Twists of Fate [Part 11]
Nov. 11th, 2014 11:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Noblesse
Summary: Nakida’s a hacker in the middle of a job to find some information. Except they’re not the only one breaking into the building that night - there’s a silver-haired guy walking around like cameras don’t exist. If he wants to get caught, it’s not their problem.
Huian’s on guard duty to protect the information they’re after. Usually it’s quiet - all she has to do is enter the system, keep an eye on the camera feeds and patrol around the clusters of data to make sure no-one gets to them.
Their pasts connect them, even if they don’t remember. And the past does tend to come back.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Reincarnation fic! :D Written for nano! So expect some weirdness as I churn this out, haha.
Genre: General.
Word count: 2,995
Total word count: 25,454
Status: Work in progress
M-21 couldn't have heard that right. He sidestepped a swipe and kicked out at the guard, sending her crashing into the wall.
But he had heard the words clear as if the woman had said it right by his ear. 21. The woman said his codename. It wasn't something he'd heard outside a handful of people, and not something from a complete stranger.
And wasn't that familiar after meeting someone who had reminded him far too much of Tao?
Was it the same thing as with Tao? If she was exiting a Union lab though... But the guards hadn't wanted her to leave, trying to stop her escape. That was what had grabbed M-21's attention, a group of people crowding around a person dressed in plain clothes, making her back away.
The guy closest to her whirled around, dashing forward and M-21 knocked him back as well, sending him flying.
Shit, either he was stronger than he thought or the Union's modified humans were worse than before.
But they were taken care of and he hurried to the woman's side.
Straight black hair, features that he'd been looking at a few times in the last couple of hours, trying to figure out how to find her.
M-21's stomach plummeted when he saw a spiderweb network over her skin, pulsing purple and black.
It couldn't be.
And he was saying that far too fucking much lately.
But it was something else familiar to him, something else he hadn't seen in a while; Frankenstein hadn't needed to use it for a while, not when the Union wasn't as strong as before. And they'd made sure of that.
How the hell was Dark Spear in someone else? Frankenstein hadn't passed it onto anyone else apart from Takeo and Tao.
Had the Union figured out how to make its own Dark Spear? Shit.
He knelt down next to her and checked her over, placing fingers on her neck. Her heartbeat was erratic and her breathing was a little shallow, but she seemed fine apart from that. Her eyes were nearly completely black and purple, the sclera barely visible.
"Mmn..." Her eyes flickered and M-21 was relatively sure she was looking at him with the way her head tilted. She smiled at the sight of him.
Her eyes then went wide and she tried to jerk back, her breathing sharpening. "Wait, it'll-!" She trailed off, the space between her eyebrows creasing. "Eat you...?"
Dark Spear? M-21 glanced down at his hand and saw tendrils curled around them. They didn't seem intent on doing anything else, just holding him.
That was different from the Dark Spear he knew. And from a glance, it seemed a lot weaker too.
He eased his hand away and the tendrils let go of him without any resistance, sinking back into her skin. The rest of Dark Spear faded from view, leaving reddened but otherwise unblemished skin. It had probably been too weak to eat him.
M-21's communicator beeped and before he did anything, it was opening up, Tao's face hovering in front of his own.
[
The avatar didn't make any gestures and it took a second for M-21 to realise his mouth wasn't moving either. It might have been a text-based message, made to be listened to. It was a relief to know Tao was there, even if he'd been wrong about the person he'd approached earlier.
"Tao-" M-21 started, glancing at the wide open door. It was the entrance was right in front of him. He could go in and destroy the lab.
It involved stepping over Huian's body.
He would be leaving her vulnerable for anything to happen.
It wasn't something he would allow if he could help it.
[
"No," M-21 said, ignoring the rest of the message. "We can't take her there." If this was the Tao he'd known, he would know why. And M-21 really had to stop comparing the two, but he couldn't help it.
[
"I know," M-21 said, picking her up into his arms. "They won't know what to do." Dark Spear could end up eating people instead, making it worse, if he had to guess from Huian's reaction.
He didn't know what to do either, but he could contact someone who did.
