Cagaster of an Insect Cage one shots

People

3rd pov (not really set during any episode, just in the space between them. After the 1st one for sure though.)

Everyone knows Kidow, even if they live on the other side of the city from him. He's the most sought after Exterminator, meaning there are a lot of days, weeks even when he's up at dawn and barely getting 3 hours of sleep before getting up again. His body has long since gotten used to it, though he also enjoys the few days where he's allowed to sleep in, because he knows that he works better with more sleep, loath as he is to admit it. That's why he is less than pleased when Hadi barges in, Jin right behind him asking for his help finding some missing children. 

He has nothing against children - in fact, he let's himself be a bit more real with them, because kids under 15 can not become cagasters, so they're safe - but having to get up early, on one of his few days to sleep in, in order to find them? Oh, they'll be getting it this time. Out of habit - after kicking both Hadi and Jin out to wait in the hallway - he sets his sword on, even if it's not proper.  It's across his shoulder rather than on his hip - a silent gesture that he's off duty - and then he stalks out of the room, sliding his shotgun into his holster on his leg. There's no telling what happened or why the kids are stuck, so he's prepared.

Hadi explains as Jin drives to where the informant is - the kid that Illie hangs out with Naji - and Kidow gets why this is important.

"Naji says that Lizzy took them down there to hang out, but something happened and they stopped responding. He said they made some sounds, but he was too far away to hear whether they were screams, cries for help or anything. He went down to try and find them, but found nothing, just some scraps of their clothes where they might've run past something that snagged bits of'em. 

"These kids know the tunnels better than we do, so the fact that he couldn't find anything within the search he did is not good. It means they went real far out or something happened and at that point..."

Kidow knows exactly what Hadi means as he climbs out of the car, waving Jin off with his hand - the merchant far too used to him to know it's a thank you - even as he locks eyes with the short, worried boy that lives in the wreckage. Kidow sympathizes with the kid, how can he not, but there are more important things right now then soothing the kids worry, so he spares him nothing more than a nod as he walks past.

Hadi sighs, long used to Sensei's ways and starts to talk with Naji.

"About where were they?"

They look at the map Haji had set out, making sure it showed the entire city, for the kid to draw all of the tunnels on since they know there are some that don't really exist on the normal map.

"They were about here, at this corner. There's some old stuff down there - cars and junk - that they like to hang out on, but they weren't there when I went down there. I checked here," The poor kid draws his shaking finger around about a mile radius from the center area, Kidow notices, shoving aside his own worry for the kid with them." but there was nothing but a few scraps of clothes."

"Any idea where they might've gone? Tunnels that head further underground, a joke, a game?"

"No joke would go this far and the tunnels don't go any further underground, though there used to be rumors of something being under some of the tunnels, so I suppose they might've gotten caught in a collapse... and all games they play they do up top since we might know the tunnels like the back of our hands, but we still do not want to risk it."

Kidow spares a glance at Haji, who nods, before turning to Aisha, who is offering everything they've learned to Qasim, who went down into the tunnels as soon as he heard the kids were missing and could not be found. With a quick glance at the map and snagging some stuff off the table -  water, snacks, small things he can just shove into his pockets - he heads out, putting on a microphone as he goes.