Julia’s p.o.v
I left Klaus to his thoughts while I head to the kitchen to turn the stove off and prepare the table before mom and dad arrives. I was quite anxious as to how mom would react when she found out that I had brought a total stranger into the house. But I had a reason, a very good one. She’d understand. The worst that could happen was dad trying to exorcise him out of the house.
Anyhow, as I removed the stew pot from the stove, I heard a weird noise outside. It was as if someone was pacing in our backyard. Pacing on the wet, muddy ground. Which idiot would play around outside in this weather? The pot still in my hands, I peeked through the slits of the window curtails and saw nobody outside. I simply shrugged, and just as I was assuming that I had simply imagining things, I heard a knock on the window.
Whoever or whatever was doing so had at least managed to paralyze me. I felt my blood draining from my face as every single particle of blood in my veins stopped in their tracks. I was so scared that I couldn’t even let myself breathe. As if a single inhale would kill me. My mind was contemplating between two things----to answer the knock or to turn around and run---until crash! The window smashed open.
Outside, staring right at me was a man whose figure gave anyone no reason to trust him. He had a bright red Mohawk and half his face was covered in a very elaborate tattoo (they were quite nice actually. I wish I had one. But it must be painful to get). His eyes were bright yellow with the thickest libel rings I’ve ever seen.
My body decided to act for itself. Without a second to spare, I screamed. I screamed my lungs out.
Klaus’s p.o.v
I was dazed into the space figuring how long I should remain hidden in the temple. I have no time to spare. ‘He’ might move somewhere further as I sit back and relax like this. But I just can’t simply disappear from here without a word. I might cause her to worry. I pondered some more until there was a sudden ‘crash' sound as in someone just broke into the temple.
‘What timing! The most horrible one at that!’ I thought silently. But then I heard Julia screaming her lungs out. I was startled.
‘What’s happening?” I thought. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me given my condition. It was hard to breathe but I thought I had to do something. She saved me after all. I owed her my life. It was quite an opportunity for me to repay her good will.
When I finally reached the kitchen, I saw that there’s a tattooed man choking Julia to death. But then I felt I stepped on something hot. It was Julia’s baby carrot’s stew. It seemed to have fallen down and scattered all over the kitchen.
“Darn it! I was really looking forward to that stew! This is unforgivable!” I said furiously. Having said that, I gave the tattooed man a good punch right at his face with a little sparks of lightning around my fist. I knocked him out real good and he was electrocuted. The contract seal of course appeared at the back of my palm for a brief moment. But it seems even then it caught Julia’s eyes even though she was struggling to breathe her life in.
“What’s the matter with this guy? Why did he try to kill you?” I asked rather dementedly. Julia stayed quiet after she got control of herself.
“I guess we both have secrets,” I said randomly and went to clean up the stew.
Julia’s p.o.v
It took him long enough. After what I’ve done for him, I expected him to come a little sooner. Even if he owes me nothing, he should’ve come to my rescue by impulse! That is what any normal, responsible adult would’ve done right?
And to think that his tardiness was unbelievable enough, his hesitation to break me and the other stranger’s struggle made it unforgivable. He seemed incredibly pissed that I dropped my stew before punching the red Mohawk guy right in the face. As he did so, a weird mark appeared at the back of his hand for a brief moment. It was beautiful yet ominous, that I can’t help but to ponder what it meant. Still, I was incredibly mad at Klaus for almost letting me die. I thought he would tend to me after he knocked the guy unconscious or carry me to safety, of all things; he bent down to….CLEAN THE STEW?!
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With a wave of my hand, which was mildly burnt from touching the hot stew as it fell on the floor, the stew went splashing towards Klaus’s face. He looked flabbergasted.
“Hello?” I said. “I’m dying over here!” He seemed angry that I yelled at him, and apparently on the verge of yelling back at me, I heard the cough of the unconscious stranger. Klaus paused in alert.
Klaus’s p.o.v
‘What the heck is she yelling at me for?! I just saved her in the nick of time! A life debt fully paid! I AM THE ONE DYING OVER HERE! Have you forgotten my injury already? Unlike me, you seemed to have a good hand in medicine?! What the heck do you expect me to do? I have no idea how to treat myself much less another person?! In fact, I never cared for anyone before. How does she expect me to care for her? I do realize that she got hurt rather badly, but even I myself did not even know how to tend to my own wounds. I almost died because of my lacking, lots of time but usually I let my wounds heal themselves in due time. I was rather irritated and wanted to fight back, but then suddenly the tattooed guy coughed.
‘This guy, how quick of him to regain consciousness. I’d thought I interrogate him later. Much…much later…” I thought silently.
“That’s it! I’m seriously going to put you into a deep slumber!” I thought again. But before I could do anything, the tattooed guy swiftly got up with a spin using his hands as a pivot and hit me to my wounded stomach with his knee. A great pain surged through me. I fall to my knees and finally on the ground. I tried hard to get hold of myself but my wounds were opened again and lots of blood gushing out.
My consciousness was failing me. All I could hear was Julia shouting panicky for me. Everything happened so quickly and the tattooed man without a moment too soon after he hit me, choked Julia once more. I could see the anguish expression in his face with determination to get his job done this time.
Fury was beginning to overwhelm me, as I who was horribly wounded beforehand stood up without much effort and my whole body started to spark with tremendous amount of lightning. I concentrated my lightning to my right hand and ‘BURST’ it went as I swung my hand to the back of the tattooed man’s body as he was choking Julia. The man was startled by my outburst power as I landed the hit right on the spot, his heart and he was electrocuted much more aggressively than before considering how much voltage I put into it and he died on the spot, burnt to charcoal.
I dropped to my knees once more, enduring the opened wounds pain and made an eye contact with Julia.
“He won’t be choking you anymore after this. Make sure to recook the stew….I was really looking forward to it…” I said as I collapse due to loss of blood. ‘Ah man, so hungry…damn that Mohawk bastard!’ my thoughts again steered towards the spilled stew.
One has to know, Klaus lacks the courtesy to feel gratitude towards others after years of hardship and betrayal. Even if he did felt thankful, he won't be able to put it into words considering his poor communication skills. Though he saved Julia in return of her saving his own before, the outcome was not the most desirable. Julia on the other hand, is inclined towards the norm and practices in courtesy that she had learned growing up. Against Klaus that does not follow the norm and more importantly the rules, she could not find his actions agreeable. How will these two polar opposites interact in the future? Will they change their perception of each other? -To be continued.