Saijou Leonhard

I take a deep breath in, then slowly let it out in a sigh.

At least, when training for the Nine Schools Competition starts, I'll get to spend less time at home, I think to myself as I open the front door of my house after having stood there for a good minute.

It is currently Sunday. I've just returned from my morning exercise. Looking at the lack of shoes lined up at the door, I can tell that my father hasn't returned home yet. Thank god, I think to myself. Knowing him, he probably passed out in the bar or on the street from drinking too much the previous night.

I walk inside to see my mother sweeping the floor in the living room. She really does try her best to keep this house looking clean, but the truth is that this place is falling apart. Damaged floors, chipped paint off of walls, leaky pipes, we have it all.

All of this is because my parents have been struggling to make ends meet for many years now. My father keeps losing his job over and over and then burns what little money he makes drinking all the time. My mother has only known how to be a housewife for most of her life, so she doesn't have much working skills. But recently even she has started working a part time job so that we have enough money to keep me in school.

My family wasn't always like this.

When I was young, my father was a very respectable bodyguard. He never drank and took good care of our family. His genetics, the ones he passed down to me, do not give him insane magical power, but they did give him a high affinity for defensive magic. Because of that, bodyguarding was a perfect job for him.

Then everything changed three years ago. The Great Asian Union attacked Japan, attempting to conquer this island. Every capable magic technician was sent to defend our country, including my father.

I don't know exactly what happened in that war, but when my father came back from it, he was traumatized. That was when he started drinking. We thought that he would get better and return to normal with time, but he didn't.

What he witnessed in that war, had changed him forever.

"Leo, I left breakfast for you on the table," my mother tells me as she cleans.

"Thanks," I smile and make a small bow towards her, knowing full well she can't see me from where she is. I walk into the kitchen and sit myself down to start eating.

All of a sudden, I hear a crash at the front door. I frown. I've heard this far too many times. It is my dad returning home hungover.

Hearing that, my mother drops her broom and rushes over to help him. I get up too, not so much to help him, but to help my mother.

When my dad sees me, all he says is, "You still going to magic school, son?"

"Yeah," He stinks of beer and his clothing is so messed up that I can barely look at him.

He shakes his head, "Nothing good ever comes from magic. You need to get out of there before it's too late."

This isn't the first time he's told me something along those lines. But nevertheless I still hate it when he says such things.

"You're wrong," I tell him angrily, "Magic is how I'm going to do something with my life. I'm going to get strong so that I can protect my family and my friends."

"Ha. . . I lost my job again last week. You wanna know how?"

Again? I think to myself, feeling the anger build up inside of me. He finally found another bodyguard job after all this time and he blew it. I was really hoping that he would regain his old self from bodyguarding again. . . but somehow it looks like he's gotten worse.

"My client disappeared. Vanished into thin air."

Huh?

My father continues, "That stupid, stupid man, just had to make a business deal with people in the Great Asian Union. No matter how many times I told him it was a bad idea, he wouldn't listen. 'These guys aren't like the ones that attacked us three years ago,' he kept telling me. So he set up a meeting in the Great Asian Union. He wanted me to bodyguard him during the trip, but I refused. . ."

My father begins laughing maniacally, "And so he fired me. But thank God I refused because a few days later, his entire ship that he took to the GAU went missing. My guess? They were probably all tortured to death by those GAU scums."

"Is that really possible?" I ask in shock, "Didn't the conflict with the GAU get resolved with the end of the war three years ago?"

"Only if you're naive enough to believe that the GAU would be so willing to accept defeat. Trust me. I've seen the extent of the inhumane tactics that those people are willing to employ first handed. They are definitely not done with Japan yet."

Even though I wasn't on the front lines defending Japan against the GAU three years ago, I certainly felt the fear and panic that it caused throughout Japan. If such an event were to happen again. . . then. . .

"Then. . ." I clench my fist and raise my head, "Then it is more important than ever for us to be prepared for combat. Why are you always drinking and not doing anything when you know such a threat is coming?!"

My father sighs, "Because. . . no matter what you do, it'll be nothing compared to what true magic technicians can do. I've seen magic that wiped out hundreds of soldiers in the blink of an eye, magic that can part the sea and move mountains. You think any normal human, let alone you, can do anything at all in the face of such overwhelming power?!"

