Mages and Knights
Summery: AU Takuya is the son of a poor farmer and on one day discovers he is an Elemental. Powerful people are out to get him so he travels to a School were he meets a lot of interesting people. And maybe fall in love with one of the strangest. Kouji/Takuya
Warnings: Digimon crossover, Cursing, Yoai, T rating
Chapter name: Going Around Shadows
Disclaimer: I OWN Digimon! All of it! Hahahahahahahahhah….haha….ha…..Who am I kidding? It's not mine! (Sob) But I own Tanshin and Hazu! Yessss, all mine.
Author Notes: Hallo, my faithful reviewers. Remember that little challenge I had for you. Well, I have to say I'm disappointed but thanks to that I got thinking (and you only missed 100 by two anyway). I am going to change the story around a bit and put it more or less in third POV because writing in Kouji's POV was fun and now I want to do the others as well. (Insane giggles and eye twitching) So anyway thanks for the reviews. I write for all you.
And I would like to say something to this (looks at reviews) Mystic Dragon. It was kind of offensive but I didn't think that you meant it that way and so I shall answer to your creative criticism. Okay, yes, I know I might have mixed up a few of the words and I'm sorry but this is a fanfiction and there will be bound to be grammatical errors. I try to fix them as I see them or are reported to me. And thoughts, thoughts are however the writer, I think, would like to pout them. I have read books and fanfictions that use the same thought format that I do so it really all depends on your point of view and personality. Spelling was never my strong point but I am trying. There are worse authors out there you know and we do our best to keep them error-free. And yes I know that this is a lot like Hogwarts. It wasn't originally supposed to be this way but it turned out anyways so if you don't like it then I recommend you not to read it. And maybe it would help for you to read the whole story instead of just halfway.
Thank you and enjoy the chapter.
The sun had dropped outside, making the room's shadows grow longer and dance along the walls. He frowned and squinted at the book he was holding, scooting along his bed to get closer to the lamp. He tried to focus on the words as a yawn escaped his mouth. Takuya blinked and stared as the words floated off the page and began to circle around his head like little insane dust particles. Since when did words to that?
"Takuya?" Kouichi said, coming out of the bathroom in his nightclothes. His hand was dragging a towel on his head trying to dry his hair. "What are you doing?"
Takuya glanced up, his eyes looking fuzzily at him. "Studying," he said, and once again concentrated on his Core Magic textbook.
Kouichi frowned and looked out the window. "You know how late it is?" he said, putting the towel on the knob of the bathroom door. "Next week is our first tests of the year but I really don't think you should go nocturnal." Takuya didn't look so good. His eyes were dropping and his head was nodding into the pages of the book.
"M'fine," Takuya mumbled.
Kouichi strode over with his long legs to Takuya and snatched the book from the other's negligent hands, throwing it room over his shoulder easily so that it landed on his bed across the way.
"Hey!" Takuya protested loudly and made to get up but was stopped by Kouichi firmly pushing him back down on the bed. Takuya bounced back on the bed in surprise.
"Sleep," Kouichi said firmly, crossing his arms across his chest. Wow, he looked a lot like Kouji when he did that. "You've been looking dead since the afternoon."
Takuya's head fell on the bed and seemed to not want to get up, it felt so heavy. It was odd, he had stayed up longer before today and he hadn't felt so tired. It was as if his body had started shutting down after talking to some specific people about The Plan, almost making him fall face-first into the floor. He had barely made it through his classes without sleeping on his desk thanks to his friends watching out for him. Juri had made sure that Kouichi had taken Takuya back to the room before anything else happened. Takuya really wanted to sleep but in just a few days would start the first tests and Takuya wanted to be as ready as ever. He wanted to prove that he was working hard and Ken would chew him up if he didn't pass his tests anyway.
It was nearing the point of the middle of the first trimester. Ken had been doing a good job of helping him after classes. Ken had actually become something of a friend to him; not only helping him with his work (which he was catching up splendidly) but also giving him pointers in his magic and helping him understand the natures of the other Users better. Ken was basically the smartest individual in the whole school, probably along with half or most of the kingdom's youth (along with some of the adults too). He knew the answer to every question that Takuya had asked him which made Takuya suspicious. No one could possibly be that smart so he asked the question that had stumped geniuses around the world for eons: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Ken had raised an eyebrow and said, "What does that have to do with the discovery of the Bandune plant?" Takuya had shrugged and Ken dropped back to the subject while Takuya mentally smirked. Ha, even the mighty Ken didn't know the answer.
Takuya's eyes stated to gently close and he pushed them open again with difficultly. Each time they closed it was harder to open them again until they didn't finally open and would for hours to some. His mind wandered to the realm of dreams.
Takuya was sitting in a meadow with endless hills and green on either sides, feeling the soft blades of grass under him. The whole place was as silent as a tomb, nothing moving, nothing breathing, not even birds or insects were there as if the world had been put on mute. He could feel the gentle wind against his skin, ruffling his hair and the grass. Almost like a green wave moving from one end to the other, going beyond his horizon. The sky was blue but also a soft gray with small white clouds being pushed from the steady wind.
He felt so alone like he was the only person on the planet. The silence was so absolute he could almost hear it talking. He looked around and only saw endless hills of grass from either direction. So alone…
He shifted, looking down to his lap. Alone again. Takuya moved his sad gaze to the grass next to him and noticed that the blades of grass were so close together that he couldn't see the ground underneath them. He hummed, the noise vibrating around him like a clump of bees, and reached down moving the blades delicately with his fingers, feeling like silk. He carefully moved them apart and peered down, his face surprised at what he found.
There was no dirt but, instead there were gray ashes holding the blades in the ground. His eyes widened. He dug his fingers in the ashes and curled his hand into a fist, trapping the cinders on his palms along with some grass roots and blades. The roots were thick and long meaning that somehow the grass was growing directly from the ashes. That was weird. How can healthy grass grow from dead ashes?
He brought his fist to his lap and opened his fist, palm upwards so that he could see the ashes and shoots. He shifted his hand a bit and felt the individual grains move. Takuya noticed something. A single grain amid the ashes was a deep orange color that changed from red to yellow and back to orange. It was so small he almost overlooked it but it was there pulsing like…like his core.
As soon as that thought entered his mind, the grain crumbled and a tongue of fire flared right in the middle of his hand, scattering the other ashes from his hands. Takuya gasped and draw back, his arm across his face to protect it from the heat. He wildly shook his hand all over the place, trying to get the flame off in his surprise and instant panic. The ashes went flying and coated the grass while the small flame landed among the sea of green.
Instantly the blades of grass caught the flame, lighting their brethren faster than Takuya thought possible. It spread like water, fast and crazily, turning from a small flame to a sheet of blazing fire. Takuya tried to back peddle away from the fire but before he could take so much as a step, the fire was already around him. Takuya looked up, his face shinning from the glare of the flames.
