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Chapter Text

Lined up with other new students at Magnostadt Academy, Hakuryuu looked around the large hall and at the faces of people. Hundreds of young wizards and familiars had filled the space. Some were talking with their friends while waiting, and others stared forward with anxious expressions. Without any words, Hakuryuu turned to stare at the front of the room as well.

“Are you scared?” the mouse boy next to him asked kindly. On the train, Hakuryuu had received a seat right next to a group of three friends: a mouse familiar Aladdin, a lion familiar Morgiana, and a wizard named Alibaba. They had all been very friendly to him, and during the few days the trip had taken, seemed to have accepted him as a friend.

“We three met a year ago”, Alibaba had explained. “Well, me and Aladdin were on the opposite side to Morgiana. It turned into a fight”, he had laughed, “and I had just met Aladdin and thought that he was a bit of a shady guy too.”

“Hey!” Aladdin had laughed with him, Morgiana joining in. Hakuryuu had smiled, glad to have made some connections already. He knew no one in Magnostadt; all of his cousins had gone to a different school and, well, Hakuryuu didn’t have any friends.

“Not really”, Hakuryuu replied to Aladdin with happy confidence.

“Who do you think you’re going to get paired with?” Alibaba asked with excitement. “I want to be with you allllllllll!”

The other three laughed at Alibaba. “That’s not possible, unfortunately”, Aladdin said.

“I know!” Alibaba suddenly exclaimed. “What if I got paired with one of you”, he pointed at Aladdin and Morgiana, “and Hakuryuu with the other?!”

“Sounds fun”, Morgiana smiled. Hakuryuu felt his heart skipping a beat.

“Yes”, he agreed.

Before the group could discuss any more, the hall was silenced as the head teachers and headmistress walked to the front.

“Welcome, everyone, to Magnostadt Academy!” a blue haired woman announced cheerfully to the massive group of young students. “Every wizard and familiar alike! I am the Headmistress, Yamraiha Mogamett.”

Every student in the room had their eyes fixed on her. The adoptive daughter of the previous Headmaster, Matal Mogamett, Yamraiha was a world-famous genius magician, top in her field. After having worked on her own research in a foreign land called Sindria, she had come back to Magnostadt to lead the school after the passing of his father under mysterious circumstances. The school officials were tight lipped about the incident, and the world had worried about the future of the school. However, under Yamraiha, it was prospering as well as ever. Even better, some might say, as Yamraiha rid the school of some corruption and the questionable practise of using human test subjects.

“I’m sure many of you have had a long and exhausting journey”, she said with compassion. “Therefore, we won’t get to work until tomorrow, after you have all had the chance to rest.” She floated down on her wand to another platform and projected an image full of names, categorized in groups.

“We have overviewed your profiles and grouped you very roughly based on your basic magic affinity”, she explained. “From every group, we will be forming familiar and wizard pairs based on the tests we will be doing tomorrow. Today, you can group up and get to know each other in your separate dormitories.”

There was more explaining about the school layout, rules, the next day’s timetable, as well as an introduction to some of the staff. Many were too excited to listen closely, already checking if they knew anyone in their group. Eventually, everyone was escorted to their groups, each of which had twenty students. As Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana, and Hakuryuu realized that they were all in the same group by some miracle, they looked at each other with surprise and joy.

“I was just joking earlier, but now my suggestion can actually become a reality!” Alibaba said, over the moon just thinking about the future possibilities of such an arrangement and lifted his arms over the others’ shoulders in order to hug them closer to him.

The teacher responsible for their group was a young man named Uraltugo Noi Nueph, but he made it clear from the beginning that it is okay to simply call him with the nickname Ugo. Magnostadt really was attracting talented magicians like a flame did moths: “Ugo” was another famous case, known for his revolutionary work on the research of the power at the core of any spell, rukh.

“Today, you can temporarily sleep wherever, but tomorrow you will most likely end up as roommates with your pair”, Ugo explained to the twenty students who all now stood in their dormitory common room. He gestured for everyone to sit down on the couches and chairs in the room and proceeded to try and make everyone comfortable and to get to know each other, as was undoubtably done in every group. Since they would have to spend time together for many years from then on, it only made sense.

“What are tomorrow’s tests like?” one student, an orange haired girl they later learned was called Birgit, asked the teacher.

“There’s no need to feel stressed about them at all!” Ugo assured happily. “It’s not anything you’re not familiar with already. Just checking out your rukh types, comparing them and evaluating which of you match together the best magic wise. Your pair is only your work partner anyways – it's not like you need to be stuck together for the rest of your lives.”

“Regardless of who we get, let’s all try to be friends and help each other”, Aladdin said, and everyone in the room seemed to agree. Everyone, but a black-haired boy with a piercing gaze and a grim expression. “Tsk!” he grimaced at Aladdin’s positivity, “speak for yourself, little mouse. I am in here to beat you and become the best, not to sing kumbaya in a ring with you all.”

