Student

   The Changing One started pacing back and forth, cursing. He switched languages every couple words, but did it so fluidly that the effect was far from jarring.   “What?” I asked, trying to smother my urge to laugh as he hopped about on one foot after kicking the couch I'd been sitting on a half-hour ago.   His response was a growl. “Bad news, that's what. I'd hoped you'd still be pure, but no, that'd be too easy.”   I blinked. “What's that supposed to mean?”
   I sighed and forced my temper under control. The kid deserved an explanation - especially if I was gonna start saying stuff that'd sound rude without context.   “The Enchantment is… old magic. The oldest I know of, maybe the oldest in this universe. It stems directly from the raw, divine Power of Change.”   I sparked a few Glostars and let my eyes brighten to gold, darkening the room with a wave. Again, just dramatic effect.   “Things like time, evolution, age, innovation; it all stems from this.”   The kid nodded slowly. “So, it's not a bad thing?”   I chuckled drily. “Three millennia ago, you'd have been considered blessed. Favoured by a goddess.   “Nowadays… it's a curse. The Enchantment is corrupt. It'll eat through you, erasing your mind and destroying your soul, until all that remains is a monster who seeks only the end of all things.”   He looked troubled by that. Good - it meant he had people he cared about. Maybe enough to sacrifice everything else to do what needed to be done.   “That's what's happening to me? Every time my emotions change?”   I shrugged. “It's what's happening to all of us. We gotta keep our emotions in check at all times or risk losing ourselves to the Abyss Fever.   “Good news is the Lady's been working on a cure.” For nine centuries now, with no breakthroughs, but he didn't need to know that yet.
   “Who's the Lady?” I asked. Something about this conversation was making my head hurt, like it was trying to rip itself apart. It almost felt like I already knew all this.   “The Goddess of Change.” He answered. “Krystal's a nice enough gal, but after some bad experiences she hates masculinity. As a result, the Enchantment - back in its golden age - was dominantly used as a gender-bender tool.”   Now my head was really starting to hurt. It was like my subconscious mind was trying to tell me something.   “That name sounds so familiar… ‘Krystal’...”   The world turned white. There was fire in my veins. Acid in my heart. I was being burned and frozen and stretched out and crushed and -
   And then there was calm… I felt… okay. I opened my eyes to see Kiku looking down at me, face full of a concern that was swiftly hidden when he saw I was conscious.   He had a hand over my wrist and one on my forehead. And… was my head in his lap?   “Oh, good, you're conscious. C'mon, get up, if you stay on your back it'll only take you longer to recover.” He said, grabbing my wrist more firmly and pulling me to my feet.   “What was that about?”   “You tell me, Danny-boy. You're the one who collapsed.” He grinned slyly. “This ain't gonna be a recurring thing, is it?”   I chuckled, face going a little red. “I hope not.”   “No serious medical conditions?”   I chuckled. “You mean besides a curse that's literally eating me alive from the inside?”   He laughed at that one, which I class as a win. “Alright, ya got me there.”
   The kid glanced at his wrist, scratching it absent-mindedly. Whatever he saw made him frown, but I couldn't see anything wrong.   As if he could feel my eyes on him, he brought the conversation topic back. “So, you were saying about this goddess lady?”   “Yeah…” I murmured, thoughts drifting away. If the Shadow was this strong in him already, there was only one thing to do.   Not that I was happy about it.   “I'll be honest kid. I'm not the expert the folktales suggest. I'm a jack of all trades, master of none.”   He seemed put-out by that, not to mention confused. “But, all the incredible things you've done-”   “Not me.” I cut across him. “Or, well, mostly not me. There are seven of us. Six disciplinary specialists, plus me.”   “How come none of the stories mention the other six?”   “‘cause humanity would rather forget them.”   He cocked his head to the side, mulling it over. “Who are the other six?”   I chuckled. “You'll meet them soon enough; I ain't spoiling the surprise.”   He blinked. “I will?”   I nodded. No going back now. “Yeah. First thing tomorrow I'll take you to the Academy.”   He thought for a few seconds. Well, that was an extra point for him. He actually thought about stuff and figured out some answers of his own rather than just asking questions 24/7. “What's it like?”   “Picture college crossed with Hogwarts and you'll have a fairly good idea. It's a fairly recent development from around the 1950s. We decided there needed to be an actual place to train these people rather than letting them run wild across the planet. I'd rather not have a repeat of World War 2.”   He snorted. “Geez that doesn't sound familiar. What is this, a comic book?”   “-anyways.” I cut in before he got a chance to break the fourth wall again. “Anything else you wanna know?”   He sucked in a deep breath. “Where is it, how do we get there, and where do you fit into all this?”   “Triple-barrel question, huh?” I replied with a chuckle. “It's in a pocket universe between known reality and the Abyss, I left the transport device with an old friend, and I was a student.”   He looked more closely at me. “I thought you were the one that set it up? How could you have been a student?”   “Well, yeah, I co-founded it, but I'm the one with the least power and the least focus. All I have is a bit of finesse and a stubbornness that'd make a pack of mules give up.”   We sat, quiet for the moment. I was mostly giving Dan a chance to digest the info, but I was also marshalling my own thoughts.
