《Adventures of the Lazy Boy Kazuki》


 Chapter 1: Kazuki Hatagano!

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    "...Is it morning already..?"


    I open my eyes and look around my dark room. I usually don''t wake up this early, wonder why today--


    "Kazuki!!" A female voice shouts.


    Ah, right...first day of school. Great. I groan as I stand up and walk downstairs.


    "Yea yea I''m coming. I heard you Baba" I say as I enter the kitchen. I see Baba standing at the stove, making breakfast. "It''s a pain in the arse to wake you up, stop staying up so late!" she says, it only took her one look at me to figure out how much I''ve slept.


    "Sorry Baba, I couldn''t help it.." I yawn.


    Baba is like a mother to me, well, Probably because I never had one and she was the only person around that could play the figure.


    "Are you excited for your second year at the academy?" She says with a smile, probably thinking I actually am. "Not really, but I''m glad I''m atleast not a first year anymore." I respond. "Oh! That reminds me." She says and turns to the open kitchen door leading into the hallway. "Dan? Dan!" she shouts.


    No response.


    "He''s even worse than you..go wake your brother up Kazuki." she orders. I sigh and stand up, walking to his room.


    As I open the door, a strong smell of sweat meets my nose, I look at the windows. Closed. Of course they are.


    I look at the messy bed and the messy person sleeping on it. Dan...my 14 year brother. I consider myself lazy but this guy beats me.


    He''s supposed to become a first year at the academy I go to as well but I don''t think he wants that. Well It''s too late now.


    "Dan..Hey wake up---" I shake him. He groans in response, not looking too happy about being woken up. "Today''s the day, you are going to school, come on."


    "...Just 2 more minutes.." He says.


    "Well, alright." I leave his room and walk to the kitchen again.


    I''m greeted by my upset Baba who knew this would happen, as she is about to send me to wake him again, he enters the room, fully dressed and ready to leave. I''ll never understand how he goes to barely awake in ready for the day in such a short amount of time.


    We eat breakfast and leave the house. Outside we see an old man on a rat the size of a cart, he looks at us, smiling. "Ready for your first day boys?" he says with his big grin. "We don''t need a ride grandpa" Dan says, staring at the rat.


    "But the city of Lurigo is kinda far away, you''ll be late if you go by foot" He frowns. "I''ll just summon my own ride rat." Dan says, raising his right hand. "Summoning spell!" He shouts as his hand starts glowing, a red circle representing a portal appears on the ground and a similar sized rat comes out of it.


    "Impressive! I had no idea you were already able to summon such beasts!" Our grandfather praised him. "You don''t know much about me anyway.." Dan says as he gets on his animal.


    "Need a ride?" He offers me a hand. I nod and take it, as I get on the rat it starts running at an incredible speed.


    It would take you atleast 40 minutes to reach Lurigo by foot, we reached it in 5 minutes like this.


    As we do, we enter the streets of the town. We live in a rural part of the Empire and this place is the largest town around.


    Even though it''s not that large compared to the cities of the empire, it has a magic academy. Probably because of the fact that there are many villages around it, villages that are almost as big as the city itself.


    As we get closer to the academy, we notice many people looking at us. Of course they are, It''s a human city after all, they don''t want some humanimals like Dan and me here, riding an oversized rat.


    We choose to ignore them and soon reach the academy. It didn''t change a bit since last year. It was a massive building with a big yard and an even larger training ground behind it, it''s surrounded by a high wall and there are already students everywhere.


    We are greeted by even more staring. The students look at us, some curious, some upset.


    "Well, this is it I guess, dispell" Dan says. The rat we were sitting on disappears and we start walking towards the school.


    I see many familiar faces, students I saw last year but also new students. No one really pays attention to me so I just walk to my class as Dan walks to his.


    As I enter the classroom I''m greeted by my classmates. Most of them don''t pay too much attention to me but they also don''t mind that I''m a humanimal.


    "There you are Kazuki!" A familiar voice says. "Oh, Vely..long time no see" I answer as I sit down next to him. Vely is the closest thing to a friend I have in this school. He has blonde hair, blue eyes and always looks happy for no apparent reason.


    "I was starting to think you won''t show up." Vely said while smiling. I didn''t really answer since I didn''t know what to say, but even if i did, someone was about to join the conversation anyway.


    "Kazu! My friend! There you are!" An annoying voice came from the desk behind us. It was Daren, a big douchebag that overestimates himself a lot. Next to him was Baaya, his "sidekick" you could say.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    They never directly picked a fight, I don''t know if they are scared or just think I''m not worth the trouble but till now they''ve only been a bit passive-aggressive. I know they despise me because I''m not a human.


    "Daren, Baaya" I turn to them and nod. As I turn back, I notice Nico and Jack sitting in front of us. Nico was always a quiet and calm person, he never gave me the look that most people do when they find out I''m a humanimal, although we never really talked that much so I don''t know his opinion on me.


    We don''t have too many boys in our class, the rest are girls which don''t even bother talking to me. The classes usually don''t have more than 15-20 students so there aren''t more boys in other classes either I guess.


    As we are talking and catching up, the bell rings and soon our homeroom teacher enters. I can tell he is a decent man just by the fact that he accepted me into his class.


    "Hello kids! I''m glad that everyone could make it. Many of you have managed to reach the second mage rank and develop their skills quite nicely till now, I''m very proud. I hope you''ll keep developing like that."


    He paused and looked at us.


    "I don''t really want to teach as much as you don''t want to study, it''s the first day after all but we could still go over some basics in case some of you forgot"


    Most of the class sighs but we still decide on listening. After a while the bell rings and we walk to our next class. Most of the stuff we learn here is theory and we don''t get to practice that much but we still have a subject called magic practice where we can train our powers.


    You could say it''s something like P.E. in regular schools. As we go to the training grounds behind the school, we see our teacher who waited for us there. A man in his 60''s named Duke, he had barely any hair left and looked clumsy but was full of energy and quite agile.


    "Welcome youngsters! Hope you''re ready for the first magic practice class of the year! Today we won''t do anything special...unless you want to challenge the new students to a match" He grinned.


    He was always like this, he loves being competitive and competitive students. He always encouraged classes to do magic matches which were basically 4v4 duels under supervision. He would host a so-called "Magic Tournament" where each class would form their own team and fight against other classes each year.


    The participation is optional so many didn''t even want to do it but the ones that did, really went all out. Even though we were first years, our class won last year. I wasn''t even in the team, I just sat and watched, being there as a "reserve".


    "Well, a friendly match won''t hurt" Daren says, smiling. "Well then, here are your opponents!" Duke says as 4 guys walk up to us. They must be the first years. They look confident, too confident. They are like mini Darens.


    "Oh, you must be the famous 2/B class!" One of the boys say. "We heard so much about you, please go easy on us!" He continues.


    I assume that one is their leader. He has brown curly hair and looks like he''s mocking us.


    "We''ll try but don''t think we''ll let you win just because you''re the new kids" Daren says with his stupid grin.


    "Wish us luck" Vely winks as he, Daren, Jack and Baaya get ready. Nico and me sit down on a bench, we both looked at the field. The match is about to begin and Duke seems as excited as the participants themselves.


    "Begin!" Duke shouts.


    "Water blast!" Vely raises his hand and a blast of water comes out of it, it flies towards the challengers.


    They jump out of the way rather easily. Well, anyone could''ve done that. "Moving wind wall!" The next attack comes from Baaya who creates a massive wind spell, it''s a wind wall covering a big part of the field, it flies to the challengers but they just get faster, avoiding the attack.


    "What?? No way!" Baaya shouts, shocked by their moves.


    "Let''s do the swamp!" Daren says.


    "Lets do it!" Jack answers as he raises his hand towards the enemy who was standing still now.


    "Shockwave!" Jack shouts as an almost invisible wave comes out of his palm. To the naked eye it just looked like some short airwave but it paralyzes the opponent so that Vely can do his thing.


    Vely then smashes his fist into the ground. Water comes out of it, creating a pit that is moving towards the enemy. The enemy doesn''t react.


    "This isn''t regular water, it fused with my energy, you can''t move even without the paralyzing effect of Jacks shockwave!" Vely says


    We look at the boys who are struggling to move their feet out of the water. "Now let''s finish it! Speed Up!" Daren shouts as he starts glowing, he moves towards the boys at impressive speeds and goes for a punch.


    All of this happened too quickly. The swamp is one of their most effective tactics. They worked a lot on it, timing it perfectly, it just takes a few seconds to do the whole thing and the enemy doesn''t even get the chance to react. The kids had no idea what was coming---


    ..Wait...Daren stopped..did he land a blow?..There''s some sort of energy armor between him and the kid he tried to hit..Now that I look at them, all have the armor.


    "W-what..??" Daren says in shock


    "Is that everything you got?" The boy with the curly hair says as he starts grinning.


    "Well then boys, time for the counter!" As he says that, the energy armor on them moves to their fists and feet only, leaving the rest exposed. The boy with the curly hair uses his energy punch to knock out Daren with one punch and the other boys run at the rest of our team.


    Unprepared for such direct attacks, no one from our team could even cast a spell. I never saw someone get destroyed so quickly. 2/B fell, just like that.


    Everyone stared in shock, even Duke couldn''t believe it. "..The winners are..the first years from 1/C.." Duke says as winners cheer and laugh.


    These kids didn''t just meet today..they all used the same spell. An impressive one at that..it might as well be a rank 3 spell..who are they?


    "Is that everything 2/B has to offer?" The curly haired boy says. "Disappointing...now where''s that humanimal we heard so much about?"


    Even though most humanimals are usually humans with animal features, my family never had those, we look like normal humans so he couldn''t know it was me.


    "I''m here." I say "What do you want?"


    "Oh, no need to be rude humanimal...my name is Eiden, nice to meet you." he grins. I stay silent.


    "Don''t you want to avenge your friends humanimal? Come on, let''s do a 1v1 right now!" he shouts.


    "That''s enough!" Duke interrupts.


    "You''ve won your match, that''s it. Class is about to end, go and get changed." He continues.


    "Pfft, fine..see you around humanimal" Eiden stares at me as they leave. I sigh and look to my classmates.


    They aren''t really injured but their pride and confidence is destroyed. As they get up they just look at the ground, not saying a word.


    "They caught us by surprise! Who could''ve expected something like that out of nowhere!" Daren breaks the silence. The rest looks at eachother, ashamed.


    Right after that, the bell rings. It was the last class so I headed home with Dan. What a first day. As we enter our house, our Baba greets us, as usually lunch was already on the table and Grandpa was already stuffing his mouth.


    "Mmmmm! Mm---" The old man says. "Oroshi! Atleast swallow before you talk!" Baba says. He does so and starts talking "So...how was your first day?" he smiles.


    "It was okay." Dan says. "Found any missy yet?" Oroshi grins at Dan. "N-no! Shut up grandpa!"


    We all start laughing at Dans unexpected reaction. We then talk a bit more and eat lunch. I spend the rest of day in my room reading my novels, I don''t have anything else to do anyway.


    Before I realize it, it''s night. I go to bed and start dozing off, thinking about what happened today.


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    "..Ah, there you are~" a sweet familiar voice says.


    "Sorry, it took me a while.." I say, as I enter the dark room and sit next to her.


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 Chapter 2: The Woman of my Dreams.

    "Welcome Kazu~" Her sweet voice whispers to me. "You...as usually you wait for me here.." She always wears the same white dress, her smile is so warm and welcoming and her silky long blonde hair goes to her waist. I can''t help but fall in love with this girl every time I see her.


    "Of course I do, you are my Kazu after all aren''t you?~" She says with her calming voice. I can just nod in agreement as I look at her.


    Everything about her is perfect..but, her face..I can''t make it out. I just know it''s as beautiful as the rest of her but I can''t look at it. Why? I just need one look and that''s it.


    "Is something wrong Kazu?" She asks me. Damn that voice of hers hypnotizes me every time I hear it.


    "No..i was just thinking.." I answer.


    "Ah right! Today was the first day of school wasn''t it? Did you have fun?" she smiles. "No--- Yes...I don''t know.." I answer, now embarassed. She chuckles at my response. "Well, it doesn''t matter, now you can relax...just lay your head on my lap~"


    I do so. She strokes my hair, humming softly. I always wonder who this person was. My mother? A mother figure my mind created? I don''t know, but I don''t care either, I don''t want this to end...


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    "Kazuki! Kazuki wake up!" the voice of a familiar old woman shouts. It''s morning I guess...


    I open my eyes and get up, getting dressed. I just keep thinking about that woman. What a weird dream..


    I take a look in the mirror. Pitch black messy hair, brown eyes and a tired and lifeless look on my face, well, I am ready for the day.


    I walk downstairs and eat breakfast. I see my grandfather Oroshi eating as well. "Why are you up so early? Don''t you just sleep all day?" I ask him. "I do but today i''m having a meeting with the other village elders."


    My grandfather Oroshi is head of the Hatagano family, we used to be a large and proud clan but ever since the civil war, most of us died or fled in search of a better life. Most of them forgot their roots, changing their last names, mixing with folks from other countries.


    I can''t blame them, the situation in the Varatranian empire is just getting worse. But back then, the Hatagano family used to be the strongest family in the village of Naofuma. We are also the only humanimals that had absolutely no animal features.


    Even here, in a humanimal settlement, I also felt like an outsider. Is it because we are the wealthiest family? Because we don''t look like them? Because there was always a feeling of the Hataganos being superior to the rest? I don''t know.


