Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ The Gifted Moon Academy ❯ Questions and Answers ( Chapter 18 )

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

Ki'iro shrugged softly at Rinsi's reaction.
"No really, it's fine. It's your decision, I keep to mine." He said as he looked over at what Candice had gotten, her food was probably just as bad, or worse. "I never liked her. She was just a thing. His thoughts faltered, trying to even remember her. He couldn't even recall how they had met. "She was more of Kai's girl. And she's yet to let me go," He told her. He still didn't want to talk about her.
Since their thoughts were connected, he could hear her thinking about Ichio and how he hadn't talked to her the entire summer.
"I'm sorry about Ichio, Nakya. I know you really cared about him, I'm sure he'll come back.”
Rinsi nodded and continued with the bite of food she had earlier rejected. She could tell by his distracted look that Ki'iro was likely talking with Nakya telepathically. She left them to their conversation as she ate silently, thankful that Nakya wouldn't hear what she wanted to say, and that the new girl would have no clue what she was talking about. She was free to discuss with Ki'iro what needed to be discussed. However, she would have to wait until he was no longer busy.
Hearing Ki'iro's response, Nakya frowned even more.
'You don't need to explain why you were with her to me, Ki'rio. It was bound to happen. And I didn't treat you the greatest. I'm really sorry for that. I just..' she thought to him, as her words trailed off. Even after so long, it was still hard for her to explain to him what had happened. She just recently figured it out for herself and she wasn't sure he would be able to understand without hating her. Nakya gasped in surprise as she heard Ki'iro's voice continue in her head. She had forgotten to disconnect her thoughts! She was so stupid sometimes.
"It's not a big deal Ki'iro, it's not your fault so you don't need to apologize." Somehow she had been able to hide the pain in her thoughts.
"Please, explain to me what happened. I promise to not be upset with you. But Nakya, I need to know, do you want to talk later? I know Rinsi wants to talk to me about something at the moment." Ki'iro looked over at Rinsi and smiled softly. "Excuse me for not talking," he said simply
Rinsi smiled as she chewed her food. She waited to swallow before answering.
"No, it's okay. Given your faraway and distracted look, I can tell you're busy having a conversation with Nakya, so I don't mind."
Hearing Ki'iro's words in her head, she bit her lip. He actually wanted to know. Oh boy.
'Oh! Sorry I didn't mean to take you away from the others. I have no problem having two conversations at once, I tend to forget others aren't as lucky as me.' she began rambling in her thoughts.
"Yeah later's fine, I'll be around, I'm sure you'll be able to find me." Curling up on the chair in front of the window, she wrapped her tail around her waist. Closing off her thoughts from Ki'iro's, she waited silently.
Ki'iro sighed softly as she cut off communications with him. He turned his attention to Rinsi and smiled softly, "Sorry about that. I'm no good at multi-tasking. What is it that you needed to talk to me about?" he smiled softly as he sipped away at his water. Ki'iro lifted a finger and made a shadow dance around the rim of his glass.
"Hey, I understand that completely." Rinsi said, giggling a little, "Hm, well, first off, I'm really glad you're back to yourself. We were so worried about you the last time we saw you. But, I do have a few questions, and it concerns Kai. I hope you don't mind too much."
Rinsi was poking at the rest of her food now. She was still kind of hungry, but at the same time she didn't feel like eating any more. The questions she wanted to ask had plagued her all summer, and though she tried not to worry about it so much, it still nagged at her a lot. She could tell Ki'iro was getting tired, probably from memories of the past that he possible didn't want to remember, but there was something she needed to know.
"It's fine. I'll answer whatever questions you might have. Unless I just feel like it really bothers me or something. I'm pretty open though." He smiled softly at her.
Rinsi smiled back. She was glad he was taking things so easily right now.
"That's fine. So, who is Kai and how well do you know him?"
