Standing on the roof was a bit disconcerting as Vincent had no idea what was to come.

Chikaze stood on the edge of the roof, calm and cool, even though her feet teetered over the edge. The sight made Vincent gulp as he was a little afraid of heights.

“Your first lesson will be simple,” Chikaze said, looking totally calm with her hands behind her back. Vincent felt his nerves rise as all it would take was one slip, one misstep, and she’d fall. “It will involve a leap of faith. Faith in yourself, your abilities, and in finding a solution to a problem.”

How could she be so calm? She had used that air attack earlier to dismantle Alacard, so perhaps she was a magician that had command over wind or something?

“The challenge,” she said, raising her hand to her silent and curious students. “Will be to get from the rooftop to the ground.” She motioned behind her with one hand, slightly turning her head. “And you cannot do this by going through the school. Anything else is allowed.”

“What?” Vincent blurted out, feeling his blood drain. “How are we going to do that?”

Alacard laughed. “You’ll just have to use that new-found confidence you had earlier.”

“I will demonstrate so you can see a potential solution in action,” Chikaze said, readying herself. “I will use my Kindred Grphyon Child abilities known as the Cyclones as my tool to get to my solution.”

“I knew it,” Mizuki said, clenching her fist excitedly.

Chikaze simply stepped off the ledge.

Everyone, besides Vincent, moved to the edge with excitement in their eyes. Vincent just fell on his butt, eyes wide at the prospect that he would have to perform the same thing.

Descending toward the grass, Chikaze swooped her hands into action, as if waving a fan about. A sudden gust of wind pushed against her body, slowing her descent, and making her as light as a feather as she softly landed. The gust of wind continued upward, blowing against the students’ faces, whipping their hair and clothes about.

Mizuki grinned. “Another Kindred, that’s so cool.” She was practically falling over the edge to get a glimpse.

Vincent stood on shaky feet, not wanting them to see that he had fallen back. He wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling his chest tighten. It was one thing to see this crap, it was another to have to do it.

“Let whomever wishes to go next step forward,” Chikaze called up to them, her voice expanding and moving to their ears like a soft wind as she covered her eyes from the sunrays.

“Time to shine,” Alexander said, moving to the edge with one hand in pocket. He lifted his other hand up, concentrating on nothing in particular, then opened his palm.

Vincent noticed a black ring on Alexander’s finger begin to seemingly glow, which made him rub his eyes as he wondered if he was losing his mind from all this tension. “Do you see that?” He asked to no one in particular.

“He’s such a show off,” Alacard said, chuckling.

So, it was some sort of magical glow, Vincent surmised. Just another thing he’d had to ask Isabella about.

Alexander took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he concentrated and held a hand steady. He opened his eyes and exhaled while smoothly and clearly saying the word, “Avante.” And then walked off the ledge.

Vincent reached out. “No, don’t!”

But Alexander didn’t fall. Instead, he hovered in midair as if standing on some sort of invisible platform. Vincent blinked his eyes, unsure what he was watching.

“What the?” Vincent said under his breath. He sat there in shock, watching to see what would happen next, not sure if he could trust his eyes, his heart thumping against his chest for fear that Alexander would fall.

Alexander nodded to himself as if this was easy, then proceeded to walk down a set of invisible stairs, holding his open palm out the entire time, the glow that Vincent saw earlier emanating around his ring.

After reaching the bottom, the glow on his ring dissipated, and as Vincent squinted his eyes, rubbing them to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, he noticed a hazy glow, similar to that of Alexander’s ring a moment ago, illuminating an outline of steps from the roof to floor. Then, as he blinked, it all went back to normal. There was no glow, and so he questioned if he had seen what he had seen.

“T-they disappeared,” Vincent muttered under his breath.

“What disappeared?” Alacard said with an annoyed growl.

“W-whatever he was doing,” Vincent said. “His magic.”

“Magic comes and goes,” Alacard said with a scoff and shrug. “But strength is forever.” Alacard was a supernatural being, so either Vinent was crazy and seeing things, or Alacard couldn’t see it as well. He could have been messing with Vincent, though. He just didn’t know at this point.

“M-magic?” Vincent said, still in disbelief. “Okay. It’s fine, everything’s fine.”

“Stop mumbling like an idiot.” Alacard said, sounding annoyed.

Vincent ignored him, his fear keeping him captured.

“Not bad,” Mizuki said with a nod as she wiped a sleeve across her mouth, looking like she wanted to go next.

Max whistled. “That’s a nice trick.”

