Chapter 3: A Boring Life (3)
"...This is your house?"
"Yes, what else would it be?"
Staring up at the massive and sprawling western mansion Nanashi dazedly replied, "I dunno, a freaking hotel?"
"Don't be silly, why would we rent out our home?"
"...Forget it."
Being pulled by the hand towards the imposing building Nanashi felt an odd tingle pass over his body as well as a strange pit in the bottom of his stomach, as if gravity had temporarily been told to go away.
"Does your home have some kind of electric fence?"
"Oh, those were the bounded fields. I shall have to enter you into them properly once we are finished today, they only let you in because I was touching you and considered you a friend."
Gathering that this 'bounded field' was more magecraft strangeness akin to a force field he curiously asked, "What would it have done if it didn't recognize me?"
"Depending on where you were simply paralyzed your body into a state of helplessness or eviscerate you into quite tiny bits."
"...What was that last part-"
"Come, let me introduce you to my family~!"
Resigned to whatever insanity Manaka was about to drag him into next the boy let himself be dragged along, the grand wooden doors being pushed aside without a second thought as Manaka announced, "Sister, papa, I'm home!"
A girl and older man that had been sitting on a couch located off to the side of the main room looked their way with surprised expressions and blinks of disbelief, as if such a greeting was unnatural or unexpected.
"Manaka, welcome home...you sound unusually excited. And who is this?"
Finding himself unceremoniously shoved forward in the politest way possible Nanashi became the center of attention, his blonde warden cheerily stating, "This is my friend Nanashi, he's a prospective Magus that I just met in school the other day. Nanashi, this is my papa Haruki and younger sister Ayaka."
The man was austere looking but not unkind, dressed in a simple business suit while the other girl had a different school uniform on and seemed fairly meek. A far cry from her sister, who seemed like she wore pushiness and boldness like a second skin.
Although he did note how they both stiffened at the words 'prospective magus' until Manaka idly waved a hand, stating, "Not to worry, he does not hail from an established family - I'm fairly certain he doesn't have one - and he was unaware of the Moonlit World until I told him about it yesterday."
"You exposed him to a world like ours just like that?"
Haruki sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before mumbling, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised...my apologies about the willful actions of my daughter, Nanashi. No doubt she's been quite pushy and aggressive towards you thus far."
"Gave me several migraines, went to my home uninvited and apparently exposed me to a world where I can get shredded by invisible forcefields just for walking in the wrong spot. Pushy, RIGHT."
Not letting the sarcastic reply slip past his lips he settled for a shrug, stating, "A bit. But I've always wondered why I see things differently from most other people, Manaka says she might know how to identify and then fix that for me."
At the confused looks from Ayaka and Haruki the pale-blonde explained, "He has a pair of mystic eyes I do not recognize, I'm quite curious in finding out what they are...and there is another reason I find myself curious in him, obvious features of a homunculus aside."
"Homuculus? What the hell is a-GRK?!"
A wave of heat and light ensconced his body as Ayaka and Haruki felt their jaws drop, the sheer amount and variety of magic circuits dotting his visible skin - alongside the significant glow beneath his clothing - a completely unexpected sight as the doll-like girl tapped his flesh with a glowing finger.
"Manaka...is that-"
"I counted, he has 219 magic circuits of heavily varied quality and elemental alignment...and as I stated his body bears the obvious signs of homunculus descent, especially of the Einzbern variety. Needless to say, it's quite critical that he learns to make use of these gifts before something untowards happens to him, regardless of whether it's self-inflicted or a less scrupulous magus sinks their talons into him."
Feeling weirded out as his magic circuits faded and cooled - as well as the possessive tone of that last statement - Nanashi turned to Manaka's family, the both of them appearing far more contemplative as Haruki stated, "A fair point...young man, I understand this all may seem very confusing but my daughter has your best intentions at heart. Even among us magus your current circumstances are...quite strange."
Settling for a simple nod - because what else was he supposed to do - Nanashi accepted the man's words, Haruki turning to Manaka before asking, "Are you sure you're able to take over his tutelage for the moment, Manaka? Instruction is a very different discipline than simple research."
