Acquaintanceship (Pt. I)

––

|| CHAPTER 6 | Acquaintanceship (Pt. I) ||

"The identities of one's companions weren't always easy to remember. They were complicated, and yet, they warmed one's heart and soul.

"Their true nature, true behaviours, how they would react or even how they would reply–– their true selves... The true beings of others were always a mystery–– more of an enigma than magic itself.

"Worry not, you'll remember their names soon enough. For they are, the generations that would carve magic and miracles into this wretched history they had. They are heroes of the past. 

"I assure you that you'll know them as we go on."

––

After the virtual touring had ended, they all walked out. Even though they've been shown around once before, all the students scattered, going to their respective classes.

With the blistering warm sun rays reflected from the clear panes of the windows rowed beside the hall they walked in, Shizuka walked with her two brothers to their class.

Azure eyes travelled from one sign to another, hanging above the classroom doors. The owner of the pair was trying to find a certain class, despite being toured around the school for the SECOND time that week.

–– the building was simply too big.

"Class 1-6... 1-6... 1-6... Where in Gaia's name is it...?"

"There are too many students here, it's too crowded! TOO CROWDED I TELL YA'!!!" Yuzuru yelled out with an irritated look.

"Lower your voice, Yuzuru! We don't want to get into trouble," Mizuto warned with a small frown. He then smiled at the sight of the confused Shizuka, attempting to find their class but to no avail.

"1-6... Hmm... I... actually agree. Seriously, this place's too big..." Shizuka mumbled and nodded, keeping her eyes on each sign above the doors.

"And what about their loud chattering??? Hmm???" inquired Yuzuru with his eyes wide and eyebrows raised, pointing to the crowds of loud students.

"Well––"

Not letting her brother continue his sentence, Shizuka exclaimed happily that she had found their class, "Oh! Found it!"

She then led her brothers inside, walking in from the backside door of the class. There were three empty seats on the second row from the door.

The (technically) younger female sat in front while Yuzuru sat behind her, with Mizuto following behind his younger brother, setting down their things.

Not long after, the class started filling up with students one by one. Eventually, the whole class was here.

A male with long, tied khaki-brown hair and moss-green eyes came. It seemed that he's a teacher here.

"Sit down class, we're about to start!" the man ordered in a loud and clear voice so that everyone could hear.

After everyone was seated and quiet, the young male started to introduce himself, "Greetings, my name is Ashitaka Asuma, you can call me Mr Ashitaka from now on."

His eyes looked at each student with sternness and kindness at the same time.

"From today on, I'm going to be your homeroom teacher for the next three years you will study here. A pleasure to meet you all, future mages."

Asuma introduced himself while writing his name. "You are all here in the Magic Course because you dreamt to be full-fledged mages one day, no? May it be in Xenorynth or even countries of another land."

The moss-eyed teacher gave a lopsided smile and spoke, "As the great knights of this kingdom would say, 'There is no way out without effort.' I hope that you all will continue to strive high and work hard no matter what the circumstances are."

He then asked the students, starting from the front window seat, to introduce themselves. However, one student from the middle row raised their hand and delay the introductions.

"Umm, excuse me, Sir."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Are you... possibly, from the famous Sun Tribe? I noticed, your name was written in two languages, one of them being the unique... 'symbols' the Sun Tribe used for writing."

"Indeed, I am. I see you know much about the Sun Tribe, eh?"

"Yes, sir."

"Haha, good to know then. Okay, let's start the introduction. First up, you!" Asuma directly pointed at the first student that sat by the windows. "The one with black hair!"

"M-Me? Err, ah-hem." A male with wavy, neck-length raven-black hair and ash-coloured eyes stood up, facing towards the class from his seat.

He had porcelain-like skin and he's taller than most females in the class, but he's not the tallest male here. To the eyes of the females in the room, he looked exactly like how those dolls displayed in shops looked.

He then placed his right hand up to his left chest. "My name is Vinnetra Haile, but you can call me Vin. I'm from one of the half-human tribes called the Caedis. I am a blissful fifteen-year-old boy and I was born on the nineteenth of February!"

The boy then turned to look at all of them, letting them see his whole appearance. From the sweater that he wore to the doll-like features that he donned they didn't expect the boy to be a cheerful one.

