New (Foreign) Exchange Student

The teacher gets our attention by tapping on his desk, "Please welcome the new student to our class. His name is-"

The student walks into our class. His hair is purple. He wears a long black coat and a blank expression. He adjusts his glasses, "Please. Call me Magatsuchi."

The girls "Oooh," and "Ahh," as they look at him. His cool demeanor immediately latches on to them. The teacher points to the empty desks, "Please take a seat."

Magatsuchi sits in front of me, "Hey. You're the smart kid. Right?"
Kotori gives him a glare for addressing me rudely. He smirks, "Hey! I didn't mean it like that. I heard you need help with the project? I'm smart, too. We could work together! How about it?"

"Well…I'm adding the finishing touches. I need-"

"A stronger engine?" he finishes my sentence.

Kotori and I exchange curious glances, "That's right."

"You showed off your diagram earlier for the teacher. I noticed it was being powered by a car engine. That's no good. You'll need a stronger source of electricity. We can discuss the details after the class," he turns his head to the front and opens his notebook.

The school bell rings and we wait outside the hallway. The girls surround him.

He holds one up by the chin. She stares dreamily into her eyes.

"Ladies. We can have lunch later. I have some work to do with a friend of mine!"

"Awww," they sigh.

Kotori crosses her shoulders, "This guy is a creep."

I nod, "Well. He is new. And he does know a thing or two about engines."

"Are you sure we should trust him?"

I shrug, "Well…We do need to finish the project. And he offered to help. He can't be all that bad."

Magatsuchi waves, "Come on. We have an engine to work on!"

We walk him to the block near our home.

"So, this is your home, huh?" he looks around, "Are you gonna introduce me to your parents?"

Kotori coughs and stares at me.

"Oh...About that…They're at work. So we can't.

Magatsuchi shrugs, "Haha. No worries. I need to be somewhere later anyway."

I frown. I wanted to bring him closer, but that would be too risky. We didn't want him to see Tohru. Luckily, Kotori brought the flying machine with us.

"Is this some sort of hoverbike? The students said you were working on something advanced. I didn't expect it to be this advanced," he pulls out a pack of batteries.

"I'll charge them," Kotori takes the batteries and runs somewhere private where he can't see her use her magic.

Magatsuchi looks at her butt as she runs, "Hmm…," he winks at me, "Your sister's cute. Is she dating?"

I'm flustered by his question. I never really thought of her as "cute".

"Hmm? You thinkin' about how cute she is?"

"No! No! Not at all."

"Ahh…So you're more into the girls at school, right?" he gives me a mischievous wink and grin.

She runs back and drops them in his hands. We place the batteries in the engines and power on the machine. The speedometer accelerates faster by about ten percent.

I jump in the seat and step on the pedals. It floats to the top of the apartment roofs.

He walks closer to the machine and looks up, "Much better?"

"Much better," I answer.

"Glad to hear. This should win you first place no problem," Magatsuchi looks at his watch, "I need to go."

"You're leaving already?" I land the machine.

"Some of the girls from our class want to see me. I'll see you at the fair," he shrugs and walks off.

"Ugh. Creep," Kotori groans.

I shrug. He's smart. Too smart for his own good. He could be a great scientist or engineer. It's too bad he only cares about dating women, "Yeah. If he cared less about women he could probably solve world hunger or cure cancer."

Kotori shakes her head, "Cancer?"

"Well…," I begin to think of a hundred examples/ways to explain, but she interrupts me.

"Nevermind. Forget I asked," she groans, "I have a bad feeling about him. Whenever I'm around I feel like I want to throw up."

"Please. The fair is tomorrow. Please put up with him for one more day?" I give her my best attempt at puppy dog eyes.

Kotori closes her eyes and shakes her head furiously. She then sighs, "Okay, after that, he can grope them or whatever his sick mind is thinking of right now for all I care."

Me, Tohru, and Kotori sit at the dinner table. She pours curry on our plate.

