Andromeda

Author Notes: I actually do put dividers in between different points of view, however in the transition to FictionPress they are getting deleted for some reason. So I'm trying something else out, hopefully it works.)

The Inner Man – Episode 17 – Enemies

Mashiro refrained from speaking to the man as much as he could. There was something about Mr. Autumn that was not settling easy with him. He did not know what his motives were or how he even knew about what happening. This worried him, if they were already this exposed how many more knew about what was going on. Chiko was in far greater danger if there were so many people that had some idea of what the truth was. Mashiro did not believe that they knew who the girl that he was protecting was, but he was pretty sure that they all knew about Chiko.

He did not like what was happening, this could be all over for the two of them if The Awaking Dragons figured it out. They were running out of time and Mashiro did not know how much longer he could keep on protecting Chiko. The scarred man that he fought was good, as skilled as anyone he had fought with. He had the advantage knowing the terrain and what was around him when he fought. That was the only thing that had given him the edge to be able to go shoulder to shoulder with the man. Mashiro was afraid he was going to have to fight using his other half again. He was determined not to rely on it anymore, that part of him was uncontrollable now. It had been too long since he had been down that road that he had forgotten how to handle himself in that state of mind.

Mashiro tried to get his focus back on the driving; Mr. Autumn had given him directions to where they were going. He did not ask how he knew the location of the scarred man; there were things that he probably did not want to ask at this point. It was clear to him whoever this man was he was well connected and had been watching the events for some time. If he asked the wrong question at this point he might create another enemy when he could not deal with it. There were already enough sides to this conflict that he did not need to add another. Though he was afraid that there were already more sides to this than he realized and that this man was already an enemy, but working with him for reasons unknown.

The place that Mr. Autumn was taken him to was inside the main part of Osaka. It was a little strange that the place the scarred man was hiding would be in the middle of the city where there was most likely chance of being seen. There was some cleverness to it as well; hiding in plain sight would not be what the enemy would expect. But there was concern about the eventual fight spreading out into the streets, which would cause more trouble for Mashiro. He was having trouble caring about that at this point though knowing that Chiko's life was in endanger if the truth was learned.

- - - - -

Chiko found himself waking up with a headache that would not stop. He did not know what had happened to him, the last thing that he could remember was a shadow. There was a shadow that cast over him and then everything went blank after that point. He was having trouble figuring out why he could not remember; there was something about that shadow that was familiar. However, every time that he tried to see it clearly in his mind something would freeze in him and he would not be able to approach. There something stopping him from knowing what it was.

As he slowly woke up further he realized that he was sitting down in a chair. He unfortunately was not able to move for some reason. It was his first thought that his body was numb from being controlled by Kohana possibly or that she was in control partially. However, he soon knew that was not the case as he could feel his arms and move them, but only a little bit. He quickly realized that he was being restrained with his arms tied behind him along with his legs tied down to the legs of the chair. Chiko did not know why he was tied down so thoroughly, it seemed a little overkill for a him since he was a mere child.

He looked around trying to see where he was now, knowing that someone had kidnapped him. The room was small and aging from the appearance; the walls were cracked and filled with comb webs everywhere. There were a few places to sit, though they looked like they had not been used for a long time. The table he was sitting at had someone else sitting opposite of him typing away on the computer terminal. He did not recognize the person, it was not the scarred man or Rachel. 'How many times does this make that I have been kidnapped now? This is pretty pathetic of me. Am I this helpless?'

The man that had been directing his attention to the computer finally realized that he was awake. "Ah, good morning. I see you are finally awake." As he had finished speaking, another man entered the room, also someone that he did not recognize. They were both wearing suits looking a little too formal for kidnappers, but Chiko realized that the syndicate often went around like that. He remembered that scarred man was usually wearing a business suit. The thought that The Awaking Dragons had kidnapped him made him scared, if that was true he was in a far worse situation than he originally thought.

"I see that our little princess is awake. I was getting a little worried that the boss beat her up too much."

"The way the boss made it sound, she is a lot stronger than she looks."

