NOTHING TO SEE HERE: continue on with enjoying the new chapter!
Kyoko found herself downtown, alone in a Server pastry shop with a rather large dessert sitting in front of her. She could not remember exactly how she ended up there, only that she had exited the Main Edifice in low spirits and needed something to cheer herself up. When she could not find Kanae in the dormitories, she must have turned to food to console her. Now she sat before a large dish holding a confectionary monstrosity of fruit, custard, pastry and powdered sugar. How far she had fallen from the high she was riding during the whole journey back from the border.
Spoon in hand and ready to drown her miseries in sugar, she did not notice when a platinum-haired man sat at her table and stared at her intently. It was not until she finished her fourth bite that she looked up and noticed the darkly dressed man across from her. His piercing purple eyes bore into her uncomfortably. She squirmed in her seat and tried to avoid his gaze.
"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked finally.
"Only if you can tell me what it was you were delivering to the Defenders last week," how one smirk could have so much malice behind it, she could not comprehend.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she put her spoon down and replied calmly.
"Don't play dumb, Kyoko, it doesn't suit you. I saw you at the Rampart."
"H-how?"
"Oh, it wasn't easy infiltrating that place, let me tell you. Rather, I thought it would actually be easier to split you and your associate up. Too bad that stray blast took you both out and they kept you in the same room with 24-hour guard."
"You mean that wasn't an accident?" she whispered harshly.
"It looked convincing, didn't it? I try my best to put on a good show," he grinned wickedly and uncurled a hand from under the table to reveal the metal claw-shaped tips on the ends of his long fingers. "And don't think you can use that amulet of yours to pull any stunts. I'm well trained in combat magic."
Her hands instinctively went to clasp around her stone and her mind raced as she tried to think of an alternative method of escape. An idea came to her as she watched a person from the table next to them walk across the room to pick up silverware and for their order. He may have been trained in combat magic but, between her cross-training with the Defenders and the Healers, she knew multiple sensitive pressure points on the human body. Not to mention her skill with telekinetic enchantments was finely honed after years of causing her tormentors and bullies to meet with random 'accidents' whilst remaining undetected. Calmly, she picked her spoon back up and resumed eating. All she had to do was wait.
"What do you think you're doing?" he spat impatiently.
"Well, since you're obviously not going to let me go, I might as well enjoy the rest of this while I can," she said with a nonchalant shrug. "Then you, and whoever else you have waiting for me outside can do the whole abducting thing you seem to have planned."
A sanguine smile formed on his face, "You are wise to comply."
"If you say so," she raised a finger as a thought occurred to her. "Which reminds me, how do you know my name anyway?"
"That was surprisingly easy once I got here," he laughed. "It seems you're quite infamous with your fellow Spellweavers."
"Of course, no surprise there" she rolled her eyes. "So, are you going to tell me your name or do I get the honor of calling you Mr. Kidnapper for the remainder of our acquaintance?"
"I go by various names in my line of work, obviously," his chest swelled with pride. "But for the purposes of this encounter, you may call me Reino."
"And by 'line of work', I'm guessing you mean Altrian spy?" she raised an eyebrow at him.
"I knew you were smart," he winked but offered no further details.
"But why go after me instead of—," she stopped herself when the truth registered in her mind. "I was an easier mark, wasn't I?"
"Much as I would love to knock that boyfriend of yours down a few pegs, you were a better choice to obtain what we were looking for," a sardonic smile came over his face.
"We're not together," she grumbled, shoving another spoon of the sickly-sweet confection into her mouth.
"Whatever you say, sweetheart," he shrugged noncommitally. "Everyone in that arena got a good look at the two of you tangled together when they carried you out. No idea what you see in him but, then again, I don't exactly go for the tall, dark and terrifying type."
"Terrifying?" she consciously ignored the comment about her purported relationship with the Archweaver.
"He hides it fairly well but he is far more powerful than he lets on," he almost appeared to shudder. "
Kyoko was genuinely intrigued now and wanted to know more but the opportunity she was waiting on had finally appeared. A patron with an armful of pastries, drinks and utensils was carefully making their way to a table where their companions sat expactantly. Nodding thoughtfully at Reino's last statement, she continued to eat at her dessert with a steady pace until the timing was just right.
The draft was activated mid-bite and the customer tripped on seemingly nothing, sending the contents of their hands directly into the man's face and lap. It was enough of a distraction for her to take the spoon she was holding and jam it solidly into the side of his head. This disoriented him enough for her to exit her seat during the commotion and head straight for the bathroom. Not knowing who, or what, was waiting for her outside of the shop, she had a better evasion plan in mind.
