Chapter Text
Iwaizumi was about to snap his apricot wood wand in half. To go to their dorm rooms, the first years had been assigned in pairs, so here he was, following the person in front, stuck with someone chattering in his ear constantly. Kuroo Tetsurou didn’t seem like the helpful type at first, and as much as Iwaizumi respected the sorting hat, he had a few questions to ask it.
“- ‘nd that’s when Bo ran straight into it and was absolutely coated in neon green paint! He couldn’t get rid of it for day!” With an ugly wheeze of laugher, Kuroo threw his head back and Iwaizumi growled under his breath.
“Why are you telling me this?” Kuroo’s laugh cut off abruptly and he looked back at Iwaizumi with soft confusion tinged with concern.
“Well, ya looked a little unsettled, so I was tryna make you feel welcome…” Feeling a little guilty, Iwaizumi nibbles on his bottom lip.
“Sorry, I just… Sorry.” He sighed again as he dropped his head to look at the traditional wooden flooring beneath his feet, not noticing the sparks of enchantment around a door up ahead. He did notice, however, when there was a huge whoosh of air and the sound of a gigantic sliding door. The Kappa area, it seemed, was based off traditional Ryokan.
He wondered, for a brief moment, what the Tengu, Tanuki, and Kitsune dorms were like. He didn’t have time to ponder as the Komainu statues on either side of the sliding door come to life with a swirl of smoke-like teal, glittering with turquoise magic. Kuroo unconsciously whimpers and presses closer to Iwaizumi as the statues start weaving in and out of the students.
“What’s wrong? Scared of a little lion-dog?”
“Lion, no. Dog, yes. Yes very much.” The komainu statues are weaving ever closer and Kuroo’s breathing quickens. Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and grasps one of Kuroo’s hands tightly to reassure him. He ignores the wide-eyed look he gets in return, instead holding out his free hand flatly for the komainu to sniff.
It seems to like him, considering how it rests a chin in his hand for him to scratch, surprisingly soft considering it’s made of stone. Kuroo grabs his hand tightly, almost climbing onto him as the other komainu tries to sniff him too.
“Just hold your hand out flat. They won’t hurt you.”
“What if they bite?”
“They won’t.”
“Those teeth are huge.”
“They won’t bite!”
“They’re dogs!”
“Oh, for fucks sake!” Iwaizumi grabs Kuroo’s hand back, not allowing him to take his hand away as he thrusts their joined hands towards the komainu. Kuroo goes pale as a ghost, trembling silently as the komainu sniffs, and moves on.
“There. See.”
“I- I think I’m gonna pass out…” Iwaizumi scoffs, and as the students the komainu has checked shuffle into a crowd, instead of their paired lines, Iwaizumi pulls his hand away and joins the group. A 7th year stands at the front with a sonorous charm claps his hands together before holding his wand up like a microphone.
“Alright, can you hear me at the back?” There’s a reply of yes, a mingle of voices that choruses together.
“Welcome new Kappa students! As you can tell, this is the Kappa dormitory, but as with all magical schools, there’s a knack to getting in! These Komainu going round right now will pick up any scent of gratitude on your clothes - yes, it has a smell! So basically, if you want to get in, you gotta help someone throughout the day! Any questions?”
“Do-Does the size of the gesture matter?” The 7th year points to the newbie that asked the question and winks.
“A very good question! And yes, it does. Small things will get you in once, but big things may get you in and out all week! Any more questions?” Nobody speaks up, and the 7th year is about to let them in when a girl next to him - a 5th year, marked by shield on her rose gold robes, pulls his wand towards herself to carry on the announcement.
“When we enter, it’ll be into the main room. Half of you will go left, half of you go right depending on your biology. You’ll either follow me, or this doofus here.” She points to the boy who cheerfully waves, not even bothering to pull his wand back. He reminds Iwaizumi a little of Oikawa.
Oikawa, who stand in the hallway leading up to the Tengu dorms. The walls blend into stone, different to the mutton-fat jade and instead looking more like… More like a wall of rock. There’s a stairway, and suddenly, Oikawa realises it’s like they’re walking into a indoor japanese castle.