"The Union might be controlling the hospital anyway. It's not safe."
[
"The B&B I'm staying at," M-21 said, his lips pursed. They could figure somethi-
[
Nah?
[
He shouldn't be at all surprised Tao knew where he was staying right now when he'd found out the civilian name he was using right now too. If he'd found one, it was easy to find out the other.
[
So he was going to finally meet Tao after all these half-run-ins.
"All right." M-21 nodded. "Where are you?"
[
That wasn't so helpful, not when that company had spread to be on nearly every single corner. But if he was right about where Tao was...
"There's an alley next to it; go there and I'll pick you up."
[
There had to have been a minimum of five exclamation points at the end of that for the voice to tilt up that high, the avatar still not changing expression.
"I won't be." M-21 adjusted his grip on Huian, making sure she was secure. "I'll be there soon."
He closed the call and leaped to the rooftops.
* * *
What the hell... Nakida glanced up and down the alley, frowning. They were on their 'board in case they had to get away, tilting back and forth to do something with their restless energy.
Staying this close after seeing something like that... Shit.
They hadn't seen how it had started, only seeing Kang-dae in the middle of a fight, his shirt gone for no reason that Nakida could see. Apart from the claws and fur that were in places that shouldn't be on a normal human. But they'd already known he wasn't.
They scrubbed their face, sighing. They'd jumped in to warn him without thinking, because he'd needed it, because getting Huian to safety was more important than their desire to work alone. Lives were on the line.
But how was Kang-dae going to pick them up? Moving as a group was more conspicuous than separate - the problem was how were they going to get an unconscious, or at least a weakened, body across the city without drawing attention?
There was a clatter of stones beside Nakida, and they glanced at it, frowning. There wasn't anything there to move them so... That was a growing shadow where the stones were.
They jerked their head up and what the fucking hell, there was someone dropping from the sky.
They shoved themselves up against the wall as the body landed.
Person landed. On two feet. Like he'd stepped off a stair, his legs barely bending to absorb the impact. Cybertronic implants? But then the weight alone should have made a mini-crater in the ground.
The lack of shirt made it obvious who it was, as did the silver hair. Kang-dae turned around and glanced over them, studying them. "So I was right..."
"Yeah," they said with a shrug. They'd get their answer of how later.
He shook his head. "No time."
So they agreed on that. Good.
Kang-dae jerked his head up at the roof. "She's up there." She'd better be. "Climb on," he said, turning his back to them.
...Really. They were taking to the rooftops.
Nakida tilted their head up at the distance far above. That would be the best way to get around without being seen - there were cameras on buildings watching the streets, but having cameras watch the sky was a waste of data.
Damn, it really was the best option from what they had.
They nodded and minimised their 'board, sliding it into their bag. Once they shouldered it, they climbed onto Kang-dae's back, putting their arms around his shoulders.
They peered at his shoulder, but there wasn't any sign that there had been, what, fur? there a few minutes before.
"Tighter than that," he said, pushing their arms closer to his neck.
"...All right," they said. If he was sure... Which he had to be; for all they knew, he did this kind of rescue once a month. They tightened their arms, resting their head on their arm.
"Okay," he said, and his hair tickled their cheek as he looked around. With his hands under their knees he jumped and-
"Fucking-asshole-shitfuck!" All their insides got yanked out through their fucking shoes and they'd been on roller-coasters before, years ago; they'd had the wind whipping through their hair, but they'd been strapped in at the time, safe! Here, they had their own arms and one extra pair stopping them from plummeting to their death and Nakida had a very clear of how far the ground was getting, how big the drop would be if either of them let go.
It took a couple of seconds (and if Kang-dae could drop down, they bet he could jump up that fucking height, but he was bouncing off the walls instead, using them as springboards to reach a higher height. How the fuck he didn't slide back down, Nakida didn't know, and they really didn't want to think about that while they were doing it) to reach the roof and he touched down as lightly as he had when he'd jumped down.
They let go as soon as possible, loving the firm ground under their feet.
