12 1.9 — Eavesdropping

Ofcourse, once I looked at them even more clearly, I realised they were not normal kidnappers. They were, as I feared, the monster-hunter group.

I almost wish they were some normal kidnappers.

Hate when things don’t go my way, that’s for sure.

So, the question now is…do I leave?

I mean, I do have the perfect opportunity here. They haven’t noticed that I’m awake and the height from the ground isn’t high either. I took a quick peek at the time too and noticed that it was almost 11 at night.

Oh man, uncle is going to be furious once I get home.

Which will take even more time considering I have no idea what part of town I am in—from the looks of the room, not a good part, that’s for sure. Not to mention I don't even have my bicycle.

Oh god, my bicycle!

It’s still near the park. Thrown aside and forgotten. Maybe even broken. Or stolen. Or both!

Man, if I show up at home late with no cycle, or worse, a broken one; I’m grounded for a month, atleast. Not to mention losing my game parlour privileges.

“…kid anyways?” the short guy said. His voice had that certain booming loudness to it that isn’t actually that loud, just that it sounded very clear.

I wonder what they’re talking about.

And so, I walked slowly with a hunched back and hid behind the small portion of the wall that, if one wanted to, could be called the hallway.

The hall, like the room before, was old, cracked and dirty. Atleast it had less mould, so there’s that. There was also an absence of any pictures, art, showpiece or even a TV. All they had was an L-shaped sofa, a lamp at the side—its head tilted and torn—and a coffee table in front of it with two extra plastic chairs.

Guess these guys weren’t that into interior decoration. Kidnapping must not be a lucrative business these days.

“I don’t know, Ryouichi. I don’t see any difference between him and the other mortals. Are you sure he was using the Ruhkti?” A feminine voice said. I assume that’s the claw girl since she’s the only female among the group I remember from the park…unless they had backup.

“Yes, yes. He was definitely using the Ruh around him.” Ruh? Doesn’t that mean soul? If they are talking about me—which I’m pretty sure that they were—then was that what happened? I was using the soul around me? That makes no sense.

Sure, I can see the dead souls but using them to form light gauntlets? Seems a little bizarre.

Although, now that they mention it, I did start using that once I was near Ritu…but how? Did I use her as a battery for power? Was she okay?

Am I going to be okay?

“Maybe he’s an oversight, you know? Sage, is what they call themselves?” Ryouichi asked. It was hard to look at them without risking my appearance.

You may be wondering why I was hiding.

Well, why wouldn’t I? Sure, they seemed to have saved me somehow and also healed me…someway—because yeah, I remember a bone sticking out of my arm that conveniently is back in its original place—but, for all I know, the super healing comes with my new ability to use the Ruh so I wanna be sure I give the credit to the right person.

Not to mention the age-old rule—Stranger danger.

“Eh, sage, rishi, monk, mages, whatever. He did show the signs of one, being loved by the Ruh,” Ashraf said, his voice was calm and collected as if every word he spoke was given a thought atleast ten times. “But it’s different. From what I have heard about them, these rishis persuade the Ruh to help them. While in his case, it was almost like the Ruh wanted to help him.”

Minus the last part, didn’t the monster say something similar? I mean sure, since I was a kid, I have been able to see the ghosts. And as I grew older, I was able to see them in an even larger quantity and more clearly too.

But I doubt they want to help me. Even if they do, I don't know if I want their help. They don't seem that reliable, to be honest.

“Really? I didn’t realise the Ruh were so…sentient,” Ryouichi said.

“That’s because you slept in most of your classes. It was like the first thing they taught in spell arts,” Reizumi said. Damn, there’s a whole class for…whatever it was they did. Wonder what being in that class would be like.

“Well, not the first class, that’s an over-exaggeration,” Ashraf corrected the lady.

“Thanks, babe, but wouldn’t have known if she was lying anyway. Those classes were always so boring that I never really bothered to pay any attention to them~” Ryouichi said, sounding dejected. Almost sounds like they’re learning magic. Wait, could that be it? Are they really some sort of magician? Like, before, I was just guessing but now it could be true.

Am I a magician? I mean, what I did, it seemed a lot like magic…

“Explains the reason why you suck at it,” Reizumi mumbled but clearly meant it to be heard. I mean, I was furthest from them and I heard it.

“Ruh aren’t exactly sentient,” Ashraf said, “Atleast not like a normal soul. They’re more like small creatures made of pure energy just…existing in the Sansaar. It’s not that hard to remember or grasp.”

“…Yes, well, I’m better at grim arts,” Ryouichi’s voice increased. He was mad.

Ashraf chuckled, “Yes, that you are, sweetie.”

“I wouldn't be so sure about that. By my count, you’ve only won 1347 spars against me. That’s just 2 spars more than mine.”

“Even if it was just 1, that’s still higher than yours.”

“…sure, so about that Rakshas, what do you think he meant? I mean, is it just me that felt a little weirded out with what he said?” Damn, she just ignored him. That has to hurt.

“It works. It works, just like he said it would!” Ashraf said the words as if he were quoting the monster that had attacked them. “Who’s the ‘he’ that the Akkorokamui was referring to?”

Ah, guess Quadro had an actual name. I still think Quadro’s a better name though. You agree with me, right? Right?

…you know, I’m not really a big fan of this one-sided communication. Makes me sound crazy.

“Beats me,” Ryouichi said

“Could be an Asur,” Reizumi spoke of her thoughts, gears trying to turn into some meaningful direction, trying to make sense out of the nonsense, “Maybe someone’s pulling strings in the dark. I mean, isn’t that why we’re here? To see what’s causing the rise in corruption in this shithole of a town? What if we’re meant to find whoever this ‘he’ is?”

“Yeah, Ash, which brings me to the question of—couldn’t you find a better place for us?” Ryouichi said. I heard the creaking sound of the sofa’s rusty spring, followed by slow heavy steps walking towards my direction.

Shit, did they spot me? The footsteps took a turn and went away from me.

Close call…

Maybe I should just leave while they’re still talking about their own things.

And so I did.

I traced my steps backwards and closed the door behind me. I checked to see if my mobile was still with me. Cool, it was…yet why is it that I still feel something’s missing?

And then, a little sheet of moonlight shined on a brown cloth in the corner of the room. Ah yes, my bag. Quickly slinging the bag back on my shoulders, I opened the window and jumped down on the ledge below it.

From there it was easy. A little jump on another ledge, then the wall and then the ground. Hopefully, they didn’t hear my escape.

And even if they did, well…let’s just hope they don’t try to follow me.