A sneaky Suspicion (Darkmaster please ^^)

Kaiyo glanced up slowly at Tatsu quite literally flew through the doors. The girl clenched her fists tightly as the man responsible entered. Even when he just noticed her, the girl slowly rose up to her feet, just about ready to beat the living daylights out of the bugger when Kuro entered. The girl's head whipped around as Kaiyo waited, motionless for a moment to see how Kuro would react. He seemed more occupied with the chase at hand, and making sure they were fine. The short blonde girl was a bit lost in all the confusion. Termination of posts or exile...This was clearly a bit more serious than Kaiyo had realised.

The girl took her moment to run. Pushing off her back foot as she swept Tatsu up in a smooth motion, flinging him over her shoulder with as much care as her speed would allow. The girl skidded around, diving through the door she had entered in. This is the real speed part, and easily the most fun. Kaiyo began a steady sprint along the hallway, calling over her shoulder to Tatsu as they moved. 'I'd let you run, but you're pretty beaten up, hope ya don't mind' Kaiyo didn't want Tatsu to get more injured, and forcing him to peg it down the halls probably wouldn't help his condition. That, and if Kuro didn't already kill him, the Captain would be paying a special visit to those unlucky squad members who had attacked the intruder so violently.

Kaiyo could hear the pattering of footsteps heading towards them. Stopping at the moment might just meant Tatsu would gety more injured. Instead the girl carried on running, speeding up even. Right before she reached the corner, the girl continued straight. Jumping off the end wall as she flipped straight over the group. Moving too quickly for their brains to register a chase. Kaiyo kept a steady hold of Tatsu as she did so, spinning on the ball of her foot as she landed, carrying on her sprint down the hall. The group followed just moments after. Not that they had a hope in hell of catching up. Shouting a cheering after the pair in a meagre attempt to catch up.

Kaiyo slipped slightly around the next corner, leaping straight over a group of bodies she'd disposed of earlier. The girl landed silently, keeping low as she kept her movements fluid. Kaiyo rounded the last corner, just inches from a hiding attacker, the girl sidestepped around him with seeming ease. Spinning straight past as she flung open the door leading to the garden. Kaiyo shot through it, leaping high into the air as she hit the out-doors. Her image instantly fading as she flash stepped to a nearby rooftop. Placing Tatsu down on the flat roof gently as she sat down next to him. 'Kuro should be along soon' she smiled. Feeling the tinge of guilt tread along her spine as she looked at the guy, Kaiyo crossed her legs and eyed the guy up and down as she spoke. 'So...Who beat you up so badly?' she said with a faint smile, though there was a serious tone of her voice, because Kaiyo didn't like it.

While Kaiyo was busy getting Tatsuya out of the estate, Kuro waited in front of the barred doors. They began to rumble as Raiden and other members started to try and force them open. The banging and shouting was suddenly paused as a kido blast on the other side of the doors blasted them apart with a sound akin to thunder. Kuro calmly stood up again as Raiden stepped through, this time backed by what seemed to be at least a score of squad 2 members.

"You can try to fight us all Captain, but it would only be a long and pointless struggle that would end with your inevitable defeat." Raiden warned as the members swarmed forward and surrounded Kuro. Kuro himself didn't move, but instead smiled with a cocky grin.

"I greatly disagree. You underestimate my skills. But even if I were to lose, I would take pride in seeing the squad working as it should again to achieve that goal."

Raiden scoffed at Kuro's pretty words. He seemed bothered by the way that Kuro never seemed to be overly phased about anything and always found a way with words to bring about some sort of positive result for him. Kuro's grin widened to further taunt him. The onmitsukido leader raised his hand and called the order for the squad to attack.

Kuro reacted quickly as he met fighter after fighter. They were extremely well coordinated, never attacking with more than two at a time to stay out of each other's way. The way Kuro saw it, it was a lose-lose situation for them. If they tried to overwhelm him, their teamwork would suffer as they became overcrowded. On the other hand, as they were attacking now with two at a time, Kuro's hand-to-hand capabilities were more than enough to deal with them. He fought defensively, only shoving and throwing his adversaries away from him as they advanced, not wanting to hurt them. He was, after all, still their captain and was only buying time for Kaiyo and Tatsuya to escape. The battle did not last long before a loud and tired voice shouted out over the sounds of the squabble.

