Hide and Seek - 6

Winston smirked at her display, feeling a bit amused.

"And what of me?" Winston smirked, adding a mocking tone to his voice. "Princess?"

He noticed how a vein threatened to pop on her forehead, but she didn't take any movements towards him.

"You are the exception to this." She said. "Walk out if you want to. But don't get in my way." She scowled.

Winston chuckled.

Then, he put his hands on the back of his head and stretched his body.

"You're surprisingly self aware." He said.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Endorsi's grip on her needle tighten, yet she still didn't move.

"You... you planned to eliminate us from the beginning?" The man with the sword asked.

The brawny man got up, blood flowing from his nostrils due to the kick he had recieved.

"Correct!" Endorsi smiled sweetly, turning her head away from Winston.

"If you all get eliminated, oh, look at that, there will be 5 fishermen left! The ideal grounds for me to pass!" Endorsi chortled happily.

"Ms Endorsi! Why are you doing this?!" Bam yelled out from behind her.

Suddenly, Winston who was about to leave the circle and go about his way looked back at him, seeing his nervous look.

So she did that to teach him a lesson huh? She isn't normally so kind to do so... perhaps she made a deal with Khun? Or... Don't tell me she has a crush on Bam... Winston felt weirded out by his own thought process and stepped out of the circle without problem.

"H-he stepped out of the circle! Look at him!" As he did so, the brawny man yelled after him, calling out to Endorsi.

Winston looked over his shoulder, his eyes finding Endorsi who stood with a needle in hand. Then he smiled and said, "So are you really going to do anything? Princess?"

His tone was one of slight provocation. However, Endorsi didn't seem to be the one to be riled up through such provocations. As Winston had observed, one had to comment on her face of body to provoke her properly.

Endorsi clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Someday, I will really punch that grin off of you. Sadly, it won't be today."

Winston chuckled and walked along. He held up his hand and waved to them.

"It's good to have dreams Princess! But best not make them unrealistic!"

Endorsi gnashed her teeth together as Winston eventually disappeared into the darkness.

~~~

Somewhere along the line as he walked along, Winston heard a large explosive sound from the area Endorsi and the other fishermen were.

What was that? Was it Bam's latent powers awakening? He joked to himself, not sure whether such a thing could happen or not.

All things about irregulars considered, Winston would not be too surprised to find out that Bam had somehow awakened a strange ability in the face of danger or stress. However ordinary the boy might seem to be, he was and will be an irregular; someone that breaks the rules and laws of the tower.

Winston shook these thoughts off his head and went head. Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.

He smiled.

Let's just make this game interesting. I've been on the sidelines long enough I feel. He popped his neck and stretched his arms above his head. Then, he summoned his pocket and looked at his position.

"I'm almost to the safe zone... wasn't the seeker sighted close to the stairs that lead to the second circle? I wonder if I'll meet him on the way down." he muttered to himself. Then, he shrugged and took out the bright blue coin out of his pocket.

I'll run into the ranker if I go to the safe zone.

I'll run into the ranker if I go to the safe zone...

He muttered the sentence in his mind seven times, and then flicked the coin into the air.

Ding!

The coin spun in the air and landed right onto his palm.

Heads... Winston smiled in anticipation. Then, he started running towards the safe zone.

~~~

"I have a question, Mr. Light." A voice echoed in the darkness. Winston stopped in his tracks as he heard the voice. He propped his body to the wall adjacent to him and peered over the corner; his dark vision allowing for perfect vision. Right at the edge of the safe zone, where the lightbearer, Michelle light was stood two humanoid figures.

One of them held the other one in a choke grip, a blade at the other party's neck. The one at the blade point was a young girl with blonde hair and freckles, donning a dark brown cloak.

Hoh and Rachel? Winston narrowed his eyes, feeling some deeper story behind the current predicament. I wasn't expecting to encounter such drama...

"Who is Bam... that monster?" Hoh called out. "Isn't it weird? How is he able to learn shinsu so fast? Was he blessed or something?" Hoh's eyes took on a crazed look, his voice cracking with a crooked tone.

"Why are you so quiet? Tell me." He chuckled.

Because you're holding out hand over her mouth, idiot. Winston scoffed in his mind.

"What did god take from him in exchange for talent? I lost everything... and all I got was enough power to do some parlor tricks. Don't you think he deserves a bit of... misery?"

At that point, Winston walked out from the corner.

"Who are you to decide that?" His voice echoed in the surroundings, startling Hoh who was about to plunge the blade into Rachel's neck.

"Who's there?" He screamed into the darkness.

Winston smiled and slowly walked into the dim light cast by the non functioning lighthouse.

"Mr... Winston?" Hoh's eyes widened a bit.

"I'll ask you again. Who gave you the right to decide whether Bam deserves misery or not?" Winston asked, a smile still on his face.

