Graduation

"WRONG! You gotta put more power into it!" Sadohara fumed as she smacked Yurika on the head with a wooden sword.

"My deepest apologies-"

"WRONG! Say, "FUCK YOU, THAT HURT"!"

"What do you mean? My personality-"

"Is shit. You wanna survive, you gotta be an asshole."

"But the priestess-"

"Fire wall!"

"Y- Yes ma'am!"

The training was harsh, but slowly and surely, Yurika was becoming a true prodigy.

"Hgh, that's enough today. You know basic levitation?" Sadohara asked as the training session came to an end.

"Of course I do. It's a basic spell, right?"

"You take the "basics" for granted. You know just how complex that shit is?"

"No."

"THINK THEN! What allows something to fly?"

"Air magic?"

"Institutionalized brainwashing... No. Air is an element of it, yes, but the core of levitation is gravity."

"Gravity? But I thought you said there were only 8-"

"Gravity's classified as dark magic, even though the element is mostly associated with curse spells. But if you're able to dissect the spell and learn its fundamentals just like with your glass magic..."

"I must admit, that sounds tantalizing, yet if levitation is so powerful, why don't more revere it so?"

"Aptitude. You're one of the lucky ones. The less aptitude you have, the less you can master. Ever notice how others struggle to levitate while you're able to surf through the air on your broom? Aptitude. Lets say you didn't have aptitude. That glass making spell would never be an option for you. At best, your highest level spell would be blowtorch."

"Could I just not try learning other magic-"

"Aptitude. You don't have it, you're worthless. That's why I'm here teaching at this dump instead of smearing my lips with ruby-encrusted lipstick while dining in a hall of platinum."

"You're a noble?"

"Was. You ever hear of the reversi phenomenon? It's where a noble and commoner born on the same day have their magical aptitudes reversed. Sometimes it's hardly noticeable, other times, it's blatant. And when a noble is discovered to lack the aptitude expected of their lineage, they're treated worse than shit. The saying goes, 'Commoners are expected to be born inferior, so if a noble is born legally manaless, it means they're such a defect that not even the powerful genes they inherited could make them great. Most of the time, nobles like that are killed on the spot, erased from existence. I was one of the luckier ones, tossed out, disowned, and branded a servant whore's child masquerading as a noble. I fucking hate this shit. That's why TIUMP is our only hope for changing things. But Yurika, if you become a priestess, the cycle will just continue."

"Even after all this time, I still fail to see why it's so negative to become a priestess. Yes, you need to shave your head and have your mouth sealed, but with telepathic magic, you can communicate-"

"WHAT THE HELL IS SO REVERING ABOUT ALL THAT!? Yurika, you don't know the truth of it all. The order is nothing but..."

Yurika's eyes widened as Sadohara's words reached her ears.

"Completely destroys your world view, huh? That's what you're up against. Don't be fooled by the promise of financial security for your family. Once you become a priestess, you'll forget all about them, maybe even be assigned the one to dispose of them."

...

That night, Yurika sat curled up in her room, struggling to process everything. "Was she really telling the truth? No. She's always been against the priestesses. Perhaps it's just more of that drivel."

The next day, however, Yurika would be proven wrong.

"Look at that. Finally wearing some thick glasses," Sadohara smiled as she warmed up with some stretches.

"What will we be doing today?" Yurika asked.

"Combat."

"Huh? But you're legally manaless, aren't you?"

"Legally manaless and completely manaless are two different things. I can use smoke magic," Sadohara snarled as she lit her cigarette with her finger.

"Can you also use powerful fire-"

"You forget everything? This is all my aptitude amounts to; a small fire that can give me a little smoke to blow around in the air. Everything else, is all muscle, no magic," Sadohara declared as she began charging for Yurika.

Yurika sidestepped the basic swings with ease, yet that upset Sadohara. "The hell was that!? I was wide open! You saying you can't attack and dodge!?"

"There's no glass-"

"FOUR EYES! Why the hell do you think I told you to wear them in the first place!? Combat! COMBAT!"

Yurika nodded in embarrassment. "I'll get it right-"

"Not gonna happen," Sadohara snarled as the area suddenly became enveloped in a thick layer of smoke.

Unable to see, Yurika assumed a defensive position.

"No coughing... Good. Looks like you've got your ace down pat. I bet you're only holding back because you don't want to hurt me... Thanks, but kindness won't cut it later on. You gotta be willing to make a friend bleed in order to harden yourself up," Sadohara thought as she prepared to deliver a surprise attack from behind.

As she swung, Yurika didged the punch at the last second, turning to face Sadohara. Sadohara suddenly came to a stop as she felt a stinging pain from her forehead. Slowly, she put her hand there and began to smile.

"Blood... Looks like you p- HGN!?"

