113th Spell: The Mark of Orochi

The next day, Haru and Rui decided to use Free Period to go to the Wataka Mansion Library which was on the first floor to the right side from the foyer that faced the sea outside. Unlike the Mahoutokoro Library, the Wataka Mansion's library wasn't as large.

But it made up for this by having shelves that were significantly taller than the ones at the Japanese Wizard School. The furniture was also unique as it was a combination of European sofas and desks with Japanese-style tables and watercolor paintings on walls made of mahogany wood. A Bunbuku Chagama tea kettle was brewing by itself near the library's stain-glass windows, reminding Haru of the time he and Nayu had tea together in Mahoutokoro's library after they were unceremoniously dropped from Flying Class.

"This is really neat," Haru remarked, still in awe.

"It's been part of this house for generations," Rui said. "But my Mom did some extensive renovations on it after she took over our family business by adding some items she bought during her business travels abroad."

"So that's why there's all this European stuff here," realized Haru. "Now how do we find what we're looking for?"

"By asking Suku," replied Rui. "She's the Zashiki-warashi that's in charge of maintaining this library. Suku!"

"Yes, Lady Rui?" said a young girl who appeared in front of Haru and Rui. She was a little taller than Datsu and Wakaru with medium-length brunette hair and wearing a blue-green kimono.

"Could you help us find some books?" Rui asked.

"Of course, Lady Rui," Suku said as she bowed respectfully. "What are you looking for?"

"Books on magic seals and their properties."

"There is one book in this library that fits your description. Would you like me to get it?"

"Yes, please!"

Suku floated into the air and grabbed a large book from the top shelf on the left side of the library. Then she flew back down and placed it on a reading table.

"Let me know if you need me to find anything else, Lady Rui," Suku responded before disappearing altogether.

Approaching the reading table, Rui and Haru beheld a large tome bound in brown leather with the title 'Magic Seals Throughout the Ages' printed in gold lettering. Rui first checked the table of contents and flipped the pages till she came to a section on Japanese Magic Seals. To Haru's dismay, none of the magical seals displayed matched his dragonfly birthmark.

But Rui did find a page that showed the Mark of Orochi, causing Haru to look at it. Like Koi and Gumo claimed, the Mark of Orochi did indeed resemble a snake. But compared to the Dark Mark tattoo that Voldemort's Death Eaters had which was a detailed snake emerging from the mouth of a human skull, this snake symbol was merely a long vertical line with a diamond-shaped head.

""After Orochimaru was defeated through the combined efforts of Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Rikimatsu, Princess Tagoto placed the Mark of Orochi on Orochimaru's body saying, 'Even if you cheat death, this mark will appear on whichever form you take,' intending it to be a curse of sorts. This mark disappeared after Orochimaru subsequently killed himself through self-cremation and later appeared on the Dark Wizard Warumo, who was defeated by Anzu Dōmeki in 1955 prior to the reported sightings of him in recent years. Why Warumo possessed the Mark of Orochi is considered a great mystery among Wizard Scholars with many possible theories including the possibility that Warumo might be a descendant of Orochimaru implying this mark is hereditary, though this theory has yet to be confirmed. Now the reason it is called the Mark of Orochi is in reference to the eight-headed serpent of the same name, which Orochimaru is considered to be connected with that was defeated by Queen Himiko of Yamatai,"" Rui recited from the book.

'Whichever form you take'? Haru pondered over that passage and came to a realization.

"So does this mean…you might be Orochimaru's great-great-great grandson or something?" Rui speculated. "I mean, he did live thousands of years ago, so it's not impossible."

"But I can't be!" Haru objected. "My birthmother Kiku's family is directly descended from Princess Tagoto, and I don't think they would want anything to do with Orochimaru's descendants—if there were any."

"Unless the Ryuji family has some kind of connection," Rui wondered. "Suku!"

"Yes, Lady Rui?" responded Suku, who appeared once more.

"Bring me a book on the major Japanese Wizarding Family trees, please," Rui asked.

Nodding in compliance, Suku brought another large book down from a shelf near the back. This one was even larger than the first book with foldable diagrams showing each family tree of all the major Japanese Wizarding Families. After finding the Ryuji Family Tree, Rui and Haru traced the line of descendants up to the ancestral lines.

"It looks like your birthfather's family were distantly related to Sorai Seiryu, the founder of the Seiryu Clan and one of the Big Four," Rui stated.

"'The Big Four'?" Haru distantly remembered Ishi-sensei talking about them, but his memory of them was fuzzy for some reason.

"You know, the founders of Mahoutokoro's Clans," Rui reminded Haru. "They were also the Avatars of the Four Auspicious Beasts that aided Himiko in her battle against Yamata no Orochi, meaning they were given the same abilities as the Four Auspicious Beasts before the Beasts themselves returned to the stars they came from along with the Beast Relics which have been passed down through the direct descendants of the Big Four."

"Aren't the Beast Relics pieces of the actual Beasts?"

"Exactly! And these pieces were forged into items that have special abilities of their own. There's the Fang of Byakko, which is a sword that can absorb spells and cancel them out completely, the Scale of Seiryu, which is a gauntlet that can block incoming spells, the Skin of Genbu, which is armor that can withstand the effects of most spells, and the Feather of Suzaku, which is a surcoat that gives one greater agility."

"Wow, I can't believe my birthfather was descended from one of Mahoutokoro's founders," Haru marveled. "Yet all anyone remembers of him is his affiliation with Warumo…."

Rui felt Haru's body tense up beside her and squeezed his arm gently. "We're not defined by our predecessors, Haru. Just because your birthparents were connected to Warumo doesn't mean you have to be as well."

To be continued…