Kino let out a small sigh as he took the eye, thinking about how attracting attention to himself would be rather easy, by his distaste. Attention was not was he needed. His boring expression never seemed to change, his eyes still and barred of information. A bait cat thrown into a ring of dogs. Only this kitty cat had some major teeth and claws. As Belial turned to speak her last words to Kino before departing, he tipped his head slightly in a nod, raising two fingers to a sloppy but genuine salute.
A Devil’s eye to spy on his every doings. What a way to feel pressured. Kino let out a sigh that was so exasperated that even the local gossips would have been offended. Where would he start? Should he build up the attention, work small then go big? Or should it be one big act one time? Many questions buzzed through his mind, wishing he had at least asked a few things before Belial glided off like a ghost. To be fair, Kino admitted that he still wouldn’t have asked anything, and he doubted he would have the option to anyway. She did say he could handle it alone, anyway. He shrugged it off thinking nothing more of it and pushed his way into a coffee shop to enjoy the pleasantry of his favorite brew.
As he sipped his icy brew, Kino figured he could start with talking to some of his old acquaintances. To call them friends would have been… generous. More than generous. Once his cup had been emptied of its contents, the sorcerer made his way to a familiar little house that edged the center of town, compacted in with dozens of other homes. Knuckles rapped hard on the solid door. It creaked open just enough for half of a face to pop out. The eye peering at Kino widened and was followed by a gasp of surprise. “Kino!” Came a husky voice as dead bolts, chain locks, and other various locks were heard sliding and clicking. The door opened and a round old man stood before Kino, who dwarfed him. “Come in, come in.” Without a word, he stepped in.
“Tell me, what has brought you here? Are you working again? Taking on [I dangerous] missions?” A hot kettle of tea sit on the coffee table and both men had a cup in their hands, sipping cautiously at the hot contents.
[#dbc548 “Sort of. Have you noticed anyone disappearing?”]
“Now that you mention it…” The old man was stroking his long white beard. “I haven’t seen my good friend Viktor in a few weeks. I figured he had left town on a trip, but he doesn’t stay gone this long, usually.”
Kino nodded. That wasn’t much, but maybe something. [#dbc548 “Have you checked in with any of his family?”] The old man shook his head, saying he really didn’t interfere with others business like that. No help at all. Kino set the small tea cup back onto the tray and stood with a clap to his thighs. [#dbc548 “Well, I need to continue my… investigation.”] He showed himself out after curtesy thank you’s. He was hoping for at least a common area the disappearances have been happening in. His old man had lost his touch with his awareness of happenings. Age displeased Kino greatly. Maybe he even feared it.
Gloved hands rubbed together. He really didn’t want to be bait. Tactic and stealth, that’s what he preferred. Or to run head first in, ripping his surroundings and enemies apart as he went, but he had to know who he was fighting for that one. Time to step out of the shadows a little. A group of four men had gathered under a bridge. They were obvious thugs, dirty and spoke with limited education. The shadowed man stepped into the light, slowly and calmly walking up to the four of them. Their chatter stopped as eyes peered into his soul.
“Who are you?”
Kino didn’t answer. It would be unimportant to them soon. Another man shouted for him to stop but again he ignored them. They had dropped into aggressive stances now, Kino having closed half the distance already, still calmly walking toward them with pocketed hands. They were weak individuals and if each could work together well as a team, it was possible they could have done… something of very little significance.
“Show us your hands!”
Like that would matter, but he complied with this one at least, pulling his hands from his pockets and lazily raising them above his head. He did not stop walking. They tried to get him to stop again with their words, one even tried to spew some weak smoke that would have been a tickle to the nose of anyone like Kino, and a laughable joke to one like Belial.
However, the man who had begun to try and use his abilities soon found that the world around him felt crushing and he crumbled to the floor, the man crying out in pain as the pressure increased to the point where bones felt they would snap. Kino flicked his hand and shoved another back against the concrete support beam of the bridge. His body wrapped around it like a clip, making a loud crack noise before he slumped to the ground, unmoving and blood draining onto the dirt from his mouth and ears.
The third man began to back away, panicked eyes seeking an escape route. Kino [I tsked] the man, wagging his finger back and forth. [#dbc548 “What happened? I thought you were tough?”] He let out a single breath of a laugh. The fourth tried to come at him from the side, but Kino rose a hand quickly and the man was consumed with smoke. He had almost got Kino, only a few feet away. But now his body was stretched apart, his bones separated until his body shut down.
Kino looked back at the third man, who had stumbled and fell in his attempt to flee, only to freeze and stare in horror at Kino. The fox mask with thick bull horns protruding from the top gleamed in the light. Finally, the thug realized the mistake. No one on his level could ever afford or earn such a mask. He glanced at his friends, one slumped on the ground with a snapped spine. Another had been crushed and his last friend stretched before his eyes. The detached limbs still pooled blood. He gulped and looked back at Kino’s white eyes. “Who are you!?” Terror consumed his voice.
[#dbc548 “Hear it well, and remember it. I am the Moons Force. Now, leave my sight before you end up like your friends here.”] The man didn’t hesitate to scramble away.
