Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Magi Masuku ❯ Meet the Cadets ( Chapter 2 )

Meet the Cadets:

Friends, Rivals, and Bad Cooking!

 

 

 

“I ask you, Patora...” Gumushi said as he handed his brother the x-ray showing his broken right arm. “How can someone do this to me?”

 

Patora dressed very similarly like his brother, though the kanji on his jacket was for the word `pa.' He had medium-length, white hair and a large slug was sitting on his head. Patora was very skinny and frail, and had black circles around his eyes.

 

“Jeez.” Patora said as he turned the x-ray over. “If Chokitsune found out about this, your reputation would be shot.”

 

“So can you do anything?” Gumushi asked.

 

“Relax, punk.” The slug on Patora's head said. “WatÅnai and Patora will take down this `Musouka.'”

 

“Thanks, brother.” Gumushi said. “If I had a sigma for every time you and WatÅnai saved me... I'd have several.”

 

 

 

“Well, Herupanen,” Masuku said as he and his Familiar walked along one of the fortress walls. The entire fortress was brimming with hundreds of Magi, many of whom were new cadets, “It looks like we've finally made it.”

 

“This place should be brimming with opportunities.” Herupanen said happily. “As well as information about Kamen…”

 

“Who's Kamen?” A voice seemingly coming out of nowhere asked. Startled, Masuku jumped nearly three feet in the air and gave a startled scream. A tarp-like fabric peeled from one of the safety walls nearby. The front had evidently been painted to look like the background behind it. The person standing behind it was a small boy wearing a black jumpsuit with metal on the backs of his fingerless gloves. He had a hood over his head with metal covering his forehead to protect it.

 

“DON'T DO THAT!” Masuku yelled at the young man, obviously angry. However, his anger soon passed. “Who are you anyways?”

 

The boy grinned; he was evidently pleased that Masuku had asked that question. “As if I'm going to tell you.” He said smugly.

 

Masuku and Herupanen had begun to walk away. “NO, WAIT!” The young man yelled, and Masuku stopped and turned to the young man.

 

“I am… the mystery youth…” the young man said as a raccoon wearing a forehead protector jumped up on his shoulder. “The cadet who will take the MagiGuard by storm… I am Fantajiahou Onmitsu; the great Magi Shi—!”

 

Masuku was gone. “He… left.” The raccoon said. “I know.” Onmitsu said as he slumped into a depression that was actually kind of funny to see. “…we should have set off the smoke bombs…”

 

 

 

“That guy was weird.” Masuku said to Herupanen while the two walked into the cafeteria. “The universe is weird, Masuku.” Herupanen said. “Get over it.”

 

“Hey!” An important-looking kid said. He had messy, red hair and wore a red sweater with the a picture of a beetle on it. He held a baseball bat over his shoulder and a rather large spider was following him.

 

“Yes, Mr. Sport-man?” Masuku asked. “Sport-man?” The kid thought to himself. “My name's Kabuto. Remember it. You're that Masuku kid who beat up Gumushi, right?”

 

“This guy could be out to get us.” Herupanen thought. “Nope! He's not Ma—.”

 

“Yeah, that's me.” Masuku said. Herupanen fell down in embarrassment.

 

“Well, from what I hear, you got a pretty interesting test score.” Kabuto said. “Look, there's a tradition around here; the cadet who got the highest score and the cadet who got the lowest get cooking duty.”

 

“Really?” Masuku said. “What was my score?”

 

“Well…” Kabuto said, thinking. “As you know, in order to pass the entrance exam, there are 100 questions with 2 points for each correct answer.”

 

“Oh…” Masuku said as he rubbed his head. “I hate written exams…”

 

“I hear you.” Kabuto said with a smile. “In order to pass, you need to get higher than a 90; any lower and you wouldn't have made it into the fortress; everyone who gets in usually scores above 140. The highest score before now was a 190.”

 

“So…” Herupanen said, nervous, “what was our score?”

 

“A new record, actually…” Kabuto began. “Masuku scored…”

 

Herupanen gulped in anticipation…

 

“…A 92.” Kabuto said, finally. Herupanen and Masuku both fell down from the disappointment.

