Rising Shards

Oka, Kalei, and I got back to our room, and each took a quick shower. I was last in, and Kalei made a crack about making sure I didn’t wander out before getting dressed. I stuck my tongue out at her.

I got in my bed once I was cleaned up and in my comfiest pajamas. I was still exhausted, but I didn’t want to sleep yet. Kalei sighed. 

“Alright, Zeta, can you just give it to her already?” Kalei asked. “After that, I need something good right now. I’ve been so excited since you told me you got it and I’m not waiting anymore. We need all the good things we can get today.” 

“It isn’t Safe Silver yet,” I said, grabbing my backpack before Kalei could get it. She saw one of the bags I had from Lil' Haven a few weeks earlier and prodded me until I told her about some of the gifts I'd gotten.

“Huh?” Oka said, sitting up.

“Get her something else for Safe Silver, it’s still like two months away!” Kalei said. “Doesn’t your girlfriend deserve a Fang Moon Web gift?”

“But I didn’t get Zeta anything!” Oka said. “Although…I wouldn’t be opposed to a Fang Moon Web gift.”

“Fine, you win Kalei,” I said, giving in to Oka’s eager expression.

I took a deep breath. For some reason, this almost felt scarier than facing Jeans and the Starlight Despair.

“It’s OK if you want to wait,” Oka said. 

“No,” I said, standing up. I dug into my backpack and pulled out the small present. I took a quick step over to Oka and handed to her, then retreated back to my bed. 

I almost couldn’t look. What if for some reason she chucked it, and there was a fire somehow like the gift I gave to Jeans? I shooed the thought away. Oka carefully undid the wrapping paper. She covered her mouth with her hand when she saw it. 

“Zeta? A phone! For me?” Oka said. 

“I really wanted you to have one.” I said.

“And Zeta paid a couple years for your plan so don’t worry about that.” Kalei said. “She had me help set it all up to make sure it was ready for you. Pretty cool girlfriend, right? And even cooler best pal, Kalei.”

Oka looked overwhelmed. I was really grateful for the obscenely low priced sales in Lil' Haven allowing me to afford not only the phone, but the plan as well. On top of that, I was even more grateful for Kalei for not bringing any of that up.

“We put our numbers in there already too so feel free to start texting us whenever.” I said. 

“And any of us can explain how they work if you’re having any trouble.” Kalei said. “I’d go with me first though; I know tech stuff better than her.” 

“Hey, it’s not that tyrant game, I know phones!” I said. 

“I did put Tyrant Rangers Moblie on there,” Kalei said. “Remind me to put it on your phone, Zates.”

“I’m…good, thanks,” I said. “Getting that gold armor was a lot.”

Kalei laughed, then Oka joined in, then I had to join in because their laughs were contagious. There would be time for Aira, Laenie, Rain, Nikki, and the others’ departure to Wildfire Hearts later. We joked around, played games, watched shows. Jeans and her Starlight Despair had failed, not even a day after their attacks we were filled with joy. 

“Hey, Zeta,” Oka said. 

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Did you want a gift early, too?” She asked.

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t buy her anything?” Kalei asked.

Oka did the thing where she pressed her fingertips together when she was really scheming something.

“Kalei, would you mind…getting out of here for a sec?” Oka asked.

“Just because it’s almost Fang Moon Web, and I’m feeling charitable,” Kalei said, hopping down from her bed. “You have five minutes.”

Oka grinned. “Thanks.”

She waited until Kalei was fully out the door before she got up and sat beside me on my bed.

“Ready?” Oka asked.

“I…sure,” I said, wishing my voice would have chosen to crack at literally any other time. 

Oka took my hands and held my palms up. A small green glowing light appeared, and a sun kissed gem grew from the energy. It was maybe even prettier than the first one she gave me when we first met at school.

“It’s beautiful, Oka,” I said. 

“Thank you for everything, Zeta,” Oka said. “And that’s not the gift. This is.”

Oka leaned in before I could react and quickly kissed me.

“I’m feeling like I should be a bit impulsive right now.” She whispered before kissing me again, propping her arms on the bed behind me, almost pinning me down. After setting the flower down beside the bed, I fell back on my pillows as Oka kissed me deeply, her hands moving to the back of my head. I eagerly kissed her back, moving my hands to her face as she gripped my hair. For a second, my right hand was on Oka’s bandaged jaw. Both of us had scars from Jeans now, and as I gently caressed Oka’s wound, I realized how her scar and the one on my hand nearly fit together like puzzle pieces. Together, we could heal from them. I pushed my thoughts of Jeans aside as the making out was much more important, and got back to the making out.

