I am sorry for the infrequent updates, I'm dealing with personal issues these days. I'll make sure to try to release more often.
/-/
Nobody knew where it had all gone wrong, least of all the local politician that was just shot.
Kaiser panicked as he tried to make his way to the makeshift stage in the middle of the intersection, the boy was shoved in every possible direction.
The assasination took place in Vacuo, Kaiser and a couple other agents were assigned security detail, blending in as part of the crowd. When the crowd did dissipate, all Kaiser saw was the struggling body of an up-and-coming politician whose campaign promises were just as broken as his life.
There was no way they could've quietly eliminated the threat.
Kaiser ran up onto the stage and inspected the body, a sniper round was shot clean through the target's chest. Kaiser narrowed his eyes at the entry point of the bullet, then turned his head towards the building the bullet likely came from.
"Call an ambulance!" One of the agents assigned to the ground floor barked at another. She failed to notice Kaiser running towards a rundown apartment complex.
Kaiser burst past the worn down entrance of the complex, every step he took made his heart beat out of his chest. Whoever shot the politician must've used this building as their vantage point, the sound of the bullet firing suggested that the shooter fired from the rooftop. The spy steadied his breathing to calm his nerves, he'd most likely need to stay calm for the fight that lay ahead.
The door leading to the rooftop was kicked open, Kaiser caught a glimpse of a man stuffing his duffle bag.
"Hello." The man cheerfully greeted the boy once he was in sight, his duffle bag was completely obscured from sight. The shooter(presumably) looked to be in his late 20's to his early 30's. Dirty blond hair was tied back into a ponytail, mirth and curiosity played in the man's voice. "Isn't it a bit late for a kid like you to be up here this late?"
"Rooftop of the northern building." Kaiser softly whispered into his earpiece. He then regarded the man near the edge of the rooftop, the shooter wore a black combat outfit, a small patch bearing the Scorpio sign gleamed in the night. "We had a sniper situated on this building, did you take care of that too?"
The shooter leaned against the edge of the building, his posture was a lot more lax. "Shouldn't you be asleep by now, kid?"
"It's rude to answer a question with another question." Kaiser stalled for a bit of time until the rest of the agents could get to his location.
The blond man chuckled, "Hypocrite, you answered my question with one! Anyways, I gotta run, my paycheck is due!"
"I can't let you leave." Kaiser felt his sleeve for a knife he stashed in his suit, it was a formal suit that was unequipped compared to the shooter's.
"You gonna do something about it, kid?" The assassin asked.
"You know what?" Kaiser brandished a tactical knife. "I will!"
Kaiser led the charge as he thrust the knife into the shooter's stomach, he dodged fluidly and avoided the sharp weapon. The Scorpio assassin latched his hand on Kaiser's wrist, preventing the knife from coming near his stomach. His other hand held a tight grip over the boy's head, he swept Kaiser's legs out from under him.
Kaiser fell to the floor while his knife clattered away from him, a pained groan escaped the boy as the blond assassin placed his knee on the boy's chest.
"You have great knife skills, that's good, you can build upon that. Only problem is, you picked a fight with someone who has a reach advantage, you gotta fight smarter next time, kid."
The assassin looked pitifully at the boy, he was given orders to eliminate any threat to the mission. Instead, he punched the defeated boy in the throat, after which he fled from the rooftop through the fire escape.
Because Martin Kane was nothing if not merciful towards children.
The door to the stairway opened just a minute later, the security team ran in on the boy cradling his throat which felt like it was on fire.
"Where's the shooter?"
Kaiser pointed towards the fire escape, two agents rushed towards the fire escape.
"Nobodies there, must've escaped!" One of the agents pointed out something behind the pigeon cage on the rooftop. "Oh gods! They killed Cedric!"
The leader of the security team only growled. "Call Ross, inform him that the mission was a failure."
/-/
It was a struggle to get out of bed that morning, even though Kaiser woke up on the floor in a cold sweat. It felt like hell just to stand and walk, even after a week the pain was barely starting to dull.
Kaiser was waiting outside of Port's class waiting for school to start, he spent the majority of his nights browsing local news on anything related to illegal drugs or shady deals going down in the docks. Surely one underpaid investigative reporter was desperate enough for a story, no? Not really, three hours and a couple cans of energy drinks produced nothing in terms of research regarding Hercules being distributed.