   “Why'd you leave?” I eventually asked. It was a question I was dying to know the answer to, but Kiku just shook his head and scowled.   “I don't wanna talk about it. Let's just say shit hit the fan and it was my fault.”
   That evening turned out to be pretty embarrassing for me.   “No way!!!” I yelled, staring at what the Changing One was holding up in disgust.   “Get over yourself, it’s just a cloak!” he replied, glowering at me. It sure as hell didn’t look like a cloak - for one thing, it’s colour. “It’s bright pink!”    “So’s my hair!”   My retort was cut off by a banging on the front door of the apartment. “Sakura-san!” an angry voice called out in Japanese. “Quiet down, some of us are trying to sleep! If you want to shout foreign nonsense, do it at a decent time.”   “Sakura?” I whispered, smirking.   “An alias is a useful thing,” he answered. “So while we’re out tomorrow, make sure you refer to me as Yuri Sakura, not Kiku, not Amaranth, not any of the other million names I’ve had over the years.”   He cricked his neck with a twist. “Still, you will wear that cloak at the Academy if you know what’s good for you.”   “And why’s that?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow.   He sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Pavi kamito tira… There are multiple factions acting within the Academy. Seven main ones - one for each of the Masters - as well as student-formed ones. If you aren’t displaying your Faction Mark, which shows not only your main form of study but also who your allies are, you’ll be the target of everyone else’s pranks and petty bullying.”   I nodded slowly. “Okay, makes sense… But why pink?”   He shrugged. “So you’d rather a kigurumi mask glued to your head? Or an anal plug tail welded to the base of your spine? Trust me, wearing a pink that matches my hair is the least embarrassing Mark.”   I shivered. “Please tell me you’re joking.”   He shook his head with a dark gleam in his eye. “And there’s worse.”   I shrank down. “Oh God no… Don’t tell me I don’t want to know.”   He did tell me. In an uncomfortable amount of detail. But the thing about writing it down after the fact - I can gloss the details and save you the trauma.
   “Hey, time to get up.” I whispered, gently shaking the kid’s shoulder. I knew it’d be rough waking him up - he’d just spent the night on my couch.   He yawned so wide I coulda put a watermelon in his mouth. “Kikster…? Jus’ five more min’tes…”   I pulled the duvet off him and dumped his ass unceremoniously on the floor. “No. Up. Now. Or I’ll reconsider the options for your Faction Mark.”   That got him on his feet, just about. He swayed dangerously as he mumbled, “Alrigh’, alrigh’... immup…”   I gave him a critical once-over. “Barely. You best wake yourself up, we got a lot to do today.”
   Several hours later, we were walking into a corner store not far from my apartment - and carrying several bags of food and clothes. An ordinary little shop run by an extraordinary little man.   “Kon’nichiwa, Hide!” I called out, opening the door.   “Is that Yuri-chan?” the old man asked, sitting up in his chair. Hideyoshi was a tiny little guy, at 4’1” even without the age-induced humpback. He was practically bald on top, but made up for it with a crazy-long Sensei Wu beard. In fact, most of his face seemed off, thanks to that and the NASA-telescope lenses he called glasses.   “No need to confuse the poor kid, Hide. He knows who I am.” I replied, swinging the bag I was carrying off my shoulder.    Daniel waddled in and, seeing I’d dropped my luggage, started putting down the bags he was hauling. Yeah I was using him as a pack mule, same as any other mentor would. Besides, it’s not like he was struggling.   “So, Kiku-Sama, is it time?” the old man asked, peering at me from behind his spectacles.   “Hai.”   He nodded. I could tell he’d been expecting this for years now. Hide beckoned us to follow and guided us through the back of the shop to where he kept his most prized stock - and a few keepsakes my apartment didn’t have room for.   “Ah, here it is.” Hide murmured, pulling out a metal box. Even Daniel could sense the power trapped inside. It was a simple thing, looked to be made of steel with some light engravings on the lid, but that box contained a one-way Warpgate straight to the Academy’s entrance hall. It was the most precious thing Krystal had bequeathed me.   “It’s… smaller than I expected.” the kid said, looking closer at it.

