Iphianassa Lykaois's Story

Honey coated rays of sunshine shone down on a chocolate-hued mass of hair, restrained only by one impressively strong ponytail. Attached to the fluffy strands was a girl who was rather average looking for the most part; simple peach skin, unmarred by any freckles or birthmarks, an average athletically-shaped body, and equally average height. Everything was so very average about the girl - until one would reach her eyes, that is. The mesmerizing orbs stood out, their strange azure hues popping against her slightly pale skin, and if one were to snag them, they would find it either difficult to look away or very disconcerting to meet her gaze.

The girl in question continued to brush the broom back and forth, the front steps of the entrance to the temples quickly improving in its cleanliness.Finally she paused, gave the steps another quick once-over, followed up with a satisfied nod and propped the broom inside the archway and against the large stone wall that lined the property. With a quick smile and a wave to the woman that she considered to be her mother, Sakura, Iphianassa bent over to retrieve her school bag. A quick pat to the head of her Tamaskan pooch Artemis with the promises of treats once she returned home from work that evening, she straightened and proceeded to traipse her way down the impressive steps that led up to the beautiful temple area that she had basically grown up in. The path was familiar and comforting, surrounded by beautiful forestry filled with the noises of animals. The forest had been quiet lately, however, as the air was growing chillier far more quickly than normal and many of the animals were busy seeking warmth and shelter.

At the thought of the cold that surrounded her, Iphignea tightened her sweater around her and gave a small shiver. The walk to the school campus wasn’t far from the temples, but it was definitely cold enough outside that she would need to start wearing a coat soon. Generally she didn’t get cold very easily, but it was chilly enough that she could almost see a bit of her breath on each exhale, definitely warranting the slight rub at her arms to stimulate the flow of blood.

As she walked, she paused when she passed by the veterinary clinic. Through the windows she could see a small orange bob with an equally-small face hidden behind glasses that were large in comparison to the small girl’s features. Reiya was hard at work, she could see, tending to an animal was hidden from view behind the receptionist’s desk, so despite wanting to say hello, she simply carried on her way. Despite their age difference and vastly contrasting personalities, they had become quick friends after the younger girl moved to town. Having recognized a lot of the similar pain buried beneath her surface, Iphignea had almost gravitated towards her, like a mother hen would gravitate towards an injured chick. She was like a little cinnamon roll that needed to be protected and Iphianassa would do whatever was necessary to support the younger girl. She knew what it was like to feel all alone in the world, and Reiya didn’t deserve that type of life. She deserved the love and support of those around her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts as she neared campus, Iphignea stifled a yawn. Of course she was exhausted; she barely slept at all now-a-days, between work, university, and her temple duties, she would maybe achieve about four hours of sleep on average every night. She at least was able to sleep in on Saturdays and could take a brief nap between temple duties and work on Sundays, but that was about it for her to play catch-up, and she was definitely beginning to feel the ill-effects of overworking herself.

Quickly crossing campus, Iphignea pushed through the large doors that lead to the university area of the campus. Thankfully, her first class was near the entrance so she didn’t need to travel very far. As she walked into the lecture hall and made her way to her seat, she counted her blessings that she could attend such a small yet impressive university. The classes were small, with around fifteen-to-twenty students each, and allowed for a more direct learning process, with the organization being similar to that of the high school that was attached to the building in its own area. They were assigned a homeroom teacher who also was the main professor of their main courses, such as English, Maths, and others. The way that it differed was that depending on the course that the student is studying in, once their main course lessons were concluded, they would go their separate ways to the correct rooms according to their course majors and minors.

As she took her seat, Iphignea withdrew a cold water bottle from her bag and took a quick swig from it. Recapping it, she returned it to her bag and was in the process of removing a notebook and textbook and straightening once more when their homeroom professor made his way into the room. She leaned back in her seat, knees and arms crossed over one another, an unimpressed expression on her face. He stopped behind the desk, set a stack of papers, files, and books that he had with him on top of it, and cleared his throat before making his way around to the side of the desk.

