Chapter IV.XLIII (4.43) - Tainted Return

  The classroom was buzzing with chatter as Kizu sat down in Illusions A. And he didn’t need to enhance his hearing to know why. After a few more delays than expected, the Tainted students were finally back from Edgeland. Or, rather, they were back from the Tross refugee camps.

  Kizu had spotted a few of his acquaintances from last semester but decided to give them some space. They all looked overwhelmed. Still, it was a bit of a relief to see Gregor and Tara from Music F still alive. That could unfortunately not be said for all the students at the academy. While he didn’t personally know anyone missing, he’d heard at least five different names get brought up. And that was just in this class.

  “Kizu,” a familiar voice greeted him from the seat to his left.

  He tilted his head slightly in her direction as acknowledgement.

  “Glad you’re safe, Emilia,” he said. “Harvey was worried about you.”

  “And you?”

  Truthfully, he had done his best to put their failed relationship out of his mind these last few weeks. “I was worried about you too,” he replied politely.

  He was saved from further small talk as Professor Ignis began his lecture.

  Kizu found he really enjoyed the scarlet haired professor’s lessons quite a bit now that he was in an environment where the professor cared enough to teach. He explained processes of audible illusions thoroughly and clearly. By this point, everyone in the class could make noise to at least some degree. Well, everyone except for the few Tainted in the room. But it wasn’t fair to judge them on being behind the rest of the class, as they’d only just arrived on campus. And Ignis was making certain they weren’t left behind as he adjusted his lesson plan to account for them.

  During their last meeting about his music ranking, Kizu had tactfully decided to combine both of Ignis’ specializations. He asked the professor for instructions on how to create illusions to simulate the music he played to create harmonies while he simultaneously played the base melody. Professor Ignis had been over the moon with the request and got him set up with several scales to attempt to repeat back with illusions. The progress was tricky, like playing with a third hand, but Kizu was slowly mastering the basics.

  “The camps they stuck us in were terrible,” Emilia whispered to him. “Do you remember Raygen?”

  “Um. The girl that messed up my leg?” Kizu whispered back. He was trying to focus on what Professor Ignis was explaining about varying pitch.

  “She was in the same tent as me. That girl is bizarre. Kateshi was right to fire her after she fumbled your healing. I can’t imagine her in an actual medical facility. One time when I was reading a book she just stared at a wall for three hours. Smiling.”

  Kizu did not understand where this gossip was going.

  “Is her family safe?” he asked.

  “No. Their whole town was destroyed. She was the only survivor."

  “That might explain it.”

  For a few minutes Emilia let him just listen to Professor Ignis’ lecture. He had almost forgotten about her sitting next to him when she spoke up again.

  “Do you want to get dinner sometime this week?”

  For the first time since she arrived, Kizu actually turned his head to really examine Emilia. She was still gorgeous. Long blond hair to match the golden scales dotted her face like freckles. And yet, the thought of dating her again twisted his stomach in discomfort. Just the idea of it felt like throwing shackles onto his wrist and confining himself to misery.

  “No. Sorry, Emilia. I’m seeing someone.”

  Undeterred, she set a hand on his arm. Her touch was soft and warm.

  “We had something, you and I.”

  He brushed her hand off. “Aren’t you still with Ulric? You made it very clear in our last conversation that he was your true love. Why are you even trying this again?”

  “Ulric is a brute,” Emilia said dismissively.

  “So you’ve said.”

  “You and I are a perfect fit for one another.”

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  Kizu considered what might motivate the beautiful Tainted girl to return to him after all these months. Emilia was proud and hadn’t taken his rejection well. Maybe time and space had rekindled a fondness for him. Or maybe…

  “Your family business is ruined,” Kizu realized. “This is an effort to stabilize your trade empire using my family’s connections and supply chains.”

  Emilia leaned back in her seat. “You’ve become more savvy these last few months. That’s good. We can use that.”

  “There is no ‘we,’ Emilia. I’m sorry but our relationship is in the past. You’ll need to find some other sucker to use as a foothold in your economic climb.”

