Chapter 15:
Kai ended up spending another long while looking through his stolen data. This time, he was focused on the suited goon dressed like the men who helped Torchwick. The man's name was Bjorn Clay, and he was apparently a gangster working under the Xiong family. The black suits, fedoras, red ties, and sunglasses were apparently standard for those guys.
He was also a massive piece of shit from what Kai could tell. According to the files, the bastard had a restraining order put against him by his ex-wife because he'd beat her. And the way Ms. Carmine had him under control with pictures of him violating that order by stalking the woman.
After a lot of digging into that, both through Ms. Carmine's files and what he could find online, a plan started to form. One that should help Kai investigate what Roman was up to, which would complete his mission, but more importantly, hopefully prepare him for whatever bullshit was likely stirring in the city. It would also help show Ms. Carmine that any threats he might use against her later were not bluffs. It might even earn him some extra cash as well, depending on how he played things.
There was some danger involved in what he wanted to do. But given his level of psyker strength now, and his original capabilities as a Huntsman, he was pretty sure he could handle it. Even if he was going to have to fight with a metaphorical hand tied behind his back if things went south.
After all, he couldn't bring his sword while disguised, or else he could be identified. He also couldn't really use his Telekinesis, as that was a rather iconic power. Professor Goodwitch might have the ability as well, but he doubted there were many others out there with Semblances like that. And it wasn't like anyone would ever confuse him with Goodwitch.
Still, even with all those restrictions, he didn't think he would be in much danger. If the mooks that helped Roman were any indication, most of the Xiong family would hardly be a challenge. And even if they had some stronger guys, he had other, less eye-catching powers he could use to give him an edge.
At the very least, he would be able to get away if the worst came to pass.
Of course, ideally, it would never come to that. Especially since Kai was gonna be smart about this and make sure to disincentivize any fights breaking out. Which was why he didn't head out straight away once he came up with his plan. Instead, he would wait until after dark, when there would be a lot of witnesses and bystanders around where he was going.
Kai ended up killing the rest of his day in the library, going through all the data he'd taken and trying to figure out just how he'd approach Ms. Carmine later. There really was too much stuff to go through, and he needed to go through it all in case he missed something big. He only left the library once to eat a late lunch and spent the rest of his time there.
It was a shame he wouldn't be able to go out hunting outside Vale today. But the prep to steal the stash, the attempt to lose any tails, and the research took more time than he thought. And it wasn't like he didn't have plenty of time to do more hunting later.
When it was nearing evening, still in his disguise, Kai finally left the library and headed to the industrial district of Vale. The sun had already set when he stepped off the last bus on his route. Following the map on his Scroll, he made his way around the more grungy part of the city until he found the place he was looking for.
It was an old brick building with arched windows and a pair of large sliding automatic doors leading inside. And right above the entrance was the name of the club, Junior's. The same club that Yang had mentioned hearing about as a place to buy information. She'd been right about that, according to Ms. Carmine's files on the Xiong Family. Though it was nice to have two sources to confirm this.
Kai didn't head into the club right away. Instead, he headed for a Mistralian restaurant nearby. It was a small place with cheap-looking tables and chairs. But it was clean enough, and there was an open seat for him to take at a solo table. Better yet, it was near the window and gave him a view of the club.
After sitting down, Kai ordered a small dinner for himself. He'd normally eat a lot more, but on the off chance things still devolved into a fight, he didn't want an overly full stomach. As he waited for his food to come, he looked to the club and opened himself to the Warp once more.
Instantly, he was assaulted by a variety of thoughts and emotions. It was even stronger than before, likely because of how many people were around here, as well as the heightened emotions of those in the club. But he was also getting more used to this kind of thing, so it didn't take him long to adapt. Still, he made a note to himself, to perhaps keep his telepathy on at least a trickle while out in the city, so he wouldn't constantly go from 0 to 100 like this.
His food came, and he started eating absentmindedly as most of his attention was directed to his Telepathy. He focused on the club, trying to narrow down his focus to only the minds inside there. It took some effort, and he ate a lot slower than he normally did as he tried, but he managed in the end. Then he started separating the minds one by one.
He didn't delve deep into the minds he was scanning. Instead, he just checked if he was able to read them fully. By doing so, his plan was to find out just how many fighters with Aura were in the club/gang headquarters. However, once he finished going through all the minds, he couldn't help but think something had gone wrong.
Out of the hundreds of people inside the club, he only found maybe four people who blocked out his Telepathy. Which didn't seem right at all. He'd thought the headquarters of the gang would have a lot more of their goons around. Sure, maybe most of them were out doing whatever it was that criminals did, but four still seemed too few for an entire club. At the very least, you'd think they'd have enough goons to be bouncers.
The only thing he could think of to explain what he was feeling was that most of the Xiong family didn't have their Auras unlocked. But that didn't seem right either. It wasn't uncommon for criminals to have their Aura unlocked, even if they were pretty shitty fighters compared to huntsmen or even huntsmen-in-training…
Wait, could that be it?
Kai's eyes widened as he realized something. He'd been assuming so far that just having one's Aura unlocked was enough to block his Telepathy? But it wasn't like Aura was a perfect, automatic defense straight off the bat. It only became that way through extensive training. Training that most crooks with Aura lacked or couldn't manage.
What if it were the same for blocking Telepathy? And possibly his other powers that affected someone directly. Like, those who've trained their Aura enough for it to reflexively protect against damage also automatically block his psyker powers. But only those with training like that, leaving those with Aura but inefficient training vulnerable.
If that was true…
Kai took another bite of stir-fried noodles to hide the smile on his face. If that was true, then his plan got a whole lot easier. Heck, he might not even need to go into the club… Well, probably not. Still would be better to go in if he wanted to possibly earn some Lien as well. But at the very least, now it would be a lot easier to figure out if he could do so safely. All it would take is a little more snooping through minds from afar.
Swallowing another bite of his food, Kai ordered a drink to prolong his stay at the restaurant as he got to work. He started delving deeper into minds, enough to identify if they were a member of the Xiong Family or not. This was not a fast process, as there were a lot of people in the club. However, after going through several dozen minds, Kai realized there was probably a way to make this go faster.
So on the next mind he was in, he didn't move on when he confirmed they weren't part of the Xiong Family. Instead, he focused more on their active thoughts and tried to tap into their senses. This wasn't easy, nor was it fast. But after some working around, trying not to do anything that might harm the random person he was reading, nor make himself look weird sitting in the restaurant, he managed it.
However, he realized soon after that he probably shouldn't have tapped into all of the person's senses. The feeling of being in the body of some woman dancing around in a nightclub was rather odd, to say the least. The loud base of the music thumping through her body and ears, the heat of the crowd around her, the sweat dripping down her exposed stomach and thighs, what shouts got through all the music, her own pulse beating in her chest, the sense of the occasional flailing limb moving nearby…
It was a lot to take in. Almost overwhelming if he didn't have mental techniques to fall back on to clear his mind. Even then, it took the rather gross feeling of some guy grinding up behind the woman—it was a guy she just met, he could tell from her memories—that broke Kai from his stupor and reminded him what he needed to do.
A silver lining to the fact that he now knew what it felt like to have a dick rubbing against his ass. Gross.
He fought off a shiver of disgust running through his own body, and instead did his best to narrow what he was tapping into further. Instead of all of the woman's senses, he focused on just seeing through her eyes. He managed after a moment, much to his relief. Then, using her vision, he looked for his next target.
