Technical Difficulties

I was glaring at the printer, mentally blaming it for my lack of technical skills. Damn Takumi and his superiority complex. Was it my fault if I grew up in an old school aristocratic family?! Shade, being the intelligent cat that he was, was sleeping on the sofa far away.

When finally all the pages were printed I slotted them neatly into my bag which was laying at my feat. Sora had asked for them at dinner, so I would do some light reading, i thought sarcastically. There was way too little information on Taiki, for my comfort.

Lost in my thoughts I almost didn't hear the footsteps till they were in front of the door. I knew those footsteps and I quickly turned of the computer. Or tried would be better. Mentally urging the computer on, I tried everything I knew, but alas the the door opened with the information still on screen.

Rikka: DAMN YOU FREAKING PIECE OF CRAP!!!!

I screamed ramming my boot into the screen, sending it flying against the wall and box sliding after it.

Taiki: uhh..,. did I interrupt something 

Taiki stood hesitantly at the door, not quite concealing the smile on his face.Which infuriated me even more.

Rikka: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?!!!!

He shrugged and slandered over, pausing beside my bag, which had been thrown around in my tantrum.

Taiki: What is...

He screamed before he could finish the question. Using the distraction I quickly gathered up everything and stuffed it back into my bag.

Taiki: Your cat needs to be house trained

 He growled angrily while inspecting the claw marks on his leg. I smiled.

Rikka: He just doesn't like you, cats have sense for such things

I headed out, Shade following behind. I could hear Taiki mutter something, but too quietly for me to hear.

Guilt

Rikka: So Taiki also followed you?"

Sora didn't even turn around, but I could feel that he was furious.

Rikka: No worries, I didn't listen in on your conversation, I respect peoples privacy and past. Mostly.

I smiled and stroked Shade who was sitting next to me on the couch. In a way I was angry myself, but I kept it inside. I was good at hiding my true feelings.

Rikka: I guess I should apologize, I should have seen him following you, that bastard.

Sora kept silent. I hated it when I didn't know what he was thinking or feeling. I felt guilty, for letting my feelings go through with me and making me careless, I should have known better.

Rikka: If you want I can contact home and find out some information on him?

My freedom

The thing about me, I can never just relax and let everything pass by me, not when there is something nagging me, and never when something pisses me off. And I was pissed off. So I tried to keep calm and try to put up with it, never expected it to last.

I was annoyed. Since when exactly did we listen to the 'higher ups'? Truthfully. It felt as if I was let out of the loop. Not a knew feeling, ever since I moved here, I was, in a way, an outsider. It wasn't that bad, anymore.

I still missed my home, and coming here changed me. For the better or the worse, I didn't know, and frankly I didn't care for anyone elses opinion. Then again no one who knows me know, knew me from before.

I headed out of the school and towards the town a short way away. It was small... I wouldn't know, I never was in a really big city. Without really wanting to I ended up heading toward a pup/restaurant/ house, call it what you want. I knew that many students went there during school times for lunches and whatnot.

I waited and watched, hiding for view from an alley. I was naturally curious, and so was Shade. So much for curiosity killed the cat. I didn't have to wait long when I spotted Asuka riding her bike to the cafe. She parked it outside, before turning to a small, overgrown path to the right that lead into the woods, disappearing into the thick midst. I knew that path. After the thicket of the woods, it opened up to grassy plains.

It made me curious, and the feeling of annoyance joined it when Sora appeared soon after, walking swiftly down the same path. What the hell was he doing here? OK, so I already had an idea what the conversation would be about. The real question would be, why would they have this conversation, when I could almost feel the deep felt hatred between them.

Something made me leave, a darker feeling replaced any curiosity. And as I headed out of the town, I saw Sayuri also go into the thicket, almost as silent as a ghost. Not bad.
Seems like I'm not the only one curious. I almost felt sorry for her. But that feeling disappeared quickly.

I took the long route back to school, lost in thought. And I ended up thinking about home, I could see that Shade missed it too. Something was calling me back home, and I knew I had to return home soon.

But not yet.

Shade

After the council meeting I went to my room, which like all the council members was on the top floor of the dorm. My room was, well, dark. The walls were painted to show a forest in darkness and the ceiling had small lights speckled across it to look like stars.

It was very personalized, and I had spent a lot of time and money in getting it just right. But it was worth it, this way I had a place where I could feel close to home. Because in this academy everything was so different, and even though I had gotten used to it, there were still times when I missed home.

I sat down on my bed and stared out of the window, lost in thought. Something pounced onto the bed next to me. My cat Shade. He was my best friend in the academy, with his night black fur and golden eyes.

I stroked his soft fur as he lay down next to me, his purring was a comforting sound.

Rikka: What are they up to?

Shade looked at me knowingly. I sighed and curled up in bed next to him. The setting sun shining through the window and dipping my room in a warm glow.

Rikka POV: So many questions.

I couldn't believe it.
What was Sora thinking, inviting a human to a council meeting, even worse, a girl like her?

When I saw the invite I went straight to the council room, taking Emi with me, it wasn't right for her to hang out with them.

Sora was there, lazily sitting in his chair, flipping a pen through his fingers.

Rikka: What the hell are you doing?
Sora: Nothing you need to know.
Rikka: Stop being so annoying! You know exactly what I mean! What are you up to.
Sora: You know me well enough to trust me.
Rikka: That's exactly what I'm worried about.

I kept staring at him but he just went back into writing in the damn council log. I knew I wouldn't be able to get him to tell me more. He would tell us, when he wanted to. I just sat down on the couch, and glanced out of the window while the rest of the members just lounged around doing their own thing. Emi had gone to get us all drinks. Takumi had called us here for a meeting before 4pm.

When I saw Sayuri and Asuka walking through the garden, it didn't help cheer me up at all.