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Obsolete by crimson sun06

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His request, unusual as it was now made perfect sense. When she had been saddled with this assignment she had unconsciously formed some notions. This man after all was one of the most dangerous men alive. She had expected someone sinister and scheming. One with cold eyes and a menacing smile.

What she got wasn't so much a criminal mastermind as a goofball. But then again maybe this was all an act. She had to admit if it was, it was a pretty damn good one. So far the only expected thing he had done was being uncooperative, and even then not overly so. Then he had made a request in return for his help. Feeling she had nothing to lose just hearing the guy out, after all she could always refuse and make other concessions.

Negotiations were the key to this whole thing. Her superiors hadn't really set any boundaries in her dealings with him. While this did give her a lot of wriggle room, it also ensured that she was flying as blind, something she find find unusual now that she thought about it. She prepared herself for some haggling, and then he stated his request. For a minute she seriously considered walking out of there without another word. But he seemed earnest. The request was after all simple enough, if a little unusual, and a bit of an inconvenience as it required that she leave the island and make the trip back to the mainland. She really wasn't looking forward to the journey, but if that was all it took to ensure his help, she would do it.

She hadn't gotten to her position by being lazy and not grabbing the initiative when it presented itself to her. Now watching him slurp down his 8th consecutive cup of ramen without so much as pausing for a breath, she realized maybe he was serious about his request. When he was done with it, a gleam of what seemed like nostalgia entered his eyes, but it was gone the very next second.

"You sure you don't want some?" He offered, opening his ninth cup. "There is plenty to go around."

"I think I will pass." She replied tersely as she patiently waited for him to finish.

"Your loss." He muttered under his breath as he tore into next cup. His speed in demolishing cup after cup of ramen astonished her. She herself didn't think much of the food. It was one of the unhealthiest ones out there and as a medic it offended her sensibilities. But she couldn't care less about his health. She just wanted to gain his cooperation and if this was what it took who was she to argue.

"So, about why I was here." She said eager to get to matter at hand, now that she had kept her end of the bargain.

"Yes, the murder." He shrugged nonchalantly. "I fail to see how I can help you really. This doesn't look like shinobi work to me."

"What do you mean?" Rei was nonplussed at that response. "Its clearly a jutsu which did this."

"Yes, except for one crucial point, a shinobi would never do something like this." He said with a certainty bordering on vehemence.

Rei wanted to explode, but just chose to glare at him skeptically trying to come up with an appropriate response. "You mean to tell me that its against a shinobi's nature to carry out assassinations?" She laced her voice with as much sarcasm as she could manage. It wasn't very professional of her, but something about this guy just made her want to put him in his place.

"How much do you really know about us?" He asked her in a tone which came across to her as condescending.

Now that she thought about it, other than the fact that they could had a rather more versatile use of their chakra than their samurai counterparts she knew little about them.

"We have been called the shadows of the night, the hidden blade, warriors of darkness among other things, why do you think that is?" He continued as if giving a lecture to an attentive student.

Rei just stared straight at him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had her at a disadvantage.

She didn't succeed.

"The reason for those epithets is because you never see us coming and you won't realize it when we get away but most importantly...... you will never know when it is."

"Yeah yeah you guys are great. So what's your point?" Her impatience was getting the better of her now.

"What I mean to say is that a self-respecting shinobi would never use chakra to carry out an assassination like this. In fights against other chakra adepts, yes, but almost never in an assassination. Its messy and blatant, everything which goes against our way of doing things." He paused allowing his words to sink in. "This guy was a civilian right?"

Rei nodded in response to that query, trying to digest the information thrown at her.

Was all this true?

"But who else can use chakra the way it was used here if not shinobi?" She asked.

"Hell if I know." He said scratching his head. "But saying all chakra users are shinobi is like saying all bipedal beings are humans."

"Maybe it's a double-bluff." She ventured. "Since chakra was so blatantly used it would throw the suspicions of shinobi."

