Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ What Happens Next? ( Chapter 11 )

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

umi finished her shower, feeling much better. All the fear and sadness she had felt when Ichio…did what he did had mostly melted away, flowing down the shower drain along with the mud and blood that had been caked on her. Stepping out into the steamy room, she clothed herself, tying her hair back and primping. She'd shut out the events of the day, and decided to see if Rinsi was in, so she could apologize and perhaps heal her. She didn't know why, but the fear of her powers had seemed to evaporate. It confused her, but she paid it little attention. Walking down the stairs to Rinsi's room, she was surprised to see the boy standing in the hall with Nakya passed out in his arms.
"What happened?" She asked, jogging down the hall to stand next to him.
"I'm not sure. I found her like this in the forest."
Yumi no longer smelt of blood, but Nakya did. She smelt like Ichio. The brunette looked back at the door. If Rinsi was in he couldn't tell. He couldn't hear any movement inside. He looked back at Yumi then again and Nakya.
Yumi looked at Nakya. She must have found the spot where Ichio stabbed himself. She was covered in blood.
"Is the door locked?" she asked, looking at the door and reaching out to take the handle.
Jiggling the doorknob, she used her power sneakily to push the lock back. Opening the door, she saw no one inside.
"Put her on the bed. I'll get some water." She walked towards the bathroom, and saw Rinsi on the floor, unconscious. It looked like she had tried to use the bathroom on her own, but for some reason – be it her injuries or lack of energy – she had passed out on the way out and was lying on the floor unconscious.
"OH, for crying out loud." She mumbled, bending down to check her vitals. "This is ridiculous."
Logan nodded lightly, watching, with a little suspicion, as she opened the door. He carried Nakya in, placing her on her own bed and looking back at Yumi and Rinsi. He mumbled a few incoherent words and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. She was right, this was ridiculous.
"Not to mention, it's entirely my fault." Yumi added under her breath as she carefully moved Rinsi to the empty bed. "I'll heal her so she doesn't keep doing this."
Yumi stretched out her hands over Rinsi's abdomen, summoning energy from the air. She felt her breathing quicken as the air thinned and cooled. A light glow emanated from Rinsi's stomach as Yumi sped up the healing process. When she was done, she sat back on her heels, catching her breath.
"I didn't think I'd done this much damage..." She thought out loud.
Logan watched as Yumi healed Rinsi. A small frown formed on his lips as he looked back over at Nakya. He sighed, wondering what had she done to pass out. The brunette looked back at Yumi for a moment then let his eyes drift to the door. He decided to not ask what had happened and would change the subject.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, his voice still holding the vampire charm, although it was a little horse.
Rinsi had been in a deep sleep, but could faintly feel something warm and comforting on her body. More specifically, her abdomen. It was this warm, comforting feeling that soothed her aching body, and that woke her up. Once again green eyes opened and glanced around. She remembered coughing up blood in the bathroom until the washrag was soaked, and faintly remembered passing out. However, she was in her bed now, and seeing Yumi next to her, she guessed why.
"Oh, hello, Yumi. Hello, Logan." Rinsi said cheerfully, and this time it was the truth.
Rinsi's whole body felt better than it had since the dance, and she felt a bit more energized. Quite possibly enough to do what she came to this school to do - practice and learn to control her abilities.
Rinsi sat up and stretched a bit, welcoming the slight tug at her muscles.
"Before you say anything, Yumi," Rinsi said, still smiling, but sounding serious, almost motherly, "I don't blame you, so don't blame yourself. And thank you for healing me. I feel much better now!"
Yumi looked up at Logan, answering his question.
"I think things are under control here, but thanks for your help." She smiled, a bit tired. Her gaze returned to Rinsi when she woke. "I don't care who you blame, Rinsi. It was still my fault. I need to control myself." Groaning as she stood, she added, "You need to take things easy, you've healed, but your body still thinks you're wounded."
"Pfft, are you kidding?" Rinsi said cheerfully. "I'm a healer. Sure, the first time I healed myself was annoying, but after that my body got used to being healed prematurely."
Rinsi was about to say more, but her stomach protested loudly. She finally remembered that, since the party, she had only had a couple mouthfuls of food, and her body was really yelling at her for it. As if in sync with her stomach, Mooney nuzzled her leg and meowed, looking pitifully at his empty dish.
