The Yamagata Enclave

[Nicholas]

Completely motionless, Nicholas kept his attention on both of the other men, mind racing as he tried to comprehend what possible reason the older man, obviously the clan head, could have had for calling off the attack. He had fully expected to have had a fight on his hands when he decided to storm the enclave, and that would have made perfect sense if the entire clan was involved with the assassination attempt. The other possibility, and one that was becoming stronger by the second, was that Ryo had acted on his own without alerting anyone else in the clan, and was likely acting against orders if he was willing to confront him directly to keep matters quiet. Then again, he could have simply been spoiling for a fight - he hadn't even known who Nicholas was or how he was involved with the attempt on Akemi's life until after he had mentioned it. Still motionless, Nicholas decided it would be better to wait for their reaction rather than act on assumptions.

[Osamu Yamagata]

"What is this all about?" Osamu asked, first looking at his son, then looking at Nicholas. He studied Nicholas carefully for a while, assessing him.

"What brings you here, and why have you trespassed into our territory?" Osamu asked Nicholas, his tone clearly that of someone that was use to having his questions answered.

Whoever this man was, there had to be a reason why he risked crossing into the enclave unless he didn't know this was Yamagata territory, but he had a feeling that the stranger knew exactly where he was.

[Nicholas]

Nicholas was silent for a moment, weighing his options before replying.
"That depends on your answer. Are you aware of an attempt on Akemi Yamagata's life roughly a month and a half ago? And if so, were you involved?"

[Osamu Yamagata]

Osamu was silent for a few minutes, letting the stranger's words run through his mind. There had been an attempt on Akemi's life?

"I can assure you that no move has been made against Akemi's life, not with my orders, and not from the Clan." Osamu replied, glancing at his son.

[Nicholas]

"In that case, I simply ask that you do not involve yourself, and I'll simply deal with the matter without any more outside involvement." Nicholas said, focusing his attention back on Ryo, his hidden right hand not leaving Zanryu.

[Osamu Yamagata]

"Any matter that needs dealing with inside the gates will be done by me. What makes you think that the source of an attack on Akemi comes from this clan?" Osamu asked calmly, he did not like being so easily dismissed in his "kingdom".

He once more looked over at his son, who was now ocassionally looking his way. Osamu knew the look and body language that Ryo was portraying now was that of guilt.

"If anyone within these walls has made an attempt on her life, it has been done against my wishes and will be dealt with." He finished.

[Nicholas]

"Unless you can guarantee that it will not happen again, which I do not believe given our current circumstances, I'd much rather deal with it myself." Nicholas said, still motionless. "As for how I know, the assassins themselves named Ryo Yamagata as their contractor after being captured."

[Ryo Yamagata]

Hearing the stranger name him as the one who took a contract out on Akemi's life caused a chill to go over Ryo's body. He could now feel his father's eyes on him, but he dared not look to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

Ryo had thought for sure that using outside assassins to take out his sister would keep his father from knowing of his treachery. Now the chill was overpowered by a fiery rage as Ryo's blood began to boil once again.

"He must be lying Father. I know that you forbade any of us to make an attempt on Akemi's life. Let me take care of him and make him an example to any others who would dare trespass into our territory and show you such disrespect." Ryo growled.

He once more pulled out his katana and prepared to make a move against Nicholas.

[Nicholas]

"I have no reason to lie, nor would I have any other reason for leaving the Land of Fire and traveling this far simply to slight your family and name. If anything, your reaction earlier was quite telling, even if you did not say anything directly incriminating. That being said, by all means, attack. No one will blame me if I kill you in self defense, and it will solve the problem I came here to solve." Nicholas said. Slowly tightening his grip on Zanryu, Nicholas gave no outward sign of hostility as he prepared to block Ryo's blow and counter.

[Akemi Yamagata]

"There's no need for a fight," Akemi said, making her way to where the trio stood. A few of the guards were behind her, following her as she approached.

