When I woke up, the first thing I did was check my books. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized they were all still there and were, as far as I could tell, untampered with.
I made the bed as well as I could, though it didn't look nearly as good as it had before I touched it, and pulled on my dirty clothes with a grimace. I felt a bit like a dick leaving Yuki's clothes unwashed, but I'd feel like a bigger dick running a full load of laundry to clean two things. I folded them as best as I could, and opened the door.
Surprisingly, Yuki--once more wearing her gi--was on the other side waiting for me with a white bundle in her arms. She tilted her head curiously when she saw the clothes in my hand.
I held them out to her. "Thank you for letting me stay here. I'd better get out of your hair before any of your students show up."
She blinked at me in confusion, and looked between the clothes and me. "You are leaving?" She sounded puzzled.
"Yes." I affirmed. "Thank you for letting me stay here and for the meal. I greatly appreciate it." I jostled the clothes in my hand in a 'take these' kind of way.
She tilted her head at me. "Perhaps I was unclear yesterday, I have no intention of kicking you out. You may stay as long as you need. Though I will ask that you help me maintain the dojo while you are here."
"Huh?" I responded smartly.
"You came looking for a job. I will provide you that job, and subtract the cost of room and board from your paycheck. Is this agreeable with you?"
My jaw fell open as I stared at her. Was she serious? "Uh…. That'd be great. Are you sure?"
Yuki huffed in an irritated fashion. "Accept my help, Ekius. Your shock at my offerings is growing offensive. Do I truly look so false as to not mean what I say?"
I panicked. "Uh…. No! That wasn't…. I just-"
"Good!" Yuki spoke with a victorious smile. She thrust the white bundle in her arms into my arms. It landed on top of the clothes I was offering her. "I expect you to be ready by six forty-five. Class begins at seven." She turned and walked towards the dojo's training floor without another word.
While I worked on sorting out my brain, I looked down at the white bundle. I set down the clothes and unrolled the bundle. A white gi and matching pants revealed themselves. Well made too. I had never felt anything this good, even in my old life when I shelled out cash for the couple hundred dollar gis.
Wait, class?
X
Walking out into the dojo proper in the gi Yuki had given me, I noticed there was no one else here despite the fact it was almost seven. Only Yuki herself was here. She was standing facing the door, her back to me.
"I can't really pay you for lessons." I said to her back. "Are you gonna subtract the cost from my paycheck?"
"My students do not pay me to teach them." Yuki answered. "Their payment is leading better lives than they had when I met them."
I blinked and paused as I regarded her in a new light. This woman went around helping kids for no other reason than she could. She was like a mother hen collecting broken chicks, fixing them up, and sending them off into the world.
What did that make me?
Ignoring my internal question, I asked, "How many students usually show up this early?" as I walked over to join her.
"None." She answered simply. "I do not teach public classes until four o'clock. By then most public schools have ended, while still leaving time for transit. All classes are over by seven."
"Why was no one here yesterday?" I asked, confused. I had definitely been here before seven.
"I have no students below the age of sixteen, and the majority of them go to the same school. The Homecoming football game was yesterday."
That would explain it. I never liked big gatherings of people or school spirit, but I was a weird kid. Normal people went to Homecoming.
I looked at Yuki as another thought occurred to me. "What class starts at seven?"
She turned to me with an evil grin. "Yours."
"Mine?" My voice was not high pitched. It did not crack. I was very manly. A woman almost a head shorter than me hadn't just frightened me more than the literal nightmare monster I killed in a barn. Nobody could prove it.
Yuki nodded, her smile unchanged. "You claimed to have trained before. I must determine your skill level so I know what to teach you."
Fidgeting slightly, I asked, "So how are we going to do this?"
"Attack me."
I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood that. "What?"
Yuki's eyes narrowed. "I do not teach fake martial arts in this school. You will learn to fight. The best way to do that is to utilize practical exercises. Now attack me."
See, if I were an idiot protagonist, this would be the part where I swing my dick around and throw a wild haymaker. I wasn't an idiot protagonist. I saw Yuki's heels a millimeter off the ground. She was primed to move. She looked like she was vulnerable, but she was going to humiliate me no matter how this went.
I took a comfortable fighting stance, and carefully approached her.
She didn't move. She just watched me.
Screw it.
I threw a punch towards her stomach, turning into it and putting my legs, hips, and shoulder into the strike.
I expected Yuki to dodge, block, or throw me on my ass. I didn't expect her to stand there and take it.
My fist impacted her stomach, and my knuckles crashed into solid iron. The muscles in her stomach were harder than steel.
"Acceptable, but you have much to improve upon." Yuki commented, her eyes had never left me.
That was incredibly emasculating. I hit her with my full body behind the strike and she didn't even feel it. I was going to make her feel something before this was over. I could be hard too.
That sounded wrong….
Oh for god's sake!
I reared back and struck out with a kick.
This time, Yuki slapped my strike away with her open hand as she flowed around me.
"Decent form. Inadequate speed." She stated robotically.
I grit my teeth, and launched into a series of attacks. Kicks, punches, knees, elbows, open handed strikes--the only strikes that connected were the ones she allowed to connect. Everything else was deftly deflected or dodged. With each attack. Yuki would comment on what I did decently well, and what was 'inadequate'.
As I grew more tired, the list of inadequacies began to pile up.
Wanting to land just one hit that she would feel, I put all the power I could manage into a front kick aiming for her face.
Instead of swatting it away, she stepped into the kick, caught my leg, and swept my plant foot. Her free hand came down on my airborne torso in a hammer fist, and the air was driven out of my lungs before I even hit the ground.
I gasped and wretched until I could finally breathe again. Then I just lay there on the ground, trying to remember where I was.
"You did surprisingly well." Yuki complimented. "You must have trained your endurance and strength to have struck so hard for so long. You must still improve however, so you will begin the physical program each of my students follows. Regardless, you have impressed me. You are now my student, and I am now your sensei. From now on you will refer to me as such. Shower and stretch. You will join tonight's classes. All of them." There was something purely evil in the small woman's words.
Still, all I could manage to reply between wheezes was, "Yes, sensei."
What had I gotten myself into?
X
Living at the dojo grew to be torture.
Sensei's 'physical program' essentially boiled down to; run as hard as you can until you pass out. When you wake up, do push ups until you pass out. When you wake up, do sit ups until you pass out. etc. etc. If I didn't know any better I'd think she was trying to trigger Zenkai boosts.
Add on to that my private class at seven in the morning, then three classes in the evening, then cleaning the sweat covered mat and dirty bathrooms and I honestly thought my body was eroding.
I had wanted to learn martial arts, and by god I was learning martial arts. But this was not what I had in mind. What happened to wax on wax off? Paint the fence? Sleep?