Aladdin’s friends became defensive of him immediately, and Hakuryuu too felt like stepping in. “Can’t you mind your own business?” he asked the rude boy meanly, but he simply stared at Hakuryuu with an expression that was both amused and interested.

“Yeah! And besides, you’ll have to team up with someone anyways, you can’t solo your way through this school”, Alibaba added. The other boy had a dangerous gleam in his eye as he was about to stand up to approach Alibaba and the others, but before he could do that, their teacher stopped the argument, telling everyone to calm down. He made a stern comment about not stirring up any drama or fights, but the rude familiar who started it didn’t seem to care at all.

It soured some of the mood for the rest of the evening. Someone whispered How did they let a cat and a mouse in the same group? and everyone seemed to make some distance to the cat familiar at the root of this. He had a menacing aura around him anyways.

The next day, the whole group had arrived at the classroom where they would be tested. While Ugo was present, the whole thing was led by another teacher named Yunan. The process was simple: one by one they would come forward and do some basic spells they felt most comfortable with, as different Magic Tools would evaluate their rukh and energy to calculate their magical attributes. The most ideal pairs would be decided based on this. The two didn’t have to have the same rukh affinity to be the most matching team-up. To some, similar rukh types was something they could build on together, but to others, variety in strengths was more useful.

Aladdin was one of the first to do his spells. After a Har-Har and something else, Yunan told him it was enough and started going over the calculations. “You have an affinity towards Heat Magic, of course”, he said. Most people knew their rukh affinities already, so this wasn’t really news. “I’m really impressed, actually. You have a very strong magoi base. I think the magical world can expect a lot from you, as you have the capacity to learn diverse spells”, Yunan praised Aladdin, who nodded as a thank you and went back to the row of students. Alibaba gave him a thumbs up.

Alibaba’s test was actually pretty similar to Aladdin’s. He only did fire spells, using a short sword to help him focus his attacks. Yunan nodded and stated that Alibaba’s affinity was clearly Heat Magic as well. “The beginning part might feel difficult to you”, he said, “but once you practise hard enough, you’ll have great potential. I sense deep righteousness in you.” Alibaba took this as a great compliment.

Morgiana’s attacks were mostly strength magic; if there had been some target to her crushing spells, even solid rock would have crumbled. She did have more skills up her sleeve, however. With Sound Magic, she was able to create a scream that could have scared off the mightiest of beasts. Yunan stated Morgiana’s skills to be very much expected from a lion like her, Strength Magic being her strong suit, but he praised her on being well trained already.

The mean boy of the previous day – Judar, they had learned – displayed a diverse set of skills. He collected water from air’s humidity and froze it into icicles, formed Clairvoyance spells, and transferred an object a short distance with a Magic Transfer Circle. “Well, I can see that you are very well learned already”, Yunan said. “Did you have a private teacher earlier?”

“No, I figured them out by myself”, Judar answered, and Yunan nodded as a response. Some of the other students stared at him, mouths agape. “In that case, you clearly have a natural skill for this. I could say the same thing to you as I said to Aladdin. Although your affinity is Water Magic, you aren’t limited to any one type. The rukh flock to you, except...” Yunan paused. He was looking at Judar with a distantly sly expression, and Judar was looking back at him expectantly. “No, it’s nothing. Next”, Yunan oddly cut off whatever he had been about to say. Judar walked back, looking a bit like he had expected more, but also a bit... relieved?

There were some other students as well, of course. A girl named Dunya made fierce spells with Thunder Magic, as well as her friend Isaac. Birgit knew Heat and Water spells, although her affinity was the former. Eventually, it was Hakuryuu’s turn. He formed plants and microbes and was able to control them as he wished. He caused a bit of a scare in the other students, when some of his creations formed into freaky looking monsters. “Life Magic, I see”, Yunan said, unaffected by the scary creations. “Let me tell you now, you need to be responsible with these powers. They have great potential, but great risk as well. Something that affects life itself can be a very dangerous weapon, especially when your rukh is...” Yunan thought of how to put it. Hakuryuu was looking at him questioningly. He had never heard that there would be something out of ordinary about his rukh. “Well, let’s just say that I can sense something ancient and dark in it. It’s most likely something passed down to you from your ancestors. Wait, don’t look so horrified! It is not something to be afraid of, but instead to learn, take advantage of, and use for good”, Yunan assured Hakuryuu with a smile.

In the end, it was finally the time to announce everyone’s pairs. When Aladdin was announced to be with Alibaba, both of them cheered loudly and high fived, causing some of the other students to giggle at their clear excitement. Hakuryuu felt like he was becoming more tense. He remembered the scenario Alibaba had described the previous day. If Alibaba and Aladdin were together, then there was a chance that Hakuryuu could end up with... he glanced at the lion girl a few meters away. Even though he had only known Morgiana for a few days, they had already talked a lot with each other, and Hakuryuu knew very well that he was developing a crush on her full speed. Her strong but kind nature intrigued Hakuryuu, who felt his heart pounding every time she looked at him.

