Kiri: Chapter 7

Ryo was on the phone again the next morning with Skye after a long discussion with Kite. After much evading and dodging of the reason, he finally convinced her that her brother wasn’t feeling up to going to school today and that he would be able to take care of him during while she was at work so she didn’t need to worry about him. Hanging up the receiver, he left the kitchen and walked back into his bedroom.

“Well, it’s clear with her that you don’t have to go to classes today. She said she would talk to your teachers and get your assignments for you,” Ryo said to the boy who was lying on his back on the queen bed staring at the ceiling.

“Thank you.”

Crossing over to Kite’s side, Ryo crossed his arms and looked down at the brilliant green eyes. He frowned slightly as he placed one hand on his hip.

“Come on—out with you,” he growled grabbing the blanket and throwing it off the thin frame.

Groaning, Kite sat up to pout up at the older man as he brushed his hair back out of his eyes. “Why?”

“Because you’re going to get a very quick shower, and then you’re going to my classes with me,” Ryo explained as he went to the dresser and pulled out a pair of khakis, a sweater, and a pair of boxers, which he turned and tossed onto the bed. “I have to be there in forty-five minutes. Hurry.”

“But wait!” Kite came out of the bed quickly despite muscles that protested loudly from his abuse the day before. He caught Ryo by the arm just as the Asian man was walking into the living room. “Why am I going with you?”

Looking out at the windows towards the gray rain slashing at a diagonal in the winds, Ryo smiled slightly. “Because I want to go to class, and I don’t want you to get bored.” He gently ruffled the auburn locks. “Besides, I think you might enjoy college classes.”

Kite’s expression was not only dark, but held such disbelief at the man’s words that Ryo found himself holding up a hand in placation.

“You might! You never know until you try, and college isn’t like high school—okay so some of the classes are, but most aren’t, and I’ve got history today with Dr. Gramlin. He’s wonderful and—“

“Fine,” Kite said turning his back on the man. “I’ll go.”

As Ryo watched him walk back through the bedroom to collect the clothes and on into the bathroom, he sighed. The truth was that he didn’t want to leave Kite alone today for very long, and he had three hours worth of classes to go to before lunch.

Rubbing the back of his neck to help alleviate the guilt that was tensing his shoulders, he resumed his interrupted trek to the kitchen. He had fixed a quick breakfast of eggs and toast by the time Kite came into the room. The auburn hair was still dripping water onto the dark green tee-shirt. Ryo hid a smile as he noticed that all of the clothes were slightly too large.

“Hey, hold up a second,” he said as the boy was about to sit down. Kneeling beside him, he rolled the too long pants leg up so that he would no longer be standing on the hem. “There you go.”

Ryo looked up to find Kite blushing as he sat down at the small wooden table. His eyebrow arched away from the rim of his glasses, but he didn’t ask any questions as the youth began to eat quickly.

Returning to his bedroom, Ryo slid on his leather jacket before carrying his backpack into the living room and leaving it on the couch. A soft shuffling of feet alerted him a moment later, and he looked up, smiling, as Kite came into the room.

“Are you ready to go?”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes,” Ryo’s voice was light, though his eyes glinted with a hard edge that warned the boy not to argue.

“Then I’m ready.”

Nodding his head agreeably, the older man handed Kite a small umbrella and opened the door before pulling on his backpack. Rain cut in diagonal sheets as they stepped outside.

“Don’t you want to use this too?” Kite asked looking up with wide eyes at Ryo from beneath the red umbrella. “You’re going to be soaked.”

“I don’t really use them,” Ryo said as he locked his door and lead the way down the steps of the apartment complex.

“Why not? You’re going to catch cold you know.”

Ryo grinned at the boy’s sudden concern for his welfare but shook his head. “That’s alright. If I get sick, I don’t have to go to classes tomorrow, and I have a major test that I would really rather not take in a subject that I really rather do not like.”

Even with the umbrella, Kite was only slightly less wet than Ryo by the time they got to the classroom. Dr. Gramlin stood at the front of the small classroom in an old, leather duster that was dark with rain, though only a light tan in the few places that were still dry.

“Good morning, Ryo. Are you ready to teach today?”

“Huh?” The dark blue eyes widened impossibly just before Ryo cursed and hit himself with the heel of his hand. “Holy crap! I forgot! Yeah, I think so as long as no one asks me any questions.”

Laughing heartily, the gray haired teacher shrugged out of his coat. “I’m definitely going to be looking forward to your section then.”

Ryo groaned as Gramlin walked away and lead Kite over to the front row of desks. The boy was looking around in curiosity at the students chatting casually with each other. Turning to look at his friend, he frowned.

“Are you really going to be teaching the class?”

Ryo nodded. “Yeah, it’s Dr. Gramlin’s idea for us to help us learn. I think it’s a pain in the royal a—“ He coughed. “Never mind… I just don’t like being the center of attention like this… especially when I’m going to be getting such an important semester grade on it.”

“You’ll do fine, Ryo,” Gramlin said coming up behind his student. He glanced down at Kite and raised an eyebrow at Ryo. “A friend of yours?”

“Ah, yes, Dr. Gramlin, this is Kite St. Cloud. He’s staying with me today to see what college is like,” Ryo said laying a hand on the back of Kite’s neck.

“Is he thinking about going to school here? Because I know about five different ones that I’d recommend he try first…”

Laughing, Ryo shook his head. “No, I think maybe just to see that there really is something to look forward to after the doldrums of high school.”

“Ah, well, that sounds like a good idea to me. You might want to get your notes ready for class. We start in five minutes.”

Muttering loudly under his breath, Ryo dug though his bag pulling out the slightly damp notes he had made for himself. He smiled at Kite and said, “After my classes today, we’ll go back to the apartment, and I’ll make you whatever dinner you want to, deal?”

Quietly, Kite nodded, feeling very small surrounded by the filling classroom of college students.

***
End Chapter 7
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