"Considering the pounding she got, I would have to agree." The man walked over to the chair sitting down slowly, though painfully. Chiko wondered what was wrong with him, it was clear that he was in pain from something.

"Your stomach still hurting you?"

"Yeah, that man, he really did a number on me. I've never seen someone fight like that before."

"Yes, my back is still healing as well."

"I thought it was over for us that time."

"That probably was the time."

"Maybe."

Chiko did not know what they were talking about, but it was clear to him that they had been fighting someone and nearly died. His only guess right now was that it was Mashiro they ran across and he turned into that other person to fight them. But if they survive, what had happened to Mashiro? He did not know if he had survived, if they fought against Mashiro, but lived did that mean Mashiro lost. Chiko did not want to think about it. If he was being held like this, they wanted him for something more than likely someone to come for him. That could mean that Mashiro was still alive, Chiko hoped.

"She say anything yet?"

"Nothing."

"The boss must have really put the scare into her."

- - - - -

The scarred man had tried to interrogate the man known as Mr. Winter. However, he was as cunning as he was skilled. The two had a brief encounter part way back to their place when he stopped the car. They both got of the car; the scarred man had the intention of settling things between them. He did not like receiving help as it meant that he then had to return the favor later on. There was also the feeling he had that this man knew far too much to be allowed to go free.

They had stared each other down for a while not even exchanging words. It was a man that he could not trust and knew that he had to be skilled enough to come so far. He wondered what else there was to this man and whom he was working for. If he were working for the syndicate then he would have seen him before, so he doubted it was another group from The Superiors. He knew that he had to kill the man immediately before things were no longer under his control.

He had pulled his gun on the man firing without even hesitating, but the man seemed ready for it, as he was able to dodge the shot. The man then leapt out of sight as he fired off a couple more rounds chasing after the man. But Mr. Winter was already gone and he could not find him. He could tell from that short display that the man was skilled, no doubt that he was another problem that he was going to have to deal with.

The scarred man sat back in the chair thinking in the dark. The girl he kidnapped was being kept an eye on by Shisa and Kitsune, neither of them were ready to fight at this point. He had more enemies appearing each day. This was getting far more complicated that he originally thought. The man, Mr. Winter, had a connection to him some how and knew where to find him. He even helped him for some reason. He was working for someone he figured, more than likely one of the many syndicates in Osaka that had an interest in The Awaking Dragons' activities. If the other syndicates were growing more restless and knew what they were doing he wondered how much longer he could remain free to work. The Superiors would call him back soon if the situation got worse again. The syndicates were already fighting more between each other now than ever before.

He looked into the other room; the girl sitting in there was strange. There was something about her that made him uneasy. She had attacked him during his fight with the man in the house. He could tell from the way that she fought that she had not really went up against someone that fought back let alone that was willing to kill. She was too soft to fight him, but she had surprised him all the same. He still felt the pain in his hand from punching her. It would have been enough to break someone's head open the speed that she hit him and yet she did not have a scratch on her. He was actually more injured by her attacks then was the opposite. It was unsettling.

- - - - -

Chiko had been quiet for a while, but he did want some answers. He did not know how he was going to go about doing it without revealing himself possibly. These two seemed at least partially talkative, just not about the right things. It seemed that they were being careful about what they spoke around him. He had a right to know whom his kidnappers were at the very least, anyone would want to know that. 'I'm just afraid I know the answer already.'

"Who are you?" he asked them suddenly.

"So you do speak, thought you gone mute after the boss knocked you out."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Chiko did not remember getting knocked out by anyone. He was afraid that Kohana had surfaced during his unconscious state. 'Kohana!' he shouted at her, though there was no reply. 'Kohana! Where are you? I know you are in there somewhere! You've got some explaining to do!' None of his shouts were being answered. It was as though she was nowhere to be found in his mind. He did not like how that appeared, if something did happen to her in a fight where was she. It did not make any sense to him.

"You fought with the boss apparently. You don't remember?"

"No…what are you doing with me?"

The man sighed and looked over at the other one. The one at the computer was still typing away, not really being distracted by the conversation. "Hey, you going to answer her?" The man however, continued to ignore him.

