Kyungsoo woke up in cold sweat, after having the same dream for the second time in a row. Beside him, Caramel shifted her paw and whined a little in her sleep. He sat up gently and closed his eyes.

It had been two days since Kai was captured and taken to the Republic. Technology ensured handcuffs and chains were binded on him to make sure that he couldn’t teleport. To his mild surprise, Kai hadn’t struggled; he was simply silent as he was led into his cell. He hadn’t seen the boy since.

Kyungsoo let out a staggering sigh and tried to remember his dream. There was always someone calling him, but he couldn’t make sense of what the other was saying; it was as if the person was speaking in a foreign language. Breathing out shakily, he got up to wash his face. The hologram clock on the mirror indicated 3:00AM.

He changed his clothes, then stepped out of his house. It was chilly, not quite yet morning, so Kyungsoo was glad he bought more clothes. Somehow his feet brought him over to the Republic headquarters, where he stood in front of the entrance, hesitating. Why was he even here? Of course, he knew the answer already.

Kai.

He hadn’t seen the boy for two days. Kyungsoo hated himself for being so kind hearted, even to his enemies. He convinced himself that he just wanted to confirm some matters with the boy. Before he knew it, he was already down in the basement, ordering the guards there to open the prison. They obeyed generously, and Kyungsoo went in.

Inside was even colder, and Kyungsoo shivered before tugging his scarf over his mouth and nose. There was nothing but silence. Just when Kyungsoo thought he had gone to the wrong place, there was a small cough.

He turned around, looking for the source of the voice, and his eyes fell upon a shadow, crouched inside a dirty, rotten cell.

Kai.

Kyungsoo swallowed and walked forward, careful not to make any noise. The guards in front had given him the code, and he punched it into the hologram keypad hovering in front of the cell. The door creaked open, and Kyungsoo watched in dismay at the Kai now in front of him.

Chains binded him everywhere, on his hands, arms, knees and legs, even ankles. He was wearing nothing but a pair of ripped jeans, and Kyungsoo could see that he was shivering badly. There was a dirty piece of cloth covering his eyes, and as the door creaked open, Kai stiffened and shuffled backwards in fear.

They did this to scare him, Kyungsoo realized. Without his eyesight, he lives in darkness. He can only feel......and hear.

Kai was putting up a brave front. “Why are you here again? I thought you had enough of me during the afternoon.” He laughed and the chains around his neck jingled. Kyungsoo walked closer, until he could see Kai’s bare face and his skin was exposed. He stifled a gasp.

Scars. Everywhere. Red, ugly burns that ran down his neck, to his chest. On his legs, arms. Bones were starting to show through his skin. Kyungsoo unconsciously gritted his teeth in disgust. Who did this to him?

Kai was silent, as if he realized that the person in front of him was someone else. He spoke quietly. “Who are you?”

Kyungsoo paused for a while, then sighed. “It’s me.”

“.......Kyungsoo? What a pleasant surprise.” Kai shifted backwards again, only to wince as he collided with the wall, grazing against his wounds. Kyungsoo reached out and took his arm gently, guiding him.

“Yah! Stop moving around, will you,” Kyungsoo gritted his teeth. “What’s wrong with you? I thought your body could heal.”

Kai laughed at the statement even though it wasn’t amusing. “They injected me with something. Probably some drugs, makes the pain ten times stronger and harder to heal. Some old wounds are even starting to resurface.”

On Kai’s shoulder was the faint mark of a bullet, the time where they had teleported together and he got shot. Kyungsoo let out a staggered breath in the cold air. Kai shivered again. “Why are you here?”

“........I want to ask you some questions.”

“Of course you do,” Kai said, the chains on him tightening as he shuffled forward. “Look, I’m really sorry about your sister but for the umpteenth time, I didn’t kill her. I haven’t killed anybody.”

“Really? Then how do you explain the necklace?”

Kai paused. “I’ve been to the Republic. Just once. Could’ve lost my pendant then.”

“You’ve been to the Republic,” Kyungsoo said. “Isn’t that basically just confessing what you did?”

Kai growled and pulled on the chains, but he was much too weak. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Toturing me, like what they did.”

Kyungsoo in a breath. “Who.....who did this to you?”

Surprised by the sudden softness in Kyungsoo’s voice, Kai staggered. “The guards. I was being rebellious and trying to break my chains, so they punished me.” He laughed again, his shivers becoming more constant.

Kyungsoo unwrapped his scarf around his neck and threw it over Kai, who yelped in surprise. His fingers dug into the warm fabric. “What’s this?”

“Something to keep you warm,” Kyungsoo said, standing up. “You can’t die yet.” He tapped his watch, an image showing up. “Send some paramedics in and heal his wounds. Also some food and water. Over.” Kai sighed when he finished talking.