"Aw, I'm sorry Mooney." she cooed at the cat as she knelt down and dipped the food side of the joint bowls into a bag that was nearby, filling it to the brim. "Hey, how about we all head down to the cafeteria and get some food."
Looking over, she noticed Nakya was asleep on her bed, covered in blood.
"My goodness! Is she okay? What happened?"
Yumi smiled at Logan, then looked at Rinsi. Her smile fell when Rinsi asked what happened.
"She's okay, though I'm not sure why she's unconscious. I think she's covered in Ichio's blood." She walked over to Nakya's bed, placing a hand on her forehead. "Her energy is so crazy."
"WHA-?!" Rinsi exclaimed when she heard that the blood covering Nakya was Ichios, "What happened to Ichio then? Ah, maybe you should get some rest and food. I now know you can manipulate energy, but you spent a lot on me. I can tell because you look tired. Let's get some food, and then we can see what we can do about Nakya. Yumi, what about you? Are you okay?"
Turning, Rinsi found Kelly – a student with the ability to shape shift - standing in the room, looking rather curious and possibly even worried. He had apparently heard the noise and came to make sure everything was okay. Rinsi smiled at the person reassuringly, this time honestly now that she was feeling so much better.
"Oh, hello Kelly!" she said cheerfully, "Yes, everything is okay, thank you for asking. We were just going to get something to eat so we could help our friend out here. Would you like to come along?"
Yumi sighed. She really didn't want to explain everything at the moment.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later, okay?" She looked at Rinsi, a pleading look in her eyes. "Let's just get something to eat." When Kelly entered the room, she replied, "Yeah, everything's okay now. You missed all the action." She chuckled, the strain showing in her voice.
"All right, but I'm holding you to that!" Rinsi told Yumi cheerfully, winking her eye.
Once again Rinsi's stomach growled loudly. She blushed a bit and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly at such rude noises from her stomach.
"I think that's my tummy's way of saying we need to get some chow."
Logan remained silent. He stared blankly at a wall. Not really listing to what was going on around him. He did pick out some new voices and words like food. He finally tore his gaze away from the wall, letting his eyes drift over the people in the room. He glanced at Nakya again.
"If I can help with anything later, let me know." he said looking at Yumi. "Have fun."
He stuck his hands back in his pockets and slipped from the room. There was really no need for him to come along and if Nakya was just going to sleep he would do something. But he hoped they would let him know if she got better, or worse. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Oh?" Rinsi said, "You're not coming, Logan? That's a shame. If you're busy, it's understandable and we'll let you know how she's doing. But if you have nothing to do, maybe you can keep an eye on her in case she wakes up."
However, by that time Logan was already gone. She was talking to the air, and when she realized it, she flushed a little, and hoped Yumi hadn't noticed.
"Shall we?" Yumi said as a mighty grumble shook her belly. "I don't think my tummy's very happy with me." She laughed lightly.
Rinsi walked up to Yumi and locked elbows with her.
"We shall!" she said cheerfully as she lead her out of the room.
Rinsi figured Logan had his own reasons for not joining them, and it was not her business to pry. He seemed like he would be okay anyway, though he would be the first one she would hunt down once they had news on Nakya. For now she was content with making a bee line to the cafeteria with her new found friends.
All she could see was darkness. All she could smell was blood. Looking around the walls began to run red. Screaming, she bolted up right in bed, her eyes flying open. Looking down at her hand, she saw the blood and screamed again.
"It's not true! Tell me it was a bad dream!" Nakya screamed in terror.
She began trembling as she stared at the blood on her hand. It's all my fault. His blood is on my hands, no one else's, she thought. She didn't notice anyone else in the room. She couldn't hear anything else, just her words echoing
"You said you cared! I'm sorry!" The next thing she knew, the darkness was coming again, and she passed out, her head landing on her pillow.
Rinsi jumped a bit when she heard Nakya scream, and had turned around. They had just barely reached the hall way, so they could still see into the room without any problems. Seeing the girl awake, Rinsi was going to rush to her side and make sure she was ok, but the girl passed out again before she could.
"I don't know." Rinsi said, now concerned, "I hope she'll be okay. We'll do what we can to fix her once we get something to eat. We need the energy."
Yumi cringed when Nakya screamed.
"It's alright, she had an energy spike." she added, listening to Rinsi. Closing her eyes for a moment, she continued. "She's back to normal. She just needs rest now. I wish Ichio could go talk to her, though. That would speed up the process." She kept walking, not intending to elaborate. Her stomach growled again. "I need meat."
