novelraw Chapter 330 - 272 - Departure
Chapter 330 - 272 - Departure
"You got everything?" asked Emily.
"Yeah," replied Shouri, though he didn't look his fellow lead in the eyes. His gaze was avoidant, distant even.
There was something different. She scanned his person and found only two tuners by his side, Pacifica and Rebecca's. His hand rested on Rebecca's, caressing the top of the device in a bid to keep that hand busy, or perhaps his rhythm.
"Where's Taika?" she called her realization.
"She's not coming," said Shouri and Rebecca.
Pacifica looked between her two loves in shock. She felt it--the connection of à deux. When had they linked? It must have been when Rebecca went to get him earlier.
Emily let out a sigh. "Explain yourself, you two," she demanded.
"She's not good with Naturals. We're specifically being sent to help Naturals."
The vice-lead hummed thoughtfully. It was true, Taika did always seem, at minimum, tense around Miro. It was no stretch of the imagination to consider she wouldn't fare much better within an entire city of them.
Truth be told, Emily herself was anxious about the trip. Not because of the Naturals; she had visited a few settlements in their time in Kalanichi. Naturals were quite guarded, as to be expected of a minority who had historically been at odds with Maestros and their Resonators. It was only her kind demeanor that warmed the frosty relations between her party and the Natural villagers.
Emily's anxiety stemmed from the nature of their mission. She had a Fire and Earth element. While Earth elements didn't have a direct weakness to water, there was an aspect of their being that was directly tied to the state of the ground they walked. That was to say, Ritika wouldn't be in top condition once they got there. She wouldn't have it as bad as Soot, but she'd definitely feel the cries of the land, so to speak.
The princess focused herself. Taika's absence had more cons than pros.
He would be worried about her the whole time--Emily knew this for a fact.
Also, he was a discordant willpower stave. It'd be up to the entire party to pick up the slack to make sure their leader didn't go AWOL during the mission.
"Bring her tuner. Also, go properly see her off. I know you're gonna be a mess if you don't," Emily demanded.
Shouri turned his ire on his second in command, but she didn't budge, as she shot back a glare of her own. "I'm not asking," she stated firmly.
Pacifica laid a hand on Shouri and Rebecca. "Just do it," she urged.
"Fine," the linked pair spoke.
Rebecca went to follow Shouri into the room, but was held back by Pacifica.
"Nope. Go over there and focus on trying to let him speak alone. If you're gonna do this, you're gonna need the practice, trust me," Pacifica advised.
The way Rebecca glared at her looked more like Shouri's face than her own. It was easy to tell Rebecca was being taken for a ride.
Pacifica turned to the door Shouri vanished into. While it hurt to think about Taika not going with them, she knew it was for the best. Taika wouldn't be happy at best, or an active hindrance to their mission, at worst. Ultimately, this was the correct choice. She did wish Shouri went about it in a better way. As it stood they lashed out and hurt each other, even if deep down, they both knew this had to happen this way.
Shouri stood with the door at his back. Taika lay in their huge bed, all alone, curled around a pillow. She knew he was there. While she didn't move her body, her sensitive ears kept track of him, flicking with annoyance at the presence. His line of sight fell on the tuner he so callously dropped. It remained where he left it, untouched.
He could practically feel Emily's glare on his back despite the barrier between them.
"Give us some privacy," he whispered to Rebecca, who hovered over the Maestro in rhythm. Her sudden absence chilled him, but he pressed on in spite of that.
Shouri approached the bed and sat down next to his first. She didn't acknowledge his weight on the bed, and remained still.
He had pushed further with Pacifica, and tasted Rebecca's link. It wasn't fair to leave Taika out. So, he didn't. He pressed a hand against her back and pushed into her rhythm with his own.
She flipped in an instant, and glared daggers at her Maestro.
"A che gioco stai giocando?" growled the fox.
His own grasp on Naturalian waned, but he spoke an answer to the question he thought was asked.
"Let me in," he demanded, refusing to lower his outstretched arm.
"No, perché dovrei?" she hissed, glare trained on the hand left hanging.
"It's the fastest way we can understand each other."
Her harsh expression cracked, as her gaze became avoidant. She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it, words failing her. He reached out and took hold of her hand, interlinking their digits in a tight grasp. Once more he pushed, and this time, he was allowed into her heart.
His heart wound up to match Taika's. If this kept up, she'd kill herself from heart failure. They got to the truth of the matter.
Yes, he had been blunt, but he only spoke the truth. He could have taken more time to better get his thoughts out. In his rush, he hurt her.
Taika realized he was right, though. No matter how much she denied it, she did not want to go. She did not want to help Naturals.
This was the first time he experienced the depths of her hatred.
It was deep-seated resentment that pretty words couldn't hope to overcome.
"I don't want that."
"Tough."
"Sho, you don't understand--!"
"You're right, I don't understand, but I need to."
"Sho!"