“You of all people should know it’s no trick, Max,” Isabella said as if laying out a lesson plan. “It’s the Usage of Magic known as Astral, which a magician uses to conjure things like invisible stairs, platforms, and barriers.” Was this just Isabella’s style, or was she explaining it for Vincnet’s sake? “Magicians can utter words to help focus their magical aura when releasing spells, but they don’t have to. Most magiciana,s though, make use of a magical item called a Catalyst, like his black ring, to help keep their magical output precise and pinpointed when conjuring a spell. Some people, whether they have the talent for it, or have built the skill for it, can see magical aura as a hazy hue of sorts when gathering magical aura to cast a spell.

“Thanks for the lesson, professor know-it-all,” Alacard said, moving to the edge and looking over it as if to test things out, then he glared back at her. “Whether you can see magical aura doesn’t matter if you have power and strength on your side.” So, apparently from that explanation, and Alacard’s response, he wasn’t able to see what Vincent had seen. The other question, Vincent thought, was why he was able to see it? So many mysterious, so many questions. But now wasn’t the time for that, now was the time for… He gulped at the thought of his turn coming up and having to perform.

“I was speaking for Vincent’s sake,” Isabella said, her cheeks going red as she turned her nose up at Alacard. “Sheesh, gimmie a break.”

“I’ll break you anytime, bloodsucker,” Alacard said with a grin as he glared down at the ground below as if thinking about his move. “But this is more important for now. Besides, who wants to read about that boring stuff anyway?”

Isabella snorted and folded her arms. “Knowledge is power, if you know how to use it.”

“Nah,” Alacard said. “Power is power.”

“For once I agree with the wolf boy,” Mizuki said, staring onward in anticipation.

“Really, Mizuki?” Isabella was dumbstruck. Then again, she had experienced this in her earlier years when trying to engage with peers, so it wasn’t that strange as most students didn’t seem to like to read or learn about stuff, but instead focus on rebellion and laziness. It never really made sense to her, but that’s probably why she was always reading or learning or doing something on her own, always struggling with social interaction, and ironically, always wanting external validation. She sighed as she thought about her past, about herself, and about her sister. But those were things she had to push away for now, as they always seemed to plague her, and she had grown out of them, hadn’t she?

Now that Alexander was on the ground with Chikaze, he gave her a nod and a sly smirk. “Am I fee to go now?”

Chikaze nodded back. “While I admire your proactivity, I would appreciate it if you stayed present during class.”

Alexander shrugged, placing his hands in pockets.

Alacard wiped his sleeve against him mouth, hate in his eyes. “Never liked magic.” He was closer to Mizuki, as if her agreeing with him a moment ago bonded them somehow. It didn’t. “Always thought of it as cheatin’. But that’s probably why he’s an arrogant prick.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Jealous much?” Max said from behind. Alacard scowled at Max over his shoulder, which made him step back as if Alacard’s shadow was dangerous.

“Scared much?” Alacard said, smirking as he looked down at the ground, thinking.

“He’s got a point,” Mizuki said. “I mean are you just a rotten kid, or do you just have a general disdain for life and beings in it?”

Alacard scoffed, moving away as if that comment had ruined the bond he thought they shared. It had.

“Whatever,” he said, stepping backward as if to ready himself for the task at hand. “You’re both stupid.”

As Alacard backed up, Mizuki apparently had the same idea before him and had her hand lightly against the door that led to the roof.

She burst forward, flying by Alacard in a swift motion of pumping legs and arms, reaching the edge of the roof in seconds. She pushed off the edge, leaping into the air, and twisting into a full gainer. As she came about and fell rapidly toward the ground, she had a huge smile on her face. She punched the air as if she was going to strike through the ground itself, and a burst of fire blasted from her fist, slowing her descent enough that instead of landing and breaking her legs, she hit the ground in a roll, then came up to a knee.

“Nice!” she said with a clench of her fist, her heavy breathes and a big smile a sign of her enjoyment of the rush. She stood, stretching to the sky, her back curling like a cat’s, pushing her chest out, and winking at Alexander.

“Intriguing execution, Mizuki” Chikaze said with a small smile.

“My turn,” Alacard said as he ran and pushed off the ledge as hard as he could, sailing into the air. No tricks, no spells. Just skill and a powerful push. He flew all the way to the sidewalk that was next to a roundabout where students were dropped and picked up, smashing into the sidewalk with such impact that it cracked the concrete. He kneeled there with a sinister smile. “Whoops,” he said with a shrug as he stood and turned to the teacher. “Guess I don’t know my own strength.”

