Chapter 13: Almost an esper

"Okay, so I'm thinking that we go at this from the angle that Captain Thatcher noticed Guide Woods potential on the front lines originally, and-" Casper was interrupted by Ms. Hill.

"Oh, me too! I saw first hand how skilled he is on the front lines." Casper frowned at her interruption, but continued. Ms. Hill pouted at being ignored, turning away from them on the couch and unwrapping another lollipop.

"So he noticed your potential, but then you left the front lines. A couple of months go by, then the incident at Guiding Center B takes place. Captain notices that Guide Woods works there and takes this chance to talk with him. He also notices that there has been a request for a retest for a Guide from Guiding Center B. Going off of a hunch, he shows up at the Center and it happens to be Guide Woods. Things happen, you get retested, and low and behold! What a great match. Wow. Everyone goes wild, and look! Guide Woods has also gone up in Class! Everyone loses their mind over this new information." Everyone stared at Casper for a moment, before Ms. Hill broke the silence.

"Casper, have you been reading in your free time? Because that was reeeeeeeally close to what actually happened." Casper flushed, but seemed to be slightly proud of himself. He cleared his throat, while the Captain continued to play with a piece of Kellen's hair.

"I talk to Pamela quite regularly, and we go over worst case scenarios. Captain's exclusive partner popping up out of nowhere is one of them." Ms. Hill stared at the other Lieutenant.

"How is that the worst case scenario? That seems like the best outcome to me." She asked, and curious too, Kellen didn't say anything, only waited for Casper to speak. He adjusted his glasses.

"Well, no matter how or when Captain Thatcher found his partner, it was always going to cause waves. I mean, it's the Captain." Ms. Hill nodded, but so did Kellen's Mom. "So Pamela and I decided it was better to have a plan in place for when it did happen so we weren't caught by surprise. I mean, finding out your match rate while helping with tests is fairly common, so it's not the worst story to go with." Casper's cheeks were slightly pink, while Captain smirked. The Captain shifted slightly towards the Guide next to him.

"I am pleased to find out that you two care so much about my relationships." He said dryly and Casper laughed nervously.

"Ah, well, it was mostly for fun. Like problem solving." He muttered and Kellen watched the man. Kellen had a feeling that if things went well, he probably would get along with him.

"So, it sounds like we have a fairly solid plan already. I take it that not many people know about the Captain's powers to drain others?" Somber faces met Kellen's words. "Then this cover story is reasonable. It should be noted that my powers might still increase over time, but I'm not sure what the rate is. I'll have to go over all of my other tests before I could give you a guess." Ms. Hill snorted.

"What? Are you going to math out the curve or something?" She teased and Kellen felt a wave of embarrassment at being called out so easily.

"I was, actually." He told her seriously and she snorted.

"What a nerd."

"He's a cute nerd." His Dad stepped in to defend him. "We always needed one in the family." He smiled at his son warmly. Kellen ducked his head, embarrassed even more. He reached for the teacup in front of him, taking a large gulp.

"I think it's important to have someone around who isn't afraid to do research. We don't have many of those types around us since most of us are a bunch of muscle heads." The Captain spoke before taking the cup from Kellen's hands and taking a sip. Casper watched the whole thing, still confused.

"I think it would benefit us as well to have someone smart in the upper levels of the Guild." There was silence for a moment before Casper cleared his throat. "So, we haven't had a pair high up in the Guild yet. I'm curious. What is Guide Woods going to do after he's updated his training? I mean, besides being your exclusive Guide, Captain Thatcher." Casper broached tentatively and Kellen was the one to laugh this time.

"Well, I'm certainly unable to take on some of your duties given I'm sure Captain would be upset if I was offering my guiding to others. That doesn't mean I can't be of use to you. If you think the Guides would benefit from field training I would be more than happy to help with that. I've only been away from the front lines for about seven months, but I was there for years. I also trained quite a few Field Guides while there and managed to keep them alive. So, if that interests you, I would be happy to make a couple mock up courses." Kellen smiled as the other Guide leaned towards him, nodding vigorously.

"Of course, I would gladly take you up on that offer. We already have a light training course we run our Guides through, but I would never turn down an offer of help from someone Ms. Hill and Captain Thatcher hold in such high regard." Kellen wasn't sure how to respond to the easy praise Casper gave him, while the Captain beside him puffed up, clearly pleased.

