[A/N: Sorry for not posting last week. I was away volunteering at a kids camp with zero reception or internet. Enjoy!]

A carriage bumped along the uneven road, a man pulling it with his single passenger. He was running along the roads near the palace and that made the man realize the woman in the seat of his humble rickshaw was potentially important. But the silk that came from the bottom of her shawl made him think maybe she was a paid escort, an expensive one.

He came to an abrupt stop at a wrought iron gate connecting two large stone walls. The gate itself lay open with lit sconces on either side to illuminate the path to the manor. Placing his handles on the ground, orienting the two wheeled cart downwards, the driver held his hand for his patron, who took it gracefully and stepped out of the cart.
"Thank you."
She placed a couple extra coins in his hand, it was a generous tip. Without another word she glided off and entered the open gate.

Each part of team Fu had come back with useful information. Haru was beginning to dig into Nakuhei's involvement with the Doromisu organization. Yasuhi was on high alert for any recruiters. His warning about what happened to Gegawa had opened most lips of the fighters regarding any jobs that came. So far, he had found nothing of use, except a budding network of information. Masazo had been diligent in organizing all the information, relaying it to each party and sending missives back home with their progress. He and Nishira had worked diligently to get a full layout of the manor and its security. Masazo had already been on the property for hours, moving along the walls among its occupants without being seen. Now it was Nishira's turn to act.

The walk up to the impressively large estate was filled with vast gardens, littered with soft lights to give it a magical glow for the festivities. Lanterns strewn about made for romantic walks for wayward couple to get lost for a few moments. This was definitely an upgrade from the baren foliage that was from the time of the previous owner, more whimsical. But Nishira wondered if it was simply a front for the underhanded dealings done here. Nishira walked up by herself up the steps to the ornate door, her heels announcing every step she took and slowing her deep stride. Nishira suddenly had a deeper appreciation for clothes designed for movement and flexibility. The cool night air pricked at her skin, barely covered by the fabric of the dress. A man with a scroll of names stood there and looked at her down his nose.
"Name?" His voice came out as a low drawl, dripping with propriety, his nose still staying firmly above her.
"I think it's under…"
"Miss Nishira?"
A well dressed man in a tux jacket stood before her with a professional smile. She pulled uncomfortably at the liquid fabric as his eyes brazenly roved over her. The dress flowed over her curves, leaving almost nothing to the imagination as though only a slip of water flowed along her body with one leg almost entirely exposed up to the hip. The image in the mirror at the inn had done nothing to improve her mood, her hair beaten into submission, awkwardly coiffed to hide a few kunai in the fullness of a bun. Her arms and legs had myriad of bruises from training and the dress hid nothing. It confirmed her suspicions about her role here tonight.

The tuxedo man gestured inside with a white gloved hand.
"No escort this evening?"
Nishira chuckled at the idea of Masazo in a suit jacket.
"No, my escort had something to look into."
She took delight in his puzzled expression. Masazo had been in the manor for most of the day.
"This way, miss. The Master is waiting."
Nishira made a face at the term 'master' behind the man's back but obediently followed. She picked up the front of the slippery fabric so as not to lose sight of him around the ballroom through the back doors until he led her to a gilded set of doors that Nishira recognized. She suppressed a shudder as the doors were thrown open dramatically revealing basically a throne room of sorts. In the main seat, entirely by design was Rakumo. Begrudgingly, she conceded the tux he wore was sculpted for his body, showing off the hard work it took to get where he was now. It looked splendid on him, and he knew it. He delivered a rakish grin upon her arrival.
"There she is, the lady of my heart. Nishira, come."
Nishira glided up just before the step of platform in which the makeshift throne squatted. She bowed her head, keeping it there until he waved.
"I've come to negotiate terms of our partnership. I'm sure we can come to an amiable outcome for both parties. Tell me what you want-"
"No. Not now, Nishi, it's not the way we do things. Tonight, be by my side and while the main event is in full swing, you and will negotiate. I assure you by the end of the night, you will be signing a contract that will bring you home at last. Here."
He presented a large velvet box, inside a large gaudy necklace shone in the brilliant lights. The intricate golden design was encrusted with brilliant jewels that displayed master craftsmanship, but Nishira beheld the shape and saw it as a diamond coated slave collar.
"A gift, as a token of good faith."
"It's beautiful." She murmured the words to hide her disdain.
"Turn around."
She obeyed, and he looped the necklace around her neck, his breath on the nape of his neck. He stood there and she steeled herself to still her heart and keep from coughing from the weight and the pressure on the front of her throat. Nishira coached her blinking before turning back with a demure smile. Nishira kept her eyes to the floor or on Rakumo only. Her face betrayed nothing except the façade of submission. He held out his arm for her to take, his smile radiantly beaming at her.
"The show must go on. Come, our guests await."
With a demure and gracious manner, she followed his lead down the stairs into the basement that had been made over. Nishira knew the place as a cold concrete dungeon where men pummeled each other until one gave. The blood stains on the floors were considered the décor. Now, she saw it brilliantly lit, littered with plush sofas, and tables. The polish and shimmer turned a dreary dank room and turned it into an opulent ballroom surrounding the lower level where the festivities would take place.