It took a moment for him to find someone wearing the familiar black and red outfit of the Xiong Family. The flashing lights of the club didn't help, nor did how often the woman closed her eyes instead of looking around. In the end, though, he found one of them and tried to use that visual connection for him to refocus on the man standing at attention against one of the club's walls.
His idea worked, and he felt the man's mind. He dropped the connection with the drunk and horny woman, focusing instead on the Xiong Family gangster.
Kai let out a sigh of relief and took a sip of the ice lemon tea he'd been given. Then, wanting to get this over with, he delved deeper into the gangster's mind. Kai was still hardly an expert at this kind of thing, so it took him some time. But with the range his psyker talent gave him now, and all the time he needed, he managed to learn quite a bit.
Not everything he needed, but more than he knew before. And he only learned more when he started going into the minds of other Xiong Family goons, using the same trick to quickly find them in the club instead of going mind to mind.
At the same time, he confirmed that most of these guys did have their Aura unlocked—all the ones that were expected to get into fights did. And that did nothing to stop Kai's telepathy, as they were barely trained. Though he did notice that some of them manage to break his connection on occasion. But even with those, he just had to be more subtle or even just try again after the fact. It was only the ones who had their Aura properly trained that could keep him out.
Unfortunately, it seemed that the boss of the gang and the man to speak to about information, Junior, was one of those properly trained. Him and the pair of twin women who worked with him and were his closest lieutenants. And worse, the goons Kai could reach didn't have the information he needed.
It seemed that if he wanted more information, he would have to actually go inside and talk. Though at least now he was less worried about asking Junior about Roman. From what he could gather from the goons, the two did not have a close working relationship. Instead, Junior reluctantly allowed Roman to hire some of their men. Something that only strained their relationship further, after Roman let the men he hired get arrested by the police.
Of course, Junior would probably be a lot less willing to talk to Kai if he knew Kai had been involved with all that. But that was one of the reasons he was still wearing his disguise, even if the wig was more than a little itchy.
Having done all he could here, Kai waved the waitress down to get a bill. After thanking her and paying his bill, he got up and left the restaurant behind. All the while, he didn't fully cut off the Warp, leaving a sliver of a connection and his telepathy just barely active. Enough so that if he needed it, he wouldn't be overwhelmed by all the people and high levels of emotions.
He was met by the colder night air outside, which made him glad he had gone with a jacket to be part of his disguise. Then he made his way over to the club, ready to go in and talk to Junior.
However, before he could actually do that, he noticed something that made him pause. He stared for a second and then had to resist face-palming. Right… There was a line to the club. It had been much smaller earlier, but now it was much larger. He hadn't noticed despite his window seat because he'd been concentrating on his telepathy.
Sighing, Kai moved to the back of the line to wait his turn. And waited. And waited some more.
Eventually, thoroughly annoyed, Kai made it to the front of the line. At this point, he was half expecting the bouncer to be a douche and not let him in because he was a guy and there were too many in there or something. He was even ready with his Telepathy to try and bypass that, as he was not in the mood to try and come back at another time. Sure, he might not have the skill for something like that, but he was sure he would manage it somehow.
Thankfully, he didn't end up needing to do that and was allowed inside.
The first thing he noticed when he entered the club was the noise. The music was loud with a deep bass. Even just at the entrance, which was elevated above the rest of the club, he could feel it. The next was the dim lighting, broken up by the occasional flashing light to the beat of the music. After that was the warmth of the club, probably from the body heat of all the people jumping around and dancing. And then, finally, there were the people. There were a lot of them.
Kai had noted all of this as he'd been mind-reading, especially with that woman he tapped into the senses of first. But it was still something else to experience it all himself. He found himself bobbing his head up and down to the beat of the song as he stepped down the stairs that led to the main area of the club.
Part of him was a little overwhelmed by all this. But another part of him felt that it might be fun just letting loose here with Yang later. It was loud, sure, but also exciting. Especially since he could literally feel the swelling of all sorts of emotions around him.
Still, that could come later, and hopefully at a club not owned by criminals. Instead, he needed to focus, so he cleared his mind as best as he could and made his way through the throngs of swaying, bouncing, and energetic bodies.
It took some time, as he wasn't used to moving around in such crowds. He also had to keep his eyes out for the people with adequate Aura training he sensed before. He managed to peg three of them by the time he got to the bar, as the memories of the goons let him know what they looked like. But the fourth one eluded him and he had no idea what they looked like.
There were several bartenders at the bar, who apparently worked fast, as there wasn't really much of a crowd around the place. There were also stools for people to sit, but most people were just getting their drinks and moving to one of the tables near the dance floor.
Kai didn't bother with the bartenders and instead moved towards one of the few men who actually sat at the bar. Kai recognized him both from his research and what he got from the Xiong family goons. He was a tall man with short black hair and a full, well-kept beard. He was dressed similarly to many of the Xiong Family goons, except he didn't have the hat or outer jacket. Instead, he wore a vest over a dress shirt, which was probably more comfortable in the warm club.
"Junior," Kai said as he moved to stand next to the man while resting one elbow on the bar. He decided to just get straight down to business, as he was still a bit annoyed by the wait to get in. "Word on the street is you deal in details."
The man looked over to Kai with a raised eyebrow.
Kai had to fight off a grimace on his face. The wording sounded dumb, but he'd pulled the phrase out of some of the Xiong Family goons' heads. Apparently, it was a simple code phrase just to show that Kai wasn't some random street punk who heard a rumor. That didn't make it sound any less stupid, however.
"You're a bit younger than my usual clientele," Junior said flatly.
Kai fought off any reaction, though he felt a bit annoyed. What about him gave away his age? His face was partially covered by his novelty sunglasses, which thankfully weren't so dark that he couldn't wear them at night, and actually helped with the flashing lights of the club.
"And stronger too," Kai said, smirking as he leaned against the counter. "But enough about me. How about we get to some business?"
Junior stared him down for a moment before snorting. "Alright, kid, as long as you can pay. What do you want?"
Chapter 16:
"Alright, kid, what do you want?"
"Two things," Kai said, ignoring being called a kid. Instead, he reopened his connection to the Warp and focused on Junior.
Kai couldn't read Junior's mind because of his Aura, but Kai could at least get a feel for the other man's emotions. That should give him an advantage in negotiating and maybe reveal some things to him that Junior wasn't willing to tell.
"First, I want to get some information on that thief guy on the news, Torchwick," Kai said. "Anything you have on him and what he's doing, and not just what's on TV and the net. Second, I want to sell you some info. Info that you'll probably find very interesting, as it's about someone messing around in the Xiong Family's territory. Though depending on the cost of the Roman info, maybe we can just swap info instead."
Junior kept his face neutral as Kai talked. But his emotions were plain to Kai. Junior felt annoyed and cautious at the mention of Torchwick, while the mention of someone messing with the Xiong Family caused a small flare of anger and suspicion in him.
"If your info is legit," Junior said, his voice calm. "I might be willing to pay for it. But you should keep clear of Torchwick, kid. Don't let the makeup and flamboyance fool you, the man's dangerous."
"I'm not looking for trouble," Kai said, shrugging. "But keeping safe means knowing enough about dangers to avoid them. And I want to know what Torchwick is doing."
Junior snorted, though Kai felt a sense of unease come from the man. "What he's doing? Kid, he's stealing stuff. He's a thief. It's what they do."
