Perfect School

"Mmm. He didn't fill me in on what happened beyond disappointment." I picked up my plate again and poked at my food again. "I'm sure Paublo will be pleased. Has Zero spoken to us?" I suspected their interest in each other, but didn't know how well they knew of each other.

Andrew:

“I have talked to her. I told her what was happening and she said she would take care of things with my dad. I assume someone will be here later tonight to get him. Kyra wont be pleased.” I was sure Jonah would talk to Zero later about how disappointed he was with everything.

"Mmm. Make sure Kyra doesn't get at Zero about that. She will make sure he is well taken care of, but he can't stay with us." I focused on finishing my food after that, quickly devouring the last bit of it before laying back and gazing at the ceiling.

Andrew:

"How long do you think Jonah with be disappointing with us?" I asked. I didn't care, but the two people I did care about on the team would be effected by it. I was fairly sure Jonah was always disappointed in me.

"Does it matter? If he lets it effect training then I will put a stop to it. You all are only human. Mistakes happen, missions change, sometimes the best call isn't clear except in the moment." I finished my words with a yawn.

Andrew:

"You should be in charge," I said. It wouldn't be a surprise that I thought that. Kyra had been pretty clear in her support of Kira, and I was generally of the same opinion of my sister.

"You don't want me in charge." I glanced down at him for a moment then away. I'd heard their desires to put me in charge. But I didn't care to lead. It didn't matter to me like it did Jonah. "I know Kyra shares your opinion however. If necessary I will be your buffer for Jonah. But do not expect my lead to happen."

Andrew:

“I know,” I said with a shrug. It was only while we were at school that Jonah would be in charge, and after that we could make our own way.


Jonah:

After we got home I worked on crisis control in different scenarios. I had Zero randomly generate situations that we worked through together, correcting each mistake or impulse. Kyra struggled with scenarios when one person was seriously injured. She was not willing to leave someone behind when they needed help even when it meant compromising the job. I worked with her to get her comfortable with procedure but I doubted her actions if we ever had a real incident that involved serious injury to one of the team.

Something else that had always been implied, but never set in stone, was chain of command. If I was unable to give orders it would be passed down in order to: Kira, Kyra and/or Zero, Andrew, then Paublo. For practice sake, I had each of them command a situation then corrected mistakes they made.

At the beginning of summer we were to return to the school for a time to strengthen any weaknesses each team had. I didn't expect there was much that my team would be offered during this time, other than a chance to socialize.

Kira:

I watched the training impartially. I didn't necessarily agree with parts of the training. But it also seemed necessary. Paublo was still the weakest link on the team. And during his leadership part he kept looking to Jonah to be sure what he said was right. Andrew didn't say much, Kyra lead with more charisma than my own straight forward way. But after watching all the leaderships I found Zero's to be the most effective. She worked with you, played on your strengths, encouraged, and gave gentle chastisements when appropriate. I'd expected it however, as that is what an Oracle was supposed to do.

The return to school was welcome in only one regard. I could relax at the pool again, float in the middle and just clear my head of all unwelcome distractions.

Kyra:

It was nice being around more people again. I saw some of my old friends, and met new people, but most importantly I was able to restart an old relationship…

A week into our lessens they told us a supplemental instructor would be coming in. Our team was in the gym when we met him.

“Dad!” I saw him in the middle of one of our exercises and, with a brief glance at Jonah for permission, I ran over to him. “What are you doing here?” I asked in confusion. He explained that he was asked to teach here for a month.

I was on the ground, legs spread while I leaned forward as far as I could. I kept my forehead against the ground though I heard Kyra's exclamations and I stiffened slightly. Releasing the tension in my body by breathing out slowly I simply got up then and grabbed my water bottle so I could sip. I didn't look Kyle's way as I began to make my way to the locker room and the showers.

Jonah:

Having the twins father around was interesting. It effected them both in separate ways. Kyra was preforming at top capacity and was generally in good spirits. Andrew on the other had was more erratic than I had ever seen him. At times he would be doing his best, then shortly after he would seem to not care, or get extremely frustrated. I got a better idea of how his mind worked from that. I already knew he was motivated by other people, but now I saw that it it entirely depended upon his relationship with him. My task was to find a way to have any kind of personal relationship with him.

Kyle O'Shay didn't only have an effect on his children, it more or less rocked the dynamic of the whole team. Paublo tried desperately to get his approval but often he would get nervous to the point of bumbling. Kyle's reaction to this was mostly to ignore him. I didn't like that, but what I was most curious about was how he interacted with Kira.

It was understandable that they would have difficulties with being around each other considering how they met, but his actions concerning her were not what I would have expected. He watched her, excessively. At times he seemed to be uncharacteristicly tender toward her, yet when she excelled at a task he got subtly hostile. It was a puzzle that I could not figure out. Kira in turn rejected his interest by doing the bare minimum of what he asked to complete the task. She mostly ignored him but to more than just me she seemed to be extra quiet. If Kyle was ever in the gym during our group training, Kira refused to do anything until her left. The whole thing was a puzzle to me, and I could not figure it out.

Since we had more time than usual, I asked Kira if she would take up our late night practices together. My goal was not only to spend alone time with her, but to question her about what was going on.