"Not only do I hold him in high regard, I trust him with my life." Captain stated rather proudly. Kellen, never one to condemn or condone others, ignored the Esper.

"Are you wanting to train them more with monsters or plant knowledge? Or just physically? Either way, I am more than happy to help. Besides, an unconscious Guide is dead weight, and the first thing to get left behind in a life or death situation." Casper's eyes widened, while Ms. Hill rolled onto her back on the couch, laughing loudly.

"Sometimes Kellen, you sound like an Esper." She teased the Guide, who seemed confused, while his mother sighed heavily.

"It's my fault. I trained both of my kids to be little hellions as children. Neither one of them showed signs early on if they were going to have powers, and it was better to be safe than sorry given the chances. With Kellen's reflexes, I thought he was going to take after me." She smiled sweetly before taking her husband's hand in hers. "Instead, he took after my Sweet Darling. Surprising, since Kellen's bedside manner was absolutely atrocious when he was younger." Kellen hated when she told that story. Normally she did it after consuming liquor, so this must be a new way to embarrass him.

"Mom, that's enough. No one wants to hear that story. You've told it a thousand times." Kellen protested, rolling his eyes while his Mom chuckled.

"I think you're wrong about that, Kellen. Captain Thatcher seems very interested." Kellen turned to look up at the Esper beside him. The Captain had a pensive look on his face, staring towards his Mother. Kellen frowned.

"Please, you don't want to hear that story right now. She'll most likely bring it up again in the future, so wait until then." Kellen said firmly and the Captain grinned, turning towards the Guide beside him. He twirled the hair he'd captured in between his fingers, watching the younger man's face.

"I am having a hard time imagining it, Mr. Woods. You clearly don't have poor bedside manners now." The Captain's smiling face filled Kellen's vision, his eyes a soft, golden colour and Kellen opened his mouth dumbly, before fumbling over his next words.

"I-I was a teen! I didn't know any better. Plus, I already told you that I had to work hard to become a better Guide." His smile grew at Kellen's insistent whisper. An alarm bell rang in the back of Kellen's head as he stared into the golden eyes of the S Class Esper beside him.

"Oh did you?" He bent forward, his lips grazing the younger man's ear. "I would love a chance to experience it." He pulled back as the Guide covered his ear, his mouth open and his cheeks flushed. "Well Mr. Woods, I hope that you put even more effort into becoming my exclusive Guide." His smile reached his eyes as they filled with mischief. Kellen swallowed thickly.

"I'm going to be terrible at it intentionally if you don't behave yourself." The Captain threw his head back and laughed, and Kellen felt his body relax as he unintentionally avoided a dangerous situation. The Captain seemed pleased with Kellen's tart response, and Ms. Hill, who was still laid out on the couch near them, smiled secretly to herself. She had recorded the interaction between these two from the sparring arena, and was glad she had. The Captain finished laughing, and pulled the Guide closer, much to his annoyance.

"I'll make sure I behave just enough so that you only scold me sometimes. How does that sound?" He asked, his face bright and Kellen sighed.

"Tiring, Captain." His responding smile to Kellen's flat tone was so wide he swore he could see a dimple. Casper cleared his throat.

"So, after you rest," Casper caught the look Kellen gave him and responded with a stern look of his own, "and yes, you are resting today Guide Woods. You look like I brought a corpse into my office and I will not have others speak poorly of our Guild. So you will go home and rest, and tomorrow you'll come in the uniform the Captain provided. I should be here around 8 am and I plan to give you a tour of the Guild. Unfortunately, Ms. Hill and Captain Thatcher will be busy tomorrow, so you'll have to settle for me, Guide Woods." Casper said it with such a serious tone Kellen almost missed the teasing in his gray eyes. He pushed up his glasses. "Besides, I want to show you the Guild through the eyes of a Guide, especially after you formed such a negative image of us from misinformation. Also, since you're going to be the Captain's exclusive Guide, I need to take you through the upper levels that other Guides wouldn't normally see. You'll have wider access to the Guild building since you will need to be able to find Captain Thatcher anywhere in case of emergencies." Kellen nodded seriously. "I also want to have our first lesson tomorrow so we can both gauge your current power level. I know that Captain Thatcher is itching to get back to the front lines, so your training, and how quickly you'll be out of it, will take priority." Kellen found himself nodding along with everything the Lieutenant was saying. He was growing a soft spot for the spiky haired Guide, who despite his wispy presentation had a strong heart and spine.

