--Saturday, July 18, 2172
Upon arriving at the food stall with a more cautious Yumiko by his side, Kai looked curiously at what people were eating, which appeared to be a golden, crispy gyoza. At that moment, a man in his 40s, who ran the stall alongside a woman and a young boy, glanced at Kai and asked with a smile, speaking in Spanish.
"Gringo! Want an empanada?!"
"Do you understand what he's saying, Kai?" Since she didn't speak the language, Yumiko asked while looking at Kai, who nodded and replied.
"Yeah, he's asking if we want some of what he's selling."
"Is it safe to eat?"
Yumiko questioned as she eyed the strange gyoza. At that point, the man, not getting a response and hearing them speak a foreign language, started gesturing while speaking word by word.
"Empanada…" The man pointed at one of the gyoza a customer was eating, then rubbed his stomach with his hand.
"Food… Very delicious." Then, he made a gesture of three with his hand and added.
"Cheap, three dollars."
"Give me two." Kai said in strongly accented Spanish, which lit up the man's eyes. He quickly responded while pulling out two empanadas.
"Ah, you speak Spanish! Let me heat these up for you, gringo!"
"Why do you insult me if you're trying to sell me something?" Kai couldn't help but ask curiously, though he didn't seem offended. The man looked at him, surprised.
"What do you mean? When did I insult you, gringo?"
"There, isn't 'gringo' an insult?" Kai replied, a bit puzzled. The man's face showed a dawning realization as he explained while flipping several empanadas on a charcoal grill.
"Oh, that's what you meant. Nah, gringo isn't an insult. It's just a term of endearment we use here for foreigners."
"I see. How long will it take?" Kai asked, not entirely convinced by the explanation. The man quickly flipped the empanadas again and answered while grabbing a fan to blow on the charcoal.
"One minute, gringo."
Soon, Kai and Yumiko took the gyoza and walked away after Kai paid in cash with American dollars. As they walked together, Kai took a bite of the empanada, finding it quite good since he already liked fried foods. At that moment, Yumiko asked with concern.
"Are you sure it's okay to eat this? The place didn't look very hygienic…"
"Don't worry, I have ways to keep us from getting sick." Kai replied after taking another bite of the empanada. Yumiko nodded, took a bite of hers, and after blowing on it a couple of times because it was hot, commented with a smile.
"It's not bad, though it's pretty greasy."
"Glad you like it." Kai said calmly, to which Yumiko smiled while curiously watching couples walking hand in hand.
Noticing Yumiko's gaze, Kai stepped a little away from her before casually taking her hand. Feeling Kai's hand, Yumiko quickly intertwined her fingers with his, a spring-like smile forming on her face. At the same time, the beautiful woman couldn't help but blush as she entered an internal debate.
(Calm down, Yumiko! You're not a teenager anymore!... But, but, this sweetness… How long has it been since I felt something like this…? I feel so alive, so young, so in love…)
As Yumiko got lost in her emotions, Kai led her to stroll through various street food stalls to try different unfamiliar dishes. After sampling a lot of different foods, Yumiko, who had finally calmed down a bit, couldn't help but ask as they walked through a large, well-lit square surrounded by all kinds of bars and nightclubs.
"By the way, what was it you wanted to investigate here, Kai? Do we need to go somewhere else?"
After biting into a strange yellow sphere stuffed with potato and meat, Yumiko asked curiously while looking around. Kai, eating the same thing as Yumiko, glanced 'casually' at one of the largest nightclubs, with multiple floors, lights, smoke, and packed to the brim with people dancing, and replied calmly.
"Not really. What I wanted to investigate is right here… There's a certain 'sniper' with ties to this place."
"Are you talking about…?!" Hearing Kai, Yumiko turned to look at him, eyes wide with surprise, to which Kai nodded calmly.
"Yeah, that one. By chance, Sage found traces of him here when I came with Tomoko, but I feel like it's too much of a coincidence, and it might be a trap. So, I'm taking it slow. I'll only make a move when I'm 100% sure it's not a setup. The goal today was to come and scout this small town with my 'perception,' so it's more or less done."
"He's here…?" Yumiko asked in a serious tone, her eyes narrowing with equal parts anger and caution. Kai shook his head and explained while discreetly pointing at the large nightclub.
"No, at least not within the range of my 'perception.' But through the few cameras around here, we've seen that he frequents that nightclub a lot. I don't know the reason yet, but it's pretty common for him to show up there on weekends."
"Could it be his property?" Yumiko asked seriously, glancing at the nightclub discreetly. Kai took another bite of the strange fried ball and replied.
"No, or at least not legally. The building and the business belong to someone with the last name 'Henao,' but the photo on his ID in the state servers looks very different from the man we're looking for."
"A front?" Yumiko asked suspiciously, to which Kai nodded.
"Possibly, or maybe the guy just likes this place and comes to have fun. I don't know yet. The only thing I'm sure of is that the 'voice' of the sniper who attacked me that day isn't there. Though it could also be a coincidence, and the person Sage found might not be the sniper. I have no way of knowing for sure yet."
"I see…"
Yumiko nodded and got lost in her thoughts, feeling the food had lost all its flavor. Noticing Yumiko's discouragement, Kai spotted someone selling different types of candies and chocolates at a small street stall with cigarettes and other items.
Holding Yumiko's hand, Kai approached the stall, bought a large chocolate bar and some candies, and turned to look at Yumiko, who was deep in thought. He spoke in a flirty tone.