The whole meadow, an endless sea of grass had turned into a sea of relentless fire, rolling for miles and miles. Takuya stood in the only fire-free place, a small circle of ground was at his feet, the fire somehow stopping two feet away from him in all directions like he had a field around him. The flames were as high as his head and moving as flames do, flickering and twisting.
There was no smoke, strangely enough, and the sky hadn't changed at all but the clouds stopped moving because the wind has mysteriously halted. Takuya felt his heart pound in his ribcage. But then, as if a switch had been flicked off, his heart rate returned to normal and he felt strangely at peace, not caring at all about the flames that could burn him to a crisp. There should have been spitting and crackling from the flames but there was still no sound as if he had gone deaf or the world had gone silent. Takuya felt a smile grow on his face.
The flames around him started spinning around him, like a carousel. The fire was so many colors, bronze, red, yellow, gold, orange, neon, scarlet. The heat on his body felt more natural now, like it didn't register that he should be burning by now as a regular human would but…he was not a regular human by any means.
Takuya only had one thought that ran through his head at that moment, so familiar. The flames were turning and twisting almost elegantly and gracefully. In the flames there were shadows made from the forms, darkening the real colors and texture. It was hypnotizing to watch. The flames almost took on forms and figures with the darkening shadows in the mix, almost like the forms of people. The outline of an arm, the form of a body, the tendrils on their hair, the whites of their eyes, all moving in the same rhythm. Their arms moving up and down gently, turning around in a slow and gentle circle while rotating around him only to have another illusion take its place moments later. He could feel their moves as if they were his own, his eyes tracking.
The figures moved faster and faster, some waltzing around with another form like there were at an important ball. He could almost see the graceful arcs of velvet cloth and the flaring of the fire looked like floating fabric thrown by the movement of the faint figures. Takuya instinctively reached out a hand, wanting to be among them.
It was as if the fire was dancing, just for him.
Unlike last time, Takuya awoke slowly, his dream fading along with his sleepiness. He opened his eyes slowly, staring at the ceiling, feeling at peace and as calm as he had in his dream. He gripped the covers of his bed, thinking that Kouichi must have put the covers over him after he went out like a light. Air came in and out easily through his mouth, revealing in the quiet of the room. Usually there were a few noises coming from the walls as other students, the 'early birds' get up and make enough noise to wake the dead but today there was absolutely nothing of the sort.
He glanced around the silent room, staring to light up with the sun rising outside the open window. He looked at Kouichi, who was sleeping peacefully away in his own bed on the other side of the room, his face devoid of any kid of emotion. Takuya remembered Tanshin saying that Seers don't dream. What would it be like not to dream? Takuya would guess that Kouichi wouldn't know; he never had a dream so he would not know how to feel to lose that.
Takuya shifted a little then something caught his eye. There was a small flash of light from the side of the bed. Takuya, being the curious little Elemental that he is, peeked over the side of the bed, now more alert. Takuya frowned as he saw, upside-down, that the blast of light was coming from the under the bed. And the only thing he has under there were the…daggers.
Takuya gasped and accidentally leaned forwards, causing him to fall over the edge. He landed with a loud thump on his back. He was a little winded, but recovered and crawled frantically under his bed, wanting to reach his daggers before the light disappeared.
Kouichi sat up in alarm, his eyes glaring blurrily at the world in general. "Is the sky falling?" he mumbled, feeling quite disoriented since he hadn't had his shower to wake him up yet. His hair was sticking up in all directions. "What?"
"N-nothing," Takuya said, grunting as he grabbed a hold of the dagger box, light spilling out from under the lid. It was definitely Kuroi and Shiroi. The frame of the bed was just high enough so that Takuya could open the lid halfway with his feet sticking out from under the bed. The two stones on either ends of the daggers were glowing, kind of like that day in the back of the store when Takuya had held them for the first time. Takuya frowned as the last of the light fades and the blades returned to looking normal.
This was the second time he had had a dream related to fire. First was the one in which he felt pain that felt so real and left him shivering but the second was the opposite. It was, overall, quite peaceful. "Know this, young one, dreams frequently enlightens of what the body can not be aware of in time or present." That was what one of the Weavers said to him before he was pushed out of the chamber. The Weavers were somehow giving him these dreams and they were doing it through the daggers. He bit his lip, ignoring the scatter of dust around him. This made no sense. Should he tell his friends? He should but these dreams felt more personal in a way and, after all, he was a Fire Elemental. It was his duty to find out what his subconscious was trying to tell him.
"Takuya, why are you under the bed?" Kouichi blinked, seeing the bottom of Takuya's legs sticking out comically.
Takuya closed the lid carefully and pushed it back to its original spot. He would figure this out later. He laid his palms on the floor and pushed himself backwards. Moving, moving, moving, wait, not moving. Takuya groaned and pushed backwards harder but it was no use. He was firmly stuck. How on Earth could he get stuck? He was as big as some of the smallest second years for heaven's sakes! His hips were tightly held by the edges of the bed frame and the metal was digging into his skin. Not cool!
"Umm, Kouichi?" Takuya's muffled voice drifted across the room to the sleepy Seer.
"Yeah?" Kouichi yawned into his hand.
"Can you help me?" Takuya said embarrassed, thankful his red face wasn't showing. "I'm kind of stuck."
Kouichi blinked in mid-yawn and chuckled. The bed must be very close to the ground indeed. He made his way from his warm cocoon of blankets to Takuya who was struggling to get out. "Okay but stop moving or you'll kick me."
Takuya stopped struggling and felt two hands grip his ankles. Kouichi pulled and Takuya slid backwards a few inches. Kouichi pulled again and this time, with Takuya pushing as well, Takuya popped out easily. Kouichi and Takuya stood up, brushing their pajamas off from the dust on the floor.
"Thanks," Takuya smiled, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "I owe you one."
Kouichi shook hi head, "Not a problem Takuya." He looked around then eyed Takuya. "Why were you under the bed again?"
Takuya quickly turned around and busied himself with his sheets. "I just thought I forgot something," Takuya improvised, feeling horrible for not telling the truth. But he just had this feeling. Once again, he was hiding when he thought he would never do this again.
"Well, okay," Kouichi said smiling, making Takuya feel even worse. He was such a trusting friend. Takuya's hands hesitated and Kouichi frowned a bit
"We better get ready," Takuya said, gathering himself and turning around to face his taller friend. "We have to meet the others to get the final details of The Plan that Takato and Hazu were finishing." A buzz of excitement and nervousness ran across his spine as he thought of what they were going tonight.
Kouichi nodded, looking somewhat apprehensive. "Let's go."
