The ANBU literally couldn't do anything worse to Risu, at least that's what she honestly believed after she had started being asked for the discrete assassination jobs. However, now did the elite division of Konoha's finest really tick off the young woman, telling her to go and assassinate a man in the village itself and in a rather crowded space no doubt. The man was a notorious crime lord going by the name Iruzo Keita, a man known for the abduction of women for houses of pleasure which he owns, arms deals and most importantly funding several criminal organizations in the land of Fire. He wasn't a goody two shoes, but that didn't make it easier for the young Orochi lady to stomach the fact that she had to get close one way or another and the only idea she had was killing him in plain sight…while she was on a date.

Knowing that she'd ask Kyohei to accompany her, the woman decided to look at her best, dressing herself in a tasteful and elegant white yukata with a purple silk obi embroider with jade-colored magatamas. With her hair pinned up with two black long hairpins with jade-colored magatamas on their end as well, Risu managed to walk through town to go and find Kyohei's apartment so she could invite him for dinner at the shishuya pub.

Arriving at the apartment, she simply rang the bell at the entrance hall of the building, simply saying a simple and sweet greeting: "Hey Kyo"

Earlier that morning, a man dropped a black envelope containing a letter in front of Kyohei's door, knocking on the door once before vanishing from sight.

letter:

367

Kyohei would hear a single knock on his door that morning as he drank his coffee in the kitchen. He wondered for a moment who that could possibly be at this hour. This building was private, meaning that anyone at his door had to either live there already, be buzzed in by someone who does, or have broken into the building. It wasn’t like he and his fellow tenants in the building had a particularly close relationship either. Everyone kept to themselves, which made the knock, especially this early in the day, all the more unexpected. At least a part of him however, had reasonable suspicion of who might be behind this interruption of his morning. This morning visit was a new occurrence, and it happened to coincide with only one new addition to his life, his joining of Orochi Enaka’s black ANBU corps.

Looking out of the peephole of his apartment’s front door he would see no one standing there that could be responsible for the knocking sound, making it all the more suspicious. Placing his mug down on the small table beside the front door he would clench a kunai in his hand, his sharingan active and trained on what could possibly be behind the door. There was no sign of a person’s chakra signature either, but he still opened the door cautiously, eyes darting back and forth through the hall before noticing a black envelope laying on the floor before him. “Him and his black envelopes,” Kyohei mused to himself as he picked the envelope off of the floor and inspected the hall one last time before reentering his apartment.

The intrusive nature of the delivery irked Kyohei a bit, but he decided that this way was probably best. Neither party wanted their relationship to be public. Enaka obviously wasn’t going to be hand delivering black envelopes to him. For obvious reasons he wanted to see as little of Hataro as humanly possible, and he had no reason in the outside world to be linked to either of them. At least Myra wouldn’t be so out of place, but the last thing he needed was word getting around to Risu through ANBU or otherwise that he was spending an inordinate amount of time alone, skulking around with some blonde. Hell, he’d almost rather deal with her finding out he was a member of the black ANBU.

Later that night, before he unpacked and put his black ANBU uniform to set out he would hear his apartment buzzer ring, prompting him to curiously walk over to the speaker panel and respond. He would immediately recognize the voice on the other side of the line and buzz Risu up as a wide smile began to form upon his lips. He would wait outside of his apartment door for the elevator doors to open up, revealing his elegantly dressed girlfriend. He would stand ready with arms wide, ready to receive her in an embrace, but when she came in to hug him he would also place his hands on her waist and lift her off of her feet, kissing her and doing a playful spin while holding her up. He would put her down slowly and press his forehead against hers gently while looking her in the eyes and smiling wide. “Hi,” he would say plainly, the first word he had spoken to her since her arrival, “You look beautiful Risu. What’s the occasion?”

---

582~

Surprised as she was, to be swung around like a boy's favorite toy, Risu couldn't refrain herself from giggling like a little girl who had just received her first peck on the cheek from the most popular boy in school. Laughign out loud, she showed her delight on Kyohei's actions right after her arrival. Accepting the kiss and feeling the breathing on her face did calm her down a bit, though she still had a rather playful smile on her face, which perfectly concealed the real reason for her visit, though in her mind, she still managed to see at this as just an irksome job that was the perfect opportunity for an 'actual' date with the man who managed to tame her.

"Do I really need an occasion to come and see you, Kyo?" The young Orochi woman said with a fake sad sounding voice, pouting her lips a bit to emphasize on her sadness. "And here I thought that we'd just go out to have some food and enjoy ourselves like normal couples do…you're not hiding anything from me are you?"

Practically unable to keep that facade up, the young kunoichi quickly chuckled before bursting out in playful laughter, wrapping her arms around Kyohei again, while giving him a swift, soft kiss on the lips.

"Just kidding," she'd laugh, breaking away from the embrace to straighten her yukata and check if her obi hasn't lowered or wrinkled. "I thought that we could go have dinner at the Shushuya pub, good?"

This was the moment where her plan would rise or fall, if Kyohei didn't want to go, she'd be forced to think on trying something else to get into the pub without raising suspicion and she certainly couldn't let her target escape, not with her trying her best to become a captain some day soon and have more control over her workflow.

325/692

“Hiding something from you?” he replied with a feigned air of innocence, “Now that you mention it… there is something that I’ve been keeping from you. To be honest I’m still not sure if I want to show it to you at all. I’m kind of nervous that you’ll see it and you won’t like what you see. Things between us have been going so well with us so far, I don’t want to disappoint you. But, I mean… I have it in the apartment. I have to go inside and finish getting ready anyway. You could see it… if you want to. What do you say.”

Of course he wanted to go out with Risu, but he had a job to do that night. He hated to have to turn her down, but he couldn’t really be out with her and at the designated location for the mission at the same time. At least, that is what he thought until Risu named the Shushuya pub as the place she wanted to go to for dinner. On one hand, the situation was perfect. He would be able to spend time with Risu and being in the same area as his target he would be able to keep an eye on Iruzo Keita. On the other hand, it was too good to be true. Of all the places in the village to go he wondered why she wanted to go there. It was a decent restaurant, but it wasn’t THAT nice. Furthermore, he would still have to find time to complete his mission while they were there. Keeping the guy alive was easy, but he was only valuable alive if he was willing to let himself be hauled back to The Dungeon. Otherwise Kyohei would simply have to extract the information he needed himself, which he expected to be the more likely scenario. After he got the information he needed, it really didn’t matter what happened to Keita. It almost seemed to be the more favorable route. He just had to find the time away from Risu to interrogate Keita. After that, his life was inconsequential.

He knew that he should have just told her that they needed to reschedule. This was without a doubt going to bring nothing but unneeded stress to his evening, but when he watched her standing there waiting for his answer, he just couldn’t bring himself to turn her away. Taking hold of her hand he would pull her into him and whisper in her ear, “You know, I don’t like the fact that I find it impossible to say no to you.”

