The Lostkind

by Matt Stephens

  Vincent bit his lip. "I suppose that's as good a way of putting it as anything."

  Benji sniffed. "I smell lasagna." He said.

  Tony elbowed him. "Could you not think with your stomach for just one minute?"

  "I'm not. You know and I know that Vincent only cooks when he's upset." Benji argued.

  "This is true." Tony considered. "I remember when he missed her birthday party, we got peach cobbler."

  The wind picked up again and beat the rain against the windows.

  Benji pretended to take off his hat and pose like Oliver Twist. "You wouldn't send us out into the rain, cold and hungry, would'ya Vincent?"

  Vincent sighed and smirked a little, despite himself. "Well, as it happens, I made enough for three or four meals." He admitted. "But you'll have to set the table."

  Benji beamed. "Oh sure."

  Tony scoffed. "Please, you've never used silverware in your life."

  Drew followed Vincent into the kitchen, letting them speak privately. "Connie says she was against you taking the job. She said she was worried for you."

  Vincent wouldn't meet his gaze, focusing on the task of setting out plates. "Did she say why?"

  "Something about the people you'd be working with, and the hours… She wasn't too specific. Said the job had a confidentiality clause, which meant you couldn't talk about it." He shrugged. "I work in a bank, I know all about keeping private information secret in everyday conversations."

  Vincent nodded. "That's pretty much it, yeah. I think that Connie didn't believe I could balance my work with my relationships."

  "She right?"

  Vincent sighed hard. "I don't know."

  "You're cooking. Benji's right, it's a nervous habit for you. Worried you did the wrong thing?"

  "Yeah, a little." Vincent admitted. "But if I had to do it over again, I'd probably do the same. Wherever this leads, it's just something I have to do."

  Drew nodded; but he wasn't smiling. "Connie's upset. As her big brother, that makes me furious, but she's handling this one well. Maybe because it was her choice to end it here, maybe because she understands why you're doing this. So it's a bad day, but we all move on."

  Vincent nodded. "Thank you for that."

  "Don't thank me." Drew said seriously. "This could be the worst mistake you ever made. So far it's cost you your girlfriend; and speaking as her brother, the best thing that's ever happened to you. Connie and me? Our parents worked two jobs each just to keep us in the black, and we hardly ever saw them as a result. Nobody ever lay on their deathbed, wishing they had spent more time at work." Drew said seriously. "Career is career, but love is forever."

  "I smell garlic bread!" Benji hollered from the next room.

  Drew headed out of the kitchen. "Something to think about."

  Benji and Tony perked up as Drew came out of the kitchen. "Food?" Benji chirped hopefully.

  "It's coming." Drew told him. "Guys, we're not staying. I needed to talk to him, and we'll shovel a little chow into Benji to shut him up, but don't get settled. There's always a discreet interval when one of your family goes through a breakup. We're not friends with Vincent, until that period of time is over."

  "No more food?" Benji repeated the part of that which he understood.

  "Not from Vincent, not for a while." Drew confirmed, breaking it to him gently. "Connie wouldn't like it."

  Benji nodded. Connie had often told him that he was loyal and hungry as a pup, and that's why she had nicknamed him ‘Benji'. He was about to say something when they heard a noise from the other end of the apartment. All three of them looked out the living room door down the hall. With the doors open, they had a clear view of the hall window opening from the outside

  And Yasi stepped over the windowsill, the fire escape clearly visible behind her. She closed the window, and shook the rain from her hair and clothes. The three extra people in the room were stunned. "Um... Hello."

  Yasi wasn't the least bit concerned as she came into the living room. "Hi there."

  "And who exactly are you?"

  "Yasi." The Shinobi said easily.

  "And where are you from?" Drew challenged.

  "Downstairs." Yasi said, giving nothing away.

  Vincent, overhearing the whole thing from the kitchen, couldn't help the slight smirk as his heart sped up a bit. Downstairs? No kidding.

  "Vincent?" Tony said, more amused than anything else. "This girl climbed in your hallway window."

  "Well, that's where the fire escape is." Vincent called back, as though that explained everything, and poked his head out of the kitchen. "Yasi." He said neutrally, giving his guests a glance. "What's up?"

