This was certainly not the situation that she would have liked to be in but this is what happens the first time she left her gun at home. She wasn't really sure how long she had been here, the days passed by in a daze as they continuously sedated her. Every time she woke up, all she could see was muddled forms of people and sometimes she couldn't see anyone at all. She knew that she had been moved several times, every place she woke up in had a different feeling but lately it felt like they had settled down somewhere. She groaned slightly as her head ached though she knew that it was because she hadn't fed this month. Her hunger caused her stomach to tighten and she knew that this would be the key to her freedom. It was funny how a few months ago she had been fighting this exact same battle. Well, there were a few things that there different this time.<br/><br/>She slowly tried to push herself off the floor, her bare body covered in filth. She blinked trying to regain some form of focus in her vision as her body was fighting against the drug.  Her fingers felt around for something to grab onto while she tried to figure out where she was. She grabbed onto a wall, holding herself steady for a moment. She needed to think of a plan. Now that her hunger was outweighing the sedative, she had a better train of thought. How long had she been here? She needed to contact someone as soon as possible; they were probably worried about her. She ran her fingers through her hair, though it got tangled in clumps of dirt and knots. Letting out a curse, she yanked her hand out of her hair. How could she have been so stupid? She had begged Elias to let her take self-defense classes and gun safety courses, yet she still ended up getting captured. She groaned at the idea of getting a lecture from him. She cleared her mind of those thoughts, now wasn't the time to think about that, she needed to escape first.<br/><br/>Footsteps were coming towards her and she immediately pushed herself closer to the wall. If her memory was correct, this was the time that they would be bringing her food. She slowed down her breathing that way the person wouldn't suspect her being so close to the door, her eyes watched the door closely; the light beneath it flickered as someone stood in front of it. Licking her cracked lips, she watched the door open and a burly man walk inside. There was a tray of stale food in his hand and he glanced around looking for her. She quietly crouched down, feeling instinct take a hold of her. She could hear his heartbeat and the beast within her purred with hunger.<br/><br/>He clicked on his flashlight to see in the windowless room, he turned around to see yellow eyes gleaming at him. "Oh sh-" Shizu launched at him, tackling him to the ground. Although she was hungry, her body felt weak. She grunted as she was slammed into the wall, her arms wrapping around his neck, she squeezed as hard as she could. He tried slamming her into the wall again and she let out a gasp of pain. If she couldn't win now, then she wouldn't escape. She knew what it meant to fight for her freedom and damnit she wouldn't let this asshole stop her. Opening her mouth, she sank her fangs into the side of his neck. He let out gurgled cry as she started to drain his body. The fight in him slowly began to die and she held her grip firm on his neck, pulling him to the ground.<br/><br/>After a few more moments, she pulled away gasping for air. She wiped away the blood that dribbled down her chin. She stared at the body for a really long time, reality setting in. She didn't know how to get rid of the body and no one would know how to explain the bite marks. She cursed again, holding her head in her hands. She had reacted solely on instinct; the consequences didn't even cross her mind. She would have to figure it out later, for now she needed to leave. She rushed over to the body, stripping the man from his clothing. She yanked down the larger shirt before tying his flannel shirt around her waist. She dug through his pockets, looking for his wallet. Once she found it, she took the gun that had fallen out the back of his pants while she had been taking off his shirt. She stared at him once more. Man, she was going to be in so much trouble.<br/><br/>Exiting the room, she ran down the hallway, sliding to a halt at the sound of voices. From what she knew, there were about four men hanging out in a longue area. She could hear muffled cries coming from the other side of the building. She stared at the gun in her hand, knowing that she would have to kill them all in order to come out alive. There was also the case of the other people here; she knew that she couldn't just leave them here. Biting her lower lip, she tried to come up with a plan now that things were changing rapidly; it almost felt like they were out of her hands. No, she couldn't think like that. She should be finished with that train of thought now. She had grown over the course of the last few months; it was now time to prove to everyone that she really was strong.