    After the civil war, my great grandfather decided on ending the rule of the Hataganos, creating the Council of the Elders. My grandfather Oroshi saw that as a weakness but when my great grandfather passed and my grandfather became the head of the family it was already too late to take the power back.


    Even so, Oroshi has the most influence in the council and I can feel that the other people of the village still hold a grudge against him and the whole family. I still wonder what my predecessors did to deserve that, but Oroshi and Baba never wanted to tell me.


    I snap out of my thoughts as I realize I''ll be late for school. Dan and I get on the giant rat he summoned again and head to school.


    I enter the classroom, it''s silent. Well, everyone witnessed the embarassing defeat our class suffered yesterday. Their prides are hurt, but then Daren stands up.


    "I won''t just sit and let them win! The tournament starts next week and we''re just going to give up?!" Daren shouts.


    "What can we do? They destroyed us. Even if we win against the rest, they''ll just destroy us in the finals.." Vely frowns.


    "No!...No...I won''t let that happen.." Daren says, almost whispering, realizing Vely is probably right.


    "They caught you by surprise, they probably had intel on you while you had no idea what was coming. That energy armor drains a lot of energy, it''s a high risk high reward spell, if you fight smart, you can outsmart them." I say, trying to cheer them up.


    I don''t really care who wins but I can''t let these idiots just give up like that. As they hear me they all raise their heads and look towards me.


    "See? I think the Humanimal is right! We do have a chance!" Daren says. He seems excited, guess my little speech worked.


    "We just have to train! We won''t lose to a bunch of kids!" Baaya shouts. The depressed students soon became motivated and ready. I take my seat and Vely sits next to me.


    "Thanks Kazuki, now we maybe have a chance." Vely says, smiling.


    "Yeah sure, good luck buddy." I tell him.


    Class soon starts. It''s a regular boring day at school. History, maths...I really don''t know why i decided on going to a magic academy. Probably because of my grandfather expecting me to become a strong warrior that can take over when he''s gone or something.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    The day passed quickly and as i exit the academy I see a familiar face, a face I didn''t think I would see around here.


    "...Ayame? Is that you?" I say, surprised.


    "O-oh, h-hi Kazuki..." Ayame says with her usual faint voice, she was almost whispering. She always acted like this.


    Ayame is a dog humanimal from Naofuma. My neighbour actually. She''s 15 and...quite cute to be honest. She''s wearing the school uniform...does that mean they accepted humanimals other than me and my brother..?


    "I-is something wrong Kazuki..?" Ayame said, Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail with cute little dog ears sticking out, the skirt also had a hole for her tail..why would they accept humanimals in a human school? Don''t they know...


    "K-kazuki..? Wake up---" She said again, looking to me.


    "Ah! Sorry. I was just..thinking about something, don''t worry about it.." I say.


    "O-okay...I gotta go now, see you later.." She smiled, blushing.


    "Sure thing.." I wave to her and head home. I decide on walking today.


    As I arrive to our house and enter the yard I see my brother training.


    "Ah Kazuki! You''re home!" Oroshi says. He was sitting on the terrace, watching Dan. But I think I just saw him wake up after he heard the gate being opened.


    "Hey gramps.." I walk to the house.


    "What''s wrong Kazuki?" Oroshi says. "Why don''t you train with your brother a bit? At this rate, he''s going to become a better warrior than you." He smirks, trying to motivate me I guess.


    "I''ll pass..I have enough homework already.." I say, entering the house.


    "If you say so.." Oroshi frowns, turning back to Dan.


    The next day nothing interesting happens at the academy, I hear the rumours about 2/B getting destroyed by some freshmen spreading but I don''t really care that much about it.


    My classmates are really pushing themselves though, I never saw them train so much, guess they really wanna win this eh?


    The tournament starts next week, but I don''t really care about that either, I''m just happy it''s finally friday. I guess I''ll walk home today as well, the weather is nice.


    "Kazuki...?" a female voice calls me. I turn to it and see Ayame, is she also walking to Naofuma?


    "Hey Ayame." I say


    "Kazuki...do you mind if I walk home with you...? It''s quite far away and I thought you could use some company.." She says, looking down and fidgeting.


    "Sure, let''s go." I say and we start walking.


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    ..This is awkward, almost 15 minutes passed and she didn''t say a word...I wonder what''s wrong..


    "So Ayame...how did you get into the academy?" I say, thinking it would be a nice topic to break the ice...on second thought it may was a stupid question---


    "E-eh..? W-well I always wanted to become an actual mage and prove to everyone that even humanimals can be successful, my father thought it is a stupid idea at first but he ended up supporting me and they accepted me.." She says.


    "Wow..just like that..?" I respond. "It''s weird for humans to accept humanimals but even weirder for humanimals to actually want to go to a human school.."


    "I''m trying to prove to everyone that race doesn''t matter! It doesn''t matter in other empires so why would it here..? I just...want it to end.."


    We are just a small humanimal island surrounded by an ignorant ocean of humans, as much as I like what she wants to do I can''t imagine this empire ever changing..


    "Good luck with that Ayame---" I get cut off by her


    "You never had those troubles Kazuki..you and your family look like humans...yet you decide on staying in a humanimal settlement, keeping the reputation...why?"


    "We may look like humans, and as much as my grandfather tried to make us seem human, we''ll always stay humanimals and that will never change so better be a humanimal with pride than a fake, don''t you think?" I answer.


    "I-i guess" Ayame says.


    "I also want things to change but I don''t have the will or power to do so" I continue.


    "Well, maybe we could change things together...?" She says, looking down and blushing.


    "Hm? What do you mean?" I look at her, confused.


    ".....K-kazuki.." She starts fidgeting "I''ve been meaning to tell you---"


    "Ayamee!!!" A girl shouts to us.


    "E-eh, w-wha---" She looks up. There are 3 girls waving to us, calling Ayame, they look at me and start smirking.


    "Y-you guys!" Ayame shouts.


    "I-i have to go Kazuki! S-see you!" She rushes to her friends who start giggling and teasing, I don''t really pay much attention to them and head home.


    "Well, that was weird.." I think to myself as I enter my room, relaxing after the long day.


    I take one of my novels and start reading. "The adventures of the amazing hero Ken" eh? What a name...a classic story about some over the top guy that saves the day. It''s kinda interesting to read them I guess, even though you know the hero will always win and get the girl, it''s fun..


    "Kazuki? Kazuki!" I hear Baba shouting. "Yes?" I shout hack. "Can you please go to the store and get some milk? We ran out!"


    I sigh. "Sure thing Baba..." I get ready and head to the store. As I walk to the store I look around the village. The weather is nice, there are people outside working, kids running around.


    "Yo Kazuki!" I see an old friend walk up to me. "Hey Dean..what''s up?" I say. "Not much, just heading to the store." Dean says. "Ah, then we can go together." I say as we start walking to the store, catching up a bit.


    Dean is another dog humanimal, he always has messy hair and worn out clothes. We don''t meet often since I don''t go out that much but he''s a good friend I guess..


    We walk to the store together and buy everything we needed to. As we''re walking home, we notice 2 guys behind a corner. One of them a short dog humanimal and the other one his best buddy, an ape humanimal. What a duo.


    "There he is" The taller one says, looking to me. His name is Chris if I remember correctly. He starts walking towards Dean and me. The shorter dog humanimal walks after him. His name is Kiba.


    "Oh...hey guys---" Dean says. "Shut it." Kiba cuts him off. "What the hell where you doing with my sister Hatagano??" Kiba says, looking at me.


    His sister? Ah right...Ayame is his younger sister...just great..


    "We were just walking home together, relax." I say.


    "Don''t tell me what to do, stay away from my sister!" He shouts angrily.


    "Guys can you calm down please.." Dean says, getting between us.


    "No! I''m sick of the Hataganos, I won''t keep my mouth closed anymore! How dare you call yourselves humanimals!? This whole village was enslaved by your family till recently!"


    "You always thought you were better than us.." He continues "And now that there is nothing left of the Hataganos you want equal rights??"


    "..What are you talking about? I don''t get what you''re saying" I answer.


    "You don''t have to, it''s time someone fucking taught you a lesson you spoiled brat!" He shouts, getting into a stance.


    "And here we go.." Looks like conflict can''t be avoided...I get ready for a fight and wait for his strike..


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 Chapter 3: Bloody History.

    As I stare at Kiba, waiting for his move, Chris grabs his shoulder.


    "Wait Kiba, he''s not worth the trouble, he''ll get what he deserves one day..Let''s go."


    "Grrr...fine. You''re lucky I''m in a good mood today Hatagano." Kiba says as they start walking away.


    "And stay away from Ayame, last warning!" He shouts as they disappear behind the corner.


    I sigh and continue walking without losing a word. Dean looks at me.


    "Kazuki, why did you let him treat you like that? You''re a Hatagano!" He says.


    "Well that''s the point Dean..a Hatagano starting street fights, I can''t risk ruining the reputation of the family..besides, I don''t know if I could even win." I say.


    "I see...in that case you did good Kazu!" He smiles. "Oh, this is where we part ways, I go that way." He points to the street. "See you Kazuki" he waves as he walks away.


    "See you.." I mumble.


    I just can''t stop thinking about what Kiba said. What did he mean by "The Hataganos enslaved the whole village till recently"?


    I have to confront Oroshi, they''ve been hiding things from me long enough. I want to know what our family did.


    As I enter the house and living room i hand the groceries to Baba and turn to Oroshi who was reading something.


    "Grandfather, today i got attacked by one of the villagers." I say


    "What? Why would you get attacked? Who was it??" He asks being visibly mad. "That''s not important. He told me all villagers were slaves of the Hataganos till recently. You''ve been hiding the truth from me long enough, tell me everything."


    His look of anger turned into a look of confusion. He looks down and sighs.


    "I didn''t want you to find out but I knew this day would come." he pauses.


    "Where should i begin...well my son, as you know the Hataganos were once a mighty family. With mighty i mean hundreds of people carried the name Hatagano. The head of the clan arguably the second most powerful man in the empire after the king."


    "Naofuma was a city back then, one of the largest humanimal settlements in the world and the city was ruled by the Hataganos, the duty of the villagers was to serve us. You could say they were slaves.."


    "After the Great War between the 3 empires ended 35 years ago, our empire was left destroyed and people wanted change. Varatrania had a large humanimal population, mostly in the west of the empire."


    "It didn''t take long for civil war to break out. Humanimal rebels against the empire. My father, Sho Hatagano, a humanimal, sided with the empire. He thought he needed to use force to keep unity, and so it was mostly Naofuma who fought that war."


    "After almost 10 years of fighting, we lost the war, the western provinces became the Land of Humanimals and Naofuma was left with heavy casualities from which it would never recover. The king used the chance to blame Naofuma and my father for not wanting to end the civil war to save his own reputation. "


    "The Hataganos were guilty for the deaths of all those people of Naofuma. Our family started to shrink and my father Sho felt so guilty that he gave more freedom to the people of Naofuma. They weren''t bound to serve him anymore."


    "After that many left and the ones that stayed, kept blaming him. Soon after that he passed away and I took over..


    I tried to regain our honour restore the glory of the Hataganos but I failed.."


    After listening to this story I was speechless...all of that happened to Naofuma..? This village??


    "Grandpa...now I understand why you didn''t want to tell me. Thank you..." I say.


    "You deserved to hear the truth. Still you won''t take blame for the mistakes your predecessors made, don''t let anyone tell you who you are and what you are Kazuki." He tells me.


    I nod and go to my bedroom. Finally I can rest. Today was messy, I just need some sleep..


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    "Kazu? You''re back!~" a sweet familiar voice calls me, I turn to it and sure enough, there she is. The nameless beauty that keeps visiting me in my dreams. I look at her without saying a word.


    "Kazu, what''s wrong?" she frowns.


    "Is it because of what your grandfather told you today..?" she continues.


    "..Yes...I just can''t believe my family was that horrible in the past...perhaps Kiba was right.." I say.


    "Don''t listen to them Kazu, you''re a great man and no mistake that your predecessors made makes you a worse person. Just continue fighting and show to the world the Kazuki i know and love~" She says.


    I guess she''s right...I should try my best and prove to everyone that the Hataganos aren''t trash, that I''m not trash..


    "Thank you..." I say, almost whispering.


    "You''re welcome Kazu~" She hugs me. I let her and slowly doze off.


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    I open my eyes and find myself in my room. Every time i dream her i feel so well rested.


    I get ready for the day and head to school. Isn''t today the first fight of the tournament? This is certainly going to be interesting.


    As I enter the school i see that the main topic is the tournament. Our class is supposed to go up against 3/C, so the seniors basically.


    Last year my class won against 3/C with some difficulty but this year 3/C is thirsty for revenge. Well let''s hope no one dies.


    The classes are over fast. Soon half of the school is on the training field and the 2 teams get ready.


    "We got this, let''s end them!" Daren says.


    "Wow easy Daren, we don''t want to kill them." Nico says.


    "No but we gotta prove to those little brats what we are capable of!" Daren replies.


    "Sure.." Niko says as we turn to Duke who starts talking.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "The magic tournament begins today! First match: 2/B agaimst 3/C! Rules are the same, 3 rounds, 10 minutes each. Unnecessary violence will not be tolerated."


    Yeah right, 3/C are just a bunch of thugs, they are hungry for revenge. Their leader Mako is a fat monster, he''ll try to crush them as soon as he gets close.


    We hear a whistle indicating the start of the match.


