Authors: CS Patra
He doesn’t scare you?
“No. He’s my friend,” she said, wondering if she really meant that or if they were more than that. “He never hurt me. I will make sure he doesn’t hurt you.”
Do you know why we are hunted?
“Yes. The world fears us,” she went on. “Ever since we were born, they see us as a threat. If we can’t control our powers, then they will do what they can to get rid of us. That’s why hunters rose up. They were afraid to lose to us.”
That’s right. If your human friend is unaware of us, you need to tell him the truth.
“Oh, he knows about Elementals already. They’ve been teaching humans more about us,” she lied. She didn’t want to reveal that Kian was secretly a hunter. “He’s not unaware of the current situation here.”
Very well. I wish to go home before he returns though. I will tell you more about my situation at another time.
“What time would that be?”
It will be a time when we will meet again. Rest assured, that will happen. All you have to do is sit and wait.
Slowly, the ice started to melt and the Elemental finally collapsed to the ground. Rukia helped him sit up and tried to get him warm. He was shivering as he leaned into her. “Th…th…thank you. I owe you.”
“Please don’t say anything else. You need to get somewhere warm,” she said. “Save your thanks for later. I know of an inn that’s right across the street. I want you stay there and get warm until you feel well enough. I’d take you there myself but I need to wait for my friend. If he notices both of us gone, then he’ll become suspicious.”
“Why are you doing this?” The Elemental asked.
“There’s no time to explain anything. I want you to go,” she whispered, pushing him towards the inn. “Go home to your family after you get warmed up. I will distract him.”
“Thank you again.”
“Please don’t thank me anymore. Just leave,” she motioned him to run because she knew that Kian would come back soon. She wanted him to survive long enough so he could get warm and then well enough to go home. When the time came, she would find him again and find out his story. She was sorry that she had to deceive Kian like that but she didn’t want him to get this Elemental. He wasn’t going to get him.
Kian came back in time to see that the Elemental was gone. “Where did he go?”
“I let him go,” she said. “He wasn’t comfortable with you around. I think he could sense that you were a hunter.”
“I wouldn’t have done anything. I don’t have my weapons on me.”
“All the same, he wasn’t comfortable,” she said. “You don’t need to chase after him, Kian. He wasn’t doing anything. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just forget about him, okay? Just forget you ever found him.”
He could sense that Rukia was trying to hide something from him. He didn’t understand why she would let an Elemental like that go. It was true that he was a hunter, but he thought she had more faith in him. He truly had no intentions of hurting that Elemental. He wouldn’t have attacked unless the Elemental attacked him first.
“I guess if he means no harm, we should let him go,” he decided. “I swear I wouldn’t have done anything to him.”
“I know that but he doesn’t know that,” she said. “I trust you, but he still can sense that there’s something about you. He’s not ready to tell you all of his secrets yet. He can only tell me because he can sense I’m not a hunter.”
“I guess that makes sense. He probably realized that I was one so that’s why you let me go, right? So you could talk to him?”
“I’m sorry, but that was the only way he would speak,” she said. “He didn’t want to tell you anything. He only felt comfortable around me.”
“It’s okay. You did the right thing,” Kian assured her. “I would have left even if you didn’t say a word. I’m glad that at least one of us was able to get through to him.”
“I hope he gets home all right. I’ll be thinking about him,” Rukia said. “Just make me a promise that you won’t do anything to him.”
“I promise,” he crossed his heart. “No harm will come to that Elemental, but only because you said so. Normally, I would not make such a promise. You know how they make me feel.”
“Yes, I know. They make your skin crawl,” she said. “He’s not going to be any problem for the next few days. If he does do anything, then you are free to do what you want.”
“Are you certain of that?”
“I am. I don’t want anyone to hurt you as long as I’m living,” she assured him. “Come on. Let’s get you back home.”
They walked away from the scene, trying hard to forget about what happened. Yet neither one could get the picture of that iced Elemental out of their heads.
Chapter 14
The Elemental didn’t bother him that much. He had been frozen in ice so he would have been too weak to fight back. It wouldn’t be worth anything to kill him. He also didn’t mind that Rukia let him go. He had a good reason to fear Kian and it was probably good that he ran away. While he had no intention of fighting him, Kian knew that he was a hunter in the end. One way or another, he would always get his target.
The one thing that Kian could not understand was how Rukia was able to calm that Elemental down. She had an ability to talk to him without panicking. She made him feel like she was his friend, not a stranger. Kian was a little afraid to talk to him, but he was soon at ease when the Elemental spoke up. He could tell there was some animosity between them. Maybe the Elemental had sense that he was the enemy. He must have known that underneath the nice clothes, was a killer.
If the Elemental knew this, he certainly didn’t make any mention of it. For his part, Kian stayed calm and just listened to what was being said. He didn’t need to make a mess when there was no reason to do so. The Elemental decided to go back to his family after they had finished talking. Rukia promised that she wouldn’t tell anyone about him. Kian had to do the same despite what his job was.
He got out of the fancy clothes and went back to his usual hunting gear. He zipped the jacket up and slipped on his gloves. His feet were snug in his boots and he had all the weapons and equipment that he needed for tonight. Oda might have been dead but the mission was only half-completed. Half of the weapons had been destroyed but the other half were still there. Now that they knew that someone had been after them and they were heavily guarded.
Dominica watched as Kian snapped the belt across his waist and cracked his knuckles. “You have been so quiet for the last few days. I was wondering about you.”
“What are you wondering about? I’m fine,” he said. “So things didn’t go the way I had planned. We’re still doing what we do best.”
