Chapter 116.

PART 1.

‘Ug! What happened with me last night?’ thinks Hatori. He feels as if several elephant herds, led by the elephant called elephant (without capitalization), stomped on his head all night.

‘Why am I here in the underground lab?’ he wonders. Hopefully, his friends were the ones who brought him here. ‘And if I came here by myself, then I hope no one saw me entering the ground.’

Though the entrance and the ground are enchanted with some magic which makes everyone ignore the presence of this entire area, Hatori thinks no amount of enchantment will protect this place if he were to be seen entering and leaving. His friends always make themselves invisible before leaving the ground nowadays.

Hatori shambles to the box in the corner and opens it. inside there are many bottles of water, always kept at an optimum temperature, not extremely cold, but not too warm either. He brings out one bottle and empties it in one breath. Finally, after sating his thirst, he puts the empty bottle on top of the box.

‘That project nearly killed us.’ remembers Hatori. They nearly froze themselves while creating this fridge. ‘I wonder whether anyone would buy this back home or not, given it doesn’t use any electricity?’

He then finds some papers on the table. ‘Runes?’ he looks through them. his headache has lessened, but it is not gone completely yet. So, it took Hatori a while to process what he was reading.

“Awesome!” he couldn’t help but shout. This entire array is designed to protect his body during flying from air and of course the bugs and the temperature high in the sky. There are some other runes to use his skin and hair as sensory organs.

‘I remember now.’ Hatori is struck by the memories of the last night. ‘James said something about alcohol. Judging from the reaction, I think I drank some wine or something. I know people in stories complain about hangovers, but really it is very painful. I will never drink again.’ He decides to himself.

“I did that while drunk, I understand that. but why did I have to use a standard script? It’ll take hours to sort this mess, and bring it to the proper script.” Grumbles Hatori. If he could, he would have strangled his drunken self.

He is perfectly aware of how irrational that sounds, but he doesn’t care about being rational right now.

PART 2.

Hatori feels great after brushing his teeth and taking a bath. It is surprising what fresh breath and a bath can do for a person. The festival is over, and he missed the New Year’s welcome. He doesn’t care about that. however, he is more interested in what he did before leaving the party.

“Really? I said that?” he asked, unable to believe that he called himself the heavenly magic.

“Yeah, you did.” Said Shin, who is relishing in telling him the details. “Then you floored people with your magical pressure, and ran away.”

“Wait, I floored multiple people?” asked Hatori. “If I could do that while drunk, I should really work on it, I should be able to do that easily when I’m sober.” He muttered.

His friends are not sure what to say after hearing that. “Anyway, happy birthday James,” said Hatori. “I’m sorry I don’t have a gift for you, unlike the previous years.”

“That’s fine.” Said James. “Just do me a favor instead.”

“What?” asked Hatori.

“Suraj. He is not taking his potential seriously; he seems to have gotten lazy after gaining his sight. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to motivate him to improve. Can you do something about it?” asked James.

“Sure.” Said Hatori. “In fact, I’ll get on it immediately.”

“What about the classes?” asked Josh.

“What about the classes?” asked Hatori in return.

“Figures.” They all laugh, as Hatori leaves. “Anyway, it is fitting that you have the first birthday. Among us, you are more like an old man.” taunted Josh.

“Get back here you!” said James, chasing Josh. “I’ll show you to call me old!”

“Need some popcorn?” offers Shin.

“Don’t mind if I do.” Said Raven, taking a fist full of the snack, and enjoying the show.

PART 3.

Hatori is waiting for Suraj. He has learned his schedule from James, and according to the schedule, he should be coming through this way after his class, since this is the shortest way to his dorm. The twins Chaya and Maya are also passing the time with him since their classes are at night. no better time to do astronomy after all.

“So, wait, I get that you are named after a theme. But why your brother is named after morning, and you two after shadow and illusion? I don’t get it.” asked Hatori.

“Huh. we never thought about that either.” Said Maya.

“We like our names, so we never asked,” said Chaya.

“So, what are the names of your mother and father, if you don’t mind me asking?” while he talked, Hatori sensed Suraj entering his range.

“Father is Dinkar, which is the synonym of Sun if I’m right,” asked Maya.

“Yeah. mother is named Chanda, which is based on the moon.” Said Chaya.

“Sun and moon together. How romantic.” Said Hatori with a sour expression, making the girls laugh.

Their laughter suddenly stops, as he explodes in a flurry of action. He got in front of Suraj, and with just one motion, cast the sleep spell taught to him by James. He caught the boy in his arms before he could hit the ground.

“What’re you gonna do to him?” asked Maya in a tremulous voice.

“Not much. just a trip of sorts.” He said, starting to hover in the air. “Don’t worry girls, he’ll come back intact. Maybe a little bit scared, but not a scratch on him, promise!” he extended his pinky finger in their direction, and then Hatori floated away with Suraj in his arms.

“When did he learn to fly?” asked Chaya.

“The better question is, why did he learn to fly?” asked Maya.

