Chapter 33:
Chapter 33, A Rank Above
*~*In a hotel in South Korea*~*
Tsuke looked over at his nephews and the small dragon family that arrived with them. He and his brothers had been in Korea to help fix some issues that came up with the branch of the company there while they were on their way to Japan. The issues that had been coming up were easily fixed with some clever rewriting of a few core programs in their security programs. They still had a while before the flight over to the island and so Tsuke, Akai and Hiro were relaxing in their large hotel suite with Tai Zhou standing near by. Needless to say, all of them were a bit surprised when a Dimension Gate opened in the middle of the room.
He sighed as he watched the little one run around the room in which they were staying in under the watchful gaze of her parents. He knew why the little one was coming with them but he would admit curiosity as to why his nephews were coming as well. Hideki he could understand, the elder of his nephews was a soldier and a more than apt guardian of the little drake besides her parents, but Teshiro was a bit of a wild card. The boy was only about seventeen and had more power than he knew what to do with, even on a good day. Even his father had a hard time reigning his chaotic power in but that was attributed to the fact Teshiro was still young and hadn't had the time to learn how to properly use it.
Which to be fair isn't his father's fault, Tsuke sighed. Kayon tries to spend the needed time with both of his sons but that infernal Mages Council prevents him from doing so with their petty problems and idiocies. He has fortunately been able to help Teshiro tap into his Elemental lineage to connect with his Source so that he has some stabilization but that made it so that council of fools couldn't deny him his title.
"Brother," a calm voice called. "Your anger is showing."
Tsuke turned his head to see his youngest sibling smiling softly at him with a knowing gaze. Hiro had a great deal of their mother's features in him. He had her light brown hair and vibrant mahogany eyes. His eyes then followed to his other brother, Akia. Akia had a good blend of both their mother and their father, carrying her light brown hair and their father's Arctic Blue eyes. Tsuke closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath before slowly letting it out. Once he felt his ire cool slightly he opened his eyes to see a wider smile on Hiro's face.
"It's not their fault they are idiots," Hiro chuckled.
"Need I remind you that peeking into another's mind without their permission is an invasion of privacy and prompts swift retaliation?" Tsuke said blandly.
Hiro paled slightly before dashing to the other side of the room only to collide with an invisible wall about six feet into his sprint. He fell back wide eyed before rolling over in pain. The room was silent for only about a minute before laughter burst forth from almost everyone in the room. The only two that weren't laughing were Hideki and Tai Zhou but they both had amused smiles.
"How's your face, uncle Hiro?" Teshiro asked when he had the ability to.
"Better than you're about to be," Hiro stated as he tackled his nephew to the group.
The little drake watched in awe as the two males began to wrestle with each other, much to the amusement of the other adults in the room. She looked up at the elder male holding her and cooed softly. Hideki looked down at her with a soft smile. He had picked her up from where she was sitting a few moments before because he knew that his little brother was going to goad their uncle into a game. Teshiro always had the uncanny ability to either break the tension in a room with just a simple sentence, or make people unable to see past their own rage. He sighed as he looked back to his young brother.
Teshiro was a powerful person despite his young age and he did an excellent job at hiding it. To others that didn't know his lineage, they would mistake him for being one of the Gypsy Casters since his main forms of offensive and defensive magic came from a Tarot deck he had created or they would judge him based on the opal he had in the middle of his forehead. The only people to have a gem, jewel or stone of any in the middle of their head were the Analysts, a group of magic users that had the ability to dissect any kind of magic placed in front of them. Once an Analyst had completely take apart the magic, they knew every detail about it and could then use it themselves. In fact, that was how most Analysts gained their magic but they couldn't rightly train for it since they learned so sporadically.