"This is final, you're not stopping me."
"But--!"
"Don't run either. We'll hunt you down. There's nowhere you can hide."
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"I don't want to hurt you!"
"You shouldn't bear this burden alone."
"But--!"
"But nothing. I know you'll never be able to tell me properly."
Shouri released her hand and broke off from her so they didn't fight for mental control of their voice.
"When I get back, we're going to dive as deep as possible in à deux. I'm going to learn who you really are," he reaffirmed what wasn't spoken before.
"I don't want that," Taika sniffled.
"We're not going to have a circular conversation, you know how much that annoys me," he tried to smile, but it was difficult. "I know this is a big deal. Hell, that's probably selling it short. If you're this intense about it, I know it's probably going to mess me up, too," he admitted.
"Then why?!" she shrieked.
"Because I love you, silly."
Taika remained rooted in place. That was a fact. She couldn't deny it, and frankly, she didn't want to.
"We'll be back, promise."
"You better. You can't give a girl a taste of something like à deux and leave her hanging," Taika snarked back.
He tousled her hair, and leaned forward, pressing his lips against hers. She spun him around and pinned him to the bed, getting her fill of his lips.
"You better come back, or else," she whispered, keeping him pushed against the bed.
Her fists trembled, but ultimately she released him, and allowed him to rise.
"I promise," he repeated. "Hunt down Sahji if we don't," he joked.
He stood and scooped up her tuner. "The range on these is impressive. I'll let you know what's going on."
With his piece said, he made his way to the door. Before he left, something hit him in the back. A jacket, his guildmaster one.
"You should probably look the part," Taika added.
It was much better to leave her with a smile.
"I'm off."
Before everyone got in the van, Shouri took one final attendance check.
Pacifica and Rebecca waited at the ready.
Emily was also ready to go, Albarich and Ritika by her side as always. Soot had dropped his clay body and was safely stowed away in Emily's carry-on bag.
Vince carried the most determination of any of the group, and Mila mimicked his expression. Zephyr was nowhere to be seen, but she was probably safely in Vince's jacket pocket, as usual.
Finally was Miro. He, too, had a PTRS badge on his person. It would suck to not have a healer for this trip. On the other hand, this would be good practice. Granted, the situation was an emergency, so not the most ideal conditions to see how they'd fare without any medical support.
Either way, that was a problem to address when they got back. For now, Shouri locked eyes with Rebecca and fell into her soul, her warmth took over his body.
"Let's get moving," man and fox commanded in unison.
As it turned out, official guild business fast tracked everything.
When PTRS arrived at the airport, the guild was accosted by officials. Cheryth herself led the pack of suited individuals, as they waited for the guild.
"You're short one," noted the woman, as she did not see Taika.
"She's not feeling well," Shouri and Rebecca spoke together.
The harmony of the two's voices threw off both Cheryth and the rest of the officials.
"Get used to the stereo thing," Mila commented. "They just do that," the cat continued to snark.
Cheryth took a breath. This guild was either going to fast track her career to greater heights, or drive her to the bottle, whatever happened first.
"Alright PTRS, you will be working with the Nabhon branch of the Conductor's Association. You and them are the only ones in the entire network equipped to handle what's to come," Cheryth told the group.
"How?" Shouri questioned. He wondered why Unwavering Hearts at bare minimum wouldn't have people in the area.
"Who is the Conductor's Association?" Vince threw out his own question.
"A different class of Maestro," Shouri informed his uninformed guild member. "They use a special tuner that lets them call on any Resonator to help them," Rebecca added.
Cheryth was definitely not used to the strange way à deux users spoke, that much was apparent to Emily. The Lunar princess was glad that someone asked the question, though.
"The Natural Council trusts the Conductor's Association more than any Riterran guild due to their extrajudicial nature. That is to say, due to how they're structured as a legal entity, they're allowed to operate outside of the scope of the law in instances regarding Resonators. It's something the Natural Council has agreed to, so Conductors are allowed to operate in Natural reserves without issue."
The members of PTRS exchanged some concerned glances.
"Due to Miro's presence in the guild, PTRS has also been granted this grace. Your guild members are allowed to operate with impunity in any Natural lands."
That bit of news was a shock to the the gathered guild. None of them had been informed of this, which was confirmed when everyone looked to Shouri, who openly wore his surprise.
Cheryth smiled like a proud mother. "Miro has become a bit of a celebrity across the Natural world."
"I have?" the Natural blinked.
"Indeed. The Natural Council commended your bravery in living among and working with Maestros and they very specifically asked for PTRS to accompany the usual squad of Conductors in this mission."
The shock continued to hang in the air. Truthfully, none of them had thought anything of what they had done. They were still in the early days of their guild, and only actually properly handled their mission statement twice.
A realization hit Shouri--it was all because of their guild's strange composition. People were watching them; probably closer than he would have liked, admittedly.
This mission was not going to help them remain under the radar, if they ever were.