The Future of Shika

Kile Agrani, Uttarakhand Province, India…

After confronting Tasher Dragunov, Hide used a truth telling spell on him to get the necessary information to find the remaining members of the Dragunov family. Hide was torn between finding Bogdan and his brother Damian. In the end, Hide chose to find Damian since Tasher believed that Cain was with Damian helping with the recruitment of soldiers for the Dragunov's private mercenary group. Hide notified his commanding officer about the details and tipped off Belarussian police about Tasher's terroristic crimes. After this report, Hide would travel to the Himalayas and begin to search for Damian's recruitment camp.

The ninja made it to Uttarkhand Province in India with no trouble. Hide hopped out of the hovercraft to scope the area. It was a lush area with tall trees and snowcapped mountains to compliment the atmosphere. The temperature was mild, yet warm with the sunlight. Standing over a large boulder, Hide used his binoculars to view the land.

Hide: "There! That must be the place."

Looking along the lower part of the mountain range, Hide spotted the very camp in question. The camp matched the description based on Hide's paper he printed out just before he landed. It was built about 10 years ago. A camp known as Kile Agrani by the locals living nearby. It was here where Damian's private army housed new recruits for basic training and joining the ranks.

Hide got closer to the base as viewed it again with the binoculars. There were Indian men scattered everywhere, but then he spotted a few Russian men walking across the barracks heading for the outdoor field. He did not know which one was Damian, but Hide kept his binoculars on them until they went inside a two story building. Most likely their command center. So, Hide carefully infiltrated the facility by hiding underneath an incoming truck as it was slowly entering the fort security gate. It was very hot under the truck, but Hide had to endure it before the truck could come to a complete stop. Once it did, Hide peeked his head and saw no one else coming. He dashed to the nearest hiding spot behind some box crates. The command center was just up ahead to his right.

Meanwhile, back at the Shika Clan headquarters in Japan…

Omani: "Are the boys in bed?"

Urenna: "Yeah…finally. They were really into that story you told them about."

Omani: "Any story involving yokai will surely make their heads spin." (Laughing.) "And its time to put the little girl (Hanta) into her crib."

Few minutes later…

Omani: "Okay. That's all the children. Just us now."

Urenna: "Good. They were especially hyper today. Especially Bryce, he was still moving around even after doing drills this afternoon. Did I ever have that kind of energy when I was younger?"

Omani: "Well…I don't think so. You were definitely agile for your age at that time. Bryce will likely excel pretty quickly as a Chuunin. He can become Jonin within' the next 3 years as he grows."

Urenna: "Yeah…its almost like he's used to it as playing rather than training. I can see him doing better than myself and Santi when the time comes for his first test."

Omani: "It's exciting to see the Shika Clan grow once more. There was a time I thought me and Hide would be the only ones left. I didn't even have the motivation to find new recruits. A part of me, just wanted normalcy. To live an easier life. Our late master could empathize with me. But our clan, our history, our way of life would disappear completely without passing it down to someone younger. I see that Hide was more worried about that than me. We are fortunate to be able to find someone like you Urenna."

Urenna: "Wow! Uhhh…thanks."

Omani: "I mean it. You do have the qualities to help carry on our clan. If the boys ever try to challenge you for the leadership role, you should do it diplomatically in a debate. It should never come to violence. Same with little Hanta. We must all be close as a clan. If one ninja runs off or tries to do evil deeds, then our reputation is tarnished, forever. Do you understand?"

Urenna (nodding.): "Yes, Omani. I do."

Omani: "Very good. Its after 11 o'clock." (Yawns.) "Sleepy. I wonder when Hide will come back home."

Urenna: "Yes…I haven't heard from him myself. It has been almost a week."

Omani: "He needs to come back soon. I can't live a double life like this. Then again summer is almost here. So, I can have a break teaching school. Well tomorrow is another day. Maybe we can do some hiking after breakfast tomorrow. Maybe catch some fish. Sounds good to you?"

Urenna: "Yeah…I have no problems with that. Sounds like fun."

Omani: "Okay. Well I'm off to bed. Night Urenna."

Urenna: "Goodnight Omani."

Back in India…

Hide was now inside the command center after knocking out an unsuspecting solider and taking his clothes. Hide put on the military outfit as a disguise and proceeded on upstairs. There was a meeting taking place in the conference room at the second floor. It involved Damian Dragunov and his colleagues under the Dragunov private forces. They were discussing the recent apprehension of Damian's brother Tasher by the United Nations. Damian was not happy about this news as his voice echoed throughout the hallway. Hide cautiously planted a microphone on the wall near the conference room door and kept walking by. His headpiece would allow him to figure out the group's plans.

Damian: "Just how did they find out? Who beat him up?! The United Nations couldn't have done this alone! Someone tipped them off about Tasher! I'm calling for our secret spies to find out anything on how this could have happened! We also need to know where Tasher is in jail. Is he still in Belarus or not?!"

General Garismovo: "I heard something about Tasher being moved to The Hague in a special prison for high level criminals. But it is not confirmed whether he is there right now."

Damian: "Where are our spy units? I want both of them to go there and be sure to confirm his location there with a photograph or a satellite coordinate! Something!"

General Morozov: "One of our spy units is guarding Bogdan as we speak. The other unit can be sent to The Hague right away. They are still on base near Saint Petersburg."

Damian: "Is that the falcon unit?"

General Morozov: "Yes sir."

Damian: "Call them up now! Tell them to get ready and head for the The Hague and confirm my brother's location."

General Morozov: "Yes sir!" (Rises up and leaves the room.)