They took a quick shower under warm water, waking up properly and adorned their clothes with their respective capes. They made sure they had their books and supplies in their bags (it was a Friday morning) and made their way to the Banquet Hall, ignoring the other students whispering and snickering at them. It was pretty early in the morning so there weren't a lot of students on the tables and the teacher's table only had three adults seated in its chairs. And as luck would have it, one of the seated teachers was the one whose office was going to be raided today. Strangely he didn't feel the least bit remorseful at the moment.
They were the first ones to arrive at their 'regular' table. Takuya sat down on the comfy chair and reached forwards for the nearest container of food which happened to be full of warm, fluffy omelets. Quickly scooping one out, he dumped it on his plate and started stuffing his mouth.
His eyes automatically wandered to the middle table looking for a certain individual but not finding him. He felt disappointed but he was feeling better than he had a month ago. Takuya was well on his way into adjusting into the school as if he had been living here for years. Thanks to Tanshin's lessons he could now control his magic to the extent of lighting a candle from halfway across a room and leavening everything else undamaged well, most of the time. Let's not count that lesson where he almost brought down the ceiling shall we?
Ever since that day in the infirmary, Kouji seemed to have gotten the idea of how Takuya hated being ignored. Kouji had been nodding to him in the hallways and casually talking with him in between classes or when they saw each other and had free time. Takuya now felt a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he saw the other or talked to him. Was this what having a crush felt like? He kept stuttering, to his shame.
He also hasn't seen much of Izumi and her group after she almost got him expelled. He has seen the Knight girl around and the others that were in his classes but that was about it. Takuya remembered an instance in which he saw Izumi across the hall and their eyes met for a single second. He could see the hate, anger, and spite in her eyes before a group of students blocked his view. When they left, she was gone. It had left him feeling a bit paranoid for the rest of the day.
"Looking for someone?" Takuya jerked back to Kouichi, who was calmly eating away, his eyes sparkling mischievously.
Takuya coughed, blushing faintly. "No, should I be?" he said, looking carefully away from Kouichi, tapping his fork on the tabletop. Where on Earth was Juri when he needed her?
Kouichi smirked faintly, "Maybe, should you not be?" This was one of those times in which Takuya was reminded that Kouichi was Kouji's twin brother.
Takuya blinked. How was he supposed to answer a question like that? He did the only thing he could think of, he shrugged.
Kouichi chuckled and, thankfully, dropped the uncomfortable (for Takuya) subject, going back to eating his breakfast.
A couple of minutes later Juri and Daisuke made their way next to them, the latter immediately diving into the food while Juri just calmly sat down and taking out one of her books from her bag, reading from the page that was bookmarked. Juri must be nervous Takuya decided. It was either that or she just fancied a reading because she never read before at the table.
"Tai and Hazu?" Daisuke said through a mouthful of food. "We have to go over The Plan." He whispered the last part, his face reflecting his excitement on tonight's raid. Takuya and Daisuke decided to call their plan The Plan because it just sounded better that way.
"They should he here shortly," Kouichi said, shooting a sidelong glance at Takuya, his mind still on this morning. Why was Takuya lying back in the room? And it was a pretty blunt lie to tell the truth. Where were Tai and Hazu?
And, speaking of the devil, both teenagers strolled through the doors without a care in the world. Hazu's green hair reflected the light from the small high windows of the hall, his cape swishing around his ankles. For the first time Takuya noticed there was green lining on the cape. Hazu was a Mage; Takuya had always thought that Hazu was a Knight for some reason. He just looked like the type of person. They sat down in front of the others and smiled. Takuya discreetly eyed Tai, looking for any signs that yesterday went well. Tai was acting normal although his eyes would occasionally dart to the doors.
Takuya coughed to get Tai's attention and when Tai turned his head to Takuya, he raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Tai looked confused for a moment so Takuya jerked his head to the door and realization dawned on Tai. Tai drew weird face, lingering happiness mixed with confusion and hope. Needless to say, Takuya was confused. Takuya shrugged his shoulders to the others and looked questionably at him. Tai looked indecisive for a second before he firmly nodded.
"So what happened?" Takuya quickly asked before Tai could back out on his decision. The other's stopped their eating and looked at them except Daisuke was still eating. Juri also glanced up from her book.
Tai semi-glared at Takuya but sighed and put his elbow on the table next to his plate with his chin in his palm, his fork moving pieces of food around. "Okay, I suppose," he said sounding kind of disappointed.
"What happened?" Takuya asked a little concerned.
"That's just it," Tai said, frustrated. He speared a sausage with his fork. "Nothing, bloody nothing! Just when I finally get my hopes up, they go flying out the window again!"
"Tai?" Juri said feeling a bit lost in the kafuffle.
"Yamato walked him to his next class after Advanced Arithmetic," Takuya said triumphantly.
Juri squealed like the girl she is and said, "That's great Tai! I told you that you had a chance with him." Daisuke was looking around the hall, looking for the Lone Wolves all the while eating. Kouichi was thinking carefully, a playful look entering his eyes. His blue eyes darted to Takuya, Tai, Daisuke, and the door in turn. This is going to be fun…
Hazu smirked and thumped Tai on the back. "Way to go man," he said, nodding.
"No, there is no go," Tai snapped and started shredding his breakfast into tiny pieces. Damn, he just had to get his hopes up again even after he knew nothing would change didn't he? "I should have known better after all I went through but noooooo, I just had to be an idiot."
"Wha-" Daisuke blinked, his fork halting mid-air.
"We were fine, you, know, walking and I was thinking, wow, I do have a chance. But when we get there you know what he does? He just nods and walks over to the seat on the far side, leaving me on the opposite end. And then he just goes on as if I never existed," Tai said, his voice dwindling to a sad whisper near the end.
"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that Tai," Juri said, comfortingly.
"You don't understand, Juri," Tai shook his head. "Lone Wolves mean everything they do and aren't afraid of doing what they want even playing with people."
This made every one silent. Would the Lone Wolves lower themselves that low as to play with someone's emotions? Was Kouji that way? So maybe the kiss really was just to shut him up. He didn't have the courage to ask Kouji outright.
"You're jumping to conclusions," Kouji said calmly. "Do you really know that they're actually doing?"
"Well, no," Tai grudgingly admitted.
"So shouldn't you ask them first? Or are you just going to lament all your life?"
"…I'm not going to answer that," Tai said and looked back to his plate, feeling a bit more spirited for some reason.
There was a flutter of footsteps and Takato appeared at their table, a trail of smoke dissipating behind him. He looked like he had run a seven mile race without pause. He was panting heavily and his face was flushed cherry red. His clothes were all wrinkled and his cape was put on backwards so that the green lining was facing his back and his chestnut hair was even worse than Kouichi's in that morning.
