I couldn't sleep, so I decided to leave well before dawn. I'm not sure of what time he might be at the shrine, anyways. I pack a few taiyaki to go along with my nutrient bars, but as I get everything in my bag I hesitate for a moment. I go back to my room, and sit on my bed. First, I reach out with the Chakra Sensing Technique, feeling out for my family members. My range is able to cover the whole estate now, and I'm beginning to be able to better identify distinct chakra signatures. Each one that I sense now is similar, like a gentle globe of light, meaning that only my family is here in the estate. With that done, I prepare to use my mist, and then blow it out in a thick wall that fills my room before seeping under my door and crawling along the hallway. I sigh, disappointed and frustrated. I focus on the moonlight coming through my window for a second, and calm my breathing. Though not out in the woods as I normally am when I do this, there's a view of the lawn from the window, which I think will be enough. Long and slow, then short and quick... and as the late night silence settles over me, I become still, and feel the natrual energy outside the house like a candle flame warming my spirit. As with my other attempts, my room and the house are empty. I then make use of the Flickering Tongue Jutsu, and complete the search- and find that perhaps I need to clean my room a bit better.

The searching done and uneventful, I quietly leave and head off for the Shrine. I go as fast as I can manage in the dark, using my Byakugan in the stretches of forest where almost no moonlight is coming through the canopy. I keep my focus on finding my way, but as it lightens I begin to think of what I'll ask Yamaha's son, if he shows. Thinking back, that interrogation Ibiki let me look in on was actually very informative, and it leaves me thinking of just one thing: who are the Akiyama Group and the Black Dragons working for? The normal channels for what they're doing are clear of any incriminating evidence, so who would need to hide their involvement?

At last dawn breaks, and I begin to run full speed ahead. Much sooner than I would have thought, I see the stream up ahead through the trees, and I stop at it to get a drink before walking over to the shrine. As always, the forest looks beautiful near the shrine, and at dawn it's like a cloth has been pulled away, unveiling a thoughtfully carved sculpture. A sudden leap in my determination fills me, and I nod to myself as I stop at the shrine box to make a donation before stepping in.

Already, the shrine maiden is before the incense stand, meditating. I kneel down beside her, and begin to ask for some kind of insight or help, throwing myself into the silence of the early morning. After what may have been several minutes or even an hour or so, I can feel the shrine maiden looking at me. There is concern and a piercing understanding in her eyes. "...I still feel watched," I say. "I haven't been able to find anyone around me."

The shrine maiden nods. "The forest whispered of someone approaching a moment ago. You may wish to prepare for their arrival."

"Alright..." I tell the maiden what Yamaha's son looks like, and leave to sit by the koi pond in the rock garden. I try to remember the transformation I took when I met Yamaha and his son, and in a second perform the jutsu. On the surface of the water I look at myself, and on a whim decide to braid my now dark hair and wear it over my shoulder. Once I've done so I hear a horses riding up to the shrine, and settle more comfortably on the stone bench, trying to remain calm. Footsteps, coming around to the rock garden.

"That's her." And that's the voice of Yamaha's son- he decided to come, after all. I wasn't sure how he would trust the promise of someone who murdered his father before his eyes. "Rainmaker?" I don't turn to look, but hold up a hand and wave him forwards. His heavy footfalls draw closer, and he stands in front of the bench on my right. He heaves a sigh. "So. What do you want?"

"There's only one thing I want to know right now," I say, letting my emotions out. "Who hired the Akiyama Group to kidnap the girls?!" Yamaha's son looks at me, and I realize he's surprised I don't already know.

"Taizo."

"Taizo who?"

"Taizo, his second son." It takes a second, but then a bell goes off in the back of my mind. Someone rich enough to employ two large criminal organizations, someone important enough to need his actions buried far below the surface; someone like a daimyo- or one of their sons. "My father wasn't very fond of his family, and in particular the daimyo himself. I agree; the man is about as weak and indecisive as you can get." Yamaha's son moves to sit down on the edge of the bench, and stares at the koi pond, watching the fish swim around. "For father there just weren't any good answers. The daimyo, too weak; his eldest son, uninterested; his youngest son, well, you know what he's like; and he was a traditionalist, too, didn't want his only daughter to rule..."

"And who would you see in the daimyo's place?" I ask.

"...My father, but since that is no longer possible, it would be his daughter. She's young, but she's at least not as idiotic as her brothers and actually interested in her father's duties."

I sigh. "Have you thought about planting an advisor or tutor for her in the court?"

"No, actually. That's a good thought, but I want to finish my father's mission first."

There's a short silence. "I'm sorry. But I had to do what I did..."

Yamaha's son looks over at me. "Who in the Hell are you, anyways?"

"...Someone interested in getting back at Taizo; a freelancer."

He's silent for a few moments before looking back at me. "So why not you? Why don't you place yourself as a tutor to the daimyo's daughter?"

"I can't," I say quickly. "I'm on the move too frequently."

"I'm not sure I believe that- what better job could there be for a rogue like yourself? Surely you could do with staying in one place if it's the daimyo's palaces."

"It would be a very comfortable job, but also a very dangerous one, especially for myself. I have to stay a ghost, a cloud on the wind."

Yamaha's son shrugs, and looks around at the rock garden. "...I've gotten word that Taizo is leaving Tanzaku Quarters to head back to the palaces. If you're going to make a strike at him, that would be the time to do it."

"And what about the Akiyama Group? Will Nurari or any others be going with him?"

"Taizo will probably have some of them along disguised as his body guards." I think for a minute. This is indeed a rare opportunity, but the palace is about a week's travel away from Konoha, and I only have a couple days left on the furlough Lady Tsunade granted me.

"...I'll see what I can do about Nurari in the next couple days, but I won't be able to come to the palace right away."

"But you'll come sometime soon, though?"

"I'll see what I can do. If I can go, I'll make it rain on the palace at noon, and I'll be close by." Yamaha's son nods and stands to go, but suddenly stops and holds out his hand.

"Yusei."

I stare at his hand for a second, and then decide to (metaphorically speaking) throw myself off the edge. "Raiko." I say, giving Yusei a firm handshake.