Musical selection for the chapter

Onimusha Dawn of Dreams - Oni Mansion

Deus Ex Human Revolution - Detroit City Ambient Part 1

Tekken 5 - Sunrise

The Game - Dead (Instrumental)(Purple & Patron mixtape)

Chapter 10 – Truce

March 22nd, 2014, Doubletree Hotel, Buckhead district, Atlanta, Georgia…

Kunimitsu feel into a nervous breakdown after being denied extended hours to be with her son Karasu. When she returned to the penthouse suite, she stayed cooped up in her bedroom wallowing in tears, until she fell asleep. Once again, she dreamt about something unpleasant.

The fox ninja was surrounded in darkness. Then she could hear the cries of her son. Soon a flight of white stairs appeared from the ground up. Kunimitsu decided to ascend these steps. The cries grew louder as Kunimitsu ran up the steps. Finally a door appeared before the end of the stairs. Kunimitsu kicks the door open.

There was nothing outside except for dry sand. Then, the fox ninja could see her son, but the poor bay was about to be executed by that vampire she saw back in Russia, Stella. The baby was being held by some vines that popped out of the ground. Stella floated in the air, extending her long fingernails for slashing. Kunimitsu attempted to stop her, but Stella uses her other hand to summon more vines to grab Kunimitsu. The vines were fast. Kunimitsu could not evade them all and gets stuck. There was nothing she could do from here. Stella approaches Kunimitsu instead and decides to give her a warning.

Stella: "I don't know who you are, but you are a fool to try and stop me from taking my prize!"

Kunimitsu: "Leave him alone! If you touch him, I swear I'll kill you!"

Suddenly the vines begin throwing thorns. The sharp thorns puncture Kunimitsu in many areas around the body. Kunimitsu cries in agony.

Stella: "That's what you get for talking back to me you worm! Now say goodbye!"

Stella's gives a slash directed at Kunimitsu's face. Then Kunimitsu opens her eyes back into the real world. Her temperature rose up to the point where she got out of bed naked with just her red bra and panties on. Coming out of the room in her wheelchair, Kunimitsu thought she was alone. There sat Zafina on the couch, surprisingly watching television. The fortune teller slowly turns to her right to see Kunimitsu and greets her politely.

Zafina: "Good morning Kunimitsu. I'm surprised to see you up at this hour."

Kunimitsu (curious): "Well good to see you too, but where is Raven, and why are you up?" (Time says 1:52 AM)

Zafina: "Raven will be here soon. I found him in Midtown, but he didn't want to be disturbed because he had a conference with his superiors on the radio. Just give him some time ok."

Kunimitsu (sighs): "Ok."

Zafina: "You seemed troubled. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Kunimitsu: "It's nothing. I just can't sleep is all."

Zafina: "I don't think so."

Kunimitsu (pulls her wheelchair adjacent from the couch where Zafina sat): "Why do you care anyway?"

Zafina: "I'm worried about your well being. The recent sweat pouring on your face tells me that you have been experiencing bad dreams."

Kunimitsu (wiping her face under the mask): "I forget you can see through minds and predict the future and shit. Well fine, I did have a bad dream, what else?"

Zafina: "The dream involved your son right?"

Kunimitsu: "Yea."

Zafina: "The future does not say that your son will die from his illness or from that vampire, but that doesn't mean my predictions are always true."

Kunimitsu: "What are you getting at?"

Zafina: "You are my friend. I will make it my personal mission and see to it that your son lives on even after this vampire is gone for good."

The fox ninja was dumbfounded by Zafina's latest statement. It was clear to Kunimitsu that Zafina was a rival towards Raven when it came to picking girlfriends. She never trusted Zafina around Raven for she knew Zafina would take advantage of him to satisfy her lust. Perhaps that was the case this time around, but why was she acting so friendly around her? Suddenly Zafina gets up and kneels down to where Kunimitsu had her wheelchair stopped. This bold action began to make Kunimitsu nervous about what was to come.

Kunimitsu: "What is this?"

Zafina: "There is no need to be afraid. What matters is that you need to be strong for your son and Raven."

Kunimitsu: "Be strong? Why are you saying this?"

Zafina: "Because Raven does love you. As his friend and supporter I love you as well."

Kunimitsu: "I don't know what to say. I never expected this out of you Zafina."

Zafina: "Now you know where my stance is in all of this. I go by fate. Fate so far tells Raven belongs with you. Raising a family is not my intention but I don't want you to lose yours. Understand?"

Kunimitsu nodding her head in agreement. Secretly, Kunimitsu hoped Raven shared the same concerns for her and Karasu like Zafina mentioned.

