Chapter 8: A Brightening Sky

For the next two days, Sora, Rin and Ishida frequented the Kuro no Hikari dojo, having taken a few pamphlets and spent most of the time watching the members engage in Kendo battles. The use of Speed Magic didn't occur very often, but when it happened, all Sora saw was that, with the tiny sonic boom that was created, the user disappeared and reappeared much closer to his opponent, who in turn also had to use Speed Magic to parry the strike. Although the field research wasn't yielding much fruit, Sora felt that the sport looked interesting: there was something about facing somebody in direct combat and striking the finishing blow before they could react that felt so… exciting.

Rin, for her part, had approached some of the trainers at the dojo to enquire further about how one uses Speed Magic, portraying herself as a high-level Ninjutsu user looking to get some advice from the experts, and Ishida looked for books discussing the subject in various parts of Kagamisekai. Sora, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the people practising in the dojo, trying to track their movements when they utilised Speed Magic. Before, the most he was able to see was users edging forward as they activated it, but near the end of the second day, he thought he could see them edge even further forward and slightly lift their foot as they sped up. Sadly, although this was an improvement, it felt underwhelming: he should have been able to take in more than this!

Rin and Ishida's efforts didn't turn up that much successful either. The results of Rin's queries focused on aspects that focused too heavily on the use of Ninjutsu, which Sora had no training in and wouldn't have until his second boarding year, and thus couldn't be used. The texts that Ishida perused weren't much help either, but they did mention two key factors: the body must be trained over a long period of time, and the user has to have a good grasp of both nonverbal and wandless magic.

When the third day came, Sora woke up much earlier than usual. This day, he would be able to meet with the lamia Shakarri again, so he ran straight through to Mon-chan and asked for the way to be open, but as she revealed the path, she gave a warning to be on guard: the Ōban were still patrolling to find the robber, and all visitors were to stay away from the area surrounding the entrance to the Kuchisake-Onna district.

Once through, he started running: if what he heard during the period of research into Speed Magics was true, he would have to train his body, so what better way than increasing his own speed and trying to gradually push it up that way? The sky was fairly dark, but with a low crimson tint reflecting off some of the clouds. None of the various shops of the district were open for business, and the streets were practically deserted. It was probably for the best that he chose that moment to depart from the maid cafe: it would make less people worry about him, and he should hopefully be back before anyone got suspicious. Rin had to return to her home for the night, and Ishida was still sound asleep.

Finally coming to the familiar alleyway near the Kuro no Hikari dojo, Sora dashed inwards and waited. There still wasn't anybody else on the streets, even as the sky started to turn blue. All he could hear was the wind whistling over the gap between the rooftops.

"Huh, didn't expect you here this early," a familiar voice sounded from within the alleyway.

"Shakarri-nee-chan, is that you?" Sora responded.

"I see you've been looking forward to today."

"More than anything."

"Perfect. I've got what I needed. Take this." An arm extended from the shadows holding a rectangular object wrapped in garbage-bag plastic.

"What is this?"

"Open it. I've heard that it is a human custom to wrap gifts up before giving them to the recipient. I've never much cared for such formality, but just this once I thought I could make an exception. Consider it a… what is the term you humans use… 'birthday present' from me."

Sora quickly took the package and tore away at the plastic, revealing… a mirror? "What is this?"

"Speak my name into it."

"Okay… Shakarri-nee-chan."

Sora's reflection in the mirror quickly faded to a black scene, with two piercing yellow eyes discernable. Right then, he thought he heard slithering on the walls, and the black mirror image changed to show Shakarri's green hair, purple eye-tattoos and her fangs against the navy-blue sky.

"Shakarri-nee-chan, is that really you?"

"Yes," hissed his mirror. "This is a two-way mirror. I've got the matching one with me. With this, we can communicate despite not being in the same area. All you need to do is speak my name into the mirror, and we will be able to communicate."

"So we can talk even at Mahoutokoro?"

Something crashed into the ground behind Sora, causing him to leap forward, albeit still holding on to his mirror. "Essentially yes," the lamia's voice echoed from the crash site. "Whatever you do, don't lose it. I had to hold the whole Kobayashi Reliquary hostage to get that for you, so the last thing I need is for you to get careless with it."

"You… risked yourself with a robbery… for me?"

"Very observant. If nothing else, the event itself was exciting."

"But won't they find out?"

"No. When I carried out the heist, I also took much of their other merchandise as well as all their jade stores. So many of the artifacts at the Reliquary have high value, and with taking those, I'm able to divert attention from my true goal of the mirrors."

"What about if they try to retrieve the items?"

"That's why I got myself passage to the Kuchisake-Onna district: the Ōban isn't well liked there, which provides a buffer against pursuit. Additionally, once you get there, it's very easy to pawn the goods off to someone in the Black Market who doesn't ask questions. Then, when the Ōban find out just about everything was sold on said Black Market, they'll think that was the case for all the stolen items, and thus will forget about one or two missing pieces. Everyone thinks the main objective of the heist was to make a mountain of cash, the trail goes cold, then you can sit back and relax."

"Wow, amazing."

"I am curious, however: did you manage to learn any other spells during these last few days?"

"Rin-nee-chan only taught me a spell that knocks people down. I tried to use it when we came under attack, but I was humiliated; my wand left me!"

"Sounds like the Disarming Charm. You still need training before you can fight, and that will only come at Mahoutokoro. In the meanwhile, there is one other spell I can teach you."

"Is it the Avada Kedavra Curse?"