"That is enough! Everyone stand down!"

Hobbling through the doors that Kaiyo had escaped through was a short old man that Kuro had met on one previous occasion. He was one of the elders of the Shihoin family and as such, one of their top decision makers. Kuro and every shinigami in the room immediately stopped what they were doing and dropped down on one knee as the elder took a seat in one of the grand chairs at the end of the room. He beckoned Kuro forward and immediately dove into a proposition as Kuro came closer.

"I'm surprised by some of the reports I have received today Captain Akarui. Even more so by what I just walked in on. But your record prior to this day has been an outstanding display of loyalty and servitude to our family and squad. In light of that, I am willing to let you speak and present your reasons for your actions. Any further decisions may be influenced by what I hear."

Kuro bowed low and smiled with his face facing the floor. This noble was different. Perhaps his age was what made him smarter and humbler than the others. In any case, Kuro now had a chance to talk his way out of this. But first, he had to lean things in his favor by appearing to fully cooperate.

"Sir, I would like to leave for a moment and bring those who intruded upon your house today back here with me. I know who they are and can explain everything once all confusion is cleared up."

The elder seemed mildly surprised by Kuro revealing that he knew the intruders, but not as much as one would expect. Kuro figured that he had suspected as much already based on Kuro's actions. He weighed the options silently for a minute before replying.

"Very well captain, I'll trust you. Bring me the intruders and we can resume our discussion."

"Thank you sir." Kuro bowed again and took off past a bewildered Raiden and shunpoed out of the room. He dashed back through the estate and made his way to where Kaiyo and Tatsuya were outside. Appearing out of a shunpo right in front of them, he quickly explained the new development.

"I need you two to come back inside with me. One of the heads of the family has agreed to let me speak on our behalf if I bring you two back. I already have a plan and I need you guys to trust me. I just ask that whatever I say, don't overreact and say anything to contradict me."

Kuro faced the estate again and took a deep breath before heading back inside.

Tatsuya was still conscious despite the knee to his head, but just barely, a testament to his durability. He watched as Captain Akarui stepped between Raiden and himself. "Hmph, saved by the captain again." He thought before blacking out. He regained consciousness when he was picked up by Captain Kaiyo, but only because of the pain it caused. Tatsuya could barely tell when Captain Kaiyo was running, all he could feel was the air breezing across his face. "Yeah...sure," Tatsuya commented weakly at Captain Kaiyo's comment to run while carrying him, before blacking out once again.

Once they were on the roof top he began to regain consciousness as he was placed on his back. Tatsuya smiled back up at Captain Kaiyo as she commented about Captain Akarui showing up. "I think...it was...the entire...2nd squad...and...omnitsukido," Tatsuya exaggeratedly commented at Captain Kaiyo's question, panting heavily. "I...wouldn't...get too mad...I think...I had it...coming.....After all...I took...a hostage...and...accidentally...saw...a young female...noble...while bathing." Tatsuya laughed weakly at his own statement causing more pain to develop.

Tatsuya saw the captain appear in front of them, explain the new development, and disappear just as fast. "He...doesn't need...to worry...about me...speaking up.....I'm more worried...of blacking out...again." He stated at Captain Kaiyo. "Though...I will need...your help...getting back there.....If you...don't mind."

Kaiyo glanced up slowly just as Kuro appeared next to them, opening her mouth to protest just as he vanished again. The girl lowered her head and sighed. Flicking her wrist around as she untied her headband, letting her golden blonde hair drape back down onto her shoulders as she tied it back around her forehead, in it's usual place. Great, just great. If it was a noble, he's know who Kaiyo was, and he'd more than likely make some comment about her appearance. Granted, Kaiyo wasn't even wearing her white Haori, but the blue vest top and bracelets didn't help her appearance. Though technically she was wearing the correct uniform, just with a few added extra's.

The girl glanced down to Tatsu, smiling politely as she rose to her feet. Running the back of her neck as she looked across the rooftops. 'We might not wanna mention you did that then' she giggled lightly, leaning down to gently rise Tatsu up to his feet. Seriously, that hadn't been very good at being sneaky if they'd caused so much damage. Kaiyo smiled, 'Then again...I knocked one of the nobles out' she laughed more heartily this time. Lifting Tatsu's body easily onto her back. Piggyback time! 'Don't fall off' she added, stepping carefully onto the edge of the roof. Nobles and kaiyo didn't mix so well, they were usually all about formalities. It wasn't that Kaiyo doubted Kuro's ability to talk their way out of it, it was more the matter of Kaiyo stopping herself from talking. It was a habit of hers.