He would then lead her into the apartment where he would get dressed for their date. Luckily he had worry about her stumbling upon it while he dressed himself in his closet. Motioning for her to take a seat on the bed he would slip into his walk in closet and close the sliding door behind him. While his uniform was safely stored away, what he had left out in the room was various weaponry and shinobi equipment that he was sifting through in preparation for his mission. It shouldn’t have seemed all that out of place for a shinobi to have equipment in his home, he just hoped that she stayed on the bed where he left her and didn’t go playing with any of the weapons he left out. He knew just how curious she could be when left to her own devices. He also made sure to prepare the “secret” he had been hiding from her, knowing that she couldn’t resist wondering what it was.

---

1201~

while Kyohei actually started to taunt her, poking into her ever growing curiosity, Risu was intrigued about what this little 'secret' could be. It made her heart skip a few beats every time she thought about it while the Uchiha was getting himself dressed, yet at the same time, she had been reminded on something else by Kyohei's words: her mission, which she had to keep a secret from the one she loved, he hardly even knew what she was doing as an ANBU, not to mention the fact she was becoming good in just the thing she did not wanted to excell in: murder.

Glad that she had stowed away her ANBU outfit and mask in the double wall of the pub's toilet, as recommended by her captain, the young Orochi woman decided to let go of all her troubles and to enjoy the evening and search for the perfect moment to execute her mission perfectly.

"I thought women like me were the ones taking their time to dress up, Kyo?" Risu laughed, while settling herself on that fantastically comfortable couch of his. "You haven't turned into a woman without me knowing it, haven't you?"

This last statement wsa quickly followed by a quick giggling sound, as it seemed the young woman was trying her outmost best to keep her outfit impeccable, while almost losing control of her laugh, with her shoulders heaving up and down, her face turning unusually red…ending it all with an accidental hiccup, resulting in more giggles and chuckles.

"It's never impossible to say no," She could say, after finally regaining her composure again, though still having a slightly pinkish hue on her cheeks and breathing slightly rapid. "But I do my best to make it as hard as possible."

after that, the restraints were lost again, as now she simply burst out in laughter, almost rolling off the couch, while pressing her hands against her mouth in a futile attempt to stop herself from laughing too loud.

339/1031

Kyohei could hear Risu’s laughter as he finished getting dressed, buttoning up a chambray button down shirt and rolling up his sleeves to his forearms, which he wore with black jeans and boots. And of course, the secret he had to show Risu being hidden, held behind his back as he made his way out of the closet and over to his couch. Sneaking over to her while she was caught up in her laughter Kyohei would grab her with one arm and pull her into him to get her to stand up, leaning his head over her shoulder to peck a kiss on her cheek, one arm still behind his back. “I thought you’d want me to look nice for our date, hime-chan,” he spoke playfully into her ear with a smirk, “If you want me to be more ‘manly’ I can, but I can’t promise we’ll ever make it to the pub.”

Placing a hand onto her waist he would nudge her forward and begin walking her over to the mirror on the nearby wall. He would stop in front of it and smile at the site of them standing together like this looking like a real couple. “Hey, do you trust me?” he asked after placing the hand that was on her waist under her chin and guiding her face to his and bringing his lips to hers for a brief moment, “Close your eyes.” Once she obliged he would remove his hand from under her chin and allow her to face the mirror once again. The next thing she would feel is the warmth of his hands moving aside some of the fabric on her neck and then the cold touch of a necklace that he laid upon her, fastening it in the back knowing that she would have already opened her eyes by that point.

“I told you that I was going to get you a gift to congratulate you joining the ANBU, didn’t I?” he said with a chuckle as he allowed her to inspect the piece herself in the mirror, “I noticed you always wear those jade earrings, so I thought this might go with them. I hope you like it.” The necklace was a gold lace, thin and elegant like Risu, but the centerpiece of the jewelry was the jade, heart-shaped pendent that was set in gold as well. “I don’t really know much about purchasing jewelry, so I just kind of went with what I thought you might like. I was hesitant to show you because I never really asked you what kind of jewelry you like, but since it goes with your outfit tonight and it’s a special occasion I thought it was a good time. What do you think?”

---

1670~

the very comment of Kyohei that they wouldn't reach the pub if he had to dress more manly, made the young Orochi woman chuckle again, while she was already trying to hold her laughter back, to no avail of course, as a single instant latter she was giggling and laughing out loud, unable to stop herself from doing so, yet when Kyohei gave her a small nudge after taking her by the waist and leading her to a mirror, she fell silent, as curiosity yet again took the best of her, complying to the young man's request to close her eyes, she silently complied.

The feeling of his warm hands touching her skin, made her blush pretty quickly, even though she could not see it for herself, she knew she had that pinkish hue on her fair white skin, which always managed to betray her state of mind. The colder, metallic sensation which she felt after Kyohei's warm hands had caressed her neck, made her quite wary at first, since the ANBU assignments had already instilled a certain fear of assassinations and attempts to do so towards her own, even so she restrained herself from quickly turning around to push Kyohei away and decided to trust him with all of her heart, not willing to throw away the opportunity to be with him.

When she seemed confident enough to open her eyes, certain that there was no weapon, her gaze was locked at the mirror for just a short moment, before the blush returned and she smiled openly at the mirror image of Kyohei before turning around and wrapping her arms around his waist, tiptoeing a bit to kiss him straight on his lips to show her gratitude.

"Kyo, I love it," The kunoichi screamed in excitement and awe of the gift from the man she loved, softly touching the necklace with the tips of her fingers, affraid to scratch or mark it already. "It must've costed a fortune…now I really do feel spoiled."

Waving away that remark with a naughty smirk on her face, Risu grabbed Kyohei by the hands, jumping up and down in excitement, though watching herself from not tripping over her wooden sandals.

so, ready to enjoy some time together?"

379/1410

Risu’s reaction to his gift made a surge of relief and joy wash over Kyohei. He truly was concerned about whether or not she would like it, but at least her elated response seemed genuine. He couldn’t help but smile widely at her giddy response. The way she jumped up and down as she took his hands and excitedly suggested them beginning their night together was endearing. He had never seen her like this before, at least not with it directed towards him. When they first met she was snarky and distant, and then a bit crazy, and then sobbing and apologetic after he brought her back from the edge. He had seen her happy, sad, angry, and everything in between. Even their first day together as a couple, while passionate, did not make him feel the same joy as seeing her legitimately happy as she was now. This was how he wanted to make her feel all the time.