His little brother already had a vast well of power and knowledge when it came to Arcana, their father being bound to all of the Elemental Affinities being the biggest attributer to that, but since Teshiro was so young and had very little time to learn with a proper teacher, the only way to stabilize his hefty power was to find a focus for it. The different Tarot cards helped a great deal but there was still the backlash of his Elemental power clashing with his Arcana since he hadn't found his balance with the two. To prevent Teshiro from going insane to the imperfectly mixed and destructive magic, Kayon had taught his youngest son how to form an Analyst's mark. The fact it came out as a opal was a very telling feature. Opals were rare enough as it was but to have it formed as an Analyst's stone was proof of how much power the teen had.
He was pulled from his thoughts when he felt a jab of pain circulate through his body. He looked around the room and saw that all of his family was in the same state of concern and pain.
"Hideki," Teshiro asked shakily. "What caused that?"
Hideki closed his eyes and began to search through the emotion before smiling softly. "A flash of pain due to training."
Teshiro nodded and leaned back, his wrestling match with Hiro paused for now. He looked at the ceiling of the room and smiled softly. He was pretty excited to meet this new family member his father had mentioned. He wondered what they would be like.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
The school day for Haruhi was relatively normal for once. She was glad to see Hikaru doing much better when he arrived in their morning class. Kaoru had apologized for not texting her the night before because when he had gotten home, he had jumped right into giving his father a hand with a few things. She was also surprised to learn that both had been able to attach the symbols that Mori had requested in their rightful places on her costume. It had taken a few tries through out the day but Hikaru and Kaoru had been able to pull her aside and explain to her that they knew what those symbols meant and were happy for her. Haruhi had listened in shocked awe and slight guilt at not realizing what the two of them had felt for her but was grateful that they were going to remain her friends despite the shock.
"We kind of figured that you didn't return it," Hikaru laughed.
"You tend to be pretty oblivious to a lot of things when it comes to guys," Kaoru added. "We had the feeling that you weren't interested for a while. It just took a bit for us to let go too."
"I'm sorry you two," Haruhi said softly. "I..I didn't know..."
"We knew that you didn't," they laughed. "And that's okay."
"We aren't going to ruin what you have gained with Mori-senpai," Hikaru soothed. "We want to see you happy and if what Kaoru had shared with me was any indication of how perfectly you two fit together, trying to come between the bond you two are building would end up breaking your friendship with us and that's not what we want. It took a bit for me to let go of the hope that you might one day pick either Kaoru or me but I have. While I was at home yesterday, I did a lot of thinking. Although you would fit perfectly into our world with everything that you have given to us and how you are, there would be a great deal of conflict and you would end up hurt."
"What do you mean?"
"We Cuubi have no issue in sharing," Kaoru explained. "And that applies to everything. And since Hikaru and I are brothers, we already do. That includes people we are intimate with."
As Hikaru and Kaoru took turns explaining how their people were in each aspect of their existence, Haruhi's eyes went wide as things began to filter in place. The reasons behind their little game and why neither of them dated began to make sense. Their instinct had them sharing everything between themselves and their family. They had tried to find out if they could at least have something to themselves, which is what started the "which one is Hikaru game", and also see if someone could see the difference in them. It had hurt them greatly when the people that tried had failed and stated that they would be happy with either one. It wasn't in their nature to have something to themselves, even though that is exactly how society had to place them.
"That explains a lot," Haruhi sighed when they finished.
"Yeah," they nodded. "We have actually needed to say that for a while now..."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because...we still had the slim hope that you might be able to be with us, be ours to share and love."
Haruhi looked at the sad smiles on their faces and pulled them both into a hug. "You two are still my friends, even if there are times you drive me insane."
The trio chuckled softly. It was slightly odd but not uncommon that the class they had didn't have a lesson plan that day. Their teacher had given them a study day and since Haruhi had been able to get the twins the items they had missed yesterday, all three of them could sit quietly near each other talking rather than studying. Thanks to her time in the Sanctuary, Haruhi was months ahead in her lessons and was already working on some of the first year university assignments that Asuda had gotten for Mori and Hunny. The trio continued to chat softly about things until the bell rang indicating that class had ended. They had politely asked to join her for lunch when it came around and she agreed. She did however inform them that she might be eating with Reiko in the garden and that Nekozawa would be joining them if he was able to. They nodded in agreement, stating that it would be nice if he could so that they could go over everything for the gala.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
When lunch came around, Haruhi was able to slip passed Tamaki thanks to Yasuchika and Satoshi popping up. The Host Club King had tried to surprise her with an offer to join her for lunch but thanks to the side door to her classroom, she was able to avoid him all together. She informed the young martial artists that the twins had asked to join her for lunch. Though they were skeptical at first, they agreed to go with her to the gardens. When they came to one of the larger gazebos, they saw Hikaru and Kaoru talking with Reiko and that the young scryer was getting a little anxious.
