A Study In Magic: Chapter 2.

Notes: Hey, hey! Here's the second chapter for ASIM. I have no excuses, good news, I finally escaped the KHR! fandom. Bad news, I got snagged by the Haikyuu! fandom almost immediately so there's that.

(IwaOi and BokuAka is terribly cute though)

Anyways, the story should end in this chapter or the next, we shall see. For further information, please refer to the author's note at the bottom of the chapter.

Summary: Magic!AU/Dedicated to Eve Of The Stars/Pre-KaiShin

Shinichi is most definitely a veritable genius with an IQ that hardly anybody could meet, no doubt about that. Unfortunately for him though, it isn't enough to stop his spells from blowing up in his face every time he attempts to cast one. In comes the top student of their year and possibly the entire Academy, Kuroba Kaito. Through a series of events, Kaito ends up being Shinichi's tutor in magic. Will this possibly bring the two of them together?

X

Shinichi had thought that since he had successfully executed a magic rune, he would be able to properly use magic from that time onwards.

Shinichi had been wrong.

He understood this very well when his potion literally blew up in his face at the 'infuse your magic into the brew' step and when he failed to contract with his summoned beast during the very first actual summoning rites. He had tried to channel his magic into the summoning array (consisting of a Call ring, a Protection ring and a Binding ring) and make a pact of equals with the sleek boto that twirled happily in the air, constantly letting out a series of cheerful chirps but unexpectedly for the normally gentle pink river dolphin, it flung itself at Shinichi with jaws opened wide and small but sharp teeth glinting, as if wanting to attack him but was stopped short when it crashed into the Protection ring the moment he let a trickle of magic flow into the Binding ring to form a contract with it.

He had toppled onto his backside in shock as the dolphin charged at him continuously, the previously pleasant-sounding trills mangled and became something out of his worst nightmare that grated harshly on his ears and echoed in his skull even after he had, shakingly, reversed the summoning and sent the dolphin back to wherever it had previously answered his call from, shrieking all the way. His teacher had sent him off to the infirmary with a concerned question and a look full of badly concealed pity.

Shinichi had stood up with his legs feeling like jello and his bag slung over one shoulder and walked back into the Academy building, his classmates' murmuring hanging heavily off his shoulders like a patch of mist, suffocating and blinding. His feet stepped irregularly on the forested ground and the leaves underfoot crunched softly.

He leaned heavily against one of the outer walls of the Academy, vision swimming. The cries of the boto still rung in his ears and it made him want to throw up.

Of course, the boto's angered cries had the nasty side effect of aversely affecting the human body, how much you were affected was directly proportional to how much innate magic you had. How could he have forgotten this detail, Shinichi distinctly reading about it in a book titled 'Magical Creatures and Their Habitats' just a little over two weeks ago.

His name trickled into his ears from somewhere behind him, the voice calling out to him vaguely familiar and Shinichi whirled around to face whoever called him, or tried to, at least.

The abrupt movement sent inky blackness clawing into his vision and Shinichi found his legs suddenly giving out on him, sending him crashing to the floor, head about to collide harshly with a sharp rock sticking out of the ground, partially buried in the loose soil when a warm stream of orange light surrounded his body and his descent slowed significantly, a flurry of green robes and brown hair and purple - the colour of amethysts - eyes the last thing he saw; a warm voice tinged with worry the last thing he heard; a comforting scent of vanilla and cinnamon the last thing he smelled.

Kaito breathed a sigh of relief when he safely had Shinichi ensconced in his arms, sweat beading on the back of his neck at the near miss. He would have smashed his head into the rock if not for Kaito having such an insanely fast casting speed and everybody knew head injuries were the most dangerous. It was possible to regrow limbs, even if plenty of pain had to be undergone in the process, but it was possible. A brain would be much, much more difficult, most probably impossible since even if the brain was regenerated, the person within would no longer be the same.

A slight movement in his arms caused him to jerk slightly in surprise and he looked down to see an unconscious Shinichi snuffle into his sleeve, breathing in deeply and shifting in Kaito's arms. A fond smile danced on his lips and Kaito heaved himself up from the dusty ground, readjusting the precious cargo in his arms and continued on into the Academy, heading toward the infirmary.

X

Shinichi reawoke to a dull throb in his temple, the sweet smell of potions and the soft murmur of voices beside him. He was lying on something cool and soft, a silky smooth feeling under his fingertips. Gingerly opening his eyes halfway, he peered around under his lashes and instantly noticed someone sitting by what he had now already determined as his infirmary bed. The other was wearing a green robe and Shinichi instantly recognized the indigo eyes that was currently studying his face. He tried to sit up but a burst of pain shot through his mind and he winced before a warm hand covered his eyes and pushed him back until he laid back down against the pillow. A soothing sensation rushed into his head and eased the pain, sending a rush of delightful warmth coursing through his veins. The voices became clearer as the pain receded until he could actually make out what the nurse - it was the nurse who was the other voice, right? - was saying. It seemed to concern him actually and was being directed towards himself. She seemed to be chiding him on not taking care of himself well enough that led to him becoming weak enough to be affected so drastically by the boto's melody in the first place. He cringed because, well, she wasn't wrong, he might have skipped out on much needed hours of sleep to - futilely - practice his magic and judging by the blurry but vaguely disapproving look the nurse shot him, it seemed she also knew what he had been up to.

With a final order of make sure to drink this potion every night until I clear you or the consequences will be unpleasant the nurse exited the room and shut the door behind her, leaving just him and Kaito in the small space smelling strongly of medicinal herbs and poultice. Just as Shinichi was weighing his options on how to relieve some of the mildly awkward atmosphere in the air, Kaito cleared his throat and spoke up,

"If you're having trouble with magic, I can help you some."

Shinichi gaped at him and almost automatically his usual reply to this sort of question of no thanks, I'm fine lingered on the tip of his tongue, something stopping him from uttering those words. Ah, logic, that was what was holding him back. He knew that he was bad at magic and that it was likely that if he was to continue trying vainly to improve by his probably heavily flawed methods, all that would result from it was failure and more failure. So it was with a conceding sigh that he agreed to Kaito's offer. After all, having the best magician in the school personally tutor you wasn't half bad, was it?

X

A/N: I'm just the best aren't I? Two months of no updates and when I finally do update it's a pathetic 1000 word piece. What can I say? Real life man, it sucks you in sometimes. (Also this weird but oddly endearing thing called Miraculous Ladybug but shh...)

Anyways~ (Totally using tildes wrong)

Thanks for reading, please leave a review.

Have a nice day!

-SilvCyanide