Interrogation

The servant boy rose in the morning, not yet aware of the situation he was in. He yawned as if the night before had been nothing more than a dream. However, his seemingly carefree look abruptly came to a stop as he spotted Kai and Glen.

"What-" He yelled, however his shriek abruptly came to a stop as Glen put a hand over his mouth.

"Shh... don't be afraid, we're not going to hurt you," Glen whispered, grinning cheek-to-cheek in a rather frightening manner.

The boy's eyes were filled with fear as he stared at Glen's messy face. Clearly, Glen wasn't exactly the nicest guy to feel assured by - considering his pale complexion and dark grey eyes. Just by appearance alone, he certainly did not look very trustworthy... well, at least that's how Kai felt when he had first met the wiry man - and is probably how the servant boy was feeling at the moment, staring into Glen's stone-cold eyes.

"We're not here to hurt you, we simply want to ask you a few questions, then we'll let you go," Kai told the kid, trying to get him to calm down.

The boy didn't seem convinced.

"Remove your hands, you're scaring him," Kai ordered.

Glen rolled his eyes at Kai and released his hands, muttering, "Who died and made you boss?"

Kai ignored him and turned towards the servant boy, who seemed to be trying to take in the situation as best he could.

"What's your name?" Kai started.

Glen made a small 'hmph' sound, retreating to the farther end of the room. "Looks like you'll be asking the questions, huh kid? Fine, see how I care." And with that, Glen pouted, turning his head away in mock anger.

The servant boy glanced in the direction where Glen sat, warily. It took a moment for him to respond, then in a small voice, replied:

"Aito... Tanaka Aito"

"Aito, indeed a nice name. Do you know why we... brought you here today?" Kai asked. 'abducted' and 'kidnapped' didn't exactly seem like great words to use - especially when they were trying to get the servant to co-operate.

"Information." He replied simply.

Kai nodded. From this point on, the reconnaissance would truly start. "We need information regarding your master, Hideaki Naoki."

Upon hearing his master's name, the boy's eyes hardened, and he looked down. "I see."

"First off, what kind of man is he?" Kai asked.

"W-Well..." The boy stuttered, keeping his head low.

Kai peered at him. Was he forbidden from giving any sort of information? Was he tired? Was he... oh. The boy was taking quick, fearful sideways glances at Glen. It seemed like he was still scared of Glen being in the room, despite him being at the farther end. Kai noticed, and exchanged glances with Glen, who understood immediately.

Thankfully, he didn't take it offensively. If they wanted any information out of this kid, he would need to be comfortable... and that meant that Glen needed to go. It was unfortunate - however, Kai wasn't surprised in the least, considering the quite nerve-wracking first impression that Glen had made on him when he had first woken up.

"Well, while you two sit there chattering to each other like morning birds, I'm gonna go prepare my... concoctions." Glen smiled, stepping out of the room.

It was a rather obvious way of leaving, however, it was probably true that he really was going to go prepare his poisons for whenever they may need them.

Glen shut the door behind him, leaving Kai to gather information from Aito, alone.

"So, let me ask again, Aito... what kind of man is Hideaki Naoki?" Kai pressed.

Now that Glen was gone, Aito was not as intimidated by the situation, and he replied:

"My master is strong... stronger than any skilled warrior I've seen before. Other nobles would sometimes come to challenge him, but oftentimes, they would forfeit before ten minutes had even passed." He paused for a moment, his eyes glazed with quiet admiration. "He is his lance, and his lance is him. Without one, the other cannot exist."

A silence ensued between the two boys. Naoki was clearly very skilled... If the other strong, well-trained nobles couldn't defeat him, what hope did he have?

"However," Aito continued, "Just as I admire him, I hate him equally as much, if not more so."

With that, the atmosphere seemed to flip upside down seemingly instantaneously. Kai raised his eyebrow, urging the servant to go on.

