A/N: Thanks for helping Rising get over 200 reviews! I'm glad all of you have stuck by my story for this long. And I apologize if I don't review yours as much as I should.
Chapter 28
Darting from rooftop to rooftop, ShadowStrike made his way back to the house he and Sunny had found. His attempt to stop whatever experiments the Shredder was currently working on backfired thanks to the untimely appearance of Oni-Kage. After a battle, the Shredder's daughter got involved and forced him to flee. Now, he had to get back and make sure Sunny was okay. Now that his mission was over, all he could think about was the young girl's wellbeing.
Perhaps it had been a mistake to leave her in an abandoned house, but it would have been an even bigger mistake to take her with him. He just had to hope that if someone broke in, she would hide until he arrived. Maybe he should have given her a weapon to defend herself, but he didn't want to run the risk of her killing someone, even in self-defense. ShadowStrike may have adopted the philosophy to cut down his enemies, but that didn't mean he expected the same from a child. She'd seen enough blood already thanks to him.
Because of his refusal to act sooner, Sunny's parents were dead, leaving her all alone (something he could relate to). He'd killed her parents' murderers right in front of her, their blood splattering all over the place. Despite what she'd seen, she still took his blood soaked hand and was now accompanying him. He did all he could to make sure she was well cared for without getting too close to her. He learned the hard way that anyone, females especially, who got close to him wound up dead.
He may have done all he could to avoid getting too attached to the girl, but that didn't mean he wouldn't gut anyone who dared lay a hand on her. As he continued along the rooftop, he wondered if his own mother felt that same need to protect him when he was Sunny's age. They had always been close, being able to tell each other about their problems (at least the ones Jack could understand, depending on his age). He could always count on her to give good advice on how to approach women, not that he ever took due to his own insecurities. While their closeness had always been a great benefit, Jack knew it was also an inevitable downfall.
Soon enough, Jack would have been eighteen and out of the house, leaving his mother alone. She had already been abandoned by one man in her life; Jack didn't want to leave her by herself without making sure she was well cared for. He'd seen the way men looked at her; she was indeed a beautiful woman. Most men only wanted to get to know her for her body and then ran like cowards when she told them about Jack. He knew it would take some time before any real men would come along.
He'd taken notice, however, of "closeness" she had with Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. While he knew Optimus certainly thought his mother was beautiful, any inappropriate thoughts were the last thing on his mind. His regal demeanor made him any woman's ideal man, and any kid's ideal step-father. ShadowStrike shook his head; there was no way he could associate Optimus with fatherhood, not after their own father/son bond had been broken.
There were times where Jack wondered what Optimus' thoughts were the night Arcee died. Did he blame Jack for it all? Was he ashamed of the boy for his actions? Did he ever regret placing his fate in Jack's hands? This and many more thoughts crept their way into ShadowStrike's mind.
However, these thoughts took a back seat when he arrived at the house. He examined the area to make sure no one had disturbed it since he left. He walked over to the door and slowly pushed it open, as to not alert anyone who might have gotten in. He slowly stepped into the darkness, hand ready to draw his sword and kill whoever might try and attack him. ShadowStrike's red eyes glowed in the darkness, only adding to his intimidating nature.
The sound of something crashing on the floor drew his attention toward the kitchen, his hand now gripping his blade's hilt. He slowly moved toward the kitchen ready to do away with any intruder. If it was just some homeless person, he would gladly pass on any food he could find. If it was some punk from a gang, then he'd hang his body over the center of Tokyo to let his friends know to stay away from here. The sound of running feet approached him.
He looked in the darkness to find a blunt object aiming at him. With expert reflexes, he caught the piece of wood and held in tight grasp. Reaching over to the light switch, the room filled with dim lighting, bright enough for ShadowStrike and Sunny to recognize each other.
"Jack!" the girl jumped.
"Thanks for the welcome," he replied dryly.
The young girl blushed, "S-Sorry, I thought you were a burglar or something."
"Well, I'm not, but it was smart of you not to just call out my name in case I was a burglar." He released the piece of wood and Sunny put it down. Returning to his normal form, Jack turned out the lights and went upstairs to a room. He was dead tired from tonight's activity, the only keeping him going all that long being adrenaline. Now, all he wanted was to get some sleep.
He quickly went back down stairs and locked up the door to make sure no one would get in that easily. He and Sunny crawled into a bed, the young girl lying on top of Jack's chest. Rather than protest, the ninja merely allowed himself to drift off into sleep.
ShadowStrike Rising
"Prime!" Agent Fowler yelled upon entering base, ignoring groans from Miko and Bulkhead as to why he was here. The Autobot in question approached the agent, ready to receive whatever reprimanding he had in store for whatever they had done. Fowler was slightly amused at how seriously Optimus took everything. Heck, all of the Autobots were a little serious about everything. He'd be lying if he said he never thought about playing a prank or two on them, but he had a job to do.
However, that didn't stop the kids from doing it, such as when Jack, Miko, and Raf jokingly made a remark about selling one of Ratchet's tools on eBay. The medic went nuts and vowed to dissect whoever invented such "horrid" system. When he went to Prime about this, he reprimanded the children about risking their cover for some joke. Not long after that, Fowler was called in, turning their little prank into a fiasco. When they fessed up that it was just a joke, Jack got a nice long "talking to" from his mother.