Reino regained his faculties fairly quickly, despite the now excruciating pain in his head, and bolted for the restroom door in pursuit of his quarry. Upon approaching it, the door swung open and an attractive blonde walked out with long wavy hair, blue eyes and a flowing white sundress. She looked at him and gave him an angelic smile as he stopped short of the door.
"If you're looking for the men's room, it's down the hall," she said sweetly as she pointed.
"Of course, my dear," he turned on the charm. "But my companion has gone into this restroom and I wanted to be sure she was alright. Did you, by chance see a young Spellweaver with short black hair come in?"
"Oh, is that what she was?" a hand flew to her face in wonder and her eyes widened. "I was wondering how she managed to turn the wall into a door, walk through it and change it back again."
His alluring smile soon turned into a snarl as he cursed quietly, allowing the blonde beauty to pass before making a hasty exit from the shop. The woman shrugged at his actions and went to the counter to purchase a small tart before leaving to continue down the street towards the open-air shopping center. The throng of people gathered there was so dense that she appeared to vanish as she wove her way through the crowd.
On the other side of the plaza, a young boy with golden hair and green eyes emerged from the bustle and strode towards the nearby park with his hands in his pockets. At the park, he managed to talk his way into a casual game of handball that was starting up between several other teenaged boys there. They played—while the boy kept a discreet, but watchful eye on the passersby who walked through the park—until the edges of dusk began to creep across the sky. With a wave and a farewell shout to his newfound friends, he ran off towards a tall hotel building a few blocks down the street.
Minutes later, Kyoko left the building in her third disguise and no further plan of action. Stopping to check her reflection in a storefront window, she knew there was no way she could return to the campus. She thought to head towards her past employers when she saw a familiar person emerge from a Framer shop with a paper bag in her hand. It was going to be risky contacting someone so close to her, but she hoped her friend would remember their old code.
Lory Takarada was taking a rare moment to indulge in some leisure reading that evening when the doors to his office violently flew open. When Kanae barged in unannounced, he looked to his assistant who stood just outside the door with a helpless expression. He calmly put down his book and gave the young woman his undivided attention. There had to be a good reason for her to storm into his office the way she had. Before he could even welcome her, he noticed the look of panic she wore and let her speak first.
"You better get in touch with the Defenders and call your wonder boy down here right now," she demanded, nearly out of breath. "Kyoko is in trouble."
He uttered not a single word as he realized time was of the essence. Gesturing towards one of the chairs near his desk, he invited her to have a seat while he beckoned for his assistant and gave a series of terse commands. Within fifteen minutes, he had Commander Shingai from the Defenders' central base come in to talk to her. Half an hour later, the doors to his office opened abruptly once more as Ren rushed inside.
It was evident that he was roused from his bed as he was without his cloak and still in his pajamas with rumpled hair. The myriad of expressions Kanae saw on his face—fear, worry, rage, confusion and pain—made it clear that Kyoko was more important to him than he let on. She initially only asked the Grand Archweaver to include him to test his mettle and see the man her best friend respected so much in action. However, seeing him rush in with total disregard to personal appearance or formalities spoke volumes. Kyoko had managed to ensnare the heart of the top Spellweaver in the guild. She allowed herself a short chuckle; clearly, this girl never does anything by halves.
"Sit," was all Lory said when he saw him arrive and he did so obediently. "As we have little time, I will fill you in briefly; Kyoko spoke to Kanae downtown to tell her someone was after her and she was considering leaving the city. As she was disguised and speaking cryptically, we assume this person has already made contact with her and is pursuing her."
"This has to do with that assignment you gave us, doesn't it?" he sighed.
"What assignment?" she whipped her head around and glared at Ren.
"I'm sorry Kanae, but that is confidential information and, yes, it is logical that this situation is connected to that," Lory explained.
"Well both of you had damn well better come up with something to fix this. If this is connected to whatever secret you are keeping then it's you're fault that she's—she's—," she was frustrated and on the brink of tears.
"I will locate her," Ren interrupted. "But I must be permitted to do it alone."
"Like hell you will," Kanae protested angrily but he raised a pleading hand.
"The way I have to do it will be rather… disorienting for her and potentially draining for me. As such, I will need to use a draft I already have set up at my residence so I can conserve my energy," it was not his most convincing lie, but he looked pointedly at Lory as he spoke. "But I will bring her here as soon as she has the chance to recover."
"Very well," Lory nodded. "Commander, please get in touch with Lt. Inspector Konoe so he can get to work on the other half of this problem and have your best people posted around the campus so we can weed out anyone who might be watching for her return."
"Yes, sir."
"I assume you'll want to stay here until Kyoko comes back?" he turned to Kanae and asked.
