Chapter 14 – The Assassin and the Archaeologist

"…and despite a thorough investigation into what took place on the night of the 11th of May, police have yet to find any leads regarding the party responsible for the savage murder of Tachibana Rikimaru. It has been speculated that this lack in progress may be due to a concurrent investigation after an anonymous hacker sent in incriminating video evidence of the late Tachibana-san committing murder within the palace walls-"

"DAMN THOSE INCOMPETENT IDIOTS!"

A ceramic sake cup smashed against the flat screen television set, shattering into countless pieces and raining down onto the carpeted floor. Alone in the main conference room at his brother's Matsue residence, an infuriated Heihachi panted as he glared at the now cracked TV, his arm still outstretched from his impulsive throw. Given the reason for his anger, however, the outburst was valid.

"…Nine days…nine days and our "best" detectives on the job, along with our vast resources, and STILL no one knows who's responsible for this…I'm SURROUNDED by inept fools!" the Tachibana clan head fumed as he wearily took a seat in one of the plush chairs surrounding an ornate wooden table. Despite increased security, and enhancing the powers of the Third Pillar family regarding their cyber intelligence network, the assassin had once again slipped through their fingers. It was enough to drive the monolithic man insane.

"I should have given Minato stricter warning…to think my own nephews could so foolhardy," Heihachi thought out loud as he took another ceramic cup and poured more sake to calm himself, "it is obvious they inherited his stubbornness…"

"Ran-kun was an arrogant and entitled prick and Riki-kun could never get a hold of that short fuse of his, Hachi-jisan. This was going to happen no matter what you told my father."

Heihachi's eyes swiveled over to the entrance of the room, where a tall, lean-figured man dressed in a dark-blue police officer's uniform under a black trench coat stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. His crimson hair was held in a ponytail that went down to the small of his back, while his sharp ice-blue eyes were set in a narrow stare at the clan head.

"Ruumari..." Heihachi greeted as the man walked over and took a knee in front of his uncle, "must you really insult your own blood so callously? I know you had your differences but they were still your brothers."

Ruumari shook his head, "I'm just calling it like it is ji-san. They were my brothers, they were raised to know better, and they still bit off more than they could chew. At least Ichi-kun has sense."

To that, Heihachi couldn't disagree. While Minato had doubled down security even more for the last remaining triplet, Ichimaru had rendered the action moot, as he had barely left his father's side. While the Fifth Pillar mourned the latest death in his family, the fox-eyed boy had moved quickly to handle as many of his father's affairs as he could, even taking some of the reins at Akasuisei Munitions Inc. to lessen the workload of his beleaguered patriarch. Many who had only seen the boy as mysterious and untrustworthy were beginning to have second thoughts about their impressions of him.

It did little, however, to overshadow the fact that another Tachibana had been slain, and his murderer was still out there.

"We need to re-evaluate our approach for these investigations," Ruumari spoke up, distracting Heihachi from his thoughts, "Maybe we've been going about this all wrong?"

"How do you mean?"

Ruumari took a seat in one of the other chairs across from his uncle and explained, "Well, we've conducted our investigations within a small area surrounding the crime scenes, from searching for evidence to questioning locals…but have we spread our net further than that?"

Heihachi mused on the question, "We haven't been able to. Thanks to that insufferable hacker and his meddling, I've had to allocate our resources to silencing that exposé. The Third Pillar was still tending to that leak on Ranmaru when this happened!"

Ruumari cringed, "Right…leave it to those two idiots to keep giving us headaches even from the grave. Fine then…guess I'll just have to look into this myself."

"You're going to go to Hinata? In person?" Heihachi asked, a bit surprised at the young man's proposal, "Minato told me you still had an ongoing investigation here to worry about. The detectives from your unit that you sent over there should be enough."

"With all due respect, Heihachi-sama," Ruumari replied, using the formal title of his uncle to emphasize how serious he was, "Two of my brothers have been brutally killed by someone many in our family are starting to think isn't human. The murder case I was on is more or less finished anyway. It's about time we started making some headway here for once and finally bring this guy down."

Heihachi stared at his nephew for a few moments before shooting him a relieved grin, "Very well then, go to your father. Begin your own independent investigation. Shall I let your wife and children know you're leaving?"

Ruumari stood from his chair and patted the older man's shoulder, "I'll tell them myself. Just send word to my father and brother and leave everything else to me."

"Wow~! Look at all the costumes! There's aliens! And ancient warriors too!"

"S-Suu! P-Please don't run off! You'll get l-lost if you go too far!"

"I still can't believe you're actually into stuff like this, Keitaro-kun," Naru commented as they walked further into the packed convention hall, her arms holding her boyfriend's arm to her chest, "You just love to keep the surprises coming, huh?"

Keitaro chuckled, "Got it in one. I have to keep things interesting, otherwise you'll get bored and dump me for some cooler guy."

The brunette stuck her tongue at the landlord playfully, "Mou, I wouldn't go that far you dummy!"

The young man chuckled again as his girlfriend released his arm and went to talk to her foxy best friend who was a few paces ahead. Shaking his head, Keitaro was still confounded at how he found himself in his current predicament.

'I can't believe that masked guy seriously wanted to meet up here…'

The glow of the foundry was almost a faint memory by the time Keitaro and Lawliet stopped walking from the scene of their crime, though the assassin's blood was still pumping with adrenaline from combat.

"Man…I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing those crimson-haired bastards screaming for their lives," Lawliet laughed from behind his mask, "Music to my ears."

"Seems that's another thing we have in common," Keitaro quipped before turning to face the mysterious new ally beside him, "So, you say we have a mutual ally in Kimiko. Care to tell me your reason for wanting the Tachibana dead as much as I do?"

The masked man paused for a second before reaching into his back pocket and taking out a pamphlet, "I don't mind filling you in on a few things, but not here. Not now. If you want to know more, meet me and Kimiko here in two weeks' time."

Keitaro reached for the pamphlet and lifted it to his eyes, slipping a bit of ki into them to adjust for the dark. When he saw just what the pamphlet was for, he stared blankly at the strange man, "…you can't be serious. Here? Really?"

"Trust me, it's the best setup we could ask for. Suffice to say, I don't do too well in public places for…reasons. If we meet up here, we can all be in disguise and no one would be the wiser to our true identities."

"….I hate the fact that part of me is agreeing with this..."

The masked man patted Keitaro's shoulder lightly before walking off, "Hey, it'll be a blast. You can even bring those girls of yours…make it a nice day out. Who knows, you might even find yourself having fun for a change…"

The slightly bewildered landlord looked back down at the same pamphlet in his hand: an advertisement for the Annual Akihabara Comic Con. He still couldn't believe it even as he stood with the Hinata girls in the middle of the crowded convention hall. All around him, thousands upon thousands of gamers, anime fans, manga enthusiasts, and more scurried about from one booth to the next. Almost all of them were in costume, from robots, to aliens, to magical girls, to hardened soldiers. In retrospect, the fact that the majority of attendees were in costume did make the convention an ideal place for a secret rendezvous.

"And I guess I owe Haru and Oni-Kitsune for these…getups," the landlord grumbled as he looked down at his current attire. The minute he arrived back from his mission that night and presented the idea to the girls, Kitsune was onboard in a heartbeat.

'Oooooohhhhh~, it's gonna be so much fun! I know EXACTLY what costumes we should wear too, especially you and Naru-chan, Taro-chan~!'

Unbeknownst to the landlord until that evening, Kitsune was actually a pretty avid fan of some of the old school anime series that she had been exposed to in her younger days. It was something he was both grateful for, and somewhat petrified of.

Granted, she did pick out good costumes for everyone: Keitaro and Naru were dressed up as Demon Eyes Kyo and Shiina Yuya from the popular Samurai Deeper Kyo series, Shinobu was sporting the cute, if not slightly frilly dress of Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura, while the fox woman herself had donned the alluring cosplay of Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop.

