When morning came around, Ferain was woken up by the smell of a take-out breakfast Guji had procured from a nearby diner. A quick look at her phone as she ran a hand through her ruffled hair showed her how much she really slept in. It was nearly eleven already, which amazed her for the sole fact that she hadn’t slept this late in many, many months. With a weary smile and a hoarse “Morning” offered to Guji, she took a seat on the sofa and pulled a styrofoam container across the coffee table towards herself. The first few bites of the syrup-smothered eggs were like electricity running through her veins, or, a different sort of electricity. It was the kind that meant she’d received a very stunning surprise.
This wasn’t because it was delicious where her expectations had presumed the opposite, but because she could taste it at all. Ferain found herself hastily shoveling down several bites before remembering that she was in front of company, though a quick glance at Guji revealed how little he seemed to mind. In fact, he was smiling while raising a plastic fork towards his own mouth. She started to speak, but also forgot that her mouth was currently too full to talk properly. She quickly swallowed before reaching for a small carton of orange juice that, like the food, had a proper taste to it now. She never knew why this happened, but she was for sure glad that whatever was causing it finally seemed to go away. After clearing her throat of food and liquid, she gave a shy grin in Guji’s direction.
“It’s really good.” she said quietly.
Guji laughed as he gave a brief nod. “Your mother used to take us all there when we were younger. She grew up in that house so that was one of her favorite places to go when she was a kid. Said her father took her there a lot before he passed away.” stated Guji, equally as quiet.
“I always wondered what happened to my grandfather,” said Ferain. “It was always just my grandmother since the accident, never anyone else. I asked her once, but she never told me.”
“I imagine Emma didn’t like to talk about it. Your grandmother was… sensitive about the topic. She moved here because of your grandfather, after all. She packed up her whole life in Germany to come to a new country, a new home.”
“I was told Mom was born in the Crown Nation though. How was she born there if he wasn’t there?”
“He was. He visited frequently on business, or so Harriet told me. But, that’s not entirely what happened. Harriet said that her father wasn’t actually her father. She never knew her real dad, and Emma never talked about him either. They both loved this new foreign man as if he was part of the family, so… that’s what he became. For all intents and purposes, Shin was her father. After he died, Harriet went through a short spell of depression, though she never really showed it openly. She smiled, laughed, did what she normally did, but the three of us could easily see it. Emma though, she sort of changed after his passing.”
“What happened to him?” Fera asked, taking another bite of her eggs.
“Cancer. Harriet said that by the time they found it, it was too late to cure. He tried a few months of treatment but instead decided that he would rather live out the rest of his days happily and at home than in a hospital bed. He came home, Harriet took time off from school to be with him, and a month later, he passed.”
“Hmm,” hummed Fera, chewing a mouthful of eggs, thinking about what her mother’s life was like. She didn’t know much about her mother, about her family or friends, about who she even was as a person. She had the fading memories of the few years she could recall as a child, but besides for those, her mother was a mystery. She swallowed carefully and then looked at Guji. “Do you know a lot about her?” she asked him.
“About Harriet?” he questioned. “I know some, but only what she told me. I imagine Tobi knew her more than anyone, but I also assume that you’re in no state to talk to him.”
“Well, everyone knows more than me. Sometimes, besides that night, I have a hard time recalling memories of us together. There’s a few moments that are pretty clear, but…” Ferain paused for a second and lightly stabbed her fork down into the eggs to hold it there. “Do you think she would forgive me?”
“Forgive you for what?” asked Guji.
“For everything. For that night, for how I tried to kill Kiko last year, for how I acted all this year. Do you think she’d forgive me?”
To this, Guji set his own utensils down and sighed. “Ferain, what you did–”
“Don’t say it wasn’t my fault.” Ferain interrupted. “I knew what I was doing. Those were my actions, my decisions. I willingly hurt all of those people, and I know I took it too far at the school during sparring lessons. I told myself that I wanted to make her proud. I promised that I would make her sacrifice worth it. If anything, I spat on it. With everything I’ve done, how could I possibly expect her to forgive me? How could I ever expect her to not regret saving my life?”
