The night stretched on, conversation flowing as easily as the drinks. Shikamaru nursed his second beer methodically, his sharp eyes occasionally flicking between the three of us before returning to study the condensation on his glass.
After about an hour, he checked his watch and sighed.
"Well, this has been adequately non-troublesome," he said, sliding out of the booth. "But I have a gate run tomorrow afternoon."
"Already?" Miguel's eyebrows shot up. "Didn't you just clear one today?"
"Bills don't pay themselves." Something flickered across Shikamaru's face before disappearing completely. "Plus, this run makes it so I don't have to work for the rest of the month."
"Thanks for the assist today," I said, offering my hand.
He took it. "Wasn't planning to let you die. Too much paperwork."
We exchanged contact information, Shikamaru insisting on using an encrypted messaging app rather than standard texts. "Association monitors regular channels," he explained. "Troublesome privacy violations."
"Same time next month?" Tenten suggested.
Shikamaru pocketed his phone. "Maybe. If nothing more pressing comes up." He nodded to each of us, lingering a fraction longer on me. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"That leaves a lot of options," Tenten called after him.
He raised a hand in acknowledgment without turning around, weaving through tables toward the exit.
Miguel watched him leave, then turned back. "Is he always like that?"
"Pretty much," Tenten confirmed, sipping her third old fashioned. A soft flush had spread across her cheekbones. "But he's reliable when it counts."
Another round arrived. The bar had filled steadily throughout the evening, the ambient noise rising with the crowd. Miguel launched into another story about our construction site adventures, his animated gestures growing more expansive with each drink.
Tenten laughed at his description of Chuck's reaction to a collapsed scaffolding, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
She caught me looking and held my gaze for a beat too long before Miguel's voice broke the moment.
"—and then Xavier had to explain why there was cement in the—" He stopped mid-sentence, eyes darting between us. "You know what? I just remembered I've got that meeting at CHA-LA tomorrow morning. Hunter registration stuff."
Tenten tilted her head. "But the registration office doesn't open until—"
"Early appointment," Miguel interrupted, already standing. "Special circumstances for new awakenings and all that." He winked at me with all the subtlety of a neon sign. "Gotta get my beauty sleep."
"I can drive you," I offered, half-rising.
"Nah, I'm good. Already called a rideshare." He patted his pocket where his phone sat. "You two enjoy the rest of your night."
He clapped me on the shoulder. "See you at later, X-ray. Tenten, pleasure meeting you properly."
I watched him navigate toward the exit, noticing how he paused to give me an exaggerated thumbs-up when Tenten wasn't looking.
"Subtle," I muttered.
"What was that?" Tenten asked, leaning forward.
"Nothing." I settled back into the booth. "Miguel's just being Miguel."
She smiled, tracing the rim of her glass. "I like him. Genuine people are rare in the hunter world."
"He's one of a kind," I agreed.
With Miguel gone, the dynamic shifted. Tenten relaxed further into her seat, her professional demeanor softening around the edges. She ordered another round, waving away my attempt to pay.
"So," she said after our fresh drinks arrived, "you never answered Shikamaru's question properly."
"Which one?"
"Why you're hiding as a porter when you could be making real money as a hunter." She leaned her chin on her hand, studying me with alcohol-brightened eyes. "And don't give me that 'easing back in' line again."
I considered my options. The partial truth had worked well enough with Shikamaru.
"After my parents died, I became my sister's guardian." I rotated my glass slowly. "Hunter work is unpredictable. Dangerous. I couldn't risk leaving her alone."
Understanding dawned in Tenten's expression. "So you took stable work instead."
"Construction pays the bills. Porter jobs let me keep a foot in the door." I shrugged. "Noel's in college. Things are changing."
"Hence the spear today." She nodded to herself. "Getting back into practice."
"Something like that."
"Your sister must be special." There was no judgment in her voice, just observation. "To put your life on hold for her."
"She is." I found myself smiling slightly. "Brilliant. Stubborn. Sees right through me most of the time."
"Sounds like you two are close."
"We're all each other has."
Tenten raised her glass. "To siblings who make life worth fighting for."
I clinked my glass against hers, noticing how her movements had grown less precise. The alcohol was definitely hitting her now, her usual measured demeanor giving way to something more open, more animated.
"Why aren't you getting drunk?" she asked suddenly, narrowing her eyes at me. "I've seen you drink as much as me."
I remembered the Detoxification ability Arcan had activated early on, automatically neutralizing toxins—including alcohol.
"Heavy tolerance," I said, tapping my chest. "Family trait."
She pouted, an expression so at odds with her usual composure that I had to suppress a smile. "Not fair. I'm getting sloppy and you're still..." She waved a hand at me. "All together."
"All together?"
"You know." She gestured vaguely. "Put together. Composed. Pretty."
"Pretty?"
A blush deepened the alcohol-induced flush on her cheeks. "Handsome. Whatever." She rubbed her glass with her thumb, avoiding my eyes. "Not fair."
"If it helps, you hold your liquor better than most people I know."
