Loid followed them through the loop, finding himself in a school's compound.
They were inside the Imperial Academy, the colossal gold bell on the west tower rang loudly as they walked across the compound, their shoes crushing the soft green grass beneath them.
There were students everywhere, in the front yard, in the hallways, in the dining hall.
White shirt and black trousers or shorts, whatever one preferred. That was the academy's uniform but one thing common in all the students was the red capes they wore, academy's emblem sewn with silver thread on the chest; a wand and sword crossing each other.
Walking down a crowded hallway, Loid felt a tug on his sleeve. Rin stood on his toes as he whispered,"Don't morph here, Loid."
Loid could see the intricate pattern of his blue iris with how close the human was standing to him. Why on earth were Loid's ears turning warm?
"Ok?"
"Huh? Yes. Alright", Loid looked away, running a hand through his black locks. He was getting anxious again. How frustrating!
"Why are we here?", he asked them, going around a group of giggling girls.
"I need to get Genki back from Mr. Gobbles",Rin said, leading them to a hall. It was a large space with white marble floor and huge portraits of important looking people on all the walls
"You don't have your sword with you?"
They climbed up a twisting staircase which was one of the many others in that hall.
It was under a spell, Loid could deduce that from its iron railings that emitted a feeble gray glow when touched. He followed them all the way to the top coming to a small wooden door at the end of their ascent.
Opening the door, Rin flexed his right arm in front of his face. Just then a fist collided into it, followed by another. Rin grabbed the third one before it could meet his jaw.
"You are becoming predictable, Thor", Rin smirked, his knuckles turning white with the force he was applying. He raised his leg, intending to hit his opponent's flank but it was caught midway. His smirk grew wider and he used his other leg, kicking the person in the neck before falling on his back, his hand and leg free of their lock.
Loid blinked once and then twice, having no idea of what was going on. Who was that white haired boy? More importantly why were they fighting? He looked at Kim but the elf just went around them to the desk in a corner of that small room.
"Uncle Gobbles!", Kim called out, ringing the tiny bell on the table.
Rin was the first to get on his feet, the white haired boy following him. His eyes were golden, unusual for a human. Black trousers, leather combat boots, a sleeveless white shirt and his uniform cape tied around his waist.
"You are slow, Rin", the person said with an indifferent time, cracking his neck, the dog tag around his neck swaying a little.
"I haven't been in a fist fight for a while. Cut me some slack, Thor."
The door behind the desk creaked open, revealing a short bald man with pointed ears and green eyes. His brown trousers was crumpled and his white shirt's buttons were disarranged.
He yawned and without sparing the boys a single glance, the man said,"Clean up before you leave, you brats. Now where's that note I wrote last night?"
He began searching for it among the hundreds of scattered papers on his desk. The room was untidy, there were shelves lining every wall, a window in the north wall opened into the central compound of the school, a door behind the desk and the other one in which Loid was standing, not knowing what he was doing there.
Should he introduce himself? But looking around, Mr. Gobbles was busy looking for his paper with Kim and that white haired man, Thor, was leaning against the wall next to the door, arms crossed, clearly not welcoming any conversation.
Loid sighed and walked up to Rin who was looking at the books on the shelves.
"Does it hurt?", Loid asked the boy.
"Hmm. What?", Rin said, running a finger down a book's spine.
Loid held the boy's wrist, getting his attention. He raised his arm, seeing a bruise on Rin's forearm.
"Oh this. Just a little. I'll just use HEAL U-"
"HEAL UP."
Loid ran his hand over the boy's injury, a red glow surrounding his palm. Rin found himself surprised at his actions. He was healing Rin despite him telling him that that he could do it himself.
Loid let go of his arm,"Why must you be so reckless? I'm sure you could have shielded yourself with ease."
Rin gave him a sheepish smile,"What's the fun in that? Thor's a great opponent to have."
Loid looked over at the mentioned boy.
"He is the vice president now. He is less grumpier than he looks."
"Found it!"
Heads turned towards the triumphant man who was swinging a paper over his head.
"Finally",Thor pushed himself away from the wall, taking the paper.
"Tell the president that I don't take urgent appointments. That brat never learns."
Thor nodded, walking out of the room. In the doorway, he stopped and said without turning his back,"Did you find anything?"
Rin looked at Loid and then back at the boy,"Nothing."
Thor left, the door slowly closing behind his back.
"Here's your sword, boy", Mr. Gobbles threw the sword at him with a single swing of his arm. Rin catched it in his arms before it could fall on the floor.
"Careful, uncle Gobbles. It's delicate."
"That's why you get it scratched every other day? Kim help me fold these letters into planes. I'm already running behind schedule and you made me repair your sword."
Rin placed his hands together,"I apologize, uncle Gobbles. But you are the best repairer I know."
"No need to flatter me, you sly brat. Take care of Genki. It has already lost its kemono."
Rin raised the sword, running a finger across the crack in its handle.
A permanent damage to a magical weapon. Loid knew what that meant. Rin had used a cursed spell.
The boy called the sword back. Blueish luminosity engulfed the weapon before it disappeared.
"Thank you, uncle."
Uncle Gobbles huffed, sitting in his chair and picking up his fountain pen,"Who's the lad you have brought along with you?"
Rin looked at the said lad,"He is Loid. He's a friend from a village in the north."
Gobbles looked at Rin and then at the red eyed foreigner. The vagueness in Rin's words hadn't gone unnoticed by the elder elf.
"Nice to meet you, boy. I'm Gobbles. Kim's uncle and the person who does almost everything for that infamous Imperial council."
Loid shook the elf's hand,"Pleasure meeting you, sir."
"Uncle is fine. Any friend of these two is a son of mine."