"He's stealing Dust. A lot of it," Kai countered. He hadn't actually realized how much until his mission had made him look into it. But Torchwick had stolen quite a lot of Dust as of late. "And my gut is telling me he isn't doing it just for the money. Call it a hunch, but I think he's up to something. Something that someone trying to keep informed to protect themselves should worry about."
That was, of course, a lie. Before running into the man and getting the mission, Kai hadn't really thought much about Torchwick's robberies when they appeared on the news. Dust could be used for a lot of things after all, and was worth a lot as well. But he needed an explanation for why he thought Torchwick was up to more than stealing, so all he could do was call it a hunch.
Junior, however, seemed to agree. Not outwardly, of course, as he kept up a good poker face. But the feeling of unease from the man grew when Kai mentioned Torchwick's nebulous goals. He either knew more about Torchwick or had his own suspicions.
"You're jumping at shadows, kid," Junior said, waving his hand. "He probably found a buyer willing to pay for large quantities. Probably someone in Vacou or something, trying to avoid import fees or things like that."
"If it's just that, then what's the harm in telling me what you know?" Kai asked.
"Because the man is dangerous," Junior said with a growl. For a moment, Kai felt a spike of fear from the older man. "Both he and… those who work with him. They're not the kind of people you want to mess with. Even if it's just giving up some information. Drop it, kid, for your own good."
Kai frowned. He was tempted to keep pushing. But it wasn't really like he had any leverage. Sure, he had the info about the Xiong Family traitor. He could try holding that over the other man. Yet that seemed more likely to backfire than anything else, given what he could feel from Junior's emotions. And if that failed, then Kai would either have to leave empty-handed or get ripped off in exchange for Lien, as the big man would be in a bad mood.
Of course, there was another way he could get the info he wanted. Kai couldn't help but eye the distance between the two of them. If he could get skin contact, he likely could use his Telepathy through Junior's Aura, just like he did with Biomancy and Yang. But…
Yeah, no. Attacking the head of a crime family willy-nilly wasn't a good idea, disguised or not. And there wasn't a way he could get the contact he needed discreetly, either. Maybe if he had pretended to be drunk beforehand and tripped…. Even then, he wasn't so good with Telepathy that he could get what he needed in a short amount of time.
It seemed he'd have to drop the Roman thing for now and think more about his options later. A shame.
"Fine," Kai said after a moment. He could feel Junior relax at that. "Then let's move on. How much are you willing to pay for info about someone selling stuff in your territory? Stuff like… Oh, I don't know… Black Tar?"
Junior stiffened at Kai's words and could feel a large surge of anger radiate off the other man. "Kid… You better not be talking out of your ass about that. Because if someone is selling that kind of shit anywhere near here, that's gonna require a response. A very impactful one. I don't tolerate that kind of crap in my territory, but I would also need proof besides just your word."
"It's legit," Kai said as he pulled out a prepared, folded piece of paper from his pocket. He placed it on the bar and slid it over. The paper had some pictures, though with faces and other identifying marks blacked out, of someone selling Black Tar with a street sign clearly visible. He assumed these were extra leverage for Ms. Carmine to use against Bjorn, just in case. "I have more evidence, but here's a taste. Now let's talk about the price."
Junior took the paper, and the fury within him deepened. "Alright, kid… Let's talk price."
For the next while, Junior and Kai haggled over what the older man was willing to pay for the information. Kai wasn't sure how much the information was worth, or how much a crime boss like Junior had available to pay for stuff like this. So in the end, he just went with the amount of money he got from Ms. Carmine's stash, and then doubled it so he could be haggled down.
Kai kept careful track of Junior's emotions during it all. And in the end, he managed to get Junior to agree to pay him a little less than a million Lien. Not bad for something he just stumbled across while looking into Ms. Carmine.
"Alright, that's all of it," Junior said, sliding a large stack of bills. "Now let's see what you've got. And don't try to skimp on me, kid. Cause you won't be getting out of here with those bills if you try it."
"Don't worry," Kai said, rolling his eyes as he did a quick count. All the money was there, and none of the bills looked faked as far as he could tell. He also didn't feel anything from Junior that would make him think he was being cheated. "I'm not an idiot. Here's the info." Kai put away the bills safely into an inner pocket of his jacket. Then he pulled out his prepared info pack and slid it over to Junior. "That should have all the proof you need."
Junior snatched up the stack of folded papers and quickly went through them. Kai could tell when he found out who was behind selling hardcore drugs in his territory. The massive flare-up of rage from the older man made it obvious. It came after a feeling of disbelief, followed by a frantic shuffling of paper.
Kai almost felt bad for Bjorn, given what someone like Junior might do to traitors. Especially since the man had been blackmailed into helping. But given the fact that the man was a wife-beater, and the dirt Ms. Carmine had on the man was proof of that fact, Kai found himself less than sympathetic to the man he just fucked over.
"So, we good?" Kai asked once Junior was obviously done and just fuming.
Junior looked up with a glare. But Kai just matched his gaze, knowing that anger wasn't directed at him. "Yeah…" he said after taking a deep breath. "You and me are good. Me and… Well, you know who, are going to have to have a long chat, however."
"Well, then, I'll leave you to that," Kai said, pushing away from the bar. Before he left, however, he couldn't help but try once more. "Though, any chance you've changed your mind about giving me info about Torchwick? I mean, I did help you guys out by pointing out a bag egg among you. I'm even willing to pay half of what you gave me for the info."
Junior seems to consider it for a second. Then his eye flicked past Kai. He didn't outwardly react, but there was a flash of caution and fear before he turned his gaze back to Kai. "No. And beat it, kid, before your curiosity bites you in the ass. You don't look old enough to be in a club like this anyway."
Resisting the urge to spin around to see what Junior had looked at, Kai just shrugged and turned around casually. "Alright, see you around."
Kai started walking away, but as he did, he scanned around for anyone who might have been the cause of Junior's alarm. It did not take him long to find the person. At least, who he thought was the person.
She was a really short woman, probably only a couple of years older than Kai, if that. Very pretty, with one eye being brown and the other pink. But it was her long hair that stood out the most, half pink on one side and brown on the other. She was wearing a white, brown, and pink outfit that seemed rather stylish, and Kai couldn't help but let his eyes linger on where her hips were exposed.
But none of that was what keyed him in on who the woman was.
Instead, it was the fact that she was staring right at him, and his telepathy was being blocked out by a well-trained Aura. It seemed he found the fourth decently trained person in the bar. Though from the feeling he got from Junior, she might be more than decently trained. She was also likely connected to Roman in some way.
That could be problematic. Especially considering the emotions he was feeling from her. Because while he felt curiosity from her, he also felt something else. Something he had trouble describing. It felt like hunger. But not the kind that had anything to do with food or sex. It was more than a little disturbing, even if the emotion wasn't all that prominent at the moment.
Still tapping into the Warp, Kai reached for his divination to warn him of any possible attacks. Then he quirked an eyebrow at the still staring woman. She just smirked in response before walking, looking past him to the bar. The feeling of hunger dissipated, and her emotions seemed to mellow out the moment she looked away.
It was very different from what he'd felt from other people. Most didn't have their emotions change so quickly like that.
Kai resisted the urge to frown and instead continued his way toward the entrance of the club. Still, just in case, he kept his mental focus locked on the woman in case she changed her mind. So far, she seemed to be staying put.
