Nightfall

Chapter 14: The Next Step

The journey back through the city took the remainder of the day due to Anya's unstable condition. I healed her physical injuries before we started the trek, but the fastest pace she would maintain was little more than a reluctant trudge through the forest. We weren't in a hurry and Ruby and I were not about to demand anything above or beyond what she was willing to give, so we just took our time on the return trip. When we finally got to the apartment it was around one in the morning.

We each picked a spot on Ruby's floor that night and crashed hard. Ruby was just as exhausted as we were, but James seemed completely unaffected by the day and went to his place to read while we fell asleep.

It was about midday by the time we all had regained consciousness, but since no one really had any plans it wasn't a big deal. We spent our day lounging around in what, for me, was a much needed break from the stressful weeks that had preceded the raid.

Ruby was happy to have her crystal and spent her time filling it with blood red aura while reading a book. Anya was thinking about her sister, and was curled up into the corner of the room like she was trying to shrink herself out of existence. I was the only one thinking of the future. I wanted to ask Anya about maybe teaming up with me and tackling some jobs, but with the way she was I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her, especially nothing work related. So, I wasted most of the day playing on my phone, but at some point I needed a break from the maddening silence and had to speak my mind.

At that point in the day Ruby had floated into the kitchen and was pushing aura into the crystal with one hand while eating popcorn out of a bag with the other. I sat down at the bar and watched her it for a few minutes. She had been at it all day but all she had to show for it was a light shade of pink. Eventually I grew tired of waiting for her attention and butted in, "Hey Ruby, I need to ask you something."

Ruby's eyes flickered up to me for a second then immediately went back to the gem, "What's up?"

"I'm just wondering what you think we should do next." I put my head on my hands. "We accomplished our mission, so what now? Should I go back to training or should I go on jobs?"

"I duuno, it's your choice."

"Well that's the problem! I have no idea what I should do. I haven't been here very long, but you have. So what do you think my next step should be?"

She set down the crystal on the granite countertop, sighed deeply, and looked me in the eyes, "Well first let me ask, do you still want to be a hunter like me?"

"Yeah. I do."

"Why?"

My breath caught in my throat at the sudden prying into my mind. "Uhm... I guess this sounds a little childish to say out loud, but I'm just ticked off that I got torn out of my world because of demons and want revenge. Being a hunter seems like the best way to do that."

"That's weak" she retorted sharply.

"Huh? What do you mean? How is that weak?"

"If you're just ticked off that you left your world then you obviously weren't that attached to it in the first place. Thus that motivation won't hold up when you need it most. And trust me, you will need a strong motivation."

"Well what am I supposed to do about that? Change who I am? That's about as strong of a motivation I have ever had in my life."

"Yes you very well might have to change parts of who you are to take on a task as big as the one you think you are ready to take on." She stared at me with a firmness in her eyes that I was entirely caught off guard by.