A/N: I've decided to save Part 3 of the special for a later date because I'm sick of writing omakes orz. I'll get to everyone's requests later, sorry. ; - ; I think you guys will like it, though.
I realized that my solution for chapters I don't like is to put it off as much as possible. Rip. (I hate writing fight scenes orz)
I also should clarify a few things from last chapter.
.
1) All of the questions asked in the first part were NOT created by me.
They were created by the lovely Heitor, who I will continue to give shoutouts to because they're STILL writing gigantic essays...I mean, reviews. Thus, please don't look too deeply into the choice of questions. Everyone was also like "omg Sera's going to die" and looking back all I see is "a flicker of emotion in her eyes" and "hesitated" like omg you guys always think the worst will happen lmao.
2) Also, in case you haven't realized before, I love Sharrkan.
Sharryamu is definitely my Magi otp, but you'll see more of him later in the story when we get into canon. That's why I'm focusing on building other characters rn. Also, Raiha (no matter how sassy and hotheaded she is), is not Yamuraiha. I don't want for you all to ship Sharrkan and Raiha just because Sharryamu is your OTP. I personally feel like Raiha is a less kinder, sassier, more arrogant Yamuraiha tbh lmao. With lots of guilt and angst tendencies. Try seeing how the two interact in this story and decide for yourself.
3) Also, try not to look tooooo deeply into the Disney AUs.
I sometimes slip hints and foreshadowing in there, but that's really just my stress relief. I wanted to make one of the guy characters a princess, and since Lynn's blonde I made him Rapunzel. I just kind of choose characters as I go lmao. This does not mean that Lynn's hair is magical/he's secretly a prince.
(Did anyone catch that Sharrkan was totally crushing on Raiha in the Rapunzel AU or did I just fail at making that explicit? Muse and sob over the fact that even though he liked her, he still let her go to Lynn.) (Then again, it's fair, since in the last special, Lynn let Raiha go to Nick. Lol.)
4) REGARDING ROMANCE
Don't expect me to actually establish anything in the canon storyline for a while. Ship teases are bae, but Raiha is still pretty young right now. Plus, well, it's fun to tease you all. LOL. (But omakes are fair game because in those, most of the ages get switched up.)
Voicemail. Again.
Clara frowned, her finger hovering over Alex's phone number, debating on whether or not to call the ginger again. It was raining, and she was holding her phone with one of her hands while trying to hold both a bouquet of camellias and an umbrella in the other. "For God's sake, it's her funeral. Where is he?"
She didn't want to be alone. Not now. There were plenty of people there for the funeral: former classmates of Elliot, a distant relative here or there, but nobody that Clara really knew. And nobody that Elliot really knew. Clara's friend had always been a loner, only opening up to Alex, really. The two of them had been like two peas in a pod.
Clara remembered the first time when she actually talked to Elliot. Elliot had been...the kind of person that nobody but Alex dared to approach, and Clara had made no effort to learn more about the silent, black haired girl that always sat in the corner of the room before that day. Clara had been finishing up soccer practice, pretty much dead on her feet, when she had been cornered by thugs. ('How cliche', she could recall El laughing about it years later.)
And in came Elliot, her ever lazy drawl interrupting the would-be brawl. "You know, I have pictures and a video of you threatening her right here. If you don't want me to send this to the authorities and post it online, you guys should all scram."
Clara could almost hear her friend's voice.
After that incident, Clara had sought to learn more about Elliot. Eventually, Elliot and Alex had somewhat accepted that she was going to be a part of their small little world, and when Clara dragged her childhood friend Yao into the mix, the four had become inseparable.
Or so she thought.
Yao had called her one day. The two of them, after high school, had gone their separate ways. Alex, El, and Yao had decided to go to the same university. Clara...she was only one who decided to go elsewhere. She had felt lonely for awhile, but began making new friends. She began to become distant from her old friends, something that Clara knew she'd regret for the rest of her life. She thought she had moved on, but…
Yao had called her one day. She had been so surprised when his name flashed on her screen, and although she hesitated for a moment, she picked up.