The other students--who I never got a real chance to talk to because classes consisted of show up, train until you drop, go home unless your name is Ekius, in which case keep doing push ups--seemed absolutely terrified of sensei, and honestly I could see why. I'd be convinced she was a demon if she hadn't abstained from eating me.
I didn't know if she was giving me special treatment or punishing me for some crime I didn't know I committed, but she spent every free moment she had hounding my ass. The hours between seven a.m. and seven p.m. were free of anyone but the two of us, and she used every one of them to forge me into a mess of knotted muscles and regret.
It was torture, but I wasn't going to stop.
As painful as the training was, it was working. Rapidly.
At the start of my stay here I couldn't even perceive sensei's movements when she threw an actual punch--not one of the two percent power punches she sent toward her students so we could practice blocking without dying. Now, I still couldn't see them coming, but I could read body movements well enough to know to get out of the way.
I was stronger than ever. Faster than ever. Tougher than ever.
My form was improving by leaps and bounds, and I was fighting circles around some of sensei's students that had been under her for close to a year. I still didn't think I'd be able to beat sensei without being at the helm of a literal tank--even then I didn't like my chances--but I had grown a lot in the short few months I'd been here, and I couldn't wait to see where I was in a year.
Since I had been working for sensei for a few months now, I had some savings built up. With room and board subtracted, I wasn't making insane amounts of cash, but it was way more than I'd ever been able to steal from Allen. I didn't have a reason to use any of it yet, but that was just another reason to save it for when I did inevitably need it.
On the magical side of things, I hadn't had as much time as I'd have liked, but I was still progressing. Sensei and I would cook dinner together at seven-thirty, eat at eight, then separate for the night. I liked to get at least six hours of sleep, so that left me with roughly four hours of study time every night.
I'd found that learning spells from the book was actually incredibly easy. All I had to do was memorize the glyphs, and I could cast the spell. I still wasn't quite sure why I didn't need to use calculations, but I wasn't complaining. I hadn't had time to make any more personalized spells, but between the ward I'd already made and the slew of low levelled attack and support spells I learned from the book, I felt I was alright for now.
Another discovery on the casting front was somewhat off putting. When I focused on a spell, I could dump more mana into it than necessary to make it stronger. The action left me feeling drained, so I stopped doing it. For all I knew it was dangerous, and I couldn't exactly ask anyone about it, so I was playing it safe. I was making plenty of progress without screwing around with a potentially crippling technique.
The rune book had proven to be incredibly disappointing. When I'd read the word 'Rune', I'd expected a different method of spell casting or maybe a way to enchant things. Instead, all it is is how to write in a 'magical' language. I'd been royally pissed off at first when everything was in english, but then I realized the text had changed to english. Just like the text from the journal I used to get started. So, essentially, it was magical code to make you feel better about being a mage.
I was extremely disappointed because I felt like I should be able to do more with runes. Or at least that there should be a different sort that had a function other than to be a bad cipher. If there was a way to use them like that though, I didn't know it. And I doubted I'd learn any time soon.
The bestiary was just that. A bestiary. That wasn't to say it was useless. Quite the opposite. I learned a lot from that book. I didn't know Bigfoot and his sasquatch buddies actually existed before I read it, so it was a good--if slightly terror-inducing--read.
Currently, I was in the kitchen with sensei making dinner. We were making white rice and fish again. Every other night we had fish and vegetables, so my diet was balanced.
"How are your muscles?" Sensei asked conversationally. She did this. Once training was over and the gis were off, she changed back into the kind woman who let me into her home. I didn't understand the woman, and I didn't waste time trying to figure her out. If there were something I needed to know about her, I was sure I'd find out eventually.
"Sore." I answered simply.
"Have you been meditating like I told you?" She asked, her tone betraying her belief that I had not been meditating.
"No." I confirmed her suspicions. "I haven't had time."
"Make time." She ordered. "It is important for your body and spirit to be balanced."
"Yes, sensei." Aaaand I just lost more magic time.
Sensei had been suggesting I should try meditating for the last few days, but now it seemed she was done suggesting. I wasn't sure how it would help--I'd stopped meditating when I found the magical journal in New York, and hadn't seen any noticeable changes in my condition--but I'd learned not to question her. I decided I would meditate after dinner tonight.
"Come." Sensei said, as she carried a teapot and her plate out of the kitchen.
I followed her with my own plate and two empty cups, and we sat on either side of the small table in the sitting room where we always took our meals. Once we were both settled, we began to eat.
"You are progressing well." Sensei complimented in between bites.
"Thank you, sensei. I wouldn't be where I am without you." I replied, truly grateful.
Sensei hummed as she chewed her food. Once she had swallowed, she said, "Perhaps you wouldn't be as able a martial artist, but I do not believe you would have stagnated. You possess too great a drive to be content with stagnation."
I considered her words, then nodded. "I guess you're not exactly wrong, but I wouldn't have had a roof over my head. Things would have been far more difficult for me. I had no idea what I was going to do after…. Thank you." I finished hurriedly.
Sensei grinned at me. "Still holding close to your secrets, Ekius?"
I took a bite of rice to avoid answering.
If she was insulted by my refusal to say more, she didn't show it. She just chuckled quietly, and continued to eat.
We fell into silence after that. The only sounds were the click of chopsticks whenever mine slipped, and the soft chewing of the fish. Things continued like that for a short while. Until suddenly sensei froze. Her eyebrows narrowed, and her head tilted to the side as if she was listening for something.
"Sensei?" I hazarded, only to immediately be shushed.
She listened a moment longer, and her lips pulled into a hard line. "Remain here." She ordered, and stood. She walked bristly past me, and I heard her open the front door of the dojo.
In all the time I had been here, sensei had never left the table before we were both done. It just didn't happen. Whatever spooked her was serious.
Doing the opposite of what she told me to do, I stood up and followed her out the front door.
When I stepped onto the dirt lot in front of the dojo I saw sensei standing a little over twenty feet away from me. Her back was to me, and she was staring down a hulking mass of muscle not thirty feet from her.
It was at least eight feet tall. It's head was long with no trace of hair. Two tusks shot up out of its mouth from its lower jaw. It's arms were thick around as tree trunks while its fingers were long and fat. It's rough skin was a pale green color. It held a club--in actuality it was a small tree that had either fallen or been pulled down--in its hand propped against its shoulder, and was glaring down at my mentor.
I recognized the creature from my bestiary studies. It was a troll. A forest troll if the skin and trees surrounding the dojo were any indication. They were similar to what I remembered of them from Dungeons and Dragons. Ridiculously strong. Possessing great regeneration and a tough hide. And hard to put down. But they were stupid. Really stupid. That one fact didn't exactly make me ok with the fact that one was here, and glaring threateningly down at the woman who had taken me in.
