Izuocha's Love Stories

MISSING (CHAPTERS 7-8)

CHAPTER SEVEN

The crowd was building at the edge of the plaza, just in front of the glass face of the office skyscraper. District officials were huddled at the top of the concrete stairs waiting to address the people. The chatter filled the air along with the familiar sound of traffic and Uravity found herself opposite the commotion in the back gardens. The contractors had done such a beautiful job, she thought to herself. She could remember what the area had looked like from an earlier patrol route – cracked, out-of-date, and bare. Now, there were summer flowers in full bloom densely packed into opulent flower boxes and monuments erected in the names of heroes long gone. It almost felt like a pleasant cemetery, surrounded in a labyrinth of green and cobblestone. Despite being in the middle of a city, it was quiet here. The voices of the crowd were hushed through the topiaries.

"So...why'd we run off like that?" Krow's voice penetrated Uravity's calm as he caught up with her on foot. "It looked like Deku needed to tell you something!"

"We didn't run," Uravity corrected him, ignoring the second part.

He gave her a look. "You know what I mean."

"We're in a pair, we are where we need to be, everything is going according to plan."

She knew she was being absent as she stepped away from him as he sighed in frustration. Her hands had found each other in front of her waist and she looked away, doing her best to be on high alert. A lot of things were riding on today – her promotion, her life, her sanity. Pyromancer would show and she would capture him. That's how it had to go, but the more she considered it, the more absurd it sounded. This was her fight, and yet it seemed impossible. She had been working since day one to be an independent hero, an independent person, but that seemed to all be falling apart at once. She didn't want to need anyone, but here she was, unable to finish a task assigned to her. Unable to go on alone as intended.

She fiddled with the panic button she had been given that morning. It wouldn't allow for fluid communication between the teams, but it could notify everyone once Pyromancer was spotted. In case Pyromancer noticed it, it was at least something he could destroy without taking an ear with it. The damn thing only drove it home that Uravity was at a disadvantage. That she couldn't do this on her own and all those years of training amounted to naught.

Krow lingered behind her, and she could feel his concern burning a hole through her back. He sniffed the air and shrugged. "You all right over there? You seem to be going through some shit again."

"It's fine, Krow. I'm fine," she lied.

Krow put himself in front of her. "No, you're not. Let's hash it out before the big boy gets here."

"There's nothing to hash out," Uravity denied as she walked past him. What would talking do anyway?

"Now you're just being extra. C'mon! I know you're taking me for a ride here," Krow pleaded.

She kept walking as he skipped along, complaining. "Keeping things from your partner isn't cool."

Uravity stopped and turned around to give him a playfully exasperated look. "Oh, I'm sure you'd know all about that."

Krow cracked a grin and laughed. "Oof. Oof! You got me there! Maybe when you're truthful with me, I'll return the favor."

"Sounds good. Not now, though. This is no time for stories," Uravity started walking again, down a path through the maze.

The crowd erupted into cheers and whistles and a voice could be heard droning over a microphone. The ceremony was starting and Uravity could feel the pit in her stomach sink further. This was so irresponsible of the owner. She grit her teeth. Whether she was there or not, Pyromancer was bringing this building down today, or some day. Attracting all these people here was stupid, at best. But she guessed that they just couldn't live in fear. The ceremony would go on. Life would go on. Still, she was nervous. A fight was coming.