Red Hawk

Chapter Four: Fallen Hawk

Jeremiah let Kai go off with the highwayman, only after Orus had returned. Kai followed the man through Halskin, taking every backstreet they could, until eventually finding their way into a slums area. The rest of the city had been so beautiful, Kai couldn't believe such a rundown area existed within the city. Their final destination was a tavern in shambles. Rotted wood made up over half the outer wall, strips of peeling paint everywhere.

Staked into the ground, a worn out sign post was smeared with a thick layer of black paint. Whoever was inside this building clearly wanted to forget what it once was. As they stepped inside, Kai realized that the interior was quite similar to the Red Hawk guild hall, at least layout-wise. The air reeked of alcohol and tobacco. Kai was lead towards a lounge area, a group of around thirty men gathered in here. Sitting on a raised platform, a hawk motif throne rested against the far wall.

In it sat a man in all black, his piercing crimson eyes only stood out more due to his body being completely covered in dark clothing. He pulled down the scarf covering his mouth, revealing a wicked smile of sharpened teeth, "So you're the one who took down my guys?" His eyes began to look over Kai vigilantly, "So, which pathetic guild do you belong to?"

"I have no reason to answer that," Kai calmly said, his eyes watching the room. No one seemed to be trying to make a move at the moment, but he couldn't let his guard down just yet.

"Come now," the crimson eyed man said as he stood to his feet, "we're not all that different. I was once in a guild myself actually, ever hear of Red Hawk?" Kai lost his calm at the mention of Red Hawk, his eyes widening for only a split second. But that was all the man needed, "So you have, good. I was once one of their top members, until that bastard Odin took over."

"You must have been horrible if they kicked you out," Kai said trying not to lose his composer a second time. "I mean, how do you get kicked out of a small, no name guild?"

The man started to walk over, "Well, they stopped approving of my methods of getting the job done. And Odin, he betrayed me."

Kai finally asked, "Just who are you?" That question caused the entire room to burst into laughter.

"The name is Hibiki Ekros," replied the man as he uncovered his head. Scars covered the entirety of his scalp, deep cuts and burn marks everywhere. "Apparently, I was too violent for that fool. And when I challenged him..., well he did this to me." Hibiki then tossed away the dark coat covering his torso, the entire right half of his body completely mechanical, the left side flesh grotesque and torn.

Taken aback by this, Kai spaced out for just a moment. And in that moment, Hibiki had made his way across the lounge, now hold Kai against the wall by his neck. The touch of cold metal was what snapped Kai back into reality.

"And so you turned to petty crime?" Kai choked out to Hibiki. "Seems like a rather large leap if you ask me."

"What I do is no different than what you do kid," argued Hibiki as he tightened his grip. "You could call us a guild of sorts, using our skills for profit just like you."

It was getting harder for Kai to breathe, "W-We're nothing alike." Kai was dropped, allowing him to catch his breath. The disfigured body of Hibiki kept him somewhat distracted, "Guilds help people, you only help yourself."

"And do you think that guilds help for a pure reason?" Hibiki asked as he rammed his foot into Kai's chest. "No, guilds are just full of people exploiting the weakness of others legally." Kai couldn't believe someone who was once in a guild would have such a bleak view of life. But, Kai still didn't have all the pieces of the puzzle, so he had no way of knowing if something had warped Hibiki or not.