"Yes, it will be all good." a whispered agreement made its way out of Ryouko, and she nodded weakly. But before she'd manage to pick the phone  up, it went silent. Her eyes widened with surprise (and partly horror, too). She was calling her just a moment ago... Why had she disappeared all of a sudden, then? Whatever the reason, it worried her. It was similar as with Suketsune... And though she tried to call her, there was no response at all. It went quiet.<br/>She paled, dropping the phone onto the soft rug underneath her feet. She was sure this was no coincidence anymore. "Hirashike." her lips quivered as she spoke up. "We have to go there and find him now. I'll call someone I know... He knows the woman... Says she's a Ronin and that he can trust her... I can't afford anything bad happening to him, or to you. And we'll find him." she proclaimed, bracing herself to be as strong as she could. Panic would do her no good - Suketsune needed her courage!<br/><br/>Her small white hand gripped Hirashike's, stroking its back with her thumb, and slowly raising it to press it onto her chest, where her heart was. "It doesn't lie, does it?" she asked him, her eyes glimmering with tears that she held back. "It cannot." Shaking her head, she pressed herself onto him in a tight hug, the very feeling of his warmth soothing to her. She loved his smell and she loved the touch of his body, the warmth that seeped from him, the comfort that she found in it, the safety... Great safety... Greater than other. How priceless that feeling just was to her! She'd never let go off him if she didn't have to, she'd keep him near day and night, just to know that she'd never lose him, and she'd be anything and everything he'd want, she'd love him till the end of time and would follow him to the edge of the world.<br/><br/>Only after a good while did she let go, her eyes now, instead of being filled with tears, filling with the shimmer of hope. "I don't know what I'd do without you." she whispered to him, a small smile appearing on her lips as she retrieved the phone again, and dialed a number that she knew belonged to that one-armed Ronin Suketsune had spoken to her about.<br/>There was a long silence, nothing but the tone of the dial-up echoing in the silence. Yet, after what seemed as an eternity, a voice answered.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Yah? Shiganori arms n' ammo. Who's calling?"</span>a voice on the other side spoke up.<br/>Ryouko took a deep breath. "Yamahata Ryouko calling. I've been informed by my brother that you are also available for certain services, too." she spoke up.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Yea, yea, true that. Suketsune? And what exactly d'ya need?"</span>the woman's voice replied.<br/>"Yes, Suketsune. I need someone armed to accompany me on a drive. Bodyguard."<br/><span style="font-style: italic">"Will it be far?"</span><br/>"Not really." Ryouko pursed her lips tightly, awaiting the reply.<br/><span style="font-style: italic">"I hope y'll be okay with my apprentice being sent. She ain't stupid."</span><br/>"As long as she is trustworthy..."<br/>[i]"Yah. Come in about half an hour."[i] She gave her an address to a small street in Teru Ijiri district, and shortly after, she hung up.<br/><br/>Ryouko gave Hirashike a long, deep gaze. "We should get going." she uttered then.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Drunk. Soon enough, they'd both be believably and undeniably drunk. Yutaka graced Ryu with the sound of his laughter, crow-like and rough, as he finished the bottle, slamming the empty glass cylinder upon the table. He laughed, a lot, his poisonously yellow eyes narrowed, and he eyed both Yenay and Cui. Cui was more attractive, that much was for certain, yet at the same time, she was conservative and boring. Yenay was a small thing, childish, almost impossible to distinguish from your ordinary child; but she was a wild thing, too, and as much as she was crazy, Yutaka adored unpredictability. Especially when he was drunk, what didn't take much; he only took a bottle of a stronger drink to get himself into merry spirits, and that was why he tended to avoid alcohol lest he had a certainty that he'd not get into any serious business after drinking. Then, he allowed it to overrun his systems, and make him run wild and free, without bounds.<br/><br/>His smirk widened as he eyed Yenay, creeping up at her from the back, a bottle in hand. His other arm curled up around her shoulders without any warning, and all of a sudden, he hefted her up, his strong hands gripping her like iron. "You want some drinks, little thing?" he questioned her, tilting his head aside, and running the tip of his tongue across his lips. He turned on his heel, very near spilling sake on her and the floor alike, and would carry her over, towards the remaining bottles, where he'd set her down onto the board of the table, unless she'd wriggle out of his grip like a weasel.<br/>"Don't be afraid of me, little ting," he purred. "Don't be afraid."<br/>Every single one of the women of Scarlet note could be his. No one would deny such a claim...<br/><br/>----<br/><br/>Nodding in agreement, Yukio looked the man over, placing the pipe between her lips once more, and releasing a cloud of smoke through her nostrils, as if she was a bull of sorts. "'Ery well. Anyway, y'can take a look round the basement for what I got, and I'll check your weapons over. Specify whatcha want inside, I've got a full arsenal inside. Recently I got a new load of blades, sharpened 'em, corrected the balance, removed e'ery unnecessary bullshit n' with some I changed the hilts. They look simple, but ya won'f find anythin'  that slices stuff better than those. Or... If yer more into ranged weapons, I got all from shotguns n' tazers to miniguns, sniper arms n' large riffles. Everything from stuff small enough to stuff down your boot to huge shit." Waving her hand, gripped around the pipe, in the air, she gave him a relaxed half-shrug, and led him into the shop.<br/>It had been unnaturally clean since she took that girl in. Almost disturbingly so, though her own room remained a den messier than that of a bear. Nothing illegal was to be seen in the front of the shop, no explosives or questionably-adjusted arms. What was good... If the police ever entered, they'd find nothing of suspicion and would never accuse Yukio of cooperation with gangs. Off course, that would mean that the aforementioned policemen would have to enter the shop first, and that was unlikely!<br/><br/>She nodded to the girl, too. "Good. Bring it n' plug it in. I'll need both hands, we gon' have work now. Yah, just do what he asks to, he's got some crap he needs to check n' adjust." she waved her hand at the matter, and proceeded to walk through the shop to the centre. Everywhere hung guns and blades in neat racks, placed upon the walls and standing on shelves; and everything inside this shop had the potential to kill you if you wielded it right. Yukio could wield all of it. Not a single weapon in here didn't come through her hands to improve it - though some of them had unconventional designs or appeared odd in themselves, it was all for the better. Hers were the superior arms, and there were few equal to them.<br/>"Take a look and take yer pick, but no touchin' without permission. I got some rare stuff in here." she reminded the man, making her way over to the counter instead. At Rose's inquiry, she just shook her head. "Nah. Not yet. Gotta do this work first, or... Dependin' or what he has, yes or no." she dismissed the request. That flamethrower, a monstrosity that could cook a man alive in less than a second, could be delivered later in the evening. Not like that dude would need it at this instant.<br/>Then, the ringing sound of the phone that she had placed on the counter, broke her from the thoughts. The number that was displayed there was unknown to her, and she picked up hesitantly, giving her usual laxly official greetings.<br/>The voice that answered sounded like a child, though she could have sworn she heard it somewhere. When the girl introduced herself as Yamahata Ryouko, the pieces clicked together - she was that wailing kid that was all the time on the radio, off course! Sort of annoying, but her brother was of the better sort. And the call was short. A bodyguard service... Well, she had work that needed doing - she'd have to send Rose.<br/><br/>Stepping away to walk over to the young woman, and for once ignoring the awful thing she was wearing, Yukio placed her heavy, hard hand onto her shoulder. "Rose child, pack your crap. I got a job that ya need to do. Bring the guns n' all and go wait out, cause I need you to accompany an Ishimaru noble kid as a bodyguard. Don't ya dare screw up." she warned her, a half-playful glimmer in the eye.