“Before we continue with our lessons from last week, I have an announcement to make.” The chatter of the students quickly died off, as a special announcement wasn’t a common occurrence in their quiet school. Once the classroom was silent and Professor Sazumi was satisfied with the full attention of the class, he continued. “We have a couple of new students joining us today.” Immediately he threw up his hand to stem the excited titter that quickly sprung up at this news. “Now, I know it’s odd to have new transfers at this time of the year, but let’s all attempt to give them a warm welcome. Please make sure to provide any help they may need as they make this adjustment to joining us here at our lovely university. I expect you all to be as accepting as possible,” he finished with a very pointed look in Iphianassa’s direction. This earned him an eyeroll in response, which he reciprocated before turning to the door to the room. “You two can come in now,” he called out before turning back to the class once more. “Please welcome Natsuo and Kazumi Orako. Mr.- and Ms. Orako, please introduce yourselves and let us know something interesting about you,” he said, motioning to the small classroom as he spoke.


As the two entered the room, the class fell silent. Despite the pair’s obvious relation due to their last name and them transferring in together, they looked nothing like one another. They both were, however, ethereally beautiful. An odd sensation crawled across Iphianassa’s skin as they made their way across the front of the room to the center to stand beside the teacher. It wasn’t that her skin was crawling, per-say, but more like her hair was standing on end. She wasn’t afraid, though, so why it was doing that was baffling to her; but what she did know, though, was that something was off about these two, and despite her piqued curiosity, she forced herself to remain nonchalant. It was none of her business, and why would she care anyway? They were just two random, strange kids that she didn’t even know.

Her curiosity was unable to be fully contained, however, as she studied the pair. The girl was small and reminded Iphignea of cotton-candy with her bright coloring, and she had a warm yet fierce presence about her. She definitely struck her as someone that she could possibly become friends with, but who knew. Moving on, her eyes slid over to the boy who had come in with her, for the first time actually able to see his face.

Almost instantly her mouth went dry. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and she felt her breath hitch. His dark features stood out in stark contrast to his pale skin, giving him an odd beauty that wasn’t handsome nor sexy, yet somehow both at the same time. His dark eyes seemed to bore into her soul and she felt herself enraptured by them. She could feel her cheeks heating up as a soft flush entered them, brushing across the rest of her body as it did. Forcing herself to lick her lips, she somehow managed to tear her gaze from his, lowering it to her desk in a strangely-subdued manner that was odd for her normally-fiery personality. Something about that boy had struck her dumb, and she didn’t like it.

Peaking a look back up to the front, she quickly looked back down at her desk and opened her textbook to a random page, eyes skimming over the words but not actually taking in any of them. Her mind was racing and she couldn’t stop it, but she could at least keep herself from staring at the new kids like some sort of heathen.

Please ignore, it double posted for some unknown reason.

”Doubt kills more dreams
Than failure ever will.”

---

As the two new students began to make their introductions, it was impossible for Iphianassa to hide her interest. She tried to keep her gaze fixated on the textbook, despite not actually reading anything that the words said, but couldn’t help herself from flicking her eyes up towards the front every few seconds. The cotton candy girl went first, introducing herself as Kazumi and enthusiastically offering a few things about herself to the classroom. At least she seemed to have a decent head on her shoulders, unlike most of the babbling buffoons that she called her classmates. Most of the girls were practically drooling over the new boy, and a majority of the guys were doing the same, only over the new girl. Unable to suppress it, Iphignea rolled her eyes, a common action for her to do when she was annoyed. She snorted a bit in amusement, earning her a couple of distasteful looks from the group of girls sitting closest to her as they babbled noisily about how cute the new boy was and who had the best chance of dating him. As if that really mattered.