“Should you be doing this? You’re being strangely nice to someone who apparently killed your sister.”

“You said you were at the Republic. When was this?”

“.........Two months ago.” Kyungsoo frowned as he did a mental calculation inside his head. The date was two days before Victoria’s death.

“Why were you there?”

“To–“ Kai paused. “To find out something.”

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but said no more. He stood up to leave, only to be held back as Kai grabbed onto his shirt, lips trembling.

“K-Kyungsoo.....you have to believe me. I won’t lie. At least not to you.” He coughed painfully, spasms running down his body. “Kyungsoo, I....I–“

Kai’s mouth closed shut as he fell backwards, too weak to say any more.

Kyungsoo stayed where he was for a while, watching Kai as he murmured a few words before falling unconscious. There was a sound of beeping, then the cell door opened to reveal a young man with light brown hair in a white lab coat, the doctor. Kyungsoo stood up and nodded at him before stepping out.

He knew he shouldn’t trust Kai. But there was definitely something, even if it was just a little, that didn’t fit in.

~+~

“This is the knife that was found at the scene. We analyzed the DNA and it is certain that it was the General’s blood.”

Kyungsoo found himself in his office in the morning, staring at the young doctor who had given medical help to Kai just a few hours ago. The doctor shuffled nervously, clearly not comfortable under such hostile eyes. Kyungsoo relaxed and sighed, turning the knife over.

“Let’s see......judging by Victoria’s bullet wound and the deepness of the cut on her leg, a knife was probably thrown at a close-range, or the culprit had enough power to throw it from afar......the culprit’s also left-handed. That’s interesting.” Kyungsoo murmured to himself. “From what I’ve seen from the actual scene, it looks like Victoria had put up a fight, since there were signs of a brawl. But there isn’t any trace of the culprit, except the blood on Vic’s knife. The blood test failed as there was no data that matched........then it’s only the necklace that was left......”

The doctor just stood there awkwardly, listening to Kyungsoo analyze. Kyungsoo paused and looked at him, thinking, narrowing his eyes.

“You. What’s your name?”

“U-Um....Yixing, sir. Right now I’m an apprentice, training under medical studies.”

“Has anyone come to your department, let’s say the last two months, for a knife injury of the sort?”

Yixing thought for a while, then his face lighted up. “I-I think I remember. There were a few Generals who went into Inferior territory trying to stop a protest. I think there were a few knife cuts involved.”

“Can you access a list of the people?”

Yixing shuffled his feet nervously. “Sir, this information is c-confidential–“

Kyungsoo growled deep inside his throat, and Yixing squeaked in alarm, taking a step back. “Look, I really need the information. This is regarding a huge issue that might even involve you, and I really think that you don’t want that. Just give me the information and I’ll leave you alone.”

Yixing chewed on his bottom lip, then thought better of it, swiping at the air with his fingers to activate the data system. “O-Okay, sir. It might have to take a moment; can you wait?”

“That’s okay.” A hologram image showed up, containing a mass of confusing numbers and data. Kyungsoo watched in slight fascination as Yixing eyes flicker to and from the screen, absolutely concentrated on his task.

“Yixing, was it? What was your IQ test score?”

The boy paused before looking back at him. “I-It wasn’t very good, I’m afraid. My overall was 350.” He sighed, tapping on the screen. “The process should be completed in 2 minutes.”

350? Kyungsoo frowned in response. Something wasn’t right.....

“Finished!” Yixing clapped his hands in satisfaction. “I’ll show you the list–“

The hologram was enlargened, and Kyungsoo found himself staring at a huge list of names. Then his eyes fell upon one particular person’s name, in tiny font. Widening his eyes, he pointed it out to Yixing.

“You!” (Yixing winced at his tone). “Where was his knife wound? Which part of the body?”

“Umm....” The young doctor wracked his brain for a while, “­Ah yes, I remember. It was on his hand, a very deep one. I was amazed by the precision of the cut, it was made exactly in the middle–“

Kyungsoo was no longer listening, for his brain was pounding too loudly inside his head for him to think properly. He grabbed Yixing on the shoulders, staring at him intently.

“Look, never, never tell this to anyone. You understand? If you do, I will hunt you down and it will be the last of you.”

Yixing opened his mouth in a daze, then nodded his head frantically. Kyungsoo smiled at him, releasing his grip. “Good.”

“......U-Um....have you found out something?” Yixing summoned up the courage to ask. Kyungsoo glanced back at him, his expression turning grave.

“I....I don’t know.”

Author's Note

Yixing is introduced! Wondering if he will be a important character in the story.....

Thank you all for your lovely comments, I love reading them :3