CHAPTER 4:

NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE

Mirelia had set up a rotation system so that he and Raphtalia would alternate between teaching magic and being taught in another area of training. Mirelia also ensured that Motoyasu was going to be exclusively taught by Harry, much to their mutual displeasure. Then again, Motoyasu would probably be ogling Raphtalia and not paying attention to her lessons.

Still, for all that he despised Motoyasu, Fitoria told him they needed cooperation between the Cardinal Heroes. And there was no guarantee that Motoyasu would be able to learn magic from his world. But Harry would give it a good shot.

They would be going on a retreat to learn certain elements of Hengen Musou, but for the first week, they'd be doing other training in Melromarc Castle. Hence Harry sitting with Motoyasu and his group in a corner of the courtyard later that day. "Okay, so…first off, Motoyasu…what is magic?"

"…What is magic?" Motoyasu, oddly enough, seemed to take the question seriously, before saying, "I guess it's…imposing your will on reality and making it bend to your will?"

Harry stared at him, before nodding, impressed that, for once, Motoyasu actually used his intelligence. "Hermione told me something similar once. It always stuck with me. So, good answer. Now, technically, you're what we call a Muggle or No-Maj back home, a normal human who can't use magic. But coming to this world and being bound to a Cardinal Weapon has changed that. Whether you can use magic from my timeline, I dunno. But we need to find out. Now, what affinities do you have?"

"Fire magic. Would that affect me learning magic from your world?"

"Maybe, but I doubt it. The affinities I have on this world are for support and healing magic, but I can still use offensive magic from my world. However, I think we should start with the Unforgivable Curses. I'm not teaching you how to use them, I'm teaching you how to avoid them in case the Death Eaters attack again. I told Ren and Itsuki about them when you were mouthing off to everyone about my brainwashing Hedy. You saw two of them in action on Cal Mira. But let's start with the one you didn't see, the Imperius. That's basically a brainwashing spell, you can take control over someone that way. Believe me, it's an unpleasant experience. You think it's pleasant at the time, you're in something like a drugged-up fog, but afterwards…" Harry shook his head. "Plenty of Death Eaters claimed that they were following Voldemort's orders while under the influence of the Imperius. That's bullshit. Most of them were definitely willing, and the Imperius needs to be refreshed on a regular basis if you're doing long-term control. I know this because a politician back home used it to control his son."

"…That's horrible," Motoyasu said.

"Believe it or not, as much as the politician was a nasty piece of work, his son was even worse. He used the Cruciatus, which I'll be teaching you about in a moment, to torture the parents of a friend of mine. He also helped ensure Voldemort came back from the grave."

While Motoyasu frowned in thought, one of his party cum harem put her hand up, a woman with short orange hair. "Sir Harry?"

"Yes, Miss…?"

"Elena Haven," the woman said. "Why are they called Unforgivable Curses?"

"Because using them without authorisation is a near-guaranteed ticket to the wizarding prison we had in Britain, Azkaban," Harry said. "And it's guarded by beings who are the living embodiment of chronic depression, and who can eat your souls. I am not joking."

Motoyasu, who was in thought, asked, "…The one they used on Raphtalia, Crucio…she looked like she was in absolute agony."

"That's because she was. The Cruciatus Curse, to give its full name, is just that: pure pain in the form of a spell. I've had it used on me a few times as well. It's hellish. You feel like your very bones are on fire. It's used as a means to torture others, pure and simple. Remember that friend of mine, the one whose parents were tortured with that curse? They were put under the Cruciatus for so long, they ended up being driven insane. I met them once in hospital. They looked like they had a form of dementia, unable to truly recognise their own son." Motoyasu, to give him his due, paled in shock. "And you saw what happened to Rifana."

"Yeah. He said something like 'Abracadabra' or something?"

"Not Abracadabra, but rather, Avada Kedavra. The Killing Curse. If you don't dodge it or have a pretty solid physical barrier between you and it, you die. Instantly. The only known person to have survived a direct hit is yours truly. And that wasn't because I was special, either." He looked away. "My mother used some sort of ritual, combined with her sacrificing her life to save me, to ensure I survived it. I became famous as the Boy Who Lived, because I not only survived being murdered by Lord Voldemort, the leader of the Death Eaters, but because the backlash destroyed his body, vanquishing him. I was only a year old, an orphan, and famous, not that I knew of my fame or even that I was a wizard until I turned eleven."

