As Nishira stood in a dark alley, facing a steel door on the side of some bland building, a flat monotone beige colour, windowless, coated in questionable stains. At the academy, the teachers were insistent that Konohagakure was unlike any other place in the world with its charming villagers and honourable shinobi. It didn't surprise her to see that a club scene existed here, or rather the existence of one singular club that was like a dirty secret of the village. In their defence, they were largely teaching small children to kill, but of course it made sense to deter them from the real evil like drinking alcohol.

Ultimately, she questioned her decision to say yes to Koragi, someone she barely knew. The faintest thudding of a baseline proved she was in the right place, but the door handle smelled like someone had recently pissed on it. Wrinkling her nose to the sour pungent smell, Nishira was about to look for something to open it with instead of her bare hands when sounds of angry shouting on the other side warned her to step back. The door burst open to her relief, announcing the blast of a thundering electronic beat and a heavily muscled bald man throwing out a patron in his rumpled shirt and stained pants.

"Get out of here! You're lucky I don't call the police!"
The crumpled form of the man, scrambled to get up and tried to run away from the entrance but managed only three or so steps before falling in a drunken stupor. The bouncer ignored the plight of the drunk man and simply turned to her. His black t-shirt clung to ever ripple of muscle, of which there were many, and threatened to simply burst from being stretched too far. His face was cold and neutral, ready to react accordingly. Standing like a stone statue as though waiting for something. After an awkward moment, he finally caved.
"You comin' in?"
"Uh- yes." Nishira lowered her gaze as she realized she'd been staring. His gaze, trained to spot troublemakers, eyed her up and down.
"You sure?"
Nishira pressed her lips together.
"No, but I promised."
The man shrugged, content with the answer, and held the door open for her.
"Welcome to Sankey's."

She passed him into the shadowy doorway, greeted by the harsh yellow of a single lightbulb and approached the steep staircase going down. Hesitation to descend into the darkness held her step. Nishira turned to the bouncer, who crossed his barrel sized arms and just watched her is a stare that made her spine whither. Nishira turned back to the steps, cursing the decision to wear heels, vowing that if she stumbled down the steps, she'd brutally stab whoever created them. At the base of the stairs was another steel door, and a note poorly taped to it with block lettering of the club's name and an arrow pointing down, which, Nishira noted, led to a steeper set of stairs steeper than the last.

With the weak reaffirming of her resolve, Nishira grit her jaw and began carefully stepping down the stairs, her heels clicking in an echoing hallway, a louder sound than the muffled rumbling outside rattled her skull uncomfortably. As she came closer to the heavy door closed with a streaky spray-painted "Sankey's" adorning its flat surface, the missing door handle with the evidence in the hole where it should have been, gave her glimpses of the chaotic lights dancing behind it and the opportunity to withdraw was quickly receding, and her frown, deepening. Nishira pressed her hands on the door and pushed, feeling the weight of it against the booming atmosphere behind it, vibration of the music blasted around the edge of the door, and it threatened to overwhelm her senses.

Inside the neon lights flashed and danced along the packed cavernous room. Nishira squinted as she looked around to see if she could spot Koragi amidst the throngs of guests. In the very center of the room, the DJ was bobbing along to his work his hands busy along the board before him, wearing a metallic gold jacket that bounced off the beams of light flashing around him. Above him a gigantic chandelier of sorts drew her gaze. Nishira, momentarily mesmerized by the geometric angular shapes with different colours of stained glass, let her eyes follow the trails of gold that danced and weaved an intertwining pattern surrounding etchings of stars emblazed on the odd shaped hanging misshapen globe, as though it were barely holding the whole piece together.

On platforms strategically placed around the rooms, beautiful women danced, their heads encased in a clear globe that was lit up different colours, smiling for tips as they shot plastic squirt guns full of booze into party goers' mouths. Suddenly the chandelier pulsed a deep gold glow, spilling it onto the frenzied crowd cheering as the music took them in stride with the lights. Someone brushing past her arm brought Nishira back and she realized she was blocking the door and the only exit it seemed. Muttering an apology to the group of young girls walking out with their heels in their hands who paid her no heed. Nishira began wading through the moving bodies.