 

“A 92?!” Herupanen yelled. “HOW IS THAT A RECORD?!” Masuku added.

 

“It was the lowest exam score anyone's ever gotten.” Kabuto said. “If you had missed just one question, you wouldn't be here right now. It's also the record for lowest test score. EVER.”

 

“Great.” Masuku thought to himself sullenly. “I'm at the bottom of the barrel.”

 

“Look, the point is, you have kitchen duty.” Kabuto said impatiently. “Get in there and help the kid from England out.”

 

“Sure!” Masuku said cheerfully. He and Herupanen then spun around for a quiet conversation. “Herupanen…” Masuku whispered, “Where's England?” “I have no idea.”

 

 

 

“Listen and listen well, boy; the only reason I'm even letting you join the MagiGuard is to get you out of my hair. Your brother's two years younger than you and he's a better musician, not to mention five times more skilled in spells than you are. So go; go and make a new life for yourself so you can stop wasting my time.”

 

 

 

Symphon sighed as he stared at the pot of soup he was cooking and the pot next to it that seemed to be snoring. “Would you be impressed, father?” He thought to himself. “I received a perfect score on the entrance exam… no; no, Jericho would probably find a way to get a higher score; he'd receive all the glory and I'd… I'd just be left alone in the shadows, and—.”

 

“OKAY!” Masuku yelled as, for some reason, he kicked the kitchen door down. “TIME TO COOK!”

 

“Wh… who are you?” Symphon asked as he stared at the strange sight of Masuku and Herupanen; both of them had somehow found chef's hats in just a few seconds and were now wearing them.

 

“Hey!” Masuku said as he suddenly noticed Symphon. “You must be the kid from Engle-land!”

 

“I—it's pronounced `Englan—.”' Symphon started to say, but Masuku simply stared at him, looking him over.

 

Symphon wore dress pants and a white dress shirt. He wore a green tie and had large glasses that covered his eyes and most of the area around them. His shoes looked as if they were shined regularly, and his green hair was neat and tidy.

 

“Hey…” Masuku said, pointing at Symphon's head, “where's your chef's hat?”

 

“We… don't need to wear them.” Symphon said, flabbergasted by Masuku's odd behavior. “Why is your Familiar wearing a chef's hat? He doesn't need to cook!”

 

“Wait…” Herupanen said as he looked around, noticing something odd about Symphon. “Where's your Familiar?”

 

Symphon bent his head, as if he was too embarrassed to look Masuku in the eyes. “He's…” he said, pointing at the snoring pot that wasn't being cooked. “He's sleeping… in that pot.”

 

“Wow.” Masuku said as he took the lid off the pot and stared at the all-black badger that was sleeping in it. “That's really weird.” He said as he smiled and put the lid back on. “I'M WEIRD?!” Symphon yelled.

 

“Oh!” Masuku said, suddenly remembering. “My name's Eikoumugen Masuku!”

 

“I'm Symphon.” Symphon said with a friendly smile as he held his hand out for a handshake. “Symphon Beetzart.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Beetzart!” Masuku said happily as he shook Symphon's hand. “What?” Symphon asked. “No, call me `Symphon.' That's how names are said in countries like England.”

 

“Well, I'm not from Engle-land!” Masuku said stubbornly. “So I wouldn't know!”

 

“What?” Symphon asked, shocked at this. “Weren't you taught any of that?”

 

“Well...” Masuku said as he rubbed his chin, thinking, “It's kinda hard to explain... you see, all of my education was taken care of by my older brother; of course, he's not a Magi, so he just had me read as many of my parents' and sister's Grimoire as possible. Basically, all I ever learned was magical stuff.”

 

“But... wouldn't your parents make sure you at least went to a school for Magi?” Symphon asked, curious.

 

“Well...” Masuku said, all cheerfulness gone from his face, “My mother's dead... and my dad... well, nobody's quite sure where he is.”

 

“Oh.” Symphon said, realizing his question was a sensitive matter. “I'm sorry.”

