#…# Rei

/.../ Lee

“Listen to the wind until you can hear the sign.”

It was a bright sunny morning that greeted the students Royal Academy. It would have been an ideal day to do anything outdoors for that matter. The soft breeze coming from the West felt cool under the warmth of the sun. Night birds were chirping each other goodnight, morning sparrows and thrushes were already darting, playing hide and seek under the bushes. It was indeed one of those mornings where you just want to lie back, tracing the clouds with your finger and daydream.

Fortunately for Rei, that was exactly what he was doing. Being injured does have its advantages, especially on a test day.

Currently he was leaning against a tree and watching his class take their weekly test. His class. Rei couldn’t believe it; he had never been to school before. His elders had taught their village kittens everything that needed to be known when they have free time.

It didn’t seem to be any different from what Rei can observe in his resting area. For some odd reason, he found himself sitting alone, with his classmates sitting at least 3 feet away from him. That didn’t really bother him. Most people did that when they found themselves near a neko-jin. It made things much easier for Rei to spy and eavesdrop about this odd place.

He found out he was in some kind of school, as mentioned before. His class was Class 1, the most advanced level in the Academy, Class 3 being the lowest. Students were placed in groups of trio, formed by testing conducted when they first entered. Teams consisted of a magic-user, a fighter, and rounded person with both physical and magical prowess.

Rei’s team consisted of Tala, his talented team leader, and aloof Bryan. At first Rei thought Tala was the magic-user, but after witnessing the red head steal several muffins from another classmate without their noticing, he concluded that Tala must be the thief with magical abilities to enhance his speed and agility. Bryan was the warrior of the group, which Rei thought after a while, was pretty damn obvious as he had the most muscles and highest stature out of the three of them. That meant Rei must be the magic-user. Something Rei dread being because he couldn’t do magic.

Although didn’t Drigger say something about him being magically inclined? Rei could only hope that some of this life’s traits had remained in this body.

From what he heard, this school had the highest drop out rate in the nation. Most students quit after two years, unable to stand the rigorous training, constant physical and mental exhaustion. Hence, it is not usual to find that the upper classes, like Rei’s class, only had three groups left, including his group. Max was apparently in Class 2, a class lower than Rei. And he was the magic user in their group.

Rei tried not to gape as he saw Bryan battling with one of his classmates, another fighter or warrior (as they called it). He had not known that Bryan could move that fast, dodging expertly at the other’s broadsword as his own longsword sliced below, drawing the first blood. That signaled the end of the test. Rei’s eyes widened with admiration.

Bryan’s good! Really good.

Rei shook his head, what was he thinking? Admiring Bryan now? Gah! That’s just so wrong…but he was fast.

Rei sincerely hoped he would not be facing the other end of Bryan’s longsword anytime soon.

The Master, that’s what they called teacher here, dismissed the two fighters and motioned Tala and another one of Rei’s classmates, a perky looking girl with short blond hair, forward. They stepped into the small combat area, eyes darting back and forth.

Tala smirked, blue eyes twinkled underneath the sun and dropped into a graceful mock bow. “Ladies fir-“ A sudden swoosh and a flash of steel, Tala found himself missing several strands of his perfectly gelled hair. The girl smirked back at the shocked red-headed boy.

“Less talk more action Tala.”

“Don’t worry about that. I get plenty enough.”

Amber eyes scrutinized their fighting skills. As a neko-jin, Rei was taught how to defend himself and others at a very young age. Hate crimes towards neko-jins were not uncommon in China, especially in big cities and unfortunately, Rei happened to stay in large cities for prolonged periods of time. Hence, Rei was often on the receiving end of streetfights, which made him all the better in certain forms of unorthodox and orthodox fighting. In this instance, the girl was faster than Tala, but lacked the strength of the boy. Tala had the strength but ended up defending himself more as he taunted the girl, who did not seem to be falling for his tricks. Rei turned his head away and focused on his surroundings again. It was obviously going to be a long battle of stamina. Tala did not have enough skills to fake moves very well or maybe he’s holding back, and the girl obviously had practiced with him so often she knew all his tricks.

