Forbidden Blue (On HOLD)

Chapter 5

I got up at the bell the next morning, pulled on a fresh top, a crumpled pair of trousers, ran a hand through my bed head hair and then went down for breakfast with Roan as usual. We lined up and grabbed our food, sitting down on the usual table. We finished and then went outside to the edge of the academy and stared out over the tops of the trees, the fresh morning air gently blowing our hair into a messy disarray. “Hey, who’s that?”

I turned to where Roan was looking and noticed the unusual black hair of a boy as he walked to the front of the school, accompanied by one of the martial arts teachers. “I’ve no idea, someone new?” Roan just looked puzzled as he watched them closely.

“He looks a bit old to be new.” I tried to see the boy closer and saw what Roan meant, no one really joined the academy after their thirteenth cycle, otherwise they would not be able to work up the skill to become a guardian. This new boy easily looked in his fifteenth cycle, maybe even his sixteenth.

“Hmm, I know what you mean.” We watched the boy until he had walked into the building completely. Another bell rang and we followed through the same tall wooden doors, and then out into a courtyard, time for archery with Geldiar. The class went by as usual, nothing new really happened, we heard the bell go for the sixteenth cycle’s lunch and knew that it would only be a few more minutes until it went for ours.

Roan and I were the first ones allowed out of the archery class as we manage to complete Geldiar’s challenge, we walked into the hall I was looking at the dinner queue and noticed how short it was, I began to walk over to it when Roan threw his arm out in front of me, “What does he think he’s doing?”

I looked at him, and then followed his gaze to our table, sitting on one of the chairs was the boy with the jet black hair. Now I was closer to him I could see that he was probably in his sixteenth cycle. “Oh, well, he’s new, he probably doesn’t know who sits where yet, lets grab something before the queue gets too long and if he’s still there we’ll see what happens.”

Roan just nodded and grabbed a tray, I was kind of hoping that the boy would have gone, but when we came out with our food he was still sitting there, oblivious to Roan’s steely glares. “Why don’t you let me handle this?” I said, not really asking.

We walked over to the table and I sat down opposite the boy, Roan stayed standing behind me. He didn’t look up. To begin with I thought it might have been because he was shy or scared of us because we were older than him, “Hey, you’re new here right?” He just nodded and said nothing. I continued, “So what do you think of it so far?” He shrugged, keeping silent.

I could see Roan’s hands clenching into fists and knew that he would say something soon, Roan was not one famous for his patience. “We’re called Shigeru and Roan, what’s your name?” He didn’t even acknowledge that I’d spoken to him and just continued to play with the food on is plate without looking up.

“Right let’s get this clear right from the start you little squirt, this is our table, you are not one of us so you don’t sit here. Move.” The whole hall went silent, I sharply turned to Roan, shooting him a cold look.

The boy stood without looking at us and took up his tray, “Ritsuka.” He said quietly, but his voice was clear as a bell and seemed to echo around the silent room.

“What?” Roan demanded loudly.

“My name, is Ritsuka.” He moved his head up suddenly and looked at Roan with cold disinterest. Then he looked at me, I was startled by his electric blue eyes that seemed to shoot straight through me and pierce my mind, he looked just as surprised, but shot me a smile of blinding white teeth and then walked away slowly, keeping his head up at a slightly defiant angle.

I watched him dump his tray on an empty table and walk out of the hall. “What was that all about?” Roan asked me in a hushed voice.

“What do you mean?”

“He gave you a look as if he knew you, and then that smile?”

“I have no idea, I’ve never seen him before in my life. And what did you think you were doing ‘You don’t sit here. Move.’ I thought you were supposed to be following me?” I demanded, trying to hide my confusion; Roan’s words had hit home, but not in the way he’d said them, I was the one who felt like I knew the boy, but I’d never met him before in my life.

Roan rambled on with some excuse, but I was lost in my own world, thinking about the curious new boy; what kind of a name was Ritsuka? It was so different, so alien, no one had the name Ritsuka. And the way he looked, his hair, jet black and wrong for a fighter, it reached just above his shoulders and had a fringe that covered one of his eyes, blocking his view, who could fight like that?

I didn’t notice as the able started to fill up and a fruit laden tray slid up next to mine, “Hey, have you seen that new boy yet?” I looked up at Midori.

“Yeah, Roan’s already tried to show him his place.” I said sourly. Roan shot me a look but said nothing.

“Oh, well do you know what his name is or anything about him?”

“His name’s Ritsuka and he looks like he’s in the cycle below us.”

“Oh right, so how was archery?”

“Fine.” For some reason I wasn’t on the mood to talk to her, she could tell and turned in her seat slightly to talk to Arian.

I finished my meal and got up quietly, walking out of the hall without so much as a goodbye. I went to the trees and lent against one, letting the breeze cool my face, I couldn’t stop thinking about Ritsuka but I didn’t know why.