"And I'll make sure tomorrow that Ian kid learns his place." Casper's face, which had been pale before, turned red while Ms. Hill laughed, finally sitting up.

"Good fucking luck Kellen. The man is like a bull in a china shop. Plus, Casper's a Guide, what can he do?" She shrugged, and Kellen frowned. He did not like how easily she gave up, like this was a completely normal and fine thing to happen.

"No, it is not appropriate. Casper is a Lieutenant first, then a Guide. He holds a position of power in this Guild and the way he is treating him is not respectful towards a person, let alone a Guide. Has Ian done time on the front lines yet?" He turned towards Ms. Hill who typically was in charge of the rotating cast of Espers on the front lines. She shook her head.

"No. He's supposed to go out with this new cycle." Kellen sighed heavily, while Casper watched on in confusion.

"That explains it. Well, I promise Lieutenant Casper, he won't be able to get near you when you're with me tomorrow. Especially if you don't want him to. He's an Esper, and he should know fucking better. That is not how you court a Guide." Kellen shrugged, ignoring the S Class Esper beside him who also was actively courting a Guide. "And if my presence alone doesn't work, I'll pull the 'I saved your brother' card. I'm shameless when it comes to situations like this." Kellen's mother laughed at the situation.

"Kellen Honey, you currently have an Esper wrapped around you who doesn't appear as if he's listening to you." Kellen spared a glance towards the Esper who was giving him big, soft yellow eyes that he thought might be watering? What was the Esper doing?

"I made sure that the Captain knows where I currently stand in our relationship. Captain knows if I say no and I mean it, and he continues to push he will damage the trust between us. He knows that trust is important to me, and if he wants even a chance to get his desired outcome, he needs to follow my rules." The room sat in stunned silence while Kellen continued. "Ian, however, is not following anything and is rushing forward." Kellen's Dad grinned with pride at his son's declaration.

"Guides also have to know how to set the rules as well, Kellen. So, Guide Casper, have you set them?" Casper felt suddenly as if he was back at the academy being questioned by one of his teachers. He flushed as he answered.

"I tried. He won't listen." Kellen tsked. Even his Mom looked displeased.

"A waste then. Hopefully, when he gets to the front lines he doesn't die right away." Casper, who hadn't heard anyone speak like this about Espers before, felt shocked. He stared with wide eyes at the other Guide.

"Is it something that serious?" He asked and Ms. Hill sighed at his question.

"Yes, it is. If he can't follow your orders, he probably isn't going to follow a Field Guide's orders on the front lines. It's one of the first lessons you learn as an Esper. Never get too cocky. People can be weaker in powers than you, but that doesn't mean they aren't important. Plus, if he forced an imprint on you, you'd be fucked if he died." Casper now looked like he was a corpse.

"And you lot were going to let this happen before Guide Woods spoke up?" Ms. Hill didn't flinch at the angry Guide's words, instead she glanced at Kellen, before turning her gaze towards the Captain.

"If I'm honest, I didn't notice anything amiss about it. But now that I've seen Kellen in action with the Captain, I can tell his behaviour is far from okay. We don't have many pairs in the Guild, and the ones we do have are in the lower levels of the Guild. They have less crazy in them, if you know what I mean. Watching the Captain and Kellen put everything into perspective for me, and I'll make sure to keep a better eye out now. I'm sorry Casper. I didn't even realise something was wrong." Casper swallowed, unsure if he should keep his anger at the genuine apology of the other Esper. Even the Captain bowed his head towards the Lieutenant Guide, and Casper finally gave in with a quick jerk of his head.

"Enough with this topic. I have work to do now that Ian is gone, and Guide Woods needs to go home and rest. He needs about 10 000 calories and at least 10 hours of sleep before I see him tomorrow. It was a pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Woods." Casper stood, shaking the hands of both of Kellen's parents before leaving his own office. Ms. Hill took a moment to be sad and reflective, before bouncing back into her vibrant personality and heading for the door of the office as well, happy to be their escort once again.