The academy was far bigger than Jin had expected. He walked in with the crowd of students who were, like him, there for the orientation meeting taking place in the academy’s auditorium. Unlike high school, in which the use of particular types of magic was expressly prohibited, the academy was bustling with all kinds of magic use. He saw students walking through walls, and others reading books floating in mid-air. There were couples flying by, discussing things he couldn’t understand about magic texts that he had yet to read.
He was in quiet awe of the activity around him, and he wasn’t the only one. The accompanying first years were all staring in wonder.
|“Woah that guy’s creating his own amulet!”|
|“Is it even safe to fly this low near the ground? Already this school is a safety hazard.”|
|“Woah! Check out the tits on her. Talk about sugoi oppai.”|
The scene around them started to stir conversation among random groups of freshmen, who hardly knew where their classes were, but were already starting to develop small groups of friends. The older academy students were very clearly soaking in the admiration, most likely feeling nostalgic and wondering what their own bright-eyed expressions might have looked like during their first experience at the academy.
Despite the infinite knowledge of magic that lay outside this academy, rarely had any of the students seen advanced magic being used so freely. Even the simplest forms of Translation magic, used to facilitate inter-language communication, would often require one to first ask the permission of the subject before using it on them. The imposition of any type of magic on another was not only considered dangerous, but also extremely rude. Here, those limitations seemed marginally more relaxed.
The orientation meeting was led by the academy’s Chancellor, Kitsuro Imiya, who introduced the heads of the academy’s various faculties. He had spoken Japanese, although Jin was sure that he had used some kind of translation spell to ensure that everyone could understand him, as not everyone in the school was Japanese. He was surprised, as it wasn’t a spell that he knew. If a translatory totem were in place, Jin certainly couldn’t feel its effects.
The most common form of Translation magic was two-way communication, where each person would activate the spell in order to understand the other. Instead, this spell was entirely one-sided, something like an automatically translating microphone. A neat spell that would come in handy for someone in the Chancellor’s position. If Jin didn’t learn much else, the least he could pick up was a simple Translation spell.
It wasn’t a long meeting, but it did nothing to abate the agitation felt by the new students. Selection of Vocation had already taken place, so all the other students already knew whom they needed to follow and which staff members they needed to take particular note of. There was no mention of the more particular situation regarding those who wore Scion rings, so Jin was left confused and without direction.
The guy sitting next to Jin had fallen asleep and was lying on his shoulder by the time the meeting had come to a close. Jin gently moved his head so that he lay back with his face towards the ceiling. This motion seemed to make the student's soft breathing rise to a loud, pig-like snort.
Jin stood up and started to follow the crowd out. He looked around, hoping to spot a student who carried the weight of their guild on their fingers like he did. He started to wander around outside the auditorium aimlessly, when he heard a voice in his head. A girl’s voice, calling out softly.
This way.
His eyes scanned the area, finally coming to rest on a girl with sleek, long, jet-black hair. She stood a distance from the auditorium’s staircase. She raised her hand slightly to show the ring on her finger. He ran up to her and bowed apologetically.
“I apologise,” he spoke frantically. “I seem to be all turned around and can’t find my class.”
“I understand,” she said softly, though not with a softness that stemmed from kindness. She spoke in what seemed like a whisper, yet clear and loud enough, and not inviting of any kind of friendliness.
“I apologise for imposing my telepathy on you,” she bowed slowly in return. “I assumed you could use some guidance, given how obviously lost you looked.”
“Uh… yeah,” Jin looked down at his hand, raising it slightly as if to mimic her previous action, like some affirmation of their peerhood. “I guess we’re in the same faculty, right?” he smiled and scratched at the back of his head.
She nodded.
“I’ll show you where our lecture hall is.”
Jin bowed once more, this time as a means of greeting.
“Thank you very much. I’m Jin Akira. Pleased to meet you.”
She stared at him blankly for a moment.
She’s pretty, Jin thought. Her long black hair stretched out past her shoulders all the way down to her waist. Her skin was pale white, and she was rather slender. Maybe a little too slender for anyone on a healthy diet. Nonetheless, he couldn’t take his eyes off her, and at the same time couldn’t look at her for more than brief moments without feeling his cheeks start to heat up.
She carried a brown leather bag with a little silver star pendant attached to one of the straps and, oddly enough, she wore thick-rimmed glasses. On her small face, they made her look innocent, and helpless. Her eyes, on the other hand, told an entirely different story. They were steely and cold, and Jin felt a confidence in them that oozed through her deceitfully aloof gaze.
What made the glasses odd to see was the fact that near-sightedness and other similar conditions had long been eradicated in the general population, save for those who still rejected the benefits or use of magic at all. Whatever her reasons were for wearing them, it was unlikely that they stemmed from any kind of vision problem.
“I’m Natsuno Haruki. A pleasure to meet you as well.” She pointed to a large building quite some distance from their location. “This way, if you please.”
***
The Scion class was made up of no more than twenty-six students. Hardly any of them were talking, and there was an unmistakable atmosphere of apprehension stifling the air. They were a separate group from the rest of the academy. They had no seniors, and there was very little information regarding the academic process that applied to them. All that was made clear to Jin was that he was chosen, and that, in his first year, he would be among the students who made up a class that hadn’t ever existed before. A class made specifically to teach these Scions how to harness the power that lay dormant within their rings. To what end, Jin did not know. The class was so exclusive, the building in which the group had classes itself was specifically erected in just the last year for the express purpose of educating them in isolation.
