We were two men short since Gabriel was down for the moment and Tai was doing the juggling act of being Jia's saiko-kimon and being a concerned partner to Gabriel. He didn't want to leave either side, but more often then not, Tai knew where his loyalties laid and stood beside Jia. After all, one of our codes is, the oyabun comes first. Friends, family, even love all take a back seat to Jia's needs, demands and commands. It's why we all lived standing on our toes, ready to snap into action whenever Jia says so. Anyway now that Jia knew for sure that Xiao Tsing owned that restaurant, it was up to us to get him out into the open. The North Star offered their own hand in it but Jia was use to us handling it. He tried to use them for their knowledge and knock down the language barrier. Kurid seemed to be annoyed the most by not being used. He complained to Kumo constantly that Jia should have his services used to the best of their advantage. Kumo would calm him down, tell him to relax and say Jia knew what he was doing. Which was true, though sometimes none of us had even so much as a clue as to what Jia was doing. Like I said before, there is a method to Jia's madness. Kurid had to shut up and take it because power wise, Jia outweighed, out matched and out powered Kumo with ease so his complaints fell on deaf ears. The rest of the North Star however, understood how Jia functioned and didn't really do anything.

Jia held a meeting in the lobby before sending us out to work, the North Star there as the Owners of the Game stopped in. Xiao Tien flicked some hair away from his perfect doll like features as he said,

"Sorry to interrupt. Just wanted Jia to know we were heading over to New York."

Toki smirked as he said,

"You can interrupt any time China Doll."

"Flirt."

"One of the best."

Xiao Tien gave him a wink as Jia said,

"You finished here?"

"Yes, our affairs are in order. Your money should be here tomorrow." Toshimasa said.

Jia nodded as he exhaled smoke from his mouth as he said,

"You two call if you need anything. When you gonna be back in Tokyo?"

"Not until at least the end of the month. Maybe a week into the new month." Said the China Doll.

Jia nodded again as he said,

"All right. I'll see you two soon."

Xiao Tien kissed Jia on the cheek, Jia allowing it as Toshimasa bowed his head. The two then bowed their heads to Kumo and then left. Kumo watched them go as he said,

"The gimp is cute."

"Toshimasa is...everything." Said Jia with a smile.

"Call him Totchi for short. He blushes." Said Toki.

The trio gave a slight, evil sounding laugh as Jia laughed slightly and then said,

"Okay, back to work. The thing I want done now, is getting Xiao Tsing to emerge from wherever he's slinking around. Now that we have someone that actually speaks the language, it should be easier to get around."

"What about the Yuuki twins?" Asked Akio.

"Well they know the language obviously, but the North Star knows it better."

Kumo nodded, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his pierced ear and said,

"We're also more discreet about who we are so we can get into this restaurant with ease Jia."

"Ah yeah, I was gonna say that. Kumo, who would you consider your best?"

"Best in what? Aim? That's Haku or Kurid. Brains is Neesa. Being all around pretty that's Inamie."

"Pheesh, Aya's prettier." Said Toki.

Aya gave a slight smile as Jo and Aoki looked at Pretty Aya. Inamie didn't seem phased by the comment as Jia nudged him and said,

"I meant aim wise."

"Yeah that's these two."

He gestured to Kurid and Haku as Jia said,

"Okay, we'll pair them with my two best killers. Aoki, Toki, you two will go in and pretend to have dinner. When we give a signal, you all leave."

"Why leave Jia?" Said Aoki as he removed the cigarette from his mouth.

"Just to be careful. Besides, we'll have the others checking in to see if Xiao Tsing is in there at the moment."

Aoki nodded as he said,

"Waste of your best don't you think?"

"Not really. In case anything should happen all of you can take care of yourselves."

Aoki nodded as Jia then dismissed us.

Toki, Aoki, Kurid and Haku went on their assignment. Jo and myself, along with Floran and Kumo sat in a car across the street from the restaurant about half an hour later after the first four went into Kowloon. I sat in the car beside Jo as Jo smoked, the window down slightly as Floran leaned over in the space between Jo and myself and said,

"How many of those you smoke?"

"I don't know. Never counted."

"You know that's unhealthy."

