Wow, twenty chapters already, huh? Time seems to be catching up quickly. Can't believe it's already been over a year. Thanks everyone, for staying for the ride, I really appreciate it. If y'all could review, just for the overall story, I'd love that. Reviews are the lifeblood of writers, and it motivates us to write quicker and better. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Chapter title inspired by the game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, pretty self-explanatory

Chapter 20: Shadows Die Twice

Zane P.O.V., 2 hours following "You Shouldn't Be Here"; 9:16 A.M.

LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS CRITICAL. REQUIRES FULL SYSTEM REBOOT

INITIATING REBOOT

3…

2…

1…

RESTARTING SYSTEMS NOW

Lurching forwards, the fallen ninja startled the birds resting atop his chassis, now frantically trying to get away from the live nindroid. Confused, Zane stood up, albeit on shaky legs, and looked around, and saw nothing but trees. Despite the beauty of the lush forest, Zane found it difficult to admire the scenery when he was here alone, with no chance of contacting his brothers, who he had assumed had already declared him dead. Brushing off the dirt (which had most definitely found its way into his internal gearbox) and twigs, Zane braced himself against a tree, slowly limping his way out of the forest. Despite the dire situation, fate had spared multiple weapons for Zane to use. As he trudged his way across the forest, he encountered his shuriken and wakizashi, which he had quickly strapped to his waist belt. Continuing his way south, Zane followed a small stream downstream, hoping it would eventually lead him to a city or village, where he could safely contact the ninja. As the sun began to set, Zane found a small cave, where he made a fire, warding off predators. As he was about to enter sleep mode, three things happened, almost too quickly for him to process.

First he heard a racking noise, then the click of a safety being disabled, and finally he felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his temple.

"Give me one reason not to blow your brains out."

Enatsu P.O.V., 1 hour, 15 minutes following "You Shouldn't Be Here"; 10:31 A.M.

BEEP

BEEP

BEEP

Groaning, Marasu Enatsu slapped around the nightstand, desperately hoping to hit the off button of his alarm clock. Dammit, I guess I forgot to turn it off last night. Finally managing the silence the incessant noise, he turned back toward Yumiko, who was also now awake.

"Do you want to stay in bed?" He grumbled, the question slightly muffled as he leaned in to place a kiss in the crook of her neck.

Yumiko giggled quietly, still amused by his antics when they had just woken up. "I think we should get up, I heard that the ninja saved Kenshi from the Red Room. Maybe if we can talk to him, we can talk to the ninja as well; who knows, maybe they can help us."

Enatsu nodded. "Okay then, let's get ready, I'll call him while you take a shower. You can take a shower on you own just fine, right?"

Yumiko rolled her eyes, slightly miffed that he would ask that type of question, but still understanding why he would ask. "Yes, Marasu, I can shower on my own. Don't worry, just get the call through."

He nodded once more, before walking out, a phone in his hand. Dialing Kenshi's personal number, one only a few operators knew, he had expected Kenshi to answer, not a young man's voice. "Hello? Who is this?"

Surprised, Marasu replied as well as he could, considering he was still wondering why a kid had picked up. "I'm an old friend of Kenshi's, and I'd like to talk to him. It's important."

The voice hesitated. "Is there a name I can refer to?"

"Just tell him Echo wants to talk."

"Echo, got it. Alright, I'll get to him as soon as I can. Hopefully you'll get a call back within an hour, okay?"

"Sure." Marasu acknowledged curtly before he hung up.

Yumiko walked in soon after. "How'd it go?" She asked, a towel wrapped around her hair.

Enatsu grunted. "Not well," he huffed. "Some kid picked up, asked who I was and what I wanted. A kid! Can you believe it?"

Yumiko hummed. "Was it Takeda? You know, he is still pretty young."

Marasu shook his head. "No, Takeda's voice is deeper. Don't forget, he's twenty seven now, and I'm pretty sure he's in S.A.T. training right now. Pretty sure I saw him a week or two ago, when I was helping the instructors on drone safety and stuff."

Yumiko sighed. "Right, right. You work for the S.A.T. now. How is Rainbow so far?"

He shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Some new operators have come in besides the original crew, so we have some green beans, but nothing out of the norm."

"Sounds nice. Have you gone out on any new operations?"

Enatsu's eyes lit up at the question. Like Yumiko, he was always happy to tell stories of his time on the field, a passion both shared, one that eventually led to find each other. "Yeah, actually. Operation Red Crow, they had called it. Secure and protect situation, led by the Crimson Veil gang. I'm not sure why the government couldn't handle it, but they called us in. Attackers went in first, cleared the place out took the first objective, and tied up the hostage for us, then me and the team moved in, secured the place as well as we could. Had to defend the bedroom of a club house, of all places! We couldn't believe it, but it's not like we had much choice either way. Adler almost got killed, but Gustave managed to patch him up so that he wouldn't bleed out. Same went for the hostage. Turns out he was a high ranking gang member, so we turned him over, made sure he would ta–"

The phone next to the, began to buzz, the contact labeled "Kenshi". Swiftly picking up the phone, Enatsu spoke first, a simple,

"Hello?"

Kenshi laughed, an unmistakeable boom. "Marasu Enatsu, it's been a while! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Enatsu smiled. "Please Takahashi, no need for formalities, we're far past that stage either way."

Kenshi paused for a moment, before his tome turned serious. "Enatsu, listen kid, you're in some deep shit. You've got some Atlas boys comin' for you, a hit churned out by some big league hotshot, I'm not sure who. Listen, you need to hide, and fast, before they find you."

Marasu chuckled. "No need to worry, they've already come, and I've already dealt with them."

The swordsman paused for a moment. "Well, that's a relief. So, what do you need? You don't normally call for fun."

The S.A.T. operator hesitated. "Kenshi, I heard that you're with the ninja right now, and I need help. That person that put out the hit, they want me alive, and I think it was by someone we know. Please, Kenshi, I need to talk to the ninja. I have Yumiko here with me, who isn't in very good shape, mind you, and I'm afraid that they will come back looking for round two."

Kenshi hesitated, then sighed, relenting under the heavy silence. "Fine, but you have to be ready to leave home by tomorrow. I'll have someone go and pick you up from there, then take you to the Bounty. Bring your climbing gear; you're gonna have to climb, so be prepared."

"Alright. Thanks, Takahashi, I appreciate it."

"No problem, just. . . be safe."

"We will. Good luck."

A slightly shorter chapter than usual, but more on the way. Funny thing, I actually made a mistake last chapter, where Kai is sparring like nothing happened, even though he should be in a wheelchair, and I really don't know what to do with that, so let's just leave it alone for now, please.

On a side note, would you guys prefer an update like this every week, or would you like a longer chapter, maybe 2-3k every other week? If you would prefer longer ones, I'd just do more P.O.V.'s and make them slightly longer.

Also, what do you guys think of the story so far? I'm hoping to be able to end it on the 40 or 50 mark, because I don't want it to be too long, unless you guys do. To be honest, I when I started writing this, I didn't expect it to even make it to ten, so thanks everyone, for sticking around. Ghost readers, help me out here. Review, tell me how you think this story is doing, tell me what you do or don't like.

With that, have a good day/night!

~The Titan's Shadow