The modified trio walked back upstairs, all of them feeling rather confused by what they'd just seen. Hadn't Rai seemed distant with Frankenstein earlier? And yet he'd rushed down to the lab as soon as Frankenstein had gotten in the suspension tank...
"I wonder what's going on with Sir Raizel," Tao pondered out loud. "Maybe I should check out the surveillance footage of the last few days… Maybe something happened that he doesn't want to talk about…"
"All right, if you think it'll help…" Takio said. "Let us know if you find anything."
Tao surfed through the video footage of earlier the same day, not really expecting to find anything… It looked like the kids had come over for a little while. Tao let the footage play, smiling to himself at the banter between the kids.
That was, until a small photo had fallen out of Sir Raizel's pocket and Shinwu had picked it up.
Tao watched the conversation that unfolded from there with mild horror. It was almost too uncomfortable to watch. He knew the kids had meant well, but still… No wonder the Master had been so quiet when they had come home.
"Hey, guys!" he called out into the kitchen. "I found something! Can you all come here for a minute?"
"Really? You found something?" M-21 said, running back into the room.
"Yeah, watch this…"
Tao replayed the footage for Takio and M-21. Both of them cringed as the conversation played on the screen.
"Geez… no wonder Sir Raizel clammed up when we got back," Takio mumbled, a hand over his eyes. "Those kids really embarrassed him."
"Yeah… I know they were only trying to help, but…"
"Well, they don't know how things really are," Tao said fairly. "A principal and his student dating would be very inappropriate. They wanted to help him, but I think they just confused him."
There was a moment of silence, and Tao knew they were all thinking the same thing.
"So… do you think Sir Raizel really does have romantic feelings for Frankenstein?"
They all looked at each other.
"Considering the way he's been acting… I'd say he does," M-21 said slowly.
"Yeah," Takio agreed. "If he really didn't have feelings for Frankenstein, then he would have just acted like he always does."
"I guess the question is… should we say something to him?" Tao said hesitantly. "Should we tell him that he's allowed to love whoever he wants?"
"It'll be awkward, but... I think we should," Takio offered after a moment. "I mean, he's a two thousand year old noble being who's always sacrificing himself for other people. I think he's earned that much."
"I agree."
"Me too."
Tao nodded. At least now they knew that Sir Raizel wasn't angry at Frankenstein. He was just conflicted about the feelings he'd been called out for.
"So should we all go talk to him? Or just one of us?"
"I think we should all go. Besides, I don't want to try and hide this from him. He'll figure out that we know and that'll be awkward. We should at least let him know that he shouldn't feel like he's done something wrong by having feelings for someone."
They all felt much better after deciding on a course of action. Of course, deciding what to say would be a little trickier.
"What's going on?" Regis asked as they walked past the kitchen. Even Seira looked up from her chores.
"We have to talk to Sir Raizel about something."
"What's that? I thought you said he asked to be alone."
The trio all glanced at each other.
"Uh... well..."
"I understand."
Everyone turned to look at Seira. Her eyes, usually so calm and tepid, were full of sympathy.
"I was here when the children chastised him. But I could not speak to him while they were still here. He must be unsure of what to think..." she said, looking apologetic.
"Right," Tao agreed. "That's exactly it."
"Wait, what are we talking about?" Regis asked, looking between them. "What did the kids say?"
"Maybe we should wait to tell you until you're older," M-21 said, grinning.
"Watch it! I'm way older than you!" Regis snapped. "Tell me what's going on!"
"It's kind of personal."
"But everyone else knows. This isn't fair!"
Everyone was silent, until Seira patted the young noble's head in her usual motherly fashion.
"Sir Raizel is in love," she said calmly.
"W-what?" Regis sputtered. "With who?"
"I imagine he will tell us when he feels the time is right," Seira replied with an air of finality.
Regis was smart enough not to argue.
Rai couldn't stay seated.
