato and the triplets nearly dropped their jaws in shock when they noticed a malevolent, purple aura spring up around Kurotora's hands and the Juuchi Yosamu strapped to his back, while his normally amber eyes became shrouded in a torrent of dark amethyst ki.

"And when I DO find him…I'll do to him what we did to little Kyo and his worthless clan four years ago!"

"Aaachoo!"

"S-Sempai! Are you alright?"

Keitaro rubbed the top of his nose with the back of his hand, before accepting a tissue from Shinobu, "Thanks, and I'm alright Shinobu-chan. Someone's probably talking bad about me."

The bluenette blushed and looked back down at the table she was seated at, "I-I don't think anyone would t-talk b-bad about Sempai…"

The landlord grinned at the young girl's innocent words before looking back at the scattered papers on the table in front of him. Shinobu had come to him after an early dinner for help with her studies. Unwilling to turn her away, Keitaro immediately let the youngest resident into his room and began aiding her with her homework. It had started to become a routine for them in the past couple of weeks, and for Shinobu, it was the perfect time to bond further with her new 'friend'.

"Alright, let's start the next set of problems," Keitaro flipped Shinobu's book to the next page, but before he could get started, the door to his room opened, and a head of long brown hair poked inside.

"Keitaro, could you come down for a second?" Naru asked before realizing he wasn't alone, "Oops! Sorry, are you busy?"

Shinobu shook her head before Keitaro could respond, "I-it's alright. S-sempai's already helped me a lot. I can finish the rest on my own, honest!"

"You sure, Shinobu-chan?" Keitaro asked, but after seeing the young homemaker's nod, he rose from his seat on the floor, "Well, if you're sure. If you end up needing some more help, you know where to find me."

Naru stepped out of the way to let Keitaro and Shinobu exit. Turning toward her sempais, Shinobu bowed and gave Keitaro a beautiful smile, "T-thanks again for all your help, S-Sempai!"

"Anytime, Shinobu-chan," the landlord rubbed a hand affectionately through the bluenette's hair, earning a tomato red blush from the girl before she turned and ran back to her room. Naru eyed the scene with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "Well, well…someone's been getting a little comfortable with Shinobu, huh?"

"You mad, bro?" Keitaro joked back, earning a playful slap on his shoulder from the brunette bombshell, "Seriously though, it's just helping her with her homework a bit. I did the same with my little sister back home, so I'm used to it."

Naru smiled at him as they walked towards the stairs, "I remember. She was the dark-haired girl that interrupted us that one time at the library right? What was her name? Kanako?" she asked, tapping her finger on her temple in an attempt to recall the fierce, slightly-creepy girl with an unhealthy attachment to her older brother.

"Yea, that was her alright," Keitaro shivered a bit as he recalled the incident. He hadn't intended for Kanako to ever meet Naru because he knew how she'd react. Unfortunately for him, he'd miscalculated.

Kanako's initial meeting with Naru had been a LOT worse than he thought.

But that's a story for another day.

As the two passed some open windows, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps caused Keitaro to glance outside…and promptly duck the flying kick aimed for his head.

"Keitaro!"

"Ack! Suu! What the hell?!" Naru screamed as the foreigner landed perfectly on the ground, only to quickly climb up Keitaro's back and take a seat on his shoulders.

"I was just greeting Keitaro!" The hyperactive blonde answered as she looked down at Keitaro, "You don't like my salute?"

"Heh, I wouldn't say I didn't like it," Keitaro laughed nervously, "But around here, that's not a greeting. That's an attack."

Naru nodded in agreement, "He's right. Even if he's a trained warrior, you could seriously injure him if you're careless like that again."

"Keitaro knows I'd never hurt him!" Suu defended as she climbed back down to the ground and turned to face the two with a beaming smile, "I really like Keitaro!"

Keitaro had to fight the slight blush that threatened to appear from the blonde's affections, "Heh, t-thanks Suu. Still, you should be a little more careful."

Suu nodded, but the two university aspirants didn't think that would be the last time she'd "greet" the landlord that way. As they went downstairs and entered the lobby, the three noticed Motoko chatting lightly with Kitsune at the main entrance, a duffel back held over her shoulder.

"Hey Kitsune, Motoko-chan," Naru greeted as they approached, "What's going on?"

"Hey y'all!" Kitsune answered back, "Not much, lil Motoko-chan here's goin on an adventure for the next few days!"

"It's not an adventure, Kitsune-san," Motoko sighed as she adjusted the bag over her shoulder, "My club was given permission to take a three-day training sabbatical in Kagoshima."

Suu looked at the tall kendoka with a lost expression, "Motoko's goin away?"

"Only for a few days, Suu," Motoko answered gently, kneeling down so she could look at the foreigner face to face, "You will be fine. Just remember to be on your best behavior and don't cause trouble for the others, ok?"

Suu nodded, but with a distant look still on her face. Kitsune and Naru looked on a bit sadly, while Keitaro seemed confused. Motoko patted her charge on the shoulder before getting back to her feet and turning to the assembled group, "Before I leave, there's one last thing."

Moving so fast that none save Keitaro could see her, the Aoyama heiress invaded Keitaro's personal space, standing so closer there was barely an inch of space between their bodies. Her steel grey eyes bored into the landlord's sharp brown ones with a stern expression.

"Urashima-san."

"Aoyama-san."

"…"

"…"

"…you WILL give me a rematch when I return."

"…no problem. Looking forward to it."

Everyone minus Suu watched the scene with bated breath, the tension in the air so palpable it could be cut with a knife…or a katana in this case. The situation quickly deflated once Motoko nodded, before turning to the door and placing on her sandals. As she walked outside, Naru and Kitsune let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Sheesh! That was nuts!" Kitsune said as she wiped the sweat off her brow, "I thought we were gonna get round two!"

"We wouldn't just start fighting here," Keitaro reassured, although he too felt a bit apprehensive. Ever since the duel, Motoko had been keeping a sharper eye on him, always watching him from afar. He could even feel her presence when he was training in the forests behind Hinata-sou, meaning she now knew where he went to practice. It would be a lot more difficult to hone his ki techniques, especially his blood curse, with the Aoyama heir shadowing him.

"Well, glad that's over," Naru sighed before turning to walk back inside, "Should we get a head start on studying, Keitaro?"