Kai reached the bottom of the stairs out of the club and moved to start climbing up. But as he did, he froze for a second as he caught sight of a girl coming down the stairs. A very familiar girl, with long blonde hair and a cocky smirk on her face.
It was Yang. She noticed him right away and smirked at him. For a moment, he thought she might have recognized him, but focusing on her, he realized that wasn't it. Instead, while she was feeling amused, she was also feeling exasperated. Probably cause some random guy was staring at her.
Not wanting to have his disguise linked to her, Kai quickly looked away as if he was embarrassed. Then he ascended the stairs quickly, ignoring the growing amusement he felt from Yang.
It was only once he was out of the club and breathing in the much colder night air outside that he let out a breath.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Kai muttered to himself. "She was the one to mention this place first."
Shaking his head, Kai continued down the street and away from the club. At least she didn't recognize him. And even if she did and he was wrong about her emotions, she didn't make it obvious to anyone. So, no chance anyone would be able to link his disguise to his own identity. Now all he needed to do was get out of here and find a place to change—
Kai froze for just a split second before he continued walking, trying to be nonchalant. He'd stopped focusing on the multicolored shorty back in the club when he noticed Yang. But mentally scanning around him, just in case, he recognized her rather distinct feeling emotions. That same not-quite hunger was hard to forget.
From what Kai could tell, she was somewhere up above, likely on the rooftops. And she was clearly following him. He frowned as he kept walking, tense and ready in case she did anything, as he wondered what he should do.
If he wanted to change out of his disguise, he would need to lose her first. That may or may not be difficult depending on how persistent she felt like being. Then again, wouldn't that be a bit of a wasted opportunity to just try and get away? He'd come here mainly to investigate Roman. And this chick was likely involved with him in some way.
Maybe if he could only interrogate her, it wouldn't be worth trying to catch her. But if he could capture her, he could use his Telepathy on her. And if he knocked her out first with Biomancy, she wouldn't even be able to tell he read her mind. Probably just think he kicked her ass and left.
That was assuming he could beat her, of course. But Kai felt his chances were pretty good. Sure, the woman might have made Junior nervous, but that wasn't saying much. At the end of the day, Junior was a crook with Aura, if better than average. Compared to Kai, who was objectively a top tier huntsmen-in-training—at least he thought so—the older man really wasn't much.
There was still a chance the woman was considerably stronger than he thought, however. And he would be fighting with a handicap, as he didn't want to use his Telekinesis openly. But at the end of the day, with all his advantages, he was pretty sure there were few that could beat him if they didn't know what he could do. Worse comes to worst, he would just stop holding back and use his much stronger Telekinesis to flatten her hard and take her out.
Of course, even if he wanted to do this, he couldn't just attack her. He was assuming a lot of things at the moment, even if he was pretty sure he was correct. But to be sure, he would have to get her to attack first. Probably by confronting her. And if that didn't prompt a physical conflict, then at least he might learn more from talking and also get her to go away.
Kai considered his options for a half block, the woman still following him from up above. In the end, he decided it would be worth confronting her. He was pretty confident of his chances of a one-on-one. And losing her seemed like a hassle. So at the next alleyway he came across, he walked into it casually, breaking her line of sight, given where she was.
Once he was halfway to the other side, he stopped and turned around. Surprisingly, the woman didn't stay on the roof and make him call her out. Instead, she dropped down as he turned and smirked at him from the mouth of the alleyway. Then she sashayed towards him, a pink parasol slung over her shoulder.
"Can I help you?" Kai asked, curious to see what she would do.
At the same time, given how quickly her emotions seemed to be able to change, he focused on his danger sense instead of his telepathy. That should alert him better if she decided to make this a fight.
The woman didn't say anything. Instead, keeping the smirk on her face, she pulled a Scroll and began to type. As she did, she kept her eyes on him, her fingers a blur. When she finished, she raised her Scroll towards him, and large words scrolled on the screen. They were big enough that he could see them easily from a distance.
Was she a mute or something?
"You shouldn't go poking around where your nose doesn't belong?" Kai read aloud. He considered for a second how to respond before deciding that being blunt was the way to go. After all, something about the woman's emotions told him it wouldn't take much to make this a fight. "So what? You work with that thief, then? Don't like people asking around about him?"
The woman shrugged exaggeratedly, holding her hands up, palms up, as if to say, 'Who could say?'
"So if I agree, you'll just go away?" Kai asked, raising a brow.
She just tilted her head slightly and smirked.
"Sure, I'll totally stop digging," Kai said, smirking as well. "But just before that, why don't you tell me what you two jokers are doing with all that Dust, huh? That way, I don't have to bother with any more work."
The woman's eyes narrowed, but her smirk got wider. Then she started taking steps toward him.
Kai was unfazed by the approach. It was hard to be intimidated by a woman who was almost two heads shorter than him. Obviously, with Aura and semblances, the size difference didn't necessarily matter. But there were still advantages to it. Combined with all his other advantages, he couldn't help but feel confident.
Which is why, despite having his danger sense up, he almost didn't react in time to the attack. It didn't help that it had come from behind, where there shouldn't have been anyone else around.
Chapter 17:
Warned barely in time, Kai leapt to the side and spun to face where his danger sense was screaming at him from. His eyes widened when he saw the same pink and brown-haired woman he'd just been looking at. She'd just tried to stab him with her closed parasol, which now had a sharp blade extended from the end.
Trusting in his danger sense, Kai risked a glance back out of the corner of his eye towards where the other woman was. His eyes narrowed when he saw her still standing there, a grin on her face as she waved at him mockingly.
What the hell? Were they twins? Or did she have a cloning Semblance?
Before he could think about it more, he had to throw himself to the side again as the one who had tried to stab him tried again. Her blade missed him by an inch, but he had been ready for her to attack. So he lashed out with his hand, trying to grab her weapon. If he could pull her in and get skin contact, he could end this quickly.
But the woman was good, and she pulled her parasol back before he could grab it. She backed off for a moment, her parasol over her shoulder—a taunt, given how it left her open. She waggled one finger at him, as if to chide him for trying to grab her weapon.
Kai narrowed his eyes, still focused on his danger sense as he considered what to do. Depending on her Semblance, this might be trickier than he thought. At least, if he was gonna keep his telekinesis a secret, that was. Otherwise, he could still end the fight rather easily.
But since he couldn't do that, he would just have to deal.
"Let's try that again. And remember, you started this," Kai said, grinning as he charged with his fists raised. As he did, he had his danger sense up in case the woman behind him did anything.
The woman just grinned at him, not reacting even as he punched out with his fist right at her face. However, instead of his fist connecting with something solid, it just passed through where she should have been. At the same time, a sound like breaking glass rang out as she and the area around her seemed to break apart.
An illusion!
The thought came even as his danger sense screamed at him from the side. He spun to parry the blow that he knew was coming, but the woman was faster than he thought. He grunted in pain as he only managed to redirect the blow a bit, letting the woman scrape her blade against his right side. It was a more powerful blow than he was expecting.
Annoyed, Kai kicked off the ground and tried to punch her again. She ducked under his attack, then kicked out and swept his feet out from under him. He fell with a grunt, then was forced to roll on the ground and dodge a stab of her weapon where his head had been.
Gritting his teeth, he dodged an attempt to stomp his head into the ground before he managed to get his feet back from under him. He stood, arms up in a guard, and a glare on his face. The woman just continued to smile, her parasol over her shoulder again as she watched him.
