Chapter Nineteen- Wales Academy

Chapter Nineteen of the "Hina's Tears" series

Chapter Nineteen

Wales Academy

Angel woke up in a small room.  The window was open and a warm breeze came in.  She sat up and looked around.  The room had a bed, dresser, nightstand, and mirror.  Folded at the bottom of the bed were her clothes from the night before.  Her suitcase was leaning against the wall.

I wonder where we are.  I’m wearing a nightgown, and my clothes are clean.  I don’t remember getting off the helicopter.  

She got up and changed into her clothes.  Then, she walked to the mirror and looked at herself.  Her body seemed smaller and fragile.  A few scratches covered her face, but there weren’t any serious injuries.  

I guess I took a shower when I arrived.  I should go and find the others.

She opened the door and looked down the long hallway.  Many more doors lined the walls and a few girls were walking away from her and wearing black uniforms with skirts.  The skirts had a light blue line at the bottom of them.  Angel left the room and started walking down the hall.

“Angel!”  Skyler called and ran to her.  Angel stopped and smiled.  “I’m glad to see you’re awake.”

“Where are we?”  Angel asked and looked at Skyler.  She had cleaned up too, and her hair was pulled back in a braid.   

“Wales Academy for the gifted.”  Skyler replied.  “It’s the school Ender made for lessers and fragments.  Anyways, I came to find you because Ender wants us to meet in his office.”  She turned around and started walking to the way she came.  Angel followed quietly.

So every person here is a lesser or fragment.  It’s hard to believe there are enough to make up a school.  

They walked for a bit and stopped at a set of oak double doors.  Skyler knocked and walked in when the doors opened.  Angel followed and closed the door behind her.  Inside, Kai sat in a chair and looked up at her.  Bryan leaned against the wall as usual, and Liz sat in another chair with her arms crossed.  

On the other side of the room, Ender sat behind a large oak desk and smiled when they walked in.

“How are you feeling?”  he asked.  

“Better.”  Skyler replied when Angel nodded.  

“Good, so I know everyone must have lots of questions for me so let’s get to the chase.  You’re at my school for lessers and fragments.  It’s probably the one place in this world that Akuma doesn’t know where it’s at.  So what questions do you have?”

“What are you doing about Akuma?”  Bryan started off.  

Ender sighed and looked at him.  “Personally, I’m not doing anything.  I can’t.  However, I’m training others to fight and defend against him.  My main mission now, and for the last century, has been to find lessers and hopefully fragments from all over the world.”  

“Have you found any of the other fragments?”  Skyler asked.

“Well, we have water, fire, wind, lightning, and spirit.  I know now that Akuma has the other spirit.”  

“I thought you told Liz that Akuma had two fragments.  That’s why we did the ambush in the first place.”  Angel said.  

“I thought he did.  My informants told me that they were told of two from a demon they had captured.  If that’s wrong, then we still have four fragments to find.”  Ender replied.

“So what’s the plan now?”  Bryan asked and crossed his arms.  

“Now, you will return to Anicon and search for the missing fragments.”  

“What?  We could do much more here instead of returning there.  Let us help on the search with you.”  Kai said and took a step forward.  “Anicon is dangerous.  We need to be here and fight.”  

“I’m not sure everyone agrees with you.”  Ender remarked.  Kai blinked and looked around until his eyes landed on Angel.  She looked at her feet and didn’t speak.  

I want to go home.  I want to see my mom again.  I want to see Ryo and Anna again.  

“Anyways, we should have a choice.”  Kai mumbled and frowned.

“You will.  I plan to take you back in two days.  Until then, feel free to use the school as you wish.  All I ask is that you don’t cause any problems with the lessers.  Some of them are new to this school and are still afraid.”  

“Ender, when we have all the fragments together, what are we supposed to do?”  Angel asked suddenly.  

“Honestly, I don’t know.  I’ve never managed to have all the fragments together before.”  Ender sighed.  “I got close one time, but we ran out of time.”  

“You mean someone turned of age.”  Skyler asked.  

“Yes.  Once that happened, we failed and Akuma was able to continue.  He won’t attack the humans without that power or until he has found something of the same equivalent because he is bound by the spell.”

“Why?”  Kai asked.  

“Well, he wants to enslave the human world and rule it, not destroy it.  So he went into hiding and eventually the humans forgot about him.  Now, he can operate and look for the fragments without causing an all-out war.  Anyways, he knows that the moment he attacks, I will be fighting too.  I could kill the entire demon race, he wouldn’t be able to stop me.  However, the same goes for him.  He could kill the human race.  So until he is able to kill me, he won’t start a war.  This is, at least, how I see it anyways.”  

“I guess that makes sense.”  Bryan mumbled.

“Oh, Spirit said he was something that was born before humans and demons.”  Angel stated.  Ender looked at her and stared for a moment before replying.  

“There isn’t really a name for what he is.  The best way to think of him is a first generation demon.  I never imagined that the demon side of spirit would go to something like him.”  

“Going back to something, you said when we turn of age that our power ends right?”  Skyler blurted out.  “Is that all it does?”

