Chapter 23. Rematch Already?

Gavin and Jackson walked out of their dorm room and shut the door behind them. Jackson turned and used a key to lock the door. "Oh that's right, I was told to give you this," he said, remembering. He pulled out a spare key from his pocket and handed it to Gavin. "My bad man."

"All good, thanks," Gavin replied as he took the key and pocketed it. That answered one question he had been wondering about since he arrived. Jackson led the way as they walked through the busy hallway full of other excited first-year students. Male and female students talked, laughed, and ran back and forth between rooms. They were all excited to be away from home and, on their own, it seemed like the energy and vibe was almost euphoric as people met their roommates and nearby neighbors.

Gavin smiled and waved pleasantly to those he passed as they finally exited the elevator and made it outside the dorm building. It was best described as pure chaos in the building on move-in day. That made Gavin smile though. He enjoyed the friendly, good-natured feeling he got from almost everyone he encountered that day. Everyone except Bradley and his cronies. He had a bad feeling that wasn't going to be the last time he ran into that guy. He and Jackson walked down the simple concrete path, enjoying the slight shadow cast by the trees as they made their way towards the building on the southern section of the campus. 

Gavin was stunned as they finally neared the giant building. It was built using the same white stone that the dorms were made from. Giant pillars lined the outside edges every few feet. Statues stood in heroic or divine poses on each pillar. They appeared to depict the gods and goddesses of quite a few religions and mythologies. Gold trim lined the statues and pillars, making the deities seem to pop on the statue pillars. The front main entrance had two giant doors that stood side by side and were propped open to allow for the throng of students that filled in. 

"Out of the way, you trash." A now familiar voice called out from behind as someone shouldered past Gavin, making him stumble in response. Gavin's anger flared as he glanced up after catching his footing and saw Bradley and his three cronies behind him. 

"Really man, again?" Gavin asked with clear annoyance in his tone. He was not in the mood to deal with this guy again. The dude was lucky Gavin didn't rip his arms out of their sockets and beat him with them earlier. Now? Erza wasn't here to calm him down from doing just that. But he promised her he would try to behave, and he intended to keep his word. 

"Yeah again. Scummy first-year students like you need to learn to bow and respect their elders. You have a look in your eyes that I don't frankly like. So I decided that you need to be taught your place," Bradley said as he grinned and cracked his knuckles. His cohorts were chuckling and egging him on from behind. 

Jackson's eyes widened as he saw the four guys that confronted his roommate. Obviously, he could tell they had encountered each other earlier. They had some obvious unfinished business to attend to. He stood by Gavin's side nonetheless. He wasn't that bad of a friend to let him go into a fight four on one. 

Gavin was a little pleasantly surprised that Jackson stepped up closer to him, obviously intending to fight alongside him. "Hey man, appreciate the intention. But I'm alright. This is my fight to deal with," Gavin said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. 

Jackson turned stunned to Gavin. "You realize that would be four against one, right?" There was no way he actually wanted to fight four different people at once. Gavin had to have more sense than that, right? He looked into Gavin's face and saw something flicker in his eyes that sent a shiver running down Jackson's spine. He wanted this fight, Jackson realized. For some reason, Gavin was looking forward to this confrontation. 

Other students nearby started giving the six of them a wide berth, as if sensing the growing tension. Whispers began spreading of a fight outside the auditorium building. "I am a second-year student kid. You really don't want this. So just admit your wrong, bow and ask for forgiveness and I might let you off with a warning this time," Bradley offered cockily. He really hoped, though, that Gavin wouldn't take his offer. Something about this punk really set off his inner dog. Bradley shifted his feet from side to side. He was on edge, waiting for Gavin's response. He didn't even smell right, man. 

Gavin turned to Jackson, completely ignoring Bradley altogether. "Go wait over there, man. No matter what happens, don't interfere. I don't want any trouble to fall on you," Gavin suggested as he pointed to a nearby group of students that were watching the confrontation. 

Jackson let out a sigh, giving up trying to talk some sense into his new friend. "Fine. If you start getting your butt kicked, I'm jumping in, man." Jackson said as he moved to stand with the random onlookers. Gavin grinned and laughed softly as he cracked his knuckles and shook his arms to loosen up. He began to bounce from foot to foot as he looked back at Bradley, shooting him a cocky wide-eyed grin. 

Bradley bit his lip in a nervous response. This wasn't an inexperienced freshman student. These were the actions of someone that knew how to fight. Maybe going after this kid wasn't the best idea. Oh well. He couldn't just back down now. His reputation would be ruined if he did so. "Last chance to back away kid," Bradley offered as he bent his knees and started focusing on his inner manaflow. He had a few tricks in mind for dealing with this kid. He might know how to fight, but Bradley was gifted with magic and knew how to do some real damage. 

