Mahōgan

Hiroto watches the cloudless sky from the window in his classroom, the usual chatter of his classmates serving as nothing more than background noise for the star-eyed boy as his mind is somewhere else entirely.

‘Should I go to that meeting?’

He shouldn’t have any reason to go there, the short teen had already helped Umiko with what she had asked of him, and that should be enough.

But even so he-

*Ding-Dong, Ding-Dong*

The ringing of the school bell echoed through the classroom, signaling the end of today’s classes and the freedom a lot of students yearned for.

Standing up from his seat, the brunet grabbed his supplies and walked outside, still completely lost in thought.

But it would be more accurate to say that he was trying to rationalize his feelings.

Part of him didn’t want a repeat of that time, but another part of his brain simply couldn’t stop reminding him of how fun those past few days had been.

His fight with Kayoko and Ken both felt great, they gave him an adrenaline rush that was indescribable.

He felt alive, like he hadn’t in a long time.

Hiroto’s days were always monotonous, going from home to school and from school to home.

But the dueling club gave him something to be excited about, to have that adrenaline hit he so desperately wanted to have, and yet he was still afraid of dedicating himself to it.

“Kanzaki-kun?”

A familiar feminine voice calls for him, taking the brunet out of his thoughts.

Without noticing it, the short teen had made his way to the dueling club and Kayoko was standing in front of the door, no doubt about to go in.

“Oh. Izumi-san.” Hiroto smiles awkwardly. “Good afternoon.”

The silver-haired fashionista chuckles. “Good afternoon.” She replies, before questioning. “So you’ll be joining us for today?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“Something on your mind?”

“…” After a couple seconds of silence, the brunet shakes his head and forces a smile. “No, nothing. Shall we go in?”

It was very obvious that whatever he was worrying about, it wasn’t something the boy was willing to share, so Kayoko dropped the subject. “Sure, let’s go.” She offers him a smile to which he returns with a more natural one than before.

The two then enter the clubroom.

***

Inside, both Ken and Umiko were already waiting for them. Once the brunet's blue eyes met with her green ones, the short girl sends him a beautiful smile to which the boy blushes and awkwardly returns it.

Seeing that interaction makes Kayoko giggle, before she asks. “So, where’s the advisor guy?”

“Don’t know, I just got here.” The black-haired delinquent replies with his usual politeness.

“Well, there’s not much for us to do but wait.” Says the bluenette with the others agreeing with a nod.

Each one then goes to find a spot to sit down, and soon enough a jovial atmosphere installs itself in the clubroom.

Their subjects are varied, as are the personalities of each teen. Topics bounced wildly and revealed more about everyone's little quirks.

Kayoko, for example, is a very direct and honest girl with sharp words that may not be intended to sound mean, but probably would for most people.

Ken is more reserved and even though he has a rougher exterior, the black-haired boy was very polite and surprisingly thoughtful with his words. Although Hiroto knew that his personality changed slightly when he was in a fight.

Umiko is much the same as Kayoko but with a less critical way of looking at things. She spoke from the heart not through logic, but that also made her quite charming and very honest.

Hiroto is the most reserved out of them, but he could keep a conversation going if necessary. However, he barely brought any topics to the table, being a more reactionary type of person.

The group had wildly different personalities and tastes, but somehow they still felt like a group that naturally fits. Like a band of misfits that got together more by chance than for any other reason.

Suddenly, their jovial conversation is interrupted by the door being slid open.

Standing at the entrance to the clubroom was George in all of his lanky glory, but by his side was a new addition.

A young girl stood by his side, she had a hair color, skin tone, and eyes very similar to the man, but with her irises being squares instead of octagons. She wore a bright-pink ballerina costume alongside a bunny-eared tiara that the older gentleman also wore, for a surprisingly cute set of matching accessories.

“Good, you’re all here.” Says the blond man as his eyes wander to Hiroto, somewhat not expecting him to be there. “Now that we have more time at our disposal, a better introduction is in order.” Clearing his throat, the man continues. “My name is Shiroishi George, and I’m a senior teacher specialized in Mahōgan abilities and their studies.”

That explained a lot. While some lower grades shared educators among them, the seniors had their own set of teachers that most other years barely see, especially because they all never came out of the senior building which was almost like a legend to the younger students.

“And this is my daughter-“ Gently pushing the blond girl forward, he introduces her. “-Shiroishi Laura.”

“H-Hi.” The girl timidly bows. Once she lifts her head, the group sees that she has the same type of lollipop her dad seemed to always in her mouth.

