Missing Father

"You good, kid?" Charles asked, patting one of Kai's shoulders.

Kai just shook his head and took a deep breathe to calm down.

"Yeah, it's nothing" Kai said as he walked up to the stage, keeping an eye on the Clan Patriarch and his son. The eyes of the people from the nearby tables were drawn to Kai's strange charm, lingering for a moment. Draven and Dorian were facing in the opposite direction of the stage, chatting with some people Kai hadn't met before.

Sitting down at the piano Kai made eye contact with Charles and Sandra before they began their performance. Just as his fingers hit the keys on the piano Kai activated his spirit ears to listen in on Draven and his father's conversation.

…

"There isn't much more I can do" Dorian spoke, somewhat exasperated.

One of the men across from him shook their head, he had a scar crossing his nose.

"We've given you ample time" the man reached into his jacket before pulling out a box and placing it on the table. "And we were hoping for you to have done what we asked by now."

Dorian looked down greedily at the box, not taking his eyes off it as he responded.

"I've already told you everything I know, there just isn't anyone who knows where she is!" Dorian said somewhat excitedly.

Just as the scarred man was about the speak, his companion whispered something in his ear. The table was silent for a moment, thick tension in the air before the scarred man spoke.

"Well Mr. Draken, we can't say we aren't disappointed, but you have completed your side of the deal" he pushed the box forward and towards Dorian. "I do hope you come to us if you learn anything new."

The two men pushed themselves up from the table and left before Dorian could even respond. Draven, however, looked up to his father.

"Dad, what's in the box?" Draven asked.

"A gift, I'll show it to you tomorrow" Dorian grabbed the box quickly and placed it in his spirit guidance device. "With this we'll be able to bring the Draken Clan to new heights!"

Draven nodded excitedly, wondering what could have been in that box that got his dad so excited. He took a sip of water when another man suddenly approached.

On the stage Kai frowned slightly, he recognized the man as Walter.

"You're William Draken I presume?" Walter said, speaking to Dorian.

Dorian widened his eyes in surprise before regaining his composure and shaking his head. "No, I'm Dorian, the Patriarch of the Draken Clan."

Walter frowned hearing this, clearly displeased by something.

"Who are you, if I might ask?" Dorian spoke respectfully, there were many powerhouses at the banquet, and it wasn't worth offending someone at random.

"Walter Figgis" he said plainly, causing Dorian to straighten up in his seat. Walter continued; his tone not nearly as respectful as before. "Where is William, did he go to the bathroom or something?"

"To the bathroom?" Draven blurted out laughing. Dorian, however, sent a nasty glare while Walter's expression was clearly unamused.

"He was feeling under the weather" Dorian said smiling, trying to appease Walter. "He was extremely regretful for not being able to make it."

Walter frowned while he observed Dorian.

"I remember addressing the invitation to William directly" Walter spoke, his voice somewhat cold. "I wonder what he could have caught for him to not show today."

Dorian gulped as a cold sweat trickled down his back. Walter didn't seem to believe Dorian and was becoming increasingly frustrated. Dorian thought of something suddenly and spoke up, trying so salvage the situation.

"We'll be holding a clan competition in a couple days" Dorian began. "William should be making an appearance then, if you'd like to talk with him."

Dorian observed Walter's expression in silence. If Walter agreed it would be a great chance to get closer with the Spirit Pagoda, potentially even having Draven join as a member.

Walter was silent as he thought, stealing a quick glance at Kai on the stage he finally responded.

"Perhaps."

It was just one word before Walter turned and left, leaving Dorian in a somewhat uncomfortable position.

"Well, that could've gone better" Draven said, causing Dorian to reach out his hand and slap his son on the back of the head.

"Shut it you idiot!" Dorian reprimanded his son. "You almost ruined any chance you had of joining the Spirit Pagoda in the future!"

Draven was in a daze, confused over why he was being yelled at.

"Don't you get it Draven?" Dorian rubbed his temples in frustration. "Walter is the branch master here in Gria, and you laughed at something he had said!"

Draven was silent as he turned away from his father in embarrassment. Noticing something, he widened his eyes and spoke out in disbelief. "Dad…"

"What?!" Dorian responded frustratedly.

Draven just raised his hand and pointed towards the stage. "Look!"

