Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ Waking ( Chapter 7 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Bright green eyes opened to a world of white walls and a sterile stench. She didn't know where she was at first, or why, and it almost scared her. Almost. She looked around a bit to see a nurse walking around and some medical equipment nearby.
I must be in the nurse's office. She thought to herself. How did I get here? I wonder what happened?
Closing her eyes for a moment, she slowly began to remember. She had been dancing a forbidden dance, one that her auntie told her never to complete, but she didn't listen. This time, she completed the dance, and ended up casting a huge spell that drained her of all her energy. One of the students at the dance must have brought her here.
Rinsi sat up slowly, still feeling really weak and tired, and almost passed out in the process. She stubbornly fought back the ensuing unconsciousness, and this time she won. Her head throbbed a bit and she felt incredibly weak. She wanted to go back to sleep, but was afraid her roommate would worry about her. Plus she had to find that girl that she saw a mere moment before passing out and thank her.
"Whoa there, cowgirl." Rinsi heard a familiar voice say from behind her.
Rinsi turned and saw the usual warm smile she had come to love seeing on the principal’s face.
"Take it easy. You caused quite a ruckus with that spell of yours and it looks like it drained you pretty badly."
"Yeah, it kind of did." Rinsi said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
The principal seemed to be satisfied with that. With a smile and a nod, she turned and left the room, her deep brown hair swaying back and forth lazily behind her crisp, cool steps.
Rinsi dragged herself out of the bed slowly, making sure she wouldn't pass out in the process, and noticed she was still in her evening dress. She looked around a bit, wondering where her staff was. She was about to ask, when she noticed it leaning against the wall near her bed. She grabbed it and used it for support as she slowly made her way back to her dorm room, where she could at least change into something more comfortable. She could rest later; for now she was content with trying to find that girl, and then Nakya. She wouldn't train today, though. She had too little energy to do so.
Well, she thought to herself, I guess this means I get a day off. I wonder if my spell worked at all?
Rinsi managed to make it back to her dorm room in spite of her weary state. She took a hot shower, hoping it would energize her a bit more, and changed into a cute teal jogging suit. Though she wasn't going to train her powers today, she would at least make use of her time and get some practice in on her martial arts. It was a good thing her aunt and uncle decided she needed those lessons. It had saved her on a few occasions after every one found out what she was.
Just as she was about to leave the room to go practice, a familiar voice reached her ears.
"Rinsi! You're okay!"
Rinsi turned to see Nakya - who was wearing a cute little black dress that made her look almost like a doll - not only entering the room, but pouncing her in joy. She wasn't sure why the girl was so excited to see her, unless of course she had worried about her. Rinsi had been taken by surprise. In her tired state that was not hard. When Nakya ran up to her and practically glomped her, she fell over with a soft THUD! She winced a bit as the hard floor met with her rear and back, but otherwise was ok.
"Well, nice to see you, too Nakya!" she said laughing.
"Hey, Rinsi." She heard a familiar voice say in the doorway.
Rinsi turned to see a young man standing there. She thought for a moment, not recognizing him at first, before realizing it was actually Ichio who was greeting her. He looked different when he wasn't in his cosplay outfit, which she thought looked rather nice on him.
"Hi, Ichio!" she said cheerfully, "How are you guys today? Did my spell work last night?"
"Rinsi, do you mind if I come find you later? Ichio and I need to talk." Nakya said.
As she said Ichio's name, she glanced at him and gave a shy smile.
"Oh?" Rinsi said inquisitively.
It took a moment to register, but when it did, she smiled broadly, and even gave Nakya a sly wink.
"Go get 'em, tiger." she said enthusiastically as she gently shoved Nakya in Ichio's direction.
"I'll be in the training grounds, practicing hand to hand if you need me."
Rinsi watched with satisfaction as Nakya took Ichio by the arm and lead him down the hallway. In a way she kind of envied them. It was obvious they liked each other, from the look on their faces. Seeing it reminded her of how much she missed her own boyfriend, and at the same time reminded her how much he had hurt her that night. She began to wonder if maybe there was someone out there for her who would accept her for who she was, and not turn their backs on her when they found out what she could do. Still, she was too much of an optimist to dwell on the matter, and decided to shove the thought aside for now. She had training to do.
After practicing for an hour or so, Rinsi was tired. However, she was determined to do something productive and keep herself in shape, so she went for a short jog. She really wasn't fond of jogging, but it got her heart rate up and burned fat. Besides that, it gave her a chance - even though it was only brief - to view the beautiful landscapes that surrounded the school. She just had to drink extra water afterward and cool off quickly before the overheating in her body made her sick.
After her jog, she took a quick shower to wash off the sweat and changed into a cute, but expensive looking pants suit and decided she would go off into the woods and practice her violin. She loved doing so out in the open, where few people were around. The sound of her violin mingling with the forest life was always calming to her, and she loved it. That wasn't even mentioning the scenery, which consisted of various hues of deep green that she loved and that covered everything from grass to trees to bushes. Nor did it mention everything else that the senses could take in, such as the cool, damp air and the sweet smell of flowers from bushes and trees being in blossom.
Rinsi stood by what looked like a shimmering lake in the middle of the forest that lay just beyond the training field of the school, smiling peacefully as she held her eyes closed and let the music she played on her violin flow through her. The song was soft and slow, but peaceful, almost loving. It was a lullaby her mother sang to her as a child, and it filled her with peace and joy. Had she not spent herself the night before, she would have been glowing again as the lullaby she played was yet another spell, though she didn't know it. The song filled her very soul with a peace and joy that she missed, in spite of her positive outlook.
Rinsi had been playing her violin when she could hear someone singing faintly in the distance. Their voice was soft and sweet, and vaguely familiar. Thinking it could be the girl from the night before, she followed the voice, and found herself correct.
"Hey, there!" she said to the girl, "Thank you for last night."
"You're welcome." She looked at her feet embarrassed she had heard her singing. She had a bad case of stage fright, and what people might think of her.
"I'm Kira, by the way." She said finally looking up to her
"It's nice to meet you, Kira." Rinsi said cheerfully, though terribly tired in reality, "I am Rinsi Starlight. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble last night. I had no idea that the dance I performed was a spell, let alone a powerful one. Anyway, you sing quite beautifully. Maybe you could make a duet with one of the other guys here." she said with a wink, "He's got a beautiful voice as well."
"Thank you, but I, uhh, I would like that." Kira said thankfully.
What the hell were you thinking Kira, you'll die singing in front of people, stage fright remember? her head kept repeating.
"It's nice to meet you Miss. Rinsi-San." Kira smiled.
Rinsi couldn't help but giggle. This girl was so bashful it was kind of cute.
"Just Rinsi is fine." she said cheerfully, "You can even call me Rin if you like."
After talking to the girl who had taken her to the infirmary the night before and making yet another friend, Rinsi returned to her room and carefully put her violin away. She knew that the dresses that were worn from the party needed to be washed, but she could do that later. She was absolutely exhausted, and now covered in sweat from her practicing and jogging earlier. She quickly grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom, hoping she wouldn't fall asleep in the shower.
The hot water felt good on her tired and already aching muscles. She supposed she had spent more energy than she realized, and now her body was bitching her out about it. The water felt so relaxing that it was a difficult battle just to stay awake long enough to get washed, dried, dressed and into bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out. Forget lunch and dinner, or whatever meals she had missed, she was down and out and was determined to get some good sleep before anyone could wake her up.