Longing Hearts part 4

Ch4: Out of hand

‘’These are the urgent missions in Moscow.’’, Irene announced and threw a small envelope across her office desk, before leaning back on the leather chair, forcing a creak out of it. The brunette’s office was always sickly clean and neat, despite the chaotic nature of her job. The cellphones she used to contact everyone were set beside her high tech laptop, some of them buzzing every few seconds, their screens lighting up. Koro glanced into her chestnut eyes once more, before opening the envelope and checking the coordinates written inside. Three different locations, only a few numbers apart, were scribbled in there, in master Ikrov’s very characteristic hand writing. The male follower folded the piece of paper and placed it in his jean’s pocket, before standing up.

‘’Can I return as soon as I’m finished?’’, he asked her and she pursed her lips.

‘’Master would like you to stay there. He has another follower working in Moscow as well, and he wants both of you relatively close.’’

Her answer meant very specific things. Clearly, the manifestation problem was still in full swing and the masters had to spread out their followers in case they had to run and catch up with the situation before it became irreversible. Koro knew though, that it wasn’t actually irreversible. There was a number of people in this earth, able to provide a solution, but they were rogue.

As the male follower left the coordinator’s office, his mind turned occupied of a very specific thought concerning the rogue ones. He respected their need for privacy and a second chance in life, especially since they seemed to be defeating manifestations still, but should they decide to return back and fight with their masters, the very useful weapon of pairing was going to become available once more. There was no way for him to tell on them though. The only way was to start by convincing his sister.

Only a few hours went by and soon Koro was waking next to Moskva river, in Gorky Park. The weather happened to be sunny at that time, spring had already arrived, giving Moscow a touch of happiness. In the park, children were playing, adults were having pleasant strolls, or laid on the grass talking, having fun. Koro picked up the vibrations of the area the manifestations were supposed to be and there was no negativity surplus in the air. If he hadn’t known about them he would be happy for it, but in that instance it only begged the question whether they were defensive or not. Soon enough, the darkness became tangible, as the male approached the end of the park, near the river shore.

A number of people were close by and so he sat on a bench nonchalantly, sipping some of the hot coffee he had with him. There was no way to get food down, as the negativity clinged on him and made him nauseous, the waves of irritability crashing into his brain again and again. He chose, though, to remain seated close by, in an effort to analyze the nature of the manifestation further. Night approached and the sky soon turned into a deep blue with a hue of purple, the temperature dropping rapidly as well. The follower took his phone out, the realization of the defensive nature of the manifestation creating a dilemma in his thoughts. He glanced one last time beside the water, to visibly notice the dark matter swirl around itself, no signs of aggression evident. If his older self was here now, he was going to panic. This time though he knew that no matter how out of hand the situation got, the rogue followers would ultimately see to it. He placed the phone on his knee and reached into his pocket to feed a new bad habit of his. Koro took a cigarette and placed it on his thin lips, before lighting it up, breathing in the poison that relaxed him so well. He held the bud between his fingers and took a few long drags, as his finger scrolled from Irene’s contact, to a new contact he had saved unnamed on his phone, the one his sister currently used.

Koro exhaled nervously, the smoke cloud surrounding his handsome face. He pursed his lips and opened the messenger app, crafting an encoded message for Irene, informing her about the manifestation. He felt silly for even coming in Moscow, but he could sympathize with his master’s decision to send him there. After sending that first message, he crafted another one for his sister.

In Moscow, only you can do it. , he wrote in Italian and send it to her, immediately feeling a surge of anxiety. He took another drag to relax his body and gave the dark matter another glare. It had located him and extended some of its mass towards him. The phone vibrated twice, attracting his attention. Irene asked him, in code, to destroy any manifestations he could and return to the estate immediately, thus canceling the initial order. The second one was a message from Mainda.

Will take care of it. Stay safe.

Koro took another drag, his mind working overtime, trying to control his body. His decision had been made though.

Need to work together. Show yourselves. This has to end. , he wrote back and he could almost feel the mood shift in that house the rogue ones had been cooped up. There was no other way to end the crisis according to him. Someone had to step up and show up, before it was too late. Even if they wanted to assist humanity, without the masters the pairs wouldn’t be able to know where to look for manifestations. Maybe it was a stroke of luck, maybe the saying master Ikrov spoke of about fate was actually realistic, but Koro meeting up with his sister and learning about the rogues could prove a useful turn in this entire conundrum. His phone buzzed again.

