Sparks and Flames

by CS Patra

  “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.”

  Kian reached up and touched his face, feeling how hot it was. Dominica had caught him blushing and he couldn’t do anything to hide it. “Okay, you got me. I’m in love. What are you going to do about it?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “What else can I do? You need to confront your own feelings,” she said. “You’re old enough to realize what you have to do.”

  “That may be so, but I don’t know what to do. I need some support, Dominica!”

  “I am supportive of you, Kian! I have always been supportive of you!” Dominica sighed. “Unfortunately, you’ve told me nothing about this girl. I get that you don’t want me to know and that’s fine. I don’t have to know a thing. However, if you need my help, I can’t do much for you. Not until you tell me about her.”

  “I’m not ready to talk about her,” he said. “She’s a very special girl. That’s all you need to know. She’s the one who makes me feel like this.”

  “Then I consider her a very lucky girl,” Dominica said. “You should hold onto her. Are you going to tell her that you’re a hunter?”

  “That’s the thing. I already told her.”

  Dominica’s jaw dropped. “You let her know the truth?”

  “I felt it was time for her to know. I can’t go running around without telling her why I’m running around like this. Oddly enough, she took it well,” he blushed as he thought about how Rukia handled this situation. She wasn’t scared by him at all. “She seemed to be okay with me being a hunter. She didn’t tell me to stop or anything.”

  “She’s not going to tell you that,” Dominica said. “She understands how much it means to you. She’ll let you pursue your goals because she cares that much about you. If she hasn’t run away now, she’s never going to do that.”

  “You really think so?”

  “I think that’s the truth. This is a girl that cares about you and she’s staying with you for the long run,” Dominica murmured. “If she doesn’t care about you being a hunter, she’s the one for you. I can feel it.”

  “How can you feel it? You’re not the one in the relationship.”

  “It’s something that a woman understands better than a man,” she winked at him. “Don’t keep this to yourself for long, Kian. You don’t want to let that girl go without ever telling her how you truly feel inside.”

  He took in what she said and thought about it for a while. Dominica said goodbye to him, but he barely heard her. His mind was on Rukia and how he was going to tell her the truth. His heart was burning for her and he wanted to be with her. The only other thing that he had on his mind was marriage. Was it too early for them to get married? He needed to find a ring, which would cost him all the money he earned from hunting. He would also have to find a place and a suit to wear to this tiny wedding they would have.

  Don’t keep this to yourself for long, Kian.

  Dominica was right. He was far too deep in love.

  Chapter 15

  Kian could barely feel his heart anymore because it felt like it was floating out of his body now. In the past, he didn’t think much about it. He loved some people like his family and his friends, but this love was different. Here, he was feeling something else entirely. It was a love that was consuming him and he didn’t mind it. He had to let Rukia know the truth. He couldn’t keep these feelings locked up when they were clearly written all over his face.

  Dominica was telling him to follow his heart and that was exactly what he planned to do. However, his heart was telling him all kinds of things. There was a part of him saying that he needed to get away from Rukia. If she stuck around with him, there was a chance that she would end up hurt. The last thing he wanted was for someone to go after Rukia in order to get to him. He had seen and read too many shows and stories where the loved one was attacked or killed to send a message to the hero. He didn’t want to end up being one of those people.

  On the other hand, Rukia was very smart. If she knew she was in danger, she would do what she could to get out of it. She would fight back and wouldn’t go down without taking a piece of the enemy with her. He wouldn’t have to worry about protecting her because she could protect herself. So while a part of him was scared, another part of him didn’t worry for her. He knew that she would survive in the end.

  There was no hunt tonight but he was lurking around in his hunting outfit. He was in the mood to get an Elemental tonight even if there was no mission. After the last one, things seemed to grow quiet. He kept wondering about the Elemental that he and Rukia found frozen in ice. He was there a
nd then he disappeared. He had a feeling that Rukia helped him escape but he couldn’t figure out why. What would she gain out of letting him go? What would anyone gain from letting him live? He didn’t bring it up again but it was a thought on his mind. He decided that if he ran into that Elemental, he wasn’t going to let him leave. He wanted information and he wanted it as soon as possible.

  He kept walking down the streets of Calensa, weaving in between the shadows. He looked around for some sort of trouble. There had to be something out there that was causing problems. In the past, he had a hunt practically every night. There was always some Elemental that was being a thorn in someone’s side. He wanted another moment like that night when he burned down Elementals. He wanted it to be something everyone remembered for the rest of their lives. However, Elementals had grown smarter and were now hiding from hunters. They knew better than to run around in the daylight.