Made a little mistake posting this. I put up a chapter to a different story. Sorry about that.

A few opening words: Alright, This will probably be the only time I update this in a while, since I'm still on a streak with Ragnarok: Sword of Legends. However, I figured since I hadn't updated this in a while I might as well treat you guys with a chapter before continuing with the other one. Enjoy.

"Sakaki-san! We have to go, or we'll be late!"

"I'll be right there Chiyo-chan!" Sakaki took one brief look around the storage room, and then grabbed one of the silenced pistols out of the briefcase, closing and latching it quickly. She shut the door, and shoved the weapon in the back of her pants. She had chosen to wear the same shirt as the day before, and a pair of jeans. Both were loose enough to cover up a weapon. Luckily, the gun didn't feel too uncomfortable; it fit neatly in the small of her back.

It was currently 10:30am, and they were due to meet their friends in the park near Chiyo's at 11am. It wasn't that far of a walk, the house they had chosen to hide out in was only a block away from Chiyo's place. Nevertheless, Sakaki wanted to arrive earlier than the others, so that she could survey the place, get to know it and the exits. She wanted to be sure they had a quick way out if the Grey Men showed up, which was a very real possibility. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she put her friends in a situation where they could get seriously hurt, or worse.

It was a relatively short walk to the park, as to be expected. On the way, Sakaki reflected on the previous night's experiences while Chiyo rode on Tadakichi's back with Mayaa. She had taught Chiyo the throwing technique she had sort of taught herself, and the girl had caught on very quickly, much to Sakaki's surprise. Chiyo had been very enthusiastic as well, not giving up when she couldn't manage to get the technique right. She had spent most of the night trying, but finally managed to throw it right, so that the blade would hit the target and not the handle. Sakaki had held off on teaching her the hand to had stuff, she figured it was best to have her master the throwing so she would never have to get in close to her opponent. Besides, Sakaki wouldn't allow her to get into that kind of situation anyway. Soon enough, they arrived at the park, ten minutes early.

Sakaki led Chiyo to a group of benches off the regular path. It must have been a sitting area, or maybe a picnic area. It was separated from the main path, and hard to see if you didn't know where to look. It was exactly what she wanted. After telling Chiyo to wait there, she went and stood at the edge of the main path to wait for the others and direct them to their meeting place. To pass the time, she took out one of her knives and began twirling it around in her hand. She wasn't sure why she kept doing this, but it seemed to calm her down. Before long, she spotted a pair of people walking down the path. They got closer, and she identified them as Kagura and Ayumu. She quickly returned the knife to its sheath and waved to them. Kagura saw her and waved back.

"Oi! Sakaki! How's the head doing?"

"Much better, thank you."

"No, I meant... ah, never mind." Sakaki turned to Ayumu, who seemed to be staring off into nothing.

"How have you been, Ayumu-chan?"

"Oh, you know... the usual..."

"She's like that sometimes. You may not remember, but this is normal for her. It's actually weird when she isn't like this, if you can believe that," Kagura explained. Sakaki soon noticed that the other three girls hadn't yet arrived, and it was already ten minutes after their arranged time.

"Kagura, where are the others?"

"Tomo was forced to go to some family reunion thing, and somehow she managed to drag Yomi with her. She said they wouldn't be back for at least a week, and that they're sorry for missing you guys. And Kaorin, she said something about having to attend some seminar or something, as a prerequisite for her astronomy courses in University. It'll take her until school starts. She seemed very sad about not coming." In truth, Sakaki was relieved that so few of her friends had come; this would mean less would be in danger. She motioned to the two girls to follow her, and soon they were all sitting on the benches.

"So Sakaki, tell us, what have you been up to the past few days."

"Well, as you know I went to stay with Chiyo-chan. The night we got home though, the Grey Men came after us. Me actually. I guess their leader, a person named Shuji, wanted to finish the job. They sent an assassin after us."

"No shit? Really? What did you do?"

"Well, um, I managed to fight him off and knock him out. We tried to get information out of him, but he wouldn't budge. He broke free when I wasn't paying attention, and would have hurt Chiyo-chan, had I not...had I not..." Sakaki was having a bit of trouble finishing.

"Had you not what?"

"I shot him."

"What?" Kagura was dumbfounded.

"I shot him. In the head. I killed him, Kagura."

"You... killed... With what?" Sakaki reached around her back and drew out the silenced pistol to show Kagura.

"With his. I took it off him when he was unconscious."

"Holy shit... damn... Well, what next." Sakaki continued the story, with Chiyo beside her with the animals, and Ayumu and Kagura listening intently. She wasn't sure if Ayumu was really listening though, it was hard to tell.