"Hey," Haruhi called as she walked up.
All three looked over and Haruhi caught the relief flash through Reiko's eyes at seeing her. Hikaru and Kaoru waved and slide over to let the new arrivals sit down. Once seated, Haruhi was about to pull up her bento but Reiko held up her hand.
"Haruhi-senpai," Reiko spoke softly. "Do you know who to create a Mages Table?"
Haruhi tapped her chin in thought. She recalled something in one of the tomes inside the Sanctuary's library about it but hadn't had the chance to ask or practice it.
"I read about what they are," Haruhi stated. "I haven't tried it yet though. Would you like me to?"
Reiko nodded and was about to cast a ward around them when a surprising guest came up. Haruhi saw Saichi walk over and stand just at the edge of the stone structure.
"Hello Fujioka-san," Saichi smiled. "May I join you?"
Remembering Kyoya's words from the day before, Haruhi looked at everyone. When each nodded that they didn't mind, Saichi moved to sit down. With their new addition seated, Reiko cast her protective ward around them. Saichi watched calmly at the fluidity of the spell and smiled.
"Wow," she said. "That was well done."
Reiko nodded in thanks but Saichi knew that the Black Magic practitioner was watching her closely. She didn't take offense as she was pretty sure that the girl already knew everything if what she heard about Reiko was correct. She watched calmly, and in somewhat shock, as Haruhi began to form the symbols of a Mages Table on the stone slate before them.
Once the last symbol was formed, the stone table top glowed slightly before a small collection of fruits, bottles and pastries appeared. Hikaru and Kaoru looked at the assortment in confusion. They could feel that something was different about the small meal but it was hard to place.
"How come it feels like it is alive?" they asked.
"Because it is full of energy," Saichi answered. "Mage Tables are often used to replenish depleted Arcana. It is safe for all races to eat from a mages table, even people who don't have mana can eat from the assortment."
"Does it change anything about them?" Satoshi asked.
"No. They might feel like they have eaten a filling meal and have a bit more energy than they would normally but that it about it."
"Cool. What's in the bottles?"
"Water imbued with Arcane energy. It is just like the food, the only difference is that it is a liquid rather than a solid."
Saichi smiled and took one of the small pastries. Everyone else began to take pieces of the platter and began eating with light conversation. Yasuchika kept a silent eye on Saichi but made sure to make it look like he wasn't at the same time. She still rubbed him the wrong way and was still considered an enemy until otherwise proven. Haruhi had told everyone about what she had shared with Kyoya and had been privy to when the Shadow King had explained all the more inside the Sanctuary. He wasn't sure why she rubbed him the wrong way, just that she did and it made him on edge. Lunch passed with relative ease, no hiccups and enlightening conversations.
Saichi knew that Satoshi and Yasuchika were keeping an eye on her and understood why. They didn't trust her, which was understandable, but she was glad that they took the opportunity to try and listen to her rather than just shove her away. She knew full well that her magic would be pointless against the people gathered near her, so she didn't even bother trying to use any. As the food on the platter slowly diminished, she glanced at the watch on her wrist.
"I must take my leave," she said softly.
"How come?" Hikaru asked.
"My uncle will be here soon. He has taken to visiting me while at school during this last week."
Satoshi and Yasuchika tensed and Haruhi froze. Reiko looked at the despondent expression on Saishi's face and knew why she had such an expression. Reiko looked at the charm she was holding in her hand and smiled.
"ይቅዱ ( yik'idu )," she whispered.