As a matter of fact, I was pretty nervous, and more than a little scared.
"Leave." Sensei growled coldly. "It was agreed that this area is mine."
"You leave!" The creature said. "These trees ours!"
"No." Sensei denied. "They are mine!"
The troll snarled. "We kill you! Kill! Kill!" It started running towards sensei. Each footfall shook the ground. It raised its club above its head and moved to strike at sensei.
"Sensei!" I called, and waved my hands in a circle. A disk of shimmering glyphs appeared in the air before me, and a ball of fire shot out from my hands. Fire and acid slowed a troll's regeneration. They didn't halt it completely, but they were far more effective than any other element. Since I didn't know any acid spells, I went with a firebolt.
The flaming orb hit the troll straight in the chest, and the troll howled in pain. While my spell left a blackened burn mark on the troll, it, unfortunately, didn't halt or even slow the creature's advance.
"Ekius!" Sensei hissed, her eyes fixed on the approaching troll. "Do not involve yourself!"
The troll closed the distance to her and swung his tree club down. Sensei flowed out of the way and leapt onto the club. She ran up the tree onto the troll's shoulder and snaked her arms around the troll's neck.
Did she just….? She had just put a troll in a headlock.
If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have been funny to watch the eight foot tall troll try to get free of the five foot tall woman's headlock, but the situation was serious, so I didn't laugh.
The troll was down on its knees trying to get sensei off so it could breathe, but its fingers were too fat to get a good grip on her arms. I began to think sensei had won when the ground started to shake again. I turned to see another troll charging out of the treeline.
"You no kill Brig! Brig and Twilk kill you!" The troll yelled as it ran at sensei and…. Brig?
Seeing sensei distracted by the troll she was currently wrestling--and it wasn't lost on me that her strength was either equal to or greater than a troll's--I summoned another array of glyphs into the air in front of me, and cast another spell.
Fire hadn't worked very well when I'd tried it, and all my spells were around the same power. If my fire didn't work, no equivalent attack spells of the other elements I had access to would do anything either. So I wasn't attacking, at least not conventionally.
The ground in front of the charging troll flash froze. The dirt gave way to solid ice.
The troll kept running towards its friend and slipped the moment it set foot on the ice. His fall shook the ground. He slid to the edge of the ice and spilled onto the dirt.
I cast another spell as I pointed at the troll. A large sphere of fast moving water doused the troll and the dirt beneath him.
The troll looked at me and yelled, "Twilk kill you, little thing! You die like littler thing!"
Not paying any attention to the troll's threat, I cast another spell. The mud underneath the troll created by my waterball began to slowly swallow the creature.
The troll realized what was happening after failing to stand up three times, and started to thrash. "No! You no kill Twilk! Twilk live! Twilk kill you!"
I cast the same spell again to hurry the process of entombing the troll along, only for the ground to start shaking again. I turned to my left, and saw a third troll charging straight towards me.
"Kill little thing!" It called. A small tree with a sharpened point in its hand.
I left the other troll to scramble in the mud and focused on the immediate threat. Backing away to buy myself as much time as possible, I hastily cast a ward around myself--I was sceptical it would do much against a troll's strength, but it was better than nothing--and tried the ice trick again.
The ground in front of the troll froze, and it slipped to the ground. Unfortunately that didn't work out the way I wanted it to. Now instead of running at me, the troll was rolling after me.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!" It chanted as it rolled like a muder horny log towards me.
Knowing I had no chance if this thing got close, I sprinted at a ninety degree angle away from the troll's path. It would have to stand back up to turn and come after me.
I turned around just as the troll stopped rolling, and began casting firebolts at it. This time, instead of aiming for the blubber of the troll's sternum, I aimed for weak points. Joints, eyes, nose, genitals--I targeted anything I felt would keep the thing down.
All my spells did was cause the troll to howl in pain, and charge me even more pissed off than before.
"Kill!" It bellowed as it crashed towards me.
I started turning to run again when a blur rushed past me. Heading towards the enraged, charging troll. The blur closed the distance to the troll and punched its knee.
With a cry of pain, and a sickening crack, the troll collapsed. As the blur reared back to strike, I got a better look at it.
It had brown hair falling down from the top of its head and brown fur covering its arms and neck. A fur covered tail extended from just beneath its waist, and its fingers ended in sharpened nails. It had a manic grin which accentuated two sharp fangs hanging down from its upper jaw. And it…. It was wearing sweatpants.
"Sensei?" I said in dumbfounded shock.
The monkey king impersonator…. My sensei ignored me. She reared back her fist and it became coated in a burning, dark red aura. She slammed her fist home into the troll's head, and the ground shook from the impact.
"No! Squat!" The voice of the second troll called.
Seeing that….sensei? Had the third troll well in hand, I turned back to the second. It had struggled enough to free a single arm from the magical mud, but was still slowly sinking.
I lobbed another water ball near the troll to make more mud, and cast the sinking spell again.
The troll's free arm was quickly ensnared once more. "No! Twilk kill you! Twilk kill the little thing!"
As the mud swallowed the troll, I shot fire into its face to distract it from freeing itself.
Before long, the screaming, cursing troll was swallowed completely by the mud. I waited a full sixty seconds for the troll to be pulled even deeper, then unleashed a slew of fire spells into the mud. The heat evaporated the water and turned the loose mud into dirt-like slag.
I kept watching the area to make sure the troll wouldn't escape, but there wasn't so much as a tremble in the hard packed earth. The troll was well and truly buried.
I turned back to attack the third troll only to realize it wasn't necessary.
Sensei, still looking like a brown furred monkey, was striding towards me. Her tail swayed up behind her as she walked. A dull red aura surrounded her, but it was quickly fading away into nothing.
"Are you unhurt?" She asked, her voice deeper and harder than normal.
"I'm fine." I assured her as I let my ward fade away. I hadn't needed to use it, and against trolls I counted that as a win. I looked over to the first troll to make sure it wasn't getting back up, and saw its head rotated one-hundred-eighty degrees in the wrong direction.
Huh. That was terrifying.
I turned back to sensei. "Are you alright?"
"I am fine." She stated simply, she was staring at me intently. Searching for something.
"Uh…. I'm not going to tell anyone you're a…. What are you?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.
She grinned at me. "Was I not in your book?" She asked teasingly.
I swallowed as the meaning behind that statement sunk in. She'd read through all my books. But she hadn't killed me yet, so that was good! She still liked me!
….Right?
"No." I answered, hoping she wasn't about to murder me.
Sensei strode up to me and patted me on the cheek. Her sharpened nails brushed up against my skin as she did, and I froze as I felt just how sharp they were.
"You did well, Ekius, but the danger has passed. Return inside. Finish your meal. And go to sleep. I will deal with this mess." She said motioning to the two remaining troll bodies. "We will converse in the morning."
