Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed my last chapter! I'm having lots of fun writing the chapters, and I hope that you all are having just as much fun reading them. Without further ado, here's the new chapter…
The assailant raised their foot, getting ready to bring it down on Kiro's head, which would send him off the building and to his death.
"Special delivery!" Los said cheerfully as he flew across the rooftop and slammed his foot into the attacker's jaw.
The ninja stumbled back, dazed, but quickly recovered and engaged the bobcat in a heated fight. Sashi ran up to Kiro, who was still clinging to the side of the building, and started to pull him up.
"What're you doing?" She asked.
"Oh, ya know, just hanging around!" The tiger joked.
"I've heard that before! Not funny once you've heard it the sixth time!"
"Hey, gimme a break, alright? I just got rescued from falling to my death! I don't exactly have a punch line ready every time someone talks to me!" Kiro complained.
The two ran over and joined Los in taking down the assassin. The bobcat had his swords out and was fending off his foe's attacks with great speed. Once Kiro had retrieved his Di staffs again, he ran back over to join his comrades. The tiger tapped his weapons together twice and slammed the ends of them into his opponent, sending the ninja crumpling to the ground. Sashi kicked them in the chin and threw them across the roof. The attacker slowly got up, but Kiro raced towards them and slammed his fist into their face, forcing the mercenary back down to the ground.
"You wanted a punch line? There it is!" Kiro exclaimed, looking back at the wolf.
"You've…made a gr…ave…mistake. Pers…ue…this path of…stopping Sage… an…d… your two friends… will die!" The ninja stated weakly.
"Well, that doesn't sound all that nice, does it? Besides, do you know how many times I've cheated death?" Los asked, walking up to the attacker.
The figure didn't respond.
"Well, I'd say more times than you've gotten orders to kill people, that's for sure." The bobcat answered.
"I came unprepared for a fight with three tonight. Next time, I'll be better equipped to take all of you down. Oh, and Kiro, my mission was not a complete failure tonight. My other employer, who wishes to remain anonymous, asked me to deliver a message, and I did. Hope you have a good night's sleep!" The masked assailant stated before throwing some smoke bombs onto the ground, blinding the heroes sight.
Once the fog cleared, the ninja was gone.
"Well, that's just fantastic! He's angry! Apparently we'll die at some point! We have no idea where he's hiding and when he'll strike next! What's the plan now?" Sashi ranted.
"Well, I say we go back to sleep." Kiro stated.
"Yeah. I don't know about you, Sash, but this wildcat has got to get his beauty sleep or else I'll be the most hateful person on earth. Besides, we're not gonna die! This Sage guy just sounds like he's blowing smoke! The three of us aren't going anywhere!" Los reassured.
The girl wolf sighed and they went back to their rooms for the night.
Kiro said goodnight again to his teammates and opened his door to his room and walked in.
Man, I can't wait to get some sleep. Nothing like fighting baddies at midnight to make a guy tired!
Once Kiro shut the door, he started to turn back around and head for his bed, but stopped.
The arrow that was shot through Kiro's window had a piece of paper attached to it. The tiger walked over to his door, pulled the arrow out and tore the paper off of the small spear.
The tiger read the note, and almost fainted.
He couldn't believe what was written on the slip of paper.
*The next day*
Kiro didn't sleep at all once he was back in his room that night. How could he? After he got dressed in new clothes for the day, he met his comrades in the cafeteria of the palace for breakfast.
"Dude, you look like total stink!" Los commented as he walked in with Sashi.
"Yeah, Kiro, didn't you sleep well last night?" The wolf asked.
The tiger sighed. He had to explain to them what had happened after he entered his room last night. In order for them to understand what had traumatized him so much, he had to explain his past. Even though Kiro didn't like to, he explained it to his friends, whose expressions went from happiness in the beginning, to complete and total horror and sadness at the end.
"So, why do you look so bummed out? Not prying too much." The bobcat asked. This was not a normal emotion for Los: being serious.
The tiger showed them the note that was attached to the arrow and their jaws dropped.
"That's great! Wonderful!" Sashi exclaimed.
"Yeah, except that I know it's not true. I…confirmed it myself. The remnants were charred beyond belief. This letter is false." Kiro stated. It pained him to say 'confirmed,' and his friends realized this immediately.
"So…what does this mean?" Los asked.
"It means that some slime ball is trying to be funny or make a point! What I can't figure out is why they used Li-Ding paper. That type of material can only be found in Japan! That must be where the employer of that ninja is, however I don't feel like visiting Japan anytime soon." The white tiger explained.
Just then, a guard came up to the team's table.
"The Emperor wants you to leave and find the criminal as soon as possible! You can eat later!" The rhino stated, then proceeded to take their plates of food and walk off.
"And a 'good morning' to you too, Sunshine!" Kiro muttered.
Once the group reached their rooms, they started packing for their journey. They were each assigned to wear a black outfit that covered everything but their eyes and feet.
Sashi packed a few canisters of water, her signature bow and arrows, and a pair of shoes. Los, however, packed his swords, his pillows, some of his clothes, and his lucky dice. Kiro, on the other hand, only brought his staffs, which hung from his waist.
"Bro, that's it?" Los asked, surprised at what little Kiro had brought.
"Well, I know how to live on my own, so I picked up a few skills here and there. I'll be fine! I just don't see why you had to bring so much stuff!" Kiro replied.
"Boys, next time, just bring what you'll need. Don't be a pack rat," Sashi exclaimed, looking at Los, then turned to Kiro and said, "and don't be a survivor guy."
"Fine. It'll be hard to tell who's who. We all look alike!" Los stated.
"We'll figure it out." The tiger responded.
"Is that you, Sashi?" Los joked, looking at Kiro, "I don't recognize you under all of that black cloth!"
"Funny…" Kiro stated.
The tiger seemed to be back to his old self. One thought, however, had kept Kiro's mind occupied ever since last night.
The note.
Only three words were written on that slip of paper, which were forever burned into his mind:
Daddy says 'hi'
There's the cliffhanger ending that I told you about! Pretty big plot twist, huh? Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Leave a review if you did! Also, put any ideas that you have of what the heck is happening in your review! I'm excited to read what you guys think is happening!
More to come…