Bryan sat down close to him, about a foot away, eyes closed, obviously not caring about the outcome of the fight.

Bryan…

Rei felt the familiar flame of anger and tried putting it out. He hadn’t done anything to him. Yet. Besides, Rei doubted he could win against Bryan anytime soon, judging from his sword skills. Rei growled to himself. Well, then, he’ll just have to train harder to beat the crap out of him.

His fellow students quickly shuffled another foot away from him, staring the neko with suspicion and distrust at the sound.

Rei glared at them, restraining himself from baring his fangs.

The students shuffled another foot away, warily eyeing the angry, amber, inhuman eyes.

Ignorant, idiotic, racists bastard son of a –

“Rei. Stop teasing them.” Bryan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Rei coldly. As amusing as it was to Bryan, it is somewhat disturbing to how the strongest students in school were all scared of Rei, who was one of the smallest, and physically weakest, in their class. Bryan knew that the neko wouldn’t mortally hurt anyone. But the others didn’t know that. Of course, emphasis on the word ‘mortally’.

To others, Rei was a neko-jin. A neko-jin from the barbaric borders of the East. A well-known fact that meant Rei killed in cold blood and pleasure. Therefore was to be treated with a dish of fear served with a side of terror.

Scowling, Bryan glanced at Rei to reprimand the neko for disturbing Tala’s fight, when his pale eyes caught sight of something much more dangerous than a snarling kitty. Bryan quickly pushed himself off the ground, readying himself in a battle stance, right hand on his long sword hilt, left hand drawing out his short sword with a sharp ring.

Startled by the noise, Rei looked up in horror at the advancing troop of horsemen. It looked like that “Lord of the Rings” movie Max had dragged them all to watch. Except with faster moving horses and men armed with too much metal and too much gaudy silk decorations. And the fact that they couldn’t seem to control their mounts all that well either.

It didn’t take long for the class to notice the herd of uncontrollable horsemen shouting for them to ‘get out of our way’ in a crude way. The class stood still for a moment before flying into a frenzy panic as Bryan dug out his weapons from nowhere. The master quickly erected some sort of shield in front of himself. It glowed eerily in a light blue transparent vapor. Rei stood rooted, half petrified at the sight of the rabid, drooling horses, half fascinated at the magical barrier. Squinting, Rei could even make out the flicks of white foam flying in the air as the men hung desperately on whatever their hands managed to grab first. All around him, the students started unsheathing weapons to stop any further destruction, their mouths set in a grim line.

/You got to do something. You must stop them before they reach the Class 3 in the paddock./

Do what? The little martial arts he knew are useless against rabid horses.

/Magic./

#Yeah well, magic is impossible right?#

There was a soft mental sigh. /You really are stupid./

#What!#

/You – are – stupid./

#Who the hell are you so say something like that! Why the hell am I talking to myself!#

The voice spoke in a tone of exasperation and annoyance. /Scoot over baka./

Rei blinked at the thundering herd of rabid horses less than 50 feet away from him. Yes. That would be a good idea. Stay calm Rei. Scoot over a bit and maybe they would jump right over him. Rei lifted his left leg to dodge but suddenly found he couldn’t move.

#What?#

Rei struggled against his mind to no avail. His leg just wouldn’t cooperate. The oncoming herd of three horses (thank yer Gods it’s only three!) advanced towards him less than fifteen feet away. Crazed-eyes rimmed with an unnatural red hue glowered at him in a blood-thirsty way, their spittle flicked in the sunlight as the strong hooves vibrated on the ground creating little ripples in the lake behind Rei. The master quickly motioned the rest of his students to stay behind his shield. There was a brief scramble as all eight students rushed to claim a safe spot behind the master, abandoning all notions of heroism and weapons.

All except Rei.

“Rei! Get behind here now!” Tala yelled, lurching himself forward to grab his remaining team member only to find Bryan stopping him. “Rei!”

He couldn’t move. It was like his feet were cemented to the ground. Needless to say, Rei did the only thing he could think of. He panicked.

A derisive snort came from the back of his mind. /Coward./

#You wouldn’t say that if your legs can’t move!#

/Baka. Watch and learn. Unlike those useless lumps of lard there./ The mental voice was dripping with disdain.