"Huh?" Keitaro turned back quickly to answer, his head still stuck in his thoughts, "Oh, sure. Suu, are you coming back inside?"

Naru and Kitsune looked back at the foreign girl, whose gaze was still locked in the direction that Motoko left. Naru was about to pull Keitaro inside, but the fox-eyed woman next to her quickly grabbed her arm and began to pull her away, "What the hell are you doing?!" she whispered harshly.

"I just wanted to warn him!"

"And get us caught instead?! Are you an idiot?!"

Oblivious to the two women quickly getting away from him, Keitaro walked up to Suu and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Suu, are you alright?"

Shaken from her stupor, Suu looked up curiously at the landlord, before gently placing a hand on his forearm, giggling lightly.

The poor boy had no idea what he'd just gotten himself into.

He was 'gon learn today.

"Ooooh! What's this?! Can I see?!"

"No…put it down Suu."

"But it looks sooooo cooool! What about this?!"

"You can't play with that either, now sit dow-"

"Wow! You have even more swords and old stuff than Motoko!"

Keitaro face-palmed for the umpteenth time as he once again put another of his katana sets out of the overly curious and hyperactive foreign girl's reach. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was only half past eight in the evening, barely an hour since Motoko had departed for her training trip, leaving Keitaro no choice but to let Suu tag along with him as he returned to his room to try and study. Shaking his head, the young landlord turned to see where his new charge had gone, only for his eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates when he saw a very familiar floorboard leaning on the wall.

"Hey Keitaro! What's do?!" Suu asked as she held up Yawarakai-te in her delicate hands. She had barely unsheathed the blade, letting out a small glimmer of its ethereal glow, before finding herself airborne heading to the other side of the room. Using speed borne from panic, Keitaro had reflexively reached the other end of the room, grabbed Suu, and simultaneously threw the smaller girl to the entrance of the room while pulling his heirloom blade from her hands.

"Phew…that was clo-OH SHIT!" Keitaro cursed as he finally realized what he'd just done to separate his resident from his most treasured possession. Channeling ki into his legs, the Mononobe heir made a mad dash for the girl, sliding under her just in time to catch the foreigner in his arms.

"Holy crap! Suu, are you ok?!" the flabbergasted landlord asked concernedly, getting up from the floor and putting the astonished young girl back on her feet, his eyes scanning everywhere on her body for any signs of injury.

"K…K…Keitaro…th-th-that…" Suu could barely speak, her entire frame shaking as the shock began to wear off. Noticing her uncharacteristic stutter, Keitaro kneeled before the middle schooler and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, "What's wrong, Suu? Are you hurt-"

"THATWASTOTALLYAWESOMEYOURESOCOOLYOUGOTTATEACHMEHOWTODOTHAT!"

Keitaro blinked once, then twice for good measure, as the girl in front of him started going off on an overzealous tangent, arms flailing around as she described what Keitaro had done seconds ago. "Uhh…S-Suu?"

"LikeonesecondiwasWHOOOSHandthenkyouliketeleportedlikeZOOMandthen-"

The poor landlord could only stare wide-eyed in stunned silence, barely able to comprehend a word the girl was saying as she chattered about for several minutes. It was only when she slipped into speaking her native tongue that Keitaro decided he just couldn't deal anymore and placed a hand on the girl's mouth, abruptly ending her spirited dialogue.

"Ok…I'm gonna take my hand off your mouth now…and you're not gonna go off like you did again…alright? Nod twice if you understand."

Suu quickly nodded twice, and Keitaro slowly took his hand from her mouth, showing the girl's bright grin and her blushed cheeks. While he could tell she would keep her promise, the wary landlord merely had to look into Suu's vibrant green eyes to know one wrong step would trigger the hyperactive foreigner again.

Luckily, a distraction came at just the right moment.

"What's going on down here?"

Keitaro and Suu looked up at the ceiling, where Naru's head was poking upside down into the room, an inquisitive look on her lovely face. Just before Suu launched into another animated explanation, Keitaro spoke up, "Nothing much, Suu just got excited over some of my family's antique weapons and wanted me to tell her about 'em," he looked down nervously at the blonde, "isn't that right, Suu?"

Seeing the girl nod her head several times, Naru shot Keitaro a deadpan glare, "So lemme get this straight…you're keeping live weapons out in the open in your room, with a little girl that you know for a fact can't keep her hands off anything that looks cool to her," Keitaro laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head, "…I can't with you sometimes."

The genius brunette withdrew her head, only to start climbing down into the landlord's room feet first. Using Naru's short lapse in attention, Keitaro quickly took Yawarakai-te and placed it back into its hiding place while holding Suu in one arm, his hand placed over her eyes for good measure.

"Hey! It's my room, dammit! I can decorate it however I want!" Keitaro whined comically, pulling a giggling Suu away from the secret compartment in the floor just as Naru turned to face them, "and another thing…you and Oni-Kitsune couldn't warn me?!"

Now it was Naru's turn to give Keitaro a sheepish look, "Oh…right…uh, sorry? I tried to tell you, but Kitsune kinda…dragged me off before I could get a word in."

"Riiiiight," Keitaro sighed as he let go of the foreigner, who quickly bounced away to another part of the room, "Anyway, I'm sorry if we were too loud…it's been a while since I've had to babysit."

"Really now? The great and all-powerful Keitaro Urashima is actually BAD at something?" Naru mockingly gasped, earning her an unamused glare from her landlord, "Aww, relax, I was kidding!" she giggled, gently patting Keitaro on the shoulder in an effort to make him lighten up, "I was just about to ask if you wanted to start studying later. We breezed through the practice exams last month, but the real ones are gonna be a lot harder."

Keitaro rubbed a hand through his spiky hair, which had grown a bit in the time he'd been at the inn, "Yea…I'll probably have to wait until Suu settles down a bit though. Hope you don't mind starting a bit late."

Naru shook her head, "Nah, I don't mind. Good luck getting her to calm down though-"

"THAT'S SO AWESOME!"

The two Tokyo U aspirants quickly looked to the other side of the room where the shout came from, and saw Suu sitting down in front of the large HDTV, her eyes wide with awe and glued to the screen. Walking up behind her, Keitaro noticed the commercial that was playing; a propaganda ad for the JSDF, showing a live demonstration of new tech from Nagareboshi, his family's arms corporation.

