Kotoki

It was early evening—several hours after the convocation had reached its remarkable climax.

A profusion of genial cheers and laughter filled the atmosphere of Elision Refectory, the dining commons of Lingua Magi. Some students reveled in idle chitchat as they feasted, while others took it upon themselves to experiment with magic spells. The environment was alive and animated, complete with both the commonplace and the chaotic.

Ryuuhei sat alone near the edge of a gothic-style, mahogany tabletop. He ducked his head down as a glass goblet suddenly came flying across the room. It hit a nearby wall with a deafening crash.

He closed his eyes and focused his energy on his right pointer finger. After writing out a sequence of Japanese characters, he read it aloud.

“Repair. Target: Drinking glass last shattered. Location: Within Elision Refectory.”

Though he expected the broken utensil to return to its original state, it did not; instead, it lay still and fragmented upon the stone floor of the cafeteria.

“......No effect,” he thought to himself. “Then, how about this?”

Ryuuhei proceeded to touch another goblet that rested atop the table he was stationed at. It was identical in design to the one that had just been broken.

Upon doing so, he tried the incantation again—this time, he watched as glass shards littering the floor started to tremble and move, twisting and rolling about as they crawled toward the chipped foot of the goblet.

—Clink! The cup’s base sounded with a tinkle as it sat upright at close proximity to the wall in front of it. Scraps of glass began to rocket toward it, gradually wedging themselves into their appropriate places like building blocks until the goblet reformed completely.

“......I see. It appears that shuufuku (repair) will only work on something if I have a pre-existing blueprint obtained by touch,” he noted internally. “What’s more, it doesn’t have to be the item itself—touching an item with an identical composition still works in providing that blueprint.”

“......Oh? You’re still using your finger for castings?,” said a voice all of a sudden. “My, my. You’re gonna fall behind at this rate.”

Ryuuhei turned around to find a familiar figure standing behind him. It was Ryouko Kisaragi—the light novel author who had helped him reach Grand Stadium Metanoia earlier.

He looked at her, confused.

“What do you mean by that?”

Ryouko smiled before shutting her eyelids. Without warning, her entire body started to glow with an intense, fluctuating light that sent a burst of shockwaves throughout the air.

Ryuuhei stared at her in amazement. He could feel his skin tingle with a warm congeniality.

Keeping her hands by her side, she concentrated through and through—until eventually, strings of fibrous, blazing energy began to appear and merge in front of her, forming something resembling a jagged semicircle in shape.

—It was a red, incandescent sensu (folding fan); one of such an extravagant, unusual design that it was unlike anything Ryuuhei had ever seen.

Ryouko’s eyes shot open in an instant as she snatched the fan levitating before her into her left hand. Using her right hand, she grabbed a glass goblet from the table and slugged it high, high into the air.

Without hesitation, she folded the red fan and aimed it directly at the falling goblet. It began to glow as the two kanji characters—meaning ‘rend’ and ‘destroy’ appeared at its tip, stroke by stroke. Together, the characters cleanly formed the word hakai.

“Destruction,” said Ryouko with a balmly, yet merciless repose. Momentarily, Ryuuhei could swear he saw her eyes tinge with the same shade of red as the fan she was holding.

Suddenly, a powerful blast of energy reminiscent of a laser beam erupted from the fan. It struck the goblet dead-center, shattering it midair. Shards of broken glass spilled violently onto the floor below.

“—Wha—!,”

Ryuuhei was dumbfounded. After all, she hadn’t even specified the cup as a target!

He thought her demonstration was over, but Ryouko still had another trick up her sleeve.

Pointing the fan toward the fragments of glass scattered about the stone floor of the cafeteria, she began to focus once again. Unlike last time, four kanji characters began to manifest before the tip of the fan, stroke by stroke—this time, they were the characters for ‘instant,’ ‘time,’ ‘discipline,’ and ‘restore.’

“Instant Repair,” she commanded.

The broken goblet reconstructed itself rapidly in response to the spell. Before Ryuuhei could even blink, it was already whole again.

After a moment of silence had lapsed, Ryouko turned around to face him and spread the fan she was holding back to its flared position.

“......Well, what did you think of that? Pretty cool, right?,” she said, sporting a haughty grin. Her body was still ablaze with a fiery aura.

“That was amazing......,” exclaimed Ryuuhei. “How the hell did you do all of that?”

“I used my kotoki,” she replied, pointing to her fan.

“Right, a ‘kotoki.’ ......What in the world is that?”

“It’s an abbreviation of koto no buki—meaning, ‘a weapon of words,’” a woman interjected suddenly.

“Yuumi......”

“Ya-ho~, Ryouko-chan!,” sang Yuumi cheerfully, throwing her arm around Ryouko. “—YEOUCH, you’re hot to the touch!”

Ryouko closed her eyes with a weary sigh before dispersing the energy that surrounded her body. The instant she did so, the fan vanished from her hand, banishing itself elegantly into a flutter of flaming particles.

