A/N: Ugh! Guys! I am SOOOO done with school! But my finals are three weeks from now, assignments being due in two weeks. So if I get sloppy with sending out this story then I'm sorry, BUT I'm almost done with this one. This chapter and then two more chapters to this story. Maybe in the future I'll start up a sequel or a continuation, but for now this'll be it.
And just so you know, I didn't really come up with what the 'symbols' look like. If I go on with this story maybe I'll draw it out and post it somewhere, but for now, yeah, just use your imagination ^^ And if you have ideas you can give them to me if you wish. SO ENJOY LIKE ALWAYS! And I hope you guys stay unstressed and motivated for the end of the school year.
! #$%^&*()
As you figured, this Black Magic Club wasn't as terrible as one would believe. There were bookshelves lined with books on Latin, spell books that were mainly made up, but a few that were decent reads. You ended up pulling out the spell books you could tell were written by true magi, deciding to read through them to hopefully gather some interesting spells to use in the future. The classroom was actually quite big, maybe two classrooms combined, and while you didn't show up to the club every single day, you did become interested in the club, for it truly was harmless. You had to stop by the library beforehand to write down where you were going for the day, but you'd find yourself sitting in the club most days.
However the only club members that came to the club every single day was Umehito Nekozawa, a third year, and Reiko Kanazuki, a first year in the 1-D class. The others only showed up every so often, not as dedicated to the club as they could be. In fact they seem to use the club as a way to ditch school early, which is something you could do if you joined, you supposed.
Every single time you came into the club everyone seemed to be off in the corners, doing their own thing. Either reading or trying to create a potion or recite a spell as practice. Heck, even the books you've recently read in the club haven't been too harmful. You did find yourself sitting in the middle of the room, however, where no one seemed to sit and where a comfy couch sat.
Yet now that a particular item of yours is in your possession you decided that now you felt complete. All of your belongings you wish to have with you from England are now here, and your new ride was currently parked in the designated parking space, mainly just used by teachers and college students, on the far side of the campus. There was parking to the west and the east and you parked in the east parking lot because it was closer to the high school.
So now that you're riding a motorcycle you always have to change your clothes. It's a hassle, but it's certainly worth it to be able to ride your motorcycle around. Sure you could wear your uniform dress, but you're afraid you'd ruin it at some point. It is yellow. Stains are hard to get rid of with bright colors. You've gotten into a routine of changing anyways because you ride your bike to school most days, but now you can go back to your usual attire and not feel stupid for wearing your more casual outfits.
Your style isn't really Gothic, at least old Gothic. It can be, for obvious reasons, even a more… Victorian style of attire, but you prefer the styles of Punk or Rock. Just a lot of black and you get to wear pants. Pants is the key! You've spent your life in public schooling, well the rest of the world calls it private schools, but in England its called public, so you have to usually wear some sort of dress or skirt, but whenever you can you wear pants. Hey, if you're going to change anyways might as well wear what you want.
You usually change out of your street clothes in a girl's bathroom early in the morning, but when it comes to dressing back into your street clothes at the end of the day you've grown accustomed to using the east wing's bathrooms, the ones that are said to be haunted. They aren't, you've checked every single one of the girl's bathrooms now, so there wasn't anything to fear. You preferred the brighter lit bathrooms so you could see what you were wearing, and once you had your outfit on you decided to head to the Black Magic Club. Maybe you should actually transfer to this club? You don't know. You're just excited to see what the others will think.
You walked casually into Class 0-B, walking down the stairs to see only two members was in the room. Reiko was probably taking her time, leaving the familiar not seen face of Umehito and a boy named Ezekiel Tani Ieyasu, a second year student in Class 2-C. He likes to be called by his first name so that's what you call him instead of by his middle Japanese name.
However when you stepped into the candlelight you watched Umehito's eyes widened in shock and awe at what you were wearing, but Ezekiel didn't seem impressed. "What?" he snorted. "No dress? That outfit is rather modern, don't you think?"
"Your president said I could wear black and you can't drive a motorcycle in a big poufy dress," you snorted, walking to your usual spot in the room, waving your hand in front of the candles, illuminating your spot in a bright flaming glow. "Besides, if I wanted to wear pretty, expensive dresses I would just wear our uniform or attend a formalized ball. I never cared for dresses, in fact. I only wear them when it's necessary… Have a problem with that Ezekiel?" you huffed, glaring at him, and he sighed.
