Chapter Three;

Everything had seemed fine for the next couple days. Before Rima and I started our normal time table, we had a few lessons from Ikuto on how to cast a spell. Some spells required a wand to be dipped in a potion, a chant or word, or even just the snap of your fingers. At first it was super embarrassing to take a step forward and lash out with a wooden stick, but then I got used to it and found it exhilarating to cast a spell. Rima struggled a bit more though. We were trying to conjure up water to fill up a glass. Ikuto explained that with the power of water, you can do a lot. But you need to specialize in it to be able to cast a water spell with more ease. If you don't; you have to dip your wand in the bucket of water by the door. As soon as it dries up, no more water spells for you.

"Wait a minute," I said, flicking my damp wand and watching water droplets splash out of the glass just for fun. "I thought I had a thing for water (and also earth, wind, and fire), so why do I need to have my wand...wet?"

Ikuto was standing by the doorway, observing us with his hands in his pockets. He looked really attractive in the right lighting. I shook my head to pay attention, "Slow it down. Today is only Thursday, just wait until tomorrow night and then you'll see." I nodded my understanding and looked over at Rima. She was definitely having a hard time. No matter how hard she thrust her wand, she just wouldn't get much more than a few drops at a time. Her glass was nearly a quarter full. She put her wand down on the table and gave her arm a rest. She yawned, "Can we try something else now?"

"Sure, how about a minor lesson on colors or something next," he checked the watch on his wrist. "Or not...well, actually, let me call my friend Nagihiko. He'll help you guys." Ikuto dug into his pocket, and my suspicions were confirmed as he took out a real live phone that...you know, worked! It was a BlackBerry, and he just seemed like the business type from the start. He dialed a number, put the phone to his ear, and left the room to talk more privately.

Rima looked at me, a little smirk on her face, "How old do you think he is?"

I stared at her with some confusion, but replied, "Two years older, I guess. Do you like him?" And my eyebrows still raised, expecting a serious answer from her, Rima just started laughing.

"Why would I? You obviously like him," she said with that smug smile still there, made to tease and make fun of me. As soon as the words left her mouth, I blushed beet red and I could feel my ears grow hot as well. This only increased her smile to a big grin.

"N-no I do n-not!" I yelled back at her, starting to panic a little. Come down! Come down! Come down! I tried to tell myself, in the hopes that my blush would disappear by the time he came back in. Moving very close to her, I whispered harshly, "What if he can hear you from out there?"

She shrugged, as blunt as ever, "Than he can hear me from out there."

Giving up, I slumped down into one of the creaky wooden chairs at the long table. This room was apparently one of the many minor spells classrooms. Most of them weren't even used all the time. Rima was just about to pull a nearby chair when Ikuto stuck his head through the door, and said with a fairly expressionless face, "Look; I gotta go. But Nagihiko will be here any minute. He's skipping his 3:30 class for you guys!" And with that he was gone.

x

By the time Nagihiko arrived, it was almost four in the afternoon. He had very long, silky purple hair, and it was definitely not the most masculine haircut I'd ever seen. Even lesbians had shorter hair than him. By a lot. His hair practically reached his knees. But he was masculine himself; with a tall stature, nice jaw and broad shoulders. With one quick glance to her way, I knew Rima was in love with this guy. His personality seemed pretty bubbly, too. With a gentle smile, he said, "Hey, I'm Nagihiko Fujisaki! What are your names?"

"Amu." "Rima."

"Amu is a beautiful name, it reminds me of pink roses, but that's probably because of your hair!" he was a keeper, I mentally noted in my mind. He had a hearty laugh, and I pretended to laugh to go along with it. Then he turned to Rima, his hair swaying. "Rima, that name reminds me of...my childhood." His smile was gone, and was replaced with a nostalgic look where his eyes even glazed over a bit.

That is when I noticed Rima almost looked the same! She mumbled, "It's best we get to the lesson..."

And he broke into a cheery smile again, "Yes, okay let's talk about appearance! I'm going to give you some quick tips on how to prank someone, or how to defend yourself from a prank!" Well, that seems reasonable. The two of us grabbed our wands. Nagihiko held his in a tight grip in his hand, and I noticed he had brought a cauldron in the other. It was full with a slimy, thick liquid. "Dip your wands in this."

So we both took our turns dipping our wands in. As I retracted my hand, the thick substance slowly dripped back into its cauldron. I made a noise of disgust. Nagihiko directed us, "Before you create a bond with your wands, and are able to talk to them in a language only you and your wand can understand, you must cast spells carefully. Don't go experimenting with your clothes, you could end up with none left."