Knowing what she could do now, Kai didn't let down his guard and kept his danger sense up. At the same time, he started doing something he hadn't done before. He started trying to use his telepathy at the same time as his divination. He wasn't sure if he could do that with so little practice, but he knew he couldn't just continue with what he was doing. This chick was better than he thought she'd be, and her Semblance only made things worse.
Kai grunted in pain again as she appeared from his side and stabbed at him several times. He managed to redirect two of the attempted stabs, but two more got through and hit him once in the stomach and once in the shoulder. His Aura protected him, but the blows were draining it, and they still hurt.
Neither helped him with his concentration, but he wasn't willing to give in and go full power just yet. His Aura reserves weren't small, after all. Instead, he focused harder and managed to reach out with his mind without letting go of his danger sense. Once more, he could feel the hunger—blood lust, really—radiating off the woman. But instead of coming from the smirking form in front of him, it came slowly from behind.
Grinning, Kai spun and punched at where he was pretty sure her face would be. Once again, he heard the sound of breaking glass. Except this time, it was the open alleyway breaking apart to reveal the woman stumbling backwards, her free hand holding the nose he just punched.
"Gotcha, bitch!" Kai shouted as he charged, not willing to give the woman time to recover.
He moved to grab her by the wrists, where he could get skin contact with her. But pain suddenly flared from his chin as his head snapped back. When he had eyes on her again, he saw her recovering from a hand spring she'd done after snap kicking him under the jaw. She glared at him and started to approach menacingly.
Kai pretended to watch her approach as he focused on her mind. She was going around him again, this time fast and coming in behind him to the side. At the last moment, he spun and drove a kick at where her stomach should be. Glass shattered again, but Kai's kick hit nothing but air.
His eyes widened when she pushed off his extended leg and did a flip. Before he could react, she crashed into him, crotch first. He didn't get a chance to enjoy that, however, as she rolled with the momentum and caught his neck in a crushing grip between her thighs. Then the world spun as she somehow flipped him and slammed him into the ground.
The pain disoriented him for a second. It was only instincts honed from long hours of training that had him rolling away despite barely being able to tell up from down. It let him avoid the stab she'd aimed at his back. But before he could try and get up, she came at him again, his danger sense screaming.
He attempted to roll again, but she stopped him with a stomp of her boot on his chest, knocking the breath from his lungs. Still disoriented, he grabbed at the offending appendage and worked to get it off. But before he could, a sharp pain exploded in his chest.
"Fuck!" Kai screamed as he realized she'd just brought her parasol blade down on his chest at full force. The sharp tip dug painfully against him, only stopped from skewering him completely by his Aura. Even then, it hurt like hell, and he could feel his Aura being drained.
"Gah!" Kai screamed once more as she did it again. And again. And again.
It was only on the fourth time that he managed to get his hands around the weapon to stop her. But the feeling of his Aura shattering, and the sharp pain of her blade piercing into his flesh, made it obvious that he'd been too slow.
"Fucking bitch," Kai snarled, his fingers bloody as he held on tightly to her blade to keep her from digging it in any deeper. He didn't think she got anything vital yet, but that wasn't for a lack of trying.
Kai tried to force her blade up and away, but he was in an awkward position, and she could use the full might of her Aura-enhanced strength as she pleased. She grinned down at him with a mad smile, twisting the parasol and trying to dig it deeper into his chest. Kai grunted at the feeling of his flesh being twisted and cut, but he held firm and prevented her from going down any further.
Still, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold on like this for long. And for a moment, fear flashed through Kai's mind as he realized this crazy psycho bitch might end up killing him here. Then his anger surged at the idea of dying to this random crazy in this back alley when he'd only just become an adult.
Yeah, fuck that. Fuck that all to hell and back!
Tapping on the Warp, Kai didn't really think of what he was doing. All he thought about was what he needed now. And what he needed was the strength to fucking get this psycho bitch off him and beat her to death.
Energy surged within his body, dulling the pain and filling him with strength and vigor. He drew harder on the Warp, using his fear and anger as a catalyst, drawing in more and more power. Then he shoved up with all his strength despite the awkward angle,
Pink and brown eyes widened when Kai shoved the parasol back up violently. The multicolored bitch stumbled back, and Kai leapt up with speed enough to startle even a huntsman. He lunged at her before she could recover, too fast for her to react, and grabbed her by the throat. Then they both went tumbling back down, his finger squeezing hard around her neck.
The woman struggled and fought against him as he held her down. His bloody fingers tightened around her throat, cutting off her air supply, but that just made her fight harder. She tried to kick him between the legs, punch him in the face, and scratch at his eyes.
He blocked the low blow with his own leg and pinned her legs down beneath him. And he stopped her attempts to attack his face by slamming her head down into the ground several times with his enhanced strength. It was incredibly cathartic, even if her Aura flared but didn't break. But that was fucking fine.
Because the bitch was going to run out of air soon and fucking die.
The woman kept fighting for another moment, but her ferocity faded the longer he choked her out. Her arms flailed weakly one more time before they fell limp at her side. But even then, Kai didn't let go.
It was only when her face started to turn blue that Kai finally let go. And even then, he did so reluctantly, the anger and adrenaline fueling him, screaming at him to fucking kill this stupid psycho. She'd tried to kill him after all. Legitimately and with malice, she would have killed him with a smile on her face.
But he wasn't so far gone that he couldn't see why he shouldn't do that. Both morally and practically. So he just clenched his fist for a moment and shuddered with rage, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Then, as calm as he was going to get given the situation, he got to work.
Reaching down, he grabbed her by the throat again, though this time gently. He tapped into the Warp once more, channeling it through him and into her. Using that energy and connection, he started to drain her of strength and vigor, pulling her literal life energy out of her. Not enough to cause any serious harm—even if part of him wanted to—but enough to keep her knocked out for a little bit.
He would have liked to take enough to ensure she'd be out for longer. But he didn't have the skill or knowledge to do that safely, and settled on a more conservative estimate of how much he could weaken her. After all, despite the anger in him before, he wasn't trying to kill her. Not anymore.
When he was sure she wouldn't wake for this next part, he pulled back for a moment to assess his wounds. He checked over his hands first. To his surprise, the cuts there weren't as bad as he thought. He hadn't felt too much when he grabbed her blade, far more focused on trying not to die, but he felt like they should have been worse. Maybe it was all the Warp energy he'd infused himself with at the end?
Something to figure out later. Right now, he needed to hurry up, so he moved on. Unzipping his hoodie, he saw where she'd stabbed and grimaced at the glimpse of what he was pretty sure was a rib bone through his muscles. Either the energies he'd channeled hadn't healed his chest, or the wound had been even worse earlier. Anger surged within him again at the thought, and he had to use some of his mental technique to help chain his emotions.
When he was as calm as he could be, he tapped into the Warp once more and channeled energy into his body. He sent it straight to his wound and did his best to heal as much as he could. The feeling of his flesh and a bit of bone beginning to knit felt incredibly strange and painful. But he gritted his teeth and endured it until it was healed enough for the moment.
He would need to take a better look at it later. But for now, he had other things to deal with. Turning back to the unconscious woman, Kai grabbed her by the neck again and reached out with his mind to tap into hers and began to poke around.
An unconscious mind, as it turns out, was quite a bit different than an awake one. Technically, he 'knew' that from the knowledge downloaded into his mind, but it was another thing to experience it for himself. It made things both easier and harder on him.
