Gary could tell that the conclusion of the story was something difficult for Kai to speak about. The next part was surely the last piece of the puzzle that would explain how the goody-two-shoes Kyle became his upperclassman Kai who he had always known him as. Still, he felt that he mustn't rush his friend, waiting for him to continue once he was ready.
“You know, it’s funny, I was kinda mad at you earlier because you ended up in this situation because you can often be hot-headed and rush into situations. However, after telling you about my past, I realise that I had pretty much done the exact same thing.” Kai let out a dry laugh, as he pulled out a small blade with a red handle. “This little blade is the only thing I have left of my mother. It’s the one she had used to kill my half-brother Simon, saving my life but dooming her own…”
Once more, there was a silence between the two.
“I… I never found out how long I was out for… just as I never found out what Simon had attempted to do to me.” Kai continued. “All I know is that shortly after I woke up, I saw my mother having rescued me, by doing what I failed to do. Everything after that happened too fast for any of us to do anything about it. Since none of us answered him, Damion broke the door and rushed in.
“Well… things couldn’t have looked any worse. He came in, saw his beloved son on the floor and kneeled down. Unable to find a pulse, he turned around to my mother, who still held the blade in her hand. He asked only a single question about who had done that to his son.
“I don’t know why he even bothered to do it given the situation, but at that moment I couldn’t understand why my mother told him the truth … that she had killed Simon to save me… it was the first time I had ever seen him hit her, and… he just didn’t stop…
“I don’t know how long I’ve watched him let out all the anger and frustration on her defenceless body. It was as if he had turned into a complete monster, who continued even long after she had already stopped moving. At the time, I was so hurt I couldn't do anything… at least that’s what I would love to believe.” Kai corrected himself, looking at his own hands as if they were the ones stained with the blood of his mother.
“The truth is that I was too afraid of him. I had escaped death far too many times in one day, that I didn’t dare to risk my life even one more time… even if only to call out to the bastard to stop hitting my mother… so I witnessed everything… including her last breath… and beyond…”
As tragic as it was, Gary felt elated that he finally had learned about Kai's past, even though the circumstances might have been better. Still, it definitely brought the two of them closer. He now knew for certain that Kai’s hatred for the Underdogs was in no way smaller than his own, and the fact that he happened to be Damion’s son only made him resent the leader more.
Holding onto the blade tightly, Kai didn't notice how his hand had gone a little past the handle, causing a small cut. His palm started bleeding, but his mind was still somewhere else, yet somebody immediately noticed the scent of fresh blood.
It was as if something possessed the green haired teenager, receiving a second wind as his body practically lunged towards his cellmate. The chains pulled till they were taut, his mouth opened wide and saliva dripped down in front of Kai, waking him up from his reverie.
The two teenagers were only inches away, and his upperclassman could see the sharp teeth in Gary’s mouth that didn’t belong to a human. Nevertheless, he remained there standing fearless, only now noticing the state of his hand.
“You're showing this much of a reaction to blood? I thought that only vampires would do that, so that's surprising.” Kai muttered.
It took a few seconds, but Gary eventually was able to control himself, forcing himself to go back as he was internally fighting his instincts to try his luck once more. Aware that it would be a problem, Kai cut off part of his shirt out and tied it around his wound.
“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that.” The blonde teenager apologised. “Where was I… Oh, right. After my mother was killed, Damion never bothered talking with me about what happened that day, why I was there or how things turned out. Instead, he made one thing clear to me, and that was that I was to become a replacement for Simon.
“I was told that I would be the successor of the Underdogs. I was told to train every day, to learn the ways, the ins and outs of the business… and I hated every second of it. However, I decided to commit myself to the training, to chuck myself in because I had promised myself that I would get vengeance for my mother.
“As for Marie and Kiki, he seemed to have completely forgotten about them… or perhaps he didn’t want them around since they would be a constant reminder of Simon, either way, they were no longer involved with the Underdogs. However, Aunt Kiki felt extremely guilty about everything that happened and the two of them had been by my side ever since.”
Kai didn't say any other words, and instead he walked up to the bars again.
“I'm sorry for what happened.” Gary finally spoke, huffing and panting still. “I'm sorry for rushing in here without really thinking about what to do. I understand now… I understand why you hate the Underdogs.”
The high schooler stopped there, lacking the right words to console his friend given his personal situation. The two of them had the same goal, though for different reasons. Gary was fighting to protect his family, while Kai was fighting to avenge his family.
“… you mentioned something about Damion waiting for someone to take care of me, so we should probably focus on getting out of here now. Since you came here as soon as you knew I was here, I assume you have a plan, right?”
Kai turned around, and rather than his usual confident smile, now there was a look of uncertainty plastered on his face. “I do, but I have a feeling you might not like it very much. After what I told you, I think you can sympathise why I want to get revenge on Damion with my own hands…
“A small part of me had hoped I would be able to do him in, or at least injure him in my fight with him, but I have unfortunately come to realise that he is far stronger than I’ve ever anticipated. As if that wasn’t enough, the Underdogs have somehow managed to acquire a shitton of Anti-Altered weapons, far more than you yourself can handle… but if you turn me, we should be able to overwhelm them.”
Gary's eyes widened hearing these words. “T-turn you?! I-I can’t!”
“Why not?” Kai asked, the unhappiness visible on his face now. “You turned Billy, and Olivia, basically admitted that you turned her as well. What’s stopping you from doing the same to me? Don't you trust me?” Kai asked.
“No, you don’t understand, it has got nothing to do with trust… it’s not as easy or as simple as you think! You could die!” Gary shouted. “You were there, Billy was pretty much an accident and Olivia just got lucky! I didn’t care whether she lived or died, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I caused your death.”
Walking towards Gary, Kai stopped just short of where he could be reached.
“... yeah, I had a feeling you wouldn’t like this plan. You're a nice guy, Gary… but in this world, nice guys don't last a long time.” Without giving the other teenager any time to react, he took off the wrap around his wound, and ran forward, shoving his hand right into the starving Werewolf’s mouth.
*****
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