A few days went by.
While Bhargav continued to push the cadets hard, he didn't single out any particular cadet to vent his frustration on. One morning, Naina arrived at Rajveer's room and found him fully dressed in his uniform.
"Wow," she breathed out.
"Cadet Naina, are you ever going to knock?" Rajveer teased, looking at her through the mirror.
"Nope, too much work," she replied cheekily.
"So, what brings the brightest cadet of KMA to my room early this morning?" he inquired.
"I heard Lt. Bunty saying that you were going out. So, I came to meet you," she replied. "Where are you going? When will you be back? Who else knows where you're going?" she asked, as if she had full rights to the answers.
Rajveer turned towards her with raised eyebrows. "Where I'm going is confidential. When will I be back? Hopefully, before dinner. And who else knows the location? Well, my commanding officer," he replied.
Naina frowned. "Major Bhargav has been a little too quiet these last few days. When he first arrived, his only intent seemed to target you for all his taunts about Naveen. What if he was sent here to harm you somehow? With the situation being what it is, you going out... I don't have a good feeling about this," she told him worriedly.
Rajveer's warm feeling in his chest grew again as Naina showed him care, affection, and worry. He didn't understand this new sensation, but he enjoyed it. "Naina, I'm a trained soldier. I'll be fine," he assured her.
"Why don't you make an excuse and take me along?" she suggested.
Rajveer burst into laughter. "And what will I tell my commanding officer about bringing my cadet with me?" he asked, smiling at her suggestion.
Naina pouted and grumbled, "You could say I insisted on coming along."
Rajveer held her by her shoulders and said, "I'll be back before dinner, and I promise I'll be okay. You can scold me if I'm not."
"How is that going to help?" she exclaimed, pouting harder.
Rajveer smiled at her cuteness. He felt like kissing her cheeks in that moment. Blinking rapidly, he put a hard break on his thought. "Where did that come from?" he wondered to himself. He shook his head and said to pacify her, "How about I promise to bring chocolate for you when I come back?"
Naina frowned, folded her arms over her chest, and huffed angrily. "I don't want chocolate," she told him, puffing her cheeks.
"Teddy?"
"No."
"Mmm... fast food?"
"Definitely not."
Rajveer sighed in defeat. "Madam, then what will satisfy you?" he asked.
"You'll call me or send me a text every 2 hours to let me know that you're okay," Naina demanded.
Rajveer gaped at her. Not even his ex-girlfriend had ever made such a demand from him. He knew Naina liked him, maybe even loved him, but until then he didn't realize how much. He was starting to realize that Naina was falling more and more in love with him with each passing day. He also liked her, but the secret buried in his chest stopped him from reciprocating. He decided that it would be better if he stopped Naina now.
"Enough, Cadet Campbell! I think I've given you a little too much leeway if you think you have any right to demand such a thing from me!" he scolded her.
The hurt that flashed through her eyes made Rajveer regret his words instantly. Naina inhaled sharply before stomping out of his room. Rajveer followed her, intent on stopping her. He was so focused on her that he didn't notice Major Bhargav passing by and observing the scene as he held her hand from behind to stop her.
Naina had quickly become aware of Bhargav's presence. Even though Rajveer had scolded her, her main focus was always on protecting him. She turned and acted as if it was normal for Rajveer to randomly hold any cadet's hand like this.
"Don't worry, sir. I'll be able to help Alekh with his studies now. Thank you for explaining the chapter. Have a good day," she said politely. Then she turned to go and pretended to be surprised when she saw Major Bhargav. "Good morning, sir."
Bhargav nodded. "Good morning, Cadet Campbell."
Smiling, Naina left, but she slowed down after crossing a few feet so she could hear what Bhargav was saying to Rajveer.
"That's new!" Major Bhargav commented. "The Captain Rajveer I knew was a shy boy. But it seems he's grown up," he said suggestively.
"Don't even dare drag Cadet Naina into your problems with me," Rajveer warned angrily.
Bhargav's smirk grew. "Interesting. Captain, the cadets of KMA are very strong academically, but they are very weak emotionally. I was only saying that it's good that you stepped up to help them," he stated innocently.