I will. I have to face mine, my pair his. Another couple will join. Can’t do more. Three days. Meet him in the airport.

As soon as he read the line a smile altered his expression. He felt anxious about the upcoming events, but it proved fairly easy to convince them. Perhaps they themselves had realized the necessity of a cooperation. The male follower sat up and put his cigarette out, giving the darkness a final stare, before leaving to check up on the remaining ones.

Koro returned to the estate in a matter of hours, the exhaustion from the constant movement and no rest finally taking his toll on him. His master spared no words, but announced that he was going to contact the other masters and come up with a solution. His confident gaze was very much convincing and the young follower had to keep his mouth shut about the arrangements he had made himself. He still could not believe how easily his sister had accepted, but had to remind himself of her kind and giving nature. Despite the tough defenses she liked to put up, she had always been a softie.

After more than fifteen hours of continuous sleep, Koro finally felt rested enough to have a lengthy training session and fuel his body with some healthy food. He shoved some lightly fried vegetable medley into his mouth, oblivious to his surroundings. The kitchen was usually not busy in the middle of the afternoon. Most residents walked in, made a cup of tea or coffee, maybe had a piece of fruit or a cookie and stepped out to either go train or study. The kitchen and kitchen table were large enough so that Koro did not stand out. He had chosen a seat right next to the huge window, the dim light of late afternoon coloring the view of the mountains around the estate.

‘’Your appetite seems to be as healthy as ever.’’, he heard a familiar voice and shifted his attention from his food to face Nadia. He always met her randomly in the estate and she almost always approached him with some snarky comment. He swallowed and gave her a chuckle, his eyes unable to get off of her as she took a seat opposite of him. Her brunette locks bounced with every move and he found himself captivated by her. Koro had always appreciated Nadia as a person and even more as a woman. He shoved all inappropriate thoughts in the back of his mind and shoved another spoonful into his mouth.

‘’Everything went well in Moscow?’’, she casually asked, her hands twirling around and playing with a colorful, steaming cup placed between them. The male lifted a brow, a sudden sensation of uneasiness altered the air around them. He swallowed.

‘’Anything you need to know is provided by master Ikrov.’’ The reply was meant to be formal and it seemed to have ticked her off, as her brows threatened to frown. Suddenly, her expression took an opposite turn and she showed a wide smile, nearly maniacal.

‘’No need to be so tense.’’, she exhaled and her face relaxed once more. She brought the cup near her lips and took a careful sip, her brown eyes reflecting the view outside the window. Koro observed her for a while, as she drunk her tea, while he finished his food.

‘’You know, I always liked you, Koro.’’, she suddenly announced and the male nearly choked on his bite. She still refused to land her eyes on him, her expression showing a nonchalant sadness. ‘’Many followers, older and younger, have approached me over time, offering to exert our pent up feelings for our master onto one another.’’, she added and stared right at him. Koro felt his soul exposed. Her words made perfect sense and he was well aware of the whole situation. Koro himself had, of course, relieved himself of the sexual energy in him, but not with other followers. He preferred to approach regular human women during his missions and have some fun with them, give them a good time and enjoy himself as well. It was something Tori used to do as well and Koro agreed with his way of thinking completely; it was best to keep it out of the house. The female shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her beverage.

‘’I happened to not like them…’’, she muttered and the male felt his chest tighten when a slight coloration on her cheeks became visible. ‘’I like you though. If you would have me…’’, her words came out in borderline stutter. ‘’I mean… If you like me… and it’s not a bother… It’s my first time with a man as well so…’’, she kept on muttering, her nonchalant vibe flying out the window, while her eyes darted around in pure nervousness, the cup never meeting her lips when she tried to take that next sip. The situation was uncomfortable. Koro did like the girl and whether she had been with zero men or one hundred he did not care. What he cared about was the way her big eyes stared at him, the way her body swayed when she walked, the way her curly hair framed her cute face.

‘’I’d love to do that for you.’’, he suddenly said, realizing that he had to step up and take control of the situation. A smirk appeared on his face and she averted her eyes in embarrassment, before taking a deep breath and exhaling. She gave him a small smile and got out of her seat.

‘’My room, one hour.’’