The figure looked at the group of masked men.  He knew who they were, he was once one of them, a member of the Dragon Army.  He held the sword in a defensive stance.  He looked at the sword.  He recognised it as his own. 

"So, you've been hiding here all these years," commented one of the masked men.

Those words startled the figure.  "Years?" he said as if trying to comprehend the situation.  "How many years?"

"You've managed to hide for 15 years," informed one of the masked men. 

His eyes widened in surprise.  Fifteen years?  He thought he heard had wrong.  Fifteen years had passed since that day, the day he became a traitor to his own clan.  He glanced back at the wounded man behind him.  He recognised him as the Gyoha clan's right hand man, though he had aged.  He had thought that the man had died along with the rest of his clan.  He remembered seeing the man covered in a pool of blood but it seemed that he had survived after all.

"Why did you betray the boss?" one of the men questioned.

He was quiet for a moment as he recalled what happened that day.
 

The Dragon Army was seeking to become the strongest clan.  Their leader wanted to be the supreme ruler.  All those who opposed them were destroyed.  They were cruel and without mercy, nothing was beneath them and he was part of it all.

They had kidnapped the son of the Gyoha clan to force the Gyoha clan's leader to submit, however he had refused.  A battle broke out.  The right hand man of the Gyoha clan was a worthy opponent.  He took down many of his attackers much to the Dragon Army's surprise.  However, his strength alone was not enough to win against the fearsome Dragon Army or their leader.  After their only hope was struck down, the Gyoha clan's leader was killed along with the rest of his men. 

Witnessing his father's death, the boy ran over to the masked man who had killed his father, without realising that the man was the leader of the Dragon Army.  The boy was screaming and crying and hitting the man with his tiny fists which barely inflicted any pain.  The leader picked up the boy by the collar of his shirt.  At that moment, the boy reached for the leader's mask and pulled it off to reveal his face. 

This angered the leader.  He threw the boy down towards the edge of the cliff.  As he struck his sword down at the boy, he was surprised that someone had intervened and blocked his blade.  He was not impressed to discover that it was one of his subordinates.

"What are you doing?" the leader asked.

"He's just a child," replied the subordinate.

"A child who will grow up to avenge his father," said the leader.  "Since when did you become so soft?"

"I..."

The leader brushed him aside and approached the boy, who retreated back, closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Watch out!" he shouted as he saw the boy go over.

Without hesitation, he ran passed his leader and jumped down after the boy.

They were falling.  He wrapped his arms around the boy and held him tight.  They were going to hit the ground soon.

"Don't be scared," he whispered.  "You're going to be okay."

He felt his body hit the ground.  The last thing he heard was the sound of bones breaking.  His bones.

His mind jolted back to reality as the group of masked men stepped aside to make way for their leader.  A masked figure walked in, holding a long object in his hand.
Even without seeing the figure's face, he knew who it was. 

"Boss," he said with hesitation.

"Good to see you alive, Hoya," said the leader before he plunged his blade straight through him.  "Traitor's must die."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note:

Guess who?