Not everyone was feeling the cosplay vibe, though.

"I still do not understand why you all insisted I take part in this farce," Motoko grumbled, a light blush on her face as she trudged behind the group in her outfit, "Such a thing is for children…or otaku, of which I am neither."

"Suu thinks Motoko's cosplay is awesome! Both our characters are from the same show!"

For the final two members of the household, Kitsune had drawn from an old favorite, Outlaw Star, and had Motoko dress as the infamous 'Twilight' Suzuka, while Suu took on the cosplay of the powerful, proud, yet lovable Aisha Clan-Clan. While it was a bit of an odd pairing, no one could debate that they made an interesting twosome.

The constant stares and heart-eyes they were getting from passing otaku drove that point home pretty strong…even after Motoko slammed her bokken on several of their heads to make them stop.

"Well Motoko-san, as a friend once told me, sometimes we have to just enjoy the moment. Can't be serious all the time," Keitaro teased, purposely echoing Lawliet's words. Motoko glared at him, but quickly averted her gaze to the ground after with a slightly troubled look. It didn't go unnoticed by the Mononobe heir.

'Hmm…maybe this costume was a little risky,' he thought as he did another once over of his outfit. He was dressed as Kyo was in the manga, with a blood red gi and hakama, crimson chest armor, and a long white, sleeveless haori that reached his ankles. Using his favored Iga Ninja disguise trick, the landlord had grown his hair out until it reached mid-back. For his eyes, Keitaro had initially wanted to just channel his cursed ki, but opted for a pair of contacts instead since Motoko was right next to him. All in all, he looked almost exactly like he would out of his regular day-to-day disguise.

Which meant it would have been child's play for Motoko to recognize him.

'She definitely looks pained every time she glances at me,' he shot a concerned look at the kendoka, who still refused to turn her gaze back up to him, 'I'll try to make this meeting quick so we can get out of here.'

Seeing that the other girls had become embroiled in a playfully heated conversation regarding what to do next (Kitsune had wanted to go to the costume competition, while Naru and Shinobu wanted to check out booths), Keitaro slowly stepped further into the crowd until he was a fair distance away. Making sure the girls could no longer see him, he began making his way up a few floors, finally reaching one with a maid café that had tables lined up along the railings.

"My my boya, wasn't that a little mean, leaving your girlfriend like that without saying a word? I thought I taught you better than that…"

Keitaro cringed at the familiar voice, "You're the last person I want to hear talk to me about relationship etiquette, Kimiko."

Turning to face the table closest to the escalator, the young avenger spotted Kimiko and Lawliet sitting while enjoying a cup of warm tea. The beautiful Tachibana had decided to dress as Caster Tamamo from Fate/Extra, while Lawliet appeared to have chosen Masamune Date from Sengoku Basara. He had even donned six realistic PVC katanas to complete the look.

Taking the last seat across from the one-eyed samurai, Keitaro ordered a cup of jasmine tea from a passing waitress and fixed his stare on the older man, "So that's what you look like behind the mask…"

Lawliet's face was rather plain-looking to Keitaro, with dark blue eyes that gave him away as part-foreign, a square chin, and cobalt-blue hair with dyed white tips that was mostly hidden by the costume helmet. The only thing that really stuck out to the avenger was the long scar on Lawliet's left cheek that ran from near his eye down to his jaw. Clearly the man had been in a fight or two during his life.

"Hope it's not too disappointing, kid," Lawliet replied with a lazy smirk, "as for me, I think I prefer you with dark hair than that red mop. Why did you choose to grow it out that way again?"

"You can blame the demon woman hanging off you for this since it was her idea," Keitaro grudgingly pointed at Kimiko, the mischievous woman having the audacity to grin back like a fox, 'Buddha above, I definitely can't let her meet Kitsune or they'll be the death of me…'

"Yea…I can believe that. Kimi-chan has a weird sense of humor sometimes," Lawliet shook his head before reaching into his pocket and taking out what appeared to be a cigarette. After lighting it and placing it between his lips, he returned his attention to the young man before him, "Anyway, I figure we're short on time since it probably won't take long for your girlfriend to figure out you're missing. That and I don't really like crowds much," the hacker barely managed to repress a shiver, while Kimiko's eyes narrowed slightly in concern, "So how about we get to talking? I'll answer whatever questions you have…within reason of course."

Keitaro nodded, "I figured as much. In that case, I'll cut the pleasantries and jump right in: what is your motivation for seeing the Tachibana burn?"

Lawliet's eyes became hollow, the lazy smile on his face sinking into a small frown, "Let's just say…your clan weren't the only victims that fell to those asshats around that time period. Maybe some other time I'll give you the full story."

The avenger noted how Lawliet briefly touched the scar on his face, and how Kimiko had cuddled against his arm, taking the hacker's hand into her own in support, "I see. For what it's worth, my condolences."

"Same from me to you, kid."

"So next question," Keitaro pushed on, mindful of the depleting window of time, "you know of my agenda, and of my methods. Unless Kimiko has been trailing me on the past couple kills, I can assume you have a way to keep tabs on me."

At that accusation, the older man grinned, "Looks like you do have a decent brain under all that angst. It's true, I do have my ways of keeping watch over you. Matter of fact," Lawliet leaned in closer to the Mononobe heir, prompting him to do the same, "I'll throw you a bone: who do you think is responsible for all of the dirty laundry that gets aired every time a Tachibana is put down for the count? You get three guesses…"

Keitaro's eyes widened briefly, "…you're the one that launched a smear campaign of the clan concurrently with my attacks? Heh…color me impressed."

"You two have been partners long before this meeting even happened, boya," Kimiko chimed in with a vulpine grin, "Had I realized the chemistry between the both of you earlier, I think I would have introduced you to each other after you took down the Ninth Pillar."

"I don't know about that," Lawliet disagreed, "I probably would've waited until after Tomoko bit the big one…by the way, hat's off to you for that one, kid. Even counting the two brats you just put down not too long ago, that one still takes the cake."

Keitaro frowned as he recalled that particular fiasco, his fists tightening as memories of the terrible mission flooded his mind, "Well…let's just say she made it personal in a way no other Tachibana has to this date…or ever will again. Guess you can say I also have a story I would rather save for another day."

"Noted."

"So…I know why you want to see the Tachibana fall and I know your methods for making that happen. Guess the last thing to discuss," the landlord took another sip of his rapidly cooling tea, slightly grimacing at now lukewarm concoction, "is how we can help each other from this point forward."

"Dammit, where did that jerk wander off to?" Naru grumbled to herself as she maneuvered her way through the thickening crowd. After finally deciding on what to do next, she and the rest of the girls were about to head to the booths when Motoko had pointed out their missing landlord.

Seeing as she was his official girlfriend, retrieval duty fell to her.

…he was so dead when she found him.

Walking closer to the escalators that lead to the upper floors, Naru huffed and glanced up at the high ceiling of the convention center. In that moment, she realized that she wasn't really as frustrated at the fact that Keitaro had ditched the group…it was more that he had ditched her in the process as well.

'He could've at least dragged me away too…I can't remember the last time we had a moment to ourselves outside of the dorms…'

It was by sheer dumb luck that she noticed her missing quarry in her peripheral, the costumed young man sitting at a table with two other cosplayers from the look of it. Naru tilted her head in confusion at the scene, 'Strange…he doesn't normally talk to strangers…guess he had some friends here…'

Deciding to interrogate him about it when she reached him, the brunette den mother of the Hinata household ascended the moving stairs, hell bent on giving her goofball boyfriend a piece of her mind.

"I guess we're in agreement for now then kid," Lawliet took one last puff of his herbal cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray on the table, "Kimiko provides the intel, you take out the targets, and I expose their conniving asses to the world. Rinse and repeat until all the fuckers are dead and disgraced."