 

“It's no problem!” Masuku said, suddenly cheerful again. “My dad's still alive! And one day, I'm going to find him! That's one of the reasons I joined the MagiGuard in the first place!”

 

“One of the reasons?” Symphon asked. “What're the others?” “Kicks!” “Ki... what?

 

“Listen, I don't have time for this.” Symphon said. “I need to go out and check the listings for rooms; I need to find out who my roommates are and what room I'll be staying in.” With that, he left.

 

“Well...” Masuku said as he turned to the pot of soup, “it looks like it's up to me to finish the soup, Herupanen!” Masuku quickly walked over to the refrigerator and began searching through it. He began producing items, listing them off as he pulled them out.

 

“Let's see... pickled plums?” He said to himself. “Why not? Let's see... some hot dogs... I'll probably need to cook `em first, but sure; I can add this! Uh... plumed pickles...? Huh... do these even exist? Oh, well; waste not, want not! Hmm... milk? Ooh, it's expired... whatever! A little texture never hurt! What else we got here...?”

 

 

 

Ohmio Galvani casually leaned against the tree, reading his magazine. His familiar, a white wolf, lay at his feet. He wore a grey, zippered jacket and black jeans made of the same material. He seemed to have a strange symbol on the back of each hand. On the right hand, a small circle with a long line coming from what would be the top right corner if it was a square, and the line ended like an arrow; on the left hand, a curved X-like symbol with a dot at the end of each of the X's extremities. A suitcase was at his side.

 

Ohmio chuckled as he read the magazine. With one hand, he brushed through his mess, dirty blonde hair. “Man, Geber...” Ohmio said to the wolf as he turned the page, “It doesn't get any better than this. This is what we've been studying years for...”

 

Geber, the wolf, suddenly sat up, alert. “Ohmio...” he said quietly, “...someone's coming...”

 

“Is it a girl?” Ohmio asked as he momentarily put down the magazine to look at his familiar. “If it isn't, I'm not interested.”

 

“It's a young woman...” Geber said as he sniffed the air and listened carefully. “I'm guessing she's around your age... blonde... brown eyes... her familiar is a bird of some sort...”

 

Ohmio chuckled as he opened up the suitcase and put the magazine in. He then pulled out a flask filled with a strange, grey liquid. He chuckled to himself as the person approached...

 

... It was Masuku and Herupanen. “I think... we're lost.” Masuku said as he looked around. “Where'd that Symphon kid go?”

 

Ohmio looked at Geber, angry. “Great.” He said as he put the flask back in the suitcase. “Way to go, Geb.”

 

“Oh, hey!” Masuku said, suddenly noticing the young man and his familiar. “My name's Eikoumugen Masuku!”

 

Ohmio sighed and took the magazine back out. “Ohmio Galvani.” He said as he resumed `reading.' “Nice to meet ya.”

 

Masuku moved over and looked over Ohmio's shoulder to see the magazine. His face instantly turned red. “My... older brother had magazines just like this...” he said.

 

“Ohmio!” Geber said as he sat back up. He didn't notice that Herupanen was now on his head. “Two people are coming! Girls; I'm sure of it!”

 

“You'd better be, or no Brathänchen for you tonight!” Ohmio said as he frantically reached into the suitcase and pulled the flask out. He raised it to his lips and prepared to drink it, when suddenly, a stem grew out of the tree he was sitting against and shattered the flask.

 

“PERV!” A female yelled. A girl ran up to Ohmio and hit him on the leg with a large, white hammer. Ohmio screamed and grabbed at his leg.

 

“Perv.” The girl repeated, disgusted. She had short, black hair and wore a white t-shirt with green stripes. She wore khaki pants and an angry expression on her face. She dropped the hammer which, in a puff of smoke, turned into a white crab.

 

The girl turned her sights towards Masuku. “What about you?!” She asked angrily. “You a perv too?!”

 

“N-no!” Masuku yelled, backing away in fear. “I don't even know what that means! I heard my sister call my brother that once when she found some of his magazines, but other than that—!”

 

“Alright, shut up.” The girl said, slightly annoyed. “Jeez... my name's Eve Hunter.” She said as she held out her hand to shake.