Hearing his words, Hoh was surprised for a moment before he gave out a slight smile.

"What? Are you here to stop me from killing her?" He smiled. Winston's eyes scanned Rachel who was sweating profusely.

"Honestly speaking... I don't really care if you kill her or not; personally." He scratched his head, feeling a bit annoyed. In his mind, the figure of a young boy flashed. "But... I guess I want to protect the strange innocence I was never able to experience..." He droned.

Hoh raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

Winston's eyes suddenly took on a piercing glare. "Let her go. You failure of a wave controller." He said in a cold voice.

Hoh's eyes trembled slightly under his gaze as he took in the contents of his words. He gnashed his teeth.

"You! I see! So, you're also with that monster! Why are you supporting him?! Don't you see what kind of a monster he is?!" Hoh screamed, the saliva flowing out of his mouth.

"Monster?" Winston scratched his chin, looking at him quizzically.

"That's right! Don't you see how fast he picked up shinsu! Compared to everyone else, he's way too monstrous! What did he lose to gain that talent?! I lost everything! I lost everything that I had ever known all my life and I still can't do anything! Do you think that's fair!?" Hoh screamed in unbridled rage, his eyes clouding over momentarily with wrath.

Winston narrowed his eyes at him.

"So?" He tilted his head.

"Wha?" Hoh looked at him quizzically.

"So what?" Winston asked again. "All I can deduce is the fact that you're blaming Bam for your own inability." Winston began to walk forward with slow and deliberate steps. "Why are you so deep into your own shell of demean that you overlook everything? You say that Bam hasn't lost anything and he deserves misery? Who are you to decide that?

"All you're doing is imposing your own loss to someone else. Stop blaming others for your own circumstances. There is no one to blame for your loss, no one to look for to take responsibility. Your circumstances, your loss, "your", it is yours. Not anyone else's." Winston looked at him in pity. "You're such a large failure that you would want nothing more than to cause misery to a naive boy? Get over yourself. You trash."

Hoh's eyes hook inside his sockets. The hand which held the blade began to tremble, appearing to be on the breaking point. Then, a single tear dropped from his eyes and slid over his cheek.

"you... you..." He clenched his teeth. "You know nothing!" He pulled back the knife and held it behind Rachel's body. "I will take from him what god didn't! I will do god's work and do this world a favor!" He pulled back the knife preparing for a strike.

And just when Winston concentrated his spirituality and was going to cast freeze on the deranged failure of a regular, a powerful voice boomed out from the darkness, seemingly coming from all directions at once.

Hoh stopped and so did Winston.

"You will take for him what God didn't? A mere regular like you?" Winston turned his head, gazing through the darkness at the red haired ranker, Quant.

"You should know better." Quant smiled, walking into the light. Behind him floated a yellow coloured lighthouse.

"The God on this stage... is me."

Hoh looked at the ranker, flabbergasted. "How did you get here?" He asked in disbelief. Then, his eyes took in the image of the lighthouse. "You... you followed the lighthouse she left?"

Dammit! That was sneaky of her! Hoh cursed in his mind. But why did the ranker follow the lighthouse?!

Winton also narrowed his eyes at the lighthouse that was behind Quant. Why would be follow the lighthouse, when the priority is with Endorsi who could potentially escape?

"What the hell are you doing? Pointing a knife at your teammates?" Quant asked, his voice conveying his annoyance perfectly. "It doesn't seem like you're competing for the same position too... what do we have here?"

Winston suddenly felt a chill travel up his spine. The shinsu around him seemingly waved and bubbled, travelling all around with the ranker as the focal point.

That's... dangerous... Winston's forehead was suddenly full of sweat.

Something's not right... it's as if... as if he already knew about my plans... Hoh thought grimly.

"Damn it!" Hoh yelled, trying to dash back into the safe zone. At that moment, the ranker moved.

In the span of the blink of an eye, the ranker dashed all the way to Hoh, appearing right before him. However, just when he was about to hit him away. Something dashed out from the side, targeting both the ranker and Winston.

The ranker leaned back, dodging a bright red spear that was thrown at him, allowing Hoh and Rachel to retreat back into the safe zone.

Meanwhile, Winston side stepped and extended his hand and in the middle of the air, he grabbed the spear from the air.

Winston looked at the perpetrators of the act, looking at the green skinned spear bearer, Paracule and the other spear bearer that accompanied them.

"What are you doing?" Winston asked coldly. Paracule looked at his friend as if he was an idiot.

"Why are you attacking him! I told you to attack the ranker!"

"Sorry!" The other spear bearer bowed his head towards Winston.

Winston chuckled coldly, looking over towards the safe zone.

Chaos isn't so bad I guess... Maybe Mr. Fool was onto something...

~~~

A/N: Throw some stones.

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