"My element attribute is Fire, and my speciality is Blood Magic. A pleasure to meet you all," he finished introducing himself while wearing a closed-eye smile.

"The Caedis, eh?" Asuma hummed in a thinking manner.

"That's quite the rare tribe, I'd say. You can't easily meet one, even if you searched for them your whole life. They secluded themselves from society if I remember correctly."

"That is right, but the Sun Tribe is not a common one as well. They're scattered all over the world, yet their legends and powers are still unknown at most~"

"Hahaha, fair enough~! Okay then, next!"

The next student was also a male. His clothes and tie were a bit messy and his jacket was unbuttoned. His hair was messy and he wore a cheerful expression.

His hair was bright orange and his eyes the same colour. His skin was a lot tanner than the previous boy.

–– the tangerine introduced himself as Elloise Vigera in a cheerful tone.

"My birthday is on the third of August. My magic attribute is also Fire, but I usually combine it with a Light attribute or the Wind attribute. I specialize in short-ranged attacks, speed attacks, especially fire-based magic. Glad to be here!"

It was time for the protagonist of this story to introduce herself. With all eyes on her, Shizuka attempted to stay calm even with the rain of sweat running down her back.

She slowly stood up from her seat and face all the students behind her while smiling sweetly with a closed-eye smile. After saying her name, she smiled softly and continued.

"I was born on the thirteenth of December. My main element is Light, but I also use other spells of another attribute.

"My specialities are Dream Weaver Magic and other sorts of magic. I can also do other things–– but that will be for another day. Pleased to meet you all~"

"My, my~ Ichijou, you say? I see we have the same ancestors and came from the same tribe then, hmm?" Asuma questioned the platinum-blonde-haired girl while putting a hand on his desk.

The female nodded as a response. Seemingly satisfied with her answer, he then said loudly, "Okay then, next one~!"

The one beside Mizuto and Yuzuru's precious little Shizuka was also a male.

–– too many boys? Nope.

The male beside her had straight, shoulder-length magenta hair and arctic-blue eyes. He also had a beauty mark underneath his left eye.

His skin was also quite fair. His red tie was a bit loose. When he stood up, everyone could see clearly that he's currently the tallest one out of the four.

'Damn... The guy's tall, all right...' Yuzuru thought to himself while sweat-dropping, looking at the magenta-headed male.

"Hello, my name is Arnettia Fleurendor. My birthday is on the first of March. I specialize in Beast Enticement spells, though I don't have my original magic yet.

"I can tame most creatures and also excel in defence, and stealth. A pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"A Beast Tamer, eh? Looks like my class is full of unique students this year, I dare say. Continue on!"

Behind him was a tall female.

–– finally!

She had long, curly brown hair and light-brown eyes along with it. Her skin was probably the darkest in class, but not that dark though, being golden ebony in colour.

"Hello there, the name's Avangenille Lysen. You can call me Nille or Ava for short. I was born on the eleventh of April. My attribute's Earth and I specialize in defensive magic and close-ranged attacks. Like this guy right 'ere, I also don't have my original magic yet. Nice to meet 'cha~"

"Wonderful!! next up!!"

Ending her turn, Yuzuru's up next since he's behind Shizuka. He then stood up with one of his hands on the back of Shizuka's chair. All eyes observed him because of his girl-like face.

–– scratch that, his BEAUTIFUL face.

"Morning, fellow humans! My name's Ichijou Yuzuru. I am––"

"Ichijou?"

"Oh yeah, I'm Shizuka's older brother."

"Older? Then why are you in the same class then...?"

"My age and my birthday are the same as hers, thank you very much! We're triplets," Yuzuru replied lazily to one of his confused classmates at the back.

"'Triplets,' you say~? Who's the third one then?" Avangenille also asked. The gold-eyed male suddenly grabbed Mizuto's arms, pulling him up abruptly from his chair.

He then said dramatically with his eyes wide, "You guys ask a lot of questions. Him, of course! Ichijou Mizuto! Who else?!" Yuzuru snapped and waved his hand furiously at poor Mizuto.

"Can't you SEE the resemblances between us three? HMMM???"

"Nope," almost the whole class replied, popping the 'p' while shaking their heads. Shizuka and Mizuto just sweat-dropped at their brother's antics.

