“I hate to bother you, Retvik, but can you come with me for a bit?”
It was about midnight, Retvik wasn’t really sure, but that familiar thump as Kuta shadowjumped into his bedroom and hit the deck had woken him up.
“Are you alright, Kuta? Retvik immediately asked as he threw his blanket off himself. Kuta had already scrambled back to their feet and was trying to reorientate themselves.
“No, I am not. I have a lot on my mind, a lot has been asked of me and I… I am scared and I want to talk. Not here though.”
Retvik shrugged. “I assume you want to take me to your nice apartment?”
“If you do not mind. I feel safer there.”
“You know my friends will not harm you. Kayel and Nyssi are not even here currently.”
Kuta sighed. “I know, but what I want to say to you is classified and I know my apartment is secure.”
With another shrug, Retvik climbed out of bed and threw on the first set of casual armour he could find, just a chest piece, upper arm and thigh pads, putting them on over the bed time tummy wrap and loin cloth he was already wearing. He also grabbed a small bag with some belongings, just in case. However, Retvik quickly noticed that Kuta was breathing quite deeply and erratically and was desperate to leave.
“Shall we?”
Kuta grabbed Retvik’s hand, but paused briefly, steadying themselves. After another deep breath, Kuta dragged Retvik through the shadow. They reappeared in Kuta’s fancy apartment in the city of Phos, but Retvik noticed something was off. There were bottles of mead scattered across the table in the living room, as well as scraps of paper littering the place.
“Alright, something is definitely wrong…” Retvik muttered as Kuta sat him down, cleared the table then brought over two new bottles of mead.
“You are absolutely right. But before I tell you what the problem is, Retvik, please, promise me you will not mention this to ANYONE. If anyone discovers that I told you this, we will spend the rest of our days locked away in prison.”
“I mean, of course, I promise you my silence, but… Kuta, you are not right.”
Kuta rubbed their eyes. “No, I am not. I… I have been given a… a mission… One moment…”
Retvik put his arm around Kuta and pulled them close. “Take a moment, take a deep breath and think about what you want to say.”
“Hmph… It is… I suppose we should start from the beginning. We have discovered who is behind all these assassination attempts. The same person who tried to kill your sibling was some sort of clone, a Rethan with telepathy, allowing them to sneak through security undetected. They are being backed by a Torr organization and… well, diplomacy has somewhat failed, the Torr will not budge and the Lanex, Skyavok and Rethavok are working on a… more secretive plan.”
Retvik frowned. “Let me guess. Rethais wants to send the Legion of Hidden External Affairs in?”
“Worse.”
“I… I thought the 606th Legion no longer existed? You… you said so yourself!”
Kuta grunted. “The 606th Legion has always existed. We just deny its existence. If you leave the 606th Legion, you say that the Legion disbanded instead of saying you were transferred to another Legion. But according to the Legion of Hidden Blades, there is literally no one else capable of taking on this mission… aside from me.”
Unsure what to think, Retvik sipped the drink Kuta had given him, then glanced around the room. He suddenly noticed something on the table in front of him. A silver arm band. A Captain’s Insignia, but one with a black ring around it.
“I am temporarily stepping down as General of the 11th Legion, citing ill health as my reason…” Kuta continued. “But this is a ruse, a decoy. I will be temporarily rejoining the 606th Legion at the rank of Captain, so I can go on this mission, deep in Torr territories. I will be assisted by a so far unnamed Phantasma Skyavok, but all of this will be done outside of the Stratos. While I have an out if I need it, via my interplanetary shadowjumping, I… I am still scared.”
Retvik immediately put his drink down and wrapped his arms around Kuta, holding them tightly.
“That is insane.”
“It is.”
“No wonder you are scared. Any reasonable person would be scared…” Retvik trailed off, then let go of Kuta, realizing he was squishing them slightly. After a moment of thought, Retvik then reached inside the little bag he had brought and rummaged around, clearly looking for something.
Eventually, Retvik pulled out a small, battered, metal coin-shaped object, with a familiar engraving on it. The emblem of the Lady of Light, the deity many Rethans once worshipped.
“What is that?” Kuta asked as Retvik opened up Kuta’s hand and placed the object in their palm.
“My lucky medallion. Relkir made three of them when we were young, we have one each. For a long time, it was the only thing I had to remind me of my siblings. Admittedly, I have never really, properly believed in luck, and I stopped worshipping the Lady of Light after I was exiled, but this little trinket of mine, it has always come back to me, and whenever I have lost it, I have fought hard to get it back. By giving it to you, I hope that both it and you will return to me, as it has done in the past.”
Retvik closed Kuta’s fingers around the medallion, then hugged Kuta again.
“Thank you, Retvik.”
“Do not thank me yet!” Retvik smiled. “I want that medallion back. I will need it for the 300th match for my win streak. I intend to become the first Rethan to have a win streak of over 300, and I want you to be in the crowd, watching on as I beat down my opponent, then hugging me as I leave the arena, victorious. You WILL be there. I will make sure of it.”
Kuta took a deep breath and settled down. “I wonder what I did to deserve you, Retvik.”
“Hah, Kuta, of course you deserve me. We deserve each other. The freaks that we are. You more than me, but you know what I mean. But I like your pretty blue eyes, no matter what other Rethans say.”
Kuta smiled, just a little. “Thank you, dear. Can I ask one last thing of you?”
“Sure.”
“Can you stay for a few hours, in my bed with me? I will return you home in the morning before work, but right now, I need you.”
Retvik grinned, then hugged Kuta some more. “Of course, my dear. Anything you need.”
“I love you, Retvik.”
“I love you too, Kuta.”