“Ferain,” Guji said, grabbing her attention. She looked longingly, painfully, into his eyes, and she saw strength in them, comfort, an ease of mind that was all too necessary at the moment. “I’m not going to say that you’re free of blame. However, I believe you deserve to take the circumstances into account. You grew up alone. You lived for so long without a person to help shape you. You were cast aside into darkness, only to be brought up whenever it was truly necessary, and only to be spoken to whenever it was important. When you first came to Olirian, you were not a full person. You were all that you could be given your situation, but there was room in you for change. That room allowed for people like Anita and Yarin to take residence within your soul, making you into the person you are now, but there was still some room to spare. There is always room to spare, you must remember that. People will come and go, and those people can squirm their way inside of you in order to force a change.”
“Like Itani.” muttered Fera.
“He saw a way in and he utilized it. He whispered in your ear and he told you, gave you even, what you wanted in order to make himself at home. It’s perfectly understandable that you were manipulated into this. They were your actions but they were brought on by the actions of somebody other than yourself. Are you free of blame? No, you’re not. But you’re also not entirely at fault. Thankfully, what you truly are at fault for is redeemable, it’s repairable. Your partner would not have come to me if it wasn’t. That’s the difference that you need to see, and that you need to allow yourself to understand. Seven’s faults are not the same as yours. Nobody was truly hurt, nothing was done that can’t be fixed. Seven, though, his own sins are not so light or easily forgivable, but those aren’t yours to carry. That weight belongs to him alone, not you. Do I believe Harriet would forgive you? I do. In fact, I think that there’s very little to be forgiven.”
“I was so mean to everyone, and all they wanted to do was help. Even you. I said all of those things and…”
“I’ve already talked to you about that, haven’t I? Some of what you said was right, and for what was wrong, I have already long since forgiven you for it. I’m sure that your friends will do the same, if they haven’t already. All that’s left, Ferain, is for you to forgive yourself. It’s time to move on, and if it really bothers you, maybe it’s time to start making changes. Become somebody that you can forgive if you can’t forgive who you are now. Earn it the same way anyone else does, by hard work and by faith that it will come in time.”
“It doesn’t sound easy.” said Ferain, looking up at him with a hint of a defeated grin.
“It never is. If it was, there wouldn’t be people like me around.”
“What do you mean?” asked Ferain.
“I’m still trying to find forgiveness for what I did to you and your mother. Someday, maybe I’ll find it, but maybe not. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m trying, and that’s all I ask of you. I ask that you try to find that ability to allow yourself to move on from this, and to not let it hold you back. I believe you have great potential, Ferain, great enough potential to be a true leader, a person worthy of commendation and love. I believe you have the potential to be the best of all of us, and I mean that. I think the person that you can become would do more than make your mother proud, it would make her honored and fulfilled to see you come into your own.”
“You’re just saying things.” Fera murmured, growing red in the face and looking away from him.
“No, I’m not. You’re courageous, you're powerful, and you have a deep loyalty to those you care about. Those aren’t traits that everyone possesses, and in fact, they’re rather uncommon. All you need now is to continue to grow, and to learn both who you are and who you want to be.”
Ferain thought for a second before nodding her head. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to figure that all out on my own. It sounds like a high hill to climb for just myself.”
“I’m sure your friends will help,” said Guji.
“Yeah, but what if they’re not enough? What if I want your help?” Guji gave her a confused look, a look that she didn’t often see on that typically collected and knowing face. “Well, I mean, second-years and up are able to study under a teacher, right? Maybe it would be best if I studied under you from now on. I thought about this for a long time, but now… now I think I’m certain of it. I want to be like you. That’s who I want to become. I want your help to do it. I feel like learning from you is what I need to do in order to grow past what I am, and to possibly move on from what I’ve done. Despite what I said, you helped me all last year. This year I didn’t listen to you and look where it got me. Whether you’re my dad or not, or whether our relationship changes at all, it doesn’t matter. I think that what matters is that I have you in my life to help guide me, just the way you have been since I got to the school. Almost every decision you made for me has been the right one, with a few mess-ups along the way, but like you said, nobody is perfect. And… maybe, in order to forgive yourself, you have to finish what my mother started. Make sure I become a person she can be proud of, and maybe then you’ll find that forgiveness you’ve been searching for.”