"Yes, sensei." I responded on reflex, and walked back towards the dojo. I heard a scraping sound behind me, and turned to see sensei dragging both troll corpses--one in each hand--behind her into the woods.
I gulped at the sight, and hurried back inside. I finished my meal, cleaned my dishes, and rushed to my bed.
Despite the fact that I'd just found out my mentor was a weird demon monkey thing, I managed to fall asleep fairly easily.
woke up less sore than usual, and immediately the events of the previous night replayed in my mind.
I shot out of bed and, after a short stop at the bathroom, ran onto the carpeted floor of the dojo.
As if to assure me last night actually happened and I hadn't hallucinated everything, Sensei was sitting cross legged in the center of the floor, staring at me with an expectant look. A mane of brown fur surrounded her still human face, and her tail waved lazily behind her.
"Good morning, Ekius. Was your sleep restful?" She asked cordially.
"Um…. Yeah." I answered, not knowing what else to say.
Sensei motioned to the carpet in front of her. "Join me."
After hesitating for a brief moment I walked over and sat a short distance from her. Half monkey or not, she was my teacher. If she had nefarious intentions towards me, she would have already acted. All she'd done so far was feed me, house me, and train me.
"I imagine you have questions." Sensei prompted. A somehow warm smile on her dangerous face.
"A few. I guess I'll start by asking what you are again. I forgot what exactly you said." I admitted, embarrassed.
"You forgot nothing. I merely did not answer. I am a Sarugami. We are one of many species that are commonly referred to as yokai." She explained patiently.
"Like kitsune and nekomata?" I asked, intrigued.
Sensei nodded. "It seems you are familiar with us. You would then likely know that we are not often found in the United States."
"So why are you here, sensei?" I asked without thinking, then winced. "If you're comfortable talking about it that is."
She chuckled at my words, her fur shifting with her motions. "If I am uncomfortable sharing details of my life with you, I simply will not share them. I fled from my clan when ordered to eliminate a pair of children. A young boy and girl who were siblings. I was not told why they were to be eliminated, only that it was my duty to see them dead. I took the children to reside with a longtime friend, then fled the country to lead my pursuers away from the children. If I ever return, I will be hunted until I am killed."
"I'm sorry." I said, and meant it. This world was screwed up. Some big wig wants to off a couple of kids and the person who did the right thing was labeled the villain.
Sensei's tail curled up over her shoulder. "Do not apologize for wrongs you did not commit. I have made my peace with what happened, and am content with my dojo."
"About the dojo, why were the trolls here? They were clear about wanting to kill us, but what brought them here in the first place?" I asked.
"When I first arrived they would prey on those who wandered too far into the woods. I expelled them from the land when I built my dojo, but they were obviously not content to remain expelled." Sensei's eyebrows furrowed as she spoke of the actions of the trolls. She didn't like them preying on people. That tracked with what I had come to know of her.
"You said you would take care of them, right? I don't know if a troll can regenerate from a snapped neck, but it's better to be safe than sorry." I voiced a concern that hadn't occurred to me until this morning.
Sensei smiled reassuringly. "Do not worry. The trolls were well and truly dead. Even if I had only snapped the troll's neck, they do not possess the capability of fooling my senses. Not one of them, not even the one you buried, still lives."
"You can smell if something is dead?" I asked curiously. That didn't seem like something her animal side would let her do.
Sensei's tail twitched, and she smiled in amusement. "No. While all of my senses are more attuned to my surroundings than those of a human, they are not nearly as sensitive as those of other yokai. I sensed the very essence of the troll's vitality. It cannot lie."
Now I was just plain confused. "Vitality? How does that work?"
Sensei held up her hand, palm facing me, and it became engulfed in the same red flame-like aura from last night.
Now that I could see it without trolls distracting me, I realized it was less a flame and more of an all encompassing shell. Similar to what happened when someone went super saiyan.
"Senjutsu." Sensei spoke. "I have trained in its use longer than any human alive has lived. A troll is incapable of hiding itself from me."
My gaze was transfixed on her hand. Holy shit. Was that….
"Is that Touki?" I asked in a daze.
Sensei's eyebrows rose. "You recognize this technique? I am impressed. Yes. It is Touki."
I had to force myself not to salivate. "Can you teach it to me?" Touki was my key to becoming a Dragon Ball protagonist. Turning life energy into a super saiyan form? Yes please.
The aura wrapped around sensei's hand disappeared as she lowered her arm. "I have already started you on the path to its use, but it will take you several years yet to achieve something so simple even as the action I just demonstrated. Touki is one of the more advanced applications of senjutsu. If rapid strength is your goal, you would be far better suited to prioritizing your magic."
I couldn't help myself as I slumped. I didn't expect to become a martial arts guru overnight, but with two RAS under my belt, I was worried if I'd be able to live through the third. I may not have years to learn a technique.
"Straighten your back." Sensei scolded with narrowed eyes.
I quickly complied. Sitting up straight before she decided I needed to do push ups.
Sensei nodded as I acquiesced to her command, then said, "You need not look so grim. Touki is beyond your reach, and will be for some time. However, it is not all I am able to teach you. Touki is one of the more advanced Senjutsu techniques, but Senjutsu goes beyond a single technique."
I perked up. New powers that could potentially save me from RAS were always welcome. "What all could I learn?"
Sensei looked at me contemplatively. "Close your eyes." She ordered.
I nodded, and complied.
"Breathe deeply." Sensei directed. "Center yourself. Let all fall away but my voice and your body."
I focused on breathing. On my arms and legs. On sensei's voice. Nothing else.
"There is an energy within you. It flows through your veins. Empowering your muscles. Binding your spirit to your physical self. Feel its motions."
I didn't feel anything. Aside from my mana, there wasn't anything within me. Maybe I was missing…. There.
Overshadowed by my mana, there was a faint energy present in every part of me. Faint, but there.
"I feel it." I informed sensei.
"Good. Open your eyes." She sounded pleased.
I opened my eyes and saw her smiling at me.
"That energy you felt is ki. It is what is utilized when using senjutsu. With training, you will be able to shape it to produce a wide variety of effects on your body. Through special meditation that I will guide you through, as well as through arduous physical training, your ki will become stronger, and more abundant. The stronger it is, the stronger the techniques you will be able to utilize. Enhanced strength, speed, stamina, and senses are what I will teach you first." She explained.
Well that sounded pretty badass. I'd been meaning to make a spell to enhance my strength, but if I could achieve that passively with senjutsu and ki then I was all about it.
I thought back on the feeling of the small stream beneath my mana and frowned. I focused on sensei and asked, "Should my ki be this weak? Is my mana overpowering it?"
Sensei made a humming sound. "It is not weak. It is far stronger than it should be for one so young. That your mana is vastly stronger is curious. It would explain your unusual aptitude for spellcraft."
