Avalanche: New Haven

XIII. Help Comes in Different Forms

Aria, Kai, and Luke made their way onto the next block, gazing up at the buildings to look for any signs of a living space.
"What's this guy's name again?" Luke asked.
"Eiji Bushida," Kai answered, "Chiasa said he lived on this block."
"But where?" Luke asked.

They caught up to where Aria stood in front of a building noticeably smaller than the rest on the end of the block. It resembled a house, but looked worse for wear. Rust and grime lined the walls, with noticeable cracks snaking out from the corners of the windows.
The three young Gifted looked at one another, unsure.
"This... looks like it could be abandoned," Kai commented.
"I mean, everything else on this block seem to be all businesses," Aria pointed out, "We should at least... knock."
She then stepped forward, when Luke grabbed her wrist.
"Wait," he said, "I'll do it."
"Luke-" Aria started.
"Just in case something unexpected happens," he said, slightly nervous.
Aria looked at Kai, who just shrugged.
"Okay," she said, stepping back.
Luke smiled nervously, then headed up to the sliding door.

He noticed a doorbell button off to the side, and pressed it. A buzzing sound emitted from inside. Luke looked back at the other two, anticipating the door to open.
A moment later, the door slid open, and a middle aged gentleman stood before Luke. He was slightly shorter than the blond, and was starting to bald.

"Konnichiwa?" he asked.
"Oh... geez," Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously, "Um... kon... konnichi...wah...? Uh... are you... Eiji Bushida?"
Kai stared in disbelief while Aria just chuckled anxiously.
"I am Eiji Bushida," the man said in a thick accent, "I apologize, I didn't think to try English."
"No no!" Luke replied quickly, "Don't apologize! We're the ones in Japan without knowing Japanese, heh..."
"Oh no..." Aria sighed, shaking her head at Luke's decorum.
She then stepped forward, "Excuse us, uh... Bushida-sama? We had some questions for you that we hoped you could answer... if you have the time, that is."
Bushida looked at the three teens.

"What did you want to ask me?" he asked.
"It's about the fall of the police and leadership here in Nagahama," Kai said, "In relation to-"
"The Bàs Fuar," Bushida finished.
The three just nodded in confirmation.
Bushida leaned his head out and looked from side to side in a paranoid fashion.

"Come in."

❄️

Dai awoke to find himself in a bed in an unknown room. It was relatively small, with a small dresser and end table relatively close to it. A lit lamp sat atop the end table and a small square window was situated in an upper corner of the room. More notably, he noticed a figure sitting in a chair at the foot of his bed.

Dai sat up, groaning as he felt slight pain tickle his chest. It was then he looked down and noticed his shirt was missing, and a hefty amount of gauze was wrapped around his upper torso.

"I figured you would use your healing to take care of the more minor wounds," the familiar voice of Enzo Leroy said from the chair, "I took the liberty of having that cut on your chest taken care of."
Dai blinked, having completely forgotten where he was upon waking up.
"Um... thank you, sir," he said slowly.
"Please," Leroy smiled, standing up, "Refer to me as Master or simply Leroy."
"Um, okay... Leroy," Dai continued slowly.
Leroy went over to the dresser and opened a drawer.

"Your new uniform is in here," he smiled coldly, "You passed the initiation but now you will face more tests to become a full member of our family."
Dai blinked.
"I shall take you under my wing and teach you our ways, Dai Fray," he said, grinning down at the ice Gifted.
"...Yes, thank you," Dai said.
Leroy nodded, "I'll leave you to rest for the night, but tomorrow morning, we begin at six A.M. sharp."

Leroy went to leave, before a thought struck him. He turned back around.
"Oh, I also had Millicent get rid of your cellular phone," he said, "Secrecy is our most prized value here."
He then took his leave and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Dai grunted as he moved to sit on the side of the bed. His wound still stung, but it wasn't too terrible.
He noticed his shoes were taken off as well, and were placed by the door.