It was easier because the mind was less active. But it was harder because everything felt more sluggish. With more skill or practice, it wouldn't matter. But for the moment, it slowed him down a bit and made things harder.
Still, he was making progress.
This woman, Neo, apparently, was definitely linked to Torchwick. The two of them had been working together for a while now. But Kai didn't really care about their history together. No, all he wanted to know was what the hell the thief was doing, so he could finish his mission and prepare for what was likely to come.
He tried to focus on her more recent memories with Torchwick. To when they decided to start these robberies. To why they were doing all that.
Kai scrunched up his face as he went through a lot of inconsequential memories. But slowly, bit by bit, he felt himself getting closer to what he wanted. Or at least, that is what he thought. Then he finally found the memories that told him why Roman was stealing so much Dust.
"Seriously?" Kai spat out as he opened his eyes, glaring at the psycho who'd almost killed him for fun. He had to remind himself not to tighten his fingers and choke her again. "You two aren't even in charge? Just hired thieves?"
The unconscious woman didn't respond, of course, which just made Kai all the madder. He had to take a moment to calm himself down. Yes, he still had no idea what the Dust was being used for. But at least now he knew Roman was just a forcefully hired thief. And beyond that, he also had a face and a name of the actual person in charge of things.
It was a person he wasn't completely unfamiliar with. After all, he'd seen a glimpse of her before and had been calling her the Woman in Red in his head. Now, he knew what she looked like and her name.
"Cinder Fall, huh," Kai muttered. "Guess I'll have to look into you next… Though maybe after I get a bit stronger… Not sure I want—"
"Hey, jackass!"
Kai's head snapped up at the shout. Then his eyes widened when he saw an awfully familiar figure rushing towards him. Before he could say anything, though, a fist was smashing into his face as he was sent tumbling.
Head ringing, Kai rolled and struggled to get to his feet under him. When he did, he looked up to see a very familiar red set of eyes glaring at him. She was stomping towards him, cracking her knuckles threateningly.
"Whoa, hold on," Kai said, holding up an open hand as he started to back up. His head was still ringing, and he found it hard to think straight. "Stop."
"Did you when she told you to?" Yang asked with a snarl. Then she lunged at him, fist cocked back. "Or did you even give her a chance?"
Kai grimaced and backed off, drawing on the Warp to empower himself once more as he tried to figure out what was happening. Why the hell was Yang attacking him? Oh fuck! Right… he was still disguised. And she saw him in an alleyway alone with an unconscious woman. An unconscious woman, he was crouched over and holding by the throat…
Kai barely managed to duck under a swing from Yang and continued to back away. She was holding back, probably thinking he was just some dude and not someone with Aura. He would have to not dissuade her of that, or else she might actually accidentally kill him here, assuming he could take a stronger hit than he could.
Of course, he could just tell her who he was. But…
Kai winced as he was forced to block a punch from her. His bones felt like they rattled from the impact. Holding back or not, Yang still had a mean right hook.
"Just listen," Kai said, trying to buy time as he glanced at Neo.
She still looked like she was out of it. And if he just said who he was now, he could stop all this before the bitch wakes up and gets away. The problem, though, was that he'd been rummaging in her mind for a while now. And it was possible she would wake up soon. If she did while he was trying to explain things to Yang, and then Neo got away, that would cause all sorts of problems.
He did not want the psychotic killer with an illusion semblance coming after him or Yang in the future.
"Stay still," Yang said, her eyes flashing red as she sped up. Her next fist almost got him in the face, but instead hit the brick building behind him. The sound of bricks cracking made him wince.
"Holy shit! Chill! You're a huntress, right?" Kai said, holding his arms up as an idea formed in his head. He wasn't sure it was a good one, but it was the best he could come up with in his current state. That punch to the face did not do him any favours. "I can tell by the bracelets. That's mechashift. You can't fuc—gah. You can't attack civilians like this! Just stop and listen."
"I'll listen when you stay still," Yang said as she stomped closer.
"And I'll stay still when you stop punching!" Kai said, backing up and holding his hands up non-threateningly. At the same time, he glanced over to Neo, who was still on the ground. He tried to reach out with his telepathy to check on her, to make sure that what he was seeing wasn't an illusion. But Yang's attacks and the blow to the head earlier were making it hard to concentrate. "What are you, trying to murder me?"
Yang's eyes flared red at that, and for a moment, he thought she would charge him. But then she took a deep breath and lowered her fists.
"Okay, fine. No more punching," she said, before she started marching towards him while glaring daggers.
Kai let her approach, then grunted when she did what he expected, and grabbed him by the collar of his hoodie. She shoved him hard against the nearest wall.
"Go on then, explain," Yang said, sneering.
"A little hard to do that with you choking me," Kai said, reaching out to grab the part of her arm under her mechashift bracelets. Thankfully, she didn't try to stop him. She probably assumed that he was too weak to do anything by grabbing her like that.
She was, of course, wrong. Without having to focus on dodging, and with skin contact with her, Kai was able to focus enough to use his telepathy. So, even as she pinned him against the wall, he sent a message straight into her head.
[Yang! Chill out! It's me, Kai. Don't say my name and don't act as if you recognize me.]
A/N: Thanks for reading! This is the second chapter of the next six chapters that have been commissioned. The third is already up on my Patreon if you want to support me and read ahead.
And, as I mentioned, I do take commissions. So if you like my writing and would like your own story idea given life, check out my commission thread for details.
Chapter 18:
Yang froze for a moment, then opened her mouth to speak. But Kai interrupted her with another mental message before she could.
[It's a long story, Yang. I'm in disguise, and I'm using my Semblance to speak into your mind. But the psycho behind you works for Torchwick. She also broke my Aura and almost stabbed me all the way through the chest. Look down!]
Yang lowered her gaze, and her eyes widened. She must have missed the bloodstains in the darkness of the alleyway.
"Is that blood?" Yang asked, alarmed. "K—"
"Yeah, it is. That psycho over there stabbed me after attacking me in this alley," Kai quickly said, while at the same time sending another mental message to Yang.
[Yang! I'm not kidding, don't say my name or break my cover! Pretend like you don't know me. The crazy uses illusions. She could already be up and awake. If she gets away, I don't want an invisible assassin coming after either of us.]
Yang's face paled at that, and her grip on Kai lessened. He let out a sigh of relief before focusing back on Neo.
"This is all just a big misunderstanding," He said, even as he tapped into the Warp and tried to feel for Neo's mind. "That chick started a fight by trying to stab me in the back. And before I knocked her out, she was going crazy stabbing me in the chest while I was on the ground. Broke my Aura and everything."
"Shit, are you alright?" Yang asked, half torn between staring at the bloody mess at his chest and turning back to glare at Neo.
"Yeah, I'm—fuck!"
Kai glared at where Neo still appeared to be. But he felt no mind there, unconscious or not. And worse, he didn't feel her anywhere nearby, either.
Cursing again, he pulled himself out of Yang's grip and rushed over to the illusion. Then he kicked it hard out of frustration.
"What are you—" Yang asked in alarm, only to freeze when Neo's body shattered into pieces. "Oh…"
That little shit must have woken up while Yang had been trying to attack him and got away. Fucking hell. Kai gritted his teeth and opened himself to the Warp more. Then he tried sensing all the minds around him, attempting to find that little psycho.
The distance he could sense and tap into minds was actually quite large. Large enough that even at Huntsman speeds, he felt like he might be able to find her before she got out of his range. However, he soon realized that, even if she was still close enough, that didn't mean he could actually lock in on her. Not when there were more and more people around the farther he searched.