 

“Nice... to meet you?” Masuku said as he held out his hand. Eve took it and shook. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “This... this guy...” She thought to herself, “He's—.”

 

“Are you okay, Eve?” The crab asked. “Huh...” Eve responded, slowly coming back to reality. “Y-yeah... I'm fine...” she stopped shaking Masuku's hand and raised an eyebrow. “Who is this guy...? Why is he so familiar?”

 

“Eve! What did you do?!” A girl asked as she ran up to Eve. She wore white blouse and a skirt. She had long, black hair and was being followed by a goat.

 

“I smashed this guy's leg.” Eve said casually as she pointed Ohmio, who was holding his leg in pain. “What's it to you, Sujou?”

 

“Eve, why would you do that?!” The girl yelled. “Easy.” Eve said calmly. “He's a pervert who was about to drink some potion that would have given him limited x-ray vision.”

 

“... oh.” Sujou said. “Serves him right, then.”

 

Ohmio stood up, albeit painfully. “Th-that's a lie.” Ohmio said, looking down to the left. “It was... medication. Now I'm going to die because you destroyed my medicine. Way to go.”

 

“Oh, come on.” Eve said as she turned to walk away, followed by the crab. “You won't fool anyone with that.”

 

“NO!” Masuku yelled as he tackled Ohmio to the ground, sobbing as he did it. “NO, STAY WITH US! DON'T DIE!” “Get offa me, Dummkopf! I'm not going to die!”

 

“What?” Masuku said as he got up, suddenly done crying. “Oh, man.” Sujou said as she turned to start walking away.

 

“Hey, wait.” Ohmio said as he grabbed Sujou's shoulder. Angry, Sujou spun around to deliver a punch to Ohmio's face. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Masuku and used him as a human shield.

 

Sujou's punch connected with Masuku's face. Suddenly realizing what she had done, Sujou covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh, my gosh!” She said. “I am so, SO sorry!”

 

“I'm okay, don't worry about me!” Masuku said, dazed from the force of the punch. He had a large, black eye.

 

“Pathetic.” The goat said to Herupanen. “Simply pathetic. You didn't even bother to save the boy.”

 

“Wh-what?” Herupanen asked, caught off guard by the comment. “What do you mean, `save the boy.'? Masuku's perfectly capable of defending himself; if he needs my help, I'd know!”

 

“Oh, please.” The goat said, a slight chuckle in his voice. “The Spirit I'm picking up from this boy is pathetic; downright miniscule. He couldn't defend himself if his opponent was a baby!”

 

“Who're you to talk?!” Herupanen asked, now steaming at the goat's insults.

 

“My name's Kanjouinyuu.” The goat said. “And your name is... Useless?”

 

“My name is Herupanen!” Herupanen yelled, angry. “You just wait; you're underestimating Masuku!”

 

“Or maybe you're overestimating him.” Kanjouinyuu said confidently. “After all, his Spirit, the energy used to cast spells, is weak, and Spirit is most of what makes a Magi.”

 

“I'm really sorry.” Sujou said again. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

 

“That's okay, lady!” Masuku said, still slightly disoriented. “My name's Eikoumugen Masuku, by the way...”

 

“I'm Hakuai Sujou.” The girl said cheerfully. “I'm really sorry.” With this she turned around and walked away, followed by Kanjouinyuu.

 

“That Familiar's...” Herupanen steamed, “going down!”

 

 

 

“That was her, Ninjou.” The boy said as he stood with relative ease at the very top of the tree. He watched as Sujou walked away.

 

“Yes, Master Soushiki.” A raven said as it balanced on the boy's shoulder. “And that boy she just punched... his Spirit seems... familiar, somehow.”

 

“I know.” Soushiki said. “I wonder... who was he?”

 

 

 

“Taras is very bored.” The boy said as he wandered the upper parapets, looking for something to do. Taras Egorov had black hair that partially covered one eye. He wore a t-shirt that had had its sleeves ripped off and had a red anarchy symbol on it. He wore dark-blue jeans that had tears on the bottom and, for some reason, had no shoes. He was being followed by a large grizzly bear.

