By EliadS

Ibuki sat on the couch and cupped her chin in her left hand. A devious plan was hatching within her head. She rubbed her chin while looking at the floor. Tracing the plan's steps over and over again to ensure no flaws will ruin it.

"Hmm…If I do this…I'm taking a serious gamble…But If I don't I'm almost positive they'll double cross me anyway…The Yakuza aren't trustworthy…Well It's my only possible way of action…I don't have a choice I guess…" Ibuki thinks before raising her view.

She inhales deeply and stands up. She stretches and yawns audibly before walking towards her room. She climbs up the stairway with light and agile steps. Then she reaches her room and sits by her computer.

She turns it on and taps her fingers as she waits for the Windows program to load. While the PC loads Ibuki takes out a sheet of paper and black inked pen and writes down her plan while its fresh in her mind.

Two minutes later she placed the pen on the desk and skimmed through the now written plan. She rubs her chin and smiles, and then the PC's speakers emit the ever-annoying ring that signaled windows being ready. Then Ibuki turns to the screen.

Ibuki moves her mouse over her C++ programming software and activates it. She rubs her hands together and inhales deeply before beginning the tough process of programming a program. Every couple of minutes Ibuki would glance at her written plan.

3 hours later Ibuki was done with programming the little surprise she had prepared for the Yakuza. She then wipes her forehead and exhales tiredly. She rubs her eyes and yawns audibly. She now realizes she had only slept for 3 hours and curses under her breath.

"D**n I'm beat…I need to rest if I want to stand a chance in this upcoming mission. I'll just finish the last phase and go to bed." Ibuki thinks and then stretches tiredly.

Then she takes out takes the CD she took from the Yakuza and put it in her Burner CD writer. Then she opened her Easy CD creator program and copied her program into the CD-ROM.

When the process ends Ibuki smiles and takes the CD out and puts it in the box. Then she gets out of her chair and tiredly stumbles back to her bed. She tiredly lies in it before covering herself up and letting a much-needed sleep engulf her tired body and mind.

Ibuki was standing in her room; She was changing into her ninja uniform. Strapping each individual part on, from her gloves to her knee guards. Then she arms herself with her Kunai; various little flash and smoke bombs.

Then to finish her ensemble she strapped on her Katana. It was slung across her back in an angle that would make unsheathing it easy. Then Ibuki reached for her closet and put on her black trench coat.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, as her uniform and gear was completely concealed by the large coat. Then she took the CD-ROM from her desk and put it in a secret pocket in her coat.

Then she left her room and walked to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and then picked up a brush. She brushed her hair until it was smooth and then tied it into a single braid. When she was finished she held a ninja mask in her hand and shoved it into her side pocket.

Then she looked at herself in the mirror and inhaled deeply. "Here we go…Time to once again work against the clock for high stakes. Why I always get into these messes perplexes me. Oh never mind…I don't have time to ponder on this…time to get to work." Ibuki thinks and turns and leaves the bathroom.

She descends down the stairway and reaches the living room. She picks up her keys and opens the door. Then she pulls it shut and locks it. Then she begins walking towards the location of the "Drunken Samurai" Bar.

As she walks towards it she fails to notice a black Mercedes following her from far behind. Inside it sits the man she had managed to escape before. This time he is very careful to keep his distance and not attract her attention.

"This time I won't lose her…I can't…The top dogs weren't pleased…She won't spot me this time…I'll make sure of that." He thinks and holds onto the steering wheel tightly and looks forward with a determined look.

Ibuki sighs as she walks quickly. She reaches an intersection and wait until she finds a break in traffic so she can pass the crossroad.

Then her eyes narrow as she sees something in the reflection of a nearby shop window. She turns her around half way slowly. "Him again? Oh perfect! Just f**king perfect…As if I didn't have enough to worry about already." Ibuki thinks and sighs.

She rolls her eyes and looks around. She spots a perfect was to escape him and crosses the road when it's clear. She navigates through the crowded road and reaches a small side street. It doesn't have a connection to a road and Ibuki exits it and continues on her way from a different route.