"I guess not," he responded, walking away to his own spot by a bookshelf and a soft chair, a tired sigh leaving your breath as you plopped down into the couch, letting your backpack fall to the ground. Hmm… you really should get a new one. It's about two years old with rips and holes in it. It's about time for a new one.
You didn't notice the president staring at you with his mouth dropped. You walked into dark blue jeans with silver chains connected to your belt loops, tucked into your pockets. You wore high black buckled boots and fingerless laced black gloves on your hands. You had a simple crimson red tank top shirt on today with a large black skull on the front. Your pierced ears had one silver earring of a skull with crossbones and the other ear had the Union Jack in the same small gemstone design, though they were probably fake stones. You had a black leather jacket on your shoulders, the sleeves having stylish buckles around the cuffs, the front unzipped all the way down, showing off your inner shirt with the buckle that was to wrap around your neck hanging to the side.
Lastly, he noticed you wore a very beautiful necklace around your neck, which caught the candlelight in an ominous glow. It was two twin dragons, one circling on one side, the other wrapped around the other in an identical fashion, their tails intertwining while they made a heart shape with their slender bodies. There was an emerald heart shaped gemstone embedded in the center, on one side a white dragon with its wings opened behind it and a black dragon with its wings opened behind it. The silver thin chain was connected at the wings, looping around to wrap around your neck. The pendant hung right above your chest, slightly below the curve of the 'u' collar of your crimson red shirt.
Umehito was shocked that you could change into such a strange… beauty. The candlelight behind you silhouetted your dark design. It was like a halo around your dark figure, a darken, fallen angel from on high. He's seen Reiko in dark attire, sure, but for some reason this was… different.
He didn't even realize he couldn't stop staring until Reiko walked by him wearing one of her many Gothic dresses, pushing down on his hood and messing up his wig. "Neko-sama, if you don't make a move I will," she snorted in annoyance, a rather crude, knowing smirk appeared on her face as she walked away, to her own little spot in the room.
He stared at her, confused. What did she mean by that? He shrugged and quickly fixed up his hair, watching you read from afar. You were so close now… He didn't know what to do with himself. Should he just… sit here? Well, he supposed he did have something he could talk about with you. Might as well try that.
Your head looked up as you sensed someone walking over to you, Umehito looking down on you with his hands behind his back, trying to catch a glimpse of the book you were reading. "Are you enjoying yourself Trixie-chan?" he decided to ask, a light smile appearing on your face as you shrugged your shoulders.
"Sure, I suppose… Why do you ask?" you decided to respond and you watched as his cheeks brightened just slightly and you wondered why that kept happening. Could it be?... Hmm…
"I-I was just wondering," he chuckled nervously, your eyebrow rising at his response.
"Ah huh… You can sit down if you'd like," you told him, grabbing a nearby bookmark, which was a bat themed bookmark, and placed it into the large book before setting it off to the side. You let out a tired yawn before turning back to him, giving him a curious look. "Anything else, sir?"
"I'm also curious to what you're doing over here," he decided to say, picking up one of the books you have gone through and noticing there were little tabs on the sides, color coated as well. "I would expect that you wouldn't show up to the club, but you come here almost every day."
"Well I found something interesting to do," you grinned, pointing to the two stacks of books. "See, these are all spell books that I noticed are written by real magi. So I'm going through the books to see if they were actually useful. I put up a couple of books, but these books here," you smiled happily, patting the stack of seven books with tabs in between the pages, "have useful spells."
"Useful spells?" he asked curiously and you shrugged your shoulders.
"Things like… potions with current living plants and herbs, spells that can be useful for everyday life like how to grow plants. All sorts of things really. These books are just actual spell books. The other ones you have on the shelves are false, written as a hoax," you huffed, Umehito glancing at all of the books on the shelves before pouting. "… Sorry."
"At least I know, I suppose," he huffed, turning to you and trying to give you a light smile. "Ah… w-well what are you working on right now? What are these tabs?" he asked, running his fingers through the tabs sticking out of the book in his hand and you giggled lightly.