Huian was where Kang-dae had said, laid out on the rooftop, away from the edge in case she rolled over. Their skin prickled at the sight of her, and they rubbed their arm, trying to warm themselves up.
But it was strange. Nakida peered at Huian; they were sure they'd seen bruises in the feed, but it must have been a trick of the shadows. She was looking pale under the moonlight and if she had collapsed after one day there, what had been done to her...?
...Wait. Something wasn't measuring up. "How are we getting to my inn?" they asked, looking back at Kang-dae. Going by the rooftops they had understood, but Kang-dae wouldn't be able to carry both of them at the same time.
Or he could; it was hard to wrap their head around how strong Kang-dae could be when they could only think about what a non-modified human could do.
"I can carry you on my back and Huian in my arms."
Nakida twisted their lips at that. They had thought he would say that.
"I can do it," Kang-dae said, one eyebrow quirking up.
"I know you can," Nakida said, taking off their bag and opening it. "But I don't think I can." It had been terrifying to rely on their own physical strength without a safety net, and with how Kang-dae would hold Huian, he wouldn't be able to keep a hold on them at the same time.
And they were still cautious about strangling him even if he said it was fine.
They pulled out their 'board and dropped it, letting it maximise itself to its full size as Nakida closed their bag again. "I've got more trust in moving on this than the strength of my arms and legs." They knew how to move on the 'board - their strength wasn't as reliable, and they had been far too aware of the chance of slipping. That was how they'd been like for one jump - their inn was under ten ri from where they were; they wouldn't be able to hold on for that long.
Once they'd closed their bag and put it back on, they started to take off a glove, shoving it in a pocket.
Kang-dae opened his mouth and then closed it at their words, his gaze flicking away. He wasn't used to thinking of how strong non-modified humans were compared to him?
He closed his eyes and then eyed their 'board for a second. "You can't keep up on that."
"I know." Their 'board had no chance against someone who was so fast he could disappear for frames at a time. They exhaled, flexing a hand as they extended the cable in their wrist, drawing more and more of it out until it was several times longer than they were tall. That should be enough.
Kang-dae was staring at their cable like it would rear up and bite him, and they could make it do that, but they bent over to scoop it up into their arms instead, walking over to him. It was rare when anyone saw or figured out where Nakida's cables came from - the look of disgust was standard, even if Kang-dae hid it better. Now to see if he'd be willing to hold it.
And Kang-dae was already holding his hand out. ...Huh.
Nakida studied his face as he took the cable end from their hand; his touch was light, not trying to touch as little of it as possible but trying to keep the pressure off. They hadn't seen him with other objects but maybe this was normal for him, since he was so strong.
He wound the cable around his palm, crisscrossing it over his wrist as well. When he was done, he gave it a testing tug and then looked at them.
"Too tight?"
Nakida's eyebrows shot up at the question. ...How had... If a person knew about the cable implants, most thought they were just that: cables. It wasn't as well known that they were connected to the person's nervous system, and that was what the people with implants wanted - it was an ace up the sleeve when they were cornered and the people doing the cornering thought the cable only moved like a whip. Being able to charge it with power was for extra security.
And because the cables were connected to the person's nervous system, the cables were also sensitive to pressure. The cables didn't experience pain, but it was unsettling when the cables got knotted up enough to block off signals. Nakida had had them long enough it was like losing awareness of their hand when that happened.
They had to find out who 'Tao' was to Kang-dae and how he seemed to know so much about them without ever meeting before.
"No, that's pretty perfect," they said, their voice fainter than they expected. There was little chance their cable would be dislodged from his hand the way he'd done it.
They stepped up onto their 'board, removing their other glove, making the cable there slither over their shoes and 'board.
Kang-dae watched them for a second and then nodded, going to Huian's side. He picked her up in his arms, her head cradled against his shoulder. While he did that, Nakida secured their legs to their 'board; tying themselves to Kang-dae would be useless if they couldn't stay on their 'board at the same time.
"Can you tell me where your inn is from the rooftops?" he asked, turning back to them.
Nakida huffed, opening up their communicator. "Yeah." It would be harder from the lack of landmarks they were used to going by, but they would be able to do it.