"Hi. Sorry, I'm late," Takato said hastily, still out of breath as he sat down next to Hazu. "I overslept today." Takuya and the others all nodded except Kouichi who frowned again. What is it with today and lying?
Juri looked up from her book and looked around. She closed her book and stood up saying, "The library should be open, let's go there. Too many people here."
And so they all stood up and made for the door but as they were passing the open doors of the Banquet Hall who would happen to be entering at the same time? You guessed it, the Lone Wolves looking as dead sexy as they always do, entered the premises just in time to meet Takuya's little sextet.
Kouji immediately sought out Takuya in the little group, much to the amusement of his fellow Wolves. He was surprised when he met Takuya's large coffee colored eyes almost right away. Kouji inclined his head a bit and Takuya smiled at him, showing all his pearly whites in succession. Kouji couldn't help but notice that Takuya had a slightly tighter than regular shirt on. Hmm, it looked good on him…
Only Kouichi and Juri noticed that Takato was still panting though it was softer than before and the flush on his face had dulled to a faint pink but his face suddenly went back to the original flaming red when a certain Mage smiled lazily at him. Not to mention certain Mage's navy hair was tussled. Kouichi and Juri looked at each other with a look that said, "This is going to be too easy."
Daisuke was finishing eating a sausage he had grabbed from the table right before they dragged him away, unaware of the smoldering gaze of black eyes on him.
Tai stubbornly refused to even glance at the other group, softly muttering angrily to himself, "Stupid…hopes…no good…idiot." This made Takeru, the only one close enough to hear, frown. He had a feeling that Yamato had a hand in this not only because they where in the same year but because of the annoying smirk Yamato had on since yesterday. This calls for some old fashion sneaking around.
"So do you all know the plan?" Hazu said, holding a map of the school flat on the table. Small little colored dots decorated the map at certain locations.
There was nodding all around, some more confident than others but all agreeing. Daisuke and Tai were vibrating with excitement and anticipation. Kouichi was looking thoughtful while Juri was still disapproving of the whole thing. But what else could they do? This is for Takuya, she thought firmly to herself.
"Takuya do you have them in position?" Hazu asked, really getting into the role. He pointed at a small white dot in the corridor of the western half of the building then to three red ones in a big square in the middle of the map, a hall connecting the red dots and the white dot. Where Hazu had gotten that map Takuya didn't know and he had a feeling he didn't want to know either. Three different red dots where in the biggest hall with about twelve white ones and one black dot.
"I managed to talk to them into distracting," Takuya said. "I just hope that nobody catches on and blows everything."
"That's a risk we'll have to take," Takato said somewhat sadly.
"Also have the charmed copier," Juri said, feeling the weight of her charmed object in her bag.
"Good," Hazu said smiling, satisfied that the preparations were all ready. "We won't be able to do it after so we'll have to do it during dinner, that's when the school will, have fewer students in the halls. Make sure you're all in your places. Oh, this is going to be fun." He crackled and rubbed his hand together excitedly; the perfect picture of an asylum escapee.
Takuya, Juri, and Takato were sitting in the same spot in the library there were in a few hours ago. But there were a few differences. None of the three students had their bags with them and they were randomly flipping through pages in books they had picked out at first sight. The library was basically empty otherwise, dinner has just started being served and most were eating in the Banquet Hall.
The lamps on every table were the only source of light in the semi-dark library, flickering softly, making the shadows grow along the page of Takuya's book. He was sitting in a comfortable chair near a table with a small thin book in his lap. The silence was absolute but for the turning of parchment from himself or Juri and Takato. He was buzzing with nervousness and he kept reading the same sentence over and over again without registering the words. He kept taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down and not look suspicious.
Takato and Juri were much the same, all trying to stay clam and passive on the outside while their insides were jumbled with nerves. After all it was their first organized raid on a teacher's office which could result in major trouble if caught so it probably was justified.
Okay Takuya you can do this, Takuya thought to himself. Get it in, copy, get out. Simple. Get in, copy, get out. Get in, copy, get out. Get in, copy, get out. Repeating his new mantra in his head, Takuya felt a bit more composed.
The Head Librarian, Kikan, came from the back of the library, carrying an armload of books, some that looked bran new while others could have been there for centuries. Her steps faltered when her eyes fell on the three students reading around a table with a big lamp. Kikan looked disbelievingly at them and pursed her lips for a few seconds, making Takuya unconsciously hold his breath, before she smiled and crossed to another door, apparently believing that they were just a few students here for a good night's read. Kikan vanished behind the closed door. Takuya breathed again, relived. That was a close one. Did she suspect anything?
He couldn't help but to tap his foot on the floor impatiently. Juri clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in a warning. Takuya uneasily hooked his tapping foot behind his other ankle. His russet eyes looked out the dark windows. It was just about time… If it didn't come in ten minutes then the whole thing was called off. But this was their only chance too…
Out of the corner of his right eye he spotted a flash a brown hair, a big grin, and the sound of footfalls. There! The sign!
He closed his book with a soft snap immediately catching the attention of Juri and Takato. He nodded ever so discreetly and, as one, they stood up and softly put their books on the table.
Without saying a word- Takuya doubted he could have said anything anyway- they exited the library at a fast walk. His heart was pounding in his ears. If anything went wrong… Takuya shook his head. He couldn't afford to get expulsed but he couldn't afford not to get that information.
The hall they were walking through was eerily silent expect for the distant shouts of laughter and the yells of the students from the main halls and dormitories. They had purposely chosen a remote hallway so they could avoid any people running late to dinner. It was a good choice except that it was longer then the main one so they would have to do it fast and silently so as to not get caught.
They passed several door, listening for anything out of the ordinary, not counting that they were doing something way out of the ordinary. They walked for at least ten minutes before the outline of a person standing rigidly next to a cherry wood door entered their view. Takuya almost turned around before he recognized the bright red hair and plain white smock. The three of them quickly made their way to him, who jumped at the noised and faced them with a frightened expression before visibly relaxing but his eyes still roamed the halls nervously.
"Where have you been?" he whispered tensely, his hands searching his pockets. "I thought Tomoki got you ages ago."
"Sorry," Takuya said sheepishly. "Thanks for doing this Izzy. I really owe you one."
"Yeah, I'll hold you to your word," Izzy muttered and fished out a small bronze key, tossing it into the open hands of Takato. "Joe has servants looking on the teacher's table and we have runners in the shortcuts just in case. Tai is at one end of the hall and Kouichi at the other. Daisuke should be roaming the connecting halls just in case and Hazu is with the servants in the Banquet Hall. Netto is always one of the first to finish, you know. Why didn't you pick someone else?" There was a desperate edge to his voice that made Takuya wince.
"We couldn't risk it," Takato said, examining the door, running his hand through the air in front of it. "He has the most detailed history books so we're bound to find something in there." He frowned. "Oh, this is just great. The door is spelled."