"El died. I can't find Alex." Came his baritone voice.
Those few words had her all but running to find the ginger. Between the three of them, Alex had been the closest to El. He had to know, if he didn't already…
("Alex! Oh, God, Alex...have you heard?")
("...heard? Clara, what happened?")
Clara was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure approaching her until his hand was on her shoulder. "You okay?" Yao asked, easily grabbing the umbrella out of her hand and holding it over the two of them. He had grown taller, she idly noted. Once upon a time, she would've been blushing to the tip of her ears at his close presence. ("Hormones, those damn hormones", she remembered her weak excuse to El's teasing.)
"Could be better," Clara muttered sardonically. "Where's Alex?"
"He's…" Yao hesitated. His grip on the umbrella handle tightened. "I think he's looking."
"For?"
"Answers."
There was a short pause.
"You know, grand funerals were never really El's style," Clara commented idly. Her face was placid, but inwardly her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. "They're so dry."
"That sounds like something she'd say," Yao agreed nonchalantly. There was something in his face now, a light that wasn't there before as he searched her face to see if she was actually suggesting what he thought she was. It only took a few moments: he knew her too well, probably even more well than how much Alex knew Elliot. Yao took the bouquet of camellias and handed them to one of their old classmates in the crowd, whispering something to them before turning back to her.
"So...where's your car?" She drawled.
"Right outside."
She turned around, meeting his sober gaze with a bittersweet smirk. "Well, what are we waiting for? We can't leave Alex searching all by himself, now can we?"
"Mm." Yao glanced at the funeral procession for a moment before looking back at Clara. "Let's go help him."
They were walking to his car when she asked quietly, "You're not mad?"
"For what?" There was genuine confusion in his eyes.
"For ignoring you three. From cutting you guys out of my life."
"That's life, isn't it?" He shrugged, and they walked a few more paces before she asked even more quietly, "Do you think El would've forgiven me?"
"...she probably would've hit you a few times over the head for ignoring us, but...yeah. She would have. She has. Definitely."
A smile tugged at her lips. "Let's go searching for answers. And Alex."
"Roger that."
Her eyes snapped open to meet startled amethyst right away. "I missed that moron's match, didn't I?" Yamuraiha groaned, rolling off the cot and gingerly stepping on the floor. She still had a killer headache, but at the very least, she felt better than before. "How was the match?"
"It was...amazing," Sera said quietly, unable to find the words to describe it. His excitement grew, an excited spark lighting up his eyes. "I can't believe you missed it, Raiha. Lynn actually won, and it wasn't a win like mine with trickery and deceit, but a win. They were exchanging spells so fast that my eyes could barely keep up with them-"
"Alright, I get it," Yamuraiha laughed, stopping the white haired boy before he could ramble more. "How many matches have passed while I've been sleeping?"
"I'd guess around eight?" Sera looked thoughtful. "I'm not quite sure, to be honest. Time flew by so quickly. But Raiha, I believe that they're going to be calling people for the second round of duels now. Will you be alright?"
"Probably." Yamuraiha wasn't all too-inclined to go into another battle, but she supposed she had to. "What are the updated rankings?"
"You're third. Lynn's second. First has stayed the same. I'm...twelfth, I believe? Alyasa is sixteenth."
"Nice," Yamuraiha nodded in acknowledgment. "So we all won our matches?"
"Yeah. Alyasa's actually a pretty skilled dueler, probably because her father's a Magical Theory instructor here. I'm sure she was able to learn some things from him," Sera explained. "Although it's quite impressive that Lynn is as talented as he is. Most people who are that skilled at magic come from the Central Desert, like I do, or Balbadd. Occasionally there's some from the Heliohapt Kingdom or something, but Reim, Kou, and Parthevia mainly keep to themselves."
Yamuraiha hummed. "But they're larger, right? I would've expected for more magicians to come."
