A/N:  Sorry for the long wait.  Thank you for being patient with my updates.  Due to issues happening in my life, I did not have the chance to write and update as often as I used to, please be understanding that future updates will be limited as well.  Thank you.  Please enjoy.  xoxo -ptd 

With Yasu's plans in place and more retired soldiers showing up to Black Fox Teahouse, Yasu found himself with more time to think and plan for the future.

Lord Hiraga was always surrounded by guards and shadow guards. How can he find evidence against Hiraga if he couldn't even get close to him. Yasu made a list of names of those who were close to Hiraga in Nijo and sent his secret force to monitor each person. Yasu had to find the weak link in Hiraga's group of advisors to infiltrate closer to Hiraga. Yasu knew that sooner or later one of Hiraga's close advisors would slip up and Yasu would take the opportunity to turn the advisor into his spy.

With so many retired soldiers working for him, some of them still had contact with their old connection in the city. They too began to reach out to their old contacts and began working those contacts once again.

"Young Lord." Kei called out to Yasu, breaking Yasu's thoughts.

Yasu looks up at Kei, who stood by the door in the study since he entered the study that morning.

"It's the afternoon. The afternoon meal has been set up on the dining room table." Kei reminded him.

"Alright." Yasu said as he stood up and left the study room with Kei following him from behind. "Any interesting information from Ken?"

"No, Young Lord. Nothing has been sent from Ken."

"Hmm." Yasu hummed as they proceeded downstairs.

"We just need to be patient. Those people will make a mistake and we'll be able to grasp their weakness soon."

"Hmm."

The afternoon meal was laid out for Yasu and Kei. Kou stood to the side waiting for Yasu to come down.

"Everything at the teahouse running smoothly?" Yasu asked Kou.

"Everything is going well." Kou answered.

"Any interesting gossip?"

"Just one." Kou replied. "It seems that Lady Hisa's attempts to draw the attention of the Third Prince has gone to an extreme. Apparently, Lady Hisa has been successful for the past three weeks at meeting the Third Prince wherever he goes. She has been able to meet with him on several occasions at scholarly functions, hunting trips, and the flower viewing parties. Causing the noble families to assume that the Prime Minister will marry Lady Hisa to the Third Prince soon.

Her obsession with the Third Prince has caused her to get into many arguments and fights with several noble young ladies and young lords who were too close to the Third Prince or had the Third Prince's favor. She has driven away several people away from verbal threats to dirty schemes.  Her tactics has caused more trouble for the Prime Minister's house. She has also sent one of her maids to constantly watch the Third Prince's Manor gates. Should he leave his Prince Manor, the maid is to send word to Lady Hisa and follow the the Third Prince. Anyone going into or out of the Third Prince's Manor would also be reported to Lady Hisa."

"Continue." Yasu said as he ate his food as if he didn't care for the gossip.

"It is said that the Third Prince is so angry at Lady Hisa that he has brought up her lawless and mannerless ways in court this morning. Causing the Prime Minister to kneel, apologize and ask for forgiveness from the Emperor. The Emperor did not think that Lady Hisa's actions were unlawful, however he did ask the Prime Minister to keep a tighter leash on his daughter or find her a husband quickly to solve her wandering ways. Afterwards, the Emperor ordered the Prime Minister's pay to be cut in half for three months.  The money would then be given to the victim's family as reparations."

"What was the Third Prince's reaction to the Prime Minister's punishment?"

"It is said that the Third Prince had a dark face, but did not speak against the Emperor. He quickly left once court ended and did not speak to anyone."

"Hmm. You may leave." Yasu told him as he kept eating.

Kei looked between Yasu and Kou's back ensuring that Kou left the room before speaking.

"What do you think he will do next?" Kei asked.

"Doesn't matter at the moment. We don't have anyone close to him to find out his plans, so it's useless to worry about his next move. We just need to encourage Lady Hisa to keep up her good work so we can keep moving in the darkness without him noticing."

"We'll do as you say." Kei said.

After the afternoon meal, Yasu went back to the study to finish embroidering Gin's robe. Because he could only embroider the robe when he had free time, the gift to Gin has been pushed back further and further.

Once he tied the last thread and cut off the silk thread, Yasu held the robe up in front of him, admiring his work. He then proceeded to fold up the robe and wrap it nicely in a wooden box lined with a white silk pillow. Yasu then brought the wooden box up to his room and placed it in the corner. A slight smile shined through as he thought about Gin's reaction to the gift.

Yasu then left the main house and walked around the garden. The sound of the koto being plucked made Yasu turn towards the pavilion and watch Kin play for a while. He waited until Kin finished his song before replacing Kin.

"Go rest for a bit. I'll play a couple of songs and let you take over after I'm done."

Kin nodded his head in understanding and went to sit on the side of the pavilion. He poured himself a cup of cold tea and waited for Yasu to play.

Yasu's fingers lifted up in a fluid motion, stopping for just a moment as he adjusted his breathing and his mindset. Once his hands came down, his fingers began plucking the strings with ease, causing the sound to vibrate loudly, reaching the teahouse in a moment's time. The song Yasu chose was an elaborate song, which only a handful of people could play beautifully. Those that could play the song would be considered a Master koto player.

Yasu's playing drew the attention of everyone in the teahouse. Their conversation, tea and snacks were all forgotten as they all turned their heads towards the window and listened closely.

The joyful music filled the air and caused their hearts to sigh in harmony with the song. A small smile broke through their faces as the music played to the climax of the song before the song slowly and softly ended. Everyone in the teahouse was silent for a moment before someone began clapping, then everyone began clapping as well.

"Who is the talented koto Master?" The ladies began asking each other.

"Did you see how the koto Master looks like?" The men asked as they rushed to the window to get a glimpse of the koto Master.

"Don't push me!" The men said they pushed their friends back.

But how the garden was set up, no one would be able to see the pavilion unless they entered the back garden.

"Let us go down!" One of the men suggested.

But before they could go down to meet the koto master. The tea masters and servers told them that their time there at Black Fox Teahouse as ended and that they needed to leave. With a frown on their faces, they could only do what they were told, fearing that they would lose their privileges to Black Fox Teahouse.

"Young Lord." Kin said once Yasu finally stood up to give the seat back to Kin. "I didn't know you could play so well."

Yasu smiled and began walking away. "You continue playing well and you'll be able to surpass me."

"Young Lord." Kin called out once more. He wanted to ask if the Young Lord could mentor him or give him some guidance.

"If anyone asks who just played, tell them that it was a visiting guest of the boss who has already left." Yasu told Kin. "No one is to know that it was me."

"I understand." Kin answered instead. He watched as Yasu went back to the main house in a leisurely way.

Once Yasu and Kei were far away it was only then that Kei spoke up.

"Why did you decide to play the koto today. There is a chance that your identity would be found out by others." Kei said.

"Sooner or later my identity will be found out. However, I needed to make waves in Black Fox Teahouse so Lord Hiraga and his people will visit. The more opportunities that we have to host them the more opportunities we have to watch them and get closer to them." Yasu told him.

"I see." Kei said as he frowned. He didn't like Yasu putting himself out in the open. As the head of the large operation, he needed to be hidden and protected. He needed to send word out to General Ren to see what General Ren had to say about this.