Hai stared at Orron, his heart pounding wildly. He had always wanted to meet her. To talk to her in private, but now, he didn't know if he could. Something about her told him that right now wouldn't be a good time for surprises. He looked at Fiona and nodded reassuringly at her. He wished so hard that she could smile like she did when she saw his illusionary dancing dolphins. She was smiling like an angel when she approached him. Her smile had disappeared when Orron spoke to her and he saw her turning back to her seat. Turning back to Orron, the woman whom he had wished to meet ever since he began observing the Guntai school, Hai straightened as best he could and said, "If you don't mind Miss Lunetta, could we talk in private?"
He let out a breath of air as he finished that sentence, knowing full well that he was leaving his fate in her hands.
Orron was surprised her knew her name for a second before mentally writing it off that as 50% of the teaching staff at the only Guntai school in the world, most people would know her name. Her first instinct was to sharply reply that she had a class but something stopped her. As a teacher, it was her job to take care of her students, and any child for that matter.
After carefully looking over Hai again she nodded curtly, "Wait here for one moment." She turned and walked back into her class room. "You all have your assignments for tomorrow, I suggest you get working on them. I will be back in a moment. Until then, Fiona is in charge. If there are any problems, you can be expecting a letter home as well as a minimal thirty page paper on the importance of good behavior." After pulling up the assignment on the main screen at the front of the class, Orron walked back out, shutting the door behind her and looking at Hai.
"Perhaps we should go to my office, Mister...?" Orron trailed off, obviously waiting for a name.
"Please, just call me Hai, Miss. Lunetta." Hai's voice came out in a soft whisper, as if afraid that someone or something would hear them talking. His eyes darted this way and that, their yellow glow showing a concerned glance. Finally, he looked back at Orron, hunched up his cloak even more to hide his face and body, and said, "Lead the way."
Medea woke up alarmed from a bang on her desk. The teacher was standing right over her. She glanced at the other students to see some of them giggle, whisper, or just stare. She yawned rudely at the teacher and then smiled. The students began to laugh as the teacher turned red in the face of Medea's rude behavior. "Medea! Office now!" the teacher said.
"What did I do now? I was just sleeping." Medea started to argue as she got up from her desk and started walking to the door with her bag. She was going to take her time.
Orron's suspicion grew as the boy drew farther back into his cloak. Why was he hiding so much? Most of her class already knew he was there. She lead the way to her office though, opening the door to let Hai in before closing it behind her and sitting down, once again crossing her arms and secretly grasping her gun.
"What can I do for you, Hai?" she asked, never one to beat around the bush.
Hai merely stared around the office, his yellow eyes taking in everything. The office was well furnished and gave an air of formality and relaxation at the same. His eyes fell on a picture on Orron's desk. Looking at it, Hai saw two people, a boy and a younger version of Orron. Picking it up, Hai looked at Orron and asked, "Is this your brother?"
A profound sorrow clouded Orron's eyes and she looked away, swallowing hard but she quickly regained her composure. "Yes," she said simply.
Hai guiltily put the picture down, not realizing how much pain that simple question was going to cause. Deciding to get to the point directly, he asked, "I need a place to stay and train. It's getting dangerous to live out in the wilds. Will the Guntai accept me as their own even if I don't have a Guardian Spirit?"
Orron raised an eyebrow, "The Guntai is a school that teaches people how to use their Gardiun Spirits. Why would you want to become one of us if you do not have one?"
Hai sighed internally. This was one of the reasons why he needed to speak to Orron alone. "Perhaps you deserve an explanation. Would you mind if this room got a bit chilly?"
Orron mere arched an eye brow again but did not protest.
Nodding to himself more than anything else, Hai moved back into the shadows of the room and bowed his head. The jewel on his forehead glowed as he summoned his mist again. Waiting for the mist to thicken so that no one else could see from anywhere in the room, Hai took off his hood, stepped out of the shadows, and sat down in the chair.
"My full name is Shui Hai Shen, son of Tyriel, the Sea Dragon King."
Orron studied him for a long moment before finally nodding in understanding, "So that's the reason then. Welcome to the last Guntai school on the planet, Prince Hai Shen. Although I still don't understand why you would want to stay here were more attention would be drawn to you if anything else."
Hai felt his eyes well up with tears again, but he didn't care anymore. "My father died when I was sent to go see if I could be bonded to a Guardian. I was unable to bond. I am the last living descendant of the rulers of the Sea, but no one knows that. As far as I know, only a small percentage of people know that a Dragon King even existed. I need a place to stay. It hurts when I'm all alone in the wild, with only myself for comfort. I can help you out. Really. I'm good with my skills and I can help you train your students with their Guardian Spirits. Who knows, I might even find a Guardian Spirit myself."
Orron walked over and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. So that was it, the boy was getting lonely and he wanted some where to go. Why he didn't return to claim his kingdom was something she would have to find out later. Now she had a very delicate situation on her hands. Normally, those without guardian spirits were not even considered for potential students, but the boy did need training on his other powers. Also, if she turned him out now, it was more than likely the Meshi would pick him up and that was not a situation that Orron wanted to place the school in.
"I'll be honest with you, no student has ever been allowed into this school without a guardian spirit. However," Orron said with a comforting squeeze to his shoulder, "I will talk the matter over with Mr. Kouki and we shall decide what to do with you. Until we make a decision, you may stay here and go to classes like a regular student. How extensive was your previous education?"
Not knowing if the squeeze was meant for comfort or not, Hai resisted the urge to flip the woman over her desk. He sighed. "I don't know. As a prince, I was as well educated as could be. I guess you're going to have to test me or something. The only thing I can say I'm good at is martial arts and my magic. Sorry."
Orron felt the tense and let go, although made it look not hasty but casual. "Yes, you will have to take a placement test but right now I'll simply put you in classes with your peers; however, I'll put you into Mr. Kouki's advanced magic class. He can help you with your elemental control more than I can. Do you know how to fire a gun?" she asked.
Hai shook his head and stood up. "I was trained in the ways of fighting hand to hand. I am proud to say that because of the extensive training as a prince, I am able to dodge bullets or projectiles, catch some of them and throw them, or use my sword to deflect them. Other than that, no. I guess if you're going to test me in fighting, you might as well have you and Mr. Kouki test me yourselves."
"You are only as good as the opponent you are against is bad. With an experienced marksman, even the fastest spirit could not dodge a lethal bullet. It would do you well to remember that. There is always someone who is better than you in this world, always someone who can knock you down, and if they are not, they will beat you at what they do best."