The tension was tigh. No matter who saw this situation they would be overwhelmed by this situation, Let alone three ordinary high school students. Daisuke could go forward purely because of his strong will to protect his loved one and a harsh mental and physical training sharpening his fighting instinct. From this front he possessed the making of a hero of hold, the resolution of a warrior ready to sacrifie himself to defend what he hold dear.

What a shame that this courage would end up being gathered for nothing. Taru stood up slowly, completely disregarding the blood leaking from his chest as he moved under the dumbfounded gazes of hikaru, Chihiro and Daisuke. Soon he found himself before the latter and once again under the full view of the monster. As soon that it looked at him, the beast started shivering uncontrollably, a stark contrast from its slow retreat a few moments earlier.

With eyes colder than ice and a deep voice taru said to slowly: "I was planning to drive you away and solve you quietly with none the wiser but you had to go and attack her." Sighing, he declared calmly :"you are dead." 

And just like that, the monster collapsed in a twisting black mess before evaporating directly, leaving only a black pearl the size of a egg as witness of its existence. Pocketing the pearl in his suddenly spotless jacket, taru smiled innocently toward the dazed stares directed toward him and said :"let's go, our parents will start to worry if we don't hurry." Totally neglecting the supernatural event that just occurred like it was a passing breeze.

The others soon wake up and run toward him screaming together : """what the hell just happen ?!"""

The girls didn't even had the time to dry theirs tears before the sudden turn of events. Nine of them remarked that the abnormal darkness that surrounded them disappeared like it was never here nor did they note the slight increase in the air moisture where they once stood.

Chihiro jumped in his arm as soon that she caught up with him. Sobbing bitterly and whispered none stop "I am glad,  I'm very glad, thank god you are alright." The thick relief in her voice was something nobody could dismiss, not even taru. He could only scratch his cheek before hugging her softly in his bosom. Daisuke who calmed down at this sight asked taru confusedly:

"but seriously what happened just now. You were on the verge of death and suddenly you stood up like there was nothing and this monster disappeared." Saying so he stared intently at taru and added "your wound vanished, heck even your clothes were restored. "

Facing with this barrage of questions taru answered leisurely while titling the head :"what are you talking about ?" 

"Of course I'm talking about the monster we just encountered!" Yelled Daisuke in exasperation, thinking that taru was not listening to him.

"There was no monster though ?" Replied taru puzzlingly all while throwing him a gaze that questioned his sanity, which he transcripted in words "did you finally lost your mind?"

"He? He? No their was really a monster! Their was one, right?" Mumbled Daisuke, confused to the extreme as he turned toward hikaru for support. "Tha-that's right!  And it even hurt you !" Affirmed hikaru after finally calming down.

Chihiro in between his arms added "I also saw it. Rather, don't try to change the subject. Now that I think about it, you didn't look surprised when it appeared! "

"That's right !" Exclaimed Daisuke, having regain confidence from the words of the two "you can fool me, but you can't fool your girlfriend that's always looking at you, So spit it out !" Said proudly  while pointing his finger at taru.

"You know you just admitted that you are dumb, right?" Pointed out taru. 

"Wha-" "Don't try to change the subject!" Said Chihiro while cutting out Daisuke.

Looking at his girlfriend and knowing he wouldn't be able to evade her and the others two now that they were  locked on it, taru just sighed and replied weakly "fine, I will explain." Before they could congratulate themselves he added 

"but tomorrow. It is really starting to get late and I don't think you'd like getting scolded"

Only now noting the late hour, they hurried until their respective houses after making him swear to explain himself.

Like this the night ended and the following day progressed like it should. They meet on the road to school after Chihiro dragged taru away from his prized bed, the class passed without any anomaly and they reunited at the school council after class to do the paperwork and coordinate the activities. Soon they found themselves at the house of taru, where he lived alone since both of his parents, the aunt and uncle of Daisuke worked outside the city. 

Taru opened the door, looked at the three clary wanting to come inside and said nonchalantly : "well, then, see you tomorrow." Before trying to close the door. Of course it wouldn't be that easy he thought as Daisuke blocked the door with his shoe. 

"You didn't think it would be this easy right?" Said Daisuke with a shirt eating grin. 

Behind him Chihiro was glaring at taru with a grave face while hikaru was pouting at the fact that he tried to lock them out. 

With a sigh taru give up and let them in. They sat in the living room while taru prepared their drinks. Coffee for chihiro, tea for Daisuke and coca for hikaru. After serving them taru tried to do some small talk, a last ditch effort to make them forget. However, It was in vain as they were set on hearing about this.

Sighing one last time taru relented and asked: "well, what do you want to know?"

"Everything. Last night I thought about it and there was many strange thing that bother me. For example how you arrived instantaneously before me when I was attacked when you were so far from me.  Or how your wound vanished. Or how you seemed to know about this monster." Said Chihiro as she pointed the incongruities one by one while the others two nodded in agreement.

"Sigh, why did my first girlfriend have to be so sharp? Well I guess if she wasn't I would have never agreed to go out with her." Mumbled taru exasperated, "alright, let's start by the beginning."

