Nahida was never an early bird. She would sleep at high noon and wake up right around the time of the sunset at around 8 p.m. Nahida’s favorite pastime was watching the slow bustle of Varun’s bar, the chuckle and laughter and somehow the rudeness all had a sense of tranquility to it.

She would watch as all of them left with full bellies and mind in the clouds, and then she would watch Isen as he unbuckled his apron and drifted off to clean right beside her. Nahida would sit quietly, listening to the songs of birds die down, and a familiar buzz of insects erupt. Varun would be where he always was, behind the counter. Sometimes counting the bottles, sometimes whipping the wine glasses with the napkin he received from their late adoptive father figure. But most of the time he would leave, descend into the depths of the nights only to return with just an extra scratch, or bruise, or a nick.

She gazed at Kaiser, who at this point seemed worried. “What’s wrong?” She asked. He looked at her, voice wavering, he asked, “What do you want from me?”

She sighed. “Saran had told me that you would be a bit on the edge.”

“Saran?”

She leaned back on her stool just enough so that her back was touching the wall behind her, talking a deep breath she told Kaiser everything.

This night was just like any other. Varun had departed, and Isen was tucked safely into his room upstairs. Nahida sat. It wasn’t lonely. No, her life in Miko had taught her enough about solitude. She left her thick braid to come loose and dangle from her dark, freckled face.

A knock came at the door. She jumped. Who would come at this hour? She thought. Varun already had keys to the bar and wouldn’t be returning so quickly, and Isen was snoring upstairs.

She took hold of the polearm next to her. A standard one, issued to all soldiers in Miko’s army. But hers was slightly different. Usually, the tip of the weapon was silver. She was gold, a symbol that she used to be a royal guard.

It was supposed to be an item of great prestige, but to Nahida, it just served as a reminder of the people she had betrayed.

The names of her fellow rebels were muddied and forgotten. All that she could remember was the hard floor of the cellar they threw her inside. All she could remember were the faces of her comrades being executed in front of her. Their pleas and cries of hatred still echoed in her head.

She shook her head, “Snap out of it, or suicide of the closest building.” She told herself.

They opened the door and just as quickly shot the polearm at the figure. It was dark and unimpressed. “Nahida.” Said a familiar voice, “It’s just me.”

She lead him inside and sat him down. Placing her weapon just within arm’s reach. But this particular boy wasn’t much of a threat to her. “What business do you have here, Saran?” She asked in a gruff voice.

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He held his hand up as if the defend himself, “It’s nothing bad, I swear.” He said.

“That’s what you said last time. And then, somehow, you got the Sango police after me.” She replied.

“Well, that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t tried killing me in the middle of the day.”

“It was training.” She said, “Besides, you’re alive right now, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t call attacking your trainee training.” He said, crossing his arms.

Nahida waved her hand, “Fine, fine. That was all in the past. What do you want now?”

Saran leaned back. “Where should I even begin?” He asked himself.

“So you’re asking me to help this boy, named…”

“Kaiser,” Saran finished, “I’m not asking you to help him. I’m just going to prove to you that he’s worth it.”

“What’s your master plan to convince me, then?” She asked, smirking.

“That’s up to you. What would convince you that he’s worth having around?”

“A will to live.”

“That’s all?”

She nodded. “Everyone has a will to live. He just needs to be strong enough to convince me that he doesn’t want to end up at the bottom of the sea.”

“Go to the red-light district tomorrow, then.” He said, standing.

“The district?” She asked, “That place has been abandoned for ages, not to mention a Hunter of all people's lives there.”

Saran smiled, “Then it’s the perfect place to stir up some trouble, isn’t it?”

I guess you were right after all. Nahida thought to herself. Saran had successfully convinced Nahida and drew attention from The Hunters. Now Anita, and supposedly Ajax, were both after them.

The former didn’t concern Nahida quite too much, Anita could control metals. A powerful ability, but she only used it for making weapons in an actual fight. Anita would be easy to defeat.

It was the latter Nahida who was conserved about. He was dubbed the Hunter’s dog, for a reason.

Ajax could kill hundreds of infantry soldiers in a matter of minutes.

“He’ll come as soon as he hears a word that the ship sank and a mysterious Sai martial artist was there.”

“How will he find out? I trust that you managed to kill every last Caprian on board?”

“Of course not. Then I wouldn’t be able to carry out my plan. I told Eri to keep one soldier alive just long enough so that they could carry the message to The Hunters.”

“Why not just deliver a message pretending to be one?” Nahida had asked.

“The Hunters aren’t stupid. They won’t fall for a simple letter mailed to them.”

Nahida grinned, “Shelby raised a smart boy.”

She had agreed to the plan. And now, sitting here watching Kaiser as he realized the truth, Nahida felt a pang of appreciation. For both Saran, for coming up with the idea, and here, for training him so well.

“So,” Varun perked his head up unexpectedly, “How does it feel to be part of someone else’s ploy?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Kaiser grumbled.

“She’s not convinced yet,” Isen mumbled, looking slightly recovered. He looked at Nahida accusatory, “What are you going to make him do next?”

“You’re not?” Kaiser asked, and for a moment, they both looked at her.

She sighed, “It’s not that I’m not convinced, quite the contrary, actually.” She tossed a revolver to Kaiser, which he caught.

“Find one of those and I’ll help. No strings attached this time.”

“That’s idiotic, Nahida,” Isen said, defending Kaiser. “You can’t just set him up for failure.”

“I didn’t become your bodyguard because I was intelligent.”

Isen scowled.

“Anyway,” she said, “You up for it, or not?”

“Looks like I don’t have much of a choice.” He grumbled, standing up.

She smiled, “That’s the spirit!” She said, watching him leave the bar.

“He won’t find it,” Varun said after a moment.

“Of course not. This is the first lesson I need to teach him.”

“And if he meets Ajax on this lesson of yours?” Varun asked.

“Let him,” Nahida remarked, smiling.