Meanwhile the man in the car slams his fist against the dashboard and curses. "D**n that f**king b*tch…she did it again! I can't believe this…I can't afford to lose her this time…" He thinks and quickly turns parks his car and follows her by foot.

Ibuki hears his footsteps and curses under her breath. She looks at her wristwatch. "D**n…I'll be late unless I put a pedal to the metal…I can't afford to lose him now…I'll pick my bone with that idiot later… She thinks and begins running towards the location, the man close on her trail.

Ibuki's pace is much faster than his is, and soon he finds himself only following her running footsteps as she's far out of his sight.

Ibuki reaches the entrance to the bar. She isn't even sweating, but her breathing is a little heavier than usual. She inhales and calms herself and approaches the bouncer. He looks at her and raises a brow.

The man is a large Japanese man, he also is bald, but he has a large black dragon tattooed on his head and isn't wearing sunglasses. Ibuki scans him and concludes that he is a member of another Yakuza faction.

"Can I help you girl?" He asks her in a cold tone. "What's a little though beautiful girl like this doing here…no way could she survive the goons that are gathered here…Must be a Gaishou or just someone lost…" He thinks

Ibuki eyes him coldly "I'm here to participate in the tournament…" She says in an equally cold tone.

He eyes her curiously and shrugs "You aren't the first girl who wants a shot…tuition is 200 Yen" He says coldly. "What a stupid little girl…Well Guess the boss will have to call the morgue again…just like he will for that other girl…double carnage…I got to see this…" He thinks, very much underestimating Ibuki for her gender.

Then another voice speaks from behind him.

"She's with us…I've got her tab covered." The voice of the Dan of Yakuzas Ibuki met spoke.

The bouncer turns to him and raises a brow. "Well I'll be d**med…she's with those guys…She must be worth something after all…this might be interesting…" He thinks.

He then shrugs, before motioning to her with his hand.

Ibuki nods and complies. She then meets the Dan of Yakuzas face to face. She chuckles at all his bruises and bandages and covers her mouth as he sneers angrily. "Wise cracking little gaishou…I'll make her pay…and her stupid friends too…then I'll laugh at her corpse…yes I will." He thinks and gazes deep into her brown eyes.

"Shut up b*tch…now we've signed you in for the next battle…you better prove your worth or your friends are dead…understood?" He says coldly.

Ibuki nods "Unlike you I'm not stupid nor dense…I know what I have to do…so lay off!" She says and takes off her coat. Revealing her Ninja uniform and gear. Then she hands the trench coat to the bouncer and he puts it on one of the nearby coat racks.

Ibuki then ignores the surprised looks of the Yakuza members who recognize her now as a Shinobi. She smiles to herself "Maybe now these stupid morons will shut their mouths…Too bad I have to blow my cover…good thing I still got my mask to conceal my identity…" Ibuki thinks and stands near a large metallic cage, waiting for her calling time.

Meanwhile another figure is standing in across the crowd. It eyes Ibuki carefully and its enarrow angrily. "That's her…the one who deprived me of my glory, the one who stole away our dojo's revival. Now's my chance to even the score by crushing her and humiliating her in front of this crowd…and by that earning what was stolen from me during the Tournament…" the figure thinks and ties its Gi's black belt tightly.

Just as Ibuki takes her place in the crowd the person who has been following her enters the bar. His face is red and flushed. He pants tiredly and wipes sweat off his forehead. He pays the man and enters the bar.

He spots her and smiles tiredly "D**n she's one fast lady…but at least I caught up with her." He thinks. Then he looks around and almost chokes on his spit.

"Holy mother of God! Every Yakuza elite of the two largest Yakuza clans in Tokyo is here. Why a Shinobi warrior would participate in a Yakuza tournament puzzles me…but I have a job to do…and it doesn't include questions…so I guess I'll just lay back and enjoy the show." He thinks and sits down at a nearby table.

Then a voice speaks through a microphone. "Now ladies and gentlemen time for the first fight of out little tournament…Ibuki Versus the quick, agile, unstoppable SHIKEI! (Death penalty in Japanese.)