--- [Alex’s perspective] Almost midnight, on the day of the meeting

  Where is she?!

  She should have been here by now!

  Did something happen to her?

  Argh!

  Where are you!?

  “It’s getting late…” – Isaac

  “I know, but don’t worry, she’ll be here any minute now. Trust me.” – Alex

  “I… I don’t know, man. Are you sure you can trust them? They are members of The END after all…” – Isaac

  Honestly, I don’t know…

  I’d like to think so, but…

  “I’m positive. You have nothing to worry about. They’re just running a little late, that’s all.” – Alex

  Come on!

  Come back already!

  I really don’t want to let him down, not after giving him so much hope…

  “I can’t trust them, not after what they’ve done… But I’ll put my trust in you, Alex. I sincerely hope you’re right…” – Isaac

  I can tell he’s getting anxious, even more than me…

  How can I get him to calm down?

  “Do you remember Leanne?” – Alex

  “Leanne? As in Leanne Aqua, or…?” – Isaac

  “Right. She was host of the D-rank exam we both took. She’s the one that’s coming back with Gael any moment now.” – Alex

  “Wow… I never thought she’d be one of them…” – Isaac

  “You and me both… She had been the host for every single hunter exam I’d ever taken. I was starting to think she was just the one responsible for exams, or that maybe it was just a coincidence, but no, neither of those were true. All this time, she had been watching over me. Whenever she found out I was about to partake in an exam, she made sure she was host.” – Alex

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Why?” – Isaac

  “To protect me. Exams aren’t any less deadly than real missions, so she wanted to make sure I was safe.” – Alex

  “Why would she do that? Are you somehow related?” – Isaac

  “No, I… I’m…” – Alex

  I can’t tell him…

  Me being the Emperor’s son is top secret; even I didn’t know until recently…

  It’s not that I don’t trust him, but if I tell him, and he tells someone he thinks he can trust, it could very quickly spread.

  If it ever goes public, I have no idea what the repercussions might be…

  Besides, I have no idea how he might react to finding out.

  Telling him the truth will just make more trouble than it’s worth.

  “Anyways, we can trust her. She kept me safe for years, so we know she’s a good person. She’s a B-rank hunter, so we know she has the means to bring him back. And she wants something from me more than anything else in the world, and the only way to get that is by upholding her end of the deal, so we know she’s trustworthy. She’s a good person, she has the means, and she’s trustworthy. She’ll be here soon.” – Alex

  “If you say so…” – Isaac

  He knows I dodged the question, but he isn’t pressing me for an answer.

  He’s clearly aware of when to let things go…

  “Have you thought about how you’ll react when you see him?” – Alex

  He locks his eyes onto the horizon.

  “Strangely enough, no. Every time I picture him, I just get so… Angry. I can’t keep my thoughts straight. I have no idea how I’ll react, no idea what I’ll say, and no idea what I’ll do. Will I lash out at him? Will I get cold feet? Will I ask why he did it? Will I break down in tears? I don’t know… Only time will tell, I suppose.” – Isaac

  I get it…

  He’s been through things nobody should ever have to go through.

  He was backstabbed by his closest friend and lost the person who he loved the most.

  It’s horrible…

  …

  “You should know that no matter how you react, I understand, and I support you. You will get your revenge, Isaac. We both will.” – Alex

  “Damn right.” – Isaac

  Suddenly, Isaac’s stomach starts rumbling.

  “Hungry?” – Alex

  “A little.” – Isaac

  We’ve been eagerly waiting for Leanne to return for a while now, so we haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast.

  He’ll be fighting soon, and he should be in peak condition for it.

  Now’s not the time to be running on an empty stomach.

  “Go take a bite while you still can, they could show up any second now.” – Alex

  We only packed a week’s worth of food, so we’re starting to run a little low.

  There’s more than enough for him if I skip this meal though.

  I start rummaging through my bag, looking for whatever is left.

  “Here, take this. You’ll need as much as you can get.” – Alex

  He grabs it and immediately starts shoveling everything that’s left into his mouth.

  Earlier he seemed very unsure of whether he believed me when I said Leanne would be returning, so I doubt he’s eating so quickly because he fears they’ll be back soon.

  He’s probably a lot hungrier than he lets on…

  Now that I think about it, he hasn’t eaten much these past few days.

  The nerves must be getting to him…

  Wait…

  What’s that?

  I see something…

  !!

  “Look!” – Alex

  From the horizon, I see two people rapidly approaching.

  I can’t quite make them out, but that must be Leanne and Gael!

  “…” – Isaac

  He puts the food down, and takes a deep breath.

  It’s happening.

  Mere seconds later, they arrive…

  “Sorry for being so late! We were just about to leave whe-” – Leanne

  I put my hand on her shoulder, and she shuts up.

  Whatever she had to say, it’s not important anymore.

  We take a few steps back, and let them do their thing.

  “Hey… Uhm… How have you been?” – Gael