Where the Shore Meets the Sea Pt 5

“Until then, Rozyus,” Huxian agreed, not daring to look over at the communicator. The tone in her voice at her farewell was obvious what she might want to say.

A moment later, Rozyus was gone, as if he had never been there.

Silence reigned.

“Yin-”

“Not….a fucking...word…”

Violet’s eyes shone with amusement, but her lips stayed straight, if a little pursed. “Language”

Huxian sighed “...Yes Ma’am…”

---------------------------

For the next few days, Huxian was once again kept busy with his own duties. With the plans they had come up with and the civilians that had not fallen victim to the Jiangshi now in places of safety, Hixian was able to command his people to begin the transfer of the barrier he was holding into a more permanent fixture, which would finally allow him the energy to lead his people in the extermination of the monsters, as well as free the peach wood sword, which was the second effective weapon against them (If he included himself and his fox fire as the first).

Even so, in any moment that he was able to stop and think about anything other than his mission, his mind would wander back to everything he had recently found out about Rodessa’s awakening and everyone essentially trying to strongarm him into confessing everything. He had, as promised, at least dropped the odd hint, asking her ‘hypothetical’ questions of what she would feel if she was not human and the likes, but he didn’t dare push too hard, fully aware of how dangerous that could end up becoming. Considering that she didn’t seem to like talking to him much when he brought up such a subject, he felt he hadn’t got any news from Rodessa herself since that last call.

Finally, he decided that fretting about it before extremely delicate tasks and what would essentially become a battlefield against the undead soon, he absconded to his room to rest before the ritual and dialed his partner’s number.

After a few rings, the familiar voice floated from the speakers of the communicator

“H-hello?” Ouch...the hesitance in her voice made him grimace. “Oh hey… I.. um….”

Oh, this was painful…

Deciding not to let her suffer, he interrupted her. “Hey, Ro. I wanted to check up on how things were going over there,” he said, as if he hadn’t noticed the hesitence. “It might be my last chance to talk for a little while, because we’re going to be pulling off some complicated operations - got a barrier transfer and as soon as I get my energy back we’re going Zombie Hunting.” He grinned a grin he didn’t totally feel. “How many points do I get for headshots?”

“Oh... OH!” Rodessa blinked, straightening as if she just realised exactly what Huxian was talking about, her face gaining a pinched expression. “Wait, what? I’m not gonna be able to…? Hue, are you sure that's safe? If we not in contact, then-”

“Ah, I more meant that I might be in the middle of a mini Jiangshi warzone, so I might to be able to pick up,” he corrected quickly. “I mean, is its safe and we’re in base at night, then I’ll definitely try to give some updates, but if I’m stuck out flamethrowing undead all night then it might be a bit difficult.”

“Oh...I see…” Rodessa swallowed a little, her smile shaky. “W-well then, you call me when it’s safe. And take all the right measures! I don’t want the undead as a partner, though I think your fangirls wouldn’t mind a zombie lover, especially if it were you, but still….He….heh…” The laugh trailed off, leaving the joke hanging awkwardly.

God, she was scared. Scared of that dream that seemed to leap over into reality, scared to lose the beautiful man.

“I just…” she managed shakilly. “Just...come back to me in one piece, ok? I’ll be waiting…”

She had to stop, biting her lip to stop the stinging in her eyes. She wished she could just reach out through the communicator and clasp the man close to her, but it was impossible. Damn the distance! She hated it before, but now she positively loathed it. All she could do was keep rambling in a torrent before she burst into tears and added even more stress.

“Just...be careful, ok? I’m not there to back you up...so, I hope your team’s competent enough to at least know where to point their weapons.” her hands clenched so tight her knuckles whitened, her voice darkening into a near growl. “If even one hair on your head is….There will be hell to pay, make no mistake.”

“Hey now, claws in, kitty cat,” Huxian soothed, not wanting to push so that hint of a gleam in her eyes was pushed further. “I promise, you won’t have to deal with any Zombie Hue.” He flashed her a smirk, buffing his nails against his shirt. “They can’t handle me! After all, I’m way too hot for them.”

