"Morning, sleepy head," Rei beamed at me as I fluttered my eyes open, struggling to wake up..
"Morning." I stifled a yawn as I reached up to try and fix my hat and make myself more presentable.
"I'm telling you, I have no idea how you sleep with that thing on." Rei rolled her eyes while giving a soft sigh and crossing her arms.
"Practice, I guess." I gave my partner a sheepish smile as I made my way to my feet. I started straightening out my clothes when I saw Rei fidgeting a bit, looking to the side and not meeting my gaze. "Rei, are you-"
"C-close your eyes, okay?" Rei seemed to demand rather than ask, but I couldn't get the heart to object. I trusted my partner, after all, so I closed my eyes without questioning it. I could hear Rei shifting around a bit but I didn't open my eyes until I felt something slip around my neck. Looking down in confusion, I found that I was now wearing a necklace. It wasn't my old one, but instead a plain necklace made out of string with a little charm on it. The charm was a shiny silver and appeared to be a a curved wing with a small red gem in the center. "I… You were missing your necklace, and so I wanted to get you a new one! I know it's not the same and it probably doesn't mean as much, but still, I…" Rei seemed to be a bit self-conscious with her gift as she continued to avoid my eyes.
"No, it's great! Thank you! You really didn't have to, though." I smiled at her, causing her to smile in return upon hearing that I liked the necklace. "I really do like it… but what is it?" I found myself asking as I grabbed the charm, trying to get a closer look at it.
"It's a matching pair. With mine," Rei said before reaching under the collar of her shirt and pulling out a similar necklace, but with a purple gem instead of a red one like mine. "I mean, we're partners after all, so I figured matching necklaces would be cool!" Rei grinned up at me. I nodded my agreement, but found myself staring at her necklace a little more. How was it a matching pair? They were just the exact same thing with a different gem… A pair would mean they make something when they were together, right…?
"So, Kaze, are you ready for your first day of class back here?" Rei asked me. I opened my mouth to respond when I saw my deck shine a bit.
"Kaze, wait. Don't go today," Brionac's voice echoed in my mind. Brionac…? What was he…? "I need to talk to you, alone."
"Ah, sorry, Rei, but I still have some reports to fill out about my transfer, so I'm not going to class today," I forced a smile as I spoke. It pained me to lie to Rei, but I knew that Brionac wouldn't have me do something like this without reason. Rei and I were partners for the year, so if we didn't split up for class, then I, more than likely, wouldn't get any time alone with Brionac. Even though Rei couldn't hear him, Brionac probably still didn't want her to have any clue of what we were talking about, and I'd respect that.
"O-oh, right, of course. I'll go on ahead then! I'll take notes for you," Rei said. I gave her my thanks and waved her goodbye, which she returned before departing.
"Brionac, what is it?" I asked my spirit partner once Rei was gone.
"Let's go to the waterfall. I wish to speak to you in person," Brionac continued to request. I let out a sigh. Since when was he so bossy…? Oh well…
Gathering up my things, I left my room and went down the road to the lake. Since class was in session, no one was there, so I took Brionac's card out and summoned him over the lake.
"Brionac, what's wrong? It's not like you to call me out somewhere," I commented. Brionac stared at me for a while before letting out a huff of irritation.
"Are you happy here?" my ice dragon asked, taking me back a bit.
"What…? What kind of question is that?" I questioned. Of course I was happy here! All of my friends were here!
"What if there was something more waiting for you? Someone, to be precise," Brionac said.
"I don't get what you're saying… You're being really cryptic all of a sudden," I noted as Brionac let out a sigh.
"Do you… recall meeting anyone while away?" Brionac continued to question me.
"Well, of course I met people, but no one that really stood out as a friend," I recalled with a hand to my chin. "You were there, Brionac, why are you asking? I really don't get it," I said.
"Kaze, there's something that we-" Brionac started with a bit of urgency.
"K-Kaze!?" a familiar voice cried out, causing me to jump. I quickly whirled around and saw Rei standing there, wide eyed. What was she doing here?! She was supposed to be in class! Oh, no…! Now she knows…! She knows about my powers…! I…!