'Huh…I forgot all about that new test,' he thought as he watched the infomercial play out, taking note of how absorbed in the commercial Suu was, 'Guess it makes sense…seeing what she builds in her spare time…'

"Nagirabushi makes all kindsa cool stuff!" Suu exclaimed as the clip ended, her fists shaking in front of her and a look of pure adoration on her face, before her grin fell into a slight frown, "Suu keeps trying to replicate their inventions, but Suu never gets them right."

"Maybe you just need someone to tutor you," Naru said as she rubbed the younger girl's back in an effort to cheer her up. Keitaro looked on with a mix of amusement and sympathy, before a slight buzz went off in his pocket. Taking out his phone, his eyes widened once he recognized the number.

"Excuse me a minute, girls, I gotta take this," he said quickly before walking out into the hall. He took a quick look around, and after sending out a quick pulse of his ki to be sure no one else was in the area, he pressed the answer key.

"This is Keitaro."

"…Mononobe-dono," a wizened, slightly grizzled voice began, "It has been too long."

"Kishimoto-san! Good evening," Keitaro replied, "How can I help you?"

"…We have concluded analysis on the package you sent to us."

Keitaro's grip tightened and his eyes narrowed, "Already? I only gave that to you a couple weeks ago. Shouldn't the analysis take another month or two?"

The man identified as Kishimoto chuckled, "Let's just say that when Inoue-san's division heard the request came from you, they put in quite a bit of overtime."

"They really didn't have to do that," Keitaro whispered, feeling bad that so many people sacrificed all that extra time, but Kishimoto waved him off with a laugh, "You forget your station, and how much everyone at the company adores you, Mononobe-dono. In any case, I can give you the files before I leave the office. Can you come to the facility tonight?"

Checking his watch, Keitaro saw that it was almost nine, "I can make the next train and be there in half an hour. I'll meet you-"

"SUU! PUT THAT DOWN!"

"But it looks cool!"

"I DON'T CARE! IT'S DANGEROUS! PUT IT DOWN NOW!"

Keitaro fought the urge to face palm as he heard the commotion back in his room, "…I'll meet you in your office. Excuse me."

"Of course, Mononobe-dono."

Quickly hanging up the phone, the landlord returned to his room, where he found Naru and Suu engaged in an awkward tug-of-war with one of his bokken.

"Suu! Put that down," he said in a no nonsense voice, the commanding tone immediately causing Suu to let go and allow Naru to place the blade back in the closet. Keitaro nodded before going to grab a grey jacket and scarf to wear over his training clothes, "Thanks. Now, I gotta run an errand real quick. I'll be back later tonight."

"Awww! Suu wanted to play with Keitaro more," the blonde foreigner whined, crocodile tears streaming down her cheeks. Naru rubbed her hand on the younger girl's back to soothe her, "I know you did Suu. Come on, let's get you to bed. You have school tomorrow."

Keitaro knelt down and rubbed his hand through the blond girl's hair, "We'll…play some more tomorrow, I promise," he said before getting back to his feet and grabbing his blue scarf. As he made to exit the room, Naru placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Be careful out there, ok? I know you're some kick-ass swordsman and all, but it's still late out."

"You really don't need to worry so much…you'll get wrinkles early," Keitaro teased, getting a playful punch to the arm, "But thanks. I'll be fine."

Getting a nod from the lovely brunette, Keitaro patted Suu's head one more time before exiting the room. As he left the dorm, a dark smile slowly began to creep onto his face.

'Heh…I'll be more than fine after this…can't say the same for you and your hick family, Kurotora-teme…'

The train ride was quiet, as barely anyone really ever used them at that hour save for the salarymen that were heading home from after-work bonding with their co-workers, or vagrants out looking for trouble. Those scant few that were on the train had steered clear of the young man, who had the foresight to bring along his bokken, which was slung on his back. Funny how a single piece of wood and an icy stare from his dark brown eyes could deter the masses so well.

Peering out of the window, Keitaro stared listlessly as the lights in the tunnel passed by in afterimages, his mind lost in his musings.

'Hard to believe it's been two months…Thanks to Suu, I haven't been able to read Kimiko's file all that much,' he reached into his gi and pulled out the manila folder he'd received from the assassin. Since the train car he was in was currently deserted, the avenger had no worries about anyone eavesdropping. Taking a look at the file, he first pulled out a list of names that his 'inside man' had compiled.

"Let's see here…Minato Tachibana. 52 years of age, president of the newly established munitions company, Akasuisei as of three years ago," he read softly to himself, his eyes burning the picture of the man into his head, "Yurina Tachibana, 49 years of age, Minato's wife of 30 years…guess she married young…"

Looking further down the list of names, he spotted something that caused his eyes to widen minutely, "Ranmaru, Rikimaru, and Ichmaru Tachibana, triplets, 15 years of age and newly inducted assassins within the Tachibana clan. Aiming to attend… Kaisei Academy?" the evil smirk on Keitaro's face grew while within him, his rage began to bubble, "Well ain't that convenient?"

The next name on the dossier made him pause, "Hmm…Ruumari Tachibana, age 26…not much on him here. I wonder if Kimiko ran into trouble…" reading the name over again, the avenger felt a strange sense of familiarity.

'Why…do I feel like I know this guy from somewhere? And why does his name get me nervous?'

So caught up in his thoughts, Keitaro didn't realize he'd already arrived at his stop until it was announced on the speakers, "We have reached the last station on this train, Nagareboshi Tokyo. Please exit the train in an orderly fashion. Have a nice evening!"

Looking up, Keitaro noticed the station he'd arrived at, "Huh…I forgot we have our own station. Guess it has been a while since I dropped by."

Getting up from his seat, the landlord slipped the dossier back into his gi and, after adjusting his bokken, walked out of the train into the pristine-looking station. Spotting an elevator, he pressed the call button next to the 'up' key, "This is Keitaro Urashima, here to meet with Genji Kishimoto."

He had to wait for a few moments before a voice replied, "Kishimoto-san is waiting for you on the top floor in his office," the elevator doors suddenly opened, revealing a posh-looking elevator car, "It's good to see you again, Mononobe-sama."

"Good to be back, even if it is for a short after-hours visit," Keitaro chuckled before boarding, the glass doors closing slowly behind him. As the elevator breached the main floor, the young landlord was nearly blinded by the millions of lights that decorated the Tokyo skyline. Though he couldn't see it since the elevator faced away from the building, Keitaro could envision the looming steel grey tower that was Nagareboshi's Tokyo headquarters. Its sturdy frame housed almost 100 floors of laboratories, testing facilities, and multiple divisions dealing with weapons, medical research, marketing, international relations, and more. Thinking about it all made the young heir's head spin sometimes.