Keitaro chuckled as he finished off his tea, "Sounds about right. I probably don't need to mention it, but things are only going to get harder from here on out. I've decided to lay low for another few weeks before I make my final move against Minato-teme and the last triplet."

"Actually, I was wondering if would you mind leaving the pipsqueak to me?"

The landlord's eyes narrowed a fraction at the hacker's request, "I take it this is a personal matter?"

Kimiko knew immediately where her lover was coming from and decided to fill the younger man in, "Ichimaru was there that night when Law-kun was assaulted. He may have been young, but the sadistic streak in the Tachibana starts pretty early."

Keitaro nodded and stood from his seat, "No kidding. Sure, he's all yours. We'll meet up at a later date to discuss our plan of attack-"

"Oi! Kei-Baka!"

The landlord felt a cold chill run down his spine at the sound of his irate girlfriend's voice. Turning slowly, while simultaneously doing his best not to hit the snickering pair behind him, Keitaro faced the slightly pissed off Naru, "N-Naru-chan, what's up? Is everything ok?"

"Save it, jerk! Why the hell did you just up and leave? We didn't take that long to figure out where to go next!"

The beleaguered landlord held his hands up defensively, "I only meant to go grab something to drink, but then the crowd got too thick and I forgot where you all were. While I was searching, I ran into an old family friend."

Naru took the time to look behind her quivering boyfriend and noticed a one-eyed samurai still seated at the table with a beautiful red-haired kunoichi standing right next to him with a hand on his shoulder, "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know Kei-kun was with friends."

Kimiko giggled, "Don't worry about it kiddo, we just ran into him out of the blue and sat down to catch up. If we'd known we were stealing him from such a babe, we would've thrown him right back to you."

'Kimi-chan's right, the kid's got good taste,' Lawliet smirked and gave Keitaro a quick nod of approval while Naru was distracted, earning a small blush from the Mononobe heir.

Naru's face went red at the compliment, unaware of the exchange going on next to her, "O-Oh, thank you very much. I'm Narusegawa Naru, yoroshiku."

"Nara Kimiko," the redhead introduced back as she gave the younger girl a small nod before pointing at her lover, "and old one-eye over there is my husband, Nara Lawliet."

"Last I checked, you were older-"

"What was that, anata?"

"…pleasure to meet you too, Narusegawa-san."

Keitaro stifled a chuckle at seeing Lawliet so easily cowed, until an elbow in the ribs reminded him he wasn't quite out of the doghouse yet, "Don't laugh, mister! You owe me big for making me waste so much time looking for you!"

"Are you serious? It's only been," Keitaro looked at a nearby clock above one of the storefronts, "Twenty minutes at the most!"

"Twenty minutes that could have been spent exploring and going to the panels with the others," Naru chided before grabbing the boy's arm and shooting a smile at Kimiko, "I'm really sorry, but the rest of our friends are waiting for us downstairs, and they get really impatient REALLY quick. But it was nice meeting you!"

Kimiko winked at the young couple, "The honor's all ours."

"We'll talk again soon," Keitaro said before allowing Naru to pull him away back to the others. Once the couple went down the escalator and disappeared into the crowd, Lawliet stood up from his seat and adjusted his swords, "So…that went a lot better than I thought."

"I told you he would cooperate," the buxom assassin smirked as she walked back over, hooking her arm into Lawliet's as they walked off, "I really do wish I'd introduced you both sooner. I can just imagine the damage you two could have done earlier on…"

Lawliet smiled at her, "Well you did now. Personally, I can't wait to see what the kid cooks up for the rest of those crappy crimsons."

Before they approached the escalator to head down, Kimiko paused for a minute, her eyes glancing about with feigned disinterest, "Babe, I'm going to have to catch up with you a little later."

At Lawliet's questioning glance, the red-haired kunoichi made a quick motion with her head to the crowd, "I think we might have some unwelcome ears around here…the Third Pillar's watch dogs just don't want to give me a break apparently."

"Got it. Just try not to make a mess this time," Lawliet chided playfully before kissing her cheek and walking down the escalator, "Remember, there are kids around here."

Kimiko licked her lips with a seductive, deadly smirk, "You say that as if I've never done this before."

Taking one more cursory glance at her surroundings, noting the position of every spy that had been near her, the most dangerous assassin of the Tachibana clan melded with the crowd and disappeared to her would-be pursuers. As they began to panic after losing sight of her, Kimiko grinned from the shadows.

'Ok amateurs…let's play…'

Ruumari whistled at the sight of the mansion his father and brothers had been living in since their arrival to Tokyo. The tori gates along the walkway that he passed under shone bright red in the early morning sun, similar to the beautiful sloping rooftop.

"Heihachi-ji really went all out here…he always was soft on father," he chuckled as he reached the front doors. A servant quickly opened the door and froze upon seeing the newcomer, "R-Ruumari-sama?! We weren't e-expecting you until t-tomorrow!"

The young detective shrugged, "I was able to catch an early flight over this morning. Figured there wasn't anything important back in Matsue that needed my attention. Have you seen my father?"

The servant paled before shakily pointing a finger at the forest to their right, "M-M-Minato-sama has been t-training in the thicket for a f-f-few hours now. Y-You should still find him there."

"Thank you," Ruumari nodded and walked towards the thick glade of trees. Glancing back at the servant as they ran back inside, the eldest of Minato's children sighed in disappointment, 'Looks like they put the fear of the gods in this bunch too…seriously, what's the point when we're all family?'

After walking for a bit longer into the thicket, Ruumari could make out the sound of something shark slicing through the air, followed by a thunderous crashing noise. Suddenly feeling very grateful for bringing his twin wakizashi with him, the detective headed closer towards the chaos. Coming to a roughly-made clearing, Ruumari observed his father as he swung a sizable naginata around as if it were a fan, slicing several tree trunks clean thru.

'…Yea, he does not look happy…not that I can blame him…'

Something marble stood out on the ground, which Ruumari quickly identified as a few empty sake bottles, 'Dammit, he's pissed and drunk…this is not going to end well.'

"GRAAAHHHH!" came an enraged grunt from Minato as he heaved his arms up for another swing. Seeing him wind up, Ruumari said a quick prayer and called out, "Hey Dad, might want to ease up-"

The detective was barely able to finish his sentence before having to draw his wakizashi to block a powerful strike from the giant of a man that was his father. Looking up into the older man's eyes, Ruumari saw that Minato's gaze was unfocused. The towering man's blow also hadn't been anywhere near as powerful as it normally was.

The fact Ruumari still had his arms…and his life…attested to that.

"…Ruumari…is that you?" Minato grunted out, slowly easing off of his son before planting the naginata into the ground and leaning heavily on the shaft, "Sorry son…didn't expect anyone to drop by."

"Don't worry dad, you used to do worse to me in training," Ruumari waved off his father's apology as he sheathed his blades, "C'mon, let's take a seat. You look like you're about to keel over any minute."

Taking the man's gargantuan arm over one shoulder, the detective helped Minato over to a set of tree trunks, setting him down on the largest one before taking a seat across from him. The Fifth Pillar reached down and grabbed the last still-full bottle of sake and took a hard swig before carelessly tossing it aside, "I didn't think you'd get here until tomorrow morning…'Hachi gave you the green light to come early?"

"Well it's not like I was doing anything critical there anyway. Heihachi-ji can handle himself alone there for a while," Ruumari replied while fishing for a bottle of water in his coat, "Here, if we're gonna talk then I'd rather you be able to speak in full sentences."

Minato reluctantly took the bottle and drank before dumping the rest over his head to cool off, "So I hear you're taking over the investigation here. Is that right?"

"It looked like the guys I sent here were having a rough time of it," the eldest son replied, taking note of his father's frustration at the mention of his other men, "So I figured I would come down and see if I could help speed things up a bit."