He’s seen a fair few castles in his time, thanks to his parents who constantly dragged him on history tours, and this one is definitely modelled off Bitchu Matsuyama castle. As he gets to the top of the stairs, he realises why everyone in front of him shuddered at this point. It- It’s almost like he’s being scanned.
His skin glows for a moment and he looks up to see a frame of cherrywood around the top of the doorway, glowing runes on them. The runes read back to front and upside down, but he’s able to decipher the message.
That they trust, thus the commander grows strong; remain faithful.
It’s confusing, at first, but Oikawa Tooru is clever, despite not being a genius. Commander refers to the students of Tengu. It refers to their friendships, to being trusted and trusting. Oikawa huffs lightly in amusement. Of course he’d get through, if that were the case. He, Makki, and Mattsun have been loyal to each other from the first time they met.
Their shoes are removed and placed into a cabinet at the side of the main dorm, and as Oikawa slips his shoes into an unnamed one, his name engraves itself into the dark wood. He gulps, hoping Iwaizumi won’t have to do the same.
Stepping in through the traditional doors, his breath stops for a moment. His feet can feel the softness of the tatami mat beneath them. The walls and shoji doors are covered with paintings, the same style as that from when Samurai culture was alive and thriving, arts an important feature of the ancient world.
Everywhere he looks, there’s gold and white and cream. Many of the painting feature the tengu colours - silver, bark blue and dawn purple. It’s hard not to feel drawn back into a different century. Even the smell of the place bleeds royalty, an exquisite blend of jasmine and lavender. Not that he’s the best at identifying fragrances.
A raised platform around the edges is where the older students step up, gesturing for the new first years to sit. Dropping into seizen, the students sit and listen as the 7th year explains how all the doors are enchanted. Certain students can only enter certain areas, whether that’s due to their biology or their age.
“Hey. Hey. Heeeeey!” The whisper from his side makes his eye twitch, and it’s with great restraint that when he turns to face the stranger, he manages to plaster on a grin. Of course, anyone else would be able to tell this was an expression of held-back murder.
“Yes? What. Do. You. WANT?” The boy has hair that sticks up, streaks of black amongst the silver and hooded eyes as gold as the decorations around. He bounces excitedly in place and Oikawa can’t believe there’s someone more restless than Hanamaki here.
“I’m Bokuto! Let’s be friends!”
“We’re supposed to be listening to the seniors.”
“But- But I wanna be your friend!” Bokuto pouts, suddenly looking extremely sad, like some kind of kicked puppy. Before Oikawa could sigh in response, the dark haired boy on Bokuto’s other side leant forward, his brown eyes narrowed with a deadpan, exhausted expression.
“He won’t leave you alone until you accept. Trust me.”
“Daichi, Daichi! We could be his friends, don’tcha think?!”
“Mhm, sure, Bokuto.” Oikawa makes a sound of exasperation before holding his hand out to be shaken.
“Urgh, fine. ‘Friends’ it is.” Bokuto hooted with joy - hooted! - before he practically wrenched Oikawa’s arm out of the socket, shaking his hand with such vigour and enthusiasm that Oikawa felt his whole body jerk with the movement. Daichi was much calmer. A firm grip, a steady shake, and released at exactly the right time.
“So what’s your name~!?”
“... Oikawa. And you’d better remember it, because I’m going to be the greatest wizard alive one day~.” He puffed his chest out proudly, smugness on his face.
“Really?! That’s great! If you ever end up in like, this massive battle, we can be your knights!” Daichi puts his head in his palms, sighing at his friends antics, and it’s that which makes Oikawa laugh.
Considering he’s been sort of forced into this friendship, it doesn’t seem so bad.
Someone else who might be feeling like that they sat next to the wrong person is Yaku. Matsukawa had been incredibly quiet at the table in the main hall. Yaku had thought it was indicative of his name; “Quiet one.”
Yaku was wrong.
So, so, wrong.
“- and why are the blossoms different colours? Speaking of blossoms, do you think the trees outside blossom all the time? What if it’s, like, snowing? And would the enchantments on the roof still skip around if they were cold?”
