Kenny returned to his life as usual, working and earning his sustenance. There was another matter at hand he had to take care of - Marya. She got caught up in his mess during the incident earlier. He knew if this continued, she might get her life ruined.
As usual, he returned to do his charity work.
In the evening, he carried a polythene bag of leftovers to give to the old men. Just when he reached the spot, he found Marya across the street. She raised her hand to get his attention, but he averted his eyes to avoid her.
"Kenny!" she called his name.
Kenny did not pay heed to her call, and just rushed ahead to the old men.
Old man Sine beamed at him when he discovered Kenny showing up with his daily dosage of a free meal. "Hey, Kenny, where were you yesterday?" he asked in an excited tone. "I was so worried about you."
Kenny scratched his cheek and thought of a response. "Ah, I did not feel well yesterday." He went with the usual.
"I see," replied the old man, taking the polythene bag from him. He peeked inside and his mouth watered.
Old men Cosant and Tangent came to them after gathering their stuff.
"Hey, young Kenny, you were not here yesterday," said Cosant.
"Yeah, I was not well yesterday. I had an upset stomach," replied Kenny.
"Ah," reacted old man Tangent. "You should drink plenty of water. It keeps your stomach working like a lubricated engine."
At the moment, Marya had reached to them.
"Oh, Marya, come, come," said uncle Cosant upon spotting her. "How is it going on?" He asked before he glanced at Kenny sneakily.
Kenny averted his eyes away again, avoiding himself to make eye contact with her.
She had already noticed his strange behavior, but tried to act normally. "Everything is going alright," she replied with a smile.
"Nice to know it," said old man Tangent. Although he had already noticed the awkwardness between them. "Well, we will be going then." He pulled old man Sine, who pulled old man Cosant with him.
Suddenly, someone landed near them wearing a strange mask. "Um, excuse me. I am looking for someone."
All of them got alerted as the person had jumped from the top of the streetlight. Kenny got on his guard, as he had detected no one up there when he had arrived.
"Who are you?" he inquired with an uneasy face, knowing for sure that he was a skultar.
"Oh, do not panic, all of you," spoke Scribble mask. "I am just here to ask you about my friend, if you have seen him somewhere…" He pulled out a photograph from the inside pocket of his coat and showed it to them. "Take a look."
Kenny took a closer look and realized it was the photograph of the white-suited man's driver again, whom Orange had killed. "Oh, not again," he reacted in his mind in exasperation.
He was on his guard. He was ready to respond if he sensed the faintest scent of hostility. He squeezed his belly muscles to be ready to pounce on him at the right moment.
He glanced at Marya, who glanced back at him. He signaled her to not speak a word. She understood his signal and stayed silent. However…
"Ah," reacted the old man Sine as if he had remembered something when he closely looked at the photo.
Kenny turned his face to signal him not to disclose any encounter with the man, but old man Tangent had already pressed his wrist to tell him to keep his mouth shut.
"What is this eerie feeling about him?" Kenny wondered, looking at the masked man. He had a feeling that the man was not some ordinary skultar. He gave off a dangerous vibe. He even wore a creepy-looking mask to hide his face.
"What is it?" asked the masked man in excitement when he saw the old man's reaction. "Have you seen him somewhere?"
"Ah, no," replied the old man awkwardly. "I mistook him for someone else." He rubbed the back of his head with an awkward smile. "I have had problems with my eyesight, as I have gotten old."
The man put the photograph back inside his coat pocket. "No issues. Thank you for your time." He turned and darted away. His speed was enough to rival a vehicle.
Kenny took a breath of relief when he was gone. He could see the three old men taking a breath of relief as well.
"I guess he was an investigator," said old man Sine. "He must be investigating the murder of that businessman."
"It might be, but he did not look like one," said old man Tangent with a speculative look. "Anyway, we should not get involved with it. Our lives are already hard enough." He side-eyed Kenny with a suspicious look.
Kenny knew it was no investigator. The vibe he gave off was of a killer. He constantly stared in the direction he had sprinted off to, as he felt something was not right.
"You are right," responded old man Cosine, turning to leave. "Alright. I will be going now."
The other two old men, too, stepped away to leave.
"Take care, you two," said old man Cosant, going away with his two friends.
Kenny and Marya were left alone.
Marya wanted to speak to him. "Um…" Just when she was about to talk to him, Kenny spoke.
"Marya, we should not meet again."
She could not comprehend it. "What do you mean? Why?"