It was too good to be true, of course. But since this was Hakuryuu, it had to be a million times worse. When Yunan said that Hakuryuu would be pairs with Judar out of all people, Birgit glanced at him with a look of I am so sorry. Judar walked over to Hakuryuu, visibly evaluating him and looking at him from his head to his toes. “Well, you aren’t the worst one out of this sorry bunch”, he commented, but not very kindly. Hakuryuu glared at Judar briefly. “Calm down, plant monster boy”, Judar raised his hands in a mock surrender before turning to Yunan. “How is this a fitting team-up? I’m not good at Life Magic.”

“It’s not only about magic affinities”, Yunan reminded him. “There is a similar tinge to your rukhs. I think that you’ll work together splendidly. I know what I’m doing”, he said with a sly grin, almost mockingly. Judar rolled his eyes but didn’t argue further. “Right, whatever you say, old man”, came the same rude attitude. Yunan was doing his best to keep up a calm face and not lose his cool because of a bratty student.

In the end, Morgiana ended up with the girl called Dunya. “I am happy to be working with you”, she said to Morgiana, shaking hands with her. “Me too, but... aren’t you sad not to be paired with your friend?” Morgiana asked, tilting her head towards Isaac. “Oh no, it’s fine”, Dunya assured her. “Actually, we are so attached to each other it’s probably a good thing that we are forced to work with other people as well”, she laughed.

As Ugo had promised – or maybe warned – the previous day, everyone in the group ended up as roommates with their pair. Hakuryuu set his bag on his new bed and started unpacking, while Judar simply threw his bag into the room and jumped to lie on his bed. He lifted his legs up and kicked his shoes off his feet towards the room door, both of them flying vaguely towards that direction. Hakuryuu frowned at him.

“Is it impossible for you to have some basic manners? You are not the only one living in this room”, he said sourly. Judar looked at Hakuryuu nonchalantly. “Shouldn’t we just try to be friends and help each other?” he asked, mockingly mimicking Aladdin’s earlier positive tone of voice. Hakuryuu huffed in annoyance and went back to unpacking.

Chapter Text

“I am the one who chooses the direction we’re going!” 

“No, I am. I’m on the ground, which means that I can see the situation better. Just follow my lead.” 

“But I am the one flying, so we should follow whatever fits me the best! It’s easier for you to adapt to my movements!” 

For those wizard and familiar pairs where one or both individuals could fly, there was compulsory flight training. This included not only solo flight lessons for the one flying, but also how to do battle with your pair. These were all different depending on if both flew or not, so all the participating students had been spread around a field to practise whatever fit their situation the best. Hakuryuu didn’t fly, but Judar could do so on his wand thanks to his skills in Gravity Magic, despite not having wings or anything such. Therefore, the two of them were now stuck in this class, trying to practise battling as a team when one party was in the air and the other on the ground. And it wasn’t exactly going well. 

The two were making a bit of a scene, and not for the first time in the past week. Whenever they needed to do teamwork, it tended to result in a fight, to the point that everyone had started to expect it. Some found it annoying and others funny. “If the old married couple over there could SHUT UP and let others practise in peace, that would be great!” some yelled at them, and a few others laughed at that. Hakuryuu and Judar both turned to glare at the direction of the voice. This was basically the only thing that could bring them to the same side. 

“Can’t you just cooperate for once? My suggestion makes way more sense”, Hakuryuu said, and did actually use a quieter voice this time. 

“No, it doesn’t make more sense from the perspective of the one flying, dumbass”, Judar bristled. Hakuryuu balled his fists in anger and used a plant to push the floating Judar, almost making him fall off his wand. “Hey!” Judar was positively enraged now, and he formed energy spheres with some more Gravity Magic and shot them in Hakuryuu’s direction. Hakuryuu shielded himself with Life Magic and started also doing spells to attack Judar. Soon, Hakuryuu was running all over the field shooting at Judar, while Judar flew above him and gave back his all in the fight. 

“Everybody, watch out!” someone yelled, and other students started running away from the field in a hurry, doing their best to avoid getting hit as an attack after another created steaming holes in the grass. There was shouting and running steps, but Judar and Hakuryuu were ignoring all of it, fully immersed in their battle. Until suddenly, Hakuryuu’s plants and monsters disappeared, halting his momentum and almost causing him to topple over. It was still better than for Judar, who seemed to lose the control of gravity and came falling down from the sky. Cat familiars usually had a skill of lucky landings, which is why they other preferred to learn the skill of flying in the first place – as long as they had that capacity – but the fall still looked painful to Hakuryuu. And based on Judar’s expression, painful it was. 

