"Oh, shut up and stop your whining, you freak" Slade retorted, scournfully, "we'll get out of here sooner or later"

"Kage, I didn't sign on for this. You said this contract was going to be easy, what the hell were you talking about?" Fuma continued to complain.

"You knew what you were getting into" Kage replied curtly.

Slade stopped in front of them and turned around. "Contract? What are you, mercs? What's your contract?" Slade demanded from the two men. He had about a thousand questions racing through his brain at the current moment, this was an interesting new development.

Kage shot a stare at Fuma that was so cold in nature it would have drove a normal man into histerics, as it was, however, it just made the formerly exiled ninja extremely uncomfortable. "That is none of your concern" Kage stated plainly, never taking the icy glare away from Fuma. He had said to much, and that could make things much harder.

Zamza kept quiet, anxious to see the outcome of this whole great, big debacle. He knew Slade was curious now, and he kept a one track mind, he wouldn't forget that tiny statement made by Fuma, he would analyze it, and hold on to every word spoken by any of the men from that point on. When the time came for Kage to finish his contract, Zamza knew that Slade would be ready.

After a few seconds, in which no words were spoken, Zamza hobbled up a few steps, his injury still sending shockwaves of pain throughout his body, and began walking next to Kage, whose eyes were drilling holes into the back of Fuma's head. He took in a few deep breaths, dying to catch some of the endless, yet somehow evasive oxygen. When he was breathing normally once again, he spoke to Kage, trying to change the subject, and the mood that had enveloped the four men.

"Kage, back there you said that even the most ferocious animal would gnaw off it's own leg when caught in a trap. What did you mean? Personally, I just thought that the animal was stupid."

Kage let a smile appear on his face, one which none of them could see. It was a light smile, the only kind the ninja knew how to give, one that did not even remove the stoic expression which was forever imprinted on his face.

The reason for the smile (if one could even call it that) was simple. Fighting was not a game, or a sport. Anyone could do it, and while most were in fact men, Kage had seen women, such as Tengaar and Ronnie Bell, and children, like Luc and Futch, who could kick almost anyone's ass. While all warriors were just about as different as could be, all of them had one common mission, and while this goal wasn't what all warriors constantly thought about, it had to be a priority, even if it was a subconcious one. The objective was easy to discern; self improvement, and Zamza had just shown that trait.

Self improvement was a motivating factor in every warriors life. Reasons for this were always different, ranging anywhere from, trying to be the best fighter in the world, to a money thing (as in Kage's own regard), to trying to protect what that person holds most dear. But no matter the reason, it always had to be there.

Why must it remain constant in every warriors life? The answer to that was unpretentious. The art of fighting was a complex one, filled with endless possibilities. There were always different techniques and spells being discovered; always multiple styles being used, so a warrior had to be at the forefront, knowing everything that was going on. If they didn't, the end result was inevitable: Death.

"What I meant was exactly what I said. That monster was caught in a trap, and it got out of it." Kage replied.

"I still don't understand what the hell you're talking about. I mean, what the hell is the use of getting out of a trap if it kills itself in the process?" Zamza retorted.

The ninja sighed. He respected Zamza's attempt to improve himself, as he did with any other person, but not if he became a complete moron in the process. "Monsters aren't always as dumb as we would like them to be. Some can be quite brilliant at times, and because of this, most creatures are extremely prideful. You believe we won that battle and it lost, and though one of those premises might be true, the other most certainly is not. Fighting isn't just black and white, as you believe, there's a very large gray area of fighting as well.

Zamza was intrigued by this. When you were fighting it came down to two possible outcomes, if you were the one standing in the end, you won, and if you were the one dead or unconscious, lying on the ground beaten to a bloody pulp, you lost. The concept of an all new "gray area" was interesting. What made this even more fascinating was the person giving him this lesson. Zamza guessed that Kage hadn't lost many fights in his life, so Zamza would have never taken Kage for the "gray area" kind of person.

Kage continued, "Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometime when you lose, you really win. You think it lost? Hardly. That creature fought to feed it's ego, it's pride, that's what it held most dear. So, by killing itself, it got out of my trap, and disabled any chance of us killing it. You and Slade had decimated it's shell, it's natural shield, and I had blinded it for life. Even if it had killed all of us, it would have been defenseless against the next monster it had come across. By committing suicide, it keeps itself away from that moment, dying undefeated, and it's pride still intact, not having to suffer the indignity of a loss. My statement was merely an analogy, instead of gnawing off a leg, it killed itself."