"I can not explain it to you," responded Kenny without looking at her. "It is just that… we can not meet again." He turned his back to her, hiding his uneasiness.
Marya somehow got the idea for his behavior. Her eyes went downcast as her face went sorrowful. "I would not ask what have you got yourself involved in to acting like this. I am no one to ask you. If you think it is better for us, then I would accept it."
"Thank you," said Kenny as he began to walk away. "It would be better for everyone."
Marya stood there watching his back go farther. Kenny wanted to not leave, but he made up his mind somehow.
Marya, too, then walked away with a hopeless face, realizing there was nothing she could do.
Just when Kenny was passing by an alley, he heard someone speak to him.
"Ah, sir, I am sorry, but there was something I forgot to ask you," said the person.
Kenny's eyes expanded in shock, as it was the same voice which belonged to the masked man he had encountered just now. He turned to look at him and discovered it was indeed the same man, standing with his back against the wall, crossing his arms.
"You?" he reacted in confusion, jumping back and getting his guard up. He glanced in the direction he had sprinted off and wondered how did appear here when he had gone away just now?
"Oh, sir, do not feel threatened," said the man. "I am not here to hurt you. Just tell me…" He took out another photograph and showed it to him. "It is you, right? With the girl you were with just now."
Kenny looked at the picture and it turned out to be the same CCTV still the white-suited man had shown earlier. He took a deep breath as he understood there was no point in hiding it.
"Yeah, it is me," he told. "What do you want?"
"You definitely know something," said Scribble mask, putting the photo back inside his coat. "I could have gone after that girl, but I knew she had nothing to do with it. It was you Hagambo's driver was after." He walked out of the alley. "But the question is, why?"
Kenny put pressure on his abdomen. "Fart engine!" he shouted, dashing ahead with a boom. His knee was up facing the face of the man.
He expected his attack to be successful, but the masked man was stronger than he had even dreamt of.
"I thought I would not run into an Exceptional ever," said Scribble mask after he just stepped away to evade the attack. "Especially not in a trashy place like this." At the very moment, Kenny received a cut in his thigh. He saw there was a knife in his hand.
"Ah!" Kenny winced as he downed. He charged again to attack the enemy.
"Show me what you have got, Exceptional, before I take your head to the emperor," said the man before he dodged again and again all of Kenny's 'Fart Engine - Knee Strikes'. It looked like he was toying with him.
"Damn it. He is strong," thought Kenny when Scribble mask hopped a few steps back casually to maintain some distance. "How do I deal damage to him?" he thought.
"You are probably wondering how you would deal damage to me," Scribble mask said, taking a hold of another knife in his other hand. "Let me show you how."
Suddenly, he dashed at Kenny.
Kenny stepped to his left and used his fart engine to get away farther from him. He had dodged the swing of his arm just in the nick of time. "Huh?" However, he realized he was already slashed across his chest. "But how?" He was unable to comprehend how it happened.
He was sure that he was successful in dodging the attack, but then he saw there was a long blade sticking out of the elbow of the enemy.
"Oh, I have ruined my suit," said Scribble mask, looking at the torn part of his suit near his elbow after pulling back the blade inside his elbow.
Kenny dropped to his knees and coughed blood. "Damn it. I feel like my body is burning. My energy is being drained away. Was the blade… poisoned?" He clawed his wound as it burned badly.
"Oh, I must tell you before I cut off your head," mentioned Scribble mask, casually walking up to him. "My blades contain a lethal paralyzing poison, which would retrain your movements for a while." He stood behind Kenny and placed his blade on his throat. "I will give you one chance to save the life of your mistress. Tell me who killed Hagambo Dryer. Give up his name and location and I would spare her life."
"Do not bring her into this," hissed Kenny, gritting his teeth. "She has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, but I do not care." Scribble mask brought his face down and whispered into his ear, "I am an assassin, and there are always extra disposals I have to take care of."
"Damn it," reacted Kenny in desperation, as he could think of nothing to get out of this situation.
Suddenly…
Something happened.
Scribble mask jumped away when someone shot an arrow.
"So, your friends are here to save you," he said.
"I did not think I would have to fight after such a long time," said the man who had arrived on the scene to help Kenny.
Kenny could recognize the voice. "Uncle Tangent?" he reacted in surprise when he saw it was old man Tangent, who had come to his rescue with a crossbow.
"It looks like you are caught up in a mess, young Kenny," said old man Tangent.