Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ The Mishap ( Chapter 8 )

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

Shouting had drifted down the hall to Rinsi's sensitive ears, rousing her from her deep, exhausted slumber. Usually she was a bright and cheery person, but she was too exhausted to be cheerful right now, and being woken up by screaming hadn't helped. Still, she tried to dim down her perturbation.
Throwing the dorm door open, she glared down the hall just in time to see Nakya storm out of the door a way down the hall. It looked like she was upset about something.
Well, she figured to herself, I'll sleep better tonight anyway.
Rinsi sighed to herself, smacked her cheeks a bit to wake her up, and hoped that the bags under her eyes would go unnoticed as she slapped on a smile and walked down the hall.
"Hey, what's up?" she said as cheerfully as she could.
"Oh, hi Logan!" Rinsi said somewhat cheerfully when she spotted the boy from earlier, who had the lovely singing voice.
Rinsi had seen how Logan seemed to be embracing Nakya, and she knew that not all things were as it seemed. Still, it gave her something to tease Nakya about later. She wouldn't tell Ichio, hoping that seeing her in the dress Rinsi had let her borrow would have brought him closer to telling her whether or not he liked her, and hoping that he did like her as she seemed to like him. Besides, once they heard her voice, Logan seemed to push himself from Nakya.
Looking up at Rinsi from the ground, tears streaming down her face, Nakya asked, "Why do boys have to be so mean? Why do they intentionally hurt you? He said I put Abby in a coma, but I didn't! I would never do that to someone!" Covering her face, she continued to cry on the ground, not caring how pitiful she appeared to the others.
Rinsi smiled sympathetically at her crying friend. As tired as she was, she couldn't be mad at someone who was already upset like that. She knelt down and carefully lifted Nakya to her feet.
"Everyone thinks differently about everything, my friend." she said, trying to be cheerful, "I don't know who this person is that is in a coma or why, and frankly it's not my business. However, in a place like this I suspect it is due to a clash of psychokinetic abilities directly linked to the brain. Are you and this other person telepathic?"
Nodding at Rinsi, Nakya quietly answered.
"Yes, we both are…" Realizing now that it was her fault, she felt so bad, she thought she was going to pass out. Holding onto Rinsi, she remembered Logan. Where was Logan? He had pulled away from her and then where did he go? Still feeling dizzy, she looked at Rinsi, almost in a panic.
"Where's Logan? Where did he go? Did he leave was he mad?"
Her vision started going, and she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Rinsi's arm.
"That's what I thought." Rinsi said, growing somewhat serious.
"Uh, Logan," she said, cheerful again as she looked to the young man who had been embracing her and was now standing a few steps back, "would you like to assist Nakya to our room please? I'd do so, but I'm still too weak from last night."
"I'm still here" he replied for himself.
He pushed off the wall he was leaning against and returned to her side. He hadn't gone far; just behind her on the wall. Because it was not his business what she and Rinsi spoke about. He looked over at her, his hands still in his pocket and a small frown on his face.
Hearing Logan's voice Nakya turned around and looked at him. As she was turning she felt nothing but relief. As soon as she saw him frowning, she felt dread.
'Oh no, he is mad! That or he thinks you're a child, a small, weak, emotional child! Shut up! I'm not! Yes you are, everyone was right about you! You're a freak, an outsider!'
Letting go of Rinsi with both hands, she covered her ears and closed her eyes, hoping to block out the sounds of her mind arguing with herself. Not caring if he was mad at her, she went to him and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, whispering , "Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop.."
Logan was a little surprised. He looked down at her, then quickly at Rinsi. A bit cautiously he wrapped his arms around her in another hug, glancing at Rinsi once more. He didn't know what she wanted him to stop, but if he did he would try. He didn't have much practice on comforting people. He was normally pretty distant from other people.
"Stop what?"
Seeing Logan look at her, she held up her hands in a 'I resign' manner. She was just as confused as he was, and it was clear by the look on her face.
"I think maybe she needs to rest a bit. Would you be so kind as to assist her to our room?" Rinsi said, still trying to be cheerful, "I'm currently unable to do so myself. Besides, I think she wants you to comfort her somehow."
Rinsi thought she had heard a sound for a moment, a sound like footsteps. She turned and saw no one, but she was fairly sure she had heard it. Curious as ever, she walked down the hall and turned the corner, finding Yumi.
