Original Stories Fan Fiction / Fables/Fairytales Fan Fiction ❯ The Elementalists ❯ Fourteen - Coffee Break ( Chapter 14 )

Kai woke up around 5:00 A.M., cursing at her internal clock that made her wake up so early. She sighed and decided to get up anyway, albeit very unwillingly. She took a shower to wake her body up, putting on a pair of jeans and a dark red shirt. She put her hair up in a ponytail, grabbing for her black zip-up hoodie and beige shoulder bag.

 

She walked down the stairs to the first floor, yawning on her way there. She saw that Soumei was already up, drinking tea at the short table in the living room. She muttered a quiet “Good morning,” only receiving a small nod in reply.

 

Kai searched the cabinets for food, and was very disappointed when she found nothing. `Doesn't he ever go shopping?' she wondered. She took an apple out of the fruit basket on the dining table and walked out towards the front room.

 

“Where are you going?” Soumei asked, somewhat skeptically.

 

“Out,” she replied. “Probably to that café in the city.” Soumei nodded, taking a sip of his tea before stopping Kai with another question.

 

“You have money?” Kai rolled her eyes, turning around to look at the old man.

 

“Yes, father, I have money,” she replied, annoyed. Before he could even nod at her answer, she stomped her way out of the temple, slamming its doors shut behind her.

 

“Suspicious old man,” she mumbled, shoving her hands into the pockets of the hoodie. She walked down the long flight of stairs on the hill that led to Soumei's temple and through the vast field below it. She stopped abruptly when she saw Guren meditating next to an old cherry tree, his dazzling red hair flowing with the wind. She found herself blushing as she noticed that she was staring.

 

“For an elementalist who rarely socializes, you sure hold many feelings within you,” he murmured, his eyes still shut and his arms still in the same position. “I could feel your emotions when you were barely a quarter down the stairs. Irate, annoyed, very stressed out.” He opened his eyes and lowered his arms, resting them on his thighs.

 

“Oh, um, sorry about that?” she replied, unaware of what she was babbling about. “Wait, how did you—I mean, Florian—” she started, stumbling over her words as she racked her brain for an explanation.

 

“It's quite obvious he told you,” he answered boredly. “I don't really care if you know or not.” He stared her straight in the eye, his cold, emotionless eyes giving her a cold chill.

 

“Oh…” She stood still for a moment, not daring to move closer to the empath, staring down at the grass. Suddenly her head snapped up, and she offered brightly, “Hey, I'm going to the café in the city. Do you want to come along? I mean, we're pretty much the only ones up, except for Soumei. But I don't get why you're up so early anyway.” She shrugged her shoulders, grinning at Guren as she quickly stopped herself from rambling.

 

He cleared his throat in reply, standing up. “I suppose I could go for some coffee,” he replied, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his black pants.

 

“Well, hurry up then! We might miss the train!” She grabbed Guren's wrist, jogging across the fields towards the train station on the opposite side of the hill.

 

 

“This tastes good, for coffee,” Guren commented flatly, sipping at the hot, caramel coloured substance, careful not to drink it too fast.

 

“It's a caramel-flavoured latte,” corrected Kai, sipping at her own cup of iced coffee. Though it does have a lot more caffiene than coffee, she reasoned, so I guess in a way it is coffee… She stared absently at the people walking past the café and across the street, then looked back to see Guren holding his head. “Are you alright?”

 

He snorted, running a hand through his hair as he shook his head. “Humans tend to focus more on their emotions than anything else, so it's harder to ignore than in the Magic World,” he explained, sighing as he closed his eyes to calm himself.

 

“Really? Well… That does make sense,” she replied, scratching her head. Kai rested her chin into her palm, staring at the passing figures once again with no particular thought going through her mind. It's so peaceful… she thought happily.

 

“I take it you like people-watching,” Guren said, his voice still emotionless though a hint of cynicism was detectable. Kai nodded, not taking her eyes away from the window. “It's only interesting for me if they're far away,” he added quietly.

 

Kai smiled sadly, feeling guilty that she was unable to offer any sort of empathy. “Well, we should get back before they get any wrong ideas,” she said with a light pink tinge staining her cheeks, as she stood up and looked at the clock. It read 7:54 A.M.

 

Guren nodded, following her outside the door. “I just know Candis and Eryk will get stupid perverted thoughts into their heads,” she continued, her face contorted with irritation. “They always make fun of me! Hmph. It's not like you can't tell that they're completely in love with each other!”

 

“In love?” questioned Guren, a confused and slightly annoyed look on his face.

 

“Oh, well… You haven't known them very long, so you probably don't see it,” she explained, laughing. “But Eryk and Candis have always had this weird connection with each other. Sometimes I'm jealous,” she admitted, grinning wistfully.

 

“I see,” he replied, merely shaking his head at Kai's silly rambling. `I'll never understand these people,' he thought, holding his head once they had reached the crowd of people waiting for the train to come. `Damn humans.'

 

 

“Where were you two?” Candis asked slyly as Kai and Guren made their way back into the house and then to the kitchen.

 

“At the café, so shut it!” replied Kai, sending an icy glare towards Candis as a warning not to make fun of her.

 

“Oh really?” She grinned evilly, grabbing a hold of Kai's arm and dragging the girl upstairs into her room. “So? What happened?!”

 

“Nothing!” Kai exclaimed, feeling frustrated with Candis's assumptions about her and Guren. “He's as cold and emotionless as… as… as ice cream!”

 

Candis stared at Kai, bewildered and very amused. She giggled loudly at her friend's analogy. “Ice cream, eh?” She laughed again, then frowned slightly. “He's not one for feeling his own emotions, is he?”

 

“Nope, not with all of our emotions swirling around him at once,” Kai replied, laying back onto the bed and exhaling. “It'll be hard to get him to trust us when we need it the most. At least now we can spend a good six months with him.”

 

“Of course you'd like that aspect of it,” murmured Candis, smirking as Kai threw a pillow at her, hitting her square in the face.

 

“Come off it already!” she shouted, sitting up and looking very aggravated.

 

“I see you are still as loud as you were last time I saw you,” said Soumei quietly as he stepped into the bedroom. “Dress in something more comfortable than those city clothes. We're starting in twenty minutes, so get the others up.” He closed the door without giving the girls time to reply, retreating back downstairs.

 

“Why does he always make us do the work?!” grumbled Kai, reluctantly getting up and following Candis out of the room.

 

“Who knows,” she replied, walking up to the third floor. “I'll get Chi and Feng. You can wake Florian up.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” she muttered sardonically once Candis was out of earshot, muttering curses to herself as she walked towards Florian's room.