He would lean forward to kiss her on her forehead softly before speaking, “Of course, let’s go then shall we?” Releasing a single hand from her grip he would begin leading her out of the apartment and on the way to their destination. Hand in hand they would walk through the busy streets of the Konoha night scene, discussing anything of interest between the two with Kyohei periodically sneaking a glance at his partner, allowing their eyes to meet, and smiling lovingly. The whole situation seemed so surreal. It was not that long ago that Kyohei didn’t harbor any romantic feelings towards Risu at all, but seemingly overnight he found himself captivated by her. He had been with women before, but he had always been so private about his life that even an act as simple as walking with held hands like a real couple was a bit foreign to him. His refusal to be public with his relationships had always been a point of contention between he and women, but with Risu he felt no such need to hide them being together.

Occasionally a reminder of the night’s mission would pop back into his mind and, for a moment, bring him back down to reality, but he wouldn’t let anything, not even the black ANBU to ruin this for him. He’d do his job, but he wouldn’t allow it to consume his night. Before long they would reach the pub and await a hostess to seat them. But before that, Kyohei made sure to scan the area and locate his target beforehand. It seemed as though the man he was intended to extract information from was with a group, no doubt some of them being his own hired men from his ‘organization’. Kyohei would request a booth just across from his table, a position from which he would be able to keep an eye on his objective easily without giving anything away do to their proximity. Besides, the booth would provide a bit more privacy for he and Risu’s night, not having to worry about servers running back and forth around them. “Are you okay with that?” he asked as he turned to Risu, wanting to get her approval on the table. It was the most convenient position from which to watch the mark, but if she objected he would go along with what she wanted and simply adjust his plans.

---

2241~

It surprised Risu to see actual surprise in Kyohei's expression, it seemed he was actually slowly losing his mask, that hard, stern look on his face which he usually seemed to maintain to the point of perfection. She couldn't blame him, after she had been snooping around in the ANBU's records, she found several indications that could've been the cause of such cold demeanor towards strangers and the inability to form bonds with people. In a way she felt bad that she had to keep some things secret from him, she wanted to be able to talk to him about her missions, her snooping around in the records and she felt bad that she had snooped around in one of those records that had his name mentioned in it, while he didn't know.

But there had been interesting things as well, records that had valuable information, intriguing information on her own uncle. Somehow she would think back to that one day that was missing from her rather recent memory, the day before she got intimate with the man who now walked through the streets with her, the man who had gently stolen so much from her and had given her so much more. For a moment, her fingers touched the heart-shaped jade stone encased in a fine gold layer, the cold feeling giving her a moment of peace to her heart.

What happened in that one day wasn't necessarily important, but it did leave a hole in her mind, things she could not connect were left clueless and without end or beginning. One of those things was the fact that she could still remember that she had seen Kyohei's name in a letter she had found in her uncle's study, but it seemed her fears were without reason, because he was with her and not in some underground, hidden place in anguish. She also did not know why exactly she had started to distrust her uncle, why she wanted to find all possible information on him, but those were idle thoughts, for there seemed to be no answer to them, which only compelled her to continue her search, because she knew in the end she would get all answers.

When they arrived at their destination, Risu's mind no longer wandered off and she remembered the actual reason why she had asked Kyohei to go out with her: she had someone that she had to dispose off, a man who endangered the lives of many innocent women and was tied to a criminal organization that was not to be tolerated in Konoha: Iruzo Keita.

upon entering the pub, Kyohei had taken the initiative and had chosen a boot not far from a group of relatively unpleasant looking people, to Risu's surprise, she noticed that her target was with those people, making her thank Kyohei in thought, though the way he wanted them to sit wasn't at her liking, for she would be with her back towards the person she had to keep an eye on, not really good for her job, but she had to find a suitable excuse for Kyohei, knowing he wasn't dumb at all and would look through a weak excuse easily.

"Kyo, can I sit here?" The young woman would ask, making it so that the seat she chose would have the group of people at her left, making it easier to inconspicuously look at her target. "The toilet's over there and I dont want to disturb people with me squirming around some tables."

601/2011

Kyohei thought himself lucky that she didn’t question his choice of table, although she did want to switch which side of the booth they were sitting on. It was an inconvenience, but one that he was willing and able to work around if it meant deterring any suspicion that Risu might have about his true intentions. Besides, how could he say no to her request? What kind of man would resist over something so insignificant if he didn’t have something to hide? He did, but he intended for it to remain hidden as long as possible. “Of course, my love,” he said with a smile, pulling her into him and wrapping his arm around her waist for just a moment as they passed each other and kissing her on the cheek, “Anything you want.”

They would take their seats across from each other and await their server to bring them menus. For now everything was a normal date, but for Kyohei that would change quicker than he anticipated. A familiar voice greeted him as he made small talk with Risu, causing him to reluctantly look up to meet it. It seemed as though he still was not trusted to handle missions on his own, as what awaited his gaze was his “partner” Myra. It wasn’t like he was unhappy to see her in particular, as she had been the most hospitable and least repulsive member of the Black ANBU he had encountered by far, but her presence forced him out of his fantasy of having a normal date with Risu and back to the reality of his mission. Myra was in disguise as well. The scar on her face had been covered up, her hairstyle was completely different, and she appeared a few years younger, which he could only assume was to make her appear more like the barely legal women they tended to hire as servers here. But even so, it was definitely her, he could tell that much.

She was even in character, placing their menus in front of them and telling them about ‘house specials’. How cute. Even he almost bought her act. She would walk away after taking their drink order and giving them time to peruse the menu, only to return a few minutes later to pull Kyohei away under the pretense of some delivery  having arrived for him. “Ah, it finally got here then,” he said to Risu with a smile, playing along with Myra’s game and hoping that she had also thought of a way to explain things for him.

“They sent me to make sure that you don’t forget your mission,” Myra explained, opening a small compartment in the back of the restaurant which contained a uniform and weaponry, “Whatever you need should be here, and I’ll be keeping an eye on the situation as well.” Stuffing a bouquet of purple tiger lilies into his hands she would shoo him off back to the table, “Here, use these and make up whatever story you have to. I’m not telling you to forget about your date, but the mission comes first. I’ve rigged a mirror onto the ceiling over the girl’s shoulder. With that you should be able to see your target in the reflection. We’ll make the move on my signal.”

Having no choice but to nod his head in agreement and make his way back to the table, Kyohei would do just that, offering the flowers to Risu upon his return. “Sorry about that, I thought they would have arrived before we did. I hope you like them.”

---

2848~

She couldn't help herself but to yelp slightly when Kyohei grabbed her by the waist just as they passed eachother to go around the table, which instantly prompted her to blush when thinking about the fact that they werent in his or her apartment now, but in a rather crowded restaurant in the middle of Konoha. Despite that fact, she did accept his soft kiss on her cheek quietly, while maintaining her blush before they finally sat down.