"Naoki is a greedy, disgusting man. He keeps the other servants and I underfed and overworked while leaving the bountiful mountain of food and wealth for himself. Oftentimes, we do not even receive our due pay, despite our hard work." Aito spat out the words with disgust, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

Kai could only sit and listen as Aito continued.

"The reason why my master moved to the summer house over here in the first place for the time being... was so that he could hit on girls."

Kai blinked, confused by the conversation's sudden 180. "So he could..."

"Hit on girls, that's right." Aito finished. "Naoki spends his nights at the nightclubs and bars, basking in the attention of the women there. He's returned home drunk and blinded by euphoria more times than I can count. It disgusts me."

Kai tilted his head slightly, "I thought nobles like Hideaki were supposed to find a partner with other nobles and women with high status, rather than... village peasants." He narrowed his eyes on the last few words. That was what the nobles had always called their kind. 'Village peasants.'

Aito made a sour smile. "Yes, he is aware of that. However, Naoki loves the attention when the women grovel at his feet, yearn for his approval, and would essentially follow his every command. You see, the women who come from higher status also have a higher sense of self and dignity. They would never grovel or show my master the attention which he so craves."

"I see..." was all that Kai managed to say.

Aito gave Kai a bitter smile, saying, "You know... I'm kind of glad you kidnapped me. I don't know how much more I could've taken, back at the Hideaki residence... underfed, overworked, and underpaid." His smile faltered. "When they notice my disappearance, they'll simply assume I've had enough, and finally ran away. Nobody will notice if you force the information out of me, then kill me, isn't that right?"

Kai tensed. It wasn't that this boy was not afraid of him... it was simply that he had finally given up hope of leaving his brutal, unfair lifestyle. He had given up hope of living.

"We're not going to kill you, Aito. We simply needed the information." Kai responded.

Aito clearly was not convinced. He simply shrugged, "death would be easier."

With that, Kai suddenly slapped the boy, striking him across the cheek. Aito recoiled in shock, staring at Kai with fearful eyes. Kai made a disgusted face, however, it was not because he was angry with Aito. It was because he felt it necessary. This boy in front of him reminded him too much of his younger self... alone, and without anything to lose.

"If you want to die so badly, then why did you fear my partner, Glen, so much? You wouldn't talk until he left the room. Do you want to know why?" Kai demanded.

"I-"

"It's because you knew he was dangerous." Kai finished for him. "Danger meant potential death, and you wanted to avoid it as much as possible, isn't that right? Whether unconsciously or not, you knew that you truly did not want to die." Kai narrowed his eyes and stared straight into Aito's sea-blue ones.

"Fear of death is what makes us strong."

Aito held Kai's firm gaze for a few moments before turning away. He gave a small, reluctant nod, then stood up from the bed.

"Is that all the information you need?" He finally asked. It was obvious that Aito wanted nothing more than to change the subject.

Kai paused, considering the question. "Which nightclub does Sir Hideaki go to most often?"

"Getsumei Nightclub" Aito responded without hesitation. "It's just down the street from here, actually. Quite convenient."

Getsumei Nightclub... the name sounded familiar. He had probably noticed the club the day before, back when he and Glen were wandering through the village streets.

"I see... thank you," Kai said, looking out the window and peering down the street.

Sure enough, there it was, tucked snugly in between two shops - Getsumei Nightclub.

It looked like a simple place, built with wood. The club itself did not look very big, however, he could see the faintest tip of a garden behind it, with lights hanging from overhead wires. He expected the club to be fairly alive at night, with its guests illuminated under the faint light from the bulbs.

However, as pretty as the nightclub seemed to be, Kai found it rather hard envisioning a noble such as Hideaki Naoki, spending his time flirting with the village women there.

"Any more questions?" Aito asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"No, there are no more que-" Kai started, however, was cut short as a brilliant idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"Pardon?" The servant boy tilted his head questioningly.

A faint gleam reflected in Kai's eyes, and he turned towards Aito. He could feel the faintest idea slowly forming itself piece by piece, in his mind.

"One last question...

what kind of girl does Hideaki Naoki like?"