“While I admire your spirit,” Chikaze said as she placed a hand on Alacard’s shoulder, making him jump as she had covered the ground between him and the other two without being noticed. “I would appreciate in the future that you consider avoiding collateral damage.” Had she anticipated that he was going to land here, or was she that skillful and quick with her abilities?

It didn’t matter, he thought. Just more flashy tricks, like that stupid mage playboy. Power and strength would always beat out flash and magic.

“Yeah, okay,” he said, wiping a hand across his mouth. “I’ll do my best.”

Was that sarcasm, or was he being as polite as Alacard could muster?

“Thank you,” Chikaze simply said, then turned up toward the others.

Why was she thanking him? If the teacher knew him at all, or even cared, she would realize that he’d do the same thing over again. Who cared about the stupid sidewalk anyway. He shoved his hands in his pockets and sauntered back over to the group with his teacher, curious to see how the other idiots would perform the task.

Isabella stood on the edge, looking at the ground with a frown. What was she to do? Pull off something dramatic and showy, or just get the job done? They clearly weren’t being graded for showiness, and she wasn’t a fan of theatrics, so she simply stepped off the ledge and landed on the ground in a crouch. As she kneeled there, she kept her eyes on the ground, not out of embarrassment or anything else, but because she was currently struggling with her emotions.

She didn’t like this class, nor did she like this teacher, and she wanted to know why she was in such a fury about it. It was probably just her raging emotions doing their thing, pulling her in this way and that, doing whatever they pleased, seemingly uncontrollable. Still, she’d keep a handle on them, so she just clenched her fist against the grass, clawing out a piece and dropping it as she pushed herself to her feet, avoiding her teacher’s eyes.

“Simple and clean is an effective strategy as well,” Chikaze said, standing nearby, which didn’t make Isabella flinch or anything as she knew the teacher was using her abilities to get around without being detected, seemingly light on her feet. It was nothing more than a magic trick with the wind that she could manipulate at her back, making her body light and nimble.

Isabella folded her arms under her chest and gave her teacher a quick glance and a nod as it wouldn’t do to totally ignore her. Why did this teacher set her off so much? Was it because she seemed to grab the attention of the boys without even trying, or something else?

Meanwhile, on the roof, Vincent felt his heart thump, his blood pump, and sweat build on his forehead. He gulped as he met Max’s eyes, as it was just the two of them left.

Max nodded, sensing Vincent’s fear as he peered over the ledge, gulping himself. He stepped backward as he shook his arms and hands about, trying to get rid of his fright. Even though he was scared, her certainly wouldn’t let that anxiety lead to him going last. Going last was always the worst. He knew not only about going last, but being last. And that feeling, that place in life – whether it was with his family, friends, social circle – sucked.

“That’s my cue,” he said with a weak smile, wiping sweat from his forehead.

He took a few steps backward, cracking his neck this way and that and jumping in place, then took a quick breath before bursting forward into a run. He jumped off the ledge and let out a battle cry as he legs and arms flailed about. “Kazaaaam!”

Two white, feathery wings appeared on his back in a magical puff of smoke. The wings, now attached to his back, pumped vigorously, totally out of sync and unpracticed but with enough effort to slow his descent. His body tilted to the side as one wing was pumping harder than the other, and he landed hard, rolling into a tumble and falling head over heal against the grass, kicking up dirt.

As the dirt settled, he lay sprawled and twitching in an awkward manner. A moment later, he groaned as he pushed himself up and shook his hair about, spitting out a clod of dirt and grass from his mouth, the wings vanishing in another poof of smoke.

“Totally nailed it,” he said, giving a shaky and weak thumbs up, smiling like an idiot.

Mizuki tackled him to the ground, rubbing his hair about and smiling like a proud older sister. “Nice job, Max.”

Max blushed as she pinned him to the ground, her chest rubbing against his face. Most people would probably want the girl to get off them from suffocation or being pinned awkwardly, but Max looked like he was in another realm with his silly smile and bloody nose as she wrestled him about.

“Smooth sailing or not,” Chikaze said. “You accomplished the goal that was given to you.”

Vincent gulped, licking his dry lips as he stared forward in wide-eyed terror. He was next. Him! He had to get from the roof to the ground… He inched toward the ledge, shaking his head and falling backward. He yelled down to the others. “I-I can’t do this.”

While most of them looked as if they understood dealing with something new and unreal, Alacard simply shook his head and chuckled.

“Man, I knew the kid was a chump, but he’s also a freaking wuss.”

“Don’t act like you’ve never been terrified before, Alacard,” Isabella said with a glare.

Alacard snorted, but didn’t say anything in return, until he thought of a clever retort, and he smiled. “Oh, I’ve been scared of bloodsuckers my entire life.” He didn’t say it in a way of being frozen with fear like Vincent was, but more as a mockery.