"A sweet for the sweetness who honors me with her company."
Hearing Kai, Yumiko looked up and saw him offering her a chocolate bar with a smile. Her heart fluttered strongly, feeling like she was back in her school days. With visible shyness, Yumiko took the chocolate bar and opened it with flushed cheeks, but a happy smile spread across her face.
But at that moment, Yumiko saw Kai's gaze turn cold and sharp as he extended his hand at lightning speed. Confused, Yumiko turned and saw Kai gripping the wrist of a burly man who had clearly tried to touch her backside.
As Yumiko's tenderness turned to pure coldness, Kai threw the burly man, who was a few inches shorter than him, several meters away. Then, Kai spoke in a cold, deadly voice, staring straight into the man's eyes as he lay on the ground.
"Get lost."
"This son of a bitch wants to die!"
The man jumped up from the ground in a flash and quickly pulled a long knife from his pants, approaching Kai with the intent to stab him. Stepping in front of Yumiko, Kai used his right leg to kick the man's hand, disarming him, and in the same motion, kicked the man's head, knocking him unconscious on the spot.
As the man fell to the ground, the surrounding crowd began to scatter hurriedly. At that moment, Kai turned to look at the largest nightclub in the area. From the entrance, two men—one thin and the other with a feral appearance, like a hybrid between a human and a tiger—came running toward them.
"Motherfucker, acting all tough with the 'cousin'?! You're gonna die!"
As the tiger-man let out a roar, the thin man shouted indignantly and quickly formed a gun with his fingers, aiming at Kai. From the thin man's extended fingers shot what seemed to be blood bullets, several times faster and deadlier than regular bullets.
With a fluid motion, Kai embraced Yumiko, and they were surrounded by a curtain of fire. In that instant, Kai kicked the ground and launched himself toward the pair of attackers. Dodging the blood bullets with minimal movements, Kai reached the thin man and, with Yumiko in his arms, unleashed a spinning kick enveloped in fire to the man's head, sending him flying with severe burns.
Quickly, Kai ducked, narrowly avoiding a swipe from the tiger-man. Using his momentum, he extended his fire-wrapped leg to strike the tiger-human's legs. Following the spin, Kai stood up and completed a full turn before landing a fiery kick to the tiger-human's face, who was about to touch the ground.
Not long after, dozens of people poured out of the nightclub, running toward Kai while wielding firearms, knives, machetes, or activating their quirks. Kai, with a calm expression, held Yumiko tighter and struck the iconic pose of a certain blonde chef, his leg surrounded by fire.
Meanwhile, Yumiko, a bit dizzy from all the spinning, watched Kai face so many people to protect her, visibly moved. Though she knew Kai's strength and understood he wasn't really in danger, seeing her man defend her like this inevitably made her heart race.
Yet, as she looked at her beloved with the eyes of a smitten schoolgirl, a hint of regret couldn't help but fill Yumiko's heart. These unfamiliar features weren't what she wanted to see; she longed to see the true face of her beloved, the one that occupied every part of her heart and being.
"Look what we have here. A very brave gringo."
At that moment, from the back of the armed and ready-to-kill group, a deep, somewhat mocking voice resonated. With the sound of the voice, all the attackers parted to create a straight path toward the speaker. Curious, Yumiko looked at the man who had spoken—a bald, overweight man in his 30s—who added as he walked toward them with an imposing stride.
"Bringing such a beauty around here, and worse, daring to touch the 'cousin'… Really looking for a dumbass death." The man turned to look at the guy who had tried to touch Yumiko, whom two thugs were helping to stand. Looking back at Kai, the man said coldly.
"I'll give you two options. Surrender peacefully and give us info for a good ransom, or die right here, right now."
Kai completely ignored the self-important guy and simply looked curiously at the nightclub, where, through his black-and-white vision, he could see two people running into a rather hidden room and waiting seriously. Seeing Kai silent, the man frowned, turned, and ordered coldly.
"Take the man to the basement and bring that beauty to my office."
"Got it, boss, consider it done." A man to the left replied seriously and was quickly surrounded by fire. At that moment, Kai looked at Yumiko and said with a smile.
"Get ready for some dizziness."
"Mm!" Yumiko nodded with a smile more excited than scared, as Kai launched himself toward the group of thugs.
"Kill them!"
The boss quickly ordered as several men flew up to float in front of him as shields while he retreated. Following the order, the group of thugs opened fire on Kai, who dodged with ease as echoes of panicked screams filled the air and people started running in all directions.
Making his way among the thugs, Kai began delivering fiery kicks left and right while Yumiko, red with excitement, clung to him tightly. After a few minutes, Kai ended with his fire-wrapped foot on the stomach of the unconscious boss, while the surrounding crowd ran for their lives and the music faded away.
Even though the fire in his leg was little more than a trick—since, although he could use Transmutation to create flames, they weren't very strong—it was more than enough for show and to wipe out scum like that. But even though they were weak scum, he still had to exert some effort and use Observation Haki to see the future and avoid deaths by friendly fire. With Yumiko by his side, it was better to be careful.
"Heh, looks like we've got our sniper…"
At that moment, Kai whispered as he set Yumiko down. Through his black-and-white vision, Kai saw a puddle form in the hidden room, soon taking the shape of a man who emitted the same 'voice' as the sniper who had attacked him. Hearing Kai, Yumiko couldn't help but look at the now-deserted nightclub with equal parts anger and nervousness.
***
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