This time, I made sure that I wasn't late to class. In fact, I was the first person in class. I had seen that a lot of students seemed to linger around different sections of the school. Hanging around the training arenas, luncheon, hallways, and the glass bridge. However, a vast majority of students hung out around the front of the building, which was just as impressive as I was led to believe. The magic academy was located on an artificially created hill near the bank of Lake Yamanaka. It was located right behind MT. Fuji. On the hill, there was a meadow that was twice the size of the one located at the back entrance of the school. It stretched so far from left to right that it almost seemed endless. The path that leads up to the front was made of clean cobblestone. Once we had reached the start of the barrier, multiple magic Knights stood in the front, checking are school uniforms and ID's. Their uniforms were much different from ours, instead they boasted large coats that reached down to their knees in the color of teal and white. On their arms, a certain number of bands denotated what rank magician they were. 5-1 was the ranking system. Rank 5 being the weakest, and rank 1 being the strongest. These guards were rank three.
As I walked inside of the barrier, I was thinking about the main fact of how nobody knew where this was. Not only the fact that it rested not too far from the bank of Lake Yamanaka, which was a major tourist attraction, but it also was near Mount Fuji. There was simply no what a building of this size could be concealed. On the topic of Mount Fuji, I wonder how I couldn't see the massive mountain from the back of the school. Despite the fact that the school wasn't big enough to completely cover it from view. I turned around, only to see, nothing. The mountain wasn't there. There was only a regular grassy meadow, that stretched as far as the eye could see. That was when I realized it. The barrier must have been imbued with some magic spell that made it filter things when you looked through it. From the inside looking out, this place could almost be seen as completely isolated from anything in the actual world. And I guess there's something special that allows those who are actually attending the school, allowing for them to see what non-magicians couldn't. All in all, whatever complex series of connected and layered spells was being used to create this effect, it was definitely very impressive.
The front yard of the school was the size of a courtyard, and featured fountains and benches, as well as small places where you could purchase drinks and coffee. It was the perfect place to hang out. Which explained why most students hung out there. When I stepped into the classroom, Ms. Elmer looked over to me from where she sat at her desk-located in the back left corner of the class-smoking a cigarette. I wanted to make a comment about how that probably wasn't allowed on school grounds, let alone inside of a classroom, but ultimately decided against it. I'd rather not get on her bedside two days in a row.
"Raiden, you do realize that you are," She glanced down at her watch. "A whole two hours early to class." I nodded as I took a seat right next to her podium. She continued to look over at me. After a few seconds of staring, she shook her head before looking back down at her phone. "Are friends really that hard to make?" She muttered this to herself.
"I have friends...I guess."
"I wasn't asking you Raiden."
"Sorry ma'am."
***
From the moment I walked in, two hours early, to an hour later, I just sat with my thoughts. Sometimes I turned to watch Ms. Elmer, who was smoking and scrolling through her phone. Besides that, it was extremely boring for the hour that I sat there. I kept remembering the same three scenes over and over again. My argument with Kami, Suijin's words: But what about your heart? I thought back to my conversation with Yuki, and the words she left me off with: Enjoy yourself, okay?
"God, I wish I had a cigarette right now." I tossed a longing look at the one in Ms. Elmer's hand. She had heard me muttering, and now noticed my gaze.
"I don't know what's more concerning. The fact that you just wished you had a cigarette, or the fact that you expected I would have actually given you one." She looked at me with an accusing glare.
"It was worth a try." I sighed, resigning myself to being drowned by my thoughts until the door opened. Two people stepped in. Hikaru, and Masayoshi.
"Good morning!" Hikaru said excitedly, as she stepped into the classroom, waving her hands in the air with a huge smile on her face.
"Good morning." Masayoshi said a second after. In stark contrast to Hikaru's bright overly exaggerated greeting, Masayoshi gave a rather tired, emotionless one. He didn't even bother to wave.
"Morning." I said, yawning at the same time.
"Good morning students. You do realize that you're still a bit early, right?"
"Yep!"
"Yes..."
