Specialists

Shasha, Bastian, Kai and Kenshin walked back to Shasha's abode in silence. Bastian had received word telepathically from Kenshin that they had no need to hide from their pursuers for now. Shasha was in a bad mood which made the air heavy.

Bastian had never seen the silly and childish Shasha look so serious. It did not feel natural, especially considering the fact that Bastian was a master at reading expressions. To him this sudden shift in character was too drastic.

It seems I didn't know as much about Shasha as I thought I did. But still, the change shouldn't be this bad.

Along the way they met with a few hindrances, but a look from Kai would scare them away. They arrived at Shasha's house only to be stopped by the door by Kai. Kai whispered something into Shasha's ears. Bastian did not know what Kai told Shasha and he couldn't hear a single thing that Kai had said. All he could tell was that Shasha's face was now far graver than before.

"Kenshin and Bastian, I want you two to stay outside for a moment. Don't worry, no one will disturb you. Await further instructions." After delivering a set of commands in a tone that did not seem to suit him, Shasha walked in doors with Kai following behind him.

They left Bastian and Kenshin out on the streets in public. It was sunset and they were in a rich area within the city that had wide roads with large gaps in between buildings, so the two were not worried about being trapped. Not to mention Shasha had guaranteed their safety. This still made the duo feel a bit odd.

"Tino is in the building. She is waiting in your office."

"Hhmm?"

Bastian heard what Kenshin had said and turned to look at his friend in surprise. "'Tino is in the building. She is waiting in your office.' This is what Kai whispered to Shasha." Bastian was shocked by the fact that Kenshin heard the message, but what surprised him more were the contents of the message itself.

Tino, what kind of being would make Shasha want to hide us? This is very strange.

Bastian was about to activate his e-vision when he saw some movement from Kenshin. The latter had formed a few seals, resulting in Bastian feeling the connection he had with Kenshin altered in some way. This was a new sensation but it didn't take to long for Bastian to understand what was happening.

He linked our senses! Or rather to be more accurate our hearing! How did he do this, unless he is a special type?

Warriors and mages, these were the two main vocations within the Sovereign Continent, but there were other vocations, these were called specialist vocations. These were extremely rare to find and even harder to train in, often requiring immense resources and special environments to train in.

Specialists had many strange abilities, for example, a warrior type specialist would be able to use some spells. Bastian didn't quite know how this was possible, but he did know it was true because specialists were in every major family.

There was a certain rule that applied to specialists, and it was this rule that made Bastian frown. According to his knowledge from the Tirius family, one could not become a specialist until the Foundation Stage. So Kenshin should not be a specialist according to his knowledge.

Well to be honest I'm not exactly normal either.

Yet right before Bastian, Kenshin had invoked high level soul magic. Bastian knew not to question Kenshin, so he simply focused on what Kenshin wanted him to hear.

Kenshin had linked their sense of hearing. This allowed Bastian to hear whatever Kenshin could hear, and to Bastian's surprise, Kenshin could hear all of what was going on in the mansion!

Like any other noble, Shasha had laced certain rooms within his house with formations to prevent sound from leaking out. One of these rooms was his office. Yet Kenshin was somehow able to bypass these formations, yet another mystery for Bastian to ponder on.

...

"Your Highness, it has been a while." As Shasha walked into his office, a familiar face greeted him. A beauty that was well known in the royal palace for being two faced. She was one of his older brother's most effective tools, and possibly his lover. Shasha never really knew much about her place in his brother's heart, all he knew was that she was smart, and wherever she was, Tendai's influence permeated.

"What are you doing here? I thought I made myself clear when I left the palace. I do not want to see you or any of my family's dogs around me!" Shasha's face contorted in anger when he saw Tino. The beauty merely chuckled. "Your Highness, I missed you to."

Kai couldn't stand her, it took nearly all of his restraint to not beat her to a pulp, if there was one thing he hated, it was a liar, if Tino were to call herself the princess of liars, there would be no woman alive who was qualified to call herself the queen. Such was the nature of the woman named Tino.

"I am only here to let you know that my lord has made me available for you to use. Please do with me as you wish." As Tino said these words, she did a curtsy and smiled coquettishly. She was incredibly enchanting, to the point where Shasha started to blush. Kai saw this and couldn't restrain himself any longer.

He was about to attack when her body turned to smoke. "Ah! It was just a clone. If I get my hands on her original body I will teach her true pain! How dare she attempt to seduce-"

Shasha raised his hand, signaling Kai to stop talking. "Kai, we have no choice in this matter. We have no money, no army and trusted subordinates, yet we have been ordered to take a top class C rank city. Tell me what should we do?"

"Young master, we should run. We have no choice."

"Is there anywhere in this world that can hide us from him? Kai, you and I both know that this world will soon fall into our father's hands. There will be nowhere for us to hide. We have no choice but to do this. You know far more than I do the consequences of not following my brother's orders."

Kai's face became grim after the reminder from Shasha. The duo spent many minutes thinking of a solution, but to no avail. Shasha kept pacing up and down, making Kai even more anxious. He didn't like seeing his master like this.

Kai started getting lost in his thoughts when he heard the door open. Due to the fact that he was distracted by the matter at hand, Kai had been not been aware of his surroundings.

How could I have been so careless? If it was an assassin then the young master would have been in danger. I should be ashamed of myself.

"Creak" The door to the room opened, breaking Kai and Shasha out of their stupor.

"Who dares come in here without asking for permission?" Kai was ashamed of his lapse in awareness, and was prepared to vent his frustration on the people who had entered.

"I, the person who can provide money, an army and trusted subordinates dare enter without permission." Bastian entered the room with Kenshin silently following.

When Kai saw who had entered he was about to act, but Bastian's words made him pause mid-way. Shasha's eyes flashed for a second, before he looked up to Bastian and said, "You can provide us with what we need?"

Although Shasha had latched on to the topic Bastian wanted to discuss, Kai was more concerned about the fact that Bastian had heard the contents of the discussion they had just had. After looking at Kenshin however, Kai remembered a few things, and apprehension showed across his face.

"Yes I can." said Bastian confidently.

"Let's assume we believe you, a mere slave, have such power. Why would you be willing to assist us, the people who enslaved you?" Kai wanted to test the waters; honestly speaking he had no doubt that Bastian was telling the truth. One look at Bastian's purple eyebrows and his confident demeanor showed that he believed his words. Not to mention a simple oath to the heavens could easily solve that issue.

The main issue was, why would a person be willing to assist those who had enslaved him, and forced him to fight for his life?

"Because you have something I want."

"What?" Kai couldn't help but be curious. He knew that Bastian was a bit of an odd ball after closely observing him for a few weeks. Money, power, fame, none of these things appealed to Bastian. All he cared about was his research. That's when it hit Kai.

Knowledge! That's it!

"Kai, judging from the look on your face you seem to have understood. Gentlemen, Kenshin and I will help you take this city. In return, I want you to give me something more valuable. I want you to give me knowledge."