The Hunter Is Hunted | 𝙂𝙀𝙉𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙉 𝙄𝙈𝙋𝘼𝘾𝙏

ch. 4

(AKADEMIYA DAYS)

     "BONJOUR, MONSIEUR SÉRIEUX!"

(NAME) GREETED, hanging upside down the tree trunk while smiling at the Haravatat scholar. Al-Haitham chuckled before taking her fallen hat from the mossy ground. He's aware she's stalking him but unaware of the fact she only does it due to his mysterious nature and nothing else...

     "Good morning, (Name). What are you doing here?" He asked, sipping his coffee while staring at her figure. "Aren't you supposed to be inside the Akademiya?"

     She laughed, "Don't be bête (silly), monsieur! I'm still a free-willed individual," she said. "I see that you're reading the same book as yesterday. Ways on how to learn basic french... Are you interested in learning french? I could teach you instead!"

     He coughed before hiding the book, "No need, but thank you for the offer. I'm capable by myself, (Name)," he declined. He stood up while placing the hat above his head, "I need to go now. Mind if I take this hat from you for a while?"

     "C'est d'accord (it's alright), monsieur! I'll take it after our class—"

     "(Name), where are you?!" A familiar voice appeared, searching for the huntress. There a familiar blonde-haired appeared, his red eyes staring back at Ms. Hunt, "God! I finally found you, (Name)! We still need to fix your paper about the culture of Fontaine. Let's go now!" KAVEH grumbled, grabbing her wrist.

     "Supérieur égocentrique, bonjour!" She greeted, smiling brightly at her senior Kaveh. "I thought I was done with my thesis. Are you sure I still need to fix it?" She asked, scratching her cheek.

     "Absolutely, (Name). Come on now, you need to submit it before the day after tomorrow!" He replied with impatience lasing in his voice. He brushed her hair, "Goodness... Stop hiding in trees. I'm sure Vil would be mad if he saw you ruined your make-up."

     The huntress chuckled at the Kshahrewar scholar, "Roi de Poisons wouldn't be mad at you after all." She teased, poking his chest. "He'll understand."

(Name) is a scholar in Spantamad, one of the Six Darshans, and one of the main schools in Sumeru Akademiya. She focuses on Ley lines, alchemy, and the elements known in Tevyat. She would casually join the Kshahrewar due to their research related to technology and architecture. That explains why Kaveh would bring her to his school at times...

     "Hm... She got taken away again, isn't she?" A familiar white-haired male appeared behind the tree she was in earlier, his back against the tree. "Poor Al-Haitham. His little huntress got taken away from him."

     The gray-headed male turned his head, "Her thesis was done, right? And you purposely destroyed it and blamed it on someone else," he remarked and earned a chuckle from General Mahamatra.

     "Keen as ever."

Of the two, Al-Haitham is the lovesick one towards (Name). His action defy his real feelings, while Cyno was the low-key admirer hiding in the shadows. Blinded with obsession, he sometimes doesn't mind her presence around him and would love to hear her native tongue. He specifically considered trying to learn french to understand some of her difficult words...

     "You thought she'll be yours, General Mahamatra?" The scholar asked, mocking Cyno. "Destroying her thesis won't help you take her heart."

     Cyno charged his polearm, "Shut your mouth. Pretty rich coming from someone like you," he hissed. "Stalking her mutually won't do anything special."

-

     "MHMM..."

THE HUNTRESS hummed, tying her vision around her thighs. It was midnight and she was currently in the dark woods of Avidya. She was supposed to be sticking with her fellow scholars, but she purposely left them to take a stroll in the dangerous forest. She then heard a soft crunch of leaves nearby, making her turn her head...

     '... This isn't any of my fellow schoolmates,' she told herself and took her bow to search for who was nearby. Her soundless footsteps creep into the dark, "Hm?"

The smell of the mysterious person was a strong, yet expensive perfume. Sitting within the tree branch, her sight on the person responsible for the perfume was an attractive black-haired male. His eyes were hidden behind his specs as he smiled at his subordinates. If she's not mistaken, this is the 9th among the 11 Harbingers who go by the name PANTALONE or THE REGRATOR...

     "300... 400... 500 million mora," he chuckled while counting his cheque. "Is this enough for the knowledge capsules I want?" He asked his client.

     "Add 100 more million," his client demanded.

     Pantalone's smiling facade turned into a crestfallen one, "Is that so?" He uttered before pulling out another cheque. "Here—"

     "Non, non!" (Name) interrupted, alerting the Fatui who raised their weapons at her. "Don't give the money to him, Monsieur Riche! I believe he's a schemer from the land of Contracts... Now, monsieur, these knowledge capsules he was gonna give are fake."

     The Regrator chuckled deeply, staring at the beautiful huntress in front of him, "Is that so?" He asked, earning a terrified client and a satisfied huntress. "Very well. Get rid of him," he ordered.

     "WAIT, REGRATOR! SHE'S LYING! PLEASE SPARE ME!" The client yelled, kicking his legs as the Anemo boxers took him away. "YOU! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, YOU BITCH! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS!"

     (Name) placed a hand against her lips, "Such vulgar words..." She commented. She then bowed in front of the Harbinger, "Forgive me for interrupting your transaction. I didn't mean to interfere with a such private conversation of the respected Fatui Harbinger," she apologized.

     He smiled at her taking her gloved hand, "It's alright. You've saved such big money being taken from me after all," he placed her knuckles against his lips. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hunt."

(Name) was taken back that he's aware of her identity as if he's aware she's gonna save his life from the schemer. Pantalone, on the other hand, was honored he finally have a chance to meet the infamous huntress of Sumeru...

     "Honored to meet you too, Monsieur Riche," she smiled. "I'm afraid I should be taking my leave now—"

     "Нет, нет (no, no)! Stay for now," he tightly gripped her hand. "I haven't finished giving my thanks to you, моя любовь (my love)! Let us enjoy the night..."

     She couldn't refuse since it was a bad omen, "If you say so, monsieur..." She chuckled nervously, confused about what his Russian words meant.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

ルーク