Cold air brushed against his knuckles, eliciting a low stinging sensation on them. They had healed up within the week, if a little slowly. The scars remained, as they healed naturally at a time that Kaiser ran out of aura. The majority of his scars and bruises healed and left only a dull pain in their place, it was a massive annoyance. One that Kaiser would gladly be distracted by in class if it actually started anytime soon.
The young boy turned spy was impatiently waiting for Port's class to start.
Kaiser sidestepped without thinking, a light breeze touched him as someone's arm came down above him.
"Yang?" Kaiser regarded her with tired eyes.
Yang indeed, she was about to slap Kaiser on the shoulder until he moved out of the way.
"A little jumpy today, no?" Yang asked as she straightened her back, she too was waiting for Port's class.
"You can never be too aware." Kaiser rubbed his bleary eye, he was awake last night reviewing police scanners for any reports. "Professor Port is late."
"Yeah, I imagine." Yang crossed her arms and cast a side glance. "Why else would there be a mile-long line just to get in?"
"Do you think something happened to him?"
Yang let out weak laughter. "Nah, he's probably entertaining the school custodians with stories of how he once fought eight nevermores at once."
Kaiser covered his eyes as a wave of nausea passed through him, he shivered tensely.
"You alright, Kai? You don't look so hot."
That was an understatement, the spy looked like death itself. His hair was a mess, mostly due to not combing for a couple days now. Deep bags settled under his eyes while his eyes themselves were bloodshot, he was in desperate need of a nap.
Kaiser had been too busy mulling over his defeat at the hands of a powered-up Jasper, he often found himself thinking back to the night in the alley. Gods, he needed to start taking better care of himself.
"I'm just a bit tired, that's all." Kaiser let out a deep groan. "I don't even want to go to class today."
"Then don't." Yang suggested.
"Huh?"
"Yeah, if it's affecting you this badly, just ditch." Yang shrugged.
"I'm not gonna ditch, I'm fairly sure I'm at risk of punishment for ditching after starting a fight last semester." Kaiser wasn't really sure how the disciplinary system here at Beacon worked, but he wasn't willing to test it after he already lost his spot on the Vytal tournament roster.
"Come on, Kai." Yang grabbed his shoulder, gently squeezing it as she wasn't sure if he'd react out of surprise. She had been observing his track record of sudden reactions since the first week of school, he was pretty easy to spook. "I'll even cover for you, just go take a nap in your dorm."
"No, I can't." Kaiser impatiently looked at his scroll's clock, it was 9:19 in the morning. "When is Port gonna get here, we're already 20 minutes into class!"
A devious smile appeared on Yang's face, she had a plan to get him to unwind. "Well you know the rules, Kai. If the professor is 15 minutes late, we're legally allowed to leave."
"I doubt that's actually a rule." An annoyed Kaiser fired back.
"Well it's my rule and I plan to follow it, your choice if you want to join me." Yang began a slow walk from the hallway to the doors leading to the building's exit.
"Goodwitch patrols the halls at this time, you're going to get caught and punished." He called out to Yang, she ignored him and only responded with the sound of the entrance doors swinging open.
"Yang!" She was long gone at that point. Kaiser was torn between missing class, or letting his friend get in trouble. With a frustrated shake of his head, the spy trailed after Yang. "Damn it all!" He whispered harshly under his breath.
He quickly burst out of the academics building, only to see Yang leaning on the wall next to the door.
"Joining me, Kai?"
"No." Kaiser said with a scowl. "I'm just making sure that you don't get in trouble."
"Well, aren't you sweet?" She patronized. "I've done this more times than I can count. How many times can you say you've snuck out of school? I mean, I'm sure that the spy here should be used to sneaking around."
"I don't do that kind of thing anymore." Kaiser retorted.
Well… not on school hours, at least.
Yang started walking towards the dormitory, likely to change into casual clothes. Kaiser trailed behind her, knowingly being manipulated into following her like a stray dog.
The pair had neared a couple outside lockers situated close to the dorms for people who wanted to leave their school supplies near certain classes. Kaiser heard the clear clicking heels hitting the pavement, both him and Yang froze up.
