#Hatz's feeling toward grace is completely platonic. but I'm not opposed to have him having undiscovered romantic feeling ;D

[deiaiko]

#21.3 Thoughts

"What's on your mind?" Isu asked, already lying down on his futon which was placed right next to his. Laure was already fast asleep on Isu's other side.

Hatz crouched down and pulled on his blanket. His thoughts kept going back to whatever happened just a moment ago as he stared at the ceiling. "How high do you think I can climb the tower?"

Isu hummed, the answer came easy. "Definitely higher than me."

Hatz looked at him, frowning. "I will take you along."

Shibisu's smile didn't reach his eyes, and he was not looking at Hatz.

"I just…" Hatz started again to fill the silence, "I realized how weak and helpless I am, in the face of true power."

Shibisu only hummed, and Hatz came to a realization. He knew very well that Isu wasn't gifted with power, yet he always did his best to keep up with their team that consisted of mostly gifted individuals. Though Hatz wouldn't call himself one, since he came from a more humble background.

"I think I understand you better now." Hatz said, with a newfound fondness of his friend. "It's frustrating, isn't it?"

"You're being sentimental." Isu chuckled, but he didn't deny it.

Hatz also didn't deny the claim. He might be just missing the life he left behind, where everything was simple, where he was praised for some achievements. But he also wouldn't exchange it for what he had today. His team, his family. It was just the thought that everything that he had could be taken away in just an instant, while he was powerless to stop it.

"You're rarely like this." Isu asked, now with a little concern. "What happened?"

Hatz debated on how to tell him. "We met a ranker, along with Agni and Grace, earlier."

"Oh?" Isu shifted to lie sideways, smirking at him with intrigue. "You met Grace? How did it go?"

It seemed that Isu was still under the assumption that Hatz had a crush on Grace, which he definitely did not. Not when Grace asked him to teach him how to wield a sword, and not when Grace picked his side when he debated with Earrings about swordsmanship's principles. Grace had wanted to know him better, and it was natural that Hatz had grown to like him more than the others. It was all just a mutual feeling, nothing extending to romance. Though he had to admit that he wanted to impress Grace and earn his attention, because no one else bothered to actually see the art of swordsmanship he was so proud of and trained hard with. Still, he had no intention to take him away from Agni. It was against his principle of loyalty. Even if, admittedly, he was a little bitter about it when he found out that Agni looked and acted a lot like Khun.

"You're frowning~" Isu taunted. "Could it be…jealousy~?"

"It's not like that." Hatz cleared his throat, as well as whatever he was feeling. "What I saw earlier made me realize that they're living in a different world than ours."

"Are you referring to their power? Since you're talking about it earlier." Isu's expression turned serious once again. "I mean…Agni is surely strong. We have all seen that first hand."

"He does, but– what I experienced earlier, was something I could get out of by luck."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know how to tell you exactly, but it felt like I had witnessed a fight between high rankers."

"On this floor?? In the regular area??"

"There was a shinsu barrier, so the fight was unseen from outside. I didn't notice anything amiss until I accidentally went through the barrier, and Agni caught me as soon as I entered."

"A barrier that could contain a high rankers' fight, yet easy for regulars to get through…" Isu mumbled. "Are they perhaps…sparring?"

"I think you might be right." Because Hatz was said to be unconscious for only a few minutes, and everything seemed to be over by then. "Rak clarified that Grace had partaken in that fight."

"Huh. Grace did?"

"He was beaten up and unconscious. Where else would he get those injuries?"

"Is he okay?"

"Agni had tended to him, and I can say that Agni is a capable healer. Grace should be fine, he was sleeping when we were forced to leave."

"...Forced?"

"There was a high ranker, I think. His presence was so strong that even Rak was quiet. Though he seemed to be fond of Grace and Agni. But it looked like Agni was a little afraid of him, so he sent us back."

"If that's true, then there is a good chance that the guy is related to FUG." Shibisu groaned and rolled back, covering his face. "Shit, what did we get ourselves into…"

"Uh…Sorry?"

"No, no. It's not your fault." Isu flailed his hands to try and make his point, before sighing and laying his hands back down. "Just…I'm glad you made it back, Hatz."

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