Next to the man with the mechanical arm stood another man. His hair was messy and his eyes were half closed as if he had just woken up. While Little Jevan was thinking of a way to escape, the orange haired boy rushed straight toward him.

"Valeric!"

The disheveled man opened his eyes, yawning and stretching a little.

"Oh, you? What took you so long?"

"I was looking for more members, just like you asked."

"Forget it. We need to go back. Yara's already angry enough."

"But I found a new member!"

"I said forget it. We have enough troublemakers."

While they argued, Little Jevan tried to slip away quietly, but a rough hand grabbed his coat collar.

"Where do you think you're going, little rat?"

Jevan's body trembled, and when he tried to resist, a gray mist spilled from the man's mechanical arm, crawling over his limbs until he froze in place.

Ricardo (the man with the mechanical arm) turned, and before he could walk off the orange haired boy clutched the edge of Jevan's coat.

"Let him go!"

Ricardo tried to shove him aside, but the boy held on stubbornly and looked at Valeric, pointing at Jevan.

"This is the member I found!"

Valeric stayed silent for a moment, shot Jevan a brief glance and his eyes widened for an instant before going back to normal.

"Ricardo, let him go."

Ricardo gritted his teeth and turned toward him.

"I helped you find the boy you wanted, so stay out of my business."

"This kid is part of my gang. Who told you you could sell him like merchandise?"

Ricardo chuckled, his eyes glinting with malice.

"You call that miserable orphanage a gang?"

"Yes. I call it my home too."

"A moment ago you said you didn't want new members."

Valeric yawned.

"I changed my mind."

Ricardo exhaled hard, then set Jevan down on the ground.

"Remember, you owe me for this."

"I'll remember."

Ricardo walked off and the mist restraining Jevan vanished. Once it had completely faded, Jevan felt his legs come back to life, took a deep breath and lifted his head toward Valeric.

"Thank you…"

Valeric waved dismissively.

"No need to thank me."

Jevan got up with difficulty, turned and tried to grab his things quickly and run off before the mechanical armed man returned. But Valeric's hand landed on his shoulder. He turned and saw Valeric looking at him with half closed eyes.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Jevan faltered.

"Do you need something from me?"

"Yes. To come with me."

The orange haired boy raised his hand excitedly.

"To our headquarters!"

Older Jevan floated nearby, watching without interfering. His body was more transparent than before, which made him assume that the more he used his power in the past, the more he faded until he returned to the present.

Valeric didn't seem to intend to harm Little Jevan. And if the opposite happened, he would still be able to pull the boy out of this mess. So for now he chose to watch.

Valeric pulled Little Jevan along while the boy tried to pull away.

…

After walking for hours they reached a medium sized building in the fourth district. The street was empty of passersby and silence filled the place except for the sound of the wind whistling. Valeric went inside, dragging Little Jevan behind him while Marco followed.

As soon as they entered, a woman waiting at the entrance confronted them. She was wearing a brown dress with a white shirt and her hair was tied tightly back into a ponytail, her eyes sparking with anger. She ran up and grabbed Marco by the ear.

"Where have you been all this time?!"

Marco yelled, trying to break free.

"I was looking for new members!"

"New members?"

"Yes, just like Valer…"

Valeric stretched out his hand and covered Marco's mouth with his palm.

"You know, it looks like he got bored so he tried…"

"Valeric, let him finish."

For the first time the lazy look faded from his face and genuine irritation appeared, but in the end he removed his hand from Marco's mouth.

She smiled, a crooked, scary smile that made Little Jevan try to run, but Valeric grabbed him by the collar.

"What were you saying, Marco?"

He pointed at Valeric.

"I went on a mission to bring a new member, just like Valeric asked me."

Yara turned to Valeric. Valeric was already thinking of running away with Jevan.

"We'll have a long talk later. For now, who is this boy you brought?"

Marco pointed excitedly at Little Jevan.

"This is the new member I found!"

Jevan shook his head.

"I didn't agree to this. I need to leave."

But Yara grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him forward.

"Introduce him to the others, Marco."

Marco took him by the hand and pulled him inside. When they were out of sight, her smile vanished.

"Now explain to me what happened."

Valeric swallowed.

"Calm down and I'll explain everything from the beginning."

He sat on the edge of the table, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to organize his thoughts. He told her that yesterday, while he was drunk, Marco came to him and tried to drink alcohol. At first he pushed him away, but Marco insisted, and to distract him he gave him the task of recruiting new members.

Yara shouted in his face.

"Why did you even ask him to do that?"

"I didn't expect him to take the job so seriously."

"And where did he find him?"

He hesitated, and when she noticed she raised her hand and a blade of air formed on her palm.

"Talk."

"He found him with that red eyed boy, they were stealing from a bakery."

"And why did you bring him with you? That's not like you."

Valeric exhaled, looking away.

"As proof of what I'm saying."

The blade disappeared from her hand.

"You need to stop telling him we're a gang."

"But we are a gang."

"That was in the past. Now this place is more like an orphanage."

He muttered sarcastically.

"The old man would be so proud of you."

"He's already dead."

"I suppose his soul is at peace now in hell because of your actions."

"Are you mocking me?"

Valeric yawned.

"No, I'm praising you. Now, excuse me, I'm going to sleep."

She grabbed the edge of his coat before he could leave.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He turned to her lazily.

"Do you want something else from me?"

She pointed at the window. He turned and saw Little Jevan climbing out of the next room's window, starting to run away from the place. Valeric sighed deeply, putting his hand to his head, then hurried toward the door to chase him.

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