"Good! Maybe now we'll actually make some kind of progress," Minato growled, almost crushing the water bottle in his vice-like grip, "Those idiots couldn't even protect Rikimaru when he went after that assassin…stupid, stupid, STUPID BOY!"

Ruumari could only watch as the towering man began to weep while cursing the latest victim of the Tachibana Killer. While it hurt to watch his father break down, the eldest son forced himself to press on, "I'm sorry Dad. I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner…maybe then I could've knocked some sense into that idiot before he went off half-cocked. Think you can tell me how he even got that information? If possible, start from Ranmaru's death."

For the next hour, Minato explained the sequence of events leading to Rikimaru's demise to Ruumari, starting from Ranmaru's funeral up until the night everything went wrong. Through it all, Ruumari wrote down notes on a notepad he had brought with him, making sure to jot down even the most insignificant detail. By the time they finished, the water bottle in Minato's hand was barely recognizable as such, having been crushed into almost nothing.

"Damn it…Rikimaru made way too many rookie mistakes from the look of it," Ruumari cursed as he put his notepad back into his coat, "It's obvious he got baited by someone. The question is who and for what reason?"

"Well when you find out, let me know. I'll have a few 'words' with the asshole that set up my son!" Minato shouted before slowly getting back to his feet. Grabbing his naginata, he swiped at the nearest tree, slicing through the thick bark as easily as a hot knife thru butter.

"…After I get what I need from them, sure," Ruumari answered a bit uneasily, before suddenly recalling something, "Actually…you told me that Rikimaru got his leads from Kimiko-nee, right?"

Minato's face turned puce at the mention of the assassin, "He did, and he was a fool to trust that conniving bitch! Knowing her, she's probably the one that set him up in the first place!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions," Ruumari put his hands up in a move to placate his furious father, "Maybe she didn't know she had a mole in her contacts? Kimiko-nee's good at what she does, but even she can be prone to mistakes."

"Tch," Minato spat, "Well that gaijin's fuck up cost my son his life! If she can't do her damn job right then why the hell do we keep her around anyway?! Might as well slice her fucking head off and be done with it!"

Ruumari sighed, recognizing the futility of changing his father's mind, "I'm sure it won't come to that. Anyway, I'll go find her now and see if I can get some more answers."

"Be careful with that one son," Minato warned before resuming his 'therapy training', "I know you still have a soft spot for her, seeing as you two grew up together, but she hates us just as much as we hate her. Don't expect any favors."

The detective scowled and whispered under his breath, "Gee, I wonder whose fault that is…"

As he left the clearing, something briefly reflected the glare of the sun into Ruumari's eyes, blinding him for a moment. Looking up, however, the detective noticed nothing of the sort in the trees.

"...Strange…"

Shaking his head to clear his vision more, Ruumari headed out of the thicket and back to the mansion.

He never noticed the unnaturally shiny dragonfly that zipped off into the trees.

The sun was beginning to set by the time Motoko began to head to the roof for her usual training. With how hot the days were becoming, the kendoka did not want to risk suffering a heat stroke while practicing. She had made a point to let the others in the household know in order to avoid being disturbed, and everyone had gladly agreed to give her the space in the early evenings before dinner.

Well…almost everyone.

When the Aoyama heiress arrived on the rooftops, she quickly noticed that they were already occupied, as Keitaro was swiftly moving about the roof, going through a series of complex strike combinations while channeling his peculiar orange ki to his feet to propel himself. Blinking her eyes a few times, Motoko swore she could see afterimages of him and his blade as he crossed the spacious rooftop, using laundry baskets and wires as obstacles to give himself more of a challenge. As he finished one run-thru of his new technique and began another, the Aoyama heiress found herself entranced, as the light from the sunset hit the landlord just right, giving him an even more attractive glow as he leapt over a laundry line and shattered one of the older baskets.

A voice in the back of her head reminded her to scold him for that later. Shinobu took damn good care of those things for a reason.

So enthralled with the performance, Motoko never realized that Keitaro had stopped and was calling out to her until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, "Hey! Earth to Aoyama-san! Are you in there?"

Motoko jumped a bit out of his reach, heart pounding against her ribcage in shock, "I-I'm fine, Urashima-san! Forgive me for interrupting!"

Keitaro shook his head while smiling at the young woman, "Don't worry about it. It's me that should be apologizing. Naru-chan told me about how you changed your normal training time and I completely lost track of how long I was up here."

Taking a moment to regain her composure, Motoko took note of how much the landlord was sweating, though he was controlling his breathing perfectly to the point that he wasn't gasping for air. A quick glance to the side revealed his bokken still had a dimming orange glow, "Are you practicing a new technique? Other than Hinode (Daybreak) and Terikaeshi (Glare), I do not believe I have seen you use any others."

"Well you saw a third, but you didn't stay awake long enough to see it fully work…my bad for that again," Keitaro laughed, earning a slight glare from the kendoka, "But yes, I am attempting to learn something new. It was a technique that my teacher created from scratch, but was unable to completely refine it. It's called Hinoiri (Sunset)."

"Hinoiri…it is a beautiful name," Motoko said with a small amount of awe. Having seen him practice the technique, she could tell it would be a monster once it was mastered, "The sun will most certainly set for good for anyone on the opposite side of that technique."

A small, slightly menacing smile formed on Keitaro's face, "That is what I'm aiming for. Anyway, I'll get out of your way. Enjoy your training Aoyama-san."

As the landlord began to head downstairs, Motoko quickly made her mind up about something she had intended to do since the trip to the convention a few days ago, "U-Urashima-san!"

The young man paused just before reached the landing, "Yes? What is it Aoyama-san?"

"Would you…like to meditate with me for a few moments?"

The request caught the Mononobe heir off guard. While Motoko had been much less cold towards him since his initial arrival, she had never really tried to deliberately spend time with him, much less when the other girls weren't around. For her to ask him something like this, even if it was just meditation, was…new.

"I would like that very much, Aoyama-san," he replied happily, grabbing a towel he had placed on the banister earlier to wipe off the excess sweat from his face and arms. He then moved to the raised wooden deck at the center of the roof top, which was currently free of the usual laundry lines and buckets of clothes. Taking a seat in seiza form, the landlord faced towards the sunset and took a few breaths to clear his mind, only subtly feeling the air next to him change when Motoko joined him. The two spent the next few moments focusing on their breathing, shutting out the environment around them. Before long, the pattern of their breaths synchronized almost effortlessly.

'Wow…this actually feels really nice,' Keitaro thought as he began to take note of the sense of peace he felt, having come down from the high of training, and also getting some unexpected personal time with someone who deep down he still cared a great deal for, 'The last time we sat and meditated like this was a week or two before the massacre. I didn't realize how much I missed this…'

Keitaro wasn't the only one caught up in the serenity of the moment, as the resident kendoka found herself in an equal state of tranquility, 'This is…far more peaceful than I thought it would be. I was worried about suddenly inviting him to meditate with me, and yet…the hesitation I felt before is gone. But why does it feel so…right, to be with Urashima-san now? It is almost as if…as if we have done this before…'

Motoko could feel the uncertainty starting to creep in again, unable to figure out just why over the past few months, despite their spats and disagreements, she had started to feel an unexplainable sense of ease whenever she was around the landlord. Even her loathing of the opposite gender was slowly starting to crack the more she lingered in the older man's presence.

Then there was the convention.

'That costume he wore…it was only a wig and colored contacts from what he told us...but he looked so much like him…'

Although she managed to hide it well, the swordswoman's heart nearly broke at the near-mirror like resemblance between Keitaro's cosplay and her beloved Kyoshiro.

"Aoyama-san? Are you ok?"

"What?" the kendoka was jolted from her recollection by the landlord's voice. Looking over, she saw Keitaro giving her a concerned look. Taking a moment to straighten out her thoughts, she replied, "I am fine, Urashima-san. I was just…lost in thought for a moment."

