Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ Ichio ( Chapter 10 )

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

Ichio couldn't say anything to Nakya. He couldn't find his voice. When she read Rinsi's mind, he knew the exact moment when she found out about Yumi's attack. He cringed, anticipating yelling and screaming. Instead, he heard footsteps and crying as Nakya fled. Looking up, she was gone. Yumi had done irreparable damage once more, and it was his job to fix everything. He was so sick of it. Not this time, Yumi. You did it, you fix it, or I'm going back and never coming out again. You have four hours to decide. He threatened Yumi, feeling his blood boil.
"Rinsi, you need rest. I'll go, and try to find Nakya." he covered.
He stood and walked out of the room without a second glance. His face was blank, betraying no emotion. Striding down the hall to the cafeteria, he noticed he wasn't alone. His plans changed quickly, and he grabbed an apple instead, and walking up to the girl. "Hey. What's up?" he asked coolly.
He was, of course, talking to a girl who was nearby. She didn't look much older than thirteen, and still had a lolicon look to her that made her look cute, in that 'little sister' sense. She was not far away, munching on a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich and watching him intently. He'd never seen her before, and figured she was a new student.
"Hi, I'm Sarah!" the girl said.
"Nice to meet you, Sarah, I'm Ichio." Ichio smiled.
His emotions felt separate from his actions. He took a seat next to her, ignoring Yumi's pleas against it. She didn't matter to him at the moment. He didn't notice Nakya come into the room. He wasn't paying much attention to anything, really. Everything seemed to be clockwork. He wasn't controlling anything.
"So, are you new here?" He asked, smirking lightly.
"Hi, I'm Nakya!" came a familiar voice next to him.
Ichio turned slowly as Nakya sat down next to him. His face was still mostly emotionless as he listened to Yumi screech and rant at him. Ichio turned to see Nakya sitting next to him, looking as pretty as ever, though he could see in her eyes that she was concerned about something.
"Nice to meet you! I am new here and I suspect that you aren't? Right?" Sarah asked.
Sarah then stood and took her tray to the kitchen, before returning to sit back down next to Ichio. Her eyes wandered in his eyes and she saw her father's eyes. Tears came in her eyes and wiped them away as she shook the other girl's hand
"Nice to meet you" Sarah said.
"Hey, babe. I was wondering where you ran off to." He leaned over and kissed Nakya on the cheek. "I just met Sarah, too." He smiled, without it reaching his eyes. Yumi wouldn't stop yelling. He had a hard time focusing.
"Ah..so you guys are dating! Very interesting…" Sarah said while giving a strange look.
Sarah was kind of confused but checked her cell for messages from her brother anyway. She found there was a message from him indeed, and after her quick reply, she turned back to the two in front of her.
Leaning over Nakya kissed Ichio on the cheek.
"Is something wrong?" she asked when she noticed his smile didn't reach his eyes. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she continued "I need to speak with you. Meet me in a little bit in the gym?"
Standing, she kissed Ichio's cheek again and looked at the girl.
"It was nice to meet you."
Walking away from the table, she made her way into the auditorium and sat down to wait.
"I'm fine, babe." the fake smile reappeared. "Sure, I'll meet you there." Turning back to Sarah, he said, "Yeah, we're together. There have been a few bumps, but we're fine overall." He ignored Yumi's sobbing, as well as her annoying pleading. "Are you expecting a call?" He asked as she checked her phone.
Sarah felt like she never felt before, like she actually liked a boy who was taken.
"Well, no, not really. It was just a message, and I shouldn't be holding you up because I am pretty sure your girlfriend is waiting for you" Sarah said hoping that she didn't sound so jealous.
"You're fine." He smiled, "I'll know when she's ready for me to meet her."
He figured he might have enough time, if the girl left soon. If not, he'd do it after his talk. Four hours was a long time away still.
"Besides, she probably wants to talk about Yumi, and I don't really fancy going to do that quite yet." he smirked, listening to Yumi threaten him with a beating she could never deliver.
"Well, ok. I won't have to go back to my dorm because I was planning to go to the beach after anyways, so I have my bikini on. You go ahead and handle whatever it is you have to, and I will be waiting on the steps." Sarah said with a smile and making her way to the front doors of the school.
"Thanks." Ichio smiled at Sarah.
After she had left the cafeteria, he turned and walked into the deserted kitchen area. It was far from any meal times, and the staff didn't bother much, since most students rarely ate so the kitchen was empty. All that kept him company were cooking utensils, counter tops, sinks, and walk-in refrigerators that kept the food cold until it was ready to be prepared. He searched quickly. Finding what he needed, he wrapped it tightly and stuck it in an interior pocket. His clothing was baggy, so it didn't show that he had anything in his pocket. He walked out of the cafeteria, whistling quietly to drown out Yumi.