“What happened?” Hakuryuu wondered out loud, and Judar wasn’t any wiser, until the flight teacher Ithnan stepped on the field and commanded both boys to stand up and follow him to the headmistress’ office. He looked positively done with having to deal with this. 

So there Judar and Hakuryuu were sitting on chairs next to each other while facing the displeased Yamraiha. The room was filled with cabinets and Magic Tools of all kinds, Hakuryuu noticed as he looked around the room. At least he had the courtesy to look ashamed; Judar was slouching on his chair, arms crossed, as he refused to look at Yamraiha and pouted at the wall instead. 

“An Isolation Barrier was set up to stop your spellcasting”, she explained when Hakuryuu asked what had occurred with their magic. “No rukh can be manipulated inside of it. Usually these are used for serious situations, such as when special protection is required, or we are dealing with possible dangerous happenings or people. Not when two immature students decide to make a training ground their playing field. I hope you understand to be ashamed of your actions.” 

“I am sorry”, Hakuryuu said, but Judar remained quiet and defiant. 

“As you should be”, Yamraiha said and sighed. “I know it can be difficult to suddenly have to work with a new person but please, try. It is a skill you will need in the future when you have to deal with all kinds of people”, she tried to be sympathetic despite her frustration and disappointment. Hakuryuu was already very well aware of this and didn’t exactly know what it was about Judar that made him so enraged. 

“And you”, Yamraiha addressed Judar specifically. “I don’t know your background, but here you are expected to behave. If you want to remain a student in this school, you should change your attitude.” Judar only huffed in response. 

As Yamraiha had finally let the two of them go, after making it clear that none of this would be tolerated in the future, the two boys were walking back to their room, where they were supposed to stay the rest of the day. Judar walked fast, hands in his jean pockets, but Hakuryuu ran to catch him. “What is wrong with you? Did you try to get us both in trouble?” 

Judar stopped walking and turned to look at Hakuryuu, eyes narrowed out of anger. “You pushed me with your plants first. Why don’t you ask that question from yourself?” he said accusingly. 

“Maybe I wouldn’t have been so angry if you weren’t so difficult to work with!” 

“Don’t try to push this all on me”, Judar almost hissed at him. For a moment Hakuryuu felt like his anger was going to erupt like a volcano, but after taking a deep breath he deflated and sighed. “Alright then. I am sorry for my part. Let’s not let it escalate like that again?” Judar seemed a bit surprised at Hakuryuu’s sudden wish to calm the situation, so he simply nodded in response. They didn’t say much to each other for the rest of the evening. 

During breakfast, Hakuryuu went to sit with Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana, as always. All three wanted to hear more about the previous day. “Did you actually end up in Yamraiha’s office?” Alibaba asked, hungry for some gossip. Hakuryuu nodded as a response, and all three leaned towards him, wanting to know more. “It was just a warning, and he had it worse than me”, Hakuryuu explained. “As he should! He’s the one who has been picking a fight with everyone around here! I don’t think that anyone can blame you, Hakuryuu”, Alibaba assured him and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“How do you know? You have known me for a week”, Hakuryuu asked, but Alibaba shook his head. “I know these things, and I can sense that you are a good person. Right, Aladdin?” 

Aladdin smiled kindly. “I am sure that you are a good person”, he said, but there was something to his voice that hid a “but”. Alibaba didn’t seem to notice it. “I think that you are kind”, Morgiana said to Hakuryuu, and Hakuryuu immediately felt like the butterflies in his stomach were on overdrive, and he didn’t quite know where to look. Morgiana had not been in the class unlike Alibaba and Aladdin, because neither her nor Dunya flew. “But don’t do things like that, it’s dangerous”, she said with a serious voice, before adding with a smile: “Although, I wish I had been there to witness it.” 

Alibaba and Aladdin laughed. “Hakuryuu was actually pretty impressive, doing so well against a flying target!” Alibaba praised. “I guess it was some kind of practise then”, came Hakuryuu’s sigh. 

For this day, the group had to work on potions. Not the traditional kind: these magic potions caused changes in the rukh of the things their liquid form touched. And of course, it was pair work. Hakuryuu could sense that some students kept stealing glances at him and Judar just to see if something went wrong once again, and it was honestly making Hakuryuu feel a bit self-conscious and uncomfortable. 

“Stop twitching”, Judar said to him, and maybe the uncomfortable feeling had caused some physical reactions in Hakuryuu. Judar was browsing through their potions book, clearly very uninterested in the subject. Judar’s style was more about explosions and visually impressive spells, that much was obvious to anyone. 

“I can look through the material if you want to”, Hakuryuu offered, being completely fine with reading. “Oh? Okay then”, Judar handed him the book, leaned back on the chair and lifted his feet on the table. 

