His long, pointed ears twitched, suddenly attuned to a faint, elusive sound that seemed almost foreign.
Often, subtle noises filtered through his subconscious—the click, tick, and shhh of everyday speech, the more obscure murmurs that composed the fabric of reality. But this sound stood apart, distinct from any he had ever known.
His foot tapped incessantly against the ground, while his hand beat a rhythm on his thigh like a restless metronome. He could have ignored it, but the allure of satisfying his curiosity proved too strong. Compelled by the mysterious sound, he scanned his surroundings, leaving Orenji standing dumbfounded in his wake.
To his surprise, the sound was not distant. It emanated from beneath him.
As he neared the bridge's railings, the sound sharpened, pulling him into its grip. He could feel the tension in the air, the palpable panic that seemed to seep into his very bones. This dread wasn't coming from him, nor from Orenji. It was a chemical signal, a raw emission of fear.
Gripping the railings tightly, he leaned over, his eyes sweeping the area below in search of the source.
It had to be that same crippling fear that had become a constant companion, reasserting itself yet again, he thought. His memories were a labyrinth of confusion, fragments he had struggled to piece together since his so-called liberation, but to no avail.
"You're a pretty weird guy. You know that, right?" Orenji remarked, breaking through his troubled reverie.
Out of nowhere, the strange sounds returned, sharper and more urgent. Kiel realized they were not mere background noise but the unmistakable signs of a struggle. There was no mistaking it; the sounds were too loud and clear to be imagined.
His eyes scanned the area below, finally settling on a group of three teenagers cornering a child no older than eight in a narrow alleyway. The boy clutched something fiercely to his chest, as if it were a shield against the world's cruelty.
This was the source of the disturbance.
Without a moment's hesitation, he gripped the bridge's railing tightly, determination surging through him as he leaped into the void.
He jumped off the bridge.
"Oh no," Orenji gasped, disbelief flooding his voice. He rushed to the edge where Kiel had stood, peering over with mounting dread. Below, life surged in a bustling current, with people moving about, completely oblivious to the turmoil unfolding above.
He leaned in dangerously close at the bridge, his curiosity bordering on the reckless. Unbeknownst to him, he was staring into the jaws of death. Then came the revelation—a rude awakening in human form.
"'RENJI, YOU MORON! What the heck do you think you're doing?!" The sudden voice jolted him, sending him sprawling backwards. "What are you, an idiot...?!"
The voice's owner approached, her expression a tumultuous mix of exasperation and disbelief.
"Wait, let me rephrase that; you're an idiot!" She declared, arms crossed tightly over her chest. It was the redhead Yukira. Usually, she found his uncanny foolishness amusing, but this was too much even for her. The absurdity of the situation nearly made her burst into laughter.
"Do you want to die? Are you trying to unalive yourself?" She demanded, her tone slicing through the tension with a gravity that left no room for misunderstanding.
"How long have you been standing there?" He asked, his voice laced with genuine surprise and a hint of unease.
"Long enough to witness your attempt at walking the plank," she shot back, her tone thick with sarcasm. With an exasperated sigh, she shook her head. "Listen, if you're intent on throwing your life away, at least do it with some dignity. Go out in a blaze of glory—die in battle or something! Don't choose the easy way out; it only makes the city look worse. And who's going to have to clean up after you? Me? Seriously… It complicates everything when I'm stuck with a total idiot for a partner! Honestly, you're all over the place!"
She pouted, her gaze drifting away as he finally pushed himself to his feet.
"Ha ha, very funny," he replied, rolling his eyes.
"What? You think I was joking?" She shot back, arms crossed defiantly.
"Any progress as of late?" He asked, shifting the focus back to the task at hand.
"I'm sorry, is this about the mission? Oh, so now you remember it?" She exclaimed, her voice ringing loud enough to make him flinch. "Well, while you were busy dwadling with death, I happened to have found some clues buried in those countless books at the library." She pivoted, her back now to him. "I'll drop them off at your place after school tomorrow. Shouldn't be too much trouble," she added, her tone laden with reluctance as she began to walk away.
"Yeah? And dawdling?" Orenji called after her, frustration creeping into his voice. "Hey, I wasn't dawdling!"
"Oh, yeah? Then what were you doing back there?"
"I was... I was, uh," he stammered, struggling to find his words. "I was just... Shut up, Yukira!"
"Heh," she laughed softly, shaking her head. "When it comes down to it, to being genuinely stupid, I mean, you never disappoint, Orenji."
****
The alleyway stretched before him, straight and narrow like a drinking straw. Someone had once joked that it wasn't a place to stroll into after a hearty meal, but Kiel couldn't remember who it was. He knew it was someone important, someone he once cared for deeply, yet their identity eluded him. Like sand slipping through his fingers, every effort to recall them resulted in nothing more than a vague outline, a shadowy face dancing just beyond the edge of his memory.
In the dim light filtering through a narrow crack in the alley, two bullies restrained their victim, whose head hung low, bruises marring his face and body. Each mark told a story of suffering, and now, even more pain was poised to descend upon him. The boy had been battered and broken, and the air was thick with the tension of impending violence.
"Hey, I always forget, how many bones are in the human body?!" One of the bullies sneered, his grip tightening on their trembling target.
"I don't know," came the familiar, chilling reply, punctuated by the ominous sound of knuckles cracking. "Let's count." With a cruel grin, he launched a right hook at the boy.
Before the punch could connect, a tightly clenched fist from out of nowhere crashed into his face instead, stopping him cold.
That's one. Kiel mused, slicing through the tension like a knife. Instantly, all eyes snapped to him, shock and fear rippling through the group.
The silence that followed was palpable, punctuated only by the labored breaths of the would-be victim. Kiel stood tall, his presence commanding and unyielding, his expression betraying no emotion.
The second bully sneered, stepping forward with a façade of bravado. "Who do you think you are, anyway?"
Kiel remained silent, his steely gaze speaking volumes. The bully faltered, unnerved by the quiet intensity emanating from the Kaiju.
"Leave him alone," Kiel's silence communicated, an unspoken command as clear as day.
The bully glanced at his fallen comrade, then back at Kiel, feeling the weight of an invisible threat pressing down on him. After a tense moment, his bravado crumbled, and he quickly helped his dazed friend to his feet. Kiel had just delivered a solid punch to the leader's face, and if that wasn't audacious enough, the dreadful voice grew louder, drawing nearer to the Kaiju. Before long, Kiel found himself face-to-face with the imposing figure of a light-skinned six-footer. The bully, Sean Komastu—a big, mean presence with a reputation that preceded him—fixed his cold eyes in the Kaiju's direction.