Glynda Goodwitch was quickly approaching.
Kaiser quickly scanned his immediate area for a hiding spot, the space between the lockers side and the wall it was leaning on cast a shadow. Without thinking, the spy shoved Yang into the tight corner. Using his semblance, he darkened the shade to an inky black void. Not even a faunus with their advanced eyesight could see Yang under Kaiser's shadow.
"Aren't you supposed to be in class, Kaiser?" The sophisticated tone of Glynda Goodwitch would be appreciated if it wasn't so terrifying.
"Sorry professor, I wasn't feeling all that well . I was just going to retrieve some migraine pills." Kaiser gave an apologetic smile, a wave of relief washed over him as Goodwitch nodded.
"Be on your way then, make sure to go directly back to class afterwards." Goodwitch sternly said, she turned the corner after.
"Yes Professor." Kaiser responded, he let his shadows dissipate soon after.
"What the hell was that?!" Yang asked, arms waving around in amazement. It was a good thing Goodwitch left, the professor would've heard them ditching otherwise.
"That…" Kaiser pointed to the area where Yang had just been. "was my semblance. I can cast and darken shadows, that's pretty much it."
"Not that, you just lied to Professor Goodwitch's face!" Yang looked almost like some adrenaline pumped kid watching things explode for the first time.
"I didn't lie." Kaiser stuffed his hands in the uniform's blazer pockets. "I am feeling terrible, and we are going to get migraine pills…"
Yang's smile dropped as she knew there was no way Kaiser was going to ditch with her.
Yang shook her head, causing Kaiser to inwardly sigh. "We can get the pills at a pharmacy in Vale."
Yang's smile brightened as she lightly punched the spy's shoulder.
"Atta boy, Kai!"
/-/
"Earlier today, a faunus rally was interrupted by what could only be described as a rhino in human form. Witnesses could only describe the creature as a man with boulders for biceps and logs for arms. The attack on the faunus movement left 17 injured and 5 in critical condition." The monotone voice of Lisa Lavender droned on in Kaiser's earbud.
Kaiser for the most part clenched his jaw in frustration, an incident involving Hercules was bound to happen at some point. To already involve something as big as an attack on a protest, it was maddening. He rested his eyes as he listened to the news report on his scroll, Kaiser was hoping the bullhead ride to Vale would go a little faster. He let his eyes rest, tranquility took him until he felt someone blowing into his ear.
"Yang!" Kaiser immediately jumped, his face went red with embarrassment.
Yang just burst into laughter, she grabbed her sides in apparent hilarity. "You're too easy, Kai!"
"Wasn't that funny." Kaiser murmured to himself, no reason to whisper since he and Yang were the only ones on the airship. "Why would you do that anyways?"
"Well… I couldn't really do much since you just sat there ignoring me." Yang batted her eyelashes at the spy. "What are you even listening to that makes you forget about me of all people?"
Kaiser discretely tore his earphone out and placed it in his coat pocket, he just shrugged. "Just music. Sorry, it was rude of me to disregard you like that." The boy was dying to tell Yang about the situation in which he found himself in, but his unwillingness to involve her in his mess prevented him from doing so.
"It's all good, Kai." Yang snickered to herself. "You know, I would've thought that you'd lighten up by now. Sometimes I can't get over how formal you get with people you see on the daily."
"It was the way I was taught to be, I don't think I could be rude to someone who doesn't deserve it." Kaiser offered. "Times I have, people just get me at the wrong time."
"Hmmm, you do seem angrier lately. And you barely show up to eat with us." Yang tapped her chin with her finger, she kept her eyes on the boy next to her. "But that's why we're just gonna chill in Vale today."
"What do you want to do?" Kaiser asked as he looked out the window, the bullhead was nearing the station.
"Whatever comes up, just go with the flow." She stood up and moved towards the door.
"Alright but we're getting my migraine pills first." Kaiser took the lead this time, heading towards the direction of the nearest convenience store.
Once the pair made it to the store, Kaiser scanned the wall for the different brands of migraine relief pills, he decided he'd get the extra strength relief.
"Check this out." Yang waved a bright blue box with yellow coloring on it.
"What's that?"