After a little more prodding from the man he sighed and brushed back a few strains of his hair out of his face to looking up from the terminal. "It is simple enough for you to know that you are our hostage."

"Why?"

"It is best you don't know more than that lest we would to have to kill you then."

Chiko's eyes widened, he did not like that answer. It was not what he was hoping for, but it did give him a little bit of an idea of the situation that he was in. He did not know how he was going to get out of it. In this position, he could not even reach the homing device that he had on him to show Mashiro where to find him. He was afraid that Mashiro could not even find him at this point. 'What is going to happen to me?'

- - - - -

Mashiro was getting closer to the location that Mr. Autumn had directed him to. They were going through a more run down part of the city that had seen better days. Most of it was being torn down or falling apart as the city was planning to begin an urban renewal project in the neighborhood. Those plans were still far off, but it did leave plenty of places for the less fortunate people of the city to stay. It was also a breeding ground for criminal activity. This is what had him worried the most; it was not a safe place for him to be going into at this point.

He did not have any choice in the matter; he had to rescue Chiko from The Awaking Dragons. However, he was afraid of what else there was in here. There were too many places to hide in that could be ambushes or traps set for him. If he made a mistake it could have far more impact on his ability to keep Chiko safe from anyone that wanted him killed. The city could not be safe for much longer if this continued for them.

Mashiro parked the car outside the building that Mr. Autumn pointed out to him. This was apparently the location that he was going to find Chiko at. He wondered if the scarred man was waiting for him this time. This was their territory now and their advantage, the only chance he had was for a surprise attack that would knock them off guard long enough that he could rescue Chiko. They already knew where he lived; he was no longer safe at the house now.

Mr. Autumn stepped out of the car along with Mashiro, but he began to walk away from the car down the street. Mashiro ran over to him, not wanting to shout in the middle of the street. "Where are you going?"

"I trust you to be able to handle them."

"What?"

"I just want to see you reunited that is all. I did what I needed to see that happen."

"So this is as far as we go then?"

"Yes."

"Very well. I hope I don't see you again."

"Who knows what the fates have in store," Mr. Autumn said tapping Mashiro on the shoulder and walking around. Mashiro was glad to see him leave, but the fact that he knew so much already made him want to kill him on the spot to cover any tracks. He turned to find him, but he was already gone, disappeared from the street as though he had never been there to begin with. Mashiro kicked the light pole in anger. Nothing he could do now, he just had to rescue Chiko.

However, rescuing Chiko was not an easily done task. He had a few ideas, none of them he liked very much. This was a dangerous neighborhood no matter how you looked at it. He had to be careful about how he went about this or else he could end up in even more trouble than just rescuing Chiko. It almost seemed that they picked this location simply because it was difficult to approach.

Mashiro entered the car and quietly drove it around behind the house. He did not like what he was thinking that he was going to do, but there were few other choices he had if he could not beat the scarred man out right. If he managed to pull this off, it would buy him the time that he needed to escape. The car was parked next to the doorway so that he would not have to go far when he was running away.

He then walked around to find their car, which was parked on the other side of the house. Mashiro pulled out his knife and stabbed the wheels, all four of them just to be sure. After finishing with that he got underneath the vehicle opening up the fuel line letting it leak. Then just to finish everything off, he forced the hood of the car up and pulled out a few of the necessary parts so that it could not run. Mashiro dropped the parts that he stole in his car and preceded up the stairs.

The stairs creaked as he walked on them making him worry that he would be alerting those that were holding Chiko. He could not avoid it, but he had to be quick to setup everything. Mashiro pulled out explosives from his overcoat placing them around parts of the building as he went up. He was setting triggers in them to detonate them whenever he wanted to. 'I don't like this.'

When he was finished with his work he approached the floor that he was told that Chiko was being held on. He hoped that this information was correct; he was going to have a lot of explaining to do if he was wrong. Mashiro pulled out a grenade from his coat; it was only a smoke grenade. He did not know where Chiko was in the room; all he could do was try to confuse them long enough to get a measure of the room.