They span their legs in quarter circles, making sure they could still control their 'board as well as they normally could. It moved like usual and they took in a deep breath, holding it and then exhaling, trying to relax.
They were about to hoverboard over buildings. There weren't many clouds in the sky, letting the moon show just how high some of the skyscrapers were around them, almost untouched by the lights of the buildings below.
Damn. They swallowed, trying to control their heartbeat, which had kicked up a notch again now that they weren't distracted by the idea of it and now had to do it.
Controlling their cables to make them do what they wanted with precision was easy; controlling their heartbeat in the same way, not so much.
"Are you all right?" Kang-dae asked, his voice soft as he watched them, his hand with the cable tightening for a second.
They pursed their lips, taking another deep breath. The Union could be getting closer with all the time they were wasting.
Right. Nakida squared their shoulders and rippled the cable Kang-dae was holding, making sure they had full control over it. They did and then they started to use their cable to pull them left and right over the rooftop. The movement was easy and smooth, something they could do by kicking off with a leg by themselves and had done over the years they'd used hoverboards. They had to keep their weight more to the back to make sure the nose of their 'board didn't dip enough to hit the rooftop, but once they'd gotten used to it, they moved their cable in widening arcs, snapping a change in direction until their 'board lifted off its usual horizontal from the force.
They braked to a stop and nodded at Kang-dae. "Yeah, I am now," they said with a fierce satisfied smile. They were as ready as they could be in the time they had; they would ache by the time they got to their inn, looking at the obstacle course they were about to do, but they felt far safer doing it this way than on Kang-dae's back. It meant they would have to see the ground rushing towards them to calculate their landings, but they were more in control.
Kang-dae returned their smile, his hand tightening on their cable again.
Now to do this.
____________________________
Wiki tells me a Korean ri is about 392.72 meters, so Nakida's inn is about 2 miles/3km from where they are.
So the reason why I gave Nakida a hoverboard? Because I wanted the rooftop-hopping scene with it. 8D
Summary: Nakida’s a hacker in the middle of a job to find some information. Except they’re not the only one breaking into the building that night - there’s a silver-haired guy walking around like cameras don’t exist. If he wants to get caught, it’s not their problem.
Huian’s on guard duty to protect the information they’re after. Usually it’s quiet - all she has to do is enter the system, keep an eye on the camera feeds and patrol around the clusters of data to make sure no-one gets to them.
Their pasts connect them, even if they don’t remember. And the past does tend to come back.
Rating: PG-13
Notes: Reincarnation fic! :D Written for nano! So expect some weirdness as I churn this out, haha.
Genre: General.
Word count: 2,995
Total word count: 25,454
Status: Work in progress
M-21 couldn't have heard that right. He sidestepped a swipe and kicked out at the guard, sending her crashing into the wall.
But he had heard the words clear as if the woman had said it right by his ear. 21. The woman said his codename. It wasn't something he'd heard outside a handful of people, and not something from a complete stranger.
And wasn't that familiar after meeting someone who had reminded him far too much of Tao?
Was it the same thing as with Tao? If she was exiting a Union lab though... But the guards hadn't wanted her to leave, trying to stop her escape. That was what had grabbed M-21's attention, a group of people crowding around a person dressed in plain clothes, making her back away.
The guy closest to her whirled around, dashing forward and M-21 knocked him back as well, sending him flying.
Shit, either he was stronger than he thought or the Union's modified humans were worse than before.
But they were taken care of and he hurried to the woman's side.
Straight black hair, features that he'd been looking at a few times in the last couple of hours, trying to figure out how to find her.
M-21's stomach plummeted when he saw a spiderweb network over her skin, pulsing purple and black.
It couldn't be.
And he was saying that far too fucking much lately.
But it was something else familiar to him, something else he hadn't seen in a while; Frankenstein hadn't needed to use it for a while, not when the Union wasn't as strong as before. And they'd made sure of that.
How the hell was Dark Spear in someone else? Frankenstein hadn't passed it onto anyone else apart from Takeo and Tao.
Had the Union figured out how to make its own Dark Spear? Shit.