    As soon as it start, Mako shoves his hands into the ground, taking out 2 big chunks of earth, he throws them at our team. The rock comes at them with an impressive speed and our team scatters.


    "Hold of his team, i''ll take Mako one on one!" Daren shouts.


    "Bring it on you little shit!" Mako shouts back as he slams his hands into the ground again, this time he pulls out rock that form gloves around his hands.


    Daren and his speed enhancing spell should be able to avoid Mako but one hit with those rock hands and Daren is done for.


    As the fight continues and the teams clash, the main focus stays on Daren and Mako though. Mako is everything but slow, yet he can''t land a punch, Daren is out of his league regarding speed.


    Daren manages to land quite a few punches but Mako tanks them without difficulties.


    "Stop moving around yout little coward!" Mako says as he tries to land a blow.


    At that moment Vely notices Makos fully exposed back. He saw a chance and took it.


    "Water bullet spell!" Vely shouts as he points his hand towards Mako.


    Water is usually better for support than attacking but water bullet is one of the rare water spells that can actually knock out a mage.


    A concentrated blast of water comes out of the palm of Velys hand, hitting Mako.


    "Arghhh!" Mako shouts as he falls to his knees, not able to react to the bullet. Daren is about to finish off Mako but we hear the whistle.


    "First round is over!" Duke shouts as he walks to another teacher.


    The teams start walking to their benches. Mako is still on his knees though. Why?


    "....You little shit! You''ll pay for that!" Mako turns around, swinging his arm to Vely. The rock comes off his hand and flies towards Vely like a projectile.


    He had barely time to turn around and see whats going on. Vely gets hit right in the chest and falls over.


    "Vely!! Fuck!" I shout as i run to him. "The round was over you asshole!" I turn to Mako who just grinned and started walking to his bench.


    As the rest of our teams noticed what happened, we rush to Vely who was barely alive at this point, we call the school nurse and complain to Duke.


    "He attacked Vely after the whistle! Disqualify them!" I shout at Duke.


    "I''m sorry but i didn''t see the illegal attack..for what i know it could''ve been a self inflicted injury." Duke says.


    "What?! He''s not even a rock type!" I answer. "Besides, we can''t continue the match without Vely..do we have to surrender now?" Baaya adds.


    At this point the crowd is booing and waiting for Duke to disqualify them.


    "I can''t help you, the rules say---"


    "The rules say every team is allowed to swap 1 team member per match right?" I cut off Duke.


    "Well yes but you don''t have a---"


    "I''ll do it" I cut off Duke again "I won''t let those bastards take the win that easily."


    Duke looks at me "You...? Uh..well okay..I guess that''s fine---" he said as he turned to the crowd. "2/B can continue! Get ready for round 2!" Duke shouts.


    The crowd starts cheering as we get on the field again. "What did he just say? How?!" Mako turns to the field and sees me.


    "The humanimal?! Hahahahahaha!! Should''ve surrendered when you had the chance Daren!"


    "Tsk..." Daren looks away. "Don''t mess anything up Kazuki.."


    I sigh as I get ready for the battle. We hear the whistle and start the battle.


    "Strategy stays the same, Hiroko takes the humanimal instead of Vely!" Mako shouts as they run towards us.


    Hiroko is the water user if i''m correct. I see him run towards me, i run away from the main battlefield to distract him.


    "I don''t need anything special for you Lesser water blast!" He raises his hand at me as the waterblast comes out. I avoid the attack, keeping some distance from Hiroko.


    "Tsk! Lucky! Water blast!" This time he takes me more seriously with a normal water blast. I jump out of the way again.


    For the next few minutes he throws all water spells he has at me which i avoid. At this point i''m visibly exausted but still ready to fight.


    "Uhm, Nico..? you''re in Kazuki''s class right..?" Ayame walked to Nico, both of them were in the crowd.


    "Uh yea, how can i help you?" Nico answers confused.


    "Why doesn''t Kazuki use any spells..?"


    Ayame asks Nico. He sighs.


    "I don''t know, I never saw him use a spell to be honest. Maybe he doesn''t want to?"


    "He can''t" a voice behind them says. They turn around.


    "Dan!" Ayame says surprised.


    "What..? He can''t? And who are you??" Nico says, even more confused now.


    "He simply can''t, we don''t know why or how that happened, as a Hatagano he should be naturally gifted but he has one of the weakest magic auras i know, almost like a human...oh and i''m his brother i guess"


    "Wow...so that''s why.." Nico looks down.


    "Still, as a humanimal he should have certain...abilities. Why isn''t he using any?" Duke joins the conversation.


    "..." Dan looks at Duke and stays silent. Duke just turns back to the field, watching the fight.


    "You didn''t use a single spell since we started and your magic aura is weak! You''re a normal human aren''t you??" Hiroko shouts. "Just surrender already!"


    "You''re out of mana aren''t you? Your aura is almost as weak as mine..well then" I say as i start running towards him.


    "Wha-- hey--- Waterblast!" He fires several water projectiles at me which I avoid like I did till now, only this time i was running towards him.


    Soon i was just a few feet away from him. He was out of mana and did the only thing he could do, a punch. I grabbed his fist with my left hand and punched him in the gut with my right.


    He immediately falls to the ground. The part of the crowd that was looking at us gasped, amazed.


    Still most of them were still looking at the 2 powerhouses, Daren and Mako who were fighting.


    Mako was still tanking Darens attacks and Daren kept avoiding Makos. "Now, let''s finish this!" Daren shouts as he stops moving in front of Mako.


    "Suicide!" Mako raises his rock fists, preparing to crush Daren.


    Darens hands start glowing though. This is his ''finisher''.


    "Hundred hands!" Daren shouts as he starts punching Mako with his enhanced speed and energy fists.


    Sure enough, after only 10 seconds Mako gets punched 100 times. As much as i hate Daren his attack could take down a giant.


    As the dust clears we see a smiling Daren and Mako who was pushed against a tree. Darens smile faded as he notices where the dust is coming from.


    Some form of...earth armor has formed around Mako. Sure it was destroyed in many spots after Darens attack but it was reforming again.


    "And now..you..go down! Mako is in a full body armor now, he grabs Daren and slams him into the ground, taking him out.


    The crowd gasps. Baaya and Jack look at Daren as their last hope of winning disappears. It doesn''t take long for Martin to go after them.


    Both Baaya and Jack throw their best spells at Mako but he is simply too much for them. He took them out with one blow and 3/C started to celebrating.


    "Hiroko, i hope you''re done with the humanimal trash!" Mako turns to Hiroko who was unconscious on the ground.


    "What?!..The humanimal took him out??" Mako says in disbelief. "Pfft..so i only have to take him out for a knock out victory." he continues as i stand before the 3 of them.


    "Let''s end him together!" All of them raise their hands and look at eachother.


    "Energy blast!" All of them shout as they use all of their leftover mana to form a beam of energy that flies my way.


    There is a huge explosion as the students in the crowd cover their faces. The explosion seems to just freeze as it starts getting sucked into something.


    That something is revealed to be a card Kazuki is holding, the whole explosion is gone and he is still standing like nothing happened.


    "What?! Impossible!" Mako shouts.


    "I can''t believe it...a magic tarot card!" Duke says in disbelief.


    "A what?" Nico looks at him.


    "Those are very rare magic weapons, a legend almost. It''s said they can contain spells within them, and their owners can release them at will. With those even a regular human can cast spells of any rank since the don''t require any mana...but how does this boy possess those??"


    "Surprised? This is for Vely!" Kazuki says as he holds the tarot card up which is glowing from all the energy it absorbed.


    "Suns Mirror!" Kazuki shouts as the energy gets released, a blinding bright light comes out.


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 4: Kazuki of the Tarot.

    "Sun''s Mirror!" Kazuki shouts as the energy gets released, a blindimg bright light comes out.


    You hear panicking and gasps coming from the crowd. After almost 5 seconds of nothing but bright light, it finally disappears.


    Mako and his 2 remaining teammates hid behind a wall of earth he created. It was full of cracks but still protected them. It did take a toll on Mako who was barely standing now.


    "You bastard!...you sent our attack back at us!" Mako says.


    "Your observation skills are admireable Mako, but they won''t help you against what''s coming." I say confidently.


    Problem is I have no idea if I should be that confident. the Repelling Shield was my trump card. I don''t have that many on me...


    "Now then, let''s play some cards!" I say as i rush at them. This should make them panic a bit.


    "Bo! Damian! Don''t let him get close!" Mako shouts.


    "Yes!" His two teammates say as they raise their hands.


    "Fire vortex!" Bo shouts as he raises his hands. He is followed by Damian "Wind vortex!". The fire created by Bo and wind created by Damian meet, the wind making the fire larger.


    "Burning Tornado!" They shout simultaneously as the spell moves towards me at an impressive speed.


    "Burning Tornado?? By merging their rank 2 wind spell and fire spell they created a spell that''s on the scale of a rank 3 spell! Impressive!" Duke says.


    "Rank 3? But that''s not fair! We''re only students!" Nico answers.


    "Rank 3? Merging?? How many ranks are there even??" Ayame says, confused.


    "The ranking system of mages contains 6 ranks, it ranks mages based on their power level, skill and knowledge. Most students in this school are rank 1 while you need to be atleast rank 2 to graduate." Dan says.


    "It''s rather easy becoming a rank 2 or 3 if you work hard enough but rank 4 and above are usually prodigies. Now ranks aren''t a title you can get by filling out some paperwork or doing exams, you have to become a lot stronger." He continued.


    "I-i see...so what rank are you Dan..?" Ayame asks him.


    "Hm..?..who knows..maybe rank 2.." Dan answers, turning back to the fight.


    On the field, Kazuki looks at the burning spell that was moving towards him.


    Before anyone can see what happened, the spell hits the spot in which Kazuki stood. There''s a loud explosion as a strong and hot gust of wind comes towards the crowd who put their arms over their eyes to protect themselves.


    A few seconds after, the people turn back to the field noticing the ash and burning field. But there is no sign of Kazuki.


    "Did we...did we overdo it...?" Damian says, looking to the spot.


    "No...the rules state that if a student gets injured or even killed by accident, we don''t take any responsibility...that guy just overestimated himself.." Mako said.


    "K-kazuki! I can''t believe it...he..." Ayame said, about to tear up.


    .


    .


    .


    "These guys..they really think I''d go down that easily...but I gotta say that came out of nowhere" I think to myself...I my sleeve is burning---


    I tear the burning cloth off as I show myself. Immediately after that, the wind mage thug notices me and shouts "He was hiding behind the tree!"


    "Impossible! That spell could not have been avoided that easily by some powerless humanimal! How did you do that?!" Mako says, not believing his eyes.


    As everyone was trying to figure out how I did what I did, Daren came back to his senses, opening his eyes and looking to us.


    "Ka...zuki..? How did he...?" He mumbles.


    "Powerless..?" I turn to Mako "I''m getting sick of you guys...you know nothing about me..I can end this in just 2 minutes, so surrender before someone gets hurt" I smirk to them.


    "You''re bluffing!" Mako shouts "No matter who you are, you can''t just---"


    "Your decision" I cut him off as I start running to them.


    "W-what?? So fast! Stop him at once!" Mako shouts to his comradesThis novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "A-ah! Wind blas---" Damian rushes in front of Mako, trying to cast a spell.


    Before he can, 2 more tarot cards fly out of my sleeve into my hand, I throw them at Damian and Bo.


    The tarot cards fly like solid projectiles towards my victims, eventually slowing down and getting stuck on their thighs.


    "Burning spear!" I shout as the cards start to burn, there''s a small explosion and both of them fall to the ground.


    "What the- what did you do to them?!" Mako shouts, his usually confident voice now filled with fear.


    "They are fine, just a little explosion to take them out...now you.." I say, trying to sound confident.


    Truth is I only had 2 of these on me. I didn'' expect to fight. Let''s hope this works.


    "... ... ... ...I" Mako mumbles


    "Hmmm?" I say


    "I...I won''t surrender to the likes of you! You filthy Humanimal! You crossbred bastards don''t deserve to be here!! I''ll end you!!!" He slams his hands into the ground, taking out 2 boulders...just great.


    Well bluffing worked out well didn''t it? He throws the 2 boulders at me, they are more than enough to crush me completely, this guys is serious.


    Lucky for me they aren''t as fast as the previous things I had to avoid. The problem is the enraged bear-sized man that just kept throwing them at me.


    "What''s wrong humanimal!? Why not throw one of them fancy spear cards at me?? Maybe redirect my attack with that Sun Mirror crap???" Mako says as he throws rocks at me, not giving me any time to think of a plan or get closer.


    "I know! You ran out of cards didn''t you?? You''d use them if you had them! Hahahahaha!!" He continues.


    "I''ll end this now, payback time you little shit!" Mako stops throwing rocks at me...he takes a chunk and starts...eating it..


    "What the hell is he doing..?" Nico said, looking terrified. Most of the crowd was terrified as well, me included. This guy is eating dry rock!


    After some chewing he inhaled and started spitting out massive amounts of small bullet-like projectiles towards me.


    "Earth bullet barrage!!!" This was it..his final attack. I didn''t have any tarot cards left for attacking but..


    I took out my last card, it shined in a bright light for a second, immediately after that I felt an incredible power boost.


    "In such a dire situation...i call upon the first arcana! fools dance!" Mako was impressive, no doubt. Many mages that spent their life training couldn''t achieve what this 18 year old did but it doesn''t matter.


    I start running around, avoiding the projectiles with the most unnatural moves i''ve ever made.


