Chapter Two

Acceptance

"So you lost your paperwork?" asked Dean Konoe, one eyebrow raised sceptically. Luke cringed whilst trying to look innocent.

"Yes."

"Really? How did that happen?"

"I honestly do not know," answered the youth. "I just knew I had to come to Mahora Academy."

"You expect me to believe that?"

Nope thought Luke, cursing himself under his breath. "It's the truth though."

"How did you know you had to come to Mahora?"

"From, er, a note that was on me."

The dean simply looked at him. Luke fidgeted slightly. "All I remember," he continued, "is that I had all the stuff on me that I currently do, and that note, and I was in the middle of Japan."

"But you said you were from England."

"That's what my passport said."

"So what do you plan to do?" countered the dean.

Luke glanced sideways at the audience of this humiliating conversation. That teacher, Springfield was there, as was another teacher called Takahata. They were trying to hide their amusement at his discomfort. Cursing them all, he turned his attention back to the discussion.

"To, um, stay here until I figure out what's going on?" he answered at last.

"What about education?" queried the dean.

Man, this isn't an interview, it's an interrogation!

"What of it?" replied Luke nervously.

"I meant, what do you plan to do with regards to your education?"

Uh oh

"Well, I was planning to… continue it."

"How?"

"Erm, anyway possible?"

The dean finally smiled and allowed himself a chuckle. "Interesting answer, Luke, but how about studying with others your age?"

"Are you offering me a placement?" asked Luke, sure he had misheard.

"Well, I said it in a more poetic manner, but yes."

Luke just sat there dumbfounded.

He believed me?! No way! Not even I believed it at first, I mean, come on! Waking up with no memory and a mysterious note is like…like…a story or something!

The dean coughed politely. Luke immediately derailed his train of though and turned to the matter at hand.

"I accept, gladly," he managed to stammer out.

The dean smiled at him properly for the first time and nodded. "Good, then you will begin school tomorrow. I'm afraid until we are aware of your abilities we will have to put you in a slightly lower class until we can gauge your abilities, understood?"

"Yes Sir!"

"Also, I'm afraid the boys' dormitories are booked up at the moment so you will have to stay in the girls dorms for a while."

"Yes Si – wait, what?!"

The dean simply looked at him surprised. "Is there a problem?"

Luke simply stared at him. Eventually he decided that the elderly man was being serious. "No Sir, none at all."

Oh boy, this is escalating in a way I never imagined possible.

"It's not so bad," chipped in Takahata, smiling, "there are two boys already living there after all, and they seem to have survived."

Luke turned and faced the mature teacher. "Oh? Who?"

"Well, one would be him," replied Takahata, pointing at Negi, "and the other is a boy in your class called Kotaro."

Luke stared at Negi, his jaw slack.

W-w-w-h-haat? Him?! Girls Dorm?! Isn't he meant to be a teacher?! Is that normal, or even legal, in this country?!

"I guess I better go and introduce myself to my new…room mates," he finally said. Standing, he bowed to the teachers. "Thank you for your time and for your generosity." He turned and left the office.

Outside, he leaned against the door and exhaled slowly.

OK, the heck was that?! Did they really know I was telling the truth? Or do they have other plans for me?!

He took several deep breaths to calm down.

Still, I'm in the academy, so that's a start. Now I just have to get to the World Tree.

Glancing about, he sprinted off towards the mammoth tree.

Back in the office, dean Konoe looked at Professor Takahata. "Do you disapprove of my decision?"

"Not at all dean," replied the younger man. "He clearly needs help."

The dean nodded and looked at Negi. "What is your opinion of him?"

Negi thought for a moment. "He seemed sincere, and he was obviously not lying when he said that all he remembered was having his belongings, a note and being in Japan. His aura showed me as much."

The dean nodded. "I assumed as much. I suppose he is of no threat, so we might as well help this lost soul. Still, be careful, there was a hint of strong magic on him."

"Is he a mage then?" asked Takahata.

"He could have been, but the loss of his memory may have something to do with it. For now, we should just observe him. As soon as he begins to form a threat, we act, understood?"

Takahata and Negi nodded gravely.

"Is that why you assigned him to the girls' dorms?" asked the child teacher.

"Yes, with you, your partners, and Kotaro there, I'm sure you'll be able to react to any change in his demeanour. That's all. Now off you go."

The teachers left, gently closing the door behind them. The dean stood up and went over to his window and gazed out. The last thing they needed now is some enemy on the loose, especially after the Mahorafest incident…

Luke rounded a corner at speed and without breaking stride, yanked out the note which had led him to this place and read it for the umpteenth time.

Go to Mahora. Go to the World Tree. Be on Time. Remember.

A frustratingly vague message. He groaned inwardly as he flowed through crowds like a shadow, gone before they could register his passing. Of all the possible wordings of the message, someone had to choose that one. Why? Is it in some sort of code? Or is it something else? The questions continued to plague him until he reached his destination. Luke stopped and looked at the magnificent tree. It truly was massive. It had a strange sort of beauty to it, like that of an ancient, epic civilisation. He looked about. No one was there. Perfect!

Only, now what?

He waited. He dug near the roots. He climbed the tree. He chewed on some of the leaves. All in all, his attempts took him about five hours and yielded no results.

I thought it was a bit too easy.

He stood up from where he had been lying against the tree. Sighing inwardly, he set off towards the dorms.

Dammit, why didn't that note give some specific instructions?! Something like "Take a seed from the tree and swallow it" or something crazy like that?

He continued his private rant the whole way back to the dorms.

Is it too much to ask? Some instructions? Or perhaps they are? Perhaps only the old me could have understood them? But then why do that knowing I would forget? Perhaps it was because…

He buried his face in his hands.

AARRRGGHHH!! This is driving me insane!!

Luke reached the dorms sooner than expected, but it was still past five O'clock and dusk was closing. He swallowed slightly. He didn't want anyone suspecting him, or thinking he was mad. After all, how could he explain his long absence? He couldn't tell them the truth, it was simply too ridiculous.

Ah. Erm, need a cover story…Fast!

Desperate he glanced about for inspiration. His eyes fell upon a map of the campus nailed to an information board by the path. He smiled as inspiration struck him.

Perfect! A little exploration of the campus in order to learn how to get around! That should suffice. Still, five hours to explore campus? Reality gave him a shake. But of course, the campus is the size of a small city, so I suppose exploring it would take a while…

Stemming his inner monologue, Luke entered the unimpressive building and began to look for his room. After five minutes of wandering, much cursing, and two wrong turns, he found it. His brown eyes studied the placard nailed to the door. The number matched the one he had been told by the dean earlier that day. The youth reached for the handle and opened the door. All he could do was stand and stare.