“Judar, put your feet down”, the potions teacher, Falan, said without even looking up from the book she was writing in. Judar huffed but did as he was told. “Do you know her from somewhere?” Hakuryuu asked with curiosity. Falan didn’t bother speaking to Judar with any pleasantries or politeness but was actually very blunt. Either they knew each other already, or Judar had become infamous among the teachers, and they were treating him like this pre-emptively. Although, the latter would have been a bit concerning in Hakuryuu’s opinion. “It’s none of your business”, Judar only stated. Hakuryuu wondered why he had expected to get an actual response. Also, now everyone in the room seemed to be waiting for the inevitable shouting match between the two. 

It didn’t come, however. When Hakuryuu had found every ingredient they needed for their task, he told Judar to start collecting them and adding into the water in the quantities he listed. It worked out quite well, until Judar disagreed with some part of it and they had to have a full argument about how it should actually be done. An argument of acceptable noise levels. In the end, this potions class was the first where the two had to team up while actually managing to get something done. Although Hakuryuu had been doubtful, it looked like Judar was, in fact, putting in an effort. Guess not even he wanted to actually get kicked out of the school. 

Speaking of kicked out of school... if he and Judar weren’t able to pass the upcoming exam, their future in the school really was under a threat. Failing in a normal situation? It happens. Failing after you’ve made a scene and caused problems? They might not see you as worthy of keeping around for too long. Hakuryuu really hoped Judar could at least understand this much. 

Falan didn’t comment much while inspecting their concoction at the end of the class, but she nodded approvingly before moving on to the next pair. Hakuryuu breathed out a sigh of relief, but some people seemed to be disappointed not to see another show. Hakuryuu’s three friends seemed to be happy for him though. 

“Hehe, if Yamraiha succeeded in scaring even him into behaving”, Alibaba smirked. “I wouldn’t get my hopes up... well, I’m not getting them up”, Hakuryuu said. 

“Well, I’m going to go to town in order to do some shopping”, Alibaba declared. “Shopping for what?” Aladdin asked, surprised. Alibaba didn’t answer anything. “Do you need new clothes after you managed to get yours burned during the flight practise?” Hakuryuu asked, trying not to sound amused. 

“I thought you didn’t notice because you were so preoccupied with the... other stuff”, Alibaba mumbled. 

“Yes, you thought”, Hakuryuu didn’t bother to hide his amusement now. 

“Still, whatever! I’m going to go shopping and hope they sell something wearable.” 

“Can I join you?” Morgiana suddenly asked, a bit shyly. Alibaba hadn’t expected that, but only after a second did he smile widely and say: “Of course!” Morgiana smiled back at him, happy and relieved, and Hakuryuu felt a pang of jealousy in his chest. 

Back in his room, Hakuryuu was suddenly in a bad mood. And right after feeling so good about the potions class too. Now, he was the one to kick his shoes off into a random pile with frustration as he went to lie on his bed. Judar was already in the room, lying on his and scrolling through his phone. After having lain on the bed for a while, Hakuryuu suddenly felt like he was being watched. He turned to look at Judar, who was looking at him over his phone. 

“What is it?” Hakuryuu asked tiredly. 

“Nothing”, Judar simply answered, and turned his back to him, lying on his other side now facing the wall.

Chapter Text

Determined to turn his school success around after the fiasco that was the first week, Hakuryuu forced Judar to come with him to the library to find some studying material. Judar complained the whole time it took to walk there, but at least he did actually come with Hakuryuu. Even if it was very reluctantly. Hakuryuu was browsing through the shelves, trying to find something relevant or otherwise interesting, while Judar looked around not doing much anything but yawning.

“So early in the morning toooooo...” he whined, and Hakuryuu rolled his eyes. “It’s 10 am, it’s not early at all.”

“It’s early to me, I have to sleep 20 hours a day!” Judar exaggerated. Cats, Hakuryuu thought and shook his head. What kinds of subjects did they need for the exams anyways? Flying was one, but the library didn’t help much with that. Potions, the eight types, Magic Tool usage and modification, Composite Magic, basics of magic research, white and black rukh... Hakuryuu picked up a book after another and told Judar to take them to a table where they could sit reading them. With Gravity Magic, Judar floated the books there, but would constantly tell Hakuryuu to stop choosing any more books, it’s too muuuuuuuuuuuuch.

At the table and with piles of books next to them, Hakuryuu and Judar sat down, and Hakuryuu started going through the books to see what they should start with. It was useless to tell Judar to contribute on his own, and Hakuryuu didn’t want to push his luck in the case that the other suddenly decided not to cooperate anymore. “What do you think we should start with?” Hakuryuu asked, and Judar made a tired eeeeeeeeeeeeh sound as he sat up straight to actually look at what was on the table.