"Spelled?" Juri sighed. "I knew something like this was going to happen."
"Can we still get in?" Takuya asked.
Takato hesitantly nodded. "I think but it might take some time. We'll need to get the spells back to where they were and I doubt I'll get enough energy to do it after I de-spell them. We'll need Hazu."
"I'll go and tell Hazu to get away at around fifteen minutes and he'll meet you here," Izzy said, shifting from foot to foot in anticipation. Izzy pointed to the tapestry on the other side of the wall, right in front of the door. "If you have there's a passageway behind there. Just be careful," he added and scurried away, his soft shoes barely making a sound.
For a few seconds, they just started at each other before Takato continued moving his hand in the air in front of the door as if looking for something. Takuya and Juri mistrustfully looked around at their surroundings. Takuya had started to wish he had brought Kuroi and Shiroi just for comfort. His hand automatically reached for his courage pendant.
After a tense minute, Takato stood back and scowled. "A safeguard spell tangled with a wall blockade spell," he said and sighed forlornly. "This may take even longer than I originally thought."
"A what spell?" Takuya asked curiously.
"A safeguard spell is a spell that creates something like a lock," Juri explained, leaving Takato to examine the spelled door. "The key is the counter spell or something like that while a wall blockade spell creates a barrier that stops the intruder from entering and will alert Netto if it was triggered. Luckily Takato didn't touch the door or we would be in trouble. Once all the spells are erased the key should open the door."
Only a really paranoid guy so many spells on a door, Takuya thought, irritated.
"Right," Takato said carefully as he stepped back a few feet from the door. "They aren't really high level spells; he wasn't excepting a student to search his office, so it shouldn't be impossible. Step back and tell me if anyone comes."
Takuya and Juri nodded, both pressing against the wall on either side of him. Takuya watched on. Even after living for more than a month, it still mesmerized him to see magic in action; after all he had never seen magic up close for the first fourteen years of his life.
Takato lifted his arms and faced his palms towards the door, fingers hanging loosely in a cupping form. The first spell would be the hardest to do. Ten beads of green light sprouted from his fingertips and they slowly floated to the air in front of his palms, growing in size as they moved. When each of the five beads of either hand touched each other, they melted into two silver spheres, pulsing with light and energy. He steadily turned his hands so that each palm was facing each other. Takato's eyes were narrowed in concentration. He lowered his hands at the same time, not moving their positions until they were at the level of his waist. His eyes flickered to the bottom of the door then to his hands.
"Ow," he murmured.
"What happened?" Takuya asked alarmed. He felt useless standing here doing nothing to help.
"I don't know," Juri said with the same concern in her voice.
He took a breath and, steeling himself, the two silver spheres flew to each other, fusing into a blue and gold orb the size of a big apple. Slowly, without touching his magic, Takato moved his hands in a circle motion so that the heels of his palms touched each other and then carefully moved his right hand so that it was pointed to the side, his thumb and index fingers touching. He angled his hands slightly downwards and, in a torrent of thin magic, released his Mage powers. His whole body jerked as the orb smashed into the bottom of the doorway. Light exploded and shone upwards, revealing something like a glass barrier in front of the door.
Immediately Takato swung his right arm in front of the barrier and snapped his fingers in one fast motion. Something like a shadowy arrow blasted into the barrier and it shattered like the glass it looked like.
Through this display of magic -it lasted at least ten minutes- very little sound was made as his magic was not made of physical matter unlike Takuya's magic. His magic turns his and Aguni's energy into physical fire. Soft bells and delicate chimes ran trough the air as the barrier shattered.
Takato felt drained and strained. Even though it wasn't a complicated spell, it was strong and solid. Not to mention that was only the first part of the de-spelling but, thankfully, that was the easier part. Now he just had to, ugghh…
Takuya saw Takato sway suddenly and alarmingly and quickly moved just in time to stop Takato from hitting the floor. Takuya grunted with the weight of his fellow User but managed to get him on his feet though rather unstable.
"Takato!" Juri gasped and she was rapidly at his other side, holding his other arm. "Are you alright? Why am I asking that? Of course you're not alright. You shouldn't have pushed yourself that far." She whispered sternly.
"I'm fine," Takato whispered and struggled to stop the world spinning into darkness. "It was an illuminating spell with a slight shock, nothing too bad." He blinked and shifted in the arms of his friends. The arm Takuya was holding was moved to around his shoulders. His hand accidentally bumped into something and he momentarily touched metal. A warm burst of light shinned behind his eyes and the dark shielded away, leaving him still tired but more capable like he didn't want to faint anymore. He was able to let go of his friend's arms and stand on his own.
"Takato?" Takuya questioned, noticing that his friend look better than he did a few seconds ago.
"I'm fine," Takato reassured them and waved weakly at them to back away again. They did so with hesitation.
Takato took a deep breath, trying to get himself under control and once again focused on the doors and its spells. The safeguard spell was fairly weak since the wall blockade spell was destroyed and obviously Netto didn't think that someone would get past the first spell. If it was anyone lesser in skill that Takato then he wouldn't have made it anyway. Once again, Takuya felt gratitude for his friends and their courage.
No time for anything to complicated so Takato decided and he used a small but swift vine spell. His nails gazed the wooden door and green lines appeared, like his fingers were a brush dipped in paint. Four lines faintly showed themselves against the door. For a few seconds nothing happened until they moved and connected into one long line and moved into an eight formation that covered the length of the door. Then nothing happened and the door was as plain as always.
Takato sighed; he glad that he finished and had surprisingly sprouted a new appreciation for the teacher. He wasn't as weak as he seemed. "It's done," Takato mumbled.
Juri glanced at him again, just in case that took too much out of him but, when he seemed fine, she inserted the key into the keyhole without faltering. There was a small click and the door opened on its oiled hinges.
The three students immediately went inside, fearfully that someone might see them if they stayed in the open any longer. Takuya gazed at the dark office. It was fairly large room that had three huge bookcases on the three walls and, in the middle, was a desk with even more books perched precariously on its surface. Takuya closed the door, only leaving the tiniest crack just in case closing the door would trigger something.
"We only have a few minutes at the most," Juri said quickly and crossed to the nearest bookcase, Takuya and Takato at her heels. "Take whatever looks useful and tell me so I can copy it. Hurry!"
Kouji gazed at his dinner in the loud hall. His sapphire eyes looked at the various foods spread delicately over the table, all looking as delicious as anything he had ever seen. Not that he had much experience cooking but it still looked better than anything he could come up with. He sighed softly, almost unnoticeable to the others around him. He uncharacteristically picked at his food with bored eyes. He wasn't really that hungry but that wasn't really new for him. He sometimes skips meals because he just wasn't hungry at the time but mostly it was because he hated the annoying chatter of the other students. Was it that hard to act their age and not like a pack of monkeys? And anyway, if he felt hungry later, he would just ask a passing servant to get him some food. Simple as that. But that didn't have anything to do with his appetite disappearing, no. The something that had everything to do with it was-
"Aren't you hungry, baby?"