Rima batted her lashes, "Oh, Nagi, what does this spell do?" When he wasn't looking, she sent me a cheeky smile that I returned with a stifled laugh.

"A lot, try it out for yourselves." he said, holding up a small vial filled with a similar-looking liquid. It looked clearer than the big cauldron of goop. "This is the counter-spell; well, not really a spell, it's more of a cure. You drink it to go back to your...how should I put this...original state." His eyebrows were close to the ceiling and he had a look of mischief. Nagihiko's eyes avoided our curious gazes.

I was suspicious. But I decided to try it out on Rima before it happened to me. And I think we thought of this at nearly the same time; luckily I had the fastest reflex. I dodged to the side as Rima thrust her wand out the same time as me. What looked like a white lightning bolt erupted from both of our wands. Thank God her magic didn't hit its target. But mine did.

As soon as her wand and jaw dropped, I could tell she was in some strange, contorted type of pain. Immediately, I was guilty. Her appearance wasn't looking much different though. "Nagihiko, how complex was that spell?"

"It affects clothes and body."

"Oh. I don't really know what that means."

Rima dropped to her knees and contorted. Her arms were growing at an astonishing rate. Her legs were growing as well. It seemed like every part of her was growing except for her hair. It was turning...blue. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach. Our Academy uniforms were a purplish gray; but Rima's had slowly morphed into a uniform with pants and a jacket. Her face had become very manly. Yes, trust your gut on these things. Try to never get hit by white lightning. That's all I know.

My best friend was now Ikuto. And still incredibly attractive as he always was.

The words came out of her mouth slowly and cautiously, and boy was her voice deeper than usual, "Am I...Ikuto...Tsukiyomi?" She ran a hand through her messy blue hair, and her usual pale skin had become very tan. Nagihiko crouched beside her, patting her reassuringly on the back, "Yes. Yes you are." Rima was about to scream, but quickly regained her composure after she clamped her hand over her mouth.

"Phew," she said, laughing in a husky voice, "I almost pulled an Amu."

I glared. The resemblance between the two was very strong. Nagihiko offered Rima the vial, and she gulped it down. Her body shrank and her hair flowed out like a curtain of gorgeous hair. She smiled and spoke in her cute little voice, "That's better." We shook hands with Nagihiko, who told us we could call him Nagi from now on, and we thanked him for the lesson. Nagi set down the cauldron near the table and brought us to the dining room in case we had forgotten our way back from the abandoned classroom.

x

After waiting for everyone to arrive and for the cafeteria to open, which seemed like forever, Rima and I stuffed our faces with turkey and mashed potatoes and vegetables. I had a glass of water with dinner, while Rima decided to go with milk. I'd never been this spoiled with my dinner options before. There was everything from Chinese food...to plain old pizza.

A long blonde, like Rima, sat opposite to me at the table. She looked quizzically at my uniform, and asked politely with no food in her mouth, "Hey, why are your uniforms gray?"

"What do you mean?"

She laughed a little bit, "Oh, you're new. Well, we all change our uniforms to the color of our grades. It's the thing to do. You know, blue for sixth grade, green for seventh grade, yellow for eighth, orange for ninth, red for tenth, pink for eleventh, and purple for twelve. And it's the same from Preschool up to grade five."

I went a little sheepish, my cheeks a shade of pink, "Sorry, but um, what's the spell for orange?"

"Ooh, Ninth Graders! It's no problem. All you have to do is press your wand tip to any part of your uniform, and ask for it to turn your shade," she said with a gentle smile on her face. Then, when she was done talking, she went all emotionless again. She reminded me of someone like that. Who had a playful side, but was mostly solemn.

As she said, after wand tip to uniform and a polite request, our uniforms became orange. Delighted, I cheered a little bit and thanked the girl, "By the way, what's your name? I'm Amu Hinamori."

"Utau Tsukiyomi, and you are?" I knew it! I freakin' knew it!

"Rima, Rima Mashiro," my best friend said with a smile, shaking Utau's hand like I did. Obviously Rima didn't want Utau to know her true comedic nature just yet.

As I shoved another forkful of food in my mouth, and joined in conversation with a nice redhead, the doors to the giant cafeteria burst open. Everyone swallowed and stared, ready to scream or talk or anything that was a reaction. There was a young girl, she looked like she was in either Grade Five or Six, with black hair in two braids down her shoulders. I couldn't really make out the fine features of her face, she was farther away. Her uniform was a blue color, so remembering Utau's words, she was in sixth grade.

She yelled out in utter panic, "Murder! Murder on campus!"