“Matsukawa.”
“Do you think they were playing a game? It kind of looked like Shogi.”
“Matsukawa.”
“And Ukai-sensei had one on his headband! I think it was a gecko, or a lizard or-”
“Matsukawa!” He stopped talking, looking down at Yaku with a startled blink, and suddenly realising he’d been babbling.
“... Oops. Sorry, Yaku.” The shorter did nothing but roll his eyes, shaking his head in exasperation. Honestly, he had the same questions spinning around his noggin, but he wasn’t voicing them aloud like Matsukawa. Sighing, he noticed that Matsukawa was looking around in awe.
Wait. When had vines crept along the hallways? He stopped for a moment until someone walked into the back of him, quickly apologising before picking up the pace to walk near Matsukawa again.
“When did these vines get here?” Matsukawa chuckles softly, stretching his arm out and brushing his fingers softly over the small leaves that adorn the twisting vegetation.
“They’re not vines. They’re branches. I’d recognise a bonsai plant anywhere.” With a scoff, Yaku eyes up the leaves that grow larger the further they walk.
“A bonsai? As if. Bonsai are tiny.” Cheekily, Matsukawa pokes him in the ribs.
“We’re in a place of magic and you think a giant bonsai isn’t an option~?” He laughs with good nature at Yaku’s blush, his cheeks puffing out like a chipmunk. Had it been Hanamaki, Matsukawa would even have pinched his little cheeks.
But this was not Hanamaki. This was Yaku, a tiny person extremely close to satan with a lot of bottled rage. If Matsukawa pinched Yaku’s cheeks, he might never walk again. He was only 11, so he would quite like to keep his hip and legs in 10 bones, thank you very much.
Still, as the branches grow thicker and the leaves are now maple-leaf sized, Matsukawa isn’t sure how much further they’ve got to go. The hallway suddenly becomes congested, students gathering in a crowd.
“What’s going on?” The same unsure murmurs echo around them from new first year students, although day students officially boarding and the senpai have varying reactions of amusement to the confusion.
“Alohomora!” The branches and vines suddenly start moving backwards, creating a breeze in their wake as they rush back towards the mother plant. A huge trunk of a bonsai tree stands in the corner of this section of the pagoda, and the branches weave themselves into a huge knot in front of- of a cavern?
“This is something you first years will have to do every day, since this is a Colloportus bonsai! Each time you go in and out, it’ll perform the locking spell on it’s own branches. Consider this your first magic lesson; Alohomora opens things!” There’s a muttering of alohomora around them, Matsukawa snickering at the sound of the overlapping voices.
“What’s so funny?”
“Just thinking it sounds a lot like home here. Taka, one of my best friends, has 3 olders sisters, Tooru, my other best friends, has 1 older sister, brother-in-law and a nephew, and I have two little brothers. So when we get together on special occasions, it sounds as noisy as this~.” Yaku blinks up at him.
“Wow, you consider your friend’s family as your own?”
“Of course. We’ve known each other since birth. Honestly, I think all our parents might consider themselves siblings.” There’s a beat of silence before Yaku starts speaking, and Matsukawa is upset to hear how quiet and distressed he sounds.
“My mum isn’t all that great. I had to run away to come here. Kuroo - my friend - his mum was a better parent than anyone I was actually related to.” With great sympathy, Matsukawa squeezed Yaku’s shoulder, getting a half-hearted grin in return.
As they moved forwards into the cavern, it became apparent that only the entrance was cave like. The dorm itself flattened out into a library. Books and scrolls adorned almost every inch of the walls, and Matsukawa almost glittered at the thought of everything he could find out, just from reading through what was here. There had to be a library on site too, right?
“Welcome to Kitsune dorm room. I’m not going to ask if you have questions, because I know you all have at least one.” Matsukawa almost keels over at an elbow in his ribs, Yaku giving him a knowing glance. He blushes with embarrassment, knowing that if given the chance, he would have buried the 7th year guide with a landslide of questions.
