"Hey, isn't he that guy from Instagram? The fitness influencer?" A young woman pointed to a nearby table while catching the attention of her friends.
"You know what…yeah, I think you're right?" Her friend agreed after having to squint her eyes a bit.
"Damn, he's even hotter in person."
"Kinda short, though, isn't he?"
"Who's that with him, though?" The third woman of the group added.
"Who, the guy or the girl?"
"The guy, obviously." Now it was the fourth member of the group's turn to add her two cents. "Damn, he looks pretty hardcore."
"You think those scars are real? They gotta be, right?"
"I wonder what happened to him?" The second woman questioned.
"He is kinda cute, ain't he? Not gonna lie, the scars kinda do it for me."
The first woman shot her friend an irritated glance. "You're a weirdo. You know that, right?"
Fortunately, those whispered words weren't able to reach the ears of the group they were directed at. Not that they even had a chance, considering all of the noise that was going on around them.
As was typical of a late Saturday morning, the local mall inside the city was bustling with activity. Now that the new semester at the local university was in full swing, a significant chunk of the school's students had decided to spend their weekend away from classes, relaxing and hanging out with their friends.
For Cyrus, though, it was the young man's first time actually going out since his kidnapping and subsequent return. And to say that the young man felt a bit odd about it would be putting it mildly.
Not only was he now acutely aware of how little time he had spent in a setting such as this one ever since the incident, but he was also extremely self-conscious about all of the strange looks that people were giving him every time he crossed their line of sight.
At first, the young 'tree magic' user was unsure as to whether or not this was even a good idea. But, according to Michiko, it was good for him to get away from the mansion for a bit to relax and recharge his battery. And to her credit, the 'dark magic' user did have a point. It wasn't a good idea for him to stay locked indoors for the entire time that he was here. He needed to get away from the grind for a little while to take his mind off of everything that was happening to him.
Right now, Cyrus, Quintin, and Michiko were sitting in the far corner of the mall's food court, enjoying a nice little lunch from one of the local restaurants. The trio had only just arrived, not even twenty minutes ago. And they could already tell that navigating their way through the building was going to be a trial all on its own.
"I can't believe you convinced me to come out here." Quintin scowled in Michiko's direction while trying his best to hide his face under the hood of the sweater that he was wearing.
"Oh my God, are you still complaining?" The short woman scowled back. "You're a bodyguard, remember? Coming out here with us is literally your job. Besides, you can't expect me to carry all of my bags on my own, do you?"
"Lazy, bitch."
"Asshole."
Cyrus genuinely wondered how these two managed to live under the same roof for so long with an interpersonal dynamic like this. If he didn't know for a fact that the two were indeed good friends, he would've assumed that they downright hated each other.
His mind then flashed back to the conversation they all had right before coming out here.
-(o)-
[Earlier That Morning]
"Hey, Cyrus, change of plans! You're hanging out with me today!" Michiko Honda shouted to the young man from across the room.
"I am?"
"Yes, you are!" The woman replied to Cyrus's question with a smile. "I need to go to the mall to find a new wig for our show in England next month. And since Elaine is busy doing an interview today, you don't have anything else to do."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Shen then asked. "C'mon! You've been trapped in the house ever since you got here. Don't you think it's a good idea for you to get some fresh air and explore the city a bit?"
Cyrus pondered the woman's words for a bit before responding. "I mean, I guess that makes sense…."
"I mean, I know that hanging out with us all day is pretty awesome, but you really need to get out there and start interacting with people more. Oh, by the way, you're not allowed to cover your face while we're gone. I know that you're still feeling a bit self-conscious about your scars. And the best way to get over that is by walking around without having a mask on."
"How did you-"
"Dude, one of my degrees is in psychology." Michiko suddenly cut him off before Cyrus had the chance to ask his next question. "You think I wouldn't be able to pick up on something like that when you're living right under my nose?"
Cyrus thought about what he should say to that, but instead, he simply relented since he already knew that he wasn't going to be able to get out of this. "Fine…whatever…."
"Awesome!"
Just then, Quintin appeared in the room. The former bodybuilder turned bodyguard looked as if he had just woken up. And judging by the look on his face, he still had yet to fully get into the swing of the day.
"Quintin, perfect timing!"
"Perfect timing for what?" The redheaded sorcerer quirked an eyebrow at the 'dark magic' user.
"Me and Cyrus are heading out to the mall. And since Nick and Reyna are with Elaine right now, you get to be our bodyguard!"
"Sorry, I'll pass."
"What, why?"
"Because, like I've said numerous times before, I don't like being seen out in public with you."
"Why not?" Cyrus couldn't help but ask. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, something is definitely wrong, alright." Quintin replied with a frown. "I don't need people thinking that I'm a creep just because I'm seen in the same vicinity as the pipsqueak here."
