ShadowChase”
Context: Canon diverging AU where Julia and Chase join team red and live at the base. After Shadowsan returns the Dai-Sho he gets another sword.
Chase was so bored. Carmen, Julia, and the twins were on a mission, leaving him and Shadowsan in the base. The ninja was in his room, most likely sleeping by how quiet he was. Which left him alone to watch movies. As exciting as Rouge Vendetta 4 was, he rather disliked being the only one watching.
There was a knock on the door, causing Chase to pause the movie. Later on, Carmen would call Devinaux an idiot for opening the door. What if it was vile? Everyone who lived there had keys . He opened the door, seeing a man with white hair and many wrinkles. The man smiled awkwardly. “Is Suhara here?”
“Uhhhhhhh… no?”
“Ah, well, i must have the wrong-”
“Hideo?” A voice behind Chase questioned. Chase turned. Shadowsan was standing in the doorway of his room.
. . .
[“{words}”=Japanese]
“{What brings you here, brother?}” Shadowsan asked, walking toward the door. He shooed Devinaux away, exchanging a quick bow with Hideo.
Hideo smiled. “{Your young associate, Player I believe? He chartered me a flight a few days ago when he found out today is your birthday.}”
Shadowsan grunted. I'll have to talk to Player later. “{Oh he did, did he?}”
“{Relax, brother, I’m only here for the day. I just wanted to spend it with you, Suhara.}” Shadowsan couldn’t help but wince a little at the name.
“{I go by Shadowsan now. Suhara… was swallowed by darkness. But let’s not speak of such terrible things. I’m… glad you’re here.}”
. . .
Chase was clueless as to what was going on. Eventually Shadowsan moved aside, letting the man in. “This is Hideo. My brother.” Chase blinked. ‘Brother? You have a brother?”
“He does.” Hideo answered. Hideo sat down on the plush red couch. “{Happy Birthday}, Brother.”
“What?” Chase asked. He didn’t speak whatever Hideo did. Shadowsan grumbled. “It means ‘Happy Birthday’...” Chase smiled. “Ah, so it is your birthday?”
Shadowsan sighed. “Yes.”
“The big four- three.” Hideo added. This took Chase by surprise. Forty three? He thought shadowsan was at least in his sixties, what with the wrinkles. But the man was only two years older than himself. Huh. Hideo smiled. “Player asked me to bring this as well.” He said, pulling a small binder out of his bag. ShadowSan’s eyes went wide when he saw it. “Please tell me that’s not-”
“Your childhood pictures? It is.” Chase couldn’t help but laugh. Just then, someone unlocked the door from the outside, opening it. In came the twins, then Carmen and Julia a moment later. “Ah,” He said. “You are just in time. Hideo was going to show us-” Shadowsan shot him a glare that could peel paint, Which shut Chase up real fast. Hideo smiled. “I brought some of Suha- Shadowsan’s childhood pictures.” There was a loud smack, and when Chase looked over, Shadowsan had a hand to his forehead. “Hideo-” Shadowsan started.
“Come on Shadowsan,” Carmen said. “ I want to see them”
“Me too!” Zack and Ivy said at the same time, running to sit next to Hideo on the couch.
. . .
Chase had to admit, the scary ninja was a cute kid. Though his sense in haircuts was awful . As they got into his teenage years, Chase’s eyes drifted to one photo, Teenage Shadowsan actually smiling , and holding hands with another man. The edges of the photo were charred and black, obscuring the other man’s face. Chase squinted at it. It was then he noticed that Carmen’s eyes were on the photo as well. Shadowsan looked over, and his eyes sharpened. “Hideo. Didn’t I burn that photo?”
Hideo looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, I kept it. {I know you wanted everything from him gone, but you were happy.}” Carmen’s eyebrows raised, but for why Chase didn’t know. What did he say? It must've been important. “Who’s the other guy?” Zack asked. Shadowsan grunted, and Hideo didn’t answer.
. . .
