5

Rising Star, Kaito Kijomi

Amongst the buzzing streets and annoying traffic, the vibrant and bright buildings of Remrin city turned their gaze to a distant scuffle on top of a roof.

Well, this is more fun than I thought it’d be, Kaito thought, smiling as he took a step back. I can't say I don’t want my team to hurry up, but still.

Lifting his blade higher, laying horizontally beside his face, reflecting his sharp glare.

Standing a few feet away from him were two armored raiders, decked out with metal plates and thick brass knuckles.

“Just hand over the stuff you stole, kid.” One of the two raiders asked, taller than his accomplice, bouncing his hand through the air.

Kaito smirked, lowering into an offensive posture, his katana shining beneath the sunlight. 

“The answer is still no.”

The two raised their clenched fists in preparation, growling in frustration. 

“He’s as stupid as any other paradigm,” The tall raider pressed against his palm even harder, activating the glow throughout the wires on his gloves. “Let’s just get him–”

His teammate raised his hand in front of him, his other hand reaching for his buzzing earpiece. 

“Wait, I’m getting a distress signal.”

Faint panicked shouts echoed through, covering the two with nervous sweat.

“Great,” He irked, patting his teammate’s shoulder. “Let’s come back for him later.”

Kaito laughed, waving in mockery as he lowered his weapon.

“Damn, and here I thought I was gonna get to actually do something.” He sighed as they left, turning towards a tiny pebble by his feet, and kicked it.

Taking a second to himself, he walked towards the building’s rim.

He glanced around the busy streets below, glancing around for something interesting to sightsee, but gave up after only a few seconds. The thousands of humans walking from place to place made him nauseous, causing him to retreat towards the roof’s center.

Withdrawing the stolen pouch from his hoodie, he opens it to see tiny fragments of silver.

He doesn’t react too much, only shutting it tight with a hefty sigh.

A few seconds later, Kaito reached for his radio earpiece and tried to channel someone, but received nothing. He peered towards a nearby restaurant with the aroma of cheeseburgers.

“Going for some food wouldn’t hurt, right?” He hesitated, not wanting to leave his post. He shook his head momentarily and took another sigh, resting his head on his hand in defeat. “Never mind.”

A large sign above the entrance read: No paradigms allowed!

Signs like that weren’t always common, but due to the paradigm siege, the lands of Paradigm had abandoned human needs; thus, many districts grew discriminatory.

Never mind, not worth the trouble with all those humans nearby. 

Then it occurred to him, something that could take his mind off things.

Isn’t it around this time that the billboard puts something on? Kaito thought to himself, looking towards a distant building from where he stood.

A news broadcast channel appeared, presented by the typical news lady in a suit and tie, accompanied by a petite co-host.

Noticing this, he crossed his legs and leaned forward, eager to cast off his boredom. 

“Yesterday marked six years since the unfortunate catastrophe that was the Paradigm Siege, a terrifying war that shook two of the four capitals and our very city. Fortunately, we recovered faster than expected, but today, we’ve received an update from Lunar Province’s commanding secretaries about their missing weapons.” She promptly stated, swiftly lifting a document to read.

“The Paradigm Siege…” He whispered, a downhearted crack in his voice.

The words always hit him like freezing water. Though everyone seemed to have moved on, the few survivors, both humans and paradigms, were reminded often of this catastrophe.

He unwound his legs and tightened his hand’s grip on the heavy rim, unaware that he crushed a piece of it into powder. He took a slow, steady breath, snapping out of his daze.

Scratching his head, he returned to watching the news with a frown.

“And they said, quote ‘Regarding the Paradigm siege, a few weapons relating to the catastrophe were recently stolen. We have located the hideout of the suspects to be somewhere here; thus, we kindly request your aid. We beg of you, put aside our differences and help us retrieve our belongings.’ She paused, catching her breath. ‘These weapons are dangerous in the wrong hands. People of Remrin city, we humbly ask that you cooperate. Thank you.”

One of the sacred lands is asking for the help of a lame city like this one? Kaito smiled lightly. Everyone should be honored.

Tapping his hand repeatedly on the rim, his eyes narrowed at the broadcast as it shut off.

He exhaled mildly, his gaze caught in a web.

As expected, the ruckus from below became more irritating, laughing and honking turning into that of a rowdy festival.

He was irked at the sight, his brows raised, retreating off the broken rim to get away from the annoying sounds. Humans had always gotten on his nerves—loud, careless, always celebrating things they couldn’t comprehend.

He slammed his fist against one of the ventilation shafts, turning it into a mashed pancake.

Kaito was one of the world’s few husk wielders, having heightened senses compared to the typical paradigm; thus, he was more likely to have a headache than an overworked office employee.

He hated that even the stench was getting to him from far up, no longer a pure and fruity aroma, furthering his distance.

“Okay, now what?” He walked back and forth, growing impatient for an order, then it occurred to him.

The news mentioned something about stolen weapons. Could it be that the suspects have something to do with my current mission? Kaito wondered, pausing for a moment as he glanced back at the loud billboard. Imagine what recognition we’d get if that were the case.

“Kaito! Earth to Kaito?!” A static screech poked his ear, an urgent and commanding voice. “We’ve wrapped up on our side, but one managed to escape towards your direction. Do not let him escape!”

He rushed over to the roof’s edge in a flash, glancing towards both ends of the street, smirking with joy, until he caught sight of an upcoming motorcycle.

He placed his finger on his earpiece, his dark hair dancing alongside the wind.

 “Hey, Elena, before I retrieve the loot, do you think there’s a chance it’s the missing property of Lunar Province?” He asked, taking a step back and stretching his arms.

“Not a shot, you idiot. There’s no way stupid humans could manage to steal from that place and survive to tell the tale.” Elena scoffed, taking pride in her statement.