Jo turned from the window as he looked at Floran as he said,

"What are you the surgeon general?"

Floran shook his head slightly as he said,

"I'm just letting you know."

Jo inhaled, held it for a moment before exhaling in Floran's face as he said,

"Thanks."

Floran coughed slightly, his eyes clenched up from when Jo blew smoke at them as he then waved his hand back and forth in front of his face as he leaned back next to Kumo. Kumo only laughed slightly. We could see as Aoki and Toki sat with Kurid and Haku, having drinks, not one plate of food with them.

"Idiots. What kind of people go to a restaurant to just order drinks." Said Jo.

"Haku eats...so does Kurid. I'm surprised they haven't." Said Kumo.

When a waitress came by, she set a plate down in front of Kurid as Toki lit a cigarette and then picked up his glass again. We watched them for close to an hour until Jo said,

"You think we should get them now?"

I nodded as Jo took out his cell phone as Floran took out his so we texted them from the car. As Jo did, I saw a car pull up in front of the restaurant, blocking my view inside. I sat up slightly, looking around Jo to try and catch glimpses of whoever just arrived. Though by the looks of the car, it was probably Xiao Tsing. Kumo sighed in annoyance as he said,

"Where are they?"

I was about to step out of the car and look for myself when we all caught the sound of glass breaking, people screaming and gun shoots going off. Jo instinctively reached into his coat, withdrawing his .38 the light from the street lamp catching the metal of the barrel, shining brightly for a moment like a star in a black velvet sky. I had my own gun in hand as Floran almost dropped his cell phone from the sudden noise before he reached into the back of his coat and withdrew his own weapon. Kumo stayed concerned, looking out the window as Jo said,

"Where the fuck are they?!"

It was then that I saw the car door from the other car across the street closest to us shatter in a spider's web as blood dripped from it. Toki was skidding across the hood of the parked car, gun in hand as the back door opened and a body fell out, Aoki climbing over it as Kurid ran around the back of the car, while the passenger side door opened and another body fell out, Haku climbing over that as the four of them saw and Jo turned his attention to the car and started it up. Kumo and Floran moved over as Toki opened the door and got in, almost climbing on Kumo as Aoki was not too far behind him. Haku yelled for Kurid to in before him as he then slammed the door behind him. Toki cursed as I got out of the car and slammed the door, telling Jo to go ahead. I was not about to leave Haku alone in a situation like this. As the car sped off, Haku saw me, his false gold eyes shining as his white hair blew in the breeze as he said,

"Why'd you get out?"

I pointed behind him as more of Xiao Tsing's men began clamoring out of the restaurant.

"You think you could handle all them on your own?"

He looked over at them and then at me as I stepped back into the doorway of another establishment as I called Akio. Akio was suppost to be inside that resturant, looking for information with Aya beside him. With those two, no one really stood a chance in resisting them anything they asked for. His line rang for a moment as Haku joined my side as Akio finally answered.

"Yeah?"

"What's going on?"

"I don't know all hell broke loose."

"We were trying to give them the signal to get out."

"Wait, let me see if I can find out what's going on."

I heard him moving around, faint noise in the background as he said,

"Xiao Tsing is here. He recognized them and he sent his people after him."

"That coward. Where is he now?"

"Not sure. His girls say he would be here but since he left......oh wait."

He paused for a moment as I heard Aya talking. After a minute, Akio said,

"Aya said he only came in, saw them and left."

"I didn't even see him."

"Where are you?"

"Across the street in the shadows."

"Are you alone?"

"No, I got Haku with me. Everyone else left."

"Good. It'll be easier to get out later."

"Where are you and Aya?"

"In Xiao Tsing's quarters upstairs. His girls let us in."

He then switched over to Japanese as he said,

"Damn females were stupid enough to believe we worked for him."

"Where's Aya?"

"Going through his things. I'm keeping a look out."

"Ah. When do you two plan on leaving?"

"Let me find out."

He asked Aya as I heard him saying he was done and then said,

"Okay we're on our way out. Meet us at the subway about a block away from here."

"Hai."

I hung up and looked at Haku as I said,

"The subway."

He nodded as we both used the cover of night and our nonchalant way of walking to get to the subway. As we went down the steps, Haku said,

"You're quiet."