He, Miko, and Raf were put on probation for a month by Prime, meaning they had to clean up base and do inventory for whatever knick knacks the 'Bots kept in base. While cleaning base, Jack accidently walked into the Autobot wash room, just as Arcee was cleaning off her protoform. To say the femme was angry and the teen was embarrassed would be an understatement. Arcee used whatever foul language she knew, coupled with terms she'd learned during her time on Earth. After she calmed down, she forgave Jack for the mistake and the two resumed their usual duties.
Fowler and June had to talk to Optimus letting loose a little more and not being so uptight about everything. The Prime agreed and now things were semi-normal. With the 'Cons quiet and their energon deposit full, Ratchet had been able to donate more of his time to repairing Arcee's damaged body, though he was still a month or two off. The blue femme had managed to get used to her human body and lounged around base, still complaining about how she wanted to get some action. Though everyone could tell she just wanted to go out and find Jack.
"Agent Fowler," Optimus rumbled. "To what do we owe your visit?"
"Orders," the agent replied. "I'm bein' sent to the Land of the Rising of Sun to get the dirt on Saki and whatever plans he's got cooking up."
"Agent Fowler," June called, but the agent already knew what she about to say.
"My boys still haven't found Jack. We've searched every state capitol and small town we could think and there hasn't been any sign of him. We're starting to think he isn't in the U.S. anymore. I'll contact our allies and see what old friends I can scrounge up to find him." The nurse merely nodded, both disappointed and grateful for the news. "If we can get any dirt on Saki, then maybe we can persuade him to give up MECH."
"Tread carefully Agent Fowler," Optimus said gravely. "This Oroku Saki has far too many similarities to Megatron. He is cunning, swift to action, and easy to anger. He will not hesitate to see you or anyone who stands in his way to an early demise."
"I will Prime," Fowler nodded. "Besides, there's a gang war brewing in Tokyo. With any luck, Saki will be too busy with that to even notice me."
ShadowStrike Rising
The sun shone brightly in the sky, filling the small Japanese home with its light. Jack's eyes opened slowly as they adjusted to the light. He looked around the room before his gaze fell on the sleeping form of Sunny, still lying on top of his chest. Rather than wake the girl, Jack merely allowed her to rest on him, not wanting to get up just yet himself. After a few minutes, she started to stir, sitting up and stretching.
He had to admit she looked rather cute the way she stretched and yawned, like a little anime character. She rolled off of Jack absentmindedly and curled up in the bed. Jack merely lay there, thinking it might be okay if they slept in, having not slept in a bed in days. Such thoughts were pushed aside when the sound of rapid and multiple gun fire filled their ears. Jack shot up and looked around while Sunny nuzzled closer to him and covered her ears.
Judging from the sound, the gunfire was coming from outside the house but no too close. Jack and Sunny got out of the bed and ran downstairs. Quickly transforming, ShadowStrike allowed Sunny to climb on his back and darted outside of the house. The ninja quickly jumped to the rooftops and surveyed the area. Determining where the gunfire was coming from, ShadowStrike raced in that direction.
Arriving at the source of the noise, the ninja peeked over the edge to find several dozen people shooting at each other. It was some form of gang war, having already claimed the lives of several. On one side, a group had been pushed to the back of the alley, hiding behind dumpsters and garbage cans. The other group was slowly closing in, keeping up the fire. ShadowStrike watched the scene before him in confliction.
Should he save the group that was pinned down or leave them to their fate. After all, where gang wars are concerned, there is no right or wrong side (perhaps the same could be said about any war). Both gangs had no doubt bullied others with their numbers and fire arms, so why not let them destroy each other? At the same time, if he allowed this to continue, innocent people might get hurt. He could easily take them all out, but what would that mean for the victims' families?
Surely some of them belonged to a family that loved and cared for them and were being hurt by their decisions to be part of this war. Whoever the leaders of these gangs were, they must have been charismatic to have gained this many followers. Sunny watched the scene in horror, the gunfire ringing in her ears. Seeing this, ShadowStrike made the choice to stop this, even if it meant a few had to die. Placing Sunny on the roof and making sure no one could hurt her, the ninja dived to the ground below.
ShadowStrike landed in the middle of the firefight, earning everyone's attention, "Enough!" They gangs stared at him in shock, "This little firefight ends now. Go home and you can still live in piece, but more importantly, you'll live!" Everyone present on the dominant side exchanged looks before opening fire on the ninja. Deflecting each attack with his sword, ShadowStrike quickly infiltrated their number and stabbed one of them in the gut. Everyone looked on in horror as he coughed up blood when the blade was removed.
"Go home," the ninja growled. "Take your friend to a hospital and go home." Rather than fight, the gang left, leaving the group they were attacking to deal with the ninja. He gave them all a sharp look, "Anyone here wanna try something?"
One of them approached. Judging from his attire, he was the "field commander", "Thanks."
"I wasn't trying to save you," he spat. "Your rough housing woke me up. I'm not much of a morning person. Now what was all that about."
"Those fuckers jumped us in our territory," one of the members from behind spoke up.
"Let's start from the beginning," ShadowStrike narrowed his eyes.
ShadowStrike Rising
A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Next time: ShadowStrike must choose a side in this war while Fowler arrives in Japan. Meanwhile, Shredder and a "benefactor" meet to discuss business.