“Oh, I see. Surprise attack,” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến with a small nod of his head. He formed as much Rasoul energy around his arms as he possibly could, preparing to send a large blast of it towards Astra in an attempt to attack her and possibly throw her guard off. Ruby also prepared to try to attack Astra, and prepared to send a few blasts of Chaos energy to the chó sói, sói girl.

Kyle and Ruby both released their energy at the same time, which resulted in a blast of Chaos energy and a blast of Rasoul energy flying towards Astra at the same time. Astra turned around just in time to see Kyle and Ruby, and just in time to see the energy coming right at her. The energy struck her hard, sending her flying towards where Mancer and Devin were fighting themselves. Astra actually wound up crashing into Devin, who had managed to pull himself up to his feet and stand, as the effects of Mancer’s Rasoul Shock had worn off in his leg. Astra and Devin both crashed down onto the ground, both releasing groans of pain as they slowly attempted to get back up.

“What just happened?” Mancer asked Kyle and Ruby as he turned his head to look at them from a distance. Kyle and Ruby began making their way over to Mancer before they decided to speak.

“Ruby and I hit Astra at the same time with Chaos energy and Rasoul energy, and it sent her flying right into Devin,” Kyle explained. “By the way, are bạn okay, Mancer? Did bạn get any kind of serious injury? Ruby and I are fairly okay…”

“Nothing serious,” Mancer replied. “However, we can worry about my condition later. Right now we need to be paying thêm attention to those two,” He added as he turned to face Devin and Astra, prepared to attack if they tried to attack and fight once more.

“Astra, we have to get out of here… We can’t take on these three alone,” Devin đã đưa ý kiến through heavy breaths as he attempted to di chuyển the arm that had been struck bởi Mancer’s Rasoulin Shock, he could barely di chuyển the arm, and pain shot through his arm every time he did di chuyển it.

“I’ve noticed that, Devin,” Astra replied through a groan as she tried to push herself up to her knees; she just fell back down onto the ground, feeling like she didn’t have enough strength to push herself up. “I’ve taken way too many hits, and I’ve used my Rasoul past my limit… I can barely move.”

“Then that means it’s time for us to get out of here and báo cáo to Vice,” Devin replied. “Vice would never let me hear the end of it if I let bạn get very hurt, hoặc worse.” With that đã đưa ý kiến Devin gently and carefully picked Astra up and spread his wings, as if he was preparing to fly away and leave with her. Astra simply went into silence as a small blush came up on her face just do to the fact that she was being held bởi a boy.

“And it appears that they’re going to retreat,” Mancer đã đưa ý kiến as he watched Devin fly up into the air and fly off at a quick speed with Astra in tow. The black and red hybrid turned to face Kyle and Ruby, who seemed relieved that the Dark ngựa members were gone.

“So those were the Dark ngựa people that I’ve been told about,” Ruby đã đưa ý kiến as she turned her head to look at Kyle. “I don’t want bạn to be fighting those people alone, Kyle… I’m afraid that bạn could get hurt…”

“I know, Ruby…” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến as he looked down slightly. “I’m worried about bạn as well, though… but then I understand that bạn do want to protect me. I will try to tell bạn before I rush into a fight with these people again, though. As long as I know that I am going to fight them. That was just a surprise ambush…”

“I was guessing that it was an ambush…” Ruby said. “Judging back the fact that bạn seemed awfully surprised when they showed up… Anyway, are bạn ready to go back home? I’m… starting to feel a bit bothered bởi being away from trang chủ and I2 for so long…”

“I understand, Ruby. It probably is best to go back home… I’m feeling really worn out due to that fight against Astra and Devin now…” Kyle replied as he released a small sigh. “So much for taking a peaceful walk…”

“Are we going to be walking trang chủ now?” Mancer asked once Kyle was done speaking, attempting to not interrupt the conversation too badly.

“I could teleport us home,” Ruby offered. “It would save us the trouble of having to walk… I can teleport us trang chủ since I know where the house is.”

“Would bạn be okay with doing that? I would hate to ask bạn to do something that bạn don’t want to do…” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến as his ears lay down just slightly against his head.

“I don’t mind it, Kyle. It would get us trang chủ a lot quicker,” Ruby đã đưa ý kiến once more. She held onto Mancer and Kyle, and then teleported herself and the boys. The three of them found themselves standing in front of Kyle’s home. “And here we are.”