"I'm Chinese-American. We have drinking traditions." She straightened her posture as if to demonstrate, then immediately softened again. "But I'm definitely feeling it now."
When the bill arrived, Tenten insisted on paying, batting away my hand when I reached for my wallet.
"My invitation, my treat," she declared, counting out cash.
"At least let me cover the tip."
"Nope." She slid more bills onto the tray. "I make good money selling weapons to idiots who don't know how to use them. Let me spend it on someone who actually has technique."
Outside, the night air was cool against my skin. Tenten swayed slightly beside me, instinctively stepping closer to my warmth. Downtown Los Angeles pulsed around us, the normal world continuing its rhythm oblivious to the hunters in its midst.
"I should get you home," I said.
"Not yet." She touched my arm lightly. "Let's walk a bit? It's a nice night."
We ended up at a small park a few blocks away, claiming a bench overlooking a decorative pond. City lights reflected off the water's surface, creating rippling patterns of color. Tenten kicked off her heels, tucking her feet beneath her on the bench.
"Tell me something," she said, her voice softer now. "Do you like it? The hunting?"
I watched the light play across the water. "Parts of it."
"Which parts?"
"The clarity." The answer came more easily than I expected. "In a gate, everything simplifies. Survive. Complete the mission. Protect your team. The rest of the world falls away."
She nodded slowly. "That's exactly it. People think it's about the thrill or the money, but it's..."
"The purpose," I finished.
"Yes." She looked at me with newfound intensity. "My guild doesn't understand that. They think because I'm female, I must be in it for the status or the paycheck. They keep me on perimeter duty, support roles."
"Despite your skills."
"I've cleared more targets in training simulations than half their frontline team." Frustration colored her voice. "But tradition says women don't lead assault teams."
"Their loss."
She snorted. "Try telling that to the guild leader. Man hasn't changed his views since the Tang Dynasty."
"What keeps you there?"
"Stubbornness, mostly." She traced patterns on the bench between us. "I want to prove I can succeed even in their broken system. And when I do..." A fierce smile crossed her face. "I'll use that success to change things. Build something better."
"Your own guild?"
"Maybe. Or a specialized team. Quality over quantity." She glanced at me. "Hunters who respect skill regardless of gender or background."
I nodded, letting her continue.
"My parents think I'm crazy for staying. They want me to join one of the progressive guilds, maybe even Phoenix Imperium. But that feels like giving up." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm wasting time trying to change something so resistant to change."
I didn't offer solutions or platitudes, recognizing she wasn't asking for them. Instead, I listened as she elaborated on her experiences, the small victories and frustrating setbacks. The alcohol had loosened something in her—not just her inhibitions, but a dam of thoughts she normally kept contained.
Eventually, she fell silent, looking out over the water. Then, without warning, she reached toward my head.
"Is it real?" she asked, fingers hovering near my hair.
"What?"
"Your hair. It's..." She hesitated, then completed the motion, gently touching a strand near my temple. "White as snow. And it looks so soft."
Her fingers were warm against my scalp, the touch sending an unexpected current down my spine.
"It's real," I confirmed, my voice getting deeper. "Born this way."
"Huh." She moved her fingers through it, expression fascinated. "It is soft."
Her face was inches from mine now, those steel-gray eyes studying me with drunk intensity.
"You're not what I expected," she said quietly.
"What did you expect?"
"I don't know. Not this." Her hand dropped from my hair to rest lightly on my shoulder. "Not someone who listens. Who understands."
I knew I should pull back, maintain distance. I had plans, ambitions that didn't include complications. And yet I couldn't deny the pull I felt toward her—not just physical attraction, but something deeper. A recognition of kindred spirit.
"Tenten," I said softly.
"Yes?"
I could see the question in her eyes, the invitation. It would be so easy to close the distance between us, to give in to what we both clearly wanted in this moment.
Instead, I took her hand gently from my shoulder, holding it.
"It's getting late. I should get you home safely."
Disappointment flickered across her face, quickly masked by understanding. "Right. Of course." She slipped her feet back into her heels, gathering her composure. "Wouldn't want to do anything we might regret."
"It's not that," I said, meaning it.
"Then what is it?" Her directness hadn't been diluted by the alcohol.
I searched for words that wouldn't reveal too much while still offering some truth. "I'm not in a position to offer anything substantial right now. My life is... complicated."
"I'm not asking for complicated." She stood, smoothing her dress. "Sometimes simple is enough."
The statement hung between us, loaded with implication. I rose to stand beside her, close enough to feel her warmth, far enough to maintain distance.
"Let me call you a ride," I said finally.
She nodded. "Probably for the best."
I was a greedy hunter at heart. Single-minded in my pursuit. Relationships were liabilities, distractions from the path.
Even so, when the rideshare arrived and Tenten looked back at me one last time, I couldn't help wondering what I was truly sacrificing.
"See you around, Xavier Valentine," she said, a small smile on her lips despite the earlier rejection.
"Count on it," I replied, watching as the car pulled away, carrying with it possibilities I wasn't ready to explore—not yet, anyway.
Not until I was strong enough.
End of volume 1.