Guji gave a resigning laugh before taking another bite of his meal. Afterwards, he smiled. “Maybe you’re right. I’m not really a teacher anymore, but exceptions have been made in the past. I’ll run the idea by Autumn when we return to the school. It’ll be after your suspension is over, however. I figure that you could use that time off to catch up on school work and such. Better grades than what yours are currently will be required in order to take advantage of privileges such as studying under myself or participating in clubs and certain electives.”
“I understand, sir.” Fera went to take another bite of her eggs before remembering another thing she wanted to ask Guji about. “Sir, about Itani, is there…” She stopped short upon seeing Guji’s disappointing expression, and an equally disappointing answer quickly followed.
“Afraid not. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about his employment with the academy. He is a member of the Enforcers, one that holds the top position within the organization. Already that means he has more sway than I do when the Sakura Government is involved, specifically Japan’s branch within it. Them, as well as the school board for the academy, requested and appointed Seven with the position with the hopes of keeping peace on the island. So far, despite what he did with you, they are seeing the results they desired, whether it was by his actions or not, it doesn’t matter. There have been no murdered students so far, and with the exceptions of the expected scrapes and bruises from sparring matches, students remain mostly unharmed. I’m afraid that the only thing I can do is to offer students new classes to join in place of his. I would’ve had an easier time of it if students such as yourself mentioned something to me earlier in the year, but it makes no difference now. As for you, do you wish to take another class?”
“I don’t know,” said Fera.
“Then allow me to help you make your decision. Seven’s powers act like a parasite that latches onto a person and as that person grows stronger, so too does Seven.”
“That’s why he’s been looking healthier all year?” asked Fera.
“Yes, because he chose you at the start of the year, so while you’ve been training…”
“He’s been getting the benefits of it too.” Ferain finished.
“Exactly, which is why I insist that you–”
“I’ll stay.” Fera interjected, cutting her headmaster short.
“Stay?” asked Guji, seeming befuddled by the certainty in her answer and her lack of hesitation when delivering it.
“Yes, stay.” Fera affirmed. “If I’m who he’s chosen to leech off of, and if I leave the class, won’t he then just pick somebody else. I don’t like the idea of that, of another student going through what I did with him. I’m stronger, but the things I did, the things I almost did, and the person I almost became, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody in the school. Not to mention, those training sessions were brutal. It was like he was really trying to kill me, and if not for my healing, he might have succeeded a few dozen times over.”
“Which is exactly why I don’t think it wise to continue in his class,” said Guji.
“But I can handle it this time.” Ferain said assuredly. “I know what to expect, and like I said, I’m stronger now. I’ll stop our private lessons and put my foot down in class a bit more. I don’t need to do what he says anymore, but the others might not see it that way. If he tries to manipulate them like he did me, they might fall just as far as I did. I can’t let that happen.”
After thinking it over for what felt like several minutes, Guji finally nodded in part agreement and part resignation. “Fine, very well. I won’t force you, but do be careful around him. He’s not a safe person to be near, especially if you’re his host. And be mindful of what he says, he might try to lure you in again with tempting promises or threats of any kind. If that happens, come to me about it, please.”
“I’ll be careful. Promise.”
“I hope so.” said Guji, before finishing his meal with a final bite. He set the utensil down in the empty container and smiled warmly. “Well, with breakfast out of the way, I believe it’s about time we start our trip back.”
“Now?” gasped Fera, looking up at him as he stood.
“Yes, unless there’s something you wanted to do first.”
“I, uhhh… I need to go somewhere before we leave, it’s important. Can we wait a bit longer?”
“Now that I think about it, I do recall you mentioning that last night. I suppose it wouldn't hurt, as long as it’s not too long. I would like to be back at the school before nightfall, and while the helicopter is quick, it still takes a fair amount of time.”
Fera grinned and hurriedly sucked down the rest of her meal. When the container was practically licked clean, she hopped up and hurried to get ready. After sliding into her boots and jacket, she rushed towards the door, panting slightly from the haste.
“I’ll be quick. Thank you.” she said, running out the door and vanishing around a corner in the hall.