Rei watched as his unbandaged left arm lifted into the air, fingers sprayed forward towards oncoming stampede. #What! What the hell are you! Get out of my body! ARRGGHHHH! I’m being possessed!#

/Shush, you idiot. I’m concentrating./

Rei felt his lips move and in a cold, commanding voice. “Blizzard.”

Though softly spoken, the effect was more effective in stopping the mayhem than his master’s shield. The spell had been targeted at the horses’ feet, causing them to stumble in shock as their hoofed feet became stuck under a thick layer of ice. Twenty-two pairs of eyes watched in horror as the horses whinnied in distress as the ice thickened and grew to their knee level. It wasn’t that this was their first time witnessing the spell, rather it’s the first time the students saw a spell aimed in cold blood.

“Rei. That’s enough.” Someone mumbled behind the wind shield. Rei ignored the voice, amber eyes glowing with frightening intensity as the blizzard and ice expanded, watching with cool detachment as the riders yelped when their lower legs began to freeze. Arms trembling, Rei tried not to panic over the fact that he no longer had control over his own physical body. His body was beginning to feel drained, though he did not why.

“Rei!” Tala struggled against Bryan’s iron hold on his wrist. “Damn it Bry! Let go! Rei shouldn’t be doing this!” The purple haired boy seemed to pause to consider that fact, then decided against letting go. Rei could take care of himself. He was fine. If not, he wouldn’t be out here in the first place. Well, that and Bryan wanted to see Rei get into trouble for the nth time this year.

Bryan tightened his grip on his team captain. “He’ll be fine.” Then muttering under his breath, “just showing off as usual.”

Tala’s blue eyes narrowed. “Bry-“ His words were quickly over-ridden by a loud war whoop.

“Die you suckers! Muhahahaha!” Galloping full speed on his stallion, another rider crashed through the thorny undergrowth, his rapier slicing rapidly at the air around him. Dark blue eyes glittering in determination, the rider galloped right into the middle of the frozen zone, his crimson cloak flying behind, looking exactly what many princesses would dream their prince charming would be like when he rescued them from raging dragons and mad witches.

Of course the major flaw, which the rider oversaw even if he did have the advantage of initiative, was that the ground was frozen solid. The horse whinnied in surprise then in dismay and shock, as his hooved feet flew out in front of him comically. The rider’s curses rang the air as he was flung off his horse and banged his head on the ice statues that were once his targets. The men and horses both frozen together in a glittering display of hardened ice.

But Rei didn’t see all that. All he saw a large mass of brown fur coming at him in what seemed like the speed of a bullet train and hit him dead on. The distressed whinny knocked the wind out of the neko-jin, Rei gasped, the spell broken. His vision turned white and, for the third time in two days, disappeared into oblivion again.

DREAM SEQUENCE

It was one of those places that reminded one of home, friendship and hope. The ground was almost bare, loose dirt covered with a thin layer of dead leaves that made a shallow pattern on the criss-crossed roots. Footprints could be seen leading to giant tree. Sometimes they circled the tree a few dozen times before they retreated. Some stopped few feet away from the tree, as if its owner was too shy to approach the monumental structure.

Rei followed the footprints to the giant tree that stood in the middle of a forest clearing. It appeared almost mythical. The sun hitting it just so that all the leaves held a yellow beam of sunlight, while the surrounding forest seemed dark and brooding, this lone tree stood in the sun. Rei knew at once this was a dream. Such a place does not exist. Cannot exist.

“Hello?” A familiar voice drew Rei’s attention from the lone tree. Lee’s mane of black hair appeared on one of the giant branches that stretched towards the sky. With a quick flip, the lion landed lightly on the dirt ground in front of Rei, one hand brushing his hair backwards.

Rei smiled slightly at the sight of his childhood friend, dream or no dream, friends always brightened even the darkest recesses of his heart. Lee looked pretty much the same as he had when they bumped heads in Hong Kong. Skin tanned to a healthy glow, accentuating his golden feline orbs. His head cocked to one side, dark dreadlocks swaying in the breeze.