Thus, the students were undeniably uneasy. Jin believed that amidst the group, there must have been others like him who never knew about the existence of these rings at all, and were thrown into a whirlwind of confusion when they were called upon. He looked at Natsuno, relieved that she decided not to sit too far from him as he didn’t think he would be making any friends considering the weight of anxiety that seemed to sit on everyone’s face. He wasn’t too surprised to see that she was not only relatively calm, but perhaps even comfortable.
Finally, an adult walked in. A tall female lecturer, who looked to be no older than her early thirties. She was dressed quite professionally in a white shirt, with the sleeves rolled up, and black three-quarter business slacks. She stood confidently at the podium in the front of the room with a warm smile on her face.
“Good morning, rookies,” she said cheerily. She had a husky voice, but her tone was warm and friendly.
“I’m Doctor Kyoko Mashima. I’m your Psychokinesis magic instructor, but for now, think of me as your homeroom teacher. I know it's kind of juvenile and you probably wanna put your high school years behind you, but I’ll be the one you’ll directly communicate with for the most part throughout your time as a Scion student. I’ll be here to guide you and make your year as comfortable as I can make it, and I will also be overseeing most of your practical lessons alongside your other lecturers and educators. So, get used to this face!”
She smiled cheerily and Jin could hear a student towards the other end of the class whisper, “Hot damn,” softly.
“Today, I’ll just be giving you a rundown of your weekly schedule, and how your classes will work from here on out.”
She raised her hand in a fist and winked. “From here on, let’s all have a good year!”
Her cheery nature put Jin slightly at ease. It seemed to cut through the stifling atmosphere, resulting in an audible wave of relieved sighs and nervous laughter throughout the lecture hall. She explained that theory classes would happen in the morning from eight to eleven, and that the rest of their classes throughout the day would focus on practical lessons for at least the first week. This seemed to drop another blanket of anxiety over the students. Dr Mashima was clearly aware of this newfound apprehension.
“The practical use of your magic as Scions is far more important than any theoretical knowledge you might attain.”
Suddenly, her expression turned very serious.
“Make no mistake. At present, you are a danger to yourselves, and a danger to the people around you. The mana that lies dormant within each of you will soon become fully accessible via those nifty rings that each of you carry on your fingers.”
Jin assessed the room for reactions. The students around him were clearly pensive, save for Natsuno and perhaps a face or two here and there.
“So learning not just to control that power and use it to your advantage, but also ensuring it doesn’t corrupt you, is what matters the most.”
The doctor continued and named off the lecturers and practical advisors that they’d be dealing with.
“Finally,” she pulled a sly smile, “there’s one more thing to address.”
There was a very audible, “There’s more?”
“Yes,” Mashima trained her eyes on the loudmouth, causing him to shrink into his seat. “There is. As many of you know, you Scions were not required to go through any application process for Yōsaishima Academy. None of you have chosen any Vocation, nor were any of you tested like every other student attending this academy. All we have to go on regarding your magical aptitude is the word of your guild,” she spoke sternly. “So, as it stands, we need to test your current capabilities. Therefore, at the end of this week, we’ll be holding a tournament that will pit you students against each other.”
Quiet whispers of surprise and confusion swept through the class.
|“I knew it! Never trust a pretty face.”|
|“How insulting to be lumped in with these weaklings.”|
|“One of these mouth-breathing monkeys keeps staring at me.”|
|“So, who do I talk to about dropping out?”|
“Don’t worry, it won’t be a lethal tournament. You simply knock your opponent out, or have them give up,” she went on. “The winner of this tournament will then become the Class Representative. Their primary duty, amongst others, will be to provide consistent progress reports to Chancellor Imiya at the end of each quarter. That also means that this student will go through much more rigorous training than the other students.”
Jin eyed Natsuno, noticing what looked like a glint of excitement in her eyes, or perhaps, determination.
“Before any of you go thinking that it’s all doom and gloom, there are particular benefits to being Class Representative. Along with your duties, you’ll be getting the full VIP student experience.”
Someone quickly raised their hand, and Dr Mashima continued as if she had anticipated the question.
“This VIP experience would mean exclusive access to the Yōsaishima Academy Manor that has been built specifically for the task of spurring on your competitive spirit. This will come with additional and, frankly, excessive commodities to make your academic year a lot more comfortable.”
The air of fear and confusion was replaced with sounds of joyous surprise and wonderment. Jin was intrigued by this announcement. The academy seemed to have gone to great efforts to ensure the practical efficiency of the Scions. Whatever their purpose at the school, it seemed that guild politics was only a veil to hide the real reason behind why he and all these students were sent to the academy.
“The position of Class Representative can also be challenged at any point after the title has been assigned. So, if you want access to the lavish manor and all of its additional comforts, keep doing all you can to attain that position, and maybe your academic journey as a Scion will be a little more fulfilling.”
Despite the newfound eagerness among his peers, Jin could not help but feel a sense of foreboding. On the surface, it seemed as if the students were being groomed for specific positions in their guilds. Surely, a higher-up position in any guild would require at least a master’s understanding of magical expertise, which required at least six years of study at any given magic-centric university. But the newly implemented, hurried course that only spanned a single year, and the focus on practical magic instead of the understanding of magic theory, left him with doubts that he couldn’t shake. Something bigger was on the horizon. Something that seemed to hang like an axe over the head of Yōsaishima Academy.