Yang gave the boy a questioning look. "Uhh… it's popcorn." She awkwardly said. "Have you never had popcorn before?"
"I was a really sheltered child." A look of confusion came over Kaiser. "I thought I told you this before."
Yang nervously scratched the back of her head, "Oh, right, sorry bout that."
"It's all right." Kaiser reassured her, he gestured to the box of popcorn. "Were you thinking of buying it?"
"Nah, just reminded me of the theatre, we should go right now when the tickets are cheap!" Yang chirped.
Kaiser gave a silent nod, he took the pills over to the counter.
Yang started clearing the aisle of as many snacks as could fit in a grocery basket.
"What are you doing?" Kaiser curiously asked.
"We're gonna sneak this into the theatre, that way we don't overpay on snacks at the theatre." Yang carried her basket full of prizes to the counter as well. The cashier, an elder lady, scanned their items at a slow pace.
"I don't think it's a good idea to have snacks like this at-" Kaiser checked his scroll. "10 in the morning. Also, wouldn't it be against the rules to sneak in outside snacks?"
Yang was handed a plastic bag full of the snacks and Kaiser's migraine pills. "Well, I don't think breaking that rule is so bad." She handed Kaiser his pills with a wink. "Especially since you've broken some already."
"What do you mean?"
"Ditching school, lying to teachers, and helping me ditch." Yang said with a smirk. "Need I say more?"
To Kaiser, her logic seemed flawed, even if he didn't know where the flaw was. Ultimately, he decided that she was right.
Yang proceeded to stuff the snacks into the deep interior pockets of Kaiser's coat. She easily stuffed the majority of their purchases as his pockets started at waist and ended at his knees, such was the advantage of the Willow Tree variant over his standard long coat.
"So, Kai, I feel like I haven't seen you all week. What's up with that?" Yang pressed the button on a stoplight to request a red light, Cars blurred past the truant pair.
"I've just been busy, most of my hours I'm in my dorm doing homework."
"Wow… I can almost see the bullshit you're feeding me!" Yang playfully teased. "We take the same classes, there's no way homework takes you that long. Seriously Kai, you even missed your birthday, I had something planned for that."
Ah yeah, Kaiser's "birthday" was really just a placeholder set by Kane since no official record of the boy's birth existed.
"Ah, sorry, I've just been busy with some personal problems."
"Does it have to do with that Hercule thing?" Yang asked.
Kaiser slowly nodded, "Hercules." The drug was the one part of his situation that Yang had witnessed firsthand. "I'm working on getting that handled."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Not particularly, I'd rather just take a break from it all." A hefty sigh left the boy, he wasn't sure how to approach the Jasper situation going forward. He didn't get an exact meeting area for deals since Jasper came to Morris' rescue, nor did he get an opportunity to find out who Morris affiliated himself with. It would have been a lot easier to storm places for answers if he knew who it was using the steroid.
"Well, I just gotta show you a good time to make you forget about those gym rats." Yang exclaimed as they turned the corner to find Vale's cinema.
The faded red paint is what caught their intention, it's coat not having been changed in over 30 years. Small yellow light bulbs blinked in an unsynchronized fashion, moths swirled around the golden hue amidst the morning light.
A low blue light emanated from the box office, where a pimply faced teenager manned the booth.
"Hey, Kai, what movie are you in the mood for?"
Kaiser browsed the movie poster frames, none really seemed to be attention grabbing.
That's when he saw it…
A sharply dressed man in a white suit jacket with his arms crossed, a blood-red rose popping out of his breast pocket. A smug smile adorned the man's face as he shot a pistol that was in his right hand.
"Sweet! They got the new James Blond film!" Yang had yet to notice the blank stare that Kaiser had directed toward the fictional spy. The unusual look of disdain adorning the actual spy's face, Yang was finally aware of the scowling boy next to her. "If you want, we don't have to watch that film specifically."
"No it's fine, I read an article that he's actually a diversion to extract the real intelligence agents out of enemy lines." The boy unclenched his fists and let out a deep breath, Kaiser then passed Yang a 10 lien note. "Go ahead and get us the tickets, I think I'll be able to manage."
Yang nodded, "Alright, two tickets to James Blond: Phantoms."
