• Chapter 2: Defects

    The plane ride to America, for them, went smoothly. Sam fell asleep, Salem kept himself busy by simulating battle after battle against enemies in his head, and Daisuke, Jai, and Kotetsu were busy talking about last night. It was a good thing they had taken a private flight instead of one with all those seat options, like First Class, which Salem and Sam would fit into nicely, middle class, which Daisuke could manage, and "Lowlife class", as Salem put it, which was suitable for Jai and Kotetsu. Had they been on one of those flights, somebody might have overheard them, and that would simply not do.

    Now, Salem found that America was a lot less busy than Japan seemed. And Russia was probably less than that. Salem had only been there once, and in his time, he had met up with a man called Arkadi Petrovich, who said his twin brother, Nikolai Petrovich, whose father was a former Spetsnaz soldier, had flown to America. He also said Nikolai had spent some time in Japan training as a Ninja, and Salem wondered if that would be the kind of person he could use in his group: A Ninja, highly skilled in the art of Espionage and general sneakiness, who just so happened to be Russian with a former Spetsnaz for a father, meaning he was probably impossible to harm with any effect. It sure seemed like a good idea. But, it hinged entirely upon the hopes that said Russian Ninja wouldn't be a total screw up like Salem's team was.

    Salem had made contact with a friend and asked him to stop by and pick him up when he landed. He was searching now for a man wearing what looked to be a black Japanese kimono with a white vest over it, the status of Captain within his family.

    It wasn't hard to find this person. He stood out like a sore thumb.

    And he had a sign strapped to a helmet on his head that said "If you're name is Salem Waribara, get your *ss over here, damn it!"

    Typical Ryu...

    "Ryu! How have things been?" Salem asked as he caught his friend's eye. "Well, if it weren't so warm over here, I might say it's alright, but my sandals nearly burst into flames on the way here." Salem realized just then that Ryu was wearing a pair of wooden sandals tied up to the ankles. He shook his head at how badly Ryu's father was stuck in the Samurai age... An age that had already passed. The fact that anybody still used a sword in this day and age was proof enough that they still considered some of their old tributes as a good thing. Ryu's family took that a step too far.

    "A friend of mine brought his bike for you to ride, in case all your friends can't fit in the SUV. He should be waiting outside, unless he decided to hit the snack bar for a drink." Ryu turned and walked away, closely trailed by the team of Ninjas. Or rather, the two Ninjas and three "Algorithm March" Ninja wannabes. When Ryu had seen that YouTube video, he himself asked if people in Japan were either sorely underpaid or had too much time to spare.

    Upon getting outside, Salem squinted through the bright sunlight and saw a person who looked quite similar to that Arkadi he had spoken with in Russia. The only differences were that he was wearing a white zip up hoodie with no pockets, a red sash around his waist, a pair of forest camo pants, and combat boots. And he was shorter. He looked up and saw the six Ninjas in front of him, and with a lazy smile, he strode over to them.

    "You must be Salem. I heard you had a chat with my brother up in the Frosen Mozerland," he said, using a heavy fake Russian accent at the end. Salem was amazed at the audacity this kid had, insulting his own homeland. And he had heard stories of people who got shot for insulting Russia, so Salem was really surprised.

    "Uh... Yeah, Arkadi, right? Yeah, I remember him. You must be Nikolai, then-" Salem started

    "Jason."

    "Wha?"

    "My name is Jason now. Jason James Haley. I don't like using my Russian name, it brings back painful memories," Jason said with a pained look in his eyes.

    Salem made a mental note to remember important life changing details and to make sure the person in question is okay with having them spoken of; it was another downfall of his, not thinking before speaking.

    "...Right. Well, shall we head out, then?" Salem asked, trying to change the subject." Jason nodded, then gestured to a second bike next to his own. "It's Ryu's. I'm driving the SUV, and if you can't fit, then you can use mine. You'll be staying at a place that some dude put up for sale. Ryu bought it ahead of time for you guys, and he made it so that you're paying for it, not him."

    Salem felt so loved at that point.

    He had to put up with a team of ninja screw ups, and now he had to put up with a smug Russian-American brat who doesn't like his own name.

    Yep. Good times...