  She tried to protest, but thankfully they broke off into groups and Kizu managed to slip away to join Yon and one of his fifth year pals.

  One of the three of them had to tie a blindfold around their eyes. Then they had to trick that person into believing the auditory illusion was real while making similar noises themselves.

  “Kizu is the one really clapping,” Yon said with the blindfold on.

  “Wrong,” Kizu said smugly. “I was the illusionist this round.”

  “Damn.” Yon ripped off the blindfold and passed it to Kizu. “You’ve gotten too good. Better than you have any right to be.”

  “Just hours of practice.”

  “What’s your diet look like?” Yon’s friend asked him. “I took a peek at your rankings. I don’t know how you can manage to improve in so many areas so quickly. Not on cafeteria food. Some sort of special diet regimen to stimulate your bone marrow to produce more blood?”

  “Ah, it’s a secret.”

  “A secret implies that there is something,” Yon said, eyebrow raised. “Not just a natural talent or knack?”

  “I’m going to try on the blindfold now,” Kizu said.

  While Kizu might have been able to trick them with his talent for illusions, he was sadly not immune to their own attempts of befuddlement. They certainly weren’t slacking in their studies either. He called the illusion maybe three out of four times.

  “That was the girl you asked me about last semester, right?” Yon asked between illusion attempts.

  “That sat down next to me and kept distracting me with whispers during the lecture? Yes. We’re not seeing each other anymore.”

  Yon’s advice had actually been a huge part in helping Kizu understand Emilia. It wasn’t as if she was evil or vindictive. They simply were on different life paths. Her priorities were different from his.

  “You probably made the right choice. Your ex is glaring in your direction right now.”

  Kizu removed the blindfold. Sure enough, across the room, Emilia stared at him with a frown on her face. But the frown came off as more puzzled than angry. As if she was trying to figure something out. Kizu desperately hoped it wasn’t her trying to come up with a new attack strategy to get him back.

  When class ended, rather than try avoiding Emilia, Kizu said his goodbyes and jumped to the academy’s beacon. It would mean a bit more of a walk to get to Numerology F, but Kizu believed it was worth it if it meant not dealing with whatever Emilia wanted to ambush him with next.

  Sitting down in class, Kizu let out a sigh of relief. He encountered no surprises. His schedule was public knowledge in the academy so that likely meant Emilia wasn’t deadset on whatever she had planned for him.

  Professor Knoff started his lecture on formulas and Kizu launched into his note taking, grateful for the distraction.

  He was in the middle of a particularly challenging equation when a book smacked down on the desk beside him, snapping his concentration.

  “Miss Kajima,” Professor Knoff greeted the newcomer. “How good of you to join our class today. I trust all is well?”

  Ione grunted and slouched down in the chair beside Kizu.

  “Are you alright?” Kizu asked.

  “Do I look ‘alright?’” Ione retorted. Her arms were crossed and she glowered across the room.

  “Um. Let me rephrase. Oh, my most beautiful, stunning companion. What weighs upon your mind and how might I alleviate that weight’s burden upon you?”

  A smile twitched out of the edges of her glower.

  “Better. You should sweet talk more often.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She sighed. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

  In the past she only got cagey about responding when it involved Sene. Their sisterly relationship was a topic Kizu wanted to be delicate about. Before he came up with a proper approach, Professor Knoff announced the end of the allotted time for their current equation and resumed his lecture.

  While he listened to Knoff, Kizu slid his hand into Ione’s and squeezed it. She squeezed it back.

  By the time the lecture ended, Kizu’s head spun with calculations and Ione’s mood had improved substantially.

  They decided to go into town for the night. Ione insisted that the Kizu should perform on stage at the music bar across from Jeri Co.

  It took a few drinks, but Kizu did end up there, despite his initial refusal. But, as fate would have it, Ione also fell prey to the drinks.

  Ears everywhere threatened to fall off at their performance of an old Hon classic. More than one patron of the bar fled. But any problems from earlier in the day disappeared into the ether.

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