Thud! The lid of a present box flew through the room as the Kahi opened a mysterious package left for them. At first it had been opened out of curiosity but now a mixture of rage and bewilderment crossed their features as they realized what was inside. A pair of bloodstained daggers..a very familiar pair at that. A curse left Lanakila’s lips as they took out the daggers and clutched them in their hands. This was the last thing that they had expected to come out of such a brilliantly wrapped present and something that they never wanted to see again. Their mentor’s death still flashed in their memory, the Kahi not wanting him to track them down later on or to train anyone else in their fighting technique. “It would be a shame, after all, if you were to teach anyone else those moves.” The words that had left their lips had been the last before they tossed the other Kahi from the cliffs, the bandit’s body already battered and cut from their fight. It had been a glorious sight, the crimson from his body staining the foamy waves as his body was taken from sight with the tides dragging him further out into the ocean with each pull. Of course it had only been revealed in moonlight when the beach was deserted and Lanakila knew that they were safe to pull off such a stunt. It had been either them or their mentor, and despite their harsh words there had been a bit of pain at the betrayal. Afu had only trained them in order to let them take the blame for a murder, using the very blades that Lanakila used to cut them open instead as evidence against Lanakila who was supposed to be drugged and used as a sacrifice in some grand scheme. But Lanakila had taken these blades against their master and they swore that he had breathed his final breaths before shoving him from those cliffs. So why was Lanakila looking at those blades again now?! Another curse left their lips as they nearly tossed the box in a rare fit of emotion. “We can’t stay here.” Whoever had been with Afu must have realized that Lanakila had been the one to end their schemes. And if they were anything like their deceased mentor then they would be quick to vengeance as well. That was what the whole past six months had been, after all, just a long con to train Lanakila and to get them to run errands in return for that training that would stain their hands and make them the culprit for the murder of a prominent merchant in town that had betrayed Afu years ago. Thankfully Lana had caught on in time and after following Afu around they had found his meeting places with the other bandits. That allowed the Kahi to slip a bit of evidence here and there with the help of others that lived with Kona for the local authorities to track down the bandits, giving Lanakila plenty of freedom at the very end to appear innocent despite Afu’s intentions. But it appeared someone had slipped from their jail or somehow their mentor had survived despite everything. Was it actually possible? Lanakila frowned as they twisted the blade in their hands, the cold metal biting into their skin. His pulse had been still and there had been so much blood even before they tossed the body from the cliffs. It’s highly unlikely. Lanakila mused with a nod, the Kahi sighing as they looked around the small room that they lived in under Kona’s roof. It was bound to happen eventually but it still irritated them that it wasn’t by their own terms that they would be leaving. “I hate unexpected presents.” Lanakila flicked their wrists, sending each blade deep into the sides of their wardrobe before they plucked the weapons free again and placed them back in the box. They would track down whoever dared to send them this gift and give them something else in return. The very though brought a crooked grin to Lanakila’s face, the expression terrifying for anyone who saw it. But first they would have to pack up and leave, it was time to try out that new hideout that they had noticed in the city. Did they tell Kalua? Probably. It would be boring if they left on their own without at least one or two companions that they could rely on from living here over the past decade of their life. Kona would be sad, but it would be better than risking her neck for their mistake - as loath as Lanakila was to admit such a thing.

[790]