The shimmery gowns and jewels adorned by the throng of guests were extravagant and ostentatious, the light from the enormous chandelier glittered on their bodies. The men mostly wore their finest with some traditional robes of rich colour a nice contrast to the stark tuxedos found on others who considered themselves more of the modern type. Nishira sipped the champagne glass, knowing full well that Masazo, hidden along the shadows, would give her hell for it later. Her eyes drank in the room, analyzing it swiftly, pausing when they passed over the gentleman from the fight. She raised a glass to him from across the room in a toast, and he raised his accordingly. She hoped Masazo saw her signal and would tail him.

The man on her arm spoke at great length, hardly allowing her to participate in the conversations. He paraded her around to all the important figures, nobles, rich, traders of goods not found in the street market. They smiled and schmoozed, Rakumo bragging about her reputation, regaling them with dramatized encounters from before. Nishira dutifully smiled and sipped more champagne as their eyes scanned her like a caged animal in a zoo, waiting for it to perform a trick or lash out to elicit a delicious fear.

She felt eyes on her beyond the looky-loos and casually glanced around the room, seeing no one out of the ordinary staring back. Before long the main event was upon them, Rakumo stood in the centre of the room, gesturing to all sides in gracious greetings to all present. At the side she saw Yasuhi in his tattered clothes, flapping his arms loosely and hopping from foot to foot. He looked up and saw her lift one single eyebrow at him, a warning to not over do it. Nishira frowned, as he entered the ring, subsequently ignoring her with a pompous grin, parading around. He waved and strutted, garnering their cheers. His gaze followed the crowd and landed on her less than fifty feet from where he stood, and he blew her a kiss. His gaze didn't linger, instead moving on to wink at the next beautiful lady he saw. He's a dead man, I'm going to kill him, she thought.

A hand snaked around her waist, pulling her in possessively.
"Shall we?" Rakumo's smile was radiant and charming, but his teeth clenched threateningly. In her opinion, it was best to feign ignorance. She smiled up to him.
"Thank goodness, my mouth was starting to hurt. Am I done being a show pony yet?"
Rakumo lead her off the ring, laughing.
"For now."
"Oh god, I've always hated this part. Always! The only perk is the alcohol." she took a generous sip, draining the second glass. Before letting out a satisfied sigh.
"You don't know how long I've waited to see you return, Nishira."
Nishira look at Rakumo, who had kept moving to a private section set up as a lounge. As she sat, she watched as wait staff carried trays of various things, flutes of champagne, mouth watering canapes, and a third type of tray. It held tiny cup with two green pills clinking against the plastic sides. This was different than before.
"What is it?"
"Oh, just some party favors." he offered her the cup.
"This is an upgrade from the opium smoke that would usually fill this place."
"It hid the bad smell of old blood. But now, that smell is like a drug to these vultures. I want them to get into a frenzy, gamble their loads away on this stage show. Please, I insist, or I will be terribly offended."
Nishira obediently tipped the cup back, but the pills stuck into her cheek by her back molars. A booming voice of the ringleader drew all the attention in the room and Nishira subtly spit the pills into her bag. When Nishira lent her gaze down to the fight, Yasuhi was already bounding about the ring ready to throw his fists into his opponent. To his merit, the opponent, charged just as hard. The intensity surged through the spectators, salivating to be entertained.

Yasuhi rushed in to tackle Mabo, no thought of the audience, tittering with excitement. They were simply guests to this show of prowess. In a whirling dance, he powered his fist and connected with Mabo, slamming him into the ground, hard enough to send shockwaves throughout the room, nervous giddy laughter spotted in the crowd, the sound of crystal glassware tinkling filled the aftermath. Mabo rose with his chest puffed in arrogance, a barrier around him, the spherical shape imprinted on the ground beneath him.
"Is that all you have, pretty boy? I'll put you in your place."
Silver Shock
Yasuhi raised his arm as a blinding light came from the epicentre of his work, blurring his opponent from view. A whistling told him that an attack was imminent with a sharp sleek weapon, a needle or kunai, he speculated. The barrage forced him to move, but the light continued to pierce his vision. Yasuhi found the ground and stood there, eyes closed, listening. The whistling came again behind him, Yasuhi ducked, hearing them head back to Mabo. His chest heaved with a large breath, pulling air into his lungs. Pressing his hands together to make a shield, hot lava spilled from his mouth as he dropped enough to make a rough shape that hardened, the other crust developing a deep burnt colour with cracks laced throughout shining brightly. Yasuhi gripped the back of it and stepped towards the center. He reached the source and with a mighty yell he clobbered Mabo, breaking him from his concentration and ending the jutsu.

