Riku F. walked into Nishida's office, dreading whatever he was being called for. Nishida was standing by the window, looking down at the city, her office rather high up in the building. It made sense, considering she was the president, though it wasn't the top floor. She looked over at Riku as she heard the door open and smiled coyly. "Ah, there you are. I was starting to wonder if you'd come at all."
"I was eating breakfast in the library, which is on the bottom floor, and you're on one of the highest floors. What'd you expect?" Riku rolled his eyes.
"I don't know, that you'd fly up with your wind? Maybe make wings of light?" She giggled.
"Yeah, for the whole world to see! Great idea Nishida." He took a seat in the chair in front of her desk.
"I was just joking, calm down." She chuckled and sat across from him behind her desk. "Now, do you know why I called you here today?"
Riku gasped dramatically. "Oh no, am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong?" He asked sarcastically.
She rolled her eyes. "I imagine Eli's told you everything by now?"
He nodded. "You want me a part of your little magic group or whatever?"
She nodded. "If you complete all the tests I laid out. No one's ever failed before, so I don't see why you would."
He clenched his fists. "So you made every single one of them go through things like I did?"
She shook her head. "Each of them had already been through some traumatic event in their lives. I needed to put you through that so you'd harden your resolve when the time came, so you'd realize that there are just some people that can't be helped."
Riku unclenched his fists slowly, remembering several events from his past. "If only you knew..." He said to himself internally. "Right... But why me? I'm not only a guy, but I only recently joined this facility. Why add me to your greatest group?"
Nishida smiled. "Out of the thousands of women here, only those thirty and myself have magic. Do you know how rare it is for someone to have a magical ability?"
"Yet you have 30 of them... Why do you need me to join and make it 31?"
"Well, there are many reasons. I might need you in the future. Everyone's abilities are unique and no one else has the same exact one. It's my dream to discover everyone who wields magic and make them my allies. I want people with magic to have a place they belong..."
Riku kept his gaze fixed on her. "Yet I'm the only guy here..."
"That's honestly just pure coincidence. You're the first male I've found with magic. Other than..." She averted her eyes. "Anyways, I want you to feel like you belong here. I want to help you with whatever problems you have and more. Is it too much to ask that you do the same in return every now and then?"
Riku blinked, sighing. "No... No I guess it's not. You are doing a lot for every one of us... I should be grateful really..."
Nishida stared at him blankly, somewhat bewildered. "Is this where you turn around and say, 'Yeah, thanks for torturing me with those women, I'm really grateful' or something?"
"No, I mean it." Riku looked into her eyes for a moment, averting them right after. "I have a real friend now thanks to you. So thank you, for real." He smiled, thinking that was what Riku L. would say in this situation.
Nishida stared at him for a moment. "Of course..."
"Don't go thinking that means I trust you for a second though. Anyways, what'd you actually call me here for? Surely not just for that, right?"
"Of course not." She chuckled. "The truth is, I wanted to talk to you about the trials to come."
"Well go ahead. I'm listening."
"The trial of the mind involves several different tests, puzzles, and riddles. They're different for each person, so don't think asking someone will give you an advantage or anything. What happened to you with the girls before wasn't a real trial, I just did it for the reason I already told you. You'll have to go through some of the toughest mind games you've possibly ever faced." She leaned forward, bringing her hands together. "You'll also be tested strength wise. The lower magics don't have fighting abilities, so you'll be tested against the lowest ranked fighter we have right now. Then you can make your way up the ranks slowly until you eventually lose to one of them, if at all. Your rank doesn't just depend on your strength, but your mind, will, and more. All of these trials will determine where I put you rank wise. It'll also decide whether or not you make your own facility to be the leader of or if I put you in charge of an existing one."
Riku continued to listen, nodding here and there. "Just as I thought, all of this really is going to be a pain in the ass..." He internally groaned.
"We can get started whenever you like, but remember, I may need your help sooner or later. It's your choice whether or not you want to be one of the magics and take the trials. Even if you choose not to, I hope you'll accept my requests for help every now and then."
Riku sighed. "You know even if I didn't want to be one of the magics I'd still help you. Now, stop talking nonsense and get on with the trial explanation." He paused. "Actually, wait a second...what kind of things would you even need help dealing with anyways? You seem like you could handle anything."
Nishida frowned slightly. "I can't handle everything on my own, that's why I have the magics. As for what kinds of things I'd even need help dealing with...well, a variety of things... Just like..."
The door suddenly opened. "Problems with people like me, right? Shall we discuss further business or should I come back at a later date..?"
Nishida's eyes widened and she instantly tensed up. Riku looked over to see a man a little older than Nishida walking into the office. "Who the hell is this..?" He asked internally.