Protective
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Whumptober2022 Day 1 - Altprompt 7 - Protective.
(I'm soooooo excited for whumptober... it's finally time!!! Starting the Whumptober with an altprompt... haha.)
"He just… agrees to help you give it back to Kaen?" Veir asked, jumping into the sentence before Naomi was even finished, earning a glare from her, "Like… how can we trust this guy, he's one of the hunters, he did that to Kaen"
"He might not be a good man, but I know a smart person when I see one" Naomi said, "That guy… Alex, knows if he cooperates, they might decrease his sentence"
"I'm NOT letting that jerk a step closer to my brother" Iya snapped, "If he dares to do anything…"
"Iya, calm down…." Kaen muttered, his voice quiet but enough to turn everyone's attention to him, "I… I don't know if we can trust the Hunter… but…"
"Kaen… what if he tries to hurt you?" Iya asked. She took Kaen's hand, looking at him in the eyes.
"That's what I'm scared of too," Naomi added, a deep frown on her face, "but the thing is, cooperating really is the only way he could save himself. You know, being a Hunter, and especially an experienced one like him, usually results in death penalty. What Mari told me was, they would probably only charge him for assault, and illegal ability activity, instead of this" pointing at Kaen at the last part.
"Do you think he will help, without trying anything?"
Naomi nodded, still looking a little hesitant, "Conrad and I went to meet with Mari" she said, "And somehow ended up meeting the guy, as I said, I know when a person is smart"
"That's just more for us to worry about" Iya shook her head, "What do you think… Kaen? I don't think we should trust him… but… but it's the only way for you to get your power back"
Kaen pulled his knees closer to him, wrapping his arms around them.
He stared at the window, he could see snow slowly falling on wet streets. He would love to go out for a while…
"...can I have some time to think it through?" He asked.
Naomi nodded without saying anything else, just giving Kaen's hand a little pat and a supportive smile.
"Kaen, you know" Iya said with a stern voice, a rare and unusual sound from her, "I don't think we can trust him…"
"I don't want to live like this"
"I know but…"
Kaen closed his eyes, "I'll think… okay?" He said quietly, "Can I think alone?"
***
Kaen understood why Iya didn't want to trust that guy.
It was totally reasonable, considering he was terrified of just the idea of coming across one of the Hunters again…
But he just couldn't give up on his ability like that, when he finally had right in front of him, right there for him to get it back, after agonizing two weeks without it.
He wasn't even worth anything without it. Not physically strong, not smart enough to stand up, not even brave enough to talk in the class…
No, his ability was the only thing he was at least a bit confident about himself at, even though it was unstable… it was there, backing him up every moment.
He wouldn't live without it…
No, he would get his powers back no matter what.
And make sure the Hunters never hurt anyone like that did to him, to his family.
Lumiya told him they knew Iya… what would he do without his power if they tried to come after Iya this time?
He had to be ready.
No matter what it took.
***
Kaen clutched Naomi's hand, she offered to hold his hand while they were waiting for the preparations, to give Kaen his ability back.
Most of the preparations were for security, as guessed, and Kaen would be lying if he didn't say he wasn't completely terrified
He was terrified.
Terrified enough to not refuse Naomi's offer to hold his hand while they waited, sitting on his hospital bed, once again in a hospital gown instead of his comfortable pajamas.
"It's going to be alright" Naomi said, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles, "I will never let him hurt you… and you won't even feel anything"
Kaen gave her a small nod, "You sure… umm… I have to be awake…?" He mumbled, waving his feet in the air, trying to calm himself down, "You said you will numb it… will it be enough?"
Naomi nodded, "It will, you won't be able to feel anything down your chest, it's the easy part"
"You just want to make sure you're able to protect Iya, aren't you? That's why you agreed without thinking more" she added after a quiet moment.
"Nao… they… they know her" Kaen whispered. "They know her… their… their leader… he said…"
"Shh… it's okay"
Kaen leaned over to her, just hiding his face in Naomi's shoulder, and letting her hug him one more time, before the door opened from outside.
He could get through this…
Hopefully.
***
Another aimless step… and another, and another…
Iya kept pacing in the hallway in front of Kaen's room, since they weren't allowed inside. Every now and then, a nurse, or another doctor would go in or out, trying to sort everything out for a rare procedure.
"What's taking them so long… they should've already brought him here…" she said, looking up at Conrad with a questioning gaze, "Is he planning something? Maybe he changed his mind"
"Hey hey, easy there"
"They're just making sure everything is safe before he can go into Kaen's room"
"I don't trust him" Iya muttered, looking between Kaen's team, and the door, as she kept on with her nervous pacing.
Not letting her continue pacing even more, soon enough heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway, all the heads turned towards where the sound came from.
And there it was, before Iya could prepare herself for the face she was going to see, the small group appeared in the corner.
Iya felt the blood rush to her face, her heat hammering in her chest.
She knew that face.
She knew that person.