"Most of them are an ocean away, so not many take the trip," Sera explained. "I'd actually say the most surprising thing is that there are so few who come from Musta'sim, like you, despite the fact that they're geographically close to us. I suppose Musta'sim really did purge most of the magicians."
"Most of the magicians there were either killed or already fled to Magnoshutatt a long time ago," Yamuraiha confirmed. "I'm just...unique, I suppose." Most magicians, Yamuraiha figured, had already left by the time magician purges got extremely serious. Her parents must have been either crazy stupid or crazy powerful to dare to stay in Musta'sim.
...oh yeah, her parents.
Yamuraiha was struck by the thought and had to remember that yes, even Yamu must have had parents at a point. Living at the castle had become such an integral part of her second life that she didn't...she didn't even think of such a notion. Maybe she should've questioned Nick or the King. Those two probably could've informed her of her second pair of parents' fates.
She knew she should've been feeling more emotion about such a thing. Some people would've immediately gone looking for their parents, claiming that they wanted to meet them, relieve that burden off of their mind, etc. But Yamuraiha felt no such emotions. To her, Yamu's parents were nothing more than faceless figures who she had never met. Maybe they handed her over to Musta'sim. Maybe they died.
(Faintly, a woman's voice whispers to her. "I love you, Yamuraiha. My dear, dear daughter.")
She ignored that memory for the most part. So it was more probably that they died. A shame. But she didn't really care: she didn't know them, they were just a faint what if that would probably always be there in the back of her mind that she could easily ignore. She knew she was partially lying to herself, but she was always lying to herself, and that was alright. She would be alright. (Liar, liar.)
Sera suddenly perked up and pointed. "Raiha, I think they're starting! We'd better head over there."
Yamuraiha hummed her agreement.
"You're late," a voice called towards them, and Yamuraiha rolled her eyes at the slightly irritated tone in his voice.
"Sorry," Sera laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He nudged the tealette playfully. "Raiha took a little bit waking up."
"Now, now, you took a while explaining everything too," Yamuraiha protested weakly, but at Sera's deadpan expression she relented, shoving her hands into her cloak pockets. Curiously, her eyes flickered towards the proctors. Marth, the blue haired proctor, was discussing something with Edith, the female proctor, and Erik. They seemed to be in a heated discussion, but after noticing the multiple pairs of eyes on them, Edith cleared her throat and stepped forward to address the crowd.
"We will now begin the second round of magical combat," she announced. "The same rules apply. Thirty points per match, and battle tactic matters. This time, all three proctors will be on the field to monitor and ensure there is no foul play going on. Once again, I advise for you all to be wary of however much information you are giving out about yourself. All contestants, both those who passed and those who failed, are required to stay within the arena from now on."
"Safety precautions," Sera murmured thoughtfully.
"We're a suspicious bunch, I guess," Lynn agreed half sarcastically. His attention turned to the proctors, who called off two random numbers. Straightening himself, he turned to Sera and Yamuraiha. "Let's get a closer look." The three of them easily made their way down to the front seats of the arena.
Yamuraiha observed the two opponents. "Rankings?" She asked Sera, not even needing to look at the white haired boy.
"Seventh and eighth," Sera replied. Studying the two magicians, who were now circling each other warily, he asked, "Who do you think is going to win?"
"Eighth," Yamuraiha and Lynn said together almost immediately. They exchanged grudging glances of acknowledgment before turning back to watch the match.
"Seventh was a Red magician, right? He won against the Wind mage earlier," Yamuraiha observed. It was easier to match a face with their skill, rather than with their rank for her. She observed the eighth place magician's gear for a moment and deduced, "Eighth is a Blue magician. Type advantage, which is something that eighth will definitely take advantage of. I don't think seventh is strong enough to overcome that."
"Not to mention he was acting like the most arrogant idiot earlier," Lynn sniffed. "Even though I suspect he used up a lot of his energy in the first match. Eighth played a good match last round, not to mention she already planted several traps around the battlefield."