Damian (Sighs): "We've gone so close to grow our reputation. And now to have this setback happen, we will never reach the same status as the Mishima Zaibatsu!"

General Deriabin: "Don't talk like Damian. We will be more careful next time. Whoever did this to your brother will pay with their lives. That much is certain."

From the outside of the room…

Hide (thinking): "Are they planning to free Tasher already? And nothing was mentioned of Cain. Where is he?"

Back in the room…

Damian: "This meeting is over! I want all of you relay this news to your units. Have them train hard like never before! I must leave to meet with our counterparts in Bengal."

Hide (After hearing): "So they are leaving now. Cain was never here then. I hate that they could be planning to break Tasher out of prison, but I need to keep monitoring Damian. Hmm…I should report this once I'm outside."

Hide then contacts Kari based on this latest information…

Hide: "Crow reporting. I have a special update involving the Dragunovs."

Kari: "Very well. You may proceed Crow."

Hide: "I'm leaving the Kile Agrani base, Damian is planning to meet with some clients in Bengali state. I will trail him and confront him before he can make it there. He also said something about a Falcon unit. A secret spy group the Dragunov family has formed. They could be planning to free Tasher at some point while he is in jail. Plus, I need to confirm where Cain might be."

Kari: "I see. The Dragunovs are not too happy if they are willing to free Tasher. Also, I found out that Bogdan Dragunov is in America currently using a secret name. Our intel says he was last seen near San Antonio. He could be making deals with the cartel gangs there."

Hide: "Seriously? He really is a bold one to be in American soil. He's lucky I'm not there to finish him off like I should have done in that tournament!"

Kari: "Well just letting you know. So, this is what I can do at least. I will notify Interpol about this development with the spy group coming after Tasher. Hopefully their police force can prevent all about catastrophe to happen. And you will take on Damian?"

Hide: "Affirmative. His brother was good at not talking but given his emotional state, Damian might be the one to talk. Even without doing a truth spell."

Kari: "As always do be careful. Anything else?"

Hide: "No. And of course, I will be careful. Crow out." (Speaking out to himself). "I won't let my target reach his meeting. But I need to get back to the hovercraft and trail his helicopter first."

About 3 hours later, Kolkata, India…

Damian's helicopter landed at an abandoned skyscraper in Kolkata, India. Hide noticed its position as it stopped on the radar screen. So he landed the hovercraft at another vacant building nearby. Hide will be forced to go by foot from here on out. It will be too late to prevent Damian from talking with whoever he was speaking with. Maybe Cain was in Kolkata after all. Either way, Hide made haste to the site of the meeting.

The meeting was yet another black arms auction. Merchants from across India met at this location looking to buy and exchange various weapons of mass destruction. Damian and his men were here to sell some of their handguns and explosives. Little did he and his men know, there was another rival looking to steal the showcase. Hide would soon observe this play out.

Auctioneer: "This is from the Dragunov family! A state of the art M93 Stun grenade! Has a blast radius of 10 meters. Very powerful! The initial price is 400,000 Rupees! Any takers?"

Hide was watching from the broken floor above the 2nd floor, well hidden from plain sight…

Voice 1: "500,000!"

Voice 2: "700,000!"

Auctioneer: "700,000? Well? Anyone else?"

Voice 1: "No! 1 million!"

Voice 3: "1,500,000!"

Mysterious laughter: "HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

Everyone stops yelling to look back at the entrance of the old building…

Mysterious laughter man speaks: "You call this an auction!? Look at what we have to offer!"

Hide: "Wait a second?" (Looks with his binoculars.) "I've seen him before. It's Lee Chaolan?"

Some onlookers were impressed with what Lee Chaolan and his guys had to offer. The size of the guns and missiles were state of the art. Moreso than what the Dragunov family was offering. Damian had a disgusted look on his face. He couldn't believe the Zaibatsu had discovered this location so easily. Was this a setup he thought? Then, Lee Chaolan spoke out again with confidence.

Lee: "I have special deal for all of our buyers here! Starting today the Zaibatsu will sell off all of this merchandise with a set price of 2,000,000 Rupees each. Of course the prices can be raised, but there is much more to this supply of firepower! Auctioneer! Do you agree with these terms?"

Auctioneer: "Uhhh…of course! Of course! Bring it all here! We can start bets right now!"

Damian Dragunov: "Nnnnoooo! The Zaibatsu doesn't belong here! This auction was my idea! Who told them to come here! Huh?!"

Lee Chaolan: "You sir! Don't blame our guests! We just decided to crash the party!"

Damian: "Damn you! Men! Kill them!"

Then what Hide witnessed from the rafters was anything but pleasant. The whole auction turned into a bloodbath. Lee Chaolan wisely ran out of the building, avoiding the random gunfire. Several people were shot as a result of this. Damian ended up getting hit three times in the chest and torso area of his body. He had nowhere to escape. Just about all of his men were dead along with the other auction guests. Only a handful of Zaibatsu soldiers with body armor were still standing.

Even the auctioneer was dead. Perhaps that is what the Zaibatsu intended to do all along. Eliminate any opposition interfering with their black arms profit. Soon, the Zaibatsu left the area full of dead bodies. Not even Hide could have avoided all of those bullets with his ninja speed. He descended down from his hiding position and viewed the body of Damian. Then he used his glasses as a camera to take a 20 second video of the carnage.

Hide (to the UN): "This is Crow here. I infiltrated an auction for death merchants. However, I was not able to interfere and interrogate Damian Dragunov. The Mishima Zaibatsu decided to come here and kill everyone involved in this meeting. Also, I am sending a video to you of the aftermath once I reach my hovercraft. I will await further orders. I'm going home."