“Thank you, Ruby,” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến with a small smile as he started to walk towards the front door of his house. Mancer also gave his thanks to Ruby as he walked with her to the door, following Kyle.

“Are bạn going to feel up for thêm training before it gets too late, Kyle?” Mancer asked as he walked with Kyle and Ruby through the front door. He turned his head to look at the yellow hedgehog, who was walking towards the living room to try to rest. Ruby walked off to try to find I2 and check on her.

“Mancer, I’m not trying to be mean, but I’m worn out right now…” Kyle replied as he released a sigh. “I can try to train with bạn again, but I don’t exactly feel good at this point after all of that.”

“I understand, Kyle. I’ve used up quite a bit of my own energy, I will admit. I can’t say that I really feel tired at all, but I do understand if bạn need to take a break,” Mancer said. “If bạn don’t want to do any training for the moment, I’m honestly okay with that.”

“Alright, well, thank you,” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến as he leaned back in the living room chair that he had sat down in when he first walked in the rom. He thought over the battle that had just happened with Devin and Astra, and he thought of a câu hỏi to ask Mancer. “Hey, Mancer…?”

“Yes?” Mancer asked as he walked across the living room to take a ghế, chỗ ngồi and try to rest as well.

“Did bạn notice that Devin seemed to be okay…? Didn’t his wing get damaged when he was fighting bạn before?” Kyle asked, remembering back to the trước đó fight that Mancer had with Devin before the fight that happened in the park.

“Well, perhaps he’s already healed up. Maybe it didn’t take him that long to get that wing healed and able to fly again,” Mancer đã đưa ý kiến with a shrug. He tapped his hand up and down on the chair arm, which was the arm of his that had been hurt previously as well, but it seemed like the cuts were already closing up. Kyle noticed that Mancer’s arm seemed to have less cuts and scratches than it previously did.
    
“And I see that your arm is already healing up as well?” Kyle asked, studying Mancer’s arm in slight surprise.

“Hm? What? Oh, I’ve just simply been healing at a normal pace like someone like bạn would,” Mancer replied as he moved his arm out of Kyle’s sight. “Just simple healing like an ordinary person.” Kyle felt a lot of doubt based on what Mancer said, due to the fact that he had never seen a person heal a cut that deep that quickly, but he decided to let it go, figuring that Mancer wouldn’t explain no matter how much he asked; Kyle certainly thought Mancer had too many mysteries, and it was starting to pull at his curiosity thêm and more, and it was seriously making him doubt thêm and thêm every time Mancer claimed to be a normal person. Kyle simply looked down, trying to push away the doubt and các câu hỏi that he was desperately wanting to ask Mancer.

Mancer looked over at Kyle, noticing that he seemed to have a look of unease on his face. “Is something the matter? Let me take a guess… bạn have a feeling that I’m hiding too many things from you?” Kyle just looked at Mancer in shock, thinking that he had just gotten his mind read bởi the black and red hybrid. Mancer simply chuckled and just shook his head. “No, I didn’t just read your mind, judging that’s probably what you’re thinking due to the look on your face. I seriously just guessed. I have many people tell me that I’m mysterious before after learning the same amount of info that bạn have from me. I’ll admit, yes, I might seem mysterious to you, but I’m not telling bạn everything due to the fact that it’s centered around some things that bạn just don’t need to know yet.”

“But why can’t I know these things, Mancer? I’ve asked that before…” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến through a sigh. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful to you, but I just can’t stop wondering about it, and I’m sorry, but I even doubt some of what bạn say at this point. I just… I can’t help it.”

Mancer released a sigh; Kyle couldn’t tell if it was one of anger hoặc just annoyance. The hybrid slowly stood up and brought himself to his feet before turning his head to look at Kyle. “I will hiển thị bạn and tell bạn these things in time. Just don’t rush me. Some of it ties in with your training and teaching, so I don’t want to spoil it for you. Just be patient with me.”

Kyle’s ears bent down against his head slightly as he listened to the tone of Mancer’s voice, feeling quite bad for saying anything in the first place. “…I’m sorry, Mancer… I guess I just need to put thêm trust in what bạn say and tell me… and assume that bạn have a very good reason for not telling me now…”

“Thank you, Kyle,” Mancer replied simply. He stayed standing, however, and slowly walked over towards the front door of the house. “If bạn wonder what I’m doing, bởi the way, I’m simply just pacing around. Sometimes I feel like it helps clear my mind a bit better,” He added as he walked back towards Kyle.

