(BL) Hunting The Field Guide - Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Guiding off the clock Chapter 87: Guiding off the clock “Hey, where’s Gunther?” Kellen asked the question that had been burning inside of him as soon as he realised that the man wasn’t here.

Hill glanced up at Kellen, before glancing over at Casper.

Casper answered.  “He’s away with the ‘older’ recruits for about a week.

There was some tension between the new recruits and the older ones since neither of them had gone to the front lines yet.

He should come back right in the middle of everything.” Casper, who had been organising some papers, wouldn’t look up at Kellen.

Quietly, he muttered.

“Hopefully, with an attitude change.” Hill snorted, but held her tongue for once.

Kellen, who had a sneaking feeling still that the two were involved somehow, said nothing either.

There was no reason to antagonize Casper when it was clear to him that he was upset about how Gunther was behaving.  “Should I send Brent over to see if he can help you guys with any info about the front lines?” Kellen asked, glancing over at where Brent and his parents sat.

His Dad noticed, and waved.

Casper hummed.  “Sure, why not?

I’m not going to be able to leave the area for a while, so I’ve put my assistant Caleb in charge down in the Guiding Division.” Casper’s eyes widened and he looked up at Kellen.

“Oh, we weren’t able to talk about what you wanted to when you came to my office earlier.

Was it anything important?” Casper asked, and Kellen shook his head.  “No.

I realised that my whole reason for being here might be put on hold because we didn’t get the rights to the gates, so don’t worry about it.” Casper stared at Kellen like he had two heads.

Hill stopped what she was doing so she could do the same.  “What on earth are you saying, Kellen?

We will always need Field Guides, whether or not we get this gate.

There will be more gates in the future.

The reason we want a Field Guide department or division or whatever you want to call it, is because we want our own Field Guides.

Ones you’ve trained, cause you’re one of the best.” Hill said, her voice holding a hint of anger.  “Isn’t Kellen the best?” Casper asked, confused, and Kellen shook his head.  “There is no way I’m the best.

It isn’t like there is a competition for Field Guides.” Kellen said.

Hill’s eyes lit up.  “We should do that!

We should host something like the Esper games, but for Field Guides!” Kellen laughed at her enthusiasm.  “What the fuck would they test?

How fast can you carry the dead weight of an unconscious Esper?

How to tie knots?

Identifying plants?” He shook his head, chuckling, while Casper slowly began to nod.  “That…actually might be a good idea.

I mean, the Captain is already well known worldwide, so advertising wouldn’t be too hard to do.

I’ll suggest it to Pamela once she’s had some rest and see if she thinks it might be a good idea.” Kellen thought that they were being ridiculous even considering something like that.  “Whatever you guys say.”  “What are they saying?” An arm wrapped around Kellen’s shoulder and he turned to look at Brent.

He was grinning from ear to ear, but he could also tell that his cheeks were slightly flushed.

“Your parents are going to smother me.” He whispered to Kellen, who grinned.

He patted Brent’s cheek in comfort.  “Is the bad boy who doesn’t have parents feeling overwhelmed by my parents looking out for you?” He teased, and Brent flushed.  “Oh ha ha, Kellen.

Your Dad called me a good boy.” Brent protested.

Hill snorted, and even Casper had a small smile on his lips.

Kellen laughed.  “What’s wrong with that?” He asked, and the three stared at him.

Kellen didn’t understand what the problem was.

Brent had been a good boy in his Dad’s eyes.

Casper cleared his throat.  “Um, this might be a bit far but, has Captain Thatcher not uh, called you one?” Casper asked, and Brent and Hill stared with open mouths in shock at Casper.

Kellen really had to think about it.

It might have happened when he had his side effects, but he couldn’t remember.

Kellen shook his head.  “No, why would he?” Kellen asked, and Casper sighed.  “Well, Taylor suggested that you two were into some kinky things, so I thought that might have been mentioned.”  “Lieutenant Casper, what are you trying to teach my Guide?” The Captain’s voice over Kellen and Brent’s shoulder had them all freezing.

Only Kellen turned and met his gaze with a smile.  “Ah, Captain.