Osamu turned to look at his daughter but did nothing to greet her, of course Akemi hadn't really expected him to. She played the situation as she would any other and regarded him with distant politeness.

"The two that were paid to assassinate me were Tsuki Kyoushu and her partner. Tsuki gave Ryo's name as the one who hired them. Though I'm sure it was some misunderstanding, right Brother?" Akemi asked, gazing once at her brother before putting her attention back on her father.

[Osamu Yamagata]

Osamu quietly studied Akemi as she made her statement. This was the first time he saw her since she was exiled from the Village. She looked even more like her mother than she did when she left. Judging by the way she carried herself in not so friendly surroundings, she had also continued with her training. He couldn't help but feel some pride in his daughter, however showing any of that would be a weakness for him. Instead, he remained silent for a few moments.

"Tsuki Kyoushu of the Kyoushu Clan? Ryo, I gave orders to everyone that no one would go after Akemi, so I will send a team to bring Tsuki and her partner here to question them myself, and if its proven that you committed the trespass that you're accused of, then you will be punished accordingly." Osamu informed.

He then turned to look at Nicholas, "I trust this takes care of the issue that brought you here?"

[Nicholas]

Briefly glancing at Akemi in slight surprise, Nicholas slightly relaxed his stance, thinking it over.
"Agreed. A word of warning, though - I will be back to deal with the root of the problem if it happens again." Nicholas said, shifting his gaze over to Ryo, shinigan still giving off an unnatural blue glow in the darkness.

[Ryo Yamagata]

Ryo's eyes widened slightly, unaccustomed to Nicholas's eyes. He'd have to do some digging to see if he could find out exactly what this guy's story was. Ryo quickly recovered from the moment of fright, only to feel a shiver once more at what his father may do to him when Tsuki and her partner surfaced.

Ryo knew that he would have to think of a plan to take care of Tsuki and her partner in order to prevent that from happening. That meant delaying his revenge against Akemi and now her friend. He felt his blood begin to simmer and forced himself to calm down.

He glared slightly at his sister as she stood there, wishing her dead with all the hatred he could muster, however he managed to push it all back and offer a smile.

"Of course Father. Akemi, its so nice to see you." He said, hoping his voice didn't sound as fake to anyone else as it did to himself.

[Nicholas]

Unseen, his hand released its grip on Zanryu and returned to his side as he relaxed. Shinigan still active, not out of tension but more out of sheer habit along with the fact that he barely registered the change in perspective or the negligable drain in chakra after almost a decade, Nicholas still didn't remove his gaze from Ryo. He'd dealt with plenty of people like this before he'd joined Konoha - while he had no doubt that while they were safe for the moment, he also didn't doubt for an instant that Ryo would make another attempt again in the near future once this incident had died down and been forgotten by most. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen for a long time if his guilt was proven, which likely would mean his first move would to be to cover his tracks and silence any witnesses or accomplices. Until he and Akemi had left, though, he'd be watched too closely to make a move, though, which meant that Nicholas had plently of time to come up with a counter, which would likely be as easy as calling in one or two more favors he was owed, or hiring someone else he could trust.

[Akemi Yamagata]

"Its nice to see you as well, Brother." Akemi replied to Ryo with a genuine smile.

"Since we have two guests with us, I'll have someone prepare a special meal. Ryo, go inform the cook of our guests." Osamu ordered, then walked toward the Clan leader's mansion.

Akemi watched as first her father walked away, and then Ryo. She caught a menacing glint in Ryo's eyes before he nodded at his father's orders and turned away from them. Akemi knew that she and Nicholas were suppose to follow her father, but she hesitated for a moment.

Instead, she turned to look at Nicholas, studying him quietly for a moment, a light smile on her face, in an attempt to hide her slight discomfort at being home once more.

"You know how to make an entrance," Akemi said, "I hadn't seen the guards in such a state since well... ever."