"Curry? We're not eating tail again, Tohru?"

Tohru taps me on the forehead, "Would you like to eat my tail again?"

"Oh no, no, no! C-Curry is fine," I shake my head. I grab my fork and dig in.

She smiles and pets me, "Good. I heard from Kotori a new student is in your class."

My face is red, "Stop…I'm not a boy, y'know? But yeah. His name is Magatsuchi."

Tohru mutters the name to herself, "That name sounds familiar."

"Tohru. He's only 14. There's no way you could know him unless you met him as a baby."

Tohru nods, "Right, right. I must be imagining things. Anyway. I'm coming to the science fair tomorrow."

Kotori cheers, "Yeah, mom! It'll be fun!"

"But what if those knights-" Tohru hushes me.

"No need to worry. My perception block spell will be on. They'll only see a normal adult woman!"

"Yeah, Shiro. It'll be fine. You gotta just take a deep breath and relax. Okay?"

Well…It has been a while since they caused trouble. I'm worrying too much. I think about my time with mother. She would help me on my projects in primary school. I remember worrying about my project. Whenever I did worry, Kobayashi would shrug and say, "Whatever happens, happens. Don't let that ruin your fun, Shiro. Just take deep breathes" she flexes her chest and takes a deep breath.

"1…2…3…," I breath through my lungs deeply. Kotori wraps her arms around me and pulls me closer to her, "Better?"

"Yeah... Thank you, Kotori…Thank you Tohru."

They both give me a big grin and nod their heads.

The teachers open the gym and set up tables and chairs for the science fair. A lot of people are participating this year. None of their projects compared to mine. A lot of students approached me and asked, "Hey, Shiro. What's this thing?" I begin by explaining what is and how it works.

A student points his finger at me, "Wait," his voice trembles, "Y-You did this by yourself?!"

"No. I had help."

Kotori and Tohru wave at the students, "Hii!"

"Wow. Kotori is smart."

"I thought she was a slacker. She's amazing," the students whisper to each other.

The judges begin voting. "And first place…Goes to…Shiro."

The entire room applauds and cheers.

"Good work, Shiro!"

"Yeah! You deserve it!"

I take the prize and bow to the judges.

Snacks and drinks are made available to everyone in the room. There is a lot of chatter and laughter. I wonder though. Where did Magatsuchi go? "Hey. Has anyone see Magatsuchi?"

People shrug. Tohru approaches me, "What does your friend look like?"

"Well…He has a long coat. Glasses."

"What color is his hair?"

"Purple…" Tohru grabs my hand.

"Tohru. What are you doing?"

She drags me out of the gym, "I knew his name sounded familiar," she sniffed the air.

"Wait. Could you explain to me what is going on?!" I shout while struggling to break free from her grip.

She runs to the rooftop and kicks the door open.

Magatsuchi is sitting down. He's holding a King card.

Kotori catches up with us, "Mom? You left so quickly. Is there something wrong?"

Magatsuchi smirks, "It's been a while, Tohru."

Tohru shows her claws, "I know your dad. Shouta, right?"

I look on dumbfounded. They both know each other? Is this some sort of family feud? Now that I think about it, it was strange that he sat next to me. Out of all the people to sit next to, why me?

Magatsuchi nods, "That's right. My dad is a friend of yours."

They don't sound like friends. I stood still. The sun sets. Gusts of wind blows against us.

There is pain in his eyes, "The fool fell in love with a dragon. Only recently was I able to redeem myself by joining the knights."

Tohru growls. Her eyes are bloodshot red. She is ready to pounce on him, "What did you do to him?"

He gives the three of us a cold glare, "He shamed our family by falling in love with that "succubus". We made an example of them. Enough. I didn't come here to talk about my past," he points at us. His cards fly from his deck and land on the floor.

Poof

The cards explode into the shape of a fence. I can feel magic auras emanating from them.

"I read about you, Tohru. My, how you fell from grace. You used to lead a faction of dragons. Now you're exiled by your own people and live in hiding here. Was it worth it? Was it worth falling in love with Kobayashi?"