    "That looks painful...he''s so fast though...I thought Daren was fast but this..." Nico said while he watched the grand finale of the battle


    "Kazuki...how did you get this power?...you damn...rat..." Daren said as he saw the guy he despised, the guy without any magic abilities take part in such a high level battle. He eventually passed out due to exaustion, but the fight wasn''t over yet.


    A dust cloud started forming from the rock that met the floor and was just getting larger. Mako was getting slower, but so was I.


    Eventually the dust cloud completely covered me, Mako stopped spitting and there was a silence. You could only hear the leaves on trees dancing in the wind.


    Mako looked exausted, he looked up "Heh...i won eh...I---"


    "Lost!!" I screamed as i ran out of the thick dust, punching him directly into the face.


    Mako couldn''t react, no one could. Before I knew it, the big man was on the ground before me.


    Immediately after that there were comments in the crowd, people were mumbling but I couldn''t hear them, I didn''t want to.


    "...Uh...Ahem! The winner of the match by a K.O. is 2/B! Congrats..!" Duke said, remembering why he was here and why we even fought.


    The crowd started clapping and somewhat cheering, it wasn''t the typical cheering you''d hear after winning such a match, some seemed confused and..afraid..


    Soon after the school nurse came to tent to the injured students, I just went to our bench and sat down.


    Our whole team was at the nurse office, resting. Well, except Nico who was sitting next to me.


    "Wow...dude..what the hell was that---" He said.


    "I don''t know...I couldn''t let them get away with what they did to Vely.."


    "Yeah but man! How! Where did you hide those cards??" He continued.


    I didn''t answer. I stood up and headed for the school gates, class was over and I was done with this school for today.


    "Hey, where are you going..? There''s another match today man." Nico said.


    "And now 1/C will fight against 3/A! The fight starts in a few minutes!" Duke announced as the teams were getting ready for their match.


    1/C eh..the brats that beat our class in just a few minutes..? They made quite a reputation for themselves. The whole crowd heard about our big loss and wanted to see what those kids are capable of.


    That also meant their oponnents heard what happened and were prepared. I''m sure they won''t be caught off guard like Daren and the guys were. Well i don''t really care.


    I continue walking to the gates but I get stopped by a familiar face again.


    "K-kazuki..." It was Ayame.


    "Oh..hey Ayame." I answer.


    "You did great today...i had no idea you were capable of...such things..." She continued.


    "Well...now you know." I say.


    "Eheh...listen...I''ve been meaning to tell you..I.."


    "AND the winners are 1/C with by a K.O.!" We get interrupted by Duke who announces the victors.


    I turn to the field to see the third year students motionless on the floor...That soon..? They just started...I can''t believe it...what the hell are those guys?


    As I look to the field, that little brown haired brat looks at me...Eiden..He didn''t just peek at me for no reason...I can see it in his eyes. His smirk..something is definitely up with those guys.


    "...K-kazu...?" Ayame pulls on my shirt.


    "Ah. Yes. Sorry Ayame..what did you say..?" I stop thinking about Eiden and turn to her.


    "..It''s...nothing...I just wanted to congratulate you...s-see you later then---" She smiled awkwardly as she hid her face and rushed out of the school yard. Weird.


    It doesn''t matter. I don''t want to think about it, Eiden, this tournament or this damn school. I just want to get home and rest...


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 5: Negative Energy.

    "Kazuki that was awesome! How you just pulled out those paper thingies and then it way just Boom! Pshhh! Pow!" Jack said, trying to recreate the sounds.


    "Heh, thanks.." I answer.


    "You really saved us this monday." Baaya says. "Too bad Vely was out after that dirty attack from Mako, he would''ve loved the show."


    "Ah, right, shouldn''t they let him out of the hospital today?" Nico joins the conversation.


    As he says that, Vely enters the classroom and walks to us. The first thing they do it tell him everything that happened after he got hit of course.


    "Wow...Kazu, I had no idea you could actually fight---" Vely says.


    "Well...now you know." I answer.


    "Pfft big deal, we would''ve won without him too if Mako didn''t hit Vely from behind like that."


    We all turn to Daren who was the only one that didn''t seem too happy about the victory.


    "What?" Daren looks at us "You all know it! We had the upper hand and Kazuki took them by surprise after we wore them off!"


    "Yea sure, no better way to wear someone off than by losing to them miserably and leave me alone against 3 guys." I answer.


    "What was that? Do you think I''m scared of you filthy animal??" Daren stands up and walks towards me. "I''ll teach you some respect."


    As Daren continued walking towards me, I prepared myself for battle but before he reached me, Vely came between us. "Now now guys, no need to fight, we''re all on the same team." He says.


    "Yeah, we can''t go around fighting eachother like that, don''t do it Daren." Nico continues.


    Daren looked at Vely and Nico, his eyes were full of anger but he soon calmed down.


    "Fine...you''re lucky Kazuki..just like you were against Mako..." Daren turns around and walks back to his seat.


    "Phew..now that that''s over, are you coming to practice after school today Kazuki?" Vely turns to me.


    "Practice?..You mean when you and the guys train for the tournament after school? Uhm..not really." I answer.


    "Now Kazu, from what Jack said you sound pretty strong but we still need teamwork if we want to win!" Vely says.


    "Ah--- There was a misunderstanding, it''s not that I don''t want to train with you guys, it''s just that I''m not part of the team."


    "...Eh?" Vely looks at me "But you fought for us---"


    "That was a one-time thing Vely, you were injured and I had to help. Now that you''re fine again you don''t need me." I interrupt Vely as I further explain why I won''t fight for them.


    "I dislike the fighting, no one gave a damn about me till recently, now I''m the main topic of the school just because I won some fight or whatever. Besides, you''re capable enough without me."


    "But..." Vely frowns "You---" He gets interrupted by the teacher who enters the classroom.


    "Settle down guys." The teacher says as he puts some books on his desk. Soon after the lesson started.


    Vely was quiet in class but the moment the bell rang he continued asking me to change my mind. He was very persistent.


    It didn''t take long for it to become our main topic.


    In class...


    "Hey Kazu...psst Kazu.." Vely whispers.


    "...Yes..." I sigh and turn to him.


    "Did you change your mind yet??" Vely continues.


    "..No, I did not.."


    "Please consider it..we could really use you and i want to see your spells in action...also I---"


    "Vely! Kazuki! Are you talking in my class??" The teacher shouts, looking rather mad.


    "U-uh, sorry! Mr.Autley!" Vely jumps as he apologizes to the teacher.


    After school...


    "Hey K-kazuki..let''s walk hom---" Ayame tries to say as I walk out of the school and towards her.


    "Kazuki!" Vely runs up to me, cutting off Ayame "We could walk home together today! We don''t hang out that much after school do we??"


    "Fine.." I say, knowing what he has in mind. "Oh, and what did you say Ayame?" I turn to her.


    "U-uhm...nothing..I mean it''s--- nevermind!" She shouts.


    "Uhh..sure..see you later." I say as Vely puts an arm around my shoulder and starts pulling me away.


    "So...Kazuki... about the tournament.."


    "No Vely. Just no."


    This kept going on for days. They even fought a few battles during that time, winning all of them. On the other hand, those brats from 1/C kept winning as well, humiliating every team they fought against to a point where no one wanted to fight them.


    The finals were getting closer. It was rather obvious who will be the 2 teams fighting in it. I can''t say I never felt like accepting Velys offer and getting the smirk off of Eidens ugly face but it was just too much effort and not worth it.


    As I''m sinking deeper into my thougts i hear the bell ring. Guess the class is over for today...I stand up and make my way to the exit.


    As I leave the school I notice Vely running towards me.


    "W-wait...Kazuki!" Vely caught up to me, now panting. "Did you change your mind on---"


    "No Vely!" I cut him off. "I do not want to participate in the tournament, I will not change my mind and asking me another 1000 times won''t change a thing!" I shout.


    I consider myself a calm person but everything has a limit. He looks at me with one of the saddest expressions I ever saw, it made me feel bad for shouting at him.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    "..Hey, Vely I''m sorry okay.." I say.


    "No it''s fine.." He says immediately after, looking down.


    "I just..think of you as a friend and I hate to see you acting so cold and distant..I want you to become a part of the gang..i''m sorry." He continues.


    "Awe...how sweet, now kiss." We hear a voice behind us. As we turn around, we see a short guy with brown fluffy hair and one awful wide grin.


    "Eiden.." Vely says. "What do you want?"


    "Nothing, just kinda disappointed to hear the great Hatagano Kazuki decides on not fighting for his class..are you that scared?" Eiden answers.


    "He''s not scared of you! He just---" Vely tries to protect me but I stop him.


    "It''s okay Vely, don''t argue with the likes of him, we''re better. Oh well, Eiden I could name you a bunch of reasons why I would or wouldn''t want to participate in the tournament but for you I just have a big fuck off."


    I turn around and start walking to the school gates.


    "Oh Kazuki, why are you so mean- hey wait- i''m not done--- hey!"


    Eiden tries to get my attention back but loses his cool when he realizes that simple provocation won''t work.


    "..Tsk...I''ll get you Hatagano, one way or another..." Eiden mumbles as I walk away.


    As usually I see Ayame sitting on her bench, waiting for me. How does she get here so quickly...?


    "K-kazuki! Let''s walk home together!" She jumps up as she sees me.


    "Sure thing, let''s go." I answer and we head to Naofuma.


    .


    .


    .


    "Oroshi, what''s wrong? You''ve been acting very strange the past few days.." Baba says as she pours some tea into Oroshis cup.


    "Oh my Kaya...it''s the people of Naofuma...our past already made the situation in Naofuma complicated but recently the people have been acting...how should I say..weirder? More aggressive?" He answers.


    "Oh, well I haven''t noticed anything...The changing weather is probably just affecting them a bit." Baba says.


    "I hope so, but I got a bad feeling. Something is going on..." Oroshi says, looking concerned.


    "Actually I noticed that as well but as I said, the weather, we''re getting old and it''s affecting us Oroshi. I''m sure it''s nothing, you''re just overthinking things dear. Now finish your tea, you got a meeting with the council in an hour." Kaya says, as she smiles to Oroshi.


    This calms him down a bit, he nods to her and drinks his tea. He gets ready for the council, Wearing his old fashioned gray armor that has the Hatagano family symbol on it: A circle with a plus in it. Simple, yet recognizable.


    Most villagers were farmers and other kinds of physical workers. Simple Humanimals wearing simple clothes. Oroshi was an old man wearing ancient looking armor, he truly stood out as he walked towards the Town Hall for the council meeting.


    It didn''t matter if people liked or hated him, they respected him as an elder and council member.


    As he walked towards the Town Hall he noticed 2 men argue on the streets. Some people were already looking as the argument got more heated.


    "I''m sick of your dog, Inuka! He ate one of my chicken again!!" One of the men said.


    "Don''t lie Almar, my dog is tied in my yard!" The other man answered.


    "Oh really?? You''re the only filthy dog owner nearby and my chicken won''t just turn into thin air will they?!" Almar said.


    "I don''t know! It couldn''t have been my dog! He was tied!!" The dog owner Inuka answered.


    "Well, perhaps you should put your son on a leash as well, that boy looks like he''d eat one without chewing."


    "What did you just say??" Inuka looked furious, this was even more insulting considering the fact that Inuka and his family were dog humanimals.


    "You heard me!" Almar answered.


    The argument was about to turn into a physical fight and Oroshi had to interfere.


    "Woah woah, that''s enough." He got between them "Let''s calm down before you do something you''ll regret okay." Oroshi said.


    "Too late! This dogman ate my chicken!" Almar said.


    "That''s not true! The bird guy is full of crap!" Inuka said in return.


    "Dogman? Bird guy?" Oroshi looks at them. "This is Naofuma, since when did you start insulting eachother based on your race?? You used to be such good friends, I watched you grow up together and now this? Be ashamed of yourself!" Oroshi said.


    "Remember when the town got flooded and Inuka helped you fix your house Almar?" Oroshi said as Almar looked down.


    "And in return, Almar gave you chicken because your supplies were ruined Inuka!"


    "...I''m sorry Almar..maybe my dog escaped or something.." Inuka apologized.


    "I''m sorry as well Inuka, for insulting you like that.." Almar answered.


    Both of them started ti calm down. Oroshi put his hands over their shoulders as he pulled them to him.


    "Now, I''m sure your little problem is nothing that can''t be solved over a beer or two at the bar. Actually, as soon as I''m finished with the council I''ll join you!" Oroshi smiled, seeming rather happy about how he handled the situation.


    The 2 men nod to him as they head to the bar. Oroshi continues walking to the hall.


    "That was strange...those 2 were always good friends but that negative energy around them...I definitely have to check this at one point.." Oroshi thinks to himself as he reaches the Town Hall.


    He enters the council Hall.


    "Late again Hatagano." A bald man, probably in his late 40''s says. He sits at the big table with 4 other people who all look at Oroshi.


    "Yeah..sorry, something strange happened on the way here." Oroshi answers as he sits down.


    "Of course..Well, now that all five members of the council are here, we shall start the meeting!" The bald man shouts. He takes a sheet of paper, about to read from it.


    "Before we start with the agenda." Oroshi says. "I have a problem I need your opinion on."


    "Oroshi...If it''s worth discussing before the agenda then do tell." Another council member, an old woman says.


    "Thank you Lady Sheelah." Oroshi says. "Now, I''m sure I''m not the only one that noticed the negative energy that''s been amassing in our town."


    The council members look at eachother, then back at Oroshi.