"You're trained as a bodyguard aren't you? You should know better than anyone that not everyone can be saved. So with my power, if I can just save one person, then I'm willing to do it."

"Heh. . . I used to think like that too, boy. So optimistic. So hopeful. But tell me, what will you do when all of your power isn't even enough to protect anyone?"

"Then I'll work even harder. I'll train more. I'll study more. I'll do whatever it takes to not turn into what you've become."

For the first time, my father looks me in the eyes, "Is that so? I heard that you're one First High's Freshman capture the flag team in the Nine Schools Competition. That means you'll be competing against the heir of the Ichijou clan. Let him show you the kind of power you're up against."

"Fine!" I shout in a fit of rage, "Just you watch! We'll beat Third High!"

I'm not sure why I said that. I'm not even sure if it's possible to beat such a stacked team that Third High has in capture the flag.

But now that those words have already left my mouth, the only thing left to do is to turn the promise into reality.

Shibata Mizuki

Today is Monday, which means that after school today will be the first day of practice for the Nine Schools Competition, I think to myself as I nibble away at my lunch in the school cafeteria.

Erika, Mikihiko, Tatsuya, Miyuki, Leo, Honoka, and Shizuku are all sitting next to me chatting away about the upcoming Nine Schools Competition. Even though I don't say anything, I do enjoy listening to them talk.

Growing up, I've always been really quiet and shy. I know that about myself, but I don't even know if I want to change that. Back then, I never had friends for long periods of time because I just didn't talk enough and they would get bored of me and go off without me.

That is until I met Erika. She was different. She would always drag me along to do everything with her, even if I never say that I want to do things. She would always talk so much that it felt fine for me to not talk. And that made me happy, to always have someone I could call a friend.

Now I have this larger group of friends, all of whom treat me as Erika does. I'm really glad to have met so many nice people.

However, there is one thing that worries me.

I am different from everyone else. Perhaps that is why I tend to keep quiet and to myself.

My eyes are special. Crystal eyes are what people often call them. Over-sensitivity to Spirit Particle Emission is, I believe, what they are scientifically called.

To others, my eyes appear to be either gold or silver, depending on what angle you look from.

For me, my eyes allow me to not only see the normal physical world, but also the world of information, the world of Eidos.

The world of Eidos is a copy of the physical world in the form of pure information. Essentially it is an exact replica of the physical world that overlaps exactly with it. Changes made within the Eidos affect its corresponding counterpart in the physical world, and changes made in the physical world alter its Eidos counterpart.

The discovery of Eidos is the sole reason why modern magic exists. Magic exists only in the world of Eidos. Psions are the source of energy to allow magic sequences to modify or manipulate the Eidos of targets, hence causing changes to the targets in the physical world.

Magic sequences are unable to target bodies that contain psions because psions by nature deflect and neutralize its own Eidos being changed. All living beings have within them some amount of psions. This means that living beings cannot be the direct target of magic sequences.

In ancient times, these psions could be referred to as the soul. However, living beings aren't the only things that contain a soul. Spirits do as well, and that is because all that spirits really are are bodies of psions that exist in the world of Eidos but do not have a physical world counterpart. In other words, spirits are invisible because they don't exist in the physical world at all, yet their presence can be felt and their impacts can be seen because they exist in the Eidos world and they are able to use psions to change Eidos the same way magic can.

With my Crystal Eyes, I am able to see the world of Eidos, to see spirits, and to see the movement of psions. Unfortunately, because the world of Eidos is an overlaid copy of the physical world, seeing both at the same time can sometimes be disorienting or cause nausea, similar to motion sickness.

To alleviate that problem, I wear special glasses that allow me to see only the physical, greatly reducing the stress of my eyes. In this day and age, however, glasses are no longer used to solve myopia, making glasses like mine a rare sight.

"Well Mizuki," Erika turns to me all of a sudden, startling me, "You think we have a chance against Third High in the Nine Schools Competition?"

I nearly jump out of my seat. This happens a lot. I get too caught up in my own thoughts that I become unaware of what is happening around me.

I look around to see everyone at our table looking at me, waiting for my answer. "Of. . . of course we have a chance. Isn't that why we're even trying in the first place?"