A childish pout appeared on the girl's features as she protested, "Papa, it'll be fine! All I shall be doing for a few days is instructing Nanashi on the basics of magecraft. Besides!"
Ayaka squeaked as Manaka grabbed her arm and held her close, beaming brightly as she stated, "Ayaka will be my teaching assistant for Nanashi, two hands are better than one, after all!"
While she looked as if someone had clubbed her in the face Haruki only hesitated for a moment, eventually nodding as he said, "Very well, I trust you to be responsible in this matter, Manaka. The training of a stranger in the practice of magecraft is no small undertaking. Ayaka, make sure your sister doesn't go too far overboard."
"I will, umm, try, papa."
Rolling her bright cerulean eyes Manaka dragged both of her victims towards their workspace, smiling brightly as foreign excitement bubbled within her chest at the prospect of experimenting and experiencing something new.
As the trio of kids disappeared further into the halls of the mansion Haruki sat in his chair, expression swiftly becoming dangerously neutral as his mind raced a mile a minute.
"Manaka...it was like looking at an entirely different girl."
His star daughter had always been a strange one, apathetic and disinterested in almost anything she put her mind to, what brief glimpses of fascination or curiosity shown inevitably fading in short order as she mastered subject after subject.
As a magus and parent he had been incredibly proud of her, Manaka's success always something he was happy to boast of.
As a father and husband of his late wife he couldn't help but worry, however. His darling girl's complete lack of personality had been concerning and quickly spiralling towards outright worrying, persona more akin to that of a perfect doll than that of a human.
While Ayaka may not have been nearly anywhere as gifted as her older sister she was still a person, had strengths and insecurities and things she was better at than others...not so with Manaka.
And then, out of seemingly nowhere, his little bundle of both pride and anxiety starts acting like a little girl again. Ayaka had briefly mentioned her episode last night of bleeding and other trauma and had been about to describe it when the subject of such a tale bounced through the front door, dragging a clearly uncomfortable boy who displayed all the signs of an artificial human along with her, casually showing off his set of intrinsic abilities that most magi families would be slavering over like it was no big deal.
...Haruki heaved a sigh, reaching for the liquor cabinet.
While he was glad that Manaka seemed to have regained every bit of emotion she should have displayed over the years the suddenness of it was worrying, never mind the boy she was hauling around like some fantastical toy.
He immediately began writing out a set of letters to colleagues and companions he trusted, surreptitiously inquiring if they knew anything about an Einzbern homunculus going missing recently...or if puberty could inflict such gargantuan changes in a young girl seemingly overnight.
"Now an important thing to note, Nanashi. A magus performs their research within a space called a 'workshop'. Normally it is a sacrosanct area that only the closest of trusted friends and family may witness...but you are a beginner and my workshop has little research of note so you may come on inside. You too, Ayaka."
"E-eh?! But your-"
Nanashi felt another one of those strange 'shivers' pass through him as they entered a nicely organized space, sunlight streaming in through a few shuttered windows with various benches or tables placed neatly against the walls, a few random books or texts scattered about in a far more haphazard manner.
What really drew the boy's attention, however, was the not so ordinary objects occasionally resting or leaning against the various surfaces.
A globe of the planet that seemed to actually contain real water and terra, a small aviary full of pigeons that sung at various pitches according to the color of the gemstone located on the cage door - remaining silent if it wasn't lit - a book that seemed to be infinitely flipping through its pages one at a time until it reached the end whereupon the whole process would repeat itself...it was incredible.
"Whoa...so you can do all of these things with magecraft? Are there any limits or costs or downsides-"
Manaka giggled at his enthusiasm, even Ayaka smiling at his eagerness as the pale blonde gestured to her sister, the other girl blinking at the clear invitation to explain as she lightly coughed, shyly stating, "Magecraft is the practice of performing feats that science and technology can explain and replicate, such as how matter is not lost or gained, merely changed forms. So no randomly creating weapons or animals out of thin air."
"Oh...well couldn't you make them out of that energy that goes through my magic circuits? That way it's using an energy that's already there, right?"