"Yes. Thank you, uncle Gobbles."
"Now, can I get a paper and a pen?", Rin asked.
"Did president send you another job? That boy. Nothing goes unnoticed by him."
Rin grabbed a blank paper and a pen from the desk, handing them to Loid.
"That's what keeps this system running, Uncle. Who know what war may break between species without his orders for us Kages."
It was a chilly night and Rin yawned for the tenth time, stretching out his arms over his head, his earring swaying.
"Is it your first time doing a job at midnight?"
Rin shook his head,"no, but I can never get used to it. I wanna go back to sleep."
Loid chuckled at his whining. He was wearing black shirt and trouser with brown leather boots while Rin was in a black trouser and a white button up shirt. He had a badge pinned to his chest, a little above his heart. It was the academy's emblem but in gold.
"Why do these emblems differ in color?", Loid asked him as they walked out of the house, its residents sleeping as the two of them got ready for the job at midnight.
In the middle of the lawn, Rin raised his hand.
TELEPORT.
A magic circle appeared under their feet and the next moment, Loid and Rin were standing in a forest. Tall trees surrounded them, their thick canopies blocking their view of the starry sky. The leaves rustled in the course of a mild wind that blew past them. Somewhere deep in that quiet forest, an owl would hoot every once and then.
"Silver is for every student of the academy while golden shows that you are on the council. We should wait here for someone to show us the way."
Rin leaned against a tree, folding his arms across his chest.
"How many Kages are there?",Loid came to stand by the boy, picking up a stray leave that had fallen on Rin's head.
"9. One of them..died...2 years ago. Man, why can't we see the sky?", Rin looked up, blinking twice.
Loid frowned.
Observing Rin was one thing that Loid had gotten good at the past week. He had learned a few of his gestures and what they meant and at that moment, he knew that the boy was trying not to cry.
Loid reached out for his shoulder.
"Kage sama?"
He retracted his hand.
There was a black haired boy standing on a branch over their heads. A black eyed pixie. But weren't pixies supposed to be short heightened like fairies?
"Yes. You requested for protection during the festival of lights."
Rin took out the letter they had received that morning. A wave of his hand and the letter flew over to the pixie. He read it, his features relaxing a bit before he jumped down from the branch and knelt in front of Rin, dirt getting on his knuckles.
"My apologies for doubting you, Kage sama."
"Oh no, no need to apologize. It was right to not trust me. Please call me Rin and he's Loid, my friend."
The boy got up, shaking Rin's and Loid's hands,"I'm Yuki. Please follow me."
They walked behind him through that forest and then inside a small cave being hidden by a waterfall, its clear water glistening under the moonlight.
"It's not his real form. You must be wondering", Rin whispered, taking the hand Loid had offered to help him come down from a boulder and jumping down.
"How did you know?"
Rin brushed away the dirt from Loid's shoulder,"Because you are a curious person."
Rin continued walking, that pixie leading a few feet in front of them.
"And how did you know that?"
Rin looked over his shoulder, smiling at him,"From studying you. Just like how you have been observing me."
A smile spread across Loid's lips as he watched Rin's retreating back.
'He is smart.'
"Get lost and I won't come looking for you, Loid."
Loid hastened his steps, reaching the boy's side. Rin looked up at him, grinning to show his pearly teeth,"You must be really afraid of getting lost."
"I'm a lion. I know how to find my way", Loid smirked.
"Is that so?", Rin asked jumping on a stone; first one of the many others scattered across that narrow stream.
"Yes, it is", Loid said, following the boy. Rin turned around, his earring swaying. He pointed over his shoulder,"Then you don't need him or me, do you?"
Loid stepped on Rin's stone grabbing the boy by his shoulders. He didn't want him to fall and get wet.
"I said no such thing. I'm to stay by your side."
"I didn't know lions were so loyal."
"We never forget what we owe someone and to you, I owe my life."
Rin flicked his forehead,"You don't owe me anything, you numbskull. Let's go. Unlike you, I have a terrible sense of direction."
Loid rubbed his forehead, watching Rin make his way across the stream.
It was true. He owed him for stopping his rampage and for finding Damian.
He must repay his kindness.
It was a small village guarded on both sides by hills, its houses made of wood and leaves.
A simple village brimming with life.
Hundreds of pixies dressed in animal hides and tree leaved were joyously busy in the final preparations of the night.
Lights, flowers, dresses.
Loid and Rin followed their guiding pixie to a house on the top of a hill overlooking that village. It was a small hut with roof of leaves and straws. It had a single wooden door and a small round window. Outside there was a small field of potatoes and carrots.
"Pixies love sweet potatoes",Rin whispered to Loid before following Yuki inside the priestess's house.
"Greetings to Kage sama and his companion",the lady said, getting up from her seat beside the window. She was a beauty; black eyes, black hair tied into a long braid, a green dress reaching her ankles.
"Greetings to you too, high priestess",Rin knelt in front of her, a hand on his chest.
Loid knelt down beside Rin. He really needed to learn new cultures. Being the ruler, he had never felt the need of kneeling in front of someone before. It must be a Kage's job to learn about the customs of all the different kind of species.
"The pleasure is mine. I apologize for such an urgent request for your help but we are in a difficult situation here",she whispered, her eyebrows furrowed. She went up to a shelf and brought back a small wooden box.
'That energy.'
Rin narrowed his eyes at her, a hand on Genki's handle. Loid sensed his tension as well and slid close to the human.
He must not let him get in danger.
"What is inside it?"
The woman sat down in front of them, her fingers gripping tightly on the box."I mean no harm, Kage sama. You must take a look at this."
She opened the box and Rin's eyes went wide.