Ferain bolted through the lobby of the hotel before bursting out into the street, her body becoming engulfed by blue and white lightning all the while. She launched herself forward at top speed, using rooftops, street posts, and whatever else served as a good launching point to keep propelling herself forward. For the most part, she was like she usually was, a bluish-white blur that continuously flew from perch to perch before eventually finding the harbor in Koto that she’d departed from the previous day. During her landing, her powers simmered down, flickered quietly, and faded completely, all while she grew closer to a familiar cargo ship a short distance away.
Ferain crossed the metal ramp of the ship, which now had a much lighter load than before, since most of the freight containers were gone. Ferain assumed that they were being restocked or replaced in one of the nearby warehouses, but while that explained the missing cargo, there was nothing hinting at the missing captain. Ferain even checked the tower for her, but Kristen was nowhere to be found on the vessel. With a shrug of her shoulders, she descended to the lowest level, collected her bag, and left a note of thanks before heading back above deck. It wasn’t as good as thanking her in person, but it wasn’t like she would never see Kristen again, she could find her back in Olirian at some point maybe. Besides, it was the only option that remained to her unless she wanted to search this entire harbor for one person, and she didn’t exactly have the time for that.
Guji would wait for her, but Fera certainly didn’t want to waste his time on something so trivial. The letter would have to do for the time being, and with that settled, Ferain made the return trip to the hotel. Guji didn’t ask her where she went after getting back, nor did he bring up the bag of clothes that she now carried with her, which was for the best. She didn’t want to lie to Guji, but with this, she knew she would. It wasn’t to keep people out of trouble, it was just to keep this entire thing as confined as possible. So far it involved Itani and herself at the moment. For now, they were all that needed to be a part of this thing. No Kristen, and no underground fight club, though that might have to come up at some point in the near future if it ever became relevant.
After confirming that she was ready at last, the pair of them made the trip to the airport where Guji had left the helicopter. In actuality, Guji didn’t leave anything anywhere. They had a pilot that was watching over the sleek black aircraft, decorated with the crest of the school on the glossy tail. Ferain was a little nervous of the flight, having never been that high up before, but by the time the city became a size that resembled a model, she was beginning to actually find it quite fun and thrilling. Guji on the other hand didn’t exactly seem pleased by the experience. He tried to remain calm on the outside but Ferain saw the tensing of his muscles and the way he gripped the support bar by the seat for dear life.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
She always assumed Guji to be some unflinching person that wasn’t afraid of anything, but over the time of knowing him she’d noticed more than a few times when his calm, outward demeanor broke a little. Some hints of anger slipped through the cracks, or there was this moment, where he showed a faint trace of fear from something as simple and common as large heights. She didn’t mention it though, even when landing later that night. Ferain did her best to tame her windswept hair as her guardian tried to tame his sense of balance, which to her was an amusing sight. He offered to ride with her back to her dorm, which was for the best since she didn’t currently have any way of getting through the checkpoints, or even into her own home, seeing as she burned out her band before leaving Olirian days earlier.
During this trip, she began to reflect on something that just seemed to be hitting her. It was something that for some reason, was finally coming into a clearer image. Tobi wasn’t her father, Guji was, and to even her surprise, she was handling it pretty well given the circumstances.
“Maybe the circumstances are why though.” she thought, thinking over everything that happened since arriving in Tokyo, primarily her meeting with Tobi. “I always had suspicions that he never cared about me, so maybe the truth is a bit relieving in a way.” she pondered, staring at the district passing her by on the other side of the window.
The neon lights of billboards, store signs, and even just some decorative strips of LEDs wrapped around trees or hanging over bushes were relatively prominent, but so too were the many people that were using the sidewalks and going about their lives. Ferain watched them all as she passed, though she wasn’t actually paying them much attention.
“Thinking about something?” asked Guji, apparently taking note of her absent demeanor.
“A few things.” Fera replied, keeping her gaze to what resided outside the glass. “Do you think I should be more conflicted about everything? I mean, I just found out that the man that tried to kill me was never actually my dad, and I found out that you, my real dad, gave me away to that man sixteen years ago. You would think that I’d be more… I don’t know… distraught? Confused, maybe? But I’m not. I think a part of me is happy that he isn’t my father, you know? Like… Like a burden has been lifted off of my shoulders or something, and that the pain he caused just doesn’t mean anything anymore. Why should I care about what he said or thought when it was all a lie anyway? He never cared about me, only Mom, so why should I give his words any weight? Does that make sense or am I being crazy?” she asked Guji, finally turning just enough to see him over her shoulder.