Yasuhi raised another fist, knocking Mabo over.
"Not so tough now, are you?"
It was the end, Yasuhi raised his fist to end it, Mabo momentarily too dazed to fight back. When he raised his fist, charging it with chakra, something slid along his body and held him preventing him from throwing his fist.

Nishira sat, watching. The light had been blinding, but what was more curious was the throws. Needles and normal kunai like those that had clattered harmlessly to the ground when they missed their mark, did not come from the centre of the room. This bright light tasted like chakra, sizzling on the face, the man behind the jutsu must either have been a jonin to simultaneously expel this much chakra while wielding tools. Her purse raised as a shield from the blinding light, and in the corner of her eye, she saw a figure disappear into the sphere from above. She heard Yasuhi's great yell at the bottom and knew immediately there was another player, one who had no business participating, As the light vanished leaving her seeing black spots everywhere, Nishira squinted searching the perimeter. Yasuhi raised his fist, ready to end the blubbering blob of his opponent, when suddenly he stopped. Nishira frowned, but across the room from her, right at the side of the ring, a boy stood, barely out of his teens, his hands spread out in front of him, fingers extended wide. As he moved his fingers, he could see her partner begin to move, his groaning could be heard throughout the arena.

Nishira scanned for something to do to even the playing field, whirled her wind to trip a passing server, tipping the tray with half drunk wine glasses on the other side of Rakumo, spilling the remnants on his jacket. He cussed and began rubbing the soiled fabric as the waitress used a rag to help dab. She summoned the chakra into a neat point, slim as a needle and sent it with deadly precision across the arena. A bright spurt of red could be seen from this distance, thereby freeing Yasuhi and allowing him to end the fight.

Yasuhi felt his limbs release from whatever had bound them. His rage and frustration boiled as spittle began flicking from his mouth as he pulled his fist back, powering it with whatever remaining chakra he had left into it. It connected with the man, who cried out, drowned out by the roar that his opponent gave, driving him into the concrete flooring. He huffed as he pulled his hand back, smoke from the intensity of the chakra singed his knuckles light, a tendril of smoke emanating from the skin. His shoulder heaved as he looked at the wretched form below him. A hand appeared near him, stretched out to meet his. Yasuhi gave his hand to it and felt himself being helped up to the ground floor. The man raised his arm and Yasuhi, too tired to flirt, simply looked around to the applause of gilded people, bored of their own lives, seeking to experience the delirium of two shinobi fighting it out for their amusement. He looked to his host, Rakumo smiling in delight at the display, but beside him, sat his comrade. She threw him a conspiratal wink, barely noticeable as he let himself be led from the arena.