"Major Bhargav, giving the cadets a support system doesn't make them weak. They don't come here after being trained to be soldiers... they come here to train to be soldiers," Rajveer retorted.
"You're right, Captain. That's why I'm planning on starting a mentorship program here in KMA. Because from what I see, not only the cadets, even the faculty here seem to have various weaknesses. Have a good day, Captain," he said before leaving.
"Shit! He's planning something... and inadvertently, I drew his attention to Naina," Rajveer silently cursed.
...-...
Rajveer visited his commandant officer, Col. Shakti Chandra, to present a progress report on his mission to apprehend the spy in KMA and safeguard the concealed Nuclear triggers. During the conversation, Rajveer shared his suspicions about Major Bhargav targeting him. This reminded him of Naina, who had pointed out the same thing the other night. Naina had also asked whether anyone else knew about Rajveer's covert investigation into Naveen's case and whether that could be the reason behind Bhargav's arrival.
Col. Chandra was aware of Rajveer's personal mission, and he responded, "Captain, since Major Bhargav was Captain Naveen's arresting officer, it's possible that he might be targeting you. This is especially true if our suspicions are correct and Naveen was truly trapped. In that case, the main player must hold significant power, as it would be challenging to send the same major to target you otherwise."
Rajveer remained silent, only nodding his head. He had not shared anything about Naina with anyone and had explicitly instructed Lt. Bunty to keep quiet as well, even though Lt. Bunty did not know much. As Naina had said the same thing, Rajveer became more serious. "If it's true, then Major Bhargav's presence implies that Naveen was indeed trapped," he pointed out.
Col. Shakti nodded. "Captain, I recommend that from now on, if ANYONE-and I do mean ANYONE-asks you about your thoughts on Naveen's case, tell them that it's currently on hold as you're occupied with your present assignment," he ordered.
"Yes, sir," Rajveer agreed.
"And try to recall who else is aware that you're still investigating this case. Who did you inform? Create a list of these people, okay?"
"Absolutely, sir," Rajveer replied.
"Alright then. Dismiss," Col. Shakti said.
After finishing the meeting, Rajveer left the secret location. As he was on his way back to KMA, he decided to do something he had promised himself he wouldn't do. He sent Naina a small text saying, "On my way back to KMA." He stared at the little button on the side and smiled when it turned blue, but she didn't reply. This made him realize that she was still upset with him for his behavior earlier that morning.
...-...
That night, Naina did not come to meet Rajveer in his room, as she had been doing every night since Bhargav's arrival. They had been meeting at night to share their observations of Bhargav as they did not want to be seen together during the day. Rajveer waited for her until midnight, but there was no sign of her. Finally, he sighed in defeat. He remembered that Naveen had once told him how stubborn Naina could be, especially if she was upset with someone. Rajveer knew that he had hurt her a lot this morning, but he couldn't allow her to love him without knowing the truth.
It was not that Rajveer was not becoming slowly aware of his own feelings. He knew that from enjoying her company, he was now starting to crave her company. Her mature, childish, and mysterious nature intrigued his very soul. He was also becoming desperate to return the sweet gestures she often made towards him.
He turned off the light in his bedroom and went to bed. After changing sides again and again, he finally settled in for the night. When he was deeply asleep, Naina entered his room. She sat down on the floor beside his bed and gave him a sulky look.
Naina sat there for a while, silently watching Rajveer sleep. She couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions - hurt, frustration, and a tinge of hope. She knew Rajveer had feelings for her, she could see it in the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her, and the way he touched her. But he refused to acknowledge it, even to himself.
She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "I can see you're attracted to me. All your body language says the same. But why won't you express it? What's stopping you?" she asked him in her mind, knowing he couldn't hear her.
Around 3 in the morning, Rajveer began to stir restlessly in his sleep. Sensing that he must have been having a nightmare, Naina began to run her fingers through his hair. Almost immediately, he began to relax and his heartbeat slowed down. After a few minutes, Naina realized that Rajveer must have sensed her presence and might wake up soon. She quickly left his room and returned to her own hostel.
As Rajveer woke up, he looked around and noticed the familiar scent of blueberry and lavender. It was Naina's signature scent, always soft and soothing to his senses. Whenever she visited his room, it seemed like her scent would linger and mark everything. He smiled softly, knowing that she would come to check on him.
