Hello, StayyMoon33! I do, too. I agree that he's pretty cool. And yes, they do. :)
Hello, nagato922! Thanks! :D
~自分で~
Kaden sighed a softly to himself. A thin trail of smoke drifted lazily into the sky from the stick between his index and middle fingers, and he watched it idly. It was chilly out here, being that it was only six in the morning and barely light out. Far below the rooftop he sat upon, cars of all shapes and sizes braved the chaotic streets, some stuck on the ground but many airborne. People milled about on the sidewalks, in the buildings, and virtually any other place one could think of to look for a person. It was time for people with ordinary lives to begin their day. His life was far from ordinary, though, and his day had never really stopped. He was merely taking a break from it for the moment. That was all.
He brought the cigarette back up to his lips and exhaled a moment later, watching as yet more smoke rose up into the air. This was such a terrible habit... but it wasn't like he cared much, if at all. It was a stress-reliever, so he saw no point in ceasing the behavior. Of course, if he told Marthal that, the cat would undoubtedly feel compelled to point out just how dangerous smoking was and how poorly one must be coping with stress to resort to doing such an act. But Marthal wasn't here, and he didn't know of this habit in the first place. Kaden fully intended to keep it that way. The last thing he needed was for Marthal to have one more reason to worry about him.
Kaden again looked down at the stick in his hand. It gave off such a foul smell, truly... It burned his nose and throat. And yet, he still took another drag off of it. I've become such a masochist. Though the thought wasn't really true, it was still a concept he didn't care to contemplate if it could be avoided. As such, he steered his thoughts toward other things. Like the fact that he was even smoking this thing to begin with. All meaningless excuses aside, this really was an act of stress for him. However, he hadn't even realized before just about ten minutes ago that he was even feeling any more stressed than he usually did. Way to pay proper attention, he mentally chided himself. Taking one last drag, he stood up and incinerated that damn cigarette with his fire, leaving no trace of it behind. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He had smoked the thing, after all, so of course there was some trace of it left. He was going to reek of it for ages now. And it was his own damn fault.
Ignoring that thought for now, he climbed down off the roof and into his apartment through his bedroom window, which he'd left open when he'd gone outside not long before. Once inside, he shut the window. He sat down on his queen-sized bed as he slipped on his black and blue shoes, which were nearly the same style as his old colorful sneakers. He then laid back on his bed for a moment. His comforter, sheets, and pillow cases were such a dark blue that they were nearly black. His bare walls were midnight blue, and his carpeted floor was nearly the same color. The whole room was dark, which appealed to his senses. The only problem was... the room was small. His bed took up most of the available space. The head of bed was against the wall opposite the door. It stretched from the left wall to the very edge of the window. Also against the left wall was his desk. It stretched from the foot of the bed to the wall the door was on. Directly across from it, up against the right wall, was a tall bookshelf. That was all the furniture he had in the room. And even with just those three things, there was no space left in the room, save for a walkway. This walkway went to directions. The first was from the door to the desk. The second was from the door, past the desk and bookshelf, alongside the bed, and straight to the window. It was so cramped in here... But, then again, it wasn't like he had the money to live anywhere else.
Finally, he got back up. Without much of a sound, he walked over to his desk, sat down, and opened his laptop. As always, it was time to do some research. There were always so much for him to dig up. Information he needed to know but the idiots in government were hiding, news articles about attacks he hadn't caught wind of on various cities, reports detailing new enemies on the rise... He sighed to himself. It was times like these when he honestly hated himself for not allowing Marthal to help him. But then he would always inevitably recall why he didn't allow the help, and those thoughts would then cease. Marthal had already "died" once. Kaden wouldn't let it happen again.
Logging into his computer, Kaden all-too-easily hacked into the government's systems and began his work, making a mental note to get on their asses again about how weak their security systems were. Honestly, a child could hack into them without much effort... he thought in annoyance as he opened and quickly poured through numerous new files. Few of them held any interest for him, but a couple did. According to the latter two files, one of his old enemies was back in business and promising to turn a new leaf, while another was swearing they would help the World Government if he could be let out of jail. Kaden frowned disapprovingly. Do they think I'm stupid? He knew they government was filled to the brim with imbeciles, but that was why he intervened so heavily into their activities. There was no way he was going to allow any of them to work with those enemies.
But, as it turned out, he once again had far bigger things to worry about than the ass-hats in power.
Frowning to himself, Kaden scanned the screen with his eyes, reading the latest file he had opened. "You have got to be shitting me," he muttered to himself. He scrolled down, reading more and more into the list of crimes on the file. Crimes that the government claimed he had committed. Using dangerous weapons in public, damaging public property, vigilantism, evading arrest... Those idiots! Now properly furious, Kaden abruptly stood from his desk, printed a copy of the wanted poster, snatched the three pages out of the printer, and teleported straight to the World Government's main building itself. Marching up the stairs, he shoved open the doors. As expected, since he was apparently wanted, tw security guards tried to grab him. "Touch me and I will break your goddamn arms," he threatened, never once looking at the guards or stopping his brisk walk. The guards seemed to take him seriously and quickly backed off. Not five minutes later, Kaden was marching into the office of the leader of the world's armies, a man he and Marthal both affectionately referred to as "The General". Neither had ever bothered to learn the man's name. "Care to explain this?" Kaden demanded as he slammed the papers down on the dark wooden desk.
The General set down his pen (he had been in the middle of writing something when Kaden had barged in) and picked up the papers to examine them as though he had never seen them before. And, judging by the sudden genuine smirk of glee that spread across his face, he apparently hadn't. Which meant that someone else was responsible for this for this bullshit, for once. "Someone finally got a clue and put your face on a poster? Oh, this is too rich."
Kaden glared at him. "Those charges are false, you asshole, and you damn well know it."
"I'm not so sure," The General replied as he set the papers down in a neat pile on his ornate desk. "After all, I seem to recall you doing everything listed on these pages. You have started many fires in your near-daily fights, all of which you start or get involved in without having any of the proper authority, every single one of you fights causes a great deal of damages to buildings, cars, streets, and so on, countless cities are in a constant struggle to come up with the money to repair the damages you cause..." The General inhaled, then exhaled with a pleased and smug smile. "I could go on," he rumbled in his deep voice.
Kaden scoffed and crossed his arms. "You know," he remarked casually, "there's a reason why I call you an idiot." The smile dropped. "After all, you can never seem to see what's right in front of your face."
Now it was The General's turn to scowl. "And what might I be missing?" he inquired irritably.
Kaden turned and began to leave. "Without me, there wouldn't be any cities left for the real enemies to destroy." Without waiting for a reply, he exited the room.
~自分で~
1,568 words this time. A third chapter to help set the scene for this tale. Hope you enjoyed. Posted (at about 10:55 p.m.) 05-21-16.