Rakumo passed a champagne flute to her, she waved her hand to resist, but he pushed it on her anyways.
"Please, tonight is about pleasantries and negotiations, those are the very foundation of these meetings."
"I think it's time to discuss the terms before you get me too drunk."
He smiled before leaning towards her.
"I will tell you everything you want to know if you come back."
"Rakumo, you know that's not an option for me anymore."
"Is that so? Does the Hidden Leaf have you in a binding contract?"
"That's the gist of it. They train me and give me room and board so that I serve."
"Sounds like slavery."
"It's not any better than what you're offering me either."
"You offend me, I've brought this organization out of the dark ages! We've revolutionized, pay better, use new technology instead of relying on the old-fashioned ways of doing things. I knew the moment you stepped into the city because I have built this new system up from the ground, from the shadows my predecessor kept us prisoner in. I had a bigger picture in mind and made it happen. That vision can include you, Nishi. I could give you valuable information for your village and you could stay here as an ambassador and work as my partner. I have presented you lavish gifts, showed you into my home, and you accuse me of wanting to lower you to slavery? No, the villains in this are the people who make you pay for your lodging while you perform a service for them." He took her hand gingerly. "I take care of my own. If you were here, I would take care of you too."
From her lips a warm hum came.
"Rakumo, you always knew what to say. I always believed you back then too. Always going off about being the leader and changing it for the better. In a way, I'm glad you made it. You seem to have a smooth deal here."
"So you'll say yes?"
She hesitated.
"Maybe. I'm not convinced just yet."
"Well, I propose a smaller trade in the meantime then. One contract that can be done over the next few days and then you can tell me if you want to continue the agreement. What do you say?"
"What's the job?"
"Well, I need you to retrieve something for me. It's above what the normal crew can do, it needs someone of your talents. There is a record kept in the office of the Daimyo police force. It contains a report on the investigation into our organization. The front for us, the laundry and dry cleaners, is being investigated and I think they have enough to move in soon. But you and I both know that even if they take down my organization, another will just pop up. I need that file destroyed. I already have teams in place to take the reports from the police offices and a savvy tech person who has access to the computers there, but the only copy I can't get my hands on is in the Daimyo's palace."
"What makes you think I can get it, maybe with my teammate."
"No, I have a partner in mind to accompany you. That way I have someone who can keep on eye on you for me, and also can watch your back, this job requires more than one skilled shinobi."
"Obviously. What do I get in return."
"I'll give you the name of the village who is recruiting rogue shinobi. Complete your mission and send your grumpy captain home. And then we can talk about whether you'll stay here or not."
Nishira thought about it. If she played her cards right, no one would be killed, and she had the skills to do it. It seemed like a good deal, except for one part.
"Tell me about my partner."
"Why don't I let you two talk it out instead." he snapped his fingers, and a man came into the setting and gave a head bow.
"Sir?"
"Nishira, this is Koragi. Koragi, this is the infamous Gokayama Shrike."
"Your reputation precedes you."
Despite his flattering words, there was no hint of familiarity in his manner. She cautiously sipped the champagne.
"Koragi knows the layout and where it is. You just need to get him and yourself in there and out. Here."
He handed her a file folder with documents. She flipped through it and found maps, timetables, details about locks and passageways and a hastily written schedule of the Daimyo's routine.
"How did you get all this?"
"Well, I have a lot to thank your uncle for. First, he drove you into my arms and now since your little fiasco in Iwagakure, he's been on the outs with his daddy the Daimyo, so he's been helping us along. I plan on killing the squealing pig, but he has his uses for now."
Her face hardened, she wondered if there was room to negotiate to be the one to stick the bastard herself. Rakumo saw the resolve on her face and a devious smile spread on his face. She looked up at him.
"When do you want this done?"
"I don't see why we need to wait, the day after tomorrow is suiting. That way you can look over the schematics and you'll be that much closer to finishing this business with the leaf village."
"This list must have you nervous if you're pushing it to happen so soon. You're usually much more cautious."
"I will admit there are some vultures in these parts who are eager to tear this organization down. So will you do it, for old time's sake?"
"Yes, Rakumo. For you, I will."
Masazo may not be pleased that she was roped into another situation, but the information was almost within her grasp and then she could get out of here and never look back, for good this time.
"My Lady?"
Nishira looked back to Koragi who held out his hand for hers. She looked to Rakumo who gave an approving nod as she took the hand, feeling his eyes watch every step. Koragi led them to the small dance floor, the music not louder than the main entertainment. Elegantly, Koragi spun her into his arms and led her around.
"So, this is where you've run off to, Koragi. People were worried about you."
She took in his smirk as he looked down at her, deliberately waiting before answering her.
"Smile so that moron doesn't know we know each other."
"Is that important for him to think?"
"I would prefer to keep my mysterious persona intact."
Nishira laughed despite herself, the champagne bubbles delightfully bubbling in her veins.
"How's Sekawa?"
Nishira searched his face, not sure if the look he gave held any remorse even if the words had been softer than she expected.
"She's alright, I think. Toma has been a big help. Why'd you do it, Koragi? Why'd you leave?"
He gave her a shrug.
"I received a better offer elsewhere."
"What kind of offer?"
"Power."
"Is that really worth everything you had?"
"You've seen the village. The day in and day out of the same holding hands we're a family garbage. All so we keep quiet and obey. I was offered a way to change that, so I took it. I'm not just some rogue ninja, I work for myself and see my own goals, and they happen to line up with someone much more powerful than any of the Kage in the land. I would think that if anyone could understand that it would be you."
She let him take her around the dancefloor once more, not answering his challenge. He didn't need a response.
"When it's safe, I'll send Kawa a letter. Maybe she'd leave and come with me. I knew she'd say no back then. But once I get what I need, I don't think she'll be able to say no."
Nishira pursed her lips, unsure how that situation would play out in real life.
"Do you really mean that?"
"Of course, I loved her. She was my world."
The song ended and Nishira pulled back from his embrace that had slowly tightened as they had danced.
"Meet me at Kappabashi square. There's a network of alleys with a golden cross at the centre."
Nishira nodded before returning to Rakumo.