He knelt down next to her and checked her over, placing fingers on her neck. Her heartbeat was erratic and her breathing was a little shallow, but she seemed fine apart from that. Her eyes were nearly completely black and purple, the sclera barely visible.
"Mmn..." Her eyes flickered and M-21 was relatively sure she was looking at him with the way her head tilted. She smiled at the sight of him.
Her eyes then went wide and she tried to jerk back, her breathing sharpening. "Wait, it'll-!" She trailed off, the space between her eyebrows creasing. "Eat you...?"
Dark Spear? M-21 glanced down at his hand and saw tendrils curled around them. They didn't seem intent on doing anything else, just holding him.
That was different from the Dark Spear he knew. And from a glance, it seemed a lot weaker too.
He eased his hand away and the tendrils let go of him without any resistance, sinking back into her skin. The rest of Dark Spear faded from view, leaving reddened but otherwise unblemished skin. It had probably been too weak to eat him.
M-21's communicator beeped and before he did anything, it was opening up, Tao's face hovering in front of his own.
[
You need to get out of there.]The avatar didn't make any gestures and it took a second for M-21 to realise his mouth wasn't moving either. It might have been a text-based message, made to be listened to. It was a relief to know Tao was there, even if he'd been wrong about the person he'd approached earlier.
"Tao-" M-21 started, glancing at the wide open door. It was the entrance was right in front of him. He could go in and destroy the lab.
It involved stepping over Huian's body.
He would be leaving her vulnerable for anything to happen.
It wasn't something he would allow if he could help it.
[
Look, the hospital's only-]"No," M-21 said, ignoring the rest of the message. "We can't take her there." If this was the Tao he'd known, he would know why. And M-21 really had to stop comparing the two, but he couldn't help it.
[
She needs help.]"I know," M-21 said, picking her up into his arms. "They won't know what to do." Dark Spear could end up eating people instead, making it worse, if he had to guess from Huian's reaction.
He didn't know what to do either, but he could contact someone who did.
"The Union might be controlling the hospital anyway. It's not safe."
[
Shit. Where to then?]"The B&B I'm staying at," M-21 said, his lips pursed. They could figure somethi-
[
Nah.]Nah?
[
Your place needs a name to sign in.]He shouldn't be at all surprised Tao knew where he was staying right now when he'd found out the civilian name he was using right now too. If he'd found one, it was easy to find out the other.
[
Mine won't ask why we're dragging in a person, or for names.]So he was going to finally meet Tao after all these half-run-ins.
"All right." M-21 nodded. "Where are you?"
[
A block away from you, by the Starbucks.]That wasn't so helpful, not when that company had spread to be on nearly every single corner. But if he was right about where Tao was...
"There's an alley next to it; go there and I'll pick you up."
[
You can't use transport!]There had to have been a minimum of five exclamation points at the end of that for the voice to tilt up that high, the avatar still not changing expression.
"I won't be." M-21 adjusted his grip on Huian, making sure she was secure. "I'll be there soon."
He closed the call and leaped to the rooftops.
What the hell... Nakida glanced up and down the alley, frowning. They were on their 'board in case they had to get away, tilting back and forth to do something with their restless energy.
Staying this close after seeing something like that... Shit.
They hadn't seen how it had started, only seeing Kang-dae in the middle of a fight, his shirt gone for no reason that Nakida could see. Apart from the claws and fur that were in places that shouldn't be on a normal human. But they'd already known he wasn't.
They scrubbed their face, sighing. They'd jumped in to warn him without thinking, because he'd needed it, because getting Huian to safety was more important than their desire to work alone. Lives were on the line.
But how was Kang-dae going to pick them up? Moving as a group was more conspicuous than separate - the problem was how were they going to get an unconscious, or at least a weakened, body across the city without drawing attention?
There was a clatter of stones beside Nakida, and they glanced at it, frowning. There wasn't anything there to move them so... That was a growing shadow where the stones were.
They jerked their head up and what the fucking hell, there was someone dropping from the sky.
They shoved themselves up against the wall as the body landed.
