I nod absentmindedly at whatever Yellow's explaining. I should probably be listening. But.
Magic. Magic. Here I am, sitting in the forest I'm not supposed to be in, listening to a girl who is also not supposed to be here telling me about magic.
How is magic even real? Am I not having a dream?
"Hey, Red, are you listening?" Yellow's voice breaks me out of my reverie. I blink and smile sheepishly at her.
"I get it, you're shocked," she sighed with a lighthearted tone. I'm really glad she's so patient. "I'll re-explain everything, if you want."
"Please do."
"Alright. Please pay attention this time," she says with a stern look.
"You, Red, can use magic. The sooner you accept that, the better. You're a magician, which means your magic is battle-oriented." I nod, for the sake of looking like I'm paying attention.
"The first type of magic you used was fire, so we can safely assume you're a fire magician. You can probably control your flames in different ways other than fireballs. Don't try it out yet, though." It's like I'm a human pokemon. Haha...that probably didn't make sense, did it.
"The energy you can probably feel within you-" Yellow cuts off abruptly. "Um. Y-You can feel it, right?" I nod once again. Her attitude changed pretty fast, it was kind of cute. I guess she has a "leader mode", huh?
"Okay. That energy is called mana. It's better if you learn how to sense the mana you have soon. I'll teach you how to, so don't worry! Mana is actually extremely important. It's the limit of your magical prowess, the extent of your stamina, and every magic user's signature...presence, you could say."
"Like an aura?" I ask.
"Sort of. For example, if you're in an enemy's territory, you can try to sense if any mana is nearby. If you do, chances are someone that can use magic is also close."
Yellow's tone suddenly gets serious. Her brown eyes seem to flash yellow. Was that...a trick of the light?
"Listen, Red. People that can use magic are rare, and are therefore highly sought after; especially in the underground. That's why you need to learn how to control your powers, and fast. Teaching you how to hide your mana is extremely important, too. It's hard, but the skill will definitely help you in the long run."
I nod for the third time, and ask, "I know that I can use magic and stuff, but if any problems pop up, can't I just use my pokemon?" She exhales, seemingly knowing that I would ask that.
"Magic is actually very similar to what pokemon can do. Each pokemon has their own presence, too. But our mana is traceable; it's less natural. A baby pokemon's typing is given to them by their parents. With humans, our mana isn't predetermined. Mana usually develops in children, based off of their heart. As long as the user has a resolute heart, their powers will be as strong as they can be. And that is why it is so difficult to find adults with usable mana." I try to take all of this in. Heart, huh?
"As kids grow up, their hearts get injured by the people or things around them. They start to wear masks, shielding their heart from harm. Unfortunately, that's what weakens magical powers. Hiding a heart mean a weak resolution, which in turn means weaker powers. Adults wear masks all the time, so usually, they don't even have magic anymore. In fact, that's what make you guys even more special and rare."
"'You guys'?" I butt in, surprised. "You mean I'm not the only one in this school that can use magic?"
Yellow sighs. "I'll tell you about that later. For now, listen to me."
"Even high schoolers wear masks. You guys being able to retain your powers must mean you all have no masks, or you all have very large amounts of mana, enough to break through your masks."
"Anyways, I got off topic. Back to pokemon. Pokemon's mana, or just their powers, are natural. Ours aren't. However, our magic works just like their attacks. So if you find yourself at a type disadvantage, simply put, you're screwed." My mind whirls with all this new information.
"S-So, if I use my fire magic on a grass pokemon, it'd be super effective?" Yellow nods. Oh. Okay. Well then.
"Even if you use your pokemon, the opponent will likely have pokemon too. This means you might have to engage the attacker themselves, instead of commanding your pokemon. And if your pokemon can't function without orders, you might be in trouble."
I really am like a human pokemon, huh? My brain feels kind of jumbled up. But somehow, I also have this sense of exhilaration. Finally, finally, I can fight with my pokemon. I won't have to sit back and watch as they get hurt. I can fight alongside them, like comrades are supposed to.
I stare at the crazy woman in front of me. Can this lady hear herself?
I repeat very slowly, as if I'm talking to a child, "So what you're saying is that magic comes from the heart and I can use magic so I either have a really strong magical power or I'm wearing my heart on my sleeve, and since high schoolers with magic is rare people are going to come after me, so I should train myself on how to use my powers and how to conceal my presence, and also work together with my pokemon so I can battle with them."
"Yep!"
"And other people in this school can use magic too."
"Mhmm."
"And you're supposed to teach me on how to do all of this magic stuff."
"You got it!"
...
I'm getting a headache. No, wait, I already have one.
"...When are we going to be meeting up?" I ask after I clear my mind.
"Whenever's convenient! But preferably twice a week somewhere people won't see us!"
Where people can't see and wouldn't dare interrupt...well shit. The only place I can think of is that cursed forest.
Blue looks up at me with shining eyes and asks, "Can you get permission from the principal to go into the forest?"
This woman definitely planned all of this.
GOD okay I'm so sorry that this is late again BUT I HAVE A LEGIT REASON THIS TIME SO FORGIVE ME!
Okay story time:
So once upon a time, someone was working on their fanfiction. On this website, because they're a dumb butt. And then, for no reason whatsoever, google chrome crashed. And the poor writer reopened the tab BUT THE STORY AND WORK AND EVERYTHING WAS LOST BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T SAVE REGULARLY! THE END!
So. Uh. Yeah. Sorry. That this chapter's short and that it took so long. I rushed because I felt guilty so there might also be mistakes...ha. Haha. Ha.
Thanks to Pokemon Special Fan, Dragonspirit996, and Shidake for reviewing!