If looks could kill, Risu's was more than just lethal, as her eyes were practically shredding apart the image of the woman that had interrupted her talk with Kyohei. Pouting her lips slightly, she remained calm while gazing upon the woman and noticing Kyohei's slightly surprised look at the waitress. Something besides her irritation towards that waitress bothered her though, as this woman looked a lot like that CID officer that had been ordering Risu and her comrades around lately; that woman called Uzumaki Myra, not that she was a bad person to deal with, but it was common for the people of the ANBU to be wary of those who come from the Central Intelligence Division. However, the young woman quickly discarded the idea that both that woman and this one were the same, simply because that Myra had one heck of an obvious scar on her face, something this woman did not have and Risu didn't think a konoha shinobi would be disguising themselves inside the village.

Suddenly the woman pulled Kyohei away, saying something about a delivery, which made Risu slightly curious, but at the same time almost fuming with hatred towards that irritating waitress. A loud, obnoxious laughter made her turn her attention towards the table where her target was seemingly having a lighthearted discussion with the people dining with him. This is turn reminded her about her mission, prompting her to look at the menu and make a choice before swiftly making her way to the toilets, but was distracted when she bumped into Kyohei along the way.

Looking at the flowers he had suddenly brought to the table, the young Orochi woman smiled in elatement, accepting the flowers and smelling at them, while returning to the table. She could get her equipment anytime with the simple excuse of needing to go to the bathroom, so no worries.

"They're lovely, maybe I should ask that waitress if she can bring a vase or something to put them in,' Risu noted, while taking a quick peek at her menu again, though almost looking over the menu to what was happening straight behind Kyohei, with her target and his companions filling themselves with salty food and a lot of sake. "Ugh, I should've picked another moment to come here, with those…nevermind. Have you chosen something, Kyo? I think I'll order a Hamburger steak with a daikon salad and some salted rice, but what to drink…some cold tea or gingerbeer maybe?"

500/2511

He was happy that she liked the flowers, and that it was at least a believable enough excuse for him to be pulled away by Myra. It’s a good thing she already had it as a plan as well. He would not have been in high spirits the next time they met if she intended to leave him out to dry with his date. He seriously doubted that any other member of the Black ANBU would have shown him that courtesy, further cementing Myra in his mind as the least intolerable out of all of Enaka’s henchmen. Kyohei frowned a bit when she made her comment about having come at a different time with all of the noise coming from the table his mark was sitting at. Instead of sitting on the side of the booth opposite her, Kyohei would slide into her side of the booth slightly, keeping his knee on the cushion to prop himself up as he leaned his head down towards his date. “I’m sorry hime-chan, did you want to go somewhere else?” he said to her apologetically, turning her face to his, “If you’re being disturbed we can always go to another restaurant… or I can deal with them.”

A mischievous smirk formed on his lips as he decided to lean those lips closer to her ear, letting out a purposeful hum. “By the way, I saw the way you looked at our waitress when she started talking to me and pulled me away from the table,” he whispered teasingly into her ear, letting out an amused huff, “Do you know her from somewhere? If it’s one of your old rivals I don’t think I want to run the risk of her tampering with our food.” He obviously knew this was not the case, but after seeing the blush form on Risu’s face when he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her cheek, he couldn’t help but want to tease her more. “No, that’s not it,” he said jokingly, feigning some kind of revelation, “Don’t tell me that she made you jealous? Did the thought of some other woman trying to take what belonged to her bother my hebihime? Be honest. I thought we weren’t keeping secrets from each other. You’re my partner right?”

The good thing about the booth was that the raised headboards afforded them more privacy than an open table would. Taking advantage of that privacy he would gently brush a few stray hairs from the side of Risu’s neck and then press his lips to the base of her neck softly. He would then begin forming a trail of kisses from the base of her neck to her ear lobe, taking a short break between each connection to allow the warmth of his breath to be felt as he made his way up, the width of his back shielding them from prying eyes. “You don’t have to ever worry about another woman, hime-chan,” he whispered as he playfully flicked her lobe with the tip of his tongue, “I told you before, didn’t I? I’m yours. Why would I go slumming when I have everything I ever wanted right here in front of me?” He felt a rush as he spoke those words to Risu. This kind of relationship was new to both of them. He had never spoken to anyone the way he spoke to her and he wondered if any man had ever uttered words like that to her. While he awaited her answer he would place his hand over the back of hers and hold it tightly, allowing his fingers to become intertwined with hers.

---

3473~

Hearing him propose to go somewhere else if she wasn't fine with where they were at that point, Risu quickly nodded, maybe a bit to frantically, but she hoped Kyohei would not have noticed the fact that she had been keeping an eye on that loudmouth of the other table from the corner of her eyes, watching and remembering everything, counting the moments for the man to finally take his time to go the the bathroom, which she decided to be the best time to strike, with or without her outfit, as long as she could do it without leaving any distinct mark, she'd be fine.

"I'm fine," She quickly muttered, though still slightly upset by the appearance of that waitress."I'm not jealous…not at all, I'm just…weary of people."

Not knowing that her too strong denial could make Kyohei think the opposite, Risu was glad when he started toying with her again, teasing her right in the middle of a full restaurant, which made her blush return, even giggle when he started to lick her neck gently, reaching up to her earlobe and nibbling it, which made her let out a strange high-pitched sound she hadn't made before, prompting her to quickly place both of her hands in front of her mouth, pulling back from Kyohei's embrace with her face turned completely red and her eyes deliberately avoiding Kyohei's.

"Eh…eh…oh here, they're finally coming to take our orders," The young Orochi woman said with a slightly trembling voice, almost hackling her words, while to her surprise a man had now arrived to take their orders, which made her wonder if the waitress was sucking up to some other customer now. "Eh, hmm…I'd like the hamburger steak with some salted rice and a pickled daikon salad with mustard sauce, what about you Kyo?"

While the waiter's attention turned for Kyohei, Risu noticed that her target was yet again ordering another round of drinks, which made her almost bite her nails in excitement, knowing it couldn't take THAT long anymore before the guy would go to the toilet. All she had to do if that happened, was go to the toilet herself, lose the yukata and the wooden sandals, strap on her armor and mask and her casual sandals and she'd be ready to take the guy out, her ANBU weapon had already been strapped to her left leg, so in case of emergency she could always skip the armor and mask and just do it in a jiffy.

"I'd like some…ginger beer, what about you Kyohei?" Risu wasn't going to repeat her words, with the waiter dilligently writing down her order and waiting for the Uchiha to order his meal and beverage.

474/2985

“Hmmm, is that so?” Kyohei said with a feigned sadness, pouting his lower lip slightly and looking up at Risu with sad puppy eyes, “Are you also growing weary of me, Hime-chan?” As his lips made their way up her neck and to her ear he would continue, “I’m sorry Risu. You’ve been so busy since joining the village’s ANBU that I haven’t gotten to spend as much time with you as I would like and the first place I take you to we keep getting interrupted. Since you asked to come here I thought it would make you happy, but I didn’t plan for all of these people getting in the way of our night. If you want, next time I’ll make sure to pick a more private location, and then I’ll be able to help relieve some of that weariness.”

