Raven's Wing: Chapter 3
The guys all backed off and moved to another part of the grounds as Ryo, who had released his anger and was calm now, led a shaking Shary to one of the larger trees to sit and wait for the others.
Moments later Carrie, Kento, and Nikki all walked up to them and smiled as they sat in a loose circle. Which soon expanded to include a tall blond boy, a taller Blue haired boy, and then a Brown-haired kid. Carrie then made introductions. "Ok Shary, these new folk are Date Sage, Hashiba Rowen, and Mouri Cye. They all nodded to her in greeting and then looked at Ryo.
"We saw what happened. You ok Ryo?" Cye looked at his friend concernedly. Ryo when mad almost never cooled off that fast. Usually it took a hard sparring match to get things out of his system. But Ryo looked cool as if the incident never happened.
"Fine guys, I'll talk to them later about their conduct." The almost predatory look in his eyes scared them all except Carrie who grinned and reminded him.
"Just remember the boundaries that were set Ryo. Go beyond them and you know what happens." Ryo nodded and toned down a bit before sloughing off the anger. "Shary, What class do you have next??"
Still shaking nervously, she pulled out her schedule and read it, placing her lunch at her side. "I-I have two more classes after this... and then a free period. Literature and Music." As she puts her schedule away she couldn't help but start to think about the new boys she just meet right now.
Date Sage, Kendo master and captain for the Kendo fencing team, was a quiet boy with a sense of tradition all around him. She was wary of him. Mainly it had to do with his eyes. They seemed cold, like ice. It would probably take longer to trust him than the others.
Mouri Cye, a quiet and soft-spoken young man. He seemed very trust-worthy and always seemed to smile. She was already beginning to trust him, but was careful. There was something about him that showed that he was no weakling as his appearance showed for it.
Hashiba Rowen, the most unique person she had met and the smartest, she briefly looked into his eyes and was immediately reminded of the midnight sky. He was slender, judging that he was probably in a light sport, maybe fencing like Date-san or something else. He seemed to have a troubled past, but hers was more painful.
Fung Kento. The first one she meet literally scared her. It was mainly of his size and frame that scared her but then when he punished the boys at gym class it scared her more. But he showed that he had a gentle side. All the girls seemed to be treated like a younger sister by him. That would take some time getting used to. Since she never had anyone like that.
Sanada Ryo. Someone she knew she never wanted to get upset. He was tame at the moment, but when the upper-classmen came up his temper flared up. He reminded her automatically of a dormant volcano, suddenly stirred to life and then going dormant once more.
Nikki-san. The second girl she met that didn't sneer at her nor look down her nose at her. She helped her by explaining just how Kento was and then stayed with her even though she didn't have to. She thought it was just because Kento told her to stay with her, but now she was thinking that maybe she wanted to stay because she wanted to be her friend. It would've been nice to have a friend like her in her past.
And last but not least was Carrie. A girl who seemed to put everyone in their place, including teachers. She was the first one to befriend her, taken her under her wing so to speak. She had a strong theory that she must be this Raven person that everyone stayed out of her way. We're these also the 'we' that Ryo mentioned in his note? Most likely so.
All in all they were all good people and she hoped she could trust them. And she also hoped, that she was worthy of their trust. She had always prayed that she would have friends who cared for her and helped her. And now, hopefully, these people were them.
Carrie knew that Shary was wary about her. Noting this she knew that she and the others were on the right track to finding out more about her. As Carrie had often noted to the guys, one could often learn more about a person by their guards than by their openness. For the open can hide many things. That was proven with Cye. He gave of himself with out really giving too much about himself.
"Hmmm well for the Lit class you will see Hashiba Rowen. You already know that you can trust him to keep things subdued there." She smiled. "Then you have Music huh? Well for that class you will see Date Sage. Trust him. He is a good friend to everyone who he claims as a friend." She leaned over and whispered into Shary's ear.
"Don't let the eyes fool you Shary-san he is a warm and loving individual, you just need to see him for who he is to understand him." Smiling she nodded her head to one side and then looked at Cye. "That Free period of yours still open Cye-san?"
As he nodded she smiled. "Good. You will be seeing Cye during your free period. If anyone can understand it is him, so if you ever need to talk..." She trailed off. The bell rang and Carrie and Rowen stood up to walk Shary to her lit class.
"Okay." She silently followed them to her next class. She hadn't eaten much of her lunch but she didn't have a big appetite today. She hugged her satchel to her chest and sighed softly. She looked in the direction of Hashiba-san, still keeping her head bowed down. "Am I far behind the others?" she asked quietly.
Rowen looked at her and smiled winningly. "Well, the Sensei doesn't know jack about the subject since the original teacher left with some problems just before the school started. We probably know more about the subject than he does and so I usually end up teaching the class. Today's not my day so don't worry things are gonna be smooth as glass for ya."
He looked at her and suddenly it hit him why her formalities and manners seemed so familiar. "Hey, We can be a rough bunch but we always treat the ladies with respect. You don't have to go about here in the old ways. You miss too much that way." Grinning he opened the door for her and let her into the classroom before taking her hand gently and leading her to the seat beside him. Most of the class had seen her outside at lunch with the Raven clan and so they just rearranged around the setup and waited for class to start.
Rowen was a thinker and a talker when his mind was of the notion. Taking out a small colored piece of paper he folded it into a small flower and then attached it to a note.
{Ask me anything about the guys, Nikki or Carrie, if I know the answer I'll tell ya.
