A Fox in the Hen House

The yakuza thug who patrolled near the pool hated working for Gouki Kageyama. In fact, the entire Kageyama family creeped him the hell out. Back in the day, the grandfather, Reiji, was one of those old honor among thieves types, believing in the rules of criminal enterprise. But he had always seemed a little too intense as well. The thug remembered a night similar to the night he currently patrolled on, when Reiji reigned. A group of prostitutes had been brought to the house for what the thug had assumed was a party. Except the prostitutes had never left. He knew. His job was to watch the house. Several pale faced men who looked like they would never be the same left, but no girls.

He didn’t ask questions. It wasn’t his job to ask questions.

Gouki was worse, though. With Reiji you generally knew the lay of the land. But after Gouki’s father disappeared, then the grandfather got a bullet in the heart, Gouki’s baser instincts were allowed to flourish. The past eight years had felt unstable. Too much reliance on demons and gut instinct instead of planning and procedure. Yet still, he did his job. He was loyal. He would still die for the Kageyama family.

Those were his last thoughts of the night when a fox tailed woman dropped from the roof, silently knocking him out. “Stealth attack!” she softly hissed, gleefully proud of herself as she tossed the unconscious man into the bushes.

“Hey!” Hinata heard from the door. She turned sharply and saw two more men staring at her, their hands going for their guns. Moving like lightning she leapt into the air again, darting straight at them. Before they could react she grabbed their heads and knocked them together. As the men slumped to the ground she sighed, her heart racing.

“Crap,” she said softly. Yeah, this was exciting. It was also potentially lethal. She had to remember her training. She had to keep Reo’s words in her head. Calm, focused, disciplined. Enjoy the feeling of victory when you’re safe.

Out in the tree line, watching from the shadows provided by dense branches and a darkened night, Harry and Reo waited patiently. A slight breeze which sent grass and the water behind the house rippling was the only major motion they saw.

“She’s fine,” Harry said, softly tapping his knuckles on the ground, barely even realizing he was doing it.

“Yeah,” Reo said, not moving any part of his body. He had no nervous energy. He was confident in his sister. Harry, though, was clearly nervous. Reo had to keep reminding himself the only time he had seen Hinata in combat was the Fenrir fight.

“She’s going to be found,” Harry said, his eyes moving from window to window, looking for signs of trouble. “We know too little.”

“Yes,” Reo said.

Harry stopped tapping his hand.

“And?” Harry asked, his voice strained.

“And when she is we take advantage of the massive hole she opened in their defenses,” Reo said. He only let his eyes stay on Harry for a moment before looking back to the house. Of course the plan would work like he said it would.

It had to.

In the house, Hinata was having similar thoughts as her heart raced as fast as her feet. Around another curve she nearly bumped into a guard. One quick punch sent him tumbling to the ground, and Hinata only had seconds to think as she saw another at the far end of the hall. She picked up the recently knocked out man’s gun and threw it down the hall. It smacked into the man’s head, snapping it back. “Silly me! Throwing away a gun!” Hinata said as she ran to the man, drop kicking him into the wall and leaving a crater in it. “And now I broke your wall!” she taunted. Talking was good. It kept her focused and in the moment. Her mind went back to the map she memorized, thinking of where to go next.

Outside, Harry and Reo were starting to see some motion through the windows. Brief flashes, but nothing which showed an alarm had been raised.

“Maybe…” Harry started to say, but whatever he was about to say was blown out of his head when a man was thrown through an upstairs window, landing on a bush along the driveway. Hinata appeared briefly in the widow, checking to see if the man was alive before moving along in her mission.

“Let’s give her a few more minutes,” Reo said slowly, gauging if what just happened was still within the parameters of silent and cautious. Harry nodded, standing and stretching his muscles, getting ready for the sprint to the house.

Hinata leapt down a set of stairs, kicking a man in the jaw while hitting another man with a solid fist. “Top floor done!” Hinata said. Of course she couldn’t be sure of getting all the guards, but she had certainly taken out enough to make snagging Gouki a lot easier. She only had to deal with the bottom floor, then she could signal to Reo and Harry the house was clear. Heck, she thought to herself, she might even be able to get Gouki all by herself.

No, don’t think outside your parameters, Hinata thought. You’re the tip of the spear. Be it. “Simply follow the plan,” Hinata said, pushing through a door.

Gouki Kageyama stood in the sprawling kitchen, wearing only a pair of silk boxers, a bowl of Ramen in one hand, his chopsticks in the other.

They locked eyes, as if not believing what they were seeing.

“Bitch!” Gouki shouted, immediately dropping his chopsticks and grabbing a gun on the countertop. Hinata shot to the side as bullets rang out, blasting into the door, walls and fridge as she readjusted her plan. With a crackle of energy more of her tails appeared, her human features melting away to look more kitsune. She shredded through the door on the other side of the room, emerging into a hallway where a guard was already drawing his revolver.

“Thanks!” Hinata said, raising her foot high and kicking the man in the jaw. His gun fell and she grabbed it, spinning and firing with her pinpoint precision. Gouki, however, had already taken cover behind the counter, popping up to return fire. Hinata was inches away from taking a bullet to the brain.

“Hey! Demon bitch!” Gouki shouted out as he reloaded. “You’re Reo’s sister, right? Thought you’d take me out? Bold. Gotta respect it. Is big brother and Harry here too?”

Gouki snapped his head up, getting a few shots off before Hinata returned fire. The two of them were among the best shots in Japan. Both knew it. Both knew Hinata was faster, but Gouki was more desperate, eager to take more risks. They knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses, ensuring the gun battle would remain a stalemate.

But there was one thing only Gouki knew.

“I was gonna kidnap you, you know. Trade you for the diary like a proper villain,” Gouki said, firing again until his gun was empty. While his head was up he saw what he was waiting for. He made sure Hinata heard his gun click several times as he ducked behind the counter again. Listening hard, he heard her stand. Good. He leaned back as he sat on the floor, smiling widely. Behind Hinata, as she walked into the kitchen, gun drawn and eyes forward, assuming she finally had the upper hand, she failed to notice a large figure behind her. It was huge, hairy and dressed in yakuza finery which strained under its bulk. “However, you got caught all by yourself,” Gouki said through his wicked, grinning teeth, and two great fists crashed down on Hinata’s skull.