"We left her house, and took the man's car. We found an abandoned home a block away and sort of moved in there. In the trunk of the car, I found an arsenal of weapons, so at least we'll be well protected when the Grey Men come again. Anyway, the past few days we lived like we normally would have, albeit more cautious when we went out for supplies. And then we met here."

"Wow. So, why didn't you stay in Chiyo's mansion?"

"The Grey Men knew where it was; it wasn't safe there anymore."

"Good point." Kagura looked to be in deep thought for a moment. "Well then, whatever you plan on doing, you can count me in. I'm sure Osaka will help too; she's surprisingly good at abstract thinking, and could help come up with a plan."

"Ayumu." Kagura looked over at Ayumu. "Please, no more Osaka. We are out of High School and I kind of want to be called by my name."

"Sorry, Ayumu then. Anyway, count us in!" Kagura raised her hand in a mock cheer, as did Ayumu.

"Thank you, both of you. But I don't even have a plan yet, not even an idea. But I will tell you this, he will pay, for taking my family, and my memories away. That is for certain. I must warn you though, it will be dangerous."

"I know. We are dealing with a gang after all. But what about Chiyo?"

"I'll be protecting her. Also, I have been teaching her a few things..." Chiyo perked up at the mention of her name. Kagura looked over at her questioningly. The small girl flipped out the switchblade and spun it quickly around in her hand before returning it to her pocket. Kagura was surprised, to say the least.

"Oh man! Now that is just too cool! You taught Chiyo how to wield a knife?!" Chiyo blushed.

"Well, not really. Only a few things, like the twirling exercise and a few things about throwing.

"I'm not very good..." Chiyo added. Before anyone else could add anything more, Sakaki butted in.

"If you all don't mind, we should head back to the hide-out, as you would call it. That way we don't risk getting seen by them." Everyone was in agreement, and they left for the house.

"So, how are we gonna go about bringing down the second most powerful gang in Tokyo? That's a pretty daunting task." Sakaki didn't answer. Everyone seemed to be in deep thought for a while. No one even touched the tea Chiyo had made. Then, Ayumu of all people came up with an idea.

"Hey, why don't we work from the ground up?"

"Huh? Ground up?" Kagura was clearly confused. Chiyo seemed to have caught on though.

"Hey yeah! That's a great idea! We work through their ranks from the bottom up. You know, go for his Generals or high ranking members first, then after the leader himself!"

"Chiyo, you're starting to scare me..." Kagura said, almost shifting away from the too-enthusiastic girl. Chiyo simply smiled.

"Ayumu, and Chiyo, that will be our plan. Great job. Our only problem is how do we find out who and where these 'higher ups' are." Sakaki stated. Chiyo already had the solution.

"Sakaki-san, didn't the car have a GPS system or onboard computer? Maybe it has a list of names or addresses?"

"Well, it's worth a look. I'll go check, you guys wait here." Sakaki walked out to the garage, and opened the car. Sure enough, there was a GPS system. She tapped the on button and it sprang to life. She navigated the menus and sure enough, she found an address book. It contained four names, each with a corresponding number. She selected one, and the screen changed to a map, showing directions to the selected person's location. It was a restaurant/bar downtown, called Sushi Deluxe. Chiyo-chan, you are amazing. Before she left, she noticed gold stars beside each name on the list, ranging from one to four. The person she selected only had one by his name. This must be their ranking in the gang. She walked back into the living room.

"Chiyo-chan is correct, there seems to be four of them. The first hides out in a restaurant downtown called the Sushi Deluxe. He's probably low ranking, so I should be able to do it myself. You three stay here, out of danger. I will return shortly." Sakaki went to the bedroom quickly and put on the trench coat she had bought for this situation. She then went to the storage room in the garage, and opened up the case that contained the pistols. She pulled the one she already had from the back of her pants and set it aside. She took out the two holsters that were in the briefcase and strapped them to her thighs, one on each. They would be concealed by the coat. Sakaki slipped the guns into their holsters, making sure they were loaded. She also grabbed a pair of extra magazines, in case she ran out of ammunition. Grabbing the keys along the way, she opened the garage door and stepped into the car. For a brief moment, she thought about what she was going to do. I'm going to kill a man. Probably more than one. She was hesitant to start the engine, almost afraid of what she was going to do. But then she countered those thoughts. But, the man has done bad things. And my family can't be brought back. Once convinced, she started the car and put it in gear. Her plan was set into motion; there was no stopping it now.

Author's notes: Alright, a little lead up to things to come. Also, I had to write out Tomo, Yomi, and Kaorin for this fic. I hope it doesn't put anyone off, but I couldn't make them fit in the story. Besides it would have been this or kill them off later on, and I doubt you all would like that, would you? Anyway, I have interesting plans for the others, and you might like a few of them. I do, especially one revolving around a certain character. But you guys will have to wait and find out! Tee hee!

Till next time!