The Captain let out a heavy sigh. Making sure she had a tight hold of Tatsu, she vanished. Flash stepping quickly next to Kuro. Kaiyo didn't see any point in taking her time. The girl eyed up the old man for a second, not saying a word. Just like Kuro had asked. Kaiyo lowered Tatsu onto his feet, helping the guy stand and keeping her arms around him so he didn't fall. Kaiyo leant closer to Tatsu, smiling re-assuringly at the guy as she spoke in a hushed tone, 'You okay?' Well this would be interesting.

Tatsuya laughed at Kaiyo's comment of knocking out a noble. It wasn't long after Tatsuya was on Captain Kaiyo's back that there were back in side the center complex. He looked around at all the guards and then the elder sitting down. He was having a bit of trouble standing even with Captain Kaiyo's help, but at least he wasn't breathing heavily. He looked up to the elder.

"Pardon me Elder-sama. I know I don't have the right to speak here, but I have a small request." Tatsuya spoke weakly.

"And what might that be?" The elder asked in an annoyed tone.

"I only ask if I might be able to sit down. As you can see I haven't had the most pleasant of days." Tatsuya stated politely.

"Granted. Now lets continue." The elder stated in the same tone. Tatsuya didn't say anything after that, he only sat down next to Captain Kaiyo, grunting as he made it to the floor.

Kuro bowed again, showing proper respect to the elder. He took a deep breath again and started to give a false explanation for the day's events.

"As I'm sure you can recognize the girl, the intruders today were not strangers, but Kaiyo-taichou and a new member of our own 2nd squad. The guards who encountered him today did not recognize him because of his recent acceptance into our squad and the only other time they have met him was in the dark of night on squad 2's grounds."

Kuro's story was true so far, but now he had to tweak the details in order to bring about the best result. The elder's earlier comment about Kuro's good record had given him an idea.

"The intrusion today was purely my fault sir. It was non other than a training exercise for my newest squad member to practice his infiltration skills. I asked Kaiyo-taichou to accompany him in order for him to have a quick and experienced teammate along with him while he carried out the exercise. I did not stop to think of the panic that intruders in a noble estate would cause. I am sorry for that."

The elder seemed to believe Kuro's story so far, but it did not stop him from asking questions about the details he did not understand. "Why did you send a new member into such a dangerous exercise knowing what could happen to him if he got caught?"

Kuro had expected a question like this. "Because sir, I did not believe that my squad members would behave in the manner they did. I thought that even if my member was discovered, he would be neatly detained and brought before me. I must say my expectations were disappointed competely."

"Why did you take the actions that you did to carry on the exercise when things went wrong? Why knock out a crowd of guards and let the injured member go further into the estate?"

Kuro lightly smiled. The elder was indeed a wise man, having seen through Kuro's trick earlier. "I chose to act as I did to teach my squad members a lesson for the way they behaved. The brutal and violent behavior they have shown today goes completely against the traditions and honor of this squad and the Shihoin family we serve. Their actions today make them look no better than the barbarus members of the 11th squad." No offense Kaiyo-san....

Kuro bowed low again, ending his story. The elder took many minutes to mull over the explanation. Kuro only hoped that his praise on the Shihoin family's honor and his own service to the squad could pull off a miracle here. He held his breath as the elder began to speak again.

"I have thought it over, and I see no reason to make this more than what it should be. You three can go now. But Akarui-taichou, please remember in the future to respect the Shihoin estate for its class and conduct your exercises elsewhere. I'll have to talk about this with the other family heads to see if they wish to add anything else. I'll contact you if more is needed. Thank you."

"No sir, thank you." Kuro bowed down on one knee again before standing up and helping Tatsuya to his feet. He stayed silent on the way out of the estate, dreading the reaction he'd here from Kaiyo when they got out of the Shihoin grounds about his snide remark about her squad members.