On this thought he noticed Natsuno, for the first time since the class began, looking at him knowingly, as if acknowledging that his suspicions were spot on, if not understated.
***
What the fuck is all this?
Max looked all around him and could hardly believe his eyes. In the air, he saw sleek, futuristic looking vehicles flying in lanes made of ethereal blue light. On buildings he saw adverts displaying what appeared to be holographic animations, though different from holographic technology as he’d seen in movies. These looked, similarly to the lanes within which the cars were flying, ethereal. As if real, but noticeably not real enough. There were more familiar looking cars on the ground too, though it seemed like the faster traffic lane was definitely the one in the air.
He frantically scanned his surroundings for anyone who might understand what he was trying to say, but was so overwhelmed by the strange sights and noises that his panic started to make him choke; an experience he’d never had before in his life.
He ran down a street lined with parked cars and littered with restaurants and shops, till he reached a fenced area at the end of the street that cordoned off a railway line. He stopped and held onto the links in the fence, holding back the need to throw up. He turned and sank down to the ground. He kept his gaze down despite hearing rapid footsteps approaching.
“Sumimasen,” a voice addressed him from above.
He looked up with a glint of fury in his eye, annoyed that yet another person that he couldn’t understand was there to bother him. The young woman who had just spoken stepped back, surprised at his hostile expression. Conversely, he saw her face, and felt immense relief.
She’s not Japanese.
She had short blonde hair which just about reached past her ears, and rosy cheeks covered in freckles. She wore what looked like a school uniform, though significantly different from the ones he saw on the high school kids earlier. She wore a black jacket and skirt, patterned with dark red lines. On the right side of her jacket was a pin. It was small, so he couldn’t make out the emblem. The woman couldn’t have been much older or younger than Max, who was already twenty-one years old.
Looking a little further below her face, it was hard not to notice how well-endowed she was. One could argue that it was almost superhuman. Her bosom stretched her jacket tightly, and the buttons holding the top part of her jacket closed seemed to be holding on for dear life.
Geeeezus, he thought.
Her skirt was short, and he was certain that if she had been standing any closer, he’d have gotten a clear sight of her underwear.
She scratched her head for a moment and then, with a look of intense concentration, spoke, “Uh… Yōsaishima Academy… Doko?”
Max’s face unintentionally morphed from weirdly confused to somewhat disgusted before he returned his gaze back to the floor.
“I don’t even need to understand Japanese to know that you can’t speak it for shit,” he mumbled a little too loudly.
She gasped in annoyance.
“Well, I think I did quite alright for someone who only started learning a week ago!” she exclaimed in fluent, British-accented English.
“You had a whole week? It took you a whole week to learn how to say ‘Yōsaishima’ and ‘where’? Do you have a learning disability? That was atrocious,” Max retorted.
“Atrocious? You insolent vagrant! I should have you arrested for harassment!” she snapped.
“You’re the one harassing me here, lady,” he countered.
Suddenly he came back to his senses.
“Wait. You speak English!” He scrambled up to his feet, causing her to defensively step back further.
“Oh, is my use of that not good enough either?” She folded her arms across her large bosom.
“Please,” Max grabbed her shoulders in desperation. “Tell me where I am.”
“What?” she dropped her arms as her annoyance quickly faded to confusion.
“I have no idea where I am. One moment I was in my girlfriend’s apartment and the next thing I know, I’m surrounded by a bunch of Japanese people. Not a single one of them understands English,” Max spoke rapidly, squeezing her tightly.
“I don’t understand either,” she cried. “And you’re hurting me!”
“I just need to know where I am!” Max felt his panic start to well up in his eyes. “Please!”
Suddenly, he was swept off his feet, slamming into the chain-link fence and landing on the floor with a thud. He rubbed the back of his head and looked up to face his attacker.
“What the hell?”
Standing next to the young woman was a young Japanese man wearing the same uniform as she was. His hair was practically black, and short, but long enough to cover parts of his forehead. He was of a decent build, not as skinny as Max, but not too muscular either. He wore the same tiny pin as the woman. Now that Max considered it more, he could have sworn he’d seen the uniform somewhere else before.
“Hanashite kudasai,” the man said in a calm voice.
“Goddammit,” Max sat up. “I don’t understand what you’re saying!”
“Daijōbudesuka?” the stranger asked the young woman, ignoring Max.
“Oh, you’re from Yōsai! Give me a second,” she said with a hopeful smile.
She closed her eyes. When she opened them, her irises briefly glowed a bright gold, before returning back to the more natural bright green they were before. The guy nodded in understanding. He closed his eyes as well. Upon opening them, his irises glowed a dark shade of crimson before reverting to a sombre black.
Max didn’t understand what exactly he was witnessing.
“Sorry,” the woman continued. “What were you saying?”
The guy spoke again, this time with a little more conviction. “I’m sorry about that. Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m alright,” she smiled. “He just grabbed me out of nowhere asking where he was.”
“Really?” the man looked back at Max. “Is he perhaps lost?”
“I think so. He seems kind of crazy,” she folded her arms again and glared at Max. “He insulted my Japanese earlier.”
She understands him? Max thought. But she can’t speak for shit!
“Maybe using magic on him was a tad much though…” she relaxed her arms and frowned down at Max.
“You’re right.”