"Traps?" Yamuraiha questioned, and when the blonde gestured towards the right side of the arena, the tealette leaned on the railing of the spectator's zone as she tried to get a closer look. If she squinted, she could just barely make out a slight shift in the area. It was sort of like how heat waves were in her past life. On hot days, perhaps one could squint and see a slight distortion in the scenery.
"Water droplets bend the light," Lynn offered a quick but effective explanation. "That's what you did in your match, correct?"
It was actually impressive to see the blonde's deductive skills. Yamuraiha was intelligent: she knew that for a fact. No amount of sugarcoating could deny the fact that when she knew she had to learn something, she'd learn it. If she had to do something, she'd do it one way or another. But she still had the unfair advantage of a lifetime (although whether or not her rather short previous life was considered a lifetime or not was debatable) of experience. Yamuraiha had trained herself to stay vigilant and observant. On the other hand, Lynn and Sera were both exceptionally talented for their ages.
"Yeah," Yamuraiha confirmed, giving him a grudging nod of respect. "It wasn't like I was hiding or teleported. He just couldn't see me."
"It was interesting to watch from the spectator's area, though," Sera added, chuckling. "It seemed like he was getting frustrated and missing you even though you were right in front of him."
Yamuraiha pursed her lips. "Yeah, I haven't perfected that spell yet. I want to be able to make it so that I can conceal myself from all angles. Unfortunately, the best I've got right now is being able to fool a single target or area." It was a bit frustrating, actually. Yamuraiha had shamelessly ripped off her canon self for the idea, but executing the spell was much harder than she had thought.
"Oh, seventh lost," Lynn drawled, looking unsurprised as the magician quite literally collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion. "And they're announcing the next pair." Yamuraiha and Sera were still engaged in conversation, the latter excitedly spouting out random suggestions on how to improve the spell (which Yamuraiha took diligent mental notes of). Lynn was the one to interrupt the two, pointing out, "Sera, I think they just called you."
"Ah, wish me luck." Sera laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he grabbed his staff. "I don't think I'll make it past this round. The statistical probability of me losing is high, especially considering the amount of strain I've put on my magoi reserves. I could try taking a gamble and try that new spell I was testing out, but if the spell doesn't work, my reserves will be reduced to about half of my current amount. Judging by the-"
"Alright, get a move on, Sera," Yamuraiha rolled her eyes in exasperation and pushed the white haired boy away. It had been awhile since she had heard one of his longer scientific rants: probably because he had to play the mature one with Yamuraiha and Lynn always arguing.
"He's louder than usual today," Lynn observed.
"Nah, I think that he's just been hiding his geekiness from competitors. Showing his intelligence would make people wary of him," Yamuraiha explained, waving at her friend down in the arena even though the action was futile. Sera was completely focused on the task at hand. She added thoughtfully, "Although I think he's comfortable enough with you now that he doesn't find hiding his intelligence a problem. Congratulations, you've earned Sera's trust."
The two of them fell silent as they watched the white haired boy and his opponent, a raven haired woman whom Yamuraiha didn't recognize, enter the arena. "She uses Strength magic. You were asleep during her duel," Lynn explained when noticing Yamuraiha's questioning look. "She's skilled."
"Oh, perfect," Yamuraiha mumbled, although her cerulean eyes sharpened a little more as she watched Sera's opponent a little closer. "Ranking?"
"Ninth." They watched as Sera and the female magician exchanged spells, dodging the other's attacks. Yamuraiha winced when she saw a particularly nasty spell hit Sera squarely in the chest. He'd be alright, but that would probably hurt for the next few days. Although around them, plenty of people were talking, both Yamuraiha and Lynn fell silent as they continued observing the match.
The female magician was about to send another spell when Sera rose his hand in the air and shouted, "I concede!"
Immediately, the crowd began murmuring, but Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged glances. That move was smart, Yamuraiha acknowledged in her head. The female magician was clearly more experienced, and Sera looked like he was about to keel over from magical exhaustion. Sera was never the kind to stubbornly keep persevering if he knew it was a sure loss.