“So cool......,” Yuumi said as she eyed Ryouko curiously. “......So that’s your kotoki, huh? Here, let me show you mine!”

She closed her eyes and started to radiate a powerful field of energy—but after a brief duration, the glow emanating from her body extinguished itself with a loud ‘whoosh.’

“......Only kidding~,” she teased with a toothy smile. “I wouldn’t want to give away any secrets before the big event tomorrow.”

Ryuuhei raised an eyebrow.

“Event?”

“Huh? You didn’t know? We all have to duel another student tomorrow!,” replied Yuumi before playfully curling her hand into a fist and thrusting it in front of him. “......Bang!”

A look of concern rose upon Ryuuhei’s face.

“I-I didn’t hear about any of this!,” he said, visibly perturbed.

“That’s because you ran off after the convocation when everything was explained,” a voice blurted out of nowhere.

He looked up to find Haruka materialize and walk over toward the table he was seated at.

“......Well, well, well. Three ladies at once. Aren’t I a stud today?,” he thought to himself sarcastically before summoning a more serious expression outwardly.

“......Haruka-san.”

Haruka placed her hands on her hips and frowned.

“......Ryuuhei. I understand your excitement, but please—do make an effort to be more punctual,” she said with a solemn tone. “Otherwise, I might just have to come find you myself next time.”

“Yeah, please don’t. You already gave me quite the scare earlier when you walked through the door and into my room like some sort of ghost,” he replied satirically.

She smiled as she turned and started to walk away—when suddenly, she paused and looked over her shoulder.

“You’ll find your kotoki and details about tomorrow’s event atop the desk in your dorm room. Well then, I bid you farewell.”

“—H-hey! Isn’t there any privacy at this school!?,” he shouted, but when next he looked, Haruka had already disappeared.

Ryuuhei felt a hand pat him consolingly on the shoulder. It was Yuumi.

“......Do your best not to get left behind, young’un. Fiight!,” she said, clenching her fist endearingly. Her voice was so full of passion that he almost expected a burst of steam to shoot out from her nostrils.

“......R-right,” he responded hesitantly, unsure of what else to say.

It was then that the cafeteria abruptly began to glow, irradiated by a sea of bright lights. For some reason, students were casting the teleport spell en masse.

“What’s going on here?,” asked Ryouko with a befuddled expression. “Where are they all going?”

“Beats me,” said Yuumi, shielding her eyes.

“Hey, you there,” she shouted toward a nearby student who was right about to make the jump. “Care to—pun intended—shed some light on why everyone is suddenly dipping from Elision Refectory?”

The young man she inquired turned to face her as both the light surrounding his body and the text he had inscribed into the air dissipated. There was a look of excitement in his eyes.

“Didn’t you hear?,” he said, voice oozing with enthusiasm.“There’s a duel going on between two students right now! Apparently, they’re busy duking it out at the courtyard behind Irrealis Love!”

“Right behind the student dorms!? What the hell could they be thinking?,” Ryouko uttered in shock.

“......Says the person who casually blasted a glass goblet to smithereens in the cafeteria just moments earlier,” thought Ryuuhei wittily.

“I don’t know, but I’m going!,” said the young man with a grin. “Word has it that the participants are using the school’s official rules to practice, too!”

“Teleport.”

He hastily recast the spell, and just like that—he was gone.

Yuumi turned toward Ryouko and Ryuuhei. There was a mischievous grin on her face.

“......So, you guys,” she said suddenly as she placed a hand endearingly on each of their shoulders with a loud ‘pat’. “About that duel......”

“I don’t mind going to see it,” Ryouko responded, shrugging indifferently. “But, um, Ryuuhei, was it? Are you sure you’ve got time for this? I mean—you haven’t even seen your kotoki yet!”

Ryuuhei looked at her for a moment before a gleeful smirk spread across his lips.

“Oh, it’ll be fine. I was planning to go back to my room after this, anyway. And besides—,” he quipped. “It’s a freaking duel. I’m not missing that for anything!”

“That settles it, then,” Yuumi said, beaming delightfully. She glanced over at Ryouko.

“—W-what is it? I’m on it, so please—quit staring at me already......,” Ryouko stammered.

“......Hey, could it be that Ryouko here is secretly a tsundere?,” Ryuuhei whispered to Yuumi, cupping his hands to muffle his words. She giggled and nudged him softly with an elbow.

“I heard that,” said Ryouko without warning, causing Ryuuhei to yelp and jolt his body in fear.

She closed her eyes; as she did so, an intense effusion of burning energy erupted from within her, blanketing her body with a passionate, ethereal glow.

Soon, her fan—her kotoki—had once again taken form; it floated before her with a graceful elegance. In one fast motion, she plucked it from the air and folded it with a strong clench of her hand. At its tip, six unique kanji transcribed themselves with precision, one stroke at a time. It was as though they were being painted by an invisible calligrapher.

“Joint Magic: Teleport,” she shouted before proceeding to blast herself, Yuumi, and finally Ryuuhei with the spell.