Kaiser absently stared at the movie poster and tried to imagine himself being James Blond. It was hard to do that considering he wasn't a sorry excuse for an intelligence agent. Seriously! What kind of spy is known all around the world by every person imaginable?! At least when Kaiser was exposed, it was because of leaked information from moles in the IPS. Sure that meant questioning the moral integrity of every worker in the IPS, but at least Kaiser could claim he was secretive!
Yang dragged the boy into the dark void that was the theatre auditorium, their trail was illuminated by soft LED lights leading them to their seats.
"There's barely anyone here." Kaiser observed, the boy scanned his immediate area for the exits and any vantage points anybody could position themselves at. Yang chose for the both of them to sit down in the middle of the middle row, leaving both of them exposed to anyone in the back row. It was unsettling to the spy that the auditorium was basically empty, hiding in plain sight wasn't really an option.
Even in a relaxed setting, Kaiser's was highly aware of his surroundings.
"That's the beauty of ditching." Yang pulled down one of the seats for Kaiser, she gestured for him to sit next to her. "You get everything to yourself."
Kaiser let out a low hum in response, he handed Yang a packet of spicy beef jerky that she bought. He vaguely remembered that Yang liked to snack on some when they hung out together, so he figured she might like that first. Yang gratefully accepted the treat, the lights dimmed as the screen burst into color.
A frozen tundra was shown as the camera zoomed forwards, a narrator's voice boomed over the sounds of the blizzard onscreen.
"Orphans always make the best recruits." The narrator started.
Kaiser slumped over in his seat, this was going to be hard for him.
/-/
"This is basically art." Kaiser gestured to the screen, displaying a freshly cut lawn with the word 'Prom?' Burnt into the grass. Kaiser especially appreciated the pyrotechnics the main character used to ask out the love interest.
They had watched the entirety of the James Blond movie, with Kaiser making snide remarks to himself. The gadgets they gave Blond were wholly unrealistic, who has a pen that's a knife and a laser?! Don't even get Kaiser started on the villains! Destroying the world for no apparent reason other than because they could. Kaiser had once infiltrated a religious cult named "Angel Wing" who were bent on nuking Remnant to enact some "grand reincarnation."
Now Kaiser wasn't condoning a nuclear apocalypse on Remnant, but at least Angel Wing was sort of reasonable if you looked at it from their perspective.
The spy shuddered as he remembered the feathered wing the cult had carved into his back...
Anyways, Yang had suggested they sneak into another theatre auditorium and just wait until the next screening started. The two had happened upon a movie about one guy on his quest to ask someone out to prom.
"This is like any other movie out right now." Yang watched amusedly, curious as to whether Kaiser was actually enjoying the film.
"So there's more art." Kaiser stated, he could honestly say he was enjoying himself, even if half his mind was focused on the back row of the auditorium.
"Sure, Kai. More art." Yang flatly said.
The film soon ended with the protagonist passing through the doors to wherever the prom was being held. Both students exited the theatre through the back exit to avoid the ushers, Kaiser's stomach decided that it was the perfect time to growl.
"Hungry, Kai?" Yang looked at the boy who was trying to preserve his dignity and faced anywhere but in her direction. "I get it, I'm kinda feeling hungry too. Know any good places around here?"
"I know of a place." Kaiser said. He emphasized the a to lower Yang's expectation, the spy led the way to go get actual food. There were no sounds other than those of feet pounding on the pavement of Vale's streets. It seemed like Yang wanted to break the silence.
"So… Kai. Did you get a date to the dance yet?" Yang had rested her hands on the back of her head in order to let her head lean back a bit.
"Not really, I don't think I'll be attending the dance for that matter." Kaiser had stuffed his hands in his coat's outer pockets, his gaze remained straight ahead.
"Why not?" A devious grin adorned Yang's face. "Don't tell me you can't dance."
"I'm an expert in several forms of martial arts, my footwork is basically perfect." Kaiser sighed as he spotted the look of confusion Yang was shooting at him. "I can dance, Yang."
"So then why aren't you going to the dance?"
"Hold that thought." Kaiser gestured to their destination, where they'd be eating.
The Breakfast platter.
Quite the place, Kaiser would say. He visited this place just before orientation started, it was acceptable for a quick meal. Pretty cheap too, it was nine lien per person.