The next time a mission called, The girls decided to take a girls trip. Zack, Shadowsan, and Chase were left. Zack was training with Shadowsan in the gym. Chase was bored. Going into the kitchen to grab a snack, as he passed Shadowsan’s room however, through a small crack he saw a small flash of light. Distracted, he glanced toward the gym doors, but seeing nothing he opened the door and slipped inside.
It was awesome . There was a sword, long and curved, sitting on a wooden rack. Chase reached a hand out, and gently touched the sharp edge. Suddenly, He heard the gym doors opening. Startled, he pulled his hand back, but he used too much pressure. He inhaled sharply, pain shooting up his hand. “AH! MERDE!” He yelled, clutching his hand close, blood pooled in his palm, dripping on the floor. The sight of blood made his head light. The door shot open with a whoosh, and a cross Shadowsan took one look at him and grabbed his uninjured wrist, pulling him into the bathroom.
Chase tried not to look at the blood, shutting his eyes tight as Shadowsan ran water over his hand, before grabbing bandages and wrapping it. He felt the other man’s hand linger for half a second, probably double checking that the bandage wasn’t on too tight, then he let go.
“You can open your eyes now, there’s no blood.” Chase sighed in relief, opening his eyes, before opening them widely. Shadowsan was gone. When Chase looked through the door he was in the main room, but it still amazed him the man could disappear that quickly.
. . .
They had all agreed that everyone was on their own for breakfast the next morning. Zack had some sugary cereal (the kind that Shadowsan threatened to stop buying if he didn’t slow down on eating it). Shadowsan was cracking a few eggs into a sizzling pan, ignoring anything and everything else, it seemed. Chase grabbed a slice of bread, sitting down at the counter and pulling out his phone. He had taken a photo of the photo, the one Shadowsan seemed to hate. Chase inspected it, not realizing he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings until there was a clinking sound in front of him, and an appetizing smell. When he looked up, in front of him there was a plate with eggs and toast. He glanced over to Zack, who was giving him a funny look from over his bowl of cereal, then to Shadowsan, who seemed to be ignoring them both. Chase mumbled thanks as he pulled the plate closer with his good hand, grabbing a fork and starting to eat.
After he finished, he set his plate in the sink, and sat down on the couch, pulling up the photo again. After a moment, the hair on the back of his neck rose and he turned, flinching as he met Shadowsan’s eyes.
“ Why , may I ask, are you so obsessed with that photo?” The ninja asked.
Chase’s first instinct was to lie, but he knew that wouldn’t work on the former VILE faculty member. “Well, who is it?”
Shadowsan was silent for a minute. Chase thought he wasn’t going to respond, before he spoke quietly, sitting down on the couch. “Oka.”
Chase expected him to say more, but he didn’t. Behind them, Zack coughed loudly. When they turned, he muttered something about training and went into the gym. Still in his Pajamas.
Chase turned back toward Shadowsan, who was looking out a window in the opposite direction. “…Oka?” He asked. The man sighed. “He was…” He trailed off. Chase waited. After a few minutes, Shadowsan continued. “Well, In the simplest terms he is an old friend. Who is no longer such.”
“Why did you try to burn the photo?” Chase glanced down, where Shadowsan had curled his hand into a fist. It was another minute before he answered, bitterness staining his voice. “Because it was his fault I could not return home.”
At this, Chase straightened his back and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Has Carmen told you the story of how I joined VILE?” Shadowsan asked. Chase nodded. “Stealing the Dai-Sho.” He responded.
“Well, He was the one who dared me to do it, And when I brought it back, Let’s just say he didn’t think I would really do it, and… left me after that.”
Chase set his hand on Shadowsans in a comforting gesture. Shadowsan stiffened, but it seemed to take him a few minutes to do anything, and pull his hand away. Chase set his own hand on the couch, wondering why he felt strange inside.
Suddenly, Shadowsan murmured “good night.” and left, shutting the door to his room. What was that? Chase thought. And why was it so… awkward?