Before I could get out some form of an excuse, Rei ran in front of me and threw her arms out to the sides in a defensive manner. "I won't let you hurt Kaze, you big monster! Go away! Go back to where you came from!" Rei shouted. Ah, so she didn't realize that I summoned him…
"R-Rei! Calm down, he's not bad!" I insisted. It wasn't as if Brionac would hurt her, but I still didn't want her getting the wrong impression about him.
"Not bad!? He was going to eat you, or freeze you, or something!" Rei cried out as she glanced back at me, but refused to give up her defensive position.
"Humans. I almost forget that most of them despise me." Brionac let out a huff of annoyance. I ignored his comment and placed a hand on Rei's shoulder.
"Rei, please, he wasn't going to hurt me, we were just talking," I said.
"Y-you were?" Rei asked, her arms lowering to her sides.
"Yeah, we've been talking for a while. He called me out here. It's nothing to worry about," I insisted.
"B-but… there were those duel spirits before that attacked us and… Agh, if you say so, Kaze! I still don't trust you, though, Dragon!" Rei snapped at the spirit.
"I'm a Sea Serpent, thank you very much," Brionac remarked icily.
"You have dragon in your name," I retorted playfully, earning an eyeball.
"W-wait… You're really talking to him? Like Judai does?" Rei asked in amazement.
"Of course, I already told you that. What are you doing here, though?" I changed the topic before it could advance any further.
"Well, I… I know I said I was going to class, but on the way there, I realized that I just wanted to spend more time with you! I never get to do anything in class anyways since it's always partners nowadays… You weren't at the lighthouse, though, so I figured you'd come out here," Rei said. "Am… Am I not allowed to?" Rei asked shakily.
"No, no, of course you are! I'd be happy to spend the day with you!" I insisted quickly, not wanting Rei to get the wrong idea. "We can take a walk around the island again or something, whatever you like," I continued as I smiled at her.
"Oh! Can we go to the beach?! I want to build a sand castle! I can be the princess stuck in the tower, and you can be my prince!" Rei grinned while making her typical excited hand movements.
"Well, we can't make one that big, but sure," I chuckled at her antics. "I'm just going to finish things off with Brionac here first, okay?" I asked.
"Of course! I'm not going anywhere without my prince!" Rei giggled before latching herself to my arm. I struggled to push down a blush as I looked back to Brionac, who had been waiting patiently.
"So, Brionac, what were you saying?" I asked. Brionac just continued staring down at us before looking to the side.
"It's… nothing. Pay me no heed," Brionac muttered.
"Brionac…"
"I mean it. I was just having the feeling that something is off in the world and that we might wish to investigate it. Knowing you lot, though, it'll come straight to your door," Brionac growled while shaking his head.
"True, true," I found myself laughing at his remark. "But we'll be ready for whatever it is!"
"Eh? What is it?" Rei asked, not able to hear my partner.
"He just said something might be coming to face us again," I repeated for her.
"Ah, well, bad luck for them, because the Maiden in Love and Knight of the Wind are back together again!" Rei cheered while throwing her fist in the air.
"I still can't believe I let you pick that name…" I shook my head as I sighed.
"What!? It's fine, I tell you, because I'm a maiden and you're my knight!" Rei insisted as she tugged at my arm.
"Still, it's too long of a name. You barely fit it in the box," I continued to tease her.
"Oh quiet, you!" Rei playfully snapped back before shoving me a bit. We continued laughing while I replaced Brionac's card back into my deck and began our walk to the beach. "Hey… Kaze…?"
"Yeah?
"Why do you smell like roses?"
Notes:
- And we're finally back and rolling! Sorry for the long hiatus, everyone. Between school and my job, things just got to be way too much, so I wanted to make sure I was in the best state of mind to give you guys the best end product instead of rushing things out. I can't gurantee much of an update schedule but just know that as of now this story is official off of hiatus.
Reviews:
Kyokushin 0: Sorry that things took so long, but like I just said, I'm now back and rolling, so hopefully all of your questions will be answered in the next several chapters.
Jak357: I'm considering it right now, but I'll have to see where my studies take me and how long it takes me to finish my other projects (including this one).
Everyone else: thank you for all your support and feedback. I hope to continue hearing from you guys in the future as we progress forward together.