The group looked at her in confusion, four of which hearing what she said and the other two feeling the small burst of magic. Reiko looked up with a gently smile and held out her hands to show simple but beautiful bracelets. She gave one to Haruhi and the other to Saichi. Haruhi smiled, remembering Reiko's offer to create a charm to help block out negative energy, but was confused as to why there were two. Saichi looked at the bracelet in confusion.
"It will ward against dark intent and whispered falsehoods," Reiko explained. "Haruhi-senpia has the one I initially created. You now hold a copy of the same ward. I have seen your truths and your intent. She means no harm to you, senpai, but she must act as though she does."
"Huh?" Hikaru looked dumbfounded.
"My family wishes to bring Haruhi-senpai into their fold," Saichi sighed. "Most want to do so peacefully but uncle Akito is willing to do whatever is needed, including using underhanded tactics."
"Such as?"
"Trying to turn all of you against her."
Hikaru and Kaoru looked at the girl before them with a blank stare and Saichi felt a trill of fear creep into her body. She had a rough idea as to what Satoshi and Yasuchika could do to her, their skills in marital arts was well known in their circle and she had read about the strengths of the True Born vampires. The twin Incubi on the other hand were an unknown to her. Not only were they a rarity to their own race, their race as a whole was full of so many different combinations of power and skills it was hard to tell which ones could do what.
"You will never be able to shatter our ties to her," both said simultaneously, their voices so empty that even Reiko looked at them worriedly. "She means more to us than you can imagine and the chaos we will bring should you or your family try will make Hell seem like paradise."
Saichi nodded quickly. She knew that wasn't an idle threat, it was a promise, and demons kept their promises. She stood and bowed softly before heading away from them, towards her uncle. As she left the group, she felt as if something was wrapping around her and looked at the softly glowing charm she held in her had. With a gentle smile, Saichi clipped it onto her wrist and hid it with her sleeve.
Haruhi watched Saichi go and sighed softly before looked at the others. Hikaru and Kaoru had a blank look on their faces that kind of unnerved her.
"Hikaru, Kaoru," she called softly. "Are you two okay?"
"We will be," they spoke softly, some of their personality coming back. "Demons are protective of their allies."
"Kyoya-senpai told me about that. Well, more specifically Void, but I figured that it applied to the rest as well."
"You would be correct, Haruhi-senpai," Reiko offered. "All of the Immortal races are protective of their allies to some degree, some more than others. Demons like both of the Hiitachiin tend to be more protective of their female friends rather than their male friends for several clear reasons, while beings such as Ootori-senpai are drastically protective. Void make few friends in their existence since many fear them or think they are incapable of emotion. They can become purely emotionless if they choose to, but most tend to isolate their emotions to keep those around them safe. The Void is a dangerous place, even for the beings that exist there."
Haruhi nodded softly and looked back to her twin friends. She was grateful to see more emotion beginning to form on their faces. When both of them smiled at her, she smiled back and they continued to talk among themselves. Haruhi even explained what was going on with Saichi and what she was doing. Although they could understand why she was doing what she was, they didn't like the fact it could potentially backfire and the damage that was to be interpreted may become real and permanent. The group could understand their worry and Reiko eased some of it by stating she would do her best to keep them abreast of events through her crystal ball. Hikaru and Kaoru thanked her with by sandwiching her between them, causing the small girl to slowly turn beet red before she pushed them off. Haruhi began laughing at the stunned horror on Reiko's face before she explained that such hugs were a Hiitachiin normality. Both apologized for making her uncomfortable but they gave her the hug because they felt that just saying "thank you" wasn't enough for everything she had been doing for the club and Haruhi.
Reiko accepted their reasoning but politely asked them to never do that again, she wasn't really used to receiving hugs from people outside her family. The twins promised in their usual way but everyone there knew they were being honest instead of sarcastic. At the sound of the warning bell, all five of them stood and began to move towards the school building before departing to their classes.