Dorian turned around to look in the direction Draven was pointing, freezing when he recognized the person on stage.

"Kai."

…

Kai had stopped listening once Walter had left, too frustrated and angry with what he had heard to want to listen to what Draven and Dorian would talk about afterwards. It didn't take much longer for his performance to end.

With a quick bow and some light applause from the crowd, Kai and the others went back to the waiting room to take a quick break before returning to the banquet hall. Sandra and Charles split from Kai to do their own thing while Kai began making his way to Evelynn and Ashe.

Making his way through the crowd, Kai made sure to take the long way around to avoid crossing paths with Draven and Dorian. Sadly, not everything went as planned as Draven got up from his seat and quickly approached Kai, cutting him off. Dorian, on the other hand, was busy talking with another partygoer.

"What's someone like you doing here?" Draven said coldly. Over the past couple years, Draven had grown taller and uglier. He had a couple inches on kai, allowing him to stare down menacingly.

Kai just raised his brow, not wanting to deal with this now Kai tried to walk around Draven. Draven just stepped in the way again, this time pointing his finger into Kai's chest as he spoke.

"You think you could just run away and become a little musician?" Draven laughed as he pushed his finger into Kai's chest with more force.

Kai didn't back off though, standing his ground he didn't let Draven push him back. Suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed Draven's wrist tightly.

"I think he ran off so he wouldn't have to see your ugly face anymore" Ashe's voice came from the side, anger clear in her tone. Draven grimaced in pain as he tried to pull his hand away but found Ashe's grip to be unrelenting.

"What, find yourself a bodyguard?" Draven said meekly, almost like a whimper.

Kai chuckled slightly, almost surprised to see how Draven hadn't changed at all over the years.

"Ashe, let him go or you might hurt his delicate wrists" Kai said, stepping past Draven. "It's not worth the trouble."

Ashe scoffed before letting go of Draven's wrist and catching up to Kai. Draven cradled his wrist for a moment before gritting his teeth angrily.

"Running away again?" Draven called out, drawing the attention of the nearby tables. "No wonder your mom left you and your dad kicked you out! You're a-"

Draven froze a sense of dread taking control of his mind as Kai turned to face him. Kai's purple eyes seemed to glow with anger as he glared, a kind of silent killing intent Draven had never felt before. Draven felt like a mouse being stared down by a cat.

"Say it" Kai spoke coldly, all the anger that had accumulated through the years seeping through his voice. "I'm listening."

Draven was frozen in place, when suddenly he began to feel anger as well. Anger over the fact that someone as weak and useless as Kai had the audacity to say such a thing to him. Just as Draven was about to speak up Dorian appeared.

"What are you doing?" Dorian asked Draven, completely ignoring Kai.

Draven swallowed his saliva before answering. "Nothing, father, just reminding Kai of his place."

Dorian nodded slowly as he gazed at Kai. Dorian's eyes were cold and emotionless, he had no love for the boy that had almost crippled his son. Dorian then looked around, taking in the surrounding faces before and speaking.

"That is fine, but it's time to leave. You've got some training to do tonight" Dorian spoke, patting the ring on his finger slightly. Draven widened his eyes before nodding excitedly as he remembered the strange box his father had received earlier.

The father and son duo then turned and left, not sparing Kai or Ashe another glance. The surrounding crowd dispersed quickly as Kai made his way to the dinning table. There Evelynn was seated as before. She had seen Kai's run in with Draven, but thought it unnecessary to step in.

"What was that about" Ashe asked out of curiosity. Kai sighed; he hadn't spoken much about what had happened when he left the Draken Clan to many people. Aside from his Master and Oscar, there was no one else who had truly heard the whole story.

"It's like this" Kai began to explain how he had received his neck injury the night he had moved to Heaven Dou. At the end of the story Ashe was furious, she couldn't believe someone would be so terrible.

"He's worse than Jax!" She exclaimed, earning a slight chuckle from Kai.

"Much worse" Kai said with a smile. After a couple minutes of silence Kai turned to Evelynn. "Master?"

"What's up Kai?" Evelynn turned and smiled warmly at her disciple.

"I was wondering if we could stay in Gria for a little longer" Kai paused for a second. "I'd like to return to the Draken Clan for a bit."