Gavin stopped bouncing for a moment and his gaze narrowed and focused on Bradley, his head tilted forward. "After what you said to my mate earlier, you will be lucky to walk away in one piece. She ain't here to reign me in this time," Gavin's words dropped several octaves and came out almost guttural and feral. 

Those words froze Bradley's heart for a moment. His mate? So he was a shifter. So what. So was he. Bradley growled low in his throat as he threw out his hands, his manaflow igniting as he pictured a massive fireball forming. Quickly as he could, a giant ball of flame and heat formed in his palm and grew with intensity. He focused on Gavin and through the orb as hard as he could. 

Gavin laughed as he focused on his own manaflow. He partially shifted his legs into that of his werewolf form. Doing a partial shift like this granted him some of the added physical bonuses of his werewolf body. The increase in his speed and agility made it more than easy to dodge the massive fireball. It continued past where Gavin originally stood and crashed into a wall nearby. The students watching let out audible gasps as they realized this was going to be a dangerous fight. 

Gavin ran forward, his increased speed made it easy to reach Bradley. As he reached out a hand to grab his shirt, Bradley swatted his hand away. "You aren't the only one that's fast punk." he spat out at Gavin as Bradley fully shifted into that of a weredog form. He was tall with golden fur, ears, and a long tail. He was twice as fast and strong as a weredog. His sense of smell told him that Gavin was hiding something dangerous. His animal instincts screamed at him to either put Gavin down now, or run like the wind and not look back. He struck out with a right fist and connected to Gavin's jaw. 

Gavin grunted from the force of the blow and jumped back. He rubbed his cheek as he looked at Bradley. "So, you're a mutt too, huh?" He asked with a grin. Bradley might have a bit of a dog in him. But Gavin had some wolf. Gavin focused his mana flow and a giant boulder came from behind Bradley and smashed into his back. 

MP. 50/60. Veronica's cool soothing voice softly called out in her head. She was monitoring his vitals anytime he accessed his mana. It became routine for them while they were training over the summer. She kept track of his mana and hp stats while he was shifting and fighting with magic, so he never ran the risk of overusing it and getting hurt by magic depletion. Gavin admitted having Veronica was a total cheat skill. 

Bradley stumbled forward as the earth boulder smashed into his back. He growled softly as his eyes glowed yellow. He would not let this punk get the better of him. He raised his arm and, focusing his mana, sent out a stream of intense fire barreling towards Gavin. He would wear him down and then make him submit. 

Gavin jumped out of the way as the fire soared past him. He could feel the intense heat from the flames a few feet away. The crowd of students moved even farther back to avoid getting in the line of fire. Gavin stomped his foot and several large spikes came jutting up from the ground towards Bradley, who moved back just in the nick of time. MP 45/60. 

Bradley grinned at his weak attempt at earth magic. Gavin's lack of experience in a fight was obvious to Brad. He started running forward and dodged the spikes from the ground as he threw out a series of jabs and kicks aiming to push Gavin back. Gavin blocked or dodged most of the strikes, he was holding his own fairly well. Even when the cronies stepped in and fire, air, and earth, offensive spells came flying at Gavin from them. 

Gavin cursed as it truly became a four on one battle. He was about to shift into his full werewolf form and take them to town when a deep thunderous voice rang out across the courtyard. 

"Enough!" A flash of light seemed to absorb all the active spells that were just launched as a short man with long white hair tied back in a braid and a long white goatee stood between Gavin and Bradley. Silence fell across the courtyard as the newcomer somehow canceled, or stopped all the spells. Even Brad's fully shifted form gave way back to his human body as he was huffing from the exertion. 

"There will be no unsanctioned fighting on school grounds. Now, Bradley, you know this as a second year student. "I expected better from you this year." The old man said softly as he turned his gaze to meet Bradley's. Bradley had the sense of self-preservation to bow his head low.

"Yes, Principal Shepard," he said as he bowed his head in acknowledgment. "Please forgive me, sir. I don't know what got into me," he said quickly as he asked for forgiveness. 

"I don't want to hear of this happening again, do you understand young man?" Principal Shepard's beady eyes stared at Bradley. He was a gifted student, but he had a disappointing temper and was quick to bully those he thought were below him. Principal Shepard had hoped being a second year student would mature him a little bit. But it seemed there was a lot of work still needing to be done in that regard. 

"You have a good amount of strength and power Bradly. You should be using that to help others, not attack and bully them," Principal Shepard admonished softly. "Now run along and find your seat." He ordered the four of them as they quickly turned and made their exit inside the auditorium building. The whispers of the students nearby grew loud as they watched the principal turn his attention towards Gavin. 

"Now for you, young man. I do not know what started the fight. But know that I expect better from you and everyone else. Should there be a repeat of this event, there will be consequences you won't enjoy. Now go find your seat," Principal Shepard said to Gavin. 