The ninja paused for a moment, his eyes hadn't moved from their original position, his eyes piercing through Fuma's body and shaking the very core of his essence. 'How could he have been so stupid?' Kage asked himself. He could have been making a big deal out of nothing, but Kage didn't think so. Slade was intelligent enough to know that mercs wouldn't be hanging around with Zamza just for the hell of it, he was going to be on guard now, and Kage didn't like that too much. He shook his head slightly, and finally took his gaze off Fuma. After a few more seconds of silence, in which the only sound was that of the four men's feet striking the dusty, stone floor of the cavern, Kage once again began to speak to Zamza.

"Let's take another case in point from a different angle. Three years ago I fought for the Liberation Army in the Toran civil war. I-"

"Huh" Zamza said to himself, not meaning to interrupt the ninja. "Your the second person I've met from that war in the last several weeks."

"Eh?"

"Oh," Zamza started, seemingly coming out of a trance, "I met a man named Morgan a little while back. He, ah, taught me a few lessons." Zamza remembered, feeling the back of his head where it struck the streets of Muse after Morgan taught him one of those "lessons".

Kage let another light smile purse his lips. 'I better watch it or I'll start to go soft ', he thought to himself, slightly amused that he was capable of giving two smiles in the span of a week. But it was hard not to smile when a person thought about the blind fighter. He spoke in riddles, his voice always full of caring and kindness, and, without a doubt, was one of the very few 'pure' souls in the whole outlawed, riff-raff army that was the liberation movement of Toran.

Kage put the thought aside, and strove forward. "As I was saying, three years ago I fought in the war. We were led by a young man named McDohl. He was a great leader, and because he was who he was, he won the war. But upon closer inspection, you will see that McDohl didn't even come close to winning the war. He was stuck with what is known as the 'cursed rune', had to decide between his own life and that of his best friend, witness the death of two more friends, Master Mathiu Silverburg and Lady Odessa Silverburg, watch the betrayal of one of his most trusted allies, hear the final words of the man whom raised him from infancy (Kage neglected to mention the fact that Gremio was later brought back by Lady Leknaat), and was forced to kill his father. Now tell me, do you still think he won the war?"

Zamza knew the answer to that one, and finally understood the concept of the "gray area". "No," he responded, "A win with such a great cost, ceases to be a win."

"Perhaps there is hope for you yet" Kage smirked, "You have just learned one of the most important things in warfare, it'd do you good to remember it."

About an hour or so later, the four men decided to take camp. The torches on the cavern walls providing a dim glow throughout the tunnel. They were positioned in a circle (at least the best circle you can make with only four people), and were thrust into a silence that would have drove the dead mad.

The quadruplet was supposed to be trying to sleep, but only one man was actually succeeding at the task at hand. Because of Zamza's injury, he was exhausted. It was getting better, and would be healed in a matter of days, but it was still taking it's toll on him. He was sleeping like a baby five minutes after they stopped to camp.

It was a different story for the other three, however.

Slade sat next to the slumbering Zamza, and across from the two ninja, an invisible campfire in between them. His mind still wouldn't let it go. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He watched the two mercs with a rock-hard stare. His attention was focused on nothing else, and wouldn't be until they split up or revealed their intentions to him. Thousands of questions raced through his head at once. Why were they here? What was their purpose? Who hired them? Slade seriously doubted Zamza did, so the answer to that question was pretty wide open. As to why they were there, well, he was pretty sure he knew the answer to that one. It was him, it had to be. But if they were going to kill him, why hadn't they at least tried it yet? None of it really made sense, but Slade's bones tingled with anticipation for their first move, and because of this, he knew, without a doubt, they were going to try and kill him, and that was fine with him, because if they were going to try it, he was going to give them all they could handle.

Fuma sat next to Kage, and he was worried. Extremely worried was more like it. He kept his eyes trained on nothing else, ready to react should Kage try something. He had screwed up, maybe not to badly, but it could also turn out to be the mother of all screw ups. He knew Kage was not happy with what he had done, and Fuma didn't like the way he stared at him all day, even when Fuma's back was to him, he could still feel Kage's eyes on him. It had made him nervous all day. Kage could be trusted, but then again he couldn't. The two weren't exactly friends, but even if they were, he knew the merc would have no problems killing him in a heartbeat. Kage held no emotion, and that was the scariest thing in the world, to have no remorse or guilt about what you do. So Fuma had to stay on his toes, and hope that everything turned out alright.

