The First encounter

As we both made it to the field, the air around me became charged with a palpable energy. The students who were looking at us, started to form a loose circle around us, creating a makeshift arena for the upcoming battle.

We put some distance between us, about 10 feet long.

"So are we going to use magic or not?" I asked, while cracking my knuckles.

Ryusei gets into a fighting stance, his hands outstretched and his fingers splayed. A faint blue glow begins to emanate from his palms, signaling the gathering of his magical energy.

"Yes of course I want to use magic, I want to see your power with my very own eyes. Just remember no holding back. Show me what you're capable of!"

I nodded my head, slowly a periwinkle blue-purple aura started to surround me, also signaling the gathering of magical energy.

After that we both begin to rush at each other, shorting the distance between us quickly.

Our fists clashed with each other, making a small shockwave throughout the field. Rapid punches and kicks are thrown at high speed where you wouldn't recognize what was going on.

One of his kicks lands, hitting right into my gut. I stagger back a bit holding my stomach, from the attack I've just taken. I focus back up and see Ryusei charging up something. 

He brings his hands together, a faint glow of crackling blue energy appears.

"Spears of Ice!" He shouts.

My eyes widen seeing a bunch of ice make spears heading towards me. I start to run to my side trying to dodge most of the spears while he keeps launching them.

I was dodging the spears but just barely, some of them grazed my skin, cutting me on my face and some on my arm. Bleeding just a little. I gritted my teeth to hold the pain in.

Ice magic?! First time seeing it in action, but if he keeps launching those spears I wont get close to him any time soon. Come on focus! I have to find a way to counter it or stop it.

I stopped running and stood in place, some of the grass coming out of the ground as I slid to stop. I saw the spear of ice flying its way towards me. Without a second thought I rushed towards the spear head on.

This action seems to catch Ryusei a bit off guard, and he lowers his hand.

I come close to the spear, and grab out of the air. With the momentum I had, I used that same force and launched it back towards him.

He's shocked at seeing his own attack come back towards him. He hurriedly put his hand up, and dispels the attack before it could reach him. But by that time I was already closing up on him.

He couldn't react in time to cover himself, and my fist landed straight on the side of his face. Sending him back a few meters away from me and him landing on the ground with a powerful "crash".

Ryusei slowly stands back up from the ground. He puts his hand to his face, exactly where I punch him. "Ow!" He snarled a little. He looks down at himself, patting himself down to get the dirt off of him.

"Hey that Ice magic of yours, how does it work?" I asked.

He looks back up at me, after finishing getting the dirt off of him.

"My Ice magic is a part of the Hardening Trait. You may think there's no ice around or water, so how can I just make ice out of thin air?" 

With that he points towards the sky, and smirks.

"Crystallization. You see there's always moisture in the air. Always water vapor around us, even when it's not raining. My magic lets me draw the heat right out of it, making it real cold. Then I harden those water molecules creating Ice." 

He gets back into a fighting stance.

"But enough talking, let's continue this fight."

I also get back into a fighting stance, this time around going to use my magic first. Purple flames begin to surround my hands. I clap my hands together and a bunch of purple flame arrows spawn behind me. 

"Twilight Arrows!" I shouted.

I outstretch my arm forward and I launch the arrow directly at Ryusei.

He starts to dodge the incoming arrows, but also moves closer to me at the same time. One of the arrows is ready to hit him. He puts up his arm to block it and the arrow extinguishes.

As I took a closer look I saw it, his arm frozen. In quick enough time, he quickly turned his arm into ice. Basically hardening his arm so he won't take as much damage. 

I chuckle at the sight of him doing this.

"Ha, you can even harden your body with ice? You're an amazing Ryusei."

"Heh, you are too Suika. You're full of surprises, you're definitely a wonderful fire user."

I kept launching arrows at him until no more was coming. I turned my head to look around and see I had no more arrows behind me.

Ryusei took this small distraction of mines to his advantage and launched directly at me with his fist clench. Before I knew it Ryusei was right in front of me.