'Hard to believe we started out as just a small group of blacksmiths and swordmakers for the emperor centuries ago….now we're a munitions distributing monster,' Keitaro thought as he shook his head with a smile on his face, 'It really does help to be good at what you do…and to know the right people.'

His introspection was interrupted by the doors chiming, indicating he'd reached the top floor. Exiting the elevator, Keitaro took a quick look around. The lobby of the top floor consisted of a single desk that was connected to the wall and a pair of oak doors, the emblem of the Mononobe clan painted in the center of them. Keitaro walked up and gently ran a hand along the image: two intersecting diamonds painted in black over a dark blue rectangle.

"I remember Dad called these Chigai Bishi," the young landlord recalled, as he eyed the symbol with reverence. Shaking his head with a smile, he pushed open the doors and entered the office.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kishimoto-jiji," the Mononobe heir bowed as he walked into the dim room. Seated behind a mahogany desk on the other side of the expansive room was a man of about 70, with long gray hair tied into a ponytail, a well-trimmed grey beard, and warm, but sharp light brown eyes. Few wrinkles lined the man's face, making him appear younger than his years. He wore a crisp, dark grey business suit that only added to his regal image. Looking up from the folder on his desk, Genji Kishimoto grinned at the sight of the young man.

"Mononobe-dono," he greeted in a gravelly voice as he rose from his plush chair, quickly making his way over to the young company heir. After a warm hug, he gently placed his hands on the younger man's shoulders, "I'm glad to see you looking well. How has the transition into your new home been?"

"More insane than anything I ever expected, but I'm still alive," Keitaro replied with a wry grin, "You won't believe who's living there, by the way. Remember Tsuruko's little sister?"

"I believe I can recall her…Motoko's her name isn't it?" Kishimoto asked, his eyes widening a fraction after seeing the boy nod, "Huh…if I didn't know any better, I'd say Hina-sama was trying to tell you something."

"Knowing her, that's exactly what she's doing," the landlord replied before a frown came over his face, "But we can talk more about that later. You said you had the analysis for me?"

Releasing his hold on the young man, Kishimoto walked back across the room towards the desk, where he picked up the thick folder he'd been examining before. Taking a second to check its contents, he headed back and handed the file to Keitaro, "This is everything they were able to find regarding the Yoru no Shukufuku sample you liberated from Amagai Tachibana's corpse. According to their observations, the ki signature of the sample matches the signature of the remnants of dark ki that littered the area around your compound on the night of the attack."

Keitaro's eyes narrowed and his hands gripped the file tighter as memories from that horrific night began to play out in his mind. He could still remember the dark ki aura that surrounded Kurotora before he was knocked unconscious after witnessing his mother's murder, "Then we got em…this analysis…the files from Mikamura's lab…we got that whole clan right where we want em…"

"Indeed we do, Mononobe-dono," Kishimoto's replied darkly, "However, might I advise not bringing this to the authorities just yet?" at Keitaro's questioning glance, the acting president of Nagareboshi continued, "Handing over these files now would result in some rather difficult questions being asked, and I doubt telling them about your role in the deaths of the Sixth Tachibana Pillar would do your mission any good."

"Heh…who said anything about telling the cops about this?" Keitaro answered, surprising Kishimoto, "The Tachibana run most of the police force in Hinata and the greater Tokyo area, and this is on top of them being Imperial Guardians with almost total authority over law enforcement regardless of jurisdiction. No…taking this info to 'em would be suicide…plain and simple."

Seeing the boy's point, the older man nodded with a grim expression on his face, "You make a good point," Genji then noticed the haunted look on Keitaro's face, "However, I get the feeling there's more to this move than that…?"

"…He murdered them, Kishimoto-jiji…he murdered them all in cold blood over some stupid tournament and an ancient feud that should've been stomped out by the emperor's decree centuries ago. No…I'm gonna make him suffer…I'm gonna make him watch as everything he's ever known and everyone he's ever loved is taken from him piece by piece until there's nothing left…and then I'm gonna slit his throat and watch him bleed out…"

'So this is what you've become…what you've allowed vengeance to turn you into…Mononobe-dono…,' Kishimoto thought mournfully as he looked at the broken young man in front of him, "I see…well then, if you plan to kill the Tachibana anyway, why go through the trouble of obtaining the Yoru no Shukufuku?"

Keitaro smiled wickedly at the question, "Because… I'm gonna expose them for the corrupt, conniving asswipes they are first. I'll invalidate any plausible deniability they think they have. This ki enhancement drug was just the first step," he clutched the folder tightly to his chest and frowned, "I still have to figure out how they managed to fool everyone about the Juuchi Yosamu. But for that, I'll need to do some more research."

"Understood. In that case, feel free to make full use of our resources, Mononobe-dono," the older man bowed with a smile, "Although I hardly think I need to make such an offer…everything in this company IS yours, afterall."

"I appreciate the help regardless, Kishimoto-jiji," Keitaro thanked as the two prepared to leave the room, "And sorry again for making you stay so late for me," taking a look at the clock, the landlord cursed as he noticed it was almost 11pm, "Dammit! The last train home was 30 minutes ago!"

Kishimoto's laughter rang throughout the office, "You forget that I have a car and I can still drive despite my age, Mononobe-dono. I'll give you a lift."

"No way! I made you stay way past closing time and," Keitaro argued, waving his hands animatedly in his polite, but sincere refusal. Kishimoto would have none of it, "I insist."

Realizing he'd never convince the old man otherwise, Keitaro relented, "….fine. I owe you, Kishimoto-jiji."

"You made me president of a multi-billion dollar company in your stead, and YOU owe ME? You really are your father's son, Mononobe-dono," the old man chuckled, guiding his future boss out of the office, "Now then, tell me a bit more about your new occupation as a landlord…"

"Hey Kitsune, did Keitaro-san come back yet?" Naru asked as she walked down the stairs into the living room. Peering up at her friend from her position on the sofa, the foxy woman shook her head, "Nope. Taro-chan's really burnin the midnight candle with this 'errand' of his. I wonder…" a mischievous grin appeared on the fox woman's face, "Maybe he's visitin a late-night lovah?"