He pressed against the door listening to anything that might give him a hint at what was going on behind the door. Mashiro could not hear anything, either the door was too thick or there was enough noise to be heard. He could not wait any longer. His hand slowly grasped the doorknob as his breathed out. A moment later he threw the door open and tossed the grenade in that was already on its timer. The grenade did not even hit the ground before it exploded in smoke everywhere.

The entire room was immediately filled with smoke. Mashiro saw in the moments before that Chiko was tied to a chair and there were two individuals sitting at a table where he was. He could tell that they were both the two that he had fought before, it was clear that they were recovered from the injuries that he gave them.

Mashiro had to work quickly to disable them before the third, the scarred man, could act. He knew that the scarred man was skilled and would quickly be in to stop him. Mashiro shot the computer terminal that he saw creating a spark in front of the man sitting there. The computer coughed up smoke and electrical sparks knocking him back burning his hands. Mashiro was already inside the room dashing under the table to take out the other one that was standing up trying to figure out what was going on. He remembered that this was the one that he stabbed; his stomach was probably still tender from the injury. Mashiro punched deep into his stomach upwards as he came out from underneath the table. The table went flying upwards across the room.

The man he punched was on the floor in pain, possibly having the wound reopened. Mashiro tended to Chiko cutting the rope around the legs. He started on the ropes around his hands when realized that something was not right. Mashiro put his knife away under his sleeve and rolled out of the way of a knife that was thrown at him. The smoke was still thick in the room and he could not see who it was, though if he had to guess it was probably the scarred man.

Mashiro kept moving around the room, hearing gunshots nearby. It was clear that they could not see him or else the shots would have been far more accurate since he did not know where they were aiming at. Mashiro pulled out his gun and started firing in the direction that he heard the gunshots. It was clear that he did not hit the person; they were moving around not to be hit.

The smoke was finally beginning to clear out as he could begin to see the man shooting at him. It was as he thought, the scarred man, though he was not sure where he had come from since it seemed as though he came from behind him initially. There was little time for him to be figuring out what happened as they continued to exchange shots at each other in the room.

The two suddenly ran out of bullets in their guns, staring at each other for a moment before charging at each other. They exchanged a series of punches and kicks that were blocked. The scarred man jumped backwards out of the way of Mashiro final series of kicks at him. He landed next to the table tossing the whole thing at him. Mashiro ducked down out of the way grabbing one of the legs of the table. The force he applied to the leg broke it free and he sent it hurdling towards the scarred man. Chiko was forced to the ground on his side to avoid getting hit.

The scarred man caught the table leg and threw it back at him. Then immediately after it was released from his hand he charged at Mashiro. Mashiro avoided the table leg, but knew that he could not stop the kick that was coming at him. He took the kick to his side and held on to the leg bringing his elbow down on his knee. The scarred man did not waste time getting himself turned and off the ground sending his other leg at him. Mashiro was unable to finish his attack as he let go of the leg and bent backwards out of the way of the attack. The scarred man recovered from his attack jumping out of the way of the next swing from Mashiro.

The two stared each other down for a second; Mashiro knew that he had to get serious if he was going to try to end this. The only thing that was holding him back was the fear of what could happen. He did not want to let that part of him loose again, but he needed to end this. Aside from that, he was worried that Chiko would get caught up in the fighting. Mashiro pulled out a few of his knives; he had to start changing the things immediately.

Mashiro threw them at the scarred man; he easily dodged them and threw one of them back. Mashiro sent that back at him again along with several more. The scarred man was not easily being caught, though Mashiro knew that he did not catch him completely. The net was almost finished, he just did not like what he was forced to do. There was no other way though, he had to do it if he was to break things off right now. He was not going to be able keep fighting him like this for much longer in this room. There were too many obstacles, and Mashiro could not keep himself focused with the thoughts of the Crimson Angel creeping on him.

'It has to be a draw for now.' The net was finished and Mashiro leapt to Chiko suddenly which threw off the scarred man. It was then that Mashiro reached into his pocket and pressed the detonator that he had. A series of explosions shook the entire building rocking it around. The entire building was creaking as the explosions subsided and parts began to fall away. The supports for the bottom floors fell out loosening the floors above as the second floor began to collapse.

