(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 362

Chapter 362: You won’t forget me
Another week passed, and Kellen’s first team was set to leave in a few days. He had told the trainee Field Guides last week, the day before they drew straws so that if anyone didn’t want to go, they could subtly tell him without letting the whole class know.

No one backed out.

He did find that a bit surprising, given how Bree had reacted after the press conference, but he had also seen how the faces of everyone had lit up at the mention of going to the front lines. They had been training, and had been doing a good job, so now it was time to test them.

They were also excited that they were going with Brent, who had been advertised as the ‘teacher who came from the front lines’. They did know that Kellen had basically trained him, and it wasn’t as if everyone had forgotten Kellen’s background, but he was the one who had been there most recently.

Kellen’s image had ‘softened’ slightly from having worked at Guiding Center B. He thought it was ridiculous, especially when Brent told him about it, but Brent had just shrugged. What was Kellen to do? Rumours were rumours, and for the most part, he didn’t care about them.

In that time, the tension between Casper had gotten worse, and then had drastically decreased. Kellen didn’t know why, but he didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If Casper wasn’t ignoring him, or giving him one word answers anymore, Kellen was okay with that.

Gunther hadn’t calmed down in the slightest, and with the way he was using his powers, he had to stop into one of the Guiding Centers. Kellen had been busy.

He now had spies at all of the Guiding Centers, partially bribed by the Saturn Guild, D.E.C., and through his own connections as well. That meant that the moment Gunther entered into Guiding Center C with a group of other Espers, Kellen was alerted immediately, even when he was in a meeting with the Lieutenants, Rhys, and a few scientists acting on the Peach Guild’s behalf.

Kellen had excused himself, rushing away to somewhere quiet, like a Guiding room, and helped the Guide who was panicking on the other side of the phone to navigate the situation. He was able to get in contact with Gunther through said Guide, since they happened to be a good match, and the Guide was safe since they weren’t affiliated with the Saturn Guild in the slightest, and was actually a veteran recruit from the D.E.C. who had taken up the position at Guiding Center C since they heard ‘a new position would be opening up soon’.

It was a good cover, and sneaky enough that most Espers wouldn’t look into it.

Through their conversation, Kellen was able to catch a glimpse of Gunther. He looked exhausted, but alive, and Kellen let him know that this was a surprise he had set up for him at every Guiding Center. The look of shock on Gunther’s face was worth it to keep from him, and then the way that he looked at Kellen, like he saw through all of his intentions made Kellen a little flustered.

“Yeah yeah, glad to know you’re worried about me too.” Gunther teased, scratching behind his ear. He was sporting a new, darker black eye and Kellen wanted to ask about it, but didn’t. Instead, he just confirmed that he was okay, asked the Guide to send over Gunther’s chart once they were finished with his Guiding, and told Gunther to be safe. He was only gone for barely two weeks, but the Guild felt it.

They were like an animal who had gotten a wound in their side and was missing a chunk, slowly bleeding out.

Kellen didn’t tell Gunther that, and instead gave him an update on the rest of the Guild, and how Casper was back in his position, and how he didn’t look well, but he was trying his best. Hearing that Casper was back to work seemed to brighten Gunther’s mood considerably, and Kellen was glad to see it.

He let them go after that, heading back to the meeting, and it seemed that Rhys had let the others know about Kellen’s sneaky surprise he had set up for Gunther. Hill smacked him, pissed that he’d kept even her out of the loop, and Kellen had grinned. He had wanted it to be a surprise for pretty much everyone, and it worked out for the best if fewer people knew.

Kellen didn’t consider the Peach Guild members who they were in the meeting with as a problem, since Sakura herself had let him know that these people worked with Carlos. They would keep this to themselves, or else. They’d have to answer to not only Kellen and the Saturn Guild, but Sakura and Carlos.

Kellen honestly didn’t know what was scarier. At least Kellen only had weapons. He wasn’t an Esper, and as someone who had seen Carlos use his powers not for research in person, Kellen wasn’t afraid to admit that he’d rather keep his mouth shut if he was in their shoes.

Casper had remained silent for the rest of the meeting. He still took notes, but Kellen noticed that a few days later, his attitude had softened. He was still confused as to why, but he was just relieved that was the case.

He was going to be alone once Brent left, so he really didn’t want to be arguing with him the whole time.

Speaking of being alone, Kellen’s parents were going to go on a secret mission. This time, Kellen was allowed to know the details because it was one of the few times his parents had to be brought up to his level of clearance when it came to information.