“Instead, let me explain some things, starting with your robes. These are kimono style robes. As you can see, they’re currently peach. This indicates your level of magic, what you’ve learnt and how honourable a wizard or witch you are. They should be gold, or close enough, when you graduate.” He holds out his own robes to indicate, the silky material shimmering with a dark apricot, closer to yellow and orange than pink.
“The blossoms, however, will not change colour as you learn. They’re an indication of your magical prowess, or even type of magic you’ll do best in. Some of you have pinks, others have purples, or oranges, or even on rare occasions, gold or blue.” Matsukawa looks at the bottom of his robes, wondering what the purple means. He glimpses over and notices Yaku has tremendously dark pink petals, almost red.
“What skill do you think they are…? I hope I do good at charms. Or potions. Maybe even defence against the dark arts!”
“No idea. But I know I’m looking forwards to herblore.”
“Nerd~.”
“Shut up, you’re a nerd too.” Matsukawa snickers, leaning against Yaku to jostle him and getting a karate chop in the back of the knees in return.
He goes down like a sack of potatoes.
Down, just like Hanamaki as he throws himself onto a bean bag in the Tanuki dormitory. He belly-flops onto the soft landing, sighing as he sinks into it. Getting into the dorm room had been easy. He’d just had to tell the Painted Samurai a pun. If it was good enough to make him laugh, or dreadful enough to make him sigh, the door would open.
Much to Hanamaki’s delight, the Tanuki dorm looked more like a playground than anything else, or an indoor area for ‘learning’. There’s even a slide down from the bedrooms on each side, how cool is that?!
As soon as they’d entered, they’d been dismissed and let loose like wild animals. According to their guide, the best way to learn was through the opportunity of interacting with the environment. Many students had instantly gravitated towards what looked like a coffee machine, grabbing drinks.
“‘Scuse me~.” A person with silver hair, already wearing his kimono, leans over him to grab something off the shelf from behind. A packet of strangely coloured crystals. Hanamaki raises an eyebrow with a grin.
“Whatcha got there?”
“Belch powder~.” Hanamaki’s eyes widen and then he laughs, shushing himself as the silver haired boy winks. He can guess what it does by name alone.
“Since the newbies don’t know about it, wanna see just how powerful this baby is?”
“Definitely!” The stranger separates the powder into two small tubes, and then he and Hanamaki go around, trying not to look suspicious as they pour a tiny bit of powder into each cup or bottle left unattended.
Within minutes, anyone with a drink is uncontrollably burping, and most others are laughing at their plight or shaking their heads at the low level prank. Sure, Tanuki are mischievous, but this is one of the oldest pranks in the books. Hanamaki and his new friend, however, find great delight in watching the homeroom dissolve into burps and chaos, leaning against each other as they cackle and hollar.
“I’m sure you two did this.” Uh-oh. They guiltily grin up at a senior, who raises an eyebrow and holds out a hand for the remaining powder samples. Passing it over, the senior smiles, just a little.
“Good to see you back, Suga.” Hanamaki’s companion mock-salutes with a bright grin.
“Thanks! It’s good to be back!” Ah, he must have been a day student before this moment. The senior leaves with a huff of amusement and Suga turns to Hanamaki.
“Thanks for helping me out there. I never could have gotten that many people on my own.”
“No problem! Gotta make a good first impression, after all.” They make serious eye-contact for a minute before bursting in laughter, Hanamaki doubling over as he wheezes and Suga wiping away a tear. Once they’ve recovered, Hanamaki offers out a hand.
“I’m Hanamaki, but call me Makki. All my friends do.”
“Sugawara, but likewise, just call me Suga!” They shake hands firmly, before going over to some scrolls and starting to plan their next prank. No better way to bond, after all.
Whilst they may have been placed in separate houses, they’d found friends in each of them to keep them company. The next time they all meet, they’re gathering in the courtyard for a mixed house broom lesson.
Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Hanamaki, and Matsukawa are all together of course, with their own friends lingering behind and chattering amongst each other. Maybe… With a group this large that gets along so well, they might actually survive the year at Mahoutokoro…
Possibly.