-the blonde leech hanging off his arm, Izumi.
"No, I had a big lunch," Kouji said curtly, not looking at her.
"Oh, good thinking," Izumi purred, running her fingers lightly over his arm and looking up through her eyelashes in a way that she thought was attractive. "We don't want you to get sick. That would ruin all the fun."
"Hn," was the only response she got. He shifted slightly trying discreetly to get some space in between them but it just made her stick even more closely. You think he would get use to this…
All the Lone Wolves were present at the table, most fending off girls as well from Izumi's little groupies. And to think they should have learned their lessons the first time they were ambushed at the Banquet Hall. Why didn't these girls get a clue?
Kouji caught Yamato's amused eye. He was attentively eating, ignoring Sora who was sitting really closely, apparently at ease but Kouji knew better. Yamato had that shifty look in his eye which told him that he was getting annoyed and fast. Never a good thing. Which was odd since he had been acting as if he won the lottery since yesterday. Kouji knew that Yamato was only this happy when he had a very rewarding challenge ahead of him.
He tried to delicately push Izumi away but she misinterpreted the gesture. She smirked with satisfaction and laid her head on his shoulder, her grip possessive. Kouji grinded his teeth behind his lips and his jaw tensed. If something didn't happen soon, he would gladly punch her. He always got irritable when Izumi was near him but usually he could hide it professionally. His eyes automatically sought the little expanse of table looking for a certain person but quickly diverted his gaze once he realized what he was doing.
His lips pressed together, aggravated. He was thinking about Takuya again. Damnit but looking at him and his warm smile brought some kind of weird comfort to him. He just had to stop with his little obsession with him soon or he may do something he'll most defiantly later regret. He ached to talk to him again and even more to feel Takuya's lips on his. Takuya was just a friend, all right, he told himself firmly. But after he kissed Takuya, he never said anything about it. Was he disgusted? No, Takuya seemed perfectly fine talking to him if not a little diffident but what did he think? Did he like it? Did Takuya think he was a bad kisser? He felt a sprout of horror engulf him. Was he a bad kisser? He had to talk with Takuya sooner if not later otherwise he would explode and that would be bad. Yes. He made up his mind. After classes he would seek out the Elemental and have a little heart to heart chat. Well, may be not so heart to heart. He mentally sighed, he had never been so confused.
"Hmm, that's odd," Ken said softly, looking from behind his curtain of dark blue and violet hair at a table. Kouji looked at his best friend who was sitting next to him.
"What is it, Ken?" Miyako, a girl with purple hair and glasses looked up at him, blinking fast like she was trying to be cute.
"Nothing," Ken replied in his soft voice but his eyes met Kouji's with purpose. His eyes flickered back to the table once then looked back at his food.
Kouji caught the message and glanced in the direction Ken's eyes pointed. Ken's soft statement also caught the attention of the other Wolves and they all looked with him. It was table were Takuya and his brother along with their other companions usually sat to eat but today it was empty, not one of them there. Kouji searched the rest of the Banquet Hall, using some of his magic to enhance his eyesight to investigate better. He examined each cluster of students but not one of them was Takuya or his friends. He frowned. Where were they? They had never missed a meal.
A small sound of metal hitting metal made him look over to Ryo who was sitting next to the only girl who wasn't trying to get closer to them, Rika. She was actually pretty cool compared to the others she hanged out with. Ryo had tapped his fork against his plate, catching their attention subtly. He was looking at the most southern table, and more specifically the seat nearest to the teacher's table. It was the green haired kid, Hazu.
What was he doing there alone? Kouji focused on the figure and the picture zoomed in fast. Hazu was eating calmly but his fingers on his left hand drummed impatiently on the tabletop. It looked like he was waiting for something and he kept glancing at Master Netto at the teacher's table. He frowned a tiny bit. Something was off here…
A redheaded servant suddenly came out of the side door to the kitchens and came up to Hazu, tapping his shoulder discreetly. Hazu jumped a bit then turned his head to listen. Kouji narrowed his eyes and read their lips to the best of his ability.
"They need you," the servant's lips spelled out rapidly. "You have to put the spells back on. Hurry you don't have much time."
"Roger," Hazu lipped back at the servant and he handed his plate to the servant.
The servant bowed and grabbed the plate, acting as if he had come for the plate since the beginning. As he scurried back the kitchens, he saw the servant nod to some of the other servants and they relaxed their stiffened positions and some drifted away with him. What was going on?
Kouji looked at the others and frowned at them, stating his confusion. Ken had a pensive look on his face which meant one thing: something was up and they were going to find out one way or another. They were now completely ignoring the girls around them except Rika, who it seemed to gave caught a wisp of their facial conversation seeing that she was one of the now a days rare female Knights. The look on her face stated that this was stupid and it would be even stupider to tell others about it. This was safe with her.
The green haired kid casually got up and drew his cape around him. He had on an excited face on and he walked at a fast pace towards the exit, six pairs of eyes following him every step of the way. He must have sensed something because his steps faltered at the huge doors. Hazu then glanced around and met Kouji's suspicious eyes dead on. He jumped then noticed that the Lone Wolves were all watching him. Kouji noticed that he paled and gulped, hurriedly moving past the open doors, vanishing from view.
"Kouji? Baby, are you listening?" Izumi said her voice loud in his ears. Hn, he had forgotten she was there.
"Hmm? No," he said carelessly.
Izumi scowled and hissed silently. She could see him thinking about that peasant. She had bee working her whole life to get her Knight and she was not about to give up because of some puny low-life with plain blood. She will get him if it's the last thing she does and if she has to crush a few people on the way then so be it. Izumi smiled satisfactorily. She had the perfect plan and her uncle would certainly help her.
Takeru noticed. He didn't know what she was thinking but he was going to stop it at all costs. She almost ruined Kouji's chance last time she bumped into Takuya. Kouji deserved some happiness and she was not about to ruin it again.
Takuya grabbed the nearest book and looked at the cover, 'Single Battle Tactics." No. He put it back and looked through as many books as he could in the smallest time limit. 'Cymbals and Magic.' 'Resurrecting Lights.' 'Demon Rampages of the Early Years.' Nothing useful. Takuya almost growled with frustration. Come on, there had to be something here. He ran his eyes over the covers and walked away to the bookcase behind the desk since Takato and Juri were both enough to check the other bookcases in the office.
But in his haste, he tripped over his own feet and, with a gasp, fell sideways into the hard desk. He quickly grabbed whatever he could to stop himself from falling, resulting in books falling over the edges of the desk, creating noise that made Takato and Juri whirl around frantically and Takuya mentally cursed. What if someone heard?
