(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 85

Michael stuffed his hands into his pocket as he slunk out of the foyer. Then, he'd stopped dead in his tracks as he felt a familiar presence. Standing by the entrance was, to his surprise, Laisha. She stood against the wall, with her hands behind her back, studying her black, heeled boots. Her dark, curly hair was tied away from her face. Curious, he stood beside her and pulled his book from behind him and began reading.

After a moment, Laisha looked over to him. "You're the guy from Sakura's team."

"Yeah. I'm Michael."

"Laisha. What are you doing out here?"

Michael pulled the cork from the bottle. "I decided to come get some air to clear my thoughts." He took a drink before presenting the bottle to her. "What about you?"

She waved the offer off with a caramel-colored hand. "Same."

Silence passed over them for a moment. Michael put his nose back in his book, while Laisha continued to study her boots. She eventually dug into the pockets of her black dress with violet ruffles at the bottom, and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. Noticing this, Michael asked, "You smoke?"

"Occasionally. I cut back a few months ago after my grandmother's passing."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks. Don't get into the habit. It's horrible for you." She lit up a cigarette and took a drag from it.

"So I've been told. My boss doesn't allow me to get close to them."

"That must be some boss." She blew out smoke as she said, "Or one heck of a job. Aren't you too young to work?

"For my boss? No. He's an... international worker, so labor laws doesn't really apply to him... I think."

"What do you do?"

"Right now, I'm protecting someone until he finishes his job. But after he does that, I'll be come... sort of a mercenary."

"A mercenary that doesn't smoke?"

"Yeah. My boss hates them. They make his job a lot busier."

"So what, is he like an undertaker?"

"Close. He's Death."

Laisha's eyes widened for a second before she began coughing violently; puffs of smoke billowed from her mouth with each cough. Michael patted her back as she tried to regain her composure. "You mean Death, as in the Grim Reaper?" she managed with a strained voice.

"That's one of his aliases, yes. I assume you believe me?"

Laisha cleared her throat before she said, "If it wasn't for your strange presence, then I wouldn't. Does that mean your training to be evil?"

"No. That's actually a common misconception, and Death really hates it. He's not really good nor evil. He's just a person that does what's needed. Besides, if he really was evil, would he guide wrong-doers to the afterlife, or would he just let them live."

"You've got a good point. So, why did you tell me that Death was your boss, anyways? I mean, wouldn't that be a secret or something?"

Michael scoffed. "And who would believe me?"

"Another good point." She put out the cigarette on the bottom of her booth. "Well, I've got to go get prepared for the second part of the test. It was a pleasure meeting you, Michael."

"Likewise."

~~~~~

A little under thirty minutes later, Megumi was getting restless. She rested her chin on her hands, with her ear buds blaring rock music. The empty bottle of carbonated nectar sat beside her. She had finished the drink seconds after she'd gotten it. The rest of her group hadn't even gotten halfway done. Kim was sitting next to Dre. The two of them were talking softly and laughing among each other, their hands clasped underneath the table. Rose was drawing in her sketch book, with Keiko looking over her shoulder with a finger placed on her bottom lip. Michael, who returned a few minutes after he left, was reading out of a small, white book with what looked like a ninja on the cover, decorated in purple spirals. Ian was twirling a pencil through his fingers, looking boldly at the Kurai Elite invitation.