Wait…
"How much do you have on you?"
Yang patted down her pockets, she managed to scrounge up seven lien. Kaiser had eight lien on him, his emergency funds back in his dorm slowly accumulating. It certainly helped that he received 50 lien every week from Ross, even if he despised the man he still needed the money. Despite that, he only had eight lien in his wallet, as the rest was in a small black box under his bunk.
"We have 15 lien put together, we still need three more."
"Where do we get the three?" Yang asked.
Kaiser only handed her two lien for her admission, "You can go ahead, I'll catch up with you later."
Yang went ahead and entered the buffet, leaving Kaiser to his own devices. The spy took to leaning on the nearest wall and proceeded to watch the afternoon bustle of retired elder folk. Brightly colored cars rushed past those on the sidewalk, likely arriving late to wherever their destination was.
That's when he'd spot his target, a man with a dark suit shouting into his scroll.
"I don't care if the project isn't done yet, send it to the investors!" The man shouted into his scroll, wholly unaware that Kaiser was quietly trailing behind him.
The spy jerked forward, causing both the man and Kaiser to stumble forward.
"Sorry for bumping into you, sir." Kaiser held an apologetic grin, the man's wallet firmly tucked in the spy's pocket. Pickpocketing was a useful skill in his old line of work, normally requiring a distraction to cover the fact. He normally pickpocketed USB drives with damning information or keys to open drawers or safes, he'd never really imagine using the skill to secure breakfast.
"Watch it, pal!" The man had aimed an aggressive look at the boy who seemed to only have bumped into him. "No, nothing, just some brat pushed me." The man had continued his call.
Kaiser fished a couple lien chips out of the man's wallet, he couldn't help but peek at the ID. "Florence Wright, weird name." Kaiser had closed the wallet and quickly approached the street corner the Florence stood at, he then tapped the business man on the back.
Florence had a buzz cut with short brown hair, the same style as Jasper had. This had taken Kaiser for a shock as he felt like he was back in the alleyway the night he fought Jasper. Memories of the raw pain he had received from that battle traveled through his mind, he could barely manage to look at the man in front of him.
Kaiser snapped back into reality, he was in the middle of the sidewalk rather than the dark alleyway.
"You dropped this." Kaiser held out the wallet as he nervously stumbled through his words, he didn't expect the man to snatch it from his hand. Florence had said nothing about the whole ordeal, Kaiser retreated back to the Breakfast Platter.
After going through the whole admissions ordeal, Kaiser beelined toward the omelette station. He strode forward to the table Yang sat at, she was unaware that Kaiser approached.
"This seat taken?" Kaiser said as he clamped his hand over Yang's shoulder.
"Geez, Kai. Don't sneak up on me like that." Yang had been midchew on her own meal.
"Now you know what it's like to be me." Kaiser took a seat across Yang, She offered him an extra cup for which to pour a drink in.
"Huh, I would've thought you would get something more adventurous. Omelettes just seem boring."
"Boring seems to fit me just fine, really, being a health freak was just instilled into me since the start." Kaiser gazed upon Yang's plate, it was loaded with different breakfast meats like ham and steak with eggs on the side. Yang had another plate on the side with a stack of Atlesian toast drenched in maple syrup. "I couldn't really see myself eating for enjoyment rather than sustenance."
Kaiser took another bite of his omelette which was packed with roasted vegetables, he was unaware that Yang was quickly cutting a piece of her toast.
"What are you doing?" Kaiser regarded the forkful of food that had been hovering in front of his face.
"Showing you what you've been missing." A mirthful smile played across Yang's lips, she waited as Kaiser took a tentative bite out of the food Yang offered him.
A burst of sweet syrup covered his taste buds, the slight spice of cinnamon coated his mouth.
"How is it?" Yang asked.
"Hmmm…"
It only took Kaiser a minute to sit back down, now with his own plate of Atlesian toast. The two had settled into eating in a peaceful silence, only the slight chatter of elderly couples filled the atmosphere. Kaiser's shoulders went lax as he felt there was nothing to be aware of, all he felt was the nice company he shared.
