“Come on, let’s go!” Ari exclaimed, standing at the door in excitement. She tightened the strap on her bag, ready to go.

  Kazuki yawned as he got out of the hospital bed, “Alright, alright, I’m coming.” Since Kazuki had no coins, he stayed another night in the hospital for free.

  Ari started to walk out of the room. “Well hurry up. I want to get there as soon as possible!”

  “Whatever you say,” Kazuki scratched his head then turned to her. “By the way, do you even know where the high school is?”

  Ari glared at him. “I’m going to enroll there, of course I know where it is.”

  Kazuki shrugged, “Alright, whatever you say.”

  Ari pouted, ”What's that supposed to mean!” 

  O O O

  It was only thirty minutes before Ari started to complain. “This is taking too long,” Ari whined. “If we don’t hurry, the exams will start without us!”

  Sweat dripped down Kazuki's face as he smiled, "I don't think the exams are going to start that soon. And can’t your air magic go faster than this?”

  “Sorry, I'm not able to use it for a long period of time. It really drains my mana,” Ari explained.

  “Well, either way, we should make it there on time," Kazuki reassured.

  “Yes, I guess you're right,” Ari replied. The expression on her face suddenly morphed into one of worry.

  “Hey, what’s that up there?” Kazuki pointed at several figures on the horizon, all of which were quickly approaching them.

  “They look like adventurers, and it seems as if they’re riding horses. Maybe they can help us get to school faster?” Ari said hopefully, squinting into the distance.

  As the band of travelers came closer, Kazuki noticed some features that seemed to suggest otherwise.  

  Crap. “Ari, these guys don’t look like adventurers. Look at all the weapons they have, and the stuff they’re wearing. We may have to fight them.” At this point, the figures were closing in on their location.

  “Bandits? Why would they be going after us?”

  “I don’t know,” responded Kazuki, “but make sure you don’t let your guard down.”

  The figures stopped as they reached their location. One of them jumped off his horse landing a few meters away from Ari and Kazuki. “Excuse me, young travelers, it appears to me that you have valuables in those bags of yours.” He pointed to the bags that Ari had been carrying with her air magic.

  “How do you know what we have in our bags?” questioned Ari looking at the stranger who stood before her.

  He smiled, “That’s not important, what is important is that you give us everything in those bags this instant. Fulfill this simple request and no one has to get hurt.” He held up a strange metal box with a hole in the center and pointed it at them.

  Ari stepped back. She was frozen with fear. Kazuki grabbed her shoulder and pulled Ari behind him.

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  “Listen, we don’t want any trouble. Just leave us alone no one gets hurt,” Kazuki said.

  It was silent for a second, then the bandits burst out with laughter.

  The leader was attempting to hold back his chuckle, “No one gets hurt? Look at this! He actually believes he can defeat us!”

  “I’m sorry, Kazuki. I forgot to go around this area in my excitement,” Ari muttered guiltily.

  Kazuki cursed under his breath before looking at Ari reassuringly, “Don’t worry, we’re going to be fine. C’mon, think of this as training.”

  Ari nodded, before staring determinedly at the thieves. They were badly outnumbered, and all of the bandits most likely had strong abilities.  

  Well, it’s as good a time as any to test out my powers. Kazuki adjusted his stance. He was about to rush towards the bandit leader when he heard Ari let out a shrill scream. Kazuki spun around, “Ari!” Somehow, a bandit got a hold of her and was holding her captive. “Let go of her!”

  “Sure, if you come with us.” The bandit said smugly.

  Kazuki gritted his teeth. He looked at Ari. Her eyes were wide with fear. “Fine, I’ll go, but release her first.”

  The bandit shrugged, “Okay then.”

  Kazuki felt a sharp pain on his neck and everything went dark. 

   O O O

  The bandits threw Ari into one of their tents.

  “You won’t get away with this!” Ari said bitterly.

  The leader cackled, “Oh, and who's going to stop us? Your friend is dead. He was hit by our best fighter, Creed.”

  Ari gasped. It wasn’t possible, surely they hadn’t really killed him… right?

  He started to walk away, then turned his head and said, “By the way, these tents block magic, so don’t even think of trying to use yours.”

  She gritted her teeth. I have to get out of here.

  O O O

  Kazuki jolted awake. “Ari!” After rushing to get up and run after her, Kazuki realized he had no idea where the bandits had gone. Good thing that guy only hit a pressure point to knock me out. If he hit a vital spot I definitely would have died. “Well, I guess I should check the forest first. It is the best place to hide in this area.” Kazuki headed toward the woods, unaware that he was being watched. “Damn it. I have no idea where she could be,” Kazuki said to himself, pushing though tree branches.

  A voice came from the forest. “You know, it can’t be good talking to yourself like that.”

  Kazuki spun around, surprised someone was listening to him. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” he yelled, but he couldn’t find anyone behind him either.

  “I’m up here.” A person dropped from the tree above Kazuki, landing in front of him. It appeared to be a human-raccoon hybrid, around Kazuki’s age. He had brown hair and brown eyes, with two raccoon-like ears on his head. Kazuki lept back with shock and looked warily at the strange being.

  “Wh-who are you? What do you want?” he stammered.

  The raccoon-human yawned. “I’m Shiki and I’m here because this is my home.”

  “You live in the woods?” Kazuki having recovered from his shock, now looked at Shiki with a renewed interest. He had heard stories about forest creatures from his parents but had never seen one up close before.

  “Yeah, this is the territory of the Tanuki. I’m supposed to be looking out for trespassers.” Kazuki reminded himself of the danger Ari was in and regained his focus.

  “Look, none of this matters right now, my friend is in serious trouble! She’s been kidnapped by bandits!”

  “Oh, well if that’s the problem then I don’t care. We aren’t supposed to mess with humans.”

  Kazuki scowled at Shiki, “I don’t care if you aren’t going to help me, but don’t talk about my friend like that.” He started to walk into the forest, in his pursuit of Ari. 

  Kazuki turned to walk back into the forest but suddenly heard Shiki call out to him. “Wait I know where the bandits are. I can take you to them.”

  He sighed and turned around. “What’s with the sudden change of heart?”

  “Those bandits have been here for the past five days. No one in our home cares enough to do anything about it, because they stay away from humans. But I can’t stand their presence, so I’ll help you drive them out.” He looked at Kazuki hopefully.

  Kazuki smiled and gestured in front of himself. “Show me where the bandits are.”

  Shiki grinned, “You got it!”