Dead Silence

Chapter 5: Paratus Et Potens

3rd PoV:

Rinzler walks out of his room, now that it was mid day, to Yumiko's room. Keres came, out of nowhere, and knocked on the door.

Nathan: "Can you at least wait for me?"

Rinzler shrugs and Hibana opens the door while the two face her.

Nathan: "About those sessions..."

Yumiko: "Come in. I have Jordan and Saif here in the living room."

Nathan: "Doc said he'll need throat exercises."

(Wait... how the hell do you know that? Stalker alert.)

Rinzler walks in and sees Thermite and Oryx meditate. Keres stands by a wall and watches, and Hibana went to her kitchen. Thermite stops and greets them both.

Jordan: "Hey, you guys are the ninjas, right? I'm Jordan."

Nathan: "Keres. He's Rinzler."

Keres shakes his hand but Rinzler just stares at itbut shakes it afterwards. Jordan goes back to meditating and Hibana came back with a mug of tea and hands it to Rinzler and he just stares at it.

Yumiko: "Drink it, to soothe your throat."

He takes the mug and moves to her room, where no one could see his face, and he removes his helmet and the lower half of his balaclava. He sips the tea and it felt relaxing. He comes back out after a few minutes and hands her the mug.

Yumiko: "Let's get started."

The two have an hour long session of her teaching him to breathe properly again.

Yumiko: "You're doing great. Keep it up, just like that."

After a half an hour, they stopped and Hibana walks them out of her dorm.

Yumiko: "Come back tomorrow, we'll start another exercise."

Rinzler nods and the two start walking around the base, to get a feeling for it.

Nathan: "I've been looking. The militia back at the HQ, they were spotted in-"

Rinzler stops him and hands him his knife. Keres takes it and nods and immediately throws it behind them and it barley passes someone's head but pins the veil on a nearby wall.

Nathan: "Don't follow us, you'll live longer."

Nøkk: "I'm just following orders. Six tasked me to find out more about you two."

Nathan: "That's a bit cliche. Rinzler, what you think?"

Rinzler tilts his head and nods. He walks passed her to get his knife and sheath it. He hands her the veil and she puts it away. The two continue to walk around the base until they reached their dorms. Keres enters his dorm with Rinzler and the two sit down.

Nathan: "About what I said earlier. Delta Force discovered the Militia's old HQ back in Venezuela some time ago."

Rinzler maintains complete focus and Keres continues on about other news about the Militia.

Nathan: "The guy that gave that shitty monologue, apparently is their commander. But here's the twist, he also despises the White Masks."

Rinzler tilts his head and looked surprised.

Nathan: "So we're in an entanglement. He's rivaling Nighthaven, while also fighting the White Masks, who are fighting the different special forces. We're in the center of this shit."

Rinzler points at himself and then looks down while resting his arms on his thighs.

Nathan: "It's a nexus of the terrorists and this unit. Bunch of complex bullshit."

(What? Someone using "Nexus" correctly? Jk, it's just a prank)

Rinzler looks at Keres, as if he thought of an idea. Keres knew it right away and thought it was too aggressive.

Nathan: "Forcing Six to give us clearance on that old base wouldn't be practical, not with the White Masks, and that damned militia."

Rinzler growls and it hurts his throat, so he just sways his arms and looks away. He punches the wall in impatience and frustration.

Nathan: "I know it'll take a while to convince him, but patience is a virtue. So convincing him is a no go until he feels more comfortable. And you're paying for that."

Rinzler gives him the bird in frustration and sits back with his head on his hands.

Nathan: "We just need to wait a little, do a couple of things for Six, then we could tell him."

Rinzler tilts his head and gets up from his seat. He grabs his sword and walks out the door and gets inside his dorm and falls asleep.

Intercom: "Will operatives Keres and Rinzler report to the debrief room."

Rinzler and Keres leave their dorms and walk around the base to the room.

Nathan: "Thank god we got the tour of this place."

Six: "I'm glad you can make it. There is this R&D director, in the White Masks, that has been catching my eye. Marcus Fisher, former Seal Team three, and a very good mechanic."

Rinzler looks at Six and he puts the file on the table. It showed all his information. Rinzler shows Keres and he gets a good look.

Nathan: "So, you want us to take him in, right? HPT?"

Six: "Correct. Him along side Specialist Mira would do good in our research and development projects."

Nathan: "So, where's he at?"

Six: "Marcus is currently on the move to a base in Palaui Island. Specialist Nøkk will accompany you both."

Keres and Rinzler make their way to the heli. Jäger was waiting and Nøkk was inside. They sit down and Jäger takes off to the Philippines. Rinzler puts his head down and falls asleep.

Grandmaster: "The ear that sees. An ancient Arashikage test. Viper, time to prove you are ready to move to the next step."

Viper grabs her swords and puts on her blind fold.

Viper: "I am ready, Grandmaster."

Grandmaster: "Ears open. Rinzler, pluck a single hair from Viper. Hajimete!"

Viper draws her ninjato swords and Rinzler does his best to get close and pluck a single hair.

Grandmaster: "Remember to use all of your senses."

Viper hears the slight movements of Rinzler and she tries to slash at him but he flips and maneuvers away. He jumps and clings to the tree and Viper tries to hear more movements.

Grandmaster: "Remember to be as nimble as the cat, but fierce as the tiger."

Rinzler jumps off and Viper swings at him, she cuts his hand and he rolls out of the next swing. He dropkicks her and she throws one of her swords at him but he moves and it lands in the small puddle. She flips and lands in the lake and grabs her sword. Rinzler slowly enters the water and Viper moves her sword in the water to detect him. He moves his hand forward and a drip of blood splashes. Viper swings around and cuts a piece of her hair and strikes where the blood dropped. Rinzler took the time and grabbed the piece of hair and the demonstration is over.

Grandmaster: "Ha ha ha. Rinzler wins. Viper, in order to excel in war you must first find peace. Rinzler, you have earned the Blade of Justice. You must leave the Dojo, as I fear there is a new threat. You must take them down. I believe they were involved with Grandmaster Sai's death."

Rinzler twirls the sword before putting it back in its sheath.

Rinzler awakes and unsheaths his sword and stares at it. He twirls it, like how he did before, and puts it back in its sheath. He stays up for the remainder of the flight. Nøkk watched in confusion.

Nathan: "Don't mind him, he just gets sentimental with his sword."