"Oh, hello, Yumi!" she said, trying to be cheerful, "Hey, what's up? You look upset."
Looking up to see Rinsi, Yumi gasped lightly, trying to rub away the tears that had begun to roll down her face.
"It's nothing, really." She tried to smile. "Just, don't tell Nakya I'm here, okay? Please." She whispered the last word, standing and fleeing down the stairs.
I knew there was a reason. She thought at Ichio, the tears now flowing down her face unchecked. He said nothing back, dumbfounded.
Seeing how sad Yumi looked, Rinsi realized she had seen Nakya in Logans arms. Because of her reaction, she figured that either she or Ichio, or both felt strongly about Nakya. Rinsi sighed to herself and ran after the girl as best as she could, though not really expecting to catch up considering how tired she still was.
Damn,she swore to herself, if this isn't a sign that my spell failed, I don't know what is. Not a single chance for a break around here, is there? Sheesh...Nakya, you'll owe me for this one.
Yumi wasn't paying attention to where she was running, and ran straight into someone, knocking her on her butt. She heard a voice, slightly familiar, and looked up right into Ki'iro's face. Her tears halted, embarrassment stopping them in their tracks.
"I'm so sorry…" the person said quietly, "I'm a little out of it. I'm not having the best day." He said, trying to chuckle softly as he offered a hand to help her up.
"Ki'iro... Sorry, I didn't see you." She stammered, unable to say much more. She didn't take his hand, afraid to touch him. She sat on the floor, staring at him, and a dam of words broke loose without warning.
"I didn't know that you, and Nakya, and she was there, and he was, and I didn't, and Ichio tried to say, but I wouldn't let him, and... and... I don't know!" She all but screamed, not realizing that everything she'd said was nearly gibberish.
She covered her face with her arms, feeling a pulse of energy sink into the floor, as a separate wall of sound swirled around her head momentarily, drowning out the pain that coursed painfully through her head. She felt close to unconsciousness, and backed off of it, a sudden fear taking hold of her and cutting off her power. She held completely still, tears once again falling down her cheeks.
Ki'iro looked down at the girl in shock, he had no idea what was going on. He knelt down and tried to comfort her,.
"Um, I'm sure it'll be alright. Me and Nakya," his voice trailed off and he paused "There's nothing there. We don't have anything between us," Ki'iro managed a small smile. "We just had a little argument, but maybe we can still be friends with each other."
Ki'iro tried to put an arm around her, he didn't recall ever meeting her before. But he knew Ichio. "Are you," he paused, trying to get a good look at her face, "Are you okay?" He was sincerely concerned; he couldn't stand to see somebody like this, although it probably would be better if she didn't know him; if she hated him. It would be better for anybody who came in contact with him. He knew that from Nakya.
Just as Rinsi was going to stop running or else collapse, she found Yumi on the floor next to Ki'iro, crying. They were just up ahead, so she slowed to a jog, and stopped when she reached them, gasping for air. She grabbed the green silk of her pajamas that covered her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
"Yumi...." she said between gasps for air, "let's talk....please....Oh....hi....Ki'iro...."
Yumi looked up at Ki'iro, listening to her joints crack and pop in protest to the intense pressure she'd just subjected them to. She laughed.
"Ki'iro, I haven't been fine since I killed my parents." She didn't know why she said it, it just came out, but she couldn't stop. "I wasn't fine before, and I'm so much less then fine right now. Why are women so complicated? Why is everything so complicated?" Her tears flew down her face. Her thoughts wouldn't organize, so she said things as they came. "You're lying to me, I can feel a tensing of energy when you say that. Nakya is with another guy. Not me. She said, she said that... she liked him, liked Ichio. She never said out loud she liked me, but... That doesn't make it hurt any less when she does it. I don't understand. It isn't happening...It's not..." She trailed off, trying to stem the flow of energy that swirled around her.
"Oh?" Rinsi said, beginning to catch her breath finally, "is THAT what you think you saw?...Heh, no wonder you're upset."
Rinsi sat down next to the crying Yumi, her joints aching badly from the pressure that surrounded her. However, she ignored it, and kept that cheerful smile, hoping it would help cheer her up. She patted the girl on the head for a moment and leaned back so she could catch her breath some more.