“I think it’s rational, in a way.” he replied, after a short bout of calculating what she said and how he meant to respond. “Also, I believe it’s for the best that way, and I’m not just saying that to be in your good graces. Tobi used to be a good man but he fell down the wrong path, took a wrong turn. Because of this, he caused a lot of harm, and I think you’re on the right side of things if you’re able to move past what he did and find a silver lining in what you currently have. At the end of the day, however, it’s up to you to determine how you feel about things. If that’s how you feel, nobody has the right to argue with you about it.”
“I suppose so.” Ferain quietly murmured, returning to the slideshow of changing scenes outside of the moving car. “Sir,” she started.
“Yes, Ferain?”
“I think people are allowed to be selfish sometimes. I know giving me away was selfless in a way, you wanted your friends to be happy, even if you hated it, but it was selfish of you to not come and at least meet me. That’s okay though. You had your life to think about, and at the time, there was no way for you to know what he was going to do. You thought I had a home and a family that cared about me, and that I was going to be taken care of. Of course, I’m assuming all of this, but I’d like to believe it. If all of that is true, I think you were right to be a bit selfish in how you wanted to live your life. Having other people and other things make those sorts of decisions for you aren’t exactly a good way to live. So, if all of that is true, I don’t see why it would be hard to forgive you.”
“That means a lot to me, Ferain. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.” Guji said in response, sounding a tad bit choked up to Ferain.
“No, thank you. I was a bit blind this year, but I know that you've helped me a lot. I know you did your best since we met. I also know that I’ve been a handful. You, and all of my friends helped me to change from what I was into what I am now, and while Itani did taint me a bit, I think I agree with you that I can fix that. I think with more of your help I can become better. That’s my goal, not to become stronger, but to become better. I want to help people for a change, and I want to make a difference where I can. Maybe not just in my life or Anita’s life, but maybe in someone else’s as well, like a new friend’s or something, I don’t know. What I do know is that for this whole year, I’ve been living wrong. I’m going to correct that for the rest of the year.”
“If that’s the case, I’ll be by your side whenever you need me. I’ll do all I can as your headmaster to help you succeed.”
“That’s great… but I think you’ll do even better as a father.” Ferain muttered, keeping her eyes on the passing city.
She didn’t need to see Guji’s face or read his mind to know that he had tears in his eyes, mostly because she heard him sniffle as he brushed his face on the sleeve of his shirt. The rest of the trip was done in silence, all the way up til the point of dropping her off at the dorm, where he used his own ID to open the entrance to the lobby.
“Goodnight, Ferain. Take the rest of the week to rest and catch up on some work, and I’ll have sorted out your schedule with me by the time you come back.”
“Sounds good, sir.” she said kindly. Just as Guji turned to start walking away, Ferain acted on a whim and wrapped her arms around his body. She buried her face into his back and squeezed onto him tightly. “Goodnight.”
After releasing him, Guji patted her on the head and smiled, but he remained silent before vanishing into the darkness of District-B. All that was left to do before going to bed in her room was to confront Anita. Maple and Victor would come later, but Anita, being her roommate, was at the front of the line of people that were owed apologies and months of precious gifts. It took Ferain a long time of standing in front of her apartment’s door to build up the courage to open it. She didn’t know how Anita would react, or how she even wanted her partner to react. A part of her thought it would only be fair for Anita to be angry and to scream and punish her in some way. Obviously, Ferain would much rather a welcoming and understanding Anita, but her guilt over what she did made her see that either way would be acceptable.
A dozen or so minutes passed with Fera remaining still, her head against the door, her mind racing over imaginary encounters and questions and answers, but at the end of the day, there was really only one way to actually go about doing this. She would just have to get it over with and accept whatever happened. Fera tried to turn the handle, but it only jiggled. At that moment, she remembered her lack of a band, which acted as a key to get into the apartment, which had an automatic locking mechanism on the front door, as all of the rooms did. She then realized that this was about to be even more awkward. With a brief shake of her head at her own stupidity and recklessness, she raised her fist and gave a few light taps on the door. Then, figuring that these would hardly even alert a bug of her presence, she did it more forcefully.