Judar didn’t seem to care about a lot of things in the school. Magic research? Boring! Magic Tools? Why bother when I can do my own magic? However, Judar had a surprisingly vast knowledge of different rukh types. Not only in the sense of different types of magic, but also the distinction of white and black rukh. The whole concept of this was controversial and heavily debated in the magical world. No-one could actually see the innate rukh colour of another person either, so the colour-coding was purely arbitrary. These different energies could be sensed, however. Most people fell into the white rukh category, but there were some who had affinity towards a different kind of energy. It didn’t usually lead to anything, but very rarely a person would appear who had strong black rukh. These people had a capacity for different and largely unknown magics, and more often than not they abused those powers. It was no wonder black rukh had become something people feared.

“Let’s look at this”, Judar picked a book from a pile. Its cover was badly worn over time, but it didn’t look like many people had touched it in years. Dark Energies and Ancient Magics, the cover read, and it seemed to be filled with old information that magic research community wouldn’t bother to consider in the modern day. “I’m not sure if that’s the best studying material”, Hakuryuu said. He had picked the book because the title had sounded relevant to their studies, but a closer look revealed otherwise.

“Don’t knock it before you’ve tried it! Just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s all bullshit”, Judar said, but to Hakuryuu it seemed like he was simply interested in the contents. Sidetracked at the first book? This studying session was proving not to be very productive from the very beginning.

Judar started turning the pages, not really bothering to read all of the text. The book was heavily illustrated with all kinds of symbols and formula relating to ancient spells suspected of utilizing black rukh. Suddenly on one page, there were handwritten scribbles in the margins. Judar squinted in an attempt to understand the handwriting, and Hakuryuu got closer as well as his interest was piqued by this.

“What does it say?” Judar asked. “Lk s 309 btwn?”

“Seems like it was just written in a hurry”, Hakuryuu mused, thinking what the letters could be short of. “Btwn is obviously between... maybe it denotes the location of something? Look s 309 between... What is s 309?”

“This book doesn’t even have 309 pages, so clearly it doesn’t mean that.”

Both Hakuryuu and Judar stopped to think about this puzzle, until Hakuryuu noticed something on the spine of the book they had just been reading. “Look, this one says “s 140” on the label”, he pointed out to Judar. “So it does...” Judar was still inspecting that book when Hakuryuu left back to the bookshelves. “Where are you going?”

“I’m just testing something!” Hakuryuu said as he went on to inspect the spine of every book on each shelf. “Ah! There it is!” Hakuryuu came back to Judar with another book and showed the label to him. “S 250.”

“That’s another old as balls book...” Judar commented.

“Maybe these are based on an older labelling system in the library?” Hakuryuu suggested, and to Judar it seemed plausible. “Well, have fun studying, because I’m going to find s 309”, Judar declared, and Hakuryuu reacted with annoyance. “That’s not what we agreed on!”

But there was no stopping Judar now. As nothing else could bring Judar back to the table, Hakuryuu gave in and decided to go look for the book as well. This way it could be found faster, and Judar could forget about the whole thing.

After nearly 45 minutes, Hakuryuu spotted 309 on a book. “Judar!” he called for the other while taking the book from the shelf. With nimble steps, Judar was quickly at Hakuryuu’s side. “What is it?”

“I found that book”, Hakuryuu said and showed the cover to Judar.

“The Eight-Pointed Star?” Judar read the title out loud before taking the book from Hakuryuu and walking back to the table to inspect it further. Hakuryuu went after him.

This book wasn’t all that different from the previous one. “I guess whoever was reading that first book just wanted to remind themselves about this second one”, Hakuryuu commented, but Judar shook his head. “No, this isn’t the same.” He was inspecting the symbols closely, but his expression was not only concentrated but also a bit confused. He stopped at one of them, and Hakuryuu just had to wonder: “Do these mean something to you?”

“I think I’ve seen this one before”, Judar said, but didn’t explain further. Hakuryuu got closer to read the page properly. “A black rukh magic circle?” All of the symbols simply reminded Hakuryuu of something you would see on old artifacts. Something you would see on the objects of Ren mansion basement. Judar lifted his hand to touch the drawing, and he put a tiny bit of his magoi in it. It started resonating with Judar’s rukh.

“You seem to know a lot about these”, Hakuryuu said while staring at the event surprised.

“I do.”

“Why?”

There was a pause before Judar replied. “I’m just interested in these things.”

“Alright”, Hakuryuu said, not fully convinced. He kept looking at Judar as the other put different amounts of magoi to the circle and made it vibrate in different ways to see how it reacted. After a while, Hakuryuu noticed that he could see something there instead of simply sensing the energy. Black and purple was oozing out of the book toward Judar’s hand, but little by little more of it slid towards the floor. As if sensing Hakuryuu staring, black tentacle-like things suddenly launched towards him from the book, causing him to wince back and cover his face with his hands. At this, the dark energy stopped, and Hakuryuu looked up only to see the energy following his hands. He felt a connection to the power, a similar resonance that had been between it and Judar just moment ago.

