The Yamagata Enclave

[Ryo Yamagata]

Ryo walked through the door of the massive main house of the Yamagata Enclave and through his traveling coat on the nearest chair and sat down with a heavy thud.

He was angry, furious. Father had just fussed at him about losing the trail of that ninja in Kumo, and called him a failure. Who cared that Ryo was still here doing the family business when his sister was off with her little friends from the weakling village. No matter what Ryo did, he could never please his father the way she did, and that made the rage even brighter inside him.

Ryo picked up a glass but instead of taking a sip of the liquid inside, he flung it across the room and it smashed into nearly 30 small pieces. Calm Down he told himself, It will all be over soon, even if I have to take care of it myself.

Yes, even if he had to take care of it himself, his sister will no longer be alive to force him into the shadows.

[Nicholas]

Standing outside of the massive walls bordering the compound and well hidden in the obscure alley in the evening sun, Nicholas pondered his next course of action as he eyed what was virtually a fortress. After leaving Konoha, he had made his way straight to one region's biggest port, and had burned through a lot of favors he'd been owed from his mercenary days to secure passage aboard a private vessel as a security consultant. Reflecting on it, he was glad he'd done it - much faster than a cargo or commercial vessel, it had gotten him to the Land under the Moon in only two days, placing him at least three days ahead of Akemi in his estimate. Eying the wall again, Nicholas thought about what he had heard over the past day since arriving as well as over his career. From what he remembered, the one thing that the main Yamagata house valued above all was strength, both mental and martial, and while they were incredibly skilled assassins, they weren't particularly adept at open combat. Sighing, Nicholas once again hesitated.
Yeah, it'll be damn sure to get their attention, but I'm not sure if it'll be the kind I particularly want. Just the same, though.......... I don't have the time to do this properly and confront Ryo face to face, and truth be told, this will be far more likely to impress them.
Mind made up, Nicholas shrank into the shadows, waiting for nightfall to come.

[Ryo Yamagata]

It was finally dark outside and the night training was just starting. Ryo always enjoyed watching from his porch as the newer "recruits" made fools of themselves while practicing their skills. He enjoyed laughing at others expense.

Unfortunately, none of the new recruits were messing up enough for his taste tonight, he was feeling much to restless to simply stand still. So instead, he decided to start pacing back and forth in the moonlight, sighing as he felt his anger and resentment seeping out for atleast a few moments.

[Nicholas]

Walking up the street in a straight line towards the enclave's front gate, Nicholas once again reflected on whether or not he should move forward with what he had planned, and after a second's thought, came to the exact same conclusion as before.
Damn, I don't like this. At the very least I'll hold back a bit..... apart from the fact that I don't like to kill in the first place, I don't know how Akemi would react either.
Just as he finished that thought, the four guards at the front gate noticed him and began to react after a few seconds of deliberation.
Tch. Slow AND sloppy. This shouldn't be too difficult if the rest of them are the same.
Hands blurring briefly but invisible to the guards underneath his travel cloak, Nicholas brought his right hand up to his mouth in a pinching motion once he finished the hand signs and made a spitting motion, a small glowing orange orb of pure chakra streaking straight towards and past the guards before bouncing off of the large doors behind them. Startled, the guards stopped in their tracks to look behind them at the small sphere on the ground just as it smoldered and exploded, throwing the guards forward past Nicholas, the shockwave catching his cloak for a moment and the fireball clearly visible for miles. Calmly walking forward through the now open doors, Nicholas was silhoutted by the fire all except for his active shinigan, the slit, glowing pupils giving him a demonic appearance as he didn't even flinch at the now blaring alarms.

[Ryo Yamagata]

Ryo heard the noise of the alarms and felt a cold grin spread across his face as he pulled his katana from its sheath and ran toward the Enclave gates. Finally, a way to take out his frustration, he didn't care if it was a screw up that the alarms were going off, though the smoke of a fire that was now making its way to the sky told him that it wasn't an accident or a screw up.

He was two blocks away from the gates when he spotted a silhouette of a man in the distance. Surely this was the one who broke through the gate. Ryo noted how his eyes shined in the darkness, very unnatural. The surrealism of it all chilled his blood a bit, but he refused to let it be known.

He held his katana in front of him, "Hold it there stranger. Who are you and why have you came into the homeland of my family? What business have you here?" he asked.