Suddenly, she felt her mind being pulled back to the memory of a moment she never wanted to remember, that she pushed all the way into the depths of her mind…
The sound of the door closing with a click, her mother freezing on her steps.
When Iya managed to look up, just at the same moment Kaen let out a scream, she was met with the sight of a gun pointed at her mother. The man behind the trigger looked down at Iya and Kaen, giving them a creepy smile before turning back to the mother.
"Don't even try to run" his cold voice echoed in the heavy silence of their house.
That exact same face was looking at Iya right now.
Their eyes met, and Iya felt the fury burning through her.
He was one of the group that killed her parents…
He hurt her Kaen…
He almost killed Kaen…
Kaen was in so much pain because of him… and now he had the audacity to just walk in here between the two APRT officers, looking casual like he was taking a walk even with his hands cuffed behind him, and giving Iya a smug grin when he noticed her.
No. No, Iya wouldn't let him one step closer to Kaen.
She clenched her fists, her normally gentle and calm red eyes looking like they were on fire with fury.
She glanced at the group behind her for a brief moment, like making sure no one was going to stop her, like she was going to do something.
Veir moved slightly forward, but Iya's expression made him sit back. He never seen her like this, she looked like she could tear anyone that dared to touch her brother into pieces.
"Hey there, little Miss" the guy said, not even looking bothered by the cuffs, and two people holding him securely, "Damn, you really do look like your brother… I would've thought you were twins… I wonder if you scream like him too?"
And that was like the last drop that made the glass overflow.
All the world around Iya turned to a blur, she could hear her friends' surprised voices as she took a step forward towards Alex.
She ignored the voice calling her to back down, don't get closer to him, and also ignored the warning of the APRT officer.
Before anyone could say anything more, she shot forward, and her punch landed right on the middle of Alex's face, and Iya heard a noise like something broken.
Her hand hurt, but that was the smallest of her concerns right now.
She tried to hit him again, hurt him as much as she could. Only a fraction of what he did to Kaen. She thought, as her hands grabbed his short hair, and tugged, like a small wild cat fighting an opponent bigger than it.
Someone called her name, and gentle hands held her arms, pulling her away from the Hunter, she protested, trying to get rid of the grip, to hit the man once again.
"Iya, come on"
"You're gonna hurt yourself…"
"No, no he can't touch Kaen!" Iya shouted, struggling in the grip of who she assumed was Conrad, "Let me go! I won't let him get close to Kaen!"
Alex looked down at Iya, blood dripping from his nose, "So… little Miss, do you not want me to give your brother his power back?" He asked, "I think you misunderstood how much of a favor I'm doing him here…"
No, Iya wouldn't cry in front of him. He wouldn't make her cry…
"Oh, okay then… I'll just go back to my cell, and he can live in the cold like he is now… I'm honestly surprised he even managed to live after it you know, I was pretty sure I hit an artery or something when I stabbed him"
Iya froze, the rush of power the adrenaline gave her was probably replaced with fear by now, because she could feel her knees shaking, threatening to let her fall, tears welling up in her eyes.
She wanted to make sure that guy wouldn't smile like that again… she wanted to hurt him more than he hurt Kaen…
For a moment, she was scared of herself, of her desire for revenge.
One of the APRT officers made him stop talking by tugging the cuffs, "You will do as we say" she said, "You will give the boy his ability, and won't make any fuss, the moment we see you try something, you are dead"
Conrad let go of Iya, and the arms holding her were replaced by the ones supporting her to stay up, Veir and Reyna taking Conrad's place.
"Iya, look at me" Conrad said, "Take a deep breath, and let the kids help you sit down… I need to go in with them, okay?"
All Iya could react was to look up at him, and give him a slight, shaky nod.
"I won't let him hurt Kaen, trust me"
"..... please…"
She watched them disappear into Kaen's room, her heart aching at the thought of Kaen going through it again, him getting hurt again…
"Iya, let's get you on the bench…" Reyna said. She was helping Iya stay upright, her arm around her waist. She also had a look of fury in her eyes, as she watched the Hunter walk into the room with Conrad and the officers, worried for her friend.
Iya just numbly let them walk her to the bench, and help her sit down. Veir draped a jacket over her shoulders.
"He's going to be alright" he said, "Kaen's strong… he's going to be alright… you know how stubborn and strong he is"
Niran gave her a hug, making Iya feel ashamed for being comforted by Kaen's friends… little teen's comforting her while she was supposed to be the responsible one… But she leaned to the hug anyway.
"No one will let him hurt Kaen" Veir said, "He has Naomi and Conrad with him… they will protect Kaen no matter what"
"And that was a pretty sick punch by the way" Reyna said with a small smile.
"It was way better than any of us could do" Veir nodded.
He held Iya's hand, just like she did for him when he came to ask if he could stay with them some weekends, explaining as little as possible about his family, and she just held his hand, and told him he could stay as much as he wanted, whenever he needed.
She was as good as all of the team's older sister at this point, and they could see how Kaen was so good at taking care of people, if he learned from her, it made sense.
Four of them sat together, waiting, waiting and waiting…
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