"Kai isn't a somebody. Kai is the same person as I am. When I was-Okay, you know how people get multiple personalities, right? They supress something that happened to them and then they use that other personality as a substitute. Anyway. He's like my second personality. Basically. And he has this lovely habit of taking over and such. That's the basic thing of it." He sighed heavily as he revealed himself to her. He didn't enjoy it one bit, but he figured that they all needed to know sooner or later.
"Well, I was kind of hoping it was some sort of possessive spirit sharing your body with you," Rinsi said as she poked at her food, "But that does make more sense. What I'm wondering is how Kai knows my family, and yet I know nothing about him."
As they spoke, Rinsi had seen a young man enter the cafeteria. He looked too old to be a student, but also fairly young - about her age. She saw how the light glistened off his silver hair, and all in all she thought he was pretty handsome, albeit lonely looking. She made a mental note to introduce herself later and make friends. He looked like he could use it.
"That question in particular has been bothering me since our little...encounter." Rinsi continued, hoping that Ki'iro wouldn't notice the small blush she could feel spreading across her cheeks.
"Spirit? No, though that would be more interesting. I can ask him, if you please. I can bring him back, though I don't know how long it would be until I got myself back," he smiled softly as he looked over at the male who had just entered the room. Looking back at Rinsi, he laughed. "Interested?" he asked simply. "Anyway," he sipped at his water, "Kai's definitely an interesting person. I like to consider him a different person. I don't have to bring him back, though. When he had taken over for about a year, he met your family. He met your mother, in particular. He found her extremely interesting, considering how contradicting we are to you.
He basically found an obsessive interest in her, and after one of his "fits", she wanted nothing to do with him anymore. And, that's all I know," he ended. He looked away towards the male seated at the end of the room.
"My...MOTHER?!" Rinsi said excitedly. "But how is that possible? She died when I was nine. She and dad both..."
Rinsi's head was spinning. She was normally a smart person, but something wasn't adding up. How could a second personality, who was younger than her, take an obsessive interest in her mother, who had died almost eleven years ago?
"N-no thanks...I don't like the air about Kai." she said.
"When Kai is here, we age rapidly, but when he lets me back, or I force myself back, we revert to however he left us. It's an odd thing, and I do not know how he does it." Ki'iro paused and thought about what else he wanted to say, "So when he had an interest in your mother, I, Ki'iro, was about 5 years of age. Kai, was about twenty. Now it's not as noticeable since he's been at bay for so long, and we're nearly the same age now. He also has the ability to manipulate his age in any way he wants. I'm sorry you've gotten pulled into this."
Rinsi sighed to herself and forced herself to relax. At least she knew now the answers to her questions, as disturbing as the answers were. She just hoped that Kai wouldn't return, much less obsess over her. After all, she had been told by many people that she was the spitting image of her mother. She even had the majority of the intelligence and powers from her mother. The last thing she needed was some creepy, obsessed stalker. She plastered the most convincing smile on her face that she could muster before continuing.
"It's okay. It's not like you could help it. But it does seem like you have more control now, and I'm glad. Thank you for telling me, it's been bugging me this whole time."
"Well, I'm glad you won't be bothered as much anymore," he said as he stood. "Please excuse me, I have somebody that I need to speak with," he smiled softly and exited the cafeteria. Wandering around for a few minutes, he stumbled upon Nakya, "There you are." He walked up behind her and hugged her softly. "How are you doing?" He asked. He didn't want to sound pushy.
Rinsi plastered on another smile and nodded. She figured he was hoping to find Nakya and finish their conversation, so she let him be. Besides, she had a new person to greet. Rinsi stood and took her tray to the kitchen to be washed before returning to the cafeteria. While she was sure no one was watching, she smoothed out the sexy and flattering dress she was already wearing - the same one as the party a year ago. It was bright yellow, form fitting to the waist, sleeveless, and had a long slit up to her hip that revealed one leg. She wasn't sure why she was so self-conscious about her looks now. She just thought the guy was cute. That was all, wasn't it? She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, before heading back into the cafeteria and sitting in front of the new person.
"Hey there! What's your name?" she asked cheerfully.
The male looked up at the woman who stood next to him. She seemed rather interesting. And she was definately stunning. He put his food down and smiled, "Tahtsu, I'm the new Physical Training teacher here. And may I be so bold as to ask your name, m'dear?" he smiled softly as he asked. Tahtsu stood next to her, he felt it rude to sit as a lady stood. Bowing softly, he spoke, "Very nice to meet you."
Tahtsu pushed his hair away from his face, revealing a nicely structured face. The bulky sword still hung from his back, he dared not leave somewhere without it.
Rinsi blushed a little. He was handsome AND a gentleman. Could it really get any better than that? She smiled brightly at him and stood, offering a handshake to him.
"Nice to meet you, Tahtsu. I'm Rinsi Starlight, the literature teacher. And I hope you don't mind me saying, but that's a really big sword. You must be really strong to be able to use it."
Rinsi couldn't help but notice how handsome his face was. It was almost...angelic. It helped that his hair seemed to frame his face perfectly, only adding to his angelic features. Best of all, he wasn't overly muscular, like one would think for having to wield such a large sword. Instead, he was well built, and had definite muscle tone, but he wasn't at all bulky. Oh, and had she mentioned he had a beautiful voice? If she didn't know better, she would have thought she was falling for him. But that couldn't be. She didn't know him well, and who was to say he'd wouldn't throw her away, like her last boyfriend did? She had to struggle to keep the rising color in her cheeks from showing, and to keep herself in check. She normally wasn't this easy, but something about him seemed so...calm.
Tahtsu smiled as he looked at her face, she was just overall stunning. He picked up his plate and bowed softly, "Excuse me for a moment, please." Tahtsu headed over to the "dishes" section of the cafeteria. Placing his dishes down, he walked back towards Rinsi. "Literature teacher?" he asked excitedly. "I love to read. Most would believe I'm just strength, but I do enjoy reading," he said. As he spoke, a small shadow creature crawled upon his shoulder. It was in the shape of a sphere, and was slightly transparent. Two white eyes stared at Rinsi.
Rinsi tried not to let her jaw drop. She wouldn't let it. But it happened anyway. He was a total hunk, a gentleman, AND loved to read? How much more angelic could a person get. She shook her head quickly, clearing her thoughts, and of course closed her mouth. Standing with one's jaw open really looked rather stupid. She just hoped he hadn't noticed much or thought her stupid or flakey for it.
"What kind of books do you like?" Rinsi said. It was all she could think of. She found herself wanting to know him more, know his interests and what he could do.
Tahtsu ignored her jaw dropping. It seemed it would embarass her if he pointed it out to her. "Honestly, I adore the book 1984. It's been one of my favorites since I was a child. Just to think of the odd chance that in that set year, he actually thought the world would be something like that? It just seems absurd, wouldn't you agree?" He asked her, he hoped he wasn't being too forward. "Would you like to take a walk with me? Perhaps we can discuss more?" he asked her as he propped his hand on his hip, creating a perfect space for Rinsi to put her arm through. Tahtsu frankly didn't expect her to decline his request.
1984? Rinsi looked back on her wealth of knowledge of books, using her photographic memory as a guide. Now she remembered. Writen by George Orwell. A book about the totalitarian régime of the Party, an oligarchical collectivist society where life in the Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance, public mind control, and the voiding of citizens’ rights. In the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), protagonist Winston Smith is a civil servant responsible for perpetuating the Party’s propaganda by revising historical records to render the Party omniscient and always correct, yet his meager existence disillusions him into rebellion against Big Brother, which leads to his arrest, torture, and conversion. She wasn't particularly fond of it, but she found it did hold some truths, considering the time period it was written in and the time period it was about.
"Yeah, it's amazing how some people can write something about the future, how no one will believe them, and then when that time comes to present, it's not completely false, and nor is it completely true. Ah, a walk would be wonderful."
