Chapter 5
Evoku stood in the middle of a sand garden behind her temple. Large and small rocks surrounding her. Seven of jewels had deepened to the dark blue color, every once and a while they gleamed in the bright sunlight that would peek through the dark clouds. Luckily, it had stopped raining for now.
She was wearing black slip on shoes, a white chinese-styled shirt and black capris. A torn piece of black fabric was tied around her eyes, blind folding her. She had pulled her hair up so that it wouldn't disturb her.
"I don't know what the point of this is," she grumbled.
"That's the point, you've released too much of your essence," her sensei stood under the overhang of their temple, "and now we need to exert your energy to lock it up…"
"I'm fine!" she growled. He threw a small rock at her shoulder, striking her harshly. "Itai! What was that for?" she snapped her head towards him.
"Concentrate!" he ordered while carefully lifting small rocks around her using his power. Evoku furrowed her brow in concentration as she slipped into a slight meditative mode. She sharpened her senses and waited for anything to begin.
He darted his eyes from one rock to her head, sending it flying towards her at an insane speed. Her brow twitched and she swiftly jumped into the air and spun around, kicking the rock away. Just as she'd managed to avert the one rock, he sent all the others towards her before she even landed safely in the sand.
//*\\
"Why am I even here? Oh yeah, to apologize for snapping at her…" Kyou thought to himself as he made his way down the street. He stopped in front of the steps that led up to the temple. He glanced at the small paper in his hand where he'd scribbled down her address and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Am I in the right place?" he said softly to himself and quickly jogged up the steps. He sighed heavily and raised his fist to knock.
"I'm fine!" he heard a harsh voice yell from the backyard.
"Ehh..?" he walked around the side of the temple when it occurred to him that it probably wouldn't be best to interrupt whatever was going on back there seeing as this was a temple. He silently jumped into the bushes that surrounded the temple and quietly crawled through them to get to the backyard.
"Concentrate!" another voice, much older, was heard louder than the other. Good, he was getting closer. He glanced through the bush just in time to see a young girl kicking, slapping and blocking what seemed like air. Once he looked close enough he could see that there were actually pebbles flying at her from all sides.
"The hell…?" he whispered, not quite sure where the rocks were coming from. Before he could think of anything else, she'd performed a roundhouse kick and sent the last rock crashing towards him and striking his cheek, leaving a small cut.
"Good work," her sensei said. Kyou was too occupied by the fact that he was bleeding that he didn't notice Evoku rip the blindfold off, her back to Kyou, and quickly glanced towards him.
"Hai, ojiisan…" she quickly walked over to a large boulder and picked up a small towel that she'd placed there earlier.
Her sensei produced a confused look on his face. She would only call him 'ojiisan' when there were others around since she wouldn't want anyone to know about her lack of family. He watched as she wiped the sweat off her face and draped the towel over her shoulder.
"You were right, ojiisan," she casually made her way towards Kyou's hiding place, walking around the edge of the backyard.
It was bordered off by a stone wall that was about waist high with the bushes above them, creating a barrier from prying eyes. She swiftly reached into the bushes and pulled Kyou out by his shirt, throwing him down into the sand.
"I feel much better…" she glared down at him.
"Itai…" Kyou rubbed his head where it had hit against a large rock. Her sensei stood wide-eyed, staring at the orange-haired boy before him.
"Go inside," he said softly, "tell Hikari-san to make some tea…"
"Demo…" she started, but caught his glance, "…hai, ojiisan." She ran inside and shut the sliding door. One by one the jewels slowly returned to their original crystalline color.
She knew that her sensei was only trying to conceal her identity, which was why he had mentioned 'Hikari-san' as a different person. Even though she knew that no one was supposed to know about her secret, but she felt almost obliged that she should trust Kyou with her secret seeing as she knew about his.
She quickly changed into a large, gray robe and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She looked out the window to see her sensei giving Kyou a lecture on etiquette and respect no doubt. She tore her eyes away from him and pushed her glasses onto her nose.