BONUS PERSPECTIVE: Zack
Shutting the gym door abruptly after leaving the room, Zack frantically grabbed his phone out of his pocket.
————————————
Chat: Og Bitches
————————————
-9:45am-
ZackAttack: AHHHHHH GUYS HELP ME
PoisonousIvy: WHAT IS IT
PoisonousIvy: CARMEN IS LITERALLY FACING OFF AGAINST A GUY WITH A FLAMETHROWER
ZackAttack: OOP I’ll wait 🙈 it’s not that important
-9:56am-
Red: Ok Zack, what’s the problem?
ZackAttack: (Zack is typing…)
AbcPlayin123: Need me to hack the security cameras?
ZackAttack: AHHH I THINK SHADOWSAN AND CHASE ARE HAVING A ‘MOMENT’
PoisonousIvy: Shit, really?
ZackAttack: YES PLS HELP ITS AWKWARD
-10:00am-
ZackAttack: GUYS RESPOND PLS
-10:02am-
ZackAttack: IVYYYY 😡😭
-10:03am-
Red: This is Ivy on Carms phone. Carm and Julia are making out, and my phone got destroyed.
ZackAttack: Wha? How? Also great for them
Red: Tell ya later. Let’s just say another operative and a bus were involved… 😭
AbcPlayin123: Busses were involved, I can confirm.
-10:06am-
Red: Ok it’s Carmen, What do you mean “Shadowsan and Devineaux are having a ‘moment’”?
ZackAttack: EXACTLY WHAT I SAID
AbcPlayin123: Hacking cams now…
AbcPlayin123: HOLY SHIT ARE THEY HOLDING HANDS?
PoisonousIvy: PLAYER, WATCH THE FUCKIN’ LANGUAGE
ZackAttack: EVERYONE
ZackAttack: SHADOWSAN LEFT THE ROOM
AbcPlayin123: Daaamn you are in trooooublllle
ShadowMaster: Language, Player.
ShadowMaster: Based on what I missed, did you all forget I was part of this chat?
Red: …
AbcPlayin123: Sorry Dadowsan. No more swearing…
Red: I mean I did.
ShadowMaster: I told you not to call me that.
ShadowMaster: “a moment.” Seriously? We were having nothing of the sort.
ShadowMaster: And Carmen. Didn’t I tell you and Julia no making out without adult supervision? What if it… escalated?
Red: This is Ivy, Carmen dropped her phone and turned beet red and pulled her hat over her face. What did you say?
Red: HOLY SHIT
ZackAttack: PFFFFT
AbcPlayin123: 🤣
ShadowMaster: 😑😒
ZackAttack: 😱 Did Shadowsan just use EMOJIS?
ShadowMaster: I’m regretting it now.
AbcPlayin123: Oh, by the way,
AbcPlayin123:Hey Shadowsan 😏~
AbcPlayin123: <image> [Shadowsan and Chase sitting on the couch from the view of a security camera. Though their faces are relatively neutral, Chase’s bandaged hand is on top of Shadowsan’s.]
ZackAttack: Hey guys, what does “Kuso” mean?
Red: uhhhhhhhmmmmmm…
ZackAttack: Cause ShadowSan just shouted that.
ZackAttack: 😱 IT WAS A MOMENT
ShadowMaster: IT WAS NOT A MOMENT.
ZackAttack: SuRe It WaSn’T dAdOwSaN
AbcPlayin123: pffft
ZackAttack: Guys he’ll never find me, I hid
Red: It’s Carmen again. Good luck with that.
-10:15am-
ZackAttack: He found me. Got a nasty lecture about minding my own business...
Red: Told ya.
ZackAttack: But why didn’t he give DEVINAUX the lecture. He was being nosy too!
ZackAttack: *gasp* IT WAS A MOMENT
AbcPlayin123: RUN ZACK RUN HE’S GOT HIS SWORD
-12:17pm-
ZackAttack: I am going to fucking MURDER you Player! He wasn’t even after me! I hid for TWO HOURS!
AbcPlayin123: >:)