“But what if there is a chance?” He added, always ready to compete with his sister.

“Then let’s make a bet.” She declared with a laugh. “If I’m correct, breakfast’s on you for a whole week.”

Kaito raised his hand over his mouth, hiding his mischievous grin as he took out the pouch.

“Okay, if I win, then the room’s mine alone for a week.” 

Leaning forward, Kaito took a deep breath as the swerving motorcycle grew nearer. His hand tightened around the broken roof rim as if he were ready to pounce. 

“Good luck then, you’ll need it,” Elena said sarcastically, faint shouting and sirens in her background. “Anyways, I’m needed somewhere else. Dumb humans and all, see ya.”

The connection was cut off, leaving Kaito to focus back on the runaway biker.

Lowering his other hand to give his scabbard a little shake, he quickly reviews the road on the other side.

He then took his hand to accompany the other, both clawing into the concrete, and leaned further forward until he hovered over the vast height. Still focused on the approaching motorcyclist, he braced himself, his sight sharpened.

Three, two—his grin sharpened—one! Kaito counted in his mind, leaping from his spot the second the target rushed by, barely avoiding hitting the nearby pedestrians. 

Just as fast as he soared, his hand grabbed the back seat’s handle, his legs skipping across the rough road as he tried to find his footing. Though his strength managed to withstand the collisions below, the motorcycle was too fast to stop with strength alone.

His target was the tall raider from before, drenched in panic through his helmet visor.

“Hey, it’s you again, back off!” He shouted in fear, noticing Kaito’s determined glare. He rapidly reached for his hip and pulled out a Glock, firing at him repeatedly.

Quicker than the bullets, Kaito immediately reached for his hip too, drawing his blade in the blink of an eye. 

Before the raider’s senses could realize, the sliced bullets all dropped like flies, scattering across the street. 

A fierce emission of mana, a violet shade that slithered around the space, came from the weapon’s edge. 

His fear skyrocketed, and the ride grew more unpredictable. 

Kaito placed his katana in front of him, facing downwards, as the traffic increased.

He rapidly stabilized his footing, putting himself behind the motorcycle’s shape to avoid further destruction. 

The raider continued to glance back and forth, his hands searching around the motor’s handle for something. 

In response, Kaito began his search for the safest stopping point, but could find none, leaving him with the realization he couldn’t seize both of his objectives.

Damn it, the loot or the damn human?! I can’t choose. Kaito tried to remain calm, lowering his katana to the side right beside the tires.

Autopilot engaged. Spoke the motorcycle, allowing the rider to put on his earlier gloves, thick and patched with bigger buttons and wires.

“You three are the most annoying rats ever! I can’t wait to see the boss's face when he finds out I took one of them out.” He exclaimed proudly, turning around to reach him.

The volts formed between his palms, leaping from finger to finger, a gadget made by city gangs to combat paradigms.

Kaito weaved the first strike, drawing his blade back into his scabbard as the man lunged at him for another attempt.

Shock! The electrocution sprouted through his body like venomous vines, rendering him somewhat unable to move. “What the hell–” The man exclaimed in shock.

Kaito grinned once more.

In the fraction of a second, he pushed through the shocking sensation and grabbed the motor’s back handle with both his hands. He leaped into the air, sustaining his weight, and raised his feet towards the man.

The shoes bashed into his torso, sending the man flying into a nearby store, crashing through clean glass with a loud clatter.

Recovering from the recoil, he rapidly pinned his feet onto the back and reached for the thick container. Having his hands on the handle, he leaped off the speeding motorcycle and braced for impact. 

His shoulders took all the impact against the building’s brick wall; nothing too grave came from it other than some faint bruises.

He took a sigh of relief, the case successfully retrieved. 

But as he began approaching the spot he kicked the escapee into, around a block away, a crowd began to form around him. Glares around his every corner, eyes on his every breath, and whispers on his shadow.

He froze in place, glancing between the many instigators.

His breathing began to quiver as they grew closer.

What am I doing? Why can’t I move? Kaito’s thoughts bit at him as his fingers twitched, regaining control of himself. 

He took a deep breath, regaining his formality. “Sorry, humans, I gotta go now.”

Right as the crowd grew further enraged by his statement, he withdrew his blade with the other hand and pointed it up towards the air. He slightly angled it, summoning a faint beam of light towards the sky.

Looking at all the riled adults and furious citizens made him content, but once he glanced at the terrified children, his theatrics came to a slow halt.

One in particular, with black hair and a slightly malnourished appearance, made him think of a memory from a long time past.

A memory flashing by: a crying young girl, clinging tightly to a warm piece of bread. Similar in almost every way to the one he just saw, only the memory was of a paradigm, littered with scars and bandages.

That’s right, I need to fetch some food, Kaito thought to himself in distraught, his breath wavering. I must get food for her.

The atmosphere grew blurry and the voices faint, weighing on his mind.

Flash! Shocked with a new balance, he suddenly stumbled over his feet, maneuvering his feet to save himself. Luckily, someone caught him from behind and helped him stand up, noticing he had been transported a few blocks away. 

“Yo, Kaito! That was quite the crowd you gathered back there.” A chill voice called out as Kaito caught his breath, placing the container on the roof where they stood. “Freezing up like that was totally embarrassing, man.”

“Says you, Souta. No one’s more embarrassing than you.” He chuckled, smiling in relief.

“Hey, idiot. What happened to you back there?” Elena asked him impatiently, tapping her foot repeatedly.

“What do you mean?” Puzzled, he looked at his friend before looking back at her.

“You froze like a statue for a second there.” She closed the distance and narrowed her eyes, exhaling disappointingly.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing.” He waved both his hands in denial.

“Spill it. Now.” Elena demanded, a sharp rise in her voice.