Etienne took a deep breath of the evening air. Dulcet orange hues filled the sky as the sun escaped from view behind the horizon. Etienne stood near a tree behind the house.
Etienne back-flipped and threw three shurikens at the tree and all of them pierced the tree in the same spot.
Sweat dripped off of Etienne's forehead as he attempted to catch his breath. His breathing was heavy and labored, and his hands were sore and red.
Etienne looked at the weapons strewn out on the grass in front of him and dropped to one knee.
"That's all of them. I'm only missing the reverse katana, the meteor hammer and the kurasigama. In other words, I don't have any of my main weapons."
Etienne fell onto his back and his head landed on the polished bronze chains.
He grabbed them while rubbing the back of his head.
"Kusari Fundo…this will do for now."
Etienne grabbed the chains and a handful of shurikens. He sauntered toward the city and stared out at the beautiful overhead view.
He sighed and thought, "If Mom and Dad knew I got powers like these, this is what they would want me to do. Clean up the city, help people. If they knew what I did to the old townhouse, if they knew what I plan to do…"
Etienne bit his lip and walked down the hill toward the city.
The wind howled as cold air blew through the city streets. The lights in the area did little to light up the night. Etienne smiled as he stood in front of a large bouncer holding a tablet.
"You look familiar…what's your name?"
Etienne put a hand in his pocket and grabbed out seven 100 dollar bills. He sat it on the tablet and said, "My name is Benjamin. And my little friends here told me you're the bouncer that's kind enough to let newcomers in."
The bouncer looked at Etienne, then tapped on his tablet for a few seconds, before saying, "I just found your name on here, Mr. Benjamin! You can head in, and if you're here to see DJ Derrick, I was told he should be back in about 30 minutes."
Etienne nodded at the bouncer and headed into the packed club. Noxious smoke filled the air and clogged Etienne's lungs. The music was so loud it was disorienting. Bodies were packed tight in every direction, it was nearly impossible to move.
Etienne grunted as someone bumped into him. He thought to himself, "How the hell are you supposed to move around in here if you're not a ninja?"
Etienne snaked his way through the crowd, bobbing his way through like a fish swimming with the current.
He eventually reached the bathrooms, and he leaned against the wall next to them. In this smaller hallway, there were significantly fewer people. Further down the hall was completely unlit, and a large yellow chain gated it off.
Etienne pulled his mask up and began to walk down the hallway until a man in a bouncer uniform stepped out from the darkness and stopped him.
"Sorry man, this area—"
Etienne uppercut him and made his head touch the ceiling before he fell back down and crumpled to the floor.
Etienne stepped over the yellow chain and walked down the dark hallway. His eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly.
He put his hands in his pockets and walked down the hallway slowly. Etienne made a right and arrived at a cheap-looking door that completely clashed with the wood in the rest of the club.
"So that's what they got to replace the door I broke. Let me be a bit more gentle this time."
Etienne walked up and jiggled the doorknob, but he could not open it.
He slowly backed away from the door and put his hands up. The door slowly swung open, and 10 guards in riot armor pointed shotguns and assault rifles at Etienne.
Etienne slowly approached them with his hands up. The guard at the front racked his shotgun and aimed at Etienne's head.
"Stand down everyone!" A familiar voice called from in the room.
Etienne entered the room with his hands still in the air.
He got into the guard in the front's face, "You should listen to your boss, he's a smart man."
Etienne turned to a man sitting behind the desk in a tan suit, his chin resting in his palm.
Etienne bowed, "Mr. Dow. Nice to see you again."
Jeremy sighed, "Ninja Guy, who's trying to ruin my livelihood. I was hoping your last appearance was a one off."
Etienne laughed, "Ninja Guy, huh? Tell me, were you able to convince your bosses to come here?"
Jeremy sat up, "I wonder what makes you think you can keep barging in here and demanding things. These men are some of the Disciples finest soldiers, and you're some trespasser that mixes chemicals to fight. You gonna mix the glass cleaner and bleach to shut us down tonight?"
"Not at all. I'm going to get an ambulance to pick up—" Etienne began to point to each of the armed guards. Each guard kept their weapon trained on him. After a few seconds, Etienne pointed at Jeremy, "16 severely injured young men. Bones broken, skin bruised. Nobody wants to party in that environment."
Jeremy's mouth was wide with disbelief.
The guard at the front of the room shouted out, "How dare you!" He put his finger on the trigger.
"Stop it, Tank," Jeremy said calmly. He pointed down and everyone put their weapons away. He shook his head, "Evidently, someone took your juvenile threats seriously. Our executives are currently having a meeting at The Soiree, near Arcadia Beach. You familiar with that Ninja Man?"
"Sure I've heard of it. That's the club you all built from a group of houses, acquired by dubious means, of course."
Jeremy rolled his eyes, "You sure make a lot of wild accusations, kid. The paperwork is all there, I helped with it myself. I'm not interested in giving you a history lesson though, so please get out of my office before I have someone throw you out the window."
Etienne laughed and walked towards the door, "I'm surprised you can still make threats! You have nerves of steel, Mr. Dow. But don't worry, if your bosses aren't saying what I want them to say, I'll be back to visit you…" Etienne stopped walking and stopped in front of Tank, "And I'll be back to visit Tank here soon."
Etienne stepped out of the room and walked down the dark hallway.
"Did you get all that?" He whispered into his earpiece.
"Every word," Gabe responded, "But just so you know Etienne, the Soiree has been shut down for at least a year now, ever since GoGo started expanding into California. They could be leading you to some type of trap or ambush."
Etienne balled his fist and slammed it into his other hand, "That's fine by me. Even if the executives aren't there, somebody there will tell me what I need to know. Just get a car ready for me, I'm heading back home now."