    "It''s affecting the residents and we have to do something about it. I suggest we contact the capital and the Imperial Mage Security Agency to investigate---"


    "I''ll have to stop you right there" The bald man interrupts. "There''s no such thing as ''negative energy''. The life quality in Naofuma has only gotten worse recently and that''s why the people seem more stressed, and that''s what we have to work on!"


    "No Baki, this is more serious! I can feel that---" Oroshi tries to say but gets interrupted by Baki again.


    "And I can feel that this is only an attempt from the Hataganos to gain more power again through cooperation with the capital, enslaving us again! I will not allow that!"


    "Nonsense! My father created the council and gave freedom to the people to choose their leaders!" Oroshi says, clearly upset now.


    "And you were never satisfied with that decision, thinking he was showing weakness by doing that. The Hataganos ruled over us long enough!" Baki answered.


    "Baki, stop mixing your personal feelings into this, I know the Hataganos don''t have the best past and you can keep your hatred towards us but this is about the safety of the people!" Oroshi said


    "Let''s vote then. Everyone in favor of not contacting the Capital because of this nonsense raise his hand" Baki says.


    "Let''s not be hasty here." The old woman says before anyone can raise their hand. "There definitely is an unnatural negative energy but calling the Capital would be overreacting, but we also can''t ignore it. Let''s just wait and observe for now."


    The other members nod in agreement.


    "Tsk...fine...whatever..let''s just get to the agenda.." Baki says, unsatisfied.


    .


    .


    .


    "W-well Kazuki, this is where we part ways..." Ayame says.


    "Yup." I answer "Well see you tomorrow at school." I turn around and walk to my house.


    "...Hnnn..Kazuki w-wait!" Ayame shouts. I turn around.


    "What is it Ayam---"


    "I like you! Please go out with me!!!"


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 6: Mixed feelings.

    "...Eh? What did you just say?" I barely manage to mumble out the words, completely surprised by Ayame''s sudden confession.


    "E-eh..A-aaaahhh! I-i d-didn''t---" Ayame looked away and covered her face as she continued whimpering.


    "..Uhm..sure." I say.


    She stops and looks at me, her face a deep red color. "W-what..?" she says.


    "How can I refuse such a cute girl..of course I''ll go out with you, how about we go tom---"


    "How about today at 6pm! We can go to Bosco''s!" She blurts out.


    "That''s a bit sudden but...sure, I''ll meet you there" I say, smiling. I was completely confused and caught off guard by this but still calm enough to handle the situation..I hope.


    "G-great! Bye!" She bows and runs away...Well that''s that.


    I never expected Ayame to do such a thing, she was always rather shy. We know eachother since we were kids and we hung out a lot but I never noticed she had such feelings for me.


    It''s gonna be a drag but I can''t deny she''s cute. Having a girl just ask you out like that...It''s every guy''s dream right?


    I walk home and relax a bit, the time passes rather fast and to be honest, I was kinda excited...Oh it''s about time.


    I get ready, putting on some comfy clothes and heading for the door.


    "Where are you going young man?" I hear the familiar voice of a short old lady behind me.


    "Uh...I was just going out for a walk Baba.." I say as I turn to her.


    "You? A walk? My my is it gonna start snowing in October?" She says as she smirks.


    I sigh "I was...just going out to meet up with a friend and---" I try to lie my way out of there but get interrupted


    "Is it maybe that Ayame girl?" She smirks to me.


    "What? No! I...uhm I have other friends too you know.." I say.


    "Of course you do...but she''s a different kind of friend isn''t she?" Her smirk grew wider.


    "Listen, I just...I gotta go or I''ll be late to the...uhm"


    "Date?" She says.


    "No! Come on Baba."


    "What''s the noise about?" Oroshi says as he enters the room.


    "Great.." I mumble.


    "Oh, nothing, your grandson was just about to go on a date so we shouldn''t hold him off." Baba says.


    "A date? That''s my grandson!" Oroshi says. "You know I was a ladies man myself back in my days, I got any lady I wanted!" Oroshi continues proudly.


    Baba glares at him.


    "Eheh...that was of course before I met the love of my life, your grandmother heheh.." He says nervously.


    "Right...Bye." I try to ignore what I just heard and exit the house.


    "Don''t forget the protection Kazuki!" Baba shouts after.


    "Baba!" I jump and just hurry out of the yard so I don''t have to hear another "tip"...


    We said we''d meet at Bosco''s right? I head to the place. I was 2 minutes late and as I entered the restaurant I saw he sitting alone at a table. She was wearing a casual dark blue dress and her hair was even shinier than usually.


    Her cute little dog ears were sticking out of her hair. I got so used to them that I always forget she''s a dog humanimal.


    As I walk towards the table she notices me and jumps slightly. She smiles nervously as I sit down with her.


    "I-i thought you wouldn''t come.." She says.


    "Sorry, it''s my family..." I answer.


    "It''s fine. I''m just glad y-you came."


    "Yup..." I look at her, then around us. The restaurant was rather full, I felt like some people were even looking at us...of course they were.


    "What is he doing here?" or "The Hatagano child eating here??" and things like that were probably what they were thinking.


    "So...uhm...are we going to order something..?" I hear Ayame say, it snaps me out of my thoughts about those people.


    "Ah, sorry- let''s." I say as we stop a waiter and order food.


    .


    .


    .


    Silence


    After the waiter we didn''t talk at all. A minute passed already...maybe even two? Feels like an hour.


    She was fidgeting with her hair and looking down, she didn''t look at me once. Am I doing something wrong here? Is this a date..? Maybe I should try breaking the ice with a question..


    "So.." I sayThis tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "U-uh, yes??" She immediately looks up, waiting for me to say something.


    I don''t know where I was going with this...I need an universal question or something. Well, here goes nothing.


    "Uhm...how long..have you been a girl?" I ask.


    "E-eh?" She looks at me confused.


    What is wrong with me?! Out of all the stupid word combinations that can form a questions I could think of my brain chose this one???


    "Well...as far as I know for about 15 years now ehehee.." She smiles nervously. God this is embarassing.


    "Uh Ayame I''m sorry I was just---"


    "Don''t worry, I''m nervous as well, this is my first d-date too you know.." She says. This made me feel a bit better.


    Soon the food arrives and we eat. The mood changes a lot during the date and we go from awkward silence to actually talking. I''m a bad listener and kinda boring to talk to but she seemed to be enjoying herself so I went with it.


    After we have dessert and notice that 2 hours passed already. We pay the bill and head outside. As we do, I notice that the shy introvert Ayame had a big smile on her face.


    "Kazuki, before we go home I wanna visit another place!" She grabs my hand and pulls me with her. This is too stereotypical..


    On the way we run into 2 guys...out of everyone we could run into it had to be them.


    Her brother Kiba and his sidekick Chris.


    "Ayame! What are you doing with that trash?? I told you to stay away from him!" Kiba says, looking rather angry. Chris was just standing next to him.


    "He''s not trash and this is none of your business Kiba! I can hang out with anyone I want, I''m not a child anymore and I don''t need you protecting me!" Ayame shouts back.


    "But Ayame...he''s a Hatagano..you can''t..." Kiba looks down like a puppy that''s just been scolded.


    "I can. And I will~ Let''s go Kazuki!" Ayame says, walking away and pulling me with her. I look back to Kiba who glares at me. I don''t say anything.


    After another few minutes of pulling we stop in front of an old dirt trail going into a small forest, this was a bit away from the other houses so it was rather quiet.


    "Oh...Why are we here..?" I say surprised.


    "Just wait a bit more okay.." She says as we walk into the forest. It isn''t even a forest really, just a few trees. We follow the trail and end up on a field.


    It was evening and there was barely enough light to see but I knew where we were going. As we walked up a small hill on the field the only thing that could be heard are our faint footsteps and the sound of the wind blowing through the tree leaves.


    We walked to the top of the hill to a single old tree.


    "You''re always so down Kazuki...you seem depressed so I thought I could cheer you up a bit!" Ayame says.


    I do? I don''t think I am...wow.


    "Remember this place Kazu..?" She continues.


    "Of course. We played on this field a lot. I climbed this tree so many times!" I say as the memories hit me.


    "Yes...b-but it''s also the place where I-i met you for the first time....." Ayame mumbles.


    "Hm? You said something Ayame?"


    "A-ah! No!" She shouts.


    "I see...okay.." I say, confused by her reaction.


    "Even after you guys stopped coming here and playing I kept coming sometimes, this place holds so many valuable memories for me...And it''s really pretty during night." She smiles.


    "It is? I can barely see a thing." I answer confused.


    "That''s because you''re looking the wrong way silly! Here." She turned me slightly to the direction we came from.


    "And now? You can see the whole village from here. Naofuma might not be large, but there are many houses and street lights, almost like stars...I always feel so peaceful here~" She says.


    It really does look great. I know exactly what light belongs to what house...there''s our house...And the store...And...Eh..?


    I get pulled out of my thoughts about the village as I feel a small weight on my shoulder..Ayame rested her head on it, almost clinging onto me...this is clich¨¦....


    "I feel so safe when I''m with you..." She whispers softly.


    Way too clich¨¦...and this feeling...


    This was wrong.


    I can''t do this.


    "Listen, Ayame..I..." I try to say but am stopped by a warm sensation on my lips.


    Ayame kissed me, Her lips were as soft as they looked and...and...I can''t.


    I pull away from the kiss. Ayame looks at me, I could see her green eyes shine in the dark, did this really just happen?


    "Ayame..I can''t...I''m sorry...I have problems...this is..."


    "I-i see...I''m sorry I rushed things...I just thought you wanted this as well...I...I.." She says as I can almost feel her tear up, about to run away.


    She in fact tries to do so but I grab her hand.


    "Hey...you don''t have to do this Ayame..we had fun tonight didn''t we?" I say.


    "W-we did..." She answers.


    "And nothing has to change..I''m just a difficult person..how about we just enjoy the view? The fun doesn''t have to end yet." I smile to her.


    She wipes off her tears "O-okay.." She says.


    I handled this rather well if I may say so. We spent some more time enjoying the view. She eventually calmed down and we headed home


    "I had a great time Ayame." I say


    "Me too...sorry about what happened..." She looked down depressed. "T-thanks for walking me home, bye Kazuki.." She bowed and headed into her house.


    I headed home myself. There was no one on the streets. The moon was bright. By the looks of it, it was almost midnight...


    Still...it was way too silent.


    .


    .


    .


    "...You''re home late Ayame.." A familiar voice said as Ayame entered her house.


    "A-ah, father...I was.."


    "With Oroshi''s grandson, a Hatagano." The voice said. "And I think I was pretty clear about that boy Ayame."


    "Yes but I...It doesn''t matter, it''s over..." Ayame looked down.


    "What are you saying? It does matter. I allow you to be friends with that Hatagano boy so you don''t have to hide anything Ayame." The man says.


    "Friends..." Ayame mumbles.


    "Yes...Now go to bed daughter..It''s late."


    Without saying a word, Ayame does so.


    .


    .


    .


    Today was nice, the end was a bit strange but I''m glad I did this with Ayame today...I had no idea she actually wanted...that kind of relationship though..


    As I''m walking home and thinking about todays events I don''t notice a single person...It was Friday and no one was out...and this silence, it was almost painful


    Suddenly my vision disappears as I feel a massive force hit my stomach, sending me flying into the forest next to the street. I hit a few trees and as I hit the ground I find myself barely conscious.


    I didn''t have time to rest, immediately after that happened the painful silence disappeared and I sensed several bodies move towards me.


    I barely stood up, getting the Sun''s Mirror Tarot card I always had with me ready to repell whatever the hell just hit me.


    I am met by 4 men completely covered in black, one of them had some sort of oversized energy armour around his hand...so that''s what hit me.


    "W-who the hell are you bastards...?" I say as I glare to the one that just hit me.


    "You have to die Keeper, I''m here to make sure that happens." He says and immediately after 2 of them run and me, forming similar energy fists but slightly smaller.


    I react as fast as I can, pulling out my tarot card.


    "Sun''s mirror!" I grab the oversized fist while having the tarot card in the palm of my hand, it stops it...it doesn''t repell it...why..?


    I can''t think about that, while I was holding his fist with my left hand, out of my right sleeve a tarot card flies out right into my hand. I hold it into a fist as I punch the guy in front of me.


    The enhanced punch sends him flying to a nearby tree, taking him out.


    But I was too injured and unprepared to react to anything else, as soon as I did that the other guy landed a blow, I was on the ground.


    "There we go." Their leader says as 4 energy orbs come ouf of his hand and land on my wrists and feet, immobilizing me. "Still just to be on the safe side...now, farewell Keeper"


    Is this it...is this how my story ends..? I''ve never felt such a fear...I can''t do anything...I completely lost control over this...


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 7: Dark Past

    The leader raises his hand and it starts shining bright, I can''t move or look away and slowly I start feeling cold...my energy is leaving me...I may not admit it but I always wanted a more exciting life...a story worth telling but guess I won''t get that after all...Well...maybe it''s for the better...


    .


    .


    .


    .


    Suddenly they all looked around surprised as one of them shouted "Above!".


    As soon as he did, all of them moved away from me as a man slammed right into the ground where they stood with his fists. I was too weak to even speak but I knew who it was.


    "Oroshi?? How did he find us here??" One of them said.


    "Did you really think that you could hide your presence with such a low level stealth spell? Who are you and what do you want?" Oroshi said as he looked to the thugs.


    "That doesn''t concern you, old fart, hand the Keeper over or you''ll die." The man said.


