Eve of Magic Chapter 11 - I Must Protect Him

As the deep mist swirled through the windowless corridor, an ominous feeling of dread crept up on Tenma. The sinister atmosphere was only enhanced by Kirino's psychopathic chuckles. The Chosen of water had completely disappeared, causing Tenma to frantically spin round in an attempt to find his opponent.

"Let me pass, Kirino!" He called out when he could not see anything. In an attempt to clear the mist even just a little, he waved his hands around to get it out of his face. When blasts of wind sent the mist flying to the walls, he stumbled back in shock at his power. That was futile however, as within seconds, the mist had returned to its normal state. Kirino had vanished from the corridor though.

"You know, for a Chosen of your age, you really have no control," Kirino's detatched voice sighed as the mist collected in the room once more. No matter how many times Tenma blasted it to the walls, from somewhere, Kirino was ordering the water to return.

Tenma clicked his tongue as the water returned once more. His arms were beginning to ache from waving them about and he was no closer to getting past.

"Why are you so concerned about me not seeing Shindou?" he yelled as he blasted the mist away once more.

"You would only hurt him!" Kirino's detatched voice screeched as the mist began to collect around Tenma's body, getting more and more dense. The particles joined together, creating pockets of water on the Chosen of wind's clothing. Those pockets of water joined together, getting bigger and bigger. Before Tenma could realise what was going on, he was trapped in a water bubble, unable to get out.

"Agree to leave us alone," Kirino cried out, suddenly standing at the end of the corridor. Tenma was barely able to hear through the water, but he shook his head violently in the water, swimming to the edge of the buble and kicking it with all of his strength.

"It's useless,"Kirino called, taking a few steps towards the bubble. "My powers allow me to control water. If i want to drown you, the water will drown you." He followed his line with a psychotic laugh, though Tenma could not hear it through the water.

Tenma felt his lungs begining to burn as he struggled to remain in the bubble. Kirino had no intention of letting him escape either.

Think, think, think, he thought as a ringing began to grow in his ears and his vision began to go blurry. Racking his brain and ignoring the pain he was in, he moved his hands infront of him and flung them back, creating a concentrated air current. Immediately, the bubble shattered with Tenma falling onto the floor, coughing up water from his lungs.

"... No way..." Kirino stuttered as Tenma picked himself up, the scar on his eye glowing a faint golden shade.

"I want to see Shindou," Tenma heaved a deep breath, glad to feel the air again.

"Never! I won't you hurt him!" Kirino yelled, summoning all of the water into a clump behind him on the other side of the corridor. "Don't think you've won."

Kirino signalled the water to split into thousands of tiny bubbles. from there, they morphed into thin strips, all pointing at the Chosen of wind.

"If you don't leave, i'll KILL you," he cried as the water suddenly shot at Tenma like a thousand bullets. They all hit their mark, either ripping his clothing or drawing blood. Tenma stood his ground despite the pain he was going through. He wanted to get past and nothing would stop him. As the pain grew more and more, he felt the scar on his eye burning, unaware of it's intense glow.

"I see your Chosen's mark is responding to my attacks," Kirino inquired. "I have obviously dealt enough damage to bring out your true power." He made a strange symbol with his hands, calling the water bullets back to him. "In that case, I'll do the same!"

Tenma gasped in horror as Kirino slashed a sharp torrent of water across his chest. Blood gushed out of the wound, staining his ripped jacket and shirt. Where his bare skin was visible, a gleaming golden scar ran all the way up his chest.

"What the-" Tenma stumbled back as Kirino exhaled to get rid of his pain.

"This is my Chosen's mark," he pulled back his shirt to reveal the full scar. "It hurts to activate my full powers..." he said as his blood dripped onto the floor. "But if it's for the Master, then i can stand this pain."

Tenma was startled to hear the sound of waves crashing in the garden. He turned to the door of the waiting room a little too late though, as a tsunami of water pulled him through the door and out of a shattered window in an instant. He was left spluttering and coughing on the ground in the rose gardens. A thick layer of clouds covered up ahead and a strong breeze was blowing. An empty fountain showed just how much water Kirino was using.

Kirino gracefully hopped out of the window and into the garden, the water currents snaking through the sky around him, protecting him. Tenma stumbled to his feet, his mark glowing more vividly.