<br/><br/>She lurched forward, clutching her stomach. Pain racked her body as she tried to figure out what was wrong with her. Could it have been the blood? She hadn't tried taking it orally ever since she left Japan. Had she drank it too fast or was her body simply reacting to the sustenance in her stomach as she was sure she hadn't had any kind of food for weeks now. She felt nauseous as she let out a gag. "Did you hear that?" She froze hearing shuffled feet coming towards her. What was she supposed to do? Her mind scrambled for something, anything. Gripping the gun in her hand, she turned quickly as she stood up. "What the fuck?" Another man seemed surprised to see her and she ran into him, her hand running through his abdomen, going up into his chest cavity. Clutching the beating organ, she breathed heavily, surprised that she had reacted in such a way. She was supposed to just shoot him but instead she relied on her instincts, again. Cursing, she shuffled a bit, moving the male around she headed towards the group. It seemed as if she would have to take them out this way. The gun shook in her hands as she was still not used to handling it in such a way. She had thought to use it more as a way of intimidation rather than defensively.<br/><br/>"Hey man, what was up?"<br/><br/>Tightening her grip on the gun, she turned the corner, firing off two rounds. She wasn't sure if she hit anyone, but she didn't want to risk being shot at first. It seemed as if there was chaos for a few moments as the others scrambled for cover while shooting at the body she was using as a shield. She continued to move forward, shoving the body off her hand and diving around another corner. What she really needed was someone else to help, she may have taken those safety courses but she was still new at using a gun. Biting her lower lip, she peeked around the corner, looking for an opening. Three people were hiding in the longue area. She could hear them whispering amongst one another and she decided that they were distracted enough for her to move forward. Creeping around the corner, she held her breath as the talking stopped. Pressing herself close against the wall, she listened closely to the shuffled footsteps. She watched as a leg crept out of the longue area and she tensed, wondering if they knew she was there or were they testing her? She let out a slow breathe before taking hold of the leg and yanking it towards her. She heard the satisfying sound of a crack and yell of pain. She continued to pull as the man struggled against her.<br/><br/>Perhaps she was being too confident or focused on killing him and she coiled back as a boot hit her in the face. She whimpered as she went to the floor, her nose ached and she felt blood come from her lip. Turning she scrambled to grab the gun that she dropped, though a hand grabbed her ankle. She was dragged back towards the longue area, her other foot kicking at the arm. "You think you're going to make it out of here, you bitch?" The other man appeared glowering at her, his foot came hard into her stomach, she felt her ribs crack. All the air rushed out of her lungs as she tried to gasp for air. This wasn't what she had hoped that would happen but she knew that she couldn't give up now. One of them crouched down next to her, his hand roughly grabbing her chin. "It's a shame we have to kill you...you could have made us a pretty penny."<br/><br/>So that's what this was. She felt her stomach turned, now realizing what those sobs she had heard early were about. She didn't want to relive this again nor did she ever want anyone else to go through this. She felt a rush of anger flow through her and a low growl rumbled in her chest. Her arm lashed out, clamping down the man's neck. His gurgled cry was satisfying but she wanted more. She grunted as a hand came down across her face though she didn't let go. Her grip tightened as she felt the man struggle to breath. The hand on her ankle released and it gave her enough time to move away. She scrambled to her feet, pulling the male closer to her. She grabbed the gun from his thigh holster and shot two rounds into his partner. She watched as he crumpled to the ground. She glanced back at the man who had his leg cracked by her. She shot off another two rounds into him. She glanced down at the man who she still held by the throat, cold saffron colored eyes looking down at him. His face was a bright red as she continued to cut off his oxygen supply. She watched to watch him suffer but she knew that it would be a waste of time. She held the gun up to his forehead and he stopped moving, fear filling his eyes. She grinned slightly, enjoying the fact that he realized that he would not be able to win. With a single fire from the gun, she watched blood splatter on the wall behind them before she let go of the lifeless body.