Leaning back in her seat, she crossed her arms and her legs, decided to just own up to the fact that she was a bit interested in the new students. The professor was right when saying it was abnormal for them to have new students at this time of the year, but what he failed to mention was that it was abnormal for them have new students period. Akita was very small for the setup that it had, and she was lucky that they had their own private university attached to the high school and elementary school as well as the preschool. If not for that, she wouldn’t have been able to attend university at all. It was worth the fact that she was stuck with the same classmates that she had been going to school with over the last decade and then some.

At least the teachers were understanding of her history and had so far respected her boundaries when it came to certain things, most specifically gym class when required to swim and change in the locker rooms. She was given extra time over everyone else to leave class early before physical education, that way she could change without the risk of any of the other girls seeing. That, and she was allowed to come in after school hours for her annual sports physical, as well as any swimming tests and participation they were required to complete.

When it was the boy’s turn to speak, Iphianassa felt herself straighten a bit in interest before she caught herself and forced herself to hunker down slightly once more, arms still crossed in an attempt to show disinterest instead. As soon as he spoke, however, she felt herself go still at the sound. It was like liquid honey slowly dripping from a wooden spoon, oozing over her ears with a golden radiance and softness that rang with tranquility and warmth. Something about his voice made it so that she couldn’t help but relax, and before she knew what she was doing, her eyes were almost closed, as though the gentle lull of it were putting her to sleep. She was jerked out of this reverie, however, by his sister’s sudden outburst, and when she met the ruby gaze of the cotton candy girl, she felt her cheeks flush a light pink, something that was completely abnormal for her. It was generally very difficult for anyone to get under her skin, let alone embarrass her, but she felt the sensation nonetheless and quickly averted her gaze, her hand raising to slightly hide her face in an attempt to keep the blush from being seen. She knew it was too late, however, and that the Kazumi girl had seen her reaction to her words, and Iphignea cursed slightly under her breath. She didn’t spend the last decade and almost half keeping everyone except her adoptive family and Reiya at a distance just for these two kids to show up and try to disrupt that. She’d be damned if they somehow managed to get under her skin.

When the boy Natsuo slid out a quick retort to his sister’s announcement, Iphignea turned her face back slightly to look over at the two. The girl Kazumi looked ready to explode, but before she could, the professor slid in. Iphignea was forced to swallow down a laugh, but the smirk of amusement remained on her lips. The smirk was quickly wiped away, however, when the new girl quickly made her way over to the seat beside Iphignea. Of course she would pick the empty seats beside her, because why wouldn’t she. Groaning softly yet not very audibly, Iphignea turned back to her textbook, attempting to look enthralled with what she was reading. Being a social outcast definitely had its perks, and she had perfected the art of such, but it also had its cons; its cons being that the only available seats in the classroom were around her, as the other students tended to give her a wide berth. So of course these new, odd students would have to sit beside her, because where else would they sit?

As the girl neared her, Iphignea felt the hairs on her arms stand up once more. While it was very similar to the sensation of being watched, this was different - unnatural. Pausing, she turned her gaze up to the girl as she made herself comfortable, her mesmerizing eyes scrutinizing. There was something off about the two new students, and she couldn’t quite place her finger on it. The only other times she ever had this happen was when she was performing ceremonies at the temple or assisting one of the locals with banishing a spirit from their property, or when she was doing a tarot reading that ultimately would turn up to be accurate. She would have to keep an eye on these new students, because something wasn’t right with them, and while she respected other’s privacy enough to not dig into the two, she would definitely keep her guard up.

It was then that the boy passed by her desk, having followed his sister rather closely. The sensation that followed was the same, but was accompanied by the feeling that she was being watched. As he passed, she turned her face up slightly towards him, their eyes meeting again. The same electricity that she felt the first time crackled in the air between them, and she felt her breath hitch slightly in surprise at the intensity of his gaze and of the feelings that immediately began to swell within her. Her heart once more sped up and she felt an odd stirring in the pit of her stomach, almost like before she would go on a ride at the amusement park with Reiya. Was this excitement, nervousness, or something else? She didn’t know, and she also didn’t know if she liked it all that much.

