The Magicians' Realm Chapter 16: Magical Learning, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 16, everybody! In which magical education is discussed….And then I look at the title I had written for this chapter and slap myself upside the head. Duh!

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Yes! Who indeed? Answer: The US Government—the fishing limit is based on real limitations passed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife (ready for a whopper? Rock Fish—which eat crabs, incidentally—have to clock in at 45 inches. And then they blame the dwindling crab population on commercial crabbers). Yes, he will—and no, she doesn't, does she? There are a lot of stigmas flying around Delvaire, and she was raised on all of them (something I fear I am not demonstrating properly yet…). Aha, thank you, I'm glad you liked the dinner banter! I would like to thank years of watching Dharma & Greg….And yes, that will be a mess—which should be happening in the next few chapters, I think….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Just in time, actually….It'll get underway eventually—you know how my pacing is (remember Chaos Avatar Desertion?). Bleh, crazy weather—but at least it's getting warmer where you are (we're going into winter here kicking and screaming—I'm not ready for cold! T-T). Yeah—I try every winter to get into the trilogy (because when the movies first came out, we were visiting Montana, and now I irrevocably have them linked with snow). I fail every winter—which makes absolutely no sense, considering how much I love to read….Yes, back to work!

References:

Original characters + setting © Kineil D. Wicks (myself, not the girl in the story)

Hallowed Fields could be seen in the distance.

It commanded a good chunk of the southern horizon, with its main building and two dorms. It was a place to learn magic, unlike the Commoner's school Anzu attended.

She directed her attention back to the front of the class at the hemming of the teacher. Satisfied that her attention was properly directed, the teacher went back to her droning.

Anzu sighed and glanced back out the window. It wasn't fair to be cooped up inside in a smelly school when it was so nice out. They weren't even allowed to open the windows.

She blinked when she saw Yami walk by.

What was he doing? Didn't he go to school?

She was snapped out of her train of thought by the teacher snapping her ruler against her desk.

Anzu faced forward again, making a mental note to track Yami down later and ask him about his truancy.

*\*/*

"Okay, next question."

"Go ahead."

Teana readied herself. "Where did you go to school?"

Yami Skellington made a waffling motion with his hand. "Here, there, everywhere," he told her. "You'd be surprised, but there aren't really any schools for magic around here."

Teana sipped her tea and watched the pedestrians walk by. She was seated in the outdoor section of a café with Yami, having just finished lunch and working on the after-meal tea.

"You're right," she said, lowering her drink. "I'm surprised at that. I thought there were schools for magic."

"There are, but they're mostly overseas, in Europa. Hogwarts, for example."

Teana watched him closely, to see if he was making that up. "That was the name of the school?"

"It's one of the most prestigious schools of magic around—don't knock the name."

"And you attended?"

"Yes I did—and it didn't take me seven years either; I passed my N.E.W.T.s with flying colors at thirteen."

Teana gave him a half-lidded stare. "Pretend for a moment I didn't understand any of that."

"It's like," Yami waved his hand, searching for a word; Teana noted that he emoted a lot with his hands. "What would be a good non-magical equivalent?"

"You mean Commoner equivalent?" Teana asked, then waved his objection off. "There's the Standardized Aptitude Tests—S.A.T.s. We normally take them at seventeen—if we score in the high percentile, we graduate."

"It's the equivalent of that."

"You boggle the mind."

"Thank you," Yami said, taking a dignified sip of his tea; due to his jesting attitude, it came off as more comical. "Of course," he continued, gesturing with the hand holding the cup; some tea very nearly sloshed out. "There's still a dearth over here; most just homeschool or tutor their children in the magical arts. But I have a friend, Miss Weaver, who's working on making a school for magic right here in Delvaire."

Teana looked up at that. "Seriously? How come I never heard of it?"

Yami shrugged. "She's still working on funding and such; I'm helping with the funding, and her brother is going around to various towns and counties and such drumming up support and future attendees." He finished his desert and tea. "Would you like to meet her?"

"I wouldn't mind," Teana said, finishing hers as well. "It's either that or get back to work."

"You shouldn't work on a full stomach."

"Out of curiosity, how much work do you actually do?"

"As little as possible," Yami said, waving it off. "I have a system that gets the most done in the least amount of time, so I don't waste all day working."

"What is it, delegating?"

"Close," Yami said, standing up and extending a hand to help her up. "Come, Miss Gardenier—if we're lucky, we'll catch Miss Weaver before she runs out on another school-related expedition."

*/*\*

After her half-day, Anzu finally managed to track Yami down after some hunting, finding him heading for a corner store.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, seeing her. He seemed glad to see her, which struck her as a good thing.

"Hi," she said, running up to him. "What are you doing?"

"Running errands," he said, shrugging. "And you?"

"Helping you," she said, taking his hand and dragging him into the store.

Aberford's corner store was fairly tidy, but small and cluttered. Anzu waved at Aberford and then leaned to Yami.

"Why do you shop here?"

"What?" Yami asked. "Don't you like Aberford over there?"

"I do, but I figured you'd shop somewhere uptown."

"Nah, Ab has everything Mom needs. And besides, he's closer."

Anzu helped him scoop up some pectin and a pound of flour. "I saw you this morning."

"Did you?"

"Don't you go to Hallowed Fields?" Anzu asked. "I mean, that's where the magic students go."

Yami shook his head. "My brother does. I graduated five years ago."

Anzu ticked off the numbers on her fingers. "You were twelve?"

"I'm very talented," Yami announced. "I tend to scare people that way."

She wasn't sure if Yami was being honest or cracking a joke. She decided to leave it.

"But your brother attends," she said instead. He nodded. "So why don't you teach him?"

Yami grimaced. "Please, don't get him started. It's bad enough that he asks me three times a week—I don't need you to aggravate it and make it seven."

"I think it would be a good thing."

Yami kept grimacing. "Okay," Anzu said. "Would you teach me?"

"Of course."

"And what, pray tell, is the difference?"

Yami went blank-faced, realizing he had been caught. "All right, fine," he groused. "But don't expect me to be happy about it."

Anzu beamed at him, then at Aberford, who accepted the items and began ringing them up. "So where's Yuki? Normally he's glued to your side," Anzu asked.

"I already told you," Yami said, fishing in his pockets for money to avoid looking at her; ah, so she had scored a big point. "He's at Hallowed Fields."