Destiny (Anime Style)

Chapter 21: Interesting Questions

Ravi, Leah, Idus and Kadiah headed to the Tower's Cafeteria and took a seat at a distant table, far from the other people around. Idus stared suspiciously at both Leah and Ravi as if trying to figure out why they suddenly wanna talk about the Awoken's realm. Nonetheless, Kadiah remained as innocent and cheerful as ever while leaning her head on her hands and smiling.

"So..." Ravi began. "Can you help us?"

"It depends" Idus replied. "First of all... Why are you interested in the Reef?"

"Ehh... It's for our homework" Leah replied with a fake grin.

"So, the academy left you a task in which you need to do research about the Reef? Now that's weird"

"Why do you say that?" Ravi asked with a puzzled expression.

"Because the Vanguard hasn't shown any interest in the Awoken's realm for hundreds of years" Both Ravi and Leah startled after hearing this. "So, there are only 2 possible options here. The Vanguard has suddenly gone crazy... OR... YOU ARE LYING"

Leah and Ravi were are tense and sweating while keeping their fake smiles. What is more, a very uncomfortable silence suddenly took over the situation, and as Idus kept on staring at the guardian duo with suspicion, Kadiah tried to calm down the pressure around. "Oh, come on!" she said with a cheerful tone. "Don't be like that, Idus. They are my friends!" she then leaned closer to Idus in order to whisper him something. "And if only you tried being nice for once... they might even turn into your friends too... hehehe..."

Idus looked to one side as if trying to figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, Ravi and Leah stared at him with a confused expression. "Okay..." the awoken boy finally muttered in a soft tone after taking a long sigh. Then, he stood up and walked towards Ravi and Leah. "I'll answer all of your questions. But first... I need to ask you a favor"

"Wh-what is it?" the blue-haired boy asked, a bit doubtful.

Idus turned to face Kadiah at that moment and this last one simply nodded at him with determination while clenching her fists and smiling softly. Then, Idus turned to face Ravi and Leah yet again... and...

"Please, let's be friends" the awoken boy finally claimed with seriousness while leaning forward slightly, as if doing some kind of reverence.

"Huh?" Both Leah and Ravi muttered a bit weirded out.

"You heard me. I want us to be friends. That's the only condition I put"

"W-well... I have... no problem with that" Leah replied while sweat-dropping. "But, you didn't have to ask that in such a formal way"

"Mmmh? Really?" Idus raised his head again and then continued with his usual serious expression. "I'm sorry... it's just that I'm not used to doing this" he then turned to face Kadiah with a troubled face and scratching his head. "Sorry, Kadiah... I guess I totally blew this chance... Just like the others"

"Of course not" Ravi added with a grin as he stood up as well. "The truth is... you didn't even need to ask that"

"Eh?"

Ravi raised his fist towards Idus. "Kadiah is my friend... and any friend of hers is MY friend as well" Leah and Kadiah smiled softly while staring at both guys. Meanwhile, Idus stared with surprise and a bit puzzled at Ravi who was still with his hand up, waiting for a fist bump. "I'm Ravi Azarov and she's Leah Polgaze... and we'll gladly be your friends... haha..." the blue-haired boy finally stated with a smile, after which Idus remained in silence for several seconds, amazed by Ravi's bright attitude and also because he was about to realize who that pair of trainees really were.

'Ravi... and Leah...' Idus thought while still trying to remember such familiar names. 'Of course! They are the ones from the entrance exam!'

That's right. Idus was also present during Ravi's practical entrance exam. He was the one who left, apparently unimpressed... though the truth is that he has actually felt curious about the duo ever since he saw them hold a fight against a far stronger trainee.

"You are... really a weird dude" Idus said with a soft and barely noticeable grin.

"You think so? Well, I'll take that as a compliment... Hehehe..." Ravi finally replied

And then, the awoken hunter too raised his hand and gave Ravi the fist bump he was waiting for that whole time.

In any case, they then finally took a seat again and began discussing the matter at hand. "So... what do you wanna know about?" Idus asked with his usual serious expression.

Ravi and Leah nodded at each other. "Ok then..." Leah began. "Ravi and I did some research and found out that the Reef considers itself the Real Awoken. So first... we wanna know about the Reef's opinion towards outsiders... especially if they are not awoken"

"Ohh? That's kind of an interesting question" Idus replied with a smirk. "Well, the Reef's opinion towards non-awoken people can be summarized in the Queen's opinion"

"Queen?" Ravi asked in surprise.

"That's right. The Reef's ruler is a woman who claims herself to be queen of the awoken"

"And what does she think of non-awoken people?" Kadiah asked after feeling interested in the topic.

"She doesn't really mind them... as long as they don't represent a threat to her domain" Now this was a pleasant surprise. Perhaps it wasn't going to be as hard to enter the Reef as Ravi and Leah originally thought. "However..." Idus continued. "She does NOT trust guardians"

Oh boy...

"And wh-why is that?" Leah asked, nervously.

"Well... from what I know, she has had some bad experiences with guardians before. That's one of the main reasons the Reef remains isolated at the Solar System's edge up to this date"

"What is it that happened?" Ravi added.

"I don't know the details, but apparently she cut every single relationship she had with guardians after whatever happened... happened" Everyone stayed silent for a few seconds while meditating on what Idus just said. However, this last one was beginning to realize that these questions were really weird and unique coming from a mere pair of trainees "You certainly have some interesting questions in mind. Are you really gonna use what I just told you for your homework?"

