The dim glow of Xiao Yu's workshop cast long, jagged shadows across the cramped space—a humble fusion of bedroom, sitting area, and inventor's den. Tools and half-assembled contraptions littered every available surface, save for one meticulously kept corner where her bed sat, crisp and untouched, her folded clothes tucked neatly into a wooden crate beside it. The air smelled of oil and metal, of restless ingenuity and quiet solitude.
Leo stood near the doorway, his broad frame tense, fingers kneading the stiff muscle of his shoulder as if trying to press out the frustration coiled beneath his skin. His face was a mask of stoicism, but his body betrayed him—the tight set of his jaw, the restless shift of his weight from one foot to the other.
"He's not fucking there," Leo muttered, the words rough with irritation.
Xiao Yu didn't pause her work. Her slender fingers moved with mechanical precision, adjusting the delicate innards of a small device scavenged from the wreckage of yesterday's massacre. She flicked a glance toward him, her dark eyes as unreadable as ever, before returning to her task.
"Who?" she asked, voice flat.
"The chief," Leo said, crossing his arms. "Office is empty."
Xiao Yu's lips twitched, the ghost of something too dry to be called amusement. "You look surprised."
"It's a work day."
She snorted, picking up a screwdriver and twisting it into place. "So? He's a lacky for them punks. Probably inside those walls right now, pole dancing for cheap change."
Leo exhaled sharply through his nose, the sound more weary than amused. "Our next option is telling Mzee. Hopefully, he can gather everyone at the town square—get them to listen."
Xiao Yu paused, just for a breath, before resuming her tinkering. "That would be best. Others might spread it like a rumor. Stir up fear, chaos." She tilted her head slightly. "Then again, who's to say this route won't do the same?"
"I know," Leo muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "That's why I'm stressed about it."
His gaze wandered over the room again—the chaotic sprawl of her inventions clashing with the eerie order of her personal space. It was a reflection of her, he supposed: a mind sharp as a blade, emotions locked away somewhere even he couldn't reach.
Xiao Yu set down her tools with deliberate slowness. "You're overburdening yourself," she said at last. "You're not the chief. Not Mzee. Not some leader."
Leo turned his head, fixing her with a look. "Yeah, but they're my people. I care about them." A beat. "Don't you?"
For a fraction of a second, something flickered in her expression—too quick to name, too faint to hold. Then it was gone, and she was back to her work, the silence stretching between them like a taut wire.
Leo exhaled and slumped into the rickety chair across from her, rubbing at the stubble along his jaw. The weight of the situation pressed down on him, heavy and unrelenting.
"What about the other wings?" Xiao Yu asked abruptly. "They need to know too, right?"
Leo stiffened. "Sigh. Yeah, they do. But I—" He cut himself off, teeth clicking shut.
Xiao Yu smirked, plucking up a wrench. "You don't wanna call 'em."
"It's been a while, Xiao Yu."
"Yeah,"she drawled, feigning deep thought. "Exactly six years, two months, a week, three days, fifteen hours—"
"Okay, I get it!" Leo snapped, though there was no real heat in it—just weariness, old wounds poked at for the sake of her dry humor.
Xiao Yu studied him for a moment, her dark eyes sharp. "They'd be better suited to deliver the message."
"And how do you know that?"
"Come on," she said, rolling her eyes. "They've lived there for six years. They're familiar. They've got sway."
But she saw it then—the way his fingers twitched, the subtle tightening around his eyes. Even for someone as emotionally stunted as she was, the signs were obvious. Leo didn't just dislike the idea. It unsettled him.
She sighed, tossing the wrench aside with a clatter. "Anyway," she said, stretching the word out, "you don't have to. There are other ways. I'll help." She offered him a smile—half-dead, barely there, but an effort nonetheless.
Leo just looked at her, silent.
The workshop hummed around them, the quiet click of cooling metal, the distant murmur of life beyond these walls. The problem remained, looming like a storm on the horizon. But for now, in this small, cluttered sanctuary, there was at least this: the unspoken pact between them, forged in years of survival, of understanding without words.
They'd figure it out.
They always did.
Just then, the door burst open with a clatter, shattering the quiet tension in the workshop. Amani and Kelly—Leo and Xiao Yu's younger siblings, seven and six respectively—stumbled inside, their small frames heaving.
Amani was puffing like he'd sprinted across the settlement, his fists clenched at his sides. Kelly, usually as unreadable as Xiao Yu, looked dampened—her small shoulders slumped, her lips pressed into a thin, stoic line. But the sadness was imminent, unmistakable, even for someone as emotionally sparse as Xiao Yu.
"Amani?" Leo turned fully toward them, his voice sharp with concern. "What's wrong?"
"Ugh, nothing," Amani muttered, kicking at the floor. "Just Kanda again."
"The bully,"Xiao Yu said flatly, her eyes flicking to Kelly.
"Yeah," Amani huffed, crossing his arms. "He had, like, twenty guys with him this time. We had to run."
Leo's jaw tightened. "Are you hurt?"
Amani puffed out his chest. "Of course not! He couldn't hurt me—I'm Leo's younger brother. I'm strong!"
Xiao Yu wasn't listening. She was staring at Kelly, who hadn't spoken, hadn't moved. The girl just stood there, her small hands curled into fists at her sides, her eyes glassy with something unshed.
"Kelly?" Xiao Yu's voice was softer than usual. "Are you okay?"
Kelly blinked slowly, then turned her gaze to Xiao Yu. For a moment, she didn't answer. Then, quietly, she said, "Xiao Yu?" and walked over, stopping right in front of her. The two not having seen each other for a few days.
Something in Xiao Yu's chest twisted. Emotion—rare, flickering, but undeniable—flashed across her usually impassive face. Without thinking, she crouched down to Kelly's height and pulled the girl into a tight embrace.
"Are you okay?"she asked again, quieter this time.
Kelly buried her face in Xiao Yu's shoulder for a second before pulling back just enough to speak. "Yeah," she mumbled. "Kanda just… broke a toy I made." A pause. "He's annoying."
Xiao Yu's grip tightened slightly. Slightly strange unless... she held the toy dear to her heart, she'd usually not feel this much emotion towards the contraptions.
Leo, watching the exchange, felt something dark coil in his gut. "Who is this kid?" he growled. Too much going on and yet more on his plate to worry about.
The room fell silent, heavy with unspoken promises.
Kanda had just made a very, big mistake, however the avenger wouldn't be the expected