Training with Magic!
An hour later (in Satoshi's backyard)…
"All right, first you need to summon a ball of energy in your hand."
"WRONG. I can't do that on the first try!"
"What're you talking about?! You said it yourself that you've always loved magic! So why can't you pull it off on the first try?"
"I've always love magic, but never used it. How can I perform magic if I've never done it before?!"
"So basically you're useless."
"Shut up, Blue-boy!" growled Kari.
"Don't call me Blue-boy!!!!"
"Don't you have some homework to do or something?!"
"I always do that in class. I never have homework."
"Et tu?"
"Isn't that from…?"
"Yes. It's from that stupid play! I didn't know you have the same attitude towards homework that I do!"
"What do you mean?"
"All through my school years, especially high school, I have never taken my work home. I try to finish it during class. If I don't, then it slips my mind and I completely forget all about it."
"So in other words, if you don't complete it in class then you don't do it at all," said Satoshi.
"Pretty much."
"What time is it? …Geez. We'll have to pick this up tomorrow. I have to get to work," said Satoshi.
"You've got a job?!"
"Yeah…part-time."
"Yikes…I've never had to get a job, even when I started college!"
"Whatever… I'll see you tomorrow after school gets out."
"Okay…see ya tomorrow then."
After she left his house, she went straight back to her apartment. She had two choices; either she try to connect with her magic all alone or she deal with Satoshi and his negative attitude. She went inside, locked the door, and sat down on the bed. She then just let her short attention-span do the rest. As her mind became a complete blank, she could feel something within her pulsing. She mentally reached out to it, hoping that it would react to her touch.
The pulsing sensation grew; she knew that she had found it. Her magic. As she went towards the light which had begun to envelop her, she felt a whirl of emotions. Anger, fury, fear, and many others which she couldn't identify. When she attempted to take hold of it; the force jolted out of her hands. She was worried that she had done something wrong, that her magic would forever remain beyond her reach. Instead, it slowly began to take form.
Her mind was completely clear and focused on the figure that was coming to be. But the moment it finally took a visual form, she was jolted back to reality by someone shaking her. She blinked several times before she realized that a certain thief was in her room, again.
-----
"What the hell do you want, Phantom Dork?!" she growled angrily.
"I followed the concentration of magic to you. I was worried, so I tried to bring you back!"
"You moron! I was meditating!"
"You're playing with something that you could never begin to understand! If you continue then you could die!"
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!!!" she roared as she threw a punch. He narrowly evaded it and quickly backed away.
"You shouldn't play with magic; you'll hurt others if you keep this up!" Dark warned.
"Don't count on it, you Pervert! I know more about magic than you might think!"
"Kari, wasn't it? Listen, I'm only trying to protect you!"
"I'm impressed; you actually remembered my name. Now get lost!!!!!!"
"Don't play with magic. Its power is more than a human can handle," said Dark as he left the apartment.
Kari sat there, angry and in the mood to shoot something. She then noticed her hands were glowing! As she watched the glow, it slowly faded and she was in a dark room once again.
It seems that Dark actually did something useful for once. He helped me find how to access my magic. Now I just need to connect with it again; but how to keep Dark and Satoshi from sensing me?
-----
Kari sat on her bed, silently thinking of ways to cloak her magic. Then she had an idea…though she doubted it would work. (That, and she knew that it would make one huge mess to clean up!)
She got up and got some salt from the cabinet; she looked at the time and decided to attempt this later. She went onto her computer and logged on to her college's online courses. She completed the weeks work and logged off. She then headed to where Satoshi had taken her the day before; he was just about to go get her when she showed up. She grinned at his surprise.
"Bet ya didn't expect to see me so soon, did ya?" she smirked.
"Are you ready to try and access your magic?" he said calmly.
"I had some luck last night…but there was an annoying snag."
"What kind of 'snag'?"
"The one with purple hair and black wings."
"Dark? What happened?"
"I was meditating and he interrupted me. I had almost successfully connected with my magic too…"
"So he interrupted you at the wrong time. But how could he have known…?"
"He said he followed a concentration of magic. Apparently, he seems to think that I can't handle magic."
"So he said you were dabbling with a world you didn't understand. I happen to agree with him on that point."
"Shut up. Let's get started already!" she grumbled.
"Fine. Now first you gather a ball of energy in your hand…" started Satoshi.
It took her two tries to complete that task. Then they moved on to a more difficult task; controlling the energy she gathered. The tasks continued for nearly two months; Kari kept getting better and better…much to Satoshi's dismay. Dark continued to bother Kari…and he kept getting his ass handed to him!
Things seemed to be great for Kari. She was getting along with everyone great, her magic lessons with Satoshi were moving faster than he liked, and Dark still hadn't learned his lesson. Everything seemed fine…that is, until Satoshi's step-father gave him the Rutile of Grief! She was awaiting Dark's arrival next to Satoshi, and sure enough, an 'officer' came in to report.
-----
"Dark, did you really think that we wouldn't notice that ridiculous purple hair under that hat, or are you just plain stupid?" said Kari amused.