"I'm ready now." he said, smiling at Sarah as he came down the steps.
"Ok, that was quick business to handle. It was so quick that I would think that you would have had to use the bathroom." Sarah said giggling and walking to the beach and putting her cell phone and I-Pod in her pants pocket.
Ichio spent his time with Sarah listening mostly, trying to force Yumi to shut up. She was too afraid to actually change, so she instead contented herself with yelling and screaming. How annoying. Finally tiring of the charade, Ichio stood.
"I suppose I should go now, Nakya's probably waiting for me. It was nice to meet you, and I hope to see you again soon." he smiled, walking back up to the school and into the auditorium. Nakya wasn't there yet, so he started wandering the halls, not wanting to stay in one place for too long.
Ichio continued wandering the halls, the three remaining hours feeling forever away. He really wished he'd picked a shorter time span. Yumi was annoying the snot out of him. Deciding the apple he'd eaten wasn't enough for him, he roamed back to the cafeteria, contemplating a sandwich. He heard a voice as he came close to the cafeteria, and backed up the way he came, not especially wanting to talk to people.
Ichio wandered some more, wishing Nakya would hurry up. He felt so impatient. He wanted to talk to her before he went through with his plan, but didn't want to give Yumi any extra time to plan anything. Four hours was already too long. He paced back and forth, finally deciding to go outside for some fresh air.
"Hurry up, Nakya..." he whispered to himself as he passed the auditorium. He walked out into the open field, and sat down in the middle, facing the forest. There was a light breeze, and it felt good on his skin.
Ichio grew tired of sitting. He wanted to move. He wanted to talk to Nakya. But it had been hardly a minute since he sat down. She wouldn't be there yet. Groaning as he stood, Ichio walked forward, towards the forest. I'm telling you, don't go in there! Yumi screamed at him. Remember what happened last time! Her voice echoed in his mind. I don't care. That was you, this is me. I won't screw up like you always do.
Ichio walked, without having a set direction or destination. His feet simply took him where they willed. As he wandered, he heard voices. One sounded like Ki'iro. He crept closer, trying not to be seen. Ki'iro was standing with a girl, someone he didn't recognize, and he seemed less upset than he should have been. When he left, he looked like he was ready to cut somebody or something. He inched closer, not noticing the slender branch in his path. It snapped loudly, giving away his position. Instead of taking off, Ichio came out from behind the tree. "Hey, Ki'iro." he simply said.
"Ki'iro?" The girl who was with him asked slowly, "or Kai?"
"Umm... Who is Kai?" Ichio asked, suddenly confused.
This was not the reception he'd expected. Not even close.
"Are... you having an identity crisis or something, Ki'iro?" he looked back and forth from Ki'iro, or Kai? and the girl. "Well... I won't get in the middle of this... I've got far too much in my hands taking care of Yumi and Nakya - which you should be doing, by the way, since you made her cry too - and I have to go meet her. You get things figured out, Okay?" He all but demanded, and backed away slowly, then turning to stride quickly back to the school.
There were less than two hours left now, he figured. Just enough time to talk to Nakya about this. He picked up the pace, jogging to the auditorium. He paused at the doorway, catching his breath.
"Sorry I'm late, I went for a short walk." he apologized, walking up to Nakya.
"It's fine. I took longer than I expected." she said, smiling up at Ichio.
Moving over so he could sit beside her, she patted the ground.
"Come sit." Waiting until he sat, she finally said, "So, tell me what happened, please?" She looked at him, a mixture of pain and sadness dancing in her eyes. "I want to know everything, whether it will upset me or not."
Ichio heaved a great sigh, organizing his thoughts over Yumi's yelling.
"Well, I'll try, but it might take a while, since Yumi won't stop yelling at me." He sighed again, quieter. Leaning back to lay on the floor, he began. "Well, Yumi got suspicious when you ran off into the forest, and forced herself out to go looking for you. She couldn't find any trace of you in the woods, so she decided to check the school. She saw you there, in that guy, Logan's, arms." He paused, letting her absorb, and taking a breath so he wouldn't start crying. He hated being so sensitive.
Nodding silently, she looked down at the ground. She listened to what Ichio was saying and waited for him to continue. Reaching up, she smoothed her bangs.
"Needless to say, she ran. Right into Ki'iro. She was overwhelmed. I've never seen her have mood swings like this since her last crush, and she was never bad enough to harm someone. She really cared about you... She probably still would, if she wasn't going psycho right now. She does that when she harms someone. Anyway, she tried to escape from the pain she was feeling, trying to escape her feelings for you." Ichio kept going, staring into the ceiling, recalling everything. "Rinsi chased after her. Yumi wouldn't listen to either of them. She kept saying it wasn't happening. At that point, to her, nothing was real. Her powers can brainwash her, so she only feels the thrill of power. That's what had happened when Rinsi tried to comfort her. She struck out, because she felt nothing but power. It wasn't because of you, Nakya. It wasn't. I just couldn't stop her."