<br/><br/>She stood there for a moment, trying to collect herself. It would be bad if she saved the others in the state that she was in now. Letting out a steady breath, she felt herself gain control of her emotions. She turned and ran off down the hallway, the opposite direction of where she had escaped from. She could hear the muffled cries of the other victims and she felt this pain in her chest. She had been here before, a long time ago or what had seemed to be a long time ago. She had been locked away once, sobbing endlessly until everything seemed to go numb. She hated that there were more women out there, suffering. Sliding open a metal door, she looked in to see about twenty other women roughly around her age in the dark room. They all stared at her with mild surprise and fear, shielding their eyes from the sudden onslaught of light filling the room. Of course, she probably wasn't the rescue they were expecting. Her small frame was trembling slightly and she had blood splattered across her clothes and staining her hands. She wasn't sure how she would get them out of here but she knew that she had to return them to their families.<br/><br/>"Come on," she said in a soft voice, though she left no room for questions. "If you want to be free, you must follow me." With that she took no time to wait for them, she needed to find a way to contact Elias. She ran back down the hallway, searching the corpses for a phone. She went into the longue area and found a bundle of bags and purses, more than likely from the women captured here. She grabbed a handful of the bags before stopping when she heard a scream. She ran out to see a few women staring at the dead bodies. "Look away," she commanded before going to grab the rest of their belongings. She handed them back to some of the women, knowing that they would have to sort it out later. She could only thank Kami-sama as she had managed to find her bag.<br/><br/>"We need to leave. Now," she said to her group, feeling a bit strange. She wondered if this was what it felt like to rescue people. She wasn't sure how she felt about it but there was this pride in her chest, like she was doing something right. Walking out of the building, she scanned the area for anyone who might cause them a problem. She shivered at the cold wind the bit her bare legs. If they were still in Canada, which she prayed that they were, it was no around the middle of winter. Snow covered the ground and it would have been truly beautiful if not for the current predicament that they all were in. They wouldn't survive if they had to walk; they hardly had the proper clothing on to stand the frigid weather. Biting her lower lip, she walked around the building before finding a black van. This really must have been her lucky day; unfortunately she was still learning how to drive, so that was a problem. She looked behind her to see the group of women huddling together, some weeping tears of relief. She let out a sigh, not sure how to deal with them. This was new to her.<br/><br/>"Can anyone drive?"<br/><br/>There was silence before a tall woman raised her hand, stepping forward. "I can."<br/><br/>"Good. I want you to take everyone back into the city. You can report that you have escaped but do not mention me, please..." Elias had told her to stay under the radar even though she was out of Israel. It was still too soon to bring attention to her once more.<br/><br/>"W-What about you?"<br/><br/>"There is no need to worry; I will be fine I assure you." She opened up the car door, before digging around for keys. She pulled out a key ring and tossed it to the taller woman. "There seems to be some blankets in the back and a few articles of clothing....Have a safe journey." She was taken aback by the forceful hug that she was brought into and she stood still not sure what to do.<br/><br/>"Thank you so much," the driver sobbed into her shoulder. Shizu held back the tears that she felt coming forth, understanding how the woman felt. The woman let go of her, before rounding up the others and piling into the car. Shizu stood as she watched them drive off away from this wretched place. She let out a sigh, feeling a bit foolish for staying behind but she knew that she couldn't be a part of that story that would surely make the headlines on tonight's news. Rummaging through her bag she pulled out her phone. She didn't have battery life and she let out a small curse. She shivered as the cool winter's breeze came through again. She went back into the building, searching for a phone to use. She sat in the longue area, her eyes scanning over the bodies, wondering if they would come back to life. There was a phone on the coffee table and she picked it up. Dialing Elias' number, she was relieved when he answered.<br/><br/>"Elias, this is Shizu....I need help."<br/><br/>------------<br/><br/>One month, she had been missing for a month and it has been the most painful month of his life. He had been through many tough times throughout his life but this was the absolute worst. He had spent hours upon hours searching for any sign, hair, or trace of Shizu and yet he had come up with nothing. At first, Elias didn't think much of it; she was busy with her studies and working at the cafe just a few blocks away from her place, so it was natural that she would be too tired to answer any of his calls. She had missed their weekly luncheon but Elias thought that she may have been too consumed with her tutoring; after all she had an exam coming up. But when her manager called him asking if he knew where she was, Elias panicked. He had called Lucian right away explaining to him the situation, which hadn't gone well. Elias broke down over the phone; the emotional wreck that he had become was really unlike him. He may wear his heart of his sleeve most of the time but never had he cried so easily over another person. Shizu was different.