The young man turned to Max, repeated the ritual of closing his eyes, and opening them to once again show a blood red glow, before bowing towards him and saying, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have carelessly attacked you as I did.”
“Save your apologies, asshole!” Max got up and dusted himself off. “I don’t speak Japanese.”
The two strangers shared a puzzled glance.
“Can you not use Translation magic?” the woman asked.
“Translation magic? What the hell is that?”
They shared another puzzled glance.
The young Japanese man said, in what was, according to the young woman, pure English. “If you two are speaking the same language, then my magic might be the problem,” he turned to her, laughing awkwardly. “Because I can’t understand a thing this man is saying.”
***
Jin curiously eyed the young man who sat across from him at the café. His hair was dark brown, slightly longer than Jin’s own hair, but definitely more unkempt. He wore a dark red long-sleeved T-shirt and black jeans, with boots that looked like they were meant for construction work. There was something that seemed like a perpetual fierceness in his eyes, as if he were in a constant state of anger. Even with a neutral expression, it was hard to ignore the almost violent atmosphere that surrounded the foreigner.
The woman next to Jin wore the Yōsaishima Academy pin and uniform, and wielded a Scion ring, but he was certain that he had not seen her in class, nor had he seen her at the orientation meeting that morning. He was also quite sure that the Scion class was made up exclusively of Japanese students.
It was significantly problematic that before he even had his first official day of classes that he was running into problems with his magic. The stranger who he thought was attacking the young lady was speaking English, and for some reason Jin’s Translation spell was proving ineffective. It was also highly possible that the stranger was feigning ignorance and was intentionally negating any magic used on him.
The waitress brought Jin’s soda and gave the woman her coffee. When she asked the stranger if he was certain that he didn’t want anything, he simply looked at her and cocked his head angrily.
“Read my lips, lady,” he said. “I. Don’t. Speak. Japanese.”
The waitress looked at Jin and the young woman with a curious expression before bowing and walking away. If the stranger was negating magic, he was incredibly good at it. Most well-to-do businesses in Japan made use of Translation totems to ensure all patrons could communicate with each other and the staff easily upon entering the establishment. A good deal of knowledge regarding magic totems was required to so easily negate their effects, as the stranger seemed to be doing.
Jin looked at the woman askance, and she explained to him what the man had said. She turned to address the man.
“I don’t understand, even amateur mages can use a simple Translation spell.”
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Jin nodded and the man across the table laughed sarcastically.
“Mages?” he asked. “Are you not hearing me? I don’t even know how I got here. And as far as I was concerned when I got out of bed this morning, magic isn’t real!”
“What about now though?” the young woman added. “Surely this cafe’s totem should be affecting you?”
“The cafe’s what now?” the man asked wryly.
The woman sighed in exhaustion.
“Well, at the very least, you seem to have enough sense to distinguish one language from the other,” she took a sip from her cup. “You also seem to have some knowledge of basic Japanese.”
Jin was quite interested in what she had said. Hardly anyone ever bothered to learn other languages. There was simply no need, and it was extremely rare to come across multilingual people. Especially when it was someone so young.
“I’m lost,” the stranger retorted, with a tone of annoyance Jin recognized even without understanding him. “I’m not an amnesiac. I used to watch a lot of anime. It would be kind of pathetic if I didn’t pick up at least a little Japanese.”
There was something Jin recognised. The word ‘anime’. That he wasn’t completely left out of the conversation made him feel a little less helpless and out of place.
“Do you at least know your name?” the young woman asked.
“I just said,” the man was looking expectantly at the people in the cafe as if to ask for a witness. “I don’t have amnesia. My name is Max Tenebri.”
“Hey, I’m just being thorough,” the woman retorted. She paused for a moment, putting down her cup after taking a small sip.
“And in case you’re curious, I’m Hitomi. Hitomi Brighton.”
Jin stole a quick glance at her upon hearing her first name. He’d never met a foreigner with a Japanese name. He didn’t notice the stranger’s eye cock up curiously as well.
“Oh,” Hitomi turned to Jin, her tone becoming much calmer. “He says his name is Max, and I’m Hitomi.”
“I understand,” Jin nodded. He bowed his head to Max, “I’m Jin Akira.”
“He’s saying his name is–” Hitomi began to translate for the man.
“I’m not brain dead either, you damn bimbo.” Max was eying Jin curiously, who, in turn, looked at Hitomi expectantly, wondering if he had missed something. He figured he must have, considering the wild-eyed look that Hitomi was giving the stranger, who seemed to be ignorant of her expression.
Max shook his head, strands of his untidy hair swinging back and forth with every twist, before he looked out into the street.
“I’m competent enough to establish that he said what his name is.”
He paused for a moment.
“What else I gathered is that I’m in Japan or some fantasy theme-park-inspired simulacrum of Japan, with flying cars and apparently…” he watched a waitress walking by with a tray of food floating in the air in front of her while she held another two trays in her hands, “floating objects.”
He looked back at Hitomi and shook his head once more, as if waving off an illusion.
“Where am I? What is this place? I always knew Japan was ahead of the technology curve, but this just seems unreal. This doesn’t make sense.”
“BIMBO!?” Hitomi flared, and the hand in which she held her cup began to shake rapidly.
Jin looked at Hitomi in surprise. “Who’s a bimbo?” he asked feebly.