“Yes, the majority of our group has done what was expected but you haven’t. I managed to take care of him but that was your job,” she said. “You said you would enter through the pool room but we lost contact at that point. I didn’t hear from you for hours. I thought you had died. Where were you?”
“It doesn’t matter, Dominica.”
“Like hell it doesn’t! I was told to look after you,” she pointed out. “I realize you are now eighteen, but you are still young compared to everyone else. You can’t afford to be reckless in this line of work.”
“You think I’m reckless?” Kian couldn’t believe what he heard. “I’ll have you know that I’m your superior even if I am younger than you! I can lead my missions however I want!”
“That may be so, but I have a responsibility too, Lieutenant. I was asked to look after you when you first started your training. Your mother told me to keep my eye on you from beginning to end. Of course, you are old enough to make your own decisions, but you are also young when it comes to responsibilities.”
Kian pressed his lips together. He hated it when Dominica was right about these things. He might have been her superior officer but she cared about him. Other than Rukia, she was the only girl that he cared about. He didn’t want her to be unhappy. However, he didn’t want to reveal what he was really doing.
“Okay, I admit it. I got sidetracked during our mission. I thought it was going to be easy and it wasn’t. I was caught before I could get into the pool room. I had to fight the guards off and escape before getting to the target.”
“So how come you didn’t tell me this sooner?”
“I didn’t know how you’d take it. You guys expect nothing short of perfection from me.”
“You have been quiet for the last few days,” Dominica said. “Is it the girl that’s distracting you?”
“What girl?” He asked.
“Oh, please don’t be innocent with me. You revealed you were in love at the last meeting, Lieutenant. No one has forgotten about that!”
He blushed. “That doesn’t change anything! If I’m in love, it shouldn’t matter to you. I’m still the same Lieutenant that I’ve always been. We’ve had a few slip ups, but we will succeed. That’s what will happen again and again.”
“That may be so but don’t let your heart get in the way of your head,” Dominica warned him. “I realize you are dealing with love for the first time but you are first and foremost a hunter. Never forget what your true job is.”
“I never can,” he assured her. “I have enough kills under my belt to remind me of that.”
Dominica sniffed the air and noticed that he was wearing cologne. “Did you have another date tonight? You forgot to remove your cologne.”
“I did, huh?” He noticed that she was right. “I don’t think anyone’s going to smell me though. This cologne appears to be fading.”
“You should hope that no one smells you or you’re going to be toast.”
“No one is going to get me,” he promised. “I’ll make sure of that.”
“Why are you wearing cologne anyway? Is it because of your date?”
“What if it is?” He asked. “Am I not allowed to date?”
“I never said that, Lieutenant. You are free to date whoever you want. You are a young man and you do have the right to love anyone you want. You should just be careful when you schedule all these date nights. You don’t want them to overlap with your missions.”
“You know very well that’s not going to happen,” he said, crossing his arms. “I can date who I please and I know not to make a date on a mission night. Forgive the cologne. I had something earlier today.”
“You must be very serious about this girl. She has to be someone very special.”
“You have no idea how special she is,” he sighed. “This is the first time a girl has made me feel like this, Dominica. I’ve never been head over heels for anyone before. I keep wondering if it’s love or if I’m just biting off more than I can chew.”
“I think you’re just a boy who fell in love. I’ve seen many like you,” Dominica said. “You found someone and she makes your heart flutter. You feel things inside of your stomach. You think you’re doing the wrong thing, but you know it feels right.”
“That’s right,” he nodded. “That’s how I’ve been feeling about her. It should be wrong. It should be everything that I stand against. However, I’m just falling deeper and deeper into this hole. I’m trying to claw my way out of it and I can’t.”
“That’s love, kid. Everything you are describing is love. You have fallen in love and you want to climb out, but you can’t. Deep down in your heart, you don’t want to get out of that hole.” Dominica told him. “Frankly, I think it’s very sweet. It shows that you do have a heart somewhere in there. It’s a softer side that no one else in the world can see.”
“Do you think it will affect how I handle things?”
“I don’t know. Will it?”
“I hope not,” he murmured. “I’m already messing things up after I failed to get Oda the first time around. I don’t want my feeling to stop me from being the best hunter I can be.”
“Having feelings doesn’t make you weak, Kian. It’s just proof that you are human.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really!” Dominica sighed. “You just don’t believe me because it’s the first time you’ve felt this way. Everyone has seen you as this stoic, cold-hearted killer, but I know better. I know that you have a soul in there. I know only because I’ve known you for a long time. I’ve seen how you can get on a good day and on a bad one. You may appear emotionless in person, but you care on the inside.”
Kian’s face softened up at that. “You’ve never said that to me before.”
“Well, it’s how I feel. You’re a good kid, Kian. You think you’re tough, but underneath it all, there are the soft spots. You’ve always had them and once in a while, you let them show. This girl is making that soft spot come out more often.”
He blushed. “She is not!”
“You are blushing again. I’d say she is on your mind right now. Are you crazy about her?”
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about her. I’ve got a million thoughts in my mind. I want to tell her how I feel, but I’m not sure about that. I’m not sure about anything at all.”
“Yes, it’s official. You are in love,” Dominica said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“For what? For sounding like an idiot when I speak now? For blushing at moments that aren’t embarrassing? For being in love? What’s there to be proud of?”
“You admit that you’re in love. You would never have admitted that if this girl didn’t mean anything to you,” she said. “She is clearly swallowing you whole and you don’t mind it at all. Even now as I’m speaking to you, you are turning red in the face. I’m telling you, kid. You are completely in love with her.”