The Noblesse and his Love

Chapter 2

Italics: Thoughts
      
                 *Rai-Lin*

Rustling woke me up the next morning. It was quiet, so quiet it was almost imperceptible. I opened one eye lazily. Raziel was getting out of bed, not that he really needed sleep. He simply laid with me when I did.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“School.”

“Ah,” I said. “The school Frankie is in charge of.” A nod was all the answer I received. I sat up in bed, biting back a groan. While my injuries were mostly healed, I was still sore.

A hand came down on my shoulder, a silent what are you doing. I glanced up at Raziel. “I’m coming with you,” I said, and his brow furrowed. “Raziel, I’ve been separated from you for 820 years. I refuse to be separated anymore. Besides, I’m just sore at this point.” The hand slid off my shoulder as he nodded.

Getting out of bed as fluidly as I could, I walked over to the closet. It was stocked with clothes, including the school uniform. It wasn’t a surprise. This was my room on the rare occasion I stayed with my brother.

I changed in front of Raziel. He took in my body, not in a sexual way but with a concerned gaze. His eyes lingered on the bruises and scars that would soon be gone. I walked over and kissed him lightly on the lips. “I am fine, my love.” 

“I hate seeing you hurt and in pain.” The pain in his eyes was almost unbearable.

“But I am not in pain, not seriously anyway. A little bit of soreness is nothing I can’t handle,” I looped my arm through his in a long-forgotten gesture. “Shall we go?”
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Frankie met us at the door. His worried gaze swept over me. “Are you sure you are all right to go to school?” he asked.

“I assure you, brother, I am quite well. I am, however, excited to see the school you built.”

“I only hope it is suitable for you, my dear sister,” he said, a teasing lilt to his voice. “It may not be able to contain your mouth.”

“Let’s not forget where that mouth came from. I believe it came from a blond-haired maniac.” I smirked at Frankie.

“I wonder who that could be.”

“I know one person.”

“Does he have fabulous hair?” Frankie tossed his blond locks over his shoulder.

I pretended to think, twirling my long hair around a finger. My blue eyes were thoughtful as I said, “No, I don’t think so.”

Frankie drew back in pretend hurt. “I will get you for that.” He reached for me, but I froze him with my mind.

“I’d like to see you try.” With that, Raziel and I walked out the door.
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Arriving at school with the chairman caused come people to talk but arriving at school on Raziel’s arm caused everyone to talk. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as people stopped to stare. Raziel paid them no attention, so I didn’t either once I got past the initial annoyance. At least, I didn’t until three students came running up to us.

I went to step in front of Raziel, my protectiveness kicking in, only to stop as he shook his head. That didn’t keep me from tensing as the student neared. I took each of them in. Two boys and a girl. One boy with orangish hair had a band-aid on his nose. As he skidded to a stop in front of Raziel, he shouted, “Rai!” I snickered as the boy turned to me. “What’s so funny?”

“You called Raziel Rai,” I answered.

“So?”

“My name is Rai-Lin, and I am Raziel’s girlfriend. I’d hate for us to get confused when you call out Rai,” I felt a question in my mind to which I responded, High school is too young to be married in today’s society. Raziel acknowledged my answer with a bit of discontent.

The three students talked amongst themselves. Finally, the girl stepped forward. “That does make things complicated. Would you like us to call you something else?”

Sensing that Raziel was fond of these students, I smiled. “You may call me Lin. What are your names?”

“I’m Yuna. This is Ikhan,” She indicated the student that did not have orange hair. Instead, he had a computer. “And this is Shinwu.” The orange-haired student waved.

I bowed to them. “It is an honor to meet you. I’d also like to thank you for befriending my love while I wasn’t here.”

Blushes coated their cheeks. “You’re welcome, Lin,” Shinwu managed to get out.

I straightened up. “Is it almost time for class to start?”

A bell rang across the campus, and the students jumped. “We better hurry. I don’t want to have to run laps again.” Shinwu dashed across the campus, Raziel and I following at a much more relaxed rate.

I sat between Shinwu and Raziel as we had pushed our desks together with Ikhan. Speaking of Ikhan, he was tapping away at his computer, an infuriating sound. I ground my teeth together as Shinwu said, “The bell rang. Why isn’t teacher here?”