I blinked in surprise. "Wait, it's stronger than it should be?
Sensei nodded. "Your ki is equivalent to nearly three times that of a fully grown human."
My mouth opened and closed as I tried to say something. That made zero sense. How was I so amped up?
"Why?" I was eventually able to say.
"If I were forced to guess, I imagine it is because you are not fully human. I can feel you do possess human qualities, but you are not limited in the same ways. When you arrived here, your pool of ki was merely as large as that of a single human adult. In an exceedingly short period of time it has tripled. What do you know of your parents?" Sensei asked.
That…. That actually made a bit of sense. I'd been intentionally not thinking about my mother--curse her name--due to all the….feelings associated with that line of thought. But when I allowed myself to think about it, she was obviously someone at least moderately important if she was ordering around someone with the ability to teleport. I'd assumed she was just some human mage, but it was possible she was something more. Hell, it was likely if what sensei was saying was true. And I trusted my mentor's word.
"I have no idea who my father is." I answered. "But I think you're right. I only have one memory of my mother, and she was disappointed I didn't have a Sacred Gear. She ordered her servant to get rid of me after lamenting my uselessness." If I ever met that woman again I'd….something. I'd something.
Sensei tilted her head curiously. "Do you know where she is?"
I shook my head. "I haven't seen her since I was born. Literally. I was conscious at birth."
Sensei's eyes widened in fascination. "Interesting. That could have played a role in the rapid increase of your ki. It is a pity you do not know where your mother is. One should not have children for the sole purpose of using them. I would enjoy paying her a visit." The way sensei's eyes were focused off into the distance was dangerous. It almost looked like she was plotting murder.
My fists clenched as I said, "I don't have a mom. That woman abandoned me. This 'filth' wasn't good enough for her. I don't really care where she is or what she's doing. She can go--"
Sensei's tail snapped out and bopped me on the head. "Language." She chided.
I blinked in surprise as her tail retreated back behind her, and my eyes fell upon her face.
A thought occurred to me, and I grew suspicious. My mother threw me away because I was useless in her eyes. Sensei said my lki was abnormally large. That likely meant I was a potential asset. "Did you only let me stay here because of my ki? Are you planning to use it somehow?" I asked sensei, trying to force the hurt out of my voice. I'd grown to care about the woman. The thought this might all be an act hurt.
Sensei's eyes narrowed at me and her tail stopped swaying behind her. "That you would even think that is an insult to me. That you would vocalize it infuriates me. I helped you because you needed help--because you were homeless, lost, hungry, and covered in grue blood. I have allowed you to stay because you still do not know what you wish to do with yourself, and I refuse to allow you to wallow in the street. Do not insinuate that I harbour ill motives again." She warned, her voice colder than I'd ever heard it before.
I bowed my head, sufficiently cowed. "I'm sorry, sensei. I'm unhealthily paranoid. We were talking about my mom, and it brought up painful memories. I'm sorry I suspected you of anything."
Sensei exhaled through her nose, and her tail began swaying again. "You are forgiven."
I let out a sigh of relief. This woman had helped me more than everyone else in this life combined, and here I was alienating her like an idiot. I needed to stop seeing everyone around me as a potential dagger in the back.
Anxious to move past the topic, I opened another. "You saw the grue blood?"
"Any who saw you did. Though those unfamiliar with the supernatural would have assumed it to be ink or a similar substance. You are lucky I found you. Many would attempt to consume or forcefully recruit you if they knew you were able to kill a grue." She spoke plainly.
I swallowed, realizing just how bad that would have been. "Is there anyone here who might have seen me?"
"I do not know." Sensei answered simply. "I pay only enough attention to the supernatural in the area to defend myself and my dojo. The politics and squabbles of the local community do not interest me."
"But there are organizations here? What are they? If nothing else it will help me avoid them." I didn't want to get wrapped up in politics any more than she did.
"There is, of course, a small group of exorcists that coordinate the church's forces. It is hard to move anywhere in the United States, or any civilized part of the world for that matter, without finding traces of their existence. Next there is a devil king. I believe her to belong to a pillar family, but it is possible I am mistaken. Are you familiar with the pillars?" She asked.
I nodded. "Most of what I know about the supernatural is related in some way to the abrahamic factions. Are there any other groups?" I asked.
"As far as organizations are concerned, the only additional group is a pack of local werewolves. Outside of those three, there are a variety of individual parties like myself, but we tend to keep to ourselves. Only the church, devils, and wolves are interested in controlling the area." She finished with a flick of her tail.
"Werewolves?" I couldn't help but grin. "That's bada-"
Her tail smacked the top of my head again.
"Language." She chided once more.
I scowled at her and rubbed my head. "What now?" I asked. "Are you going to stay in this form around me now? Because I honestly think it's pretty cool."
Sensei grinned. "I am pleased you enjoy my appearance, but I will resume my human appearance as soon as I am able. It is far easier to pretend to be human if I look the part. To facilitate that endeavor, today you will not train until my evening classes. You and I will be visiting a friend of mine."
I blinked. "Wait, you can't change forms at will?"
Sensei shook her head. "Unless I wish to truly alter my physical body, I cannot appear different than I am. I masquerade under a glamour whenever possible. The first troll destroyed the item that maintained it. I must acquire another." She stood up and began walking away. "Prepare yourself. We leave in fifteen minutes." Without another word, she walked to her room.
I stood up as well and began getting ready.
Sensei was waiting for me as I walked to the door. In place of her sweat pants and gi--the only clothes I had ever seen her wear--was a long white trench coat. The coat covered the majority of her fur, and she wore gloves and a hood to obscure the rest.
"Come." She spoke, and we walked from the dojo.
Side by side, we walked through the city in silence. Sensei got a few weird looks because of her attire, but thankfully there weren't many people strolling on the sidewalk at seven in the morning. There were a few joggers, but no large gatherings of people.
Our walk took a little over forty-five minutes and saw us entering a small store named 'Go Away'.
I wasn't going to judge the owner, I wasn't a big fan of social interaction either. But I was going to question how they stayed in business with a model like this. More questions entered my mind as I took a look around the store.
It was completely empty. The only thing in the store was a counter in the back with nothing on it.
"Are we in the right place?" I asked sensei sceptically.
"Yes." She answered simply as she walked up to the counter. "Albert." She called. "It's Yuki."
The next moment the world shifted and cracked. Then, as if I'd just exited the mirror dimension, the store was something else entirely. There were now shelves filled with books. A number of pleasant looking stones. A few cloaks. And a man in an unwashed blue hoodie.
"Yuki!" The man called as he pounced on her. The six foot tall, blonde haired shop owner hung off the five foot tall martial artist with a stupid grin on his face. "You haven't visited!"
