EX//MACHINA: EXORDIUM

Chapter XVII - Teacher, teacher!

The hunt had been going on for two whole hours before Kimiko got bored. It wasn't a question of disapproving the methods Leah was using, she just didn't see the fun in waiting so much. Ok, sure, she knew that rushing in and just killing stuff was her privilege, and others couldn't do that easily. Still, it was terribly unfun to see someone waiting around in corners, slowly crouching to another position, all of those meticulous procedures.

The worst part was that it was a test that she wouldn't interfere in. If Leah were to be ambushed by the creature, that just meant she was weak, so Kimiko would have no reason to save her. That meant she had to evaluate how well her candidate-to-subordinate was doing, and being impartial was a difficult task even to Kimiko's great mind. Actually, she was kind of surprised about how calm Leah was, and she hoped that calmness wasn't coming from the hopes that Kimiko was protecting her from afar. She did warn her that she would be observing, but would offer no help.

All in all, Kimiko didn't feel like she could be held accountable for any deaths in this instance, which was a surprise.

While watching the woman move, she noticed her first mistake: she didn't take into consideration the superior senses of her prey. They had better vision in darkness, as they were sewer-dwellers, and their noses were far better than human ones. So when Leah came close to the creature from behind, Kimiko already knew what would happen. When the woman was getting closer and closer to stabbing it in the back, the creature took Leah by surprise, pouncing at her and slashing its claws five times, while she blocked with her arms. Not completely effective, as she now had at least twenty cuts, but it seemed like none were deep. Before the monster could hurt her again, Leah risked it all and used her machete to cut one of its arms off, making it scream in pain.

A terrible, annoying growl took over the entire neighborhood, and Kimiko sighed in disappointment. That was the "sewer-dweller" species' call for help, so it meant a lot more trouble for her. Even if an entire horde came, it would be no trouble for the girl, and that was the sole reason she felt annoyed by Leah letting the creature complete its call. If only it was a stronger kind of monster, then she could be entertained.

While nothing happened, Kimiko moved closer to Leah, approving her decision of not chasing the creature down the building. For someone at the woman's level, that would be the correct judgment, as an ambush could be certain death. As if they were in agreement, the hunter and the prey both looked at each other menacingly, before running to opposite directions. It was now a challenge based on "whoever finds the other first, wins". Now standing invisible in the room Leah was tending to her wounds, Kimiko felt like she could bet on the woman, realizing she had potential. Her faith wasn't too great, though, but there was room for her to place confidence here and there.

She noticed Leah moved pretty well in the buildings, and was slowly getting better at minding her surroundings. It was impossible to know if that skill could translate to moving well in outside environments as well, so that was something else she could test. Observing the woman, Kimiko noticed how ignorant she was of her presence inside that room, and everyone else was like that too, unable to sense her with something other than vision. Well, everyone except one person, and that was thrilling. Kimiko couldn't stop thinking about that moment, where she was observing Peter from far away, maintaining her invisibility, and even then he saw her. That was a first, and while it bothered her for some time, she learned to think of it as a promising capability of her future right hand.

And no, Kimiko couldn't see him as something else than "her future right hand", believing that he would accept her deal. Surely there was no other option, right?

No matter, that wasn't the time to create expectations about someone. As she already knew, expectations were always bound to disappoint. After some minutes, Leah left the room, her arms now covered with blood stained bandages. Kimiko silently accompanied her, listening — but paying almost no attention — to the woman's grumblings and complaints, that frequently included threats to Kimiko herself, mostly followed by offenses like "that small bitch" or "freak", sometimes both. That settled it; if Leah survived, Kimiko would break all of her bones as punishment for insubordination.