Chapter Thirteen

Kayura decided that she needed to speak to an old friend as the afternoon came along. She hated to go see him during the day but the house was quiet, everyone was out doing their own things she supposed and she didn't want them asking later where she had went. She pulled on a hat and scarf before heading out and noticed Raleigh was watching her.

"You have spoken to any of us in days," the red head assessed softly.

Kayura looked at the woman, "maybe I haven't decided to what to say just yet."

"Better figure that out soon."

"It's better to take time to think on a decisive plan, then muddle through. Don't you think?"

Raleigh nodded as she turned to go into the study, "I believe you are on the right track."

Kayura was an expert at the New York public transit. It was funny, she knew how to drive a car and was very good at it but the thing was she could never get a driver's license to do so. For many reasons, the first of all she wasn't a US citizen. The second most important was that even if she was a citizen, it would mean she would be in some database and it was dangerous enough in the shadows as it was. So, public transit it was, and she enjoyed the peaceful moments in the large vehicles. Even when they were packed full, she found them entertaining at least. It wasn't long before she was in hell's kitchen and she hoped that her friend would be home.

She went up to the very top of the building and knocked. She folded her arms as the door opened, "hello, Miss Kay. Did you finally come for that legal advice?"

She starred at the man, who was rather handsome but compared to her blonde god he was pretty normal. He was tall and lean with dark brown hair and wore a nice but cheap suit. He wore dark glasses, which she came to understand was a symbol of his disability. The loss of sight was a terrible predicament in any circumstance but the man acted as if he still had a pair of eyes. She always wondered how but it didn't matter to her much, "of sorts."

"Come in," he said as he let her in.

She walked past him as he closed the door, "its been a while, I've heard you've been busy."

"More or less," he answered as she slumped down on his couch. "I haven't seen heads or tales of you since things got hairy."

"Let's just say my own demons came back to haunt me."

"I still have a hard time believing that you have any demons who would brave chasing you down."

"There are brave ones still."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"No," she said quietly remember back to the day when she had started tracking the Nendo that had led her to her meeting with Steve. "I sort of got preoccupied, Matt."

"That's not like you."

"Yeah, well," she answered awkwardly. "I see you got your guy."

"Sort of," he answered quietly. "What's bothering you?"

She shook her head and pulled her knees up to her chest, "I was gone a while and things sort of fell back in my lap."

Matt didn't know her full story, or even know about her armor but he did know her from her many thefts that he repeatedly tried to stop. He was definitely a good crime fighter, but she was a better thief. The mild mannered lawyer ran the streets of New York at night as mask crusader named Daredevil. She first met him when she was working for his enemy, and many nights she would take jobs just so she could meet him time and time again. However, she realized the man she thought was just an art collector was a truly terrible human being and that the man who repeatedly tried to stop her was actually kind of a cool person. Matt Murdock, attorney at law, was as mild mannered as they came but like her Steve she realized there was a hero somewhere in his chest.

He looked at her, "does that mean that wasn't you broke into the museum?"

She realized he was talking about Felicia, "no, there's aspiring thief in my midst and they were paid by the same person who paid me. Do you know how?"

"I don't," he said quietly. "So you're not in his pay bracket any more?"

"Haven't been since Moma."

"Good," he said quietly as he remembered the incident where she kicked his ass with a smile. The entire time he had spent chasing her, she had been toying with him. Letting him catch her here and there, only for her to escape time and time again.

She realized Moma had been the last job before she realized that her buyer was a twisted bastard. It was also the night before she had met Steve. She said, "I know I never told that the reason I was stealing was because I was looking for something of value for myself."

"An artifact?"

She thought about the golden staff, "in a sense, yes."

"Is it true what they say Miss Kay, that women keep their secrets close to their heart?"

She laughed, "goodness, no. I keep my secrets close to my knife."

He laughed.

She continued, "the artifact was lost a while ago and would...help in the situation I'm in now."

"You want me to help you find it?"

"No, I want to know who wants it."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Do you want to know?"

"What does this have to do with this thief you were talking about," he asked.

She sighed, "somebody paid her to steal something that would compromise the shadows I work with."

"You think that your old boss is doing this?"

"I wouldn't say for certain."

He nodded, "I'll keep an ear out."

"Thank you," said said as she stood up. "Hey, there's rumblings going on right now..."

He raised a curious brow.

She shook her head slowly, she had to warn him, "don't choose sides, okay?"

"Miss Kay are you worried about little ol' me?"

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, "please, Matt, stay in the shadows. The shadows are safe."

He nodded, "you stay there too then."

She smiled as she headed for the door, "I'll do my best to."

Kayura close the door behind her as she thought about her past few years. The years between being a Warlord and being Hoshi's body guard. What was she now, the Ogre? The shadows had a a predator in them and she had to figure out who it was sooner than later, so that the shadows could stay shadows. Not the just the ronins, or warlords, but heroes like Steve who didn't have his fame were going to be affected too. She needed to talk to someone else before she went home and incited whatever plans she was slowly putting together.

She took another small trip through town to the building that was being rebuilt again. She wondered if Tony was there. All week she had been watching his routine and if he was following the same pattern, he would be there again. Late night dates, and long work days. She wondered how anyone functioned under that sort of pressure.

She crossed her arms as she walked into the front desk, and the secretary looked at her, "oh, Mr. Stark was expecting you."