With a mighty kick to the face, Sadohara was sent flying into a nearby volleyball bin. The smoke began to clear as Yurika stood still, staring at Sadohara.

"Heh, heh, sucker kicked me... You graduate. I can feel at ease knowing you're on the right track," Sadohara chuckled as she slowly picked herself up.

"Ah, let me heal you, sensei," Yurika cried as she rushed over.

"Healing magic... Aptitude really is everything. If only... I had more mana," Sadohara somberly thought.

Once Sadohara was fully healed, she grabbed her bag and sat down in a chair. "Alright, now that you've won the duel, it's punishment time."

"Punishment?"

"No shit. You win a duel, you humiliate the loser. Now get over here and shave my damn head. Eyebrows too," Sadohara snarled as she pulled out a pair of hair clippers from her bag.

"Um, what?"

"P-U-N-I-S-H-M-E-N-T, PUNISHMENT! I lost to you, so my punishment is losing all my hair. Get your ass over here! I ain't shaving myself!"

Yurika sighed and complied with the request. Magenta hair plummeted to the ground as Yurika sheared Sadohara in seconds.

"Now heat up the cream," Sadohara smiled as she handed Yurika the shaving cream.

Yurika did as requested before lathering Sadohara with the cream.

"Ahhh! Feels so good," Sadohara moaned.

"Is this a punishment or pleasure?" Yurika frowned as she shaved Sadohara smooth.

"100% punishment," Sadohara proudly smiled, causing Yurika to blush. "Whoa, why you getting all red?"

"It's just, you looked so beautiful just now..."

"I ALWAYS look beautiful. Now mirror."

Yurika nodded and used her magic to create a mirror before Sadohara.

"Well look at that. Really is a feminine charm to smooth bald n' browless. Really wish I had the freedom to rock this with pride..."

"Sensei?"

"One more round. Lather me up, whole head, whole face, but this time, use your fire magic to lightly singe my hair follicles. Oh, and eyelashes gotta be singed off too."

"Sensei?"

"DO IT! Precision's your specialty, ain't it!?"

Yurika nervously complied, and in no time flat, Sadohara was completely hairless.

"Ah, the lashes really helped sell the look. Eh, still beautiful, so why should I care," Sadohara shrugged as she gazed at herself in the mirror.

"And now do we head to class? Or did we lose track of time again?" Yurika giggled.

Sadohara's expression darked. "My punishment ain't over yet..."

A chill went down Yurika's spine as she took notice of the three women surrounding her and Sadohara. All were completely hairless, mouthless, and garbed in matching white robes and sneakers. It was the priestesses.

One slowly cocked her head as she gazed at Sadohara.

"What? I can shave my head on my own! ... Check, check, sure," Sadohara grumbled.

The priestesses brushed Yurika aside as they began rubbing Sadohara's head.

"See, I told you... Now... get on with it..."

The priestesses all nodded and stepped back as Sadohara rose from the chair.

"What's going on?" Yurika asked as Sadohara was garbed in a white robe.

"I'm being inducted."

"'Inducted'!? But the priestess order-"

"-Is for culling. None of the grandeurs of "gaining esteemed status" are true. This is what commoners with aptitude are reduced to."

"But you said you don't have-"

"I don't, but the sickness of it all is I'll gain the aptitude at the cost of identity. That's how this works. Yurika, this is good bye. If you ever encounter me again, kill me."

"K- What!?"

"I made sure to blacken my lungs as much as possible to make it easy to tell, but knowing these whores, they'll heal me to standard status... Yurika, never share my fate, please..."

Before Sadohara could get another word in, the priestesses sealed her mouth shut. Furious muffled protests emanated from Sadohara as two of the priestesses held her down while the third got behind her and clasped her hands down on her head. A few seconds later, Sadohara went quiet and ceased struggling. Slowly she rose, staring blankly out at Yurika.

"Sensei?"

"Thou," a voice rang in Yurika's mind.

"Sensei? Was that-"

"Thou have been deemed worthy of the order. Come. The honor shall be bestowed immediately," the voice proclaimed.

Now everything finally registered with Yurika. "I see... Then I request a delay until my induction to TIUMP. I wish to finish out this final year of high school with everyone, and priestesses are allowed to attend TIUMP, yes?"

The four priestesses all turned to one another.

"Thou shall be granted thyne request. But thou must come willingly before us no later than the 12th hour of the induction day to thou's term at TIUMP."

And with that, the priestesses vanished, leaving Yurika all alone. "I was a fool... Sensei, I'm sorry. You were punished for helping me, enlightening me... You hit it right on the money, the priestess order is nothing but a tool by the elites to cull common women, or rather, eliminate any women they deem a threat to the world order... Those fucking nobles... I'm gonna send them below hell on the hierarchy chart!"