Sixteenth Spell: Cheng Chun
When Haru woke up, he was lying in a bed with paper screens on either side in a medium-sized room with similar beds.
"Good to see you're awake, Ryuji-Kun. You're in the Healers' Wing of the school."
Surprised, Ryuji looked to his right and saw a small old man sitting a chair next to his bed. He wore a cream-white robe and had his long white hair tied up in a small bun at the top with a long trail leading down his back.
"How long have I been asleep?" Haru asked.
"About two hours," the old man answered. "The Feast of the First Night is already over, and the students have gone to the dorms within the Clan Wings."
"You mean…the wings of the school castle?"
"Exactly," nodded the old man. "The Clans each control a wing of the castle that faces a cardinal direction. For the Seiryu Clan, their wing is on the eastern side, while the Byakko Clan controls a wing on the western side, Genbu's wing is on the northern side, and the Suzaku Clan's wing faces the southern side."
"Does that mean I have to make my own way back to the dorm?"
"Luckily, someone was nice enough to help you get to your dorm once you recovered."
From the left paper screen appeared Rui.
"Is he going to be okay, Popuri-Dono?" Rui asked the old man.
"Yes, Rui, he will," Popuri replied as he got up from the chair. "He's all right physically, so I can't figure out what made him pass out earlier."
"Maybe it had something to do with…my birthmark?" Haru suggested.
"I already examined the magical seal, and it's working perfectly fine," Popuri said. "You're probably just tired from a long day of traveling. A good night's rest should help."
"Thank you, Popuri-Dono," Rui bowed.
"Anytime, Rui," Popuri smiled. "And here's a hall pass just in case you run into any monitors."
Rui took a yellow card from Popuri and then helped Haru out of bed. The two of them then left the Healers' Wing and ascended two flights of stairs.
"What did Popuri-Dono mean by 'magical seal'?" Rui asked Haru.
Haru looked around to make sure no one was listening in before speaking. "Do you remember when I asked about the mark on the train?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, I have this birthmark in the shape of a dragonfly on my chest. Higa said my mother gave it to me to seal away my magic powers so I could live a normal life. But ever since my encounter with Warumo, I've been feeling these aches in my chest."
"Strange," Rui remarked. "I've never heard of a magic seal that causes pain for its bearer. Maybe your mother cast the seal incorrectly."
"But then why would Popuri say that it was 'working fine'? Something's not adding up…."
At the top of the stairs, Haru and Rui entered a hallway on the western side. At the end of the hallway was a dead-end with a blank scroll hanging from the wall where Kuro was lying on the ground in a daze with green dried-up plants around her.
"Kuro!" Rui exclaimed and ran towards her. "Did Gaane and Fuyou give you catnip again?"
"They sure did," Kuro said through a fit of giggles. "And it's the good stuff!"
Rui sighed in annoyance while Haru was confused. "Your sisters gave her catnip before?"
"On multiple occasions," Rui said. "They like to bribe her with it so they can get back into the Byakko Wing on time without getting in trouble with the Clan Head or our eldest sister Peri, who's the Student Council President. But what they don't realize is by incapacitating Kuro, it leaves our wing open to intruders!"
Stepping over Kuro, Rui touched the scroll and said, "Kamilo."
As Rui moved her hand away, a watercolor image appeared on the scroll that looked like a white tiger. Then the wall slid sideways on its own, revealing a hidden passage behind. Rui and Haru went inside as the wall closed behind them. At the end of the passage was a wide square space with wooden stepped flooring, an irori-style hearth that was burning in the center, low gray couches that had white furry cushions with black stripes, small black tables that had red lanterns on them, circular windows, pots filled with bamboo stalks in each corner, and two adjacent hallways.
"Welcome to the Byakko Sitting Room, Rui Wataka," said a boy with tan skin who got up from lounging on one of the couches. "You must be the ones who didn't leave the Student Dining Hall with the rest of us."
"That we are," Rui admitted guiltily. "Did Peri-Sempai assign you to greet us when we finally got here?"
"No, I just stayed up because I was curious to meet you," the boy with the tan skin said. "I'm Cheng Chun."
"I remember you!" Rui realized. "You transferred to Mahoutokoro from the Chinese Wizarding School during our third year in Primary School."
"Yep, that's me!" Cheng then looked at Haru. "So you must be the new guy."
"Guilty as charged," Haru said. "My name's Haru Ryuji."
"'Haru'…. That's the Japanese word for the spring season, right?" Cheng guessed.
"Yeah?"
"That's so funny, because my last name 'Chun' also means 'spring' in reference to the season. Maybe it's a sign we were meant to cross paths."
Rui yawned. "Well, as nice as that sounds, I'm going to bed. You can show Haru to the Boys' Dorm, right, Cheng?"
"Sure thing, Rui," Cheng offered.
While Rui went to the adjacent hallway on the right side, Cheng led Haru down the other hallway. Inside one square room, there were a bunch of gray floor mattresses with white pillows arranged in neat rows which several boys were already sleeping in as one paper lantern hung overhead that had been turned off. Next to the rows of mattresses was a closet full of extra blankets and pillows as well as Haru's belongings.
"How did these get here?" Haru wondered.
"They were brought to the school while the ceremonies were taking place," Cheng said. "And after you got placed in your Clan, the belongings magically transported here."
"Could you keep it down?" said one of the sleeping boys groggily.
"I'm sorry," Cheng apologized.
Using the Firelighting Charm on his wand, Cheng gave Haru just enough light to set up his bed without disturbing the other boys further and put his belongings nearby. Then Haru changed into his pajamas and lay down while Cheng undid the spell bathing the room in complete darkness.
To be continued…