“No.”  Ender looked at her and sighed.  “Unfortunately, the fact that you’re a fragment is tied to your life.”  

“So you’re saying…”  Kai started and Liz stood up.  

“That’s right.  If you turn of age before you’re power is returned to Hina, you will die.”  

“Die!”  Angel gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.  

“Like just drop to the floor and be done?”  Bryan asked with wide eyes.  His arms had dropped to his sides.  

“Exactly like that.  The moment the clock strikes twelve, you will die.  That’s what happened to the ones before you.”  Ender replied solemnly.  

“And if someone dies, then the rest of us will die too.”  Skyler whispered.  

“Exactly.”  Ender stood up and looked at each of them slowly.  “That’s why we have to rush.  I know that we have very limited time.”

“Spirit said in human years that he’s sixteen.  Does that mean we only have two years left?”  Angel asked quietly.  

“No, Spirit isn’t a human so his lifespan is much longer.  It could be another twenty years before he turns seventeen in human years.  I don’t know the calculations for his kind, but you get what I mean.”  

“Still we only have about two and a half years.”  Kai stated bluntly.  “I’ll turn sixteen in five months.”  

“For now, let’s not worry about the time.  Everyone should go get food and relax.  It won’t be easy after you leave here.  I won’t be able to protect you.”  Ender stated as he walked to the door, and opened it.  “We will talk again before you leave.”  Kai sighed heavily and left with Bryan, Skyler, and Liz following.  Angel started to leave when she stopped and looked at Ender.

“You looked different as a boy.”  She stated.  He blinked at her and tilted his head.  

“How could you know that?”  

“I had dreams about you and Hina.  I think I saw them through Hina’s eyes.  I saw you as a boy, and once I saw Hina through a reflection.  She’s quite beautiful.  I can tell you were in love with her, and…”  Angel stopped and looked away from him.  “…I could feel that she was in love with you as well.  For some reason, I wanted to tell you that.”  When she slowly glanced back up at him, she was relieved to see him smile.

“Thank you.  For many centuries, I’ve wondered why she did what she did for me.”  He placed a hand on Angel’s shoulder.  “She really is quite beautiful.”  Angel nodded and smiled.

“Thank you for saving us.”  She left the room and headed down the hall where Kai and the others were waiting.  

  “Is everything okay?”  he asked when she caught up to them.  Angel nodded.  

“Yes, I just wanted to tell him something, but, right now, I want to find something to eat.”  Angel replied.

“I found the cafeteria earlier.  We can go there and talk.”  Skyler stated and led the way.  

Once they got there and got food, they sat down at a table and began to eat.  

“How is everyone feeling?”  Kai asked once he swallowed.  “I don’t think anyone suffered any major injuries.”  

“Other than meeting up with Akuma, and you being turned into a demon.  I think we made it out alright.”  Angel stated.  

“Wait, what?”  Skyler dropped her fork and looked at Angel.  “You met Akuma?”  

“Didn’t everyone get to meet him?”  Angel blinked and shivered.  

“No, I stayed in the cell the entire time.”  Skyler replied and picked up the fork from the table.   “I didn’t see him.”  Liz stated as she picked at her food.  

Angel frowned and looked at Bryan.  He shook his head and took another bite of food.  

“What did he do to you?”  Kai asked and moved closer to her.  

“He just said…”  Angel thought about the conversation and frowned.  “He said that my parents tried to kill me to stop Akuma when I was little, but a demon saved me and brought me to the castle.  He said that if I didn’t give him my power that my friends would die.  When I refused, he attacked me.  Then I told him that I would beat him one day, and he got angry.  He continued to attack me.  When it was over, Ryoki appeared and took me back to the cell where Spirit made me better.”  

“Ryoki?”  Kai asked.

“The demon you saw when you turned back into a human.  That’s Ryoki.  He helped me quite a few times in the castle.”  Angel replied and got quiet when she looked at Kai’s face.  His eyes narrowed and jaw clenched, but he didn’t say another word about it.  

“That was really brave what you said to him.”  Skyler said suddenly.  

“I think it was foolish.”  Kai said and looked at his food.  “You have no idea what he could do to you and still keep you alive.”

“Spirit said he wouldn’t.”  Angel replied with a glare at Kai.  

“You trust him?”  Bryan asked while chewing food.  

“I do.  He can’t help being there.  He said that the second general has him bound, and, once he’s free, he’ll fight against Akuma.”  Angel turned to her food and took another bite.  

“I hope so.”  Skyler replied and took a drink of her water.  “However, before we go into planning more things, what happened to our plan that night?”  

“Maybe Angel was figured out.”  Bryan stated.  

“No, I did exactly what I was told to do.  They were there when I arrived.”  Angel said quietly.   “How could they have known?”  Kai asked and moved his fork around on his plate.

“I think we should be careful with what we do.”  Liz said.  “That mistake could have cost us our lives.”  

“I know that!”  Kai slammed his hands on the table and stood up.  “I realize that I messed up.”  He turned and stormed away.  Angel started to get up when Skyler stopped her.  

“Let him go for now.  He needs to think things through.  Regardless of how it is, somehow he has come to lead this group.  He can’t make mistakes like that again.  Next time, it could be the end of the world.”  She said gently.  Angel looked at her and then back at her food.  