Rodessa groaned, a mix of frustration, worry and utter unappreciation for the pun, “Cocky bastard, don’t get smug!”

Joking aside, he leaned forwards a little, his expression smoothing into something more sincere. “But aside from that, these guys wouldn’t have been sent here if they didn’t know which way to point a flamethrower, Ro. I promise you, I’ll come back to you. I always come back to you. So make sure that you stay safe where you are in the meantime. I still have to take you on that shopping spree, remember?”

“At this point, I would just settle for you being in my ar-” Rodessa’s jaw clamped shut, her eyes wide and face flushed as if she just spilled a terrible secret. She shot a panicked looked to Hue, who bit back the smile threatening to spread across his face.

“What was that, dear heart?” Huxian blinked innocently.

“N-nothing to worry about!” She laughed nervously. “J-just thinking I’m going to bleed those accounts dry! Ha ha ha! Ha! ha...Y-yeah...I…” Her voice trailed off into a mumble as she grabbed a nearby pillow, covering her face with it. “Hue,” came her muffled whimper. “Stop looking at me like that…”

“Like what?”

Face still buried in the pillow, she pointed a finger at him. “Like that!!!”

“I can’t help how I look, lovely,” Huxian chuckled. “This is just my face. Now come on, don’t go hiding yours, or your admirers will all come hunt me down for making you hide your pretty face. The pillow can’t tell me how your mission is going, after all.”

She shot him a look over the pillow case before sighing, lifting her head from the material. Her face becoming more serious, she filled him in on everything that was happening so far. Honestly, it was a bit worrying, but it seemed her small team was keeping on top of it. They seemed to be getting close to a solution, otherwise he was sure she would have been far less confident in what she was saying.

“But enough about me,” she said finally. “How are you holding up?”

Huxian put a hand to his shoulder, rolling it a little. It ached a bit from the drain, but it wouldn’t be for much longer. “Could be worse,” he said finally. “Like I said, I have extra people here, we’re going to have the barrier set up to a stable source soon, all the civilians that didn’t get killed in the first wave or from injuries are all safe now. So we’ll be getting to the best part and finishing off the invasion. We have an idea of who set the whole thing off now, so while some of us will have fun playing the real life Zombie shoot-em-up game, the ret will be breaking the curse and either sending the idiot to hell or taking him in to pay for his crimes, whichever comes first. I’m personally not that picky.”

She nodded her head, though he couldn’t quite figure out if that was in understanding or in hopes that the rogue spellcaster ended up getting obliterated.

Ah, there was the Noir he missed sometimes.

“Ah, speaking of how things are,” Huxian continued. “I have a few things for you that you might find useful. Considering the issues over here, it might take a bit longer than I’d like, but I do think you’ll appreciate them. You’re going to be meeting Master Munechika once you’re done at that temple, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Rodessa agreed, almost boredly. “Finish the Onryou casem then its a day hike up a mountain pass to get to yet another run down temple...Fun…”

“Now now, you might like him a bit better than the current Master you’re working with,” Huxian chuckled. “He’s a bit more...Down to earth than high and holy. But anyway, if I plan things right, then if I send what I have for you there, it should reach you in time. Admittedly they might sound a bit odd, but they’ll help, I promise.”

“Oh?” Rodessa blinked ‘innocently’. “A one way ticket to you?”

Huxian laughed. “Not quite that useful, though if it helps, you’ll certainly be seeing me once Munechika’s finished with you. Your training period will be over and I should have got the majority of the undead problem sorted by then.” He winked. “Don’t worry, I won’t have any undead fangirls for you to chase off.”

She chuckled, “Well? What is it?”

Huxian grinned, tapping his nose. “It’s a S.E.C.R.E.T.”

“Eck!” Rodessa threw up her hands, a pout on her lips. “You’re no fun, Hue…”

“I’m lots of fun, dear,” Huxian grinned. “You just haven’t learned all the rules of the game just yet.”

[END]