"Stubborn but cute," he murmured to himself before falling back onto his bed, a content smile on his face.
...-...
...-...
...-...
During the first class after breakfast, Ali distributed forms for the mentorship program as instructed. A formal notice was also posted on the notice board. Cadets filled out and submitted their forms to Ali, who then submitted them to Major Bhargav.
After dismissing Ali, Bhargav opened the file and quickly found Cadet Naina Campbell's questionnaire. He was intrigued by her mind since she managed to puzzle him with her questions during a previous encounter. Moreover, when he saw her coming out of Captain Rajveer's room, he became more interested. He had noticed how Captain Rajveer held her hand while trying to stop her from leaving, which made him speculate that the captain must have done something to upset her.
Upon reading Campbell's questionnaire, Bhargav smirked. He noticed that she did not mention Captain Rajveer's name when asked about her preferred mentor. Instead, she listed Brigadier Chandok, Major Bhargav, and Major Nair. However, all five cadets who usually hang out with Campbell had listed Captain Rajveer's name at least once.
"I wonder what you did to Cadet Campbell, Captain, that she doesn't want you as her mentor," he said with an evil grin. "Captain Rajveer is a gentleman, so he wouldn't have forced himself on her, as she had tried to save his face when she noticed me. Maybe he proposed to her and she didn't like it. But since the academy is being inspected and he's their favorite teacher, she probably tried to change the situation. Cadet Campbell seems to be one of those studious types, so she probably prefers to focus only on her training, which is why she decided to maintain distance from Captain Rajveer," he speculated. "How fun it would be for me if I make Captain Rajveer her mentor! Captain would definitely make a fool of himself, and it would be easy to get him kicked out of here," he planned, smiling victoriously.
Naina was two corridors away from that room, heard everything clearly. "So, my suspicions were correct. That's why he's here." she thought to herself.
... - ...
The cadets had gathered in front of the notice board where the mentorship program results were posted. Pooja was horrified to see that Major Nair had been assigned as her mentor, while Ali sighed sadly upon seeing that he was assigned Subedar Major Lolita Sen instead of one of the Majors. Yudi and Huda teased each other because they didn't get the mentor they wanted, and they were curious about who Ms. Simran Jit Kaur was. Alekh was leaning against the wall next to Naina, and the siblings were silently observing everything. Sometimes they would shake their heads in amusement, and at other times they would look thoughtful.
Alekh suddenly asked Naina, "Why do you think I was given Major Bhargav as my mentor?"
To which Naina countered, "Did you write that I was your best friend?"
"Yes," Alekh confirmed.
"That's why," Naina replied.
Curious, Alekh inquired, "Why is he interested in you all of a sudden? At first, he seemed intent on bullying Captain Rajveer."
Naina grimaced and admitted, "He saw me coming out of Rajveer sir's room." If she was human, she would have been blushing.
Alekh raised an eyebrow and asked sternly, "And what exactly were you doing in his room?"
"We were having an argument if you want to know the truth," Naina replied, rolling her eyes at her brother's protectiveness. She already had one such overprotective brother.
"As long as it was only an argument ..." Alekh commented with a knowing look on his face.
Naina playfully poked her tongue at him and said, "Stop! Go gather everyone in the game room. I have a task in mind." Alekh nodded and went to work.
Ten minutes later, the Super Six gathered in the game room. "Why did you call us here, Phoolan, my love, my life?" Huda asked in his usual flirty tone.
"I'll twist your ears and pull them off your head if you address me like that again," Naina scolded him, rolling her eyes.
Huda didn't take her seriously and only snickered. He knew Naina didn't like him like that and had a special spot for Captain Rajveer ever since she had threatened him for the captain. He just loved to annoy and tease her.
"Naina, stop with this unwanted caller and send us the notification you wanted to send us," Pooja told her to get her to stop bantering with Huda.
"Guys, I think this is the perfect opportunity to investigate our faculty members. Think about it. When else are we going to have such a chance to question them and observe them so closely?" Naina pointed out.
"Naina Ji is correct. This way we will also be able to get access to our mentors' rooms and look for clues there," Ali pointed out.
"I'm really liking this new upgraded version of Ali," Yudi stated with fake tears as he gave Ali a side hug.