"Takuya!" Juri's whispered voice cut through the room like a knife.
"I'm fine, sorry," he said softly, guiltily. He staggered to his feet and stooped down to grab all the books on the floor. He put them randomly over the desk, not knowing where they were in the first place. His elbow knocked another book off the desk into the seat of the chair. Of all the nights to be clumsy, why did he have to choose this one?
Takuya went to grab it when something caught his gaze. Confused, he crawled under the desk and looked upwards, careful not to bump his head. On the underside of the desk, attached to the drawer above, was what looked like a knob curled with vines. He softly ran his fingers across the surface and felt the cool wood.
"Takuya, what is it?" Takato's voice said from his bookcase.
"I think I found something," Takuya replied, feeling excitement bubble up in his stomach.
"Well, hurry," Takato said, urgently. "We don't have much time left."
Takuya nodded then realized then they couldn't see him and said, "Right." He hesitated for a second then firmly pressed the knob. Silently, it descended into wood until it melted into the rest without a hitch.
Juri whirled around as a puff of air released near the end of the bookcase on the western wall. It was as if a drawer had been hidden in the wall, no one noticing the difference in the place even if one looked closely, and suddenly it pooped out. She walked over there and looked down, Takato and Takuya, who had gotten up out of the hollow of the desk, right behind her.
The drawer was painted the same color as the wall, perfect camouflage, and the same size as a regular desk drawer. And nestled snuggly inside was an adequate sized black tome, obviously old and expensive if the craftsmanship was anything to go by. There was no title on the front cover and no other markings to say anything about it. Juri uncertainly reached out a hand and tapped the cover. When nothing happened, she hooked a finger under the cover and flipped it open to the first page.
Takuya gasped and basically felt his eyeballs strain to pop out of his head. In the middle of the flawless white page was a back sun with a rectangle under it that had the southernmost end wider than the northern. This was the…sign of Destiny. What was it doing here and did this have anything to do with his dream from earlier? Knowing those two, probably everything.
"That's the sign of Destiny," Takuya breathed, reaching over Juri's shoulder to touch the page.
"Really?" Juri asked amazed. "What's this doing here?"
"I don't know," Takuya said, his voice getting excited as he thought about what the book could tell them. "This could have everything we need!"
"Maybe," Takato said, doubtful. He was well aware of their short time limit. "Hurry it up, he could get back any minute."
Juri quickly put her hand in her pocket and drew forward a simple but wide metal circle kind of like a circlet. She closed the book and carefully placed the circlet right in the middle of the cover. Juri traced the form of the circlet in the air, right above it and it started spinning clockwise on the cover with a small swishing sound. As it spun, it expanded in size and grew until it passed the corners of the tome. It stopped spinning and a ghostly image of the tome appeared above the tome and inside the circlet. It disappeared after mere seconds so the circlet shrunk back to its original form and rested on the unchanged tome like it never moved at all.
Takuya blinked and Juri reached for her circlet as footsteps sounded right outside the door. All three students whirled around, panic etched in their faces. Who was that? Then they all dived at different directions, frantic to find and cover. Takuya quickly curled up under the desk, bumping into several places in his haste but he didn't care as his heart echoed in his ears. He couldn't get caught, he just couldn't. Why did he do this in the first place? This was stupid and reckless, why did he risk it? Oh Gods, he was going to get expelled for sure this time. This was-
The door opened and the footsteps were louder. The person was inside and Takuya unconsciously held his breath. Please don't let him hear…
"Takuya? Guys? Are you there?"
Takuya nearly groaned with relief as the stuck his head from his hiding place. "Hazu!" he breathed, feeling weak. Hazu glanced at him, lifting an eyebrow in confusion as he closed the door behind him. "We thought you were someone else."
"Obviously," Hazu said as he glanced around the room. Juri appeared from behind the bookcase and Takato popped out from the corner where two bookcases met, hiding in the shadows.
"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Juri snapped, her hand over her heart. Takato glared wearily, still exhausted from his spells.
"Sorry," Hazu said, shrugging. Then he turned more serious. "We have to get out of here. We only have a few minutes and I think someone's on to us. Bloody wankers." He added softly under his breath.
"I think we have what we need," Takuya said and quickly moved over the tome in the wall, pushing it until it vanished, regrettably seeing the tome vanish. If he took it away then Netto would know that someone was here.
"Let's go," Takato said.
They exited from the office, feeling relived to get out of the ominous office. Juri holding her circlet protectively to her chest as it was about to get snatched away any second. Takuya's eyes darted around impulsively looking for people hiding in the shadows. His crescent scar itching momentarily.
"Reddy told me there were spells on the door," Hazu whispered. "Takato's in no form to redo them. What were they?"
"There was a safeguard spell on the door," Takato said as he panted lightly. "Then a wall blockade over that, simple but strong."
"Damn," Hazu murmured, his fingers messing up his green hair. "Tricky bastard isn't he? You guys go ahead; I'll stick around and finish this."
"Are you sure?" Takuya asked, not wanting to leave Hazu here with this task. "Won't you get as tired as Takato?"
"No," Hazu said and he rolled his sleeves to his elbows. "It shouldn't be difficult to replicate them but breaking someone else's spells takes a toll on Mages. Go on scat. I'll be fine. Reddy told me about the passageway already."
"But-" Takuya was cut off by Hazu's impatient tone.
"I'll be fine. Go!" he said, exasperated. He turned to the door, hands out in front of him, preparing to use his magic. "I'll get Daisuke and Kouichi when I finish."
As they walked away at a fast pace, Takuya felt a bit guilty at leaving Hazu behind. What if he got caught? He bit his lip and shook his head to get rid of the train of thought. No. No one would get caught tonight. He had to believe that. Once they where at the end of the hall, they burst out running to Takuya's dormitory.
Takuya quickly made his way down the hall, wanting to get cover before any teachers stopped them and demanded where they had been and why they weren't at dinner. Along the way they met up with Tai, who was patrolling the exit of the hallway. He had been sitting in the shadows with enhanced eyesight. He immediately followed them without a word, watching their backs.
They slowed down near the library, trying to look casual and melted into the crowds of the students as they walked back to their rooms after dinner. They had made it to catch the after dinner rush, being hidden by the crowds as best as they could. Of course most people quickly moved out of the way not wanting to get in Takuya's way. For the first time, Takuya was thankful of his feared reputation seeing as they almost made it back to his room in record time. He only hoped that the others made it as well. But a voice stopped them in their tracks at the Entrance Stone room.
"Hey Takuya," Kouji's silky tones seemed to melt from the shadows.