Soon enough, dark thoughts creeped into the back of his mind. Right now was just a momentary rest before he resumed his task of stopping Gemini from selling Hercules in Vale. If it was any indication by now, Kaiser didn't really want to. All he wanted was to start living life for himself, not as a weapon to be used by Albert Ross. But what choice did he have? Ross certainly wasn't going to do it, and the IPS were the only group that had the means of combating Zodiac. If Kaiser stood by without taking action, more people would get severely injured like the people in the faunus rally earlier today.
"Why aren't you going to the dance?" Yang asked after taking a gulp of her orange juice.
Kaiser snapped out of his own thoughts at the question. "I just don't like huge crowds, that's all."
"That's fair. Sorry, it's just that one of my other friends from Signal was asking if you were available to ask out to the dance."
"I've been getting that a lot recently." Kaiser took another sip of water, a small smirk formed in his lips. "I'm just that good looking." It was exactly how Ross wanted him, being attractive really did give him more advantage in the field rather than if he were average looking. Kaiser could easily get close to any target if he looked good, it was with this mindset that Ross paid a considerable sum of money on male beauty care products just so their weapon can be attractive.
"Humble much?" Yang picked at a melon on the Kaiser's bowl of fruit, she laughed as she munched on the fresh fruit.
"I'm not exactly vain if it's the truth." Kaiser just cleared his plate of toast and omelette. "You finished?"
Yang took one last swig of her orange juice and smiled brightly. "Yup!"
The pair were now headed back to the bullhead station, the plan was to just hang out in Kaiser's dorm until classes were over. They passed a pet store, a dog loudly barked at Kaiser as he walked. The boy jumped back from the dog, he recollected the time he was mauled by a couple guard dogs.
"Not fond of dogs?"
"Nah, just surprised. Dogs and I don't quite get along."
"Well that blows, I would've loved for you to meet Zwei. Anyways, I had a great time here. You?" Yang asked.
"Yeah." Kaiser could say that he had a great time with Yang, only one question pervaded through his thoughts. Why was she doing this? It was Kaiser's nature to question her motive considering his old line of work.
Trust was a fickle thing, more than trust, friendship was even trickier. Kaiser used to always be surrounded by people who could and would stab a knife into his back at any given point, the only thing stopping them was the paycheck. Even then, Kaiser had to fight off rogue agents that were ordered to kill the boy should he intervene, those people now lay six feet under. So yeah, trust and friendship were luxuries not afforded to the boy. Which is why Kaiser questioned Yang's willingness to go above and beyond just to help him forget about his problems, even for a little while.
"Um… Yang?" Kaiser nervously asked.
"Yeah?" Yang had pointed out the bullhead station to which they waited for their ride to beacon.
"Why are you doing this for me?" It barely came out as a soft mutter. "I don't think I've done anything of merit to deserve this kind of treatment."
Yang put a finger to her chin, a sign she was pondering over his question. "I'm not gonna ask exactly what happened, but I know that it must've been bad if you're destroying yourself like this. If I can take your mind off it, then I did my job as a friend."
Kaiser stayed silent, he could react fine if someone tried to attack him, but he had no reaction to the explanation Yang had given him.
"Besides, I know you'd try to do the same for any of us." Yang wrapped her arm around Kaiser in a half-hug. "Next time you feel alone, don't hesitate to ask for help."
Kaiser slightly nodded, he didn't think he could do much else.
The bullhead had landed, ready to take any stray students or staff to Beacon academy. Normally since classes weren't done the bullhead would be empty, but there was one occupant and she stood at the entrance with a scowl on her face.
"I hope you managed to get pills for your migraine, is that correct?" Glynda Goodwitch crossed her arms.
Kaiser froze up, not even the people who tortured him intimidated the boy as much as Goodwitch did.
"You will be joining ms. Xiao Long in detention for the next two weeks." Goodwitch only walked back into the bullhead, leaving behind a bewildered pair of students. "Come along now children, your first session begins as soon as classes are over."
"Guess we'll be spending more time with each other." Yang slapped his shoulder as she hesitantly began the trek onto the bullhead.
"Yeah." Kaiser muttered, he followed behind Yang. The day he spent was rather pleasant, even if they'd ultimately gotten caught.
Detention didn't sound too bad, especially since he had been locked up in worse places.