“I’m no damn bimbo!” Hitomi made a grab at Max who scrambled off his chair to dodge her. Jin grabbed her before she could jump out of her seat. She looked down at Jin’s hands in fury, which were around her waist, and he quickly retracted them.
“That’s it!” She picked up the large handbag she carried with her. “I won’t sit here being insulted like this.”
Max stood up and dusted himself off again. She turned to Jin and apologised for making him come to the cafe with her and Max.
“I just need to know the way to Yōsai Academy. I’m already so late for class.”
Jin looked up at her, smiling in embarrassment.
“Uh…sure, but you should know that classes for first years are done for the day, though.”
“What!?” Hitomi looked like she was about to cry. “How can classes be over? It's still so early.”
“Today was just orientation,” Jin laughed nervously. “Classes only officially start tomorrow.”
“Not making a very convincing show of not being a bimbo, now are you?” Max sneered.
Hitomi began to shake furiously, and with a flash of gold in her eyes, there was a sudden explosion of glass as Max was sent flying out through the café window. His body was propelled out like a ragdoll, landing face first in the street with an almost bone-crunching thud. His motionless body was very quickly surrounded by interested passersby.
Hitomi began to breathe heavily as her fury wilted into regret. Jin looked on in awe at the amount of force behind her Psychokinesis. He was almost certain that Max was dead and quickly ran outside to check on the body. Before Jin made it over, however, Max groggily forced his way back onto his feet. He turned to the café to reveal a face covered in blood before spitting on the floor and mumbling, “Pretty strong…”
Jin stopped in his tracks at the sight. The guy sure could take some punishment.
“…for a goddamn bimbo,” Max finished with a weak, yet haughty smile.
Jin heard the words and understood enough to shake his head apologetically at Hitomi. He didn’t want her making any more regrets. Through one of the cafe windows, he saw the bright gold glow flare up in Hitomi’s eyes again. Instantly, Max was flung through another window, this time belonging to a little bakery across the street, at an incredible speed. He crashed through the little cakes they had on display, squishing countless pastries as his body violently contorted and landed with another painfully audible thud.
This time I’m sure, Jin thought, that guy is dead.
***
Jin sat on his bed, lost in thought about the day’s events. He couldn’t shake the suspicion that had been bugging him since orientation. He didn’t like the idea of being used as a pawn in a game in which the rules were unclear, and the goal was shrouded in mystery. If the academy had some kind of ulterior motive, he didn’t like how out of the loop he was. If his life and future were on the line, he didn’t want all that power to be in the academy’s hands. He would need to figure out what it was that the Scions were really assembled for. What was their real purpose?
No answers would come from sitting around, so he got up and went downstairs to check on the man in the guest room, which was next to his sister’s room. He opened up the sliding door to see that the young man was still unconscious on the futon. The bandages Jin had applied could probably be removed. Despite the blood that was pouring down Max’s face earlier, he didn’t sustain as many cuts or bruises as Jin thought he had. The elixir he administered would be enough to take care of whatever internal damage there may have been, and Max had been resting for well over a few hours, so there had been more than enough time for the potion to take its full effect.
Considering the time, Jin realised that Akiko would be home soon, and didn’t know if he wanted her to walk in on the sight of a bandaged stranger lying in their guestroom. Jin’s episodes already worried her enough, and he didn’t need her thinking that he was the cause of the stranger’s injuries. It would only deepen her growing anxiety towards Jin’s abilities.
He heard a quiet groan from Max, and just barely caught a glimpse of a flash as Max’s eyes fluttered open.
He just used magic.
Whatever aura he emanated was so dim that Jin could barely perceive it. Immediately, Jin was apprehensive of trusting Max, because previously he seemed to give all indications that he was incapable of using magic. Notably, a flash of colour in the eyes was an uncommon trait among mages – at least as far as Jin could recall.
So what magic did he just use?
Max sat up very abruptly and screamed, “JANE!”
Jin leapt back, surprised by the sudden uproar.
“Who is Jane?” Jin asked quietly, more to himself than anyone else, knowing that Max couldn’t understand him.
“My girlfriend…” Max said in clear Japanese. He rubbed his stone-grey eyes, trying to get rid of the drowsiness he felt. “Jane is my girlfriend.”
Jin was somewhat taken aback and raised his eyebrows in curiosity just as Max looked up in realisation.
“How did– You can speak English?” Max asked.
“No, you’re talking Japanese. I thought you couldn’t use magic?”
“I can’t,” Max looked bewildered. “I can’t use magic. Magic isn’t real.”
“Well then how do you explain this conversation we’re having right now?” Jin questioned him.
“I don’t know,” Max said groggily, slowly assessing the room he was in. It was a very bare-bones room, with a tatami mat floor. In the corner was a door that opened into a wardrobe. There was a single wooden shelf with some books on it that was installed into the wall behind the futon.
“What is this? Did Jane slip me something? Did I… did I fall off the staircase and die?”
Jin thought for a moment, stroking the small, fine hairs on his chin.
“I can’t really answer any of your questions,” he said after a moment’s silence. “‘Cause I don’t understand what you’re talking about. To me, magic has always existed, and even some people who aren’t magically inclined can make use of spells like Translation. So, I propose we clear your mind, and take some time to think about what may be happening to you.”
“But,” Max tried shakily to stand up to his feet, “I have to find Jane.”
He fell back down onto the futon before he could manage to fully stand up.