She walked out of her large room and slid the door shut before walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. She filled a kettle with water and put it to boil on the stove. She slid open the door that led to a small room with a coffee table in the center.
Just as she was turning the stove off she heard someone walk into the small room and sit down in front of the coffee table. She glanced into the metal kettle to see in the reflection that it was Kyou.
"I'll be meditating," her sensei said sternly and left the two alone.
"I heard you had an… interesting conversation with, Ojiisan?" she said softly as she poured the tea into two small mugs.
"Hai," he grumbled and looked away, a scowl on his face. If it was a different situation she would have laughed at his expression. She suddenly felt the heat rising to her cheeks when she found his expression cute when he was angered.
He grunted a thank you when she softly placed a mug in front of him. He slowly sipped at the tea while trying to think of what to say to her. An awkward silence becoming thicker in the air as the time went by.
"So what are you doing here?" she asked, sitting across the table from him.
"I-" just as he was about to explain, he found that he couldn't, "I… forgot…" She would have dropped her mug right there if she hadn't had a good grip on it. "Who was that girl out there… she seemed familiar…"
Evoku froze and slowly put down the mug. She wanted to tell him everything, but knew she couldn't. It wasn't fair that she knew his secret and he didn't know hers.
"She's—"
"Hikari-san!" a voice rang out in her mind loudly, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't tell him anything!"
"Daijobu?" he said when he noticed her pained expression.
"Hai… I'm fine," she said, a tear forming in her eye. Two jewels suddenly turned deep blue. "You should go," she looked away. Kyou looked at her with confusion, but still stood and walked out quietly. As he walked down the steps he wondered what had happened just a couple minutes ago.
"Nande!" she yelled, knowing her sensei was standing in the doorway, tears in her eyes.
"You know why," he said simply, "he can't know…"
No, he couldn't know… not about her secret… her curse…
//*\\
Pretty soon she'll figure out you can never get him out of your head
//*\\
sensei – master
itai – ouch
ehh – huh, uh…
hai – yes
ojiisan – grandpa
demo – but
daijobu - are you okay?
nande - why
Evoku stood in the middle of a sand garden behind her temple. Large and small rocks surrounding her. Seven of jewels had deepened to the dark blue color, every once and a while they gleamed in the bright sunlight that would peek through the dark clouds. Luckily, it had stopped raining for now.
She was wearing black slip on shoes, a white chinese-styled shirt and black capris. A torn piece of black fabric was tied around her eyes, blind folding her. She had pulled her hair up so that it wouldn't disturb her.
"I don't know what the point of this is," she grumbled.
"That's the point, you've released too much of your essence," her sensei stood under the overhang of their temple, "and now we need to exert your energy to lock it up…"
"I'm fine!" she growled. He threw a small rock at her shoulder, striking her harshly. "Itai! What was that for?" she snapped her head towards him.
"Concentrate!" he ordered while carefully lifting small rocks around her using his power. Evoku furrowed her brow in concentration as she slipped into a slight meditative mode. She sharpened her senses and waited for anything to begin.
He darted his eyes from one rock to her head, sending it flying towards her at an insane speed. Her brow twitched and she swiftly jumped into the air and spun around, kicking the rock away. Just as she'd managed to avert the one rock, he sent all the others towards her before she even landed safely in the sand.
//*\\
"Why am I even here? Oh yeah, to apologize for snapping at her…" Kyou thought to himself as he made his way down the street. He stopped in front of the steps that led up to the temple. He glanced at the small paper in his hand where he'd scribbled down her address and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Am I in the right place?" he said softly to himself and quickly jogged up the steps. He sighed heavily and raised his fist to knock.
"I'm fine!" he heard a harsh voice yell from the backyard.
"Ehh..?" he walked around the side of the temple when it occurred to him that it probably wouldn't be best to interrupt whatever was going on back there seeing as this was a temple. He silently jumped into the bushes that surrounded the temple and quietly crawled through them to get to the backyard.
"Concentrate!" another voice, much older, was heard louder than the other. Good, he was getting closer. He glanced through the bush just in time to see a young girl kicking, slapping and blocking what seemed like air. Once he looked close enough he could see that there were actually pebbles flying at her from all sides.