Mizuki, back on her feet now, leaving Max on the ground in a discombobulated and elated state, shoved Alacard. “Shut up, Alacard.”

He turned and growled at her. “Touch me again, woman, and I’ll rip your arm off.”

She stood to him, pushing her chest out, frowning. “Try me.”

“Will you two be quiet and focus on helping your classmate,” Isabella said in frustration. She then turned up to Vincent and yelled, “You can do it, Vincent. We all believe in you!” Then, as she realized what she was doing, and how everyone had stopped and stared at her, she went as red as a strawberry. “What? I’m trying to encourage him,” she said, stomping her foot.

“By yelling at him?” Mizuki teased.

Isabella puffed her cheeks out and folded her arms. “I was just trying to help.”

“I’m teasing, girl. Sheesh, learn to take a joke.”

Isabella let out a little huff.

Alexander stepped forward, as a gesture to let Isabella know what she was doing was fine, and as a support to his brother in arms. “Dude,” he yelled, his voice clear and compelling. “You’re a freaking werewolf. You got this!”

Everyone went from looking at Isabella to staring at Alexander, even Mizuki looking mildly impressed.

“And remember, if Alacard can do it,” Alexander continued. “Then so can you. I mean, he’s a punk, after all.” Alexander gave Alacard a sly smile… but he wasn’t there, or anywhere. Alexander spun in a circle, thinking perhaps Alacard was on the other side of them. But he was gone. Alexander surmised Alacard got bored of class or didn’t have any comeback, so he had run with his tail between his legs or something. Or perhaps he had eyed a pretty girl and ducked out of class to go flirt with her, even though that wasn’t his style, but Alexander would definitely commend that kind of action. He shrugged it off, and turned back to watching Vincent.

While Alexander wasn’t usually the type to give words of encouragement, he felt for the kid, so he thought it natural to just be… a little giving. Plus, he knew all about pressure, expectations, and the feeling of loss.

Chikaze folded her arms, giving a small but pleased smile at the outcome of her students so far. She stepped forward, watching Vincent with curious eyes. “Like a flower blooming in the rising sunbeams,” she said. “Vincent will learn to blossom.”

“Pretty and smart,” Max said with a dreamy voice as if fantasizing about things he shouldn’t be since she was their teacher, or perhaps he was still in a daze from being bombarded by Mizuk’s chest. “I’m liking her more and more.”

“I know what you like,” Mizuki said with a shove of her elbow into him stomach, which made him keel over and assume the fetal position as he fell to the ground with a groan. A moment later he looked up with pain.

“You didn’t have to hit me so hard, Mizuki,” he said in a raspy and weak voice.

“You’re such a wimp, Max,” she said with a frown.

Vincent wasn’t about to just give in and give up, especially now that he seemed to have friends, so he slowly stood, trying his best to keep his legs from shaking. And Alexander was right, logically speaking, in that if Alacard could do it, so could he. At least he told himself that to reassure his nerves.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Vincent clenched his body and nodded as he got ready to do what he really didn’t want to do. He licked his lips and inched toward the edge, his heartbeat thudding rapidly.

All he had to do… was just jump off. Land like Isabella had. He didn’t have to leapt, or spin or twirl and flip or do anything fancy like the others had. Just inch forward and fall. His body was strong enough to take it, right? It had to be. The others were fine, totally fine, right? So he would be, too. So why couldn’t he move? Move… Move! He screamed to himself.

He blinked warm tears from his eyes, and nodded, clenching his fists as he found his strength. “O-okay,” he said with a shaky breath. “I’m ready.”

He nodded and took another deep, shuddering breath, flexing and extending his fingers in an encouraging motion. He took in a deep inhalation, then closed his eyes. “I can do it, I can do it, I can do it,” he said in quick succession. “Okay,” he said, opening his eyes, determined so step off. “I’m going to count to three, and then go.”

He nodded, positioning one of his toes outward, sliding it forward, teetering on the edge. “One.”

He adjusted his body slightly, sliding the other foot forward, feeling his body shake with anticipation, but willing himself forward. “Two.”

He got ready to just fall forward, come what may, his body and fists tensing, even though that would probably make the fall worse. –

“Three,” came the hushed whisper of Alacard as he pushed Vincent off the edge.

– “What?!” was all Vincent could manage before he was shoved.

Vincent tumbled head over heel, a terrified scream escaping his lips as the ground rushed toward him.

He hit with a resounding thud and thump and cracking noise, followed by…

Darkness.