House of Spades.

[King]

"You're. . . hurting. . . me."

Almost instinctively, the serpent-like grip around her throat was released. Kouketsu eyed the broken girl, assessing the damage before releasing his hand upon kunai buried deep into the flesh of her palm. As much as he detested violence toward women, especially his operatives -- his family --there were just some things that couldn't be let go. Respect was, without a doubt, the most important factor within the Akumabito; she had crossed a forbidden line, and there was a price to pay.

"She is the remain there until I say otherwise." Thankfully, he'd given her enough room to sit when she grew tired of standing; she wouldn't have to worry about the blade ripping through her hand from the strain. "As for you, Zibishi - you are dismissed. Zamarron would rendezvous with you at the village gates tomorrow morning. Be ready for your journey to Konoha."

A pair of the many individuals of the room stood to escort the boy out, as he'd certainly learned the penalty for disobeying orders. Once he was gone, the floor was practically evacuated.

"What is it?"

"It appears that you have yet another guest, master. A boy."

"Very well. Send him up."

---

Like every other person that had business with the Oyabun, the boy was escorted by one of the very beautiful mistresses dwelling within the house of spades. Through the crowds and up the stairs, Masaru would be presented on a second floor that was all but empty. Only two individuals occupied it now, one of which was the Oyabun; the other, a subordinate who had not yet learned her place.

"How might I be of service to you, young one?"

[zibishi]

Zibishi sighed and stared at Zammy in her terrible state wishing he could help, but he became relieved once once she was finally released without any issues. Hopefully her hand would heal quickly, but he wondered how the trek to Konoha would go down now? Would she hold it against him he had not helped the girl or that he hadn't helped her? Or would she be proud of his new found ruthlessness and coldness. Only time would tell he looked at his master and simplyed nodded in respect before exiting the room to prepare for the long journey to Konoha. He was a much different boy than he was before he entered the House of Spades.

[Exit]

[tsukuyomi]

-- Home, Sweet Home?

Under the darkness of the House of Spades did the apathetic Atsuhiro approach, his clothing ruffled slightly as he pushed his way through the door and into the very sanctum of malevolence itself. The cold of his orbs scanned the room rather quickly, before a brusque pace sent him toward the back of the establishment. There was no need to dwell among the riff-raff - He would find Kouketsu, and thereafter would they seek answers one from the other. Even if Kou had no questions to give...the Uchiha surely had a set of his own.

But before such a thing could happen...he was interrupted.

"Spare a couple coins, boy? You forgot to pay at the door. Entrance fee is a round of drinks for everybody in the -hic- room.."

Anotsu stood at full height as a vagabond, disgusting and vulgar in appearance, attempted to impede upon his journey to Kouketsu's presence. The patron would even go so far as to place a hand upon the Jounin's shoulder - One that he would miss after what the shinobi would do to it.

Without so much as a narrowed set of orbs, Anotsu gripped his very wrist and retrieved a kunai from its hidden place among his belongings. The glint of silver that caressed his epidermis sang of sanguine melody, and thereafter did a wave of his life's essence stain the immediate vicinity. Atsuhiro allowed the hand to drop to the floor, walking past his injured victim and straight into the shadows that awaited him.

Various veils swayed to and fro, an endless maze to those that did not know their way around. But if Atsuhiro had to dismember yet another to make his point, he would.

Of course, he knew that such actions would not interfere with Kouketsu's business. His brother would never allow the hire of such foolish, rancid filth under any circumstance. His obsidian locks settled about his youthful features as he stared straight into the shadows.

"I am here to see Kouketsu. Tell him that his brother has arrived.

[Zammy<3]

He released her, dropping her to the floor. She hit the floor hard, a gasp escaping her liips upon impact. Her instinct was to reach for the kunai embedded in her hand, but she thought better of it, realizing that if the roles were reversed, she would want herself to suffer through the pain. Scowling out of a newfound hatred, as well as the agony she was in, she clicked her tongue especially loud so that her master would certainly hear it. She was impatient; she would have to sit through yet another meeting of his, and this time, it would have nothing to do with her, which would make it all the more uninteresting. She glared off to the side, awaiting the moment when her master's attention would be focused back on her.