Kage sat, his arms crossed over his chest, his hands tucked neatly beneath the opposite arm's elbow, tightly clutching two shurikens. His eyes were closed, but he wasn't sleeping, no, he was simply waiting patiently. Waiting for a move from Slade he wasn't sure was going to come. Eyes could betray you, so he simply listened, taking in every noise, from the cough Zamza made in his sleep, to the tiniest pebble that fell from the ceiling of the tunnel some thirty to forty feet away. He couldn't trust Slade's actions, he seemed at times to be unpredictable, and if he did believe that they were there to kill him, then he might do something rash, so Kage had to be cautious.

As for Fuma, well, what he did was just plain idiotic, and it could get them both in trouble. And, like a moron, rather than keeping his eye on Slade, Fuma had watched him the whole time since they had camped. Kage could smell the fear on him, and it was rather amusing. Kage had no intention of killing Fuma, there would be no point in it, but if the red-garbed ninja wished to remain scared shitless of him, it would be punishment enough. The problem there was, if Fuma got too scared, would he do something dumb as well? Kage hoped not, for Fuma's sake, because he was prepared for that as well.

Slade watched the two ninja, while Fuma watched Kage, and Kage listened for them both, needless to say, no one in that triangle got any sleep that night.

When Zamza finally awoke, the gang pressed on once again. No one talked, because there was nothing to say, but Zamza noticed the three men keeping a close eye on each other. Either the three men had joined in on a conspiracy against him, or, obviously the more likely choice, Slade's suspicions had arose even further, and it was all going to explode soon.

They walked for several more hours, the scenery never changing, the same monotonous, rocky walls and ceiling blocking them in. Torches continued to light the way, each placed exactly the same distance away from the next one as it was it's predecessor. It all seemed like it was too much the same, everything had to have a little difference in it, but Zamza found everything the same inside the tunnel, down to the same cracks, and misshaped rocks every dozen or so feet.

That was until, they hit a fork in the road. They were finally getting somewhere, at least now they knew it wasn't the same everywhere. The question was however, which branch should they take? Both tunnels were exceedingly dark, as the torches stopped some five feet before the fork. None of them could see a thing, and because of that, they'd be walking blind.

"Oh, great, which one do we take?" Fuma questioned.

No one answered. They moved forward cautiously, not quite sure if another huge monster would jump out of the darkness.

Slade began to pull away from the group, and walked to the right tunnel. He walked six or seven steps into the darkness, when he felt a weak, but harsh breeze fly in his face. What bothered him however, was that the breeze was warm, not that it was harsh. There was something down there, he felt it. He closed his eyes and listened, but heard nothing, so he walked to the wall and felt it. The surface was unnaturally cold, and at that moment, Slade knew that was not the way to go.

He walked back to the group, then passed them, and headed into the left-side tunnel. Again, after some six or seven steps into the abyss, he felt a breeze. Only this one was very light, and held no harshness to it whatsoever. He closed his eyes and listened. He heard something extremely feint down the tunnel. He fought with his mind, trying to discover the source of the noise. 'Waves?' he thought to himself, unsure if he was accurate or not. He walked to the wall, and once again repeated the process he had earlier conducted. This time the wall was cool, not cold, and there was nothing unnatural about it. There was a river, or stream, or something down there, and a river needed something to dump into, which meant there had to be an exit down that tunnel.

He walked back out to meet the other men. Zamza was currently investigating the right-side tunnel, and Kage sat where the one tunnel branched into two, watching Slade with a peaked interest. Fuma still kept his eyes on Kage.

"We're taking the left tunnel" Slade announced boldly, ready to leave by himself should anyone doubt him.

"Huh?" Zamza asked, walking back into the dim light. "What do you mean we're taking the left-side tunnel? How do you know that ones right?"

"There's a breeze coming from this tunnel, and I hear waves splashing, which means water, which means exit." Slade retorted, ready to turn his back and walk away.

"So, there's a breeze coming from this tunnel as well." Zamza responded.

Slade shrank back at the mention of that breeze. "No, there's something...not right about that tunnel"

"How would you know?"

Slade smiled. "Take my word on it Zamza, evil, knows evil." Zamza didn't know what to say, that last statement sent chills running throughout his body. "Just trust me" Slade finished up, and began walking down the left tunnel.

"Yeah, right" Zamza said to himself, as the three men began to follow suit and walked into the left tunnel.