“You can’t find someone if you don’t even know where you are,” Jin replied sternly.
Max sat quietly for a second, thinking, before finally speaking again.
“Okay. What do you suggest?”
“We eat,” Jin said with a smile. “You must be hungry.”
***
There was a long silence after Max finished his story. Jin considered it deeply as they ate the food he had prepared. Jin and his sister took turns cooking for themselves, depending on who got home earlier. Max, on the other hand, was never one who indulged in unique cultural cuisine, and spent most of his nights eating fast food, or what looked like scoured-together bird corpse pieces prepared by Jane, who he wasn’t ashamed to admit was a terrible cook.
“I’ve seen all sorts of magic, but I was never fully convinced of the concept of being spirited away,” Jin said calmly.
Max was focused on the hamburgers Jin made. He was puzzled as to why they would be made without buns and if they could even be called ‘burgers’. He remembered his excitement when Jin inquired as to whether he ate hamburgers, and he was glad that Jin was offering something that he was familiar with. Upon seeing the vegetables and rice that accompanied a bare meat patty, his excitement waned quickly. He realised that he didn’t mishear Jin as he assumed earlier, and that he had indeed been offered ‘hamburger steak’.
“This is what gets me. In what reality is it that magic can exist so freely while still being kept under wraps from the rest of the world?” Max questioned.
“The rest of the world practises magic just as Japan does,” Jin corrected him.
“Not where I’m from.”
Max tasted the bitter, cold tea he had been given and decided that he would never let anyone choose a drink for him again for the duration of his time in fantasy Japan.
“Hence, my reasoning that you must have been spirited away.”
“I thought being spirited away entailed being taken to some kind of afterlife. Or that, at the very least, I’d find myself on a journey with a flying dragon, partaking in the food of the gods.”
At this he lifted his plate slightly to convey his already obvious disappointment at the food served.
“I would have to assume that I’ve been isekai’d. But even that doesn’t make sense in this case. Like… where’re the sexy elven chicks with the ‘tig ol’ bitties’? Where’re the halflings, the human-animal hybrids? Where’s the stupid in-game menu that’s both based on all games, and no games at the same time? Where’s my cat-girl? The swords? The heroes? The monsters? The taverns? The adventure guilds?”
‘Tig ol’ what? Jin wondered.
Max finished the last of his ‘hamburger’ and set down his bowl.
“If I was gonna be sent to another world, I doubt it’d be this place. This feels a little close to home honestly. It's just too modern… too close to reality.”
“I think you may have seen one too many movies,” Jin stated, sorrowfully glancing down at Max’s unfinished rice, which it looked like he was not going to continue eating.
“Yeah well, I think you need to change your definition of ‘hamburger’.”
Max got up and looked through the large dining room windows.
“I will say this, though. I’ve never really travelled the world, yet so much of what I see outside feels so familiar to me.”
Yōsaishima was a sprawling metropolis, with a large cityscape that was surrounded by many residential areas comprising modern apartment buildings as well as houses that have stood their ground for generations. It was likely that Max, who seemed to come from a large city himself, saw something in the city that reminded him of where he came from. Most of the metropolitan cities around the world were not much different from Yōsaishima.
“It strangely feels as though I’ve been here before, or at least like I’ve seen some version of this place,” Max continued. “Like in a picture... or a movie.”
“Yōsaishima is famous for being home to the most prestigious magic academy in all of Japan. It’s also home to the Japanese Ministry of Magical Affairs,” Jin thought out loud. “It's really no surprise that you may have seen the city in the media. Some entirely new spells were actually pioneered here.”
Max shook his head vehemently.
“No. Remember, where I’m from, magic doesn’t even exist. If I saw an ad for this place, I would definitely remember it.”
He sat back down in the chair opposite Jin.
“Plus, ‘Yōsaishima Academy’,” Max continued. “That’s what Hitomi called it, right? I’m certain that’s the name of the school from Mahō No Gakusei.”
“Woah, that’s Japanese. Is that a movie or something?” Jin enquired.
“It’s this anime I watched, though it wasn’t great,” Max sighed. “In fact, it’s more like three hours of my life that I’ll never get back.”
“It’s not something I’ve ever heard of.”
Jin picked up the dirty dishes, including Max’s bowl of unfinished rice, and took them to the sink. After putting them down, he snapped his fingers. A dishcloth and a scrubber lifted off the kitchen sink and went about cleaning the dishes as if by the work of some invisible set of hands. The scrubber would apply dishwashing liquid, before thoroughly scrubbing and cleaning and then passing the object to the dishcloth, which would hurriedly, yet efficiently, dry off.
“It’s the story of this overpowered protag’ who goes to university to learn how to use this new power he gets. It’s really typical romance shonen bullshit,” Max spoke absentmindedly as he watched the dishes gently floating down onto the kitchen counter after the dishcloth had dried them.
This is, he thought, so fucking cool. How the hell is he doing that?
“Strange that you seem to have watched so much if it was as bad as you say,” Jin sat back down with a refilled glass of iced tea.
“I guess you could say I’m something of a masochist when it comes to anime,” Max broke his gaze away from the kitchen.
“The hero and heroine start off as rivals because of some school tournament. He obviously beats her since, you know, ‘OP protag’ and all that.”
“Wait, a school tournament, you say?” Jin asked, his interest piqued by the strange coincidence.