The light of the room was shining off of something within his left shoe.
He went over to them and picked it up, holding it upside down with his hand underneath.
His phone fell out and into his palm.
He blinked, surprised.
"Okay..." he uttered.

Upon opening it, he texted Kai.
Got inside. Will be okay. Gonna start searching for Lena and Jace tonight.

Upon hitting the 'send' button, a knock came rapping on his door.
Panicking, Dai quickly hid his phone under the covers of his new bed as the door opened.
The woman, Millicent, walked in.
Anxiety was beginning to overwhelm Dai, but he did his best to keep his composure.

Millicent closed the door behind her, then removed her hood from her head.
"Do not be afraid," she said.
Dai gave her a look of confusion and nervousness.
"I apologize for earlier," she said, "It had to be convincing."
Dai blinked once more, surprised.
"Um... who are you?" he asked.
"I am Millicent," she said, "Long story short, I'm not really fully 'with' the Bàs Fuar. I'm only using them to achieve my own ends, and they've all been achieved."
"...Okay," Dai said cautiously.
"I have to ask you, though," she said, "Are you here for the two prisoners?"
Dai's face went pale.
"It's not a bad thing if you are!" Millicent said quickly, then sighed, sitting on the end of his bed.

"Truly, I'm sorry for frightening you earlier tonight," she said, "I was never going to actually kill you... even if that's what Leroy would have wanted."
Dai said nothing, so Millicent continued.
"The point is," she said, "I need to know if you are here for the two prisoners. It can't be mere coincidence you came here after someone already tried breaking our original prisoner out."
Dai paused, considering.
"How do I know I can trust you?" he asked.
Millicent paused now, before answering.

"Because I know Lena Prasylova."

❄️

Luke, Kai, and Aria were situated in Bushida's home similarly to how they were in Chiasa's; sitting on mats around a small table. The only difference being Bushida hadn't offered any tea. After introducing themselves, they got down to business. Kai felt his phone buzz as Aria started speaking.
"You were chief of police around twenty years ago, yes?" she asked.
"Hai," Bushida nodded, "Those bastards kicked me out of my position and threatened me and my family with violence if we ever left or told anyone."
"I'm sorry that happened," Aria said.
"It is not your fault, Aria-san," Bushida waved his hand, "But it is... unfortunate. Many on our force were Gifted... dominantly ice Gifted, so much of my men joined the Bàs Fuar with no repercussions."
"What about the other Gifted?" Luke asked.
"They were either killed for fighting them or forced into submission," Bushida sighed, "I was one of the ones that submitted to them. They gave me and my family this home and told me to keep quiet, otherwise..."
"Where is your family now?" Aria asked.
"My wife left me ten years ago, and took our children with her," Bushida explained, "They still live in Nagahama, just... elsewhere."
An awkward silence filled the room.

"Excuse the interruption," Kai said, his phone out, turning to Luke and Aria, "Dai made it in. He's safe."
"Oh, thank god," Luke breathed a sigh of relief.
"I beg your pardon?" Bushida asked.
"Oh, our friends were captured by the Bàs Fuar and are being held in their temple on Mt. Ibuki. One of our other friends; his brother Dai, went up there to use his ice Gift to join them so he can break them out," Aria explained.
"But... but you're just children!" Bushida exclaimed, "You shouldn't be risking yourselves like that."
"We couldn't just wait to save our friends," Luke argued, "It might be too late if we wait."
"Please," Kai said, "You can fight with us, Bushida-sama."
Bushida looked at him, aghast.
"I could never! They'd go after my family!" Bushida exclaimed once more.
Aria paused, considering.
"You know... if we got all the Gifted in Nagahama to stand together, you might be able to take down the Bàs Fuar once and for all!" she suggested.
Bushida shook his head, "Even if we did, they'd still be too afraid to fight. The Bàs Fuar are very skilled ice Gifted, and without the support of our local police force, a group of civilians with little to no combat training wouldn't hold a candle to them."
"Well, then I know what we must do," Kai said,

"We need to get the police on our side."