Suddenly, the energy slid back into the book swiftly as Judar stopped putting magoi into it with his hand. He was looking at Hakuryuu, mouth agape, and Hakuryuu turned to stare at his hands. He had a feeling that he shouldn’t have been able to do that.

“What were those?” Hakuryuu asked from Judar. Instead of answering, Judar asked: “You saw them?” Hakuryuu nodded, thinking what the hell was going on. The comment Yunan had made about something ancient in him suddenly came back to his mind.

“Why do you know about these?” Hakuryuu asked Judar again. “I can’t tell that”, Judar answered honestly, and Hakuryuu guessed that whatever was at play, it probably wasn’t something Judar was in the lead of. “But it shouldn’t have reacted like that”, Judar continued. “For some reason, something in you attracted it and made it ignore my spell.”

Hakuryuu’s mind was racing as he tried to think of an explanation. “Studying is over for today, I have to research this”, Hakuryuu declared as he returned to the bookshelves with a different goal in mind now.

“But—” Judar began, but Hakuryuu interrupted him. “Just go. I know you never wanted to come here in the first place.”

Judar stayed still for five seconds before turning away to leave, taking one last glance at Hakuryuu’s back before walking out.

For the rest of the day, Hakuryuu browsed through every single book on the topic he could find, but they helped him little. Either the books didn’t answer his questions, or they were written in a way that Hakuryuu couldn’t understand what they were talking about. Having forgotten the passage of time and hunger, he eventually fell asleep at the table. It was seven hours after having started on his own research on the matter that he was woken up by Judar, who had come back to the library and was now poking on his shoulder.

“What time is it?” Hakuryuu asked while rubbing his eyes.

“Seven.”

“Oh, I missed dinner...” Hakuryuu mumbled, more to himself. Then Judar put a sandwich in front of him on the table. “You... made me sandwich?” Hakuryuu asked, confused. Judar laughed. “Of course not! It’s from your little friends. They were so worried about where you had disappeared to.” Hakuryuu felt a bit guilty for not having shown up without any warning. “And you just decided to be nice and bring this to me because they asked?”

“Well, the fanalis can be... persuasive...”

Hakuryuu thought of Morgiana threatening to smash Judar to the floor if he didn’t give the food to Hakuryuu, and almost laughed at the mental image. “Well, you came to get me anyways...”

Judar only shrugged at that. Hakuryuu apologized for wasting the day, but Judar didn’t really seem to care. He didn’t ask Hakuryuu any further questions about the dark energy either, which Hakuryuu was thankful for. He decided to ignore the matter for now and maybe come back to it when he went back home on holidays.

So thus began their serious studying for the exams. Hakuryuu made a timetable that Judar had a difficulty of following, so he often found himself forcing the other to stop lazing around and do something unless he wanted to be expelled. First step, potions: they had been the easiest for the two of them so far. Then, force Judar to put in some effort with the Magic Tools. Composite Magic and magic types should come in easy... and then there’s the flying. Ithnan might not let them back on the training field without supervision, but it’s not like it’s the only field in the world. They just needed to talk first about how to proceed in different situations.

When the time of the exams finally came, Hakuryuu felt confident.

“You are suspiciously calm...” Alibaba squinted at Hakuryuu with a thinking face.

“Why, are you scared?” Hakuryuu felt like he had to jab at Alibaba, but he wasn’t provoked and simply shook his head. “Of course not! Me and Aladdin are a great team!” he fist bumped with Aladdin, and they both were cheerful.

“How about you, Morgiana?” Hakuryuu asked from the girl beside them who turned to look at him. “Your test is before ours, right?”

“Yeah”, Morgiana smiled and Hakuryuu had to remind himself to breathe. “Those who don’t fly go first.”

“Are you scared of the results?” Aladdin asked.

“No”, Morgiana said. “I have more confidence in my own results than yours”, she jabbed at the boys playfully, and they all laughed together. “I’m just joking, I’m sure you’ll do great”, she clarified.

“Teamwork with Dunya goes that well? I’m so sorry Hakuryuu, will we be seeing you in school after this?” Alibaba might have been joking or concerned, but Hakuryuu simply hmm’d in response, trying to keep a straight face. Alibaba’s expression returned to the suspicious squint.

On the field, others sat in the side waiting for their turn while each pair did a short display on how they could apply what they had learned in a battle situation. Morgiana and Dunya were among the first. Morgiana’s strength was more in physical combat and close-range attacks while Dunya could shoot her spear-like attacks best from a distance. This suited them well, however, as they were able to divide their responsibilities evenly against the simulation enemies. Dunya could cover Morgiana’s back easily and shoot lightning sabers to a large area, while Morgiana effortlessly struck or burned down any enemy getting too close. Morgiana wasn’t misguided in her earlier confidence, as she and Dunya got an easy pass from this test.