Naru scoffed, "If you really think that, then I think you might wanna cut back on the sake…" sitting down next to her friend, the brunette paused for a moment, "Actually…now that I think about it, have you ever heard of him dating around? I know most of the boys at school had girlfriends at one point or another, but I can't remember Keitaro-san ever being with anyone."

"You're only catchin on now, hun?" Kitsune lifted an eyebrow at her best friend, "Ever since we met him, Taro-chan's been the definition of a lone wolf. Why do ya think I mess with him so much?"

"Sheesh…maybe you're the reason he's so uptight around girls," the bespectacled girl sighed as she lay back against the fluffy sofa cushions, "It's strange…but then again, he doesn't really open up to anyone. I mean, just look at our situation now. He lives here, he manages the dorm, but other than meals and study sessions, we barely see him…"

Kitsune looked over at her frustrated best friend and patted her shoulder to comfort her, "Well it's only been about what, a month? He's still adjustin'. So don't worry, we'll crack that shell o' his sooner or later! Speakin o' which," the older woman sat up and leaned into Naru's personal space, "that day's comin up soon…gonna try your master plan again?"

Naru blushed and shook her head, "I-I donno what you're talking about, Kitsune. What plan?"

The cheshire grin on the older woman's face only grew wider, "Awww, you know what I mean…wakin up early in the morning b'fore the rest of us so you can use the kitchen to make a certain sumthin for a certain best-friend-turned-landlord…"

"How do you even know about that?!"

"I'm a freelance journalist, sugah," Kitsune winked, "I have mah ways…"

Before Naru could dispute her friend's claim any further, the two girls heard the front doors slide open, revealing a slightly tired-looking Keitaro. Slipping off his geta sandals, the young landlord walked into the foyer, where he spotted his two high school classmates still awake.

"Oh, hey Naru-san, Oni-Kitsune," he waved lazily, "What are you two still doing up?"

"Taro-chan!" Kitsune screeched as she jumped from the sofa and bounded over to the landlord, engulfing in him a hug, "How'd you expect me to go to sleep when my adorable landlord was still out an about at this hour?! I was so worried!"

Keitaro tried to get a word out, but thanks to Kitsune hugging him, his head was planted firmly against her very generous chest. Too tired to fight her off, the landlord simply peered up at Naru, who was fighting between laughing at the spectacle and telling Kitsune off for being indecent yet again, "Get…her…off…me…"

"Ok Kitsune, I think you suffocated him enough for one day," the brunette chided as she separated the two. Looking up at her male friend, she asked, "How'd the errand go?"

"Eh…it went ok," Keitaro answered uninterestedly, "It was just clan stuff that one of Hina-obaasama's friends wanted me to do. The Urashima clan does a ton of stuff around the city, and as the heir, I gotta look after it from time to time."

"Aww, poor Taro-chan and all those borin clan head errands," Kitsune chimed in before taking the landlord by the arm, "Ya know what ya need right now? A nice, long soak in the hot spring! Come on, I'll wash your back!"

"That was the most poorly disguised trap I've ever seen, Oni-Kitsune!"

"What trap? I just wanna give some well-deserved lovin to mah favorite landlord!"

"I'm your ONLY landlord! Now get offa me, demon woman!"

As she watched Kitsune and Keitaro bicker while heading for the hot spring, Naru sighed with a wry smile on her face.

'Yea, we'll crack him alright…I'm just not sure if it'll be in a good way…'

"So has life as the head Imperial Guardsman done something to your head, Heihachi? Because I don't remember you ever taking early morning walks in the gardens like this when we were kids," Minato yawned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Heihachi chuckled, remembering that his older brother wasn't really much of a morning person, "Now if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"

It was around six in the morning on 13 February, about three days since Minato and the majority of his family had arrived in Hinata. In that time, everyone had seemed to mesh just fine into the palace, and the Tachibana clan head honestly couldn't be happier. Minato always knew how to liven things up with his boisterous behavior, and his sons had so acted maturely and professionally…when they were around their father at least. There were whisperings among the sub-branch members of the Tachibana that were employed at the palace regarding incidents of mistreatment towards anyone that wasn't main branch blood, but Heihachi merely took it to be the musings of dissatisfied commoners who still didn't realize their place in the world.

As the two ventured further towards the other side of the Imperial Palace grounds, Heihachi frowned in thought as he contemplated his discussion with Minato when he'd first arrived.

'While it is possible, I just can't accept the fact that there could be a traitor among us,' he thought as the pair of siblings approached their destination, 'The branch members know nothing about that night…then again, there could have been an eavesdropper. But still…this doesn't add up…'

"Are we almost there brother? I think I've seen enough green to last me ten lifetimes already," Minato whined. Shaking himself from his musings, Heihachi came to a stop, "Actually, aniki, we're here."

"We are? All I see is…is…" Minato couldn't even finish his sentence once he realized where they were. Standing before the two was a modest-sized mansion, right in the center of the Fukiage Gardens. The structure was designed much like a feudal era manse, with crimson sloping roofs, maple floors, and a set of tori gates leading up the path to the entrance.

"Whuh….whuh…what is all this?" Minato asked, completely awed by the immaculate work of architecture and engineering. Heihachi grinned smugly, "This, aniki, is a little brother's gift to his big brother who so insisted on moving to the capital to look after his family. I was given special permission to build it by the Emperor himself months ago as a spare living space for other pillars, and it was only recently completed. This is your new home."

The gobsmacked man almost began to tear, so taken by the surprise as he was, "This is…you gotta be kiddin me…something like this should go to the Second Pillar, are you really sure about this?!"

"You know as well as I do that Ensui would never accept such a thing," Heihachi replied solemnly, "Especially since he's been on his mission abroad the past few years."

"Aye…hunting down 'remnants' still…terrible work, chasing down those Mononobe dogs," Minato spat as he recalled the reason for Ensui's extended leave from Tokyo, "Has he reported back at all?"

Heihachi nodded, "we get monthly reports here and there on his progress. There weren't that many that managed to get away that night. And last I checked, the majority of them had been dealt with by our Kurotanken (Shadow Dagger)."

The older man grinned darkly, "Heh…first a new mansion from my little brother, and now hearing that there's even less Mononobe in the world…you know how to make a guy's day, Heihachi."

"I do my best."