"Like you even have to ask," she scoffed and pointed an accusing finger at Ren. "You'd better bring her back safely. I'm only going along with this because she seems to trust you implicitly and has never said anything negative to me about you. But, so help me, I don't care what your rank is, I will come after you if she is hurt in any way."
"I promise I will not let anything happen to her," he vowed with a solemn nod.
Back in his apartment, Ren peeked at the stone in his amulet casing. It's cloudy yellow color told him he did not have much more time left. She was stressed and she was tired. It would not be long before she was found by whoever was after her. If there was any time he regretted keeping his secret, it was now. Had she known about him and how to fully use her stone, she would not be alone and on the run. However, the time for 'what ifs' and 'should haves' was not available at this juncture.
Re-securing the stone in his amulet, he walked over to his front door, pressed his hand against it and closed his eyes. He pushed outwards with his energy through the stone and searched for a response from its mate. A weak, pulsating ball of light appeared in the darkness behind his eyelids. Relieved, he knew this meant she was still in the city, but somewhere on the eastern side. Further focusing gave him a basic idea of her surroundings; she had just veered off from a main street into a small alleyway and she would be approaching a backdoor along this route in a minute or so.
All he needed to do was adjust the draft on his door and wait until she was close enough. Once she was within range, he quickly opened the door and reached out for her.
The random parade she caught downtown was a nice distraction even though she was not quite sure what exactly they were celebrating. The numerous people with costumes and painted faces was a bonus for her as she blended in with the procession of masqueraders dressed as chickens. As she was now on her fourth disguise, she realized just how fatigued she was from the multiple quick changes and her recent travels. It was only going to get more difficult for her to maintain her facade if she did not get any rest.
Kyoko diverged from the parade as it rounded a corner and walked quickly down a small alley. Too tired to create a new identity, she considered going back to one of her previous looks as a chicken costume was going to attract more attention the further away from the parade it was. Wondering if she would be able to navigate her way to Jelly Woods' shop by memory, she wished she knew more people in the city.
She did not notice the door opening to her left as she quickly peered over her right shoulder to check if anyone had followed her. With a yelp, she was grabbed by the wing of her costume and yanked inside the open door. Taken by surprise, she could only make a desperate attempt to break free by squirming in her captor's grasp.
"Relax, Kyoko, it's just me," Ren soothed as her panicked flailing in his entryway finally died down. "You're in my apartment. Don't worry, I severed my connection to the door I pulled you through and they can't trace it back here."
"How did you know it was me?" the several disguises she was currently sporting dissipated to reveal a very disheveled Kyoko still dressed in the outfit she wore when he last saw her in Lory's office. "How did you know where to find me?"
"I tracked you through your amulet signature," he confessed.
"How? My signature is unique only to me," he could see the horror in her eyes and knew that she was thinking if he could find her so easily, her pursuer would surely be able to do the same.
"Technically, it's also my signature as well," he saw her confusion and led her away from the door to the small table in his kitchen and offered her a glass of water. "These are not exactly the circumstances under which I wanted to have this conversation, but it would appear that I don't have a choice."
"What are you talking about? What conversation?"
"Do you remember when we visited Jelly Woods before we went to the Rampart and what she said about your amulet stone?" he sat in the chair beside her.
"Yes, but you told me not to worry about it because it probably wasn't true," her hands gripped tightly around the glass.
"That's right, because most if it was not," he nodded. "Only a part of it was."
"… which part?"
"She was right about the user being bonded to the stone, but it doesn't amplify your abilities," he pointed at her amulet. "However, what she did not know, is that it's possible for two people to bond with the same stone and their energies are interconnected."
"I'm not understanding where you're going with this," she frowned.
"Perhaps it would be better if I showed you," reaching up to his neck, he pulled off his amulet and twisted the wooden pieces of the casing apart to reveal the stone inside.
Tears sprang to her eyes and she gasped the minute she recognized the stone encased within. Granted, it had been over a decade since she had last seen both pieces together but she would never forget how it looked for as long as she lived. Reaching out with tentative fingers she picked up the stone and turned it over in her hands, feeling the ridges along the sides as she had all those years ago when he first let her hold it. Kyoko looked up at the stone's owner only to see that his hair and eyes were changing color; brown faded to gold and sparkling green. She gasped at the face she had not seen since she was a child but one she knew all too well.
"Kuon?" she cried in disbelief. "Is that really you?"
AN HOMAGE TO KYOKO'S MANY FACES: I included a nod to her other roles. Can you find them all (it's not that hard; they're very obvious)? The next chapters have been slow-going but I'm making decent progress. I would probably be getting a lot more done if I wasn't spending several hours at a time playing Breath of the Wild when I'm not working but it's just too much fun. I will work on this... maybe. Anyway, always an honor to hear from you so don't be shy and leave a note!
AUTHOR OUT!