"…Fuck, Harry, I had no idea, man…"

"No, you didn't. Nor did you care enough to get an idea," Harry said coldly, before sighing. "I survived a second time only because I had a fragment of Voldemort's soul stuck in this scar." He tapped the faded scar on his forehead. "Voldemort had turned piece of his soul into anchors to ensure he was immortal, keep the main part of his soul in the material plane. That one in my scar, he created by accident, but it took the bullet for me, so to speak. But I'm the exception that proves the rule, and if that curse had hit me instead of Rifana, unless the Shield would help somehow, it'd be game over. So, if you ever see a light green spell coming your way, dodge it or get behind cover. Don't try to tank it, I think that's the gaming term."

As Motoyasu subsided, the rather sour-looking redhead that reminded him too much of Malty asked, "What about those spells you used on Sir Motoyasu during the trial by combat? My name is Lesty, incidentally."

"Relatively basic self-defence spells. I usually use one called Expelliarmus, which disarms people, and you saw that being used against the Pope. But with the Cardinal Weapons bound to us, I dunno how useful it'd be. The first one I used was a simple Body-Bind, Petrificus Totalus. I then used a Stunner, Stupefy, so you wouldn't remember what came next. I used a Levitation Charm, Wingardium Leviosa, to send you into the stands."

"And that Apparition thing?" Motoyasu asked, presumably trying to change the subject from his defeat at Harry's hands. "You know, where you teleport? That seems useful."

"True, but it needs training to do properly, otherwise, you Splinch. That means you leave body parts behind," Harry said with a smirk, enjoying the horrified look on their faces. Then, he glared at Motoyasu. "So, let me make this clear, Motoyasu. I'm only teaching you magic from my world on sufferance, and there's no guarantee you will be able to use it. But if Raphtalia and I ever hear of you misusing it on people, especially unwilling women or girls…well, Fitoria said we can't kill you, but I will hold you down, and Raphtalia will geld you with a blunt butter knife. Do we have a sound basis for communication?"

Motoyasu nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes! But I wouldn't do that!"

"Your attitude at times gets close to the line, especially towards my daughter," Harry said. "I honestly don't care what you do with others, as long as they're old enough and it's consensual. But rape is a crime they take very seriously here in Melromarc, and I take it very seriously too. Take it from someone who's dodged the magical equivalent of a Mickey Finn that some fangirl tried to dope me up with more than once."

"…Fuck," Motoyasu muttered, his eyes staring into the distance. "I mean, I don't mind being famous or having fangirls, as long as they're not yanderes. But are you telling the truth?"

"Not that I can prove it, beyond Raphtalia and the Itamis' testimony about me being famous, but yes," Harry said.

"…Dude, if your fame comes with not just fangirls but wizarding terrorists coming after you, I want none of that. Though I won't say no to the magic lesson. I honestly reckon I'll get more out of it than that Henshin Mousse-O thingy the old lady was talking about," Motoyasu said.

"Hengen Musou," Harry corrected. "Now, I had to relearn how to use a lot of my spells as I can't use a wand anymore, using the Shield as a focus. I'm guessing you'll have to use the Spear the same way. Now, let's try a few things on those training dummies…"

Éclair nodded after she finished her spar with Raphtalia, Ren and his party, along with Elrasa, looking on. "Good. While this kendo is still a form of fencing, it is clear that you used that, along with this iaido, to form a sound basis for your swordfighting ability. You are nowhere near my level in terms of skill, and you have some bad habits that could be a liability, as well as sharing Sir Ren's tendency to overexert and be…theatrical. But you did very well, Raphtalia."

Raphtalia smiled, trying not to preen at the praise, not with Ren looking on, in order to avoid humiliating him any further. Hedy was already cheering her on quite a bit anyway. But Ren was looking thoughtful, with very little sullenness or resentment. "I honestly had to learn on the job, as it were, much like Ren did. After learning my magic affinity, which is darkness and light, allowing me to use illusions, I used that with my swordplay. Ren can attest to its effectiveness when I subdued Motoyasu and his party near Lord van Reichnott's lands, and I also used the techniques against a number of bandits targeting a merchant called Hickwaal."