*~*0o0o0o0o0*~*
The rest of the day was calm and uneventful until the last period. Haruhi's last class had a surprise test on all subject matter they had been working on thus far. A number of people in her class had grumbled and complained but Haruhi felt like she could handle it. When the test got placed in front of her, she went through it and noticed that a lot of the questions she knew the answers to and there were every few that confused her. She was among one of the first done with the test and after she had giving the papers with her answers to the teacher, she sat back into her seat and began reading some one of the books she had borrowed from the Sanctuary's library. When she had asked Kyoya if it was possible to take books from the library to read, he had simply chuckled and said it was fine but he would like them back when she was done. He also had advised her to not take any of the spell tomes out since to those who didn't have the ability to perceive magic would only see the pages as blank sheets. She had agreed and took some of the books she knew were literature.
She hadn't taken a look at the title of the book she was reading but it was good one so far. She looked up from her book when the teacher called for everyone's attention.
"Until I finish grading these," the teacher explained. "You can quietly read or go over other assignments."
Many students nodded but began to quietly talk among themselves. Haruhi simply went back to reading her book. After about twenty minutes, the teacher called everyone's focus back on her. It didn't escape Haruhi's notice that the teacher looked a little upset.
"Fujioka-san," the instructor sighed. "Please gather your things and step into the hall."
Haruhi nodded hesitantly before putting her things in her bag. She felt Qurdox pulse gently against her chest in reassurance as she stepped into the hall. She only had a few minutes to wait before the teacher joined her.
"Is something wrong, sensei?" Haruhi asked softly.
"No, Miss Fujioka," her teacher reassured. "You aren't in trouble, trust me. You are actually the only one that passed my little pop quiz. I have a free pass for you to wander the halls, but I think that you best use it to head to the Kendo dojo."
"Thank you, sensei. I will head there. The only other place I may have gone would be to the library."
Her teacher smiled brightly. "You are such a studious student, Miss Fujioka. I have little doubt that you wouldn't do as you just said. Now, hurry along. I believe you have a written exam you need to take in Kendo, don't you?"
Haruhi nodded and took the paper slip from her teacher. With a soft bow, Haruhi went out towards the dojo. She was slightly surprised when she came across Tanya in the halls.
"Hello, Tanya-chan," she greeted.
Tanya turned and smiled brightly. "Hey, Fujioka! What are you doing out of class?"
"My teacher let me out earlier since I completed the class assignments early. She recommended that I head to the dojo for my written exam in Kendo."
"Cool. We can walk together."
Haruhi smiled and both females continued on their way, talking softly in the halls. Tanya asked about her time in the host club and laughed when Haruhi recalled the tale about her subsequent joining. The Kendo captain just shook her head about some of the absurdities Haruhi had to deal with when it came to the lot of them.
"I'm honestly shocked that you haven't clocked a few of them before," Tanya laughed as they walk along the paths outside. "I know I would have, even if it wasn't lady-like."
"There have been times I have been tempted to," Haruhi laughed. "I guess the only reason I didn't was because I was just as strange to them as they were to me. I grew up knowing I had to work for everything I got, and that I had to work hard."
"Yeah, most of the people in this school have a lot of their stuff given to them just because they want it. I, personally, like to earn my place through proof of my skills."
Haruhi nodded in agreement, she knew exactly what her senpai was talking about because she felt the same way. Both looked up and saw that they were at the dojo. They walked in to see one of the coaches talking to a few of the male Kendo members. Both females bowed in greeting, which was returned, before walking over.
"Miss Fujioka, Miss Zatar," the coach smiled. "You two are here to take your written exams as well, yes?"
Both females nodded.
"Please change into you gi but keep your armor off. We will do the written before we do the demonstration."
All five students nodded before heading to the changing rooms. Haruhi stepped into an empty stall and was glad that she had brought a larger bag that looked as if it could hold her Kendo armor along with her stuff instead of using her smaller bag.
"Tanya-chan," Haruhi asked from the stall she was changing it. "Is there a locker I can keep my Kendo armor in rather than carry it around all day?"
