Episode 1: The Black Flower – Part 2

"Ashina!" Ethan's voice echoed down the hallway to the wolf who smiled at him, very human eyes looking into his own. For a moment he wasn't sure if he should embrace her or if he should prepare to attack with his naginata in his hand. But something in her smile told him that she wasn't here to fight him. Memories from a year ago flashed through his head. They had gone through the Dimension of Fear, Planet Sectoid One, and even the Void itself that threaded the dimensions together. He remembered her words in that dark place. She had told him she didn't want to be a servant anymore to Lord Nightshade or the Shinotomo Clan. And that was the last time he had seen her.

He lowered his naginata. She didn't even haver her katar bound on her leather coat covered arms. She bridged the space between them and smirked. "It's been way too long. You never called."

"You never gave me your number."

"I don't have a phone."

The two chuckled together and she shoved at his chest with her hand, half to stop him from continuing to laugh and the other seemed affectionate. Ethan looked around them. "Cute place. Did you pick this out yourself?"

Ashina turned her collar up closer to the side of her face, her eyes shifting around her. "Hey, it was safe. Here we won't be seen by anyone."

"So, why are you here?" Ethan asked, "You didn't come all the way for me did you?"

Ashina's smile vanished and seriousness flashed across her bright eyes. "For a while I kept looking for you during nightly patrols, but I never could find you. Then Nightshade heard that you had made your way to Japan from Kurohana."

"Kurohana?" Ethan asked.

Ashina frowned even more, "It isn't good, Ethan," she said, "A couple years ago Nightshade asked us to go New York in America to implement his plan. Ever since then he has been collecting mutagen and now he has been getting nightshade leaves used in poisons that he concocts. I think he is getting close to do something horrible in New York. That isn't all either. He brought all of his 'elect soldiers' with him to New York, but he left one of his servants and her soldiers here. That's Kurohana."

Ethan suddenly remembered the black sakura flower painted in drippy, inky black paint on the wooden wall of one of the houses in the alleyway when they had confronted Kaitlin earlier. He had been in Japan long enough to know that Kurohana meant, "Black Flower…" he muttered to himself.

Ashina nodded. "She saw you a few weeks ago and informed Nightshade. I volunteered to come help her and receive additional training."

"Why did you do that?" Ethan asked feeling something warm inside him.

"Why do you think?" Ashina asked coyly, folding her arms across her chest and grinning, showing her teeth. "But listen, Ethan. The second she spied you out a giant target appeared on you and your sister's backs. And today she saw you trying to talk to that short American girl. That makes her a target as well and I bet she is much easier to capture than you three."

Ethan put his face in his hand and groaned.

That's all I needed was another person getting involved.

"Guess no place is safe then." He muttered.

Ashina nodded in agreement and they were quiet together – the sound of pattering rain the only thing that filled it up with echoing noise that traveled through the cement tunnel. "I don't know what I can do," Ashina said, "But I will see if there is a way that I can help you."

Slowly, Ethan put his naginata behind his back, securing it with a click and he smiled at Ashina. "I don't really know why you feel you need to do that." He said. "Just over a year ago you were trying to kill me."

Ashina slugged at his arm. "Don't think that I'm suddenly team Hamato." She said. When Ethan was quiet, waiting for her answer, Ashina sighed and continued, "I'm feeling pretty done with Nightshade."

"You said that a year ago and you are still working for him."

Ashina glared and Ethan felt a sting inside him like she had lashed out. "It isn't as easy as cancelling a school class or walking away from someone." Her voice echoed past Ethan's ears and then she sighed again. "Sorry." She muttered. "I have things to figure out. Just…promise me you will try and stay out of Kurohana and Nightshade's way."

"I'll try."

"That's all I ask."

Ethan felt an awkward tug and looked away, avoiding her eyes glancing at anything else – an odd stain on the wall. She wasn't turning away her own eyes and finally he met them again, a painful pressure appearing between them like a wall. "Well, I'll talk to you later then." Ethan managed to say, unsure if that was the words he actually felt inside.

"Yeah. Maybe." She said and with a quick nod she tugged the black hood back over her head and Ethan watched as she walked down the long cement tunnel, water plopping around her and then up into the hazy gray of the rain and out of sight.

Ethan put up his own hood and quickly sprinted back to the apartment, nearly slipping on his way there.

When he got in he pulled off his wet coat.

Jess was awake now, boiling water on a portable stove and turned to looked as the door opened. Kaela was turning off the computer. "How'd your walk go?" Kaela asked. She turned to look at Ethan and then paused. "Why are you all smiley?" She asked, smirking herself.

"I met someone." Ethan said sitting down next to the stove. Jessica looking up from the water to try and read his expression. Ethan quickly explained to them about the note he had found on the balcony and then described his experience with Ashina and the bad news that Kurohana and her gang of Shinotomo lackeys had seen them and were no likely targeting Kaitlin.

"Well, that isn't good." Jess said. "Although I gotta say with a year of hardly any real fighting, I am not feeling too opposed to the idea of beating up some Shinotomo ninjas."

Kaela hummed under her breath and fidgeted on the floor next to the heater. Her long black tail coiled and furled out in concentration. "I dunno." Kaela said quietly. "I don't get why Ashina would want to help us. If she knows where the apartment is that we are in, then we might have those Shinotmo soldiers knocking on our door any second."