  "I smelled lasagne, and it's raining outside." Yasi said, as thought that explained everything. Vincent came into the room and took a look at her. She was standing ramrod straight, her sword was missing, and though she held her hands behind her back casually, Vincent could see her hands shaking a bit from his angle. She was tense; not used to be surrounded by strangers.

  Vincent pushed the garlic bread over, and she spoke as she took a piece. "If you're in the middle of something messy…" She started to say quietly, careful not to let anyone overhear.

  "Stay. They'll only be here long enough to grab food and go." Vincent assured her. "Please."

  Yasi nodded gratefully, and sat down. Drew looked Yasi over subtly and glanced toward Vincent; the question in his eyes. He didn't ask, and Vincent was grateful, though he worried about Connie. Their main circle of friends were all here, with Yasi sitting in Connie's usual seat. The thought of her being alone made him feel guilty.

  ~oo00oo~

  Connie was staying with her brother for a while, until she found a new place. He had been happy to take her in, and stay with his girlfriend for a bit so she could have privacy. She'd spent the better part of a day convincing him that her breakup with Vincent was amicable. Drew was the definition of a Big Brother, and he wanted to punish anyone who made his little sister cry. Connie appreciated it, but even if she felt justified in doing it, leaving Vincent was her choice.

  And a part of her couldn't help the fear that Yasi might be around. Her brother would be diced if he dared to lay a finger on her ex-boyfriend.

  Tap! Tap! Tap!

  Connie spun in shock at the tapping on her window. A small shape was visible as distant lightning silently lit up the stormy sky a moment.

  "Tecca?" She whispered in surprise and opened the window for him. Even twelve feet from the ground, the boy seemed at ease perching on a windowsill in the rain. "Tecca, what are you doing here?"

  Tecca sniffed. "I'm cold." He admitted finally.

  Connie all but pulled him in forcibly; and quickly found a blanket to wrap him in.

  Tecca accepted it. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on things around here. I can do that inside the window too right?"

  "You can for as long as it's raining." Connie returned. It was not a polite offer, it was a direct order to stay and warm up. "How long were you out there?"

  "Hey, it's not like I chickened out." Tecca snarled, suddenly ferocious. "I handled the winter nights long before you came along, lady. You should have seen Wotcha; she was untouchable, no matter what was happening around her. I'm the Watcher now."

  "I know, you direct the lightning." Connie responded loyally. "Would you like some hot cocoa?"

  Tecca licked his lips. "Yes." He said carefully, as though it were a test.

  Connie smiled and fixed it for him while he dried off. "So, what brings you by?"

  Tecca took the drink and wrapped his fingers around the cup. She cleared her throat; and he swallowed. "Thank you." He said quickly; and hid it behind the mug. Connie beamed at him, and the two of them slowly sipped their hot drinks for a while. She'd spent enough time around homeless kids at the clinic. Not a one of them were willing to admit needing help. None of them were willing to admit they wanted grown-ups looking after them.

  "You know Tecca…" Connie said casually. "I'm really glad you stoppe
d by. Things with me and Vincent fell apart after… well, after. I guess I'm just not brave enough. I was still scared of Owen coming after us I guess. It was scary down there for me. I'm glad to know I've still got someone looking out for me, now that I'm here alone." He was a smart kid, and she was careful not to make it sound like she was humoring him.

  Tecca studied her, picking her apart with suspicious eyes. The jaded look was a terrible thing to see in one so young, and finally he decided he trusted whatever he saw. He reached into his messenger bag, and pulled out his copy of The Secret Garden. "Well… since you need someone to sit with you a while… We might as well do something?"

  Connie smiled. "Well, as long as you're sure." She picked up the book. "More cocoa?"

  ~oo00oo~

  Connie's friends had left once the lasagna was gone. Vincent was washing the dishes when Yasi suddenly reappeared, and picked up a dishcloth.

  "Gotta say, I was surprised to see you come in while they were here." Vincent offered as she took a plate off the drying rack. "I figured you'd wait till they left."