"Y-yeah... of course" Leah said with a fake grin.

"What else would we use it for? Hehe..." Ravi added.

Idus didn't seem convinced at all, he was clearly still doubtful of Ravi and Leah's intentions. However, there was no way they could tell him the actual truth.

"Anyway... go ahead and tell me what else you wanna know" the awoken boy said while putting his suspicions aside.

And so, after that, he kept on clearing whatever doubts Ravi and Leah had... and these 2 had to be careful of not asking anything too specific or out of context, since that would only make Idus more aware of their true intentions.

In the end, the duo learned lots of useful and interesting information, like the fact that the Reef has its own women-only faction called the Queen's Wrath... dedicated exclusively to their domain's safety, as well as helping the Queen's voice reach her many followers. They also learned that despite being called a kingdom, the Reef is actually more of a dangerous post-war zone with a few safe areas spread all around the asteroid belt it was located in.

Also, even without the Traveller's touch, the awoken warriors from the Reef were still fierceless and extremely well-trained. So much that even a guardian would have trouble facing one of them.

"I must say..." Leah started. "...the Reef certainly sounds like a weird place to live" she told Idus

However, this last one had an annoyed expression on his face. "Tsk! Not just weird... That place is a dump if you ask me... " he replied while crossing his arms and looking to one side. "There's no way you can imagine it since you've never been there"

"And you have?" Ravi asked innocently and out of nowhere, after which the awoken boy startled and gave him a piercing and menacing look.

"I must go now" Idus finally stated while standing up and walking away, leaving Ravi and Leah with a puzzled face.

"S-sorry... Please don't mind him" Kadiah told the guardian duo with a soft grin as Idus was walking away.

"It's okay" Leah added.

"Jeez... he can certainly be a nuisance" Ravi states with an annoyed expression.

"Look who's talking"

"It's true" Kadiah continued. "Idus is always so serious and lonely that it gets disturbing sometimes, but..." She turned to stare at the awoken boy who was quite far away already. "...the truth is he just has it rough whenever it comes to making friends. That's why I'm always trying to help him with that" Ravi and Leah smiled after hearing these words. "He certainly has a soft side too... and that's what I like about him"

"Well, he really is lucky to have a friend who cares for him so much like you, Kadiah" Ravi said, happily.

Kadiah giggled a bit in return, but then she saw this as an opportunity to tease her dear friend. "What about you, Leah?" she asked with a mischievous smirk after approaching the young human girl.

"Eh? What about me?" this last one asked, innocently.

"Do you have someone special as well?"

"S-s-someone special?"

"Yeah! Someone who is to you what Idus is to me... hihihi..."

Leah blushed instantly. She knew what Kadiah was trying to imply by that. "It's... IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" she yelled with her face as red as a tomato.

"What's wrong?" Ravi asked without a clue of what was going on.

"N-NOTHING! IT'S NOTHING!" Leah yelled with embarrassment. "Let's... let's just go!" she finally claimed while grabbing Ravi's hand and pulling him out of there.

"Jeez... I guess it's still too early" Kadiah then finally muttered to no one in particular while staring at the lovely pair of guardians walking away along with their ghosts.

...

...

...

The next day after classes, and also after making sure they had packed enough provisions for a long trip just in case, Ravi, Leah and their ghosts were all at the huntress's ship ready to head towards the Reef. They knew that where they were heading this time wasn't the usual unknown and neutral planet like Venus or the Moon. This time, they were practically barging into someone else's territory, so being a little cautious wasn't by far the worst idea out of all.

"Remind me again why we are using MY ship" Leah told Ravi with saltiness as she was fastening her seatbelt.

"Because I don't want my ship getting destroyed" the blue-haired boy replied with a mischievous smirk.

"Hey!"

"I'm joking... hahaha... It's better to go in one sole ship. Otherwise we would attract too much attention, don't you think?"

"Yeah... you have a point. But, next time we'll go in yours" she finally replied.

Everything seemed to be fine... The ship had more than enough fuel, and they were carrying lots of food in case they needed it. However, they had no idea the same awoken hunter they met the day before was somewhere around the Tower discussing an important matter regarding them with his ghost.

"Didn't you say they were just first-year trainees?" the ghost told his guardian as this last one was focused on digging and checking some important data in a nearby PC. "I don't think they are the type to just break the rules and risk themselves to getting expelled. Are you really sure about this?"

"I'm not sure, Xeno" Idus bluntly replied to his ghost. "These are all just my suspicions, BUT... they asked me about the Reef, and that can be dangerous"

"Well, if someone knows about it, it's you" Xeno added. "So... What do we do in the meantime?"

"Well, I suppose it would be better to find out something more about those 2"

"How? Are you gonna spy into their record files?"

"I just did. But, record files only hold superficial and boring information" the awoken boy bluntly replied after finding nothing useful or interesting in the computer. "They don't have what really matters in this case, like personality aspects"

"Personality?"

"Yeah... If I get to know them a little better, I might get a hint if they are really plotting something behind the Vanguard's back... and more importantly..." he stood up as he stared directly at his ghost. "...if they are doing something regarding the Reef"

"What will you do then?"

"I'll have to ask someone about them"

"Someone like who?"

"Well..." Idus sweat-dropped and took a long sigh with kind of a tired expression. "There's only one person close enough to me who can tell me about them... and that's... HER" he finally stated, referring to Kadiah and picturing her and her crazy love for him inside his mind.

"Oh... I'm... sorry... hehe..."