Shirayukihime and The Lost Fox

Chapter 27: That'll Leave A Mark

Akira POV

I hesitate in knocking on the grand doors of Zen's office, my reddening knuckles barely brushing the wood. If Zen is anything like I knew him to be, he would most certainly be pissed at me for not taking care of myself. That, and be overly worried. I purse my lips at the thought.

I sigh quietly, finally building up enough courage to knock on the door. A faint call comes from the other side and I take it as an invitation. I stick my head through the doorway, hiding my now throbbing cheek behind the door. "Took you long enough, Akira," Zen drawls from his desk, not bothering to look up from his papers. I momentarily wonder how he knew it was me before the door is yanked fully open and I am suddenly pulled inside the spacious room.

An arm is thrown around my shoulders, pulling me into someone's side. "Glad to see you again, little Kit," a familiar voice sings happily from above my head. Before I could figure out what is going on Obi picks out my headband from my hair, letting my ears go free. I look up to his grinning face, somewhat confused.

When he meets my eyes, his smile freezes slightly as his gaze drifts down to my injuries. "Well, if you look at that," Obi says softly after a moment. He lightly grips my chin, being careful of my cut lip, and tilts my head to the side to get a better look at my bruising cheek. "That's definitely going to leave a mark." His seriousness surprises me a little, but the small playful smirk that still pulls on his lips and the softer tone to his voice leaves me a little more than puzzled.

My now free ears flicker slightly as my eyes narrow. My hand comes up to lightly grab his wrist, saying offhandedly, "It's noth—" I am cut off by a sharp intake of breath followed shortly by a thud on the desk. I turn to see Zen standing up, not looking too happy with my current state.

Silently he walks over and grabs by arm, lightly pulling me away from Obi's side and to his desk. He pushes me gently to sit on the edge of the table and once I am, he begins assessing me in silence. I sit quietly as he tilts my head to get a better look at the forming bruise. Zen's neutral expression turns pained when he looks at my clotted cut lip, making me want to wet my lips out of self-consciousness.

His attention drifts to my scratched knuckles, now starting to turn a slight shade of purple and red. Lightly grasping my wrist and pulling my hand closer to inspect it, he looks at me with an exasperated expression.

"Whoever did this to you," he says, a wry smile pulling at his lips, "please tell me you kicked their butts."

A smile of my own spreads on my face. "You know I did," I reply, a little smug. "They messed with the wrong person, after all."

Obi chuckles from behind Zen, looking over his shoulder to grin at me. I frown slightly, my eyes narrowing at him. "What's this buffoon doing here anyway?" I ask Zen, pointedly trying to ignore the twenty-something man feigning hurt. Obi puts a hand to his chest, where his heart is, and pouts playfully at me, amusement evident in his eyes.

"You wound me with your words, little Kit," Obi says with a smile and a dramatic sweep of his hand. I glare at him while Zen sighs, tiredly rubbing the bridge of his nose while he did so. "He's your charge now as well, remember?" he says. "You can't let him out of your sight since he can't be trusted."

I frown. "That makes no sense. If I were to be a guard to him and I didn't pass the guard recruitment trials, then what would you do? Bend the rules so I would still be a guard?"

"Exactly that. Or, at least keep you around until next year's trials."

"No way is that happening. You're not going help me become a guard if I don't have what it takes to become one." My eyes spark with anger. I am pissed that he even thought of bypassing the rules. And even if he doesn't bend the rules, the thought of not seeing my family in my world for a whole year and perhaps then some makes me sick to my stomach.

"I have to get back, I can't simply wait for a whole year," I quietly mumble unconsciously, chewing my nail in thought. "I have to get back." Obi's sharp eyes stare at me curiously but I pay him no mind, too immersed in my thoughts on how long I've already been gone to notice his gaze.

Zen doesn't notice my muttering and replies, "I very much doubt that you wouldn't pass the exam. After all, there's only three sections."

"And what are they testing on?" I ask, raising a brow when I am brought out of my deep musings.

"One section is the physical portion to test your physical prowess and your fighting capabilities. No worries for you there. The second test is a little more secretive and you'll be informed when you register. The third is a simple literacy test." Zen shrugs carelessly. "I don't think you'll have much of a problem for any of them."

I freeze up when I register the last test he stated. A literacy test is the one thing that would make me fail this. Zen, noticing that I had become quiet, looks at me curiously. "Something wrong, Akira?" he asks. I stay silent as my face heats up a little in embarrassment.

Obi walks over to my side, lifting my hair to feel my forehead. "Your face is red, but you don't have a fever," he says. "What is it?" I huff, turning away from them and frown, looking into the corner of the room heatedly.

"I can't read."

It becomes so silent I swear I could hear a pin drop. I start to second guess myself on my choice to tell them when a hand falls on my head. "Ah, so you do have a disadvantage after all," Obi said, lightly rubbing my ears. I catch myself from leaning into his hand like a domesticated feline and growl to myself, pushing his hand away.

Zen's expression stays neutral. "Why didn't you mention this earlier?" he asks, crossing his arms over his chest. I shrug, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't think it was relevant," I reply. "If it helps at all, I told Shirayuki a while back and she offered to teach me, but since she's so busy with her own exams, I haven't bothered her about it."

At the mention of the red head, Zen relaxes a bit and smiles slightly at the thought of her. After a moment he comes back to reality and sighs at me. Eyeing my bruised cheek, he says, "Go get that checked out at the infirmary. Memorize that path well because when you and Shirayuki begin working here I assure you, you'll be seeing a lot of her in there, considering how often you get hurt." With that he drags me to the door and pushes me out, making sure to secure my headband along the way.

Seeing the door close, I stand there in momentary confusion. Though I've been here multiple times, I still don't know my way around the palace. How was I supposed to find the infirmary? As if answering my thoughts, the office door swings open again, this time pushing out Obi. Peeking through, Zen grins. "Can't forget your charge now, can you?" He chuckles and shuts the door before I can protest.

I stare at the door silently, not wanting to acknowledge the man smiling broadly beside me. When I realize I can't ignore Obi forever, I give up and turn to him with a huff.

He smiles at me, ignoring my slight frown. "Shall we go?"