Erika smiles and quickly turns to Tatsuya, "See? You're the only one who doesn't believe in us. If you don't pull out your inner passion and motivation, then we'll be destined to fail."

Even though I said what I said, I don't know if I can do anything to help make it happen. I know that Tatsuya, Erika, Leo, and Honoka are strong enough to give us a chance at victory, but I just hope that I don't get in the way. I can't imagine my lackluster magic skills being able to contribute.

I jump at the sound of a whistle being blown.

"Alright now, listen up!" shouts a big, tall, muscular man with stern-looking eyes. His name is Juumonji Katsuto.

I believe that he is a part of the ten master clans. Along with Saegusa Mayumi, these are currently the only two members of the ten master clans attending First High that I know of.

Luckily for First High, both of them will be competing in the upperclassman division of the capture the flag tournament in this upcoming Nine Schools Competition.

Because of Juumonji senpai's experience with the capture the flag from previous Nine Schools Competitions, he is the most suitable coach for our training.

And today is the first day of that training. School has just ended and Tatsuya, Erika, Leo, Honoka and I are dressed in our gym uniforms standing in the middle of the track and field stadium.

Juumonji continues, "We only have three weeks to whip you newbies into shape before the tournament. There will be a lot of pressure on all of you. . . or maybe no pressure since no one is expecting you to beat Third High," he scratches his chin, pondering.

"Anyway," he snaps himself back, "Training as hard as you can for the next three weeks is the best shot you have at not placing last in the tournament. From the way some of you look right now, I'd say you'll really need this training."

He's looking at me isn't he. . .

"So then, let's start with warmup! I want four laps around the track!"

And off we go. Right from the start, I can't keep up with the other four. I am too slow. Honoka doesn't look all that athletic either, but even she can keep up at least.

After a lap, Tatsuya notices that I have fallen severely behind. He slows down until I catch up to him.

I would blush for him but I am currently too tired for that, so instead I just manage to say, "You don't have to wait for me."

"It's okay. I don't very much like running either."

"Well then, thanks for running with me." Even though I may not want to admit it, but being able to run with someone does give me the energy to run faster.

By the time Tatsuya and I finished our run, Juumonji senpai is already impatiently waiting for us.

"Finally we can start the next part. These first few days, all of you will primarily be familiarizing yourself with the rules of the game."

Juumonji motions for us to follow him off of the track and into a small forest nearby.

"In the actual tournament," Juumonji explains, "Your battles will be in a random deserted location somewhere close to the rest of the tournament. You will likely have to fight in a variety of terrain, but a light forest similar to what we have here is likely to be one of them."

He points to a nearby stone block with a flag on top, "That right there is your objective. Very simple. You take the enemy flag, run back to your stone monolith, and you win."

Erika tilts her head, "That can't be all there is to the rules, right?"

"Well no, but there really isn't much more to the official rules. Officially, you can not use lethal or deadly magic sequences. The most you are allowed to use are ones that will incapacitate or lightly injure the opponent. If the judges suspect that you intentionally try to cause permanent injuries to the opponents, you will be disqualified. So don't be stupid.

That is it for the official rules. Of course, you really won't get very far if those are the only rules you play by. The rules regarding strategy and position are far more important. Every team always needs to designate someone to stand close to your team's flag to protect it. Then one or two additional people play defense, staying within your half of the field. Lastly, you need two or three people playing offense, trying to steal the opponent's flag."

Leo asks, "So what will our team positioning look like?"

Juumonji shrugs, "I don't know yet. We'll test out how everyone performs in each position and then decide who fits best where. Sometimes positions need to depend on your opponents too. For example, if the opponent has a very strong offense, you may need to put extra players in defense to deal with that.

"In that case," Leo grins, "I want to be the last line of defense. It'll be a perfect match for my defensive magic."

Erika jumps in as well, "I wanna be an attacker!"

Then Erika looks at me, "Where do you want to try playing, Mizuki?"

"I have no idea. . ." I really have no clue where I would be useful for our team.

After a short silence, Tatsuya says, "How about I play defense with Mizuki? Honoka, are you okay with playing offense?"

Honoka nods rapidly, "Will do!"

Once again I am thankful to Tatsuya for saving my butt. I know the reason why he said that is so that I wouldn't have too much responsibility. He seems to know what he's always doing so I'm sure that he can cover for me when I fall short.

