Out of Sight

“You know, it’s kinda strange.” At the sound of her companion’s statement, Lin looked to her left with a quiet ‘hmm?’ in acknowledgement.

“About Tian Lang.” There was a brief pause, as if they were trying to come up with the proper words to explain their intent before they continued. “He always stated that he’s not really close to anyone, y’know?”

“Well, that’s how the Manager has always been.”

“I can kinda tell… But…” There it was again, the hesitant and unsure tone coming out of the foreign Executor’s voice. Lin stopped, turning to her side as she fully commits to whatever her friend was struggling to say.

“He’s rather close to that, uhh, what did you guys call her? Executor-Substitute-T-Trainee…?”

“Trooper. It’s Executor-Substitute-Trooper.” With a sigh as if the question was something also on her mind, Lin continued. “And you are quite right. The Manager and Part-Timer are something else…”

“So…?”

“They’re… How can I say it... Rather dense.” She shook her head as if changing her mind. “No, rather than dense, I’d say, they’re keeping at arm’s length. Tian Lang in particular…”

“But why? That doesn’t make any sense…”

“I can kinda understand why.” Lin turned around, her eyes staring at the glowing city of Mirroria. “You know of his true identity, right? He’s quite special, especially among the higher ups. A lot of not quite good-hearted people would like to grasp at his… weakness.”

Silence engulfed the two as realization hit the foreigner.

“You mean…!”

“That’s probably in Tian Lang’s case. I’m quite sure that’s also partly why Stella won’t fully commit to being an Executor.” Lin sighed, as she thought about her two fellow protectors of the city. The Wanderer scratched their head, feeling a bit dumbfounded at the rather tense situation surrounding their fellow Executors. Suddenly, Lin turned her head sharply to her right, her eyes following a rather rambunctious group as she alerted her companion with a silent sign to follow.

They followed the group to a silent alleyway, their loud guffaws were rather hard to miss. The two quietly shadowed as they peered their ears to grasp whatever foolish antics the suspicious group were up to.

“I can’t believe you actually did that!”

“You have balls of steel!”

“It wasn’t that bad.” The one in yellow stated as Lin recognized him to be one of the soldiers vying for an Executor promotion. “So, I asked for a date and got her to agree. Easy man!”

“Yeah, that part was easy. It’s canceling on her on April Fools that's hard!”

“Yeah bro, what if she snitches on you? What about your promotion?”

“Nah, she’s not even a real Executor. Just some fancy title and meaningless position.” At first, Lin wasn’t about to get involved in another person’s affairs but hearing their description, she faltered.

There’s only one person in Mirroria that’s been given that mocking moniker.

As Lin was about to step in, a shadow blurred past her and the Wanderer and silently landed behind the group. White hair with mismatched eyes and a serene smile greeted the startled men. He crouched down and picked up the cracked potted plant before turning to the group.

“Ah, this little one needs more space, if you all don’t mind?” The group sighed in relief upon seeing Mirroria’s resident plant enthusiast and manager. They all greeted him and stepped away from the alley in hushed tones as they walked past the calm observing duo. Lin turned around and nodded at him as her eyebrow quirked at the obvious anger the man was holding back.

For someone like the Wanderer, Tian Lang is still the same calm, cool, collected, and serenely smiling man that they first met. For Lin, who’s known him for as long as Stella did…

‘Oh? They managed to anger District Seven’s Strongest and Mirroria’s Ace-In-The-Hole?’

“That man, hmm… Wasn’t he under Captain Saki Fuwa as well?” He asked in a contemplating tone, “Well, perhaps he’d be honored to be a part of the next expedition to the Confounding Abyss.” With a serene smile, he turned to the Wanderer, as if the next statement was directed at them as an order.

“Make sure she gets the memo, alright? I’m sure we’ll need capable future Executors like him so it’s best to have his exam be in a challenging environment.” With also an acknowledging nod at Lin, the man stepped back into the light and headed towards the center. With him leaving, the Wanderer’s eyes widened as looked towards Lin, as if asking her ‘what the hell just happened?’ Seeing the question practically scream at their eyes, Mirroria’s idol quietly laughed as shew explained everything in one sentence.

“That, is what happens when you make District Seven’s Strongest mad. That’s also why he won’t tell her.” She sadly shook her head as she explained further.

“If they’re together, more incidents like this would happen behind his back. He’s banking on people not knowing how much he cares for her to strike back quietly like this.”