Zafina: "You should return to bed, and heal from your injury."

Kunimitsu: "I guess you're right. I need to relax and clear my mind."

Zafina: "That is for the best. Do you need help going to bed?"

Kunimitsu: "Thank you Zafina, but I can go on my own."

Kunimitsu, though surprised by Zafina's concern for her, still remained cautious that Zafina could do something underhanded like assassinating her. The kunoichi slowly rolled her wheelchair back into her room and closed the door.

Later that morning…

Time now was 9:39 AM. A loud knock woke Kunimitsu up from her sleep. Then the door opens and it was Raven who returned to the hotel some 4 hours earlier. As he entered Kunimitsu's room, he had a note in his left hand.

Raven: "Sorry to wake you up, but we need to talk."

Kunimitsu (yawning): "Raven…where have you been?"

Raven: "Had to talk with my boss about my investigation so far, but I'm here to tell you that Zafina left us note. She's returning to Egypt for training with that new sword of hers."

Kunimitsu: "She's gone?"

Raven: "Yeah. When Lars and Alisa come back later today we will tell them as well."

Kunimitsu: "I'm actually happy to hear she left, but I need to heal from my injury so I can train as well."

Raven: "Even when Karasu gets released from the hospital, we won't have much time to train because Stella and Manji Clan could be scheming to kill more people as we speak. What we have to do, we need to do it fast."

Kunimitsu nodded her head in agreement. She and Raven both got themselves ready to leave their penthouse room so visit Karasu and meet up with Lars and Alisa at the air force base.

Karasu's health improved to where Dr. Al-Sanussi felt comfortable releasing him from the hospital. The baby was finally checked out four days after being treated. Kunimitsu was very happy to see her son back to normal again. Raven was grateful to see his offspring live on. It was decided that the family would travel with the Paladins back to Japan in order to do a month long training session. In the mean time, Lars would send his scouts to detect any signs the Manji Clan would try and invade areas throughout the world.

March 26th, 2014, Stella's Castle, Carpathian Mountians, Romania…

Throughout the land, locals were being kidnapped by the terrifying warrior ninjas from the Manji Clan. Many adults were massacred and left to die as the clan took prisoner of any young children they could find. Some were teens while others were mere babies. What made these crimes more heinous was the fact that many of them were executed back at the castle if they did not possess the rare blood type of B negative in order to quickly replenish Stella's powers. While the barrier surrounding her castle protected them from opposing military forces, its magic took some energy away from Stella each day. The more blood she could absorb from the children, the stronger the barrier could remain intact.

During the time the Manji Clan helped to reestablish the territory for Stella, Zukumimefu was too busy monitoring the movements of Raven and Kunimitsu. She was ashamed that she made herself vulnerable for capture despite winning the fight against Kunimitsu. Another thing was bothering her about the behavior of Yoshimitsu and his interactions with Stella. It was as if he was spending more time with Stella instead of her. Plus she felt grossed out whenever Stella tortured a child. Their screams of pain could be heard all throughout the castle sometimes. Right now, Zuku's mind was strictly on the predicament of Kunimitsu. Zuku sent a scout over to their location in America, but he was only told to stay close enough for spying. No attacking them. Zuku learned about the recovery of Karasu and that made her angry. She underestimated the strength of the baby to withstand that poison, but it was because of that middle eastern woman who knew of a place to treat the poison. The informant messaged Zukumimefu via text messaging through stolen cellular phones.

Zuku: "Is that what happened? So what are they planning now?"

Informant: "They plan to travel back to Japan with the Paladin Special Forces. For reasons I don't know. For know they do not plan on finding us."

Zuku: "What about that other woman?"

Informant: "She left America 4 days ago. To where, I don't know."

Zuku (thinking): "Don't worry about her. Continue to follow the ninjas closely. I will find another way to steal that baby from Kunimitsu. I'm still pissed off that baby didn't die!"

Informant: "Anything else?"

Zuku: "For now just follow them. I will contact you again once I come up with a plan."

Informant: "Yes Zukumimefu."

Whatever plan Zuku was devising it had better be discreet because she did not want Yoshimitsu to stop her from accomplishing her personal mission to make Kunimitsu suffer. It was obvious Yoshimitsu was not giving Zuku the attention like he did in the past, and it bothered her very much.

Notes: Next chapter will be self explanatory. The crew will prepare themselves for training and another possible invasion to catch the Manji Clan and the vampire Stella by surprise. What kind of plan will Zukumimefu conjure up to take away Kunimitsu's son?