Carlos had made a breakthrough in the two weeks since he’d last seen him. Well, it was only on the D Class gate, but it was still progress. The success rate had jumped to nearly 100%, and he needed to have a batch of what he made brought securely and safely to the country of origin to be tested in person. He was going off of samples, but now it needed to be tested to make sure that the sample he was working on wasn’t old, the gate hadn’t mutated, and all other variables that Kellen was sure Carlos had made a huge list about. The reason why his parents had been chosen was, of course, his Mom’s ability to turn invisible.

The Guild who was in charge of the exploded gate knew that Carlos, or someone from the Peach Guild had been working on an antidote of sorts, but they hadn’t had high hopes. Kellen couldn’t blame them. It had been years of this gate ruining their lives, why would they think anyone could do it? Even if the Peach Guild had been pumping out poison and antidote alike, that didn’t mean anyone could reverse engineer an antidote for a gate.

Well, Carlos was a bit special, and a unique case, so Kellen couldn’t exactly say that his actions were normal, nor his results. Kellen had watched the man eat toxic waste just to feel something once. It was horrifying, and illuminating all at once.

So, Kellen’s parents had been selected to do the mission since they were only going to contact the Guild once his parents were already in the air. For safety reasons, it was also better for them to go since it got them out of the country for a bit, the Saturn Guild could relax slightly at least internally, and his parents got to take a breather of their own.

Their retirement plans had been interrupted by the E.A.G., and Kellen hated that. He hadn’t suggested them, but when their names had come up as runners for the antidote, he had brought up his Mom’s powers as a selling point, and everyone had agreed. It was nice to feel like he’d gotten one up on them when his parents found out that he had rescued the man who was trying to solve their poison issues.

His Dad had been proud, while his Mom had been worried. Kellen had felt a little smug, while Carlos had told Kellen he looked like a copy of his Mom. That had won Carlos some brownie points, and they were scheduled to leave around the same time as Brent left for the front lines with Hill, the Field Guides, and the older new recruits.

Ian, the brother of the Esper that Kellen had saved so long ago, was a part of that group that was going out first, along with Bree, and one of the other Field Guides who had been there to witness Kellen ‘educate’ the former Guides. The others going were just a handful, and Kellen was left with everyone else.

Kellen was sure it was a good thing that the new recruits were going out to the front lines. Brent, and the few other Field Guides remaining there would whip them into shape, and Hill was just excited to enter gates again and get out her pent up energy.

She had been breaking laptops at an alarming rate. So much so that she had been banned from using them. Even with Rhys being able to reset them, it was still annoying since they lost all progress on the documents she had been working on if they didn’t save in time. Kellen would admit, he had never considered that as a problem, ever, but it was an interesting one.

Kellen was curious to see how quiet the Guild would be after all of the rather larger than life people were gone.

He wouldn’t tell them to their face, but he was sure he’d be a little bit lonely. He also didn’t want to tell Rhys that. The man would probably pout, and ask him if he wasn’t enough, and Kellen didn’t want to get teased.

Through the therapy sessions that Kellen was attending, he was coming to terms with his loneliness, and the fact that he had been lonely a lot. It was something he hadn’t addressed until now, since he hadn’t needed to, but here he was. Talking to someone about the fact that before Brent arrived on the front lines, he’d had no one beside him. When he’d left, he left his friend behind. That was okay because he had his parents when he’d come back, his sister as well, and people he’d considered his friends.

Now? Brent was going, his parents were going, Gunther and Hill were going to be absent, Casper wasn’t really speaking to him. Miro was gone as well. He had Gwen, but she was busy with her own work, Charlie was more like a cross between a younger brother and a student, and Rhys…

He shouldn’t burden Rhys with everything.

Taylor was also crazy busy, and didn’t have a minute to even go to the washroom, and he was the boss now, or in a boss-like position to all of the other Guides. He didn’t feel like he had anyone who was an equal around him anymore. Especially after touching the wound that he didn’t even realise he had deep inside of him, this was a hard time for him.

So, he made sure that he’d baked the cookies he promised, that shipments were going to arrive on the front lines for Brent and Hill, and that wherever Gunther ended up, he had a small comfort. He even made sure that Casper, Pamela, Taylor and Charlie had some little things that would bring them comfort.

He sent Gwen two cases of liquor. He knew what she wanted right now.

For Rhys? Well, one day when Rhys came home after he had arrived, exhausted, Rhys stopped in the entryway. There, placed in the spot that he normally put his shoes were a pair of house slippers that were the same as Kellen’s, but in a different colour. Goldish yellow.

For his parents it was fresh incense, a new recipe book for his Dad. Little things, since Kellen knew that he was going to be alone and he was realising that he just…didn’t want to be forgotten by everyone else while they were gone.

He didn’t want to tell anyone about his feelings, but that was the truth he was coming to realise.

So, he kept his head down, working away on his plans as the clock moved ever closer. Towards the plans he’d made, towards progress, and towards a future where the gate didn’t explode and swallow his city.