The sounds became ominous as they all knew what was coming and they all were in equal shock at the insane stunt that Mashiro was doing. The next floor fell out and they could feel the floor and walls given in around them. The boards whined, as they were being forced upwards and crushed together. The floor cracked and snapped spreading dust upwards. The entire floor was bending until it reached its critical point snapping letting the entire room fall out. Everyone fell down in the dust as the building continued to collapse.

Mashiro however had set up an escape already with the knives that he had thrown. They were both to get the scarred man into the middle as the building collapsed, but also anchors for him. He dangled from the numerous knives holding on to Chiko as the chair slowly fell down to the bottom. His hand was bleeding from the wires as he struggled to hold on. Mashiro slowly swung Chiko tossing him into the hall that was barely staying together. Once Chiko was safe Mashiro cut most of the wires giving him the momentum to get up into the hall where Chiko was.

When he landed he could feel the floor give underneath him. That worried him and he picked up Chiko running to the stairs that were falling apart. Mashiro did not have time to waste as he sped down the stairs, the steps collapsing behind him. He was losing ground as the steps ahead were falling apart too. His foot almost fell through the next board as he started using the wall to run down. There was little time before he would lose all grip, but it was enough for him to get past the stairs.

Mashiro could feel his shoes grip going forcing him to land on the stairs again. His impact knocked down all of the stairs behind him in a chain reaction that was quickly catching up to him. He dove out of the final landing through the wall of the building that was already falling apart. Mashiro landed on the roof of his car rolling off to the ground with Chiko held close to him. He let Chiko go and quickly opened up the car. "Get in."

Chiko did not hesitate in getting into the car as Mashiro got in behind him and started the car up. He slammed the accelerator to the ground as his sped off from the neighborhood. The entire building was still collapsing slowly. Mashiro doubted that the main walls would give anytime soon unfortunately. It would mean that they would have enough time to escape, but this was only a tactic to buy himself time. They would be injured enough from the fall that they would not come after them for a few days, he hoped.

As he drove off, he noticed a couple cars driving up towards the building. Mashiro did not know what was going on, but he knew that there was no time to stay around. He continued out of the neighborhood along with Chiko knowing that it was not the end. Mashiro looked at Chiko to see if he was not injured in any way. What he had done was pretty reckless and could have gotten them both killed or severely injured if he had made a mistake.

"How are you doing?"

"How am I doing? Is that all you have to say?" Chiko yelled.

"It all worked out."

"All worked out…you could have killed me!"

"I'm sorry for saving you," Mashiro said staring at him as Chiko glared back. Chiko turned away crossing his arms in anger. "But how are you doing aside from that?"

Chiko remained quite for a while before he spoke in a more serious tone. "Better now, it was him…"

"Yeah, they've found us. I don't know how much longer we are safe."

"But we don't have anywhere else to go. Do we?"

"No, you're going to have to be careful at school. I'm going to start picking you up."

"Considering I've been kidnapped twice from school, already!" Chiko said hitting Mashiro in the head.

"What was that for?"

"Blowing up a building around me and…and letting me get kidnapped twice, in what a week?" Chiko said crossing his arms pouting off at the side window. "Some protector you are."

"Well I'm glad to see that he did not leave you traumatized."

Chiko punched Mashiro in the upper arm causing him to swerve into the other line of traffic for a second. He managed to get back into the correct line, but had to resist the urge to hit Chiko back. "Thanks for reminding me, insensitive-Daddy!"

Mashiro nearly drove off the road when he heard the sudden change. It took him a minute to realize that it was not Chiko, but Kohana speaking now. He let out a sigh and continued driving having come to a stop from the outburst.

"Oh, daddy I was so scared. Who was that bad man?"

'Bad man…scared…' Chiko thought wishing that he had control, it puzzled him where Kohana had been the entire time. He did not know what happened to her, but she apparently saw the scarred man at some point. Chiko just hoped that this experience might actually teach her something about the real world and not some fictitious world that she lived in thanks to the idiot doctor.