Kayura frowned and headed to the elevator. She didn't see how he knew she was coming but then she would ask him once she got up there. She wasn't afraid to slap him around a few times either if that were the case. She sighed as the elevator opened and she saw Tony sitting at the bar, "I thought you gave up drinking?"

Tony smiled at her, "it's an on and off thing."

She rolled her eyes at him, "you have any Sake?"

He reached over the bar, and pulled out a small clear bottle for her. Kayura popped it open, "how did you know I was coming by?"

"I assumed it would be sooner or later."

She sipped the sake, it burned her throat as it went down, "a lot happened when I was away."

"Well, you came in at very unfortunate point."

She leaned on her hand and looked at the man who wasn't really as intimidating as the newspapers and Avengers made him seem. None of the Avengers were as intimidating as anyone made them out to be. Although, she hadn't met Thor or the Hulk yet. She asked, "unfortunate how?"

He asked, "why did you leave the warlords?"

She sighed, "I told Hoshi it was because they protective but it all honesty it was nothing of the sort. You see we were in Dubai doing what we did. We were mercs after all, I mean killing was second nature to us from the beginning considering our past and we had to stay afloat to keep up with our running wolf. We were paid by someone very powerful in the region to do some political assassination...'

Tony raised an eyebrow, "that Mustef family."

"I was against it from day one, the client seemed...off," she said slowly, "but Dais seemed so certain and said, 'we don't ask questions, we take jobs.' I was always in charge of quick and clean...I'm sure you know what that means..." she said running a finger across her own neck from left to right, "Kale put out the lights and I didn't even see who it was. I mean I never did, I worked in the dark but Dais didn't take into account the change of time when we were traveling. The first light cracked through a window and I saw what I had done...The oldest daughter was pregnant, almost to term. Kale and Sekh mocked me for days...and so I left saying they were being over protective."

Tony poured some whiskey, "that was more than I was expecting."

She shrugged, "so I came back to the states to be on my own for a bit. I guess that was the unfortunate you were speaking of?"

He nodded, "after Socovia none of us were really as close as we once were and the news definitely didn't like us as much either."

"So you guys just broke up, is that what you're saying?"

He scowled.

She decided to ask, "Junko said you and Steve had an argument when I was gone and you said some particularly cruel things?"

He raised a brow.

"That 'you had dibs on me if the ronins and warlords were to be broken up'," she paused to watch his expression.

Tony barked out a laugh, "god, that kid exaggerates. Teenagers."

He saw Kayura scowl.

He cleared his throat, "Steve had come over the night Kento threw a fit about me and Hoshi. What I had said during our argument was that if there was a time where the ronins and warlords had to pick sides, I would hope that you would pick mine."

She scowled again, "and why would I do such a thing, Mr. Stark, considering your track record?"

He leaned on the bar, "what if the US government found out who you all were and you were no longer able to run in the shadows. What would you do?"

"What I've always done. Run."

He nodded, "and what if you had the opportunity to still be free and do what you guys do just more regulated instead of..."

Kayura saw his look become dark as he paused for several moments.

"...instead of... strategically planning your own death at a friends party and keeping them in the dark what you guys really were. I have to give it to you guys, twenty five years the government wrote off those moments where cities became isolated ghost town as harmless events to find out that it was teenagers who been fighting invisible demons all along."

She paused before saying, "sounds like you're angry."

"A bit," he paused. "So tell me what you think of that scenario."

She paused, "and what if there was someone like Hydra still hiding in plain sight who better uses for us?"

"You don't think you would be protected?"

"Humans are not to be trusted with our power."

"You're human."

"No I'm not," she said, "I'm an Ancient. Tasked with making sure this sort of thing doesn't happen."

"Well, you're terrible at it," he assessed.

"I could make some quick judgements about your teamwork as well you know."

He grunted, she smirked, and then he said, "you sure as hell know how to politely insult someone."

"One of my specialties."

"Look, I have tendency to run my mouth and I didn't realize Junko was taking things so seriously."

She paused, "then you should apologize to her."

"I don't think she'll listen..."

"She has every right to be mad at you," Kayura scolded. "You're sort of sleeping with your friend's wife?"

He scratched his neck, "yeah..."

"How exactly did that happen?"

He sighed, "you really want to know?"

"I'm just curious because as far as I knew before I left, she hated you."

"Ouch."

"Well?"

He looked off to the side, "grief does strange things to people who are around each other all the time."

She nodded.

"She was a mess, and I was the only friend she had at that time who wasn't reminding her that the armor you gave her was killing her."

Kayura paused.

"Yeah, did you know what the Owari does?"

"There were tales," she paused as she finished her sake. "I mean...all of our armors had tales in the nether realm, most of them untrue. The most I had heard about it, or been told, was that it was the armor eater. It could defeat whole armies by touch. Exaggerations...sort of but there was a tale that none of the bearers lived to reach old age."

"And you still saw fit to give it to her?"

"She would have had it anyways, but with a much crueler fate."

"So your the harbinger of fate then?"

"I suppose I am."

He nodded as she stood up, "you don't seem so upset about me and Hoshi?"

"She's happy and alive, isn't she," Kayura asked blankly.

"I suppose."

"Then I don't care what you two do," she paused as she started to walk you out. "Just realize that no one in our group will eve consider you king, you're just a consort."

"I've been called worse."

"I'm sure you have," she said before she entered the elevator.