  "It was raining." Yasi excused, but both of them knew that wasn't it. "I wanted to... I don't know. Look, I've never told anyone this, so I'm going to fumble it a little okay?"

  "Okay." Vincent settled and let her talk.

  Yasi licked her lips. "Do you remember when you bought me coffee?"

  "Sure."

  "Double-tall Mocha-swirl, with caramel shots and whipped cream." Yasi recited. "I know it by heart. When I was in training, a group of us would come up to the surface, spend time slipping in and out of your world, learning how to be invisible. But when we were done training, we stopped. There was no reason to be up here. But when I became Captain, I came up to the surface alone. It was what I did to relax."

  "Lonely at the Top."

  "Lonely when you're young." She added, setting down the plate and picking up another. "I was the youngest Shinobi ever to become the Captain." Yasi said proudly. "There were a few people who figured it was nepotism, but I proved them all wrong."

  "Nepotism?" Vincent repeated, a little confused. "Why should... wait." It struck him suddenly and his eyes bulged.

  Yasi smirked. "You had to find out sooner or later."

  "Keeper and Archivist are your parents?" Vincent almost shrieked, making the water splash a bit. "Holy cats! You're gonna look like Keeper when you get old?!"

  Yasi just looked at him. "Weighing your options? Should I go tell Connie to move her stuff back in?"

  Vincent held up both hands. "Hey. You know that's not why we broke up."

  "I do." Yasi confirmed. "But I get why she'd think it was me." She bit her lip. "All that stuff we did? Coffee at the Bridge; music at the Opera House? I've never actually done that with someone. It was almost like a secret life. I don't think you were conscious enough to see me fight. But if you had been... that's my real face. That's what I do." She sighed and scrubbed her face. "My worlds collided that night at the Bridge, Vincent. I saw you looking, and you weren't scared of me. I hated that a part of me... wanted you to be scared." Yasi admitted. "It comes naturally most of the time. Nobody laughs at a sword. It's who I am, and I am very good at it... Intimidation gets to be habit after a while, and... it never worked on you. It occurred to me that... I didn't know what to do when fear didn't work."

  Vincent took that in. "How you reacted when fear didn't work, was to show me something incredible that was right in front of me the whole time."

  "I don't mean you, I mean everyone." Yasi interrupted him, drying the dish in her hand compulsively. "I threw a man I've known my whole life into a deep dark hole, because it honestly didn't occur to me that he was a trustworthy friend. It's not any great personality flaw; I just... never put the effort into making friends. So now I don't have any... It sort of hit me just now that it's making me kinda... isolated."

  "Yasi, I wasn't scared of you. I was stunned. I mean, I always knew you were dangerous. I saw the way Wotcha shuddered when she spoke about you. But knowing it and seeing it were different things. Connie is scared of you because of that, Yasi. I'm not."

  She nodded. "That's because when we first met, I was trying to get you to like me enough to follow a total stranger down a long dark tunnel, in the middle of the night, at an empty subway station you'd never been to, while telling nobody where you were going."

  Beat.

  "Well, put that way I sound kinda stupid." Vincent said finally.

  Yasi smirked and started drying the next plate. "I wasn't wearing the sword when we met. Most people who meet me for the first time see that sword and sort of forget there's someone holding it."

  "See? When you don't lead with that, you're really quite charming." Vincent offered. "But for what it's worth... I was very glad you were there the other night, scary or not. You did save my life. Me and Connie would be dead if you weren't that dangerous."

  She smirked, and set down the plate. "You know something? This is my first time drying dishes."

  "Really?"

  "You've seen how we do it. You've done it yourself." She pointed out. "You finish a meal in the Underside you throw the bowl away and some Gremlin pounces out and grabs it before it hits the ground."

  "Yasi, welcome to the life of a dull surface dwelling kitchen."

  The Lostkind's smirked, just a little. "You're still calling me Yasi?"

  Vincent blinked, a little confused by that. "It is your name."

  Yasi's face slowly transformed; blooming into an amazing, genuine smile. "Yeah. It is." She put the dish down, picked up another.

  He was about to try and make sense of that, when there was a knock on the door.