The sound Risu made as Kyohei’s teeth gently pressed onto her earlobe made a devilish grin form upon his face. His amusement would only grow exponentially upon seeing her reaction. The bright red hue of her blush betrayed her attempt to hide her own reaction to him nipping at her flesh. Kyohei couldn’t help but let out a stifled chuckle at the way she tried to cover her mouth after the fact and look away from him as if he hadn’t just heard her. “That was an interesting sound you just made,” he teased, leaning back towards her, “I’ve never heard you make that one before. I like it.” As much as he enjoyed the strong, snarky, and independent Risu that he fell in love with, seeing her behave in such a feminine and vulnerable way was endearing. Even as she tried to change the subject to their orders, the trembling in her voice told the whole story.

Kyohei eyed the menu that laid on the table in front of Risu while she made her order, scanning it up and down for whatever he might find that seemed appealing. “Hmmm,” he hummed to himself before turning to the waiter to place his order, “I’ll have the yaki noodles and an order of shrimp tempura with a green salad. And to drink I think I’ll just have a strawberry ramune.” In most normal situations Kyohei had become accustomed to ordering sake or some other hard drink to have with his dinner, but given that he was technically still on the job, drinking was not an ideal activity. Maybe he’d order some sake after he dealt with Keita.

One thing lingered in the back of his mind however, regarding the task at hand. The mission briefing mentioned bringing him back to the dungeon as the preferable option. It was a simple enough task, but one that was made nearly impossible by his being on this date. He couldn’t just excuse himself for an hour while he hauled some grown man into the forest outside of the village. It is for this reason that for once he was glad to have a partner. All he needed to do was “persuade” the man to come along quietly or at least extract any information he needed before knocking him out. Once the objective had been secured Myra would no longer have a reason to be there and he could task taking the man to the dungeon herself. All Kyohei needed was an opening. After the waiter left with their orders Kyohei would move back to the other side of the booth where he could keep an eye on his target with the ceiling mirror trick that Myra had rigged for him. In his mind he played out the scenario he needed. Once his target got up to use the restroom Kyohei could simply excuse himself as well. Once the two of them were alone in the bathroom, making quick work of Keita would be a simple task.


4133~

(I'll come back to do all of the formatting for my post later. The site is lagging for me and the formatting interface isn't loading.)

"About what I said earlier," Risu said calmly, while having a rather apologetic expression on her face. "I'd never grow weary of you Kyo, it's just…you know, when I joined the ANBU, I was proud, knowing I followed the tradition of all my clan's predecessors, but now…I don't understand how my mother could ever smile. In a way I am starting to think that my doubts, my distrust towards my uncle, who despite everything has cared for me…was foolish."

A deep sigh escaped the young woman's lips, as she tried to maintain her gaze at the target, who yet again had ordered another round of beers and sake, which almost made her think the man was simply a barrel with a face or something.

"If my uncle is indeed part of what we all dare to call the Shadow of Konoha, who am I to blame him?" Risu spoke, while looking at her hands, which were slightly trembling, not in fear, but in disgust. "Why do we fight, why do we kill? Why do we follow orders blindly, without thinking about the effects of our actions…without knowing the result of our labors and the retaliations thereof upon the life of the common folk?"

The knowledge of her uncle having been an ANBU captain during his so-called prime, would've given Risu more than enough reason to believe what she thought he wanted, even if his methods were wrong, she couldn't just go to that new hokage and spill everything. There was only one person besides Kyohei who knew what she thought, who knew what she was doing in her free time, but he had spoken his mind and had decided to kill her uncle. Maybe her uncle had found that which she desperately was looking for: the truth of the shinobi world, the reason why the world was as it is.

Suddenly, right when a waiter -funny enough there was no sign of that waitress from before- came to bring their meals and drinks, Risu noticed that Izuto Kaita was leaving his seat, excusing himself to his companions. With a quick move, she toppled the glass with ginger beer the waiter had just placed on the table, making it so that it got on her hands and a bit on the sleeves of her yukata.

"Oh no, not my favorite Yukata," She sighed in faked anguish, looking at the stains on her sleeves with feigned discouragement, while getting up from her seat. "I'm sorry Kyo, but I have to go try and wash out these stains in the toilet, I can't let them dry in this yukata, that would ruin it."

Saying that, the young woman hastily went to the women's toilet, closing thee door of the second boot behind her, pulling out the sink while pulling off the yukata, revealing that she had been wearing her black, standard jumpsuit underneath and as she quickly stepped out of her wooden sandals and strapped on the regular ones, she had already donned the standard ANBU armor and her mask. With a quick move of her hands, she quickly used the transformation technique on herself to change herself in the first man that entered her thoughts: Kyohei, so she could easily get into the men's room without creating a fuss…to quickly at least.

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Kyohei said nothing as he listened to Risu express her doubts about the morality of the shinobi life, feeling the gravity of her words with each utterance. There was no snarky or clever comment to be said, no teasing quip to tug at Risu’s emotions. What she said to him now was the beginning of what he knew would eventually send the happiness he had found with her crashing down. Risu was curious, too curious for him to ever hope that she would forever remain blind to what had truly transpired during her stolen memories. Part of him wanted to come out and confess everything to Risu. He wanted to be the one she learned everything from. He had seen her state when she did discover the truth behind her uncle. He wanted to be the one that would be there to support her, not someone she scorned for withholding information from her. Even if he did what he did to protect her, for someone whose mission in life was to discover truth, a lie must be more than a betrayal. It must be viewed as a sin.

How could he possibly tell her though? He did not want to be the one that ruined her happiness. He held his tongue reluctantly, internally screaming everything he wished to tell her. In a perfect world he wished he could have kept the promise he made to her on their first night together and told his partner everything, but the world they lived in was not perfect. Even if the result was her hating him for hiding the truth he would protect her in the best way he knew how, which currently was remaining silent. Before he could utter a single word to relieve Risu of her melancholy a server would return to their table with their drinks. And just when Kyohei thought the server was to take his leave and allow him to speak privately to his partner, a spilt drink sent Risu running off towards the bathroom.

The moment Risu was out of site, a feminine hand rested itself onto Kyohei’s shoulder. Before even turning to see who it was, he knew exactly what he had to do. Their mark had isolated himself by taking off into the restroom, and with Risu preoccupied there was no better time to make a move. A black bag casually slid next to his legs which no doubt contained his black ANBU equipment. It seemed as if Myra had grown impatient and intended to finish the job as quickly as possible. Taking the bag in hand Kyohei would casualy make his way to the bathroom. Upon entering he would make note of his mark standing at the urinal and enter into the nearest toilet booth. The sound of ruffling clothing was typical in a restroom booth, allowing Kyohei to quickly change clothes without suspicion. Adjusting his black ANBU mask he would exit the booth, ninja wire in hand, ready to “assist” Keita in coming to the decision to come along willingly.