In their opinion, flying through magic by yourself doesn’t offer anything advantageous.

PART 4.

Suraj wakes up. he is groggy, and he still keeps his eyes closed. Nearby, he hears a person breathing. “Awake, are you?” he recognizes Hatori’s voice.

He doesn’t have a chance to answer this question, as various animals come thundering toward them. “I suggest we run.” Said Hatori.

Suraj gets up, and stumbles after him, only to find that the older boy is hovering over his shoulder. “If you run this slow, then you’ll be trampled by these out-of-control buffalos.” He spoke. Suraj starts to run faster.

“Can’t you deal with them?” he huffs out.

“No can do.” Said Hatori. “I’m still suffering from a hangover you see, I’m likely to kill you by mistake in this state.” Said Hatori.

The buffalos get closer, mooing in delight. Looks like they get to stomp some humans to bloody pulp today. “I hear you have gotten good with earth magic,” said Hatori.

“So what?” asked Suraj. ‘Why isn’t he making me fly with him?’

“Use it,” said Hatori.

“How?” asked Suraj.

Hatori shakes his head. “They won’t be stomping after you if they are stuck in a swamp.” Said Hatori.

“I don’t know how to perform that spell!” screeched Suraj.

“Sigh, here’s how you do it.” Hatori shows him his motions and stomps the foot in the air. “Do the same thing.”

“That won’t work, I don’t have my foci!” he continues to screech.

“Then I guess both of us are going to be trampled. I’ll make your afterlife hell for getting me killed like this.” Said Hatori.

Suraj stops running and does as Hatori shows him. though it took more magic than normal, the entire area in the hundred-meter range is turned into a swamp, and the herd is stopped on its track, for the track has become treacherous to stampede.

“This is our time to run.” Advised Hatori.

Suraj decides that he will scream at this floating bastard later. at this moment, he wishes to use every curse he knows to let Hatori know how much he is furious with him, but he decides that can come later. they stop near a river, where Hatori sighs as if remembering a time long passed.

“Ah, the jamun tree.” He goes to touch the tree. “It has grown so large, I planted its seed when I was brought here as a first year, and we camped at some distance.” He was about to shake the tree for some fruits but then remembered that they do not grow in winter.

“A girl targeted me for revenge, but Shin and I plotted to turn her plan back at her.” He smiled. The plan was simple and went without a hitch.

The previously calm river is now filled with water spirits, spirits which are attacking Suraj. Hatori’s prattling on about his first year is not doing him any favors. “Help me, you bastard, help me!” but Hatori ignores his cries for help, and continues to prattle on about the strongest water spirit he ever faced.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I think he (the spirit identifies as he), let me win.” He said while Suraj dealt with the attacking spirits with fociless magic. he is not used to the demands of that magic, and he is exhausted quickly as a result. But the spirits are not interested in him for some reason, and they disappear into the depths of the river.

“Hmm. never thought that the river was so deep.” Said Hatori. “Good thing none of us decided to swim in it.”

By the time of evening arrives, Suraj is exhausted. After the spirits left, a monkey showed up, who for some reason decided that Suraj was his mortal enemy. Wrestling with that monkey ensued, and Hatori was not impressed with Suraj’s technique or his fitness. Hatori had to distract the monkey with bananas before the animal let go of Suraj. Strangely, the animal did not bite or scratch him in any way.

Then the crows descended on them, and Suraj prepared to fight once again. But one of them just came to Hatori, croaked at him a few times, and then left. Hatori smiled as if he understood what the bird said, and then they started their long trek back to the Academy.

“My hangover is done; I’ll protect you from any attacks from now on.” Said Hatori.

“But what was the purpose?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Hatori in a clueless tone.

“Don’t kid with me. you brought me here for a reason. I want to know why.” said Suraj.

“You want to know huh?” asked Hatori. At Suraj’s nod, he asked once again. “You sure you want to know?”

“Yes, I want to know dammit!” he said furiously, with flames dancing in his eyes.

“Then listen.” Said Hatori with a hard tone. The anger goes out of Suraj with that tone.

“My friend James gave you a gift, a gift which I craved for my entire life. A gift that I still crave, but keep that desire hidden deep within me, buried in my heart to make sure that it does not bother me, or make it impossible for me to live my life because that gift is out of reach for me,” said Hatori. “And of course, I refer to the gift of sight.” He whirls on Suraj.

“And you haven’t used it properly yet. True, we all know it’ll take time for you to adapt, but in the meantime, you could do so many things, get out, see the world, or improve your reflexes. But what do you do? You do nothing. You are wasting this gift.” Said Hatori. “Do you know that despite his blindness, the Suraj of a year ago can run circles around you, without even getting tired? You have regressed instead of progressing. And that is why I did what I did today. And quite honestly, if you fail to learn anything from today’s experiences, and from my lecture, then I wash my hands off you, and will recommend the same to James.”

