In Their Shadow

Chapter 13

"We have ourselves a problem Kaiza." A rugged man spoke.

Kaiza, who had just walked into the old room, turned to the man with a raised eye brow.

The room stunk of decay and sewage, in the room the adult men were gathered in. Each man held some type of weapon. Whether it be a wooden stake, kunai, or a sword; all were ready for combat in even the most unlikely of scenarios. Each had a deep frown on their faces, puzzling Kaiza.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"Our operations have been compromised is what I mean. This morning several of our men were found dead." The man said, eliciting a concerned frown out of Kaiza.

"Tell me everything you know." He ordered.

One of the other men took a step forward.

"Two of them, both Takanashi and Kuro where found dead. We believe they where murdered by a ninja. Their bodies where stuck together by the abdomen, as if something charred their skin, causing their flesh to stick together. Only way that could happen is with some of that ninja hocus-pocus I say."

Kaiza's eyes grew fiery as he clenched his fist in anger, and punched the wall behind him.

"Damn it! Has Gato begun to make his move!?" Kaiza barked.

The men held their heads down, moral low due to the events of the morning.

"That's not all Kaiza...I didn't wanna tell you this, b-but...Kenichi, your brother, h-has gone missing..." One of the men said reluctantly.

Kaiza froze and turned to them, eyes wide.

"What?"

The man who previously spoke held his head down in shame.

"Last night...I was supposed to go out on the assault with Takanashi and Kuro. But, I was too lazy, and I convinced Kenichi to take my place...I'm sorry."

"...hey." Kaiza turned to the man who just spoke.

"W-what?" The man asked in fear.

Crunch

The loud sound echoed throughout the room, as the man held his busted nose, blood oozing onto the dirty cracked concrete floor. Kaiza stood above him, fist covered in blood. Before he could pounce once more on the downed man however, several other men grabbed at him, holding Kaiza back.

"You asshole! It should have been you!" Kaiza roared furiously.

"Stop it Kaiza, hurting him won't save your brother!"

"Yeah Kenichi wouldn't want this!"

"We need to stay calm! Just because he's missing doesn't mean he's dead!"

They all reasoned, calming Kaiza down from his episode.

"Think about it, they need info on us right? That's probably why he's missing! Chances are he is being held captive and is being probed for info on us!" One of them reasoned.

Kaiza took several breathes, his body loosening up in their grip, as they let their hold on him go.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry." The man cried, tears mixing into the puddle of blood forming beneath his nose.

Kaiza glared down at him, before huffing and turning to the other men.

"Who was it that they where attacking?" Kaiza asked coldly, his eyes narrowed, a quite rage burning within him.

He wanted order.

He wanted freedom.

He wanted justice for his fallen comrades.