Kyle started to say something else, but he was interrupted when a knock came from the front door; someone was outside, knocking on the door. Kyle and Mancer both turned their attention towards the door, curious as to who could be outside and knocking.

“Is someone here?” Kyle’s mom, Kushina, asked as she walked into the living room from the kitchen. She looked towards Kyle and Mancer. “I also knew both of bạn were here, so bạn don’t have to worry about surprising me. I could hear both of bạn talking,” She added.

“Hi, Mom,” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến with a smile and a wave. Mancer also greeted Kushina as Mrs. Waktini. “Anyway, we’re not sure who’s here. I didn’t invite anyone hoặc anything, and we haven’t gone to check who’s here yet.”

“Alright, then I’ll open the door, then. There’s not really a reason to leave who’s out here just standing out in the sun,” Kushina đã đưa ý kiến as she made her way over to the door. She opened the door, and Trenton was standing there at the door. “Oh? Who might bạn be?”

“I’m just someone from Kyle’s school,” Trenton replied. “I wanted to come bởi and see if he wanted to hang out for a bit hoặc something. I got his address from someone at school, so I thought maybe I could come bởi and try to make Những người bạn with him. My name is Trenton, bởi the way.”

“Trenton? bạn came to my house?” Kyle asked in surprise as he stood up and walked over to the door. He looked at the bat as he walked in through the front door after Kushina moved to let him in and closed the door behind him.

“Yeah. Just like I just told your mom here, I got your address from someone at school. I believe he đã đưa ý kiến his name was Cas?” Trenton said. He turned his head towards Kushina. “Thank bạn for letting me in, ma’am.” Kushina nodded with a smile and then turned to go back to the kitchen.

“Oh, Cas told bạn where I live? Okay then, that’s fine,” Kyle said. “So why did bạn want to come here?” Once again the fear of him being Devin came to mind once again; however, it was worse this time due to the fact that the bat was actually in his house this time around.

“Again, like I just told your mother, I want to try to make Những người bạn with you. I can tell that bạn seem like you’re nervous of me at some certain points, and I wanted to hang out with bạn as a friend and hiển thị bạn that I’m not a bad guy hoặc anything like that,” Trenton replied.

“Perhaps bạn could at least give him a chance, Kyle,” Mancer leaned down tiếp theo to Kyle and whispered in hedgehog’s ear. “I don’t believe that Devin could take Astra trang chủ and then come back that quickly. Plus, Trenton could just be an ordinary person at your school. I don’t really have any big suspicions on him anymore, and that’s saying a lot for me.”

“How is that saying a lot for you…?” Kyle asked in a whisper, feeling quite confused. “Also, what happened to any suspicions that bạn had on him? How did they just suddenly disappear…?”

“Honestly, I’ve been talking to Trenton while you’re not around. I’ve ran into Trenton a few times on my way trang chủ after leaving your house, so I’ve been talking to him then,” Mancer replied with a quiet sigh. “Just trust me; he certainly doesn’t seem like Devin.”

“And you’re just telling me this now?” Kyle asked as he narrowed his eyes slightly at the black and red hybrid. “Are bạn sure he’s not Devin?”

“I can’t say for certain, but I certainly don’t think so,” Mancer replied as he looked away slightly. “Just talk to him and get to know him a bit better, okay? It could benefit you.” Kyle was about to try to câu hỏi what Mancer just said, but the black and red hybrid simply stood up straight and walked off towards the kitchen.

“…Well, it looks like Mancer left,” Trenton said, still standing where he was before. “…May I have a seat, Kyle? Is that alright with you?”

“…It’s fine, Trenton. bạn can go ahead and sit down,” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến quietly, turning his head to face Trenton. His ears lay down just slightly against his head, as he still felt nervous and cautious around Trenton.

Trenton looked around the room slightly, scanning the room for a ghế, chỗ ngồi that he could sit down in. He noticed a nearby recliner chair that had no one sitting there, so he settled on that and walked over to sit down. “Thank you, Kyle,” Trenton đã đưa ý kiến as he sat down in the chair. He looked towards Kyle. “So, Cas is a friend of yours? Since bạn seem to know him?”