/-/
Fear… the easiest way to get respect. Fear was easy to garner when you looked like a 6ft tall mass of muscle, but it also helped if you were the former boxing world champion.
"Is that Hank Hammers?" One of the soldiers behind him whispers.
Indeed it was, albeit a more scarred and weathered Hammers. Years of servitude to his old boss had garnered him credit with his boss' company, before he knew it, he was working with another leader.
"Can't be, looks nothing like him."
That was true as well, Hammers had to go through a couple plastic surgeries to hide his face after going off the grid. Another reason they might've not recognized him was his hideously scarred face as a result of a run in with a rather persistent boy two years back. The encounter resulted in 3rd degree burns courtesy of scalding hot oil to the face.
"At ease boys, I have to talk business inside. Do a perimeter sweep while I take care of this." Hammers placed his hands on a warehouse door, it took considerable effort to open the steel door.
Inside, blue lights emanated from numerous computer screens. A man with a buzz cut was hunched over the desk checking what seemed to be a notepad.
"Greene." Hammers commanded.
Raucous laughter filled the room before Jasper responded with his raspy southern accent. "Just call me Jasper, Mr. Hammers."
"Jasper, we received your message about the interloper. The head of Gemini thought it best that he send you reinforcements, especially when you thought the best course of action was to spare the life of whoever was messing with the operation." Hank clamped his arm down on Jasper's shoulder, he lightly latched onto the metal contraption which pumped Jasper full of Hercules.
Jasper, in turn, placed a hand near the switch to activate his metal sleeve.
"I know for a fact that your machine here takes about 2 seconds to start boosting your body, I can knock you out in half the time." The grip on Jasper's shoulder tightened. "So you might want to reconsider fighting back,'' Hank concluded.
"I couldn't afford to off the boy, he was clearly using aura." Jasper calmly answered despite having Hank breathing down his neck. "I beat him black and blue for 10 minutes and he was still breathing."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Hank was getting impatient with Jasper, the risk of having the police upon their operation was too great. Despite the risk, Gemini's current head still wanted to distribute the product in Vale. Something about it being his most profitable area.
"The boy must've been a huntsman in training, a student of Beacon, can you believe that? If I killed him then and there, I'd attract the attention of not only the police, but of the local huntsmen too." Jasper was quick to navigate through his computer files.
Hank only nodded, huntsmen were a dangerous bunch. All it would take was a couple professionals and their entire operation would be dismantled. "So then, what about the boy?"
A low snicker escaped Jasper as he found the file he was looking for. "I might've gotten a little workaround for that." The monitor displayed a first person view from a body camera on Jasper's uniform.
Hank watched on in tense silence as Jasper savagely beat down a boy on camera. Every heavy punch left the interloper an even bloodier mess than before.
"I beat the kid within an inch of his life, he'd be stupid to try to meddle with our business again." Jasper watched as the boy on screen desperately tried to get away, a last ditch effort to get out unscathed. "He was scared shitless, I bet he can't even stand the thought of seeing me ever again!" Jasper cackled obnoxiously.
It wasn't until the monitor showed the boy being choked that Hank got a good look at the boy's face.
"Those eyes…" Hank looked into the volcanic red eyes of a past nightmare.
Jasper's laughter was suddenly stopped when he caught sight of Hank's shocked face.
"That's no student… that's a living, breathing weapon." Hank marveled at the fact that the boy he fought long ago still persisted. Sudden rage overtook the former boxing champion as he smashed his fist against the table, dents were left on the metal surface. "That little shits still alive?!"
Jasper recoiled from Hammer's sudden roar.
"I'll be leaving a couple soldiers here for you to ensure nobody exposes our product again. From now on if you see that boy, kill him on sight!" Hank stood up straight and headed towards the warehouse door. "I'll send you the file we have on him so you can better understand what you're dealing with here."
Jasper only nodded at Hank and his issued orders.
"The only way to rid yourself of cockroaches is by making sure they're dead." The warehouse door slammed shut, tense silence reigned over the warehouse.
Jasper awaited the file that Hank would soon send him.
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Thank you for sticking with me while I try to release chapters while trying to figure out pacing. Trust me, next chapter will be something to look forward to.
Reviews are always welcome.
On another note, Pablo from backyardigans is canonically the greatest spy in all of fiction.