"Well the fact that you are still here looking for shinobi involvement means they failed in that regard." He countered. "No shinobi would jeopardize their mission like that. But that's what I think, you are free to believe what you want."

Rei fell silent as she processed everything she was learning. She still believed the shinobi sitting in front of her was the key to solving this, despite his claims of ignorance. She decided to try a different tack.

"Okay.. Lets forget about the perpetrator for a second. What can you tell me about the jutsu?" She questioned him. "From what I understand you are something of an expert when it comes to the element."

He reached for another cup of ramen. He was down to his last two. Removing the cover he dug into the contents, seemingly ignoring the question. Rei patiently waited, knowing he was trying to get inside her skin. Well she could play this game for as long as him. She had time and she would be damned if she didn't have something productive for her superiors.

"I doubt I can tell you anything more than what you already know." He shrugged after swallowing a mouthful. "Mid to long range attack and whoever did it was a master having exceptional control over their chakra."

"What makes you so sure about the control?" Finally something encouraging. If she could keep him talking she might glean more.

"After fire, wind is the most volatile of all the elements." He explained. "Its hard enough to maintain its shape in close-ranged jutsus, but to have managed it in range with enough control to remove only the head of our friend requires something special." He paused as if something just occurred to him. "Your perp may be a fan-user. The fan would be no bigger than the one used by geishas."

"You wouldn't know anyone who could use this technique." She prodded.

"None that are alive…..no." A faint edge crept into his voice as he spoke.

Rei tapped her fingers on the table-top. She was about to take a risk. Either she would achieve a breakthrough or she would be back to the square one. She may even jeopardize the investigation permanently. But as matters stood she wasn't making much headway anyway.

"You sure it wasn't one of yours?"

A suffocating silence filled the room following this declaration. She suddenly realized she was locked in a room with a very dangerous man. The fact that he was bound did nothing to alleviate her worries that she may have prodded the proverbial snake a little too hard.

Then he burst out laughing. It wasn't quiet chuckles either but huge lusty howls of laughter. Soon he was banging his fists on the table. When he didn't stop even after five minutes, she began to feel a little mortified. Eventually he recovered enough to take some deep breaths in an effort to calm himself down. He met her gaze, mirth shining in his piercing blue eyes.

"Please excuse me." He said amidst a chuckle. "You caught me off-guard with that. But in response to your not so subtle question, no it wasn't one of mine. My long range techniques tend to be more….. destructive. Moreover, see these babies." He said rankling his chains. "Designed to suppress chakra. As long as these are on I couldn't summon enough to make a breeze to cool my morning coffee let alone cut someone's head off." He paused. "I don't get any coffee by the way, I just wanted to put things in perspective."

"And you didn't teach your techniques to anyone?"

"Never got the chance."

"And of course you aren't lying to me."

"Maybe I am." He said with a nonchalance bordering on indifference. "But you can either take what I have told you and use it however you like or you could choose to ignore it altogether and do what you want." He shrugged. "Either way I couldn't care less."

"You sure like to talk a lot though." Rei observed dryly.

"Hey lady give me a break. You're the first decent conversation I have had in years, I am sure you can find it in your noble heart to forgive me for my transgressions. Between the two of us the company here is rather dry and boring plus the warden is a dick." He whispered the last part sharing a conspiratorial wink with her.

A few hours later she was waiting patiently in the communication tower, waiting for her superior to establish contact so that she could submit her report. Her mind kept dissecting the facts of the case in her head. An inconsequential mid-level diplomat gets murdered in his apartment.

Unfortunate, but hardly unusual.

In regular circumstances they would look for suspects based on motives, people who knew him, opportunity etc. But these were anything but the usual circumstances. Especially considering the way the murder was committed. She had come here expecting some answers and despite everything she had learnt she was only left with more doubts and questions.

The manner of the crime pointed to shinobi involvement. After all it was an open secret that while disbanded, they were still out there. But that's what created doubts. It was too obvious. Even in her limited experience she knew that when something seems too a little too obvious, chances were that there was something lying deeper below the surface.