“Yeah, he’s… a friend of mine…” Kyle replied quietly as he looked down slightly, still feeling quite bothered bởi Trenton’s presence. Trenton noticed this and released a sigh as he sat back in the recliner chair.

“You’re still bothered bởi me? Should I just leave bạn alone at this point…?” Trenton asked with an almost saddened look on his face. “I thought that perhaps I could try to make Những người bạn with someone, since I’m a new transfer student to the school and barely know anyone, and I that bạn would be a good choice, due to the fact that bạn seem like a nice person, but I guess bạn just have some sort of problem with me.”

When Trenton đã đưa ý kiến it that way, Kyle felt awful and guilty. He didn’t want to seem like a bad hoặc mean person, but he couldn’t shake away the fact that he still thought that he could be Devin. The yellow hedgehog released a sad sigh as he looked down towards the floor. “…I’m so sorry, Trenton… I… I didn’t mean for it to look that way… I don’t want bạn to think that I’m bothered bởi you…” Kyle cringed slightly, having no idea what Trenton’s response was going to be.

“Then why do bạn act like you’re bothered bởi me if bạn don’t want me to think that?” Trenton asked as he crossed his arms. “I accept the apology, but still… Why act exactly like that if you’re NOT bothered bởi me?”

Kyle just continued looking down at the floor, still feeling guilty due to what Trenton said. He also had no idea how to really answer Trenton’s question, and he was trying desperately to come up with something to say. He finally just settled on trying to change the subject. “…Um… Do… bạn like video games…?”

“…Video games?” Trenton asked as he tilted his head to the side. He blinked a few times out of surprise, surprised that Kyle had changed the subject so quickly like that. “Well, I suppose I like a few. I personally like shooter games and zombie games.”

“Really? So bạn do like video games?” Kyle asked, attempting to keep the conversation going, afraid that everything was going to fall into an awkward silence. “…Well… Um… Do bạn want to play something? I have quite a few video games, so perhaps we could play for a little while and maybe talk…?” He was attempting to try to bond with Trenton, trying to push away the fear that he was Devin.

Trenton paused for quite some time, thinking over what Kyle had said. He eventually decided and simply nodded his head. “That sounds okay. I suppose we can play games for a little while. What games do bạn have?”

“Well, why don’t bạn take a look?” Kyle offered as he pointed to where all of the video games were held. “I mean, I don’t know what bạn would like to play and what bạn wouldn’t like to play.” Trenton simply nodded his head to say okay and moved over to where Kyle pointed to look through the games. After Trenton had picked out a few games, both teens began playing the video games together, and quickly found out that they both had a pretty common interest in games as they laughed and enjoyed playing together. Mancer had stayed in the phòng bếp, nhà bếp the entire time, simply listening to Kyle and Trenton bonding with a small smile on his face.


“Okay, that was really fun,” Kyle đã đưa ý kiến through a smile after the two teens had finished playing games about an giờ hoặc so later. “You’re a really good gamer, Trenton. It was hard to beat bạn the few times that I did beat you… bạn won all the other times,” He added with a small laugh. He did still fear that Trenton could be Devin, but that had gotten pushed away due to the enjoyment of playing video games.

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m that great,” Trenton đã đưa ý kiến as he tilted his head to the side. He looked towards the clock, attempting to see what time it is. “Well, I’d say I’ve been here long enough. I enjoyed the time, but I would say I’m ready to head trang chủ at this point.”

“You’re leaving now?” Kyle asked as he watched Trenton get up and walk towards the front door. “Well, I guess I’ll see bạn again at school, then.”

“Yes, I should be at school unless something comes up,” Trenton đã đưa ý kiến with a nod of his head as he started to open the door. “Something as in if I caught a cold hoặc something such as that and couldn’t come to school due to being sick.”

“Well, yeah, I understand being sick and not being able to come to school,” Kyle said. “Anyway, I’ll see bạn some other time, Trenton.” Trenton simply đã đưa ý kiến his good byes and left, shutting the front door quietly behind him. Mancer also made his way back into the living room, though Kyle didn’t notice that at this time.