Edith announced the end of the match, and then Erik stepped forward. With the same ever-unamused drawl of his, he called, "The next match will be between fifth and sixth."
The crowd started murmuring again, but she paid them no mind.
Lynn and Yamuraiha stared at each other for a moment before a smirk surfaced on Yamuraiha's face. "Prepared to lose?" She challenged, placing a hand on her hip and using the other to experimentally toss and catch her staff in the air. Lynn raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. The blonde looked undeterred as they made their way down to the arena. They passed Sera, who gave them both a cheerful pat on the back and wished them both luck.
Their proctors were waiting for them.
"The rules are still the same. Try not to kill each other, try to keep the arena at least somewhat intact, and so on," Marth, the male proctor, told them. Yamuraiha nodded in understanding. It felt as if the entire audience was watching her, which was probably true to some extent.
Edith nodded curtly at Yamuraiha and Lynn before stepping back a few steps. "The match will now begin," she proclaimed. Immediately, both magicians jumped back, allowing for a larger distance to the part the two as they studied each other intensely.
"Sorry, but I won't be going easy on you," Lynn called to her, twirling his staff with his left hand. Left handed, she noted. Unfortunately, she knew little of Lynn's abilities other than the fact that he was supposedly skilled in magical combat. Yamuraiha wished she had questioned Sera more about Lynn's prowess.
"At least tell me your affinity," she rolled her eyes, summoning several blades of ice which hovered in the air. "Come on, you owe me that much."
Lynn looked faintly amused. "Actually, I don't," he replied. Yamuraiha suddenly felt an influx of magoi and immediately tensed, forming an orb of water around her as she tried to discern his next move. The blonde suddenly shot forward, his staff extended towards her as he continued, "But you'll figure out quickly. Ramz!"
She was barely able to react in time, summoning a Borg that was immediately crushed under the immense pressure of lightning hitting against it. The water surrounding her had dropped to the ground, but she could still feel electricity crackling around her. If she hadn't made a Borg...well, the consequences would've been quite annoying for the medics to deal with.
He was taking this seriously, then. If he used Lightning Magic, there was a very high likelihood that he could use Life Magic. Immediately, she lifted her staff. "Har Har Rasas!"
Several glowing orbs of fire appeared, and the fireballs immediately shot out and destroyed any vegetation in the arena. She could see Lynn's slightly surprised look (which he quickly masked) out of the corner of her eye and inwardly smirked. Even so, the battle still wasn't won yet.
She couldn't rely on her Water Magic right now. It was too easy for him to turn that against her with his Lightning Magic. Unfortunately, Yamuraiha's arsenal of other kinds of magic was extremely limited. Not only that, but her magoi reserves still weren't completely recovered. Yamuraiha could see that the possibility of winning this was slim, and that frustrated her. She was startled out of her thoughts when she saw lightning heading towards her.
"Thalg Al-Salos!" She shot a barrage of icicles that blocked the attack, shattering in the air upon impact. She grimaced, shielding herself with another Borg just before Lynn used the opportunity to send another attack at her.
"Flash!" A beam of light shot towards her.
He could use Light Magic too? Yamuraiha scowled and shouted, "Shallal!" The steam was barely able to deflect the light beam in time. Feeling a presence behind her, she whipped around and used her staff to block Lynn's strike. So he wasn't just reliant on magic, she noted as their staffs clashed. Yamuraiha's body was still too young to handle the strain, and she knew she had to use her magic to even the odds.
She leaped back, landing on her feet just barely. Yamuraha's ponytail had come undone and some annoying hair was in front of her eyes, but there wasn't much she could do at the moment, so she ignored it. She'd take a page out of Titus's book, she supposed. She recalled that the blonde had created a massive attack during his battle with Aladdin. How had he done that spell? He had combined Heat Magic, Water Magic, and Strength magic somehow.
An explosion. A large explosion. How would she be able to make that with magic?
There was one spell that she knew would be able to concentrate magic to such a level.
