It was brown in color and oval in shape. It had a pin on the top and a hand covered the rest of the part. Then he pulled the pin with one finger and threw the grenade at Hitori.
Hitori knew less about grenades and their mechanism, but he had a basic knowledge of them. First, they did not explode as soon as the pin is pulled. It has a time gap of three to five seconds, but he could not remember.
Could he touch it? Would it explode on touching? This was not the best time for exporting that kind of thing. He just ducked the grenade and watched it land meters behind him.
He walked towards Tengoku, but decide to steal a glance behind him. The grenade rolled into the woods, then exploded. For a second, Hitori thought it was never Tengoku's motive to blow Hitori.
He turned to him, he had another grande in his hand. Hitori clicked his tongue and raised his wand, but another strike from the left pushed the grenade from Tengoku's hand.
Hitori glanced at Akira, then turned back to Tengoku. "Bind!" he chanted.
Tengoku rolled over the ground, grabbed the grenade on the way, then rose to the ground. The pin fell from his hands, halfway from reaching the ground.
Hitori caught the pin. God knows when Tengoku even reloads the gun and pulls the pin. A frown climbed on his face as he stepped back.
Tengoku raised the grenade, jumped, and then threw the grenade into the woods behind Hitori.
"No!" Hitori shouted as he turned and let go of his aim. "Akira, get out of the woods!"
Reon leaped out of the hiding spot with her gun in front of her. Tengoku got off the ground and grabbed his katana. He saw Hitori's head, clean and clear, ready to be cut. He took a step close.
"Hitori!" Reon shouted, then pulled the trigger.
Akira jumped out of the woods and rolled on the ground, then Hitori spun around. A bullet cut through Tengoku's cheek. Missed again.
The katana stopped a few inches away from his neck. Tengoku's face turned from an angry man to a pissed-off man. His eyebrows spread wide and his nose twitched with anger. Imagine him gritting his teeth.
Then his eyes shifted from Hitori to the katana. He pulled back the katana and saw his cheek's reflection on the blade. A drop of blood was trickling down to his chin, and then he looked behind Hitori, at Reon.
"You bitch!"
The grenade went off behind Hitori. He ducked and covered his head, without caring about Tengoku slashing his head. A few branches flew in the air, some were on fire.
"You did this to me. You fucking bitch. You have to pay!" His voice came like the voice of an angry, drunk, 'dick of a person's husband. A man who would give his stupid wife a good beating for not fucking keeping his office clothes ready. For not making breakfast at six in the morning. And for not waking up at five. Just a crazy person.
That behavior could have intimated women in the past, but it was 2053, and the times were different. Reon should have backed down, but she held her gun straight and her head high and stepped toward Tengoku.
Akira was right behind Hitori when he rose and stepped away from the fire. Hitori rose to his feet and watched as Tengoku strode towards Reon, his actions were filled with anger. He jerked his katana as he walked and his body bounced in anger.
"We need to cover her," Akira muttered by Hitori's side.
Hitori raised his wand and said, "Do not wait for it then." He recited the killing curse, then jerked his wand. "Shi-Ne!"
Tengoku's attention was focused on Reon, he did not even notice the curse coming for him. Reon noticed it and stayed the absolute decoy without firing or moving. Just a second and Tengoku would drop dead.
Nothin came in between Tengoku's head and the red beam. For Hitori, it was like aiming at the circle in the middle as if it was the only circle – five centimeters in radius – and standing as close as possible.
He could not wish for an easy death for Tengoku, he just could not imagine it. He wanted Tengoku to die as his heart tightened, the blood flow stopped, and—
A green vine interrupted the flow of the beam. It stood in between Tengoku's head and the beam and took it.
The vine sizzled, twitched like a dying snake or even a worm, then crumbled to the ground. Hitori stepped forward. He narrowed his eyes at the green glow behind the house. It was intensifying – or no, the glow was the same – it was the body itself that was moving.
His heart skipped a beat. He sensed the worst of all coming for him. It confirmed his doubt now. The Guardian stopped the killing curse for Tengoku, It IS working for him!
That did not solve or explain the problems like the whispers, the shield, and how the hell It got so deep into the woods, but this was enough for Hitori to jump to the conclusion.
It was the Guardian Spirit, after all, staying behind his house, but just not HIS Guardian Spirit. It was Tengoku's Guardian Spirit.
Reon and Akira's eyes widened. They stared at the main vine in disbelief as it pulled itself back.
Tengoku stopped, then looked at the green glow above him. It lowered itself. It was lowering itself, then it stopped around the size of a six feet tall man.
From the darkness of vines, the man emerged from the vines that had wrapped him. Hitori exchanged glances between Tengoku and the Guardian. Why was Tengoku as surprised and uncertain as everyone?
The earth rumbled underneath his feet. Hitori turned. The shield was glowing. Not shining, but glowing, brighter than ever. Then it started to fade. It broke down from the center, tearing into two thin sheets. Were Eya-nee and Kakashi seeing this?
Hitori turned back to the Guardian. By now, the Guardian had completed dressing off. A thin piece of T-shirt clung to his chest, and a piece of cloth was covering his genitals. The rest was gone. His face had turned pale and green, just like his lips.
Then a metal shoulder plate slipped to the ground, leaving Tengoku frozen. On his ankle was a circular mark. As if a rope was tied to his ankle, then he was pulled around the whole town.
In a cold, full of stutter voice, like a kid who is talking for the first time or has not talked in a decade, he said: "Hello, Boss."
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