“So I see that bạn seemed to enjoy your time with him,” Mancer đã đưa ý kiến from behind Kyle, which caused the yellow hedgehog to jump slightly out of surprise. “That’s good. Like I already said, I’ve spoken with him myself for quite some time, so it’s good to see bạn at least trying to bond and drop suspicion.”

“…Yeah, trying, I guess…” Kyle sighed quietly as those thoughts began trying to come back and bother him again. “What if he is Devin and he just found out my address and what my house looks like?” Mancer simply released a sigh and slapped his hand against his face in a facepalm instead of speaking to the yellow hedgehog. The hedgehog’s ears lay down slightly out of guilt.

“You started to bond with him, just give him a chance,” Mancer released another sigh before starting to walk off towards the phòng bếp, nhà bếp and the backdoor of the house. “Anyway, come with me. You’ve had a short while’s rest and I would like to continue your training.”

“You mean like right now?” Kyle asked in surprise, not expecting Mancer to suddenly pull him back into training.

“Yes, like right now,” Mancer replied, turning back to look at Kyle. “You have thêm moves that need to be learned. Perhaps bạn could work on the Rasoul cú đấm hoặc Rasoul Kick again.”

“…Oh right…” Kyle cringed slightly, remembering how difficult it was for him to keep his Rasoul energy focused in his arms hoặc legs, which resulted in very weak slivers of energy the last time they trained and he tried those attacks. Kyle released a quiet sigh, knowing that Mancer wanted to teach him, and followed the hybrid outside. Both Mancer and Kyle spent most of the rest of the ngày working on the Rasoul training, though Kyle didn’t seem to improve any thêm than he did the last time they were training, which meant that nothing eventful really happened. Late in the ngày after training, Mancer simply told Kyle that he was going trang chủ and that they would continue another time, and then left, which left Kyle to do just his normal, everyday activities of enjoying himself until it was time for bed. However, as bedtime came closer and closer, Kyle began to think about how Ruby had đã đưa ý kiến that I2 was sneaking out at night… He wanted to know why I2 was leaving at night, if she was leaving for a reason other than just taking a simple walk.



Later that night, Kyle was lying in his soft, cozy bed, nearly curled up into a complete ball. He was snuggled down inside his warm blankets and covers, just barely laying his head on the cái gối, gối due to the fact that he had curled up. He was sleeping quite soundly.

His door creaked open a bit, and in entered Ruby. She slowly walked over and started poking Kyle on the shoulder.

Kyle stayed completely still and quiet for a short time, except for his breathing, until he slowly uncurled from his ball shape and sleepily raised his head to try to see who hoặc what was touching him. He squint his eyes, trying to make out the figure that was in front of him. "...Ruby...? Is something wrong...?"

“W-well I thought we were going to go try and see about I2 tonight…”

Kyle blinked his eyes a few times, attempting to get his brain to process what Ruby had just said; the fact that he was feeling quite sleepy and groggy made this difficult. "...Oh, right... I2... Yeah, that's right..." He mumbled under his breath as he started to push covers and blankets off of himself, preparing to get out of bed.

Ruby looked him over a bit and đã đưa ý kiến “Maybe bạn should get dressed in normal clothes first?” noticing the pajamas

Kyle looked down at himself, observing the fact that he was indeed in pajamas. "...Yeah, I'll go ahead and throw my jeans and my áo khoác on... Do bạn mind stepping out for a moment while I change? ...I-I'm sorry, Ruby... I just feel thêm comfortable changing alone..."

“Right.” Ruby quickly moved outside.

Kyle quickly walked around his room, quickly gathering up his clean clothes to change. He took off his pajamas, and quickly changed into his regular clothes, trying to make sure that he wasn't keeping Ruby waiting too long. He walked back out of his room, ready to go. "Okay, I'm ready. Thank bạn for waiting, Ruby."

Ruby nodded, “She hasn’t left yet but this was about the time she normally does.”

"Alright then," Kyle said. "Are we going to wait somewhere? Like, near her room? hoặc are we going to go somewhere like outside?"

“I sort of put a tracking thing on her… I don’t really know if she’ll find it hoặc not. So I guess we just wait here.”

"So bạn put a tracker on her?”

“I just đã đưa ý kiến that.”

"...Right. I'm sorry," Kyle apologized for asking something that Ruby had already said.

It was not long before they both heard the front door opening.