"You know what sounds good?" Rinsi said, trying to lighten the mood as she lead Yumi out of the room so Nakya could rest, "Chicken stir fry noodles. I know it's fattening as hell, but right now I think we could all do for a little comfort food."
Yumi smiled as Rinsi suggested food.
"I could use some Udon right now. I can't remember the last time I had it." She laughed, following Rinsi's lead as they entered the Cafeteria.
"Oh, god, don't tempt me!" Rinsi said enthusiastically at the mention of Udon, which made her stomach growl more.
Upon reaching the cafeteria, Rinsi immediately grabbed a plate and began heaping on the food. She was ashamed of looking like such a pig, but after not eating more than two bites in a forty-eight our span or more, she was famished, especially since the energy deficit earlier required more energy and she hadn't had the food energy to help replace it. Everything looked delicious and she wanted a little bit of everything.
"That's a good enough reason for me." Yumi laughed.
She grabbed a giant bowl of Udon with some chopsticks and gulped it down in record time, going back for seconds, and then thirds. It was delicious. It had to be homemade. When she was done, she stood.
"I should check on Nakya."
At that point Nakya walked into the room, grabbed some food and sat at a table a little ways away. Yumi felt her confidence hit rock bottom. She knew Nakya wanted to talk about Ichio, and wasn't looking forward to it.
"Ugh..." She groaned, walking towards Nakya.
Rinsi was happily slurping down noodles and downing chicken and vegetables faster than they ever had before. It was greasy, it was fattening, and she was loving every minute of it. Though she was normally a picky eater, this was one time she didn't really care. By the time she was done, she was stuffed like a holiday turkey. She leaned back and gave a contented sigh, patting her equally contented belly.
"That was so good!" she said cheerfully.
Looking over to talk to Yumi, Rinsi noticed she wasn't there, but instead over with the now awake Nakya. Not bothering to clean up her dishes, Rinsi walked over to them and sat on the other side of Nakya, listening quietly.
"I sent Logan after you, when you ran off. I was worried." Yumi was explaining as she kept playing with her chopstick, twirling it and bending it. "He brought you back to your room after he found you lying in Ichio's blood." She tried not to look Nakya in the eye.
Hearing Yumi say she had Logan go after you, Nakya nodded. Seeing Rinsi sit down, she smiled slightly at her, glad to see she was better. At the mention of Ichio's name, she felt her whole body tense up. Her heart felt as if it was breaking all over again. Determined not to show outwardly how she felt, she kept an expression devoid of all emotion on her face. Glancing casually at the boy, she looked back at Yumi.
"Who’s that?" she asked dully. Frowning inwardly, she realized no matter how much she could control her body, she wouldn't be able to keep her true feelings hidden as long as she had to speak. Taking another bite of her bun, she waited for an answer.
Seeing her roommate so devoid of emotion, and even ask who Ichio was, worried Rinsi a lot. She could tell she was having an inward battle, and didn't want to show it, and Rinsi hated seeing that. Rinsi may have been dull in spotting blooming relationships, but she could read eyes like they were books, and Nakya's eyes were full of pain.
"Oh, don't give us that." Rinsi said, mockingly lecturing her, "Anyway, we're just glad you're okay. You had us worried about you. Come on, we're your friends, right? You can divulge in us."
"Nakya... Why did you go out there? There was a reason he went so far into the forest." She asked, getting to the point. Nakya looked uncomfortable, and she didn't want to drag the whole thing out.
"And what was that reason?" she asked, snapping at Yumi. "To disappear forever? To make me feel worse? I ended up out there because I was trying to run away from the truth, Yumi. I ran until I ended up collapsing."
As her anger grew, she could feel her head beginning to pound.
"The truth is I cared about him, Yumi. And because I couldn't be what he needed he left. For good. How would you feel after realizing that?"
Slamming her hands down on the table, she stood up and shakily walked out of the cafeteria. She began wandering the halls
Yumi stayed silent as Nakya yelled. She didn't understand, and didn't seem to want to. It didn't change the fact that she needed to explain things. She'd expected the yelling, after all. As Nakya rose and walked out, Yumi stood, saying to Rinsi, "Is it just me, or does she place every ounce of blame she can on herself?"
Yumi followed Nakya out into the hall, trying to figure out what to say. When she caught up, she said, "Nakya, calm down and I'll explain everything to you. But you have to calm down. It's not your fault he left. It's mine."
