….
Allen hurried along the corridor towards Bak's office, the warm thoughts of the kiss he gave Fou still replaying in his mind. Part of him couldn't believe he had just gone and did that. The other part was anxious about how the guardian would react to it. To say he was fearful of Fou's reaction next time they met would be an understatement.
'Bak?' Allen asked as he reached the office and stepped inside. Thankfully, only Bak and his assistant were there. The Branch Head glanced up from his documents wistfully and acknowledged his presence with a slight nod.
'Can I help you Walker?' The blond man asked smoothly and Allen swallowed as he gathered his courage.
'I want you to give me another chance, I think I understand what I've been doing wrong,' Bak raised his eyebrows at him, it almost seemed that the man didn't believe him but he then sighed.
'I suppose there is no harm but are you sure Walker? I'll give you fair warning that it may result in the same data given today,' Allen shook his head sternly at Bak's presumption. He was definitely not going to let that happen a second time!
'Things will be different this time,' because he'll be looking at it from a different angle and he had Fou to thank for that. But Allen added the thought silently, knowing it would be best if he kept his conversation with the guardian a secret for now.
'Well if you are certain then we'll begin again tomorrow but the sessions will run for two hours, twice a day,' Bak compromised and Allen nodded.
'Yes, thank you,' Allen said with a slight bow and hurried out the room almost with a skip to his step. But that would have looked weird so he held himself to a blissful hum.
He traveled through the Branch keeping mindful of what direction he was taking and came into the cafeteria. There he spotted Lo Hwa talking quietly to Li Kei and Shifu at one of the tables. The female scientist was quick to notice his approach and stood up with a relieved look quivering in her big brown eyes.
"Are you okay Walker? You made us worry when you ran out like that," she exclaimed and Allen patted her shoulder reassuringly.
"I'm fine, in fact, I managed to get Bak to give me another go at trying to reactivate my innocence," he explained casually as he sat down at the table. Allen watched the surprise spread across the faces of Li Kei and Lo Hwa.
"What? But aren't you scared that the results will stay the same?" Li Kei pointed out rather loudly causing Allen to wince.
"It won't because I finally realized what I was doing wrong," Allen replied confidently as he balled his hand into a tight fist. He was determined to get it right and for the right reasons!
"What were you doing wrong Walker?" Lo Hwa asked as she gazed at him curiously but Allen just smiled at her pleasantly.
"You're just going to have to find out!"
Fou was confounded to say the least as he walked down the long corridors. His mind constantly wandering to that quick kiss that Allen had planted on his lips. As much as the Guardian wanted to scream and bellow in rage, he found himself perplexed by an emotion he thought someone of his station to be incapable of feeling.
Sure he had his respect and acknowledgement of the humans that worked in the Branch. Hell, he even had people he liked to hang out and converse with. But when it came to the white-haired exorcist… Fou had no idea what to think.
"Damn brat's getting to me," he muttered under his breath, his tone of voice held no venom but, if he dare say it, gentleness. Fou frowned as he stopped outside Bak's office door and took several deep breaths. He'll just have to confront Walker about it later but until then, he needed to deal with Branch Head.
"You called for me?" Fou asked as he stepped into the room, keeping a straight face as he stared at the blonde young man. Bak glanced up from the papers in front of him. By the way his dark blue eyes quivered, the guardian knew that the man was angry.
"Yes, it would seem that Walker's gained some new found resolve and is anxious to begin yet another training session soon," the Branch Head leaned back into his chair as the door opened behind Fou and Wong walked passed him with a tray in hand. The older man stepped up to the desk and began placing down a covered teapot and cup in front of Bak.
"Isn't it a good thing that the kid hasn't given up yet?" Fou wondered though he was careful to make it seem like his words were only an afterthought. Bak sighed with annoyance causing his brow to twitch.
"Yes but many staff members have grown uneasy. Apparently word had spread about Allen's assassination by the Noah and they have begun getting anxious… to be frank, I don't exactly blame them," Bak murmured as Wong poured out the tea and picked up the cup, cradling it within the palm of his hand. Fou hadn't dared to say a word but his curiosity was irking him. Somehow he knew Bak was meant to say more.
"You can't simply give up on Walker…"
"I haven't finished!" Fou closed his mouth quickly and remained silently as Bak took a small sip of the green liquid.
"It is only a matter of time before the Noah find out that Walker is alive, which further pushes the point that Walker needs to hurry to regain his innocence before that happens," unfortunately, Fou couldn't help but snort at Bak's gruffness.
"Have you so little faith in the barrier your great-grandfather has created?" The guardian asked solemnly as he gazed unflinching at the cold stare Bak gave back.
"It isn't the barrier that I'm so worried about… it is its deity that I'm distrustful of," the Branch Head shot back in a low voice that Fou physically winced and quickly broke eye contact by turning to face the door.
"Is that all you have to say?" Fou asked stiffly as he did his best to stop himself from shaking.
"Training will begin tomorrow at noon, it'll be for an hour at best," came the blunt reply from Bak before Fou walked out of the room. It wasn't until the door had closed behind him that he bolted towards the Sealed Entrance.
He wasn't going to let anyone see him cry!
Yikes, this took a while to write! I kind of took an unannounced break to deal with increased boredom and typical writer's block. I've always had an idea of what to write for the next chapter but it was often typing that up that stumped and frustrated me!
Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review!