I stared at Jonah over my cup of tea, slowly sipping at it as I searched his face. "Fine. But shorter lessons. I have my own things I need to take care of while I can." I drained the last of my mug then settled it down on a coaster. I'd taken to spending my evenings floating in the pool. I needed to unwind, to let go of how Kyle was making me feel. My failure was staring me in the face, and going out of his way to make my life...different. At times I had caught him almost babying me. An easier task, not pushing me as hard as he might others. Other times I performed flawlessly and he was openly hostile. It was draining to say the least.

Jonah:

I agreed to her terms, it wouldn't make sense to spend as much time as we had before, especially since we didn't have a teacher to direct us. I suggested we work on techniques we had learned before but no longer practiced. After wards while we were laying on the mat for a moment to cool off I thought to broach the subject with her.

“Has Kyle ever approached you alone?” I asked her without preamble.

I peeled off my t-shirt, dropping it to the ground beside me to help myself cool off. My breath came out in pants, and I knew I would enjoy swimming after. The question however brought me up short. "Kyle? No. The only time he and I have been alone together I lost to him after trying to kill him." I glanced at him for a moment before just shaking my head.

Jonah:

“That doesn't make sense,” I said for possibly the first time in a decade. I could not understand what was going on between the two. Obviously I understood Kira's side of it, but Kyle's motivations were beyond me. He was inconsistent, and it aggravated me to no end.

With a grunt I pushed myself up to a standing position, snagging my shirt along the way. "Then let it go. It is not your issue Jonah. Let him act as he wants. Soon enough he will have to leave and everything returns to normal. Not every puzzle can be solved." I bid him goodbye then going briefly to the lockerroom to grab my suit. I changed in the showers, rinsing myself free of the sweat before donning the swimsuit. It took longer to put it on over wet skin, but I didn't want to have the pool water be my rinse. Donning a spare shirt over it I grabbed a towel and then made my way barefoot towards the pool. The solitude sounded wonderful, but as I approached the door I heard the sound of someone swimming and it made me hesitate with a hand on the door. Company wasn't preferable, but I couldn't fault someone for swimming. But as I pushed inside I paused and stared down at Kyle as he swam laps. Annoyance crossed my face and it held as I moved to one of the chairs to toss my towel onto.

Kyle:

I had been trying to control myself around Kira ever since I had received the results for the test. I had been ready to believe Michael had a child with someone else before marrying Krissy. It had not crossed my mind that Kira could be her daughter as well. At times I could see Krissy in her, and I couldn't help but soften toward her, but then other times she was so clearly the daughter of Michael.

I began to wonder if somehow they had kept her a secret, but I couldn't imagine a reason for that. I kept coming back to the accident Krissy had while pregnant. It seemed impossible that Kira was that child, but there was no other plausible answer.

Alerted to the presence of another by the sound of the door, I righted myself and looked up. There she was, the very girl I had been puzzling over. Her back was to me when I saw her. There was a long white line across her back that made my frown while observing her.

It was his eyes on her that finally pushed her over the edge. She didn't need to see him to know he was doing it. She could feel it, hear it in the way his swimming stopped, and just knew. Her shoulders stiffened and slowly she turned to face him. Her green eyes which normally were as cold as ice, blazed. "What is your problem with me? We fought. I lost. Mission is done. You don't have a target on your back, nor could I even attempt such a thing while you spend every day in class watching my every move. I have had drill instructors and trainers who were assigned to watch and train me stare at me less." Her voice was pure fire and venom and she held nothing back in her feelings for the man. Scorn, anger, annoyance, an utter waste of a human being.

Kyle:

Her anger blindsided me. Up to this point she had been cold and relatively emotionless. Now more than ever I could see Krissy in her. Her voice, her tone, the look in her eyes. It was the very picture of Krissy as a teen. It was the exact wrong way to react, but I could not help but to laugh.

His laughter had me gritting my teeth. The blazing inferno turned cold and while her hands had been clenched into fists they relaxed and an air of deadly calm surrounded her though one only needed to look into her eyes to see the rage within. "Ah. So you are a waste of good air."

Kyle:

Her comment did nothing to remove the grin on my face. It was the look of cold rage that sobered me. I had to explain to her, there was no way around it, not after this interaction. If I left her now, I might as well have set my own timer.

I swam over to the edge of the pool to approach the deadly child. “Kira, I need to speak with you. Will you sit down?” I asked her as I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my body.

My watched him, that fury never leaving my eyes. My fingers relaxed further, knees bent slightly, and one foot shifted slightly behind me as he approached. But he stopped out of reach, and so I held myself at the ready. "You have ten seconds to explain why I should listen to you."

Kyle:

I would have used more tact had I been talking with Krissy, but this girl was not her, not matter how much she had just acted like it. “You're my blood,” I said simply. “My niece to be specific. I can explain further if you will hear it.” I watched her from a safe distance.

What crossed my face was open contempt then, and the rage dimmed. "Pathetic. Go back to whomever sent you Kyle. I have no family, no ties bind me to any but my patron." I turned and approached the water the very gesture as clear of a dismissal as I could make it.