Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ Ki'iro? Or Kai? ( Chapter 15 )

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

Looking at Ki'iro and listening to his tone, Nakya felt nauseous.
"Help me..please.." She looked to Rinsi, and whispered.
Nakya had never felt so helpless. She loved Ichio.. Not this one, the old one. And when he left, he had broken her heart. She had turned to Ki'iro and she had started falling for him. She had been over Ichio, or so she thought, when he returned. Seeing Ichio again, had awakened the feelings she had for him. She was so lost, so confused. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone. Seeing Ki'iro walking to leave the room, silent tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ki'iro turned before he walked out of the room and looked Nakya in the eyes. A flicker of sadness burdened his eyes, but they were filled with disappointment and fear.
"Why?" He asked softly, his face didn't change. The male's hands were shoved into his pockets, still balled up in fists.
"I can't believe you would do this to me," he said, still not taking his eyes away from hers. Ki'iro stood in the doorway, torn between separation and belongingness.
Looking at Ki'iro, she whispered softly, her voice breaking.
"Just let me explain, please.." Her eyes were filled with fear and guilt. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen.
"What do you want to explain?" he barked at her.
His temper flared, pulling his hands from his pockets, shadows were present around them.
"Do you want to tell me why you lead me on? Why you kissed me?" He smirked and laughed softly, "Humor me."
Rinsi remained quiet. She didn't like doing this to her friend, but this was a conversation that had to happen. She herself had seen how she had been all over Ki'iro shortly after Ichio returned, and didn't approve. However, she had remained quiet about it. She felt bad for both sides, really, but right now there was nothing she could do about it.
"No, Cecil." she said, answering her little friend, "You didn't do anything bad. This is just...a delicate situation.”
Cecil flew back over to Rinsi, and she felt a little extra weight on her head as Cecil landed on the flat of it, balancing as if she were a chair, much to the disapproval of Mooney, who was always nearby.
Blinking at him in shock, Nakya began to tremble. Ki'iro's temper had always frightened her. She opened her mouth to begin speaking, but quickly closed it. She had seen him like this once before, and it hadn't ended well. How could she explain to him that she cared for them both. Someone was going to get hurt because of her, and she couldn't bring herself to speak, her fear evident on her face.
Ki'iro just laughed at her and shook his head.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to tell me."
He turned his back to her. Glancing back quickly, he looked her in the eye and laughed again.
"I don't want to see you again, Nakya," he said flatly as he walked out of the room. He headed down the hallway, his hands still aglow with the bright shadows around them.
Nakya stood as he began to speak.
"Ki'iro, I can tell you I just need a mome--"
As he turned to leave, and stopped to speak to her, she felt her heart drop.
"I deserve that.." she whispered as he left the room.
Her face grew pale, and she felt weak. Sitting on the floor, she shut her mind off from everyone and everything. She covered her face with her hands, feeling horrible about what she had done, and the person she was.
Hearing her say that she deserved it, he replied, [b]"You deserve so much more."[/b] He walked down the hallway and headed towards the front of the school. The shadows about his hands flared up around his arms and torso.
"Ki'iro," a voice called from inside of his head. His head began hurting again, he grabbed his hair and fell onto his knees.
"Wh-what?"
"Ki'iro, I know you're slipping. You're losing your grip," the voice beckoned Ki'iro to the comforting darkness that overwhelmed him as the shadows around him grew higher.
A silent tear rolled down her face at Ki'iro's last comment.
"Will you make sure he's going to be okay..? I know I shouldn't care, but..I do.." she softly asked looking up at Rinsi.
Rinsi was one of her closest friends at the school and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to explain how she felt to her even. All she knew is she wanted everyone to be happy, even if she was miserable. Sighing softly, she climbed to her feet and picked the note off the bed.
"Here, read this. You wrote it for me." she said holding it out to Ichio.
Walking out the door, she moved down the hall and went into her room.
Ichio listened quietly to the conversation, recognizing the boy as the one who'd come when he first arrived. Looking at the note Nakya had left on the bed, he picked it up gently, reading the words carefully. It looked like his handwriting. Had he really written it? Closing his eyes, he focused on the words.
Who had written it? Me? Who was it for? Nakya...?
The answers came slow, then quicker, as memories seemed to pop out of thin air.