Kirino sent a blast of water in his enemy's direction. Tenma drew his sword and sliced the blast in half around him, only just managing to stay on his feet as the current became stronger and stronger. By the time the current had been completely destroyed, Kirino had already prepared his next attack. A thin disk of rapidly spinning water was floating above his hand, steaming as it span.

"Next, i'll scald you as well as rip you to shreds," he chuckled as he threw the disk at Tenma, who jumped to avoid the attack.

Tenma flew high into the sky, glad that his powers had become much stronger from his mark reacting. Without much thought he was able to stay in the sky. Kirino sent blast after blast at Tenma, who dodged them in mid air, frantically moving about. Kirino clicked his tongue in irritation as his attacks carried on missing, eventually going in for the all out offense.

Kirino brought all of the water he had accumilated in the vases, the fountain and even the clouds themselves and brought it together in a gigantic clump above him.

"I will show you my full power!" he cried out as the water began to spin. It grew in pace, getting faster and faster by the second. Tenma watched as the clump of water changed from a ball into a raging whirlpool. The water began to steam and boil, getting ready to scald the Chosen of wind.

Tenma was unsure of what to do. This was his first battle where he had a chance of winning. He was not going to lose to someone he did not even want to fight. Mimicking the Chosen of water, he gathered the air currents together above his head. He was unaware that the act of gathering the air came with so much ease, he just wanted to defeat his opponent. As the air began to circle above his head, he felt the current pulling all of the land below him up to it. He was creating a tornado, though he had no idea how he was doing it.

"Let's see who's is better then, shall we?" Kirino chortled as he glanced up to see his enemy copying him. They both appeared to be in the same stage of completion, Tenma's clearly becoming more and more destructive.

With their eyes meeting, the two Chosens flung their creations at each other, merging them into one. Kirino felt the tug of the tornado, struggling to keep his feet on the ground. Tenma on the other hand seemed fine, not wavering at all from the force and power of either creation.

"This is impossible..." Kirino muttered as he felt himself being lifted up, into the eye of the whirlwind. "I needed to protect him... Master... Shindou..."

Tenma dove into the tornado, his sword outstretched. With his ability to battle the currents of the whirlwind, he easily found Kirino caught up in the centre. Their eyes met, Tenma's single eye burning with passion and Kirino's two sapphire orbs burning with rage. It was too late for Kirino however, as within seconds, the Chosen of wind had won the fight in his own element, thrusting his sword into Kirino's side and sending him flying out of the tornado. He hit the wall of the manor, cracking the brickwork and falling limply onto the ground.


"Who are you?" a strange voice asked from the mouth of the ally. "Can you help me, please?"

"Why should I?" Kirino's raspy voice asked coldly from behind a set of crates. His pink hair was a tangled mess and his ripped, grey rags stank of poverty. Why would a rich kid acknowledge his exsistance in the first place, let alone ask for help. Even if he asked nicely, he was not getting any.

"Go back to your mansion in the hills," Kirino yelled at the boy. They were the same age, though the rich boy looked much healthier. For a six year old, he had a nice build. He was slim, but not scrawny like Kirino. His clothes, though fancy, were slightly ripped from some accident. A muddy cloak that at one point had been jade green was draped over him, hiding must of his clothing from view. His hood was pulled back, revealing greyish wavy hair.

"My home was destroyed," the boy at the mouth of the ally replied.

"Then find one of your rich friend's houses to play in," Kirino clicked his tongue irritatedly. He had not even seen the boy's face, but he did not want to.

"They all want to kill me," the boy sighed, taking a few steps into the ally. "My mother is still with them, but my father was killed by them. Please, help me save my mother..." The boy began to cry, standing only a few steps from the crates. Kirino could not stand the boy's howls of grief, coming out of his hiding place and grabbing the annoying child by the collar.

"You think you have it bad, eh?! my parents died so long ago i can't even remember their faces or names anymore! Your mom's gonna die? They want you dead? So what? I have the same fate as you, just you were born with everything at your doorstep. I on the other hand have starved in a gutter more times than you have drunk tea... whatever that is... You're just a sick, rich, annoying aristorcrat who doesn't even care about me or anyone else around here. If you want help, go somewhere else and do us all a favor and DIE!"