Sensei--completely unfazed by the one-hundred-fifty pound man hanging off her shoulders--motioned to me. "I have been busy. I apologize for not visiting."
The man extricated himself from sensei and waved her off. "Do not worry. I was just-" He trailed off as his eyes landed on me. "Hello there."
I blinked at his tone, and when my eyes opened there was a blonde man staring intently at me.
The man's blue eyes burrowed into my soul as he began to quickly and methodically speak. "Unprecedented mana levels for one so young. Correction: Unprecedented mana levels for a fully trained, elderly spell caster. Subject appears to be sixteen to eighteen years of age. Six feet tall. Black hair. Red eyes. Uncommon eye color noted as possibly significant. Muscular. Tense. Ready to fight. Arrived with Yuki. Likely her student. Martial arts potentially increasing mana capacity? Requires more information."
"Sensei?" I tried but failed not to squeak as I turned to look at her. "Help?"
She had taken off her hood, revealing her two large fangs as she smiled warmly at the scene. "While I am pleased you are so intrigued by my student, I would ask that we conclude our business first."
Like a switch was flipped, the man's hawk gaze was switched for a goofy grin. "I'm Albert! Albert Albertson! Don't blame my dad. I named me! What are you?"
What?
"Uh…. Ekius." I answered, more than a little weirded out by the man's rapidly shifting demeanor.
The hawk gaze returned when I gave my name. "Name's origin unknown. Arrived alone with Yuki. Yuki has shown her true appearance. Yuki's true appearance is on display. Likely reason for visit. Will retrieve stone upon successful acquisition of information. Subject previously stated to be mid to late teens. Yuki has a history of providing for orphans. Subject's eyes widened when previous statement was vocalized. Subject is an orphan. Subject'sorphanupbringinglikelyunimportanttonon-standardmanacapacityassuchwillneedto-"
The man's rapid stuttering was cut off as sensei spoke. "Breathe Albert. You will pass out soon if you continue your observations." Sensei looked completely unfazed by the man's antics. If this was common for him, I didn't want to come back. Then again, sensei was hard to faze in general.
Albert breathed deeply in through his nose then turned to sensei. "One stone incoming, Yuki." He walked with purpose to a shelf and plucked a rock off it. He tossed it to sensei, and the moment she caught it her fur and tail disappeared. She looked exactly as she did when I first met her.
She bowed toward Albert. "Thank you." She pulled a stack of bills from her pocket and placed them gently on the counter.
I was glad sensei had her glamour back, but I was far more concerned with the blonde wizard staring thoughtfully at me. He wasn't rambling anymore. He was just staring blankly at me.
"Yes?" I asked, very uncomfortable.
"Cast a spell." He said.
"Huh?" Was all my shocked self could get out.
"Need more data. Your mana capacity speaks to fostered magical potential. Yuki brought you here. Yuki would not have brought you here unless I could aid you in some way. Cast a spell." Aaand there was the rambling.
I looked towards sensei, uncertain.
She gave me a nod. "If anyone could help you with magic, Albert can."
I slowly panned back towards Albert, and saw he hadn't moved from his position five inches away from my face.
"Cast a spell. Need more data." Albert repeated.
Slowly, I lifted my hand up and cast my darkvision spell.
Albert's eyebrows furrowed as he leaned in close. "Unrecognized spell cast. Spell affected subject's eyes. Marked potentially new spell for later study. Spell cast in exactly one point two five seconds after casting began. Spell speed inconsistent with average calculation speed. How were calculations altered?"
There was a beat of silence as he stopped talking.
I trusted sensei, but I was starting to doubt she brought me to the right guy. This dude was nuts.
"How were calculations altered?" Albert repeated.
"Wait, that was a legitimate question?" I asked.
Albert's eyebrows drew even closer together in irritation. "How were calculations altered?"
Just deciding to roll with it, I answered, "I didn't use any. I don't need to."
Albert's eyes widened. "Calculations unnecessary for subject. Subject is anomalous. Intriguing." Albert turned to sensei. "Need to test. Borrowing your student."
Sensei nodded understandingly. "Ensure he is returned before seven o'clock."
Huh? This was a joke ri-
The floor opened up beneath me and I started screaming as I plummeted downwards. Before I had time to truly comprehend the fact I was falling I landed in a large net. I scrambled out of the net and landed on a white tile floor.
"Welcome!"
I spun around and actually sent a fireball at the crazy man.
The spell slowed to a stop in front of him, and he grabbed the ball of fire with his hand.
"Low level spell. Child's play. Subject's mana capacity is suited to more powerful castings. Subject was startled. Subject would have used stronger castings to incapacitate me." He looked away from the fire in his hand and tilted his head at me. "Do you not know better magic?"
"What the fuck!" I was a little too concerned about being kidnapped to listen to the man. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
He extinguished the fire in his hands with an incredulous expression on his face. "Nothing is wrong with me. I think verbally. It helps me process. I don't owe you an explanation. I don't know you. I'm helping as a favor to Yuki. Might get to know you later. Might like you. Might hate you. Can't tell. Come. Need to test." He turned and began walking at a fast clip across the tile.
As he walked, I finally got a chance to look at the chamber I was in. It was a large, circular space with nothing of note other than the tile and the net. Albert was walking towards the only door I could see. For all I knew there were other ones hidden by magic, but it wasn't like I could test that theory. My magic was lacking.
Albert, after realizing I wasn't behind him, turned around and narrowed his eyes at me. "Come. Need to test. Will give you spells as part of tests."
For a moment, I seriously debated charging the guy, but in the end I just sighed and followed him. Sensei wouldn't have left me with him if she thought he'd dissect me.
New spells weren't a bad incentive either.
Seemingly pleased that I was cooperating, Albert nodded contentedly, and began leading the way to the plain wooden door. Once we'd arrived at it, he pulled it open.
The room beyond--if it could be called a mere room--was even bigger than the chamber with the net. Shelves lined the walls filled with brightly colored jars, stones, and papers. There was a collection of complex looking apparatuses spread through the room. Some looked to be for mixing things, others for smashing crystals. Everything in this place screamed level twenty wizard lair.
"Woah." I stated.
Albert looked pleased. "Thank you. Worked hard to collect it all. Follow me." Moving at a brisk pace, he led me through the shelves laden with magical goodies to a white chalked pentagram carved into the ground. He motioned to it and said, "Stand on circle. Will not harm. Will only analyze."
I regarded the pentagram warily--it was a freaking pentagram for crying out loud--but in the end stepped into it. It didn't seem like something a demon could use to possess me, and I was pretty sure there were a hundred other things in this place that could turn me inside out without the need for treachery. Might as well see how deep the rabbit hole went.
"Thank you." Albert stated. He walked to the edge of the circle and cast a spell. The white circle lit up crimson red, and a similarly colored flash covered the space a moment later.