I quickly duck under his punch, seeing his right side was wide open. I pour magical energy into my hands. Coating my hands with my flames, enhancing my strength.

I threw the punch to his side. But just as quickly, he put up his knee that was already hardened with his ice magic. The two elements clash with each other, creating a mini explosion with purple flames and flakes of Ice fluttering in the air.

The students who were watching could feel the pressure of the collison from where they were standing. Being amazed by the battle they are witnessing.

Ryusei and I step away from each other, a foot apart. The flames on my hands slowly dissipated, bringing my hand back to normal. At the same time his ice knee starts to go back to normal. 

"Not bad, not bad at all." I said with a hand on my hip.

"Not bad indeed. You've got some serious power, Suika. But let's see how you can handle this!"

He jumps back, putting his hands together like a prayer. His blue aura starts to grow immensely around him, but also his magical output starts to grow. The end is almost near.

I close my eyes and smirk, I open them back up and clap my hands together, also raising my magical output with a periwinkle aura surrounding me.

"Let's end this!" We both shouted to each other.

"Judgeme–"

My words were halted as I felt my shoulder getting tightly gripped. The person's grip was strong, feeling like a ton on my shoulder. I slowly turn around and my face goes pale with horror, as I see Professor Amane. His eyes look stern and with an angry expression.

"Hey let go of me!" a voice shouts closely nearby. 

I looked over to his other hand. He had Ryusei, also gripping his shoulder.

How the hell did he grab Ryusei so quickly?! I stared directly at him so I would've seen him grab him. Just how fast is Professor Amane and how strong? My shoulder is killing me.

"That's enough, you two. I see you're eager to show off your skills, but this is neither the time nor place for such a display!" He shouts at both of us, his words ringing through my head.

He releases his hold on both Ryusei and I. We both instantly grabbed our shoulder from the throbbing pain we were feeling. He looked at the students who were surrounding us with an intense gaze. The students quickly understood what that gaze meant and hurriedly left the field.

He turns his gaze back to us, an angry expression on his face.

"This school is a place of learning, not a battlefield… well in some cases but not right now! Suika I heard you were a transfer from the other teachers, and this is what you do on your first day."

Then turns his attention towards Ryusei, and just lets out a heavy sigh.

"And you, Ryusei, you've been doing this ever since your freshman year here. We need to start putting you in a cage sometimes, but anyways you should know better than to engage in such reckless behavior."

He grabs both of our arms and begins pulling us towards the school.

"You both are coming to my office. We need to have a talk about the proper use of magic and the importance of discipline."

Me and Ryusei just look at each other, knowing we can't escape this. Especially how fast Professor Amane is, there's no point in running.

Getting in trouble on my first day is the worst. But I had some fun, I hope we don't get punished so hard.

So he begins to drag us into the school building. Through the halls students look at Ryusei and I. Some begin to whisper to others and some cover their mouth to hide their small giggles. It felt like the whole school had eyes on me, but in a bad way.

We made it in front of his office. He told me and Ryusei to sit outside for a bit while he does something in his office real quick. There were only two chairs, seemingly kinda perfect for me and Ryusei. And so we sat and waited.

I lean back in the chair, staring out of the window in front of me, seeing the birds fly past. 

"So this isn't your first time huh?" I asked.

"Huh..oh, yea this isn't my first time." He puts his head down in defeat.

"Ha, how many times have you been caught by a teacher?"

Ryusei looks up at his hand, and starts to put fingers down. Probably counting each of the times that he got in trouble. Then he starts with his other hand and puts all his fingers down.

"It seems I've lost count of how many times."

I chuckle a bit, then see his face in disappointment.

"It's fine Ryusei, I'll take the blame for you. I don't want you getting in trouble anymore."

He turns to look at me, looking bemused by my words. Then he quickly shakes his head.

"No, you don't have to take the fall for me. I've been through this many times so i'm used to it ok? You don't have to go through so much trouble for me."