"In that case let me explain. Things aren't always as they seem." she said, still breathing heavily, but not really gasping anymore, "She ran into Logan on accident. I saw it as I walked into the hall to see what the ruckus was about. Logan was holding her because he was trying to comfort his friend - just like I'm trying to comfort you now."
Ki'iro simply sat down next to her, and looked up at Rinsi.
"Hello Star." He said simply. "I couldn't tell you why women are so complicated. It truly dumbfounds me."
He sighed heavily, completely ignoring the fact that she had said she killed her own parents. Ki'iro simply figured that it could wait for another time, or no time at all.
"Do you need to lay down? I can just carry you, or something," again his voice trailed off. He had no idea what to do for her. "You're right, I am lying. Although there are now no more positive feelings between us, I feel it is better if she stays away from me and hates me. It's probably better if you stay away from me as well. Nakya isn't with vampire boy if that's what you're thinking. She just ran to him when I upset her," he sighed. "I'm sorry I upset her, but it needed to be done."
Yumi listened numbly, realizing they didn't know one crucial detail. Vaulting forward, she gathered energy to her palms, holding them slightly in front of her.
"Then why did she leave? She left me there, outside, and ran to the forest. She said she'd be back. Why did she come here, then? It's not happening."
She laughed, feeling the delicious power in her hands. It was so comforting. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so powerful.
"The best one to answer that is Nakya. You'll have to ask her yourself, unless Ki'iro knows." Rinsi said, still panting for breath a bit. "Have I mentioned you should try out for the track team?"
Rinsi was unaware of what Yumi was up to and stood up. She had heard the girl laughing, but the laugh sounded sarcastic, like she was hurting and putting on a front. Stepping up to Yumi, she wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders, partly for support, and partly as a half-hug for the girl.
"Like I said, not everything is exactly what it looks like. For all you know, it could be better than what you think it is. You just need to give it a chance to reveal its true nature and find out for yourself."
Ki'iro stood up and pointed his hands at the girl. His hands were a dark purple, almost black. Shadows licked up around his arms.
"She left because she needed to talk to me, don't blame her, okay? She didn't mean to hurt you! She doesn't even know if you care about her or not," he sighed heavily, putting his arms down. "She thinks you don't care, she doesn't think anybody cares. She came to talk to me because of how I reacted to her last night."
The dark flames wrapped around his hands didn't lower, they only burned higher. "You need to calm down and talk to Nakya, she didn't mean to hurt you. She didn't mean to hurt you," he repeated.
Yumi was caught slightly off-guard when Rinsi put an arm around her shoulders. She waited through Ki'iro's explanation, her sense of time slowed from pressure. Pausing for a moment, anger swelled in her body, and she struck.
"You will NOT put your hands on ME!" She screamed, slamming an energy-filled palm into the girl's stomach, forcing Yumi back into the wall as Rinsi hit the opposite.
She cracked her head on the hard surface, and saw stars, which were magnified by the heavy blanket of energy that still surrounded her. Falling to the floor, she sat dazed. Nothing made sense to her. "It's not happening..." She whispered, Ki'iro's words finally taking effect.
Ki'iro slowly let the flames on his hands die down, showing her that he meant her no harm.
"She didn't mean to do anything to you, she didn't mean to hurt you. I promise you that." He turned the side of his head, his cheek still slightly pink from Nakya's slap to the face. "You see that? It's because she hates me. And I want it that way. You don't want it that way, I know it. Don't do something you will regret. Calm down, we can go walk, and we can see Nakya soon. There's no need to get so upset. It was all just a misunderstanding." Ki'iro's fingertips began flickering with shadows.
He didn't want to be completely caught off guard if she decided to strike again. He had seen the force she had hit Star with, and didn't exactly want that to happen to him, no matter how strong he may be.
Rinsi hadn't expected Yumi to react so violently to a gesture that was meant to be comforting. Before she knew what was going on, she found her stomach hurting like crazy, like it was on fire, and her back and head hurt just as bad as they impacted the wall. The world was growing dark again, and she refused to let it do so. However, she knew she was in trouble. The intense burning in her stomach told her something had ruptured. She had the strongest urge to cough, and knew it wasn't wise not to, but when she did she found the taste of copper in her mouth, and blood on the hand that covered it.
