Hawk Heart

18. No Victors

It took me a while to realize that Kai was talking to me. 

He nudged my shoulder and I forced myself to tear my eyes away from Zelos. He looked so similar to Zeph, and still, something felt off. He looked too...well kept. Although I was relieved to see that the Academy was atleast providing the kids with nutrition, I could see what Zeph meant. 

"Let's go out. Don't wanna be here when their training starts," Kai whispered and it was then that I realised that almost the entire hall had cleared out of everyone except the Shadowcasters. I nodded and followed him outside, taking one last look at Zelos. His powers, were they similar to Zeph's? Except perhaps, better trained?

"Do you want to see the Academy?" Kai asked. "I mean there are a few cool places here. You will stick out like a sore thumb though."

"Oh," I glanced down at my burgundy t-shirt as he explained. 

"During academic hours it's usually forbidden to wear anything other than the uniform. But you're a visitor so they'll make an exception. But you'll still invite stares," he hesitated for a bit, his mouth open as he tethered on the edge of words before finally speaking in a hurried tone, "If you want...I have a few spare t-shirts in my room." 

"Yeah, that would be good," I looked at his much smaller frame. "Er...I'm not sure your t-shirt will fit me."

"Oh, I have one that is pretty big. I got it for winters. It should fit you just right." 

I shrugged. "Worth a try I guess." 

He led me through the hallways as I immediately felt better about my decision to wear something that would fit in better. Everywhere we went, heads would turn to look at me, unabashedly. I picked up my pace as we made our way to the third floor and through a long, narrow corridor. I was slightly disoriented by the white walls everywhere, forcing myself to look down at the grey stone floor just for some change.

We reached the very last door of the room and Kai swung it open, leading me inside. He switched on the lights, or more appropriately, a single dim light, casting the room in a dull glow. The walls were off white, mounted with a bunch of diagrams and charts. Cheat sheet for his exams I assumed. A bunk bed stood on my right, although the upper bunk was just a bunch of books. A pillow lay on the bottom bunk. A cupboard on the opposite wall and a small window with an off white curtain stood opposite the entry. 

"Wow," I gave a low whistle. "How do you manage to live here with another person? It's tiny." 

"I don't," he said, rummaging around in his cupboard. "Not anymore. I did have a room mate. My friend. He moved out though."

"Oh. Is it like a rule or something? You have to take individual rooms in senior year or something?" I asked, leaning against the wall. 

He fished out a blue t-shirt and turned around to face me, shrugging. "No." He handed me the t-shirt, now meeting my gaze as he continued. "He er...moved out. He requested to be relocated." 

"You guys had an argument or something?" I unfurled the t-shirt. It was navy blue, same as the uniform colours at the academy. It looked big enough to fit me, and oddly ironed and washed. Despite his scarce belongings, he seemed to be taking care of his things. 

I tugged off my t-shirt, pulling on the blue one before I finally glanced back at Kai. Much to my surprise, his face was bright pink.

"N-not r-really," he stuttered. Then he gulped, taking a step backward as he stared at me, his eyes wide open. "I j-just-"

"You okay?" I raised an eyebrow at him, concerned by his behaviour getting weirder and weirder by the second. He seemed to be chewing on his own tongue for a few strained moments before he finally nodded.