The Oracle

Chapter 38: The Coming Storm

AKARI

"Did you hear?" Kit says quietly as we walk alongside each other from our rooms the next morning. "Carmin chose representatives for Lust, Charity, and Wrath last night."

"Who are they?" I ask, pulling my long hair up into a ponytail as we walk instead of letting it hang down like I've been leaving it for the past few days.

"I'm not sure," Kit frowns. "I've never heard of them, which is unusual."

"You know he's just trying to make it stacked against Sora," I shake my head.

"I know," Kit's frown deepens. "It's not right. So what if he's the son of Wrath? He's still Sora. He's the same person he's always been. His morals didn't just suddenly change. Dangerous abilities in the hands of good people can do just as much good as dangerous abilities in the hands of bad people can do bad. The abilities don't make a person bad, their personality and their heart make them who they are, and they're the ones who choose how to use said abilities."

"Carmin doesn't see it that way," I sigh.

"Neither does Kaito," Kit sighs as well.

"I can't blame Carmin and Kaito for being upset with that happened to them, but...it's not right to take their feelings and vendettas out on Sora," I say.

"I agree, and so do Sander and Shae," Kit says. "I know Isabella also feels the same, and Clea."

"Yeah, most of us feel the same, but I feel as if the general population of Aria fears him," I mention.

"That's obvious," Kit snorts as we walk down the stairs. "You can practically feel the tension. I can't believe Carmin has the nerve to pin Raciel's death on Sora, and Evory's condition on Sora."

"Yeah, it's not right at all," I shake my head. "But, the general population doesn't know anything and they probably won't either if Carmin has his way."

"I wish Gambit was still around," Kit sighs.

"Yeah," I glance over and smile sadly at her, meeting her brown eyes with my blue ones. "Me too."

On the way to the dining hall, we end up passing by Kaito, who snorts as we go by.

"What?" I snap and whirl around, calling out after him, and Kit stops as well. "Do you have a problem, Kamekawa?"

"Yeah, you're not taking my side," Kaito crosses his arms against his chest and scowls.

"Not taking your side?" I scoff and stomp across the hall towards him, pointing my finger at his chest to accentuate my words. "We both know that I've always been honest. I've always been the one to tell it like it is. And it pisses me off beyond belief that you could stand here damn well knowing that Carmin was the one who killed one of the only people who cared to look after you, that Carmin almost killed one of the other only people who ever cared about you, and you have the nerve to act like it was all Sora's fault all because of your petty personal problems. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be upset or a right to be jaded, but I am saying you have no right to blame Sora for anything. So that's my problem with you, and quite frankly, I think that only one of our problems is justified, and it isn't yours."

Kaito stands there with wide eyes and he opens and closes his mouth a few times before he frowns and Kit whistles.

"Get wrecked, homeboy," Kit snickers before she makes her way over to me and places a hand on my shoulder, her expression turning more serious. "Come on, we should go before people start to notice. Leave him to rot in his misery. He's only hurting himself, you know."

"Yeah, I know," I say, my eyes still locked on Kaito's, "and that's the real shame."

As Kit and I turn to walk away, we get stopped by Kaito finally speaking up.

"What did you just say?" Kaito asks, his voice somewhat breathless.

"What?" I glance back at him and furrow my eyebrows.

"You said..." Kaito trails off before he shakes his head and rubs the back of his neck. "Nothing, nevermind."

"Come on," Kit sighs and shakes her head, placing a hand on my back between my shoulder blades. "Let's go."

"Yeah," I breathe out, my eyes still focused on Kaito's form before I turn to Kit. "Let's go. It seems he doesn't fully yet understand, anyway."

"No," Kit says as we walk towards the dining hall, "but I'd say you've reached him."

"You think so?" I ask.

"Yeah," Kit smiles sadly as she places her hand on the door to the dining hall, glancing back at me over her shoulder. "I'd say so."

***

"You wanted to see me?" I ask as I stand inside of the doorway Gambit's old classroom, watching as Miroslava scans the bookshelves thoughtfully, a finger pressed to her lips.

"Oh, yes," Miroslava glances back at me, her brown eyes piercing. "Come in."

"Okay..."I trail off, stepping further into the room uncertainly.

"You're the one who found Sora, yes?" Miroslava asks as she turns around and raises a brow.

"That's correct," I nod, watching as Miroslava begins to wander around the room.

"What did you see in him?" Miroslava asks.

"I saw someone who was left with nothing, and I wanted to give him something," I say.

"I see..." Miroslava hums. "So, you must've known he was Wrath. Right? I mean, who sees a forest of burning green flames and doesn't assume the person radiating them is Wrath?"

"W--Well..." I stammer, unsure of what to say and unsure of how she knows exactly what happened.

"Do you know why I came here? Why I decided to leave my position?" Miroslava asks.

"Not particularly..." I trail off, my eyes watching her every movement as she wanders around.

"It wasn't because Carmin asked me to," Miroslava starts. "Well, perhaps it partially was."

"But, Carmin trusts you, doesn't he?" I ask, raising a brow.

"Carmin trusts me, but maybe he shouldn't," Miroslava grins as she glances back at me with her arms clasped behind her back, her eyes mischievous.

"What exactly does that mean?" I ask warily, not wanting to get my hopes up.

"You're a good student, Akari," Miroslava hums as she walks up to me, a small white card in her right hand, before she leans in close to my ear and presses the card into my hands. "You figure it out."

With that, Miroslava turns on her heel and heads further back into the classroom, leaving me in silence as I stand there holding the card that she gave me, my eyes flickering down to the gold print embedded in the white card-stalk.

We're coming -- G.