“Size isn’t everything.” the Changing One said, not even glancing up. “Take me for example. I’m 5’6 but I’m one of the most powerful beings you’ll ever meet.” I had to admit, he had a point. The chances of me running into people stronger than him was pretty slim, if all the stories surrounding his name had any merit.   “Thank you, my friend.” he said, turning to the old man. “See you at Christmas.”   I blinked. “We’re gonna be gone that long?”   He nodded. “Halloween’s way more interesting at the Academy than here. Now close your eyes, plug your ears and hold your breath.”
   I didn’t even get a chance to question him.    I was burning. Burning to ash and each flake was another me that could do nothing but burn again. Air didn’t exist. Space and time were a lie. All that was real was energy. Raw, untamable energy that carried out its purpose and didn't care for things like life.
   And then I was falling to the ground, gasping in great lungfuls of air like I’d just been resuscitated. Kiku was standing over me, holding back a smirk. “Fun ride?”   “That… was fucking awful.” I gasped, fighting the urge to throw up. How was he standing there like it was nothing?   “Yeah it can be a little nauseating at first, especially if you're not fully prepped.”   “Nauseating? Nauseating?? What kind of -” I cut off suddenly, no longer able to fight off the feeling I was gonna throw up.    “Don’t worry, danny-boy, it just takes some exposure therapy. You’ll be used to gettin’ deatomized and launched through spacetime at triple lightspeed in no time.”   I managed to pull myself together enough to wheeze, “That’s what we just went through?”

“He’s exaggerating.” I knew that voice. Shit… I’d been hoping to avoid her till after I got Daniel settled in.   “Heya, Katie…” I said, not daring to look up.   She swung an arm round my shoulders, making me squirm. “It’s been way too long, you pink-haired freak of nature. You don’t visit, you don’t write - you won’t even answer a phone call, for Krystal’s sake.”“Katie, I’ve missed you, I really have - but I… I’m not ready to forgive myself yet. The only reason I’m here at all is ‘cause this kid dropped into my lap and needs more than I can offer at home.”   Her gold-amber eyes alighted on my wayward student. “So this is The One?” I nodded.   “I thought he’d be taller,” She sniffed, already walking away. She’d let the others know I was back. I was gonna hafta watch out for an ambush - as if dealing with one of em alone wasn't enough.

   “Who was that?” I asked, watching the girl leave. She’d been gorgeous, wearing all black with a hoodie that had gold stitching on it. “Kawaii”, of all things. She stood out amongst the few others gathered around us - not on any physical merit, but in the way she carried herself. Everyone else here,myself included, looked tired, confused, and just a tad awestruck. But this girl… she walked like she knew her place, her role and her destination.   Kiku shrugged. “Katie, one of the other Masters. Her specialty’s in Beast Mastery - which is ironic, with her being a catgirl.”   “She’s a catgirl???” I exploded. She just looked like a normal girl, minus having a weird eye colour.   “She’s got some minor Illusionary skills, and normally hides her Feralian features on an enrollment day. But seriously, you didn’t notice the pun? Katie, kitty…?”   It took a moment to understand that one, but it made me wince. “God, that’s bad.”   “Better than something obvious, like Felicia or Catherine.” he replied, grabbing my wrist and pulling me along to what could only be a front desk of some sort. The Hall we were in wasn’t richly decorated, but it looked fancy. Highly-engraved walls, stained glass windows, and a marble floor all adding to the majesty.

   I stepped smartly to the side after hearing a call of “Look out below!” the kid wasn’t so lucky. Fifty pounds of stinking, slimy, slightly acidic sea monster tentacle knocked him flat. I had to pull him out from the gunk, laughing harder than I had in decades.   “Ah, just like old times. Welcome to the Academy, Daniel Greenwood.”