Bab 2: 002: The Current Him Wouldn't Know
The forest they are in has some demonic beasts living in it that the academies, closest to this place, allow students to train.
Because of this, a few different academies would sometimes get the chance to meet each other here.
Her uniform tells him that she is a part of the group, who are currently fighting the demonic beasts.
She shrugged and stood up before pulling him to the other side of the tree, "They didn't want me to fight."
She then pulled him down on the grass.
"Hey, what do you mean by that? You? You weren't allowed to fight?" he asked as he went along to what she was doing.
"Other than that. It has been a while, let me sleep. We've been here for a month now," she said as she lay down on the grass.
He looked at her before looking at their surroundings.
"Are you unable to sleep here? That's new, " he asked but she had already closed her eyes.
Also, she didn't let his hand go.
He stayed quiet for just a minute or so and she had already fallen asleep. As compared to a while ago when it took her a lot of effort just to get the chance to have a shallow sleep.
Seeing her breathing turned even, he could only shake his head.
It has been eight years since they last met, this was supposed to be a reunion but it seems that she badly needed this sleep.
He brushed off some stray hair in her face, 'It seems that so many things have changed around you.'
He once again looked around their surroundings, "Despite the sunny warm weather, you are unable to sleep here? If it was 8 years ago, you would already be dozing off the moment you lie down."
She was a person who was sleepy all the time. Taking every single chance she could to sleep. Even in a forest filled with demonic beasts.
To be honest, she is fine when it comes to the normal forests but with forests like this? She just could no longer do it anymore, the complete contrast to the person they knew in the past.
Something the current him wouldn't know.
The reason why he is currently filled with confusion about her current condition she had just spoken off. Being unable to fall asleep properly for a month.
It was because before they could know of this, they were already sent off to different places without them seeing her being unable to do so.
She was a lazy person through and through even from way back.
She sleeps when she's bored. She sleeps when they are done with training.
Despite that, she was still a hard worker when it came to her training and no one could actually complain about her laziness.
The fact about her being unable to sleep in the forest was found by her only after she was sent out here to fend for herself.
She was so used to staying out, sleeping anywhere but 8 years ago, every single time she closed her eyes in a forest with demonic beasts lurking around.
She would have the nightmare of that bloodied event.
Hunter looked behind him, the tree was shielding the two of them from her teammates' view, where they were fighting against some fox demon beasts.
Fox demon beasts are among those that are the weakest in the demon beasts hierarchy and are sometimes used for the training of the students.
Thinking about what she had said, that her teammates were not letting her fight, he couldn't help but furrow his brows.
"Was it because of your strength? Or because of something else?" he asked the sleeping girl lying beside him, knowing full well that she wouldn't be responding at all.
This truly was a puzzle for him more than her being unable to sleep like she always does.
At six years old, they were already trained despite their young age.
Trained with their powers and their swordsmanship.
Among them, she and he were the ones who excelled the most.
That is why hearing her say that they wouldn't let her fight and the fact that the teammates ignored her despite being approached by a stranger is something that completely baffles him.
Even if he thinks about this, unless he asks her, he won't be able to get the answer.
He could only call for a messenger bird to bring his message to the others.
He wasn't alone in coming here to look for her.
'Meet me at this place.'
After writing the coordinates, he sent the bird away.
He waited and just as the sun was about to set, her so-called teammates left.
This left him dumbfounded, they didn't even bother looking for her. They left just like that without checking if the stranger was an enemy or not.
Or if she was okay or not.
Isn't this an obvious act of bullying?
He looked down at her, she already changed her position but she remained holding his hand as if, if she were to let it go, she would wake up from her deep sleep.
Just as the sky was about to completely turn dark, a few footsteps could be heard from his side.
"Why did you send a messenger instead of-"
The man with blue short hair brushed off to the side, asked the moment they saw him but abruptly stopped when Hunter placed a finger on his lip, indicating for him to keep quiet.
They all pursed their lips but turned agape when they saw him holding a lady's hand.
They couldn't see the color of her hair at the same time, her hair was now covering her face.
They couldn't tell who it was.
With quiet footsteps, they walked a bit farther before whispering to one another.
"Who is that? Why would he be holding her hand?" the blue-haired man asked instantly.
"Could it be a damsel in distress left alone in the forest full of demonic beasts?" another man with violet shoulder-length hair, asked in return.
His purple eyes behind his glasses twinkled as he looked back at Hunter and the mysterious lady.
"Hoho, do you think Hunter would be holding another girl's hand? Him? Of all people? If it was Nixon then I would have believed it. But it was Hunter okay," the lady, with white shoulder-length hair and a braid on one side, replied.
Her white eyes glistened as she looked at the blue-haired man named Nixon, she was teasing him.
His blue eyes were instantly filled with anger at her words, "Hey Stormie, why is it me again? Ridge could be like that as well."
Before Ridge, the violet-haired guy could defend himself Stormie had spoken first.
"Of course, Ridge wouldn't be able to do that," she rebuked.
Ridge nodded his head in agreement.
"How can he do it when he was so engrossed with his poisons? What he needs is an experiment body, not a girlfriend," she continued.
Ridge was still nodding his head when he heard the last part.
"HEY!!"
"Shhh," another lady with green thigh-length hair, hushed them when their voices were getting louder.
She then pointed at where Hunter and the lady were.
When the three of them looked back, Hunter was already looking at them sharply.
All three smiled sheepishly and mouthed their apology.
"What do you think Willow? Who could that be?" Stormie asked the green-haired lady.
Willow's green eyes looked back at the lady who was lying down before looking at another man not far from them, leaning on one of the trees.
"Hunter and Drake's actions are already pretty obvious," Willow replied.
The Drake she mentioned was the man leaning on the tree. He has silver short hair with bangs covering a bit of his left eye.
He was looking grumpy and was looking sharply at where Hunter and the lady were.
Ridge, Nixon, and Stormie looked at one another when they finally got the clue. Then they looked back at the lady who was still asleep.
"Saphira," they whispered at the same time.
Just then Saphira moved and woke up.
She stretched out as she sat down, "That was the best sleep after so long."
"You're up? Let's go, the others are here already," Hunter stood up and she followed.
Upon hearing what he had said, she looked to the side and saw the five of them.
Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "Guys!! It has been a while, you all look more mature than before."
The others stared at her blankly, she was already looking like a beauty 8 years ago. But now that she had matured more, her beauty had developed into something that could devastate a whole nation.
"What's wrong?" Saphira asked seeing as they remained staring at her without saying anything.
Her eyes went to Drake who remained not looking at her before she shrugged and smiled at the rest again.
"We just didn't expect that we really would be seeing you here, Saphira," it was Willow who finally found her voice and spoke.
Albeit, Saphira could feel a bit of indifference in her tone.
Something passed her eyes and disappeared faster than when it appeared.
"Oh, am I not supposed to be here?" Saphira asked looking up at Hunter.
He was 8 inches taller than her.
"But this is the place where I was sent," she added looking at the rest.
"Before that, let me ask you one thing. What was with your teammates?"
The question he had been pondering over for a while now, he was finally able to ask it.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone