Two large doors at the back of the exam hall flew open to let in a strange, eery
group of officers in black and gold coats that swept the floor as they strode in. They
marched down an aisle of lower ranking soldiers who saluted them. The tall man
that lead the group in sent a wave of shiver down the lowly soldiers' spines. All of
them knew who this officer was and remembered the rumours about him.
This infamous man wore a commander's hat over his short, snow white hair. His
coat was decorated with more gold furnishes than any other solider in the room,
signifying his high rank and experience. He looked young despite his hair colour,
maybe around his early thirties, it was uncertain. He wore a scowling expression
on his flawless features; his lips tight in a no nonsense frown. His eyes were a dark
purple; staring ahead with cruelty and indifference to those around him.
There were five officers following him, all with strange , young appearances,
standing out from the other soldiers. One of them was merely a child with an
eyepatch over his left eye. These officers were feared and disliked as well.
They followed their leader to the dome, where the proctors and professors stood
watching the activity inside the glass. The head master saw them approach and
welcomed the dark man .
" Chief Ayanami!" he bowed with a smile. " I'm honoured to have you and your
subordinates witness the exams in person."
Ayanami ignored the man and silently turned to the woman proctor.
" How are the students doing this year?" he said, his voice deep and emotionless.
The proctor answered with a crooked smile " Well, as you see…"
On cue, a student smacked into the window from a powerful force. He crumbled to
the ground to reveal a giant man that was heavy with muscles. The monster
clobbered each student with glee, attacking anything that moved.
As the massacre continued, one of Ayanami's officers, a tall young man with short
black hair and wearing shades over his smiling eyes said amusingly " Bummer,
these students are worst than the ones last year. I wonder what's getting into
them."
He suddenly noticed something colourful, out of place in this ghastly room,
standing beside a robed professor. The officer focused his gaze on a dark skinned
girl staring at the battle with a horrified face. He whistled as he lowered his shades
to take a closer look. " What do we have here! Look at that frightened little hottie!"
" Why is there a gypsy here?" pondered an older officer with brown, cropped hair
and mole beneath his lip. " Who knows?" yawned a blonde haired youth who
looked to be eighteen. Hyuuga said as he stared with a smirk at the girl's body
" Who cares! I just want to take her home! Oi! Gypsy-chan! Want to have some fun
together!"
I didn't hear the officer's cat calls nor cared. All that mattered was Teito and Mikage
fighting for their lives as the inmate crushed every student in his path. Their
assignment for the exam was to kill the criminal before he kills them, surprising all
the students, including me, when the proctor said that. We all thought it was going
to be a simple written test and a few demonstrations, not a match to the death.
Barsburg is more barbaric than I thought, I frowned. I saw Teito and Mikage
crouching at the dome's glass while watching the giant. I noticed their lips were
moving, talking to each other to form a plan when a hand gripped my shoulder.
I turned up to Sensei, his eyes glued onto the boys with a stone like expression, not
the same, pleasant man I met an hour ago.
" I'm sorry, Miss Carmen." he said as his fingers gripped me harder, " I did bring you
here to listen to your violin music. I wanted you to watch Teito and Mikage fight in
this exam." I knew what he was going to say, but I should've known his intention
when he invited me here.
Mikage and Teito were done with talking and charged at the giant, splitting in two
ways. My heart jumped to my throat when they attacked the beast from different
angles, dodging his fists and hitting him with their glowing blue zaiphon. I have
never seen them fight before, or seen their zaiphon. They knew I was interested in
their zaiphon magic, but never demonstrated in front of me. Were they afraid of
what I might think of them if I see their zaiphon?
Sensei gazed at me as I watched my friends. " You think this is wrong, do you?"he
said " Making our students fight to pass and live. It may seem cruel, but this is what
they're trained to do. If they pass this, they have proven themselves to be soldiers of
the Barsburg Empire. I understand you come from a different culture with your own
ideals, but this is the way of Barsburg, as it worked for many generations. We have
produced the best soldiers through this. Please understand that we can't be soft
with our students."
I understood, for who am I to judge their practices that has proved them to be
successful. I'm not one of them, I have lived a worry free and peaceful life with no
thoughts of strife to taint it. Sensei continued " You must also understand, Miss
Carmen, that Teito and Mikage were trained to kill. That's what they signed up for.
I'am confident they will pass and become what they're supposed to be. What they
truly are. Forgive me, Miss Carmen, but they are not your friends, they are soldiers
of the Empire."
" I don't believe that." I said. His hand went rigid on my shoulder, imagining his face
to be distorted in shock. This man meant well, trying to make me see the truth, but I
saw it as a lie and I wanted him to remove his hand from me.
Reading my disgusted expression, he took his hand off my shoulder before I
continued "Teito and Mikage are not what you think they are. True, I have known
them only for a week, but it seems to me that I know more about them than you.
They're kind hearted and merciful boys who only want to protect, not kill. I may not
know about their past, but I know what they'll be in the future, and that is not your
twisted, soulless soldiers."
When I finished my speech, I felt the room's stares on my back, silent at my
blasphemous words. Hyuuga and the other elite officers looked at me with amused
smiles while the proctors only shook their heads at my foolishness. Ayanami glared
at me through his narrowed eyes, his face unreadable as he did so.
I ignored all of them as I continued watching Teito and Mikage with a calm
expression. Whatever happened in that dome, I knew Teito and Mikage were going
to walk out of there alive and remain as they were before.
Teito finally brought the inmate to his knees and casted a ring of zaiphon around
the man's neck. " Do you surrender?." he said to the still criminal with a calm look.
The giant snivelled " Y-Yes! Just don't hurt me!"
I sighed in relief, glad it was finally over when Sensei said " The exam is not over
until Teito kills him." I straightened and turned back to Teito, his hand ready to
command his zaiphon. I couldn't read what he was thinking on his frozen
expression, and I prayed it wasn't as i feared.
Please Teito, I pleaded in my mind, don't let them take you over like this.
For a few seconds more, Teito lowered his arm and let the zaiphon disperse,
allowing the giant to breathe. " He's not really our enemy." he said " There's no
point."
" Way to go, Teito!" I whooped and punched the air, almost scarring Sensei beside
me. I smiled at Mikage through the glass when a flash of red zaiphon whipped
through the inmate's neck to decapitate him. I covered my mouth to hold back the
sicking urge to loose my lunch . Teito and Mikage looked the same way and we all
turned to the open doorway in the dome where the red zaiphon castor stood.
Ayanami, with his officers behind him, glared at Teito with those merciless eyes.
Teito stared back at the frightening man, his mouth gapping at the sight of him. As
the red zaiphon dispersed around Ayanami, he said to Teito " You're soft." I
wondered if Teito and Mikage were going to fail because of Teito's act of mercy, but
I reminded myself that my premonitions were always right.
" None the less." continued the Chief ," You both pass. Now come."
Too impatient to wait for them, I dashed around the dome to its entrance while
ignoring Sensei's cries after me. I reached the doorway to see Teito and Mikage
emerging together from the dome with relieved faces. Not caring in the least if
Ayanami and his officers were watching, I cried out " Teito! Mikage!" and leaped
towards them to hold them in a tight embrace, burying my face into their chests.
" Thank goodness!" I cried into them as I felt Mikage stroke my hair. " Carmen…" he
murmured with a soft expression.
Ayanami , standing behind us, watched us embrace with a dark scowl when
Hyuuga beside him cried " Awww! That's so kowaii! Look at the three of them go at
it!" His voice reminded me where we were and I whispered to Teito and Mikage "
We should go. I don't like this place." Teito and Mikage agreed.
" We're sorry, Carmen." said Teito " You shouldn't have seen that."
I quickly drawn them from the exam hall, leaving those evil people behind as we
made our way to the Academy's entrance. I said with a smile once we were
outside. " I'll go back to the caravan to get everything ready. Then you guys can
come the outskirts tonight. Okay?" . Mikage smiled back " Yep. Sounds good."
I turned to Teito who seemed to be deep in thought until he noticed me. " Y-Yeah.
We'll be there."
I said with a serious expression " Look, if you guys are exhausted, you don't have to
come. It's alright, I won't mind. You went through a lot today."
" No way ! " exclaimed Mikage , surprising me " It's not often that a caravan invites
outsiders to their party. " Teito joined " Don't worry about us. You planned this for
us. We want to go. " I gazed at their faces, one grinning and the other calm. I could
tell they truly wanted to come.
I smiled and shook my head " If you say so. See ya later!"
The day had fallen quickly into night as Teito and Mikage walked side by side
toward the orange glow of the caravan's bonfire, camped on the barren desert only
a few kilometres away from the Capital.
The boys wore their white linen shirts, black pants and knee high boots. They left
their uniform coats back in their lockers, hoping it would lessen the tension
between them and Carmen's family. It was warm any way.
They had a doctor look at their wounds and washed before setting out. As they
drew closer to the caravan, they could make out the gypsy wagons and tents, and
spotted silhouetted dancers around the fire. They heard music and laughter,
shouts and whistles,resonating across the desert to the mountains ahead.
" Oh! I think I see Carmen!" exclaimed Mikage with a smile and waved at the
caravan. One of the dancing shadows stopped and waved back before running
towards them. " Mikage! Teito!" Carmen called as she ran in her skirts. " You're
finally here! And you both look great!".
Mikage grinned as he scratched his hair." You think so?". Oh please, thought Teito,
watching Mikage make a fool out of himself. Carmen grabbed their wrists.
" What are you two waiting for! Come on!" She pulled them to the circle of wagons
with the crackling hot fire in the middle. The gypsies, each colourful and unique,
paused their drinking and dancing to greet Carmen and the boys with loud cheers
and whistles as they approached the merry band. Teito and Mikage smiled back
shyly as Carmen returned her caravan's greeting in her rapid language.
Carmen lead the boys around the bonfire to a pile of blankets and pillows. She
made them sit and said over the music " Wait here! I'm going to get my mother! I'll
be right back." She sprinted off into the darkness, leaving Teito and Mikage
uncomfortably alone with the dancing gypsies.
When Carmen came back with a tall woman behind her, Mikage and Teito were
eating and laughing with the gypsies surrounding them. Carmen smiled at the
scene. " You guys are certainly having fun." She said as she stood over them.
Mikage laughed " Who knew gypsies are the best at parties?". The caravan raised
their glasses with loud woots at the compliment.
" I'm glad you're having fun with my caravan, gentlemen."said the tall woman
behind Carmen and stepped into the light for Mikage and Teito to see. They felt
their jaws drop at the beautiful, thin woman with long black hair tied into a braid
and huge breasts showing through her red dress. She had the same honey eyes
as Carmen.
" Guys, I would like to introduce the Fefe of the Todos caravan, Catrina Iglesia, my
mother." What! thought Teito, She looks so young! She could be Carmen's sister.
The woman smiled, resembling her daughter. " I'm very pleased to meet you, Teito
and Mikage. My daughter has spoken much of you." Mikage grinned "Hopefully
nice things." Teito elbowed him in the ribs.
Catrina chuckled " Yes, she says the nicest things about you." Carmen blushed and
exclaimed " Mother!". Catrina laughed and bristled her daughter's hair. " Oops, I
spilled the beans didn't I?". Teito watched mother and daughter interact and
thought out loud without meaning to. " You look so much alike." Carmen and
Catrina paused into their play wrestling and both grinned. " Well, the boobs
definitely run through the family." said Catrina with side long glance.
" No, I didn't mean…I wasn't…!" shuddered Teito as Mikage snorted into his hands.
Another song began to play, a slow romantic beat that excited the gypsies. Carmen
gasped and smiled at the song. " Teito! Dance with me!". She pulled him up to his
feet before he could protest. She dragged him to the fire and put her hands on his
shoulders to sway back and forth to the beat.
Teito laid his hands on her waists, knowing it was futile to back out now, blushing a
deep red colour as he moved his feet with Carmen's. Teito noticed Mikage and
dancing together, Catrina towering over him as he grinned up at the goddess.
Teito said to Carmen with a thoughtful face " Sensei shouldn't have brought you to
the exam. I knew he was up to something, I just didn't think he would be that cruel."
Carmen shook her head. " No, he was trying to be kind. But even if I knew what was
going to happen in there, I would've still attended. I would've been there for you
and Mikage. "
Teito gazed at her shimmering eyes when he stumbled over his feet but was
quickly picked up by Carmen. " Careful,Teito!" she laughed as they continued their
slow dancing. He muttered " Dancing isn't exactly my forte." Teito turned thoughtful
again as he stared into Carmen's eyes. " Carmen? Can I ask you a question?"
She smiled " Sure." Teito continued " Back at the exam, when we fought in the
dome, I noticed you were watching us with a strange look, as if you knew, as a
fact , we would pass and come out alright. It could've just been my imagination…"
Carmen spoke with a solemn expression " What you saw was real. I did know what
was going to happen to you."
She turned to her mother dancing beside them, who met her daughter's eyes with
the same solemnity. Catrina closed her eyes and nodded, giving Carmen some
sort of permission. Carmen turned back to Teito and whispered " I can foresee the
future, Teito." He gasped " What?". Carmen faintly smiled " I'm the only one in my
caravan who can. My grandmother, god rest her soul, was a fortune teller and her
sight was very powerful. She passed down her gift to her son and then from my
father to me. " Teito murmured, shocked at this discovery " How often can you see
the future?". Carmen answered " It varies, I have no control over it. I might not see
anything for weeks. " Teito asked " So, you had a vision of our exam?".
Carmen nodded " It happened yesterday. It was vague though. I just knew you guys
were going to pass. I didn't see the fight. My sight can be clear or too blurry to
understand. " Teito could see the subject was making Carmen uncomfortable and
quickly dropped it.
"The band is really good." he blurted. Carmen looked puzzled for a moment until
she laughed " Better than me?". Teito smirked " No way. But don't tell them that."
They danced for awhile longer when the gypsies made a commotion.
" Time to switch partners!" grinned Carmen and pulled Teito over to Catrina.
Catrina took Teito's hand and shoulder while Carmen took Mikage. Teito was a
little nervous dancing with the tall woman, but Catrina was gentle and slow, easing
his nerves a bit. " Am I making you nervous?" smiled Catrina. Teito blushed " N-N0,
sorry if I'm looking that way!". Catrina softly giggled, sounding like the chiming of
little bells. " Don't be sorry, Teito. You're an excellent dancer."
Teito made a cynical look when he spotted Mikage and Carmen dancing together.
Mikage had his arm wrapped around Carmen's waist, holding her hip to draw her
close. His other hand grasped her small one, intertwining his fingers through hers.
Carmen held Mikage's shoulder with her free hand, her height dwarfing next to
Mikage's tall size. They swayed to the music, Mikage matching Carmen's steps
easily.
They stared into each other's eyes with soft, dreamy expressions and little smiles
on their lips. Teito never seen that look in Mikage, nor from Carmen.
Are they…
" You love her, don't you?" murmured Catrina, also watching Carmen and Mikage.
Teito said thoughtfully " I do have special feelings towards her." He didn't deny it,
it felt wrong to lie to Catrina. But in truth, he didn't know if it was love.
Catrina faintly smiled " She loves you too, both of you. Carmen never had this kind
of friendship with anyone." She turned her gaze on Teito. " She trusts you entirely.
She sees you as the closest friend, maybe more. You and Mikage must be good
friends to her. " Teito shyly nodded.
Catrina's expression suddenly turned solemn " Teito. If you are truly her friend, I
want you to promise something to me. " Teito tensed in alert. She continued in a
low whisper " Promise me you will keep Carmen's sight a secret. You will tell no
one about it, not even my gypsies or Mikage. Me and you are the only ones who
know and I want to keep it that way. " Teito asked in a concerned tone " Is she in
danger?".
Catrina answered " She will be if the Barsburg Military finds out. They have killed
her father when he refused to use the sight for them, and I know they will do the
same to Carmen. And I know her answer will be the same as her father."
Teito was shocked, he never knew the military did such a thing, but he said without
hesitation " Madame, you have my word. Her secret is safe and so will she." Catrina
sighed in relief, the tension in her frightened face vanishing. " Thank you ,Teito.
You have eased my heavy heart. And thank you for being her friend."
She's glad Carmen is with us, thought Teito, even though I'm with the military and
this could be treason for hiding Carmen's secret. Teito didn't mind. He felt no
obligation in telling the Military. He would never put Carmen into danger.
The music soon slowed to an end as Mikage dipped Carmen to the ground, getting
hoots and whistles from the gypsies. Carmen held on to his neck and smiled up at
him before he drew her up to stand.
For the rest of the evening, Carmen and the boys relaxed on the pillows and talked
as they drank and ate. Time went quickly by when Catrina announced it was late
and advised Teito and Mikage to start heading back. After saying their thanks and
goodbyes to Catrina, they followed Carmen to the edge of the camp, stopping just
where the fire's light began to vanish. Carmen was the first to speak. " I hoped you
enjoyed yourselves. "
Mikage grinned " We definitely did. Your caravan is really nice." Teito spoke "
You're lucky to have them."
The three fell silent, shifting uncomfortably in their stances, all thinking and
dreading the same dark thought. Carmen, with a sad expression, stepped towards
them to wrap her arms around them and embraced them tightly against her. They
held her too, burying their faces into her soft hair, her scent like morning flowers.
They heard her whimper " I'm going to miss you both. I'll remember you always. "
Teito murmured " And we'll do the same." Mikage smiled " We'll see each other
again. I know we will." She nodded against them and took a step back to show her
eyes watering, tears running down her cheeks.
Mikage said " Don't cry, Carmen, it doesn't suit you. Smile instead, it's heaven to us
when you do." Carmen laughed, her smile spreading to her cheeks as she wiped
them with her knuckles. She sniffed " Then I will, if that's what you wish. Good bye,
Mikage, Teito."
She turned and walked back to the caravan with heavy steps. Teito and Mikage
watched her go until she was a shadow.