Her head was spinning, and she knew she was too weak to even heal, but she had to try. Conjuring up as much energy as she could, she placed a faintly glowing hand over her stomach, and was relieved as the burning sensation dimmed, though the coughing didn't.
"Crap..." she said under her breath, "Not only am I spent, but I'm in an energy deficit and can't even heal."
She wiped the bloody hand on her silk pajama pants, knowing she would regret it later, but she didn't want anyone to worry by seeing the blood on her hand.
"Hey, Ki'iro," she said, speaking up just loud enough to be heard, "is Yumi okay?"
Yumi looked up at Ki'iro, taking in everything that he said.
"I can't. I can't control this. I can't stay here. Go, go with Ichio. He'll come with. He'll talk to her. He can do this. I... I can't..." She said, her voice falling to a whisper. "Ichio, please help me."
She closed her eyes, not caring that Ki'iro was watching her change.
I'm here, Yumi. I'll take care of things. He cooed back at her.
Thank you, Ichio... Thank you...
Bones snapped and popped, skin stretched and power dispersed as Ichio took over. Blinking away tears, Ichio looked back up at Ki'iro, a weak smile on his face.
"She didn't mean to do that to Rinsi. She really didn't." Looking over at Rinsi, his smile faded. "Rinsi, don't move. Yumi did major damage to your organs. We need to get you healed, and fast." He stood up quickly, making his head spin, and sat back down.
"Ki'iro, don't let her move yet." He said, trying to quiet his head.
Ki'iro was taken aback by this girl changing into Ichio. Shaking his head, he moved briskly over to Rinsi who was laying against the wall.
"Don't move Star, Ichio will get help, she didn't mean to..." He held Star's shoulders, trying to comfort her. "Don't think about the pain, watch..." he said as shadows danced on the palm of his hand. His shadows had always had the power to distract one from their pain.
"Yeah, I kind of figured she did." Rinsi said weakly. "Heh, go figure...I'm a healer, but I can't heal myself....Stupid energy deficit..."
Rinsi's knees buckled beneath her. She couldn't hold herself up any more. In fact, she was surprised she made it this far without passing out. As she landed on her knees, a new pain arising from them, she managed to catch herself enough to keep herself from kissing the floor.
"Heh, no worries here...I can't move...My body won't let me. Ki'iro, I'll be fine. Mooney ran when Yumi hurt me, so I assume that means he's getting help. Just get Ichio to Nakya, and this time be nice to her."
"I'm sorry you got involved, Star," he whispered softly into her ear. His hands had began trembling, he had caused all of this damage to everybody. He figured he should just leave everybody.
Ichio rose to one knee, begging Yumi to come back for a moment, if only to fix what she had broken.
"An energy deficit? Yumi, she can help. I'm trying to get her to come back. Hang on Rinsi. She'll come. I promise." Ichio assured her, wondering if he was lying. Yumi didn't seem to be able to answer him, even, let alone come back. He waited, trying to reassure her while at the same time putting urgency into his voice.
"It's ok, Ki'iro," Rinsi said weakly, still sounding cheerful, "I don't blame you, and for some reason I don't think Yumi and Nakya do either, so cheer up. It's ok Ichio, she doesn't have to come. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't. She's really upset."
Rinsi hated worrying everyone, but she had used so much energy the day before that she shouldn't have even been awake yet, let alone practicing her martial arts or jogging. It was no wonder she had no energy left to heal or even to move. That really was not wise on her part, nor was it wise to suddenly hug Yumi like that, even if it was meant to help her cheer up.
"Hey, tell Yumi I said I'm sorry for grabbing her like that. I'll warn her next time."
Ki'iro was about to open his mouth to say something, but shut his mouth. He pushed the hair out of his face and looked down at the ground.
"I hope they don't blame me," he whispered softly.
"I don't think they do. They don't strike me as that type of person." Rinsi said, trying to ease Ki'iros fears.
Rinsi was fighting for consciousness now. Though most of the damage to her organs had been healed enough to keep her from getting too serious, some of it was still unhealed, and that strike to her head when she hit the wall wasn't helping either. She felt dizzy and tired, more tired than she had been all day. She knew she was in bad shape, but she refused to show it. She hated having people fuss over her, and she wanted to show them she was ok so they wouldn't worry.
