Chapter 26: Goal

Kaito and Sora now sat on the couches in the living room, Sora staring indifferently but calmly and Kaito looking on with a smile.

"How long are you going to keep that hostile look?" Kaito asked Sora dryly.

"It's not being hostile. I'm just not in a good mood." Sora said, his tone not shaking even slightly.

"What happened? Woke up on the wrong side of the bed?" The man asked jokingly.

"Something like that." Sora answered vaguely, causing the man's eyes to narrow.

"Seriously, how are you doing? Any nightmares happen?" He asked concernedly, noticing how the boy subtly stiffened at the word.

"I know you might still be grieving over her death but your health is what matters most right now. You need to take of yourself properly." He continued speaking but Sora wasn't the only one listening.

Zatanna who was standing invisibly in the corner of the room had her eyes opened wide. She was made aware that Sora lost his family but she didn't know it was so recent.

Each word Kaito spoke pulled out his restrained anger. His anger at her death. His anger at this world for taking her away. And worst of all, his hatred for people who continue to pretend to know her.

"She wouldn't want you to be like this." At his words, Sora almost burst forth, only managing to restrain himself by gritting his teeth.

Art of the mind also helped him restrain himself from doing anything rash. Had this happened before he learned the skill, he was partially sure that Kaito would be a pile of ash already.

Seeing his anger, Kaito could only move away from the topic. He moved on to questions like how he was coping with living alone and how he was eating.

All of his questions were answered quickly and calmly by Sora who by now had himself under control with the passive use of Art of the mind.

Kaito took a tour of the apartment to see if everything was okay and in order, only to stop at the makeshift workshop.

"Did you build this?" Kaito asked with a look of shock on his face as he inspected the computer. From the spare parts lying around and the odd look of the CPU, it was easy to guess that it wasn't made by any company.

Thankfully, he had the foresight to keep his seals and sealing equipment in his inventory beforehand. The computer was also locked for privacy.

He briefly considered lying before he thought of something.

"Yes. I picked up this stuff to pass the time. It's a good distraction most of the time." He said intentionally showing a lost look on his face.

"Well this is amazing! Where did you get the parts to make it?" He asked.

"It's just a few things I managed to salvage from my old home."Sora answered, actually distracted as he thought about the home he shared with his mom.

Noticing the look, Kaito had a sad smile on his face.

"Tell you what? If it really makes you feel better I can have some spare parts sent here occasionally." He offered.

Sora put on a look of suspicion as he raised a brow.

"What's the catch?" He asked only for the man to shake his head.

"No catch." He said, clearly happy with himself.

He continued his tour of the building, making sure everything else was in order and in proper condition.

After saying his goodbyes, Kaito exited the building. The moment the door closed, the calm smile that was on Sora's face turned indifferent in less than a second.

Zatanna who was still hiding, dropped the spell with a small gasp of breath.

"That…was tiring." She spoke in between breaths. She had to hold up the spell for almost two hours and it wasn't easily to stay quiet despite having cast a silence spell.

"Who was that?" She asked him as she caught her breath.

With a brief explanation, she was caught up on who Kaito was and about him providing this apartment for him.

"If that's so, shouldn't you be a bit nicer to him?" She said carefully.

Now that she was aware of the grief and loss he just experienced, it was as if she was walking on eggshells.

"There's something more to it than that. I can't really say right now since it's just a feeling." He said calmly.

When he first met Kaito, he got an uneasy feeling from him. He thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him but he didn't want to discard it.

Now that he had Energy Sensing, he knew why he got that feeling. When he sensed him through the wall, he felt the unusual amount of life energy that he possessed.

It was by far larger than that of those he had observed previously. He was unaware of what it meant or whether or not he was able to use it but it didn't mean anything good.

'He could have magic or be a meta human.' Sora thought.

"All I can say is that he's bad news." He said with narrowed eyes.

Zatanna gulped and nodded at the seriousness of his tone. They were having an enjoyable conversation before Kaito interrupted them.

She would admit that she was a bit bitter about it seeing as how Sora's mood worsened after his visit.

He walked towards the landline on the table, dialing a number that he had memorized by heart.

He put the receiver to his mouth and ear as the phone rang. It rang for a few moments before someone on the other side picked.

"Hello. This is Makoto Sora." He spoke into the phone before pausing as the other person spoke.

"Yes, that Sora." He said dryly, already imagining the look on the other person's face.

Zatanna looked on silently as Sora made the phone call, rubbing the side of her arm uncomfortably.

It didn't take time for him to be done with the phone and walk to the bedroom with Zatanna trailing behind him.

"Who was that?" She asked curiously.

"My old dojo. I set up a meeting with the Sensei there to…sort out somethings." He answered, a bit unsure how to explain it.

"What, were you banned or something?" She joked only to him staring at her with all seriousness.

"You're joking. How is that possible!?" She almost screamed in shock.

"I had a lot of things to get off my chest at that time." He has managed to get his old teacher to agree to have a talk about lifting his ban.

This time, he wanted to be paired up with much more advanced level opponents. He grabbed his coat from the wardrobe before heading towards the exit.

"Are you…are you sure you're okay?" She asked quietly as he put it on.

"That doesn't matter." He said after a momentary pause, drawing a concerned look from the young girl.

"I need to go somewhere. I'll be back late tonight so don't wait up." He said as he exited the apartment.

"Can I come with you?" She asked, causing him to pause his footsteps. He took a moment to consider it before shaking his head.

"Not this time." He said before finally exiting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rain that fell soon after was like a dam gushing from the sky. It had been raining for hours and it didn't seem to be stopping.

The rain found Sora in the Tokyo cemetery, in front of his mother's headstone. He stood, allowing the rain to pour on him freely.

"Mother, I haven't forgotten…those people who did this to you." He said lowly, speaking to the grave as memories of that night came to his head.

"I haven't forgotten!" He screamed as he grit his teeth, barely holding back the tears that were ready to burst out.

Tears of anger that felt hot to his lids despite the cold rain. He opened his eyes that were previously closed as his sharingan shone in the dark cemetery.

'They will all pay!' He raged internally as his chakra surged.