| Her withering heart fell once more, sighing in the shades of blue. |

T I G E R  A N D  T H E  W A V E                                                                                                                                     

C H A P T E R  O N E — T H E  S H A D E S  O F  B L U E 

'What the ..?' I thought plainly, looking down to see a child curled up right in the crook of my arm.  Her chest rose and fell in time with the little puffs of air that flowed from her lips. Atop her head was messy blond-like curls wrung tight and a little white clip in the corner near her warm colored skin.  I slinked my arm from under her carefully.  A sudden rush of panic overwhelmed me and I began pacing.

'How am I going to explain this to her parents?  What if they think I'm some kind of e? Oh my god, Joonmyeon, get it to together man!' I took a deep breath. 'Okay. This is okay...I just need to–'

The girl sat up in the bed and rubbed her sleepy eyes cutely.  She stared at me and in a blink of an eye, she was close in my face and touched our foreheads together softly. Her eyes were a beautiful golden tone—almost as bright as her curls. I scooted back in a hurry and let loose a light chuckle.  Her head cocked to the side as her eyes continued to pierce into my soul.

"Ha...haha.  So, uh, what's your name?" I said nervously scratching the apples of my cheeks.  The girl didn't even flinch as she tucked her knees under her chin.  "...okay, where's your parents?"  Blinking, she looked towards the glass filled with water on the bedside table.  She simply lifted her hand at the cup and a small bubble come floating out from inside.  All I could do was watch with my jaw slack by what she was doing.  

With a lazy flick of her wrist, the bubble flew straight into my mouth and I swallowed the warm liquid unconsciously.  She smiled softly, slight crinkles forming on the corners of her eyes.  The room went deathly silent as the girl's hands glided in the air—spelling out some kind of sentence.  The water that I swallowed hit my throat ruffly, to my surprise, and brusted like a watermelon smashing onto the ground.

"Hi, Joonmyeon...my name is Kira, or at least that's what they call me back home, if that place can even be called home..." She let loose an awkward laugh, meanwhile, her lips didn't move and her expression remain still. "Is something wrong?"  I stood on my feet slowly, and took a deep breath before marching over to 'Kira'.  Her eyes shook as she gazed up at me.  Even so, her expression never faltered; Kira's lips never moved.

"How...are you talking without moving your lips?" I said.

Kira appeared to be thinking before dragging another bubble of water from the glass.  This time, I readily opened my mouth and swallowed the bubble.  I shuddered at how cold the water felt compared to last time.  When I looked down, I noticed Kira had tucked herself in tighter as her fingers danced across the air.

"Well, I'm a, ah, 'experiment' if that makes sense.  I wasn't born like this...I mean I was but..." Kira cut herself off and I sat on the bed near her feet.

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I am a stranger after all. If it helps, I just want to bring you home, okay?" I placed my hand on her shoulder.  She nodded sullenly. The room went silent as the two of us stared at one another. My eyes shifted over to the clock on my table-stand. The time read: 9:32 AM. I jumped up with a kangaroo like bounce in my step.

"Late.... , I'm late!" I belted out, jumping up, quickly grabbing a pair of black jeans off the ground. I took one sniff and instantly wanted to hurl, but alas, no time. As I fastened my belt I searched the ground swiftly for a shirt and opted on the plaid long sleeve I wore two days ago—no one would notice right?

I dove for the bathroom door and quickly gurgled some mouthwash, passed some water through my stringy hair and grabbed my reading glasses. Kira sat and watched me quietly, her knees still tucked under her chin. I looked at her and smiled softly.

"There's some leftover Chinese food in the fridge, you can eat that if you get hungry. I'll be back at 3:30, okay?" She gazed up at me and nodded slowly before laying back down on the bed. I sniffled and walked over to cover her with a blanket. Her were eyes open and even though she didn't change her expression, I could've swore I saw her irises turn a warm brown as they glazed over.

[ ——— X ——— ]

"Damn it!" I cursed loudly, running down the street hoping to at least catch the last bus to school for the morning. My glasses threatened numerous times to fall with each step closer I came to the stop. It's October and I'm really wishing I had woken up early to get dressed properly.

At the bus stop I could see a girl with silky brown hair waving about, yelling absentmindedly at someone—something. She stomped angrily, clenching her fists. The tone in her voice was unforgettable and I knew exactly who it was—Konani.

Konani ranted away at the bus driver, her bangs bouncing about. The driver stood there—arms crossed—with a look of annoyance on his face. I slowed to a brisk walk when I came closer, I laughed inwardly at the sight before me. Adjusting my glasses I raised my hand to the angry pair.

"Good morning!" I smiled.

Konani's red face softened when she saw me and her lips curled into a grin "Nāmaka! About damn time! Do you know how long I've been standing here? What took you, man?"

I rubbed the back of my head and chuckled "Overslept, sorry."

"Well, let's go. Mei's assistant gets mad when we take too long and I don't want to beat her again. Ugh, can you believe she yelled at Mei? Sweet, innocent, Mei..."