“Coming!” she heard Anita say from the other side. She must’ve been in the kitchen, judging by how close her voice was. This meant that Fera only had a few more seconds before coming face to face with what worried her most about coming back. She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and waited as she heard the lock undo and the door click as the handle was turned. “Ferain?” Anita gasped, as the warmth and scent of the room escaped past the silver-haired princess standing in the open doorway.
It had only been a few days for Ferain since leaving, but for some reason, it felt like the first time in months she was really taking note of her home. Even the simple aroma of the tiny plug-in air-fresheners that Anita bought forever ago filled her with so much nostalgia that she could hardly stand it.
“What have I been doing all this time?” she silently asked herself, looking up slowly to see her partner’s beautiful face.
She was wearing a dress that was, to Ferain, more of a really long t-shirt. It was blue primarily with short white sleeves, and it didn’t seem like Anita was wearing anything beneath it, like pants or socks, though she could easily be wearing shorts and Fera would be none the wiser. Her hair was as long and sleek as it usually was, but instead of being tied in any way, it was left down to brush along her back. Quickly, her round, wonderful gray eyes narrowed in fury and Ferain then had to prepare herself for the first of her partner’s assumed responses.
“You came back?” asked Anita, sounding fairly upset. There was a definite anger to her tone that she either couldn’t hide, or she refused to even try.
“Yeah.” Fera said quietly. “I came back.”
“Why?” Anita questioned, actually taking Ferain by surprise with the very real hostility in her voice.
“I…” Fera started, but Anita’s look caused her to go silent instantly.
“Do you know what it’s been like for me?” Anita asked her. “I’ve been worried sick for days. I see you one morning and then I come home and you’re just gone and there’s a stupid note in your place. Then, I take that to the headmaster, right? Do you know what I walked in on? I overheard him talking about how you were in danger and how somebody might be trying to kill you. I gave him the note and he got all serious and told me to go away. Do you have any possible idea what the last couple of days have been like?” Anita cried, taking Ferain by surprise yet again, though this time it was with a powerful shove. Fera fell backwards, leaving her feet and falling straight to the ground. “Now what, you just show back up like nothing happened? Why are you back?”
“I didn’t do it.” Fera responded.
“You see, that right there is the problem.” Anita stated angrily. “You say that you didn’t do something but I don’t even have a single clue as to what you’re talking about. We’re partners, Ferain, and we’re supposed to be more than that. We’re supposed to be two halves of a whole, a sun and moon, a special pair, a couple. But… I know nothing about what’s been going on with you. You kept disappearing on me, lying to me, and then you leave a note and your earring and run away. What, did you finally decide to throw all of us to the wayside? Were we really that painful to be around for you? Was I?!”
“Anita, wait, you–”
“I’m tired of it!” Anita screamed, causing wind to start billowing around her. Pictures hanging in the hallway began lifting and slamming back against the wall, some of which shattered while others simply fell from their hooks and nails. “For days I only wanted to see you, for months I’ve only wanted to help you and yet you kept pushing me away. I can’t take it anymore, Ferain, I can’t. I haven’t slept, I’ve barely been able to eat, and here you are, just marching back here from some mysterious thing that I don’t know about.”
Fera looked around and noticed that doors were starting to open and heads were beginning to peek around their frames. Not wanting even more people to be involved in this, Fera’s body glowed brightly with electricity, but before she could move a muscle, Anita had fallen to her knees and grabbed hold of her. Fera’s powers died out at once as Anita pulled her into a tight embrace, burying her face between Fera’s neck and shoulder.
“Anita?” she asked quietly, too stunned to say anything else.
“You’re such an idiot.” Anita cried, gripping Fera’s clothes tightly.
“I’m sorry.” Ferain said in her soft, barely audible tone. “I never wanted to hurt you. I got lost, and I–”
“Shut up.” Anita murmured sharply. “I don’t care, Ferain. I don’t care how lost you get, or how confused you are. That’s why I’m here. I’m here to help you, and I always will be, so please… stop. If you get lost, if you lose your way, I’m supposed to find you again. I have now, and I’m not letting you go, so stop talking.”