Keitaro's concern only grew seeing how upset the younger woman had appeared a moment ago, "Forgive me if I'm being intrusive, but I noticed that you haven't really been yourself since the convention we went to a few days ago."

Motoko did her best to reign in her surprise, the slight narrowing of her eyes being the only indication of her mood switch, 'He…he noticed my inner turmoil all this time? Even with all the lengths I went through to hide it from the others?!'

Seeing that she wasn't about to respond anytime soon, the landlord continued, "Look…I know that we haven't really gotten off on the right foot since I first came here. But despite that, I just want you to know that regardless of our differences, I'm here for you just like I am for every other tenant in this dorm. If you're having any issue with anything, please know that you can come to me for aid and I'll help however I can."

The Aoyama heiress' heart fluttered briefly at the young man's words. Motoko didn't even have to sense his true intentions through his ki, she could literally feel the sincerity in his words.

When it looked like he would get no answer, Keitaro sighed and moved to leave, "I should probably take my leave now. Sorry once again if I intruded-"

"…Wait, Urashima-san."

Keitaro looked down at the young woman, then to her hand that was gently, but firmly holding onto his wrist. He could feel the small calluses on her palm, evidence of the rigorous training she did day in and day out.

"…You are…correct, in your observation that I have not truly been myself lately," Motoko confessed, ignoring the voice in her head that screamed not to tell him anything, "I have been out of sorts regarding many things lately…and I am wondering now if I can ask you for assistance."

Keitaro raised a curious eyebrow, "Ask away Aoyama-san. I'll do whatever I can to assist you."

The kendoka nodded, then using the landlord's wrist still gripped in her hand, she slowly moved him to kneel in front of her. Once the two were facing each other, she moved her hand against his until their palms were touching each other, raised up to their chests.

"This is an old technique created by my family, meant as a means to help with meditation if one is to find themselves unable to reach a tranquil state on their own," she continued, her steel grey eyes locked onto Keitaro's chocolate irises, "By joining our hands we can use them as a bridge of sorts to harmonize our ki. The focus required for this makes it difficult to be distracted by outside stimuli, and as such whatever inner turmoil one is experiencing can be quelled."

The landlord nodded, being somewhat familiar with this technique, "I see. Well if it will help you in some way to find peace then count me in."

Motoko's eyes narrowed a fraction, "I must warn you however, this sharing of ki can sometimes be…invasive. Although it is a small amount, we are still sending our ki into one another. Ki can sometimes hold imprints of the person it comes from. Knowing about this risk, do you still wish to help me?"

Keitaro paused a moment at the warning, remembering the precautions he used to be given as a child when he and others used ki-melding, 'If I'm not careful, she might catch a glimpse of my memories in my ki. It's not like I can control what imprints onto it. But so long as I'm not channeling the Ryuketsu no Shinsei, I don't think she'll be able to see anything compromising…'

"I understand the risks Aoyama-san," the landlord replied seconds later, "I'm ready when you are."

The slightly stunned kendoka nodded, gracing the older man with a small, genuine smile, "I thank you for this Urashima-san. Let us begin."

The two warriors then closed their eyes and synchronized their breathing, before two auras of ki formed around their hands. The light blue from Motoko slowly began to intertwine with the vibrant orange of Keitaro until it formed a DNA-like pattern that encircled their joined hands.

'It's warm…soothing even,' Motoko thought as she dove into the melding, searching for any sense of familiarity with Keitaro's ki, 'And yet…it feels like nothing I have encountered thus far. I never did get a good sense of Kyoshiro-sempai's ki before that night…'

Keitaro in the meantime was sifting through the different emotions he could sense through the troubled young woman's link, 'I sense a lot of pain…heartache…and rage? What could have angered you so much that it was imprinted in your ki? Something about…our families? It's too garbled to tell…'

Several minutes passed by as the two continued the link, with neither realizing that they had stopped searching each other's ki and were simply basking in the comfort of the other. Motoko couldn't recall another time when she felt so much at peace after linking with someone; the landlord's ki just felt heavenly to her.

'I never knew…I never truly gave him a chance, despite my promise to try,' she thought with a tinge of remorse, 'I must do better from now on. Urashima-san truly means us no harm from what I've felt so far-"

"…Onee-san…"

"Ahh!" Motoko jumped suddenly, breaking the link between the two as she put a hand to her chest. Keitaro opened his eyes immediately and moved to her side, "Aoyama-san! Are you ok? What happened?"

The kendoka tried her best to calm her breathing, sweat running down her forehead in small rivulets, "I…I will be fine, Urashima-san. I just…held the link a bit longer than usual. It can be…rather draining."

"I see," he replied as he rubbed the young woman's back gently, a gesture that deep down she truly appreciated, "Guess we were linked for a while, huh? The sun's already gone down completely."

The Aoyama heiress looked up and saw indeed that they sky was completely dark, the stars dotting it along with the haunting glow of a crescent moon, "I did not think we were linked for that long. Your ki can be rather…addictive Urashima-san."

"I guess that means you're feeling better?"

Motoko did her best to give him a reassuring smile, "Yes…I feel much better than when we first started. I suppose that with everything that has been going on, with Naru-sempai and those recent murders, I have not given myself enough time to process it all."

"…and that's what was messing with your ki. I suppose this means you'll need to meditate more," the landlord chuckled.

"Maybe you have a point-"

"Oh, there you two are!"

Motoko and Keitaro glanced over to the stairwell, where Naru was standing as she watched the two with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, "So…should I be worried right now?"

The two warriors looked at her questioningly before realizing that they were still kneeling on the ground, with Keitaro still rubbing the younger woman's back while she had a slight blush on her face. While the kendoka quickly jumped away in embarrassment, the landlord sighed and rose to his feet, "Nothing to worry about here, Naru-chan. We were just meditating and she began telling me about a problem she's been having lately."

"Really? Are you ok, Motoko-chan?" Naru asked as she walked over to the startled young woman. Motoko took a moment to calm down again before responding, "Y-Yes I am alright now Naru-san. Urashima-san was most helpful while listening to my troubles. He is far more trustworthy than I originally gave him credit for."

At that, Naru beamed, "Well I'm glad to see you two are finally getting along better. Guess you won another one over huh, Mr. Fix-It?"

"Sheesh, just when I was starting to enjoy not hearing that nickname anymore," the landlord laughed as he leaned against the bannister, "So what brings you up here?"

"Shinobu-chan wanted me to grab everyone for dinner. It took forever to find the two of you though," Naru answered, walking over and embracing her boyfriend, "Plus I haven't really seen you all day. I wanted to hang out a bit before we ate, but I guess that'll have to wait until after."

Keitaro smiled down at the lovely young woman in his arms and kissed her forehead, "I promise I'll be all yours after dinner."

"You better!"

The two then headed for the stairs, but paused when they noticed Motoko hadn't moved, "Aoyama-san are you coming?"

The kendoka nodded, "I will be right behind you."

Keitaro and Naru shared a look before shrugging and heading down the stairs. Once they were gone, Motoko sighed and got to her feet. While she was certainly feeling a lot better than before, and she would definitely ask the landlord to meditate with her again sometime soon, her thoughts were centered on the last few moments they were linked.

More specifically…that voice that spoke to her through his ki.

'…who was that? Why did she call me 'Onee-san'? …and why did hearing her voice suddenly trigger this pain?'

"Let me see…223…224…ah, here it is. 225," Keitaro looked up at the number plating above the doorway to a modest looking apartment building, the number matching what was written in the letter he had received from Lawliet. The morning after his meditation session with Motoko, he came across it while organizing the mail for the rest of the residents. The correspondence had told him to head to the given address in one of the nicer parts of downtown Tokyo. After making an excuse about going to get some more groceries (Su had raided the fridge again, so it was a legit excuse), the landlord hopped on the fastest subway train and made his way to meet with his new 'partner'.