Person landed. On two feet. Like he'd stepped off a stair, his legs barely bending to absorb the impact. Cybertronic implants? But then the weight alone should have made a mini-crater in the ground.
The lack of shirt made it obvious who it was, as did the silver hair. Kang-dae turned around and glanced over them, studying them. "So I was right..."
"Yeah," they said with a shrug. They'd get their answer of how later.
He shook his head. "No time."
So they agreed on that. Good.
Kang-dae jerked his head up at the roof. "She's up there." She'd better be. "Climb on," he said, turning his back to them.
...Really. They were taking to the rooftops.
Nakida tilted their head up at the distance far above. That would be the best way to get around without being seen - there were cameras on buildings watching the streets, but having cameras watch the sky was a waste of data.
Damn, it really was the best option from what they had.
They nodded and minimised their 'board, sliding it into their bag. Once they shouldered it, they climbed onto Kang-dae's back, putting their arms around his shoulders.
They peered at his shoulder, but there wasn't any sign that there had been, what, fur? there a few minutes before.
"Tighter than that," he said, pushing their arms closer to his neck.
"...All right," they said. If he was sure... Which he had to be; for all they knew, he did this kind of rescue once a month. They tightened their arms, resting their head on their arm.
"Okay," he said, and his hair tickled their cheek as he looked around. With his hands under their knees he jumped and-
"Fucking-asshole-shitfuck!" All their insides got yanked out through their fucking shoes and they'd been on roller-coasters before, years ago; they'd had the wind whipping through their hair, but they'd been strapped in at the time, safe! Here, they had their own arms and one extra pair stopping them from plummeting to their death and Nakida had a very clear of how far the ground was getting, how big the drop would be if either of them let go.
It took a couple of seconds (and if Kang-dae could drop down, they bet he could jump up that fucking height, but he was bouncing off the walls instead, using them as springboards to reach a higher height. How the fuck he didn't slide back down, Nakida didn't know, and they really didn't want to think about that while they were doing it) to reach the roof and he touched down as lightly as he had when he'd jumped down.
They let go as soon as possible, loving the firm ground under their feet.
Huian was where Kang-dae had said, laid out on the rooftop, away from the edge in case she rolled over. Their skin prickled at the sight of her, and they rubbed their arm, trying to warm themselves up.
But it was strange. Nakida peered at Huian; they were sure they'd seen bruises in the feed, but it must have been a trick of the shadows. She was looking pale under the moonlight and if she had collapsed after one day there, what had been done to her...?
...Wait. Something wasn't measuring up. "How are we getting to my inn?" they asked, looking back at Kang-dae. Going by the rooftops they had understood, but Kang-dae wouldn't be able to carry both of them at the same time.
Or he could; it was hard to wrap their head around how strong Kang-dae could be when they could only think about what a non-modified human could do.
"I can carry you on my back and Huian in my arms."
Nakida twisted their lips at that. They had thought he would say that.
"I can do it," Kang-dae said, one eyebrow quirking up.
"I know you can," Nakida said, taking off their bag and opening it. "But I don't think I can." It had been terrifying to rely on their own physical strength without a safety net, and with how Kang-dae would hold Huian, he wouldn't be able to keep a hold on them at the same time.
And they were still cautious about strangling him even if he said it was fine.
They pulled out their 'board and dropped it, letting it maximise itself to its full size as Nakida closed their bag again. "I've got more trust in moving on this than the strength of my arms and legs." They knew how to move on the 'board - their strength wasn't as reliable, and they had been far too aware of the chance of slipping. That was how they'd been like for one jump - their inn was under ten ri from where they were; they wouldn't be able to hold on for that long.
Once they'd closed their bag and put it back on, they started to take off a glove, shoving it in a pocket.
Kang-dae opened his mouth and then closed it at their words, his gaze flicking away. He wasn't used to thinking of how strong non-modified humans were compared to him?
He closed his eyes and then eyed their 'board for a second. "You can't keep up on that."
"I know." Their 'board had no chance against someone who was so fast he could disappear for frames at a time. They exhaled, flexing a hand as they extended the cable in their wrist, drawing more and more of it out until it was several times longer than they were tall. That should be enough.
