KnB s3's last episode was released on my birthday, and it made me feel sad, really. I suddenly felt that I owe people some KnB fanfic updates, and so here it goes!

Yay! I'm kinda inspired to get this story updated, so.

Douzo!

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Chapter 3

The path was so narrow, not to mention it has a low ceiling. Kise shoved the bartender to walk ahead so that he could follow him. The bartender did not bother to protest, with all the Cronies raiding the bar that night. As they made their escape, Kise kept on looking back, hoping that the soldiers won't see the hidden door and come after them. Their bird of prey of a leader – Kasamatsu, yes, that's her name, he thought with an amused smile – looked like a very keen person, after all.

"Where does this path lead to?" Kise asked casually, as if he hadn't been dragging the guy awhile ago.

"The river," the bartender answered, panting. "We have a small boat hidden there."

"Motor?"

"Yeah."

Kise could not hide his smile. "You're quite prepared for this, aren't you?"

The bartender chuckled despite running out of breath. "Of course. We won't lose our business so long as we don't lose our lives."

"Hah! You guys are so optimistic."

Kise peered at the narrow pathway in hopes of getting a glimpse of the view outside, but no luck. The walls soon became dank and slimy with lichen, and the ground was slippery with mud. The place smelled of salt and decay. A minute later they were of out a porthole under a stone bridge by the Industrial River, a huge tributary spanning from the mountains on the east to the ocean on the west, practically bisecting the Capitol.

The bartender glanced left and right, then jumped off the hole when the coast was clear. Kise carefully followed behind.

"Over here." the bartender beckoned him to come over a small boat tethered on a stone post. There were small boxes inside – Kise would soon learn that the boxes contained nothing but hay, disguising the boat as a merchant's cargo ferry. Merchants' boats were inspected outside the Capitol before they could pass through the river, so Cronies could only assume that this one was not used for illegal businesses.

The two men sneakily went into the boat. Kise kept on looking around in case there were Cronies patrolling nearby and were alerted about incident at the bar. The bartender turned on the engine and they made their escape downstream.

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"That was quite a commotion there," Kise said cheerily, his eyes looking back at the stone bridge where they'd left. He then glanced at the bartender, who was manually operating the ferry.

The bartender grinned from ear to ear. "Nothing new, I tell you. A lot of those bastards visit taverns for cheap drinks, and the commanders are always around to catch them."

"So you know a thing or two about the military folk?" Kise raised an eyebrow. As he had said before, one can really get some information when he visits a bar. He casually approached the bartender, light-footed so that the other would not notice him sneaking behind.

The bartender, unable to sense the blond assassin close by, stared ahead and shrugged nonchalantly. "I know a thing or two. Mostly the rumors that the Cronies spread."

"Oh," Kise smiled. He carefully pulled out a needle from the sleeve of his jacket. "That's nice."

And in a swift movement, Kise drove the needle into the bartender's neck. The sedative in the needle (a chemical extracted from an exotic plant) took effect in less than ten seconds. Now Kise has information to bring home – and a nice little motorboat as a bonus.

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Akashi walked across the room in quick strides, approaching Kuroko who stood at the entrance.

"Ryota has brought someone?" Akashi asked.

"Yes," Kuroko moved aside, allowing the red-haired leader to walk through the doorway. "It's a bartender who has knowledge of the Cronies' plans."

"How can we be certain about that?" Akashi's words had an edge on his voice; he was not the type of man who settles for unreliable sources. "That bartender may only be hearing rumors."

"That might be true, but we all know that the Cronies frequent bars often. We may find out something." Kuroko followed Akashi as the redhead walked briskly down the hallway, to a heavy iron door at the end. Murasakibara stood there waiting for his master, and opened the door for them.

Behind the iron door was a narrow stairway leading to a lower floor, stone-walled and with more iron doors. Kuroko opened the first door to the left, leading them into a small room, which was pitch black except for the light coming from the lamp burning at the wooden table in one corner, where Kise sat. In the middle of the room sat the bartender, tied on a chair and head covered with a sack.

Akashi could see the bartender's trembling figure through the dim light from the lamp. He could also hear the man's whimpering, voice whiny and shaky with fear.

"W-w-w-where am I?" the bartender asked, apparently sensing someone's arrival. "What's happening? Who are you?"

"It will be safer if you stop asking questions, and you start answering ours," said Akashi. "Who are you? They say you have information which can be valuable to us."

"What – what information?" the bartender whined.

"Your name first, sir." Akashi spoke in a dark tone which sent shivers down the spine of their captive.

"It's – " the man swallowed in fear. "It's Koganei…"

Akashi glanced at Kise. "Does he really know anything?"

Kise shrugged. "Cronies frequent the bar he's working at. He says he's heard some of their talk."

"Hey," Koganei recognized Kise's voice. He glanced aimlessly around. "Hey, you're the guy at the bar, right? You brought me here. Who are you, really?"

Akashi's bloodred eyes went back to Koganei. "So what have you heard from the Empire's soldiers, Koganei?"

"J-just their usual talk," Koganei answered weakly. "Cronies come to the bar almost every night, right after spending an entire day at the barracks. Most of them were members of the 3rd Regiment."

