"I'll have a word with the advisor then... Relay this information to Lord Sesshomaru when you receive word from me."

~ Milady, Tailwind Dancer (Chapter 35)

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Honoring Tradition I

"What does a jewel heist have to do with being an assassin?" Sesshomaru questioned with suspicion. "Do you intend to replace the Meido Stone for another?"

"That's like asking why a king needs a crown," Hikozaemon II responded. He leaned back in his seat to eat the leftovers from Morihei's cooking at the Green Pheasant's dinner party mixed with Iwamura's fine selections. He then continued, "Obviously, it has to do with the House of Inu's relationships with other tribesmen. We're having particular trouble with the Yama oroshi. My Toga's blacksmith, Totosai, and the blacksmith's apprentice, Kaijinbo, were once being harassed by this particular clan. Though slain by your Tokijin, Kaijinbo did come to us at one point for assistance in his earlier years when he left Totosai. The Yama oroshi were stealing certain items from their foundries to forge something of concern to me. One of my men scouted the area upon request and discovered some kind of vault on their grounds."

"Vault?" Reijiro questioned, folding his arms and tilting his head slightly before straightening up.

"Is it possible that they're equipping a blacksmith of their own?" Jaken asked.

"I believe it is worse than that. Ambassador Norihisa and Investigator Teinosuke were sent to question them before the ambassador's treason. They were ambushed by some sort of fire demon. Even a cloak from a fire rat's fur wouldn't have been enough to block the flames. Their clothes were singed and skin suffering from minor burns. Due to the ambassador's actions against the Floating Citadel, I now have a suspicion of his accounts. He might have been consulting with this clan to further his goals in weakening our kingdom. This mission might contain the evidence needed to support this claim," Hikozaemon II informed. "Though I have a doubt it will also provide the reasoning."

The doctor knew the hell titan Norihisa sided with by name. Was he really siding with other demons to overturn us? Or... did he know the doctor? Maybe he knows who took her eyes. Knows that she's this hell traveler and played nice to get on her good side. She knows quite a number of demons - powerful ones at that. He would need their help to destroy us. If Kiyonobu was one of the demons going against us, we would barely stand a chance. I don't know about those kappa guards, but I could sense their might just from them standing before me. Either one of them at full power could level our stronghold. Should I...? Are you a suspect again...? Sesshomaru thought, thinking of his rival.

This was a second or third time his investigations led to her and her mysterious lifestyle. Now that he was thinking about it, this wasn't the first time his grandfather voiced tidbits of new information that was tying things together. Neither Sesshomaru nor Homugi knew about Ambassador Norihisa's prior history, so his treason would've been done without anyone suspecting him initially and nobody even knowing who the man was either. He was quite literally a nobody. If he was such an undercover charmer, however, he smooth-talked his way into some very powerful circles and quite easily.

"My unfriendly son is musing quite loudly there," Milady interrupted, sitting at her seat finally. "You're potentially sharing similar thoughts with us. Ambassador Norihisa had come to me to report the sudden death of Chief Investigator Mano of the Bake-danuki Clan just before I handed you the mission to investigate the deaths within the Mujina Woodlands. Homugi's account of Norihisa's death prior to the events of the invasion implies foul play and potentially rules him out for treason, but we couldn't find her report anywhere after what happened at the Floating Citadel. Her records were either tampered with or destroyed. Within the months of us investigating the case, no one in the investigation department could trace the girl's report. We agreed to take her off the investigation and force her to remain under constant surveillance for a while in case Norihisa came back to silence her, but she claimed independency from the House of Inu and left our lands a rogue. Teinosuke is unaware of this, but Hikozaemon II volunteered to oversee this new mission to essentially spy on the boy. Two things can be true: Norihisa could've influenced him to hide incriminating evidence of his movements or Teinosuke could be the one actually killing innocent demons and betrayed Norihisa for his own goals. Because Norihisa's circle is more far-reaching than Teinosuke's, the boy could have been with him strictly to use Norihisa for his own gain."

"Why would you send a suspect to Fort Sutabei then?" Reijiro questioned. "That's dangerous!"

Hikozaemon II smirked before saying, "There's no one at Fort Sutabei other than the general. Teinosuke can't go anywhere without the general or his guards at his heels. I couldn't picture a better surveillance team."

"Does this jewel heist have more to do with the investigation then?" Sanraku asked.