"Oh, fuck off!" Michiko practically barked in response.
"What do you mean?"
"Dude, seriously? Aren't you the least bit concerned about being seen walking around with someone who looks like they haven't even gone through puberty yet? I get that little Miss Sunshine here is almost thirty, but she still has to get carded every time she goes to the gas station."
"Oh…" Was all that Cyrus said in response.
Not to sound like an asshole, but Cyrus could definitely see where the guy was coming from here.
Michiko did, in fact, still look like a high schooler. And even saying that was being more than a bit generous. Public perception was important, especially to someone like Quintin, who had a pretty sizable following on social media. And the chances of him being labeled a certain kind of way just for being seen out and about with someone like Michiko did present a pretty big risk for him. After all, it only takes one troll post on Twitter for him to get labeled as a weirdo by anyone who didn't know the woman personally. And everyone knew good and well how hard it would be to shake an accusation like that without a tremendous amount of time and effort.
"What the hell do you mean by 'Oh'? Don't tell me that you agree with this asshole?" Michiko retorted with a frown of her own.
Cyrus was quick to hold his arms up in a defensive manner. "I didn't say all that."
Quintin couldn't help but smile at the scene playing out before him. "Clearly, Cyrus is smart enough to see where I'm coming from. Don't you?"
"I-"
"Don't even start this shit with me today, shortie! I'm not asking you to escort me to a damn award show! I just need some extra pairs of hands to help me go shopping, that's it!"
"Well, that's too damn bad! I'm not going, pedophile bait!"
"Yes the fuck you are!" The 'dark magic' user then said. "And if you don't, I'm gonna tell Ealine!"
Quintin chuckled at the threat. "Pfft…okay, and? Is that supposed to scare me or something?"
"What should scare you is the idea of me throwing you into my shadow and leaving you there for the rest of the day!" Michiko's point was further emphasized by the purple aura that was now emanating from her body.
"I'd like to see you try, pipsqueak!" Quinton replied by using his mana to form a ring of fire that circled the top of his head.
"Just do your damn job and stop complaining! It's too early in the day for you to be this much of an asshole!"
"And it's too early for you to go creeping on some of the local school boys. Don't think I don't know what you're actually trying to do. You just wanted an excuse to go try and hook up with one of the few men in this city who won't mind getting labeled as a pedophile just by being within ten feet of you."
"H-hey, guys…maybe we should all just calm down a bit, don't you think?" Cyrus tried his best to stop the oncoming altercation that was definitely about to go down right in front of him.
Iznana executives or not, these people might actually be insane.
-(o)-
Despite all the drama currently unfolding before him, Cyrus would be the first to admit that it felt good to actually do something normal for a change.
His training had pretty much consumed his entire life over the past couple of weeks. And if he wasn't training with either Quintin or Elaine, then he was sitting in his room mindlessly scrolling through his phone for hours on end. The young man knew that such a repetitive cycle wasn't exactly healthy for his sanity, or what was currently left of it. So, he certainly did appreciate the chance to get out of his normal routine and switch it up for a bit.
Still, though, he wasn't exactly the biggest fan of being so exposed like this. Walking around with all of his scars for the world to see unsettled him quite a bit. He knew that he would have to get used to feeling eventually. But the idea of him trying to do it so early didn't exactly sit right with him.
Before Cyrus could try to step in between Quintin and Michiko's mini-argument, a group of three people approached their table.
The new arrivals, all of whom appeared to be around Cyrus's age or a little bit older, appeared to be some of the local college students, according to their outfits. And it was blatantly obvious from the looks on their faces that they were here to see Quintin.
"Excuse me." The first woman said with a smile. "Would you happen to be Quintin Vuur? The IG influencer?"
"And here I thought my disguise was working." The 'fire magic' user replied with a charming smile. "Yes, yes, I am."
"Oh my God!" One of the other girls practically cheered in response.
"What can I do for you ladies?"
The third woman chose to speak up this time. "Do you mind if we, like, get a few pictures?"
"We're big fans! We all follow you!"
Quintin simply shrugged before responding to the request. "Sure, why not?"
"Wow…look at Mister Popular over here…" Michiko rolled her eyes at the sight playing out before her.
With a practiced ease, Quintin proceeded to spend the next couple of minutes taking a few photos with the new arrivals. And Cyrus couldn't help but watch the scene with mild interest. It was easy to forget that almost everyone in Elaine's inner circle was a celebrity in their own right, especially with what he knew about them. So, to see Quintin behave like this as if it were a normal thing for him was quite the sight to behold.
"Thank you so much!" The apparent leader of the trio said in an overly polite tone.