Chiko found himself with a strange view of the car as he realized that Mashiro was unable to drive straight due to Kohana clinging to him as hard as possible. He could not stand being that close and pulled back control. 'Go hide in a corner or something.' Now that he was back in control he immediately released Mashiro resisting the urge to punch him again.

He had been kidnapped and by the ones that they had been trying to get away from. The thought completely scared him that they were so close to finding the truth. There was no telling how much longer their secret could remain if the syndicate was going to the point of kidnapping him. He doubted even now that they realized where to find him, but they were being bold enough to make a move. Chiko was afraid what their next move would be; being left in that building did not mean they were gone for good. This would probably only anger them even further, he was afraid that not even Mashiro could protect him anymore. He had been kidnapped twice already and there was nothing Mashiro was able to do to prevent it. It was true that Mashiro rescued him, but they were both close calls. He was just not sure if he could trust him enough to be able to protect him with syndicate going so far to find him.

- - - - -

The scarred man tossed aside the rubble that lay on top of him. His face was covered in dirt as well as a line of blood along his right cheek. He did not notice the small wound as he pushed the remaining pieces off of him. Shisa and Kitsune were lying underneath even more rubble, which at this point he wondered if there was a point to keep them alive. He began pushing the pieces of the floor off of them as he could hear the building complaining. It was going to collapse soon from the sounds it made.

He was not pleased to be out smarted by the man. It was a bold move to bring down the entire building and the last few attacks were made specifically in anticipation of what he was about to do. The man was more skilled than he realized, but the man also knew when he had to retreat. It was clear if they had continued that he would have killed him or injured him enough that he could torture the man for information. He did not like losing, though it was to a worthy opponent. There was still time, this was far from being over.

The scarred man pulled Shisa out of the rubble and laid him down on the floor for him while he pulled out Kitsune. He was in better shape from a glance, but the fall was not kind to him as he had blood running down his arm. Kitsune made a noise, a low cough signaling that he was awake. He set Kitsune up against the wall as he picked up Shisa throwing him over his shoulder. The scarred man then nudged Kitsune awake further so that he could walk with him using him for support.

They slowly made their way outside; Kitsune was dragging along by the time they got outside of the building. Shisa was still unconscious; no doubt the stomach injury was reopened from the amount of blood he saw. The scarred man was half covered in blood from carrying them, his eyes were empty without feeling adding to the cold presence he had. He laid Shisa and Kitsune on the ground as the building finally collapsed unable to support itself anymore.

As the building collapsed brick, metal, wood and all manner of material exploded outward uncontrollably. The scarred man crouched down to the ground as the wood went flying over him. He could feel the pieces barely missing him as they were sent forcefully away from the crushing weight. Dust poured out quickly following the debris filling the entire area with a dense fog. When everything was settled all that remained of the building was a corner wall that leaned heavily outward ready to collapse at the slightest gust of wind.

The scarred man went back to the building to see if their car had survived the building's collapse. Most of the windows were cracked or destroyed. The metal was more durable, so there were just scratches in spite of part of the building rest on the car. It was in no shape to be driven, he would have to find another vehicle. He walked back to where Shisa and Kitsune lay when he heard the sound of a car's engine down the street.

He turned to listen carefully as there was something different in the air. It was clear that the vehicle was not casually driving through the neighborhood. He heard another partial masked behind the first. The noise was growing closer to him as though they were coming towards them. It was uncertain who would approach him, but he did not like the sound of the two vehicles. The sounds became clear as they came speeding past the final building that hid them out of his sight.

It was two cars, four-doors with eight men total coming at him. He did not need to see their faces to know their intentions. They were after him for some reason, but he was not in the mood to be dealing with fools at this late an hour. He walked towards the oncoming cars fearlessly as they roared past hitting the brakes to come to a stop. The two cars rotated on their tires digging through the grass. The scarred man turned to face those that came to interrupt him.

- - - - -

Two figures approached one another in a darkened room. There was no light entering anywhere as though the room itself was a void absorbing the very life from the air. The dark veil was then pulled back ever so slightly as a dim light came on in the room. Even with the light on, there was little of the room that found illumination from it. There was nothing in the room, but the light had revealed two more figures standing in the room already.