“Yeah, then slowly the two start to get closer while they uncover the mystery behind why these powerful mages were united in one class.”
“What did they find out?” Jin asked, in a surprisingly excitable manner.
“Uh… I don’t know,” Max eyed him confusedly. “I didn’t get to the end.”
“Sorry,” Jin realised how strange he may have come off. “It sounds like an exciting story.”
“Well, it was piss-poorly written,” Max assured him, looking mournfully at what was left of his large glass of bitter iced tea. “And the mystery will probably only be solved at episode eleven, just before they hastily conclude on episode twelve.”
“Oh, how far did you get?” Jin asked in a more controlled tone.
“I only managed about eight episodes before I hung it up,” Max choked down a large gulp of the tea. “It really never got any better.”
“That’s too bad,” Jin chuckled awkwardly. “I would’ve liked to have heard about the ending.”
“Yeah, though Jane would have hung me by the privates if I finished it without her anyway,” Max continued. “She’s not quite as emotionless as that Natsuno chick in the show, but she sure gets just as angry.”
“I’m sorry,” Jin’s eyes widened. “Who?”
“Uh… Jane?” Max finished his tea, looking annoyed at Jin. “I’ve been talking about her all afternoon…?”
Max shook his head in annoyance. He got up and took his glass to the sink as he spoke. He stood there wondering if he should leave the glass in mid-air for the invisible hands to clean, but decided to just put it in the sink as the hands were just finishing off.
Jin shook his head.
“No, what was the other name you just men–”
Suddenly Akiko called from the front room.
“Nii-chan, I’m hooome!”
Jin stood up from the dining table chair.
“That smells so good,” Akiko said as she cheerily walked into the living room.
Max came in slowly from the kitchen to see who it was that had just arrived. The girl was short, with hair as black as Jin’s, at shoulder length. She wore a high school uniform, which looked all too familiar to Max, and a lot less flashy in reality than it looked in anime. She wore a large pink ribbon around her collar, a beige sleeveless jersey, and a short, pleated, dark blue skirt. The perfect length for unnecessarily forced panty shots.
“How was your first day of high school?” Jin asked with a smile, trying to diffuse any of Akiko’s potential shyness.
She slowed her approach at the sight of Max. They rarely had guests over, and this was the first time ever that a foreigner was in their house.
“It was good to see my friends again...” she trailed off slowly, turning towards Jin. “Nii-chan, who is this?” she asked, expecting Max not to understand her.
“This is Max,” Jin replied, gesturing towards their guest.
“He had a bit of an accident today,” he looked at Max to see the shame in his face at the thought of having been so publicly humiliated by a young, blonde, surprisingly powerful sorceress. “You should ask his permission to use Translation so you can greet him properly.”
“But Nii-chan, I–”
“It’s okay,” Max responded for her, in a tone more kind than Jin had ever expected from him. “I can understand you, can you understand me?”
Akiko looked at her brother anxiously once again, unsure of how to respond or what to even say to this stranger. Jin’s eyes, on the other hand, were focused on Max.
When did he use a Translation spell on her? Jin wondered. And how does she understand him?
When she saw that she would receive no aid from her brother, she nodded her head at Max awkwardly and bowed.
“I’m Akiko Akira, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said with some effort.
Her parents obviously didn’t think that name through, Max thought. Though, finally, he realised, there was someone with a name he didn’t recognise. For a moment in the cafe, his mind went to a ridiculous place, though he knew it was a bit too far-fetched. The magic on display notwithstanding, his meeting two people named Jin Akira and Hitomi Brighton was just a coincidence. It couldn’t possibly be anything else. Anything else would just be too ridiculous.
“Same here,” Max said, rubbing the back of his head, not knowing if he should bow or shake her hand.
She looked up at him, perplexed.
“I mean it’s a pleasure to meet you too,” he decided to just nod his head instead. “I’m Max Tenebri.”
Jin was confused by Max’s sudden magic aptitude, but he kept his composure. “Max is looking for someone very important to him and needs my help, so he’s staying here for the night.”
Akiko looked down, trying to hide her very obvious shyness about a strange young man staying in the room right next to hers. It was on such short notice. The only people who ever stayed in that room were family members who visited Yōsaishima, or her parents when they had business nearby. And never before did Jin ever have a friend spend the night.
“No, I’m not,” Max suddenly chimed in.
“What?” Jin looked at him, frazzled. “Where will you stay?”
“On the damn street for all I care,” Max replied. “I need to find Jane.”
Akiko’s eyes widened. She had rarely heard someone address her brother in the tone that this ‘Max Tenebri’ did. She also didn’t appreciate her brother, who was now in (what she thought was) a league of elite mages, being put down so callously by this complete stranger.
“You don’t even know where to begin though,” Jin replied sternly. “If you come with me to the academy tomorrow, maybe one of the lecturers can–”
“No fucking way,” Max waved his hands in front of him, cutting Jin off. “I’m not having any more of that mumbo jumbo bullshit done on me. Blondie’s outburst was more than enough. I’d rather do this on my own.”
CURSING! Akiko screamed internally. A delinquent? In our house!? Does he have no respect!?
Jin nervously stared at Akiko who was now openly glaring at Max. He laughed awkwardly and beckoned her to sit at the dining table.
“Your dinner’s getting cold.”
He pulled out a chair for her.
She then glared at him, then back at Max, before furiously running off to her room.