Gavin stood there quietly. He didn't know how, but whatever Principal Shepard did to the magic that was being cast, he also canceled out his werewolf legs. Granted, he had on jeans, so no one should have known he had shifted partially. But the fact was that now he was fully in a human body. He gave the Principal a frown but nodded. It doesn't matter right now. There would be time to approach the principal in the future to ask questions. Before he nodded though, Gavin could have sworn that he saw a flicker of relief flash across the principal's face. As if he feared Gavin insisting on continuing the fight then and there. If Gavin didn't know better, he would swear he saw a flash of red in Principal Shepard's eyes as the old man turned around and strode leisurely inside the auditorium. 

Jackson walked over and let out an impressive whistle. "You weren't kidding. You really do know how to fight man," he said as he patted Gavin on the back. The students nearby were all gossiping among themselves as they walked around Gavin and Jackson as they made their way inside the auditorium. 

"Yeah, I know a trick or two," Gavin said dismissively. He hadn't even begun to fight in earnest before they were interrupted. Perhaps though, that was a good thing. He still had struggles at times to control his fully wolfed-out self. Gavin let out a deep breath and shook his head. He ran his fingers through his curls a few times and seemed to relax his body. "I don't know what that guy's problem is, but someone is going to rock his world if he keeps acting like that," Gavin said softly as he turned and led the way inside. 

Jackson nodded behind Gavin. "I'm not sure. I wasn't expecting him to be a shifter and to appear to go all out over a school yard scuffle, so to speak," Jackson said. No matter how he looked at it, Brad went too far over nothing serious to cause it. Jackson knew this wouldn't be the last fight between Brad and Gavin. He had a feeling the next one was going to be a lot sooner than anyone expected. 

Once they entered the auditorium, there were a few senior students that helped to guide everyone to the proper sections. It seemed that they wanted each grade of student to be together while they listened to the speeches. Gavin recognized one such bubbly face as he called out. "Hey Steph." He called out to the blonde-haired girl with an infectious laugh and brilliant smile as she turned to face them. 

"Hey, Gavin, right?" she asked with a soft wave and a friendly smile. 

Gavin nodded as he approached her. "Yeah, that's right. This is my friend and roommate, Jackson," Gavin said as he introduced the two of them. Jackson smiled and offered a wave as she grinned at him. Somehow, she always kept up that insane amount of energy and good vibes. It helped to relax Gavin both times he saw her now. 

"I'd love to stay and chat with you guys. But you need to go find your seats alright? Go down the hall, take a right and you will find the first-year student section," Stephanie said with a smile as she pointed down the hallway where a line of students were walking. 

"Sure. See you later. Don't have too much fun," Gavin called out with a wave as he pulled Jackson, who was damn near drooling over Stephanie, behind him. "Man, you got to snap out of it." Gavin said under his breath as he finally got Jackson's attention. 

Jackson laughed good-naturedly as he followed behind Gavin. "Man, I can't help it. Did you see the body on that chic?" Jackson asked Gavin. "She was smoking hot man," Jackson said in a whisper as they followed the students down the well-lit hallway and to the right. 

Gavin didn't reply as they walked with the others and eventually entered through a doorway into an opulent auditorium. Gavin felt the auditorium he looked at could have fit all the students from his high school several times over. They walked through the doorway and appeared to be maybe forty feet up in the air. Rows upon rows of seats lined the edges of the auditorium. More continued even higher above Gavin. Now he understood just why this building was so massive by itself. It could house potentially thousands of students in one single location. 

The walls had all kinds of decorations and designs along them. Symbols of each element were displayed along with giant canvas flags for each of the grades above each section of students. A beautiful red wood covered the floor of the auditorium beneath them. The seats themselves appeared to be normal metal chairs, but on closer examination they had a soft cushion to make them more comfortable. Lights were stationed along stone columns placed along the walls and hung from the ceiling above. There was a single podium down on the floor with a microphone. Gavin and Jackson took their seats and waited for the event to start. 

After about another fifteen or twenty minutes of waiting, the lights went out, covering the auditorium in sudden darkness. There were a few gasps and cries of shock from students before they were quickly silenced. A giant hologram image of an older man appeared in the air in front of the students for all to see easily. The man was familiar as he walked over to the podium with a pleasant smile on his face. A single spotlight lit up his position on the ground as he walked, his actions matching the hologram in the air. 

He reached the podium, his hands clasped behind his back as he spoke softly into the microphone. "Greetings and salutations everyone. Welcome to the prestigious Magic Academy of Allario. My name is Principal John Shepard," Principal Shepard said as he introduced himself to all the students, new and old. His smile widened as he continued. "For the next nine months, all of your lives belong to me." As he said this, there was an uproar of confusion and protest from the first-year students.