Suddenly, Frankie’s voice came over the intercom. “An announcement to Ye Ran High School. It’s been reported that a horrible accident occurred near our school. We advise you to go home right after school finishes from now until there is a further notice. Please, do not visit remote areas and stay with your friends on the way home. Your homeroom teacher will fill you in with more details. That will be all.”

I stiffened. Did someone know of Raziel’s presence? I brushed my mind against his. Do you know anything about this?

Yuna was attacked last night by something not human.

My eyes widened. And she got away?

Shinwu is quite the fighter.

I broke the contact as the teacher entered the room. He was a big man and looked more like a bodyguard than a teacher. I would have to keep an eye on him.

The teacher talked for a moment before Shinwu thrust his hand into the air. “Sir, what happened?”

The teacher tensed. “Well, I heard it was a homicide,” he said as the room filled with murmurs. “They have no information on the suspect, yet. I was informed that it is not an ordinary murder case. It may be difficult, but try to go home, even if you have to skip afternoon classes. And Shinwu-Han, Ikhan-Wu, Yuna Seo, Rai-Lin, and Cadi…Cadis Etrama Di Raziel, the five of you go to the chairman’s office.”

“What for?” Shinwu asked.

“I did not ask. Did you guys get in trouble somewhere?”

“Never.”

I almost snorted. Apparently, being attacked wasn’t trouble, though if Raziel was right about the attacker not being human, which I was sure he was, we could definitely face some misfortune. I hoped that this being was not behind this murder, but my gut told me otherwise.
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The walk to Frankie’s office was silent until we reached the door. Then, the students started bickering over who was going to knock. Raziel was expressionless. He was always better at hiding his emotions than me, not that it was always a good thing. I rolled my eyes at the students, throwing the door open and yelling, “Frankie.” The students stared at me in shock.

Frankie sighed and lowered his head. He was standing in the middle of the room. “Must you be so loud?”

“Of course, how else would I ignore my big brother?”

Frankie pinched the bridge of his nose as the children muttered behind us. “How about you don’t annoy him at all?”

I pouted, “But that’s no fun.”

“Lin,” Yuna said in a timid voice. “Is the chairman your brother?”

“Yes, Frankie is my brother and guardian. I will be staying with him for the duration of my time here.” I smiled a dazzling smile.

Shinwu pointed at Raziel. “That must be how the chairman knows Rai.”

“Indeed,” Frankie said. “But I did call you here for a reason. Please, sit.”

The students and Raziel sat while I stood behind Raziel. My hand was on his shoulder as Frankie began, “As you all know, there has been a terrible incident.”

“A murder…” Shinwu trailed off.

Frankie leaned forward and steepled his hands. “Yes, the man you mentioned yesterday could be one of the suspects. So, the five of you need to be extra careful. That’s why I asked to see you in my office.”

“Yes, sir,” the students chorused.

Shinwu spoke up again. “But, sir, why is Lin here? She wasn’t involved in anything yesterday.”

“While that may be true, she had been seen hanging out with you all. That could put her in danger.” Frankie sent me a look as I nearly laughed. Me? In danger? Not likely.

“Oh.”

Frankie placed his hands in his lap. “Did anyone get hurt yesterday? Perhaps, any injuries you guys haven’t noticed yet? I saw you all yesterday, but I’m still worried,” When all the children confirmed that they weren’t hurt, Frankie said, “I’m really glad to hear that.”

“Um…sir…” Ikhan started. “Something is bothering me. I think I should tell you…”

I tensed, sharing a worried look with my brother. He looked away quickly to focus on Ikhan. “Ikhan, feel free to say anything.”

“It’s about the murder case,” Ikhan said. My hand tightened on Raziel’s shoulder. “Was…was the weapon for the murder a trash can by any chance? Shinwu attacked the man with a trashcan…I saw it with my own two eyes. It must have hurt a lot.”

Frankie’s eyes darkened, even as I held back a laugh. “Sir,” Shinwu said. “Where’s your trashcan?”

“S…Shinwu?” Ikhan stuttered.

“It’s under my desk, Shinwu.” There was a gleam in Frankie’s eyes. The troublemaker Frankie was back, eh?

“S-Sir?” Ikhan tried again.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as Shinwu lunged.