Longing Hearts part 5

Ch5: My dear master

Koro unzipped his jacket and placed his hands back in his jean’s pockets, his blue eyes trailing the huge room where the flights’ check-out took place, searching for Tori who was supposed to be arriving shortly. All Irene and his master knew was that he went out to enjoy some time off. Koro was nervous for what was about to happen, but something inside him had changed after the time he spent with Nadia. The woman had managed to take all his stress away, something that had never occurred with other females. His mind drifted to the things he did to her and a tingling sensation coursed through his body, making him immediately self-conscious, as if the people surrounding him could read his naughty thoughts.

His attention jumped back into reality when he noticed the mass of blonde hair sticking out from the heads of people walking around. Tori always managed to stand out due to the sheer mass and height of him. He wore his goofy smile on his face as soon as their eyes met and Koro couldn’t help but mimic him, the nonchalant sensation of having his friend back was definitely relieving. They shared a rough hug and headed out of the airport.

‘’I am surprised you both agreed that easily.’’, was the first thing Koro told him, an ironic smile on his face as they headed for the bike he had parked nearby. Tori chuckled.

‘’Like we said before, we had no choice but to remain hidden. Now that we have someone as the middle man and the situation has turned as dire as it seems, we were pushed forward to show ourselves.’’, he replied, his grey eyes focused ahead.

‘’Mainda mentioned another couple…’’

‘’Ah yes, the ones who saved you. They have been missing for nearly a decade and belong to neither Ikrov nor Saika, so they went to meet their master before coming back. It will take a few days.’’, he interrupted him and Koro nodded to himself. ‘’You understand that we have to keep the remaining rogue followers’ existence a secret, right? After all, only the four of us could be of assistance right now.’’, Tori added and they both stopped walking, having reached the large motorcycle. Koro gave him a black helmet and took the other one in his hand, his attention very much focused on his every word. His silence was a cue for Tori to carry on.

‘’There are four couples within the rogues at the moment and two of them are way too old to fight like they used to. Mainda didn’t even bother to speak to anyone else.’’

Koro nodded and pointed towards the seat with his chin, before wearing the helmet and zipping his jacket as far up as it could go. The journey back to the estate was fairly short and the closer they god the more nervous the male became. He could sense his friend’s awkwardness as well. There was no way of telling whether master Ikrov could sense his apostle or not, but the moment he reached the gates, he was stopped by the guards who gave him a perplexed gaze, focusing on the male behind him, unable to see who it was under the helmet.

‘’You know you cannot bring anyone not working here or being part of a mission.’’, the security guy, who was also a very capable follower, told him. Koro lifted the glass part of his helmet to show him his serious expression.

‘’This is someone the master would like to see…’’, he began and a voice echoed from the small stand behind them, from the speaker phone. The guard pursed his lips in annoyance and lifted his finger at Koro, signaling him to wait for a moment. As soon as he connected his Bluetooth headpiece by pressing the button on top, his brows knitted together, his black eyes staring into Koro’s intensely. He finally muttered a word of confirmation and signaled to other guard with a lift of his chin in order to open the door. The young follower felt his heart drop into his stomach, thinking that the guards letting them through like that meant that the master could actually sense Tori.

‘’This feels way too surreal…’’, the taller male mumbled next to his ear as they walked through the estate to get to the large living room, where master Ikrov liked to spend his afternoons. All eyes stared at Tori widened, some of them stopping mid walk from the shock, their mouths dropping open. Kori had swallowed his tongue as they walked into the room, his gaze falling on his master’s softened expression. There were no malicious feelings hidden in there.

‘’My apostle seems to have returned to me.’’, he announced and brought the cigarette near his lips, taking a long drag and immediately motioning them to approach. ‘’Leave us alone.’’, he added with a much louder voice and the followers in the room stood up in numb silence, their attention still on Tori, a few whispers picking up as they left and closed the large door behind them.

‘’Master Ikrov…’’, Tori began and showed no intention of bowing. He simply stood there, his face a hard mask of concern.

‘’Something felt odd regarding the connection I had with you and Saika seemed to agree with me when we discussed his own apostle.’’, he announced and Tori nodded.

‘’All I can say master is that I have returned and so has my pair. For obvious reasons we had to remain dead, since that was the result everyone expected.’’, the blonde follower explained and master Ikrov simply lifted a brow.

‘’I shall not judge the reasoning behind your decisions, but I expect that your return means your immediate cooperation.’’, he commented and Koro was left dumbfounded by the way he treated his lost apostle. He had expected him to inspect the situation thoroughly, but he seemed to be the least concerned.

‘’Of course master. Mainda and I decided to return and Koro was the one who pushed us to take that decision.’’

‘’They rescued me during the Amsterdam missions. The manifestation was defensive and I nearly died.’’, Koro added half-truths to the conversation and Ikrov nodded.  

‘’Welcome back my apostle. Get settled in and soon enough you and your pair will be going out on missions again.’’, he exclaimed with a smile and the air in the room immediately turned lighter.

As soon as Tori entered his room, Koro could see the shock in his eyes for finding it exactly as it was. He immediately took his phone out and pressed on it, probably contacting Mainda. He released a sigh of relief.

‘’All is well. Our masters will contact each other.’’, he announced and sat on his single bed heavily.

‘’Don’t you find it odd though?’’, the black haired male began and Tori chuckled and shook his head negatively.

‘’Of course it’s odd.’’, he uttered and opened the blinds completely, letting the scarce midday light in. ‘’They clearly know about the rogues, there is no other way around it. Let’s just appreciate their kind nature for now.’’

Koro chuckled back and immediately suggested a training session together, to practice fighting. He was truly missing his friend and the time they spend together and as it seemed so did Tori. He immediately accepted and they both headed to the gym, stopping every now and then to explain to the residents why someone who was considered dead walked amongst them.

In two days’ time the next missions were out and both Tori and Koro had to go to Sweden and specifically to Vadstena castle. A follower located in Sweden and travelling the country, had reported increasing amounts of negativity. Despite the lack of crimes in the area, more residents seemed to visit psychologists to treat depression. The mild nature of the manifestation made it clearly defensive. Mainda would be waiting for them in Motala airport before they take the train to Vadstena. Irene had provided them with all the details and Koro couldn’t help but wonder why master Ikrov sent him as well. Just the pair was enough to deal with it in no time.

‘’He doesn’t trust me yet.’’, Tori commented between bites of his omelet and Koro nearly chocked on his own bite. His friend had clearly read his thoughts.

‘’You have been wondering, haven’t you?’’, he added and took another large bite, chewing loudly. The last training session had exhausted them. ‘’You are going to be his connection with us as a safety measure. I wonder if Mainda has someone with her or her master is a bit more trusting.’’ Koro shrugged at his words.

‘’In any case, I will be useless for that manifestation.’’, the black haired one said.

‘’Just follow orders.’’

‘’As always.’’