A long arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her off her path.
"There you are."
Nishira looked up expecting to see Koragi, with the intention of immediately putting down some boundaries concerning his shameless hands, but the words died on her tongue as she stared into a stranger's face.
"What?" the word was dumb and hung stupidly on her lips.
"I've been waiting for you."
The smile on his face was wicked and promised all sorts of sinful things, Nishira swallowed, frozen to the spot.
"I think you've mistaken me for-"
"No, you are right where you need to be." He stuck out his tongue and Nishira spotted a small white square on it with a cartoon smiley face.
"Oh no, I don't-"
He leaned in, intent on pressing his lips to hers. Nishira wound a fist back to wallop him when a heavy hand landed on the man's shoulder, pushing him away from her. Nishira looked up to see Koragi towering over her.
"There you are. Thank you for finding her for me."
The man's gaze slowly focused on the intruder, before letting out a cheery greeting, slapping his hand on Koragi's shoulder before dumbly turning around to find another scantily clad woman who welcomed his embrace more openly.
"Do you make it a habit to punch the sons of visiting dignitaries?"
Nishira squeaked and let herself be led away towards a booth nearby. As they came closer, a man nodded at Koragi before brushing past. Nishira looked back to see the man examining something in his hand behind them. She looked forward as they stopped in front of a wide round table with two people sitting around it, looking up at them.
"Guys, this is my friend, Nishira. Nishira, these are my friends and squad mates, Sekawa and Toma."
Sekawa glared, her dark eyes scanning her in response to Nishira's smile and friendly wave. That expression marred an otherwise gorgeous face. Sekawa's features were sharp even in the strobing lights, her nose a dainty point, and full lips painted a dark colour, but the wrinkles from that frown aged her in the strobing atmosphere. Her dark hair was slicked back from her perfectly symmetrical face, looking strikingly like a model from a magazine. She crossed her arms over her full chest, Nishira's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the deep lines of her shirt and exposed flesh there. Toma was the exact opposite. He gave an energetic and friendly wave, alongside a wide toothy smile in the center of the hair of his full curly beard. Sekawa's lips moved in response, but their surrounding robbed them of hearing the sound.
"What?"
"She said it's nice to meet you too."
Toma put an arm around Sekawa and gave her a little shake, and it let Nishira know she definitely hadn't said that.
"Come on, let's get a drink." Koragi spoke into Nishira's ear. The faintest shiver followed running down her neck. She let him lead her to one of the many bars in the room. A young woman with a glittery star on her cheek smiled as they approached. Nishira turned to look around as Koragi ordered for them, seeing people packed from wall to wall, Nishira didn't know there was this many young adults in the village. She wondered how many were only visiting, most of the faces were strangers to her. The darkness was filled with flashing lights made it seem like an ocean of bodies moved around the centre lifted platform with the maestro of the dance there fiddling with the electronics on his table.
"Is it usually this busy?"
The woman was pouring a clear liquid into two shot glasses with two beer bottles already opened.
"Not really!" she yelled it over the music. "Maybe an extra couple dozen people in here."
"So few?"
"Yeah! The DJ is here just for the festival, so those who don't party every weekend are here too!"
"I didn't even know about this place!"
"You must be a ninja then, it's not very common to see them here because of their code." The last word was said in mocking.
"Code? I must have missed the memo on that!"
The woman pushed forward the two shot glasses.
"No idea, you'd have to ask someone else."
She held out her hand and Koragi slipped a few bills into it, she accepted with a smile and a slight bow before moving down to help another customer.
"Ready?"
Nishira looked down at it.
"What is it?"
"Trust me, you'll like it."
He picked them both up and handed one to her. She obliged and clinked it to his before bringing it to sip. Koragi threw the shot back with ease and a pleased smile at the empty glass, Nishira's gaze drifted to two younger girls barely reaching adulthood, their perfect hair flowing down their backs, with glittery smiles and carefree laughs. Nishira was much too old for this place, or maybe too fucked to enjoy it. But she threw the shot back and was surprised at the taste. The flavor that danced on her palate was tangy, with the taste of fresh citrus up front, but a warm sweetness also filled her belly almost immediately. She looked back to see Koragi grinning, his eyes lingering on her throat. She leaned in to speak in his ear, as he matched her movements, putting their lips closer instead.
"That's delicious, what is it?"
"It's called an umeshu sour, made from plum wine. Be careful, the way they make it around here will have you on your ass in no time at all. Here."
He handed her a bottle, clinking it with his before taking a sip. She leaned in to yell in his ear.
"What's the deal with Sekawa?"
"Hmm? Oh, she's not very welcoming of newcomers. She gets a little jealous, but don't worry. She'll warm up, I promise." His hand grazed her elbow as he led away from the bar. As they approached their table, Nishira noticed Toma whispering in Sekawa's ear. The action seemed very intimate; Sekawa's frown was replaced with an angelic smile that seemed to radiate a glow. Nishira felt the weight of jealousy as she laughed, and while the sound didn't carry far enough to them as they came closer, she knew it would be a heavenly sound. Toma flicked the white foam from the top of her drink and dabbed it onto her nose. She playfully shoved him before getting closer. Sekawa's gaze left his and eagerly scanned the room to see them approaching. Settling on them, she moved out of Toma's arms, and the frown returned, Toma didn't even flinch.

