The small dining room was dimly lit, the only sound being the clatter of utensils against plates. The atmosphere was heavy - awkward, even. Kai sat across from Nadya and Amina, eating in tense silence.
On the way there, Kai had taken in his surroundings. The place was old - stone walls and low ceilings. He was certain it was an underground structure and aside from the nursing room he had awoken in, and Isaac's room, there seemed to be a lot for him to explore.
Speaking of Isaac, he was nowhere to be seen, and according to Nadya, he hadn't been eating much since their last mission. Takeshi, on the other hand, was supposedly always off doing his own thing. That left just the three of them.
Kai shifted uncomfortably before finally breaking the silence. "Thanks… for helping me," he muttered, glancing at Amina. It felt inadequate, but it was the least he could say.
Amina barely looked up. Her delicate fingers gripped her fork, her shoulders hunched as if trying to make herself smaller. She was young - late teens, maybe - but looked even younger, with her frail frame and soft, sun-kissed skin. Her long black hair was braided loosely over one shoulder, and she wore an oversized hoodie, sleeves covering most of her hands.
Kai cleared his throat and awkwardly added, "I… overreacted earlier. I don't do well with needles."
That didn't help.
Amina still refused to meet his gaze, her posture stiff with unease. She wasn't just avoiding him - she was scared of him. Even now, she kept her head low, stealing wary glances at him from beneath her lashes. Her dark eyes darted to his face, lingering for half a second on his unnatural crimson irises before quickly looking away.
Kai clenched his jaw.
He didn't need to ask why.
When he first woke up, he had lost control - overwhelmed by bloodlust, driven by something primal. He had scared her. And to her, his red eyes weren't just strange. They were horrifying.
Amina's voice came out barely above a whisper. "I didn't use my ability on you."
"You were healing fine on your own," she murmured, staring down at her plate as if willing the conversation to end. "Just as fast as the ones I do heal. Maybe faster." She idly poked at her food. "All I did was give you an IV. That's it."
She wasn't accepting his thanks. Or his apology.
"You're lucky she even bothered looking at you," Nadya cut in, grinning as she stabbed a piece of food with her fork. "She's the best damn healer out there. If she says she didn't need to fix you, then you must be built different, huh?"
Kai didn't reply. Instead, he made the connection. 'That's how the sedatives Nyx gave me wore off when I awakened the ability and why my body felt so fresh.'
Shrugging, he returned his focus to his food.
He ate a lot.
An alarming amount, actually.
Nadya raised an eyebrow as she watched him clean off plate after plate, stuffing down portions that shouldn't even fit in someone his size. "Where the hell are you putting all that?"
Kai didn't answer - he just kept eating. His body needed it. Every bite was fuelling and heavenly. He felt his strength creeping back with each mouthful.
By the time they were done, Nadya leaned back in her chair with a smirk, stretching lazily before suddenly turning to Kai.
"Alright," she announced. "Today, you're the main event."
Kai slowed his chewing. "Main event?"
"Yeah. Did Isaac not tell you where you are?"
He shook his head.
Nadya grinned before making a grand announcement. "You're in my fight club. The Wild Dog Fight Club."
Kai glanced around the room, then back at her. "And?"
"And," Nadya leaned forward, eyes gleaming, "you're gonna fight."
Kai set down his fork. "Why should I?"
"Isaac asked me to set up a room for you here," she said with a casual shrug. "We don't do freeloaders. Especially not ones who eat enough to feed a damn army." Her smirk widened. "Plus, we get to see what you're made of. Think of it as training."
Kai met her gaze, unbothered.
'I can always tell what someone's really like after a good fight,' Nadya thought to herself, already eager to see what kind of monster lurked inside him.
Kai, however, just mulled it over briefly before giving a simple shrug. "Sure, why not?"
His lack of hesitation caught her off guard for a split second before she smirked. Confidence? Recklessness? Maybe both. Either way, she liked it.
Amina, on the other hand, sighed quietly.
She'd likely be patching him, his opponent, or both of them up by the end of the night...
-
"No, he can't fight in the fight club. Especially not today!" Isaac snapped, his voice unusually firm.
Nadya rolled her eyes, lounging against the table with a smirk. "It's already been decided, nerd boy. Just breathe and relax."
Isaac was breathing, but it was more like rapid, panicked huffing as he turned to Kai for some form of support - only to find him reclining in his chair, stuffed from his meal, looking thoroughly amused by his distress.
For someone who had been a caged lab rat yesterday, Kai was oddly calm about being thrown into an underground fight. His attitude, mixed with Isaac's frantic energy, made it feel like some weird family argument - with Isaac playing the role of an overprotective mother.
Isaac ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. "Are you even recovered yet?"
Kai stretched his arm, rolling his shoulder with a lazy shrug. "I'll be fine."
That nonchalant attitude unsettled Isaac. He had seen what Kai was capable of. He had seen what happened in that lab.
"You do remember what happened back there, right?" Isaac pressed, his voice dropping lower. "You lost control. You went berserk. You became a... monster."
Kai had a vague recollection of it, the feeling of his body moving on its own and being overcome with bloodlust. Yet didn't even blink. "And?"
Isaac's jaw clenched. "What if it happens again? What if you lose control in the ring?"
It wasn't a baseless fear. If Kai lost himself to that bloodlust, if his opponent wasn't up to par, they'd be shredded in seconds. And if he didn't stop there? He could turn the fight club into a massacre.
Kai met Isaac's worried gaze, unbothered. "Don't worry. I'll stay in control."
It was a lie.
Or at least, a gamble. He had no idea if he could hold back - not when that hunger, that raw power, felt like it was just waiting for an opportunity to take over.
Meanwhile, Nadya was cackling.
"You're worried about him?" she grinned, crossing her arms. "He's fighting Sven. He should be more worried about himself."
Isaac froze.
His expression drained of all colour.
"Sven!?" he wheezed, gripping the bridge of his nose like he was seconds away from an aneurysm. "You're putting him against Sven!?"
Kai, still unfazed, raised a brow. "Who's Sven…?"