He said this time seriously to which they all put on serious expressions.

"I'm a magical girl." He said with a deadpan look. Immediately Chihiro hit him at the back of the head with an exasperated expression while yelling:"Be more serious!"  while the other two just looked at eachother with wry smiles. Rubbing his head, taru sighed for the nth time and said " alright, alright. Sheesh I was just softening the atmosphere."

He then fixed them with his ice blue eyes "before I start talking, let me get it right. You have no obligation whatever to do anything, nobody can hurt you and I'm perfectly alright with the situation as it is." 

Seeing them nod in agreement, albey confused he continued "the ting that attacked us was a nightmare, a aggregation of human negative emotions given life. It is the most vile and repulsive formed of life. Most people just start running uncontrollably from fear and disgust when they first put their eyes on these things. The fact that you guys were as calm is surprising. Aso for why it attacked us, these things get more powerful the more negative emotions there is. Fear, wrath, hatred, despair. They feed on these feelings and get fortified by them. Usually they would have never get the opportunity to appear in here on earth, but accident happen." He ended with a shrug of his shoulders.

After a long pause Chihiro talked after taking a deep breath. " I really want to say that it's nonsense but I still shiver when I think about that thing, that nighmare as you say. There is no way it coud be something natural if this wasn't an illusion."

"And there's no way it could be an illusion" added Daisuke while shaking his head.

"But that don'texplain how you made it disappear or why you even know about it." Said hikaru making them once again focus on taru.

Leaning on one arm taru replied calmly, having already given up on trying to make them forget 

"Well you know, humans are some really sturdy fuckers. Before illogical foes, they developed illogical weapons by learning to use their will to alter reality. They call this ability 'magic' and the one who possess it 'mage'. By the way, some fools leaked it to normal peoples and that is the source of most of the myths and legends in this world. Before you ask, yes there is others worlds although calling them planes of existence or dimensions would be more accurate. The war with the nighmare was deported to one of these planes to give the ones without the ability to fight a chance to survive."

"Wait" interrupted hikaru "is this war still going on even now ? And what do you mean by without the ability to fight ?"

"Exactly what I said" Replied taru "the ability to use magic is something everyone have to various degree. Some can use it to start tempest with a little  training, others , however can only produce a spark all their lives. As for the war, it's still ongoing and don't look like it will end anytime soon."

"Do we have the potential to use magic?" Asked Daisuke with shining eyes. He wasn't alone as the girls also looked at him with expectant eyes.

Taru looked at them for a moment. After a long pause he scratched his head, sighed and said "yeah, by some miracle you all three have the potential to become mages. Yeah, by some miracle of fate. Even though the probability is less than one in one hundred thousands." All while grumbling he contemplated on the matter but choose to give up since it wasn't really important.

"You now know as. Questions such as how I learned magic would only make the matter more anoy- I mean more complicated. Don't worry too much the war is far away from here and I don't intend to get involved either so let's just return to ours mundane everyday life." He ended with a self satisfied nod in confirmation to himself, and looked around only to see the others three with thoughtful expression. After a while they looked at eachother eyes and seemed to come to a collective decision.

Seeing this taru feel a chill in his back and hurriedly talked before any of them could say something "no. Just, no. We aren't in a manga there and there's no way I will introduce you in a war where lives are cheaper than tap water. Erase this thought from your little head. Forgot you even considered this. Like seriously, you would just be throwing your joyful lives away."

All through his rant the three youths looked at him with tranquil expressions. Finally Chihiro talked after he finished "and yet you would probably be the first to jump in the war if it takes a turn for the worst, right?" Hearing this taru become silent. He wanted to deny, but although they spent such a tiny amount of time with him by his standar, these three before him were probably one of the people who knew him the best. They didn't know his past but they knew the present him. And that was more than as to know who he was. As such he knew denying  would of no use.

Before his silent a acknowledgement Chihiro spoke with a determined and sincere tone "if that's the case then we can't remain in safety even while knowing you are risking your life fighting somewhere beyond our sight. It would be more painful than anything the war could do to us. So please taru. I know it may sound conceit for us who know nothing about battle to say this, but allow us to fight with you when the time will come. We don't want to watch you fight powerlessly."

Taru closed his eyes with a sigh, and said simply "I will think about it." 

They remained all silent for a few moments, each lost in his thoughts, then Daisuke Exclaimed suddenly "right! Didn't you get a new game some time ago? Let's play. This time I will beat you for sure!". Taru looked at him briefly and then smiled faintly and replied 

"you'll never be able to beat me. Give it up."

"That's what we will see! Bring it on!"

The girls only looked at their boyfriends with warm smiles before joining on the game as well. Like this they spend the remaining of the afternoon goofing around and playing. And then when the three were about to go home taru looked at them and said before closing the door " come here tomorrow. I'll let you choose your fate.*sigh* Whatever should happen will happen."

Left with such paroles the three smiled brightly and walked home while discussing about their exceptations for magic.