Nishira scooted into the pleather seats and sat next to Sekawa, offering a polite smile before taking a swig of the bitter beer. Toma reminded her of a dog that was happy to see anyone, all smiles and happy to bounce between conversations between anyone there and those who passed by the table that he recognized. His warm green eyes settled on her, wrapping her up as though he wanted to know everything, that you were by far the most interesting thing in the room. They sparkled with interest; his gaze unwavering as though drinking in everything about her. As his gaze shifted momentarily to an intruder, it became apparent that he seemed to look at everyone like that as he greeted the new presence warmly before they moved along. Returning back to Nishira, he gave a lopsided smile before asking his next question.
"Are you and Koragi partners?"
"Like work partners?" Nishira directed the question back to Toma, but her gaze was caught by Sekawa's face lighting up like a furious match just struck against the grain. Toma just laughed. Koragi cleared his throat guiltily.
"No, I just met Nishira today and she seemed pretty chill, and I figured she needed some friends. Like you, Sekawa, I thought maybe you could be really friendly with her."
The tone was light and teasing, as his hand crept along Nishira's arm intimately, his fingers grazing along the skin raising pebbling bumps there, but his eyes we focused on Sekawa lingering on the keyhole, a window to her breasts and trailed downwards, like he was picturing her naked. Nishira's awkward gaze wandered away from the two, obviously caught between something when she spotted a figure she recognized. A woman stood in a stark white dress that hugged every curve, stopping near the tops of her thighs just long enough for a scrap of decorum. It intimately caressed its model like a lover who knew every curve, the thick fabric screamed money as it glittered and gleamed, creating an illusion under the club lights. But what caught Nishira's attention was the meaty hand that held the woman's wrist in a vice grip.