“Okay.” Fera said quietly.
She hugged Anita back and gave another whispered apology, ignoring the looks that they were undoubtedly gathering from the nosy students protruding from the nearby doorways. Not too long after, once Anita had calmed down and readied herself to listen, Ferain found herself explaining everything. She started with the beginning of Itani’s lessons, her trips to the fights in District-D, her whole plan on how to overcome her fear of Kiko and all that he represented. Of course, this ended with her plan to find and kill him as well. Anita’s face darkened at that news, but it was almost as if she expected it, in a way. She didn’t say a word the entire time, instead choosing to keep silent and give Ferain her full attention. Fera couldn’t tell how all of this was making her partner feel, as her face was a cold mask, and her stormy eyes only showed a keen interest in what she was being told.
This meant that Fera also didn’t know how Anita would react once the retelling was finished. She could just as easily explode as she could accept and forgive. Of course, those were only two of the possible options Ferain had come up with since starting her explanation. In the end, when Fera had finished with the last bits of the story, which was Guji’s role in all of it, from him finding her to admitting to being her real father, Anita’s expression finally changed. It shifted from focused to pondering. She did her habit of putting a finger against her cheek as she stared slightly upwards towards the ceiling. Ferain was left to simply stare at her partner, but even that was becoming nerve-wracking and almost unbearable, so she soon found her hands, which were clasped together atop her lap.
“Well, Hirigaya, I can’t say that I’m not upset. As I said, we’re a team, and with all of this going on, you never once thought about confiding in me?” Anita looked her in the eyes, which instantly made Fera shift uncomfortably in her seat. It was as if a judge was staring down at her, seconds away from delivering a life-sentence sort of verdict. “Still, I’m happy that you managed to make the right decision in the end. So, here’s what I’m going to do about this. I have some conditions before I even think about forgiving you for all of the trouble you’ve caused me so far. Firstly, you have to eat dinner with me. Then, you have to take a bath with me. After that, I want you to sleep with me in my bed.”
“Of course,” said Ferain, almost too quickly. She even leaned forward against the table as she spoke, causing it to shift slightly.
“Oh, that’s not all either.” Anita then added, placing a hand on the table to shove it back towards Ferain. “I’ll think of more fitting punishments soon enough, don’t you worry about that, but those will suffice for now. So, Ferain Hirigaya, do you accept my terms or are you prepared to find yourself a new partner?”
“Obviously I accept, Anita. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Fera, there’ll be hell to pay, I promise you. This is just the start of a very long list. However, I should get dinner finished up if we’re going to start cracking away at them.” Anita stood and glowered in Fera’s direction before turning towards the kitchen. Just before she passed through the archway, she looked over her shoulder. “By the way, you should know that Maple and Victor aren’t happy either.”
“I know,” said Ferain, sounding defeated, but grateful… eternally grateful. “I know.” she said one final time before drooping in her seat, like some sort of melting wax figure.
Ferain kept all of her promises for that night, and she would continue to do so until Anita was satisfied, and honestly, even well past that point. For this, Anita deserved the world from her, and Fera would happily give it. Sleep that night came surprisingly easy for her, with Anita’s familiar warmth and faint breathing motions. The reality of it was that this night of rest was probably the best one she’d had since everything happened with Kiko in November. In fact, it was so nice of a rest, Fera didn’t even wake up until her partner yelled out in frustration the next morning.
“I overslept!” Anita cried as she rushed around her room in her pink underwear and white short-sleeved shirt. Her hair was a terrible mess, at least by her standards, and she was in a hurry to find all of the pieces of her uniform while Ferain watched amusedly. “It’s your fault, Ferain! I got too comfortable. Ohhh, how could I oversleep?!”
“It’s not that big of a deal,” said Fera. “Who cares if you’re a little late?”
“A little?!” Anita bellowed. “I’m an hour late, Fera, that’s horrible! Oh, where’s that stupid ribbon?”
“Right here.” said Fera, grabbing a red ribbon from Anita’s bedside counter, which was instantly taken by her partner and sloppily tied beneath the collar of her shirt. “Aren’t you usually more organized than this?”