Hashiba Rowen}
Shary took the note and flower, looking at them for a long time. His words echoed in her mind and she could feel herself beginning to trust them even more. She took out her pen and wrote back to him and slid it back to him. She smiled very slightly, holding the paper blossom in her hands. She had been raised almost all her life to obey the traditional rules her parents put before her. But he also had a point. It was going to be hard, but she would try. Looking over at him she nodded her head slightly, smiling softly.
(Hashiba-san
Thank you for your concern, and for the flower. It's very nice.
Manor Shary)
The reputation of the group was known by everyone but that not always a good thing. The group couldn't be there for her all the time. And once they let her out of her site for just a moment they were going to have some fun. If the new girl had the ability to read minds, she would have grown sick at what many of them were thinking. Instead, she continued to hold the small gift in her hands.
Rowen looked about and noticed a few things he did not like. He wasn't the one that could get an easy feel for what the room situation was. That was Cye's department, but Rowen did not need Cye to tell him that this school was going to be like a pack of wolves to Shary if they were to cause her trouble.
They went through the class peacefully and trouble was kept to a minimum. Rowen was known as a slow cooker, but when the gloves came off he was more trouble than anyone there really wanted to handle. The thinker usually thought out his fights meaning that no one really stood a chance against him. Only five others in the school were a match for him and one of them he wouldn't fight.
The bell rang for class to be over and Rowen took her back as he let her through the door. As he walked her down the hall to her Music class he nodded to her. "Sage only looks cold Shary-san, Music is one of his passions so you should get a better and slightly more realistic view of him in this class. Traditional he may be, but he doesn't mess around when he is in protectorate mode. He'll be a good friend, just give him a chance."
"Alright," she said quietly. In fact, she was looking forward to this class. One rule her parents forced her to learn was to play an instrument. Since they numbered it down to instruments of the classical kind she choose piano. She tucked the flower he had given her in her bag, tied with her ribbon.
The classroom was fairly large since it held many instruments and few desks placed in a semi-circle. So far it was empty and they were the first to arrive. In the far corner of the room stood a magnificent, grand piano. Shary's eyes seem to lighten some. For a brief moment, she looked Rowen in the face and bowed to him, thanking him for his help. Then with slow, hesitant steps she approached the instrument. She sat down on the bench, poised and began to play one of her favorite melodies by Beethoven. "Moonlight."
Sage saw Rowen, as he was about to leave the doorway. Hearing the piano being played in the room he nodded at Rowen in understanding that the girl needed to cut loose and relax a bit. If the piano did it for her than who was he to interrupt? Slipping quietly into the room he put his things into the desk he was always at.
Shary was so far into the music he noted that she had not even noticed that he had entered the room. Smiling slightly as he identified the music he pulled a wooden flute out of the racks and checked it. Breathing softly he started playing the countermelody to the piano. Noticing that he had startled her he nodded for her to continue. He was enjoying the melodic weave of the music and wanted to continue, but only if she was going to keep going.
She just nodded her head and continued playing. The notes were soft and twined together, making a very soothing melody. She relaxed some more and looked back at the keys. After a while she let her eyes close and let her hands do all the work. She remember how long it taught her to learn this melody, the pain she received when she had made her mistakes. But in the end it was worth it. Every time she felt so depressed and unsure what to do she could always play the piano and lose herself in the music.
Sage continued to weave around and through her melody with the harmony of the flute, he noticed that she was losing herself into the music he smiled in his mind. He slowly closed his eyes and continued to play as he walked over by the piano to get a better feel for the music.
As they ended together it was as if they had been practicing that piece together for weeks instead of doing the impromptu concert. When they finished they were both startled by the applause from the rest of the class that had arrived and the sensei that had just walked in towards the end.
"Wonderful, that was absolutely spectacular. You must be Shary, please have a seat and I would like to speak with you and Sage after class." Sage looked at her and noted that she had gone white from the attention. Taking her hand gently he brought her down off the riser that held the piano to the seat next to him. After seating her and getting several dirty looks from both sexes in the classroom, he turned his coldest gaze on them and they started doing their own work.
Sage was in awe of this girl's talent. She was stunning on the piano and he was hoping that maybe they would be able to do something like that again. He had really enjoyed it and he could tell that she did too.
{Shary-san, I really enjoyed what we did with the music. It was enchanting as well as relaxing. Please say that we can do something like that again in the future.
As for this class, don't mind the students and listen to the Sensei, she knows music and she can teach you things about music that you probably never thought of. Consider what is said and think on your own. Do that and you will have this teacher wrapped around your little finger in no time.
Please relax and enjoy this class, you don't relax enough and if you like, we can do something before class daily if you like.
Like my friends, I will be your friend, you need anything, just ask.
Date Sage}
Shary read the note carefully as she also tried to pay attention to what the sensei was telling them. She felt herself blush very lightly at what he wrote about their playing. No one had ever told her she played that well. Her family usually just said 'it was okay.' And maybe Hashiba-san was right. He seemed to have felt the same thing she did. She wrote her message under his own and slid it back to him.
(Date-san
Thank you very much for your compliment and perhaps we can do this again. Maybe. I will follow your advice and do my best in class. I just want to learn and develop my skills more. As for relaxing...)
She had paused, thinking hard on what to say.
(As for relaxing... I just have so many things on my mind at the moment. And like I have written to the others, I thank you for your concern and kindness.
Manor Shary)
Sage quickly scanned the note and looked over at Shary. Making sure that he had caught her eye he smiled at her and then returned his attention to the Sensei for the remainder of the class. When she let them out a few minutes early she looked at Sage and Shary. Sage nodded and glanced at the girl. "Its ok" he spoke in a low tone, "She really liked what we were doing and probably has something in mind for us to do for extra credit or something."