"I'm kind of his godfather, but also not really." General Zhang picked his ear casually.
"How'd you become his godfather?" I asked, surprised by the sudden revelation.
"By killing his parents."
"Oh. That made sense." I nodded. A bit funky, but if Wolf was okay with him, who was I to judge?
"What!?" Dmitri exclaimed with surprise.
"Yeah, he kind of stuck with me after I killed his parents. Kinda bothersome if you ask me, but I don't really want to leave him to die, too." General Zhang sighed.
"Why'd you leave him in the forest, then?" I questioned.
"I'm not good with children. At least I've taught him some basic survival skills before I left." He shrugged.
"So you've been an absent father figure," I pouted and turned to the little boy, "don't worry, Wolf. I'll try to accompany you from now on, even though I'm also inexperienced."
I patted his head and smiled. I knew that I may not be a good guardian, but I knew how hard it was for a child to be left alone by their parents.
"No, no, wait. Why are we ignoring the fact that general Zhang killed his parents?" Dmitri panicked.
"Oh, I'm not ignoring it. I just thought that there might be more to the story, since Wolf seemed to like that eel," I answered, "I don't think anyone would normally like their parent's killer, right? I bet it's not your typical murder story. That eel is click baiting us."
"Click baiting? What's that? And I mean, you have a point, but..." Dmitri hesitated.
General Zhang smirked, "then why don't you ask him the reason yourself?"
Dmitri gulped, before he turned around and faced the boy, "Wolf, do you like general Zhang? Aren't you... Scared of him?"
"Wolf like. No scared." Wolf answered while staring at general Zhang.
"Can big bro ask why?" Dmitri questioned while trying to put on a smile.
"Mr. White hair never hit me. Mr. Tiger play with me. Wolf like." He said.
Never hit...? Ah, I understood a bit more now.
"Wolf, did your mom and dad hit you?" I inquired.
"Yes. Lots. Wolf don't like pain." He answered with a straight face.
"I see," I stroked his hair, "then let's say thank you to Mr. Ugly white hair!"
"Thanks, Mr. Ugly white hair."
"Hey, don't add a random adjective on my title," general Zhang sighed, "but there you have it. I think he approves my decision."
"I guess so..." Dmitri agreed, even though I could still see confusion and shock on his face. Why was he so surprised over crimes? I thought crimes existed everywhere. Besides, didn't his crime ultimately brought good to a defenseless child?
"His parents were just a couple of good-for-nothing scum who thinks being abusive is 'teaching'," general Zhang sighed, "and it's my job to take out the trash."
"Ahh, so that's how you two met. So you can be useful sometimes too, eel." I teased him.
"I'm always useful, little cub," he grinned, "now, let's get you back to your cage."
I smiled, before kicking him right between his legs, "you mean my hotel suite."
"Ouch... So violent..." He grimaced.
"I'll visit you later, Dmitri! And I'll bring souvenirs next time!" I said as I tucked Wolf into his bed.
"Where is he taking you, Chae? Are you going to be okay?" Dmitri asked as his worried puppy-eyes stared straight at me.
I was quite shocked to see that he cared enough to worry about me, especially since we just met not too long ago. I almost forgot that he was a soft little cinnamon roll who instantly cared about everyone he met.
My lips curled upwards at the thought, "I'm just going to get some special training, Dmitri. Don't worry."
"I see..." He glanced down, looking obviously troubled.
Seeing his reaction, I paused. Something wasn't right. He may have smiled a lot while we were here, but I didn't think any of those smiles reached his eyes. What happened to him?
...Was something bothering him?
"Hey," I reached out to grab his hand and linked our pinky fingers together, "I'll listen to your story after you recover, okay? That's why you have to focus on your recovery, don't think about useless things. Promise?"
"Wha--" The startled Dmitri gasped and looked at me like I had just eaten a lizard's tail, raw.
"Is that a no?" I tilted my head to the side and smirked at him.
His eyes widened a bit, and a brief silence followed. But after seeing my smirk, he burst out laughing, "hahahah! Of course it's a yes, Chae!"
Finally, his laugh reached his eyes. I let out a small, relieved sigh.
"Thank you, Chae. You sure know how to ease my mind." He beamed.
"Not really, I'm just incredibly good at not giving a fuck. Don't let every bad thing get to you, you'll go crazy." I grinned as I tapped my finger on the side of my forehead.
After all, I had to learn to just not care sometimes. At first, I was devastated by every single death my fellow soldiers experienced. But eventually, I had to learn to control my emotions and not let them get to me. I'd probably be busy building a burrito in some mental institute if I didn't learn.
"Oh yeah, why are you wearing handcuffs?" He asked as he eyes my wrists that I had just lifted.
"Eh? I--"
"Let me try to help you..." Dmitri leaned in closer to take a look at my handcuffs.
"Oh, no need--"
"Aight, enough with the chit-chat. Let's go." General Zhang yoinked my shirt's collar before Dmitri could get even closer, and carried me over his shoulder, with me facing backwards.
"Ah-- let go! I can walk by myself!"
"Stop thrashing around little cub, you're gonna make us fall." He ignored my protests and walked out of the door.
"Then fall!" I thrashed even harder.
"By the way, Dmitri. I was the one who put the handcuffs on. If you dare release her, that means you're defying me, your general." General Zhang smiled sinisterly at Dmitri, who was just standing there, confused.
"He doesn't have the key anyway, you stupid eel. He couldn't release me even if he wanted to." I bonked his head.
"Anyway, toodles!"
And after that one final greeting, general Zhang slammed the door shut and headed towards the town hall.
--------
"...So we're back here." I sighed when we entered the huge building that I hated with a passion.
"Yep! I'm gonna drop you off at that crazy scientist, and then I'll go meet the headmaster." He hummed as he walked towards the room that gave me bad memories.
"You're not going to meet that geezer here?" I asked.
"No. Do you think the headmaster has nothing to do besides sitting behind that desk all the time? Geez, sometimes you're so dense, little cub." He sighed.
"Hey! How could I know? All he ever did was act crazy and be drunk in front of me!" I slapped his back in annoyance.
"Whatever. Anyway, I'll be away for a while, maybe around 2 to 3 days. The headmaster won't be around here either." He opened the door and let me down right in front of the painting that led towards Elena's prison... Or room.
"Why so long?" I asked while he took out a key from his pocket and grabbed my hands to unshackle me.
"Because we have business somewhere else," he explained as a clicking sound was heard, and I was finally free from my handcuffs, "you'll understand my reason one day, little cub. But not now."
I was about to retaliate again, but then I saw a hint of emptiness in his eyes. His gaze looked eerily similar to Eli's gaze after I met him here.
"...Okay." I swallowed my insult and looked away while I rubbed my red wrists.
He grinned again, just like always, and patted my hair, "oh well. Now my job to escort you back is done. Anything beyond this won't be my job anymore."
"Um, thanks?" I raised one eyebrow.
"All I'm saying is that you're not my responsibility anymore if you cause trouble, alright? Ahh~ I'm sure this little cub will be obedient and not wander off somewhere while I and gramps are away, right~?" He winked at me.
Oh.
Oh my.
This slippery eel!
I smirked, "yep. There's noooo way I'll run off. Toootally."