Chapter 7: Goodbye (Part 1)
In the dark of night, the sea reflected the shimmering moonlight. "Kai-Wolf" hid behind the cruise ship's window, its green eyes silently watching the shore.
Suddenly, Kai-Wolf's ears pricked forward. From the dark, silent shore, it heard the faint sound of footsteps.
Through the wolf's night-vision, a dark, heavy-set figure was seen approaching. In that same instant, Kai—who had been brooding over his strange heart and its related problems—snapped to attention. There was no time to worry about the future. He had to deal with the now.
This was not a friendly visit.
Kai-Wolf raced back to Kai's side. Kai ordered the wolf to help him shove a large crate into the hallway to use as cover. Then, he had the wolf hide in a room diagonally across from the hall, leaving the door just cracked open—a tiny slit for the wolf to see through.
Next, Kai looked at the glowing tiger. "Tiger Bro... for this to work, I'm... gonna have to get serious."
He had no more blood to use, so he pulled out another hair. He held the strand out toward the tiger's belly. Butch just tilted his head, watching him with big, watery eyes, offering no resistance. Kai was touched. He quickly formed the hair into a pentagram on the tiger's fur, activating the rose-gold Star Marker.
Kai himself ducked behind the crate. He ordered Butch to take an ambush position, and then, using all three pairs of ears (his, the wolf's, and the tiger's), he listened.
Soon, a soft thud came from the entrance.
Thump... thump...
The intruder's steps were light... He stopped?
He was moving again, but more cautiously. He knows someone is on board.
Damn it. It must have been the snack wrappers I left out...
"Who's there? Come out."
The man (Muser) stepped into the hallway, his voice sharp as he slowly advanced.
Thump... thump... thump...
Kai leaned against the crate, his eyes closed, his breathing calm. From the crack in the door, Kai-Wolf watched. In the shadows, the Pale Moon Tiger tensed, ready to spring...
(Back to the present)
It was late. Kai was leaning against Butch's side, mentally recapping the events of the last few hours. He had to admit, he'd been incredibly lucky to win his first real fight.
If that guy had even a little more Aura, he would have lost.
To a real Nen user, both Butch and the wolf were just animals. A Nen user's defense could block bullets; what were claws and teeth going to do?
His Manipulation ability was an "instant-win" move, but only if he could land the hit.
From now on, I have to train my fundamentals. The Four Major Principles of Nen: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu. I barely even know Hatsu. My basic training is zero, and more importantly, my Aura reserves are pathetic. Star Marker drains me in two uses. That's not good enough.
And then there's my heart... that strange energy. I'll call it... 'Death Aura' for now. I still don't understand it...
Butch's breathing was a low, steady vibration, like distant thunder. Kai was nestled in the warm, soft "tiger-bed," enjoying the full-body massage as he planned for tomorrow.
Right. I also have to figure out a way to kill that guy in the room... to tie up loose ends.
Without realizing it, he had curled up and fallen fast asleep.
Rear Window Bird... activation failed!
Inside the dark, locked room, Muser stared at nothing, his hand slowly falling to his side.
How?
Don't tell me... that kid... does he have the same habit I do? Does he also apply a defensive Manipulation ability to himself before any fight?
Muser couldn't comprehend it. That kid wasn't even four feet tall! He was five, at most!
A five-year-old mastering a complex Manipulation ability was already world-breaking. But for that same kid to be as cautious as a veteran Nen user, as if he'd already seen a thousand Nen battles... who the hell had trained him?
It was absurd.
From the very beginning, that kid had been in an unbeatable position.
As for the "Post-Mortem Nen" theory Muser had offered Kai, he didn't really believe it himself. If that woman's Nen had parasitized her son and force-grown him... how did he learn to talk? Where did he get his logic and reasoning?
That woman had given birth less than a week ago.
A seven-day-old infant, even in an adult's body, couldn't possibly use Nen so naturally, so rationally, and with so much experience. It was ridiculous on its face, and even more ridiculous the more he thought about it.
"No matter what... my mission has failed. Beaten by a five-year-old brat."
Muser sat in the darkness, broken. He wanted to throw the door open and rush out, but every time he reached for the handle, his body would freeze, unable to move an inch.
The boy's final command was still active.
A cold sweat beaded on Muser's forehead. He fully, finally, understood. His fate was completely in that child's hands.
His expression slowly calmed. He sat down. From a hidden compartment in the heel of his shoe, he removed several small, mechanical parts. With practiced hands, he assembled them into a tiny pistol.
One bullet.
It was enough.
He straightened his suit, stood, and snapped to attention. Facing the wall, in the direction of Kakin, he raised the pistol to his temple and thumbed off the safety.
Goodbye, Prince Benjamin. You will, without a doubt, become the King of Kakin. Your servant will go on ahead...
He pulled the trigger.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
The muffled shot echoed through the ship.
Butch, who had been dozing at the cabin entrance, instantly snapped his head up, his eyes alert. He nuded the small human sleeping on his back.
"Don't..."
Kai pushed the paw away, turned over, and buried his face in the fur, instinctively taking a "huff of cat."
The tiger licked the top of his head, then nudged him again, harder this time.
Kai's eyes fluttered open. Was that a noise?
He sat up, frowning, and looked down the dark hallway.
When Star Marker was active on a target, it had two states. "Active," where Kai could feel the target's location and control them at any time. And "Dormant," which happened when Kai stopped controlling them without dispelling the mark. In that state, he lost his sense of their location.
Right now, he could feel the wolf he'd set on guard duty. But Muser... he couldn't feel his Star Marker at all.
Did I sleepwalk?
Or... did I unconsciously sever the connection in my sleep, causing the mark to go dormant?
Kai focused, switching his consciousness to the First-Person mode. His mind shot into the wolf.
"Kai-Wolf" blinked, its eyes adjusting to the dark. The door to Muser's room was still closed. But... a gunshot just went off. Why is this stupid wolf just sitting here?
Ah. Right. My only command was to 'kill him if he leaves.' I didn't account for... other situations.
Kai-Wolf dashed out of its hiding spot, leaped up, and used its paws to turn the doorknob.
The reek of blood hit it instantly.
Kai-Wolf saw Muser, dead in a pool of his own blood.
It glanced at the tiny pistol in Muser's hand. It wasn't interested in where he'd hidden it. It was curious how he'd managed to kill himself. He should have been healed.
Kai-Wolf nudged the man's head over.
And it saw the answer.
A single, close-range bullet wound... in his left temple.
(End of Chapter)