Kaiyo moved her arms to her side when Tatsu sat down, the girl's short attention span lead to wandering eyes as Kuro began to explain. The girl took a long look at the noble in front of them, as usual, Kaiyo's first thought was, 'I could take him'. The girl glanced backwards over her shoulder, her eyes flickering past that of Kuro's subordinates. They looked either very disgruntled, confused or just pretty dead. Though so far, the story seemed to be paying off.

Kaiyo's head whipped forwards when her brain registered Kuro's remark. She just couldn't hold back the snort of laughter. A momentary silence followed as people took just a second to glare at Kaiyo. Of course, the barbaric 11th squad would more likely have just stapled their heads to every door rather than act with even a shred of consideration. The girl turned her head slowly to Kuro as he began talking again, glaring at the guy for a good while until the old man gave his verdict. Kaiyo scoffed in annoyance at the man's answer, turning on her heels as she muttered quietly, 'Arrogant twat' the girl stormed straight out. Not bothering to show the man any shred of respect, Kaiyo halted for a second, right before the door. A small smirk appearing on her face as she glanced back over her shoulder, 'You might wanna work on the training you nobles are gettin too, because your academy students are way too easy to knock out'. It was a bit rude true, but that was the polite version of what she wanted to say.

Kaiyo's image vanished in an instant. Picking up Tatsu without even stopping, the pair landed right outside the estate. Kaiyo let go of Tatsu gently as she called after Kuro. 'Well at least we know what the second squad think of my Barbaric fighters now!' she snapped. Her anger not hidden even a little bit. Kaiyo was usually used to it, people made assumptions about both her and her squad all the time, she'd just always guessed Kuro hadn't.

Kuro's face turned immediately apologetic. He turned to face Kaiyo and planted his body to the ground in a deep bow with his hands and face lowered all the way to the floor. He knew that his words would have this effect, and was regretting having had to use them to escape the prior situation.

"Please forgive me Kaiyo-san. You should know from the time we've known each other that I don't assume anything about anyone. Your squad and you especially are nice people, just with different opinions and interests than the rest of us. I am sorry that I had to use such an ugly sterotype in order to save my own skin. I hope that you can forgive me and learn to trust me again in the future."

Kuro knew that Kaiyo's anger was not misplaced. He deserved whatever anger she exuded and would probably lose her friendship over this turn of events. But even as these thoughts blew through his mind, he found time to also wonder just how pathetic he must look to Tatsuya as his humility caused him to bow to Kaiyo like this.

It wasn't long after Tatsuya sat on the ground when he passed out. It's not like it was on purpose. It was just that the beating he received from the squad and the head guard had finally caught up with him. He never even noticed when Captain Kaiyo picked him up and traveled outside, or when Captain Akarui bowed down to Captain Kaiyo. Deep in his subconscious he just wanted to be taken to the 4th squad healing center.

It raced up the back of her spine like a cold chill; guilt. In fairness, Kuro had only been in there to rescue kaiyo and Tatsu, though she would argue over whether she actually needed rescuing. He had been a good sport not to take her in for questioning at least. The girl's glare wavered as Kaiyo scratched the back of her head gently. Looking apologetically down at Kuro as she sighed. Holding her hand out to her friend to help him back up to his feet, 'Don't be silly Kuro, I'm the one who broke into your squads Noble house...With one of your squad members...Sorry about that by the way' she smiled slightly, not t be rude, just to let Kuro know it was fine.

The girl glanced back to Tatsu, 'Erm...I think he needs to get some like...Healing stuff done' she mused. Wondering if he was even still awake or not. Though with the 4th squad, comes a full report on any injured members, which meant people would ask question...Which usually meant people would realise that Kuro wouldn't be so reckless. Kaiyo shrugged it off, she'd done far worse than break into a noble house a few times, and she'd never been caught yet...Excluding today's events obviously.

Kuro picked himself up off the ground and also looked over at Tatsuya. "........Yeah, he could use some looking at. I'll take care of it. He is my responsibility after all."
Kuro slung Tatsu's limp form across his shoulders and turned back to Kaiyo real quick. "Well, we'll be sure to keep in touch. It's been a while since the second squad has engaged in such fun like today. I'm just glad that no dire consequences arose out of our entertainment."

Kuro shunpoed away with his unalert squad member, heading for the healing assisstance of the 4th squad.