Seiya looked on drearily at the unwavering storm outside her dorm window. She and the rest of her class were confined indoors as long as it lasted. The rain on Kinmokusei was not particularly dire, but the winds that accompanied it were another story. Seiya sighed, regretting that she could not spend the day outside with her friends playing juuball or swimming down at the lake. She leaned her head against the curved dome of her window. It was cold but bore no comparison to the freezing temperature outside. Oleh trees swayed dangerously in the park beyond the school-house. She feared they would not be able to withstand the onslaught.
She turned away from the grim view, facing her time projection. Violet digits glowed against the dark wall. It was early in the day but you wouldn't know it; the sun had barely shown herself all week. Seiya's roommates were in classes now--just her luck. Her stomach grumbled and she glanced down. Time to eat, she reconciled, leaving her place at the window to find something to wear.
A small wave of her hand over a seemingly blank wall made her wardrobe selector appear before her. She skimmed the tops until she found one that she liked, a navy blue tee with a white stripe across the middle. Now the bottom was more difficult. Page after page of searching turned up nothing appealing. Just as she was about to resign herself to sweats she stopped at an image of grey 'swing shorts', the latest style among the girls her age. The shorts were cut high on the thigh, flaring so that at certain angles they could pass as a skirt. With a grin the selected the item and finished off the outfit with a pair of short white boots.
'THANK YOU' flashed on the screen and then a slot in her wall opened and her clothes slid out to her. She grabbed them off of the floating silver square and it slid back into place, disappearing. Quickly she divested herself of her sleep attire and replaced it with the tee and shorts, sliding on her boots before she exited her quarters.
The halls were alive with discussion as always—more so because the residents of Kou were forced to stay inside. Seiya greeted many people along the way, being stopped several times by her friends to engage in brief conversations. There was no path that she could take without running into someone he knew, and she would never be rude enough to refuse an offer to chat. Thus by the time she weaved her way through the honeycomb of passages to the mess hall she was sufficiently starved and the only thing she was interested in doing with her mouth was stuffing food into it. As she waited for her order to be processed, she scanned the mess hall for an empty table. Regretfully she noted that every table had at least someone present, most of them housing groups of young vivacious teenagers talking extensively on subjects that held little appeal for Seiya. She was in no mood to hear about the latest film on movie night or who was taking who to such and such event. What she needed was a place to sit in peace, a near-impossible request to fulfill in such a place.
She had all but given up hope when her eye caught a table in the corner. The floating disc was only serving one person so far as he could tell, and that person's mouth was blessedly shut. Seiya grabbed her order off of the counter and made her way into the back of the room.
The girl at the table had a book open and was reading it, somehow managing to block out all of the distractions around them. She barely flinched when Seiya approached, not bothering to acknowledge her with so much as a look. Rude, Seiya thought bitterly. It was not often that one did not introduce herself when noticing another's presence. Seiya cleared her throat.
The girl slowly closed the book over her hand, then looked up at Seiya impatiently. Seiya was thrown by her attitude but tried her best to remain calm and friendly. "Is anyone sitting here?"
"I am."
Of course. "May I join you then?"
"Do as you like," the girl said coyly, returning her attention to her book. Seiya sat and placed her tray on the table. For a while Seiya picked at her food, taking small bites of meat and curry but not really giving it much thought. Now all of her thoughts were focused on the unmannered woman across from her. She openly stared at the silver hair which flowed freely down her back and over her shoulders. The glimpse of her eyes had shown them to be a stunning sea green, guarded by short dark lashes. They paid no mind to her, focusing instead on the pages of a book Seiya could not recognize. She mused over it for a second and then exclaimed, pointing at the book and drawing the attention of everyone near them.
The girl looked up at her too, startled by the noise. Seiya forgot about the rest of the crowd looking on at them and addressed her alone, "That's not from here."
The girl tilted her head, eying her curiously and cautiously, as if Seiya was a little bit insane. "Pardon?" she said at last.
Seiya reached across the table and grabbed onto the book. The woman held it in a firm grip incase Seiya was trying to take it from her but Seiya only pulled it down so that she could see the writing inside. She nodded. "Mm, definitely not from here. Which means you're not from here." The girl stared at her with a dumbfounded look on her face, her green eyes flashing emotions that were beyond Seiya's understanding. Then at once she rose from the table and made to leave.
"Wait!" Seiya jumped up and grabbed her arm. The girl flinched and dropped the book.
"Let go of me," she warned, although her voice was thick with fear. Seiya found that she didn't want to let go--she didn't want this girl to get away from her.