<br/><br/>She had wormed her way into their friendship, bringing in a lighter side to their lives. She helped open him up a little more and dragged him out of his apartment on sunny days to 'enjoy the weather' as she put it. She became a little sister to him and he became attached to her so quickly. So how could she just disappear like that? She was still learning about everything in this world, her tutoring was going exceptionally well as she devoured every book that she came across, her curiosity fueling her hunger for knowledge. She was becoming more independent, able to score a job as a waitress after a few weeks. She was still a bit nervous but that job really helped to develop her personality. She put up Elias' late night walks to her house to complain about how insensitive Lucian could be at times or how shitty his parents were to him. She had taken him in with hesitation, without judging his social ineptness. There had only been a few people to do that to him and it crushed him to find out that she had disappeared.<br/><br/>Then there was the agonizing process of trying to search for her on his own, with the help of Lucian. Then there were the arguments if they should contact Ivan and Zachariah to let them know what happened. This could be another plan to take away Shizu, they couldn't risk it. So when he finally had the courage to contact Ivan, he nearly lost his composure again. There were many reasons why he didn't want to tell Ivan what happened. Surely, Shizu would have appeared after a few days? But that hadn't been the case and there was not even a phone call saying that someone had her hostage. So, Elias finally caved and contacted Ivan, saying he needed help. It tore him to pieces to have to do such a thing, not only was he saying that he wasn't good enough to find someone but he was saying that he had let everyone down. He had made a promise to himself that he would look after Shizu and keep her from harm. He still wasn't sure how everyone felt about her but he knew that they all shared the same sense of protectiveness over her. Maybe that feeling had died down over the last few months but what scared Elias the most was Azrai finding out. He could hardly deal with the guilt that clutched him so tightly that facing Azrai would be the death of him, he was sure of it.<br/><br/>Ivan had trusted him and Lucian to take care of Shizu while she settled into her new life in Toronto. Everything had been going on so smoothly that Elias should have known that things would go awry sooner or later. Maybe he had been too caught up in enjoying the simple things with her and blinded by her innocence that all thoughts of trouble left his mind. Was it wrong of him to want to be friends with her? Was it wrong that he fell into the desires of enjoying a normal life with her? After all, she had been a wanted item a few months prior; of course people had been on the hunt for her still. But Elias had taken out the cameras from her house after a while, seeing that there was no threat. Shizu was able to be free on her own and do as she pleased, was that where he went wrong?<br/><br/>These thoughts plagued him daily and he felt as if he were slowly going mad from the guilt that racked his mind and body. Lucian had tried to convince him that it hadn't been his fault for what had happened but Elias couldn't help but feel like it was his entire fault. Hell, even speaking with Ivan had been just as bad. He could tell that the Russian didn't know what to say to quell his fragile state of mind. He knew that no one blamed him for the things that happened; it was a freak accident that no one had been expecting. Maybe he was worrying too much, but still a month had passed and there was no trace of Shizu. How could he not worry?<br/><br/>He swiveled in his chair letting out a groan as he searched all the cameras, security systems, and banks for anything that could lead him to the Oni woman. Nothing. Still there was nothing and it didn't seem to help his mood. Running his hand through his unruly hair, he felt like he was going to have a mental breakdown at any given moment. He was completely lost at this point. He was a genius. He could hack into anything that he wanted without break so much of a sweat. He could pull up anything about another person without a second thought. He was made for this kind of situation yet he couldn't figure out where she was. He really was going crazy, he had to be. It shouldn't be this hard to find one person. The sound of his phone vibrating caused him to turn towards his nightstand. Was it Lucian checking up on him again? He really didn't want to talk to him right now, though he knew that it would only cause the other to get angry at him.