Other Fan Fiction ❯ Gifted Moon Spinoff ❯ Twins ( Chapter 4 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]
“Who are you?” Rinsi asked as she sat down at a lonely table with this odd woman and her cat, “You haven’t answered that yet.”
“My apologies,” the woman answered, nearly sounding sincere, “my name is Outai Tabibito. Just call me Outai, though. I am here to teach you and your friend Nakya.”
“The Gifted Moon has no teachers just yet.” Rinsi began as she speared a forkful of salad and shoved it into her mouth. She was far more hungry than she thought.
“The principal is trying this out as an experiment. As such, you must keep quiet about your private lessons. The same goes for Nakya.”
“What do you think you can teach us? By the look of you and sound of you, you’re a little younger than me.”
“I think you very well know that apparent age has nothing to do with it. You yourself are barely out of high school and almost ready to teach anyway. Pretty young for a teacher yourself, aren’t you?”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“No, but it does teach you to keep your mouth shut with stupid questions. One so intelligent as yourself should not be voicing such ridiculous questions with such obvious answers. Unlike you, I plan to teach others – others being yourself and Nakya at the moment, but more will come later – how to control their powers. That’s what this school is for, is it not? I am merely here to give a helping hand to the learning process. It isn’t easy, learning on your own, is it?”
Rinsi paused as a forkful was near her mouth. Did this woman know about the…incident? Or was she just guessing, because everyone else here was doing the same – learning on their own? No, it wasn’t possible she would know what had happened, unless she read Rinsi’s mind, and she herself said she would at least let her know before entering her mind.
“I see I’ve hit the mark.” The woman said confidently. “Though it seems you may already know what spell is what by now. No, I didn’t read your mind. I looked up your family history. I am well acquainted with the Starlight family tree.”
“That’s rather intrusive, don’t you think?”
“Perhaps, but I prefer to know exactly what I’m dealing with, before I deal with it.”
“It hardly seems fair. You know more about me than even I seem to know, but I know only your name and that you have a cat with the same name as mine.”
“That is less of a coincidence than you think. And it’s all you need to know right now.”
“No need to be rude.” Rinsi said sternly, glaring at the woman. “I thank you for the meal, however I cannot abide rudeness.”
“As I cannot abide rudeness, hostility, or insubordination. You will obey me absolutely, or you will be punished harshly. Unless, that is, you do not wish to learn, but would rather be wild and uncontrolled as you are now.”
That hit home more than Rinsi would have liked. She wanted to learn to control herself so badly that it hurt. She didn’t want any more people to be hurt by her or to hate her for it, no matter how much she deserved their hatred. She glanced around the cafeteria – which was nearly empty anyway – and saw Ki’iro at a nearby table. He had seen her, too, which was made apparent by the smile and wave he sent in her direction. At least he didn’t seem to hate her any more. She was glad for that.
“I do want to learn.” She said finally, setting her fork down in the bowl that was nearly empty of the large salad she had chosen.
“Good. Then you will listen carefully to what I say, and do as you are told the first time you are told. You will also repeat verbal lessons I give you at the end of the day, without error, and without repetition. You have a brilliant mind and I expect you to use it. The same goes for Nakya.”
“She will not appreciate such stern rules. She has a tendency to rebel against authority a bit.”
“She will learn quickly that such cannot be done with me without harsh punishment. You both will. After you’ve eaten, find Nakya and meet me in the training grounds. Your lessons will begin there.”
“Aren’t you going to eat?” Rinsi said, referring to the empty space in front of the woman that was supposed to have food on it for eating.
“I ate earlier.” She lied, and a convincing one it was. “A few rules before you go. You WILL eat three meals a day, plus snacks. You WILL get at least eight hours of sleep per night. You WILL obey me absolutely. There is no room for errors.”
Rinsi raised an eyebrow at the woman, but wisely said nothing. She seemed very strict, but some of the rules were common sense. She had a fast metabolism as it was, and had to eat a lot to keep up, especially with the energy she spent on spells. She had no arguments with proper nutrition and rest as needed, but they still sounded like threats, which she did not appreciate. The last one sounded more so like a threat than the others, and she was now sure it was for a good reason.
Rinsi was glad when the woman stood from the table and left, though her cat stayed behind. Her cat seemed content to play with Mooney. She knew that was going to confuse her later. Her Mooney, and Outai’s Mooney. How would she address them anyway? Rinsi looked down to find them rolling on the ground like kittens at play. The only way she could tell the difference between them was that Outai’s Mooney had a strange tattoo on its forehead – a crescent moon holding a star balancing on its point in the middle of it.
“You two are too cute.” She said. No matter how upsetting that woman was, Rinsi could not stay mad. It was not in her personality. “Come on, Mooney, you haven’t eaten yet.”
Both cats seemed to meow in acquiescence, and both leaped up on the table, both chowing down on the same plate of fish that Rinsi had served up. From the way they sniffed at each other and played while she got her food, she knew they were both going to eat from the same plate.
“You’ve made a new friend, haven’t you Mooney? I’m glad.” She said as she smiled at the two and went back to her own lunch.

________________________________________________________________________ ___

Authors Note: So sorry everyone! I've been moving the last few days and things have been crazy! I was without internet service up until today, so I'm posting Wednesday's chapter today. After that, there may be quite a while before I post another chapter, as I need time to write, and time to think of what to write next. Be patient with me please!