"So! Gimme the grand old tour!" Minato requested as he slung one of his sizeable arms around Heihachi's shoulder, "I can't wait to see the inside of this place! Yurina and the boys are gonna love this!"

Shaking his head with a laugh, Heihachi allowed himself to be led into the house, passing the throng of sub-branch servants who were busy cleaning and making final preparations before the Fifth Pillar and his family moved in. The first floor was mainly for entertainment, with a sizeable, fully furnished living room, a conference room for meetings with distinguished guests, a separate and more elaborately furnished conference room for entertaining the Imperial Family, a large kitchen, and several small bedrooms with connecting baths for their sub-branch family servants. At the rear of the home was a luxurious hot springs complete with changing areas and showers. Minato was sure the triplets would find several ways to use it…none of which were all that hygienic.

The second floor was a bit of a surprise: most of it was occupied by a dojo, which was fully outfitted with training equipment, spare weaponry, training uniforms, and what appeared to be accessories for an obstacle course. Upon seeing the seemingly out of place items, Minato turned to his younger brother, "Heihachi…why is there obstacle course gear in a dojo?"

"It's for the boys to work on how to operate better in confined spaces. I heard they were a bit weak in that area when working in tandem with each other," Heihachi smirked when he saw Minato cough into his hand and look away sheepishly, "This dojo can go from a harmless training ground to a simulation of the perfect death trap …just food for thought."

"…right…gotcha."

The last floor contained all the bedrooms for the nuclear family, with a grand master bedroom for Minato and his wife, Yurina, a slightly smaller master bedroom for Ruumari and Shiori, three modest-sized individual bedrooms for the triplets, and a smaller bedroom for Genma and Yuna, which was conveniently located between the two master bedrooms.

"Have I ever told you you're my favorite little brother?" Minato grinned as he and Heihachi returned to the main floor at the end of the tour. Heihachi merely smiled back, "Well, out of all the Pillar families, you've been the most instrumental in giving us a foothold in the munitions market. Also," the clan head's smile dimmed, but seemed to become more sincere, "despite all the danger, and my constant, vehement warnings to stay away, you still came to look after my boys. Of all our siblings, you were always the one I could count on for anything. You deserve this, brother."

Minato furiously began to rub his eyes, "Dammit, ya little bastard…goin all soft on me…c'mere!" The two embraced in a brotherly hug, separating a short while later, "So what else is in this place? Considering we're…well…ninjas more or less, I can't say I've seen anything really…ninja-y aside from the dojo."

A stony expression came over Heihachi's face, "there's one more place…but I need to clear the house first."

Heedless to Minato's confused glance, Heihachi bellowed, "SUB-BRANCH! FRONT AND CENTER!"

Within seconds, every sub-branch Tachibana in the household appeared at attention before the clan head. Smirking at the display, Minato chuckled quietly, "Now THAT'S discipline."

Eyeing each member with a critical gaze, Heihachi barked out, "CLEAR THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY! ANY OF YOU CAUGHT WITHIN 50 YARDS OF THIS MANSION WILL SUFFER DEARLY, AM I CLEAR?!"

Thirty heads nodded furiously before hastily vacating the premises. None of them wished to suffer Heihachi's wrath, which seemed to fall upon the sub-branch members almost as much as Kurotora's. Seeing the place cleared out, the clan head turned back to his brother, "Alright, follow me."

Heihachi led Minato towards what the older brother had assumed was another wall in the hallway that led to the conference rooms. He was quickly proven wrong when the clan head pressed down on a seemingly random panel, revealing it to be a fingerprint scanner.

"This scanner is keyed to your family and mine only. Anyone else that tries to use it will be injected with one of our patented neurotoxins…instant death," Heihachi intoned darkly. Minato gulped before noticing the doorway that appeared in the wall. The Tachibana clan head entered the entryway and went down the stairs, Minato on his heels. The stairway wasn't all that long, and at the base, the two were met with a long, dark corridor that led to a single door. In the low light, the eldest of the two brothers could barely make out several holes in random positions lining the entire span of the hallway.

"Are those…murder holes?" he asked quietly. Heihachi nodded, "This entire hallway is riddled with nasty surprises for any hostile intruders. The darts fired from those holes are coated with a paralyzing agent that will instantly lock up a person's respiratory system, slowly suffocating them to death. There are also barrels of boiling oil in the ceiling, and flamethrowers at the end of the hall just before the door. All of these mechanisms can be controlled from within the panic room at the end of the hall."

The two soon arrived at the impervious looking door. It had no window or latches, just a 1-foot thick slab of titanium metal. Angling to his older brother, Heihachi gestured towards imposing entrance, "Place your hand at the center of the door. This scanner is the same as the one upstairs regarding who it allows entry to."

Minato walked up and did as was asked, the door sliding open once it recognized him. The room inside was huge, with a fully stocked kitchen, several cases of bottled water, a sophisticated looking electronics console with several screens linked to security cameras all over the compound, as well as the main controls for the traps in the hallway. To the rear of the room were several futons, a few changes of clothes, and even a couple of toys for the kids.

"As you can see, this is the best panic room money can buy," Heihachi began as Minato walked around the room, examining every nook and cranny, "With the current threat to our family, I spared absolutely no expense. I'm having one installed in my home within the next month. This is just in case our assassin friend gets cocky enough to try anything on Imperial grounds."

"It certainly is impressive, brother," Minato complimented, taking a moment to examine the monitor suite and familiarize himself with the basics, "You made this place a fortress within a fortress."

Heihachi nodded, "nothing but the best, for the best. This room even has its own isolated air supply, fed from an external location and fit to last up to a month if need be…two if it's adjusted to the lowest setting."

"I highly doubt we'd be under siege for a month by a single assassin, Heihachi," Minato said with a wry smile, "But thanks for taking every possible precaution. My family and I are in your debt."

"Nonsense," Heihachi waved him off as the two left the room and returned to the main foyer, "I'm merely following my own son's example of doing everything in my power to secure our family. If he can go to the lengths he did to get us to where we are, then who would I be to not do the same to keep us safe?"

Minato laughed uproariously, "Hah! Ain't that the truth! Well, this was quite the tour, Heihachi. I think me and the family are really gonna like it here-"

BZZZ BZZZZZZ

"GYAAAA!"

Minato recoiled as if he'd been struck, his hands furiously waving about his head as a large dragonfly circled him before darting off into the dense trees around the compound.