Ren nodded. "A handy trump-card. Tanukis back home were supposed to have mastery over illusions. And Hedy has wind-based affinity, if I recall what happened during the last Wave."

"Yep, that's right, Sword Guy!" Hedy chirped. "Actually, what's yours?"

Ren chuckled, not offended by Hedy's childish nickname. "Water and support magic. An irony, considering my aquaphobia. I can use the magic well enough, though." He then looked to Éclair. "How would you suggest I go about learning how to fight with a sword properly, Lady Éclair?"

"I can teach you at least the basics, though despite your lack of trained skill, you at least have a healthy respect for the power and lethality of a sword," Éclair said. She drew her own, placing it flat down on the palms of her hands to display it. "A sword, in the end, is a tool used to injure or kill a foe, much like any other weapon. What distinguishes a knight or a hero from a brigand or an assassin is how a weapon is used. And one important factor is a respect for the power it has to take life. Even a shield could kill someone if used in certain ways. I'm sure you know this already, but it bears repeating. If anything, your Cardinal Sword is better than any other sword, not simply because of its power, but because of the forms including those that can heal and protect."

Ren took out his own Sword, and contemplated it. "…I never thought of it like that. Don't get me wrong, I want to help others, I just never considered that. Back on Earth, we have all sorts of warrior codes, especially for swordfighters. Bushido in Japan, codes of knightly chivalry in Europe…Raphtalia knows what I'm talking about. I never really followed them much. Back in Brave Star Online, I just wanted to be the best, to be the strongest. Our duel reminded me of something similar from back then, a player I bested."

"Oh?" Éclair asked.

"He was actually a top player, albeit in another VR game, but he was pretty good in Brave Star Online too. I beat him in a one-on-one PvP match, what you'd call a duel in reality. Many of the same skills translated between games, given the virtual reality technology. Do you understand that?"

Éclair frowned in thought. "2nd Lieutenant Itami did explain the concept of your computer games to me, as three of the Cardinal Heroes had played such things that strongly resembled our world. He said your games were something out of their timeline's fiction, something called virtual reality, like a lucid dream allowing you to enter a fictional world. What you are saying is that, between these dream worlds, similar skills translated over. And yet you beat this skilled player."

Ren nodded. "I was hoping, despite my loss to your teacher, that history would repeat itself. It did, only with the roles reversed. I'm sorry, I've always been driven, competitive, and even with Raphtalia and Harry's wake-up call about this world being real, it's still there."

"You're doing very well, Ren," Raphtalia reassured the teenager. "You're at least willing to accept failure, if only as an opportunity to grow and be better."

Elrasa chuckled. "A cliché, but one with a basis in reality," the old woman pointed out. "Now, sonny, I'm not sure how much potential you or your party have in Hengen Musou. Some people, I can tell straight away if they have potential. Others, well, it takes until I've had them under training before I can tell. But I will warn you, it is hard work, not just for the body, but for your mind, especially where patience is concerned. There's no such thing as a shortcut to power. And as you saw with the Spear Hero, even having a powerful weapon means nothing against someone with the right trump-card. And while you may not be able to learn everything like some people…" She shot Rishia a smile. "…It does not hurt at all to learn the basics anyway."

"I'm prepared," Ren said. "Maybe not as much as I should be, but…I'm going to give this a damned good try."

"That's the spirit, sonny," Elrasa said.

Éclair then cleared her throat. "In any case, Raphtalia, Sir Ren, Lady Rishia…please come here so I can go over the forms you will be using. I know you will be more likely to use magic, Lady Rishia, but it wouldn't hurt to have other skills in your repertoire anyway."

"Fweh…okay," the green-haired girl said nervously, getting to her feet.

Raphtalia had to admit, in hindsight, the girl was reminding her a lot of Noriko, one of her best friends at Mahoutokoro. Although timid in some areas, she was strong in others. She'd even defended Raphtalia from bullying by the Japanese Purebloods, as Raphtalia, given her tanuki ears and tail, was a target by some of the more xenophobic Purebloods who detested even the native youkai. But between abuse from her family and bullying at school, Noriko couldn't take it anymore.

