Meeting the Crew

Kai took in a deep breathe as he stepped out of the station, the salty sea air filling his lungs. He stretched out in the sun, moving his stiff limbs as he took in the warm sun. It was already noticeable how much warmer is was in East Sea City compared to Heaven Dou.

"So, what are going to do first?" Ashe asked excitedly as she ran to a nearby window, getting a good look at the city. Bjorn and Emma close behind as they all pressed their faces against the glass.

"We've got to drop our stuff off at the hotel first" Oscar explained, quickly dampening the excitement. Ashe letting out a loud groan as she slumped against the wall.

"It's fine" Carter said while smiling. "I'll take the bags to the hotel, you guys go and have fun."

Ashe's face immediately lit up. She pumped her fists in the air as she thanked Carter before sending a glare towards Oscar as though this were his fault. Carter soon hailed a cab, disappearing with all their luggage as he went to check in at the hotel.

Ashe quickly got back to planning the vacation themselves, Oscar and Emma giving wry smiles as they were bombarded with Ideas.

Jax and Bjorn subtlety shuffled closer to Kai while this happened, wanting to discuss their plan to getting the inheritance.

"I still need to do some more research; haven't found the exact location just yet" Jax explained. Bjorn frowning slightly but still nodded in understanding.

"It's fine anyways" Kai smiled and spoke. "I've got to go to the Local Pagoda anyways, just got to check in and stuff."

"We'll go with you and wait" Ashe called over, approaching them. Behind her Emma and Oscar looked exhausted, with Oscar pulling out and drinking from a flask stealthily.

"No, don't!" Kai waved his hands, raising his voice slightly. Catching himself, he calmed down before he continued speaking. "Who knows how long I'll be, I can meet up with you guys later."

Kai then broke off from the group, not giving them a chance to respond. Ashe, Emma and Jax looked to each other strangely, knowing that something was up. Oscar also watched Kai's back suspiciously, he then turned to look around at the nearby crowds.

Oscar put his hands behind his head and laughed out loud, drawing the attention of the kids.

"Why don't we check out one of those seaside bars, huh?" Oscar asked.

"You mean restaurant, right?" Ashe asked, crossing her arms.

"That's what I said!" Oscar spoke, quickly turning around as he tried to lead the kids away. Turning around he realized none of them had moved. Shaking his head, he called out once more. "Sun's setting lets get a move on! Kai will catch up with us later, don't worry."

Nearby Jade and Rick were hiding behind a pillar, poking their eyes out to watch what was going on.

"Should we follow Kai?" Rick asked.

"No, we're not here for him anyways…" Her voice trailed off slightly as she answered, her eyes locked on to the Oscar and the others. "Who's that older guy?"

Jade pointed at Oscar, who was wearing his floral shirt- looking like a dad on vacation with his kids. Rick squinted his eyes slightly before answering. "That is Oscar, one of Kai's Masters or something. He owns the Drunken Monkey, the bar that's been getting popular recently."

Jade looked to Rick strangely, her eyes showing a bit of disdain.

"How do you know all this" Jade asked, inching away slowly. "You aren't stalking Kai, are you? I know I said I wanted revenge, but that's a bit strange Rick."

Rick hurriedly waved his hands in the air, his face flushing red as he tried his best to explain. "I'm Kai's tutor at school! We talk and hang out a couple times a week, of course I'd know a bit about him."

"Sure…" Jade squinted her eyes, giving Rick one last look before turning her attention back to Oscar. She watched as Oscar ran his hand through his silver hair before pulling out a straw hat and putting it on. Jade bit her lip slightly as her heart beat a bit faster. "We're following them."

…

"So, how's training going?" Kai asked, speaking over the phone as he walked to the Spirit Pagoda.

"It's fine, sorry for pulling this out last minute; I had no idea about it" Sam voices came out, his tone clearly disappointed. "But there's a chance I might be able to make it still!"

"Really?"

"My Master told me that I'm performing better than expected, and that I might be allowed to finish training early if I continue like this!"

"How long will that take then?"

"Maybe 4 or 5 days. Look, I've got to get back to training, Kai. I'll talk to you later."

With that Sam abruptly hung up before Kai could say goodbye himself. Sighing Kai looked around, happy to find himself just outside the Spirit Pagoda here in East Sea city. The tower stretching up towards the sky, its strange architecture making it easy to spot amongst the nearby buildings.