"Living in plain sight…best place to hide I suppose," he commented to himself as he ascended the stairs until he reached the top floor of the rickety 7-story building. Knocking on the mahogany door a couple times, Keitaro suddenly picked up a strange noise coming from inside.

"Hello? Nara-san?" he called out before noticing the door was unlocked. Slipping inside, he took in the sparsely furnished living room, with polished wood floors and plain beige-colored walls. A single sofa and loveseat sat in the middle in an L-pattern facing a 52" flat screen television mounted on one of the walls. Seeing no one there, Keitaro headed towards what appeared to be the kitchen, where the strange noises were coming from.

"Excuse me for letting myself in Nara-san. The door was unlocked and I heard-" was all the landlord was able to get out before he stumbled upon the source of the noises…

"…mmph?" Lawliet looked up from where he had been engaged in a steamy make-out session with Kimiko on the kitchen counter to see Keitaro standing with a slight blush and a deadpan expression on his face, "Oh…hey kid. Didn't expect you here for another hour. You really are a stickler for time."

"I told you boya was rather disciplined," the redhead teased, her legs still wrapped around the waist of her lover as she gripped his shoulders, "I don't think he's ever been late for anything in his life."

A small tick mark appeared on the landlord's temple, "…I see you're in the middle of something. Forgive me. I'll come back another day."

"Oh c'mon, lighten up," Lawliet drawled, remorsefully extricating himself from Kimiko and grabbing Keitaro's shoulder to prevent him from leaving, "You act like you've never seen two people kiss before. Don't tell me you haven't gotten at least that far with your girlfriend."

"…I don't kiss and tell, Nara-san."

Kimiko piqued up at the younger man's admission, "Ooooh, so you have made it past first base with Narusegawa-san then? Good on you boya," she complimented before hopping off the counter and fixing her kimono, which had come a bit undone during her heavy petting session with Lawliet. The assassin paused for a moment before tilting her head in confusion, "Although I am a little confused…didn't you have a marriage contract when you were younger with that Aoyama girl or something? Or was it the Otohime?"

Keitaro's jaw dropped, "H-How the hell do you know about that?!"

Receiving his answer in the form of a wink and a stuck out tongue, the Mononobe heir face palmed, "You know what, I don't even want to know. I hope this is not the reason you summoned me here for."

"It isn't, but you do make yourself an easy target too much," Lawliet interjected as he took a seat at the round kitchen table, Kimiko quickly taking a seat to his right, "Have a seat and let's talk."

Fighting the rest of his blush down, the landlord took a seat across from the couple, taking a moment to brush out his hakama before addressing them again, "So what did you want to discuss?"

"Well for starters I have an update regarding your target Pillar, Minato," Kimiko began as Lawliet handed her a manila folder from the counter behind them, "The deaths of two of his sons is wreaking every level of hell on his emotional state…not that he was ever the most emotionally stable human being to begin with."

"So I've seen," the avenger chuckled mirthlessly, "I take it his paranoia has gone into overdrive?"

"Something like that. For the most part he's become more isolated, never straying too far from his wife and last remaining triplet. He's even gone so far as to hire an external security firm," Kimiko smirked, "which means more ways to infiltrate his inner circle…with the right preparation of course. He screens everyone thoroughly so Law-kun would have to work quite a bit of his magic, but we could get you close enough to finish him."

Keitaro nodded, "I'll keep that in mind…but I get the feeling there's more to this."

At that point, both Kimiko and Lawliet's faces became more serious, "While I can probably whip something up to sneak you in, there's a new big bad to watch out for….Tachibana Ruumari."

"Just sounds like another target to me," Keitaro replied dismissively, though Kimiko's sudden glare made him pause, "…or not. Is he going to be trouble?"

"He's more than just trouble Kyoshiro-kun," Kimiko replied, dropping her usual nickname for Keitaro in order to emphasize how serious she was, "Ruumari is Minato's eldest son, as well as the newly promoted Senior Commissioner of the Chugoku Regional Police Bureau…and that's not a rank he earned due to his heritage. He's one of the few Tachibana who actually worked his ass off to get to where he is."

A grim expression came over the Mononobe heir's face upon hearing of his newest obstacle, "He's a senior commissioner of one of the seven regional bureaus…that IS a problem."

"And it gets worse kid," Lawliet chimed in, reaching for one of his herbal cigarettes and quickly lighting it to put himself at ease, "the bastard's also the favorite of the Commissioner-General, to the point that there's talk of him giving his position to Ruumari when he steps down…at the end of the year."

A sharp chill ran up Keitaro's spine. Being named successor to the highest position of law enforcement in the country was no joke. If Ruumari obtained that promotion, it would not bode well for any of his future plans.

"…This is definitely a huge development. Thank you again for letting me know," the landlord let out a long sigh before recomposing himself, "So what do you think we should do for now?"

"At the moment, just lay low," the hacker advised as he slowly began to relax thanks to both the cigarette and Kimiko cuddling into his arm, "Ruumari is actively investigating the deaths of his brothers now, so we can't afford to take any risks. I can step up my cyberattacks to keep 'em rattled, since their cybercrime division still sucks ass. It'll keep their concentration divided and give us some more time to plan."

Keitaro nodded in agreement, "Sounds fair enough. I don't have a concrete plan just yet on how to take out Minato and the rest of his family…especially now with the new information on his eldest son. We will have to be far more cautious with this one."

"You got that right boya," Kimiko interjected, "But that doesn't mean we can't start planning our way around the other obstacles."

Opening the folder and taking out what appeared to be a set of blueprints, the beautiful assassin pointed what appeared to be a secret room, "These building plans are for Minato's stronghold. During its construction, Heihachi built in a secret panic room two levels down from the main floor. It's heavily fortified, with the hallway leading to it loaded with lethal traps. It has a private air supply and enough rations for him and his family to hold out for several days…maybe even weeks if it came down to it."

"So basically if I let him and his family get to that room, then game over," Keitaro mused, his mind working a mile a minute to formulate a scheme, "Can you get me the blueprints to the room? Even if it was built in secret, the company responsible for constructing it should still have them on file."

"I'll see what I can cook up," Kimiko promised, making a note on her phone to do so first thing in the morning, "I guess that takes care of everything for now. With Ruumari around, it'll be hard to find a good opportunity to strike."

The landlord nodded, "Agreed. I'll take Lawliet-san's advice and wait a bit. However…there is another matter I wanted to ask you about."

Seeing the two pique up, Keitaro continued, "I know that Tachibana Akisora is now a student at Tokyo U. I still plan on attending despite our other plans, and he's met me in disguise. I want to take advantage of this but since I'm not attending this year-"

"-because you're such a gentleman and want to wait for your babe of a girlfriend to pass next year instead of focus on your life's mission…"

The avenger shot a glare at the red-headed assassin, who answered with a raised eyebrow and a mischievous twinkle in her eye, "…as I was saying, since I won't be attending this year I'll need another way in."

"You're just in luck," Lawliet replied as he finished his cigarette. Snuffing the butt out into an ashtray on the table, the blue-haired man untangled himself from Kimiko and rose to his feet, "I happen to have a couple contacts at Tokyo U. I'll call them up and see if I can arrange something."

"Talk about coming handy in the clutch," Keitaro laughed before rising to his feet and offering his hand to shake Lawliet's, "I'll definitely have to find a way to pay you back for your help."

Lawliet accepted the younger man's hand with a lazy smirk, "Just keep killing those crimson-haired asshats, kid. That's all the payment I'll need."

Three days after meeting his partners in crime, Keitaro found himself entering the sprawling Komaba campus of Tokyo U. Even after hearing so many stories of it from his late father, as well as having been to the campus a couple of times to see his aunt during her time as a student, the landlord could never quite get over the majesty of the illustrious institution.