"Oh that? The red tabs are harmful spells, the blue to calm down out of control spells. The green are potions, and yellow is just everything in between. I'm just putting tabs in the books for spells I want to write down for later. I-I hope you don't mind," you chuckled nervously and he couldn't help but smile at your enthusiasm.
"I don't mind –"
"Great! Say, I wanted to give you this," you spoke, grabbing your backpack and placing it upon your lap. "My aunt has been my master in the magical arts since I was about ten. My father taught me a lot, but my aunt was insistent that I am tutored by her. Anyways, she gave me this children's book on magic when I started. It has all the basic spells, at least the ones that are the most helpful. It's in its eighteenth edition and it's in English," you told him, pulling out a two hundred page book with a hard cover, letting it fall onto his lap in a gentle manner. "Can you read English?"
"I-I've been taught to," he chuckled nervously and you couldn't help but smile happily.
"It's nice to find someone who appreciates magic, you know? But I suggest taking it one chapter at a time. Don't jump ahead because the chapters build up upon each other. If you need help, just ask. The spells are all quite basic and anyone with a little bit of magical energy in their hearts can pull off the spells. If you can manage to understand this book I could help you with a lot more… i-if you wish," you smiled meekly, looking down at your lap. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I-I just… it's nice to have something to relate to with someone else."
He glanced at you curiously, noticing you were staring down sadly at your lap. He looked you over before smiling. "I'll read this book Trixie-chan. Don't you worry."
"Great!" you looked at him with a wide grin, making him blush. Then you picked up the book you had been reading previously, figuring the man was done talking to you, and he looked at the book in his lap, wondering if he should read it.
Sure he was interested in magic, but… you constantly warn him to not step into the magical world. Yet after some time you've warmed up to him, giving him help and advice, even giving him a precious book he will have to return later. You really are a nice person… So how can such a person be connected with the dark arts? It makes no sense!
He thought about returning to his corner, but noticing you were not really paying him attention, reading the book, he decided to just, for once, stay by someone's side and read his own book. He enjoyed how quiet the room became as everyone read, his eyes glancing at the pages, finding the introduction to be quite fascinating.
)(*&^%$# !
You tried to not look so excited that the president of the club was sitting beside you, so you casually crossed one leg on top of the other to rest the spell book upon it, your tabs in hand, as you began to slowly mark up the book. You kept on eye on the time, but you swore you were blushing. Why?
You thought over the reasons why you may feel this way. Well… he is a magic wielder, no matter how small of a wielder he is. You never did admit this to him, but deep down your own familial magic is rooted in dark magic. Dark magic is actually more natural for you to use then light, but you've been taught and trained to do both. The occult, you love the occult. When you were a child you'd ask for the darkest dresses to wear. You'd always buy black and other dark shirts. Then, well… your mother died. Her death changed your way of thinking. No longer was magic just for fun. Your father insisted that you learn what can happen if you use magic wrongly, if you manipulate the world around you, the universe, and bend it to your will so much that it can warp time and space.
He showed you through examples, by telling you what has happened in the world by those who try magic on their own and do not have a good teacher. Who do not even seek out a mentor to teach them the proper ways. At such a young age you had to realize that magic isn't all fun. You couldn't just do what you wanted. It began to break your spirit down, to be quite honest, but… it was your father. You couldn't say no to him and you never had the inner will to do so.
So when you were told to do this and that, you hesitated, always. You didn't want to be used. You understand that if you wanted, you could take on the entire world. People have come sometimes expecting a fight or a lesson from you, a little child. It's not unusual in this magical world of yours, but… sometimes… you just want to be left alone. You don't want to be asked for advice, for help, for guidance. You're just a girl, a young maiden, trying to understand your life. No matter how good you may be at magic, that fact still remains.
Thus, when you met a peer in a similar boat as you, who understood magic, you were drawn to them. And that one peer became two… and that two became three… and eventually you managed to form your own little group of magical bound wielders from both sides of the spectrum. Your problem isn't with dark and light magic, but how it is used. Dark magic is just easier to use, but it can be manipulated and then lose control just as easily as well. Light magic just takes more energy and concentration… but you understand how dark magic is appealing. It's what a large percent of magi you know use, but they use it right. They don't manipulate the universe so much that the Order comes in and, well, let's just say, in a kind tone of voice, that they get rid of them so they stop doing harm to the universe.