  "Who is it?" Called Vincent.

  "Detective Ryan, NYPD." Shouted a voice from the hall. "We need to ask you some questions."

  Vincent looked but Yasi had already vanished.

  ~oo00oo~

  "You've never seen a garden before, have you Tecca?"

  Tecca shrugged as she put the book away. "There are gardens in the Underside. We set some of them up; they clean the air, and the water. At least, a little bit. Algae and such. One of the Lostkind in California made glowing moss; and sent some to us long time ago. It's nice there, like light growing in all different colors."

  "Yeah, but without the sun, you don't have things like roses and trees."

  "No trees. No room for them."

  Connie picked her words carefully. "What about Central Park? Ever been there?"

  "Last year, I was part of a team that Borrowed some stuff from a plant nursery." Tecca offered. "Someone made dwarf fruit trees. You'd probably like it."

  "Mm." Connie nodded, non-committal. "More cocoa?"

  ~oo00oo~

  Once he was done answering their questions, Vincent left his apartment and went to the nearest coffee shop; pleased to see that the rain had passed. When he returned home, he ignored the door and went up the fire escape to the roof. Yasi was perched on the corner of the air conditioner, eyes closed, and legs crossed. She was meditating, or waiting for him. She didn't open her eyes when he approached, but she smiled when he placed the coffee next to her.

  "Did you have any trouble with the police?" Yasi asked without opening her eyes.

  Vincent hoisted himself up next to her, and took a sip of his own. "They had questions about a detective that was investigating the attack on Friday night."

  "Officer Grey." Yasi said neutrally.

  Vincent nodded. "Connie told them about my cell phone. That's why they came to ask me about it."

  Yasi opened one eye. "What'd you tell them?"

  "The truth." Vincent said with an innocent gleam in his eye. "I told them that my phone was stolen the last time I volunteered to help a bunch of poverty stricken homeless people, and I had no idea what happened after that."

  Yasi grinned. "You've been hanging with a bad crowd Vincent. You've become a regular Artful Dodger."

  "When we ran into Davidson the other day, it sort of hit me that I never had an alibi planned.
You might want to warn Wotcha-oh." Vincent bit his lip, and a look of true pain crossed both their faces. "How's Tecca taking it?"

  "I don't know." Yasi admitted. "He's a tough kid; he won't admit weakness to anyone, not even when his own grandmother gets it. But your cover was a good one. The cops will start looking toward the homeless, and they won't find anything."

  Vincent hesitated, but spit out what he'd been thinking. "Detective Ryan; the cop that came to ask me questions? He said that Officer Grey hasn't been heard from in over a day. You think Owen and Vandark are cleaning up loose ends?"

  Yasi nodded. "Could be."

  Silence.

  "Yasi; you don't know anything about what happened to Grey, do you?" Vincent challenged.

  The Shinobi shrugged easily. "Nope. Never met the man."

  "Well then..." Vincent sighed. "I'm a loose end too. And so is Connie."

  "I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it. Probably Owen and Vandark making sure we don't have any leads to them. You only know Owen and Grey, and both of them have vanished. It's over."

  Vincent nodded slowly. "It's over."

  Yasi rocked back and let her legs swing freely, picking up her coffee. "We had the funeral."

  Vincent winced. "That was quick."

  "It's our way."

  "I wish you'd told me. I would have liked to be there."

  Yasi sighed and took a sip. "That sort of thing..."

  "I know, it stays in the family; and outsiders ain't invited." Vincent murmured.

  Yasi wanted to apologize, but couldn't bring herself to do so. "Well, be glad you weren't there; it was the most horribly depressing experience of my life. We kept telling everyone the danger had passed; but Wotcha was the first person we'd lost to our enemies in so long... And she wasn't the last one we lost that weekend."

  Vincent nodded and squeezed her hand. She pulled it away carefully. It wasn't harsh or irritated; she was just keeping her distance from him. It suddenly dawned on him that he had never seen the Lostkind touch each other casually. Taps on the shoulder, hugging someone, shaking hands…

  Of course. It came to him. People who live Underground in tight quarters would have different rules on personal space. He pulled away. "Sorry."