The four approached each other standing opposites of each other. None of their faces were visible in the room; the light barely crawled up their chest before completely fading away at the neck. "Welcome back. I trust everything went correctly?"

"Yes, it was easy to manipulate them."

"Good, the child is safe now?"

"Yes, they have been reunited."

"Continue to monitor them."

"And what of the other?"

"They are still moving slowly."

"How are things in Tokyo?"

"The pieces are almost in place, it will be ready for when they return."

"Good, appears our time as come to an end." The four figures walked out of the light disappearing into the darkness. One figured approached the light to turn it off. As they bent down their face was revealed, it was Mr. Autumn. He walked out of the room silently into the shadows.

- - - - -

The hall in The Awaking Dragons building was quiet at night, but The Superiors were still convened to discuss the matters in Osaka. The last few days had seen an increase in activities from all of the syndicates. There was something stirring in the city that had them moving. It was not uncommon for this to happen, especially lately with their focus on the search. However, they were becoming aggressive with fights breaking out in the streets almost. The secret life of the syndicates were no longer remaining out of sight of the public.

For them Osaka would normally not be their problem and they would be more than pleased to see Osaka in disorder. It was good for business the lack of organization. However, this much was not good for any sort of business. They were becoming too open and worse, rumors were flying around with their names attached to them. There were threats tossed at them to stay out the city, not that they really gave them much mind. The situation was going to be out of control soon if it kept at this pace.

Added to their problems was the hunt for Chiko Toyozama. It was becoming less worthwhile to continue searching for him, as all that they got for their efforts was more troubles. The assassin had failed, their men had failed and now the city was out of control. They did not like the results, but it still remained important that he be killed. There was too much at stake still that he could not be allowed to roam free with the knowledge he possessed. It was too important to leave alone as it had been. This matter needed to be resolved soon.

A man entered the room to stand before The Superiors, his escort stopping at the door. The shadows fell carefully to hide his face from view. "You have summoned me?" the man said.

"Yes, the matter of Chiko Toyozama must be dealt with immediately."

"This affair has gone on too long, too many failures to find one man."

"Yes, there can no longer be any chances taken."

"I understand. You realize that this will alter the plans," man said.

"It cannot be helped anymore, we are making changes to adapt. However, that does not concern you. Your only matter is ending Chiko Toyozama's life."

"As you command," he said bowing politely to them before turning away. The man walked to the doors as a stray light caught his features. It was Shinzaburo Honichi the director of Section Three. Shinzaburo walked out of The Superior's room meeting up with his aid at the end of the hall. His escort continued until he was out of the building. He refrained from speaking until they were already in their four-door car.

"How did it go?"

"As expected. Things have changed though. I need you to put your full resources in cracking that barrier. It has been months since we lost contact with Mashiro and we still haven't broken the code."

"The system was designed by our best minds. It was not meant to be cracked."

"Finding Chiko Toyozama is our highest priority, pull whatever you need to get it finished."

"And security clearance?"

"You know what to do."

"Very well."

The man standing outside of The Superior's room that watched the doors was given a message to deliver. He knocked on the door addressing the one on the other side to unlock the door. The man slowly walked into the room approaching the sight of The Superiors. "I have a message."

"Speak."

"According to reports the Blood Lotus syndicate has openly attacked our men in Osaka."

"More troubling news…"

- - - - -

The scarred man was breathing heavy after the fight. They might have been weak individuals, but even as a group they had an advantage over him. The fight might have gone easier for him if he had not just fought someone else as well as fell several floors. However, excuses did not matter at this point, it was finished now. There were eight bodies spread out over the grass.

He did not know who these were, there were far too many for the assassin to be sending at him. They seemed more like syndicate soldiers, though there were too many in Osaka to keep track. He went through the clothes of one of the men to see if there were any signs of which syndicate he belonged to. The search revealed only one article on the man that seemed to be of significance, a cigarette lighter with a crimson flower engraved on the side. The symbol looked familiar to him, though he could not place it immediately. He turned it around between his thumb and forefinger as he thought. Every so often he would stopped and grab it in his palm rubbing his thumb over the metal to deepen the imprint of the image in his mind.