Manaka giggled, Ayaka responding, "That's actually one of the first disciplines most magi learn, we call it gradation air. It's the practice of converting one's mana into a physical shape, recreating an object from what looks to be nothing."
Quickly moving to calm down the clearly slavering boy Ayaka explained, "It's not quite as useful as it sounds. Creating an object purely from one's own mana is a pricey move, not to mention that it takes a great amount of focus to properly recreate something, never mind that copies are almost always inferior to the original and must be steadily injected with additional energy, lest they disappear from the world."
"...Oh. That sounds a lot less useful than it first did."
His disappointment clear to see Ayaka hurriedly added, "I-it's not useless, just fairly situational."
Grudgingly accepting that Nanashi pointed to the objects that he'd at first seemed so fascinated with, now a great deal more wary as he asked, "So those are just...mundane? Things you can make in a science lab?"
Manaka just continued to smile, seemingly enjoying his introduction to the moonlit world as Ayaka quickly protested, saying, "Hardly! Well, yes, technically one could recreate those feats with modern understanding but that doesn't mean it's easy to do so. Big sister is a genius, after all…"
The last few words were said with a tone that was equal parts submission and admiration, the older sibling simply grinning as she pulled the younger in for a hug, a squeak slipping past Ayaka's lips as Manaka stated, "My little sister is being her usual adorable self~! And bear in mind, Nanashi, what we label as 'magic' are feats that conventional science - at least at its current level of understanding - cannot explain or potentially replicate. Creation or destruction of matter from nothing, time travel...these are the feats magic can perform."
Resisting the urge to giggle at the utterly focused expression her newest and first friend was wearing Manaka stated, "But let's move on to the unique thing you are capable of, Nanashi...something even I do not know of. Your mystic eyes."
Being the first to hear of this Ayaka listened with rapt attention, the blonde explaining, "Mystic eyes afford their wielders a unique perspective on the world, able to see the fabric of reality or alter it in a way other magi could never hope to."
Curiosity overtook her cerulean orbs, tone hungry as she asked, "Your eyes caused you to collapse when you first looked at me but now you can hold my gaze as if nothing was amiss...tell me, Nanashi. What do you see with them?"
Belatedly realizing that, yes, staring at Manaka barely so much as brought a twinge to his ocular organs the young boy stared at the pair of girls before him, slowly explaining, "You both...glow. Ayaka many times more so than most people, her light feels like a tangible thing, as if I could reach out and touch it while it connects to many things around her, mostly you, Manaka."
The brown-haired magus pursed her lips, racking her brains for any kind of information on such a pair of eyes while Manaka seemed almost hungry for him to explain what he saw of her.
"Manaka, you...are like a titan. A skyscraper as bright as the sun that has bridges leading to every corner of the world, your weight and presence a colossal thing that feels like it could crush me if I make a wrong move."
There was a moment of silence as Manaka and Nanashi stared at each other...and the blonde pouted, one cheek puffed out as she pulled on Nanashi's own as the boy yelped, protesting, "W-whad da fuk, Manka?!"
Still yanking his face pouches every which way the girl admonished him with, "You don't tell a girl that she's fat and could squish you, idiot! Hmph, some manners you have!"
She released the incredulous male's cheeks, rounding on Ayaka who looked as if she was trying hard to hold in her laughter with little success, Manaka also treating her roughly as the girl yelped in pain.
"And isn't my little sister supposed to be supportive and not laugh at me during times such as these? Hmm~?"
Despite her harsh actions Nanashi noticed something...strange, about the way the blonde moved and acted. Even as she pouted and pretend cried there was odd...enthusiasm to her actions, her legs squirming and skin pinking as the girl's eyes danced with innocent glee, as if the mere act of interacting with them was some kind of primal delight.
"...She's weird. She didn't look like that when I first saw her, right before my head split open."
Sighing to himself Nanashi abruptly found his eyeball peeled wide, Manaka staring into it as she made a small hum of contemplation.
"How do most people look through your eyes, Nanashi?"