Why did she want to leave? Because of what I had done. No, because of what Yumi had done.
His eyes flew open just as Nakya sat on the floor. Whirling about, he looked at Nakya, then at the door.
Nakya. Rinsi. Ki'iro. Yumi.
The names came flying back, as well as a few select memories, though not everything. His eyes flipped back and forth from Nakya to the door, unsure what to do. Nakya needed consoling, but he wanted to set things right with Ki'iro as well. He wasn't healthy for Nakya, his recent plans seemed proof enough of that.
"It'll be okay, I promise. I told you I'd come back. And now I am." Ichio whispered in her ear, falling to one knee next to Nakya.
He smiled lightly, and then continued.
"There's something I need to take care of. I'll be back in five minutes. I promise you." He kissed her gently on the side of her head, then stood and raced out of the door, his powerful legs propelling him faster and faster, as he searched for Ki'iro. Soon there was a figure on the ground in front of him, Ki'iro. There were dark flame-like shadows flailing about him.
"Ki'iro?" he asked, stopping a couple yards away.
Rinsi didn't like the air about Ki'iro. Something didn't seem right at all, and it worried her. She was torn between helping her depressed friend and room mate, and seeing what was wrong with Ki'iro. Both seemed of vital importance, and she hated to choose between them. However, sensing that Nakya would be a bit safer with Cecil than Ki'iro would, she picked Cecil up from on top of her head and looked him/her straight in the eye.
"Cecil, you and Mooney stay here and cheer Nakya up. Make sure she gets back to our dorm room safely."
"Righto!" Cecil said cheerfully before making a bee line for Nakya's chest. "Nakya! Cecil is here to cheer you up! Mooney too!"
Mooney had long since gotten the point and stayed behind with Nakya, curling up in her lap contentedly.
"Meow!" he said contentedly.
Rinsi, meanwhile, decided to follow Ki'iro and see what was going on. With the way the shadows were leaping up around him, almost like black flames, it made him look very angry, almost evil. The air around him seemed to reek with something that definitely wasn't him, and she wasn't sure what it was.
"Ki'iro," she said, treading softly, as if on egg shells, "Do you like music?"
She knew it was silly, but maybe changing the subject would help him cheer up. If she could find a subject that they both liked and knew a lot about, then it might help calm him and bring him back to himself.
Silent tears rolled down Ki'iro's pale face. The flames grew more and more, but simmered a bit when two figures appeared next to him. He looked up, eyes blazing, "What?" he whispered softly.
"Ki'iro. Don't listen to them, think about her. Think about her," the voice repeated over and over again. Flashes of Nakya, and memories with her flicked through his mind. Standing up, he looked at the figures and raised his hands.
"Don't try to cheer me up, don't get any closer," he hissed.
The flames around his hands flashed with an intense energy, they looked ready to jump off his body at any moment. His eyes flashed over to Rinsi, and he smirked and laughed.
"You think you can get my mind off this? Ha!" Ki'iro didn't let his guard down as he spoke.
Rinsi had jumped a bit, a little intimidated by his burst of anger, but she didn't back down.
"Well, it's better than brooding. Brooding doesn't do anything productive. Now, do you like music? If so, what kind?"
Rinsi kept on smiling her normal smile, determined to calm him down and figure out what was going on with him. Something wasn't right, and she wasn't sure what it was, but she was starting to think it was something in his head. She had seen how his eyes changed quickly as he spoke, almost as if he was speaking to someone in his head. Normally people would think him crazy, but in a school like this there were other possibilities besides schizophrenia.
Ki'iro laughed again at her foolish attempt to calm him down. Inside, his heart ached, broken. Shadows danced among it, the darkness comforted him. Twitching his hand that was pointed at her, he smiled softly as a shadow shot at her, too fast for anybody other than Ki'iro to stop it. He stopped the shadow about three inches from her face and laughed.
"Kill her, Ki'iro. Kill her, she doesn't know what's going on. Think about her, think about her," the voice spoke again.
Ki'iro's hand flinched again, the shadow in front of Rinsi's face twitched. His hand shook violently, the voice spoke again.
"Do it! Kill her!" it yelled.
