Kai's mother cocked her head to the side in confusion. "If you say so. But be sure you eat your food before it gets cold, okay?" she mentioned, causing Kai to smile.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Kai's eyes darted down to his right hand, which was shaking, causing the spoon he was holding to repeatedly strike the rim of the mug in front of him. His eyes widened in terror when blood veins traveled up his right arm.

Kai bolted up from his chair, breathing heavily. He stared back down at his arm only for his eyebrows to furrow in confusion when there was no sign of anything being wrong with his arm. He looked back up when his mom spoke to him.

"You're really scaring me, Kai. Are you sure everything is alright with you?" His mother asked, not believing that he truly was okay. She reached down and took a sip of her tea.

Kai tilted his head to the side when he didn't hear a single cough escape her throat. "Hey, Mom, are you feeling better today? I didn't hear you cough once?" he asked concerned.

His mother put down her tea and looked back up at him. "It must be the medicine you bought me lately. I've been feeling so much better," she stated with a warm smile that eased his nerves slightly.

Panic welled up in Kai's heart when something wrapped its arms around him from behind. It leaned forward, whispering sweetly into his ear, "This is what you want, Kai, isn't it? You want to see her well, so what are you so worried about?"

Kai dropped the spoon he was holding, causing it to clatter to the ground. He swiftly turned around only to find that there was no one there. His chest heaved in and out as he stared blankly at the living room. What the hell was that? he thought in a panic.

Before his mother could open her mouth to say something, Kai interrupted her. "I'm going to take a long walk outside to clear my head. Don't wait for me, and make sure you eat dinner," he stated before exiting the house.

Kai stared up at the bright blue sky above, littered with fluffy white clouds. Why does today feel so strange? I feel so anxious that it's not even funny anymore, he wondered as he crossed the street.

Kai paused mid-step when he saw something lurking down the road to his right. It was a figure cloaked in darkness. It reached up, placing its index finger against its lips, and breathed out the sound, "Shh!"

Honk!

Kai stumbled forward when a blaring car horn sent him back to reality. He ran across the street and clutched at his shirt, unsure of what he had just seen. There was nothing there, Kai. You're imagining things; it's because you haven't had a lot of sleep in the last couple of days, he thought with a chuckle as he rounded a corner.

The morning sky was eventually swallowed up into the darkness, revealing delightful stars above.

A grin rose to Kai's when he saw a familiar man smoking in an alleyway. "Hey, boss. You got any work for me?" he asked, wandering over.

The man blew out a puff of smoke before grinning. "Yeah, did you forget already? You're supposed to snatch two cars for me this week without a single scratch on them. I know you can accomplish that, right?" the man asked while putting out his cigarette.

Confidence painted itself on Kai's face. "Have I ever disappointed you before? Just you watch; I'll leave you amazed when I bring them both here without any problems," he declared without realizing how difficult of a job it was going to be to pull that off.

A chuckle left the man's throat as he leaned forward. "That's what I like to hear. You'll be able to find the cars on the east side of town, and remember not to bring any attention to you," he stated with a serious tone.

Kai waved his hand dismissively. "You worry too much, boss, about the small things. I'll head over there right now to check it out," he stated, about to walk away before he paused.

"I don't like you, I really don't like you!' a man's voice called out to him, causing Kai to turn around.

Bewilderment slapped him in the face when he saw the same cloaked figure he had seen earlier. "You're not real! Whatever you are, I'm not going to let you play mind tricks with me; you hear!" he barked, clenching his right hand into a fist.

"Oh?" the man said, amused, as he titled head to the right, causing the cloak to move to reveal a portion of his lower face. "I'm so scared of what little Kai might do to me. So, how much longer are you going to resist me, huh? Just give in to me," the man stated.

Aster froze in place when it felt like the man's voice crawled inside his ear, sneaking into his brain. He reached up to clutch the sides of his head and stared at the ground, begging that whatever it was would just go away. He frantically looked up, only to sigh in relief when there wasn't anything there.

Am I really tripping that much from a lack of sleep? I was pretty sure yesterday that I got plenty, Kai thought while holding his chin in his hand. He turned on his heels and headed down the street. He said he wanted two cars on the east side of town, but I'm just now realizing that I'm not familiar with this area, he briefly thought in a panic.

Kai looked around at his unfamiliar surroundings as he did his best to stay out of sight. He crept around quietly in the deserted streets. He let out an annoyed sigh when he couldn't find what he was looking for anywhere on the streets.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

Kai bolted forward when dogs roared at the top of their lungs when they sensed his presence. "Shit, at this rate, I'm going to get caught," he mumbled to himself. He quickly bolted away from the building.

After running for a while, Kai leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees. He desperately devoured as much air as possible to refill his lungs. He glanced up when he saw two fancy cars under a single street light in the distance.

It looks like today is my lucky day, after all. Judging by this time of night, I bet no one will even bother me. I can already feel all those dollar bills in my hand right now; Kai thought as his eyes sparkled with joy.

Kai strolled over to the cars with a bounce in his steps. He peered through the window of each car, ensuring that there wasn't a single trick planned for him. He went around the car, inspecting every angle of it. Man, today is going to be so easy, Kai thought as he knelt down in front of the lock.

With skillful hands, he easily undid the lock, causing the door to pop open. A wide grin formed on Kai's lips when he was so close to giving the boss what he wanted.

"Wow, I'm not impressed by your skills in the least bit. In fact, you're useless, and you can't do anything right," a man spoke up from behind Kai, causing him to bump his head into the door.

Kai lept backward and held his head in his hands when a throbbing pain passed through his face. His eyes widened in shock when he turned to look at the man before him, which was none other than himself. "W-what the hell!' he shouted in disbelief.

"Oh, you poor thing. You look so terrified that I almost feel sorry for you," Fake Kai said with a wide grin across his face. "Let's just cut to the chase, shall we? You're going to hand over your body, or I'm going to take it by force; which would you like to pick?" Fake Kai said with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

Kai shook his head, taking multiple steps backward. He quickly reached into his jacket pocket and aimed a gun at the fake version of himself.

Fake Kai burst out laughing when Kai started to tremble when trying to take aim at him. "Is that really the best you got? Because I'm not the least damn impressed. You want to see something impressive?" Fake Kai asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kai bit his lower lip hard as Fake Kai lunged at him. He pulled the trigger only to feel his heart sink when each bullet that whizzed by Fake Kai glided by him, missing him by a couple of inches.

Kai sucked in a breath when Fake Kai appeared next to him and kicked him swiftly in the gut, causing him to cry out in pain. Kai rolled backward, painfully falling onto his back. He stared up at the sky as a dizzy spell chewed at his senses.