Casper was trying to teach me about what was wrong with my Dad calling Brent a good boy.” The Captain smiled at Kellen, reaching out and ruffling his hair, much to his annoyance.  “Oh, I heard that part.

But that’s supposed to be my job.

I was saving it for a special occasion, and when you remembered.” Kellen furrowed his brows, while Brent doubled over with laughter.  “Oooh boy.

I am not going to touch that.

Good luck Captain Thatcher.

I will leave it to your capable hands.” Brent snorted.

“Kellen said you guys might need my help with any information I have?” Brent suggested, and Hill nodded.

She led him over to the people who had time to pick his mind.

That was when Kellen noticed the giant pile of empty lollipop wrappers she had hidden with her body.

He blinked.

It was an absurd amount of wrappers.

Casper noticed his stare, and chuckled.  “She goes through about a bag a day when the Guild isn’t busy, and when she’s busy like this, I don’t keep track.” He told him with a small grin.

Kellen nodded.

Given how it seemed she was able to pull them out of thin air, that made sense.

“Kellen, I doubt that your plans for training Field Guides are going to be halted.

If you were worried about your orders, they’ve already arrived.

But, I’ll save that conversation for later.

It seems that Captain Thatcher has something he wants to speak with you about.” Casper chuckled, while Kellen nodded.

Kellen then glanced over at the Captain who hovered behind him slightly.  “Did you need something else, Captain?” Kellen asked, and the man smiled at him, his eyes yellow.  “Well, not me per se.

Captain Sakura and Lieutenant Spencer wanted to speak with you now that the others are gone.” Ah, of course.

Kellen smiled up at the Captain before glancing over at where Brent and Hill were.

Ideally, he would have wanted Brent with him, but thought against it.

Only including one of them in this was probably for the better, even if they were both guilty.  “Let’s go talk to them then.” Kellen said, and followed the Captain who led them back towards the screens.

Kellen was greeted by two stone faced women who did not seem pleased to see him.

Kellen smiled.

“How did the meeting go?” He asked them and Sakura sighed.  “Kellen, I know you’ve known me since childhood.

You’ve seen me through quite a few ups and down, and probably seen sides of me that you could easily blackmail me for.

I do not appreciate you bringing that up without any prior warning.” Kellen frowned at her serious tone and crossed his arms.

He knew that she was going to be confrontational about it, but he hadn’t been lying.

They were going to need the Peach Guild and everything they had to offer, especially the work that they were doing with poisons.  “Mentioning it and pressuring you slightly isn’t me bringing it up without just cause.

If the others had been paying attention, they would have noticed too.

It’s not my fault that you S Class Captains hate learning about the other’s achievements unless it steps on your toes.” He protested, and the Captain chuckled.

Kellen cast a glare in his direction, but that only made the Captain smile.

He shrugged.  “You’re right.” He told him, before glancing at Captain Sakura.

Her expression hadn’t changed as Kellen spoke.  “Kellen, you know what I’m not saying.

Just because I’ve had an interest in poison doesn’t mean you can volunteer me and my Guild to help.

We aren’t as developed as you think.” Kellen nodded.

To the outside, that might be true.

But Kellen knew the truth.

A truth that Sakura had obvious reasons to hide.

Earlier, when Taylor and Kellen had been chatting about Guides who didn’t do their duty, and Espers who had powers who didn’t suit them, Kellen hadn’t spoken up about a few specific Espers.

There were some rules as a Guide that weren’t spoken about.

You never refuse someone who needs Guiding, no matter who they are.

You never rat Espers out if they have just reasons to run from government agencies.

Hating Guides obviously wasn’t one of them, which was why Kellen hated the terrorists.

These were things that Kellen lived by.

And he was going to now reveal that he had done something that wasn’t quite legal.  Good thing Uncle Tom wasn’t still here.  “I know you’ve had an interest in poison for a while, Sakura, but let’s not beat around the bush any longer.

You know why I suggested your Guild, you just don’t want to admit it.” Her face hardened.  “No, I don’t know why you suggested our Guild.” She insisted, and Kellen sighed.

This was going to be harder than he thought.

He ran his hand through his hair, gently biting his lip and nearly jumped at the loud tsk from the Captain.  “No biting your lips, Mr.

