chapter 43

Instead, he glanced at Naomi. " Is there any chance your friend knows when they'll be raiding the Boss room?"

Naomi nodded. "He went to the meeting, so I bet he knows. He just started a complicated quest though and he asked for my help with it. I was supposed to meet back with him after breakfast. I should really be going."

Accessing her menu, Naomi quickly sent a Friend Request to Jae.

"Is it cool if I message you the details on the Boss raid after I head back?"

Toyo could see Jae trying to restrain his surprise.

"Yeah, absolutely," he managed. "Thanks Naomi."

"No problem," Naomi answered with a smile.

Equipping a teleport crystal from her inventory, Naomi looked around one last time. "I'll see you guys around soon. You should really get back to town before those plant mobs start to respawn."

Toyo lifted a hand in surprise. "Wouldn't it be smarter to just use the Portal back in Trevica? Save a teleport crystal?"

Naomi shook her head. "I would, but unfortunately he decided to start the quest on his own. The safe zone Portals can only send you to another town, and he's some distance from Tolbana now."

Holding the crystal above her, Naomi waved at them as she activated it.

"Teleport, Arid Fields!"

And then she was gone.

"I know you're pissed at me," Toyo said beside him as they walked. "So you might as well tell me why."

Jae shook his head without turning. "I'm not pissed, dude."

"Yeah, that's bullshit."

By his tone, Jae could tell that Toyo was annoyed, though he was doing his best to cover it up.

After Naomi left, the two of them had walked with Tristan back to the center of Trevica, where the town Portal stood. A ruinous, vine covered stone archway located at the main intersection in the center of town, the Portal itself was nothing compared to the one in the plaza at the Town of Beginnings. Before leaving, Tristan made them both promise to visit his shop sooner rather than later. Though in reality Jae had been angry since Naomi told him about the meeting, he had tried his best to let it go. For a while it seemed like Toyo hadn't noticed, but now it was obvious he had just been waiting for them to be alone.

"I said I'm not pissed," Jae repeated, louder this time. "Just leave it alone."

Toyo continued looking ahead, but Jae could practically feel him roll his eyes.

"I would, but I know you too well for that."

Jae didn't respond. Reaching the inn, he put his hand on their door. Before he could open it, Toyo pushed him away. His irritation mounting, Jae faced him.

"What the hell was that?"

Toyo met his look with that smug glare he tended to put on whenever he felt like he was in the right. "Look man, you need to tell me what's up. I know how this little story ends, every time. You never talk about what's pissing you off but you don't let it go either. So you end up just sulking around hating everything until someone finally gets you to snap." Toyo paused, rubbing his eyes as he leaned against the door. Jae knew what what meant. Toyo had been about to say something that even he realized would sound too fucked up, so instead he had played it off. "Look," he continued, "We don't have time for this. If this is about me and Naomi eating breakfast-"

Jae exploded. "I don't give a fuck who you eat breakfast with! God, do you really think that's what I'm pissed about?" He laughed bitterly. "You're something else man, you know that?"

He could see the rage build in Toyo's eyes like flames dancing in a hearth. If there was one thing his brother was bad at, it was handling being yelled at. In the back of Jae's mind, a memory suddenly forced itself into his thoughts for the briefest of seconds.

"Step out of the car please." The cop said bluntly.

Toyo met the officer's gaze through the car window with an annoyed look. "Why? We haven't done anything."

Sitting in the back seat next to Toyo, Jae quickly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Dude, " Jae whispered. "That's a fucking cop."

Staring defiantly at the cop, Toyo didn't seem to notice.

"Look kid," the big man said angrily from behind his sunglasses. "You better watch how you talk to me. Now get out of the car."

Toyo lifted a hand in confusion. "All I did was ask why. What have we done?"

In the driver's seat, Heaven put a hand to her head as she sighed in exasperation at her little brother.

*******

Sorry for the late chapter.

The book I was working with my friend released the first 2 chapters today it will have daily updates.

It's a novel on baseball, The book is called "The Diamond Field"

Please do check it out like always if you like he story please do vote and give a review