Kyle's ears immediately stood up at the sound of the door creaking open, as he was easily able to hear this sound due to the silence in the house. He looked towards Ruby, as if to tell her that he had heard the door opening. He was afraid to speak, afraid that he would ruin any chances of following in secret if he spoke. Ruby has also heard it and lightly walked towards the front door. No one was there but the door was now closing. Kyle followed Ruby as quietly as possible, trying to walk as lightly as he could to avoid making noise hoặc too much noise. He looked towards the door just in time to see it closing.

They walked out and saw that I2 was in fact outside a good twenty-seven feet away. Kyle was somewhat shocked that she had managed to di chuyển that far away in that short of time, but he decided not to stand around and câu hỏi it as he prepared to try to follow her and stay hidden.

They kept their distance, which made it very hard to keep up with I2 since it was quite dark. Not only that, but this “walk” I2 was taking went on for almost an hour. Clearly Ruby’s guess about how long I2 would be gone normally was not exaggerated as much as it should have been, because it was at around twelve midnight that they had finally arrived at a small house in the Flood Town District. I2 stopped there and knocked on the front door.

Kyle was confused as to why I2 would travel to a small house like this near midnight, and it left him in quite a bit of confusion as he tried to ponder over why I2 would come here. He did look around just slightly as they had followed I2, however, and realized that they were now in the Flood Town District, where two of his Những người bạn Cas and Simon lived. He shook away the thoughts of his Những người bạn for the current moment, however, so he could try to give all of his attention and focus onto what I2 was doing.

Eventually a figure, male, with what appeared to be a hood-covered head walked out. Soon after he, and I2 began walking off.

Kyle watched as this happened, looking towards the male figure in shock. He honestly had no idea what I2 might want with this person... hoặc what this person might want from I2. He was determined to try to follow and find out, however. He slowly started to start after I2 and the male, thinking that Ruby was going to follow as well, though he didn't know that for sure.

“Are they… dating?” Ruby guessed randomly.

"Well, if they are dating, I honestly had no idea that they were..." Kyle đã đưa ý kiến as he turned his head towards Ruby. "Are we going to follow after them?"

Ruby nodded and started after them. “Should we… stop them?”

"...Maybe this is just me, but perhaps we could follow them and see where they're going hoặc what they're doing, first..." Kyle said. "I-I mean, we could do what bạn think, but I thought that maybe we could do that..."

“Good idea.”

"Do bạn think that would be a good idea? I wasn't exactly sure..."

“Yes.” They continued forward, still following I2 and the male with her. They could hear them both talking, but about what they did not know. Eventually the two stopped at a park and sat on a bench.

Kyle simply stayed quiet for the current moment, watching as I2 and the male sat down on the bench together. "...Well... Maybe they could be dating..." He đã đưa ý kiến quietly as he looked towards Ruby.

“Well we can’t just wait this whole time till they leave, can we?”

"...Well, no... I guess not... Does that mean that we're going to try to approach them and speak to them?"

“Better now than later.” Ruby slowly walked towards I2 and the boy from behind. Kyle followed after Ruby, attempting to be as quiet as possible.

They were around five feet behind the two when the male đã đưa ý kiến “Someone’s behind us.” And I2 and the male turned around.

At first they could have sworn that the male looked like an alien of some sort. He had the facial structure of a human, but there were no jawbone marks on his cheeks, and for that matter no cheeks. His lower face was like a curved triangle, which was the first of many strange details. His eyes were quite large, glowing dark red in the middle, and silver around the edges, with red bangs hanging to the side, half-covered bởi his hoodie jacket; a dark grey top, which was attached to the rest of his very white jacket, which matched his very pale skin. It had red designs around it, with the sleeves covering his hands, with red collars, on these, and his dark grey jeans.

Kyle looked at the male in shock, quite surprised bởi the appearance that he held. Kyle couldn't really remember seeing anything quite like him before.

The male seemed to be studying the two of them, mostly Kyle. I2 narrowed her eyes slightly “What are bạn two doing here?”

Kyle's ears lowed slightly when I2 asked her question, feeling quite guilty for following I2 and this male person in secret. He failed to notice that the male seemed to be studying him the most. "...We're worried about you, I2. bạn just keep disappearing without even giving us any sort of sign to where you're going, and... that... that really worries me... After losing bạn the first time, I don't want to see it happen again..."