Entering the Pagoda Kai widened his eyes in surprise when he saw who was sitting down in the lobby. A man and woman sat next to each other. The man wearing a red suit while the woman wore a blue dress, the two looking around lazily before they spotted Kai.

"If it isn't Gria's Little Songbird!" The woman shouted, drawing the attention of the people nearby.

"Sandra, Charles" Kai waved timidly, not appreciating the sudden influx of attention. "What're you two doing here?"

"Presumably the same as you" Charles answered, reaching to his face and fiddling with his newly grown mustache. "You're here for a job, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?" Kai's mouth was agape as he sat down nearby.

"We didn't" Sandra let out some soft laughter, using her hand to cover her mouth. "Until you told us."

Kai's face froze in a panic, lying like this had never truly been his forte.

"That" Charles smiled as he spoke. "And we know we're going undercover as dancers, and you showing up like this would be a bit too much of a coincidence."

"Then do you guys know what the job is?"

Sandra and Charles looked to each other for a moment before turning back to face Kai.

"We know just as much as you do" Sandra said. "But it can't be too tough of a mission if you're here."

Kai squinted his yes slightly hearing that, unsure if he should be mad or relieved to hear that.

"She's just messing with you" Charles said with a smirk. "What she meant to say is that my wife and I are normally only hired to steal things. Not to fight."

Kai nodded hearing that. Sandra and Charles were impressive thieves, but they weren't spirit masters. The Spirit Pagoda wouldn't send them to their deaths for no reason, so mission shouldn't be too dangerous.

The three continued to chat, catching up on what they had been doing recently. Sandra and Charles had spent some time hiking and camping. Now that most Spirit Beasts were extinct even normal people like them could travel in the wilderness without worry.

Eventually a large man approached them. He man was an absolute unit, his muscles building from under this Pagoda uniform. His head was shaved to a buzz cut, and on his face was a nasty scar across his forehead. He observed the three silently for a moment before speaking.

"Its good you know each other already, it makes things easier" Despite his scary appearance the man's voice was quite smooth and calming. "I'm Kurtis Petroni, I'll be team leader for this mission."

Kurtis then motioned for them to follow him as he continued speaking. "Aside the four of us, there's another person who will be assisting in this mission. She's already in the conference room."

As they walked through the Pagoda, Kurtis continued to introduce himself. He was 54 years old and a rank 42 Spirit Ancestor. He been working with the Spirit Pagoda for years, mostly supervising and participating in missions.

Soon Kai found himself in a private conference room. The large round table in the centre of the room, at it was sitting one person. It was a girl about Kai's age. She had blackish-purple hair tied in a ponytail reaching her mid back. Her eyes were violet, not too dissimilar from Kai's.

As they entered, she turned to look at them. Her eyes lingering on Kai for a moment before turning away and ignoring them like they weren't even there.

"She's a bit on the shy side" Kurtis said as he sat down at the far side of the table. Kai, Charles and Sandra sat down next to each other. "Now then, why don't we go around and introduce ourselves properly. I'll go first."

"I'm a rank 42 Spirit Ancestor of the Defence System. My Martial Spirit is a Ironhide Boar." Kurtis said before turning to Sandra and Charles.

"I'm Charles and this is my wife Sandra" Charles gave a warm smile to Sandra, grabbing her hand before continuing. "We aren't Spirit Masters, but we are experts on infiltration, espionage and thievery."

It was now Kai's turn, the strange girl looking over with interest as he spoke.

"My names Kai, I'm a rank 26 Spirit Grandmaster of the Support System. I have Spirit Ears." Kai introduced himself. Hearing his rank both the girl and Kurtis widened their eyes in surprise. The girl soon returned to her cold demeanor as she introduced herself.

"Gu Yue" She spoke, her voice cold and elegant. "Rank 25 Spirit Grandmaster of the Ranged Power Attack System. My Martial Spirit is called Elementalist."

Kai tilted his head to the side having never heard of that Martial Spirit before. He wanted to ask more but was soon cut off by Kurtis who had just started up a projector. On the screen nearby a large mansion was displayed.

"Now listen close, we only have a couple days to prepare" Kurtis began to talk, his tone serious. "The Pagoda has given me a detailed description of all your skills, and with that information I've created this plan. Our objective is to retrieve some data from one of the Mansion's vaults. This is how we're going to do it."