Kenny found himself in a familiar place. It was a large mansion with a staircase.
"Is this…" he recognized the place. He could see a familiar event taking place. There was a party, and many silhouetted men and women danced with drinks in their hands.
There were a few silhouetted men who constantly commented on a timid-looking little boy with messy hair.
"Look at him. He does not have the grace of the likes of you," someone said mockingly.
"Yeah, I have heard that their mom picked him up from some trash place," another familiar voice said.
"He is a no one," said a third voice. "We do not consider him one of our own. I would have kicked him out of here if it was not for mom."
The timid little boy endured their words. He shut closed his eyes and listened to their remarks, latching on to the tablecloth near him.
Kenny could see it all transpiring from an omniscient view. He could feel anger seeping into his skin, but he could not control the scene. It was as if someone forced him to watch a flashback reel.
"Why am I remembering this now?" he wondered.
He could hear their insults, and it gave him a hard time.
"Trash!"
"Trash!"
"Trash!"
He covered his ears and cried, "Shut up!"
Suddenly, he woke up.
"Huh?" he found himself in a dark place. A lantern hung over his head. He tried to get up, but could not as he felt a sharp pain in his body, especially near his chest. "Ah!" He discovered his upper body was covered in bandages.
"You should keep laying down," said someone. "You are hurt."
Kenny saw it was old man Tangent who relaxed beside him, devouring some of the leftovers he had given to them.
"Uncle Tangent," Kenny said, remembering the events that had taken effect earlier. He had many questions, and he wanted to ask them right away. "How did we..." Just when he was about to ask him, the old man spoke.
"I know you have many questions. I will answer all of them. But first," he made him sit up and took out a spoon full of soup from the utensil beside him, "you need to eat something." He fed him the soup.
Kenny looked around and found the place to be too cramped. There were utensils, clothes, and other items lying here and there. Also, the place was entirely built of tin.
Tangent noticed his eyes scanning the place. "You are in my place. I had nowhere to take you at the moment, so I had to move you here."
Kenny knew the place was somewhere in the Kanugo slum area.
At the moment, Cosant entered the house.
"Oh, you are awake," he said when he found Kenny sitting up.
"Uncle Cosant," reacted Kenny in surprise. "What is this about? Who are you?" he asked both.
"Cosant had saved us by showing up at the last moment," Tangent said, ignoring the questions, feeding him another spoon-full of soup. "If he had not reached there on time, we would have perished." He sneered and muttered in an inaudible tone, "Although this dastard did it purposely to act cool."
Cosant stepped ahead and rested near them. "I have looked around. No one seems to follow us or know our location," he reported, and then turned to Kenny. "Hello, young Kenny. Or should I say, Exceptional Kenny?"
Kenny raised a brow when he heard the word 'Exceptional'. "How do you know that? Just tell me, who are you?"
"Did Orange not tell you about us?" wondered Cosant.
Kenny then recalled what Orange had said earlier.
"If you are stuck in an extreme situation, our helpers will assist you."
"Are you the Helpers?" wondered Kenny in surprise. "But how?"
"We are members of the organization since its early days," explained Cosant. "We polished boots to gather intel on anyone of significant importance who came by. Also, to assist the members on a mission in our area."
"Is Uncle Sine also…" Kenny spoke, but Tangent answered him before he could complete his sentence.
"No, Sine knows nothing about this, and he must never. He came here a few years ago after a tragedy befall upon him and his family. He met us and started polishing boots as a method of sustenance."
"I see."
Cosant stared into the eyes of Kenny. "You must never tell her."
"Huh?" After a second, Kenny realized he referred to Marya. His eyes went down as he replied, "I would not. I understand the consequences of this work." He clenched his fist. "I do not want anyone to die because of me."
Tangent patted his shoulder. "I understand." He put aside the spoon and stood up. "We are a top-secret organization which is under the radar of every government agency. The rule of membership states that one must avoid revealing any kind of information to a non-member. It is for their safety and ours as well."
"I know," said Kenny.
"Kenny," said Cosant. "We have to remain hidden for now. That dog had seen our faces. It would not be a pleasant situation if they identify our location and we get pounced by dozens of skultars."
Kenny nodded. "You seem to know that masked man. Who was he?"
"He was a member of The Faceless," replied Tangent, staring out of the small window-like rectangular opening in the wall.
"The Faceless?"
"It is a secret organization run by the government," said Cosant. "They take direct orders from the emperor and perform necessary tasks like tracking and assassinating an enemy. They basically, carry out the dirty tasks for them. They wear masks according to their ranks and abilities, and also to hide their identities. Hence, the name. Last time I heard there were twelve members in The Faceless," he shrugged after turning to them, "but I have no idea about now." He gave a strained smile. "I do not know if the emperor gave them a direct order to investigate the death of Hagambo Dryer. It would be bad if it is the case, especially for us."
"If that was so, we would have received some information regarding to that. Someone must have set them to settle their private affairs under the nose of the emperor," added Tangent. "And I know who it must be."
Kenny felt as if he did not know these old men at all. Those lively personalities who always quarreled with each other were sitting all serious and frowny in front of him.
"Who is it?" he asked.
"Jagambo Dryer," replied Cosant. "A minister in the emperor's court. He must have used his connections to get The Faceless for his personal vengeance."
"What should we do then?"
"We would take care of that," replied Tangent, resting at his place again. "You should focus on healing perfectly, and avoiding such conflicts at all. You have an important event coming up next week."
"It is not my fault that I got involved in it," responded Kenny, turning his face to look outside the window. He could see the entrance of a tin house like them outside. "I was supposed to fight back when that man attacked me."
"I get it, Kenny," responded Cosant. "But now, leave the fighting to us and just focus on getting better. No one knows what would happen if you fail to clear the death chamber. The organization is ruthless in these matters."
Kenny nodded with a sour face. "If only I did not have such a worthless ability…" he muttered in a low tone, tightening his fist. "Tch." He clicked his tongue.
Tangent put his hand on his shoulder. "Be glad that you still have something. Look at us old men. We do not have even a worthless ability. Just being an Exceptional is an amazing feat. Be confident in yourself."
Kenny knew what he said was right, but it was not enough to achieve his purpose. "I know," he said after glancing at their faces, "but it is not enough." He fisted the palm of his other hand.
"It might not be enough for whatever purpose you aim to fulfill," said Cosant. "But it is enough for you to gain allies who can help you get there."
"You might be right," Kenny said, seeing Marya coming out with a lantern from the entrance that was visible from the window. His eyes got fixed on her and he could hear nothing for a while.
Both the old men caught his eyes and followed his line of sight to find the source of his glued stare.
"By involving in the mess we have created, we have made it difficult for you to develop a relationship with her," pointed out Cosant.
Kenny got his eyes downcast as his face turn a little unhappy. "It is better for her," he replied, looking back into the frights of his past.
He could hear those words again.
"Do not grieve for me. It is not your fault. Just stay happy and live your life to the fullest."
Suddenly, he realized Marya was coming towards their place.
"Hey, hide me. Quick."