“I’m fine.” I2 replied bluntly, almost obliviously.

“I think they’re thêm concerned with bạn being with someone they don’t know.” The male stated calmly to I2.

"...Who are you?" Kyle asked the male in a slightly quiet voice.

“My name is Damien.” The male introduced with a slight bow. “And I think you’re Kyle, right? And I2’s sister, Ruby?”

"...You know us? Did I2 tell bạn about us...?”

He nodded, “We talk often. But she didn’t want bạn all to know in fear of thinking that you’d react strangely after meeting someone like myself.”

“I don’t think they’ve caught on yet, Damien.” I2 noted.

"Caught onto what...?" Kyle asked.

“Damien is an identity.”

Kyle froze in surprise slightly, surprised at what I2 had just said. "He's... an Identity as well?”

Ruby took a step back cautiously. “H-… how did bạn meet?”

“I’m Những người bạn with Cas, and Cas knows all of you. He told me about Ruby and I2 and I thought I’d introduce myself.” Damien informed.

“What did bạn two think I was doing at night?” I2 asked.

"Oh... So bạn know Cas..." Kyle đã đưa ý kiến quietly. He looked over at I2, not really knowing what to say. "Well... I... I didn't know... I was just... I was worried about you...”

“Alright then what do bạn think?”

"What do I think...?"

“Are bạn alright with me visiting him?”

"W-Well..." Kyle started to speak, but he paused for a moment, attempting to think of what he was going to say. "...Well, I would certainly like to get to know Damien a little bit better, and it would be nice to know when you're actually leaving, I2..."

“You should have told us first.” Ruby added. “We were worried.”

I2 looked away. “If this is a problem I can simply leave her alone.” Damien chimed in. “I was planning on helping them with their abilities though.”

"...Helping them with their abilities?" Kyle asked.

“I practice on my morphing, and chaos energy daily, among other things. I could help them properly use their abilities without winging it.”

Kyle paused for a moment, listening to what Damien had to say. He felt faintly reminded of Mancer and his own Rasoul training at this point. "...Are bạn sure I could trust bạn with that...?" He turned his head towards Ruby as well. "And, for you, Ruby... Would bạn want to try to learn how to use your powers better? I would hate to force bạn into something that bạn don't want to do."

Ruby looked unsure, “Well… I’m… not quite sure. If I2’s okay with it though… I guess it would be alright.”

Kyle turned towards I2, attempting to try to find out what she was going to say. "What do bạn think, I2...?"

I2 looked surprised, “I’m fine with it.” She answered.

“Good.” Damien added. “Not to sound abrupt but it’s rather late and while Ruby and I2 don’t sleep I’m assuming bạn need sleep?”

"Yes, I do need sleep... I was actually in giường and asleep when Ruby woke me up to follow after I2... since we were so worried about where she was going without telling us..."

“Then bạn three can go ho-“

“Three?” I2 looked a bit flustered at Damien.

“It’s late, and we did get to talk for a bit. Besides, I don’t want to cause anyone else to worry anymore.”

Kyle just kind of stood in silence, afraid to put his input in. He was afraid that he might upset I2 hoặc make her angry if he tried to ask her to come home.

“… Well is it alright for them to be out here, Kyle?” Ruby asked.

Kyle turned his head over to look at Ruby. "...Well, I would hate to force I2 to come trang chủ right now if she really wants to stay out here a bit longer... I don't want to upset her hoặc make her angry..."

“I’m two feet in front of bạn Kyle.” I2 noted, referring to the fact that she could hear them, not that she was necessarily offended bởi what he said.

Kyle's ears bent down slowly against his head, as he felt that he might have offended her. "...Well, like I just said, I don't want to force bạn to come trang chủ right this moment if bạn really don't want to... I don't want to upset bạn hoặc make bạn angry. I do want bạn to come home, though... If not right now, at some point before morning..."

“Are bạn okay with me and Damien being here though?”

"....Well...." Kyle paused, not knowing what to say to I2. He didn't really want to put all of his trust in Damien until he was actually able to learn thêm about Damien. Trying to make a decision left him in silence.

Eventually Damien spoke up, “I’ll let bạn have time to think it over then.” And walked off. After a few giây I2 walked off as well. A một phút passed after that. Ruby turned to Kyle, “We should go home.”

"...Alright then." He started to turn back to head home.