Max watched her stomp her feet down the corridor just past the kitchen with a look of awkward concern.
“Your cousin’s got problems dude,” he said, turning to face Jin.
“My sister,” Jin corrected Max as he pushed the seat back in and walked to the corridor just in time to see her room door being shut. He knew better than to try to pacify her immediately.
“And it’s your attitude that upset her.”
He looked up at Max, who was slightly taller than him.
“Can you consider toning down your profanities, please?”
“Fuck no,” Max immediately responded. “And why would you think I’d stay here? I don’t know you people.”
“It’s dangerous to get lost out there! Yōsaishima has its own share of shady characters. You could get killed, or worse.”
“They can suck a fatty for all I care!” Max moved right up to Jin’s face, causing him to step back cautiously. Jin didn’t want to risk a physical altercation in the house.
“What does that even mean?” Jin asked feebly.
“I don’t know,” Max blatantly admitted. “I think it means to suck a di–”
“I get it,” Jin held up his hands, stopping whatever Max was about to say. Then, stepping back to put some space between them, he continued calmly. “I understand you’re worried. But what happens to Jane if something happens to you? Who will go out and find her then? Let me help you.”
Max thought for a moment. Jin thought he heard Akiko’s door sliding open and looked down the corridor quickly, but her door remained shut.
“Okay,” Max finally resigned. “I’ll stay. But just for tonight. Tomorrow, I will find her. If it takes me all goddamned day.”
“Agreed,” Jin attempted to regain his composure. “And please, if not for me, for my younger sister, tone down your violent language.”
“Fine,” Max groaned. “I’ll tone it down, dammit.”
***
Izunoto Tanaka walked the academy halls with fervent steps. He was on edge, as he knew the Chancellor would not be happy with the news that had just come in from the Ministry. Kitsuro Imiya was a strange beast when it came to his leadership of the academy.
He had spent time on both sides of the magic spectrum; teaching at schools made for the ma-deki, those who were incapable of mana manipulation, as well as at schools dedicated solely to the study of magic. Imiya came out with a surprisingly exceptional patience and kindness toward young people, while completely contradicting the norm by instead growing an intolerance for adults, which extended particularly to the inefficient and incompetent. And the Ministry’s response had been anything but efficient.
Climbing the stairs to the Chancellor’s office on the second floor of the main staff building, Tanaka passed some lecturers, several of whom he had to stop from requesting his assistance. The Chancellor’s impatience toward the incapabilities of adults had reached such a drastic point that Tanaka had to see to most issues that required direct communication with the lecturers of Yōsaishima Academy. His years of administration work in schools from as far as the great Albion Academy to the remote, yet more local, esoteric magic temple in Shanghai had still never prepared him to take on the chancellor-esque role. A role he played without so much as equitable pay or the accompanying respect that Imiya enjoyed from his fellow executives.
At the very least, Tanaka’s name was revered among the lecturers, as he made great efforts to never fall short of Imiya’s expectations, and so did his job diligently. This may have made him seem somewhat dictatorial and cold among his colleagues, earning him the scornful looks he received as he passed them and rejected their need for assistance, but it was necessary to be firm when he was expected to efficiently run an education institution. He finally reached the Chancellor’s office and knocked very quickly, hardly waiting for an invitation before opening the door.
The Chancellor, a slightly heavy-set man, with too many grey hairs for one of his age, sat working at his large desk, which was crowded with documents that were stacked neatly (by hand, as the Chancellor abhorred the use of magic for trivial tasks) alongside a picture of his wife and family, who had all been sent abroad as a precaution against the rising waves that had been burning in the minds of those on a need-to-know basis. Something was coming, and the hope was that it could be foiled in Japan before it boiled over to the rest of the world.
Dr Imiya and her children of course knew nothing, although Kitsuro believed that the absence of protest from his wife when he requested that she take a ‘vacation’ from her work at the academy was not a sign of obedience, but rather a sign that his wife could see the ominous fear on her husband’s face, and more – she could sense it in his aura.
“The call came in, sir,” Tanaka bowed and quickly straightened up.
“The Minister?” Imiya looked up from his desk and put down his pen.
“Yes, sir,” Tanaka continued hurriedly. “It seems there’s been activity from the Gate.”
“For how long?” The Chancellor leaned back in his seat, turning it to face the window next to the shelf that held books written by some of his close friends, and research endeavours of his own that had been published.
“Only for a moment, and then it vanished.”
Imiya turned to face Tanaka after a moment’s silence.
“When did this happen?”
“That’s the other problem sir,” Tanaka replied with some difficulty. “There was some activity from the Gate, but it seems as if it could have happened any time in the last month.”
“I don’t understand,” Imiya looked perturbed. “Can’t they isolate the moment the activity started?”
“No, sir. It’s as if the traces were immediately scattered to throw us off.”
“They’ve begun moving this soon?”
“That’s not all, sir.”
“Good grief, Tanaka,” Imiya slapped his desk in annoyance. “Spit it out!”
Tanaka bowed apologetically.
“It would seem that the Gate may have been opened. And likely more than once.”
Imiya stood up from his chair in shock.
“How many times?” he asked slowly.
“The alert went off numerous times, sir, but the exact number is not ascertainable at this time considering the Gate may have been tampered with.”
The Chancellor rested his hands on his desk and sunk his head with a heavy sigh.
“Get me into contact with the minister,” he finally muttered. “The others need to be alerted.”