“Lee…?” Rei hesitantly smiled back at his friend. There was something different despite of the physical resemblance. Something Rei couldn’t put a finger on.

The other neko-jin slowly nodded as if his attention was caught else where. His amber gaze wandering around their surroundings, taking in the odd loner tree, and the brooding forest. “This place is nicer than I remembered.”

“Yes.” Rei agreed. Shouldn’t it be a nice place? This is a dream afterall. Of course he wouldn’t be giving himself nightmares if he could help it.

There was an awkward silence.

“Um…How are you?” Rei finally asked politely, having no idea what to say or where to begin but wanting to rid of the uncomfortable silent void that occurred between himself and his closest friend.

“I’m…fine. As fine as I can be I suppose.” Lee looked down at himself then looked back up at Rei with a cynical snort.

“Er…” The long-haired neko-jin paused, once again wondering why his dream-Lee behaved so differently than the real-Lee. His best friend’s never this rude or mocking. True he had his bad times, like when Drigger was given to Rei instead of him, Lee went to sulk and rave in some isolated spot for two hours but he came back smiling. Smiling and shouting because he’d become the captain of the White Tigers. Nope, Lee was never really derisive to him.

So…this must be a dream.

As Rei thought before.

“This is a dream. Lee’s not real. I’m not real. This tree’s not real. This place doesn’t exist.” Rei muttered under his breath, plopping himself gracelessly on the dirt ground. But the ground felt hard. He could feel the breeze. He could smell the breeze. And he could smell Lee.

“GAH!” Rei scrambled backwards, suddenly finding Lee’s face fill up his entire vision.

Lee snorted. “Baka.”

“Oi!” Rei huffed and sat back down. “What are you doing here anyway?”

Lee appeared wistful as he looked away from Rei in favor of the giant tree.

“What’s up with the Kai-ice-king-act? And what is this place?” The dirt ground felt rather cool and damp…and lumpy and painful. He had sat down pretty hard, not looking where he was sitting. Looking around him, Rei noticed the many sharp white stones on scattered around them. Grumbling to himself, he proceeded to clean off a section of the ground to sit on without hurting his buttocks. Then stopped. Why was he making himself comfortable in a dream? His dream. Shouldn’t they just disappear at will?

Lee frowned slightly at Rei’s action before sitting himself down gingerly on the ground. “You shouldn’t do that. This is the wishing tree.” Voice emotionless, he gestured at the tree behind them calmly. “This is the place where we leave our loved ones to rest undisturbed.”

“Oh..?” A simple two-letter word hinting that Rei had absolutely no idea what his friend was talking about. He couldn’t understand what Lee was saying and he’s usually the bluntest person on earth. It must have just been some weird psychological state of shock that made this place feel so real. Which also meant Lee wouldn’t be real since this Lee is a figment of his imagination.

“Where we leave our loved ones to rest in peace.” Lee repeated, amber eyes resuming their stare at the distant blue sky. “Where we stay when our lifeforce leaves our body. Where the exterior shell stays when we head out to the sunset. Where we stay when we kicked the bucket.”

“Oh.” Understanding suddenly dawned Rei. “Why are you telling me this?”

Lee rolled his eyes wondering exactly what was wrong with the other. Ancestors forbid him being so dense. “We’re on the verge of kicking the proverbial bucket.” Spotting the other’s very alarmed look, Lee rushed on before the dense baka, he now aptly named the other, could come to the wrong conclusion. “On the verge. Not already kicked.”

Lee stared at the flabbergasted look on the dense one’s face. “You’re – we’re not dead. K – The prince cast a spell on me...us.” Lee continued.

“Spell?”

“Yes, you dense baka. We’re under a spell.” Lee’s exasperated sigh indicated exactly how he felt about the other at the moment. “Something must have gone wrong.”

“Wrong? So…this is no dream?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is confusing.” Rei’s eyebrows furrowed with thought.

“For you perhaps.”

“No need to be so prissy!”

“Well…imagine suddenly being pushed out of your body and locked into your own mind, all the while watching an idiot take control of your body.”

Rei’s face flushed. “I’m the victim too! You were the one who caused all this in the first place! You’re the only here who knows spells!”