"Dhoruf," she muttered under her breath, preparing herself as she was about to experimentally pressure two other spells, 'Sharrar' from Water Magic and 'Har har' from Heat Magic. But before she could do anything, she felt the earth shaking below her and immediately cursed. Yamuraiha was unable to react in time, and suddenly there were humongous plants towering over her. One of the vines shot at her, tossing her through the air. She landed against the dirt, panting heavily, and barely rolled out of the way in time to dodge another attack. "Tch," she grunted, groaning and rising to her feet. Her legs were trembling, but using her staff to support her weight, she managed.
"Har Har!" To her relief, the plants began withering, but she didn't have enough time to focus on that. She ducked, avoiding another beam of light by a hair's breath, before returning the spell. "Flash!"
"Flash!" Lynn mirrored her attack, and the two beams of light met. For a moment, it was almost like something out of a movie: their two spells fighting for dominance, the arena silent rather than the gritting of teeth as they tried to one-up the other. Then, Lynn dispelled his attack and tilted his head to the left coolly, allowing for her beam of light to miss him by just a centimeter.
"Let's assess the situation. You're almost out of magoi. I have a clear advantage over you physically. You can't even use your primary form of magic because I can easily turn it against you. Conclusion?" Lynn asked calmly, walking towards her. She tensed, narrowing her eyes. Every word made her want to throw away any rationality she still had to charge at him, but Yamuraiha knew that she shouldn't.
Even so...she didn't want to give up. Yamuraiha could've called in stubbornness, maybe perseverance if she wanted to sound more refined, but she knew it was neither. Yamuraiha was simply a prideful person who couldn't give up. She hated conceding to people, and she hated relying on anyone else.
Lynn must've seen her reluctance. Before she could react, Lynn started dashing towards her, pushing her on the ground and knocking her staff out of her hands. His staff was at her neck.
"Give," he said breathily, panting slightly. Some of his golden hair had slipped out of his ponytail, brushing against her face due to their proximity. Yamuraiha resisted the urge to squirm, as she knew that would do no good. He knew that too, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You know you've lost."
"Screw you," Yamuraiha mumbled.
"Five seconds before you get a nice shockwave," Lynn sang. "I'm wai~ting~"
There was a long moment of silence as the two glared at each other.
"...concede…"
"I think you need to say it louder, Raiha. Erik probably can't hear you." She could hear the smugness in Lynn's voice.
"I concede," Yamuraiha called to Erik, every fiber in her being screaming for her to continue fighting. The only thing that held her back was her rational mind.
"The match is finished," Erik announced to the audience, although they could probably tell that for themselves.
"I'm going to kick you where it hurts if you don't get off of me right now," Yamuraiha said immediately, and Lynn wisely rolled over on his side and got to his feet. He extended a hand to her, which she reluctantly took, and hoisted her up to her feet. "I'll get back at you, someday."
"Keep dreaming." Lynn rolled his eyes.
Alyasa lost to a random raven haired, male magician. Yamuraiha was surprised to see that the girl actually was decent at magical combat, but then again, she could trace some of that skill back to the fact that the girl's father was an instructor in Magnoshutatt. She'd probably be guaranteed a passing spot, Yamuraiha supposed. And somewhat grudgingly, she admitted in her head that her roommate did deserve a passing spot.
Sera noticed her glowering features and rolled his eyes. "You're so egotistical, sometimes," he noted.
"More like vain. Or arrogant. I think I have a superiority complex," Yamuraiha snorted, only half joking. She always liked being on top: being second to anyone was an infuriating thing to her. That was another reason to add to her lengthy list of reasons of 'Reasons not to join Sinbad and co.': she wouldn't be able to easily submit to such a man.
It wasn't like Yamuraiha disliked Sinbad's character: on the contrary, she admired the way that he was able to forge connections so easily, and how he could twist situations to his advantage. She just knew that the man was too charismatic: if she joined him, she would be joining as a minion. And that was slightly dissatisfying.
(Yamuraiha also knew that wherever Sinbad was, there was bound to be trouble. She'd try to stay away from the plot, thank you very much.)