Akashi arched his eyebrows, his interest captured. General Kiyoshi was the head of the 3rd regiment.

"There – there wasn't much important information to tell, really…" Koganei said. "They are actually praising their general. Apparently they support General Kiyoshi to become the next Head Knight. It means promotion for them."

The three assassins remained silent, letting their captive do the talking.

"Of course, there's the talk of the general's possible competitions," Koganei went on. "There are the generals of the 1st and 2nd regiment, General Imayoshi and General Ootsubo. Also, there's the cruel master strategist known as General Hanamiya…"

General Hanamiya Makoto, Akashi thought grimly. He had heard a lot of bad things about the general. Hanamiya was an intelligent man, a war strategist and a scientist. He has known to have led the conquest of what is now the eastern part of the Empire, using only an army of forty humanoid robots known as automatons. He has also invented many of the Empire's biological weapons, and was said to have been using the conquered people as his test subjects. Every now and then news of an unknown disease plaguing a village outside the Capital appeared on the gazettes.

"Hanamiya of the 5th Regiment?" Kise was puzzled.

Koganei managed to nod in reply. "They say there's bad blood between the two generals. It wasn't a surprise, really. General Kiyoshi's the noblest general in the Army. Hanamiya's just the exact opposite."

"Tell me more," Akashi said. "About this man called Hanamiya. Is he plotting against Kiyoshi?"

"I don't know," Koganei replied. "No one can tell, really. Who knows? If it's Hanamiya, Kiyoshi might die in some sort of accident. Or anything that Hanamiya obviously won't seem to get involved. Hanamiya is so shrewd, he can even plot the Emperor's death and no evidence would link him to it. He's that kind of guy."

Of course, Akashi could not help but agree. Hanamiya was the type who would assassinate his foes without getting his own hands dirty. He was the type of enemy they should keep an eye on.

"Leave it to me," Kuroko suddenly spoke; he seemed to have read the redhead's thoughts. "I'll send spies to watch him."

Akashi nodded. "Be careful."

"Wait," Koganei shouted. "Who are you? Are you – oh, my lord, you're that faction of assassins, are you?"

Akashi furrowed his eyebrows in exasperation. He glared at Kise, who straightened up in deference to him.

"Make sure he doesn't remember us," said Akashi.

"Aye aye," Kise replied, taking out a huge syringe from the hidden pocket of his garb.

"W-what are you going to do to me?" Koganei asked, fear evident in his voice.

Kise smiled sweetly at the bartender, as if he could see him. He held up the syringe, the emerald-colored chemical dripping down the needlepoint. "It's nice meeting you, sir. But I'm afraid we must shut your mouth for a long time."

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Aomine remained wide awake despite the long night.

He perched on a tree branch, carefully hidden behind the foliage facing the wide windows of the General's room. It was right beside the room of the general's daughter, thus Aomine could also see Taiga getting ready for bed.

Aomine knew that he should focus on his job, but every minute or so he gets distracted by the generals' red-haired daughter.

It was definitely not his first time seeing a lady; he has seen many girls, from the markets and brothels and sometimes even noblewomen, all beautiful and promising exceptional pleasure. But Taiga was – at the very least – on a whole other level.

Besides, none of his fellow assassins had warned him that the general's daughter has a habit of sleeping naked at night.

It was quite an inviting sight, the window to Taiga's room fully opened, curtains moved aside to let in the fresh air. Aomine had an entire view of the bed, and most importantly the young lady sleeping on it. Taiga was sleeping so quietly she looked like a sculpture, if it wasn't for the rising and falling of her ample chest as she breathed softly. Her long, fiery red hair draped like a blanket over her shoulders and down to her waist, barely covering her womanhood. Her long legs, which were smooth and perfectly shaped, were spread over the sheets alluringly. Aomine resisted the urge to touch them.

Aomine frowned. He never thought that this bodyguard business was…harder than he had thought.

Lead me not into temptation, deliver me from evil.

He was very thankful to notice a female servant enter General Kiyoshi's room. She was having a discussion with her master about matters regarding the household. Finally, Aomine had some reason to keep his eyes away from the sleeping siren and focus on his mission.

"You have a letter from General Hanamiya, sir." The maid handed a white envelope to Kiyoshi.

"Thank you. You may go." Kiyoshi waited for the maid to leave the room. He then opened the envelope, quickly pulling the written letter out, and unfolded it. He read the letter for a minute, folded it, and unfolded it again. He read the letter once again, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration this time. Aomine narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

In the end Kiyoshi threw the letter into the trash bin. He began to pace back and forth, pondering deeply about something.

Apparently unsatisfied, Kiyoshi walked over to his desk and took out a matchbox. He opened it and lit up one match stick, throwing it straight into the bin afterwards. Flames shoot up from inside the container, burning the letter and what was probably some valuable information for Aomine.

Curiouser and curiouser, Aomine thought, wondering what the letter from Hanamiya was about. He leant against the tree trunk, relaxing himself for the meantime. He'll report to Akashi tomorrow.

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Sorry for the long wait (and short update), guys.