"Don't mention it." Quintin replied with a charming smile. "Like seriously, though. I'm on the clock right now, so I'm trying to keep a low profile."
"Of course, of course!"
"Hey, is it true that you're Skye's bodyguard?" One of the other women then asked with an anxious look on her face.
"That I am!"
"Oh my God, is she here?!"
"Nope, sorry. The Boss is out on business today. I'm just holding down the fort until she gets back."
"Aww man…."
It was now the other woman's turn to speak. "So, who are your friends? Are they influencers too?"
"No." The redheaded 'fire magic' user said without missing a beat before coming up with a convenient cover story. "The pipsqueak here is my cousin. And freckles over there is a friend of the Boss's family that's staying with us for the time being."
"Cool!"
"Nice to meet you guys." Cyrus said with a friendly wave. This was the first time his presence was acknowledged during the conversation.
One of the women, one with a shoulder-length bob cut, then blindsided the young 'tree magic' user with her next question. "Are those scars real?"
"Dude!" The woman's friend elbowed her in the arm while frowning. "What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just ask people questions like that!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
Cyrus would be lying if he said that he wasn't expecting something like this to happen. After all, his new scars might as well be his most defining physical feature now. Even for someone like him, who was pretty plain as fair as physical appearances went, it was hard for anyone to ignore them since they were so prominent. And even though his dark curly hair was now covering most of the markings on his forehead, it was impossible not to notice them, even from a distance.
"Yes, they are real." The young man then said with a shaky smile. Cyrus was suddenly feeling a lot colder than he was a second ago. And he was now regretting not bringing a second jacket with him.
"What happened to you-"
The woman who asked him the question was then immediately cut off by her friend placing her hand in front of her face. "Thank you for taking the time out of your day to take some pictures with us, Mr. Vuur! We really appreciate it!"
"Don't sweat it! But if you guys don't mind, we'd like to get back our meal. We still have a busy day ahead of us."
"Of course, sorry for bothering you!"
"You guys have a good day!"
"We love you! Keep up the good work!"
And just like that, the trio of women retreated away from the table, leaving the three sorcerers to discuss what had just happened.
"Is it always like that with you guys?" Cyrus asked both Michiko and Quintin.
"Pretty much." Quintin replied. "But it's way worse whenever we go out with the Boss."
"You should've seen what it was like at the awards show in LA. Now that was a disaster. I swear, people forget to act like human beings whenever a celebrity is around."
"Oh yeah!" Cyrus then perked up after listening to Michiko's response. "Didn't some actress die right after that? Something about her overdosing in her hotel room because she lost out on an award to Elaine? I remember seeing it on YouTube the weekend after the fundraiser."
"Yeah…." The 'dark magic' user then said with a completely neutral expression.
"A real tragedy, honestly." Quintin said calmly.
Neither of the two Iznana operatives thought that it would've been a good idea to reveal to Cyrus that Elaine was actually the one who ordered the hit on the now-deceased woman in question. Or that she had hired one of her personal assassins from the Alvarez family to do the job. The young man already knew too much about them and how they operated. So, clueing him in on the fact that Elaine had someone wacked just because she put out a diss track against her to gain a bit of clout wasn't something that they wanted to divulge to him. Especially since he was still a pretty big security threat to them as things currently stood.
"Anyways…we need to hurry up and finish our food!" Michiko then swiftly changed topics. "I'm trying to hurry up and get all my shopping done before the crowds get worse."
"Thank God!" Quintin practically threw his hands up in joy upon hearing that.
And so, the trio went about their business as quickly as they could before leaving the mall entirely and making their way back to the mansion. Now that Cyrus had the chance to unwind for a bit, he was ready to get back to his regularly scheduled training. It wouldn't be long before his time here was over and done with. So, it was time for him to really hit the ground running if he wanted to achieve his goals before the end of the month.
'Soon, Cyrus, soon….' The young man said to himself as he mentally prepared himself for another hellish day of training. Ready to finally break through to the next level in hopes of avenging the death of his friend.
-(o)-
Character Profile: Quintin
Name: Quintin Alexander Vuur
Alias: Q, Red, Red Leg Quintin
Gender: Male
Age: 27
Birthday: May 16th
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Height: 64in
Weight: 190 lbs
Hair: Red
Eyes: Blue
Race: White
Magic: Fire
Occupation: Bodyguard, DPA Agent, Iznana Operative, Influencer
Stat Chart: A(+)
-Physical Strength - 5
-Intelligence - 3
-Magic Amount - 5
-Magical Control - 4
-Magic Sensing - 5
-Special - 5
Fun Fact:
-Has over forty million followers on all social media platforms.
-Mr. Olympia runner-up (2019)
-Olympic Gold Medalist (Wrestling)
-Favorite food is chicken wraps.
-Favorite sport is rugby.