To those words, the boy was slightly taken back. He fell to the ground, stunned by what he had just been told. Kirino stared at the boy. His greyish, wavy hair was tangled from possibly running away from something. His deep brown eyes were decorated with tears and his cheeks were stained with tear tracks. He looked pathetic, so much so that Kirino suddenly felt a twinge of pity for the boy.

"Why are you looking for help here?" Kirino squatted down, next to the boy. The boy looked up from staring at the ground. He was shivering, either from the cold in the dark ally or from fear. Either way, he was still terrified.

"If i go anywhere else, i'll be killed by Gouenji's men," the boy mumbled.

"Look, i have no idea who this Gouenji person is, but as long as you stay away from him, you'll be safe, am i right?" Kirino asked, sitting down on the wet, muddy ground and leaning his back against the crates.

"But Gouenji has lots of men working for him," the boy replied, copying Kirino and moving up, next to him. "If one of them sees me, i'll be taken back to his Manor and killed..." The boy's eyes grew misty once more.

"Don't cry!" Kirino lightly punched the boy on the left shoulder. The boy winced in pain, almost screaming. he clutched where he had been hit.

"That hurt!" he cried out, almost tearing up.

"It was just a tap, idiot," Kirino snorted. "Are you that weak or something?"

To that, the boy pulled back his cloak to reveal a gigatic burn that ran from his shoulder all of the way down his upper arm. His once pristine outfit had been singed around the edgs of the burn and the skin was peeling off of the wound.

"I got this from that Gouenji guy," the boy muttered as he tried to touch the mark, only to flinch every time he felt it.

"Nothing out of the ordinary around here," Kirino said matter-of-factly, pulling up his raggedy shirt to reveal a long scar which ran all the way from his navel to his collar bone. "I got this a couple of years back, when i was caught in a scuffle over bread. Almost died then," he almost giggled as he remembered what had happened. The boy just stared in confusion at how someone of the same age as him could find something so terrible so funny.

"Why do these things happen to us?" he asked, burying his head in his hands. Kirino glanced over at him, another twinge of pity hitting him.

"I dunno," he exhaled, looking up at the sky above the ally. "But... i'm gonna keep on living, even if it kills me," he grinned at the boy. "I'm gonna go back home now. By home, i of course mean my gutter. If you want, you could crash there for a few nights?"

The boy just blinked, poker faced at what Kirino had just said.

"It means, you you wanna come along?" Kirino spelt it out for the boy. He immediately nodded vigerously. He was ready to take any option he had at this point.

"Thank you so much," the boy grabbed Kirino's hand and shook it with gratitude.

"Don't mention it," Kirino laughed. "I have a few rules though. One, no crying, screaming, complaining or anything of the sort. Two, you eat and drink what you're given, so no being picky. It's a dog eats dog world out here. Three, you will leave eventually, got it?"

The boy nodded more and more, scrambling to his feet with a hopeful look in his eye.

"Well then, let's go," Kirino grinned as he stood up. He wandered deeper into the ally, the boy following close behind him. "I'm Kirino. What's your name?" he asked as they turned a corner.

"I'm Shindou Takuto," the boy replied proudly.

"Two names gets confusing, so i'll just call you Shindou, ok," Kirino nodded.

"Ok," Shindou replied as the two kids wandered further into the maze of alleys...


The air was cool on Kirino's face as he came to. He was lying on the ground near the remains of the garden. Next to him, Tenma was sitting, cleaning his sword. Kirino tried to move, but the wound in his side combined with the wound inflicted to activate his Chosen's mark, he just fell beck to the ground.

"So you woke up?" Tenma asked, turning his head. "I beat you, so can i please go and see Shindou?"

Kirino exhaled to rid himself of his pain. He felt a lump in his throat and his eyes were burning.

"... I..." he stuttered. Tenma glanced over at Kirino's face, to which Kirino quickly hid it with his arm. "I couldn't... Keep my Master safe... I'm useless... How can i protect him like this?" he cried into his arm, unable to get over the guilt he was feeling.

Tenma smiled at Kirino as he saw how much Shindou meant to him.

"It's ok," Tenma reassured the Chosen of water. "I just want to talk to him, that's all."

With those words, he stood himself up and slid his sword back into its sheath. Kirino was left lying on the ground as the Chosen of wind jumped over the window ledge, into the waiting room. From there, it was a simple question of finding the study. Tenma ran out of the waiting room and into the corridors and hallways of the Shindou manor.