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[Sharkk]

Finally, being taken upstairs he kept a calm composure as he was escorted. Blood was the first thing he noticed, then the emptiness, followed by the occupants of the room. Not knowing the girl he kept his attention on the man of the house.

Bowing slightly he replied to the man. "I am here to request aide in my quest to...bring back the legendary Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shû...and in return I would offer my use as a tool to you, sir..."

[/color] Now came more waiting.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/left]

[♚]

It was amusing what people saw and what they chose not to see.

The sleek figure of a fox was gracefully perched beneath a table, studying the patrons and women as if it understood every word discussed between them. It was small, hardly larger than the average house cat; the most distinguishing feature it claimed was a full coat of black fur instead of the red one might have expected. Those few drunk men who did point out the animal might have noticed the liquid-like flow of its movement as it stood and padded after a mistress and a boy, or perhaps that its fur was not actually made of keratin.

The fox bounded up each stair carefully, quiet as a spectre and just as malevolent. It ceased movement only when it found itself inside a new room, populated with several unfamiliar faces in addition to the two it was shadowing. It made no effort to hide. As the Oyabun's voice rang out strong and confident, those brown eyes focused upon him, devoid of emotion but nevertheless intelligent.

[King]

What an interesting request. The resurrection of such a group was best left in the hands of the Mizukage, yet oddly enough, it ended up in the Oyabun's lap. Perhaps it was fate's twisted humor playing jokes, or perhaps it was simply just a coincidence. Whatever the case, he would oblige the boy in his foolish endeavor.

"To do such a thing would require the legendary blades, none of which any of us in this room possess. Bring them to me, and I will form you a group worthy of bearing their power."

He paused, catching a glimpse of the creature that had snuck into his establishment. Could it be. . . ?

"However, I am extremely pressed for time. We'll settle this another day."

Like Zibishi, the boy would be escorted out of the establishment. It would require a lot more than some empty request for power for Kouketsu to lend his aid. If he was capable of bringing even one of the swords to the house of spades, they'd be in business.

Mean while, the Oyabun carefully made his way toward the creature. It had been years since he'd seen this technique, and interestingly enough, he had his uses for just this kind of talent.

[♚]

The fox cocked its head, ears twitching as if listening to the conversation taking place. If indeed it had the capability to do such a thing, then it certainly was not relaying information to the master that had created it. Pity that it could only serve as a scout at best, and not a receptor for the most secret of conversations.

Once again it stretched its haunches and stood when the man it had been following left the room, oculi trailing after him for some time before it appeared to realize its main concern was now standing. The bushy tail swayed cautiously, and like a real animal those pointed ears flicked back, alerted of sudden danger. Unfortunately, it could only mimic its true counter-part--the drawing knew no fear, knew no reason to utilize these life-saving instincts. Instead, it took a single step backward and narrowed its eyes at the Oyabun, looking for all the world like it might flee at any moment.

[King]

Even if it were a false creature, its existence in itself was all the advantage Kouketsu needed. Though he could've surely kept up with the beast had it fled to its owner, where ever he or she might've been, the trifles of the day had been taxing. He wasn't in the mood for games.

Before the faux animal could even realize what happened, its eyes would be locked upon those of the Sharingan. The transformation was instant, and without so much as even blinking, rendering the beast entirely to his control.

Relax. A mere though would birth the desired reaction, and likely as the fox was caught, it would do as it was "told." From there, he would direct it through a passage and out of the house of spades, back to its master. Naturally, Kouketsu would be hot on its trail.

"Stay here." It was one of the last things he said to Zamarron. "I will return shortly - then we need to talk." A small yank tugged on the wire connected to the kunai, pulling it clean from her palm.

Then he was off.

[Zammy<3]

A brilliant emerald light engulfed her hand, and just as quickly as the light had been generated it dispersed, easily healing her wound now that the kunai had been pulled out. She sat there with dull eyes, and sighed with impatience and boredome, examining the fresh scar on the back, as well as the palm of her hand. It was hourglass shaped; she growled in disdain.

No scar had ever plagued her beauty before now.

He'd told her to stay where she was. She knew better than to disobey her master this time, but that didn't mean she had to like his orders. She rolled her eyes, but did as she was told.

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[♚]

If that creature had the capacity to think, it would have called the Sharingan hypnotizing. Although, one had to realize that there would have been no time for that in this situation--one minute it was about to turn tail and return to its master, the next it seemed to have calmed down, caught up in the Uchiha's spell.