<br/><br/>Getting out of his chair, he walked towards the nightstand before he froze. There was no name that showed up on the caller id and that caused his heart to leap into his throat. Was this the call that he had been waiting for? Was it the call that let him know that Shizu was being held hostage? He took the phone in his shaking hands and hit the answer button. The sound of Shizu's soft voice filled his ear and he nearly thought of passing out. At first he thought his mind was playing tricks on him but he knew that this was reality.<br/><br/>"S-Shizu...are you okay," he asked immediately.<br/><br/>"....Yes," she replied after a few moments of silence.<br/><br/>"Where are you? Do you know that we've been searching for you?"<br/><br/>"I do not know where I am. It looks like an abandoned place," she said and he could hear her moving around. "I apologize for causing you all to worry about me."<br/><br/>"Jesus," Elias breathed out. He flopped back into his chair. "Are you hurt at all? What the hell happened?"<br/><br/>"No, I am fine." Though she wouldn't let him in on the minor injuries she had. "I will explain it to you later on what happened. Right now I need someone to come get me....I do not know if anyone else will come here."<br/><br/>"What about the people who captured you?"<br/><br/>She was quiet for a while before he could hear her let out a long breath. "...They are dead..."<br/><br/>Elias rubbed his face, knowing that they would have to clean up that mess, not that he minded, Shizu was alive. "Alright, alright....I'll find your phone signal from the satellite and have someone come get you."<br/><br/>"I shall be waiting," she said gently.<br/><br/>"Thank God you're alive, Shizu," Elias said in a trembling tone. "You had everyone worried."<br/><br/>"I apologize, Elias. I will see you soon, alright?"<br/><br/>"Yeah." Elias hung up the phone, immediately dialing another number and pulling up where Shizu's call came from. His brows furrowed as he found the location though he wondered how she ended up all the way there, but it made sense as to why he couldn't find her. Her captors had probably moved her around a lot of the last month. The call picked up and he heard the familiar grunt of Ivan. "Ivan, I just received a call from Shizu."<br/><br/>"Are you serious," Ivan questioned.<br/><br/>"Yes, it really was her," Elias grumbled out. "I located where she is. It seems as if she was taken to somewhere near North Bay, Toronto. I don't know her exact location, but there's not much out there so it shouldn't be too hard to find her."<br/><br/>"Alright, I'll head out right now."<br/><br/>"Also, you'll have to clean up a mess when you get there, from what I've been told."<br/><br/>"Wonderful," Ivan grunted before hanging up.<br/><br/>----------<br/><br/>Getting the call that Shizu was missing was not one of his favorite moments within the last month or so. It wasn't as if things weren't already busy enough, they were still working on rebuilding the organization which was taking longer than Ivan had hoped. However, the Russian liked to see things progress fast, so maybe he was slightly impatient. Ivan had all the confidence in the world in Elias and Lucian, so he had never worried too much about Shizu. He knew that she was in capable hands and that she would adapt just fine. He had other things to worry about, like the organization and monitoring Azrai, which had been going pretty well. Of course, there were the times that Azrai seemed like he was going to lose his mind from the lack of missions, but it was natural that that would happen.<br/><br/>Still, when he had received the call from Elias, he thought it was the usual update. As far as he was concerned, Shizu was adapting pretty well, faster than they had all imagined. She was advancing in her studies and even managed to land a part time job. It seemed as if things were going well. Elias had mentioned last time that they were teaching her how to drive as well. She was living a normal life, like they had all wanted for her, so it had truly caught him off guard when Elias told him that Shizu was missing. Hadn't things finally calmed down? Wasn't this the time where everyone settled down and things went back to being normal? It had only been a few months after the war in Israel and now this happened. Was someone else trying to start something else again? Had they not seen what their organization was capable of doing in order to protect Shizu?<br/><br/>Ivan had had a long conversation with Zachariah on what their next course of action should be. Of course, this was in his field of expertise, finding people. Usually, when paired up with Elias, he could find anyone that was asked of him. Currently, Elias was not in the proper state of mind to be given that task. He had lost himself to his emotions, which would not allow for him to be a very good partner. So, that kept Ivan to his own devices, which weren't too shabby. He was efficient at what he did even without Elias' assistance. If this was another attack on their organization and another attempt to get Shizu, then Ivan knew that he would need help. The only person that he could trust was Azrai and that had been a conversation that went smoothly, according to Ivan. Azrai didn't really open up to him about Shizu anymore, which Ivan wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Still, he wanted to bring Azrai along for back up and maybe he also wanted them to see one another again. It had been nearly five months since they last saw one another. Perhaps this wasn't the most ideal situation for either of them to see one another but Ivan felt that Shizu needed a sense of familiarity. Out of all the people associated with the organization, she was best with Azrai. Who knew what kind of state of mind she was in right now and familiarity may play out in their favor.