Tohru shields me and Kotori. Tears drip from her eyes. "I-If I could go back in time, I would fall in love with her again."

My heart skips. Tohru…loves…mom? I run towards her, but she pushes me down.

"Ow…Tohru!" I shout at the top of my lungs, "What is he talking about?! Is he telling you the…the truth?!"

Tohru frowns. Her eyes are closed. I can see her body shake.

"Tohru?! Say something. Please!"

She shakes her head crying, "Hah…Haha…It's true…Shiro. It's all true…"

The man I thought was my classmate laughs, "This boy is the son of the woman you love. And you kept that a secret from him? What kind of mother are you? Hahhahaha….Hahhahaa!"

"Shut up. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Tohru flings her magic firebolts at him.

The ground shakes with each hit.

Toom…Toom…Tooom…Tooom…

The barrier begins to crack. The last bolt pierces the barrier. Magus jumps out of the way. The projectile flies away from the roof and explodes in the sky.

Magus speaks in a deep emotionless voice, "What other secrets are you keeping from him?"

I struggle to get back up. My hands are blistered. I can't move my right hand. I shake uncontrollably like a rattle, "I don't believe a thing you said."

"Come on, Shiro! She put up a barrier in her house for a reason."

"How do you know that…?"

He burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, "For a genius, you really are a slow learner! Those batteries weren't there for show! I put magical beacons in them. That's how I tracked your mother and sister."

Tohru sprints directly at him and lunges. Magus stomps the ground and a stalagmite springs out of the ground.

Boom!

Tohru punches the stalagmite with her fist. It crumbles into a million pieces.

"You won't take my family away from me again," she charges another spell.

"Are you sure about that? Are you even strong enough to fight me, Tohru?" he readies another spell.

This fighting is getting nowhere. At this rate, they will destroy the school. I think of the people below. The hundreds of students who could be hurt or killed in their fight. This had to stop! I run in between them, extending my arms out.

I cough," Ugh…Ugh…Magatsuchi! Tohru! Stop!"

The wind whistles quietly. The sun is gone. It is night and the city lights roar to life. I can hear students shouting, "What's going on up there?"

Tap..Tapp…Tapp…

There are footsteps below the stairs.

"That is my alias, Shiro. I prefer it if you call me Magus. For short," he conjures bolts of ice projectiles. He waves his hands and the shards of ice fly at us.

"Shiro!" Kotori tackles me to the floor. Some shards penetrate Tohru's skin.

"Kyah!" Tohru falls. She grabs the shards and slowly pulls them out," Arggh!"

Magus steps closer to Tohru, "You met the knights I command. They're pushovers compared to me," he rubs Tohru's forehead.

"D-Don't touch me!" she snarls at him.

I wrestle out of Kotori's hands and run toward Tohru. I reach in my bag and pull out a sword.

"Hyah!" I swing the sword with all my might at Magus.

He jumps out the way. I can see his mischievous smile. Earlier I thought it was a harmless smile, but now that I know who he really is, I can see the malevolent intent he is hiding behind his grin. "I didn't come to kill you. Listen carefully, Tohru. You are from the other world. Us knights are supposed to protect humans from dragons like you. You managed to evade my comrades before. But I won't be fooled. If you act out of line, if you reveal your form to humans, I will come back and deal with you myself," he opens up a portal. He walks toward the portal and takes one step inside. He stops halfway inside, "Oh and Shiro. You're a human. You don't need to be involved. But if you get in my way, I won't hesitate to hurt you."

I collapse, "Magatsuchi…This whole time you've been using me? Was everything you said just an act?"

"That's right. Everything. I personally despise women and I have no need for friends either," Magus teleports. His fading voices echoes, "Stay out of my way- way…way…way…"

The door creaks open, "Who's there?!" a teacher shouts.

Kotori touches me and Tohru.

Whoosh!

A flash of light blinds me.