Chapter 21: How to Lift Shizuku's Sweater
Kai's experiments had revealed a new function for his Star Marker.
While in Mode 1 (First-Person Possession), he could now "partition" a small part of the target's "brain capacity" to communicate with their original consciousness.
But fundamentally, it was still Mode 1. He was the one in the driver's seat. If he wanted to let the target take back control, his own consciousness would be "logged off." This was a far cry from his ideal scenario: hiding in a bird's subconscious, using its senses as a passive, invisible drone.
Kai, currently piloting Butch's body, trotted around the clearing. Still, he thought, if I can communicate, I should be able to "update" their standing orders before I log off, right?
He disengaged from Butch, then looked up at one of the white birds that was acting as air support. Using a simple Mode 3 (Verbal) command, he said, "Fly in an infinity pattern."
The Star Marker on the bird's beak flickered, accepting the new command. Kai immediately switched to Mode 1, his mind flooding the bird's.
He stayed "online" for only a few seconds, doing nothing, then immediately "logged off."
As he expected, the bird's body reverted to its last command, continuing to fly in the infinity pattern.
Kai possessed it again. In their shared mind-space, he gave a new order: "When I leave, land on Butch's tail."
He logged off.
This time, the bird instantly broke its pattern, folded its wings, and dove, landing perfectly on Butch's tail. Butch just tilted his head, completely confused by whatever game Kai was playing.
"That's... cumbersome," Kai muttered. "A real roundabout way of doing things. It would be so much easier if I could just evolve this to have a telepathic link." He sighed. "But the essence of my Hatsu is Control. To change that, I'd either have to master Manipulation to an absurd degree, or I'd have to add more Restrictions..."
His gut told him to keep the Hatsu's core purpose clean. If he made his ability too complicated, he'd be the one to get tangled in his own rules.
"This is good enough for now."
Kai let out a breath and clenched his fist, enveloping it in Ten. "Can't get sidetracked. The priority is still increasing my total Aura and drilling the fundamentals."
"Butch! Let's go. Show me this 'perfect training spot' you found."
Kai hopped on the tiger's back, and with Rock Sparrow and the two white birds in tow, they were off.
Along the way, Kai caught a dozen more birds. This time, he was patient. He placed microscopic Star Markers in hard-to-see places—under their bellies, on their talons, beneath their wings. He gave them each their orders and tossed them into the sky.
Flap, flap, flap... The new flock split into three groups and vanished.
The effort left Kai panting. He'd calculated that each Star Marker cost him about 66 Aura. "Autographing" a dozen birds had just cost him nearly 800 Aura—a massive chunk of his 1000-Aura pool. He'd had to rest between applications.
He'd split them up because the Ochima team, led by Sloe, had already left the hotel and separated.
Sloe, the young balding official, and Kanzai—the "Tiger" Zodiac—were driving south toward the reserve's main gate.
Meanwhile, Shizuku and the other freelance Hunters had changed into civilian clothes and were sneaking into the reserve's outer perimeter. The reserve was split into three zones: Outer, Buffer, and the "No Entry" Core.
Kai didn't dare send his original bird after Sloe's car. He couldn't shake the feeling that Kanzai's backward glance at the hotel had been for him. That "dumb-looking Tiger" had the sharp instincts of a beast. He was a Zodiac, after all.
So, he assigned a new team of six birds to that mission, ordering them to rotate in pairs to avoid arousing Kanzai's suspicion.
The other new birds were sent to the north coast to relieve the original green bird watching Babimaina's team. That bird was on its last legs; Kai had been forced to observe from 200 meters away, and he still felt that the broccoli-haired soldier had noticed it.
The green-bird-scout watched from the trees as Babimaina's team, on the distant shore, seemed to have found the bodies in the water. Time for a shift change, Kai thought.
...
Back on Butch, Kai's main body arrived at the "perfect training spot." He hopped off and praised the tiger.
At the exact same time, in another part of his mind, the green bird following Shizuku's group settled onto a branch. But let's be honest, Kai wasn't watching the group.
He was watching Shizuku.
Her messy black hair, her glasses that were slipping down her nose, and the form-fitting black turtleneck she was wearing...
Kai was, in fact, staring intently at that turtleneck.
Every member of the Phantom Troupe has a spider tattoo with a number. If he remembered correctly, Shizuku's was on her left abdomen. Number 8.
He was pretty sure that, in 1994, she hadn't joined the Troupe yet. But... who knew for sure? What if the Spiders were already on this island?
I have to find a way to lift her sweater and check.
Kai, in his bird-body, swore he had no unhealthy intentions. He was just confirming if this young woman was a member of that notorious band of thieves.
Saving a girl from a life of crime, he told himself. It's an urgent mission!
Shizuku, completely unaware of the bird's bizarre internal monologue, was just happily wandering through the reserve, hoping to finally see a Pale Moon Tiger.
...
Back to Kai's main body.
Thanks to all his "external CPUs" (the birds' brains), he was multitasking like a pro. He was:
Remotely monitoring Babimaina's progress.
Plotting how to lift Shizuku's sweater.
Keeping tabs on Kanzai.
...and, finally, inspecting his new training ground.
It was just as he'd asked. It was secluded, it had a large flat clearing, and it had a water source.
There was just one problem. The water was undrinkable.
It was salty.
It was the ocean.
As Kai stared at the beach, Butch had the good sense to look away, ashamed.
(End of Chapter)