"It's probably the latter," commented Satoshi.
"Violence is not my style," said Dark coolly, "Now then, hand over the real one."
As Dark reached for the Rutile, which had been hidden under Satoshi's shirt, Kari heard a voice come from nowhere saying, "I've waited a long time for this moment."
"Who…who said that?" said Kari in surprise.
"Don't do it Krad! I can do it myself!" pleaded Satoshi in horror. Before Kari could speak, Satoshi hit a button that brought down the metal gates.
"I've captured the Phantom Thief! I got Dark!" yelled Satoshi. The two officers in the front burned rubber and drove off; Satoshi looked like he was in immense pain.
"You don't really think you've captured me like this, do you?"
"Of course not!"
"No Krad!"
"Master Satoshi, do you know the reason your father gave that Rutile to you?"
"Satoshi, what's going on?!" said Kari in concern.
"The Rutile of Grief! Release my magic on Dark!"
A strange glow emitted from the ring; ropes of golden light surrounded Dark. Kari looked in concern as she could only watch Satoshi struggle under the burden from using magic. She could tell he was fighting to keep control over something she couldn't see. Dark was being pounded onto the sides of the truck. He smirked and said that it didn't hurt at all.
"Heh…you must be kidding. Then how about we get serious?"
-----
At this, Kari instinctively blocked Satoshi. Her eyes held a fierce glow as she said, "I don't know who's behind this, but if you're going to use someone as a medium, then use me instead!"
"Kari…what're you…?!" said Satoshi in horror.
"I can't stand by while someone uses you as a toy. Let me be the medium instead," she said calmly.
"Are you insane?! Krad won't hesitate to kill you!" said Dark in shock.
"What's your point, Phantom Dork? I don't care who this 'Krad' is, but if he's as evil as you two claim he is, then I say bring it on!"
"So you think you can handle my magic, do you? Let's see how you handle this!"
-----
When 'Krad' said this, a blinding light struck Kari. She couldn't hear Satoshi's cry of horror. All she knew was that something about the light was very familiar. She stood as the light dimmed down, and she smirked.
"Don't tell me that was the best you can do."
"Impossible…how can she still be alive after that?!"
"Beats me. All I know is that the light was familiar. Don't ask me why, it just is," said Kari with an evil grin. Then the ring began to glow yet again; Kari immediately grabbed the Rutile from Satoshi and was enveloped in a golden light! Satoshi collapsed from exhaustion; he looked at Kari in shock. Suddenly Dark was struck with a second blast of bright golden light; he stood in amazement.
"I'm not feeling any pain!"
"What…what just happened?!" said Satoshi in shock.
"Heh…even if it is a replica, the thought is real!" said Dark as he held up his own Rutile which began to glow with a blue light; Kari stood there stunned as the golden light diminished to nothing.
"Master Satoshi, stand back!"said Krad as Dark was engulfed with a blue light, "Master Satoshi!"
When the blue light struck Satoshi, the truck crashed. Two winged figures flew out of the wreckage. One was Dark…but the other was a blond-haired, amber-eyed angel known as Krad.
"So we finally meet again, Dark."
"Don't talk to me as if you were a friend!"
"I won't let you escape!" said Krad as he began shooting light-arrows from the Rutile. Dark narrowly evaded his onslaught; it was around that time that the phantom thief noticed something shocking. Satoshi was climbing out of the wrecked truck!
"But…that's impossible! Krad's Tamer is Satoshi! If he's there then…?" said Dark in confusion.
"If Satoshi is down there, then the human Krad is using as a medium is Kari," said a familiar voice from behind. He turned in time to see Krad coming straight at him.
"But how?! How are you able to use the girl if your Tamer is down there?!"
"How should I know?" snorted Krad.
-----
While Krad and Dark battled it out, Kari was deep in meditation. She stayed calm as the being known as Krad used her to attack Dark…though she really didn't hold it against him. She reached for her magic to see if she could help the angelic being attack the Phantom Thief. It was then that she realized the figure…the embodiment of her magic…was finally visible to her! Before her stood what appeared to be an angel with long blond hair and golden eyes.
"What're you supposed to be, the Angel of Mercy?" she snorted.
"Hardly."
"Who…who are you?"
"My name is Krad."
"I don't understand…if you're Krad then how…?"
"I don't know how you were able to switch places with Satoshi-sama, but if you get in my way I will kill you."
"Get in the way of what?"
"Killing Dark Mousy."
"Wait…you want to KILL that obnoxious Phantom Dork?!"
"Who is Phantom Dork?"
"That's my name for the idiot you're trying to kill."
"Interesting nickname… What is your name?"
"You can call me Kari. If you want some extra firepower to shoot that perverted creep out of the sky, feel free to use my magic!" she grinned. She held back a laugh at the look on Krad's face when she said this. He shot her a mixed look, then turned to continue his onslaught on Dark. She felt a sharp pain as he shot arrows of pure energy; he was using her own magic to attack Dark. She withstood the pain; Krad seemed mildly impressed that she did not cry out.