Underneath the underneath. An old shinobi saying. Rather apt considering the situation. She wasn't sure what scared her more. The return of the shinobis or the fact that there was another chakra-adept group, waiting in the wings, poised to strike.

The blinking red light on the control panel indicated that her boss was online.

The operator, a man well past his prime, nodded to her. She took that as the cue to take her place in front of the gigantic 60-inch screen. It blinked on and she was greeted by the sight of her boss, looking poised and regal in his uniform.

She bowed her head in salutation receiving a nod of acknowledgement in return.

"At ease Miyamoto-san." Takeshi said in his regal baritone. "Report."

Straight to the point. One of the things she liked about her boss. He wasn't one to beat about the bush. He treated his subordinates with respect, while maintaining no personal contact with them. To some he came across as cold and unfeeling. But even his worst critics would admit that he got things done. Rei straightened and gave her superior a detailed account of the entire interview. She left out the bit about her going back to mainland to get cup ramen for the prisoner. She didn't want to explain herself on that.

"He told you all that?" Her boss seemed surprised.

"Yes, sir."

"Did he want anything in return?"

Rei hesitated just for a second before replying. "No sir." Well it wasn't technically lying. What he wanted wasn't of any consequence to them. Her answer was more motivated by wanting to be taken seriously than anything else.

Takeshi folded his arms as he studied her. He seemed to be sizing her up. As if trying to measure her worth. For a moment Rei wondered if her boss figured that she had been less than forthcoming. He had that effect on people.

"So what did you think of the prisoner?" He asked much to her surprise.

Rei bit the inside of her cheek, wondering if this was a trap. But then again she knew her boss to be a straight-shooter with little patience for games and politics.

"Permission to speak freely sir?"

"Permission granted." The man complied.

"I don't think he was lying when he denied shinobi involvement." She ventured

"I see." He said without betraying how he felt about Rei's views. "Well you can come back now."

"What?" Rei stammered completely nonplussed.

"You have completed your assignment." He said. "There is nothing more for you to do."

"But I thought I had another week." She complained. She felt there was so much more she could get out of him.

"You did." He agreed. "But as you have already said if it wasn't shinobi involvement, there is hardly any reason for you to stay longer is there?"

"But…"

"This isn't up for discussion Captain." The man snapped. "You have your orders, I expect you to follow them."

Rei wanted to argue, but she recognized an order when she heard one. At the same time his tone surprised her. Being called back after just one session with the prisoner? It made her wonder what had changed. But the fact that he addressed her by her rank reinforced her place in the pecking order and all she could do was swallow her embarrassment at being reprimanded.

"Sir, yes sir."

The man softened as he nodded once acknowledging her compliance.

"Good job." With that the screen went blank.

A man entered Takeshi Ryuren's chambers, as soon as he was done the conference call. Usually he would have anyone who did so without his permission hided and demoted, but this man was way higher on the food-chain, hence the liberty he was afforded.

"So…. He talked to her." The man said.

"So it would seem." Ryuren agreed.

"Well you must be proud of her, she managed in a day, what my men couldn't in a year." There was a hint of admiration in the man's cold tone.

"Doesn't really help us though, does it?" Ryuren retorted. "After all she didn't get anything that we didn't already know? We needed more time with him."

"Unfortunately that's all you are getting Commander." The man said. "We broke protocol just by telling you of his existence let alone give you access to him."

"You seem to be forgetting that you're the one who came to me for help in this matter. I am only doing what needs to be done."

"Well you have what you needed and I hope you are satisfied, because that is all the help you will be getting from us."

What help? He wanted to retort. His department had been tied down in the chains of bureaucracy ever since this case had fallen into his lap. But he had a more pressing question.

"What aren't you telling me?"

The man weathered his gaze calmly.

"Have a good night commander." The man turned on his heels to exit the room.

"And you will knock the next time you want to enter my office." Ryuren fired a parting shot at the man.

The man paused for a moment before walking out without another word.
Chapter end notes: Well chapter 2 guys.... don't forget to leave a review.
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