<br/><br/>Ivan had stopped monitoring Azrai after a month or so. First of all, neither of them had felt comfortable about in the first place but they had gone through the motions of it all. Ivan had stayed true to his word with keeping Zachariah updated with Azrai's progress. Still, they had to be sure that he was able to join back with them without another outburst. The distance that Ivan had given Azrai seemed to be helpful, but anything could happen. So when Ivan had finally opened up about Shizu and all that had happened after the war and so on, he was surprised with how well Azrai handled it. Though Ivan was never too sure how Azrai would handle things, he seemed to take in everything and let it sink in. It usually took a very long time for Azrai to open to him so he supposed that he would have to wait once more for Azrai's thoughts on everything. Ivan really didn't like bringing up the topic of Shizu, because it was still a bit of a sensitive topic to discuss. It had only been a few months since she left Israel but Ivan still as if it were yesterday. He had worried about her in the beginning though it died down but now that worry was brought back once again.<br/><br/>It still bothered Ivan that someone had been able to take Shizu away so easily. She was an Oni so that gave her an advantage but then again...she probably just wanted to be seen as normal, so she wouldn't try to do anything to bring attention to herself. So who exactly had her? Elias had told him that no one had said who they were or where they had taken her. She just disappeared without a sound. How long would it have taken them to realize she was missing had it not been for her job calling Elias? That thought chilled him and caused him to wonder if sending her to Toronto was a good idea. There had been nowhere else that he could have thought to send her. He trusted Elias and Lucian more than enough, yet unfortunate things seemed to follow their organization. Ivan had to reassure Elias that he hadn't lost his faith in him and understood that things happened. Still he knew that Elias was beating himself over it all.<br/><br/>So now, here he was all over again, looking for Shizu and praying to God that an enemy hadn't gotten their hands on her. That was just what they needed. Who knew what they would do with her and it didn't help that he was thinking about all kinds of scenarios. Since they had arrived in Toronto, they hadn't had that much luck with clues. He had talked with her manager at the cafe and even a few of the regular customers. He asked around at the local grocery store and bookstore as well. It seemed as if she was just taken without much of a commotion, which wasn't helpful either. So he had spent most of his time trying to figure out where exactly it took place and see if there were any witnesses. The problem was they didn't know when it happened, where it happened, and there had been no reports on anything that seemed out of the ordinary. This led him to believe that it had happened at night, but when he had checked her place there was no sign of any kind of fight. This was definitely one of the harder cases that he had ever had to deal with but he wouldn't give up until she was found. Now they would have to monitor once more to make sure something like this would never happened again, which was no something that Ivan wanted to do. He wanted her to live a life that didn't involve surveillance or the organization but it seemed as if God had other plans.<br/><br/>Pulling out his phone, he answered the call that was from none other than Elias. That man had been blowing up his phone ever since he arrived in Canada, asking about Shizu. It was obvious that they had bonded well since she arrived. Ivan felt bad that he couldn't find her faster as the hacker was practically falling apart. She rubbed his face and listened to what Elias had to say. He was surprised that he had heard from Shizu and the fact that she wasn't being held hostage was even more surprising. He wondered if she managed to get out of wherever she was but how had she managed to get a hold of a phone, unless she had injured or killed her captors. That seemed only logical to him as Elias warned him of causalities. After hanging up the phone, he let out a sigh. It was good that she turned up but still it was a three hour drive to reach North Bay from where they were. Ivan got up from the couch that he had been resting on, it was best they leave now or else something might happen to her. He moved to the door adjoining his hotel room to another, he knocked on it for a few times. "Azrai...Elias just contacted me. Shizu has contacted him, we need to leave now," he said before grabbing his keys off the coffee table.<br/><br/>They needed to figure out what the hell was going.