New Life: A Second Chance

Nitocris sighed.

It had been a shock to him to discover that "Ice" was actually Kyle. He had kept records of all the promising men in the Underground, and Ice had been identified. The problem was, the young boy was a lone wolf and would not participate in any gang wars or be interested in joining any organisations, no matter how good the offer was.

Those who tried to force him ... mysteriously encountered so many problems that they had to disband. They kept getting robbed, the police was always there during their heists or illegal activities, their members kept getting killed by rival gang members. No one truly attributed it to Ice but it did start a rumour.

Leave Ice alone, or you and your entire family will be cursed. 'Family' here being the Underground Family.

Ice was bad luck. The bearer of doom. People in the Underground were highly superstitious and they believed that Ice had the Curse of Misery upon him. Anyone who made him unhappy, would result in that curse being released.

Just look at the fate of all those who tried to target him. Ice was cold, ruthless ... but if he made 'the' face, whoever he glanced at would suffer the next day. Not just the person, but the entire organisation. The curse was ruthless, just like the Bearer.

Little did they know that Ice WAS the curse. He just got rid of any potential problems before it became too troublesome.

"Both of you are being monitored constantly," Nitocris said, "They will attack at any given moment. I can't tell you the date or time as it's going to be random. As long as they feel there's a chance, they'll take it."

Kyle grunted, to show he understood.

Nitocris then got up, dumped his newspaper into the bin and whispered, "Be careful."

Kyle didn't respond, seemingly lost in thought as he gazed at the pond in front of him. After several minutes had passed, Kyle took his jacket that he hung on the bench and put it on. He's got to warn Kay to be extra careful and not leave Master Shifu's house for whatever reason.

.:*・°☆...:*・.:*・°☆...:*・

"NO," Kay shouted, stomping her foot, "I will NOT."

Kyle was staring at her, equally angry and not backing down, "YES. YOU. WILL."

"This is the best chance, Kyle and you know it," Kay said through clenched teeth.

"It's too risky!" Kyle shouted back, "I, alone, will be enough!"

"No it isn't!" Kay denied, "I'm better protected with you than away from you."

"Master Shifu can protect you way better than I can," Kyle pointed out, rolling his eyes at how stupid Kay was being, "That man is a beast. Worse than a pig. There is NO way I am going to allow you to be bait!"

"Look," Kay said in exasperation, sitting down on the sofa of the living room that they were in, "We all know how tight the security is at that place. We've tried many methods. Even Nic can't find an opening for us to go in."

Kyle sat down on the one-seater sofa across from Kay, "If you're the only one captured, he'll most likely just hand you over to Dr. Dre. You might not even get an opportunity to see him until the whole damn thing is over."

"I can escape easily," Kyle said stubbornly.

"Like they wouldn't be prepared for that?" Kay said, "Even if you do manage to escape, it doesn't mean you'll be able to get to Kazuya. He'll be on high alert."

"So? It's not like I can't take him down," Kyle said in a huff.

"At what cost? Your forte is to attack in the dark. The shadow in the night that no one can see. There is no way you can do it when they are searching for you actively, in a locked-down building!" Kay shouted, banging her hand on the table.

Kyle leaned forward and banged his hand on the table as well, "Are you saying my skills are lacking?!"

"You're just ONE man against hundreds, if not thousands!!" Kay screamed, "ONE. ONE MAN. I only have one brother!"

A single tear fell down Kay's cheeks and Kyle immediately felt guilty. He rushed over and hugged her, "And I only have one sister. I can't ... I just can't."

"It's either we both go, or none at all," Kay stated.

Kyle took a long, deep breath as he held Kay tightly.

His emotions were getting the better of him. He knew that. He noticed that he was getting more and more irrational in his decisions when it came to Kay. He couldn't help it. The moment he feels that she's even in the slightest bit of danger, the anger builds up within him quickly, often to the boiling point.