The will it had before was slim, as the drawing was working solely on given to it several minutes prior. This was much the same, as if the woman who had created it coaxed another set of orders into its physical being. It turned around quite calmly, tail held high and proud as it trotted out of the room, down a passage, and out of the house entirely.


exit.

[King]

When he entered again, the second floor was just how he'd left it. News of his brother's arrival had reached his ears, but that would have to wait for the time being. There was still one more order of business to tend to before they could have their "reunion," so to speak.

Zamarron hadn't moved from her location - it was a sign that she was, perhaps, finally beginning to learn her place amongst the ranks. Still, Kouketsu found himself questioning whether or not she could stomach the truth of the yakuza life style.

"Zamarron. . . I apologize for your hand."

[Mamushi]

ENTER; Kaguya Ijitome

Kirigakure no sato was a far cry from the dense forest of southern Mizu - there were buildings instead of trees, and people instead of animals... but the people were loud, clumsy even, and they stank unlike anything I had ever smelled. It was nice to know that I was different from these people - sometimes I felt entirely the opposite - and as I drew nearer to the house of SPADES, I felt that uniqueness take its hold..

Sharingan no Uchiha Kouketsu, Dark hair, light built, medium height, handsome face, very calm exterior, Jounin Shinobi, dangerous, Oyabun... "Call him Kouketsu-sama when you meet him..." and the man my father crafted me to serve. He had described serving Kouketsu-sama as a shining glory - the most wonderful thing in the world... I used to wonder why a man would need a killing machine, but as my father taught me more, I began to understand.

Now, I couldn't wait to meet him. I'd built him up in my head to be a monster of a man, fifteen hands tall with three burning red eyes and a dragon's tails - truly, the fantasies of a young girl, for I knew his description, as accurate as I knew the back of my hand - and I imagined that he would send me deep into enemy territory to kill relentlessly and I would become the greatest kunoichi ever, and enemies would tremble in fear when they heard my name, and other would cheer for their champion...

My fantasies carried me to the door of the house where I stood and stared. It was rather odd looking, nothing like how I'd imagined, though I supposed I looked just as odd. I was tall for a woman, with light blond hair and big blue eyes. I was wearing practically nothing, coincidentally for the practices of practicality, but it wasn't just my clothes or pale complexion that made me stand out - it was the way I looked at the world around me, as if I had never seen anything like it before...

Finally, I knocked twice at the door, and waited. I was almost bouncing on the balls of my feet.

[/font]

[King]

The last time it had been this busy, Kouketsu had recently taken control of the major yakuza gangs scattered throughout Mizu no Kuni. Indeed, it wasn't often that the Oyabun was requested so many times in a single day; however, business was business.

The wooden door slid open with relative ease, to which the woman gave the girl a peculiar look. Children these days got wierder and weirder, it seemed. This particular whore, however, was somewhat pressed for time.

A loud slap echoed from within the room, and the blond girl would see an arm extending from behind the safety of the door; the hand attached to it was planted firmly on the woman's ass, squeezing and rustling her already loose kimono. "How might we help you?"

[Mamushi]

For a moment I didn't know what to say. I wanted to ask if that slap had hurt, but then her expression didn't change - not even a wince - and I realized several things all at once, and I almost tried to blurt them all out at the same time -

But then the room behind her - the little but that I could see - caught my attention, and I was mesmerized. House of SPADES, nefarious establishment, home to whores and warriors alike, domain of the Yakuza, shitty outside, classy inside - and boy was it classy. I spent a second scanning the room before I remembered that the woman was occupied.

"Um, oh, *ahem*, I'm here to see Kouketsu-sama." I peered around her again, and another woman passed by the doorway, just as scantily clad, with a man's hands attached to her breast and her ass. I looked down at myself, and then zipped up my jacket. I hoped none of them tried to grab me - it would make a terrible first impression if I accidentally killed someone. "My name is Kaguya Ijitome," I paused and lifted my jacket to show my bare stomach before it was ripped open from the inside by a quick show of bones bursting out from beneath the skin, "and I have skills that will allow me to be useful to him." By the time I had finished speaking, my flesh had returned to normal, smooth and taut.

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