Chapter 104 - I WILL FINISH THIS ASSIGNMENT

Usually, as a Kairi, of course it was Kairi who would inform her protectors of the task and give them an assignment on what to do, however, in Tarsa's case this was an exception, because she too was an exception.

She needed more time to adept with this.

Never before had someone been appointed a Kairi because of a heart transplant. They were usually chosen because of their strong spiritual power, since a Kairi would be able to feel the power of another Kairi…

"What do you mean by not being the same as before?" asked Tarsa, she couldn't help but recall her meeting with a small child in the supermarket that she had visited with Raphael earlier.

"According to reports I received, they are much quieter, don't want to socialize and whenever asked where they went, they all say that they don't remember this," replied Raphael, he paused for a moment when a staff of the train came and offered a snack, which Raphael politely declined.

"How many children are missing?" Tarsa then took out her water bottle, but because it was too hard, she had trouble opening it.

Seeing that, Raphael was about to extend his hand when Damon quickly took the bottle from Tarsa's hand and opened it for her, still not saying anything.

"Thank you," Tarsa mumbled and drank her drink. She might still be annoyed with Damon, but still that didn't stop her from feeling a little happy that Damon took care of her down to the smallest details like this…

"There are about twenty children, from the last report I received," replied Raphael.

And after that Raphael gave a little detail about what happened, and it seemed that all cases relate to a small forest near a temple that was no longer in use, where all the children played there and eventually disappeared.

After this case, the area was finally closed and not allowed for anyone to pass through, not only that, the residents there also summoned someone with great spiritual power to find out what happened, but it was still a mystery, because no one knew what happened.

And the worse was; they couldn't find the person again when he entered the forest.

Therefore, Duvessa who was in the city of Ambarasi asked them to come and see what beings were actually there.

"Then, what should I do?" Tarsa asked, finally managing to ask the thing she was worried about. She felt herself not very useful to be in a place like that… what could someone like her really do?

"You don't need to worry Kairi Tarsa, you just need to be there and study the situation, if the situation gets out of hand, Damon will take you to a safe place." Raphael smiled to calm Tarsa down.

"Then what about you?" Tarsa asked because Raphael didn't mention where he would be.

"I will try to complete this task." Raphael didn't think that Tarsa would be able to complete this task perfectly on her first assignment and Damon, certainly, wouldn't leave her side.

Damon was certain that he would not leave Tarsa's side at all, but on the other hand, they had to complete this first assignment, therefore Raphael would volunteer to do it in Tarsa's place, considering that she still had a lot to learn.

Not only that, Raphael wasn't sure that Tarsa could complete her first assignment well. It was not that he underestimated the girl's abilities, but seeing how she was now and without knowing how to use her powers, of course that was just an honest assessment of his own.

It almost felt like leaving a blind person to find their path in new environment.

"But, we will not leave you alone against whatever creature we are going to face later, right?" Tarsa rejected Raphael's proposal. She felt it was unfair to leave Raphael like that. Weren't they supposed to fight the creature together?

It felt like something was wrong for Tarsa if she had to leave Raphael.

On the other hand, hearing Tarsa's statement, Raphael laughed softly. He had never met a Kairi like her.

Because the precious gait of a Kairi was a strong woman with the ability to know what to do. Even though it would be dangerous, but if it was for the best and the completion of a mission, they wouldn't hesitate to do anything.

By anything it meant they could be cruel and leave their protector to achieve their goal.

Therefore, Tarsa who was worried about Raphael's safety felt too soft for a Kairi to have such a heart.

"Thanks for worrying about me," Raphael said with his usual warm smile. "But really, I will be fine," he replied, trying to calm Tarsa while the girl stared at him in disbelief.

"Nothing bad will happen to him. He's strong," Damon said. "Your worry is unnecessary."

It's true that Damon's words sound a little harsh, but that's the truth. Tarsa shouldn't worry about her protector's safety because it's their job to protect her.

"But, still I won't agree if we leave him..." Tarsa muttered.

And after that and some explanations given by Raphael, and occasionally Damon would chime in, they finally finished with the details of this first assignment and would head to a rest house where the next day they would visit the small forest.

On the other hand, when Tarsa looked out her window, she saw that the sun was almost setting and the street lights were starting to come on.

This is quite a sight to behold, considering Tarsa really likes this pre- twilight serenity.

"You want to eat something?" Damon asked, interrupting her thoughts. "You have to take your medicine, you have to eat something." He confirmed his words, while giving the menu of the food that was there.

Tarsa looked thoughtful and flipped through the menu of food Damon had given her and chose some snack for her, as she wasn't very hungry.

After giving back the menu, the protector went to buy the food Tarsa wanted, leaving herself and Raphael alone.

"Are you guys making up?" Raphael asked when Damon had left. "I see that Damon seems a lot more reserved than usual."

Tarsa didn't know how to answer the question, or rather she didn't want to answer the question, because she was not sure herself. "We are fine," she replied.

In the end Tarsa chose the most diplomatic answer she could think of.

Raphael wanted to ask further, but seeing that Tarsa was reluctant to answer any other questions, he finally didn't say anything and just stayed silent.

The trip ended up being filled with silence because not long after Tarsa ate her food and took her medicine, she fell asleep. Feeling very tired.

Meanwhile, Raphael and Damon didn't speak to each other until one of them finally broke the silence.

"I saw the tree come back to life," Raphael said starting the conversation. Of course Damon understood which tree he was referring to. "Was Kairi Tarsa the one who did it?" he asked.

Damon glanced at Raphael for a moment before he nodded and confirmed that.

"Her power is truly extraordinary…" Raphael said that in a tone full of admiration. "I remember that the tree was first grown by Kairi Xierra and died when she died."

Hearing that, Damon didn't say anything, he just looked at Tarsa who was asleep in the seat beside him with her head drooping at her side, leaning against the hard train wall.

Slowly, Damon reached out his hand and pulled Tarsa's head to rest on his shoulder.

Seeing that, Raphael slightly frowned and said in a warning tone. "I hope you don't complicate things."

"I am not complicating things."

"You know what I mean." It was indeed there was no rule that a protector couldn't love the Kairi he's guarding, but that kind of emotional connection was very fragile and unprofessional.

"I'll take care of her." Damon confirmed this. "Even if I have to sacrifice my life and yours to keep her alive. Then I will do it."

Those words held a million meanings for Damon. Where he felt very sorry for having failed in his first duty to protect Xierra, and now he was determined not to repeat the same incident to Tarsa.

Whatever Damon's current reason was, he couldn't determine how he really felt about Tarsa.

"I knew you would do that," Raphael said quietly. "I will do the same."

"Hm," Damon mumbled in agreement.

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No one knew how long Tarsa had been asleep but, as soon as she woke up, the sun had set and they had arrived at their destination.

Damon then handed Tarsa a glass of mineral water for her to wet her throat and led her out of the carriage while Raphael carried her suitcase.

They had arrived at the town of Amabarsi and instantly Tarsa could sense something was different about the air in this place… something was bothering her and she didn't know what it was.

"We will head to the inn and you can rest later," Raphael told her.