"…but first we gotta do something about those FUCKING INSECTS!"

Heihachi fought the urge to laugh at his gruff older brother's slight insect phobia, "Well, dragonflies actually kill other insects in the area…you should be thanking them."

"Don't get cheeky with me, ya little bastard!" Minato half-glared, earning a slight chuckle from his younger brother, "Ugh…let's just grab the others and get em over here. We were in there for a while and I know the boys have school to go to."

Getting one last laugh in, Heihachi led his brother back towards the compound. Neither seemed to notice the pesky dragonfly that hovered above them for a moment before flying into the trees…

The metallic green dragonfly flew on through the winding branches of the surrounding gardens, before finally coming to rest on a slender, outstretched finger.

"Hello little guy…what did you bring mommy today?" the alluring voice of Kimiko Tachibana asked as she brought the dragonfly to her face. Looking into its beady eyes, the sultry assassin smirked before setting the dragonfly scout down and pulling out a tablet and USB cable from her gi. Connecting on end of the cable to the tablet, she picked up the scout and inserted the much smaller end into its side. The tablet suddenly came to life with images and recordings of Heihachi and Minato's entire tour.

"So this is the pet project you've been working on, Heihachi-kun," Kimiko smirked as she glanced through the photos and videos recorded by the dragonfly drone, "A fortress inside a fortress…now that's funny!"

Shutting down the tablet and sending the scout back to its original spot, the sultry assassin stretched out on the tree branch to continue lounging in the morning sun, a dangerous smirk slowly stretching across her beautiful face.

"I wonder what my dear little Kyo will think of this new development…"

It was early evening when a slightly weary, but refreshed Motoko patiently made her way up the exhaustive steps of the Hinata-sou. During her ascent, the young kendoka wondered if anything major had occurred at the dorm during her absence. While the girls (except Suu) could handle themselves just fine without her, the dynamic of her home had changed a bit with the addition of Keitaro, making things a bit more…unpredictable.

"Urashima-san," she whispered, eyes narrowed into slits as the image of his face came to the forefront of her mind. During her training sabbatical, Motoko had spent most of her time meditating on the enigma that was Keitaro Urashima. More specifically, she had mused over why there were times where he did or said something that reminded her of her dearly departed sempai, Kyoshiro.

'While there are faint similarities, both of them are as different as night and day. And his ki..'

The young man's ki was a commodity in and of itself. While ruminating one night, the young Aoyama mustered up the courage to review her initial introduction to Keitaro from a more objective point of view, and reluctantly acknowledged that she may have judged the odd young man a bit harshly regarding his ki signature. While there were a lot of conflicting emotions mixed in his aura, most of which were negative, they had been buried beneath a layer of warmth. And according to her sister's teachings, a person who was truly malicious would never be able to disguise their ki in such a way, even with decades of training. This much proved to her that Keitaro, for all intents and purposes, wasn't a villainous person…at least not completely.

"Regardless of my findings, I'm still curious about what the source of that foulness in his ki is…what is he hiding?" Motoko wondered, that particular question having popped up in her mind several times after their duel, "not to mention, his sword style is…oddly familiar. And some of his mannerisms…"

So lost in her internal monologue, the tall young girl barely realized she had already reached the top of the steps and entered the dorm, her body already removing her sandals on autopilot. Once her mind finally caught up to the rest of her, Motoko headed to the main living while calling out, "I'm back everyone."

"MOTOKOOOOO!"

Instantly the Aoyama heir was tackled by a brown/blonde blur, only staying on her feet by virtue of her training. Looking down, she patted the middle schooler on the head in greeting, "Hello to you as well, Suu. Have you been good?"

Suu looked up with her large green eyes and grinned, "Yep! Suu's been really good! Naru, Shinobu, and Kitsune played with me a lot! Keitaro too!"

"Urashima-san? He didn't do anything untowards to you, did he?" asked the stern girl, her dark grey eyes narrowing again in suspicion. Suu shook her head, "Nu-uh! Keitaro was really cool! He even played with my robots again!"

"I don't know if 'play' is the word I'd use, Suu-chan," a male voice intervened. Motoko looked up to see a weary-looking Keitaro descending the stairs, his bokken slung on his left hip. Moving Suu off to the side, the tall Aoyama turned to face the landlord, who stopped about three feet away. The air between them became tense as neither made a single move, their eyes sizing up the person across from them. The standoff ended with Keitaro cocking his head to the side with a small smile.

"Good to see you back safe. How was the sabattical?"

"It was…productive," Motoko answered a bit awkwardly, "Th…th…thank you…for asking."

Keitaro almost laughed at the effort the young girl seemed to put into trying to be more polite, but thought better of it, "No problem. By the way…I think I can understand why your posture is so sturdy after spending so much time with Suu."

Motoko raised an eyebrow in question, before recalling one of Suu's more eccentric habits. Eyes hardening, she placed a hand on her bokken, "So you mean to tell me you slept with her as well? In the same room? In the same futon?!"

"Waiiiiiiiit!" Keitaro yelled, waving his arms defensively as he noticed a light blue aura begin to sprout from the kendoka, "She came into my room while I was asleep! And Naru stayed with us the whole time to keep an eye on us! Ask her! I didn't do anything!"

The Aoyama heir kept her grip on her bokken for another moment, but just when Keitaro thought he was about to have that second match right then and there, the dark-haired girl stood back up and placed her hand back at her side, "Very well. I can sense no deception in your ki, so I suppose I'll let you slide this time."

"Uhhh…thanks," the landlord answered wryly before turning to leave, "anyway, I'm gonna head to the store to get some supplies. The pipes in the basement need some repairs, and some of the floorboards upstairs are starting to show signs of decay."

He was just about to walk out of the door when Motoko called out to him.

"Urashima-san!"

Turning back, he gave the girl a curious glance, "What's up?"

It took a monumental effort, as well as swallowing quite a bit of pride, but the young kendoka managed to get the words out, "During our first encounter…I admit that I may have been a bit…hasty with my judgement of you. After meditating on it during my training, I came to the realization that I focused solely on one negative aspect of your ki and judged you based on that. For that….I….apologize."

When she saw Keitaro's face begin to light up a bit, she quickly added, "However! This does not mean that I trust you or accept your presence here in the slightest! If I ever hear so much as a whisper about any indecent behavior on your part, I will put you down like a rabid dog!"

