The Hope Of The Three (Book 2 of the Hidden Trilogy)

Chapter Thirty: Sorry

Tsuki
(ATH)

"What the heck Kaito?" I spat. "What did you do?!"

"I'm sorry." Kaito's head was in his hands.

"Why would you betray us? I know Aswa was your friend and all, but what did he offer you?" I seethed, absolutely shocked as to why he would do something like that.

"Tsuki, you don't understand!" Kaito said, lifting his face.

"What?" I demanded.

"I wanted to save you." His words left silence hanging in the air. "I never really connected with anyone else so I wanted to save you at the very least." I took a deep breath. 

"That may be so, but I still don't get what could be so important that you would betray Eliana's trust." I sat down next to him. 

"Look, Tsuki, Aswa had been my friend for a long time."

"Yes, I know. But now Eliana will never trust you. You've never really connected with anyone here."

"I don't care what Eliana thinks." Kaito grasped my hands desperately. His hands were cold as ice- colder than mine. "I only care about you. So what if the world were destroyed? As long as you lived, I'd be happy." I swallowed, gently pulling my hands away. 

"But they're my friends now, Kaito. None of them will ever be more important than you, but they are important to the world."

"I know I'm being selfish." Kaito sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I made a stupid mistake. What do I do now?" I bit my lip. I wasn't mad at him anymore, but my chest ached. I knew he would never again be able to cross the gulf that now separated us.

"I don't know, Kaito. I love you and all, but now it gets complicated." I tucked my knees under my chin. 

"I get it. Do you think I should leave?" He stood, taking a step back. I flew forwards after him desperately, grabbing his arm.

"Wait! No, don't go!" I shouted. Then I recoiled. What was I doing? I may love Kaito, but if Aswa used him to find out where we were... "Maybe I can talk to them?" I whispered. "Yeah, I'll do that." I stood quickly, grabbing Kaito and starting to run, not caring what he said. I couldn't dwell on his mistakes. After all, we'd all made errors in our journey. I burst into camp. Everyone stared at me, then Kaito. Eliana furrowed her eyebrows but said nothing. 

"Eliana, Alena, Umair, Rayn... Please forgive Kaito. He did it for me." I gasped. Behind me, Kaito bowed his head- a form of formal apology. 

"I'm really sorry.... I was selfish." He walked up to Eliana, who flinched. Umair stood behind her silently, but I could tell he was tense. "Eliana, will you ever forgive me? I'm sorry that I had rudely dragged you along with me." Kaito bowed lower, bending at his waist. 

"Why did you do it?" Eliana's voice cracked a little.

"I... I just wanted to protect the person that I love." Kaito's shoulders trembled a little. I'd never seen him so apologetic for anything. "I was friends with Aswa a long time ago, and he used to speak very highly of you. I'm sorry that I did this to you..." Eliana was unsure, the corners of her lip twitching as she decided what to say. 

"Alright." She smiled slightly. "After all, we all make mistakes..." I let out a sigh of relief and Kaito stood up straight. 

"She may have forgiven you, but I haven't," Umair said steely, breaking the aura of relief that had been there a second ago. Eliana turned, eyes wide with surprise. Umair stepped closer to Kaito. 

"You know, I used to like you a lot up until now. But we can still be friends..." Umair spoke calmly. Kaito smiled a little. "But if you dare to hurt Eli in any way, I will personally decapitate you and send you to Aswa." Kaito nodded, not seeming fazed by the threat.

"You can try." He shrugged. I smiled. Kaito had never actually shown anyone his powers, but it would be interesting to see. 

"Sure," Umair smirked. 

"Wait... You guys are gonna spar-now?!" Eliana hurried over to me, trying to get out of the way.

Umair quickly drew his spear and spread his legs evenly. Rayn sorta gasped and Alena had to drag him out of the two guys way. 

"if you beat me, I'll forgive you," Umair smirked.

"If you beat me... I'll cook you the best dinner you've ever had as an apology." Kaito replied. At that point I sorta wanted him to lose. I sure would like some of his cooking. 

Umair charged and swung his spear with a series of masterful attacks. Kaito jumped to the side and closed his eyes. Umair flipped and suddenly froze, his eyes widening. His face turned red as a tomato. I could only guess what image Kaito had projected into his mind.

Kaito took the opportunity to undercut him in the jaw. Umair recoiled and shook his head, his blush fading. 

"What was that, man?!" He demanded, his voice embarrassed. Kaito grinned. 

"Who knows?" He shrugged. Umair glanced at Eliana who gave him a thumbs up. He roundhouse kicked Kaito in the stomach, sending him flying into a tree. Kaito recovered slowly, as Umair came at him with his spear. Kaito again closed his eyes, and out of nowhere, and hog-like animal rushed out of the forest and carried Umair off by its tusks. Umair managed to stab the creature, who shrieked and dropped him. He rolled and came up, just as Kaito pushed his foot in his face. Umair went flying. Right towards us. 

Too late, Eliana couldn't dive out of the way. 

Umair landed squarely on her, knocking her over so that he landed on her back. 

"I win," Kaito smirked.