-By Gray-
People say that time flies. I agree with that. Time goes by so fast that by the time you realize it, it's been a week since I arrived in London.
In these light and strange seven days, so much has happened that it's hard for me to remember everything clearly. My mind can't process information as well as others. Actually that is a flaw of mine that I can't deal with, consequently, I am not very intelligent compared to all the people I have met in this city.
Two days ago I was on a strange case with my mentor, Lord El-Melloi II. We solved a mystery inside a magus residence outside of London. Standing next to my mentor, I felt as if I were Watson, Sherlock's assistant....
It was as if I was inside the pages of the books, solving cases alongside a talented detective as shown in the words on each page. It was a formidable experience, but I must admit that my mentor is a terrible magus. His gruff attitude quickly causes everyone around him to walk away and speak ill of him. It's kind of sad, actually. My mentor is not a bad person, but he has a lot of personal problems that he hasn't told anyone about. We are not so different in that.
As for Sakura, I don't have much to say. She's such a nice person that it's disturbing at times. She's beautiful and to some extent perfect for the public eye, but when we're at home, she's much more relaxed and friendly, as if this place is a sanctuary where no one can see her.
I'd like to be like her. She is very good at what she does. I also saw a demonstration of her magecraft four days ago.
Because, for such a heavy training it can cause damage to the surroundings, Sakura and my mentor decided to leave the city. There was something I didn't like about it though. For the training they also called Svin and Flat came because he felt like it.
Flat is, as far as I can tell, an idiot, but he is not a bad person. He doesn't do what he does on purpose, he has no indication of wanting to make fun of others. What's more, it seems that the nickname he gave Svin (Le Chien), is a way of showing his appreciation for this same person.
I can remember the scene clearly because I can only describe what I saw as epic.
"Keep your eyes open, Gray."
Holding his cigar, my mentor nodded his head once Sakura and Svin were facing each other.
At that moment, we were surrounded by a thick forest that completely covered the scene. In the middle of all this forest, a treeless, circular, combat arena-like place was made for us.
"Remember, this is not a fight of power, but of strategy. In a fight destructive power is not always the solution. Look into your opponent's weaknesses, his movements and his attack patterns. Add all that up and you stand a chance."
My mentor went into his teacher mode, trying to leave a teaching for Sakura and Svin to the end. In response, they nodded their heads and adopted strange fighting stances.
Sakura relaxed her body muscles and adopted a stance with many openings in which to attack, but Svin seemed unwilling to underestimate her. This struck me as curious.
"Begin..."
Said my mentor. At the moment, Sakura took a deep breath and whispered a couple of words that I couldn't hear. Instantly, her body was covered by a strange, faint yellow light that faded as quickly as it appeared. In turn, Svin was surrounded by a blue light that quickly covered his entire body.
The ears of a strange animal were depicted on his head by the blue light and his arms and legs took the shape of canine claws.
Before I could even think about how they were doing this, Sakura and Svin lunged at each other, but this was the first thing I found surprising, as the ground under Sakura's feet broke due to the force exerted on her legs as she propelled herself.
Svin, then, being sufficiently close to Sakura, launched a claw with all the weight of his body, but Sakura dodged it by leaning backwards, while lifting her leg to hit Svin's chin.
Surprisingly he managed to connect, which lifted Svin a few centimeters in the air. Sakura took advantage of that to clench her fist and hit him in the abdomen. Svin, receiving the full blow, was propelled backwards rolling on the ground.
He parried with the strength of his claws and prepared to launch himself back into the attack, but my mentor's voice echoed and interrupted the encounter.
"Stop, Svin. Let me ask you a question."
"Uh... professor, I..."
"Do you know why Sakura managed to hit you twice without you even being able to defend yourself?"
"Not really, I don't. I don't know..."
"Although you have a good fighting style that is enhanced by your magecraft, you tend to overthink your moves. Sakura trained to be fast and accurate. She thinks while her body moves. That's something you should keep in mind. We use our brains to send signals to the rest of our bodies to do what we think of as an 'action'. If you're stuck thinking, you can't perform that action with speed. Everything must be in your vision, your sense of smell and hearing, you are good at that. A fighting magus must develop his quick thinking along with his senses. Therefore, you must think fast while fighting. Every move counts, so analyze your situation and use it to your advantage."
Amazing... My mentor was able to say all that based on two quick moves that lasted less than three seconds. Svin, in fact, was unaffected by this. What's more, he took the criticism very seriously and understood what his teacher said.
That was this person's talent; the reason why everyone praises him as the best teacher in the El-Melloi school.
So, after that, the battle continued and I continued to be amazed at what I was seeing.
No doubt the magus under my mentor's tutelage are talented, and Sakura is even more so.
For now, I won't focus on what I think of others. I feel that if I say it out loud, many people would hate me, not to say that one of those people already hates me.
It was Svin himself, as I feel that his hatred towards me is too great.
"This is harder than it looks..."
I whispered looking at the board and listening to my mentor's explanations. All this sudden information entering my brain seemed to drill into my skull. There are many things I don't understand, but sitting next to me, Sakura took it upon herself to guide me a bit on what the professor was explaining.
"Thank you..."
I said to her.
"Don't thank me. I always say I like to help others. So don't feel bad, the class is almost over."
And that's how the time passed in this large classroom.
There were dozens of seats built in the shape of an arch that pointed to the center front of the classroom. The wood was well cared for, brown and shiny is what anyone would see as a well-kept place.
When classes were over, I went out together with Sakura because we both live in the same house, however, as usual, the blonde twins appeared.
They are not really twins, but since they are both blond and blue-eyed, everyone calls them that.
"Gray, Gray, can I walk you home?"
