Chapter 16

Crescent wanders through the dirty streets of her neighborhood. She slips behind a cement slab, and she mumbles soft words. The doors open before her, and she enters. The tomb of the Champions. She jumps from tomb to tomb and she stops when she finds the crumbled sight of a tomb. She slips into the casket's opening, and she finds herself at the lowest level of champions. A familiar dark hair catches her attention, and she sneaks up on them.

A flight of rocks and a gush of wind knocks Crescent off her feet. She sits back up, and she coughs. "KENMA WHAT THE FUCK"

"Weak ass" he mumbles, his hands don't stop with the puzzle he's working on. His golden eyes focus in, and black his hair dangles on the sides of his face. It was surprising that his hair was still able to grow despite the poison. His arms look less muscular than before, and he looks like an actual alley cat. His skin glows gold under the sunset, and the candles cause his skin to look gorgeous. His fingers are quick, and another puzzle is finished. The crystal above it glows a soft blue, and Kenma smirks in triumph. His dragon flies down to greet the girl, and Crescent pats its head as a greeting.

"What's it's name?" Crescent asks. Kenma stares at her before continuing on his puzzle.

"Naga"

"It's a her?"

"Mhm. She's infertile though" The dragon hisses at his statement. Kenma half-smiles at the sound. The dragon is tiny, and it feels as though she feels safer when she's tiny. She curls herself up on Crescent's head, and decides to take a nap.

"What's the point of completing these puzzles?"

"It's a test of patience." Kenma blinks at her. She gets to work on the next one. Her hands were not turning rough despite the work. Kenma takes note of her body structure. She's thin, agile, and the definition of royalty. She's a distant cousin of the royals, and her family was blacklisted. She reminded him of the champion he grew up admiring. But she was gone, proclaimed dead by the school. Crescent's fingers a soft, but he knows what she works on. Perhaps it was a waterbender's gift.

"What are you staring at?" Crescent stares at the boy. He shrugs, and finishes his two puzzles. His hands are rough. His fingers are thick, and Crescent's mind wanders to dirty things. She shakes the thoughts away. Was she dating Ice? Did they make it official? She had so many questions, not enough answers.

Kenma notices the way her movements falter. She probably had a lot on mind. He weighs his choices, and for a second he wants to assure the girl that she would be ok. But he settles for something honest. "Stop slacking"

Crescent jumps, and she bows in apology. She finishes up her puzzle, and speeds through the rest. She talks again when they take a break. "How old is Naga?"

The dragon was back to her normal size. She was currently curled up on the floor, and Kenma was sitting on her back area. He bit down on another apple. He stares at the girl, then at the dragon. "You tell her yourself Naga."

Naga huffs, and a velvety voice reveals itself from her throat. "I'm 800 years old"

"So you're young!" Crescent mumbles.

"Pretty young. Have you met any of the dragons in the cages?" Kenma smacks her scales lightly.

"I told you you were the last dragon in there" Kenma hisses out.

"What about the Phoenix?" Naga opens an eye to look at the girl.

"Ignes? Oh he's doing well. I let him roam around the school" Crescent mumbles.

"Helios. Did Helios visit?" Naga peers at the girl, and in a gush of air, she transforms into a girl. She leans towards Crescent. Her skin is a gorgeous shade of black, and her eyes shine a dark red. She's thin, but she doesn't lack in the places a thin person would. She looked gorgeous, and if it weren't for the fact that Kenma wasn't interested, they probably would've made a power couple.

"H-helios? Y-yeah" Crescent raises both hands up in defense. Her black scales rested on the side of her eyes, and the red is bloody.

"Can I meet him? Can you sneak me into school? Please?" She pleads Crescent, and she turns to Kenma for help.

"No Naga. You can't go out. You're supposed to be locked in a cage" Kenma deadpans, his eyes sharpen, and I feel the air change slightly. I can't catch whatever was coming, but Kenma bends us into the floor. The guards. Someone must've followed her here. Naga transforms back to her tiny form, and she hides herself in Crescent's bookbag. Kenma keeps her locked in his arms to make sure she doesn't move. He doesn't notice the proximity but Crescent does. She flushes red, and Naga feels the heat rush up her neck.

"Why did boss make us wander through here?" a guard speaks up.

"Someone said they heard rumbling and a bunch of traps activated the other day."

Kenma floats off the floor in case they could use seismic sense. He holds Crescent close, and Naga wraps around her neck gently.

"There's nothing here though. Come on, this place scares me" the guards head out, and once the three of them are sure that no one's nearby, they head out. Crescent sighs in relief, and removes herself from Kenma's arms.

"Thank you" She mumbles.

"mhm." he hums. "Now get to work. We need to finish at least this row before you leave"

"hUH?" Crescent swore her hands were sore by the end. She stops by the water fountain to heal her hands and restore it back to her old feeling. Kenma watches the girl while heading to his casket to sleep. Naga tightens her hold on his heck slightly, and he continues his way. Crescent heads home for the day with conflicted feelings.