Ichio sat up, looking at Nakya to assure her it wasn't her fault. Yumi wouldn't stop yelling. She was crying now, and Ichio had a hard time keeping the tears inside.
Closing her eyes, a silent tear rolled down her cheek as she listened to Ichio.
"So she doesn't trust me... You don't trust me..." she said then he was finished. Turning her head away from Ichio, she continued, "And it is my fault. I upset her, by turning to a friend when I was upset. And then she hurt another friend of mine, because of it." Taking a slow, deep breath in, she said "I don't know if I can be with someone who doesn't trust me Ichio..." Standing up, she walked over to a window and looked outside, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
Ichio's mouth dropped when he heard Nakya's words.
"Don't... trust you?" He staggered to his feet. "Why wouldn't I trust you, Nakya? Why do you think that?" He wasn't comprehending. His plan felt closer than ever.
"Because you and Yumi are the same person. What she feels, you feel, and vice versa..." she replied, biting her lip, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Tears began pouring out of her eyes now.
"If she didn't trust me, and jumped to conclusions, then somewhere, deep down, you didn't trust me either." Nakya turned to face Ichio, her pain and sadness evident on her face. "Right?"
As she had been talking, her hands had been forming into tight fists. She knew she had hurt them both, but never did she think they would have thought something like this.
Ichio swallowed the reply he had prepared when Nakya said they were the same person. A sad smile spread on his face.
"Wrong. The same person? Maybe in the beginning. We're... Like twins. We've grown up with the same experiences, almost everything being the same, but we're two different people. We have different feelings, different reactions, different abilities. We're not the same. We may have some things in common sometimes, but I never doubted you would come back. I wanted to wait. Yumi's power has clouded her mind. She's so used to doing things then leaving me to clean it up, that she's lost touch with reality. She doesn't think things through."
Ichio wanted to step forward and take her in his arms, but he couldn't. He didn't want to hurt her any more than he already had, any more than he was going to.
"Nakya, I...." He couldn't finish, instead turning away, trying to keep his head still, trying to drown out Yumi.
, "I'm sorry then Ichio." she said, frowning slightly when she heard Ichio explain about him and Yumi. Wondering why he didn't finish his sentance, she pressed him for an answer.
"You what, Ichio?" Seeing him turn away from her, she began to tremble. Closing her eyes, she let her tears continue to fall.
Ichio could summon no more than a whisper. His time was almost up. Perhaps five minutes remained.
"Nakya, I can't stay here. I can't be here with you. I can't be anywhere." He turned back. "I have to go, and I won't see you again for a very long time. I can't give you an explanation right now, but you're smart. You'll understand. I just... I wish I had more time here." He took one last step forward, wrapping his arms around Nakya as his tears fell down his face.
Blinking in surprise at Ichio, Nakya began to panic.
"What do you mean you can't be here? Can't be here with me? Where are you going? You don't have to leave! I'm sorry! Please don't go, I didn't mean to upset you!"
As Ichio's arms wrapped around her, and she felt his tears, she began almost gasping for air.
"Please Ichio, please, don't go. Don't leave me, please... I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry..."
Nakya was begging him to stay, she hated begging people to do anything.
"It's not in my hands anymore. It's time for me to go. I only have a couple minutes left. I'm sorry, Nakya." Ichio stepped away, not caring that his tears fell. "It's time for Yumi to grow up, to learn how to fend for herself and not rely on me." He backed up, listening to Yumi sob. "I'll come back. I promise."
He turned, and ran. He ran harder than he'd ever run before, out of the school and into the forest at full speed. He ran until he was far enough that he didn't think Nakya would find him. Pulling out the wrapped object in his pocket, he took off the cloth, letting it fall to the ground. He held it to his heart, listening to it beat faster and faster. His heart, not Yumi's. He pushed it hard, piercing through his clothes and deep into bone and muscle. A spasm of pain shook his body. The knife fell to the ground as he wrenched it out, and fell to the ground after it, as Yumi took over.
I'll come back, He kept repeating in his mind.
YOU IDIOT!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? I CAN'T HANDLE THIS WITHOUT YOU! Yumi screamed in his mind.
That's why I brought us here in the first place... Ichio whispered as the blackness took over. Yumi laid on the ground, her tears and Ichio's falling as she passed out, to wait for the next morning. Ichio was close to death, but not quite. Yumi was alone now, for days, maybe even months.