Chapter 29
Sighing with exhaustion, Kisara accepted the plateful of spicy food Kashmana handed to her. They were taking a much needed, albeit late, lunch break and Kisara was kind of excited at the prospect of trying some of the MacTays' famous food. Okay, so people may have been funny about their lifestyle choices and morals, but the whole multiverse respected them for two things; their taste and enthusiasm for music and their ability to cook. Half ravenously, Kisara took a bite of the aromatic food. It tasted better than it smelt; much better and instantly she was salivating for more. As a Vii Sen she didn't often feel the need to eat, but this was one of those rare exceptions and she was going to enjoy it.
'You like?' Kashmana laughed as he watched her wolf it down.
'Mm,' she nodded.
'Good, I'm glad.'
'Why,' she somehow managed the word between bites.
'Didn't anybody teach you it's rude to speak with your mouthful?'
She shrugged.
'Well it is you know,' he tilted his head, 'someone aught to teach you better manners.'
'And I suppose you think that someone should be you,' she gulped back the mouthful she'd been chewing on.
'Who better,' he grinned, 'I mean, I'm teaching you about everything else, aren't I? So why not this?'
'Because I don't need you to teach me about manners,' she shot him a look. 'I mean, I already have good manners.'
'Do you now?'
'Yes.'
'Care to prove that?'
'Prove it how?'
Kashmana laughed, but didn't reply. Instead he began munching on his own meal. He appeared strangely content, as though she'd made him think of something wonderful.
'What is it?'
'What's what,' he glanced towards her after swallowing the mouthful he'd been chewing on.
'What is it you're thinking about?'
'Who says I'm thinking about anything,' he shrugged.
'That look on your face for one.'
'My face always looks like this.'
'No, not always.'
'How would you know; we've only just met.'
'I…'
'Exactly,' he smirked, 'you don't know.'
For a few moments there was silence, whilst Kashmana carefully cleared his plate. Then his eyes rose to meet Kisara's with a strange kind of seriousness about them.
'Do you know what happened to your predecessor?'
'What,' she frowned.
'SK,' his voice was strangely plain, 'do you know what happened to him?'
'No one does,' she shook her head. 'Why?'
'He came to me, you know.'
'He what?'
'He came to me,' Kashmana repeated, 'about a month ago, asking me to train you. At the time I refused, I don't normally train anyone personally, but when I heard about the rumours…'
'You changed your mind,' she tilted her head curiously.
'Something like that.'
'I don't understand.'
'Nor do I really,' Kashmana leant back against his arms and stared upwards. 'I mean, if the guy was so concerned about bringing you up to a higher standard, then why didn't he stick around to do it himself?'
'I don't know,' she lowered her gaze, 'maybe he felt like you would benefit me more.'
'Which means he's playing to the strength of your MacTay blood,' Kashmana pressed his lips together, 'unless there's something he's not told me?'
'I don't know what you know about me to begin with, other than the fact I'm a Hateling with MacTay blood.'
'Plus the fact you're a Vii Sen child of a Vii Sen,' he rolled his eyes, 'don't forget that.'
'Well, yeah; there's that too.'
'But that's all I know about you,' his eyes shifted towards her, 'I think that's all anyone knows about you.'
'So you… so you don't know I'm Power Limitless then?'
'By birth or…'
'By birth,' she cut him off, before finishing off the last of her meal.
'There must be a lot in your blood to have achieved that.'
'Yes, there is. But I'm not planning to share what those things are.'
'Why not?'
'All you need to know is that I am Power Limitless, the formula for it is unimportant, right?'
'I guess you're right; it's not like MacTays have any interest in those who are Limitless.'
'You don't,' she shot him a strange look.
'No,' he shook his head, 'we honestly don't.'
'But why not?'
'We are Fay forced to play at being Wen, which means we prize fighting skills above all other. In other words we only care about being the best warriors, not the most powerful magic users,' there was something almost sad about his expression. 'We have no need to achieve the status of Power Limitless so why concern ourselves with those who do?'
'I guess that makes sense,' she lowered her gaze, 'but you've not told me what you make of the fact that I am.'
'I think it's useful enough for you, in your line of work, but that's it.'
'It doesn't impress you?'
'No,' he shook his head, 'it just makes a little more sense of things.'
'I see.'
'Don't look so worried,' he laughed, breaking the tension which had formed around them, 'what I think about anything really isn't all that important you know.'
'I know, it's just… well you're nothing like I imagined you to be.'
'It's like I said, my blood is that of a Fay, but because of Ni my whole clan must play at being Wen. People forget that about us. They see us as the multiverses best and most perverted warriors and forget why we are the way we are. That doesn't mean we're not also what they think we are, it's just… all of us; we're a lot more complex than that.'
'I see…'
'SK knew, I could see it in his eyes; I think that's why he asked me to train you.'
There was another moment of silence, before Kisara gave a nervous cough.
'Where is he?'
'What,' Kashmana shot her a funny look.
'SK. Do you know where he is?'
'No one does.'
'Do you know what he's trying to do then? What all this is about?'
'I've heard rumours,' Kashmana tilted his head thoughtfully, 'but I don't know any details.'
'What kind of rumours?'
'Rumours about the appearance of a new God Class being.'
'A new God Class being?'
'Yeah, that's just what I've heard, but I could be wrong.'
'Mm,' she began chewing on her lip nervously, 'but what if you're not wrong?'
'Would it really be a problem? God Class beings appear all the time.'
'I… I know, but God Class beings can't be Mistresses Helpers.'
'And?'
'And… this… my position… it was only supposed to be temporary; just until he came back.'
'Is that what he told you?'
'I… well… kind of.'
'Then perhaps the rumours I've heard are wrong; you'll just have to wait and see.'