After delivering Kyohei his equipment Myra had left the main floor to make sure that all the arrangements had been made to transport Keita back to The Dungeon. After her momentary absence she would return to the main floor to watch the entrance to the bathroom, intending to keep anyone but Kyohei out in order to let him finish his job, which she assumed he would have begun by now. When she returned however she would see Kyohei heading towards the men’s bathroom, piquing her curiosity. What had taken him so long and where was the bag with his equipment. Furthermore, why was he heading out from the direction of the woman’s restroom. She assumed that he had stopped by the female restroom in order to check back in with Risu, a thought towards which she rolled her eyes, thinking back to how long it had been since she was young enough to be so smitten with someone else. Time and experience had made her jaded and cold on such frivolous emotions, but still she had no intentions of standing in his way.

---

4827~

Risu's way out of the woman's restroom seemingly went unnoticed, though her eyes did catch the woman of earlier looking at her on a somehow strange, yet understanding way. Nodding her head a bit to shake off any kind of uneasy feeling, the ANBU operative entered the men's restroom, closing the door behind her and then she sighed deeply, her hand sliding over the mask she was wearing, dispelling the transformation jutsu while silently taking her mother's scalpel from the specially made sheath in her ANBU armor, twirling it around her fingers before gripping it tight between her thumb and middle finger, while using her index finger to balance the small, yet deadly weapon in her grasp.

In the single instant all that had happened, Her eyes suddenly got fixed upon a person coming out of one of the boots with a length of ninjawire in his hands, wearing some kind of strangely inverted and black and gray coloured ANBU outfit with a Black ANBU mask. Could it be true, was she not seeing things?

Right in front of her was the answer to all her questions and all her doubts, not only did it seem that the black ANBU existed, but she was standing in front of one of that elusive organization's members, the living proof which would help her understand the truth and the lies of the shinobi world, the webs of intrigue and secrecy that had been spun in front of the eyes of the world.

"Impossible," Risu almost hissed, her golden eyes behind her mask dulling consistently with her switch into the darker persona she had started to maintain on her jobs for the ANBU. The voice coming through the mask was a slightly deeper and darker form of her own voice, a chillingly fine example of her affiliation with the ANBU. "So you guys do exist."

Just as she had lifted her Scalpel right in front of her face, taking on an aggressive stance with her legs slightly bend and spread out, her muscles visibly tensing underneath the black jumpsuit, an unsuspecting Izuto Keita came out of his booth, trying to wash his hands before returning to his companions, only to be caught in what he perceived to be some kind of crossfire. Just as he was about to say something, Risu's free hand reached for the pouch on the left side of her waist, grabbing and throwing a kunai aimed towards her target's throat without even taking her eyes away from her other problem, the black ANBU member standing in front of her.

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Kyohei’s head would immediately turn to face the door as the sound of the turning handle echoed through the tile and porcelain covered room. His fingers would unconsciously loosen their pull on the taut wire he held as he completely froze at the sight of a mirror image of himself stepping through the door, dispelling what had appeared to be a transformation jutsu to reveal a presumably female ANBU operative. A myriad of questions began racing through his head about exactly what kind of situation he found himself in now. The appearance of this ANBU operative, blade in hand, may have shed a little light on the meaning of the letter he had received this morning reading, “Prevent the assassination of Iruzo Keita” but that would not explain this potential assailant using his appearance as a disguise.

When this new intruder finally locked eyes with and acknowledged Kyohei’s presence there the tension in the room became almost palpable. As she turned towards him and hissed some venom laced words his way, Kyohei would activate his Sharingan in preparation for what could be coming his way. Nothing would have prepared him however, for what his Sharingan would reveal about the woman he was now standing off with. He didn’t want to believe it, but he knew that as he pieced together each strand of information he had available to him that it all made sense. The chakra that was present before him was none other than Risu’s. This revelation had completely changed everything about the situation, but there was no way out of it for him now. The aggressive stance she took towards him made that more than clear, but how could he now bring himself to fight her? Her initial reaction also hinted at his identity remaining a mystery to her, which meant that she would have no such reservations about attacking him.

Removing one hand from the wires and lowering it to his side pouch to be ready to reach for a weapon on a moment’s notice, Kyohei took a defensive posture, his eyes darting back and forth between Risu and Keita. All he could do was wait for someone to make the first move, which Risu would not take long to do. With his Sharingan Kyohei would move to grab a shuriken the moment she made a move to her own puch, and calculating the trajectory of her kunai intercepted the projectile with his own to shield his mark. The metallic clank of the two throwing weapons clashing together reverberated through the room, and the two projectiles would deflect off of each other into two different directions. Kyhei’s shuriken shot back into one of the mirrors, cracking and lodging itself in while Risu’s kunai impaled itself into the stall door just in front of Keita.

All the while, Kyohei would never utter a single word, maintaining an eerie silence as his eyes remained trained on Risu from behind his mask. His first move would be to a quick and powerful kick right into Keita’s stomach, sending him flying back into the stall he had just exited and out of Kyohei’s way. There was no way that Risu was going to simply allow him to take Keita and leave, especially if her assignment was to assassinate Keita, and definitely not now that she had stumbled upon a member of the black ANBU that she had been searching for. At the same time Kyohei was also unable to fight Risu knowing that he would have to hold back and she wouldn’t. His only option now was to create an opening for their escape, or stall until outside factors influenced the situation.

---

5448~

Tsk, you seem to be rather good," Risu sighed, after her kunai had been deflected by a single shuriken, which irked her a lot. It wasn't fun to deal with interuptions during her missions, certainly not when this was supposed to be something quick. She wondered what Kyohei would be thinking if he had to wait for too long. "Seems I have no other choice than to finish this in a less civil way than I had wanted. I have no time to deal with someone like you while being on this mission."

Deciding to take matters more seriously, Risu's free hand went for her pouch again, taking out a regular scalpel, flicking it around in her other hand until she held it like her obviously more expensive and more formidable Kirinketsu scalpel, all the while activating her Chakra scalpel jutsu, with her own  purple-tinted chakra flowing in the shape of a razor over her hands. In a way how she looked now, with that aggressive stance and the two scalpels was exactly the same how Hataro's second puppet wielded its scalpels and how Enaka had shown to utilize his own scalpels during the first encounter with Kyohei. No matter how one would look at it, Risu had turned into a prime example of the Orochi family's style in combat.

"If you would be so kind, to not die on me," Risu almost laughed, while launching herself. With her right arm cocking backwards, she jumped towards the Black ANBU operative with her left arm stretched out with both the regular scalpel in her hand and the chakra scalpel actively aiming at the man's collarbone, though when in close proximity making a quarter turn to throw her other arm towards her 'target, aiming to plant her Kirinketsu scalpel straight into his chest cavity, trying to slice the man's primary muscles with her chakra scalpel in the process, which if it would hit, would send the man to his death on a very painful way. "A job's a job, but I'll be willing to have a word with you after my job's done."

