24 Life

Kyle, seeing that dissatisfied face, was satisfied.

It wasn't that Kyle didn't allow him to use the needles as a projectile weapon, but Alex had to learn to accept the fact that he was not proficient in them. He could use them but he should acknowledge his weakness and either compensate for it or use it in the most efficient way.

This was not the most efficient way.

"Zero's forte is the needles because he can not only throw with accuracy, he knows the acupuncture points. So he does half the work with less effort," Kyle explained patiently, trying to get through to Alex.

Alex didn't answer, just trudging along beside his father as they headed to where his mother and Auntie Betty were waiting.

Though Sam had already reached Betty and was busy hugging and kissing her at the moment. Those two were already lost in their own world when Kyle reached Sayuri.

"Welcome back, my love," Sayuri said softly with a smile.

"I'm home," Kyle replied, reaching over and giving her a peck on the lips, then kissed Ariel on the cheek.

Sam came over then and handed Alex the two needles that were embedded in his briefcase.

"Though the aim was bad, the strength was not," Sam told him, "It was enough to stick to the bag."

Alex gave a slightly smug look at Kyle who shrugged, saying, "Still useless if you can't hit the object. Your aim is as bad as Uncle Sam's."

"Hey!" Sam snorted, "My aim is very good, thank you very much."

"When you're shooting with a gun," Kyle replied, "But when you throw things, it's horrible. Your hand and wrist coordination is a nightmare."

"Every person has their strengths and weaknesses," Sam retorted.

Kyle gave a smirk while wiggling his eyebrows, "Except me. I'm good at absolutely everything."

Sam rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up his nose. Turning to Sayuri, he asked in obvious disgust, "Just how can you stand this narcissistic and egotistical man?"

"The same way Betty can stand such a clingy and possessive man," Sayuri replied.

Sam turned to face his wife, looking aghast, "I'm not clingy, am I?"

Before Betty could answer, Kyle snorted, "Amazing how he doesn't deny he's possessive."

"At least I'm self-aware, unlike someone," Sam retorted.

Seeing the banter between the two, Ariel pouted. Other than the kiss on the cheek, her father seemed to be preoccupied and ignoring her completely. So she reached out her hands to him and shouted loudly while pleading at him silently with her eyes, "Daddy!"

Kyle smiled and turned to look at Ariel. Seeing her eager face and outstretched arms, he took her and carried her. Aurora, feeling slightly left out as well, took Kyle's other free hand.

Seeing that her husband's attention got taken away completely, Sayuri didn't mind nor did she feel left out. The girls missed their father as much as she had - and, she would have him all to herself at night.

Thus, letting the kids monopolize him right now was nothing. Only Alex did not care to be next to Kyle, choosing to walk beside his mother and ignoring his father.

He was still annoyed over the fact that his attacks failed.

He had it all planned out and even imagined it in his head but it still failed. He had practised in the training room with the darts and though his success rate wasn't high, it wasn't bad either.

Then again, perhaps using darts for practise wasn't wise as he used needles this time. Alex figured he would have better results with the needles since it was smaller and he could throw it with more force.

He neglected the fact that the weight of the dart and needles were different. Hence, other factors such as wind factor and air resistance would create different results. Whilst there may not be as much resistance in an enclosed space, it certainly wasn't just a matter of 'throwing it out'.

Alex was thinking hard about the failure.

Maybe he should get the same wrist contraption like what Auntie Kay uses. Her weapon of choice was also small projectile weapons, but instead of throwing them, they were shot out from a special piece of equipment around her wrist.

Kind of like Spiderman who shoots out webs.

The problem was, he could not get such equipment. Auntie Kay's weapon was specially designed by herself and the end result was after various adjustments and testings by MIB Laboratory.

He, as poor little Alex, did not have access to such resources and his father would never approve of it.

He was stuck with his knife.

Well, granted, it was a good knife.

Customized to fit his hand and the design appealed to his tastes completely.

But his father also used knives *and* shurikens a.k.a. those pointy star things. Alex didn't want to use the same sort of weapons his father uses and it rubbed him the wrong way for some reason.

He just couldn't accept the fact that he could only use his knife.

It wasn't really because he did not like using the same weapons as his father … (well, yes, it was, a bit) … it was more to the fact that it was the only thing he could use. He wasn't skilled enough to use another type of weapon.

Heck, his father was also getting more proficient in using a sword - something he only took up recently.

Why could his father learn things so easily while he couldn't?!

"You have plenty of time to get adept at a second weapon, Alex," Sayuri told him softly, breaking Alex out of his thoughts.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "You need to crawl first before you can walk, and then run."

Alex looked up and watched his father's strong back in front of him.

For as long as he can remember, his father always excelled at everything he did. He just wanted to overtake him as soon as possible.

"Stop using your father for comparison," Sayuri continued, knowing the knot in Alex's heart, "You can use him as the end goal but to compare his achievements to yours right now is akin to comparing a drop of water with an ocean."

Alex looked at his mother in horror.

Even his mother thought he wasn't good enough?!

Seeing his horrified expression, Sayuri couldn't help but give a small laugh while smiling kindly at him.

"I am not saying you aren't good, Alex," Sayuri told him, "Compared with kids your age, you are an exceptional person. In time, with work, I believe you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your father. Surpass him, even."

Alex gulped and stared at his mother.

He could not see any duplicity or did it seem like she was saying something to placate him. She had absolute faith in what she said.

"Really?" he couldn't help but ask softly.

"Really," Sayuri replied, ruffling his hair.

Alex took a deep breath, not minding his mother messing up his hair. He didn't let anyone else do so because he really hated it but for some reason, it was okay if it was his mother.

Sayuri placed her hand on his back softly, walking behind Kyle and her daughters; feeling content that Alex's mood has stabilised.

It had been quite a blow on Alex that he had failed in attacking his father, despite his weakened condition. Alex tended to either be overconfident or feel very inadequate. Both states of mind hindered Alex from learning properly.

The former would cause him to subconsciously reject the teachings, feeling like he knew better while the latter would cause him to feel like he would never be good enough to be able to execute the skill so he didn't bother learning.

Sayuri pursed her lips.

Alex's arrogance most likely stemmed from her.

Before she met Kyle, she had been full of herself and her skills, thinking that there was no one who could beat her. She was the best in class, the best in gathering information, and so forth and then.

There was Kyle.

Her 'ninja test' objective.

She had infiltrated the school, gone undercover, and was tasked to find out certain private information about him.

Sayuri smiled at the thought.

Who would have thought she ended up marrying the darn man?

If it hadn't been for that test, she would never have crossed paths with Kyle. She would have avoided him as she had this prejudice about him, thinking he was an arrogant rich boy that used his family's connections to get where he was.

She disdained such people who had it easy and she had been under the mistaken impression Kyle was the epitome of such a person. Took some time for her to learn otherwise and she also learned a valuable lesson: never judge a person by the cover and always keep an open mind.

Learning about him, getting to know him, and interacting with him also caused her to fall hopelessly in love with him.

Life truly worked in mysterious ways.