And from the commotion his companions for the day were making, neither could they.

"Wow…I'm gettin' all tingly just lookin around," Kitsune marveled, her eyes squinted in her signature fox look as she took in the well-manicured lawns of the rugby and baseball fields along with the regal looking research lab, "and to think you chose to wait for lil Naru-chan to pass so y'all could come here together!"

"It seemed like the right thing to do at the time," the bashful landlord replied, nervously scratching the back of his head, "I don't mind waiting a bit longer for her."

"Now aren't you a sweetheart!" the mischievous woman beamed before grabbing Keitaro's arm and squishing it to her well-endowed chest, earning several nosebleeds from some of the male students passing by, "I'm startin to wondah if I shoulda claimed you first, Taro-chan."

The slightly younger man sighed and just let the woman have her way with him for the moment, as he focused on the awed reaction of their other companion, "So what do you think of the place, Shinobu-chan?"

The bluenette could barely speak, she was so absorbed into the majestic environment. While the Komaba campus looked like the usual sprawling campus of buildings, fields, fountains, and the like, there was a certain charge in the air. The grandeur nearly paralyzed her, effusing her entire being with the notion that this was truly an institution meant for the very best and brightest Japan had to offer.

"I-It's amazing, Sempai! Everything s-seems so unreal…this is w-where you and Naru-sempai are aiming to go to school?"

Keitaro grinned, "That's right. Despite not making the cut last year, Naru hasn't lost hope yet. She has one of the most determined minds I've ever come across. I honestly can't think of any other university she would fit in better at than here."

Shinobu smiled sadly, "She really is amazing…I only wish I could be as strong as her-kya!"

The bluenette's self-reflection was interrupted when Kitsune hugged the younger girl to her, nearly suffocating her in the process, "Now now, we ain't gonna have no more of that Debbie-downer talk, you hear me? You're a beautiful, kind, smart little lady that's gonna be something big one day! You just gotta have more faith in yourself!"

"Mmmm mmmm!"

Shaking his head at the spectacle, Keitaro looked around at the directional signs they were passing. Seeing the one that pointed to his destination, he quickly began walking down the new path after pulling Shinobu free from the fleshy death-hug, "That'll be enough of that. Looks like the place I'm looking for is this way."

Taking back her spot on the landlord's arm, Kitsune looked up at him and asked, "So what's this all about again, Taro-chan? You didn't really say much when ya grabbed us from the market to come with you…"

"You mean when I passed the market as you and Shinobu-chan were leaving, and just up and decided to follow me?" Keitaro corrected with a roll of his eyes, "A friend of mine spoke with a contact of theirs here and was able to set me up with an interview for a part-time job. Since my last job at the restaurant blew up in my face, I had to find another way to earn income."

"Y-You're getting a new job Sempai?" Shinobu glanced up at her landlord and not-so-secret-crush, "What will you be doing?"

The landlord rubbed his chin as he recalled the details from Lawliet, "Well according to my friend, the current head of the archeology department told him that one of his professors had returned from a sabbatical. Now that he'll be taking his teaching post up again, he will need an assistant to help with the transition."

"And you don't need any special skills or anythin like that?"

"According to what I heard I don't," Keitaro replied to the voluptuous woman on his right arm, "It's mainly administrative work. Oh, I think we're here."

The three now stood at the door of a four-story brown-brick building. Walking through the front door the trio headed to the receptionist desk in the middle of a large lobby. The attendant at the desk, a young woman about Keitaro's age with long, black hair, vibrant blue eyes, and dressed in a slightly revealing v-neck top and jean shorts, finished taking a brief call before realizing she had company, "Oh hello there! Welcome to the Komaba Faculty House, how may I assist you?"

"Good afternoon, I'm looking for a Professor Yamamoto from the Archaeology department?" Keitaro asked, not noticing the slight blush forming on the young woman's face, "I was told to come speak with him here regarding a help wanted ad for a part-time assistant?"

"O-Oh! I'm sorry, but Yamamoto-sensei had an emergency and went home early," the woman replied sincerely, "But the professor that returned recently should be here. Last I saw, he was getting his things from storage on the next floor. Maybe you can find him there?"

The landlord nodded, "I see. I'll go find him then. Thank you very much for your help!"

With a smile and a wave, Keitaro headed up the stairs leading to the second floor, Kitsune and Shinobu trailing behind him. When they were out of earshot, the resident fox playfully elbowed her favorite target, "Well look at you, stud! You had that cute lil receptionist all hot and bothered and didn't even have to do a thing!"

"…I don't know what you are implying Oni-Kitsune. I just asked a question, and she gave me an answer," Keitaro rolled his eyes once again at his friend's antics, "And stop saying things like that before you end up corrupting Shinobu-chan."

The bluenette had already gone atomic red from Kitsune's suggestive language, 'S-Sempai…and that woman…aauuuu'

"I did no such thing! Besides, Shinobu-chan's a big girl who can handle it. Isn't that right Shinobu-chan?"

Kitsune blanched a bit as she noticed steam now coming from the girl's ears before her eyes became swirls, the usual signs that her mind had gone into overdrive and she was moments away from fainting, "W-Wait a sec Shinobu-chan! Calm down girl!"

A loud crashing sound echoing from the top of the stairwell quickly caught the attention of the trio, with Keitaro dashing up the rest of the stair well with Kitsune and Shinobu hot on his heels. Looking down the hallway, the landlord spotted what looked to be a pile of fossils and documents spilling out of what seemed to be a closet. A random hand was sticking out of the pile near the ground, the occasional twitching from the fingers telling the group that it wasn't another fossil.

"Kitsune, come help me with this! Shinobu-chan, go ask the lady downstairs for help!" Keitaro ordered as he ran over to the pile and grabbed the person's hand. Kitsune started picking up and tossing aside fossils while Shinobu ran back down the stairs. Getting a good grip on the large hand, the landlord pulled as hard as he could, "Hold on! We'll get you out of there as soon as we can!"

"…fnk uuu…"

As Kitsune moved more debris out of the way, Keitaro gave one last heave, fully extricating the professor from his makeshift tomb. As he dusted the man off a bit, the landlord asked, "Are you alright? That was a pretty bad spill you took."

"No kidding! Thanks a lot for your help, I would've been trapped there for a while if you didn't come along!"

'…Wait a minute…that voice…'

Keitaro stepped back to get a better look at the individual he just helped: a tall man with a lean, but powerful figure with light tan skin, square-rimmed glasses, and a slight bit of stubble on his chin. Dressed in black dress shoes, black slacks, a black dress shirt, and a white tie all worn under a long white lab coat, the man looked every part of a professor.

Keitaro, however, was not fooled by the man's dress or easygoing behavior. He knew him too well to do such a thing.

…far too well.

'…Kami, you are a sick, sick bastard…'

"S-S-SETA-SAN?!" Kitsune shouted as she leapt back and pointed dramatically at the lanky professor, "No way! You disappeared years ago!"

Wiping his glasses a bit and placing them back over his eyes, the newly identified Seta Noriyasu blinked before he grinned, "Well would you look at that! Konno-san! Keitaro-kun! Long time no see!"

"…and it would be longer if I had anything to say about it," the landlord growled, completely caught off guard by the sudden appearance of his old mentor. It was at this point that Shinobu returned with both the receptionist from downstairs and a security guard. Seeing the excavated professor patting himself off, the security guard walked over, "Is everything alright, Seta-san? This young woman here tells me you were buried under a pile of junk."

The bespectacled professor waved him off, "I'm alright. These two were able to dig me out a minute ago. I'll take care of the mess and head out soon, so no need to worry."