Juumonji writes down the roles on his clipboard, "Well then, let's see how well you guys can perform. Tomorrow, we will have a mock battle against the upperclassman capture the flag team. Think of it as your pretest."

My jaw drops, "You mean the team with you and Saegusa and Watanabe?!"

Juumonji smirks, "Don't worry, we'll go easy. We just need to test your capabilities under pressure.

As promised, the next day is the mock battle pretest.

We are back in the small forest, with me, Tatsuya, Erika, Leo, and Honoka standing in a row. Directly facing us are our opponents, none other than Juumonji, Saegusa, Watanabe, and two other upperclassmen that I don't recognize.

Juumonji looks around, "Are we all ready?"

Mayumi smiles and waves, "Good luck you guys, I have high hopes for your team!"

"Begin!"

With that, I look around to see everyone else has already started running. Leo sprints back towards our stone monolith, while Erika and Honoka run forwards.

I follow Tatsuya and fall back a bit into our side of the field.

Almost immediately, I can hear magic being cast. Honoka is firing air bullets while Erika is dashing around slashing her sword. But just as our offense is attacking, so too is our opponent's offense.

I see Mayumi and Mari running straight towards us, with the former still smiling and waving as she runs. I start to panic, unsure of what to do or what spells to cast.

Tatsuya steps in. He casts multiple knockback spells in sequence. But both Mayumi and Mari immediately respond with their own spells that disrupts the air and nullifies the knockback.

With that, Mayumi and Mari have gotten past our defenses! As the two run past me, I turn around to watch Leo defend our flag.

He makes a warcry and charges at Mari. Mari swings her wooden katana at her, and Leo blocks it with his bare fists!

He must have created a shield of air around his arms and hands in order to block a sword like that!

But as he's fighting Mari, Mayumi quickly slips past them and grabs the flag.

Oh no! She's already running back towards us with the flag. I have to do something! I have to stop her now!

Since Tatsuya's air knockback spell was nullified, I know I must try something else. So as Mayumi is running towards me, I cast Minor Earthquake. This causes the ground surrounding Mayumi to shake.

Mayumi quickly casts multiple spells of her own. The first sends a gust of wind towards me that knocks me off my feet. The next ones create platforms of air to allow her to run above me.

I fall onto the grass and my glasses are knocked off. I look up to see a disorienting world. A world that is the physical world overlapped with the world of Eidos. Without my glasses, my crystal eyes become hyperactive! But at that moment, my adrenaline is rushing and I try to focus on where Mayumi is.

I see the Eidos in front of her beginning to change and move. That must be where her next air platforms are forming! Mayumi is very clever. She doesn't make air platforms that go in a straight line, making it near impossible to predict where her next air platforms are going to be.

But I see them. And so I can do something about them! I quickly reach for my CAD and activate an air vibration spell near her upcoming air platforms.

As Mayumi steps on her next air platform, her feet fall through. The vibrations I caused are enough to cause the air platforms to be unstable. Mayumi loses her balance and falls onto the ground.

This is my chance!

With strength I never knew I had, I push myself up and run at Mayumi. I snatch the flag out of her hands. I am finally able to do something!

I turn around and happily throw the flag towards Leo. But that was a mistake.

From seemingly out of nowhere, Mari jumps up and catches the flag flying through the air. She lands with a roll and proceeds to spring to her side of the field.

Just like that, the battle is over. I collapse onto the grass to catch my breath. Tatsuya is running towards me, shouting, "Are you alright, Mizuki?"

Mayumi gets up and walks over as well. She reaches out her hand and I take it. She pulls me back onto my feet and says to me, "That was pretty impressive how you disrupted my air platforms. You used your crystal eyes didn't you? Don't underestimate yourself or those beautiful eyes of yours. They are tremendous assets for your team."

Tatsuya nods in agreement, "Your crystal eyes lets you do things that none of the rest of us can. If you're willing, we should really train with your crystal eyes."

I can't stop myself from crying and smiling. I'm just so happy to not be a burden for my team.

Now with these eyes, I know that I can make a difference in our victory or defeat at the Nine Schools Competition. I don't want to let anyone down, so I will keep getting better at using my crystal eyes.