As if the word had summoned the enemies out of the ground, Jess gripped her two kamas tighter, the white fur bristling on her knuckles.

"I don't think so." Ethan quickly said, "Ashina told me a long time ago when we were trapped in the Void together that she was done with the whole Nightshade thing."

"Obviously not." Jess muttered under her breath, but it was loud enough that Ethan could hear and he scowled back at her. She shrugged her shoulders defensively.

"Look," Ethan said, glancing at his sister's eyes, one to the other, "We need to talk to Kaitlin again. She is in danger now because of us talking to her."

"Great." Jess said. "Like I said, if we get to finally see some action, I'm all down for it."

Ethan turned to look at Kaela, his ears perking up.

Kaela looked back at him, her eyes swimming with concern and then she sighed and looked down at her feet. "Well, I guess if Kaitlin is in danger because of us, then we have to fix it."

Ethan smiled.

It was decided.

For the first time in a week the rain let up, although the sky was still gray. Ethan balanced as if on a top, perched atop one of the sloping ceilings of the Shinseto train station. Kaitlin would be coming home any time now.

It was hidden to anyone from the train, but Ethan could see the white tuft of the top of Jess' head hiding behind some of the boxes in the same alleyway they had tried to confront Kaitlin before. The whip of Kaela's tail could be seen on the opposite side near a second alley that led off into the streets. Ethan was getting board of waiting – his naginata stuck to his back. He rubbed at his nose as he waited, his eyes starting to slide shut. He wobbled on the peek of the house and he nearly toppled but he caught himself.

He heard a hiss from down below in the alley. Kaela was staring up at him with her usual concern. He grinned back and rubbed the back of his head nervously in reply – he would stay awake.

The familiar jingle sounded from the train that announced its approach.

"Ready?" Jess hissed up at Ethan.

He nodded his reply, ignoring the annoying fact that if anyone had been passing through the isle they would have heard Jess' indiscreet voice.

Ethan watched the white metal that blocked his view of the train. Then with another jingle, he heard the sound of the train, his ears perking up at the noise and then the train slid into view through glass panels further down the rails. He quickly glanced over at the doors which a few minutes later slid open and a group of four or five students came out, dressed in navy blue school uniforms.

They all dispersed after saying quick: "Ja Ne!"

Only one walked towards the abandoned alleyway.

Kaitlin had her ice skates slung over her shoulder, more obvious from the other students by her brown hair.

With a fluid movement of his arm he threw his hood over his face to hide his mutant form and then he hopped down smoothly form his perch, slid down the still damp panels of the house and fell in front of Kaitlin in the abandoned alleyway.

Kaitlin started and then whirled her skates around, prepared this time.

"For real, you want to do this again?" she asked fiercely. Although she was shorter than even some Japanese people, she had a deadly glare and a feisty disposition. She had lowered her stance and held the ice skate expertly – perhaps she had some kind of martial arts training herself.

Ethan quickly let his gloved his hands come up in front of him defensively. "I'm not here to hurt you!" He said.

"That's what you said last time."

"Yeah, and look – you aren't hurt, are you?" Jess had come out form behind her, the impatience in her voice obvious, her hood over her now, but her kamas were in her hand and she spun them absentmindedly.

Kaitlin eyed them but didn't seem to look threatened, "Yeah – I'm not worried about getting hurt at all when your carrying crazy garden tool weapons."

"Garden tools?" Jess didn't sound amused.

Kaela quickly spun from her own hiding place behind a box.

Kaitlin immediately dropped the ice skate, her eyes going wide, her mouth falling open with a squeak.

Ethan spun to see what she was looking at.

It was just Kaela…Kaela without a hood.

"Kaela!" Ethan hissed.

"Whoops!" She grabbed the edge of her hood clumsily and threw it over her face, but it was too late.

"You're a – a –."

"It's just a mask, I promise!" Kaela exclaimed.

"You're a cat!" Kaitlin's face transformed into a surprising one of elation.

Ethan raised an eyebrow at her.

"That is so cool! How the heck did you turn into a cat person? Can I do that?"

She looked at Ethan's silhouette. "Are you a cat person too?"

With a sigh and a shrug of Kaela's shoulders, Ethan pulled the hood from his own head, his fire engine red and black ears flopping out, his whiskers twitching. Kaitlin just stared at him and then glanced back at Jess. She had already removed her hood showing her white fur and fierce eyes. "So crazy…" Kaitlin muttered under her breath, and the more loudly she exclaimed, "So cute!"

"Yeah, we are cute and stuff, but look we didn't come here to just ask you for help. You need to come with us. You're in danger—." The second it came form his lips the sound of a blade flipping through the air could be heard as sharply to his ears as a gunshot and he leaped, grabbing Kaitlin as he went, taking them both down.

Kaitlin sputtered out her surprise, a shuriken stuck in the ground where he had been standing. Ethan barely had time to get up, pulling up Kaitlin with him as Kaela quickly unfurled her ribbon dart.

Down the gray and dark brown alleyway was standing four figures, entirely garbed in white, their faces covered in shrouds. A black, inky imprint of a flower was displayed on their chest like the one in the alleyway.

"You were saying?" Kaitlin gulped.

"Yeah, danger." Ethan replied.