Nishira excused herself hastily and came forward, trying to wedge in between the two as the leering man before her scowled at her interruption.
"Release her." She stared up at the man who hovered at least a foot taller than her and twice as bulky. The man sneered at the command, lifting one side of a drooping mustache. Even to Nishira, he looked like he didn't belong there. His skin showed withering from time spent under the weight of the sun, like a labourer, a contrast to the pricey track suit, the zipper opened to halfway down his chest, exposing a white t-shirt underneath. He finished the outfit with a thick braided chain roped around his neck.
"Get lost! We're having a conversation, weren't we, sweets."
Nishira looked back into the powdered face of the young woman she'd been tailing all day, now out of her modest kimono, away from her maternal chaperone and dressed as a high rolling socialite.
"Is he right?"
"No, he won't leave me alone, I told him," She then yelled around Nishira. "To leave me alone and keep his disgusting hands to himself!"
Nishira turned back to the man, whose face flushed with anger and perhaps from the alcohol. Realizing that this could be an escalating situation, Nishira remained firmly in between them.
"You heard the lady, go away." Nishira laid a strong hand on his wrist, and when he jerked to try and push Nishira out, she clenched her fingers, digging them in a crushing grip, her other hand gripping his shirt collar under the windbreaker to wrangle him into submission. He pulled back at the seriousness of her grip on the white cotton fabric, that tore from the pulling between the two forces. A bouncer began to approach them as the man knocked her hand away from him.
"Ow! Fuck lady! Fine, she isn't worth the hassle anyways."
Nishira stayed silent while he disappeared into the crowd, the diplomat's daughter yelling at him until he was well out of sight.
"Miss, what are you doing here?"
"Oh screw calling me miss, call me Ryogisa. Now that he's gone, let's dance."
She slipped away towards the centre of the dance floor where the loudest part of the room was the island where the DJ was spinning his tracks surrounded by an impressively large wall of speakers and Nishira let out a high-pitched groan following her.
"Where is Kakashi sensei?"
"Who?" she shimmed in between 2 bodies, letting her hands brazenly linger on a man's bare chest covered in fine metallic glitter contouring the pride of his sculpted body, as though he had stepped from a painting.
"My partner?"
"Oh him? He's still with my parents, it was so dreadfully boring so I snuck out."
Before the young woman could slip farther away, Nishira grabbed her wrist.
"You what?"
"God, don't be so dramatic. I'll slip back in before he notices once I'm done. I do it all the time. Now, if you want to be my protector fine, but let's dance."
Nishira frowned as Ryogisa pushed up against her, grabbing at her hands to sway together with her, the young lady's body moved in an uncoordinated movement out of time to the beat, her eyes fluttered as she struggled to keep them open, and it was then that Nishira smelled the spirits that lingered on her breath.
"Don't look now, but I think those guys over there want a show. Maybe they'll buy us free shots."
Nishira looked over her shoulder discreetly to see the silhouette of two men to assess if they were dangerous, she spotted one of them licking his lips and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. Her attention was ripped back by a set of hands clumsily groping her breasts. She turned to see Ryogisa's puckered lips coming towards her in an indirect wobbly route getting the full wind of her breath reeking of what Nishira thought was turpentine.
"What the fuck are you doing?" She slapped away Ryogisa's hands who stumbled alarmingly despite the small push, but Nishira snagged her waist and hoisted her up to her side so that she could carry the party girl out if needed. "No, we're not doing this! You're drunk, let's go."
Ryogisa tried to wiggle free from Nishira's grip swinging wildly, but only managed knocking a nearby drink from the owner's hand and soaking the back of Nishira's shirt, instantly sticking to the skin of her back. She heard some cussing from the drink's owner, Nishira apologized over her shoulder and kept pulling the struggling girl away. As they reached a small clearing, made from the protests of her unwilling companion, Nishira noticed a hand coming from her side.
"You really don't take no for an answer, do you?"
She evaded the grab and grabbed the person's wrist to pull them off their balance but stopped short when she realized who had invaded their space.
"Kakashi sensei?"
A small stutter in her opponent's breath betrayed his surprise.
"Nishira? What are you doing?"
"Right now? I'm returning your precious princess. She's drunk."
She handed the swaying girl with half closed eyes as the drunkenness settled in into Kakashi's arms. Ryogisa proceeded to squirm, eliciting a smug smirk from Nishira when Kakashi struggled to not man handle the poor girl but carry her away. Nishira looked back to see Koragi simply watching the exchange and he nodded with a lazy tilt of his head to go back to their group, but before she knew what she was doing, Nishira took the other girl's arm over her shoulders and helped Kakashi get her upright and headed towards the door. This whole night had been a mistake.

They walked in silence along the road, Nishira's sharp heels clicked along the stone path as they headed towards the Hokage building. Finally, Nishira snickered.
"Are you losing your touch, sensei? Maybe you need to train more."
She heard a deep defeated sigh come from his side.
"Maybe, conveniently it looks like I'm about to get the opportunity to do so."
She frowned, Kakashi simply pointed ahead where a man had left the shadows and dramatically stood under the nearest lamp post so as to be highlighted. His grizzled unshaven face clung like ghoulish shadows to his lower face, a contrast to the unflattering bright light of the lamp bulb above them. He crossed his hairy arms over his chest, the shirt still torn, evidence of their previous encounter, but the snarl was now replaced with a smile filled with uneven planks of white bone shaped into the confidently malicious grin.
"Hand over the girl, and maybe you get to live. She's worth a lot of money to some very interested parties."
Kakashi looked at his student.
"Ladies, first."