He should have been able to hone in on her unique emotions. Or maybe if she was on the rooftops, how she was much higher up than normal people. Or maybe just the speed of her movements. But people in cars, people in tall buildings, and just people in general confused all that. Maybe if he were more skilled, he could still track her down. But as he was now, he just couldn't find her.
"Fuck!" Kai shouted and stomped the ground. It was childish, but he was pissed. After that bitch almost killed him, she ended up getting away despite him having beaten her first.
"What is it?" Yang asked, looking warily around them. "Where is she?"
"She fucking got away!" Kai shouted, spinning on her.
Yang took a step back and gave him a hurt look, which made the anger in him die abruptly. Before he could apologize, however, her eyes flashed red, and her face scrunched in anger.
"Hey, don't you shout at me," Yang said, poking a finger in his direction. "What the hell is going on, K—you!"
"Sorry!" Kai got out quickly, cutting her off before this could blow up into a fight. He took a breath to calm himself down as best as he could. At the same time, he scanned what minds were nearby, making sure there wasn't anyone listening in. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you. This… didn't go the way I thought it would, and that psycho almost killed me, and—yeah. Sorry."
Yang glared at him for another long second before her face softened. Then she rushed over and started looking at his chest wound again. "Okay… that's fine. Just don't do it again. And I'm sorry for messing up whatever that was. Now, let me take a look at your chest. You said your Aura broke? Should we get you to a hospital, K—ugh, person I don't know."
Kai grabbed onto Yang's fussing hands as she tried to take off his hoodie. "No, it's fine. It wasn't too deep a wound, and I already took care of it. And there's no one around right now, so you can stop pretending."
"How do you know? And how much could you have taken care of a stab wound in a dirty alleyway?" Yang asked skeptically, not deterred by his hands and still moving to pull open his hoodie.
Sighing, Kai let her do what she wanted instead. "It's complicated, Yang. As you can probably tell, I learned a couple more things I can do with my Semblance. That helped take care of the wound and lets me know no one else is around."
"Seriously?" Yang asked, looking up for a moment to stare into his eyes. "Just what the heck is your Semblance, anyway? Cause right now, I'm starting to think it's just freakin magic with everything you can do with it."
After all their spars and all their fucking, Yang had eventually asked about his telekinesis as well as the other things he used against her in their fights. Since he didn't have a Semblance before getting his System, Kai had gone along with her assumption that it was his Semblance—which could possibly be true, even if he doubted the System and memories he got were really a Semblance, as they were just too unusual.
He'd been vague about it, saying he was still learning what he could do, but also admitting that it was a lot more than just telekinesis. It wasn't like he could keep it from her, once he started using the other aspects of his power more.
"Yeah, it's pretty absurd," Kai said, wincing slightly when Yang pulled away some dried blood sticking his shirt to his skin to get a better look at the wound. She rubbed her fingers over the healed but scarred flesh, sending a shiver up his spine. "Anyway, as you can see, it's healed up enough that I'm not gonna die. So let's get out of here. Actually, we should split up and—"
"You expect me to just leave you alone after some psycho just tried to kill you?" Yang asked, pulling back and glaring again. At least this time, her eyes weren't turning red. "And you still haven't explained what even happened here."
"I know, I know," Kai said, trying to placate his girlfriend. "But we shouldn't stay around here for long, in case Neo comes back with backup or something. And it would be better if we weren't seen together near here until I can change back and get cleaned up."
Yang frowned, clearly not fully convinced by his argument. It took a couple more moments of arguing, proving that he could still protect himself, reassuring her they'd talk more about what was happening back on Patch, and more reassurances that he'd be careful before she finally relented.
"I better see you again on Patch," Yang muttered in his ear as she hugged him from the side, avoiding the blood on his chest.
He hugged her back in reassurance. Then, reluctantly, she let go and walked off. Kai watched her go for just a moment before he turned and went the other direction. After that, he spent the next long while navigating the city, avoiding people as best as he could with his telepathy until he managed to find an out-of-the-way shop to buy some replacement clothes.
After paying a very nervous-looking cashier, he folded up his bloody shirt and hoodie and started making his way to the docks. Along the way, he kept up his connection to the Warp, focusing mainly on his danger sense, though occasionally tapping into his telepathy to see if he could feel Neo nearby. He didn't think she'd be able to still track him at this point, but he would rather be overly cautious than under.
Thankfully, in the end, nothing came of that. He managed to change out of his disguise—tossing the wig, returning the parts of his skin to its original lighter tone, and swapping clothes again—and make his way to the docks. After picking up his sword from his locker, he got on an Airship leaving the city alone, Yang having likely gone ahead.
He spent the ride back thinking of just what he would tell Yang. There were some things he didn't want to bring up—mainly about why he suspected Torchwick and that Cinder chick were connected to something big happening in the city. He didn't want Yang to think he was crazy when he mentioned alternate realities and his assumptions of crazy anime-type plots coming in the future.
Nor did he want to mention the System and its own hints.
Yang may be his girlfriend, but they hadn't been dating for all that long. They could still break up in the future, and something like his System, he felt he should keep close to the chest.
Thankfully, he didn't really need to bring that up to bring her up to speed. While he was originally undecided if he wanted to tell Yang about his telepathy—with their relationship being so new and all—the cat was pretty much out of the bag now. How she reacted would be up to her, not him. And at the very least, it made explaining his actions leading up to the alleyway with Neo make more sense without him needing to come up with some convoluted excuses.
Eventually, the ride on the airship ended, and Kai finally made it home to Patch. After just sitting around for so long on the way over, part of him was tempted to just go home and go to sleep first—save the talk with Yang for later.
Unfortunately, Yang was waiting at the Docks and wasn't willing to take no for an answer. Not when he didn't have a better excuse than that he was a bit tired. If he tried to overexaggerate how he was feeling and play up the sympathy card for his chest wound, he was pretty sure she'd end up dragging him off to a hospital instead.
Which is how Kai ended up getting a hotel room for the night for him and his girlfriend.
Technically, they could have just camped out again. But they had an important discussion to have, and didn't want to worry about having to take out any Grimm that might come wandering by. Kai also wanted to be able to go to sleep once they were done. And it wasn't like he couldn't afford a single night at a hotel now. Not with all the money he's gained today.
"Alright," Kai said, once the two of them were alone in the hotel. He moved to sit on the bed, sighing at how soft the bed felt. Really, the first time with him alone in a hotel with Yang should have been a lot more fun than this. "What do you want to know?"
Yang sat down on the bed beside him, out of arm's reach, and crossed her arms. "How about why you were fighting some psycho killer in an alleyway? And why the heck did you do whatever you were doing alone? You said that you'd bring me along if you ever went after Torchwick."
Kai took a moment to order his thoughts. Then went with what he decided on the ride back. So he told her about everything that happened today, why he did what he did, and how it led to that fight in the alley. The only things he left out were things to do with the System and his really lackluster foreknowledge of what might be coming.
It took a while to get through everything, though thankfully, Yang seemed to be saving her questions for the end. That let him finish a bit faster, at least.
"I can't believe the first thing you decide to do after finding out about a lawyer running a scam is decide to rob her," Yang said once he finished and she had a moment to process everything.
"And what else should I have done?" Kai asked, quirking a brow.
"Go to the cops?" Yang asked, exasperated.