Anyways, back home you were a leader. By middle school you had started up a club and everything. You had fun. The fear of rejection you always had disappeared. You felt accepted, happy, but then… everything went oh so wrong in the last year of your middle school career, and at the end your father had died in a manner you're not allowed to speak about. Heck, you wonder if even your aunt knows how he died. The sad thing, you believe if you told anyone, is that you saw the whole thing. You saw exactly what happened. You were questioned later about it and, while you didn't tell normal law enforcement what happened, when it came to the magically bound people you told them exactly what happened, but only the one time.
Then you were brought here to Japan, told to not use magic, at least dark magic again, with reasonable understanding. Honestly you were just glad your uncle isn't insisting that you discard magic completely. If he did… well… you think he understands your family more then what you give credit for.
Everything just piled up on each other. You're reverted back to your fear of being rejected by everyone. Be it your uncle and family, your peers at school, and especially your classmates in general. You just don't want to be made fun of. You don't want what you earnestly believe in to be some sort of joke to some and a means to an end to others. You don't want to be used. You just… want to be free to do what you desire, like before.
So, you realized, that's why you accepted the fact that he had been stalking you from the moment you two met. You weren't too bothered by the fact that he still does it from time to time, especially at lunch, as if he wanted to be around you… for some reason. You aren't bothered because you just want someone to relate with you. Haruhi… she's been great, but you wouldn't tell her your story. At least not so soon. As for Umehito… yeah… you sense that desire in him to learn and grow.
Are you just naturally inclined to teach? That seems to be what this all comes down to. It happened with your first couple of friends and it seems to be the case here. There may be a bit of a language barrier and some culture shock, but you're getting over that. You just have this internal feeling to make sure, if true magic is being used, that it is being used properly. You don't want to act over others, not at all, but that seems to be how you act, now that you think about it. You act a tad too bossy, but it's just what you've been taught to do.
So… you've come here almost every day to see what is legit in their collection. Then you've been looking through the books to see what could be of interest to you, but more importantly what spells are certainly not harmful in anyway and what you should probably put a mark down in the book for a warning. You decided that if Umehito can really read that kid's book of yours and use one or two spells from it, not all of them for that's asking for too much, then you'll start to teach him. You'll take him on as an apprentice, even though, a, you are still learning and finding your own way in magic, and b, he's older then you. It doesn't matter in your eyes. As long as the point of the proper and safe ways to use is bought across you don't care.
Yet… this close proximity… and his eerie aura. Why are you feeling butterflies in your stomach when he's around you? Why do you feel as if you've been bewitched? Did he sneak something into your food or drink? You don't think so… You keep a close eye on what you consume. So what?
A though crossed your mind that made you stop reading casually in the book. Could it be… you are in love?
The tint in your cheeks turned a shade darker, redder. This isn't the first time you've felt this way. You've had crushes before. However after dating your best friend before she moved away you realized that you shouldn't base your life on relationships. You should think about yourself and what you want in life. Plus you don't want to drag anyone into your family's ways. That's demanding too much of someone.
So… maybe you love Umehito Nekozawa. Okay. Be it boy or girl, you learned you never cared. Just as long as they are a nice and good person and you've learned that while the man's choice of words, at times, are of the 'eerie' and 'creepy' side, he's still a kind being.
You shook your head at your thoughts. You shouldn't think this way at all! You don't even know if he thinks of you in the same manner! So you decided, you'll wait for him to make a move, if this is true. You usually just end up losing potential romantic relationships that way, but you won't have to be rejected if that's the case. You won't have to feel bad. You will to an extent, but not in the same way if you are just bluntly rejected by someone. You will just… let Umehito-sama decide what he would rather do. You will just ignore your feelings for now and focus on actually helping him, helping the club, learn true magic with various precautions in mind. You've led people to kill themselves by accident and you don't want that to happen ever again, but as long as you cover all the points your father has… you will feel satisfied in your teachings. You won't feel bad if something horribly goes wrong, probably.