He'd gotten out of his chair and was pressing his hand to the glass tank, as if that would make him closer to Frankenstein… Realistically, he was as close to Frankenstein as he could possibly get, since their minds were already intertwined so completely they were practically one being… but…
He wanted to be closer. Somehow, this wasn't enough.
The lab doors slid open and Tao, Takio and M-21 entered. Rai quickly withdrew his hand from the tank, but not before everyone had already seen.
"Sir… we wanted to talk to you about something."
Rai nodded. Their faces relaxed and they all approached him. Now that he was focusing on them, Rai could sense Frankenstein's energy inside Tao and Takio. That had to be the reason his companion was in such a bad state. Frankenstein was always so generous toward all three of them…
"You are all well?"
"We are," Takio promised. "Frankenstein took good care of us. Now we can protect everyone better than before."
Rai felt his lips twitch as he recalled Frankenstein from hundreds of years ago. Initially, Frankenstein had wanted power because he was angry, understandably so. But after becoming his bonded companion, Frankenstein had only wanted the power to protect him.
"You all… remind me of Frankenstein," Rai admitted. "He also wanted the strength to protect others."
"You mean to protect you," Tao corrected him.
Rai squirmed slightly. How had they known what he was thinking?
"I'll be honest," Tao said sheepishly. "We, um… we want to talk to you about Frankenstein."
Rai tilted his head.
"You see, we saw that conversation you had with the kids earlier. The one about Frankenstein."
"Ah…" Rai breathed out. He wasn't sure what to say. He'd forgotten about the surveillance cameras Tao had installed in the house. Were they all about to tell him the same things his school friends had? He didn't want to hear it… He felt guilty enough already…
"And, um… we just wanted to say that you shouldn't take what the kids said to heart."
Rai frowned, confused.
"They don't know that you and Frankenstein aren't human like they are," M-21 clarified. "And we all think that you should be able to be with whoever you want."
"Yeah. It's normal to love someone. So, if you have feelings for Frankenstein… you should just tell him. You've sacrificed your whole life for other people. You deserve some happiness."
Rai gazed around at their earnest faces. They really meant it…
"It's not… wrong?" he wondered out loud.
"Why would it be?" Takio pondered. "Who are we to tell you what to do?"
"The children implied it would be wrong. Because Frankenstein is in charge of the school."
All three young men shook their heads.
"Other humans might see it that way, but we know it's not like that," Tao reassured him. "No one in this house would think it was wrong for you guys to be together."
Ah... now things were sliding into place.
"So... the humans outside the house? The school children? They would not accept it?"
Awkward silence.
"Well..."
Rai shook his head. The looks on their faces were enough of a response.
"Never mind... I have my answer. Thank you."
All three of them were looking distressed.
"No, Sir... it's not like that..."
"I understand perfectly," Rai assured them. "But please... I would still like to be alone."
He knew the three of them were only trying to help, just like his school friends. But right now... he wanted to be alone with his feelings. He had to sort them out on his own.
But, as he turned to look back at his blood-bonded companion, he was beginning to suspect that there was no escaping what was coming. He hadn't been able to escape it then, and he couldn't escape it now. In his heart, he didn't care how wrong it was... he still felt exactly the same way.
His love for Frankenstein hadn't diminished in over nine hundred years… There was no way it would fade now that they were finally together again.
And this time, he'd make sure they stayed together.
My Comments:
This got written because of covid-19. I was quarantined for a month alone while my husband was stuck on the other side of the country. So this story got written because I was super bored and full of vodka! There were so many typos... Isn't the writing process beautiful?! Edit: I have been forbidden from drinking and writing ever again. Life is hell.
I feel like Rai would be the last person to realize he's in love. And... did anyone have "the talk" with him? Did his parents tell him what his boy parts are for? He had a brother, so he must have had parents... right? I'm not sure who else would have told him since he was alone for so long. Poor Rai!