Suraj shrunk on himself with each word of Hatori. They cut deep and made him realize the bitterness within Hatori. Some might argue that James didn’t design eyes for Suraj, so Hatori has no right to speak to him that way. but it is also true that through his efforts, he regained his eyes. And for whatever reason, the same thing did not work for Hatori. But Hatori never said that he is jealous of him, or he wants to make him blind like him again.

‘He is angry that I’m not using these eyes as well as I could.’ Thinks Suraj. ‘This isn’t just about training though, is it? I really haven’t stepped out of my comfort zone to see what the world has to offer me, now that I have sight.’

“Hatori, I’m sorry.” Said Suraj. “I was scared. I didn’t want to face the world, I just wanted to curl up and forget everything. the conflict between you and the council didn’t help any, did you know that they used to monitor other disabled mage students to make sure they do not turn out like you?”

“I didn’t know that,” said Hatori. ‘And even if I knew, I couldn’t have done anything for them.’ this reminds Hatori that the next time he starts a conflict, he should secure the people about whom he cares. Suraj does fall in that category.

“Anyway, just use your sight, it was given to you for a reason, is what I’m asking. Don’t hide in your room and sleep all day. Read a book once you get down the reading. Go see the world, and just develop enough fighting skills to get you out of a pinch, I know you don’t enjoy combat much.” said Hatori.

“Yeah, will do.” Said Suraj.

“Then let me give you a lift.” Said Hatori with a smirk.

“A lift? Wait, I’m scared of heights, wahhhhh!” Hatori grabbed Suraj in a bearhug, and flew away, leaving Suraj’s screams of protest in his wake.

PART 5.

Hatori senses various people gathered on the ground. “Tell me, why are they gathered like that?” he asked Suraj.

“Well, it seems Josh and his council are surrounded by some people.” Said Suraj, not afraid anymore after hours of flying in the air.

“Hey guys!” said Hatori, and lands in the middle of them. “How’re you doing?”

“You won’t be doing so good, once we establish the new council. you will be punished for humiliating us like that!” declared the girl, whom Hatori presumed was the leader.

“Josh, what should we do if a dog without teeth bites us?” asked Hatori.

“Get an injection without a needle.” He replied. They all started to laugh.

“Don’t you dare to mock us, we will kill you, and establish the old regime back!” screamed the girl in a shrill tone. Despite his protection against loud sounds, Hatori gets a headache from hearing her talk.

Hatori senses James standing outside of the circle. “Catch!” he tosses Suraj like a sack of potatoes, but James manages to catch him. Josh kept the radical elements distracted, while the council members took the younger students to safety.

Once Hatori was free, however, things were over quickly. the water surged from the nearby stream, and they were all hit by fists made out of water, hitting them with the full power of the force of a wave. Hatori was about to follow up with another attack and kill the broken and bleeding radicals since they were unable to handle this first attack, but Josh stopped him.

“Let them live.” He spoke. “But remember this. If you ever threaten the relative peace of this school again, no one will save you from him.” he points to Hatori.

They then walk inside, leaving the radical members broken and groaning from pain.

PART 6.

Zeko comes back to the house. The party was nice and all, but his days of socializing are behind him. he is reaching his hundred years already, not to mention, the Academy brought so many painful memories. especially after meeting Munshi.

Hatori has agreed to be his student for two years, and he doesn’t blame the boy. he does not know the history between them. ‘And I won’t tell him either, it could compromise his chance of learning from him.’

But Zeko is not certain whether Munshi will take care of him properly or not. the nobles are certain to make their move, if he got hurt while tangling with a spirit, how will he keep him safe while moving from place to place as the job demands it?

‘Spirits are dangerous. The boy has spent a lot of time around them, but he just does not understand how dangerous it could be to deal with them.’ thinks Zeko.

Bringing out the whine of his choice, he pores it in the glass. ‘I’m not looking forward to it.’ he said after taking a small sip.

No point in wasting a perfectly good drink by gulping it down quickly.

PART 7.

Hatori is practicing with Shin. “How about this?” asked Shin, disappearing completely. “Can you sense my magic signature?”

“No,” he said. “But I can sense the vibration of the air,” he said, accurately pointing his finger in Shin’s direction, and moving the finger as the boy moved and changed his position.

“Wow. Let’s have some sound testing, what do you say?” asked Shin, beginning to sing, while Hatori tested his newly modified hair and skin to test for any vulnerability. It seems that the feature of turning this sensing off and on again is working fine, and the automatic defenses which do activate after a certain threshold of vibration is crossed are also working.

His hair does have some dummy symbols which Hatori plans to replace with real symbols later. he has some special plans for his hair.

While doing this in a public place like the ground is not a problem for some, (it is a public place after all), Mira is not happy with the distraction. She came here for peace and quiet to study for the coming exams.

The ruckus caused by the boys is not helping her. She glares at them furiously and leaves in a huff.

In this narrator’s opinion, it is foolish to expect peace and quiet in a public place. But then again, it has been four years since he crossed his teenage years, so he does not understand what goes on in the confused heads of those teens anymore.