(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Don't test a C Class

Kellen ended up having to go to the main lobby to find out where he was. He was sure he looked like a madman, coming out of the elevator in messy scrubs denoting he was from Guiding Center B, wild eyes, holding a powers test and a manila envelope in his hand with no shoes on. But this was very important. He needed to speak with the Captain.

The receptionist almost looked scared at the sight of him, but when he flashed his I.D. and explained that the Captain had helped him retake his powers test this morning, she was a little more understanding. She couldn't lead him directly to the Captain, so she called someone who could. One of the lieutenants of the guild would come and get Kellen and bring him to the Captain. He wasn't sure who to expect to step out of the elevator, but it wasn't the sour faced woman who looked like she'd just bitten into a lemon.

"Oh, Ms. Hill. Hello." He greeted and she jerked in her footsteps, turning her gaze towards him before her sour face smoothed out into a smile.

Ms. Hill and Kellen had been on the front lines at the same time. Like the Captain and Kellen, they hadn't fully ran in the same circles, but he had often helped her out with simple runner missions and the like whenever he had time to spare. Her russet brown locks were kept around her ears, and her brown eyes lit up from within. She wasn't much taller then Kellen, but Ms. Hill was a physical enchantment Esper. She was in the top 3 strongest people in the world, and she worked hard to make sure others never forgot that.

"Is that really you Kellen? You look like a shrimp in those clothes? I thought you were off the front lines to get nice and fat, and I see instead that you have lost all of your muscle." His cheeks flushed at her teasing. She came over and even squeezed his upper arms.

"Ms. Hill! I have gained muscles, I just also had a rather intense last two days. I've used up a lot of stored energy." The smile dropped from her face.

"I heard. Sorry we keep causing you issues Kellen. Fuck. I never wanted to see you so pale ever again. I heard Green nearly fainted at the sight of you coming in today. So? I heard you needed to speak to the Captain? Didn't he already see you today?" She blinked at the face Kellen made. "What does that face mean?"

I need to confirm something, and only he can give me the truth, I think. I'm pretty sure he's planning to avoid me, and if that's true, that's a bad plan." Intrigued by his words, Ms. Hill led them towards the elevators.

"I have a suspicious feeling that your question has something to do with the fact that the Captain is working out like he has demons chasing him. Oh, I am excited." She laughed darkly, while Kellen swallowed. He was working out like demons were chasing him? Was he that upset about it?

"I don't know if I like the sound of that, Ms. Hill." He told her as she swiped her card in the elevator before hitting the button for a higher floor in the Guild tower. She was smiling.

"Oh, but I do. I rarely get to see him so flustered. His eyes are glowing gold again, just so you know. You wouldn't know anything about why they stopped glowing gold, would you?" Kellen clenched his free hand tightly.

"He was my partner for my retest." He told her. Her eyes widened and she looked over the Guide beside her.

"You went for a retest? Why?" She didn't mean it maliciously. She didn't know his history with the Center.

"After the incident yesterday, both the Captain and my Guiding Center wanted me to take a retest. Apparently, I'm not supposed to notice certain things as a C Class, but I did." She whistled.

"So, what does that mean? Are you still in C Class?" She asked, clearly interested as the elevator kept moving.

"No, I'm not." He told her firmly, and she gasped. She grabbed his arm, excited, and Kellen winced at her strength.

"Kellen, that's big news! What Class are you now?" Kellen felt his lips tug up even in this serious, confusing situation, before he composed himself again.

"I'm not fully certain, since I probably should get tested again since I passed out mid test but..." He exhaled. "I might be A Class." He said quietly, and Ms. Hill squealed.

"Oh, I'm so excited for you! You'd be our first Guide to go up a Class, and two at that! That's insane Kellen! What did you do to jump up so quickly?" She pried and he sighed.

"Well, in theory, I was going to slowly get there no matter what, but I can't say anything else on this. That's between the Captain and I." She froze at his words.

"Wait wait wait, you said you passed out while taking your test and that the Captain was your-" She gasped, releasing Kellen's arm to cover her mouth. "Kellen, did he almost drain you?" She whispered, while Kellen stared grimly ahead.

"He didn't almost, I'm pretty sure he did drain me. That's why he's probably working out like a demon is chasing him. I'm not drained, I promise you that. I think that's because of how my powers work, but that's just a theory. Either way, the Captain is afraid." Ms. Hill's face was serious as she stared at the thin Guide.

"Well, I can understand that. Taking someone else's livelihood is very serious. It would have been a better case if he had just killed you." She was being rather dramatic.

"I would never have blamed him even if it had happened, so he doesn't need to be so scared. If anything, I think he's afraid of the other piece of paper in my hand, but I want to make sure." She was interested again.

