Chapter 12

“Ichiro, how the hell did you find us?”

“Hey, Ryuki, how’s it going?”

Ichiro slowly lowered his hands and put them back into his pockets in his usual, awkward position. I moved my manifestation closer to him, but he stood still, staring at me.

“How did you get here?” I said through gritted teeth.

“I followed you. That girl you took leaves quite the trail, you know?”

“So, what, are you here to tell me that you have an entire army of Secular goons ready to attack us?”

“Huh? What? No, of course not. I’m here alone. Why would you think that?” He said, tilting his head.

I stared at him, blank faced and blinked in confusion.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Ichiro.”

I closed my eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. “Yes, I know that. I just meant, who the hell are you, why were you in the Secular compound, why did you let us take Tsuki, and how did you know she was what we were after?”

“Oh. I can tell you all of that. Can you let me in though? My feet hurt from walking this entire way.”

“You walked? Don’t you guys have cars? And couldn’t you have used magic to lessen the burden?”

“I don’t have a license. And I can’t use magic.”

“...” I stared at him, his comment not registering. “Huh?”

***

Ichiro was sitting across from me in the main room. He was sipping on a soda, cradling the can in both hands as he slowly brought it up to his mouth, each time he went to drink it. Tsuki was sitting next to me, her legs pressed against her chest, and she was staring at Ichiro with dagger-like eyes and her lips pressed together tightly. She was letting out small, irritated moans every so often as she watched him.

“Is there history between you two? Was he one of the ‘mean men’ you mentioned?”

“No. He was the worst.”

Ichiro put his drink down and stared at Tsuki with his usual blank expression but tilted his head. “I don’t understand. I don’t believe I ever did anything to harm you. In fact I believe I was one of the only people to address how dirty you must have been getting from not showering.”

“Okay, don’t say anymore, I get it.”

“I didn’t do anything inappropriate.” Ichiro said turning his head to me.

“I said don’t say anymo-”

“He touched my hair. He cleaned it and tied it up in a different style. He betrayed my trust.”

“Your... hair?” I said in a bewilderment.

Tsuki narrowed her eyes more and just lightly nodded her head. I let out an annoyed sigh.

“Okay, whatever. Before I start asking you anything, Ichiro, can you repeat what you told me at the door?”

“That I can’t drive?”

I stared at him blankly with half-lidded eyes. “The other thing.”

“Oh. I can’t use magic.”

I turned to watch Tsuki, but her expression didn’t change.

“Tsuki, can you confirm that? What does his mana output look like?”

Ichiro turned his head back to Tsuki. He hunched over more, placing his hands on his knees as he watched Tsuki intently. Tsuki just squinted again before letting out another irritated moan.

“He’s got none. Less than Marie. He’s just a manaless magic freak.” She said in a venomous tone.

“See? I don’t lie.” Ichiro said, sitting up slightly, still hunched.

“Okay, now, can you tell me why you’re here? And why I shouldn’t just kill you?”

“Because I can help you on your mission.”

My eyes narrowed at him. Just like before at the compound, I somehow knew just by his face he was telling the truth. I still took everything he said with caution as he could very well be an infiltrator for the Secular, but I wanted to hear him out fully.

“And you know what our mission is?”

Without missing a beat, he answered. “To destroy the Secular. And Kill Yukino Kurosawa.”

I formed my manifestation and aimed it at him. “Again, you mention her. And, knowing that I want to kill her, you put yourself in front of me. Didn’t you say that she was like family to you?”

“Yes. Like a sister.”

“You don’t make sense, hair freak!” Tsuki shouted out, throwing a couch pillow at him. It hit Ichiro square in the face, but he didn’t react, letting it slide off his face as he still stared at me.

“Hair freak?” He questioned her before speaking again. “I may have the wrong term for it, but Yukino is like a sister to me, or at least what I assume is a sister. She was the one that brought me into the Secular when I was younger. I have no memory of anything before that, and I just assumed since she brought me somewhere to live and study magic spells that she was like a sister to me.”

“And you don’t care if I kill her?”

“I do. But, she’s killed people. Many people. And displaced many others, removing them from their family. Why do I think I’d be morally superior to stop someone from getting their revenge on her? It’s an equilibrium thing I think.” He put a finger on his chin and looked up to the ceiling. “Think of it like a hawk and a fox. The hawk lays eggs in a nest. A fox finds the nest, takes the eggs and feeds her den. The fox thinks it’s doing what it needs to, but who would blame the hawk for killing the fox or it’s pack?”

“Can a hawk even kill a fox?” Tsuki questioned, her face dropping her glare and returning to her aloof nature.

“If the hawk has the talons sharp enough, I’d imagine. And Ryuki, I think you do. That manifestation, your mana, those are your talons.”

“I don’t exactly follow your rationale, but I choose to believe you’re telling the truth. So, now why do you want to take down the Secular with us?” I dispersed my manifestation and sat back down.

“I don’t necessarily care to take them down, but I’m also bored with them.”

“Bored?”

“I only do one thing there every day. And it’s great. I study magic, make new spells, and get to see people use them. But, I’ve run out of people who can use what I make. Either they can’t use it at all, or the chant needed to use the higher-level ones I make use too much mana for general use. I’ve been ordered to make more generic, lower cost spells. And that is boring.”

“And where do we fit into that?”

“You, Ryuki, I believe can use what I create.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, for starters you can create very powerful blue flame without a chant. You can use earth magic without one, too. That one is notorious for being difficult as you are directly manipulating a living thing; the earth itself.”

“I’m sure most powerful mages at the Secular could do that, too. That Apostle we fought easily used ice arrows without needing to chant and in rapid succession.”

“That same Apostle was also taken down by the very spell that made me interested in you, Ryuki.” Ichiro leaned in closer. “Tesla!” Ichiro shouted and threw his hands over his head in a dramatic pose, while still being hunched over. I stared at him wide eyed and confused. The display was uncomfortable to watch, and his dark eyes watching me felt like he was looking directly into my soul.

“Yeah? That’s just a spell I came up with while trying to control lightning magic. I don’t underst-”

“That’s just it! Lightning magic is especially hard to control, and you made something that can direct it, albeit using a civilian-made concept, the Tesla coil. But, that is what drew me to you! Why I need to be here, making spells for you. You can use them to their full potential, I promise you.”

“Okay, okay, okay, hair freak, stop talking like that! Ground rules!” Tsuki said, jumping off the couch and throwing a finger into the air. “One! Ryuki is for me and Marie to fight over! Two! Stop being creepy! And three! You can’t be alone with Ryuki at any point!”

Ichiro and I both stared at Tsuki, dumbfounded and confused. We then both looked at each other at the same time, silently asking the other what she meant by any of that. Neither of us had an answer and just sat in silence until Tsuki sat back down; a smile of victory and confidence plastered her face.

“Well, Ichiro, I still have my concerns. But for now, I’ll trust you’re being honest. And if this means you’ll give me more powerful spells to take down Apostles and other strong members of the Secular, I’ll let you stay here.”

I stuck my hand out and Ichiro grabbed it, shaking mine. From beside me I heard a weird sound, almost like a cat hissing.