Her sweet little voice and timid attitude was enough to completely melt the teenagers hearts. “Oh, my! What a cutie!” Kayoko coos, making the youngster blush even more and hide behind her father’s legs.

“Agreed! But why exactly is she here?” Umiko asks and the taller man sighs.

“Normally, Laura and I go home once classes are over for the day, but now that I’m your advisor, she’ll be here with us.” George explains while scratching the back of his head. “She’s a good girl, so I don’t think she’ll cause any problems.”

“Don’t worry about it, we understand your situation.” The blue-haired manager reassures the adult, before smiling at his kid. “Plus now we got our own little mascot, right Laura-chan?” She blinks and the little girl giggles. “Anyways, my name is-“

Lifting his finger up, the blond man interrupts the bluenette. “Umiko from class 1-3, age 15.” He speaks matter-of-factly. “Your grades are overall except for math, and you possess an Enjo-type Mahōgan called Denpagan. It allows you to emit radio waves directly into other people’s heads.”

Everyone stares at him with a surprised expression on their faces. “That’s right!” The shortest teen exclaims. “But how do you-“

“I’m a teacher, I have access to your student records.” He says before she can even properly ask. “And seeing that you’ll be a team  from now on, it would be best for your abilities to be fully explained.”

A fair enough point as while they could explain their own Mahōgans themselves, the older man was clearly having fun doing it, so the group decided to let him do the explaining.

“Wait!” Hiroto suddenly shouts, making everyone look towards him. “So that’s what you used against Takahashi and yesterday during my battle, right?”

Umiko nods. “Yep!” She then lets out a soft chuckle. “But it’s not really that great for combat, once the opponent understands what it does.”

“That, and also the fact that her Enjo-type doesn’t give her great defense.” The man points out as he sits down, with Laura following suit and resting on his lap. “As you all are probably aware.”

They all nod.

Yet again, that is something everyone had to learn by this point in their lives, every type of eye has a different magic circuit that determines certain characteristics like endurance, durability, strength, and many others.

Enjo-types have the weakest constitution of all eyes and their abilities are more suited for support, like healing, distractions, or sometimes even the ability to boost other people’s powers.

“Not bad for a support ability, if used correctly it can be quite a big help when it comes to training and supporting the club.” Adds the blond, before looking at the silver-haired girl. “Next is Izumi Kayoko from class 1-4, age 15. Your Mahōgan is a Megumu-type called Ataerugan, and it gives you the power to bestow life onto inanimate objects.”

Megumu-types had a fairly balanced set of physical capabilities, but they exceeded in their more abstract powers based on giving abilities to other things, be they alive or not.

“That is correct.” Confirms the fashionista. “It’s perfect for when I’m sewing but on battle it’s more or less a party trick.”

“I don’t think so.” George replies, making them all look towards him. “Every Mahōgan can be used effectively if you have a mind creative enough, and seeing that you’re a fashionista I’d assume you’d be more on the creative side.”

“Now, for our local delinquent. Onimaru Ken from class 1-3, age 14.” The blond shifts his gaze to the black-haired boy. “You have arguably the strongest type of eye, a Henkei-type by the name of Funshagan. It allows you to morph some of your limbs into jets and use them to ram your enemies.”

Henkei-types had the biggest endurance of all types as it was to be expected since they completely transform the body of the user into something else. Their abilities tend to be quite powerful but have some glaring flaws too.

“Yes, but I don’t like to rely on those.” Ken crosses his arms, before explaining. “While the ramming attacks are powerful, I can not change directions while using them.”

“So that leaves you very open.” Umiko adds and the boy nods in agreement.

“And differently from my usual strategy, the morphed arms don’t allow me to properly take advantage of the counters I normally fish for.” The delinquent shrugs. “That’s the reason why I like to use them only as finishing moves.”

“With a bit of guidance, you can easily turn that weakness into a strength.” Comments the advisor, before shifting his eyes to the last member of the club. “And finally, we have Kanzaki Hiroto from class 1-6, age 15.” While locking eyes, the adult adds. “You possess a special set of eyes, the star-eyes.” Breaking contact for a second, the older man pulls out a lollipop from his pocket and pops it into his mouth. “I already went over some details yesterday, but there’s way more to learn about those eyes.” He looks back at the boy. “But only if you wouldn’t mind, of course.”

The brunet nods. “You can probably explain it better than I can, so go ahead.”

George returns the head gesture, before looking back at the other members of the club. “Then it’s time for us to delve into the specifics of the star-eyes.”