"Yea but I don't want that for you anymore. You just made this school for me ten times more exciting and I don't want us having fun to end so quickly. Plus I'm still at fault for accepting the fight."

The office door begins to open and I stand up and look down at Ryusei and smile.

"So don't worry, I just transferred here so I don't think he would get mad at me that much. As he would for you."

I reach out my hand at him. He looks at my hand then to my face. A small smirk appears on his face, he reaches out to capture my hand with his, with a loud clap sound.

I helped him stand up and let go of his hand. We both looked at the door and headed inside. Once we entered the office, it was full of normal things. A desk and computer, a couch on the further right side, portraits of people on the wall. 

Professor Amane gestures us two to the chairs in front of his desk, then takes his own seat. Ryusei and I headed to the seats and sat down. My face was determined to face any consequences. 

"Suika, I understand that you're new here and eager to explore your magical abilities. However, it's crucial that you learn to control your power and use it responsibly."

He turns his attention to Ryusei, his tone becoming more stern.

"And you, Ryusei. I've warned you before about your reckless behavior. You have such great skill, but your actions reflect poorly on this school and its reputation."

He leans forward, his gaze alternating between me and Ryusei.

"From now on, especially you Ryusei for the millionth time. I expect both to follow the rules and use magic safely. Do I make myself clear?"

The air in the room is heavy with the weight of his words, I can feel the gravity of the situation pressing down upon me. I breathed in and out to calm myself and stood up.

"I understand Professor Amane, but don't put any blame onto Ryusei. I was the one who asked him for the fight sir. I could tell he was super strong just by looking at him."

I turn to Ryusei and nod my head, then put my attention back to Professor Amane.

"I can tell that Ryusei is definitely an amazing individual. I don't know his past experiences but I can tell he really doesn't mean to get into trouble. I believe he isn't just a person who likes to fight… well maybe." I chuckle a bit.

Professor Amane listened to my words, his expression going from serious to a more calm and softened look. He nods, acknowledging my words.

"You have a strong heart Suika, you've even taken the blame for this wild animal next to you."

"Hey! I'm not a wild animal!." Ryusei said, crossing his arms.

"But anyways it's good to test your abilities. However, it's equally important to do so in a controlled and safe environment. The field today was not the appropriate place for such a display.

He stands up, walking around his desk to face us both. His eyes are filled with a mix of concern and determination.

"From now on, I want both of you just to focus on y'all studies. Later you two will have the opportunity to test your skills in a controlled environment. Like our indoor training area, where you can learn and grow without putting yourselves or others at risk."

A smile appears on his face, sensing a bright and happy feeling from him.

"You both have the potential, especially you Suika. For some reason I sense something different about you."

He seems to be intently examining me as he rests his palm on his chin for a while before shaking his head slightly.

"But I just can't put my finger on it but nevermind that. With the right guidance you both can become exceptional mages. Now you both may leave."

Ryusei stands up and we both bow to Professor Amane. We then leave the office, now standing in the hallway.

"Well that was something." I said

"Well, it was certainly a wake-up call… well mainly for me at least." Ryusei chuckles, he punches my shoulder softly.

"Thanks again for taking the blame, you didn't have to do that but you did anyway. So thanks."

"No problem, I couldn't let the person I was having so much fun with get in trouble. If he didn't stop us I would've won."

"You? Win? Ha, you must be kidding me, that attack I was about to do would put you in the ground."

"No it wouldn't because my attack was going to be faster and hit you before you even realize."

"Oh you're getting smart now huh? You wanna test it out?"

"You don't want to get your ass kicked again right?"

We both stare at each other, our eyes deadlock and filled with a strong fire of determination. Seeming like we could fight any second now. But then we both started to laugh, our laughs rang out through the halls. We both knew we were serious but it was all jokes for now.

I wipe a small tear away and when I look up I see his hand outstretched into a fist bump. I smirked and fist bumped him back, the start of a new friendship.