    "Keeper...no way.." Oroshi mumbles to himself, then looks to them again. "You got the wrong person, my grandson is no Keeper, I am. And even if he was, I wouldn''t give him over to some cowards that had to sneak up on him during night to even stand a chance." Oroshi smirked.


    "Tsk...you''re going to die old man, die!" The leader formed an even larger energy fist around his arm as he started to run towards Oroshi.


    Oroshi got into a stance as his bones started cracking. The man slammed the energy hand right into Oroshi.


    "Was it worth it old man...what?! You grabbed it with your bare hand??" The thug said.


    "Hahaha! You''re fighting the great Oroshi, Saviour of the Hatagano clan, King of Rats!" Do you really think a punch will stop me?" Oroshi smiled.


    "You''re full of yourself!" The thug said as he tried to pull his energy arm away, with no success.


    "W-what..Let me go! Help me you idiots." He continued as his 3 comrades started running towards Oroshi as well.


    "Way too slow..." Oroshi said as the hand that was holding the energy fist started growing hair..The hair got larger and larger until it started penetrating the energy fist itself.


    Even before his allies reached him, cracks formed on the energy fist and it blew up into thousands of pieces that then turned into pure energy.


    "No wa---" The thug couldn''t believe his eyes but was interrupted by Oroshi who grabbed his actual hand now. Oroshi pulled him closer and punched him right into his gut, sending him flying right into one of his mates.


    The other 2 stopped and looked back at their 2 injured comrades. Surprisingly their leader managed to stay conscious and stand up after the punch. He raised his hand and tried forming his energy fist again which was blinking now like a broken light bulb.


    "What...what did you do to me?!" He said.


    "Your energy should be disrupted for a while, now the rest of you.." Oroshi smirked as he got into a stance.


    "...R-retreat!" Even though most of his face was covered there was pure fear in his eyes. As soon as he said that, they started running into the forest.


    "You won''t get away!" Oroshi said "Greater Summoning Spell!" He raised his hand as a magic circle appeared in front of him and hundreds of rats of all shapes and sizes came out, running into the forest.


    Oroshi was about to go as well but turned to his grandson.


    "Bastards...I knew this day would come...they are back...I have to get him to safety.." Oroshi picked Kazuki up, carrying him out of the forest.


    .


    .


    .


    "Where...am I...?"


    "This place...It''s so cold...am I dead..?"


    "No Kazu...you''re not dead..."


    "That voice...where are you..?"


    "I cannot tell you that...your life almost found an end but you will live."


    "...You''re different now...this place lost it''s warmth...why don''t you show yourself?!"


    "I can''t...I depend on you Kazuki and I grow weak...I was selfish...Too selfish for just a voice in your head...I will always love you but I have to go. Farewell Kazuki Hatagano.."


    "What...don''t leave me...you can''t! I thought you said you''ll always be here for me..Why? Why do you do this!?"


    .


    .


    .


    "He''s alive, but his hearbeat and energy flow are very weak...He just needs some rest and it''ll be fine..." Baba said as she put her hand on Kazuki''s forehead, it started glowing slightly for a few seconds before it stopped.


    "My Kazu...who did this to you..?" She said.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Oroshi was standing in the room behind her, he noticed that a rat ran to him and up his shoulder, it almost seemed like it was whispering something to him.


    "They escaped...How..? My animals know this area better than anyone, yet they left without a trace...This is more serious than I thought, I''ll have to leave the rats to guard the area, maybe summon even some larger ones...This can''t be ignored." Oroshi said.


    "What are you going to do dear..?" Baba turned to him.


    "I can''t do much right now, I''ll summon the council to an emergency meeting tomorrow, maybe now they''ll be willing to involve the capital.." Oroshi says.


    .


    .


    .


    What is this place...it''s so blurry...am I dreaming..? I must be...


    "Congratulations Miss Hatagano! It''s a healthy boy!" The man in white said.


    "My...my K-kazuki.." The woman held a baby..show me her face damn it!


    .


    .


    .


    "What do you mean his energy flow is almost nonexistent?! The future of the Hatagano clan, my oldest grandson can''t cast spells?!"


    "I''m sorry sir, there''s nothing we can do.."


    Why are their faces hidden...what is this world??


    "Grampa..? What is that person talking about..?"  A young child said.


    "Don''t worry about it my brave warrior..." His grandfather kneeled down in front of him "Let''s go home.."


    "Carry me on your back!" The kid shouts.


    The old man smiled "..Of course."


    .


    .


    .


    "Dan seems to be making progress, he''s already capable of performing rank 2 spells at the age of 6..." a female voice says.


    "...Kazuki is still struggling though...I don''t think it''s a matter of time Oroshi...he just can''t" She continued.


    "Don''t say that! He''s...maybe struggling now but he''ll be the greatest warrior this world has ever seen..!" The man next to her answered.


    "Ow!...Babaaaaaa!!!!" A child''s voice shouts.


    "Oh dear..Kazuki, are you alright?!" The woman runs to him, helping him.


    "I...I hurt my leg.." The child sobbed.


    "Don''t worry...Baba is here...there there it''s alright.." She casted a small heal spell over the spot.


    "Now want me to get you some cookies?"


    "Mhm!" the child nods.


    The man sighed "You''re spoiling him too much Kaya, he''s supposed to be a warrior! Look at Dan! He''s on his best way to become a great warrior!"


    "Shush! Don''t listen to him Kazuki...Let''s go inside.." The woman said as she turned Kazuki away, leading him into the house.


    "Baba...I wanna be a warrior too!" The child says.


    "Don''t worry Kazu..you will be one..in fact, you already are." Baba answered.


    "R-really..?"


    "Yes sweetie, you''re very strong and brave..now let''s get you those cookies." The woman said


    "Mhm!" The child nods.


    .


    .


    .


    Up to that point, I never had any real powers, I could barely cast a spell and people with sensing abilities would just see me as a normal human. I was a disgrace to the Hataganos.


    Even though my grandfather loved me as a grandson, he could never accept my failure and never gave up on teaching me. I never gave up either, I wanted to make him proud, I kept reading books, trying out all ways to finaly chain and focus my energy into a proper spell but...I never could...Well, that was until...


    "Grandfather!" I ran up to him  "I''ve found a book about some weird magic tarot cards, how they work and how to make them!"


    "Eh? Tarot cards?" He took the book. "Ah, I see you found a book about the major arcana spells. An old and forgotten way of casting spells."


    "Yes! I''ve read it! Why did you never mention this! These cards are the perfect way for me to actually do something!" I say


    "You see my dear grandson, the major arcana aren''t too practical, They are cards, take quite some time to be made and prepared and aren''t usually worth the trouble. Some ancient mages used them as a last resort or a surprise attack but I don''t know if you can fight with them only.."


    "Did you...did you also give up on me grandfather..? Our family, father and Baba, they all just kept talking but never truly believed in me and now even you..."


    "No Kazuki!...I..." The old man looked to me "...You''re right, I started doubting you...I''m horrible..."


    "I''ll prove it to you too! I''m not a disgrace or a failure, look!"


    I pulled out a card and held it towards  a small empty field


    "Fire ball!" I said as a fireball came out of the card, flying across the field and eventually hitting the ground.


    Oroshi couldn''t believe his eyes.


    "K-Kazuki! Where did you find that?!" Oroshi shouts.


    "There were those plain cards in the box where I found the book and you taught this spell to Dan just last week and I thought I could try it myself.."


    "You developed that yourself?!" Oroshi said. "That spell isn''t part of the major arcana, he really did create it himself...but how, and where did he find that book..? Maybe he gave it to him..." Oroshi thought.


    "Grandpa..?"


    "Ah--- I''m sorry I ever doubted you Kazuki...guess there are ways to use the tarot cards in better ways than our ancestors did...Come, there are a few more books on the Major Arcana in the library." Oroshi smiled as we went to the family library together.


    At the age of 10 I started studying the Major Arcana, using the original spells I found but also creating my own.


    Of course even the cards had their limits, I couldn''t seal everything I wanted and the stronger the spell was, the more time I needed to seal and then release them which was a big problem.


    Still it was great, my grandfather was finally proud of me.


    .


    .


    .


    "Burning spear!" I threw a few cards at some wooden targets which then blew up.


    "You''re doing great great my little warrior! Your attacks are getting faster." Oroshi smiled.


    "But can you...think fast?!" He said as he sent a small energy blast towards me, It didn''t take it a whole second to reach me but I managed to pull out a card and punch the blast with it, nullifying it.


    Oroshi smiled at me. "That''s my grandson."


    We continued training but soon after that..


    "G-grampa!" Dan ran up to us on the training grounds, he was sobbing and his eyes were filled with tears.


    "What is it Dan?" Oroshi said as we turned to him.


    "Daddy is acting weird, he''s . . ."


    We ran...I never saw Oroshi run so fast.


    The house was so far away...


    It was cold...his room was even colder....


    But there he was.


    .


    .


    .


    I woke up.


    I was in my room...A dream? It doesn''t matter. I stand up and immediately start feeling dizzy...how much did I sleep..? What day is it even...I don''t remember anything...


    "Oh! Kazuki!" Baba entered the room "You finally woke up!" She hugged me.


    "Now please go back to bed, you''ve been out gor a few days...I''ll go make you some soup okay?"


    "No...the soup has to wait...I gotta talk to him.." I say.


    "What are you saying..?" Baba says.


    "Don''t worry..." I leave my room and walk down the hallway.


    "K-kazuki, you gotta rest!" She shouts after.


    I enter a room in the house...a room I rarely enter...


    There wasn''t a single light source in the room except some light that managed to enter through the shutters.


    "Oh...It''s you Kazuki..I see you''re feeling better." A male voice said.


    "..I gotta talk to you..." I said


    "You owe me some answers...father.."


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 8: Kazuki in Trouble

    .


    .


    .


    "..Father...while I was out I had dreams...and visions.." I say


    "..."


    "...I want to know what happened to my mother!...the truth..." I continue.


    "Your mother died because of an incurable disease..and that''s that..now leave..."


    "...And why...why did you try to kill yourself!?" I shout at him.


    "..." He didn''t say a word.


    "..You were never there for us, you''re a selfish excuse of a father...Have it your way.." I say as I close the door and walk away.


    "Kazuki, the soup---" Baba tries to stop me in the hallway but can''t do anything other than watch me enter my room without saying anything.


    "That man..How could he.." I think as I sit down on my bed.


    "Sup." I hear my brother Dan''s voice seemingly appear out of nowhere.


    "Oh...It''s you...what do you want..?" I say, still looking down.


    "Well you look more depressed than usually so I came to check up on you." He says.


    "Oh..It doesn''t matter...it''s just that our father---" I try to say


    "Our father is nothing more than our biological parent, he''s dwelling in the past. That doesn''t mean we should be like him too. We grew up without parents and whatever happened, that''ll never change." Se said


    "I was always in your shadow Kazuki, it didn''t matter how much I trained or how strong I was, you were the first child and grandfather''s favorite. While you had all the attention you wanted and fought with yourself I fought for acceptance!" He said.


    "I did too!" I answer. "I understand what you mean but..."


    "You''re thinking too much about the past Kazuki, it doesn''t matter where we were, what matter is where we are now and where we can be. It''s on us to create our own destiny, to not make the mistakes our predecessors have and just..keep going." He says.


    "But why...?" I ask, still looking down.


    "Why not? Why the hell not? It gives us happiness and joy, we''re proud of the things we achieve! Dwelling in the past gives nothing but pain and memories of "happy times" and all that crap." He says, almost shouting now.


    Happy memories...


    .


    .


    .


    "..You''re right I guess---" I say


    "Don''t guess, I am right! Don''t you want to get revenge on the people that almost killed you a few days ago? Didn''t you want to prove to everyone that you can be a strong mage even with such low magic focus?? Well get your ass up and do that!" He shouts.


    I can see he''s trying to motivate me and, well damn it worked.


    I stand up. "Okay then, when you''re already talking like that then you won''t mind helping me get ready for the tournament.." I smirk.


    Dan returns the smirk "That''s the spirit, let''s go."


    "Oh, by the way what happened with your team?" I ask him.


    "Ah, my class refused to participate..They''re a bunch of wimps, only person that wanted to was Ayame." Dan answers


    "Really?.." I say


    "I guess, nevermind that, let''s train!" Dan shouts.


    He seemed really happy. To be honest, I was as well, we never train like this and I finally felt some happiness and the feeling of family and warmth I rarely feel.


    Even Oroshi seemed happy as he was Observing us from a distance, probably thinking about joining in...Heh, just like back in the day...


    .


    .


    .


    Monday, the finale is this Friday eh? The sooner I tell Vely I changed my mind the better.


    As soon as I enter the class I''m greeted by Vely''s smile. I sit down next to him.


    "Morning Kazuki, I---"


    "I want to join the team, I changed my mind and...I''m sorry you had to wait so long.." I say.


    Vely looked surprised but soon started smiling again.


    "That''s great Kazuki! I knew you''d change your mind. We need all the help we can get to fight those jerks." He says.


    Well, that was easy. What was I expecting? It''s Vely.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "Well, you can start by showing up to practice today and not just sleep in the locker room. It''ll be a bit difficult to get you in sync with the rest of the team in just 4 days but I''m sure it''ll work out!" He said, seeming rather excited.


    "Sure sure, can''t wait..." I say. I forgot I have to spend time with the idiots from my class...Well, actually just the idiot.


    Oh well, most of the classes pass rather quickly, I was still just thinking about everything that happened...


