Demon's Protégé

Strategy

Two days after that conversation, I found myself driving down the familiar road back to Preston with a determined intent to see Nari again. It had been three weeks since the last time we had seen and talked to each other and I was starting to really get anxious with how to meet her again. Leaving her place in a whim without even trying to explain to her why I had to go was seriously stupid of me. But then, things had gone ahead of me and before I even realized it, time had passed on so fast. I had no other choice but to weigh my priorities and I could not even leave the company for so many reasons. My head hurt as I kept thinking about these stuffs and only then did I notice that I have finally reached the borders of the town and it was already afternoon. The clouds trailed over the expanse of orange haze and indigo swirls in the sky. I slowly took the turn that headed straight to the town without even thinking of other things. I did not really care if I had been warned off from the village, the only thing I was thinking right now was to see Nari’s face again.

The roads got much narrower as I smoothly drove into the neighborhood to where Nari’s house was located. As soon as I pulled over the empty street and parked my car in front of her place, my heart started to pound really hard and my body began to sweat.

“I can do this,” I mentally cheered myself as I glance at myself from the rearview mirror. It took me a few moments before I finally built up the courage to get out of the car and slowly walked up the front yard of the house before me. I took one deep breath as I stopped by the front door. I had played so many different scenarios as to how this meeting could end up but everything quickly vanished into thin smoke the second I knocked on the door.

It felt like hours when it was only a few seconds before the entrance finally opened to me. And when the person behind found me, it felt like time stuck for so many minutes. Our eyes just stared right to each other, as if it was meant to be like that. I didn’t even realize how bad I really wanted to see her face again and the words was starting to play fast inside my head. I wanted to say so many things but only one thing came out of my mouth.

“I love you.”

Before I knew it, the warmth that I had been longing to touch came wrapping me into an overwhelming hug that I didn’t see coming. The instant I had her in my arms, I was immediately basking in it with too much pleasure. Was I dreaming?

Was this really happening?

I could feel Nari’s warmth around me, her hair is against my cheek. She was hugging me. This must be a dream, but it was not disappearing and her body is too warm for me to just imagine this happening.

“Are you real?”

I almost said the same thing if she did not say it first. But her voice vibrated against my shoulder and it replayed over inside my head. Was she even real? I wanted to return the question back at her but I still could not find my ability to speak. I was too stunned and caught off guard. It might even take a while before I finally processed everything that was going on now. But one thing’s for sure, I still did not want to let go of her.

“It’s really you.” She added on in a faint whisper, almost as if she just accidentally voiced her thoughts out. Then for a quick second, everything shifted and took a huge 180. Before I knew it, my left cheek was suddenly welcomed by a hard slap that had my head snapping to the side. I was immediately brought back to my sanity and all the things that I should have been saying to her finally came back to me.

Though the hug was almost too effective to take my attention of to the real situation at hand.

“You’ve got a nerve, huh?” Nari spat these words straight at me and I could feel the heat of her anger radiating off from a few inches away. I winced, but I held my ground as I waited for another blow to explode. But before Nari could even say anything more, Maria’s voice came into the background as I looked past Nari and instantly saw her fragile appearance by the living room inside their house.

She stopped on her step and looked quite stunned as she blinked back at me. It took her a second before she finally found her voice and spoke.

“Taiyo? It’s you…”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Wait…” Maria hesitated as she frowned and approached us by the front door. “What happened to you? You left so suddenly last time.”

My heart lurched upon the reminder of that night I took off without any other word. I tried to compose myself and took a moment to breathe as I felt Nari’s intense gaze seeping into my skin.

“It’s a long story,” I vaguely replied and showed a tight smile on my face as I tried my best to ignore Nari beside me. “But can you help me do something here, Maria?”

My question brought out confused looks on both of the two women’s faces as they stare right back at me with questioning frowns.

“What do you mean?”

“I came back to fulfill a promise with this girl,” I answered with a sly smirk and Nari let out a snort afterwards making me chuckle softly.

“Well, it’s not like I can do anything about it,” Maria said with a shake of her head and eventually she turned around to leave but not after she added a few words. “You two work that out. You’re old enough to fix your own issues.”

Nari and I both laughed at that clever remark as we watched Maria disappeared into the hallway, leaving the two of us alone by the front door. Then after a few seconds, just right after silence fell on us, I found myself meeting Nari’s eyes in a daze. I wasn’t sure how long we stayed just like this, staring into each other’s faces until I finally got my voice back.

“So what about it? Can I finally get the date we’ve agreed back then?”

For a few moments, Nari just looked at me with a raised brow and I could feel her trying to analyze me as I waited for her to answer. And eventually, with a serene smile on her face and those green orbs blinking back with a glint of amusement, she nodded her head back.

“Come on,” She told me, smirking beautifully as she motioned her head to leave. “Let’s have a blast.”

Minutes right after, we found ourselves driving out of the town until we get to the diner where we had once ate at and I pulled by the empty parking area in front of it, quite unsure why I even did.

“You hungry?” I instinctively asked Nari as I turned the engine off and quickly pulled the strap of the seatbelt off of me.

“Seriously?” I heard her say in an incredulous tone. I turned to look at her and she was frowning at me but I already took notice the ghost of a smile daring to appear on her lips. “You’re taking me here for our date?”

“It’s a familiar place, isn’t it?” I teased her back, “Brings back memories.”

“You’re really so weird,” she said with a sigh but she was starting to laugh as she took the seatbelt off around her and opened the car door on her side. I followed her with a smile on my face and waited for her to close the door before I clicked the lock and walked around the hood of the car to walk beside her.

“I thought you were going to take me someplace else.”

“What place are you thinking?” I frowned at her just as we were about to enter the diner. Then she paused for a second, looking away and shook her head no as if trying to drop the subject. She gave me a sweet smile as she looked up and met my eyes.

“It’s nothing,” She said with a soft voice then right after that she reached up to me and quickly tilted her head and tiptoed to plant a faint kiss on my cheek. I was too taken aback by the action that I literally froze for a few seconds by the entrance as she left me there, giggling on her way inside the place.

I didn’t even expect that I would get flustered but it felt really good. And as the day continued on, as we strolled around the unfamiliar town we’ve decided to visit, our date became something so precious. Until the night came… And we eventually have to face the inevitable. However, neither one had even tried to bring the subject up to discuss. And the whole time I just tried to focus on driving, I completely savored the silence while I kept myself from thinking about letting her go soon.

“Take me to the mansion.”

I was about to take the turn towards the direction of Avian Hills when her distant whispered words flowed into the silence between us. I slowed down and eventually pulled by the side of the road as I tried to process what I just head. Did she really say that?

“You want me to take you…”

“Take me to the mansion.” This time she turned her head to look at me and her words sounded much clearer when she repeated it again.

“O-okay.” I said with a wary look as I immediately started to drive again yet this time, I did not take a turn. I drove down the straight road, feeling all kinds of emotions inside me. I was still not sure where this was going now but I don’t feel like backing down as well.

I wanted to make this date last for a little bit longer. I was still anxious of even letting her go any sooner.

When we reached the mansion, I parked the car near the gate and waited for her to say something while I kept the car engine still running.

“Let’s do it again.” She said this after some time and I shot her a look from the driver seat. She met my eyes and gave me a smile. “Let’s cross the gates.”