Seeing that they were no longer needed, the security guard and the receptionist headed back downstairs, though not before the receptionist gave a flirtatious wink to Keitaro. Shaking his head and thanking his lucky stars that his firebrand of a girlfriend wasn't with them, the landlord turned back towards his estranged mentor, "So…do I even want to know where the hell you've been the past couple years? Or rather, what is it that made you come back now?"

"I never told you that I was called away for an expedition in South America?" Seta asked with a stumped expression. Upon seeing the blank look on Keitaro's face, he chuckled embarrassedly, "…right. Guess I left in such a hurry I forgot to tell anyone. Haru's not too mad at me still, is she?"

"Why don't you ask yourself, stranger?" Kitsune interjected, completely missing the landlord turn pale and try to signal her to stop, "There's a couple of people at Hinata-sou that'd be dyin to see ya again, Seta-san."

Seta perked up and grinned at the invitation, "Is that right? You sure it wouldn't be a problem?"

"Course not! I'm sure Shinobu-chan wouldn't mind makin room for one more at dinner, would you dear?"

"N-Not at all," Shinobu replied with a small, nervous smile of her own, "A-Any friends of Kitsune-san and Haruka-san are m-more than welcome."

"Then it's settled! Oooohh, I jus' know a certain someone's gonna flip the minute you walk thru the door!"

Keitaro could only sigh as he continued to watch Kitsune and Seta catch up, thoroughly dreading that night's dinner for several reasons.

'…she has no idea what she just did…someone kill me now…'

"S-S-Seta-sensei?! W-w-what are you doing here?!"

As expected by those who had run into the flighty professor at Tokyo-U, Naru's reaction was the most animated upon seeing Seta again. The poor girl had been carrying a tray of tea to the table when she froze in the doorway as soon as she noticed who'd walked in. The tea now rested on the floor, along with several shattered pieces from the tea pot and clay mugs.

'…I'm definitely making her clean that up later,' Keitaro thought to himself as he scratched the back of his head, "Ok, so it seems you and Naru-san know each other…"

"Are you kiddin?" Kitsune exclaimed with a surprised glance between her two friends, "Seta-sempai here's the reason she's such a genius now! He tutored her for a month or two back in junior high!"

Taking that fact in as he watched his girlfriend catch up with Seta, the landlord recalled the time the two of them had taken their entrance exams. When he had asked her about her reasons for applying to the illustrious university, Naru had stated that she made a promise to her tutor to get in…

…she also seemed to have had a huge crush on him as well….

'Wait a minute…if Seta is the same tutor she was talking about…doesn't that mean…?'

Keitaro suddenly found himself feeling a slight bit angrier as he finished his small trek down memory lane, realizing that Seta was the previous object of his girlfriend's affections, "…I think I need to get some air. If anyone asks for me, I'll be on the roof."

"Huh? Taro-chan, what's the problem?" Kitsune asked, but just as she turned around, the Mononobe heir disappeared, "…well, that was quick…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Seta had observed the odd interaction between landlord and tenant, and his gaze narrowed a fraction before he turned back to his old student, "Naru-chan, do you think you could call up Haruka and see if she's home? I figure I can at least stop by and chat for a bit."

"Oh, sure thing Sempai! I'll be right back," the rather happy brunette complied, rushing off to find a phone and contact the tea house owner. Once she was out of sight, the older man made his way up the stairs, intent on finding his other old protégé.

Keitaro leaned against the banner and let out a huff as he tried to relax himself. The sun was already setting, painting the skies a beautiful shade of red and orange followed by the twilight black of night. The summer breeze tickled his skin, putting his spirit at ease.

'Looks like I'll have to talk with Kimiko and Nara-san again sooner than I thought,' the landlord reflected as his gaze fixed itself on the sight of the town on the horizon, 'With that bastard here now, moving around is going to be even tougher…'

For the life of him, the avenger could not fathom what could have brought Seta back to Japan so abruptly. Granted, the older man was flighty and spontaneous, always appearing and disappearing at random with no explanations or warnings. Still, there was something about this particular visit that irked Keitaro even more than normal.

'I don't know why, but something tells me this surprise trip home is not completely his doing…'

"There you are, kid! I was wondering where you got off to!"

Keitaro bit back a scathing remark at the nickname, instead glancing over his shoulder with a cold stare, "…did you ever stop and think for a moment that I didn't want to be found, teme?"

Seta chuckled at the blatant insult, "Ouch! Still cold as ice, huh? You seem more and more like a blood relative of Haru's every time I see you."

"She'd deck the hell out of you if she heard you say that," the landlord turned to face the older man, grudgingly resigning himself to the inevitable talk with his old mentor, "So…what brings you home? Normally when you go on a big excavation trip, nothing short of a world-ending catastrophe can get you to return."

The older man scratched the back of his head, "I'm not really that bad, am I?"

"Yes. Yes you are. Even Sarah agrees, and she's your daughter," Keitaro deadpanned before glancing around, "Where is the little firecracker anway? Normally she's always within ten feet of you."

"She's not a little girl anymore, Keitaro-kun," the archaeologist grinned as he walked up next to Keitaro and leaned against the bannister, "Last I checked, she was still on campus, but she'll head here soon. She really missed you, you know?"

At that, the landlord almost chuckled himself, "Is that right?"

The two descended into silence for a few moments, Seta admiring the view and Keitaro growing ever more suspicious of the man's sudden appearance, "…you never answered my question. What brings you back here while you're still in the middle of a huge dig?"

"…I got homesick."

"Bullshit. You've never gotten homesick enough to come rushing back a day in your life. Try again."

The archeologist fished out a pack of cigarettes from his lab coat, "…I missed Haruka and couldn't bear to be away from her any longer."

"Bullshit again, but since you brought her up out of nowhere the picture's getting clearer," Keitaro groused, until it quickly clicked in his mind. He turned to face the older man with a narrow-eyed glare, "…she called you here. Didn't she?"

Seta knew Keitaro was making a statement rather than asking a question, and felt he could put an end to the charade, "…she was worried about you kid. These murders starting up again, and your grudge against those Tachibana. Haruka was just a bit antsy."

"Of fucking course…" the landlord spat and pushed off from the railing angrily. Unfazed, Seta continued, "She was worried…and if what I've been hearing around the city is true, she had every right to be."

Keitaro stopped cold, a tingle running up his spine at his mentor's wording, "…the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I think you know what I mean," Seta replied, taking out one of his favored cancer sticks and lighting it. After a quick puff, he continued, "I've actually been in town since last month to be honest. I just forgot to check in at the school since I was busy getting reacquainted with this place. By the way, sorry to hear about your last part time job. Talk about things going up in smoke, huh?

By now, the avenger was running mental damage control, trying his best to suppress any outside reaction to Seta's words, 'He can't possibly know where I was working...I never told anyone the location at all, especially not Haruka. He's just bluffing...'

"It sounds like you want to ask me something, so just spit it out and spare me your nonsense," Keitaro said calmly, turning back to face Seta. The glare of the sun hit the Tokyo-U professor's glasses, hiding his eyes as he lifted his cigarette once more.

"…what's the real reason you were working at Tensai, Kyoshiro-kun?"

Author's Note - Ok...I did a wee bit better this time, just 8 months between uploads. That's improvement right? ...Right?

Anyway, another triplet has died, leaving just the middle child and the father. But now two wrenches have been thrown into the works, in the form of Tachibana Ruumari, one of the most powerful figures in Japanese Law Enforcement, and Noriyasu Seta, everyone's favorite archaeologist. Kyoshiro and the others may have their hands full...or will they? Got some interesting stuff coming up, so for those of you who have continued to keep reading despite my absence, keep your eyes peeled.

Big thanks again to my beta, Cloud Link Zero, for all his assistance in fleshing out this story and giving life to our mysterious hacker. Keep an eye on him, he's gonna be important VERY soon.

That's all for now...back to school I go...summer, I knew ye well.

Take care everyone!

Ciph signin' off