"In a way, yes," Milady replied, smiling mischievously. "Since you've accepted the mission, we're sending you to the Yama oroshi threshold to further investigate this vault of theirs. The Togisumasa reta ha Jewel is what you're after. Those fools harnessed all of their power within it. Take the jewel, you control that clan. Toga tried to avoid stealing such an item in favor of joining forces with them. Their brutality against our own, regardless of their status as enemies, is of interest. It's possible that they could be trying to overtake us or that they were simply uncomfortable around Norihisa and Teinosuke. Either way, the heist works in our favor. We'll give you a map of the area, but the inner workings all fall to you. Your main goal is to find a connection between the Yama oroshi and our suspects, if there is one, and to take that jewel to regain order from the clan."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow at his mother's eagerness but said nothing and walked away from them.

"My lord?" Jaken questioned.

"We have some planning to do. Men," Sesshomaru called, alerting Reijiro and Sanraku's attention. "Jaken. Let's go."

"Wow... our first mission as real assassins! I think I'm gonna burst!" Sanraku cheered with excitement. "This is amazing! All those years training with Takamuku actually paid off big time!"

"Geez, don't be so pessimistic," Reijiro joked sarcastically, smirking at his brother.

"Oh, c'mon, Rei! Where's your sense of accomplishment, adventure, joy?" Sanraku listed, performing a smooth backflip. He may as well have been ten years younger with his sudden bursts of energy. "Did you see how cool the elder looked in his cloak? He looked like a shadow king! And Milady was beautiful! Oh, no offense."

"Keep your distance or your head will roll," Sesshomaru threatened, raising a glinting claw to emphasize the point.

"Yes, sir," Sanraku said as a form of apology, rubbing his head to reassure his lord.

"If you're such a vigorous soldier, you should have plenty of thoughts in your mind's inventory. Spare an idea on how to infiltrate the Yama oroshi's threshold. You were in the army a bit more, were you not? What do you know?"

"Hmm..." Sanraku started, folding his arms to think. "Well, we did a lot of grunt work for the House of Inu. Nothing stellar. Oh! But we did do a stealth mission to survey a rival clan's area. It wasn't the Yama oroshi, but it was one that our captain said was starting to cause problems. That must've been what the elder meant when he said he's seen us in combat."

"That was when we were sent to eradicate those flying rats," Reijiro corrected, lifting his muscular arms to undo his hair for a second.

He pulled out a comb to detangle his ends. Sesshomaru took this time to observe his new comrade. His hair was a snowy white underneath the black tresses and spotted, but he was a fairly rugged young man. Sanraku may have been the smaller of the two as in leaner in build, but he was equally as muscular and tanned. It was easy to tell that they went outside more. It was strange having to get a good look at his... team. Sesshomaru never had one of those for himself. His group of misfits was smaller, tighter and reliant on his strength and cunning in order to survive. They were his support team - a perfect size for such. This time, he was put in a new position that made him rely on his men beyond the battlefield. He couldn't lie to himself forever. He was just as excited as Sanraku about this new turn of events. The new leader of assassins from ancient legacy? A worthy title as ruler.

"Squirrels aren't rats," Sanraku argued.

"What's a rodent?" Reijiro asked as an argument. When Sanraku could only stutter in response, he said, "You made my point for me. Either way it goes, it's not information that can be used. What I do remember about the Yama oroshi is that they're metal heads with bodies attached to them. Humans have said they resemble porcupines because of their spikes. Said javelins for body parts have been reported to break through the House of Inu's special armor. Removing their needles is as painful as you think it is. Those things can hit vital nerves or arteries just right to kill. With that in mind, if we had to battle them, we're at risk for fatal puncture wounds. This vault and the missing items from the blacksmiths' foundries could be holding stronger armor or accessories to make their body spikes more lethal. That also means we would need weapons of refined quality to break their natural armor."

"What about Lord Sesshomaru's sword? Isn't it supposed to be indestructible or some shit?" Sanraku asked, waving a hand.

"Me lord's swords are quite impressive indeed, but might I suggest something?" Jaken offered, looking to Sesshomaru. His lord turned to him, waiting for him to speak. "Before these two soldiers joined us, we were looking for the Century Wasteland to help us locate the stolen Meido Stone. I did find the place. Is it possible that something of value can come from this place?"

The Gogyo Stone of the waters might be able to put out the fire demon with ease. This is a possible avenue... Sesshomaru thought.

"What if we sent a decoy or something?" Reijiro offered. "Lord Sesshomaru's mother was once an undercover spy from the sounds of it. We could scout for something or someone that would interest them."

"I say we gage the area first to see what we're dealing with. The vault might be an easy find. If it's not, we can at least use our elder's maps to look for other entry points," Sanraku suggested.

"If mother has been watching Homugi this entire time, we need to return to Heiwa. She might be the most important part of this plan. Her reports and her safety are at high-risk value," Sesshomaru said finally.

"Should we consult with Grandpa Kira or is this too personal?" Sanraku asked.