Then again, Yamuraiha wasn't sure about how much her absence would impact the plot. Canon Yamuraiha may not have been a major character like Alibaba or Aladdin, but she still played a crucial role in some ways. Even so, she was sure that Sinbad would be able to scrape another magician to cover canon Yamuraiha's role from somewhere. Better yet, maybe it'd be better if they just had Seven Generals: "Sinbad, conqueror of the Seven Seas, and his Seven Generals". That sounded much better than "the Eight Generals".
Maybe, she supposed, she'd even manipulate somebody here to take her spot. Sera seemed like he would go far in Magnoshutatt, and if she pulled some strings here and there, it was possible for her to get Sindria connected with Magnoshutatt. Maybe he could become some kind of ambassador or diplomat to Sindria.
Then again, Magnoshutatt had originally been discovered to be experimenting with Black Rukh. Their connection to Al Tharmen might not appeal to Sinbad.
Yamuraiha realized that she was thinking too long-term and immediately stopped, her eyes narrowing as she watched the battle down below in the arena. It didn't matter what happened to Sindria, or the rest of the world. As long as she secured the safety of her and the rest of her friends back in Musta'sim, that was good enough for her. She was sure the canon characters could figure out some plan by themselves.
Eventually, after a few more rounds, Lynn ended up losing to the first place magician: a middle aged man who praised Lynn for his valiant efforts and young talent before proceeding to completely demolish him. Yamuraiha couldn't help the smug look that slipped on her face when the blonde returned to her and Sera's side, scowling. Seeing her smug look, Sera elbowed her side, sending her a scolding glare. Unfortunately, Lynn had already seen her change in expression and his scowl deepened.
"They're announcing something," Sera intervened before the two could do anything reckless. Yamuraiha turned her attention to the arena, and indeed, Sera was right. At first, it was hard to make out the words, but the magicians probably used some variation of Sound Magic. Marth's voice boomed through the arena.
"As with the previous years, those who have passed will be sorted into three groups. Group A shall consist of the top ten magicians. Group B will take the next twenty-five, or the magicians ranked eleventh to thirty fifth. Group C will take any other magicians who the judges deem should pass. You will be informed of whether or not you passed tonight. Rooms may be moved around, should you or your roommate not pass," Marth explained to the crowd.
"Classes will start tomorrow, immediately," Edith declared.
A/N: Can you see how much I dislike this chapter?
HOORAY I'M ACTIVE ON FANFICTION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AGES ORZ. Sorry guys, I've become extremely immersed in the voice acting and youtaite world. I'll probably throw in a link to a chorus here and there because I'm a shameless self advertiser. (Heyyyyy, I'm sure at least one of you would be interested in hearing the voice of the person who writes Raiha? Lol not even, but whatever =u=)
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Short update on what I'm doing:
1) Starting a blog with two other fanfictioners! You can request anything from any of us, and we can write it. I'll post the link in the next chapter probably, but feel free to ask and I can PM it to you.
2) Working on a Detective Conan/Magic Kaito OC!Aoko story. ANY DETECTIVE CONAN FANS OUT THERE? Please tell me I'm not alone /sobs
3) On the bright side, there'll be timeskips in this story in a bit during the Magnoshutatt period. ;) As cute as our characters are, we're going to pick up the pace. UNFORTUNATELY, the Adventures of Sinbad have still not introduced Yamuraiha. I want to stick to canon (at least for her introduction, in case it's vitally important), so I'm going to see if the manga or I write/draw faster. If I reach the point where Raiha has to meet Sinbad and co. before the manga has, I have their meeting planned out already.
Fun Facts as an Apology for the Wait (these will be continued throughout the story):
1) Originally, Lynn and Sera were going to be closer to Yamuraiha's age. Then I realized that having several admittedly very intelligent kids would be too OP and now they're older than her.
2) Originally, I was planning on writing an OC!Morgiana story instead of OC!Yamuraiha.
3) Hooray, you'll slowly discover more of Raiha's past life via her old friends.