(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 201

Chapter 201: A complicated past, but bright future

"How is he?" Kellen asked once the elevator was moving and they were in the enclosed space. Sakura’s happy facade dropped as well and she sighed. She ran her hand over her face, her foot tapping in annoyance.

"He’s been himself, which means difficult. I’d say he’s gotten two degrees more difficult, but it feels like more than that." She said grimly as the elevator came to a stop. When the doors opened, Kellen came face to face with a hallway that felt eerily similar.

Then again, all research wings look vaguely the same. White walls tended to do that to spaces. The hallway felt like it stretched on forever, but Kellen could see the end of it. He glanced towards Sakura.

"Did you try to make this into a horror movie?" He asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"I didn’t try to do anything. They said this was best for security purposes, and so I went with it. You’re the first person I know to refer to it like that." She told him. She began to walk with a brisk pace down the long hallway, and Kellen quickly followed after her. In her heels, she was almost a full foot taller than Kellen, and her legs went on for days.

Kellen had to jog to keep up with her.

"I can’t be the first person to say something along those lines. Surely the researchers who work here said something similar." Sakura shrugged at Kellen’s words.

"If they did, no one said it to me." She said, and Kellen nodded. She was the Captain of the Guild. He was sure there were few people who would have the balls to do so. Too bad Kellen didn’t care about that since the length of them exceeded her length as a Captain. It was also hard to give someone the same level of respect when you had walked in on them changing several times for gym and found them in a matching duck bra and panty set.

Not that he was complaining, but there were some things that just took away some of your credibility. Kellen knew he had some, but he just hoped they would never be brought up. He would never, ever say what he’d witnessed out loud, but it did mean that Kellen felt comfortable saying certain things to Sakura.

"Fair enough. I would have some problems saying it to my Boss if I had one." Sakura snorted, her shoulders shaking.

"You do have a Boss, but you also sleep with them." Kellen smacked her shoulder.

"I do not. We live in separate apartments." Kellen scolded, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean, Kellen. Don’t play dumb. It does not matter where you sleep at the end of the night." Sakura said, and Kellen frowned. He felt his cheeks puff up slightly as he looked away. He did know what she meant, but that hadn’t happened either. At least, not fully. Kellen wasn’t an idiot.

He knew what he and the Captain were doing was on a slippery slope downwards into sleeping together. He also hadn’t been an idiot before he’d realised his relationship. Intimate skin relations were just a part of being a Guide. At least, that was what he had always been told.

Granted, after what he had just witnessed at Guiding Center C, Kellen was beginning to doubt if that should be the case. If people became so blinded by what was normal and acceptable, but it still hurt people, was it the right thing to do? Kellen wasn’t one to have these kinds of thoughts, but he knew that the Captain was. He also knew that the Captain was going to be furious when he found out what had happened.

And that Kellen and the Captain’s sway was probably going to get that woman fired. He honestly didn’t feel bad about that, but again felt bad for the Guides that were going to suffer. It wasn’t as if there were a lot of A Class Guides around in the city, but she was a danger to keep in that position.

And what the fuck was up with that...gross puss-filled bog that had been inside of that Esper? On later reflection, Kellen should have had Esper Blake stop that man and guide him back to the Guild for examination. His story was also fishy. But it wasn’t his place to do so. He didn’t have that kind of authority.

Fuck. This was hard.

"Kellen, we’re here." Kellen jerked, surprised that his thoughts had taken over him enough that he had forgotten where he was.

Sakura had stopped at one of the several plain, white doors. The only thing that marked this door as slightly different from the others was a plaque on the door that stated this was the Poison Research Department. Kellen chuckled.

"Ah. I’m sure he chose that?" Kellen asked, gesturing to the title and Sakura sighed.

"He did. He wanted it in green font but I decided that was too...ominous." She muttered and Kellen shook his head with a smile. Sakura stepped back several paces, her face grim as Kellen readied himself to knock on the door.

Knock knock knock

"Fuck off Willow. I want nothing to do with you." Came the hoarse, growl from the other side. Kellen glanced at Sakura to find her clenching her fists. Not many called her by her last name, a choice she had made rather young in her career. It was a sign of disrespect on his part, and Kellen rolled his eyes at his pettiness.

"It’s not Sakura. It’s me." Silence, before several loud bangs and screeches before the locks were fumbled with on the door and it was flung open. Kellen came face to face with the man he had stood up for, defended, and kept alive for a few weeks on the front lines as he was on the run.

He hadn’t changed much in the years he hadn’t seen him, but he did look like he’d filled out a little more. Looked healthy.

Carlos was a man who it had taken several days to even get his first name. Even after Kellen had safely guided him without pain. The man had a distrusting personality, and Kellen had a feeling he knew why. Carlos had been a part of a terrorist organisation, but he’d bailed at the last minute on an important mission.

What had that mission been? Kellen had no idea. And it wasn’t Kellen’s duty to find out. Him not asking further after Carlos had finally admitted why he was on the front lines meant that he trusted Kellen enough to let him protect him. And show Kellen his powers.

Carlos had the ability to manipulate, control, and detox poisons. Any and all, he was the reason Sakura had such a chokehold on the market, and the man knew it. There was a reason he was in hiding. If his old group found out where he was, he would be killed, no questions asked.

So he had some rights to be paranoid, and turn Sakura away, but Kellen wasn’t going to stand for it anymore. Not after the gate continued to expand, and there was another poison gate hurting others. Kellen was a firm believer of the ’we need to close gates at all costs’ camp. So as much as he respected Carlos’ wishes and personal beliefs, he was not afraid to get pushy.