Quickly turning her face down again - she seemed to be doing that a lot today - she pressed her hand to her chest and forced herself to slow her breathing, calling on her years of meditation to help ground herself. As soon as the two new students were seated, the professor fixated a look on Iphignea, causing her to peer back-up at him wearily. Her eyes widened slightly as she could see where he was clearly going with the look, and before she could stop him, a devilish smile crossed his lips.

“Aha - seeing as you all will be spending so much time near one another, I just had a glorious idea,” he said, the same conniving grin on his face as before. “Our dear and beloved Iphianassa I’m sure would be more than happy to give you two a tour of the academy. Consider her to be your own personal helper for the next week - if you need anything at all, don’t be afraid to ask her.”

Iphignea felt her face heat up, but this time it was with annoyance, and she glared at the professor. ”Aw, come on, Professor Iyoto, do I really-” The professor cut her off quickly, before she could get any more words out. “Yes, really, you do have to. Consider it your punishment for skipping out on cleaning duty last week,” he smirked, his arms crossed in a mocking way. Unable to argue with him, she sighed in defeat before leaning back into her seat once more. The professor dropped his arms and went to his desk before continuing. “As for what we’re going to be doing today, I would like to spend the next twenty-to-thirty minutes focused on independent group work. Pair off into groups of four, and afterward, we will continue with our lessons from last week. Consider this a good opportunity to catch up on any homework or studying you haven’t completed, as well as to individually ask me any questions about anything you may not have understood over the course so far. As for our new little group of musketeers in the back,” he said, looking pointedly over at Iphignea, Kazumi, and Natsuo, “I would like for you three to take the opportunity to get to know each other, as you all will be spending quite a bit of time together on projects, seeing as you’re seated so closely to one another. Also, once he arrives, Kenta Hamaski will be joining your group, as he’s the next closest in seating to you three, so Iphignea, I’m putting you in charge of ensuring that he is caught up to pace when he gets here.”

Letting out a long and very audible groan of annoyance, especially at being paired with that egotistical and cocky airhead Hamaski, Iphignea once more rolled her eyes before submitting to the fact that she didn’t have a choice in any of this. Slapping her textbook closed, she slid that and her notebook back into her bag, before turning in her seat to face the two new kids. Obviously attempting to keep her eyes off of the Natsuo boy, as looking at him brought up things that she couldn’t quite control, she started off with fixating her gaze on the Kazumi girl. A bit awkwardly, as she wasn’t really the social type of person that their professor was clearly trying to force her to be, she introduced herself.

”Well, as you’ve probably already gathered, I’m Iphianassa, but most people-” she found amusement in that statement, as most people referred to the very seldom few who actually spoke to her, ”-most people just call me Iphignea. It’s a lot shorter and easier to say, so feel free to call me whatever. I know my name can be a mouthful.” When she felt eyes on her and looked over to see their professor pointedly looking at her, and could tell that while their classmates were definitely working, they were also very obviously interested in listening to her conversation with the beautiful new students, she sighed and continued on. ”Um, I guess I should tell you something about myself then? Although, I’m really not that interesting, so I’m not sure what you would want to know, exactly,” she ended on a mutter. Gathering herself, though, she finished her introduction. ”I guess I could tell you that I live in a series of temples that are owned by my family - er, adoptive family - and I assist with the duties and ceremonies there. I also like to swim, as well as anything involving physical activity. I like spicy food, and I really enjoy being outside in the fresh air, especially in the summertime, and weirdly enough, I enjoy bird watching. Something about how freeing it is to watch them fly away, with their ability to go literally anywhere, I guess, or something cheesy like that,” she said, feeling immensely uncomfortable and awkward telling these random people such random facts about herself. Letting out a breathy, awkward laugh, she gave Kazumi a slightly nervous smile. ”Sorry, I’m not really good at this whole show-and-tell thing. As you could probably tell from the lack of people sitting near me, I’m not exactly what you could call popular,” she said, using her fingers to put air quotes around the last word.