"I know."

The way Haku begin to fidget reminded me of Toki. He even had the white hair though Toki's bangs were just white, not his whole head. Haku began to shift weight from one leg to another as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, then removed them and pulled up the sleeves of his shirt and then crossed his arms only to stuff his hands back in the pockets. He began to rock himself slightly as we waited until Akio and Aya finally showed up. Both looked their usual selves, Akio wearing his black suit, fedora tilted to the side, dark chocolate brown hair falling over his shoulders, all of it healthy, thick, the ends all even. He ran his hand over the lapel of his coat as he walked in front of us, Aya not too far behind him. His shorter caramel hair framing his face, long lashes curving towards the sides of his eyes, his black suit cut to frame his slender body as he wore an off white silk button down shirt underneath, open to expose his throat and collar bones. Haku was staring at him, I could tell as I turned my head to face him only to see his eyes stuck on Aya. Akio then said,

"We should go."

"Did you get anything?"

"A lot of shit."

The train arrived a few moments later as we got on and waited out the ride back to Jia's building.

Once had returned, Jia and Kumo were relieved to see us. Kumo even cupped Haku's face in his hands as he scolded him like a child who had disappeared for a while. Haku apologized as Jia said,

"You three find anything?"

Akio opened his coat as he removed a folder from it as he handed it to Jia. Jia opened it as Akio said,

"States what Kaoru owned, business wise which isn't much, but still enough to keep them hidden. Xiao Tsing now owns it because Kaoru left it to Mei Ling, Mei Ling left it to Xiao Tsing. Domino effect."

Aya then said,

"He moves around a lot which is why it's hard to pin him down. Unlike Kaoru who was well hidden, this guy keeps walking around to not draw attention to himself."

Jia closed the folder as he said,

"It's working."

He gave the folder to Tai as Kumo then said,

"The only thing I can think of to do is just to have a round of our people on constant look out in each part of Hong Kong."

Jia nodded as he said,

"And that's exactly what we're going to do."

Jia didn't want any of us or the North Star to do this kind of work, mostly because he didn't want to spare us in case something bigger should come up and because he knew that Tai was anxious to see Gabriel again. Though I have no idea how he even managed to read that from Tai since as always Tai was drowning in his work. Kumo sent his own lower heads out to finally do some work as Jia had his lower heads do the same. He said the rest of us could go home or just wait around until something happened. None of us left. Kumo and Jia went upstairs to work as Tai went to the hospital. The rest of us stayed in the lobby. Aoki, Toki and Akio took up the largest sofa, Akio took off his hat as he ran his fingers through his hair, Toki sat in the middle and put his feet up on the table, Aoki sat on his other side, one foot up as he lit a cigarette. Aya sat on the arm of the sofa closest to Aoki as Jo sat near Akio. I sat on the smaller seat with Jun, who had finally reappeared from seeing how Gabriel was doing. Inamie sat on the love seat, legs crossed, legs bared as Neesa and Floran managed to sit in the smaller sofa on their own. Kurid sat beside Inamie as Haku sat on the arm of the seat. Jun yawned as he had before as Aya rested his foot carefully between Aoki's legs, his thigh near Aoki's face as he sat there, looking bored but beautiful. Aoki rested his hand on his lover's leg, every now and then running his hand up and down the smooth material of Aya's dress pants. Jo was sitting on the other side, coiling and twisting dark strands of red into place, bangs already falling around his face as Akio watched him do it. Toki lit another cigarette as he then announced,

"I'm bored."

"We all are." Said Jun.

"This blows. I wanna do something."

"Or someone." Said Akio.

The trio laughed as Jo finished up and said,

"We'll probably do something later on tonight."

"What's your rush anyway?" Said Kurid.

Toki sat up as he looked over at him as he said,

"Aint no one talkin to you boy. Mind your manners."

"I ain't no fuckin boy."

"All the same, mind your fuckin business. Ain't no one talkin to you."