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How long had it been since he had last seen this side of Risu? Despite knowing all too well the nature of their occupation, especially Risu’s status as a member of the village’s ANBU, Kyohei could not help but view the woman that had so suddenly become the object of his affection through rose tinted glasses. What he saw before him now was not Risu, the woman, but Risu the shinobi. The thought of her aggression and malice being directed at him had not even crossed his mind since they became a couple, but this moment was a harsh reminder of the reality of his situation. For all of their talk about no more masks, each of them still had one that they could not remove. And as long as those masks remained, the possibility that this exact situation would be the end result was very real.

Emotions however, were not going to stop Risu from now attempting to kill him as long as his true identity remained a mystery to her. And since he had no intention of taking his mask off this soon, he would have no choice but to fight the woman that he had come here with as a date. It was now his turn to silence the person he was when his mask was off. He remained completely silent throughout all of Risu’s talking. Completely still, he watched her closely with his sharingan, keeping track of her every movement, every twitch of her muscles that might signal a move his way. His saving grace in this situation was that as long as they both intended to be discreet with their missions and identities, large and destructive jutsu were probably off limits, unless they wanted the entire restaurant running into the bathroom to find them. If this was simply a matter of close range melee combat, the visual prowess of his sharingan would give him an edge. Hopefully that edge would be large enough to keep either of them from doing something that they could not undo.

He couldn’t help but take notice of how similar the chakra scalpel ability Risu used was to the one that he had encountered during his test with Hataro. Apparently this was a common technique amongst that family. For a brief moment he wondered if Enaka also used the same fighting style Risu and her mother did, but that thought would be halted by the need to react to Risu’s advance. She was fast, impressively so. She was certainly worthy of her position, but before his eyes, all but the most blindingly fast opponents might as well have been moving in slow motion. With every slight movement she telegraphed her actions. All he needed to do was beat her to the spot. He saw through the blades angle towards his collarbone, just as he did with the little turn she attempted to throw him off. Her movements were smooth and precise. Had it been someone other than him the trick might have achieved its goal… but the Sharingan remained. Just as her scalpel flew downward to cleave his flesh he would draw the standard issue tanto on his back, using the blade to redirect hers. As the steel slid against her charkra scalpel however, his blade would be severed. In one fluid motion as her scalpel was now off course from his chest he would spin his back around her thrusting arm, sweeping his right leg back in an attempt to knock her off of her feet before creating distance between them by leaping back towards the bathroom entrance. He still couldn’t bring himself to strike her, but avoiding her would get him nowhere. He needed to make a move.

---

6074~

It happened to fast or rather to precise, it was not like this Black ANBU operative was faster than her, but those reactions to her assasult were so fluid and precise that by the time she knew she had missed both of her targets, she could see his tanto break off her faint, his reactions almosconfusing her, when he practically slithered away unharmed, unbalancing her and all the while he had not really laid a single finger upon her. It was as if, as if he didn't want to hurt her in any way.

"Tsk, you're annoying," Risu hissed, while regaining her balance, now cought between two choices: a man cowering in the corner of the restroom and that Black ANBU guy on the other side. "I guess this is what you could call a stand-off."

She really had a problem now, as she wasn't sure about what this Black ANBU guy was planning to do, while her target was so close, she had already seen first hand that ranged attacks aimed at Izuto Keita would simply be deflected by that other man's superior reactions. She also had to think about the fact Kyohei was still in the restaurant, so blowing the whole place up was also out of the question. with a swift movement she placed the two scalpels back in their respective places, while dispelling her own Chakra scalpel jutsu, after which she sighed deeply.

"Typical for 'that woman' to give me an assignment like this one," The young woman thought, while already being able to see that smiling, scarred face of her CID superior, laughing about the fact that she had failed an easy mission like that. "This is the second time I get interrupted by someone else in my missions."

She didn't have a lot of time to think, knowing that this stand-off had to reach its breaking point somewhere, Risu simply decided to take the initiative again. With a single shudder coarsing over her skin, she activated her clan's most prized medical ninjutsu, strengthening herself beyond her normal limits, after which she made a quick quarter turn towards her target, cocking her left hand back, aiming to land a single devastating punch towards the cowering man's head. The punch might've been enough to kill him, but her hightened strength made her a tad slower, but she hoped she would still be fast enough to get to him before the Black ANBU guy would know what was going on.

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Kyohei eyed his opponent suspiciously as she returned her scalpels to their respective holsters. What kind of strategy was this? Did she intend to fight him unarmed? She couldn’t really be backing down from the fight, could she? No. He very much doubted that was the case. She wasn’t the type to back down so easily and her manner of speech hinted at no kind of hesitation towards her mission. There was no doubt about it. She definitely still had her sights set on the life of Iruzo Keita, a man who, under normal circumstances, Kyohei would gladly let her kill... but circumstances did not allow that.

As his sharingan saw the surge of chakra welling up inside of Risu’s body, Kyohei would be forced into taking a defensive stance. Knees slightly bent and on the ball of his heels, as long as he could not bring himself to actually fight Risu he had no choice but to play safe and react to whatever she threw his way. His eyes widened as he saw her body begin to turn away from him and towards the booth in which Kyohei had stuffed Keita. Immediately realizing her intentions were to take advantage of their current positioning to try and finish off their target he was forced to react. Given their proximity to Keita the likelihood of Kyohei being able to beat her to the spot was slim, leaving him no choice but to match her choice of jutsu with one of her own. As he watched the twitching of her muscles leading into her turn he took a deep breath, expelling a powerful gust of wind from his mouth as Risu extended her fist towards Keita.

The objective was simple, use the force of the wind to send her stumbling back, redirecting her attack from its intended mark and back towards the bathroom’s tile wall. This moment of reprieve would allow Kyohei to make a decision. He was out of options. As long as he was unable to fight and Risu was uninhibited by the same internal conflict that he was he would not be able to win this. They had already taken too long to settle this, and since he was at an obvious disadvantage his only hope of salvaging this mission was to change the rules of the game. Giving Risu no time to recover from the knockback of his Fuuton: Nagare, Kyohei would immediately tily his face skyward and blow a stream of fire directly at the bathroom ceiling, setting off the restaurant’s alarm and sprinkler system.

Large amounts of water would begin raining down harshly in every room of the establishment, surely ending any meals that were being had. In addition, Kyohei would take advantage of the voice changing function of his Black ANBU mask, speaking for the first time, although not in his own voice. The voice he chose to imitate was that of their target Iruzo Keita, which he had heard more than enough while sitting at the table before. “Help, I’m being attacked!!!” he yelled out at the top of his lungs, more than loud enough to draw the attention of interested parties, including restaurant staff and the disguised Myra.

