#14 yo kai

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

The Consequence of a Scar

“You know, I always feel this tingling sensation on my scar whenever I’m close to you, Philos,” 45-years-old Kai teased the man with horns, who was sitting beside him in the bar.

“A scar?” The man with a monocle asked.

“I don't think I remember having it outside the hotel,” Kai answered truthfully, “It showed up the second day I got here. It’s weird. It feels, nostalgic.”

Recalling from memory, it was also the second day when the drowning accident happened with the boy named Kai. Philos sipped his cocktail, “I wonder what happened.”

Kai sighed, “Yeah, I wonder what happened.”

So much had changed. The short black hair turned green and long. The spark of curiosity washed away with age. The chaste chattiness of a pure young boy turned into intricate flirtations. It was still there though, the boy named Koizumi Kaito.

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

A New Scar

“Mister Manager, my name is Kai! Call me Kai!” The boy hopped at the lobby counter.

“Yes, Kai. It's a lovely name,” the smile looked weird in the porcelain face, but Kai knew it was real.

“I heard you helped me,” Kai returned the smile, “Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do in return?”

The Manager almost wanted to request Kai to shut up, but he managed to be polite. “It was our duty to help our guests. Regarding that, do you remember anything after the incident?”

“What do you mean?” Kai raised an eyebrow. “Oh! You mean this new scar?” The boy raised his t-shirt and showed quite a deep scar near his right chest.

The Manager examined it to determine that it was indeed a new one, made in the hotel. “It’s new?”

“Yeah, maybe I got it from Mister Philos when he helped me!” It was vague but Kai remembered the horns in the water.

“Ah, I see. Alright, let's tend to it so it can heal nicely.” The Manager silently decided to tell Philos about it.

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

Drowned

Philos found it weird that Kai used the scarf even in the water. They were both standing in the pool where it reached Philos’ torso and Kai’s neck. Kai was playing around gleefully and he pointed at the slides.

The older man watched silently as Kai climbed the ladder up and shouted his lungs out while sliding down. He was going down his direction, so Philos moved aside for Kai to land smoothly.

The boy did land safely, a big splash of water accompanied his arrival. However, he didn't come back up after some time.

“Kai?” Philos didn’t find any signs of bubbles. If anything, the man felt the pool was getting deeper and deeper until the water reached his own neck.

Alerted, Philos dived and saw the boy drowning in water, his neck still covered by the scarf. With a bit of effort, Philos helped the boy move to the side of the pool, where the Manager knelt.

“I knew something happened here,” the Manager helped Philos get Kai up to the surface and started giving CPR.

“He probably drowned, the pool suddenly got deep earlier on,” Philos tried to conclude.

The Manager nodded, “Good thing you’re here. Sorry for the trouble, Philos.” Sometimes, the Manager thought of Philos as an extra staff member. It was already the umpteenth time Philos got into his guests’ accidents. Good thing Philos was neutral.

Kai’s white hands turned to have colors as he started coughing water.

“He’s alive,” Philos murmured.

“Let him figure it out himself,” the Manager looked at the red eyes. They fell into an agreement before Kai got his consciousness.

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

Play Water With Me?

The Manager brought some pancakes and ice chocolate to the boy, who sat across from his regular, Philos. It seemed that the incident last time didn't hinder the boy from getting close to his subject of curiosity.

“Mister Philos,” the boy said with his mouth full.

Philos looked at the boy.

“Do you want to play water with me after this?”

The older man touched his cup, “You should wait 30 minutes after food before swimming.”

The boy’s smile couldn't be wider.

.

Philos heard about the boy’s room from the Manager, but his eyes still widened seeing it for real. The boy pulled Philos to his hammock bed and proudly announced, “Welcome to my water park! Here’s where I-” He stopped and pulled a blue scarf from under the blanket. “What’s this?”

Curious, Philos got near himself. “Is it yours?”

“I don't know,” the boy shrugged, “Just found it.” He inspected the scarf and found an embroidery of a name near the end. “Koizumi Kaito.”

The boy’s black eyes widened a bit, knowing the name. “Hey, it's my name! I’m Kai and this is my favorite scarf!”

“You wear scarfs?” Being around for some time, Philos knew a scarf wasn't that common for daily wear.

The boy chuckled and scratched his head, “My mom loves to wear scarfs so she made tons for me. This is my favorite one, she gave it to me last year.”

Getting no response, Kai grinned. “Alright, now which one do you want to try first, Mr Philos?”

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

The Goat Man

There were only several other guests at the time, so the Manager could not help himself to resist the boy’s request. He brought the boy to the lobby, showing that the sunset would always be there. He showed the boy a glimpse of the bar, only because it was age restricted. The boy even had the gall to wave to the hostess.

Lastly, they went to the restaurant, where the Manager offered the boy to sit down and try their menu. As expected, the boy agreed with enthusiasm, his legs swaying under the table.

Well, it shouldn't be a shock to see his seat empty when the Manager came back with the menu. . . Except that he saw his guest was interfering with his other guest.

“These are so cool, Mister!” The boy dared touch one of the other guest’s body parts without restraints.

Terrified, the Manager pulled the boy’s hand and apologized quickly to his regular. “We're very much sorry, Philos. He’s just a kid, please give him some break.”

The man called Philos sighed as he continued sipping his coffee.

“You, I think an apology is needed,” the manager’s rage was directed towards the boy.

Trembled, the boy bowed down, “Sorry Mister Philos Goat, sir. I just think that your horns are very cool!”

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

Pools and Slides

The porcelain manager brought the 14 year old boy to his room. Once he opened the room, the boy gasped. Fortunately, he didn’t see the Manager’s head turned 360 degrees as well by the view.

It was far from an ordinary bedroom. It was not a room at all. The pools and high slides made it more like an indoor water pool attraction. Before the astounding playing ground, stood four palm trees which supported a cozy looking hammock, complete with the pillows and some thin blankets.

“This is just perfect!” The boy shouted, “Are all the rooms in this hotel like this? Can I see the other rooms?”

The Manager froze for a second before replying, “That would violate our privacy regulations, boy.” His black eyes stared as the swim ring changed into an ordinary head of a black haired boy with two black? slit eyes.

His heart calmed down seeing the guest turned out to be more ordinary than he thought, “Do you remember your name?”

The boy touched his chin for a while and shook his head. “Can you show me more about the hotel, Mr Porcelain Manager?”

[karasuoc-kai]

Extra Story: 14 yo Kai

Checking In

He didn’t have anything on him, and he found the endless horizon confusing. A plain white T-shirt and thin knee length sports shorts were all he wore. It was comfortable enough to walk in his usual pair of sandals, but they would wore out if he couldn't find the end-

A gust of wind brought his attention to a sturdy looking building that came out of nowhere. Tasokare Hotel, the wooden signature said.

.

One of the main features the 14 year old boy had was curiosity. The man, the being, that greeted him said something, but the only thing that went into his mind was the unnatural line surrounding the man’s neck.

“Are you human? Is this skin?” The boy touched the man’s hard icy hands, trying to figure out more. “Am I dreaming?”

Smiling, the porcelain man—as the little boy decided to name him— patted his head and answered, “You can pretend this is a dream, and I will be with you for the time being. Please call me the Manager.”

“Alright, Mr Porcelain Manager,” the boy was happily satisfied with the current answer.