“You were great!” Dunya praised Morgiana and hugged her after they had heard the results. “You did great as well”, Morgiana said, feeling a bit out of place in the embrace. “Morgiana, that was awesome!” Alibaba yelled from the sidelines, giving the girls a thumbs-up. “I know, right?” Dunya yelled and gave a thumbs-up back. Both girls walked up to the boys and sat next to them, every one of them and some other students, including Isaac, praising them for their good work.

“We should go somewhere to celebrate this evening! Like, to eat somewhere maybe”, Dunya suggested to Morgiana who nodded in response. “And if you guys do well, you can join in”, Dunya said to the guys. They complained about having more pressure now, but Dunya simply laughed.

Soon, the flightless tests were over, and it was to be Aladdin and Alibaba’s turn. “Where is your pair?” Dunya asked Hakuryuu, who simply shrugged. Judar wasn’t on the field, but it didn’t surprise him. Judar had the habit of showing up whenever he wanted and sleeping on roofs or trees or other random places rest of the time. “Can they fail you if your pair doesn’t show up?” Alibaba asked, but Hakuryuu made a shooing gesture at him to get him to go do his test already. “Just worry about your own results for now”, Hakuryuu said, not really concerned himself.

Aladdin and Alibaba’s fight was a flame-fest, as anyone could have predicted. There was efficiency but little strategy, which would have over-exhausted Alibaba quickly if not for Aladdin’s excellent support skills. Aladdin could put more diversity into the magics, having a wider range of skills despite his affinity for Fire Magic. Although Aladdin could fly, he spent a lot of time on the ground, preferring that approach. It worked well for them though, and needless to say, they both passed. In the middle of their victory dance, Judar finally strolled onto the field, hands in his pockets and a disinterested expression on his face.

“You’re late”, Alibaba commented, but Judar rolled his eyes. “There’s no way I would sit here watching you losers when I have better use for my time”, he said, and everyone was on edge again.

“Just say that you had a hair disaster morning and be done with it”, Hakuryuu sighed, but Judar turned to look at him half outraged and half offended that Hakuryuu would expose him like this. It did calm down the atmosphere though. Finally, when it was Hakuryuu and Judar’s turn, the two of them looked at each other for a second before nodding, ready to proceed as they had agreed earlier.

If Aladdin was one to stay much on the ground, Judar was the complete opposite. If he could’ve always flown everywhere, he probably would have. Both him and Hakuryuu had a wide range, but they had different styles. Judar was violent, hitting every attack like a lightning strike, while Hakuryuu had more strategy and thinking put to his attacks. They communicated with wordless cues, Hakuryuu choosing their movements based on the information he saw from the ground and what he got from Judar, who in turn trusted Hakuryuu’s evaluation of the best course of action. Composite Spells and the magoi in plants Hakuryuu spread around the field did quick work on their targets, and Judar boosted up Hakuryuu’s attacks with his own magic. A skill only a few were capable of, though it didn’t come easy for Judar either; Life Magic really wasn’t his forte.

Some were openly surprised, eyes round like plates looking at the show. Others were trying to hide it, as it was quite obvious that the two magicians on stage were taking great pleasure in that stunned reaction. They hadn’t let anyone get the idea that they had been able to practise so successfully and were now in the process proving themselves to everyone who had taken their earlier disagreements as an entertainment show.

The teachers gave Hakuryuu and Judar a pass. Some (Ithnan) a bit reluctantly, but Irene congratulated them, and Ugo looked relieved and happy for both. Hakuryuu received the good news with a smile and a thank you. Judar feigned disinterest despite the relief of success that he felt.

“You passed easily...” Alibaba commented, surprised when the two walked back to the others.

“Of course, what else did you expect?” Judar said like there wouldn’t have been any other possible way for this to turn out. Many laughed at Alibaba’s annoyed expression.

“If everyone passes, we’re going to have a large group with us eating. We’re going to fill an entire restaurant!” Dunya said, and everyone was very excited for this idea.

“And now you can come with us too”, Morgiana smiled at Hakuryuu, who suddenly, again, felt it was difficult to breathe. Judar eyed the conversation sourly and started to walk away from the field. This woke Hakuryuu from his dazed-like state.

“Aren’t you coming too?”

“Nah”, was the only sound coming from Judar, who flew away casually. After a while, Hakuryuu turned to his closest friends: “That’s a bit weird. I thought he would’ve liked the irresponsibility of a night of celebration.”

“Maybe he had some personal matters”, Aladdin suggested helpfully, and Alibaba shrugged. “All the better for the rest of us, no offense. How did you even get him to cooperate?”

“Well, he is pretty ambitious and competitive”, Hakuryuu said. It was then that the final pair was done with their iktiyar, and a cheerful atmosphere filled everyone as they agreed on where they would meet and when, making their way out of the field.