I jolted as the door’s lock beeped.

“Kalei, that was so not five—” Oka said, barely breaking from the kiss and turning to see Caya Kilander enter our room. “Urp!” She practically leapt over to her bed and we both sat up, our hands clasped tightly and our faces full on cherry red.

“Hello, Professor…Kilander…Mrs. Caya.” I stammered.

“H-hi, Aunt Caya…” Oka said.

“Just Caya is fine,” she said. “I wanted to talk to you a bit about Wildfire Hearts.”

She grabbed a chair and set it down near the beds. I didn’t really want to think about Wildfire Hearts right after getting caught making out with Oka by her aunt, but I was frozen in embarrassment and obviously couldn’t raise any objections to the terrifying Caya Kilander.

“I have been checking in with the other students as well,” Caya said. “But with the knowledge of one of your other aunt’s return to her other profession, so to speak, I figure you could use a bit more info.”

“Right…” Oka said.

“Do you want me to…leave?” I asked.

“It’s fine,” Caya said. She had a sly smile. “I’m sure Oka would tell you anything I say here, right?”

“Ah..heh…yeah…” Oka said, somehow turning redder.

Caya leaned back in her chair. Even when she was in casual clothes, she cast an intimidating presence with her figure and body language.

“I’m very proud of you both, and all the other students who didn’t choose to go to Wildfire Hearts,” Caya said. “Not that the students who went there today were weaker for it; I know the tactics Endoran schools use. I’m just glad you’re still here.”

“It felt like Kitty had some students she really wanted,” Oka said.

“Kitty’s determined, but sloppy.” Caya said. “It’s not great that she’s back to her school, but we’ll find a way to deal with her as a family.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Oka asked. “I don’t know…it’s just. She is family, right? That was the first time I even met her.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you,” Caya said. “I was hopeful her latest pop star endeavors would keep her away from her work at that school for longer. And I’m sure Berin wanted to protect you from that knowledge as well.”

Oka bit her lip. I could relate to a family member wanting to keep things quiet to protect others. At least, that was the vibe I got from Stella whenever we talked about the rest of our family.

“How can Wildfire Hearts…be like that?” I asked. “Did they bring all those drones in? Are they allowed to do whatever they want in there? Because Jeans, she attacked us like she wanted us…yeah.”

Caya nodded and thought for a moment. “They have rules, just like we do. They obviously aren’t allowed to kill or maim students from their own school or others, but by the sound of things Jeans wasn’t even playing by those rules. But to them, it is play when they’re in the void.”

“Huh?” Oka asked.

“They want to treat the void like a game,” Caya said. “With the worlds as battlegrounds and any living there as their pawns and servants. They train Cani to be monsters, sending them into dangerous and uncharted void nodes with the intent to rule them as they push them closer to oblivion.”

“And Atrian schools…do we have to stop them?” I asked.

“Some rush in, join the fight all the same,” Caya sighed. “They try to fight, but they tear up the worlds they visit too.”

“Well…what do others do?” I asked. I thought about Kiki and the other Exumi’s home being taken over by Jeans or any of the other Wildfire Hearts students. “Because…I don’t want to tear up other worlds. But I don’t want Wildfire Hearts to just get away with what they did. Even if the void nodes are like…dreams? Some of them, at least? I’m rambling.”

“It’s fine,” Oka said. “You’re saying what I’m thinking, too.”

“You don’t have to fight them,” Caya said. “And there are ways to fix them that we can handle. We as in the teachers and I and you students.”

“Such as?” I asked. I had the sudden thought of having to try and fight Aira or Laenie if they got brainwashed or something by Wildfire Hearts.

“We can try to save them,” Caya said. “For the students that left today at least, there’s something we can do for them.”

“Which is?” Oka asked.

“It’s called the Recreant Protocol.” Caya said. “It’ll be tough work, but if you really want them back, that’d be the best way.”

“Yeah, let’s do that!” Oka said.

“Don’t make any decisions today.” Caya said. “You need to recover, physically and mentally. And there’s a lot to prepare on my end for our next steps. It’ll take time for all of this, even for the Wildfire Hearts students, so put these thoughts from your mind tonight if you can.”

“We’ll…try.” I said.

“Myself, Dr. Diast, or any of the other staff are here for you as well if you need to talk more about what happened.”

Caya stood, put the chair she’d grabbed back, and began to leave the room. She stopped at our door.

“One more thing,” She said, that sly smile crossing her lips again.

Oka and I looked at each other and gulped.

“You two do know you can’t be roommates if you’re dating, right?”