Svin repeated it insistently as he walked beside Sakura. Could it be that he wants to go with me to bury me like a corpse? I have no idea.
So I turned him down politely.
"I'm sorry, I can't..."
I said. The look of disappointment could already be seen on Svin's face. Sakura, at the same time, nodded her head while looking at me. She was carrying her backpack with both hands in front of her legs, like one of those anime girls I once saw on my mentor's TV.
At some point Flat and Svin were left behind arguing. We both took advantage of that to go to another place, my mentor's office.
"How have you been doing being my father's 'assistant'?"
Sakura asked. This time if I could be honest.
"It's been quite a strange journey. My mentor is very good at pulling off the detective act. I can see why the Clock Tower usually contacts him to solve all sorts of mysteries."
"I've once helped him in the past. It's amazing the first time you see him being so deductive and intelligent. You don't expect it at all."
"I guess that's the way it was in my case."
We were silent for a few seconds after that. It was then that we reached the office door.
Sakura knocked twice, but no one opened, so she opened the door and walked through. I followed her, but when we walked in we found Reines sitting in my mentor's chair.
"Miss Reines?"
I wasn't expecting this change of atmosphere seeing her there, but Sakura didn't find it strange.
"Gray and my beloved little sister. It's good to see them again."
Sakura took a seat across from Reines.
"Hello, sister. Where's my father?"
"He's not in, at the moment. He went out to settle some business with some people at the Clock Tower. I don't think he'll be back today."
"You gave your responsibility to him and that's why you stayed here, isn't it?"
Reines smiled as if she didn't understand anything, but she herself was the one who confessed.
"You can't imagine his face when he left. I feel that seeing that expression of annoyance on my beloved brother gave me more years of life."
"You are so cruel."
"But I'm adorable like that, aren't I?"
"You may be, but you're still cruel. You should take care of your own responsibilities before you get used to depending on my father. He's already told you that on more than one occasion, don't you think?"
Reines seemed to give in to Sakura's words, as she leaned her forehead on the desk saying:
"Okey..."
Sighing all the years of life she gained from annoying my mentor, Reines looked at me, but I just avoided her gaze. Still, she addressed me cordially.
"Are you learning a lot in my honorable brother's classes?"
"Uh, yes. I'm still having a hard time because I'm not very smart, but it's doing me a lot of good learning magecraft."
"That's what I thought. But you really are smart, you don't need to be so modest. Isn't that right, sis?"
"This time I have to agree with my sister. You can't be smart in every subject. There are things you are better at than others."
"Thank you for having so much esteem in me..."
Yes... I am very grateful. But I can't help but think that you are helping the wrong person. Me... should I just accept everything I have around me just like that? It's still hard to think that this isn't just a dream based on some novel I read in the past.
Dreams are good, but it's bad to cling to them.
"Learning from such a talented teacher from a young age can be overwhelming. You should ask Sakura how difficult it was to become so powerful in her magecraft."
"Difficult? Sakura...?"
"I wasn't always that good at magecraft. My father helped me a lot and I've managed to get so high. Still, I have a long way to go. Believe it or not, he told me that I can become even stronger. I'm still developing my magecraft every day to become stronger. Until the day I see the person who saved me again, I will keep getting stronger to be by his side. So accepting help from others can be a good thing, don't you think?"
I don't know what kind of expression I have on my face right now, but I feel like she just read my mind.
With each passing day, I somehow manage to forget everything that has plagued me all these years.
Even Reines agreed with Sakura's words.
"My brother may be a failure as a magus, but he is quite a genius as a teacher. Through his knowledge he makes those who are talented advance a lot in their magecraft. It will be the same with you."
Coming from Reines, these words surprised me. She is very sadistic and takes no pains to hide that fact. She is not ashamed of anything and sometimes that can be a great strength. Even in that part I wish I was like her.
"Yes. It's always been that way. I'm sure my father won't let you down."
It sounds like you're two people trusting my mentor a lot. That just goes to show how trustworthy he is despite his flaws.
In this whole week, I have lived more than I have in my entire life. Everything is always surrounded by an unparalleled light that reminds me that there is still a way to escape my misery, but when I look in the mirror I remember the reason why it all ended this way.
This face is not mine. I am no longer me...
You who look at me, can you still think that the one you are looking at is not a different person from me?
You who look at me expectantly, can you say with certainty that you trust me?
One step at a time, they say, but my mind desperately tries to process everything at once. I can't move one step at a time if all I do is try to run away.
What should I do?
"I see. I'll trust him... I will..."
I want to believe that I am doing something I need to do for the people I met. Those who smile together and walk a path full of light in their future. I'm still stuck in that dark graveyard, I still can't get out of there.
I hope that someday, even with this face I hate so much, I can move forward on my own path.
For the people I met.
For the people who in such a short time already trust me?
Can I just stand by them?
Who knows? Everything is always so strange that it confuses me.
Even so, I will still be here, with you. Because I want to believe I'm doing the right thing.
"We'd better go home. Maybe my father will be late home because of someone."
Reines replied to Sakura evading the previous words.
"I wonder who the culprit is."
This snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at the door, where Sakura was waiting for me. She is waiting for me and Reines looks at us as if she will just like to see us together.
"Then we'll be going. Reines, make sure you get home early, please. Don't stay bothering my father like last time."
"You know I can't promise anything."
"You're hopeless..."
Both of them are like real sisters. Under my hood I smiled softly. It's impossible to get bored being with people like that. Every day is an odyssey for me. I hope that, in this long odyssey, I will find the answer to what I am looking for.
Who am I? I asked myself as I walked along with Sakura.
I still don't know and I feel that I will sink deeper into darkness the more I ask myself that question.
What am I? That's also another interesting question.
For the owner of this face, I would like to know how you lived your life?
To be continued...