 

“Taras, stop referring to yourself in the third person.” A tall, muscular, Spanish boy said. He had a red bandanna on his head and wore a green sweater with a beetle on it, much like Kabuto's. He was kicking along a grey, leathery ball.

 

“Okay; Taras won't.” Taras said with a smug smile on his face. “Hey, Escarabjo, where's your roommate?”

 

“Kabuto? I'm not sure.” The Spanish boy said as he bent down to pick up the ball. It unrolled itself, changing into an armadillo. “I think he's explaining the whole kitchen duty tradition to the new cadets.”

 

“Ask Taras if he cares.” Taras said with a bored tone. “A pity, really; Taras was looking for someone to fight before dinner. Works up an appetite, you know?”

 

“I guess...” Escarabjo said, giving Taras a weird look. “Look, man, stop talking like that!”

 

 

 

“OH, MAN!” Masuku yelled from several feet away. He and Herupanen were lost; again. “THIS PLACE IS SO CONFUSING!”

 

“Me pardonner…” a voice behind Masuku said. Masuku turned around to see a young man with neat, black hair. He wore an expensive-looking tuxedo and, for some strange reason, a white mask that covered his whole face, except for his eyes, which were an odd, yellow color.

 

“Mon nom est Noirblanc…” The boy said. Masuku looked at Herupanen, who returned the confused stare.

 

“Je suis désolé; parlez-vous français?” The boy asked.

 

“Um... the bathroom is down there.” Masuku said as he pointed down below them.

 

“Ce répond à ma question…” The boy said he walked over to Masuku and put his index finger on Masuku's forehead. “SORTILÈGE: TOUTE LA LANGUE!” The boy cried out. There was a small flash in Masuku's eyes.

 

“There we go.” The boy said, suddenly speaking perfect English. “Much better. You should be able to understand me now.”

 

“Wow!” Masuku said, amazed at what had just been done. “What was that?!” “Just a simple Enchantment...” the boy said, giving Masuku a strange look. “Enchantment: All-Language; instantly allows the target to understand any language. I never learned how to speak English, after all...”

 

“Enchantment...?” Masuku asked, confused.

 

“You don't know what an Enchantment is?” The boy asked, surprised. “Um... no.” Masuku said, slightly embarrassed. “Is that bad?”

 

“Do you know what Biomancy is?” “Nope.” “Elemental Magic?” “Nope.” “Object Magic?” “No.” “Curses? Spatial? Invoking?” “I don't know any of those.” Masuku said.

 

“Wow...” The boy said. “You don't know how Spells are categorized... dang... well, it's like this; the spells a Magi casts can be separated into many different classes, such as...

 

“Enchantments: these allow the Magi to change the world around them, like what I just did with you. I'm a bit of a specialist in this field, sir.

 

“Biomancy: these allow a Magi to change their body in one way or another. They can let you heal yourself or turn your body into a living weapon.

 

“Elemental Magic: These allow a Magi to tap into the forces of nature for devastating powers. Wood, fire, gravity, thunder; these and hundreds of others can be bent to one's will.

 

“Object Magic: Using this, a Magi can tap into an object's powers. For example, is a Magi used a deck of playing cards in Object Magic, their spells would all revolve around the cards.

 

“Curses: These allow the Magi to do something horrible to the opponent. Make them sick, make them see things, hypnotize them... you know; that kinda stuff.

 

“Spatial: These allow the Magi to bend the area around them to move faster or travel from one point to another. These require a lot of Spirit, however.

 

“Invoking: This kind of magic lets a Magi call upon a different force to make them stronger, smarter... better. They usually require a contract with the force you're invoking, however.

 

“Summoning: You can summon something using this, sir. Like Spatial magic, Summoning requires a lot of Spirit, so it shouldn't be used too often. However, when it is used, it can be awesome.

 

“Beast Magic: Using this, you can tap into the animalistic powers of your familiar, and even become part animal yourself. However, your animal powers are limited to your Familiar's form.

 

“Necromancy: A very frightening type of magic. Necromancy lets you tap into the powers of the dead, bringing corpses to life and creating zombie servants. But, if you're not careful, the spell can easily turn on you and summon something else from the Plane of Death.

