Heart part 1

Chapter 16 - Trouble Creeps Close

After Heart left through the door, with their laugh still filling everyone's ears, Esther's head slouched to the floor and she began to weep.

"...that purse had...*sniff*...all of the money that uncle Theo gave me for this trip..." She silently cried to herself. " When did Heart even grab it anyway?"

Trying to console her, Sandy gave her a few pats on the back.

" Well, it's not like she's going to spend it all. She's just going out to buy a pair of gloves." Sandy uttered into her ear.

"...y...you're not wrong, but still..." Esther muttered back.

" Well then, how about we go do some training?" Jaqueline suggested. " You always feel better after a bit of training! And plus, it's been a while since we've done it. Wouldn't want to start getting rusty."

" I guess I have no reason to say no..." Esther responded, letting out a sigh.

" Now that you mention it, I think I need some practice as well. We'll join you!" Sandy added, slinking over and wringing Juzo by his neck.

" W-why me as well?" He uttered, attempting to loosen her rock-solid grip.

" Because you need to bulk up more! What are you planning on doing if you ever get into a fight?" Sandy asked, refusing to budge.

Juzo thought about it for a moment. " Well...I'll just crush my opponent with my shadow hands."

" In the name of god..." He silently hummed to himself.

"...Well, that's all well and good, but it's always a good idea to diversify yourself, so you can always be prepared for any situation," Sandy said.

Deciding not to respond, Juzo simply tilted his eyes away in the opposite direction.

" Come on, guys!" Jaqueline blurted out. " Are we going or what?"

As she proceeded to pace over to the door, Esther began to move with her and followed her out, dragging her feet the entire way. At the same time, Sandy pulled Juzo across and out of the room, following the others from behind.

Every one of them left the room and followed the other through the hall and down the stairs, like a train of ants marching back to their colony.

" So, where did you guys want to go?" Jaqueline asked the others as she took her final step down and stopped in the middle of the lobby.

" Hmm, I don't know," Esther muttered, pausing in front of her. " Maybe we should go out of the city and train in the nearby woods."

" That sounds like a great idea!" Sandy said. " It'll be nice to get out of this city for a change!"

" Well then, let's do that!" Jaqueline exclaimed. The others nodded their heads in agreement.

Spinning forwards, right as she was about to take a step towards the front door, Jaqueline along with the others watched as, all of a sudden, a hooded individual who was just speaking to one of the staff turned and stopped right in front of them.

" M-Miss Jaqueline...Miss Esther...I f-finally managed to find you..." They nervously stuttered upon seeing them. Whoever they were, they wore a beaten and dusty shawl over a scratched-up suit of armor. There was something familiar about the armor's design, however, Jaqueline couldn't remember where she had seen it before.

Jaqueline glanced an eye back at the others as if she was asking if any of them knew who this was. They all half-shook their heads no in response. Glancing back up, as she was about to ask them who they were, Jaqueline held back her words as she and the others watched the mysterious stranger begin to remove their hood.