Just in case, I checked over myself once the effect faded. Two arms, two legs, two eyes, one nose, unmentionables in place--everything was where it should be.
I turned my attention back to Albert and saw him regarding me in a new light.
"What?" I asked. "What did you learn?"
"Too little." He answered without answering. "Interference of some kind. Irritating. Must use more mundane means. Follow me to spell tomes." He spun around and rushed away without another word.
Either this guy had serious ADD, or he was just extremely efficient. Maybe a bit of both.
I followed after him, and he stopped at one of the shelves.
After scanning the spines of the books, he pulled one out and offered it to me. "Try to learn spells. Will observe. Take notes. Learn about you."
I snatched the book from him and flicked it open. I couldn't help but grin evilly. The church's books were all rudimentary. This one wasn't. The format was similar, though obviously written by a different author.
Wasting no time, I set about memorizing every glyph array I could. I would read over the spell to see its effect, then memorize the glyph. I was halfway through the book when Albert stopped me.
"Moving too fast. Will not retain knowledge. Testing useless if knowledge lost. Restart book." He stated, sounding mildly irritated.
I scowled at him and closed the book. Holding up my hand, I started casting one of the new glyphs. The spell wasn't dangerous. It was an illusion spell, albeit a weak one.
A small leprechaun appeared in my palm and began to dance a jig.
Albert blinked, then leaned in closer to observe the leprechaun. "Interesting. Time elapsed insufficient to learn spell through trial and error. How was this accomplished?"
"I only need to memorize the glyphs. Everything else is unnecessary." I boasted with a cocky grin. This guy's attitude was starting to get to me, and I enjoyed the fact I was throwing so many wrenches in his understanding of magic.
"Interesting. Recommend never again using leprechaun likeness. Fae grow irritated when imitated." He said offhandedly as he walked away from me.
I paled slightly. "How dangerous are leprechauns?" I called after Albert, but he was ignoring me. Too engrossed in searching for whatever it was he was searching for.
I grumbled and sat down next to the spell book. I opened the book to the page I'd left off on and continued reading. So long as I was here I was going to make the trip worth it.
I had nearly made it through the whole book when Albert returned.
"Testing theory. Infuse these." He dropped a rock, a piece of paper, and a pair of scissors in front of me.
I stared at the three objects in incredulity, then looked up at him through half lidded eyes. "Is this a poor attempt at a joke?"
Albert looked genuinely confused. He looked back down at the objects he'd dropped in front of me, and his eyes lit up in understanding. "Not a joke. Funny coincidence though. Need to test your capability. Can you empower weapons? Can you alter matter? Can you sever connections? All are advanced works of mana manipulation. Mana capacity suggests you are capable. Do you have control needed? Interested to see."
I didn't understand what any of that meant. "Can you explain what you're asking me to do?"
Albert's eyebrows furrowed. He walked back to a nearby shelf and returned with another piece of paper, pair of scissors, and rock. "Empower weapons." The scissors glowed a dull, icy blue until he let go of them, at which point they returned to their silver color. "Alter matter." The rock's solid shape melted into a small model of a dog. "Sever connections." The piece of paper disintegrated into a thousand perfectly even cuts. "Try."
Having no idea how to do any of the things he just showed me, I tempered my expectations and picked up the scissors.
I tried thinking about making them glow, but the blade remained a dull silver. Pursing my lips, I moved some of my mana into them.
The scissors glowed a faint violet. It wasn't nearly as bright or refined as what Albert accomplished, but it was better than I'd expected.
Putting the scissors back on the ground, I picked up the rock. Deciding to go with what worked, I sent my mana into it. I poked around in the rock with mana, and was able to morph it from a round shape into a lump of stone. Not good, but better than nothing.
For my last test, I picked up the paper. I tried the mana trick again, but the paper just melted wherever my mana touched.
Shrugging as the molten paper fell from my hand, I turned to Albert. "How'd I do?"
Albert nodded approvingly. "Well. Have much talent. Must refine control. Will help as favor to Yuki."
Realizing I was talking to a real life wizard--a crazy wizard, but a wizard nonetheless--I decided it was a good idea to get his opinion on making enchanted gear. I'd been meaning to start experimenting with trying to make my own runes--actual runes, not the poor excuse for a language the church gave me--and having an actual wizard supervise seemed like a good idea.
"Albert? Do you have any enchanting experience?" I asked. He'd sold sensei's glamour, so either he was an enchanter, or could put me in touch with one.
Albert nodded. "Enchanting difficult. Well worth the toil. How Yuki's rock was made. Interested in enchanting?"
I nodded. "I have a book on runes I thought were usable in enchanting, but were actually just a stupid magical cipher. I feel like they can be used for more though, and I wanted to try making myself some equipment. I've got ideas for useful gear, but I don't really know how to make the runes work the way I think they can. Do you have any advice?"
Albert began shaking his head. "Runes unusable for enchanting. Need norse rune work. Closely guarded secret. Must be valkyrie. Even norse runes inefficient. Too few combinations. Not enough effects. Not enough potential for experimentation. Norse runes most suited to spell casting. Enchanting requires power and binding. Takes time to learn."
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "Really? I feel like runes should be able to do it."
Albert studied me closely, searching for something I didn't understand. "Follow me." He turned around and began picking his way through the shelves.
Once more, I followed him through his maze of a lab until he'd arrived at a work table with ink, paper, and another pair of scissors. What was with the scissors?
"Use ink. Draw runes on scissors. Make scissors burn when cutting. Testing theory." He said in his rapid speech. I wasn't sure I'd ever get used to how the man talked, but if he was willing to let me play with his toys I was going to keep my mouth shut.
I picked up the quill, and began drawing experimental runes I remembered from the book Father Gregory had given me on the paper. After drawing out the entirety of runic symbols I knew, nothing had happened. The runes just sat there and taunted me with their uselessness.
I frowned, and getting an idea, flipped the paper over to try again.
From the two spell books I'd consumed, I knew a wide variety of glyphs that created some sort of flame. From something as simple as lighting a campfire, to now being able to burn down a building with a few well placed blasts. What if I disregarded the stupid runes from the book, and instead used glyphs to try and make the enchantment take?
Carefully, I drew out a rune that was essentially the combined form of several glyphs I had memorized. All of which dealt with fire in some form. From shooting forth a fireball to lighting a small candle.
Albert inspected my work with apparent intrigue. "Never seen this before. What are those symbols?"
Was this a test? I raised an eyebrow at him as I said, "Glyphs. They're kind of important in spell casting."
Albert looked confused. "Know nothing of 'glyphs'. Spells are cast with circles and calculations. Not glyphs."
Now I knew he had to be screwing with me. I walked over to the book of spells he'd given me to read, and carried it over to him. I pointed at the array of glyphs drawn next to a random spell's description and said, "These. I don't know the technical name."