He was about to say something else but Inamie stopped him with a firm grip to his hand. Jun yawned again as I tucked a stray lock behind my ear as I began toying with the hoops in my ear. I had two holes in each lobe, one was always kept in place by my usual pair of earrings and then a smaller stud in the other. I toyed with the round metal now in my ear, turning it slightly, making sure the back didn't fall by keeping my thumb back there. After a while, Aoki, Toki, Akio and Jo had all lit cigarettes, Aya taking the occasional puff from Aoki's as we all sat there, feeling bored. After sometime, I saw Floran had fallen asleep, his head on Neesa's shoulder as Neesa himself struggled to stay awake. Inamie was still sitting up and alert but Kurid seemed to be on the verge of dozing off. My partner had eventually dozed off, his head on the back of the sofa, his hair falling from his face. Jo was slouching as he smoked, his hair falling, dangling in mid air as he held his head up with his hand. Akio had taken to toying with those loose ends, curling his fingers in them over and over again. The single act made me think of Toki who only now sat across from me, holding a cigarette in his mouth, his arms crossed as he was about to fall asleep. Toki did that to me constantly, taking longer strands of my hair, curling his fingers in them, making loose spiral curls before letting go and doing it over and over again. When I cut my hair off before, I knew he was angry with me. It was one of the things he had loved to do most. As I started growing it back, his fingers somehow found their way back among my dark hair. I had stopped in my actions of playing with my earring as I watched Akio toy with Jo's hair. I watched intently, staring for a while until I snapped back into reality suddenly. I turned away and stared off to some unknown spot as I waited.

Waiting was always the worse part. It was tormenting because none of us knew when we would move again. I found myself dozing off for a few moments, my eyes blurring every now and then. I dozed off for few moment until I felt something at my ear. I was shocked awake as I looked ahead to see Toki was absent between his space. I turned around as I saw him leaning behind me on the sofa. He smirked as he whispered,

"Saw you sleepin. Couldn't resist."

"Where you going?"

"No where. Jus came to touch you."

He got a hold of my tied up hair as he pulled me back on the sofa and made me lean my head back. He came back to my ear as he said,

"I hate when you tie your hair up."

"I can't leave it down when I work."

He licked at my ear, his teeth catching the lobe softly as he said,

"Tell me you love me."

"No."

"Stubborn Ghost."

He kissed my cheek and my ear again, his hands still in my hair as he twisted them among the dark locks. I let myself enjoy this brief gentle touch since my associates by then had fallen asleep by pure boredom alone. I closed my eyes slightly as Toki's tongue ran along the curve of my ear, his teeth clicking against the metal of the earrings he put there. I opened my eyes again as I felt his hand at my throat, right under my chin as he then said,

"Tell me."

I sighed as I turned slightly towards him and said,

"Why?"

"I wanna hear."

I tilted my head back as I whispered softly in his ear,

"I love you."

I saw him smile as he said,

"Love you too."

His hand remained in my hair as I then heard the doors opening and closing. Toki sat up and turned as he said,

"Hey Tai."

"Hi. Is Jia still around?"

"Upstairs."

Tai nodded as he went ahead. The brief conversation woke Jun up as he yawned and stretched his arms as he said,

"What time is it?"

I checked my watch as I said,

"Almost two."

He sighed again as Aya then picked his head up from Aoki's shoulder and he yawned. He then looked over at us as he said,

"Something happen?"

"Not yet."

Toki then stood up straight, tired from sitting obviously as he began to fidget. Suddenly the quiet calm that had held us all in the lobby broke as Jo's cell phone rang. While everyone who had been sleeping stirred and started checking their pockets, Jo didn't even move from his sitting position, his arm on his knee, his chin on his hand, his eyes closed. He must have been very exhausted. When it rang again, Akio nudged him and Jo almost fell from his place as he heard his phone at least and stood up to answer. He spoke for a moment as he then said,

"Okay...we'll be there soon."

He hung up as he said,

"Toshihiro called. There is a party going on in Southern Kowloon. Seems Xiao Tsing is in the middle of it if not the host."

Toki clapped, clearly pleased as he said,

"Finally."

Everyone got up, stretching, cracking bones and yawning slightly as we called Jia and Tai back downstairs.

It took a moment for Jia and Kumo to organize, Jia holding a cigarette in his hands as he gestured, lines of smoke trailing behind each hand movement as Kumo nodded and then disagreed and pointed some things out. Finally when the two in charge had enough of a plan, they dismissed us and allowed us to work.