Sayuri found the whole thing perplexing but did not question him any further.

After the family of four left, Kyle turned to Sayuri and said, "You're really quite a capable ninja. Patient, observant and not domineering. I am sure you have loads of questions yet, you're just standing there by my side, not pressing the issue."

Indeed, that was high praise from Kyle.

Shifu's clan was mainly about assassinations, whereas Sayuri's clan was more about infiltration and gathering of information. Though Kyle did learn about intel and Sayuri knew how to kill, the emphasis and training were different.

Both had the basic skills but their expertise went into different areas as their area of specialization was different.

Take a surgeon, for example. All surgeons have a high degree of manual dexterity, coupled with good hand-eye co-ordination, excellent vision and visuo-spatial awareness.

They knew how to use various surgical equipment and how to suture a wound close. However, the skills, knowledge, and expertise become different depending on their area of specialisation. A neurosurgeon is an expert of the brain whereas a cardiothoracic surgeon knows the heart.

In short, Kyle knew how to kill well, while Sayuri could get into the brain better.

When he thought about it, they complimented each other quite well.

It was only at that point that he started considering seriously asking Sayuri for help with regards to cleaning up his past life's problem.

He had been working by himself all this time and having another partner that could fill in the gaps sounded very tempting.

When he said 'working by himself', he didn't mean that he did not acknowledge or appreciate the efforts Kay, his Elite Team and MIB did. What he meant was that he had done all the planning since birth.

Having another person seeing it from another perspective - and one who specialised in information gathering and analysis … would truly be a golden opportunity.

Kyle looked at Sayuri and she noticed the difference in his gaze.

"What?"

She could see the hesitation in his eyes and deduced that he had something on his mind or something he wanted to ask of her.

She smiled, and put her hand on his shoulder, saying, "Yes."

"You don't even know what I'm going to be asking," Kyle said, indignantly.

"It doesn't matter," Sayuri said, "Just ask, and I'll do my best to help."

Kyle sighed, asking again, "Are you sure?"

Sayuri took her hand off his shoulder and replied, "Of course. So long as you trust me, I'll always do my best for you."

She turned away, saying, "It's the least I can do."

Kyle nodded, appreciating the gesture.

He sighed again, thinking how different ninjas thought, and acted. Simply because of the bond between their Masters, Sayuri unhesitatingly agreed to help.

Her absolute trust in him made him feel … both unworthy and touched at the same time.

He vowed never to let her down.

[A/N: At this point, Author wants to smack some sense into Kyle but he's most likely going to run away in the other direction if he has any inkling of what is happening]

"Come on," Kyle said, looking at the night sky, "It's getting late. We should be going back. We can talk tomorrow."

"Okay," Sayuri answered, pleased and hid her smile from him.

She now had a reason to hang out with Kyle again.

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

The next morning, Sayuri awoke extremely early and quickly got ready.

She knew that Kyle normally has his morning jog, so last night, she had casually suggested that they train together in the morning, then go for breakfast where they could talk.

Kyle felt it was a good idea, and readily agreed.

Just as Sayuri opened the door to her apartment, Kyle opened his door as well. They were living next door to each other, so it made things much easier for her to always bump into him.

"Good morning," Kyle greeted, not letting his face show any expression upon seeing Sayuri in her tracksuit.

It was a tracksuit, okay. A tracksuit.

Long pants, long sleeve shirt … but … the way the material hugged her long legs, showing off how shapely it was.

Although the top was long sleeve, and the V-neck collar was not so low that one could see the cleavage, it still showed off her perky breasts nicely and … it actually bared her midriff.

Seeing that smooth skin of her flat stomach and belly-button made Kyle think twice about letting her go out in that get-up.

Then he whacked himself mentally. She was a grown adult.

Who was he to dictate what she wore?

He, who had been a woman and disliked the patriarchal ways of society, was now becoming like one of those men he had disliked?

What was wrong with him?

Why was it bothering him so much anyway?

Sayuri was a beautiful young woman, blossoming so brightly and was more than capable of handling herself. She would definitely be attracting a lot of flies but he would be there to back her up if need be.

There was no problem with Sayuri going out like that.

Nope, no problem at all.

Shaking his head mentally, he then said to Sayuri, "Shall we?"

Sayuri gave a bright smile, answering, "Lead the way, oh kind Sir."

Kyle rolled his eyes and they headed to the lift.

Sayuri was also having it hard keeping her face straight.

Just what sort of outfit did Kyle wear?!

Everything seemed to stick to his skin like a second skin, showing off that physique and left little to the imagination. Luckily, he wore shorts as well because otherwise …

Sayuri shook her head mentally, telling herself to calm down and stop drooling.

Luckily, Kyle gave off this really cold aura that would make anyone keep their distance. Otherwise, she'd have so many flies buzzing about.

Sayuri patted her chest.

She needed more training to remain calm in Kyle's presence.