Though she’d never had cause to enter before, Kimiko knew well enough what the Probending Arena looked like—it was, after all, one of the most prominent locations in the entire city, the grand domed roof and the four spires at a corner each looming over the surrounding area with grandiose architecture. Given that the day was yet young, it was hardly surprising that it was not lit as magnificently as it was at night, golden against black backdrop, but it was imposing all the same.
Luckily for her, she was a woman used to entering structures too pompous for most people. The thought brought a small smile to Kimiko’s face, and she moved confidently into the main entrance, which was enough for her to go unquestioned. Low security, this place. She supposed it made some measure of sense, since it was usually open to the public. Getting back to the team rooms was a little harder, and it wasn’t long before she was turned around and not quite certain where she was.
Catching the eye of a passing employee, she politely inquired after the Arctic Hippos, which earned her an incredulous stare. “What d’ya want with that low-class team, miss? Girl like you should be associating with better’n them.” Kimiko wasn’t sure what the reason for the warning was, but the man was quick to elaborate. “That Kesuk, he’s a dangerous fella. Real mean, like some kinda half-wild polar bear dog. Nasty, he can get. Still, good bender. If ya really wanna talk to ‘im, you’ll want the next two lefts in a row, then it’s on yer right. Be careful around that one, miss. Wouldn’t wanna see ya hurt.”
Kimiko nodded graciously and thanked him, turning down the hallway he’d indicated. Generally, people did think that she was the kind of person who needed looking after, but this was a bit unusual even for a well-meaning stranger. She’d never been warned so thoroughly away from a particular person before; perhaps contrary to the spirit of the advice, it made her curious as to what sort of person this Kesuk could be. Well, curious and a bit wary.
The latter was quite justified when she entered the Arctic Hippos’ training room. A man about her age or slightly older was holding converse with a girl who could not have been older than fourteen, but that wasn’t what drew her attention: it was the man on the floor, pinned there with knives and clearly struggling, ignored by the other two.
Brows furrowing, Kimiko tried to come up with a plausible explanation for that, but it made no sense at all. From his mask, the man was an Equalist, or more likely pretending to be one. There was no way that mysterious leader of theirs had them assaulting people in broad daylight, not if he wanted his organization to last. Everything she knew of him suggested that they worked under the cover of night, when their crimes were more easily disguised.
What was more, whoever had pinned him here had used deadly weapons to do it, and that was an assault charge of its own. Small fortunes that none of the local law enforcement seemed to patrol the arena itself, else whoever had done this would be in for a world of problems. Kimiko’s own first instinct was to fix the situation as best she could; striding across the room, she crouched beside the man. “I’m letting you go, but you are to leave and say nothing of this to anyone,” she advised calmly, and the masked head nodded frantically, apparently eager to just be gone. Pulling the knives from where they were wedged in the floor, she laid them aside carefully and helped him up, watching as he retreated.
Shaking her head, she turned back to the other two, and she wasn’t really sure how to deal with them now. What kind of person just left a fellow pinned down on the floor of a gym? Equalist or not, he was a human being, and deserved at least that much consideration. When her question came, it was in a voice smooth and unruffled as she rose to her feet with fluid grace.
“Is this where one would try out for the Arctic Hippos probending team? Or have I mistakenly wandered into a gang hideout instead?” Her chin lifted slightly, a challenging gesture, though a very small one. It wasn’t really intentional, though the deadpan sarcasm in the last half of the question certainly was. She
could enumerate all the ways what they’d just done was illegal and could earn them time in Lin Bei Fong’s prison system, but she chose not to. Despite what she’d seen, she still wanted to give these people a chance. Maybe it wasn’t what she thought, after all.