Takuya bit his lip and tried to get in control of himself. Don't act conspicuous, he told himself. He felt his friends huddle slightly behind him especially Tai who started sulking again probably because Yamato, Lee, and Ken walked up with Kouji.
"Oh, h-hey, Kouji," Takuya said, berating himself for stuttering. He nervously twisted his hands behind his back. He tried to push back a blush that tried to force its way to the surface.
Ken's black eyes looked around until they fell on the circlet in Juri's hands, his brow furrowing slightly. Juri hurriedly drew her cape around her, hiding her circlet from anyone's view. Ken's eyes flashed in disbelief and Juri knew that this was what Hazu meant when he said that someone was on to them. They had to go now.
"Why weren't you at dinner?" Kouji questioned, meeting Takuya eyes.
Takuya gulped. He had to get them off their backs but how? He knew that if he tried to lie it would sound fake. But he couldn't help the flush that his face acquired and the fluttering in his stomach at the thought that Kouji noticed he wasn't there at dinner meaning that Kouji had been looking for him.
Kouji caught the panicked look on Takuya's face. What were they hiding? Not to mention that Takuya's face looked adorable. Then he promptly scolded himself for that thought.
"We were at the library," Takato said hurriedly, inwardly flinching when Lee frowned at him. Oh, Gods, if anyone could see through him it was Lee. "Kikan was helping us gather books for our essays." He added trying to sound genuine.
Takuya relaxed as Takato's words sank into the Lone Wolves. Thank the Gods for Takato's quick thinking. Kikan saw them at the library so they had a witness to back up their story. The perfect backup.
"Good to see you studying Takuya," Ken said, looking approvingly at him. Takuya formed a tentative smile on his face, not noticing Ken tapping the side of his leg with his fingers gently.
"We have to go," Tai suddenly said for the first time, backing away, looking everywhere but the four students in front of them. "Come on," he hissed at then others looking quite nervous. It occurred to Takuya that Yamato's actions of doing nothing affected Tai more than anyone thought.
Yamato gave him a brief look then glanced to the side bored. Tai felt the familiar cold settle in his insides and then he realized that he couldn't take much more of this so he walked away down the corridor, refusing to let the tears fall again.
Takuya felt his jaw tense in anger and forced himself to cool down. Takuya peeked up from under his chestnut hair and glared white-hot daggers at the indifferent Yamato. How could he just stand there and hurt Tai that way? The idiot.
"I have to go and check on him," Takuya said shortly, while Kouji frowned and nodded, not liking the feeling he was getting at the thought of missing the chance of talking with Kouji. He would have to wait another chance then…
Juri touched his shoulder, nodded to them, scowled at Yamato, and raced after Tai, concern engraving her features. Takato also retreated after his comrade.
"Takuya," Kouji said, stopping Takuya as he started walking away. He looked back, waiting. "Can you meet me in the empty training building at lunch in, say, three day's time? I have to talk with you."
Takuya suddenly felt his heart jump into his throat. He stared at Kouji, not believing his ears. Kouji wanted to talk to him alone? Oh, Gods, alone? Kouji appeared faintly embarrassed but still waited for his answer. His vocal cords didn't seem to want to work and the fluttering in his stomach increased fivefold. After a few tense seconds in which they stared at each other, Takuya managed to get something out of his mouth.
"Umm," Takuya coughed, self-conscious. "S-sure. I'll, um, be there. Sure, no problem." He felt as if he could die of mortification.
"Good," Kouji said, smirking appeased. That just made Takuya feel even hotter and stuffy than before. "I'll see you then." He nodded once. "You better go catch your friend."
Tai! Takuya momentarily forgot about him in the shock of Kouji's announcement He nodded and sped down the hallway, looking back over his shoulder once but the space they had been standing on was empty. Takuya quickly dismissed it and made his way to his room, not bothering to be quiet now that nobody could accuse him of raiding some dude's office. Juri had the circlet with her so he would have nothing on him if a teacher asked him to turn out his pockets for some weird reason. Teachers do strange thing, you know.
He sprinted the last stretch and arrived at his room door, pressing the Stiphe with the tip of his finger. He opened the door, thankful it didn't squeak. His nerves were already shot. Before he could do anything more than peek over the edge, a hand shot out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him.
"Hey!" Takuya said, startled and was met by the close-up view of cinnamon colored eyes. Excited and hyped-up cinnamon colored eyes.
"About time, Juri won't let us see it until you came," Daisuke said, voice wavering up and down. He pulled Takuya to his own bed and made him sit down. Daisuke sat down next to him. Takuya looked around. It seemed that everybody was here. They must have gone through the back hallways to get to his room. Tai was sitting there looking miserable but the look he gave clearly showed that he wasn't in the mood for comforting so Takuya reluctantly decided to talk later when Tai had calmed down. It must have been so hard for him
"So what did you get?" Kouichi asked. He was shifting through the insides of his trunk, throwing the question over his shoulder.
"We found a book," Juri said, taking the circlet out of her cape. "Or more specifically, Takuya found the book. Takuya said it had the sign of Destiny on the first page so we took it." It gleamed in her hands.
"Wow," Hazu whistled, impressed. "That ought to have had something useful in there."
Juri nodded. "Well, let's see what we got."
She moved until she was kneeling on the floor and laid the circlet down. She scooted back an inch then traced the air above the circlet with her finger just like before just in the opposite direction. Instantly it started spinning except slower. It spiraled outwards heavily as if there was a pressure pushing it in but it was fighting it and kept growing. It spun on the ground and Juri dropped a clear marble in the middle of the circlet once it was as big as before. At once, the marble bubbled and stretched until it took most of the space inside, taking a rectangular shape in the process. Juri noted and moved her hand above the bubbling mass, this time drawing something invisible in the air. She saw the rune in her mind's eye and it glowed briefly. Replicate.
Takuya saw that the bubbling mass was thickening and taking a tough black outside, white sheets forming with curling black letters in the insides that turned gray. Within moments, an exact duplication of the old tome in Netto's office laid on the floor with the small circlet resting on the floor beside it. Takuya could barely contain his nervous excitement.
He took Juri place after she retrieved her charmed circlet and, with everyone's eyes on his back, touched the plain cover. It felt real enough just like true leather should. He hooked a finger under the cover and opened it to the first page. Destiny's symbol was there, glaring at everybody. And so, with a trembling hand, he flipped the page. Gasps exploded out of everyone's mouths. Panicked, Takuya flipped through the whole book without results. It was all the same.
"I can't believe this!" Daisuke burst out, gaping. Truly, Takuya couldn't either.
All the pages were blank.
Yeah, I know I haven't update for a while but I hope the longness makes up for that fact. I know there isn't much action here but there will be. I am now setting up for the climax of the whole thing. It may come in the next few chapter like around chapter 19 or something around those lines.
REVIEW! I know where you live!