"Are you a girl or a boy??" someone asked bluntly from the back–– a were-rabbit, it seemed.

His words appeared to trigger something in Yuzuru as his face became flushed and red. Maybe it could rival even a Crimson Boreas.

"Huh...?! Of course, I'm a boy! How rude!"

Clearing his throat loudly so that everyone could hear, Asuma spoke calmly to Yuzuru, in a tone contrasting to when he cleared his throat.

"Ah-hem, please, calm down. Well then, please continue with your introduction, Yuzuru."

"HMPH! Okay then... where was I..." Yuzuru hummed and wondered, tapping his fingers on his crossed arms.

"Oh, yeah! My main element's Fire. And, I specialize in Spirit Fire Magic, close-ranged attacks, and speed.

"I fight mostly without magic though, with weapons and stuff. That's all folks, a pleasure to be your acquaintance for the next three, miserable years!"

Laughing at Yuzuru's last words, the class then turned towards yet another male.

He had denim-like hair and honey-dipped vision. The male wore glasses and had a dark-grey sweater with the school's emblem on his left chest instead of the school coat. He also had a pair of denim-coloured wolf ears and a similar-furred tail.

It looked like he's a demi-beast.

–– a werewolf, to be exact. 

Pushing up his square-rimmed glasses, the stoic-faced boy began introducing himself with a neutral tone. A cold aura was let out from him, slightly scaring those who were around the boy.

"Good morning. My name is Innyse Geurashiver. As you can see, I am a werewolf. I was born on the twenty-ninth of January. My attribute is Water and I had learnt Aqua Canentis: A Rune-based magic. I specialize in support, stealth, and defence. I look forward to working with you."

Next to the window is another female! How interesting. From a third-person's view, the number of females in the class were less than males.

Perhaps, it had something to do with their mana pools and magic abilities?

She had short, wavy honey-blonde hair and beautiful doe emerald-green eyes. She was probably the same height as Shizuka, maybe shorter. She wore a cheerful expression, similar to Elloise.

"Morning~! My name's Ichimori Mizuki, but you guys can call me Mizu instead! Same with all of you, I'm fifteen years old. My birthday is on the eleventh of March, so I'm a Pisces!"

Even with her energetic aura and cheery tone, they could probably guess almost all the topics she's going to cover about herself to them. How great.

"My attribute is Wind, and I excel in Aero Modifier Magic and some Earth-based magics. I'm mostly an attacker, but I can also be a defender and supporter.

"What else...? Oh, yeah! I also came from the Sun Tribe! I'm an animal lover and I also know various beasts and monster species. That's all! I look forward to studying with you!"

Mizuki happily exclaimed the last part while bowing and smiling at the same time. Her energetic aura was seeping out intensely, making others who were strangers to her a bit comfortable albeit her calming presence.

'That was quite long...' most of them thought to themselves. The one behind her was another tall male, a well-built one.

'Oh, shi–– he's also tall, what the heck?' Yuzuru narrowed his eyes in slight envy. Though the male's also taller than most his age, he's still jealous of others'

He had a combed back, scarlet hair, and vermilion eyes. He had slanted eyes and he had a sharp look on his face, that he almost seemed like a... gangster?

–– he was frightening in their eyes, to say the least.

They didn't know what to think of him.

"The name's Riedence Ashwyn Fidolores. Call me whatever you wish, I don't really care. My attribute's Earth. I specialize in Earth-based and Fire-based magic, attack, and defence. Nice to meet you."

The whole time he said his short introduction, he wore a scary expression... at least to all of the students. Some simply smiled at him, like Vinnetra, Elloise, Shizuka, and Mizuki.

Others sweat-dropped at their reaction, possibly thinking, 'how can they smile at his introduction??!!' or something along the line of that.

Another girl with soft, short and wavy amaranth-pink hair–– with gold tips at the end–– and mulberry-coloured eyes stood up after Riedence. She was wearing some thick, round black glasses. The female also had pointed ears.

However, she didn't seem like a pure-blooded elf.

She shyly started to voice her name.

"H-Hello… My name is Riveria Lywstel. I-I'm fifteen years old a-and my birthday is on fourteenth of February––"

|| CHAPTER 6 | Acquaintanceship (Pt. I) - To be continued... ||

––