Seeing him stick out his arm to be looped with hers, Rinsi blushed a bit. She hardly knew the guy and already they were getting close. However, she didn't dislike it either. She thought it was great. Looping her arm in his she followed him out of the cafeteria.
"If you like, you're welcome to stop by my class any time."
Rinsi couldn't believe she had just said that. She felt embarrassed now, like she was a giggling school girl and soon would be caught. She had almost expected him to give her a funny look and walk away, deciding she was getting too enamored, or was too childish for his tastes. And why not? She was practically drooling over him anyway.
Tahtsu smiled softly as she took his arm. "I completely agree with you, and I would love to stop by your classroom sometime. My class is mostly outdoors, because I feel it is important to be in a more naturalistic setting. I've always felt, I myself learn better when I'm outdoors."
"I agree." Rinsi said cheerfully. It was true, too. She had always loved nature as it was, without human intervention. And having a class outdoors meant wide open space, fresh air, as well as more experience with a more likely environment for various situations.
"At least with being outdoors, you get the peacefulness it brings, depending on the area, as well as a wide open space to work with. Top it off with fresh air that isn't stagnant like it is indoors and you have the makings for a more perfect environment for physical studies. Besides, working in a more natural environment means you get more experience with it, so if you get into a situation in said environment, you know how to handle it without compensation. Plus it also means you can learn more about plants that can help you in certain situations while you're at it."
Ok, so first it was the giggling school girl, and now it was the knowledgeable nerd. Could she not make up her mind about which side to show?
"I've pretty much been raised outside. My family was pretty poor. It was hard labor, everyday. Day in and day out," he laughed softly. He was surprisingly proud of where he came from. As they continued walking, they reached his classroom. "This is my room. I don't intend on spending much time in here, but the paperwork and such," he rolled his eyes softly.
"Well, that explains your incredible build." Rinsi said, poking his bicep. "Ugh, paperwork. But in some ways I can see how it's necessary. Come spring time, when all is warm and sunny, I think I'll hold class outside. There's a picnic area with picnic benches. The students can use those to take notes."
Rinsi's attention wasn't on the room. Sure, she'd taken a quick look, but mostly at the number on the door so she would know what classroom he would be in. Most of her attention was focused on....the floor! How intricate the patters in the rug were! Ugh...who was she kidding. She was fawning over this guy, babbling like a nerdy school girl. She was amazed that, for some reason, he wasn't looking at her like she was some freak show or telling her she wasn't his type or something like that.
"You know, I hope you have Ki'iro and Ichio in your class. Especially Ichio. He's pretty good, but I think most of that is because of his abilities. Oh, and Yumi is a good runner."
As she spoke, memories of past drama flew through her head, but she didn't mind them. She had come to terms with all the drama, and being her chipper, upbeat self, she moved on and took those memories with a grain of salt.
"In fact, Nakya is good at running, too."
Tahtsu just smiled at her nervousness that was apparent on her face. He found it rather amusing and cute. With a slight bow, he pulled his arm from hers. "If you don't mind, m'dear, I need to begin unpacking my items in my room. I'll make sure to find your classroom and give you a visit." He held her hand in his and kissed it slightly before leaving his room and heading to his dorm.
Had he just...kissed her hand and addressed her as 'm'dear'? Rinsi couldn't believe it. Rather than walking away because she had somehow scared him away, he actually kissed her hand, called her an endearing name, and walked off only because he had yet to unpack. She felt her face glow red hot, and was ashamed of how she seemed to blush so easily around him. She could vaguely hear herself wish him good luck, good day, and tell him she looked forward to his visit. She was practically on cloud nine now. By all reason she shouldn't have been this enamored with him. After all, she knew little about him, aside from the fact that he grew up poor, loved the outdoors, loved to read, and was a complete gentleman. But something about him seemed to excite her, and at the same time, he had somehow made her forget everything that had her concerned before. For the time being, she even forgot about Kai's involvement with her mother in the past. Rinsi practically floated to her own room, where she lay on her bed, thinking of how incredible the day had been already. She had a good feeling about this year.