"The hell…?" he whispered, not quite sure where the rocks were coming from. Before he could think of anything else, she'd performed a roundhouse kick and sent the last rock crashing towards him and striking his cheek, leaving a small cut.
"Good work," her sensei said. Kyou was too occupied by the fact that he was bleeding that he didn't notice Evoku rip the blindfold off, her back to Kyou, and quickly glanced towards him.
"Hai, ojiisan…" she quickly walked over to a large boulder and picked up a small towel that she'd placed there earlier.
Her sensei produced a confused look on his face. She would only call him 'ojiisan' when there were others around since she wouldn't want anyone to know about her lack of family. He watched as she wiped the sweat off her face and draped the towel over her shoulder.
"You were right, ojiisan," she casually made her way towards Kyou's hiding place, walking around the edge of the backyard.
It was bordered off by a stone wall that was about waist high with the bushes above them, creating a barrier from prying eyes. She swiftly reached into the bushes and pulled Kyou out by his shirt, throwing him down into the sand.
"I feel much better…" she glared down at him.
"Itai…" Kyou rubbed his head where it had hit against a large rock. Her sensei stood wide-eyed, staring at the orange-haired boy before him.
"Go inside," he said softly, "tell Hikari-san to make some tea…"
"Demo…" she started, but caught his glance, "…hai, ojiisan." She ran inside and shut the sliding door. One by one the jewels slowly returned to their original crystalline color.
She knew that her sensei was only trying to conceal her identity, which was why he had mentioned 'Hikari-san' as a different person. Even though she knew that no one was supposed to know about her secret, but she felt almost obliged that she should trust Kyou with her secret seeing as she knew about his.
She quickly changed into a large, gray robe and pulled her hair into a messy bun. She looked out the window to see her sensei giving Kyou a lecture on etiquette and respect no doubt. She tore her eyes away from him and pushed her glasses onto her nose.
She walked out of her large room and slid the door shut before walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. She filled a kettle with water and put it to boil on the stove. She slid open the door that led to a small room with a coffee table in the center.
Just as she was turning the stove off she heard someone walk into the small room and sit down in front of the coffee table. She glanced into the metal kettle to see in the reflection that it was Kyou.
"I'll be meditating," her sensei said sternly and left the two alone.
"I heard you had an… interesting conversation with, Ojiisan?" she said softly as she poured the tea into two small mugs.
"Hai," he grumbled and looked away, a scowl on his face. If it was a different situation she would have laughed at his expression. She suddenly felt the heat rising to her cheeks when she found his expression cute when he was angered.
He grunted a thank you when she softly placed a mug in front of him. He slowly sipped at the tea while trying to think of what to say to her. An awkward silence becoming thicker in the air as the time went by.
"So what are you doing here?" she asked, sitting across the table from him.
"I-" just as he was about to explain, he found that he couldn't, "I… forgot…" She would have dropped her mug right there if she hadn't had a good grip on it. "Who was that girl out there… she seemed familiar…"
Evoku froze and slowly put down the mug. She wanted to tell him everything, but knew she couldn't. It wasn't fair that she knew his secret and he didn't know hers.
"She's—"
"Hikari-san!" a voice rang out in her mind loudly, causing her to wince in pain. "Don't tell him anything!"
"Daijobu?" he said when he noticed her pained expression.
"Hai… I'm fine," she said, a tear forming in her eye. Two jewels suddenly turned deep blue. "You should go," she looked away. Kyou looked at her with confusion, but still stood and walked out quietly. As he walked down the steps he wondered what had happened just a couple minutes ago.
"Nande!" she yelled, knowing her sensei was standing in the doorway, tears in her eyes.
"You know why," he said simply, "he can't know…"
No, he couldn't know… not about her secret… her curse…
//*\\
Pretty soon she'll figure out you can never get him out of your head
//*\\
sensei – master
itai – ouch
ehh – huh, uh…
hai – yes
ojiisan – grandpa
demo – but
daijobu - are you okay?
nande - why