Ali blushed and told them bashfully, "I just want the truth to come out. And I always liked a good mystery."
Alekh smiled. "And mysteries are meant to be solved," he added.
"Exactly. So, friends, let's scrutinize the hell out of our faculties," Huda stated with a naughty smirk, making the rest of them chuckle.
... - ...
Rajveer was delighted to be assigned as Naina's mentor. Despite his suspicion that Bhargav might have some ulterior motive for the decision, Rajveer felt relieved that he would now have the opportunity to spend more time with Naina. For the past two days, she had been ignoring him, and he hoped that this new arrangement would change that. As he saw Naina in front of him, he flashed her an enthusiastic smile.
"Have you seen the notice board?" he asked.
"Yes, have you?" Naina replied with a confused expression.
"Yes, that's why I'm excited. It's a new start, and a bright future awaits you," he told her with a smile.
"There was nothing wrong with what I had going on. But whatever floats your boat. And sir, you shouldn't be excited. You should be worried. Major Bhargav has planned something big this time to get you out of this academy. I overheard him talking to himself and he was actually giggling to himself," she warned him seriously.
Rajveer tilted his head and smiled at her. He loved how protective she was of him, even when she was upset with him. "I'm a trained soldier. I can handle Major Bhargav," he reassured her.
Their conversation was interrupted by an orderly who brought Rajveer an official order from Major Bhargav. It stated that the faculty members were to take interviews of their cadets and report their details to him the next day.
...-...
...-...
All the faculty members began interviewing their cadets. During his interview, Major Nair expressed his dislike for women to Pooja in various ways . Shalini attempted to sympathize with Huda, but he persistently flirted with her. Major Bhargav gave Alekh a lecture about his perceived failures, but Alekh stared at him blankly as though Bhargav was speaking a foreign language. M.B. Lolita appreciated Ali's candid personality and questioned him like a good teacher. Yudi had developed a crush on the new Yuga teacher, Ms. Simran, and was enjoying their interview due to her pleasant personality.
Since Naina had been treating him politely and formally during the interviews, Rajveer decided to do something different during their session. When Naina arrived at his room that afternoon, she discovered a letter addressed to her on his coffee table. Upon opening it, she read:
"Cadet Naina,
Your real interview would be in my cabin tonight at 20:00 hours.
Dress code casual.
Capt. Rajveer"
"Okay," Naina said out loud to the empty room, perplexed by Rajveer's invitation. Just that morning, he had scolded her for showing care and affection, and now he was asking her to spend the evening with him in casual clothes. "He's so strange," she muttered under her breath.
"If I'm going to be spending time with him in a closed room, I need to feed. My blood supply is low. I have to call Tommy," Naina thought to herself as she hurried towards the girls' hostel.
As she passed by, Bhargav called out to her, "Cadet Campbell!"
Naina gritted her teeth and rolled her eyes. "Damn it," she grumbled, turning around with her usual blank expression. "Good afternoon, sir," she greeted him politely.
"I was curious to know your thoughts on your mentor. I mean, I saw that you didn't select Captain Rajveer as your preferred mentor in the questionnaire," Bhargav asked, pretending to care.
"While I would have preferred Brigadier sir as my mentor, I'm sure Captain Rajveer would turn out to be a good mentor as well," Naina replied diplomatically. She wanted to play along with Bhargav's plan to see what he was up to.
"Captain Rajveer is a good teacher from what I've heard from his fellow faculty members and other students. Hopefully, you'll be able to learn something from him... but of course, if you ever feel something is wrong, you can always come to me," he offered.
Naina gave him one of her angelic smiles and replied, "That's very kind of you, sir."
Her smile left Bhargav feeling inexplicably stirred. Never had he seen someone appear so lovely while grinning. Her features, including her pimple filled face and prominent nose, didn't detract from her beauty in the slightest. (A/N: Remember he can't see her real face due to the illusion Naina is using on him) He shook his head to dispel the thoughts that had crept into his mind. "No wonder Captain fell for her," he mused. "Despite her rather unremarkable looks, there is something alluring about her, I suppose." He was perplexed by his own reaction and couldn't fathom why he was so captivated by her.
...-...
...-...
...-...
A/N:::