Hearing Yumi catch up to her, Nakya kept walking. Turning on her quickly, she asked "What do you mean it's your fault?"
Staring at the girl, not knowing whether to cry or be angry, she stood there with an expression tinted with pain on her face. Watching Yumi closely, she waited for an answer. Feeling dizzy from her headache, she leaned against the wall.
"When I went looking for you, even though he begged me not to, and caused everything that happened, Ichio couldn't take it. I've done this to him so many times, he couldn't bear it anymore. So he decided to make sure I had to clean everything up, make amends for everything I've done." Yumi looked down at her feet, fidgeting horribly. "He would have gone away immediately, but he wanted to see you one last time."
She looked up, into Nakya's eyes. Yumi had hurt her so much, and she'd done nothing but become more and more callous.
"Shall we take this conversation to the dorm?" Rinsi suggested as she approached the two girls. After Yumi had left, she had taken her tray to the kitchen to be cleaned, and immediately went after them. "I want to know that just as much as you, Nakya, but right now it looks like you're about to collapse. I think it's best we take this someplace where you can sit down before you pass out."
As she heard Rinsi's voice say they should take it to the dorm, Nakya nodded and began walking to the stairs. When Yumi said Ichio wanted to see her one last time, she froze. He had wanted to see her one last time... Inhaling slightly, she said "Do you know what one of the last things I said to him was..?"
As she waited for their reply, she closed her eyes and tears fell silently from her face. Reaching out for Rinsi, a whimper escaped from her chest.
Sensing her friend needed a hug, Rinsi wrapped her arm around the girl's shoulders. She was worried about her, but continued to smile, hoping it would be contagious as it normally was.
"Nakya, if you worry about that too much, it won't do any good. He'll come back, but I think he just needed some time and a means to teach Yumi not to make him clean up the mess. She's learning quickly, too!"
Yumi watched the tears fall from Nakya's eyes.
"You begged him to stay... And he wouldn't listen." She whispered, feeling the guilt multiply on her shoulders. "He'd made his decision long before, and he's always been stubborn. He wanted to stay, so badly. I tried to make him, tried to do anything, but I couldn't bear to come back out. I was too afraid." She admitted, feeling her own tears begin to fall.
As she continued crying, Nakya began walking up the stairs. Barely more than a whisper, she said "And I told him.. that I couldn't be with someone who didn't trust me.."
As she reached the top of the stairs, she went through the door, knowing full well that Yumi and Rinsi were behind her. Walking down the hall, lost in her thoughts, she walked into their room and lay down on the bed.
"He wanted to see me one last time and I told him I couldn't be with him because he didn't trust me..." Closing her eyes, her tears streamed down her face.
Upon reaching their room, Rinsi made sure Nakya was safely sitting on her bed before anything else. She took her violin and it's bow from the case and began playing a soft, slow, and yet happy lullaby on it, hoping it would help calm her crying friend. The tune started off soft and slow, as a means of calming the soul and bringing peace, but Rinsi knew that the first part of the song was rather deceiving, though with a good purpose. She just hoped it really was helping. Her last spell had failed, and she was still angry at herself for this, but maybe hearing something like this would help.
"He knew you didn't understand how the situation worked. He was willing to explain things to you. He wanted to, but he never got a chance. He would have, but... I messed it all up." Yumi looked at her feet as she stood in front of Nakya's bed, unwilling to leave, and unwilling to stay.
Sitting up slowly, feeling calmer thanks to Rinsi's music, she asked, "Would you guys mind if I went for a walk? I need to get some air."
Standing up, she smiled slightly, before walking over to the door. Waiting for their answer, she dried her eyes and kissed Yumi on the cheek. Walking out the door, she became lost in her thoughts. Walking down the halls, she wandered around not paying attention to anything. Turning a corner, she saw Re getting a hug from... Ki'iro.. Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of her twice in one day, she walked past them silently and went to sit on the front steps of the school.
Rinsi figured Nakya would need some space to think, so she didn't follow. She wanted to badly, to make sure her friend was okay and wouldn't do anything drastic, but she also knew that doing so might have more negative consequences than positive ones. Sighing to herself, she continued to play her violin, letting herself be engulfed in the music as it slowly began to pick up pace. It was too bad that Nakya had missed the rest of the song, as it was really quite lovely and very uplifting, but Rinsi would play it for her later. Once this song was done, though, she had a phone call to make. She needed to talk to her auntie and find out just how many spells she had been taught.