"It's no use. Yumi could fix you in a jiffy, but she's too afraid. I haven't seen her this bad in a while. We have to get you in bed, at least, Rinsi." Ichio sighed.
He stood, lightly picking her up. Looking Ki'iro in the eye, he spoke.
"Yumi doesn't blame you. She never blames anyone but herself, and I seriously doubt Nakya blames you either." He started walking towards Rinsi's dorm, being careful not to jostle her.
Ki'iro silently followed Ichio towards Star's dorm room.
"Thank you, Ichio." Rinsi said as he lifted her up.
She didn't like being so weak, but there was nothing she could do. Not physically anyway. However, she could still try to help Ki'iro and Nakya if at all possible. For some reason he seemed to be rather worried about her. She smiled at him, trying to let him know she was okay in spite of the unconsciousness that threatened her.
"I can stay here with her, if you'd like-" his voice cut off, remembering that she and Nakya were roommates. "Maybe I shouldn't..."
"Go right on in, both of you. It's an invitation from me, the other resident of the room. Ki'iro, please be nice to Nakya."
"I'm not sure either of us would be safe there, but we need to get her to bed. Otherwise, she'll be in even more trouble." Ichio walked up to the door, noticing it standing open. Nervously, he called out quietly.
"Nakya? It's me, Ichio. Rinsi's hurt, and she needs rest. Can I come in?" He fidgeted and shuffled from one foot to another, uncomfortable being around Nakya right now.
Hearing Ichio call out and say that Rinsi was hurt, Nakya's eyes flew open and she jumped out of bed. She ran to the door, wondering just what was going on.
"What do you mean she's hurt?"
Looking out the door, first she saw Rinsi, barely conscious in Ichio's arms, and then she saw Ki'iro. Pain flashed through her eyes when she saw him, but it was quickly replaced with concern.
"Ichio, put her on her bed and stay with her. Ki'iro, grab the cup off the dresser. Fill it with water."
Waiting for everyone to go in, Nakya pulled Logan in and sat him down in a chair. Running over to her dresser she pulled out a piece of fabric and slammed the drawer shut.
"Where's Mooney? Did he go get the nurse?"
Ki'iro walked into the room silently. He felt extremely uncomfortable and grabbed the glass off of the dresser as instructed. He went into the bathroom and filled it with water, then brought it back out into the room. He refused to look at Nakya, and he continually stared down at the floor. Ki'iro had no idea what to say. He just stood there motionless, holding the cup of water out.
Ichio followed instructions, placing Rinsi on the bed and kneeled next to her.
"I think so." was all he said. He felt out of place here. Sneaking a glance at Ki'iro, he noticed he wasn't the only one. He waited for further instructions, unsure of what to do.
"One thing I wonder..." Rinsi said as she felt the familiar warmth and comfort of her bed beneath her, unconsciousness threatening to take over before she could finish, "Why does Ki'iro think Nakya and Yumi should hate him? Why does....Yumi...blame hersel..."
At that last bit, though, the darkness enveloped her, beckoning her into a deep and dreamless sleep once more.
As she ran around the room gathering things, Nakya focused on the water. About half of the water came spiraling out of the cup and landed neatly (as neat as water can) on the fabric. It soaked up quickly. Walking over to Ichio, she handed him the fabric and said
"Keep that on her forehead. If she's feverish it will cool her down, and the coldness will keep her awake." Walking over beside Rinsi, she crouched down and whispered in her ear "I'm sorry this happened to you Rinsi. It's all my fault. I promise I'll make it up to you."
Walking away from the bed, she heard a noise at the door and looked up. Breathing a sigh of relief, she saw a couple of nurses, followed by the principal. They rushed over to Rinsi's bedside and began taking care of her, each one fussing about the mess and wondering what had happened to her. Walking past Ki'iro, she took the cup of water out of his hand and quietly murmured.
"We should wait outside, boys." With that, she ducked out the door, and stood in front of a window, quietly sipping the water.
"Please do." said as she aided the nurses in checking on Rinsi's injuries. "This is going to take a while. I want you all to meet me in my office later so I can find out what happened here."
"Yes, ma'am!" they chorused as they left the room.
Just then, a little black cat walked out of the room and sat in front of Ichio. It held in its mouth a packed roll of gauze bandages, which it set on the floor in front of him. The cat looked up at Ichio, almost as if to smile and say, "Did I do good?"