"Grrr!" A middle-aged man in a long black robe with red stripes down its side growled. He had the look of an old wolf wearing sheep's clothing, and his voice was rough and coarse. "I'm not going to allow this!" His eyes burned like twin furnaces as he stared at the school's Master standing before him.

The Master didn't say anything but instead patted the man on the shoulder. "It is nothing you need to concern yourself with Takeo. I have faith in him."

The middle-aged man, Takeo, looked confused for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "You are lying! I am not someone who can be fooled by your lies—you have no right to decide that on your own!"

"Enough nonsense Takeo. Don't be so childish," the Master said firmly, sounding tired. "I made the decision, that young Magician will be teaching at our school."

Takeo snorted. "Even if you say that there isn't any way I'll let it happen! You know how powerful I am! How dare you try to take away my authority?"

The Master waved a hand dismissively, putting a stop to his outburst. "Heavens Takeo. The boy has far more talent than anyone else here, and he's already proved himself capable enough. Besides, you're too old; it would do you good to retire soon anyway."

Takeo scoffed. "Age has nothing to do with skill. If anything, it makes me stronger—"

"Exactly! And now you're speaking about yourself again. Stop trying to pretend you are someone other than yourself, Takeo," the Master interrupted. "You used to be such a softy, always taking care of everyone. But now you've changed into something worse than a beast! Do you think it's funny to laugh at those around you? No, you just don't see them as people anymore."

"I… I…" Takeo stammered.

The Master sighed deeply. "I thought you were still the same Takeo I knew back when we first met, but apparently I was wrong." He turned away from the middle-aged man and began walking toward his office door.

Takeo scowled darkly. "Master—"

"Go home Takeo. Go home and forget all about this. You have no right to interfere."

And with that, the Master left the room, leaving Takeo alone.

"I will show you that you made a grave mistake, old man." Takeo seethed angrily at the closed door. "Maybe your age is clouting your judgment, but I won't let that Magician taint this school's reputation!"

A small smile appeared on the Master's face behind his desk. He'd never seen Takeo act like this before.

Takeo stormed out of the building, slamming the door shut behind him.

"You should be careful of what you wish for, Takeo." The Master mused softly.

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***

"Have you heard it yet?" Some students in the classroom gossiped with each other. "Yes, about the new teacher? Do you think it's true? On such short notice."

"It's usually a very big thing when our school gets a new teacher."

"Oh come on, it's fine. He is probably very strong."

There were murmurs among the class as they talked amongst themselves. They were all excited about the news, though there was also some nervousness since the last teacher had disappeared without warning. And they were first notified about the news this morning.

"I wonder why they waited until the last minute to tell us about it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure it's going to be great. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and he is a real Master."

"Yeah, well, if the rumors are true then he's probably a genius. I bet he has so much power that even the strongest of Masters couldn't hope to touch it."

"What did you mean by that? Do you even know who he is?"

"...I don't know."

"Well, whatever. It doesn't matter to me either way. I just want to learn magic, so why isn't that damn teacher here yet!" A young girl yelled at one of the front desks in the classroom. With long black hair and blue eyes, she was quite pretty for someone of her age, but today she was being grumpy because she had been waiting for the new teacher for over thirty minutes.

"Calm down, Emely. He might come soon," one of the girls sitting nearby told her.

Emely's voice sounded petulant and rebellious. "I can't calm down. There's supposed to be a new teacher today, but he's not here yet."

A boy sitting next to her shrugged. "It's only been half an hour since the announcement. Maybe he's just late."

But the girl wasn't listening. She tapped her foot impatiently, tapping it faster and faster with every passing second.

Squeak

A sound caught everyone by a surprise, and they looked in the direction of where it came from.

Finally, a man wearing a black robe entered the classroom.

Everyone gasped with surprise upon seeing him. He was tall and slender, with shiny silver hair, and a pair of deep violet eyes that seemed to burn brightly.

"Greetings," he said. "My name is Inei Zenaku."

His voice was loud, almost booming, which was also unusual. Most teachers spoke quietly, as though afraid to interrupt the students' thoughts.

And yet, despite his commanding presence, everyone present remained silent.

"I am the new teacher for Class 2.A. I have not taught anywhere else before, so I look forward to meeting you all."

After a few moments of silence, a student sitting in the front row raised his hand. "Excuse me, sir, but you look very young for a teacher."

"Ah, yes," Zenaku said while he wrote out his name on the blackboard. "I know I'm looking younger than I really am." He shrugged.

"Are you perhaps a master that can manipulate his age?" Another student excitedly raised her hand, interrupting him.

"Well... I'm even greater!" Zenaku declared turning around and looking at his gleeful students with a smirk. "I'm twenty years old."

...

"Twenty?! That's ridiculous!" Emely yelled.

Zenaku ignored her and continued writing on the board, but he smiled broadly. "So I'm actually older than you guys."

The classroom's excitement suddenly came crashing down, and everyone went quiet again but one.

"How can this be?" The beautiful black-haired girl at the front yet again came with an outburst. "Can you even get a teaching license at that age!"

"Calm down, Emely." The same girl who always makes Emely calm down said. She was a beauty herself, with short blond hair and a pronounced chest. She patted Emely on her shoulder, "I'm sure he's a great Magician."