Woods.” He warned, but didn’t wrap his arm around Kellen.

It was a surprise, but Kellen just shook his head with a smile.  “I’ll do my best, Captain.” He muttered, before turning to the two women.

Both were tense, and their eyes were glowing.

They clearly were defending their territory, which made Kellen glad that he had sent them to them in the first place.

“I know you have someone else on your side.” Kellen finally said, and watched as Sakura’s body tensed.

“What the hell brought you to that conclusion?” Her voice held a dangerous tone and Kellen sighed.

He had a feeling that if they had had this conversation in person, it would have gotten physical.  “I’ve guided them before.

On the front lines.” The wind was knocked out of her sails, and her eyes dimmed immediately.  “How?

When?” She demanded, her tone even more insistent.

Even the Captain seemed interested in Kellen’s response.  “I already mentioned it.

I’m not going to say anything specific since I am breaking a small part of Guide code to even speak of this.

All I am willing to say is that I am not very compatible with elemental types, but I would say we had decent compatibility.

Knowing my own guiding, and the way they behaved, I suggested a specific person to them while they were on the front lines, and when that person was fully booked, I guided them instead.” Any anger that the two of them had, had completely vanished.  “You’re the Guide who saved their life?” Sakura seemed stunned, and Kellen hated that that was the conclusion she came to.

He reached up and squeezed the back of his neck.  “Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.

It was clear to me that they’d had a bad experience in the past, and I wanted to help them.

I know you’re hiding them for obvious reasons, but we could really use their expertise.

As I said, the team that had been working, and are still working on the previous gate that exploded haven’t found an antidote yet.

If you ask them, they might be able to.” Sakura stayed silent for a moment, rubbing her temples before she sighed.

She closed her eyes, shaking her head.  “Why are you always surprising me like this, Kellen?

I turn around and find out more deep lore about you.

And you’re so goddamn casual about it too.

Fuck.

I can’t believe I owe you this much.” She laughed, and it was self deprecating.

Kellen frowned.  “I didn’t do anything to get you to owe me something.

I always make it clear when I do.” He said, and she chuckled.  “That’s the worst part.

I know that too.

Fuck.

I’ll ask, but don’t get your hopes up.

Like you thought, they’ve had some bad experiences.

They only tolerate me because of the Guide you recommended.” Kellen nodded, knowing that it was a big ask.

Captain placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.  “We’re needed elsewhere, but thank you for your attempt, Captain Sakura.” Captain told her, and she nodded at him.  “We’ll speak more once more information comes out.

Have a good day you two.

Hopefully I don’t have to speak to you until tomorrow.” They logged off and it was only a few seconds later when the questions came.  “You guided a rogue Esper?” He asked and Kellen felt his face flush.  “I’m a Guide.

I am never going to let someone who is in pain suffer if I can help it.” Kellen answered, his tone a little tight.

The Captain’s grip on his shoulder tightened slightly.  “You know how dangerous that is, right?” He prompted, and Kellen rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Captain, I am aware of how dangerous it is.

Almost as dangerous as letting a rogue Esper travel around the front lines without proper guiding who had a death wish for themselves.

If I hadn’t stepped in, they would have surged.

I did the right thing, and I don’t want to be treated like I didn’t.” The Captain paused, before closing his eyes and sighed.  “No, you’re right.

I was letting my jealousy overwhelm me.

Forgive me, Mr.

Woods.” Kellen blinked, surprised that he backed down so quickly, and that he had apologised.

Kellen sighed, placing his hand on the Captain’s on his shoulder.  “It’s alright.

I know you were just worried about me, but I know I made the right call at the time.

They had a lot of trauma around Guides, but for some reason, had no issue with my guiding.

I suggested who I did because we’ve been told we feel similar.

I’m glad to hear that they are stable, and helping out the Peach Guild.

I knew that they were when they began to dominate poison related fields.” The Captain’s eyes brightened at Kellen’s words.  “They have quite rare powers if they are related to poison.” Kellen nodded, before recalling a moment with them that made him sigh.  “Yeah, and they hate them.

It’s going to be hard to convince them to help us.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS CalyB Once again, I am sick and filled with cold medication.

I hope you guys enjoy!