“We can argue all day if you like, but if you want to solve this, go to Cenria. Find the damn brat prince and tell him to fix this.” The last part was spoken softly. “Hopefully we can fix this up before anyone notices.”

“Where the hell is Cenria! Where the hell am I?”

“Cenria is the capital, idiot. I’ll help you get there if I can but…it’s not like I can actually do anything when I’m stuck in Limbo. As to where you are…your in the academy, probably in the healing wing again.”

“Cenria?” Rei felt light headed. Too much information, he groaned silently. I can’t believe this.

“Haven’t got much time, you’re waking up.” Lee grasped Rei’s shoulders, eyes gazing into the other’s golden orbs sternly. “Just try and find a way to reverse the spell. That’s the only way to get out of our predicament.”

Rei disappeared as quickly as he came, leaving no trace of his being there. Raking his hands through his thick black mane, the remaining neko-jin sighed and prayed for the best. It’s all up to the other ‘him’ now. And, judging from his reactions, the dense baka would need all the luck he could get.

END DREAM SEQUENCE

“Hi! Name’s Tyson Kinomiya, Master of the dragonblade.” The rider grinned cheerily at the principal of the school. The old man looked to be in shock, his thick glasses slipping over his nose as he peered longer at the teenager in front of him.

Tyson grinned even more to himself, all that training with his grandfather finally paid off. His name is finally known! His fame is finally spread around the world as the greatest swordsman in the country! He finally beat his old man! Take that you old coot!

The principal finally settled down behind his desk with a relieved smile. “You are Kinomiya’s sensei’s grandson then? What’s your name again?” A dragonblade wielder. That’s a wonder, he hadn’t heard from that clan since seventy years ago. So… the rumors of the clan having been slaughtered by the Northerners were false.

Tyson face faulted. “TYSON KINOMIYA!”

“Not so loud boy, my hearing is still good. So what is your purpose here? Why have you endangered the lives of my students?”

Fuming, Tyson muttered several curses, which were linked to a certain principal in question, with a post and a bat. “I told you I didn’t chase them down! They were already in the field before I saved your students’ asses! You could at least show a bit more gratitude!”

“If I’m not mistaken, you appeared from the same direction, in the same spot, at approximately the same time as the riders.”

“A mere coincidence.” Tyson waved one black, gloved hand.

“And wearing the same cloak with the same insignia is just a coincidence too?”

“W-we went to the same cloak stall…But that’s not the point!” The dragonblade wielder slammed his hand on the table. “I’m here about-“

Tyson’s rant was interrupted by the office door opening, revealing the secretary holding a serving tray piled high with fresh, oven-baked cookies and two cups of steaming hot tea.

Dark blue eyes widened at the sight of food, and before the secretary was out of the door, Tyson had already grabbed six cookies, three in each hand, muttering his thanks in-between bites. He hadn’t eaten anything since he had left town this morning at daybreak.

The principal waited patiently for the youngster to finish his meal. Kinomiyas were known to have an appetite like their dragon counterparts. And, similar to their dragons, food tended to vanish really fast in front of them. Tyson licked his fingers after a vigorous two-minute meal looking at the empty plate with slight remorse before looking at the old man expectantly.

“Well, why are you here?”

Tyson cleared his throat importantly. This was his first important message Tyson had ever been sent on. Being a lowly messenger for the royal family meant that he was the one usually carrying dinner invitations from one cousin to another. But this was different. This was his turn to shine. This was his day. This was –

“Well?”

Tyson cleared his throat importantly again. “I’m here on behalf of her royal highness, Princess Hillary to escort Rei Kon, a student in this academy, to Cenria. We will leave as soon as possible, weather permitting.” The teenager fumbled around his belt pouch and withdrew a stick with the royal insignia emblazed at the end in silver.

After the brief examination of the insignia, the principal nodded. “Very well. Mr. Kon is currently in the healing wing. If he is feeling better, he will leave with you tomorrow.”

Thus, the matter settled, both parties sat and chatted on inane things as Tyson happily crunched for the better half of the hour when the secretary returned with a platter of cheese and biscuits, leaving the older man staring wondrously at the speed of his consumption.

TBC