Seventy-First Spell: Lucky Break

Haru realized Warumo was referring to Rui and felt his body go numb. But fearing what he might do next, he flung himself sideways causing him to crash into the railing between the seats and the cliff along the cove. Several people got up in surprise, including Rui who went down to Haru to make sure he was okay.

Groaning, Haru's right arm and shoulder burned with pain. His wand lay uselessly beside him, but it was otherwise undamaged. As the right side of his face started to swell, he looked up at the seats and briefly saw Shō make eye-contact with him while her left hand was gripping the hilt of a sword. Because of this, it was hard to tell what the color of her sword's hilt was.

"Looks like one of our eager First-Years took a nasty tumble!" said Rusa from her spot. "Hopefully, he didn't break any bones!"

"Why did you do that?" Rui asked as she knelt beside Haru. "Are you crazy?"

"I heard Warumo's voice in my head," Haru muttered. "Then I looked up at Shō, and she was staring at me."

"Just like she did during the play?" Rui guessed.

When Haru nodded, Rui looked to where Shō was seated. This time, Shō noticed Rui's stare and quickly looked away. As Shō did this, she took her hand off the hilt of her sword, revealing it to be the hilt of a katana sword that was black in color like Rakurai Higa's.

"A Kurami Sword," Rui gasped, recognizing the sword Shō carried. "Then Shō-sensei really is a follower of Warumo."

Soon Popuri-dono arrived and took Haru to the Healers' Wing with Rui accompanying him. In addition to applying bags of ice to Haru's joints and face, Popuri also gave Haru an Anti-Swelling Granule, also known as Eppikajutsuto.

"Thanks, Popuri-dono," Haru said. "I'm surprised you were able to get to me so quickly, considering you were all the way down at the cove's shore."

"I may be old, but I'm still a good at climbing stairs," Popuri said jokingly.

"You used stairs?" Rui asked. "Where were they?"

"Inside a hidden cave on the shore," Popuri explained.

"Oh, I see," Rui nodded, picturing the hidden cave in her head.

"Well, I should get back to the Quidditch Cove," Popuri said. "I wouldn't want to miss any further injuries that might happen."

Haru looked around the Healers' Wing. "Where's Siti?"

"She's at my station on the cove's shore," replied Popuri. "I'm going to patch her up so she can get back in the game."

"But wasn't she hit by a Bludger?" Rui said.

"Yes, though the Bludger didn't break any bones," Popuri said. "Just left a large bruise."

As Rui sighed with relief, Popuri left the Healers' Wing.

Once Popuri was gone, Haru said to Rui, "Warumo commanded me to kill the Prime Minister."

Rui gasped. "Why would he make you do that?"

"No idea, but that's why I hurt myself deliberately."

"Do you hear him now?"

Listening closely, Haru shook his head.

"And you saw Shō make eye-contact with you," Rui said as she grasped her shoulders. "That means Hikari's assumption was right, because I noticed Shō-sensei was gripping a Kurami Sword."

"A Kurami Sword?" Haru exclaimed. "That's the same type of sword Higa carries."

"But it doesn't explain the wand she uses in class," Rui said. "Unless…her real wand is fused to the Kurami Sword, but she uses another wand for everyday use so she doesn't have to show the Kurami Sword in public."

"Is it possible for wizards to use more than one wand?"

"Not impossible, but it's not easy. The Wandmaker Yashinoki believes there's a one-on-one correspondence between a wand and a wizard, meaning there's one wand for every wizard and no one else. Some wizards, though, are powerful enough to be able to wield more than one wand. However, the synchronicity between the second wand and the wizard won't be as strong as the bond the wizard had with their first wand."

"So a wizard's second wand isn't as strong as their first wand. What if the wizard's first wand gets destroyed?"

"It might be possible for them to bond with another wand, but only if there's a connection."

Haru used his non-bandaged hand to pick up his plum tree wand. "I'm not sure whether to feel glad that I didn't break my wand or not, considering I almost killed the Prime Minister with it."

"But you didn't, and that's what matters!" Rui argued. "That means you can fight Warumo's influence, regardless if Shō-sensei really is assisting him or not."

As the Quidditch Exhibition Match continued, the score began to even out between the Rookie and Veteran Team. Though the Veterans were still better skilled than the Rookies, which frustrated Daizō to the point of yelling at his teammates which didn't boost their confidence whatsoever. Hikari, on the other hand, ignored the bickering and concentrated on catching the Snitch once she finally spotted it.

Unfortunately, the Veteran Team's Seeker Arito Suru saw the Snitch as well and raced against Hikari to grab the winged golden ball. The two girls found themselves in a midair scuffle that resulted in them spiraling dangerously close to the waves below, yet Hikari pulled up at the last minute grabbing the Snitch at the last minute.

"Oh, dear!" Rusa Jeong commented. "Arito just hit the water! Hope she's okay…. But Hikari Genma is unscathed and she's holding the Snitch!"

Gōgu-dono blew on his brass whistle. "Clean catch! Rookies win the Exhibition Match!"

This caused the First-Year Secondary Students to leap from their chairs and continue the chant they sang earlier with a slight twist:

Ganbare, shinjin shokun!

Beteran ni katta ne!

(Good job, Rookies!

You beat the Veterans!)

"Was this match to your satisfaction, Prime Minister Fue?" asked Mahoutokoro's Headmistress Anzu Dōmeki.

Fue adjusted his silken gloves. "I suppose it wasn't a complete waste of time."

"Shall we proceed to promote the Youngest Quidditch Team in the World with further exhibition matches?"

"No."

To be continued…