Rinsi was surprised at what had happened, but she didn't move an inch. She just kept smiling at him. She could tell he was having an internal battle. She could read it in his eyes like they were books. Something definitely wasn't right, and she needed to diffuse the situation quickly. Since he hadn't answered her question, she chose to assume he did in fact like music. Evidence of that was from the dance not too long ago. So, to help calm him, she chose a lullaby her mother always sang to her, to calm her when she was upset. It was soft and sweet, and something about it always seemed to calm her, no matter how heart broken or upset she was.
Ichio watched frozen as the conversation between Rinsi and Ki'iro progressed. Then Ki'iro struck. When the shadow flew faster than his eyes could see, Ichio vaulted forward, reaching a hand out toward Rinsi. She didn't even flinch.
"Ki'iro! Stop this! What are you doing to yourself?" He yelled, tensing his muscles for a fight. He didn't know how long he'd last, but if he was lucky he'd get in a shot to Ki'iro's head, knocking him out.
"You can do better than this! You can do it for her! I know it!" He continued as Yumi cheered him on.
"If you won't do it, Ki'iro, I will." the voice said as it pushed its way into Ki'iro's conscious mind.
He fell to his knees, shadows rose up above him yet still hugged to his body. His entire persona was covered in darkness.
"You're never going to be as strong as I am, Ki'iro," the voice whispered as it took over, consuming him. Ki'iro's broken heart wasn't strong enough to withstand an internal attack on his mind.
A moment later, the flames died down and Ki'iro stayed on his knees. His eyes had become a slight darker shade of red, but it was nearly unnoticeable. Everything about his physical appearance was exactly the same. Looking up at the two people who stood before him, he smiled uneasily.
"Hello," he said simply.
Rinsi placed a hand on Ichio's tensed shoulder. She could understand his actions, and was actually a bit flattered he had acted in her defense, but how he was reacting wouldn't calm the situation any. She gave him a look as if to say, "Thank you, but I think you'd better relax and let me handle this." And from there she continued to sing her mother's lullaby to her.
Kai stood up from the ground, a little wobbly on his feet, but he managed. He walked over to Rinsi and smiled softly.
"Hello," he paused for a moment and reached back into Ki'iro's memories for her name, acquiring it, he continued. "Rinsi. I'm-I'm okay now," he said, trying to play off as Ki'iro.
Ichio nearly jumped out of his skin when the flames died down around Ki'iro. Perhaps now was not a good time to try and talk to Ki'iro. There was something odd about the way he held himself. He was far too calm for what he'd just been going through. His stature was more laid-back, less stiff, like Ki'iro normally was. Leaning over to reply to Rinsi's look, his gaze snapped back to Ki'iro, and he whispered in her ear.
"I'm going to Nakya. Yell, if anything bad happens."
He backed away and around a corner, not turning his head until he was out of sight. He turned and loped back to his room, throwing on a change of clothes before heading to Nakya's. He knocked quietly, and called, "Nakya, it's me, Ichio. Can I come in?"
"Yeah..." Rinsi said cautiously.
The stench in the air around him hadn't changed. In fact, it was worse now. And something in his eyes wasn't right, either, but she couldn't tell what it was. It was like he was someone or something else in Ki'iro's body. She could feel her smile begin to falter a bit, but refused to give in to the growing dread inside her. Instead she renewed her smile, which by now was merely plastered on like a child's noodle project, and did her best to relax the hand that was now clenching Ichio's shoulder.
"Ichio, did you hear? Ki'iro is okay. I think we should see how Nakya is doing."
Kai moved towards the hallway of the school and headed straight for his dorm room. Even Kai was exhausted physically. Sighing, he plopped down onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Rinsi sighed to herself and shivered once she was sure Ki'iro was gone. She had watched him saunter off to his dorm room, and was glad to get away from that putrid air about him, but at the same time still wondered what was going on. After deciding that he might have just gone to rest, Rinsi went back to Ichio's room to check on Nakya. She took a deep breath before entering the room, and slapped a smile on her face again.
"I'm back!" she said cheerfully, "Feeling any better Nakya?"
"Mistress Rinsi!" Cecil said cheerfully before making a bee line to her chest and planting him/herself between her breasts.
"Mental note, break Cecil of that habit." Rinsi said as she felt her face turning bright red. "He's okay, Nakya." she said reassuringly.