Still, it should be on us all.  Kai shouldn’t have to carry the burden on his own.  Suddenly, I don’t feel like eating anymore.  

Angel got up and picked up her plate.  “I’m not hungry anymore.”  She said in a low voice and took her plate to the counter so it could be cleaned.  Then, she turned and walked out of the cafeteria to the main lobby.  As she looked around, she felt someone watching her.  Her eyes landed on a pair of silver eyes.

The eyes belonged to a younger boy with white hair.  He was partially hiding behind a pillar and staring at her.  Something about his eyes was different.  

Angel smiled and walked over to him.  He gasped and disappeared behind the pillar completely.  Angel giggled and quietly poked her head around the pillar.  The boy looked at her and jumped back.  

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.  Are you alright?”  Angel asked.  The boy stared at her without a word.  She stared back and opened her mouth slowly.

His eyes don’t have pupils.  He’s blind.  

He wore a male school uniform with a black jacket and black pants.  On the bottom of the jacket was a silver line.  There was, also, a crest on the jacket with the letters ‘W’ and ‘A’ with a silver circle going around them.  “My name’s…”

“Angel.  You’re fourteen, and you live in Anicon.  You are a fragment and the only human spirit in the world.”  He paused and stepped forward.  

“That’s right.  How did you know that?”  Angel asked.

“The souls told me everything.”  He stated and tilted his head.  

  “Souls?  As in the souls of the dead?  You must be a soul lesser.”  

He nodded and reached forward.  Slowly.  Angel went down on her knee, and he touched her face.  “You should be careful.  They said that you are in danger.”  

“I know I am.”  Angel took a step closer.  

“They said it’s a lot closer than you think.”  He frowned and pulled his hand away.  “They said its red.”  He whispered and sighed.  “My name’s Haku by the way.”

“Oh, well it’s nice to meet you, Haku.”  Angel replied and gave a smile.

The danger is a lot closer than I know?  I wonder what that means.

“I have to go now.  I hope I get to meet you again.  The souls said you would be pretty.  They haven’t been wrong yet.”  He smiled, turned, and ran away.  Angel felt her cheeks get warm and watched the boy.  She smiled and stood up.  

I hope I meet him again as well.  If he can fight than so can I.  Now, I need to find Kai.   

After looking around, Angel found herself back at Ender’s office.  She was about to pass by when she heard Kai’s voice.  

I shouldn’t listen.  I should just walk by, but I can’t help myself.

She looked around and then put her ear up to the door.  

“I agree with you.  You shouldn’t return back to Anicon.”  Ender said.  Angel gasped and pressed her head closer.  

How could he not return?

“Why?”  Kai asked.  

“The mark on your back.  It was designed to stop your demon side.  Your father put it there, right?”  

“Yea.  He didn’t want me to go against him until he was ready to use me.”  Kai replied in a low voice.

“Exactly.  The problem is that it’s starting to break.”  Kai was silent.  After a moment, Ender continued.  “Youkai, your demon half, wants something.”

“What?”  Kai asked firmly.  “I know he wants to be freed.”

“That’s not all.  He wants Spirit.”  Ender replied.  Angel bit her lip to hold back making a sound.  

Why me?

“What do you mean?”  Kai asked.  His voice became hoarse.  “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that, the longer you are with her, your binding spell will break more and more.  Youkai’s desire for her is so great that he is fighting even more.”  

“I’ve been around her for a while now and nothing has happened.”  Kai replied.

“No, it wouldn’t while the spell was in full force.  What happens when the spell gets cracks in it from being partially released?”  Ender’s voice dropped and he sighed.  

Kai took a deep breath.  “You’re telling me that because of what happened at the castle, I’m losing control over my demon side?”  

“Did you ever have control over it before?”  Ender asked.  

Kai didn’t reply.  

Kai does have control!  I know he does!

“The more time you spend with her increases the danger you’re putting her and everyone else in.  Until you are able to control him without the spell, you should leave her.”  Kai gasped and the sound of a chair scrapping back came through the door.

Leave!  Kai can’t leave!  He just can’t!  

“I can’t leave for good!  What happens if they’re attacked again?  Who will lead them when I’m gone?”  Kai’s voice rose.

“I’d say Angel did a pretty good job leading the group in your rescue mission.  It’s not your job to lead the group.  It’s your job to protect them.”  

I just stayed hidden!  I didn’t even fight!  That’s not fair!

Angel bawled her fists up and felt tears fill her eyes.  

Finally, Kai sighed heavily.

“You’re right.  I can’t put her or the others at risk.  That would be exactly what my father would want.  Where do I go?”  

No Kai!  Don’t leave!  Please, don’t leave!

Angel backed away from the door and fell on her butt.

I don’t want to hear any more!  

She got up, ran down the hall, and to her bedroom.  Once the door shut, she fell on the bed and started crying.

“We just can’t be separated.  Kai’s what holds the team together.  What are we supposed to do without him?”  

Am I being selfish by wanting him to stay with us, with me?   

With a sniffle, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.