Ms. Elmer's eyes slowly tracked from the three of us. The overly happy and excited Hikaru, who was bouncing up and down. The seemingly dead Masayoshi, who's words and pale complexion almost gave him the vibe of a zombie, and me, the 16-year-old who had just expressed his need for a cigarette. She sighed. "I really can't put up with such warring personalities so early in the morning. After a few seconds of contemplation, she looked back up at us. "Alright listen here you three, take a seat, and try to be friends."
"But we already are friends!" Hikaru exclaimed.
Masayoshi just seemed confused.
I averted my eyes.
"Just take a seat and don't be rowdy."
***
I remained in my seat at the front of the classroom, while Masayoshi took his seat in the 3rd desk from the door, in the front row. Hikaru took her seat in the table right next to him. other "Seeing as how were the only three here, we should take what Ms. Elmer said to heart. Let's get to know each better." She clapped her hands together and looked at each of us patiently.
I was fully prepared to spend the next hour in silence; however, it was clear Hikaru wasn't going to let that happen. I really didn't want to be bother by social interaction so early in the morning, and it seemed like Masayoshi shared a similar opinion.
After a prolonged silence, Hikaru spoke, her smile not even faltering in the slightest. "So, tough crowd. That's okay. How about I start us off then. What are things that people like to talk about. idols, music, so-"
"Justice." Masayoshi interrupted Hikaru as she verbally expressed her thinking, interjecting with just one word, justice. Hikaru seemed to be a bit surprised and confused by Masayoshi's sudden interjection, however that quickly faded away as she was happier about getting an actual response.
"Really! Well then lead the way."
Masayoshi froze for a second, realizing the consequences of the sudden statement. He sighed, before speaking. "What I mean, is I want to have a conversation about Justice. Right and wrong. Applying that Idea to the current situation. The divide between magician and non-magician. The never-ending war between the 7 continents. The 7 grand magic academies that are nothing more that places to train students to become soldiers. To prepare them for the upcoming battles that areas sure to come after were spurred out of this momentary peace."
Masayoshi did not hold back anything as he laid out what he wanted to discuss. It was absolutely nothing lighthearted, and instead, topics you would only really discuss with people you are close with. Even then, it would be a pretty difficult subject to broach.
Hikaru seemed to be at a loss for words, and I thought it would be unfair if I let her make all the efforts in keeping the conversation up. The gaze that Mrs. Elmer shot me was also a pretty good motivator. "Right or wrong? In the context of everything that is happening, does that even exist?" I proposed a cynical viewpoint of the idea that right or wrong could not even be applied to the situation of the war, and the divide.
"Thats exactly where my point lies. In a situation where the concept of right and wrong don't exist, where does true justice lie?" Masayoshi revealed his true question.
"Well, comprise is the best option, no? If there is no right or wrong, then it is inherently wrong to assume that there is a side where justice lies. It simply means that justice can only be found at the center of everything." Hikaru input her suggestion, easily managing to find her place in the conversation. The conclusion that she had proposed wasn't exactly misguided either.
"And yet I believe that it doesn't exist. Simple enough, I believe that Hikaru's answer would be the right one, if it wasn't for the very nature of wars and humans. There simply will not be a point were comprised could be reached. Pride, greed, sloth, sins like these prevent a future where a common ground can be found to be impossible. Therefore, if the only place where justice can be found doesn't exist, then justice, can't exist." I chimed in with my own opinion, beginning to become more wrapped up in this conversation.
"However, good and evil can be clearly defined, can they not. There are acts that make someone good, and those that make someone evil. Even the morally grey actions lean to one side. So, in a world were good and evil can exist, then how could right and wrong not? And in a world without justice, what reason would there be to even strive for doing what's right in the first place?" Masayoshi proposed his antithesis for my claim. We all sat in silence for a few seconds, contemplating this topic. We had all shared our ideas, so naturally, we turned to the only person in the room who had yet to speak up.
Mrs. Elmer stared back at us, sighing. "Why are you looking at me. Legally, I can't tell you anything." She blew smoke into the air. "But believe me, it makes me happy to see the youth is so critical of everything going on."