As he heard the bathroom door handle turn violently Kyohei would make a series of familiar hand seals to prepare his transformation technique. “Sorry, but I’ll be taking your look,” he said to Risu tauntingly in another made up voice just before taking the appearance of himself, in plain clothes. As the group of concerned onlookers and Myra burst through the door Kyohei would point at Risu in her ANBU attire and yell out, “I came out of the booth and this ANBU was attempting to kill one of our own citizens. Explain yourself.” Just as he said that, the groveling Iruzo Keita would crawl out of the bathroom stall and begin hobbling his way towards the crowd. The ball was now in Risu’s court. Would she continue her mission and try to assassinate her target in the middle of a crowd? With several witnesses? With Kyohei still able to interfere as a “good Samaritan”? With the restaurant clearing out for the fire department and her date night all but ruined?

---

6788~

Just when she had decide to smash her target's skull to bits, Risu yet again and completely against all her worked out possibilities in her mind, was surprised by a gale of wind, hauling her backwards, resulting in her strengthened attack hitting the tiled wall of the restroom, which cracked like an eggshell, the wall even crumbling at the epicenter of her fist's impact. With a glare, she turned her face, only to look upon the Black ANBU operative's next step; forcing the fire-alarm to go off and the sprinklers to activate by the use of some fire element chakra.

When the operative suddenly used a henge to turn into the form she had used before, looking like Kyohei while calling out for help, the young woman staggered against the wall, the eyes behind her mask opening completely, while gnashing teeth could be heard along with a low, vicious hiss.

"Damn you, damn you, damn you…" She whispered through her teeth, while a group of people arrived at the scene, where the target managed to get away, squirming through the men and women who had arrived, while the Black ANBU in Kyohei's form was shouting and screaming, pointing out at her and telling everyone what she was doing. "Damn you, damn you, damn you!!!"

Her thoughts were racing, with every possibility to complete her mission going through her mind. She had to find a solution, she had to find a way to get out of there without making everything suspicious. This kind of attention, bad attention on the ANBU could get her to the point of losing her position, something she really did not want, not yet, not until she had found what she was looking for. Then there was also the fact that she believed that Kyohei was still in the restaurant, but why didn't she see him among the group of people besides that imposter? Shouldn't he have been concerned about her, since she had gone to the restroom before all this happened?

She decided that she had to explain it to him later on, this date had really turned out into a mess, if only that damn Black ANBU guy had not shown up, she could've carried out her mission without even trying, everything had really gone down the drain.

"We'll get to see eachother again," Risu hissed towards the Black ANBU guy with Kyohei's appearance, not knowing he was Kyohei in reality. After she said that, the water from the sprinklers seemed to vaporize, turning into a thick mist to cover up her exit. "Next time, you wont be so lucky…"


Using her strengthened body to break through the already crumbling wall of the restroom, Risu fell down onto the street, clambering up to the roof via the drainpipe to settle herself for a moment. Pulling off her mask, while keeping some strands of her hair to come in front of her face, the young woman sighed deeply.

"Now, how am I ever going to explain that to Kyohei?"

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While Risu provided further distraction by denying vision in the room and breaking through the far bathroom wall, Kyohei took the opportunity to make a move himself. Slinking back into the crowd that had gathered, Kyohei would grab the fleeing Keita by the arm, with the disguised Myra grabbing the opposite arm and leading him out of the restaurant hurriedly under to premise of getting him to safety. What waited just outside the restaurant however, was a wagon ready to transport Keita back to the dungeon along with Myra. When the two of them refused to release him while the dragged him through the restaurant, Keita struggled, but that was swiftly dealt with by a decisive strike to the gut by Kyohei that relieved him from consciousness.

Kyohei would not exit the front door of the establishment, instead leaving Myra to finish the job while he scurried back to a covered location to undo his transformation jutsu and remove his uniform. Luckily, his hair and clothing was still drenched, validating his story of being in the restaurant and waiting for her. He quickly threw his uniform into a trashcan in the abandoned kitchen area before blowing a small stream of flames to burn the remnants of his presence as a black ANBU here, as well as giving the fire department something to do when they arrive.

He would then hurriedly run back to the bathroom area, but slip past the crowd still gawking about the men’s bathroom incident and over to the door of the women’s restroom which was decidedly vacant. Obviously he was not going to run into the woman’s bathroom, but instead he would begin banging on the bathroom door and calling out for Risu to answer, asking if she was okay. His alibi was simple, after the restaurant was cleared out for safety reasons while he was waiting for her to return from the restroom he heard that there was an attack in the restroom, after which he ran back in to find her. The advantage of him knowing the truth behind exactly what took place in the bathroom meant that as long as his identity remained hidden, he could use his knowledge of exactly what Risu was doing to work around his own disappearance that she never knew happened. All he needed to do now was wait for her.

---

7184~

From on the roof, Risu could suddenly see the man she perceived to still use his fake Kyohei henge and that waitress bring keita towards a wagon, where the man hit Keita in his abdomen to keep him silent, after which he was slammed into the wagon with the woman. Not interested in what the fake Kyohei was doing returning into the restaurant, Risu decided this was the chance she had to take to complete her mission, disregarding the possibility of collateral damage.

Hanging the mask to the side of her armor, her black hair flowing in the soft breeze of that evening, the young ANBU operative ran across the roof to the main street on the other side, waiting as the wagon turned into said street, ready to speed up its pace.

"It's my victory after all," The Orochi woman laughed, while completing a series of hand seals just as the wagon passed her position. "Mission…accomplished."

Just as she spoke those words, a massive snake of mud and rock rose out of the ground, with the wagon exploding as the immense construct crashed upon it, wood and dirt showering the main street, while people ran screaming and in terror when the span of horses panicked and tumbled into a busy shop near the place where the snake had demolished the wagon.

A flash made Risu notice that a woman dressed in a Black ANBU outfit, with long blond hairs had seemingly escaped from the destructive force of the snake, yet in stead of attacking, she held a man who had a board of wood sticking out of his chest, which made Risu smile as she looked upon the woman. Knowing she did not wear her mask and her identity was exposed, the young woman knew that the Black ANBU would look at this as a sign of her challenging their might. So be it, she could no longer hide her research anyway, if they needed to have a visible enemy, she'd be the image of defiance.

Nonchalantly waving goodbye, Risu jumped off the roof, trying to squirm through the window of the women's restroom, though it wasn't easy-she actually thought she had gained some more weight since last time she had meassured herself- but she managed to get through anyhow. Tossing away the ANBU outfit into the bag near the toilet, she quickly tried her best to put on her yukata and wash her face, though she had lost the pin to keep her hair into a knot. Looking into the mirror, she noticed she was still wearing the necklace Kyohei had given her, caressing the heartshaped jade, Risu's facial expression brightened with a smile, before she walked out of the restroom, faking her surprise at what had seemingly happened, after which she was escorted to the main hall by some shinobi who had arrived at the scene, where she would find Kyohei by yelling and waving at him.

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