"So..." Nikolai looked intently at Kurt, analyzing all his expressions and gestures, but his friend didn't show any signs of lying. "When you went to take the test last month, you didn't awaken. It was this strange system that you acquired from dying and... Going back in time?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's what it is..."
"And according to you... I died because of you."
Kurt breathed in deeply and nodded. He already expected Nikolai to not believe him, but he was completely taken aback by what his young Russian friend did after.
Nikolai took a notebook, walked towards Kurt, and as he observed Nikolai's movements, his friend slightly smacked the notebook to the back of his head, smiling.
"That's for stealing from me." Nikolai laughed. "I don't like when people steal from me, even if I'm dead. But it doesn't sound crazy..." Nikolai gave it a brief pause. "It sounds 'bat shit lunatic', Kurt. But I believe you."
"You do?" Kurt's eyes lit up for a second, a faint glimpse of happiness crossing them.
"Yes, even more because I know what those bastards at the association are capable of. But you know..."
Nikolai paused for a moment, as if considering something, but dismissed the thought, immediately speaking.
"I know we know each other from school, but when I met you at the Association, I also understood, somehow, that you were different. Like I knew you from somewhere else. And what you just told me actually explains that feeling."
They kept talking, and Kurt kept telling Nikolai about the differences between the previous version of his world and the new one, and how guilty he felt about Rodrick's death.
The food arrived, they ate, and Nikolai told him to go to the penthouse.
"You'll be living here from today on. You need headquarters and I need more manpower, so let's go up together, and teach those Association 'suki' one lesson they will never forget, my friend!"
And so, Kurt spent the last three weeks honing the skills he had left, helping Nikolai to establish the Black market as a solid organization, without the need to worry about Quintus anymore.
However, he knew that the Association still presented a big threat, and needed to be dealt with.
***
Kurt woke up in the dim light of his room, with Nikolai at his door.
He focused his sight, still a bit groggy, and noticed Nikolai's hands moving, ever so slowly, as if trying not to draw someone's attention.
'H.I.D.E. Oh shit!' Kurt thought when he opened his mouth to speak.
He activated [SHADOW WALK] in no time, and when Nikolai saw Kurt turning invisible, he let out a sigh, and finally spoke.
"Come in, and see that I'm telling you the truth."
Nikolai stepped aside, and Leblanc entered the room.
He had a wicked grin on his face as he stepped in, but the grin slowly vanished, as he searched the room from side to side, finding nothing but a few second hand electronic devices.
He glared at Nikolai, who simply shrugged.
"I told you the man was lying." Nikolai said, performing nonchalance. "Why would I hide a wanted man here, when my business is blooming so beautifully?"
Leblanc grunted, but before he left, the chief looked dead in Nikolai's eyes, and said.
"You may be telling the truth, but you're still a regular, so you better behave. I'll be charging higher fees on your business from now on." He grinned. "And if you don't meet pay every single credit by the end of the month, you're going to know what happened to the guy who told me that Kurt was here."
He then turned around, and left the building.
Nikolai waited for a few minutes before speaking.
"Okay, Kurt, you can show yourself now. Kurt? Kurt...?"
But Kurt didn't answer. Only silence accompanied Nikolai in the room.
***
Kurt followed Leblanc until he left the building and went to the monitoring division squad car. There, he entered the car and prepared to take off.
There was a man with him, in the backseat, the man who threatened Nikolai with the firearm earlier in the day.
'So he did go to the association to rat me out, but how?'
And even before Kurt could think of an explanation, Leblanc got in the car, checked his holowatch, and when the screen appeared in front of the chief, there was a photo of Kurt, from his register.
And above the picture, the words WANTED blinked in red.
'Son of a...'
But the car sped off before Kurt could finish the thought.
He ran back inside and found Nikolai looking for him.
"Goodness, where were you?"
"No time to explain, Nikolai, I need your services!"
Nikolai immediately frowned and his expression became dark.
"What did Leblanc do...?"
"He's going to kill the man from earlier, and I need to record it. I have a plan."
Kurt told his plan to Nikolai, and he smirked.
"Consider it done, my friend! Go to the basement, I keep my secret stash there, you'll find everything you need-"
Before Nikolai was done speaking, Kurt ran off to the basement, and when he arrived, he remembered in the same instant everything about the place.
"Oh, yeah. I'll need these later." He grinned, looking at the boxes filled with various dried herbs.
But in the meantime, he just took a smart recorder, a microphone, and an oni mask he found lying around, running off to the street, while activating [SHADOW WALK] again.
'I'll need some mana potions if I keep spending mana like this, while I'm not able to level my intelligence up.' He smiled at the thought.
It had been a while since he felt the thrill of a mission, and the way the adrenaline coursed through his veins made him feel good for the first time in a long month.
Kurt focused his senses, to be able to feel Leblanc's mana signature. After a few seconds of concentration, he could find the chief's trace.
And he was moving towards the docks where Quintus had thrown Kurt down the water in a barrel.
A grin sprouted through Kurt's lips.
"Hunter becomes prey..."