Kyle knew that this was most likely the infamous 'Smith Wrath'. He noticed that his control over his emotions started becoming weak when he hit puberty. The raging hormones did nothing much to Kyle Jr - well, not in terms of having uncontrolled sexual urges - but it did make him shorter tempered.

Kyle took several long breaths, inhaling Kay's scent and calming down. Finally letting her go, he sat down and pulled her down with him.

"I know you're right," Kyle admitted grudgingly, "But even in the best case scenario, there is a high chance that ... he'll touch you inappropriately."

Kay suppressed a shudder, knowing that Kyle would go ballistic again if he senses even the slightest hesitation from her.

"I know that," Kya said, patting his thigh, "I can handle it. I prefer that than to have this threat over our heads indefinitely. That Kazuya just has to go, once and for all."

Master Shifu came in at that moment, carrying a tray with three mugs of hot tea. He figured that the twins had finally settled down to be able to discuss things properly. He had stayed away, knowing that it was best that the twins figured this by themselves and not have him interfere.

He would, however, provide support and advice.

"So now that that is settled, shall we discuss the plans?" Master Shifu said as he placed the steaming mugs of tea on the table.

Kyle scratched his head in annoyance and exasperation over the situation, "Yes, Master Shifu."

Rheia came in as well, bringing in a plate of brownies. She placed them on the table and said with a gentle smile, "You guys talk this out. I'm retiring for the night."

Kyle stood up as a sign of respect, and said, "Thank you, Auntie Rheia."

She smiled, patted him on the shoulder and walked up to her room.

Kyle had bought the house adjacent to the current Master Shifu's house. Master Shifu's house was a semi-detached home, which meant that two houses were joined together and shared one wall. Kyle then had the shared wall be demolished partially, making an open-door hallway.

The second house went through some minor renovations as they didn't need two kitchens or dining rooms. Master Shifu's original house had the kitchen and dining room while the other house had the living room, a small kitchenette and a bedroom on the ground floor and two bedrooms above.

Thus, from the outside, it still looked like two semi-detached houses, but in reality, inside, it was one huge house. Kyle and Kay stayed in the new house while Master Shifu and Auntie Rheia stayed in the old house. If Nitocris comes over, he would stay in the guest room in the new house. He wouldn't come until Kazuya was taken care of, but he would often Skype his mother.

Kyle smiled a bit when he thought of the day they brought Nitocris's mother over. She had to be disguised and Nitocris persuaded her by telling her that she was going to a costume party. Luckily, she played along and they had a small party at Master Shifu's house. An MIB agent is now undercover and posing as Nitocris's mother in her house.

After watching Nitocris mother go through the hallway to the old house, Kyle sat down and took a huge slice of brownies. It had been his favourite then, and it's his favourite now. All that chocolatey goodness. All those calories he's got to burn later.

Kyle noted the stern look Master Shifu gave him and he grinned, his teeth all brown with the brownies. He avoided Master Shifu's cane and laughed, "I'll do extra sets tonight and tomorrow, Master Shifu. These brownies are just to DIE for, okay?"

Master Shifu shook his head but there was a ghost of smile on his face as he looked at the brownies. It really was delicious. In fact, anything Rheia cooked was delicious. It had been so long since there was someone who actually cooked for him and took care of him, while he was taking care of her.

Luckily, the treatments seem to be working in their favour. Rheia was truly a nice, kind soul and it would be better for her to live normally rather than in the fantasy bubble she made for herself. Bit by bit, she was replacing the real world with her fantasy world.

He had to do it slowly, for if it was too fast, she might not be able to handle it emotionally and break down mentally. What was important also was for Rheia to experience a good, happy family life. This was so that when her memories of her past comes back, she would be able to use the warmth of what she has now to deal with it.

"We have to get rid of this Kazuya quickly," Master Shifu said, "Nitocris needs to be here so that Rheia can have her beloved son with her when her memories of what Kazuya is really like comes back."

Kyle nodded.

Laying out some papers on the table, Kyle began scribbling on it.

"How about, we do it like this ...."