Thunder crackled violently in the dark clouds above, strong winds rattled the broken windows of the factory ruins in which Jack was bound to a chair, still unconscious. Diana and Ethan sat on the floor beside him, still protected within the Kana barriers Jack had manifested prior to his fight with the guy.
The man was dressed in black clothes. He covered his face with a scarf, wore a gi. He wore a long coat to hide his katana.
"Ugh, when is the guy gonna wake up?" the man grumbled as he leaned against a wall at the corner of the room.
Boom!Thunder struck something nearby, its ear-shattering crackle echoing through the desolate ruins.
Slowly, Jack came back to his senses. He didn't move. Barely opening his eyes, he looked around to see the current situation of his surroundings.
"You're up, master, great. Let's get moving, your dantian is full," Enak said.
Jack used his body-strengthening Ikanami and tried to break out of the handcuffs that bound him.
"Don't even try, they are Strobium cuffs," the man said, finally emerging from the shadows.
"Jack? You're awake?" Diana asked, her eyes full of concern and relief.
"I am," Jack answered.
"Thank God you are awake. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't break through the barrier."
"What did I say? I didn't kill the guy," the man said with a shrug.
"You tried to pierce him through, you bastard," Ethan said.
"Force of habit," the man said nonchalantly.
"Enak, can you absorb Strobium?" Jack asked Enak mentally.
"Sure can, I have analyzed the cuff's properties. I was just waiting for you to wake up," Enak replied smugly.
"You must be quite the murderer if stabbing people was a habit," Jack said as he felt the cuffs get absorbed by Enak, leaving behind only a small splinter that Jack could easily break down by himself.
"Says the Kratian that sided with the Ortho Sapiens and followed two kids here to kill them," the man replied curtly, holding up Jack's Ortho Sapien wristband, causing both Diana and Ethan to roll their eyes with a defeated sigh.
"We are not with the Ortho Sapiens," Jack refuted.
"That's what we have been trying to tell him for the last three hours," Diana said defeatedly.
"Take me for a fool, do you? I took this wristband off your wrist myself. Now hurry up and unlock this for me, I need some insider info," the man said, staring Jack right in the eye.
Sigh~ I took them from the terrorists I have killed, it serves as a great source of information, Jack said exasperatedly.
"No matter, I need you to unlock it right now and tell me where you got your sword from," the man prompted.
"Why should I?" Jack said.
"Because I can kill you right this instant?"
Crack! Boom!
There was a sudden burst of movement. Jack circulated his energy, broke free of his constraints, and closed in on the man. The man tried to use his Ikanami and dodge, but he couldn't move his feet.
Jack had been distributing his Kana energy along the floor of the room, slowly slithering it around the man's legs, binding him as he drew out the conversation.
Smack!
Jack grabbed the man by his neck and lifted him off his feet. The man resisted by giving Jack a headbutt laced with Kana energy, but thankfully Enak sensed the attack and deployed the armor.
"That was close, thanks, Enak," Jack said. "Now you—"
The man squirmed as he tried to free his neck from Jack's grasp.
Jack took out Kazekiri and pointed it towards the man's face. "We are not from the Ortho Sapiens. We came here in hopes of meeting a fellow Kratian so we could work together and have a better shot at surviving."
"If you don't want to, that's fine. But if you get hostile, just know I have no reason to spare you," Jack said, pushing Kazekiri through the scarf and pulling it off the man's face.
"You—" Jack gasped. The distraction allowed the man to force open Jack's palm, and he sped out of his reach to catch his breath.
"You talk way too cocky for someone who was just completely defeated by me," the man said, as he started dashing around the room with his insane speed.
"True, you surprised me. Knowing you, I know I have absolutely no way to beat you when it comes to just the sword. I am prepared now, I might defeat you. Susanoo Kazetora." Jack said, his eyes following the black trail that was circling him.
"You know me? I'm honoured. Still, I have no reason to believe that you came here with no ill intentions. Think you can defeat me? Then come at me," Kazetora's voice echoed through the room.
Jack smirked and reached into his item pouch.
"But I have no intention to fight you now, Mr. Susanoo. I happen to have a message for you, from your brother, Kosuke. Still want to fight me and lose your brother's last message for you?" Jack said with a smirk.
Kazetora didn't stop encircling Jack. However, when he heard Kosuke's name, he did stumble a bit, and that was all Jack needed to clench the Kana energy he had laid on the floor around Kazetora's feet again.
"It would take me just a thought to crush you right here and now," Jack said threateningly, tightening his hold around Kazetora.
"But I won't, for now. Nothing good will come out of it for me anyway. As long as you don't attack us, we can walk together or our separate ways," Jack said, closing in the distance between them.
"Now then, are you coming with us? Or are you staying back?" Jack said, crossing his arms.
"I want to read that message first. I promise not to attack you, so please let me go," Kazetora said, bowing.
"Okay. Here you go, I haven't even opened it. I hope it's still in readable condition," Jack said, handing him a piece of wrinkled paper as he retracted the energy constraints that bound the man.
"Thank you," Kazetora said, taking the paper with shaking hands, and retreated to a secluded corner to begin reading the message.
"About time you removed those barriers, I was feeling like a caged animal," Diana said, stretching as Jack removed the barriers.
"Haha, sorry," Jack said, sheathing Kazekiri.
"Can we trust him?" Diana whispered.
"I think we can," Jack said with a nod.
"You two were at each other's throats just a moment ago, for God's sake," Diana said, rolling her eyes.
"Circumstances change."
Just then, a Kana connection came alive in their heads.
"Hello Jack? Diana? Ethan? You guys there?" Stephen's voice sounded from the other side of the channel.
"Yeah, is something the matter?" Jack replied.
"It's the Ortho Sapiens. They are on the railway tracks. A complete brigade is there," Stephen informed.