 

“Finally, there's a new magic called Technomancy: It allows a Magi to tap into the powers of machines, combining technology with magic. Some thing it's just glorified Object Magic, but I've seen it; there's a big difference.

 

“Those are basically all of the types of magic.” The boy concluded. “Furthermore, the spells can also be split into the Dark Arts and the Forbidden Arts. Dark Arts require a deal with a demon of some sorts, giving the user powers of evil; Forbidden Arts are banned from the use of any Magi; the use of it can bring real trouble.”

 

“Can I go now?” Masuku asked. “I... guess so...” The boy said. “Did you even listen to what I said?” “No, it was boring.” Masuku said as he walked away.

 

 

 

Taras was tossed aside like a rag doll. “Next time you pick a fight with a random person, check how strong they are first.” The boy who did it said. His right hand, which was in the form of a strange, cannon-like attachment, transformed into a normal hand with a raven perched on it.

 

“Who are you, man?” Escarabjo asked, startled at the young man's display of power. “Soushiki.” The young man said calmly as the raven took off flying and he jumped off of the parapet.

 

 

 

“There he is...” WatÅnai said from atop Patora's head. They were both watching as Masuku came out of the men's room.

 

“Alright.” Patora said with a sinister grin as he took out a sheet of paper. “Time to get to work...”

 

 

 

Masuku exited the men's room refreshed. “Man, that soup was delicious!” He said to Herupanen, who had been waiting patiently outside. “Went right through me, though...”

 

“Well, Masuku, I—.” Herupanen started to say, but was interrupted by something overhead. “What the...” He said as he looked at the strange sight.

 

It was a giant, paper airplane. Patora and WatÅnai sat on top, Patora grinning evilly. “Well, Musouka, it's about time for you to pay for what you did to my brother!” He said to Masuku.

 

“My name's Masuku.” Masuku said, but Patora wasn't paying attention. “TIME TO PAY, YOU BRAT!” He yelled as he tossed several sheets of paper into the air. “OBJECT MAGIC: PAPER SHURIKEN!”

 

The paper instantly began folding itself into the shapes of shuriken. They went flying right at Masuku, who barely missed them. One of them grazed his cheek, leaving a cut that was bleeding.

 

“My paper's extra sharp!” Patora called out. “It can cut you to ribbons; but, that's not its only power...”

 

One of the paper shuriken spun around like a boomerang and hit Masuku in the back. Herupanen noticed a Japanese kanji on it, but he couldn't make it out clearly. It seemed to be the one for `wrap'...

 

“OBJECT MAGIC: PAPER MUMMIFY!”

 

The shuriken unfolded and grew. It stretched and stretched, until finally it was able to wrap around Masuku, tying him up. Masuku fell to the ground, his entire body bound save his head.

 

“Masuku!” Herupanen yelled as he ran over to the boy. He scratched at the paper, desperately trying to tear it.

 

“It's no use, kitty cat!” Patora mocked gleefully. “There's a special Enchantment on that paper... it can only come off if something happens to me! I won't be beaten so easily like my bro—.”

 

“Black Bomb.”

 

A black ball of energy collided with Patora, hitting with so much force that the paper airplane turned upside-down. Patora and WatÅnai both fell to the ground.

 

The boy who fired the blast had spiky, black hair and wore a black trench coat. Underneath the trench coat, he wore a black shirt and black pants. Masuku noticed that the boy seemed to have a tattoo of some sort that was coming out of the bottom of his left sleeve. The boy's right hand had turned into a small cannon that connected to his arm by a series of veins and muscles.

 

Patora groaned as he got up. He wiped his brow and groaned. “Man… what the hell just hit me?”

 

“I am the Ha-Fu Kyuuketsuki known as Soushiki.” The boy said calmly as he walked over to Patora and pointed the cannon right at his face. “Leave this idiot alone; I won't hesitate to kill you.”

 

“K-kill me?!” Patora panicked. “Isn't that a little harsh?!”