After he ran through all of the syndicates he could remember in Osaka he came across the one that fit the most. 'Blood Lotus.' That seemed to fit, though this was a first that the syndicate took open aggression against him. They were busy fighting between each other that this was unusual. He did not know what was going on between the syndicates, but their attention was on him now. This made his ability to move through the city that more difficult and he still did not have the information he needed from that Section Three agent he fought.

- - - - -

Mashiro arrived back at the house and Chiko went on ahead. In spite of everything seeming to be back to normal, Chiko still remained a little distant from him. He knew that it was going to be difficult to rebuild that trust. It was just a hard time for him not be completely trusting of him with The Awaking Dragons moving closer to the truth. They had little time left if things were as bad as he feared.

It had already been several minutes before Mashiro left the car and entered the house. Upon entering the house he heard a squeal that make him vibrate in terror, the voice was far too familiar to him. It was Chiko, but the tone was far higher than Chiko normally spoke meaning that it was Kohana in control. Mashiro turned in the direction and regretted it as he saw Kohana in mid air coming straight at him. Out of instinct he ducked down barely managing to snap the fear that had gripped his legs.

Kohana ran head first into the wall like an arrow. That was not enough to stop her; in fact it was hard to tell if it even fazed her. She pulled herself out of the wall dropping down on top of Mashiro who had nowhere left to run. Kohana landed on him with a plop coming eye level with him. The happy expression on her face was enough to turn him blue knowing what was about to happen.

Once the embracing was finished and Mashiro had been dragged around the living room Kohana calmed down. She suddenly dropped Mashiro, his head smacking the floor, remembering something. "Oh, Big Brother wanted me to let you know that his class is going on a field trip to Tokyo in three days."

"Huh, this is sudden," Mashiro said.

Chiko ripped back control from Kohana angrily. "I didn't tell you to tell him! I told you to stop talking about it!"

"What is this about a field trip Chiko?"

"I'm not going, so it doesn't matter."

"Whaaat?! But I want to see Tokyo."

"Quit that, I'm trying to talk!"

"But everyone else is going."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"How long have you known about this field trip Chiko?"

"Two weeks!" Kohana said.

"Shut up! Gah!"

"Chiko…you're going on the trip," Mashiro said deciding for him. It might not be the safest thing to be doing going into the lion's den. However, right now it might be the safest place and a move the enemy would not expect. He just hoped that they were not watching. That would be too much to hope for though.

"What?!"

"Yay!" Kohana said leaping to Mashiro. The force of the jump sent the two of them sliding across the floor against the wall.

Chiko pulled himself off Mashiro to complain. "But what about the syndicate?"

"Its too dangerous in Osaka at the moment, besides I'll be going with you."

"And me too!" the doctor said suddenly appearing behind Chiko.

"No! Not you."

"Yay!" Kohana cheered.

'Someone listen to ME!!'

Preview for the next episode:

"Tokyo, it's been so long. How long has it been since I left that city? I cannot believe that I am going back. Though, it is no thanks to Mashiro that I am going back into the clutches of the syndicate now. I'm going to hold you personally responsible if I get kidnapped again!"

"Yeah, yeah. Like they are going to kidnap you. Who'd want an annoying, whiny brat anyway?"

"Why you!"

"Besides, you were already kidnapped an episode ago. Why would you get kidnapped so quickly again?"

"Because you couldn't protect a lunch from an army of ants!"

"If that isn't random enough..."

"I'll protect you my dear," the doctor says. "So long as you wear this summer dress I made you!"

"I'll pass."

"But..."

"Look what you are doing making me forget about the preview! On the next episode of The Inner Man, Tokyo! I'm going back. A reunion in Tokyo, this could get dangerous."

"Yeah, no telling what could happen."

"Who asked you! You better not miss it, I'm going kick those syndicate scum in the shins if they get close to me! Tee hee!"

"Somehow I doubt that...gah!!"