“Aren’t you usually less nosy?” Anita asked back, but this was quickly followed up by an apology. “I’ve had a stressful time of things lately, Fera, with worrying about you and stuff, it’s been a lot. I haven’t really bothered to keep things clean.” Anita was in the middle of brushing her hair as she hurried to the door of the bedroom.”
“Anita,” said Fera.
“What?”
“Your socks.” Anita looked down and saw that she only had one sock on, and it wasn’t even pulled all the way up to her knee where it belonged.
“Dang it. Thanks, Fera, I would’ve ran all the way to the school before noticing that.”
She watched as her friend hopped on one leg while trying to pull on another sock, which she did eventually manage to accomplish. With a salute, Anita ran for the door and pulled it open.
“Have fun.” Fera muttered as Anita finally left the room, leaving Fera in her cocoon-like state, comfortably wrapped in Anita’s sheets. She nuzzled herself deeper into them now, staring at Anita’s collection of possessions, such as her guitars and the black stands they resided on, her dresser and mirror combo, and all of the clothes she had scattered around on the floor. “What do I do now?” she asked herself.
There was always her make-up work that needed to be done, but she figured that could at least wait one day. For today, she wanted to do something else, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. After half an hour slowly ticked by, she left her soft shell of fleece, exposing her half-dressed body to the mid-morning air. She had slept in nothing but a pair of purple panties and a black tank-top, so that was what she woke up in. It wasn’t usually her sort of sleepwear, but she was too tired to get dressed in an entirely new outfit, or to even pull on one pair of shorts. Now, though, she had to get ready for a day all to herself. Fera put together an ensemble of denim shorts, thigh-high socks that were black with white stars on them, the same tank-top she slept in, and her favorite red flannel. Not a complicated outfit, but one that would suffice.
While getting dressed, she still hadn’t figured out exactly what she wanted to do, so instead, she decided on taking a walk around while she attempted to find something that interested her. No powers, no conflict, just a long, quiet walk around the place she called home. District-B was as it had always been, and that was solitary. With all of the students being at school, and with this district being primarily dormitories for said students, she practically had free reign as she walked around. She walked without much thought, even though her original intention was to come up with an itinerary of sorts during it. In the end, Fera just let her feet take her where they would. She walked down the sidewalks that stretched out alongside the miniature roads that this district was known for, her backdrop shifting from brick-walled dormitories to small convenience stores and back again. Eventually, she came across a spot that made her pause her progress.
Where she stopped was not a place with pleasant memories. In fact, there were now quite a few tainted locations within her home district. Kiko had seen to that when he chased her across half of it, destroying buildings and spilling her blood all the while. This was the place where she had her final stand with him on that night. She recalled the broken trail she left in her wake as she charged him, which was repaired with new bricks so that they now stood out like a sore thumb. Going from there, she saw the shop that she’d crashed into further down the road after her attack, which had been put back together a month or so ago. Somewhere not too far away, there was still work being done to repair all of the damage caused by their battle. She moved to a place in the middle of the thin empty road, where she saw the burns left behind as she ran towards the boy she had intended to kill, and she felt remorseful of her actions again. This time, however, it wasn’t because she missed, it was because she did exactly as he wanted.
He had told her to do it, had demanded that she kill him with that attack, and in her lust for whatever it was she hungered for, she obliged, or tried to anyway. Looking back on it now, despite the fact that she still thought he deserved to die for what he did, she was happy she missed her mark. She was happy that she didn’t kill him both of the times that she had intended to. She sucked in a short breath as she stared at the scorched trail she had left behind just a few months ago.
“I know you’ll be back.” she said softly. “For the time being, however, I’m done worrying about when that’ll be. I’ll take each day at a time from now on, and when it is time for us to meet again, so be it. What will happen will happen, and we’ll both just have to live or die with the consequences. For the time being though, I’ll say goodbye. Until the day comes, this is the last time I’ll let you consume me. Bye, Kiko.”
Fera turned and began walking away, her short hair swaying with each step, and the shifting blue earring in her left ear glistening in the sunlight. She walked away from that part of her past, and from the problems that it brought with it. She continued forward, leaving it all behind her at long last, and walking towards a new future. One where she had a father again, and where she had Anita by her side, and where, for the first time in such a long while, she had confidence that the coming months would be better for her.