The landlord's face fell a bit, but he still managed to smile regardless, "Well…thank you for the apology. I appreciate it," his smile grew to a mischievous smirk, "but I can't imagine how many times you had to bite your tongue to get those words out. You sure you're not bleeding too much in that mouth of yours?"

"BAAAASSSSTAAAAARRRRRRRDDDD!" Motoko bellowed, drawing her bokken and barreling towards the young man to take his head off. Keitaro ran out door, laughing the entire way down the stairs. The enraged kendoka stopped at the top of the stairs and simply watched her landlord run off, steam pouring out of her ears and her face lobster red with anger…and a touch of embarrassment. She DID bite her tongue a couple times to stop herself from saying something uncouth.

"What's going on out her-oh! Hey Motoko!" the sound of Naru's voice cut through the fog of righteous vengeance in Motoko's mind. Seeing the lovely brunette look at her questioningly, she nodded in greeting, "Hello, Naru-sempai."

"Did something happen? Your face is kinda red," Naru pointed out, causing Motoko to blush before her anger returned, "Nothing happened. Just that irritating, immature, infuriating MAN had the gall to poke fun at my apology! He's dead the minute he gets back! I KNEW I shouldn't have bothered!"

Naru took a nervous step back as the steam started pouring from her younger friend's ears again, "Easy! Down girl! I really don't feel like explaining to Granny why her grandkid vanished into thin air all of a sudden!"

"Hmph!" Motoko glared one last time at the bottom of the stairs before walking back into the dorm, Naru following behind her. Taking a quick look around and noticing no one was in the area, the bespectacled brunette quickly made for the kitchen.

'Hmm…looks like the coast is clear. Time to start my operation!'

Looking inside the cupboards and the fridge, Naru removed several baking utensils, eggs, flour, milk, frosting, and cake mix. Moving quickly, the young Tokyo-U aspirant set to work, occasionally peering outside to make sure no one else would suddenly enter the kitchen.

'Gotta finish this before he gets back. I'm gonna get that guy for sure this year!'

Early the next morning, a shrouded figure darted into the darkened hallways of the dorm, silently making its way down the stairs and to the kitchen. Opening the fridge, the mysterious person shifted the various items around until it found what it was looking for: a small pink box with a red heart-shaped bow on top. Giggling to itself, the person leaned forward into the fridge, the light revealing it to be a cloaked Naru. Grabbing the box, the brunette beauty quickly closed the fridge and quietly made her way upstairs.

'Just a little further,' she thought as she edged closer to a particular landlord's room. Taking another quick glance around, the young woman reached for the door and slowly slid it open, making a space just barely wide enough to fit through. Once inside, she tip-toed with as much stealth as she could manage over to the futon, which had the cover pulled up all the way to the top.

'I almost feel bad for waking him up like this,' Naru mused as she knelt next to the futon, feeling a bit vulnerable being in a boy's room so early in the morning, especially while said boy was still asleep no less, 'But this is the only way I'll get him before he disappears.'

Taking a deep breath, the girl reached for his covers, "Sorry Keitaro-san, but you didn't leave me a choice."

Pulling them back rapidly, she quickly picked up her box thrust it out towards him, "SURPRISE!"

Having shut her eyes, the young girl waited for a few seconds, which soon turned to a couple minutes. After getting no reaction, she nervously opened one eye, only for the other to snap open in surprise.

"Wha…but….how…." she sputtered before growling to herself and screaming, "DAAAAAAMNNN YOUUUUU KEIIITAROOOOO!"

The sound of running quickly echoed in the hall, before Keitaro's door was suddenly thrust open and the lights turned on. Motoko immediately walked up to Naru, with Kitsune, Suu, and Shinobu following after her.

"Are you alright, Naru-sempai?! What happened?!" Motoko asked rapid fire, while the others looked over to taller girl's shoulder to see Naru knelt in front of an empty futon that should have been occupied by their landlord.

"Damn it!" Naru whimpered, tears of frustration threatening to fall from her eyes, "He managed to get away again!"

The kendoka and the younger girls looked at the brunette in confusion, before Kitsune's laughter got their attention. Seeing their eyes on her, the foxy woman started giggling again.

"It's nothing serious, y'all," she waved off before looking at her frustrated friend and fighting the urge to start laughing again, "It's just today's Valentine's Day."

"W-what does that have to do with Sempai disappearing?" Shinobu questioned, feeling a little worried for the missing landlord.

"It has everything to do with him vanishing, little Shinobu," Kitsune quipped before suddenly donning a Sherlock Holmes cap, "Ever since we've known him, Keitaro always vanishes the morning of Valentine's day and doesn't show up again until the next day. But this year's gonna be different!" she exclaimed before striking an awkward pose, "Now let Operation: Landlord Retrieval begin!"

While the rest of the girls looked dumbfounded at the maniacally giggling Kitsune, Naru looked down at her home-made chocolate with a depressed frown.

'Dammit…after I worked so hard on this too. Why do you always run on Valentine's, Keitaro?'

Author's Note: Holy crap...four months...four goddamn months. I can't even put it into enough words how sorry I am for taking so long to get this one out. My only excuses are that this chapter was really tough to write since it's the first 'post-action' chapter I've ever done, and I didn't want it to come off as too bland-ish. That being said, I just need to nut up and shut up next time. As well as not be afraid to ask for help. HUMONGOUS shout out to Cloud Link Zero, who helped immensely by beta-reading this chapter...as well as offering some killer ideas that I'll pursue later down the line in the story. Y'all ain't ready for what's coming yet...but soon...you will be.

As for my second excuse for the delay...Destiny. For any of you who own Xbox One and know and LIKE that game...then no explanations needed. For those that don't...it's addictive. Nuff sed.

In any case, here is the start of the "Fifth Pillar" arc. There's a few more members of Minato's family to introduce, but the triplets and Minato will definitely get the ball rolling for now. There's also more interaction with the girls and Keitaro, and the added mystery of his valentine's disappearance. This will all be explained next chapter...and what happens might begin laying the foundations for some development down the road. What will that be? Now now...that'd be telling.

So as usual, read, review, critique constructively, leave feedback, guesses, the whole nine yards. As for me...House of Wolves DLC for Destiny dropped yesterday. I have Fallen bastards to hunt and a giant Fallen Kell to kill.

Ciph signin off