    ...I haven''t had a single dream of that woman since I got attacked by those thugs...It feels weird, It was only a dream but..I miss It.


    It was like another world where I could rest and regain my energy, she always guided me and took care of me. But that was probably only my brain trying to relax? I''m probably just overthinking it.


    Before I know it, we are at magic practice. I walk to my classmates who were getting ready for some training. Vely notices me and waves.


    "There you are Kazuki!" He shouts as he waves. "Now I didn''t actually want to tell them myself so I''ll let that up to you Kazuki."


    "Eh?...Okay then, well guys, we may not get along that well and all that but I decided on joining the team and helping you beat Eiden and his thugs." I say.


    Jack and Baaya look at me, they smile, seeming rather happy about my decision.


    "Well, welcome Kazuki, now we can get those little---" Baya was trying to say but got interrupted.


    "Wait a second, who the hell do you think you are??" Daren says as we all turn to him.


    "Do you really think we''ll just accept you after we won most of the battles ourselves, making it to the finals?? We don''t need you!" He says.


    "Eh...I get what you mean but I just---" I tried to say.


    "No! Fuck off filthy humanimal!" He says.


    The situation got very tense all of a sudden.


    "G-guys, let''s not do something we''ll regret later..!" Vely says.


    "Too late.." Daren says, smirking.


    "Not really, I''m not as stupid as to get insulted by some sad excuse of a mage that would probably lose his self esteem because a humanimal that''s better than him entered his team and stole his show, even though he never tried or wanted that.." I say.


    "Oh well, live in your safe little world Daren and keep insulting people, you might be able to actually believe your own lies one day."


    "Eheheee...." Vely looks away.


    I turn around and head into the locker rooms, time for sleep---


    "Gahhh! Speed Up!!" I hear Daren say as I feel something hitting my back, sending me flying for several feet.


    I hit a nearby tree and dust rises, our class looks at Daren, shocked about how this escalated.


    "You got cocky Kazuki, someone had to put you in your place..." Daren says.


    Before the dust clears I run out of the dust, surprising Daren. I go for a punch bit he manages to avoid the attack by doing a few backflips.


    I don''t give him any time to rest as I follow him. He does a rather impressive jump, retreating out of my range.


    "Very well Daren, you started this." I take out a tarot card. "Your speed is impressive, but it''s nothing compared to the fool''s dance!"


    I say as the card starts shining and my speed and reflexes get increased.  I move towards Daren, almost teleporting in front of him. The only reaction he lets out is a short gasp before I punch him in the face.


    He falls to the ground.


    "Well, that''s that..." I say.


    "I...I''m not done...the filth caught me off by surprised, you''re going down..!!" Daren stood up before getting into a stance and running towards me again.


    The fool''s dance was already deactivated but that one punch made him unable to fight properly. Yet he tried to, trying to land a blow while I just avoided his attacks. His moves were slow and desperate at this point.


    "I...I won''t get beaten by you...Greater Speed Up!" He shouts as a magic circle appears under him.


    "A rank 3 spell? When did he learn that??" Vely says, shocked.


    "This was supposed to be my trump against Eiden but I''ll gladly beat you with it!!" He says as he moved towards me.


    I took out a tarot card, getting ready for the hit.


    "That''s as far as you go!" We hear a voice say.


    We all turn to the voice, seeing our teacher Duke.


    "Duels are strictly prohibited without the supervision of a teacher and you know that! Stop right where you are."


    He continued.


    "Grr...Fine!...I don''t care how good you are Kazuki, there''s no place for you in this team...If you guys want this humanimal in our team then I''m out!" Daren says, turning away.


    Baaya and Jack look at eachother for a few seconds. "W-wait Daren!" They say, running to him.


    "I...I''m sorry Kazuki...I didn''t think they would..." Vely looks down.


    "It''s okay Vely, I''m sure you''ll do just fine without me. Go train." I say, walking away.


    "..I''m sorry!" He shouts after me.


    "Well...this''ll be a problem...we have to inform master.." A young man with curly brown hair said as he finished observing us from a distance.


    Well, today way strange. Guess Daren really hates me. Well, school is over and I''m almost home and--- What..?


    "It''s time to get rid of the Hatagano family! Even now when they brought ''democracy'' to our village, the tyrant Oroshi keeps trying to rule over the village himself." A man said, attracting quite some attention at the Town Square.


    "Well, that seems like a problem..oh well.." I say, continuing to walk home.


    "There you are, you little shit!" I hear a voice. I turn to it to see Kiba and Chris standing there, here we go..


    "How dare you leave my sister Ayame?!" He says, walking closer.


    "Leave..? What..?" I say.


    "She''s devastated because of you! You used her and then left her!" He started shouting, attracting some of the people from the square.


    "What are you talking about?? First you tell me to stay away from her and now you''re pissed because we don''t hang out..? Besides, that never happened, she said she was okay and---"


    "Don''t you lie to me!" I get interrupted by Kiba again "Don''t you see this people, we are still slaves to the Hataganos, democracy or not! They still do whatever they want!"


    The people turn to me and start booing. "That''s not...what---" I try to say but can''t even hear myself from all the booing.


    "It''s time for change! The Hataganos and the corruoted council won''t be tolerated anymore! We need a man of the people that''ll rule over Naofuma, someone that cares! My father is a man of the people and he''ll bring the change! Long live the opposition!"


    Kiba turns his argument with me into a speech. His father eh..? So that''s what all of this is about. Baki really did it this time, I can''t believe they''re trying to do some sort of coup d''¨¦tat..


    "We''ll take matters into our own hands! You''ll pay for what you did to Ayame!" Kiba says, getting on all fours.


    The people actually start cheering for him...what''s wrong with them..? They were never so violent..In fact, some were even friends with Oroshi...something is not right here...Oh well, I can''t risk fighting him, it''ll just make the situation worse..


    "You''re dead Hatagano!!"


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 9: The Legend of the Gates

    Kiba gets on all fours, growling at me. I''ve been nice for long enough, I''ll put the dog in his place.


    "Arghhhh!" Kiba screams as he runs towards me, I get ready for his attack.


    "And that''s as far as you go!" A voice shouts as a massive rat comes out of the ground before me, absorbing Kiba''s punch with it''s stomach.


    The rat was several heads taller than the average human, standing on 2 legs. Kiba''s fist was stuck in the thick fur of the animal which seemed to hold Kiba''s hand.


    "What...is...this..?!" Kiba said as he tried to pull his hand out, barely managing to do so after a some pulling and falling to the ground.


    "Well I''m sure my grandson wouldn''t mind teaching you a lesson himself but violence should be avoided right??" Oroshi said as we all turned to him, he was sitting on a nearby building with a wicked grin.


    "Now then!" He said as he stood up and jumped over the people, landing right next to the rat. "Unmatched in charm and power, able to solve every dispute, the legendary rat tamer, Oroshi has arrived!" Oroshi said, acting over the top again..


    I have no idea how people are supposed to take him seriously with such an.."introduction" but unsurprisingly the people started mumbling things like "It''s Oroshi.." and "he''s here.." some even backing off.


    "You...! Y-you Hatagano''s are coward! Fight me one on one like a man Kazuki!" Kiba says.


    "What a weird thing to say and request while being backed up by 100 people." Oroshi says, not losing even a bit of his confidence. The rat that just protected me from the punch disappears.


    "Now go home." He turns to the people "You are fed lies and being used by evil people. I admit our system isn''t perfect but none is."


    The crowds anger disappears, they look at eachother and some turn around and start leaving.


    "Don''t let him manipulate you folks! He''s using magic to calm you down." A voice from the crowd shouts. He walks out of the crowd and reveals himself.


    "F-father!" Kiba says.


    "Baki..." Oroshi says. Well, this is just getting better and better.


    "Oroshi noticed that he''s losing power and that he can''t control the people anymore so he called forces from the Capital to occupy our beloved homes and truly become a dictator!"


    The crowd was back to being angry again. The people just listened to everything they were told and accepted it as the complete truth without questioning.


    "But there''s no need to be aggressive or do anything we''d regret right?" Baki continued. "In time his rule will come to an end, change is about to happen, who know''s he might even die of old age..he is 69 after all---"


    "Choose your next words carefully Baki.." Oroshi says, not too pleased about Baki''s comments.


    "Ugh--" Baki backed away a bit. "I''m not scared of you Oroshi, do you think you can keep being a tyrant??"


    "I don''t need to be a tyrant, I could just end this right here and now but I''ll always allow my people to decide about their own future and soon enough they''ll see you''re just one of the many powerhungry madmen with empty promises." Oroshi says.


    "So I don''t need to do a single thing but I will, just to save the hard workers and families of this settlement from the pain of dealing with you.." Oroshi smirked.


    Baki lost his cool rather quickly compared to Oroshi, feeling completely disgraced.


    "Ughh--- Why you..." Baki clenched his fists.


    "Easy now, there''s no need to be aggressive or do anything we''d regret, right?" Oroshi smirked, knowing he won this.


    "I will teach you how---" Baki seemed upset enough to actually escalate the situation but stopped as the loud sound of dry wood hitting the ground was heard.


    Everyone turns to the sound to see the old lady Sheelah who is one of the village council members. Behind her where the other 2 council members and a few men in what I can only describe as pitch black detective clothes and a coat.


    "Shame! 2 grown men, people that are supposed to lead this village and be the pillars of our society clashing on the streets!" She said, looking quite pissed.


    Baki immediately stopped "But Lady Sheelah, this uncultured---"


    "Silence!" Sheelah stopped him. "I heard enough of the conversation, you''re a threat to peace and stability of Naofuma! You''re hereby kicked out of the Council!"


    "What?!" Baki looked shocked, to be honest, everyone did. "You...you can''t! There isn''t anyone that can take my place, I''m a voice of the people! This is democracy!"


    "This isn''t democracy, this is a riot!" She shouts "Now enough, the Council made its decision, now disband these thugs before I change my mind on letting you go peacefully!"If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Oroshi, satisfied with himself grins and turns around, the village elders and I do the same and we start leaving the scene.


    "Rrr...AARRGGGHHH!" Baki growls as he starts running, about to hit Oroshi from behind. Yet without a single wasted move Oroshi turns around and grabs his fist, stopping him in his tracks.


    "Grrr...why you!.." Baki uses his second fist to try and punch Oroshi but Oroshi grabs it as well.


    The now partly transformed Baki who had his teeth showing, his power levels so high that his mana was almost visible was stopped by Oroshi with little to no effort.


    "You let your rage control you Baki. You''re no leader...you''re a disgrace.." Oroshi said, quickly letting Baki''s hands go and pushing him with his palms, sending him flying into a few barrels across the street.


    "Father!!" Kiba shouts.


    Baki looked like he was out cold and the people turned to Oroshi, about to riot.


    "Wait...we''re better than them...this is not the place to fight.." Baki said, barely conscious.


    The people seemed to be calming down, Kiba and some other villagers helpef Baki up and they left together.


    "..Thank you lady Sheelah I am--" Oroshi got interrupted by Sheelah slapping him.


    "Disgraceful! What would your father say?? You''re not a bit better than Baki!" The old woman said.


    "I apologize...Rage took over...It''s starting to affect me as well..." Oroshi looked down.


    "It"? What''s that..? And who are these men..? Guess I''ll find out.


    "Nevermind that...The IMSA arrived at your house Oroshi, they request your presence immediately." Sheelah continued.


    "Yes.." Oroshi said as we headed home. As we arrived, there were several more of the coated men standing there. As we entered our house and the livingroom we were greeted by Baba and a bald man, probably in his 60''s, dressed in black as well.


    "Oroshi, I''m glad you could make it." The bald man said.


    "You know me, I usually go home when I can." Oroshi smirked as the bald man stood up.


    "Long time no see Autrey." Oroshi said as they shook hands.


    Autrey then looked at me. "Is this your grandson? He certainly grew into a fine young man..long time no see Kazuki." He offered me a hand.


    "Yeah.." I shook it "Do I know you..?" I ask.


    Autrey chuckles "I doubt you remember me holding you as an infant so...not really."


    "I indeed do not." I say.


    "Well, that''s fine." We finished shaking hands. Both Oroshi and Autrey took a seat after.


    "Thank you for the wonderful tea Kaya, I''d like to have a word with your husband now. What is going on here Oroshi?" Autrey said.


    "The villagers are going crazy, I''ve noticed unnatural change in aura and personality. I fear the worst, and since the Naofuman Military is disbanded already and we can''t trust any of the locals anymore I decided to get the IMSA involved." Oroshi answers.


    "My men and I noticed the same even before reaching the settlement. I didn''t expect the situation to be this serious, I''ll be sending an immediate call for back-up to The Capital, we need to search the whole area." Autrey says before sipping his tea.


    "So...I see you guys are really into this topic so I''ll just.." I said as I slowly started backing off.


    "What are you saying? Come sit with us Kazuki! This topic should concern you as much as the rest of us!" Autrey said, pointing to a seat.


    Oroshi didn''t seem to like this, he looked at Autrey suspiciously. I sigh and sit down.


    "Anyway...I suspect it''s the Black Moon..." Oroshi said.


    "The Black Moon??" Autrey looked surprised. "Why would they have anything to do with this??"


    "I know, I know, it''s just a theory." Oroshi says.


    "Wait wait wait..who are they??" I ask, totally confused.


    Oroshi sighs. "Well...they are a terrorist organisation that lurks in the shadows of the empire, no one knows who they exactly are and what they want. They have managed to hide their true identities and motives for decades so they must have some powerful individuals working with or for them."