 

“I don't see why I should feel mercy to someone who focuses on stupid things like `revenge.'” Soushiki said calmly. He pushed the cannon into Patora's face. “Now release the spell.”

 

“Alright, alright!” Patora pleaded, holding up his hands for mercy. The paper wrapped around Masuku suddenly came undone.

 

“Good.” Soushiki said as he turned to begin walking away.

 

Patora gave a small, wicked smile. “OBJECT MAGIC…” He called out as he tossed several pieces of paper towards Soushiki. “… PAPER SHURIKEN!”

 

The papers folded themselves into shuriken and approached Soushiki quickly. “NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH THREATENING ME!” Patora yelled. “YOU'RE GOING TO PAY, YOU BRAT!”

 

“Necromancy: Marrow Shield.”

 

Bones suddenly began coming out of the ground. They began coming together to form a small, wall-like structure. The shuriken hit and became stuck in the wall. Soushiki continued to walk away.

 

“Whoa…” Masuku thought to himself, amazed. “This guy… he created a shield to block all of the shuriken without even turning around! Th-that's amazing!”

 

“If you're going to attempt a surprise attack, don't scream your spell.” Soushiki said without even turning around as the wall of bones sunk back into the ground. “You can cast it without yelling it out.” He held up his cannon-hand, which changed into a raven perched on his right hand.

 

“Hey, wait!” Masuku said as he got up and ran after Soushiki. “You; Soushiki, right? That was amazing!”

 

Soushiki stopped and turned around to face Masuku. “Your name's… Eikoumugen Masuku, correct?” He asked without showing any interest on his face.

 

“Yeah!” Masuku said, cheerful as usual. “What you just did was… awesome!”

 

“Listen, Masuku, I'm going to give you a little advice.” Soushiki said as he turned to begin walking away. “Wizen up; this isn't a game here. We're training to become full-fledged members of the MagiGuard; you treat this as if it were a video game where you can't get Game Over.

 

“The only reason I saved you is because you couldn't yourself and I hate people who seek revenge.” Soushiki continued, taking small steps as he walked away. “Next time, I might not be able to get your fat out of the fire. If Patora had been a real enemy instead of some punk kid, you'd be dead by now.”

 

Masuku was shocked by what the mysterious youth had said. As Soushiki walked away, Masuku stared hard at him. “That guy, Herupanen…” he said to his Familiar quietly. “He was… SO COOL!”

 

“What?!” Herupanen yelled after he had fallen down from the strange statement. “He just practically insulted you! You think he's cool?!”

 

“He acts all mysterious and stuff… and did you see how he was so sure of his spell?” Masuku asked excitedly. “Oh, man; if I get as strong as that guy, I can rise through the ranks; that might make it easier to find out about my dad!”

 

“If you say so, Masuku…” Herupanen said, confused by the strange behavior of Masuku. “Come on, though; we'd better get to the cafeteria in time for them to serve that soup you made.”

 

 

 

“Let's see…” Symphon said as he finally arrived at the listings for rooms and roommates. He searched the room out for his room number. “Room number… oh dear…” he said as he saw the number 13 next to his name.

 

 

 

Everyone in the fortress sat happily in the cafeteria as the soup was being served. “I hope they like it!” Masuku said to Herupanen happily.

 

 

 

Symphon sighed and checked the cadets who were staying in Room 13. “My roommates are…”

 

 

 

Ohmio put down his magazine to look at the soup that had been given to him. It looked a strange, light grey color. “Weird…” he said to himself as he took a sip of the soup.

 

 

 

“Ohmio Galvani…” Symphon read.

 

 

 

Masuku grinned as he grabbed his bowl of soup and began pigging out. It tasted delicious, to him.

 

 

 

“Oh, him… Eikoumugen Masuku…” Symphon read, slightly surprised. “And finally…”

 

 

 

Everyone in the cafeteria, except for Masuku, was vomiting. Evidently, the soup didn't sit well with them, mainly due to the numerous ingredients that had been added to the broth.

 

Masuku looked around at the vomiting Magi. “Weird…” He said before he continued eating happily.

 

 

 

Next Time: Fire: The Mysterious Strangers!