"We can ask sensei about getting you a lock for one of the lockers in here," Tanya answered from another stall. "I have one that I stash my stuff in on the days I have practice or a tournament so that I just have to carry my school bag. We can see about getting one after session today."
"Okay."
Both girls stepped out and Tanya showed Haruhi to the empty lockers so that she could put her stuff in them while they were taking the written test. Once her stuff was secured, both walked out on the mats and saw that they were out before the boys. They both assisted the coach in placing some solid planks out for them to write on for the test and as the boys exited, they helped set up the bamboo pillars that were going to be used for the demo. Once full set up, all five teens took a seat at one of the planks and began to meditate as they waited for the coach to get their needed tests. When Haruhi closed her eyes, she found herself easily entering meditation. She was relaxed and calm. She felt Qurdox pulse gently at her chest, and could felt a similar pulse from her connection to Mori and the others through the bracelet.
She opened her eyes when she felt the coach in front of her. Haruhi looked up calmly as he placed a small packet of paper in front of her with a pencil. With a soft bow, she waited until the others had their tests and for the signal to begin. When it was given, she began to work on the test. She found that a lot of the answers were based around the understanding of the principles of Kendo as well its philosophies. Haruhi found that much of what was begin asked in the exam she already knew thanks to having practiced in the Sanctuary with her family and Mori.
Although it was a lot of questions about etiquette, philosophy and history, Haruhi was able to complete the test with ease. When she sat back from her make-shift table, she saw that the others were close to done as well. Once the others were up from their exams, the coach walked over and collected the pages with each one of them bowing in thanks. After the papers were collected, he had them go and put their armor on. With solid nods from each, all five teens stood and went to get their armor.
As Haurhi got her things out of the locker she placed them in, she was running through how to properly place everything on in her mind. Mori, Satoshi, Asuda and Trekiva had gone over it with her many times and she was confident that she had it down. She easily placed everything how it was supposed to be and walked out back to the mats, Tanya a few steps behind her. The boys were coming out at the same time.
The coach looked at them bot and bowed when they did before motioning them to circles set up. In each circle was a stand with some bamboo pillars and an examiner just outside it. All five teens went to one of the circles and bowed in greeting. Once the bows were returned they began their demonstrations to their examiner. Haruhi slowly began to tune out the others, keeping her focus on the situation. She focused on the kata she had practiced while in the Sanctuary and moved fluidly.
When she had finished her stances and stirkes on the dummy, she gave the examiner a bow and waited patiently for their results. She watched calmly as the examiner took some notes on the clipboard they were holding. After a few moments, the examiner looked back up at her with a soft smile and bowed, which Haruhi returned, and they went over to the coach to speak quietly.
"You did well," Qurdox praised.
"Thanks," Haruhi smiled. "I hope I did well enough to pass. The written exam was a little hard but I knew a lot of the material."
"It is meant to be a challenge. You also did well in your stances. Each movement was precise and you were focused on your task."
Haruhi took in a breath as the coach motioned for her and the others to come over to him. Each bowed in greeting to each other and their examiners in turn, as well as the coach.
"Well done all of you," he said with a bright smile. "Each of you have passed your written exams and your demonstrations. You examiners will give you the appropriate rank for the test you have completed."
The examiners then stepped forward to each student, receiving a bow in turn, before handing each one the belt and armor mark appropriate to their new rank. Each one bowed and accepted their belts and marks, all the while aware that they now had an audience to their newest achievements. It hadn't escaped any of the gathered teens notices that during the course of their demos that the rest of the Kendo club had arrived to bear witness.
Once each recipient had their proof of advancement, they bowed again to the examiners and coach before turning to each other and bowing again. They then began to head to the changing rooms to affix their new belts and marks to the uniforms and attend today's session.
A/N: What I noted in the exam is actually a summary of what is tested and done in an actual Kendo advancement. Though they actually fight another person in a grading test, I thought it made more sense to just have them display their skills to an examiner rather than do a full point match due to the fact there were so few actually getting graded.
Spell Translation:
ይቅዱ = Copy ( yik'idu )