[Nicholas]

Catching the glint of a drawn blade out of the corner of his eye, his right arm moved to the pommel of Zanryu, the movement all but hidden from view by his cloak save for a slight ripple in the fabric. As he saw who it was, Nicholas mentally compared the mman in front of him with the images he had seen when he had looked into the name he had heard from the two assassins.
No doubt about it - it's him. Which begs the question........ why confront me directly if he hated getting his hands dirty to the point where he'd contract Akemi's hit to outside his family? I know there are more guards - a LOT more.
Face expressionless and eyes cold, Nicholas addressed Ryo.

"I have business with you, actually. If you're looking for someone to blame for the failed attempt on Akemi Yamagata's life, that'd be me. While I have no doubt I'd be able to stop any future attempts, I know full well how likely it is that I'd be there each and every time. Let me make this perfectly clear - this is not a negotiation, it is an ultimatum. You will either stop sending kill teams or I will kill you, as you seem t be the root of the problem."

[Ryo Yamagata]

Hearing his sister's name coming from the mouth of this stranger that had just infiltrated the Yamagata home-base sent Ryo's blood boiling even more. He stepped closer to the stranger, his eyes ablaze with rage, his long dark hair blowing in the slight wind.

"So my sister sends someone to attack her home instead of coming here herself? Not only is she weak, but she's become a traitor as well? I'm not surprised. Who are you?" Ryo growled.

[Nicholas]

"Don't get me wrong, she has no idea I'm here, and from what I understand, you people were the ones who drove her away. As for my name, it's not important. Stop stalling and give me your answer."

[Ryo Yamagata]

"I have no interest in bargaining with someone that I don't know." Ryo replied, and took a swing at Nicholas with his katana. He didn't know who this stranger was, he wanted to know the name of the man.

[Nicholas]

As the Ryo took a swing at him, Nicholas instantly gauged his opponent's strength. While he was obviously competent with his weapon given his clean, circular swing, Nicholas had by far more chakra, almost to the point where this man didn't even compare, and with his shinigan, Ryo's blows would never come close to touching him. Not even bothering to draw Zanryu, Nicholas flash stepped behind Ryo long before his blade occupied where he had been. From Ryo's perspective, Nicholas had simply disappeared into thin air without sound or warning and simultaneously reappeared several feet behind him without any visable strain or physical movement.
"As I said before, this isn't a negotiation, so don't refer to it as such."

[Ryo Yamagata]

Ryo growled, and swiftly turned around to where the sound of Nicholas's voice had come from. He once again held out his katana.

"I have no time for circus tricks. You are beginning to annoy me stranger, especially if you stood between my dear sister and her timely departure." Ryo hissed.

He let his mind calculate to how much chakra he would need to use a wind cutter jutsu of some sort along with his katana to attack the stranger. Deciding that it was worth the attempt, he ran at Nicholas again, this time striking out with his katana only enough to send wind currents from it in Nicholas's direction.

[Nicholas]

Chakra blades clearly visible due to his shinigan, Nicholas raised his hand and batted the wind blades while simultaneously running raiton into his hand for a Lightning Palm, the lightning style chakra completely dispelling the wind release. To Ryo it would have simply appeared as if Nicholas had merely swatted the attack aside without effort.
"This is your last chance. Either you agree to call off your vendetta or I deal with you here and now." Nicholas calmly stated, coldly eying his opponent.

[Osamu Yamagata]

"What is the meaning of this?" Osamu asked, appearing at the side of Nicholas and Ryo. He held the palm of his hand on his weapon as he stood there, sure of himself and his abilities. He had demanded an answer.

He saw the tension in Ryo's body language, and knew that he was about to make a move. Osamu glared at his son, it wasn't proper for a Yamagata to get so carried away with emotions. A true clansman knew how to hold onto their emotions and stifle them if need be.

"Stop Ryo." Osamu ordered, "That is no way to treat our unexpected guest."

[Nicholas]

While he didn't take his eyes off of Ryo, Nicholas also knew better than to ignore the other man that had just appeared out of thin air. While he wasn't quite as fast as he was, he was fast enough to be trouble if he decided to get involved, and the fact that he had managed to avoid detection was either an incredible feat, or Nicholas was getting sloppy and not paying enough attention to his surroundings. Subtly shifting his weight and stance to face both men - his right hand, movement hidden by his cloak, moved to Zanryu's handle but didn't draw, instead waiting for the other two to move first.

[Ryo Yamagata]

Ryo had been ready to make another move to attack Nicholas, even after his father showed. However, once his father ordered him to cease, Ryo knew that it was best to not go against his father's wishes. So instead of attacking, he put his katana back in its sheath, keeping his eyes on Nicholas.

"Yes Father." Ryo stated, clearly not happy about having to give in.