Zero Rush Pt. 4

A rooftop chase.

Leaping across buildings, Tadashi and the mystery ninja showcased the very best of parkour. Keeping up with the ninja felt like a cinematic experience — he was spinning, flipping, and balancing on balconies and railings.

“Get back here, you bastard!”

Meanwhile, on the surface, Tadashi looked like he was struggling hard just to land on the rooftops, stumbling and slipping every other jump. But there’s something worth noting—we were carrying around eleven shopping bags.

Keeping pace with a ninja at that speed without dropping a single thing? Now that’s true .

Thanks, Shi-nii. Sometimes it’s good to have someone covering my back.

I may mess with you a lot, but when it really matters, I’M HERE FOR YOU!

“LET’S BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA THIS GUY!” I shouted, following Tadashi’s leaps.

Finishing off his strawberry skewer dipped in chocolate, Tadashi kept up the chase at full speed, while the ninja, glancing back again and again, looked more and more shocked that we were still on his tail.

Mana really was a miracle. In sync, I was tossing coal into the fire, while the real steam engine — Tadashi — kept accelerating faster and faster.

Trying to shake us off, the ninja dove into the balcony of a fancy building. We followed right after, bursting into a girl’s room. Without thinking twice, she screamed:

“MOMMMM! A NINJA AND SOME GENERIC-LOOKING GUY BROKE INTO THE HOUSE!” she cried, clutching her doll.

Ouch… even I felt that one.

Dashing through the halls, the ninja slipped past furniture and vaulted out the kitchen window. Tadashi, on the other hand, hopped over an armchair — only to knock over a vase that looked way too expensive.

“Aw crap… Here, take this as payment!” Tadashi said, tossing one of the bags to his mother who was in the kitchen. Inside was a magical silver watch.

“Huh?” the woman muttered, simply catching the bag.

Leaping out the window and onto the terrace of the next building, the ninja finally revealed one of his tools. A kunai shot upward, aiming straight for us.

In midair, dodging was impossible unless we pulled off a double jump… But seriously, how the hell do you even do a double jump?!

The kunai came hurtling toward us at incredible speed. Instinctively, I channeled the mana flow from our body into the skewer. Bombarded with mana, the skewer became tougher than even titanium!

CLANG!

We struck it midair. The skewer proved yet another unlikely ally — its power sent the kunai flying off in another direction.

“Wow, that was awesome!” exclaimed Tadashi, landing on the terrace.

The ninja, still in disbelief, rolled randomly trying to escape. Using the skewer, we decided to continue our streak of good decisions.

“Here, take my kunai, you shitty ninja!” Tadashi said, hurling the enhanced skewer at him.

He thought he’d gotten lucky — the skewer didn’t hit his body. But as he tried to escape, it snagged his hood, pinning him against the wall. Bullseye. The ninja reacted in seconds, slicing his hood with another kunai to free himself, but we were faster.

“Freeze. Move and I’ll scorch everything… you’ll regret it if you don’t stay frozen — because it’s gonna get hot,” Tadashi tried to sound cool…

Please, next time I'll help you, Tadashi... Just don't go around saying things like that.

Alright…

Tadashi extended his hand forward.

“By the flames I wield, I summon…”

Laughing, the ninja finally spoke:

“Are you going to set yourself on fire again, or am I just going to have to dodge your generic fireball?”

“I don’t even need to hit you,” Tadashi said, resuming the spell. “By the flames I wield, I summon everywhere…”

A massive circle projected across the terrace. If the spell completed, the fire would consume the entire building in a colossal inferno.

“You wouldn’t have the guts to shoot fire everywhere just to hit me…” the ninja said, his voice a little weak.

“Try me…”

The ninja sighed, stopping his escape plan. Pinned at the terrace door, he was now our prisoner. Suspending the spell, Zero stepped closer to our captive.

“Spill it. Who do you work for?”

“I’m one of the Shinobis of the cult.”

“The More Cult?”

“Is there another cult?”

…

Yeah… that was a dumb question, Tadashi. We lost a few points here.

We'll have to work harder on the questions…Actually, I have a question.

Go ahead — ask, Shi-nii.

"Where did you hide that kunai? I don't see a pocket."

"I'd rather not say. Being a shinobi depends on the utmost detachment from pride."

I regretted asking…

Unlike the stalker — whose attacks we could predict by seeing his mana with our third eye — the ninja was unpredictable. Even though his soul could be seen, only his presence was felt.

Flattened and motionless, he probably had training in controlling his emotions, leaking no useful information through his mana trail.

Against the stalker it was like chasing a car that signals where it's going — now we were back to square one, no cheats allowed.

"I want to know why you're following me."

"Our master is concerned for Miss More's well‑being."

"And for that he had to send a ninja?"

“If he has a ninja on his payroll, why wouldn't he send one?”

Damn, the guy's trained in the art of argument.

Zero tried to cross his arms to look intimidating, but failed — the countless shopping bags in his hands made that impossible.

"If you don't give me details, things'll get ugly for you. I'll—"

What can I do, Shi-nii?

Come on, you softie. Hand me the speaking control.

Taking control, I decided to go all the way:

"I want you to know, or I'll kill your mother."

The ninja, without a hood and hair whipping in the wind, reacted for the first time; his eyes welled up, his soul slightly unfurling — a hint of sadness.

"I'm an orphan…"

"Fuck... my bad."

Alright, you can take control, Tadashi.

NO FUCKING WAY — NOW DEAL WITH THIS MESS.

I'm not saying another word.

Since we were already working with somewhat dubious morals, we decided to just let the guy go:

“Thanks...” said the ninja, cleaning himself off.

"Sorry about the mom comment... and about ripping your hood. But seriously, I'm just worried about your boss's intentions."

“The oracle is a mysterious being. I don't work based on assumptions, I was trained only to execute, not to think. However, if you fear for the girl, know that nothing bad will happen to her — she is very important.” Putting his hood back on, the ninja sighed. “I am indebted to you, so I will give you some information. We are following all the Zeros.”

Huh... They're following all of us after the wedding? That makes sense.

“Does your leader have enough spies for all the members of my family?”

“You really have no idea of the Oracle's influence...”

“If you owe me one, I want some information... Do you know where my cousin Bourne is?”

“We have some information...” The ninja put his finger to his ear, using his intercom. “From what we know, he'll be back safely soon... We just don't know exactly in what condition.”

“Huh... He must be washed out from partying so much...”

We lifted the weight from our conscience. We could go back to not caring about that jerk.

“Well…Thanks. I hope I can speak to your boss directly next time." I spoke louder so he could hear me on the communication microphone. “But just so you know, if you or anyone else keeps following me, things will end badly.”

The ninja nodded, disappearing in a flash, in the blink of an eye.

“Son of a bitch... He didn't have to use the smoke bomb to disappear...”

A voice projected into the air, the ninja's last message.

“Stop talking about my mom, man...”

“Sorry... again.”