The elevator doors opened on that and she stepped out of the elevator first. Kellen found that they were in a small lobby, before it opened up into a hallway. Instead of seeing a blank wall in front of them, there were floor to ceiling glass panels that showed off the room on the other side. It was clearly a very large gym, with lots of equipment. Kellen's guess was that the gym took up the whole floor. It must have other things, like sparring arenas, power testing chambers, things of that sort, especially since this was a Guild that focused on the front lines and closing gates.

Ms. Hill skipped over to a keypad Kellen hadn't noticed in his scan of the windows, before showing her I.D. and opening the door for the Guide.

"After you precious little Kellen." She gave him a wink before gesturing to the far left, towards what he could make out as a sparring arena that had quite a few Espers gathered around it. "Captain was over there sparring with Gunther last I saw. Be careful. You have very fragile bones, even if you are fast." She smiled as he gave a small bow in thanks since his hands were full and headed towards where she gestured. He hadn't met most of the Espers who were working out here, and most stopped to gawk at him as he passed, clearly confused as to why he was here.

Hell, the longer Kellen wandered, the more confused he got too. Was this the right thing to do? What was he going to do if the test was fake?

He could feel his stomach rolling again.

The sounds of flesh hitting flesh broke through his worry and confusion as the Captain and Lieutenant Gunther came into view. Gunther was a smaller, thin man with lightning fast reflexes, long silvery white hair, and black eyes that often stared unerringly at others. He'd met him a couple of times in passing on the front lines, but Kellen couldn't keep his gaze on him for long.

The Captain wasn't wearing his Esper uniform.

He wore a form fitting gray top with his guild's logo over his heart. Sweat plastered it to his body. He wore a form fitting pair of black pants that hugged his thighs and...other parts tightly. His hair wasn't gelled back currently, and flopped around, getting into his eyes as he moved, fighting his friend. Kellen hadn't truly ever given himself time to think about the Captain in this way, but the Captain was...very attractive.

Nervous suddenly for a different reason, he stopped a safe distance away and cleared his throat, ignoring the feeling of the other Esper's gaze on him. He waited patiently, knowing that the Captain could hear him, until it became obvious that he was going to ignore him.

"Captain?" He called tentatively, waiting. No response, but Kellen knew Gunther had heard him. He felt him glance in Kellen's direction. Kellen frowned. "Captain Thatcher?" He called again, louder, but the Captain continued to ignore him. Clearly, Gunther said something to him, but the Captain brushed it off.

A switch had been flipped, and Kellen could begin to feel his blood boil. He clenched his free hand tightly into a fist. "Captain Thatcher!" He called louder. "Do not pretend you can't hear me." Gunther, clearly curious about what was going on, slowed his movements and Captain smacked him upside the head for it. Pissed beyond sensible reason now, Kellen stormed the sparring ring. Come hell or high water, the Captain was going to talk to him.

Gunther was still recovering from his hit, so he didn't have time to react when Kellen approached the Captain from behind. The man jerked, sensing someone behind him and spun to kick with his full force. Horror crossed his face as he saw Kellen's determined face coming towards him.

Kellen knew he wasn't as fast as the two Espers in front of him, so instead of trying to avoid the hit, he braced for impact. It hurt like a fucking bitch, but he rolled safely, and he could tell he hadn't broken anything. He coughed, on his hands and knees as he tried to get his air back. Captain rushed over, grabbing his arm and hauling him to his feet to yell in the Guide's face.

"Are you crazy?" The Captain roared. He was pissed, but so was Kellen.

"Maybe I fucking am, but apparently getting hit was the only way you were going to talk to me!" Clearly taken aback at the tone of his voice, the Captain stared in silence at the man before him. Kellen coughed again, before bending down to pick up his papers again. He sighed since now they were covered in dust, and not as pristine. "Now, are you going to talk to me like an adult, or are you going to run away again, Captain Thatcher?" The Guide turned his gaze up towards the slightly taller man, and the Captain narrowed his eyes.

"Where is the Mr. Woods I knew before?" He demanded and Kellen gave him a feral smile, showing all of his teeth.

"You forget, Captain Thatcher, that I am also my Mother's son. So? Are you going to talk to me about this?" He waved the papers for emphasis and the Captain looked away, crossing his arms.

"I don't see why I should. It doesn't mean anything anyways." Kellen sputtered.

"Means nothing? Nothing! This is a big fucking deal if it's real Captain Thatcher! Is this real?" He asked but the stubborn man wouldn't meet his gaze. Furious, Kellen clenched his fist. "Is it real?" He demanded again and he sighed.

"What does it matter even if it is real?" The Captain spun on his heel to head back towards his Lieutenant and friend.

"I never took you for a coward, Captain Thatcher." He froze, and you could have heard a pin drop in the huge space.