"No, actually. You still need a lot more training before you can manage something of that level. Besides, we have to take proper precautions. Do you know of how they identify lawbreakers?"

"A new friend told me; the robes turn white."

"Indeed. If you fired off a Killing Curse, it will instantly trigger that enchantment, and you will face expulsion and trial at the Ministry of Magic. I think there is a way to negate it though."

"How?"

"I don't know. However, your brood sisters have knowledge of this, although they will likely not yield it to you willingly. From that brief glimpse I got of them at your old home, they've had years of practice with curses that should have triggered their robes to turn white. Despite that, it doesn't seem like either of them were caught. Once you have figured out how to circumvent that enchantment, then you can learn the Killing Curse."

"So what is the spell you're going to teach me?"

"The Severing Charm. It can cut the target up with good precision. Usually, it is only used for minor things like creating clothes or the like, but it has been known to accidentally cause injury, and if misused, can even be lethal. Of course, when they say 'accident', I prefer to think of it as repurposing. Just imagine: the man who robbed you of your wand, if you so wished and could master the spell, could be robbed of his own hands at your whim!"

"Really?"

"That last part is just theoretical, but some 'misuses' of the spell have left cuts on people. If something can damage even slightly, it can become a weapon if you refine it enough."

"Finally, something useful!"

"Good to see you're enthusiastic about this. First, we will need to find something that will make a good target. Hmmm… that bin over there. Look," Shakarri ordered, pointing to the opposite alleyway.

"Yes?"

"Wand out, point it at the bin, and then follow this movement. Then 'Diffindo'." Her hand shot downward, then up, then down for a bit before levelling out.

"Diffindo." Sora repeated. A small dent appeared in the bin.

"Not bad. Try again."

"Diffindo. Still no good."

"You're getting there; metal is a tough thing to start with, especially for a beginner, so don't expect it to cut right away. See, the cut on the bin is widening."

"Diffindo."

"You really seem to be getting the hang of the spell."

"But I haven't cut the bin open yet! Diffindo."

"Honestly, I don't expect you to. As I said, metal is tough to cut. But you know how to operate the spell, and for now that is enough."

"This doesn't seem like a good defensive spell though. I don't see it doing what you promised."

"Maybe not now, and admittedly it is fairly weak on its own, but again, if you can refine it... Besides, I think it still can be used defensively, you just need a bit of... " She lowered herself to Sora's level and ran her teeth along the skin of his ear "... precision."

"What do you mean?"

"Give it some time and some thought. I think you know what I mean on an instinctive level. Speaking of instinct, you seem fairly comfortable navigating this area."

"Rin-nee-chan and another friend, Ishida Koichi-kun, have been trying to help me learn Speed Magic. I've been trying to watch it as it happens, but I'm making no progress."

"This Koichi boy, he's a new acquaintance?"

"Yes. I rescued him, and we are now friends. He's given me quite a lot of information on Mahoutokoro."

"Now you're thinking; you've now got a good skin on yourself. Given the time today, I assume you left when you did because they weren't aware?"

"Rin-nee-chan's gone home, and I didn't want to wake Koichi-kun. I was worried you would disapprove."

"Leave that assessment up to me, although it is probably a good thing you didn't bring him. I'm willing to bet he doesn't speak our language, and you already know how I feel about those types of people. There's also another issue that, the more people let in on our little secrets, the greater the risk of exposure for the both of us. Although…" the lamia paused, looking up at the light shade of blue that the sky had become, "...if that is the case, you probably want to get back to the inn soon. If the people there wake up and see that you're missing, it will arouse suspicion."

"So… we can't stay longer?"

"I'm afraid not, and this will probably be the last time we see each other in person in the short term. The Ōban are going to expand their search of the districts, so I will need to disappear for a while. If you want to contact me, use the two-way mirror, and do so only when you are alone and there's no chance of being interrupted or overheard."

"I thought you said the Ōban wouldn't be able to find you due to your detour into the Kuchisake-Onna district."

"That doesn't mean it isn't necessary to take precautions. They will probably try to blanket Kagamisekai with patrols for a short while until either they find something or enough time passes for them to deduce that the area is secure. To be on the safe side, it will probably be better if you don't use the mirror, at least for the first two weeks or until you get to Mahoutokoro."

"How long will that take?"

"Until you go to the school? What time did your letter say term starts?"

"It said 'First of April', but I don't get what that really means at all."

"From what I can tell of the human calendars, it is the fourth month of the year. We are about halfway through the second month at present, which gives you probably… fifty days. Maybe get that friend of yours to instruct you on the human calendar, he'll know more about it than I. Now, I really must get going. Sayounara, Sora-kun"

"Bye-bye, Shakarri-nee-chan," Sora whispered as the lamia shot back into the shadows. Rays of sunlight were starting to burst from the horizon, and people would probably start waking up soon, so he had to hurry back to the maid cafe. Pocketing his wand and the mirror, he started running back.

By the time he returned, there were about three patrons in the cafe. He walked the rest of the way to his room, crept back into his futon, and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to wash over him once more. The early morning start combined with his running had left him tired, but he was content with the meeting.

The only thing that disrupted the day was Rin banging on his door, saying that he failed to meet her for breakfast and asking if he was alright. Maybe he did get a bit of extra sleep in, but for the moment, the three of them would continue trying to decipher the mystery of Speed Magic. Additionally, over the next six weeks, he interrogated Rin about the calendar and how to tell dates apart, as well as the meaning of the word 'birthday'. At least, throughout the time spent, the Mahoutokoro School of Magic was within his reach after years of being robbed of the experience...