"Nowhere near as heav-I mean, nowhere near as powerful as you two. Some are a bit stronger than others but I haven't really been able to suss out a solid connection. Sometimes what look like construction workers or homeless people are just as bright as mayors or policemen."
A consternated look crossed the blonde's face, lips pursing as she muttered, "I still cannot think of any such mystic eyes that would afford one such perception...strange…"
Cerulean orbs locked onto Nanashi's dull red, a positively unhinged grin revealing immaculate white teeth as the magus whispered, "You, my friend, are just fascinating."
Entirely unsure of how to respond to such a statement Nanashi settled for asking, "Is there any way I can turn these eyes off, or at least reduce their effects? It'd be nice to see people normally for once."
Snapping out of her little trance Manaka nodded, happily stating, "That will be a good place to start, being able to regulate one's own mana, breathing and circuits will be a crucial step for you, Nanashi."
Fingertips glowing with the same light that had led to her activating his circuits in the first place the girl cheerily stated, 'Let's learn by doing, shall we~? I want you to turn off your circuits after I switch them on, fail to do so and you'll start to get burnt to a crisp from the inside~!"
Ayaka and Nanashi shared a glance.
"...Are you crazy-"
"Starting now~!"
The yelp that left Nanashi as his body blazed into incandescent illumination wouldn't be the first of the 'training' session that day.
"That girl definitely has a few screws loose. Am I even going to live long enough to be able to make use of the ability to turn my eyes off?"
Muttering to himself as he stumbled home, legs shaky and body uncomfortably stiff with dried sweat and leftover pains Nanashi nonetheless felt...good. Not physically and to be entirely honest not mentally either. The sisters had dumped on him so much information that he was fairly certain he had forgotten most of it and he just knew his body was going to sore come tomorrow...but it didn't really matter because he had something to do with his time now, something beyond merely existing for the sake of some nebulous purpose that may or may not find him one day.
He was learning magic. Or magecraft, whatever they called it. He had felt that delicious power course through his veins and even seen the results of what those accomplished in its practice could do...him, the freak gaijin that couldn't even fight off his bullies on a good day, who lived in some rundown dump and ate shitty food like it was going out of style.
The teen smirked to himself, rounding another corner as he looked at the various passerby with his 'mystic eyes', as the Sajyou's had called them.
It was more interesting, now. Looking at people and finally understanding that what he was seeing was actually a glimpse into reality and not some schizophrenic hallucination of a damaged brain. Not to mention they were apparently special even among mystic eyes, assuming Manaka was as knowledgeable about things as she said she was. Which was even more awesome since-
He froze.
And, after he stopped freezing, the young boy remembered that he was supposed to breath.
"You've got to be kidding me...another one?"
The thing pretending to be a pretty foreigner girl in clothing that seemed like it came out of some antiquated North American history lesson was standing on the edge of street corner, gazing around with a furrowed brow and lost expression, what few passerby there were at this late hour avoiding her like the plague or sending disgusted glares her direction, as if they too could see what he saw.
A monster of a different variety than Manaka, sure...but a monster all the same, tendrils of power spreading in every direction as they originated around her slim body, invisible eyes of universal strength and influence gazing out upon the world that seemed pathetically fragile in comparison, as if the admittedly attractive young lady was a nexus of unfathomable importance to the stability of their reality.
"I go through life and barely encounter so much as the smallest of variations in people...and then in the span of a few days I meet two impossibly dangerous girls who just so happen to be really cute. What the fuck is this?"
Barely cognizant of the fresh sweat that coated his body or the fact that he was staring at her with barely so much as a blink Nanashi snapped out of his trance only when the girl was practically in his face, bright blue eyes and western beauty - and it seemed that she just so happened to be his age, if not a bit older - wearing a frankly adorable smile as she stated in perfect japanese, "Hello, I'm sorry to bother you but would you happen to be familiar with this area? I'm afraid I'm a little bit lost at the moment."
Nanashi blinked dumbly, her voice a lovely blend of soft and girly but not drifting into high-pitched or grating, a tone that was distinctly at odds with her malicious and horrifying aura.
"Oh, but where are my manners? My name is Abigail Williams, it's a pleasure to meet you, stranger."