We stepped on the bus and sat down at the first double seater. Konani began ranting away about how cute girls like Mei shouldn't get harassed and how they're too pure for this world. If I didn't know any better, I would say that she cares for Mei like a daughter. I chuckled inwardly as a crimson blush spread across her face.

I looked outside the foggy window, the dew running thick streams down the glass. They ran in such a way that it appeared to be spelling out something. My eyes watched the beads of water form a sentence.

You are more than human.

A chill escaped down my spine from the words. It seems so familiar and it makes me anxious, but, where did I see it? I tapped Konani's shoulder to show her the phrase.

She looked at me crossly "What?"

"Look." I responded back, pointing at the window.

Those deep brown eyes of hers roamed the glasses before they stared hard at me "What am I supposed to be looking at, Nāmaka?"

I turned to the glass to find just a foggy glass. The droplets disappeared as if they weren't even there. Strange, but, that whole thing with Kira this morning was too...what the hell?

Konani punched my arm lightly before getting off the bus to pick Mei up. Her face beamed happiness as her slim fingers coiled around Mei's. Both of them smiled, their eyes crinkling at the corners. Konani led her to another seat couplet and wrapped an arm around Mei's small body.

"Hey, Mei. You look pretty today!" I complimented causing Mei to smile shyly before a frown took upon her lips.

"You're color seems...different today Joonmyeon. It's less bright..." she whispered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, Kona's is way brighter today though. Weird isn't it?"

I humored her tone "Very."

 [ ——— X ——— ]

The school grounds were swarming with dead leaves and deader looking students. The cold breeze that hushed the front building didn't help the eeriness.

"What the-what is all of this? Everyone looks like a bunch of zombies. I mean, I know Halloween is coming up but damn." I said.

Mei frowned lightly "I can't sense anyone's color today. Is my vision getting worse? What's worse than not being able to see in the first place?"

"Hey, Mei. Don't talk like that. There's nothing wrong with you." Konani pinched her red nose before they exchanged a laugh.

I smiled "Let's go, Mr. Kim is probably freaking since we aren't in class yet."

We walked briskly over to the main entrance to escape the icy wind. The fingertips sang in contented bliss when the hot air from the hallway embraced them. Mei's red nose paled and Konani's hand went straight to her's to lead her through the crowd. Along the way to our mythology class, students fumbled with their bags and papers in hopes of reaching their classroom before the bell rang. When we approached the door Mr. Kim stood there with his arms folded, contrasting the soft smile spread across his lips.

"Welcome. You three are awfully late today."

I chuckled lightly "Sorry...slept through my alarm, haha."

"Wouldn't be the first. Never mind that, take your seats and open your textbook to page 345. Today's lesson will be on Poseidon!"

"Yes, sir."

As class dragged along, Mr. Kim marveled in the details of Poseidon's life. You know the story; brother to Zeus, ruler of the seas, married to Amphitrite, yet, desired Demeter, blah blah blah. 

'I know all of this already.'

I doodled lazily on my notebook. My pencil danced across the page creating an image of a girl with tight curls and round doe eyes. The longer I stared at the page, I felt my eyes moisten and a single tear dropped onto the drawing. The girl's face took on a sinister type of look as she appeared to be...materializing? She came closer, her nose almost touching mine—

"Excuse me, Joomyeon. I know you said you overslept today, but, that's no excuse to fall asleep during my class. I'm hurt."

Squinting, I looked around and noticed I was in the school gym. The lights were dimmed except for the moonlight peaking from glass on the ceiling. My arms and legs were tied down to the chair I was sitting in. 

Mr. Kim stood above me with the same friendly smile he always had "So, where's my apology?"

"Mr. Kim...I don't understand. Where's Konani and Mei?"

"They went home, naturally. School did end already." 

I strained against the ropes "Why did you tie me up? Is this some kind of joke?"

"So many questions! I'm surprised considering you always seemed rather bored in my class. Anyway, I want something from you and you are going to give it to me, understand?"

"Give what? My essay? Was this necessary just for an essay, Mr. Kim?"

"Idiot. You think I care about that lousy excuse for an essay? I want her, Joonmyeon. Where is Kira?"

"How do you know about Kira...?"

"Ah, so you do know her. Interesting." he came close into my face "Give her to me."

Before I could utter a response, the front door bursted open and in ran Kira in a defensive position, heading straight for Mr. Kim. I heard him snarl before turning to face her.

"Welcome to Dellshore, Kira. It's nice to see you again," Kira's eyes shook before she looked away "Still keeping those lips sealed, huh? Very well."

Mr. Kim's body doubled over, twisting in the most horrifying positions. His skin became a sleek black as it jutted out randomly from his back—eyes turning a deep red. A monster like growl emitted from him before his nails lengthened and he dashed straight at Kira. My heartbeat quickened and I desperately fought against the ropes. Mr. Kim rose his hand high above Kira's quivering frame and he laughed before sending his hand down and—

"Kira!"