Kang-dae was staring at their cable like it would rear up and bite him, and they could make it do that, but they bent over to scoop it up into their arms instead, walking over to him. It was rare when anyone saw or figured out where Nakida's cables came from - the look of disgust was standard, even if Kang-dae hid it better. Now to see if he'd be willing to hold it.
And Kang-dae was already holding his hand out. ...Huh.
Nakida studied his face as he took the cable end from their hand; his touch was light, not trying to touch as little of it as possible but trying to keep the pressure off. They hadn't seen him with other objects but maybe this was normal for him, since he was so strong.
He wound the cable around his palm, crisscrossing it over his wrist as well. When he was done, he gave it a testing tug and then looked at them.
"Too tight?"
Nakida's eyebrows shot up at the question. ...How had... If a person knew about the cable implants, most thought they were just that: cables. It wasn't as well known that they were connected to the person's nervous system, and that was what the people with implants wanted - it was an ace up the sleeve when they were cornered and the people doing the cornering thought the cable only moved like a whip. Being able to charge it with power was for extra security.
And because the cables were connected to the person's nervous system, the cables were also sensitive to pressure. The cables didn't experience pain, but it was unsettling when the cables got knotted up enough to block off signals. Nakida had had them long enough it was like losing awareness of their hand when that happened.
They had to find out who 'Tao' was to Kang-dae and how he seemed to know so much about them without ever meeting before.
"No, that's pretty perfect," they said, their voice fainter than they expected. There was little chance their cable would be dislodged from his hand the way he'd done it.
They stepped up onto their 'board, removing their other glove, making the cable there slither over their shoes and 'board.
Kang-dae watched them for a second and then nodded, going to Huian's side. He picked her up in his arms, her head cradled against his shoulder. While he did that, Nakida secured their legs to their 'board; tying themselves to Kang-dae would be useless if they couldn't stay on their 'board at the same time.
"Can you tell me where your inn is from the rooftops?" he asked, turning back to them.
Nakida huffed, opening up their communicator. "Yeah." It would be harder from the lack of landmarks they were used to going by, but they would be able to do it.
They span their legs in quarter circles, making sure they could still control their 'board as well as they normally could. It moved like usual and they took in a deep breath, holding it and then exhaling, trying to relax.
They were about to hoverboard over buildings. There weren't many clouds in the sky, letting the moon show just how high some of the skyscrapers were around them, almost untouched by the lights of the buildings below.
Damn. They swallowed, trying to control their heartbeat, which had kicked up a notch again now that they weren't distracted by the idea of it and now had to do it.
Controlling their cables to make them do what they wanted with precision was easy; controlling their heartbeat in the same way, not so much.
"Are you all right?" Kang-dae asked, his voice soft as he watched them, his hand with the cable tightening for a second.
They pursed their lips, taking another deep breath. The Union could be getting closer with all the time they were wasting.
Right. Nakida squared their shoulders and rippled the cable Kang-dae was holding, making sure they had full control over it. They did and then they started to use their cable to pull them left and right over the rooftop. The movement was easy and smooth, something they could do by kicking off with a leg by themselves and had done over the years they'd used hoverboards. They had to keep their weight more to the back to make sure the nose of their 'board didn't dip enough to hit the rooftop, but once they'd gotten used to it, they moved their cable in widening arcs, snapping a change in direction until their 'board lifted off its usual horizontal from the force.
They braked to a stop and nodded at Kang-dae. "Yeah, I am now," they said with a fierce satisfied smile. They were as ready as they could be in the time they had; they would ache by the time they got to their inn, looking at the obstacle course they were about to do, but they felt far safer doing it this way than on Kang-dae's back. It meant they would have to see the ground rushing towards them to calculate their landings, but they were more in control.
Kang-dae returned their smile, his hand tightening on their cable again.
Now to do this.
Wiki tells me a Korean ri is about 392.72 meters, so Nakida's inn is about 2 miles/3km from where they are.
So the reason why I gave Nakida a hoverboard? Because I wanted the rooftop-hopping scene with it. 8D