"Yang, I figured her out with my telepathy," Kai said, slowly. "That's hardly something I want people to know about."
"And why not?" Yang asked, her eyes narrowing.
Kai fought off a sigh. He'd seen the wary glances she'd given him when he got to that part of the story and what he could do. He could understand why she felt that way and had been preparing himself for the inevitable questions. Hopefully, there was enough trust between them for her not to mind it. Or at least to believe him when she asked for details.
"Yang, do you think the government, or crime families, or even just the ultra-rich would be happy about someone walking around able to root through people's minds?" Kai asked.
Yang frowned as she gave it some thought. "But maybe if you get the cops to not tell anyone… Okay, yeah, I can see how that wouldn't work. If they arrest that Carmine chick, then lots of people would have to know."
"Exactly," Kai said. Then, seeing the way she was biting the bottom of her lip, he decided to just offer more information about his telepathy. "I only figured out telepathy recently, Yang. After we decided to try the whole dating thing. So I didn't use it to try to manipulate you or something. And I can't read your mind unless I'm touching you cause your Aura—anyone's Aura, really, as long as they aren't trash at controlling it—automatically blocks it. All I can do at the moment is get a feel for your emotions. And even then, only if I'm trying."
"Really?" Yang asked, staring into Kai's eyes. "Then what am I feeling right now?"
Kai met her eyes without hesitation, hoping to convey his honesty. At the same time, he tapped into the Warp to get a sense of her emotions emanating off her. "A bit of fear, a little anger, mostly frustration and confusion. There's a bit of hope in there, too. Though how accurate that all is, I'm not sure. Still learning to use these powers."
The two of them stared at each other for a long moment. Kai cut off his connection to the Warp, not wanting front row seats to her innermost emotions.
"I know you only have my word on this," Kai said softly. "But that's all I can give you. And my promise that I would never use this power on you without your permission. If you can trust me and accept that, then we're good. But if you can't… well, then I won't blame you either. It's natural to be wary about something like this."
They stared for another long moment before Yang sighed. Then she threw up her hands, let out an aggrieved sound, and flopped back on the bed. "Uh, and here I thought things would be simple with you. Just a lot of fucking and fun. But now you throw all this drama and weirdness at me… You're lucky you're so good in bed."
Not completely sure if this was a good or bad reaction, Kai eyed her warily. "So… Does that mean you're okay with everything or…"
"I wouldn't call it being okay," Yang said, turning to prop herself up on one elbow. "But… I want to trust you. You were a lot of my firsts, and if you were messing with me, you wouldn't have needed to tell me so much… So, yeah, I'm willing to try and make this work. And I'll just have to hope you don't break my trust."
Kai smiled softly at that and moved to lie down next to Yang. He reached out and took her free hand, interlacing his with hers. "I'm glad… I would have understood if you were too uncomfortable… But I'm way happier to still be with you."
Yang's face flushed, but she scoffed and looked away. "Yeah, wouldn't want to miss out on my fat tits, right?"
Kai rolled his eyes and pulled her closer so he could wrap an arm around her shoulder. "While I like your tits, Yang, I also just like spending time with you outside the bedroom, too. It would have sucked losing you cause my Semblance made you uncomfortable."
Yang didn't respond for a moment besides nuzzling into his side a bit. Then she said, "I wouldn't want to lose you either… which is why we aren't done talking."
Kai winced a bit at her tone at the end. "Yang, you get that I didn't plan to go after Torchwick or that chick Neo, right? It just sorta happened."
"I know," Yang said, placing one hand on his chest before gripping his shirt. "But promise me that you won't try to do anything like that again without me next time. You've got a crazy Semblance, but that Neo chick should prove that you could have used the backup."
"I would have flattened her if I wasn't holding back—" Kai started to say, only to stop at the way her fingers were tightening into a fist around his shirt. "But alright. Next time I go after them, or think I might run into them, I'll make sure to call you up first so we can go together."
"Good," Yang said, her fist relaxing. "And when do you think that will be? Cause now I have two scores to settle with those crooks. Torchwick, I need to give a beating cause he attacked my baby sister. And now this Neo chick needs a beating too for trying to kill my man."
"Honestly… unless someone throws a very obvious hint of where they are at me, probably not for a while," Kai said.
Yang tilted her head and looked up at him with a frown. "Really? And you have no idea where they might have a hideout or something? Weren't you in that girl's mind?"
"I was," Kai said, nodding. "But a mind is an incredibly complex thing. I was focused on figuring out what they were up to, cause I had a bad feeling about Torchwick and what he was doing. Call it… a intuition. But yeah, that was my focus when I was riffling through her mind, and I thought I would have more time to check for other details…"
Yang sighed. "Yeah… sorry about screwing that up for you."
"It's fine," Kai said, running a hand through her long, soft hair for a sec. "You couldn't have known. And if I'd clued you in on what I was doing in the city, it wouldn't have been an issue. At least something like that won't happen again."
"Yeah… But even without knowing where they are, we could probably spend more time in the city looking for them. We could scout out Junior's Bar more or something."
"Maybe…" Kai said, but then shook his head. "But my Semblance is still growing, and now I have the money to make some things that I feel will really help out in a fight. It might be better to focus on that for now, instead of fruitlessly searching the city."
"Shouldn't we at least tell someone about what you figured out?" Yang asked.
"Tell them what? And tell who?" Kai asked back. "I still don't really know what Torchwick is going to do with all that Dust. All we know is that he's doing it because this Cinder chick threatened him. The cops, and probably some huntsmen, are already after Torchwick, and we don't even know if Cinder Fall is that woman's real name. I mean, unless she's an idiot, she either goes by a pseudonym or she's equally as hard to find as Roman is."
Yang sighed. "I guess you're right… Though there's one thing we can do."
"What?"
"We can tell people about that Neo chick. I haven't looked into Roman much, but I don't think I've ever heard of her. And with that Semblance of hers, it's probably better if the authorities know to expect her. We can't explain how we know she's with Torchwick, but I could at least say I ran into the victim of a psycho with Aura and an illusion semblance."
Kai considered it for a second before he nodded. "That might be a good idea. Though it could put you at risk. Depending on what kind of connection those guys have, they might be able to find out you tipped off the cops. And then we might end up still dealing with an invisible psycho assassin…"
"Hm…" Yang hummed in thought before she brightened up. "Oh, I have an idea. I can just tell my uncle."
"Mr. Branwen?" Kai asked.
"Yeah, apparently he's pretty buddy-buddy with the headmaster at Beacon," Yang said. "And I think he does missions for the guy or something. But they should be able to get the message out about a rogue huntress like Neo without it getting back to us."
"Oh, right…" Kai said, nodding. That had been the reason Professor Ozpin got involved with Ruby's thing, too. That made sense. "Yeah, that could work. I'll leave it to you then. Thanks."
"No problem," Yang said, grinning before snuggling into his side.
The two of them lay there for a while, content to just relax in each other's arms. Yang's warm, soft body felt really nice against Kai, and under other circumstances, he might have wanted to do more than just sleep together. But without anything else to say, the tiredness of the day seemed to catch up with him.
So he decided just to sleep for now. They could have some fun in the morning. And after that, it would hopefully be time to do more productive things than fight psychos in alleyways and try to hunt down a thief.
A/N: Thanks for reading! This is the third chapter of the next six chapters that have been commissioned. The fourth is already up on my Patreon if you want to support me and read ahead.