She released her despite the urge to keep holding on and in the next moment the girl was lost in the crowd. For a while she stared at the spot where she had disappeared and then, realizing there was probably no hope of finding her, resigned herself to her meal. A glint of silver caught her eye and she glanced down and remembered the book. Bending down, she picked it up and studied it. The book was bound in a deep blue velvet, silver symbols inscribed on its cover. She flipped through the white parchment pages. The words and diagrams were like nothing she had ever seen. She turned the book to the side and then upside down, wondering if she was trying to read it wrong.
"You come up with more creative ways of studying every day, Seiya-san."
Seiya glanced up and then up further. A tall figure stared down at her, smiling. "Taiki!" she yelled excitedly, standing and holding up the book proudly. She held it open to a random page and pointed. "Can you read this?"
Taiki lowered her head and skimmed the page over the rim of her sunglasses. Her brows furrowed and she gently took the book from Seiya's hands. "No...I can't," she realized aloud. She looked at Seiya with something like wonder and envy. "Where did you get this?" she asked.
Seiya sighed, her shoulders falling into a slump. If Taiki couldn't decipher it then nobody she knew could. Taiki was notoriously smart. No one in their grade could even come near her marks. Taiki was well aware of her own abilities but never vocalized it. She was extremely polite and conservative, very different from Seiya, but Seiya believed that was why she liked her so much. It was refreshing to have someone around who she didn't need to carry a constant prattle with. Taiki and Seiya could share a silence comfortably, which was rare in Kou. Nobody else could understand how the two popular girls had ever become friends.
They had in fact become friends by chance. Since their initiation into the school as children, the two had shared living quarters year after year. Seiya had always found it suspicious that they had never been separated even though the yearly dorm changes were random, and eventually concluded that Taiki's father had some hand in the matter. Her father was Head of Security at their school, himself a former headmaster of it. He was rich, and moreover he had connections with the Board of Education. Knowing Taiki, she had probably discreetly brought the subject up to his father and won him over. Seiya was flattered if that was the case.
"A girl dropped it," she answered, sitting once more. "I think I scared her, but I don't know how. I only questioned her about her book and she got upset and left."
Taiki took a seat where the mysterious girl had been. She crossed her legs and set the book between them. "Are you sure you didn't insult her? Think hard."
Seiya scratched her head. "Nope. Not that I can think of." Seiya sighed, lifting the book and looking at it. "I guess I'll never find her to return her book. I only wanted to know where she was from."
Taiki shook her head. "You should pay more attention to what you say. You never know who you might offend."
Seiya gritted her teeth but abstained from responding. She didn't want to give Taiki the satisfaction of arousing her anger. And of course, Taiki was only teasing her. She had grown accustomed to the subtle display of humor from the other girl.
"Well I wasn't trying to offend anybody," Seiya insisted, propping her leg up and reaching for her tea. She shook her head as she sipped from the cup. "I just can't understand--never mind. I guess there's no use thinking about her. I'll likely never see her again."
"Don't be so dismal, Seiya. There are only a few thousand students on this campus. The likelihood that you will cross each others' path before you leave the school permanently is--"
Seiya cut her off with a wave of her hand. "I get it." She laughed shortly. "Actually, it's likelier than you think. After all, how many people from this area have silver hair?"
"Silver hair?"
"You wouldn't believe. You'd have to see it for yourself."
"I have."
Seiya nearly choked on her tea. "What?! When?"
Taiki checked her watch. "About two hours ago."
"She's in your first class?" Seiya picked up the book again and handed it toward her. "You can give it to her tomorrow. And...tell her I'm sorry for me? Even though I still don't know what I could have done."
"You can give it to her yourself. Our class is going to be at the Sphere tomorrow. Mistress Hana wouldn't mind if you happened along with us."
Seiya smiled. "Tomorrow, then." She turned to look out the wide window behind her. "If only this weather would stop, maybe we could all go out hiking together." With a critical look toward the brunette, she said, "Those sunglasses are completely unnecessary."
"I wouldn't be so sure." Taiki nodded toward the window and Seiya's mouth fell open as she saw the veil part and the sun break through for the first time in what seemed like ages. Gasps were heard from all around them as the students witnessed the sight, each mind filled with prospects of the day now that they could return to their outdoor activities. Seiya turned back to the table and to her tea and muttered something into that cup.
"You can't borrow them," Taiki asserted calmly, drinking from her own cup.
Seiya grinned secretly, her expression hidden but not unnoticed.