I stood in the apartment, still catching my breath from everything that had gone down. Kail was standing next to me, arms crossed, his usual bored expression plastered on his face. Smoosh was pacing back and forth in front of us, clearly trying to process the information we'd just thrown at him. The old man was more animated than I'd ever seen him, his bushy brows furrowed in thought.
"So, you're telling me YUGEN is behind this?" Smoosh asked, his voice a mixture of disbelief and concern. "A mercenary group operating outside of Prime City?"
"Yeah, that's what it looks like," I said, glancing at Kail, who gave a subtle nod. "And they're gunning for me."
Smoosh rubbed his chin, still pacing. "YUGEN... they've been around for a long time. They operate beyond the walls of Prime City, but to think they'd come here... That's not good. Not good at all." He stopped and turned to Kail, his eyes narrowing. "You. You're not just some random bystander in this, are you?"
Kail shifted uncomfortably. It was the first time I'd seen him actually show any kind of emotion beyond indifference. "I'm not," he admitted, his voice low. "I'm involved because of DJ. And I have... other reasons."
Smoosh's eyes lit up with sudden recognition. "Wait a minute. You're... You're his son, aren't you?"
Kail stiffened, his jaw tightening. "I'd rather not talk about that."Smoosh raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. No need to get defensive. But I knew your father. A war hero. He was a good man." Smoosh's tone softened, but Kail clearly wasn't having any of it.
"Can we focus on DJ?" Kail interrupted, his voice sharp. "We need to figure out what we're going to do about him."
Smoosh raised an eyebrow but didn't push further. "Right. DJ. So what's the plan? How are we going to get him away from YUGEN before they sink their claws in too deep?"I thought about it for a moment, the frustration building in my chest again. "Why don't we just grab him? Kidnap him, take him somewhere safe, and work on getting rid of that parasite thing you were talking about?"
Kail shot me a look, shaking his head. "That's not how this works. DJ's loyal to their leader. If we kidnap him, we'll only push him further into their grip. Besides, I don't go around kidnapping people. It's against my moral code."
"Great," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "So, what are we supposed to do then? Just wait until he turns into a monster?"
"No," Kail said firmly. "We train. We get stronger. And when the time is right, we'll figure out how to save him. But we're not rushing in blind."
I clenched my fists, trying to push down the feeling of helplessness that was rising in me again. He was right. As much as I hated it, I wasn't ready. Not yet.
"Fine," I said, exhaling slowly. "Let's train."
Smoosh gave a small nod of approval, though I could tell he wasn't thrilled with the situation either. "Alright then. You two get to it. I'll keep digging around for more information on YUGEN."Kail turned to leave, but as soon as we stepped out of the apartment, we ran into someone I wasn't expecting—a guy with hair split down the middle, black on one side and white on the other, and a prosthetic arm that looked like it came straight from a sci-fi movie, brimming with a strange, glowing magic.