Losing Noriko was horrible, to say the least. And her family blamed Raphtalia at least for part of it, calling her a distraction, someone who made Noriko weak. The Itamis helped, with Youji in particular having experience with fractious family relationships, due to his mother murdering his father, and then attempting to commit suicide.

So too did a trip to Noriko's final destination: Aokigahara, a vast forest that had become infamous as a suicide hotspot. Raphtalia, despite her dark mood at the time, didn't go there to join Noriko in death. She still wanted to return to her homeworld, and she still wished to be with the Itamis. No, she went to comfort her friend's spirit, and use onmyoudo techniques to lay her to rest before she became a vengeful spirit. Noriko accepted Raphtalia's exorcism with good grace.

Would Rishia have gone the same way if she stayed in Itsuki's party? Raphtalia didn't want to think so. Then again, if Itsuki wasn't as self-aware, or worse, still wrapped up in his childish notions of justice and heroism, maybe it could have happened. Thankfully, he had just enough awareness to realise that Rishia was being bullied, just like he had been before coming to this world. And while Raphtalia reckoned he should have dismissed Mald and the others and kept Rishia, she did understand his logic, faulty though it was. After all, what was the point of strong comrades if they weren't good at camaraderie?

Well, the die had been cast. Rishia was part of their party now, and even if she wasn't strong enough to fight by their sides properly, she had a keen mind. Raphtalia had had many discussions about the geopolitical landscape of this world, and Rishia had answered.

Raphtalia vowed that she would not let Rishia become another Noriko, or another Rifana, for that matter. She would help Harry nurture her potential, so that she could shine. And this training would be a good start…

CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:

So, the training in earnest begins. We'll have a bit of a timeskip in the next chapter to the end of the training…or at least when the others (well, Motoyasu, his party, and Itsuki's party) drop out. I may be abridging it like the anime did, but at least I'm giving a token nod to it.

Now, Motoyasu and his party learning of Harry's life. Motoyasu is still going to be an idiot in this fic, there's no ifs, buts or maybes about it. He's still going to be the one who unseals the Spirit Tortoise, albeit after being tricked. But his antagonism towards Harry and Raphtalia is lessening. He's not quite yet ready to believe that this world is real or that Malty is anything but innocent (his canonical capacity for self-delusion is insane, much like he is), but learning of Harry's past is softening him somewhat. Plus, seeing Harry and Raphtalia's reaction to Rifana's death shook him.

For the second part of the chapter, I wanted to show Éclair and Ren bonding. The two seem set for a relationship in the canon series, in the light novels anyway. Here, they're off to a far better start than in canon, with Ren confessing to his excess pride.

I actually thought it odd that Naofumi would diss Ren's triumph over that player in Brave Star Online, at least in hindsight. Yes, Ren's being a VERY sore loser in that scene after being called out on cheating, and he deserved being chewed out for cheating while duelling Éclair. But Ren's claim actually holds up to some scrutiny with some inferences. Allow me to elucidate.

Ren is a fairly blatant expy of Kirito from Sword Art Online, only less affable and empathic. Hell, he even has the same Japanese voice actor. So, assuming Brave Star Online and other VRMMORPGs act in a similar manner to the VRMMORPGs in Sword Art Online (only without the risk of microwave-induced cranial explosions from the Aincrad arc), it suggests that similar games may have similar means of using abilities. If Ren's foe came from a VRMMORPG that had a similar combat system to Brave Star Online, then Ren overcoming that opponent, said to be a top player in that VRMMORPG, is actually quite impressive. Yeah, I know the third season of the anime, according to clips I saw on Youtube, seemed to show a standard VR setup, but that's not how it was shown in the novels.

I may be giving Ren too much credit, but as much as his canon self is an arsehole, he's also the most decent of the Three Stooges, relatively, and certainly the one who gets his act together sooner. No, a Lust Spear-addled Motoyasu DOES NOT COUNT! And it says a lot about his improved character in general in this fic and his relationship with Harry and Raphtalia in particular that he's more open about himself and his past. Hell, he's fine with Hedy calling him Sword Guy, as he knows the very childish Hedy means it as an affectionate nickname.

No numbered annotations this time.