Albert looked between the open book and me with a thoughtful expression. "Interesting." He stated.
"What?" I asked.
"I see no glyphs. Only spell circle. I drew spell circle. You see something that I did not draw. Curious. Interesting." He explained, watching me intently.
"Wait, you don't see the glyphs?" I asked in confusion, checking the book to make sure the glyphs were still there. They were, making Albert's claim even stranger.
Albert shook his head. "Only circle. Intrigued. You are not lying. You see something else. Please complete rune. Expect interesting result."
Blinking in shock, I moved back to the table.
He didn't see the glyphs? That was insane. How could he cast without the glyphs? They were practically the entire spell. Without them he'd have to….calculate to account for unknown variables.
Ok, I was starting to freak out. Why could I see the glyphs when he couldn't? If they were what let me cast without calculations, could I teach this to others? No, he still couldn't read the glyphs. He couldn't even see them unless I drew them out for him. I'd thought this was a common thing in this universe's magic system. Why was the first mage I'd come across unable to perceive them?
It had to have something to do with my 'mother', right? Sensei and I had just talked about how that likely played into my overabundance of ki. Maybe something about her gave me a--for lack of a better term--DXD doujutsu that let me see magic differently?
Testing a theory--Albert was corrupting me--I created an illusion of a fire glyph above my hand. I held it out to Albert. "What do you see?"
"Flame." Albert answered immediately. "You hold fire."
I shook my head. "This is a glyph. One that will cause fire."
Albert smiled. "Please complete rune. Expect interesting result."
Confused, but also wanting to see what would happen, I got back to work on the rune. As I drew more glyphs on the paper to see if anything interesting would happen. Sure enough, the glyphs themselves began to shift and swim. Some migrated away from the others, and some interlocked themselves together.
"Are you seeing this?" I asked Albert without taking my eyes off the shifting glyphs before me.
"Unsure what you are asking. See only what you have drawn." He responded.
"So you don't see the glyphs moving around on the paper?" I clarified.
"No." He denied. "Very intriguing."
I had to agree. This was intriguing.
I first learned magic because unintelligible symbols--that I later learned to be a magical cipher of sorts--swam into something comprehensible. Now my glyphs were doing the same thing. Magical glyphs that Albert, a seasoned human wizard, couldn't see unless I put in the time to draw them out.
Trusting my instincts, I ignored the glyphs that were moving away from the rest, and focused on tracing the symbol formed by the glyphs that merged together. When it was done, I grabbed the scissors and carefully copied it onto them.
"How do I power a rune?" I asked Albert.
"Do not know. Excited to find out. Trust gut. Offering moral support." He spoke with excitement and gave me two thumbs up.
Did saying you were giving moral support without actually doing anything really count as giving moral support? Sure, he was giving me thumbs up, but still?
Whatever. I had more important things to focus on.
I touched the rune on the scissors, and pushed mana into it. The moment I started, I realized exactly how much I would need to power the rune. I could make it one use only for a small amount, or I could make the rune permanent for a truly absurd mana expenditure. I was pretty sure I could handle the permanent one, so I began pouring mana into the rune.
A very long, very tense period of time, and a lot of sweat later, the rune was fully charged. And it would stay that way until someone destroyed it.
"It's done." I told Albert tiredly.
He clapped, actually clapped while grinning like an idiot. "Excited. Cut paper with scissors. Wish to see result."
I picked up a piece of paper--because I wanted to see the scissors cut it, not because Albert told me to--and sliced into the paper with the scissors.
The paper burst into flames the moment the scissors cut.
Laughter echoed throughout the vast laboratory, and it took me a moment to realize both Albert and I were cackling like madmen.
"Marvelous!" Albert cried, still speaking faster than a bullet train. "Rune exquisite! Should not be able to do that. Did that anyway! Can see rune now. Still no glyphs. Confident I could replicate. Must be careful, Ekius. Focus on creating rune to obscure other runes. If others learn to copy your runes you lose an edge. A big edge. Others will come after you. You have created new way to enchant!" He turned to look me in the eye. He seemed to think something over in his head, then nodded to himself. "Have got to know you. Made up mind. You are my friend now. Will help you. Will protect you."
That came out of the blue.
"Thanks?" I hazarded.
"Gratitude unnecessary. You are my friend." He went to speak again, but froze mid-word, his jaw hanging open. He blinked. "Yuki has entered store. What time is it?"
My eyes widened as I realized I didn't know how long we'd been down here. "When was I supposed to be back?"
"Yuki's presence suggests sometime before now." He spoke in fear.
As much as I might want to, I couldn't argue with his statement. This wasn't good.
"Albert." Sensei's voice spoke through a rock on a nearby shelf. "If you do not return Ekius within the next ten seconds, I will destroy the building." She threatened wanton destruction in the same voice I would talk about the weather. In her eyes, she was simply stating a fact.
I was scared. And it wasn't me she was mad at.
Albert--who she was mad at--paled. He snapped his fingers, and the two of us warped through space to appear in the shop whose floor I had fallen through an unknown amount of time ago.
"Ekius fine." Albert spoke even faster than normal under sensei's fierce glare. "My fault. Got carried away. Discovered new enchanting method! Ekius able to read magic. Unsure how. Should not be possible. Very interesting!" Despite his enthusiasm, there was sweat gathering on his forehead as he looked down at the short woman in front of him.
"You said he would be returned by seven." Sensei spoke matter of factly.
"Did not have clock. Lost time. Too engrossed in discoveries. I am sorry. Will not happen again." Albert spoke while standing ramrod straight.
Sensei glared at him a moment longer, before letting him off the hook. "See to it that it doesn't. Ekius? It is time to go home." She turned around and led the way out of the store.
"Look forward to seeing you again. Always enjoy seeing friends!" Albert called as I closed the door behind me.
Sensei was waiting outside with a smile on her face. "It would seem you enjoyed yourself."
I went to refute her, but stopped myself. I actually did have fun didn't I? Albert was several eggs short of the basket, but under all his craziness he was actually pretty fun. That and he helped me discover a way to abuse magic. My inner munchkin approved.
"Yeah." I finally answered. "I guess I did."
"Good." Sensei said. "It is unhealthy for me to be your sole source of social interaction. I will create breaks in your training schedule so you may visit with Albert." She began walking back towards the dojo.
If she seriously thought I wasn't socializing enough that Albert was her solution, maybe I needed to get out more.
I fell into step behind her, and tossed a look over my shoulder. What I saw caused me to smile.
When I had entered the store, it had been named 'Go Away'. The store had a new name now.
'You Can Come In'.
Not the most eloquent name, but Albert wasn't the most eloquent guy.
I smiled all the way to the dojo.
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