Line Hunters

13. Ian vs Haven

The first to make a move was Haven, charging at Ian the moment the battle began. The boy managed to dodge, but Haven didn't stall and instead aimed for another blow, and another, continuously lunging at Ian and swinging her arms to strike him. Ian's expression was tense as he attempted to avoid getting hit, feeling a little agitated for being forced to dodge and move so much. Haven saw Ian's tensity and smirked, growing confident.

"Is he even going to attack?"

Terry glanced at the speaker, also wondering the same thing as the rest, and looked back to the combat. To everyone's eyes, it appeared as though Haven had the upper hand and would win against Ian soon, but among a handful of others, Terry thought Ian was holding up rather well. Although it was Haven attacking, her movements were recklessly harsh and unbalanced, not yet once realizing why she was more likely to step out of the line than Ian.

What is he doing? Why hasn't he attacked yet? It'll be so easy, all he has to do is push her... Torikou dropped the bag of chips he finished, licking his fingers to get the most out of the salty flavor, and pulled out another bag of chips, this time with a grape soda.

The pride in Haven quickly turned to annoyance when she still couldn't manage to even touch Ian's clothes after a few minutes, despite coming close on several occasions. She was also frustrated with Ian because he had yet to attack her even though he was avoiding her well.

"Hey! Why aren't you fighting back? Are you just going to run away like a coward?" Haven sneered.

The boy didn't answer, seemingly focused, and that fueled Haven's anger.

"This is boring..." someone muttered.

"Did that guy say fifteen minutes? I'm going to be stuck here forever at this point."

...Boring? Ian stepped to the side, using his arms to block Haven's attacking arm, and finally made his first contact, striking Haven's chin.

"Haha! About time!"

"Tch, what a weak punch."

Ow. Ian ignored the slight pain in his hands and focused back on Haven. He was disappointed Haven looked unaffected, instead more impacted by the surprise of Ian's move than the hit itself.

"You're pathetic," Haven said.

"Me?" Ian went under her arm and kicked her calf. "How so?"

The girl scoffed. "You need it to be explained? Well, aren't you an idiot too?"

At this moment, Ian realized Haven had not once used her spiritual powers. He could surprise her by using his while she lingered near the line.

What is he thinking? Haven found the boy's neutralness irritating and him too much like a doll. Remembering he was here to become a Line Hunter made her angry—how could someone like him even think about it? He couldn't even fight! But what was more frustrating was that Ian wasn't any easier to take down.

Once Haven made her move and they were both near the line, a light green energy burst from Ian's left palm and he aimed it at Haven—but out of luck, she stayed within the lines and quickly backed away. Ian lightly frowned. This was his mistake, taking too much time to think. A couple more moves like that followed.

"Time's up," Torikou said.

"Neither won nor lost," someone mumbled.

"Darn it!" Haven scowled. She couldn't even beat someone her own age.

"That was quick," Ian said, standing back straight up. He glanced up at the scrawny guide.

"You can continue fighting, but with weights," Torikou said.

"Ok." Ian walked back down the platform and went over to Terry and Triton.

"You did alright, kid," Terry said, hitting his back. "But you must get serious from now on, especially for your next round."

"I want to fight!" Triton exclaimed.

"Haha! That's the spirit!"

"The next round's starting..." a person standing near them said, pointing to the raised platform.

Everyone's attention turned to the next opponents who had striking appearances and were making their way up. One was a tall man wearing a suit and a tall hat, and the other, was a teen girl with a cold expression and her hair color in two halves: her right half purple and her left half pink.

"Begin," Torikou said.

"This round's mine, good luck on the next one!" the hat man said, immediately lunging at the girl at full speed.

However, as the onlookers were expecting the man to get a direct hit on the girl, there was an explosion—they assumed it was from the man's hit—that covered the entire platform. Once the fog cleared, the contestants saw the girl was still standing, unscathed, but the man was nowhere to be found.

"Look, he's over there!" someone shouted, pointing to the wall opposite of where the girl stood.

There was a gasp that followed when they saw that not only was the man out of the lines, but he was also unconscious as his body stuck to the wall that had a dent in it. Eyes snapped back to the girl, who remained unfazed as she calmly stepped down, the cold expression still on her.

"Amazing," Terry said.

Mysteriously, no one caught the girl's name, and those who did know did not expose her for their own interests. There was a clear strong opponent.

Above all the other contestants, Torikou watched the colorful-haired girl walking away. He couldn't help but notice what the story behind her cold and hateful eyes and impressive performance was. And there was another one—Torikou could find the boy's light green hair easily—who sparked his interest too. Torikou recalled the teen's name being Ian. That boy was very much lacking—underdeveloped—in emotions as much as the other girl but in a different way and the kind that many overlooked.

From the older boy's observation, Ian was too impassive, and vacant, mindlessly following his goal and doing whatever to fill his curiosity and boredom. He was worryingly gentle, compliant... Torikou also noticed the boy's subtle reactions when some of the other contestants compared him to a 'doll' or feminine traits. It was hard to notice, but Torikou knew Ian was bothered by them. Ian reminded Torikou of someone being molded into what the manipulator desired. It was too bad Torikou couldn't see that in himself.