    "Till now several attacks on Naofuma and other places across the world are directly connected to them. Their last activity was many years ago and they completely vanished ever since."


    "I-i see..." I say, completely surprised by the answer. Some secret powerful dark Organisation?? Why didn''t I know about this sooner??


    "But Oroshi, as you said they completely disappeared, every clue we had lead to a dead end, it seems like they just don''t exist anymore so why would you think they are back and trying to manipulate Naofuma like this?" Autrey asks.


    "Easy...They want to take control of the spirit gate..." Oroshi said, looking rather serious.


    ..The spirit what now? What are these guys talking about???


    "Oroshi...You know I don''t believe in tales..." Autrey says, leaning back.


    "I understand your disbelief Autrey but that may be a motive...The facts are there, it''s the end of a millenium..." Oroshi says.


    "Again it''s just a legend, don''t be ridiculous Oroshi, this is a serious problem!" Autrey didn''t seem too amused.


    "What legend?? Guys???" I say.


    Oroshi looks at me again "Oh...this isn''t really the time but I never told you about the story of how the Hatagano''s came to be."


    "A millenium ago, the world was a place full of spirits and magic, humans were just a small part of it. After a mistake made by a young man, the forces of evil started growing rapidly and a creature made out of pure darkness threatened to destroy the world."


    "The young man, determined to make things right and fix his mistakes went on a journey, meeting 3 allies who were destined by the book of time to grow in power and stop the evil god. As the book said, they did, but the forces of darkness couldn''t be destroyed so the heroes created the 3 so called ''spirit gates'' which are points across the world, they are the prison that keeps the evil god sealed away."


    "Each of the adventurers decided on guarding one of the gates, preventing anyone from making the mistake of breaking the seal and releasing the god. Eventually those 3 heroes became known as the gate Keepers and each one of them had a family which through their generations always had just one purpose, protecting their spirit gate." Oroshi says.


    "And as you can may guess...the Hataganos are one of the families. Over the centuries the human race took over the world, other races were forced to retreat to certain parts of the world and many went extinct...Still many survived, was it because of numbers or sheer power, one of those races are the humanimals or half-humans. Each family represents one of the large remaining races, the humanimals, The onis, also known as demons and lastly the elves."


    Autrey and I look at Oroshi, me being rather confused and Autrey seeming like he''s hearing this for the 50th time.


    "..Getting a bit off topic here...Oh well, the gates weren''t a permanent solution, even though they were powerful and probably couldn''t be opened by the families themselves, energy can''t exist in the same place forever, it escapes so the gates were bound to become weaker and according to the legend after 1000 years the gates would cross a point where they could get opened with sheer power so the Keepers came up with a solution."


    "Those gates...they are the pure energies of the original Keepers...their life force is in them and the Keepers will protect them no matter what so...they shall be reborn when the millenium passes to be there to fight off forces of evil and make sure to close off the gates again for another millenium of peace...preventing the end of the world in a sense."


    "Now, a 1000 years later, the time has come, the followers of the dark forces no longer need to dwell in the shadows, they will rise and a battle for the fate of the world shall begin."


    .


    .


    .

 Chapter 10: Loneliness

    "...For the fate of of the world? Seriously??" I ask.


    "I''m afraid so.." Oroshi says.


    "Oroshi..we don''t know that yet...hell we even don''t know if the gates exist!"


    Autrey says.


    "They do my friend...The families have been keeping them a secret from even the IMSA, the legend couldn''t be hidden but their exact location could...For now it doesn''t matter, as you said we still don''t know if the Black Moon is behind all of this...Still we have to investigate.." Oroshi said.


    "If the legends are true then that means you are the..." Autrey looks at Oroshi.


    The? The what?? What are they talking about??


    "Yes, I indeed am the reincarnation of the first Hatagano, the original Keeper, and I shall protect the gate with my life." Oroshi says.


    "Very well...I shall believe you Oroshi, the IMSA will help you in every way possible."


    Gramps is that keeper guy from the story?? Wow okay. This is way too much for me...I stand up and leave them talk about their politics.


    I don''t have the time for this, I''ll just prepare for school tomorrow...Isn''t the tournament tomorrow..? Meh...I don''t participate anyway..


    .


    .


    .


    .


    "I''m off mom!"


    "Don''t forget the milk Velysar!"


    "I won''t!~" Vely says as he leaves his house. It was a chilly evening but that didn''t seem to bother him.


    "Wow...the finale is tomorrow...I wonder if we''ll even make it...well even if we don''t, I wish he was fighting with us...Maybe he even will, but I hope this time someone else gets knocked out by a dirty surprise attack---" Vely sank deeper and deeper into thoughts as he was walking down the lonely street surrounded by plains, forests and an occasional lonely street light..


    He started feeling uneasy. Something was off...Something was definitely---


    "Hello there Vely." A masked man appeared in front of him. Vely immediately jumped away and got into a stance.


    "Who the hell are you??" He asks.


    "Pff.." The masked man dismisses the question as a large energy fist formed over his own. He jumped at Vely at an amazing speed, sending him flying into a tree with a punch to the chest.


    A dust cloud rises from the impact and...silence, the man looks to the clearing dust, expecting to see a knocked out Vely bud his stare is met by several icicles flying his way.


    "Damn!" He puts his energy fist over his body defensively and manages to defend most of them but his shoulder gets hit, getting him out of balance.


    Immediately after, Vely runs out of the smoke, clapping his hands together. He then smashes them into the ground which makes water come out of that spot, creating a small wave that reaches the thung in no time.


    The two were now connected by a small puddle. The man tries to jump away but is stopped by the water which was acting like a semi-dry glue now.


    "You won''t get away...Now tell me who are you..?" Vely said as he panted, obviously injured by the punch. He still held his hands on the ground, likely controling the water itself by doing so.


    "Tsk...I underestimated you.." The masked man said as he struggled to free himself. He looked to his feet, noticing that the water was now slowly climbing up.


    "This water is infused with my mana...it''s like an extension of my body. You''re not going anywhere and if you wont talk then I''ll slowly swallow you with the water and turn you into ice.."


    Vely smirked, knowing he completely outsmarted him. But all of a sudden his smile disappears and his eyes widen, he slightly turns to his left and takes his left hand out of the water but can''t do much as another energy fist hits him, sending him flying into the woods yet again.


    "Took you long enough." The man who was trapped just a second ago says, looking at the water which fell off of him.


    "Sorry..Let''s get him.." The similarly dressed masked man said as they ran into the forest.


    They found Vely on the ground, unconscious. One of them was just about to grab him but he stops. The sound of a solid breaking is heard, both of them look at Vely''s body which starts getting paler. They were confused but one of them gasped and suddenly jumped away from the body. The other man couldn''t react as the body exploded into pieces which flied in all directions, many of them hitting the masked man.


    "Shit! My eyes!!" He shouted as he tried to cover his face from the projectiles.


    "It was a damn ice substitute!" The man who jumped shouts. "Watch out!"


    Vely started running out of the dark forest towards the injured one. "Shit...I can''t create any water.." he think. He starts touching every tree he passes by. By each contact his hand glows a bit and some water comes out of it.


    After a few seconds he reaches the man with a good amount of water in his right hand as amassed as a buble, he jumps at the man, ready to take him out but gets punched into the stomach yet again by another energy arm, this time only flying to the first tree which he hits with his back and falls to the ground.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    There were 3 masked men now, all wearing the same clothes. The only slight difference was in their height.


    "I thought I could leave you handle this failure alone..but you two failed...disgraceful." said the guy who just showed up, he talked like he was their boss and that was only confirmed when they just apologized.


    As he talked, Vely had stood up. completely dizzy from the last hit, he started limping away from that spot. The man who was just scolding his partners notices that and slowly starts following him. After a few seconds Vely reached a small clearing.


    "My stomach...I can''t breathe...I can''t chain my mana..." Vely thinks to himself as he falls to his knees. He looks to the ground but then looks up as he notices a shadow in front of him. There he sees another masked man, he turns his head slightly to the right, noticing he was now surrounded by four men.


    "This magic...It''s you guys...what do you want...?" Vely barely manages to mumble out.


    "We want a very special person...someone close to you, and for that you need to disappear." The boss says as a big red energy fist appears around his right arm.


    "I see...well...If this is how I''m dying, then one of you is coming with me!" Vely shouts as he looks up, grabbing a handful of the grass. A deep blue magic circle appears beneath them with Vely being in the center.


    "Watch out!" One of them shouts as all of them jump out of the range of the circle. Vely kneels up, raising his hands and extracting the water out of the ground surrounding him, leaving only dark dead grass behind.


    He looks around one last time and then moves his hands, creating a spinning ball of water around him.


    "What are you waiting for?! Attack him!" The boss shouts as his three partners create energy fists. They start punching the water ball but the strong water flow blocks most punches.


    As the seconds go by, the men keep punching the ball, meeting less and less resistance, almost playing by this point. With every punch, muffled groans can be heard inside as the silhouette gets hit.


    "I don''t know if I''ll make it...it doesn''t matter...go get them...


    .


    .


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    Kazuki.."


    Suddenly Vely spreads both arms and legs, sending the water flying in all directions, knocking the attackers off their feet. After a few seconds of confusion, all of them slowly stand up, trying to  understand what even happened. They notice Vely is nowhere to be found.


    "It''s just a dirty trick!" The boss shouts. "He couldn''t run off too far in his condition, find him!"


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    "What a day...way too much info, I can''t even enjoy my novels.." I think to myself as I close my book. It''s getting late, guess I should head to bed.


    I get a strange feeling..a chill runs down my spine...something happened..Something is going to happen...


    I jump off the tree I was lying in and walk back into my backyard. What a quiet night. Heh...I''d probably sleep outside on that tree if there wasn''t the risk of a wolfbat knocking me off and eating my face off.


    As I enter the house I see Baba still up which was rather unusual.


    "Wow It''s 9pm and you''re still up..?" I say.


    "Waited for you, dinner''s on the table and...Your girlfriend visited." She smirked.


    "Who."


    "Why Ayame of course, who else silly? Oh well...She didn''t stay long, just left a little love letter for you loverboy." She shows me a small letter as her smirk widens.


    "Eh- Give me thar!--" I say as I snatch the letter.


    "Don''t worry Kazu I didn''t read it although It was hard to resist." She said as she yawned and stood up. "I really gotta sleep now..don''t enjoy your letter too much my brave warrior." She says as she leaves the room.


    I walk to my own. "Why would she write me a letter? She could''ve just talked with me..." I think to myself as I open the letter.


    "Dear Kazuki


    I just couldn''t look you in the face after that night and after what...My brother did...Still I couldn''t live like this either. I don''t know what you''re going through but you don''t have to do it alone. I don''t think we can be friends. I love you too much for that...Yes Kazuki, I love you, I always did. If you feel the same way, let''s meet at the hill, where we met for the first time, at 5pm. If you don''t show up...well..I got my answer..


    Love,


    Ayame."


    "...."


    Wow...This is...I have no Idea what it is..


    I keep rereading the letter over and over, getting more tired ans slowly dozing off.


    I can''t deal with this.


    This is messed up.


    I need help, someone to guide me.


    ..Yes..guide me..


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    ..This room again..The darkness here was always so mysterious but It didn''t feel lonely, I always had light...I always had her...


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    "Where are you?!" I shout.


    "Why the fuck did you leave me?! I thought you said you''ll always be there for me!! Keep your promise!!"


    "No one understands me! No one can help me...I''m scared...I''m alone...I''m in the dark....Fine! I don''t need you! Screw you! You were just a voice in my head anyway! I''ll fucking take care of myself!..."


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    Morning..It''s bitter..It''s cold...It always was, but now I can''t lie to myself...


    I get ready for school and head there with Dan. Well, it''s not really school since we got no classes, Today are the finals eh..? Well, that and the match for the third place.


    Most of the students are gathered on the stands. I sit down with Nico and Dan as we look to the field where the teams are getting ready...


    "Welcome! To the finale of the Lurigo Magic Academy Tournament!" Duke walks to the center of the field. He was dressed up rather nicely. He always took this way too seriously...


    ...Ayame...she''s loiking at me...I can see it from here...I can''t let our eyes meet it''ll be awkward..


    "What do you mean Vely didn''t show up?!" Daren shouts.


    "Well he just didn''t, he wasn''t in the locker room when we got ready and he isn''t here, so yeah---" Baaya says.


    "Damn! This isn''t good.." Daren looks away.


    "Is there a problem 2/B?" Duke asks.


    "Oh...what''s the matter..? You seem stressed Daren-Senpai~" Eiden says as he and his team walk to the field, ready.


    "Vely is missing!" Daren says. "We can''t fight without him!"


    "Oh...that''s unfortunate...well..." Duke says.


    "Wait a sec, every team is allowed to have one person as a reserve right...and if I''m correct which I always am...Kazuki Hatagano is their reserve so they don''t have to surrender right..?" Eiden smirks.


    "Well...that is true. Come on Kazuki you''re in!" Duke looks to the stands.


    ....I get up and walk to the field without saying a word.


    I didn''t even notice Vely was missing...he''d never miss something like this...something happened.


    "Tsk...I''m doing this only because I can''t stand that prick Eiden...Just don''t get in my way humanimal..." Daren says.


    "Alright we''re still in!" Jack shouts.


    "Splendid~...shall we?" Eiden says as he gets into a stance.


    This bastard Eiden...he waited for this...I''ll teach him a lesson.


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