Chapter 1: Ayato Kyouya (I)

Magic.

It's a word that would get anyone on edge. At least, anyone from the 21st century. This foreign element was introduced in the latter decades of the 21st century and advancing on all fronts in the 22nd century.

People who could use magic are called magicians. The introduction of magicians in the latter decades of the 21st century called forth many wars.

As the world entered a new era, the wars also calmed down. The world is currently in a state of peace. Anyhow, those blessed with magic can attend special academies to build their abilities and magical prowess—such are magic academies.

·———·

Magic academies. Educational institutes made with the sole purpose of preparing magicians for the future. Similar to schools for engineers, for example, but strictly for magicians. Or at least, those who have the capacity to become one.

One such place is Auralia Magic Academy, one of the seven best magical academies in Japan.

The focus of this story is a boy. One boy who just entered the school. A boy named Ayato Kyouya. A freshman at this magic academy.

"The cherry blossoms are pretty..."

He stopped to observe the fluttering pink petals. The large trees danced gently in the passing gale, scattering their cherry blossoms.

Looking at the cherry blossoms made Ayato appreciate the beauty of the month known as April. Of course, they would slowly disappear from now on as cherry blossom season was close to its finality.

"Oh!"

"Ah!"

As Ayato took a step, someone ran into him. They dropped onto the floor. He turned.

"Are you okay?"

The girl looked up at Ayato. She quickly got up and brushed off the dirt on her skirt. Her face was red.

"Y-yes! W-well, then, I'll be off!"

And she continued her run. The boy watched as she accidentally ran into another person before continuing her voyage.

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Why is she in such a rush?"

Ayato gave up on finding a reason and walked with the crowd.

After five minutes or so, Ayato reached his destination. The assembly hall. At the start of every year, the student council president would give a budding speech for both new students and already enrolled students.

It was already filling up. Ayato took a seat in the very back. It was a place where not many people were sitting since they wanted a closer view. He didn't feel as curious.

He sat next to the people at the end.

"Ah!"

He reacted to a resounding gasp.

"Oh, it's the weird girl."

It slipped out of him. Before he could take it back, the girl pouted.

"I'm not weird! I was just in a rush to meet with my friend."

"You know him, Emi?"

The boy at her side asked.

"Kind of. I accidentally bumped into him at the entrance."

"Is that so...?"

The boy didn't like the look of Ayato. More like he was jealous of Ayato's appearance. He was fairly tall with black hair—hued dark blue—and midnight blue eyes.

"Hello, I'm Ayato. I'll be in Class 1-C."

The girl lit up.

"Oh, really? We'll also be in that class! I'm Emika Akino! Call me Emi!"

She grinned at Ayato.

"Nice to meet you, Emi."

"Hello, I'm Retsuya Narukami."

The boy looked forward, wanting to avoid Ayato's gaze. It was obvious that he didn't want to interact with him. Ayato picked up on it but Emika didn't.

"Be kind and look him in the face, Retsuya! You'll end up with no friends if you're like this with everyone but me!"

"I got it, I got it!"

He gave in. With his cheeks slightly flushed, he turned to Ayato.

"Well..."

Retsuya looked him in the eye but kept averting his gaze until finally...

"I hope we'll become friends."

"I do too, Retsuya."

It was quite uncommon for people—in Japan, at least—to refer to others they meet for the first time by their first name. Of course, they would have to if two people shared the same family name.

Emika and Retsuya simply felt obliged to let Ayato call them by their given names. This was because Ayato gave nothing but his first name. There was a reason for this.

"Oh, look! It's the student council president!"

"Wow, I thought everyone was exaggerating when they mentioned her beauty."

Both Retsuya and Emika, as well as the entire assembly hall, praised the elegance of the girl who walked onto the stage.

"Is she more beautiful than me, Retsuya?"

"Of course."

"Ow!"

Emika punched Retsuya, jokingly. The boy edged towards the right side of his seat.

'She's ridiculously strong...'

His arm felt numb even from that somewhat light punch.

[Hello, everyone.]

The girl, who stood on the stage, spoke. She took the microphone off of its stand and began pacing back and forth.

[I am Kiara Kyouya, a junior and the student council president.]

Everyone began murmuring as Kiara introduced herself. This was because she announced that she was a junior, not a senior. This meant that she was in her second year, not her final one.

[I'm sure that some of you are wondering why a junior such as I am the student council president. It's because I'm capable. There is another but that doesn't take precedence. Let's simply say that the original candidate refused to become president.]

She summarised the frenzy that was going on in her mind.

[At this school, we all represent one another. Even if one of us is weaker than the other, we still help each other out. Needless to say, you are also competing with each other.]

"Isn't that contradicting what she just said?"

Retsuya asked.

Ayato silently watched.

[You cannot become a better version of yourself if you don't strive to be better than those around you. And to all of you who are satisfied with your current self, those who are too lazy to put in the work, those who believe they are better than those around them. This is a message to all of you...]

Kiara stopped pacing and looked directly into the crowd. She took a deep breath and...

[WAKE UP!]

As the microphone screeched, everyone did their best to cover their ears. Not only was this a message to everyone but also a wake-up call for those uninterested.

[Be the best that you can be. Perhaps you do have a guaranteed position as the head of your family but you must still go forward to reach even greater heights. You must reach not for the skies, but for the stars. At this school, our goal is to nurture everyone to their very best. That is all from me, thank you for listening.]

Kiara put the microphone back onto the stand and walked off the stage. The assembly hall was quiet.

"Whoo!"

Everyone cheered and applauded Kiara Kyouya, all united. They all saw the brilliance of the girl named Kiara Kyouya.

"Hm? Ayato? Aren't you going to clap?"

Emika asked.

"Oh, sorry, I don't usually clap for people."

He made an excuse, proceeding to clap slowly.

The reason why Ayato didn't give his family name when meeting Retsuya and Emika is that he shared the surname of a few amazing people at this school. All of them were related to him. All of them are part of a family in the Seven Great Noble Families—the Kyouya Family.

·———·

"Those lessons were pretty ordinary."

Retsuya said, putting his hand behind his head.

The three of them—Emika, Retsuya and Ayato—had finished two lessons with a break in-between the first one, just like any other high school.

Since it was a magic high school, Retsuya and Emika were expecting things that were more magician-like.

"I know right...? I want to learn other stuff than Science."

Emika pouted. She wasn't exactly good with complex things, specifically equations. Chemistry and Mathematics were her worst subjects.

"Calm down, after our lunch break, we have PE, so it should be good."

"Right! PE! I'll destroy everyone when it comes to physical examinations!"

"Ah, Ayato, if I'm correct, we'll also be doing sparring right?"

"Actually, I'm not sure. It would bode well if we did. I'm curious about where I stand in the class."

Ayato said with a smile of anticipation on his face.

"So do I."

Retsuya concurred.

"However, I'm sure that I could beat you in a spare any day, Retsuya."

"Oh, oh, was that a challenge?"

Sparks flew as they glared at each other. The two of them received a punch to the gut by Emika. They groaned in pain, holding their stomachs.

"Instead of starting fights, let's go and get something to eat. I never like fighting on an empty stomach."

She walked ahead of them.

"She's more excited for the spars than us..."

"Yup, I agree..."

They arrived at the lunch hall and got their trays of food. The trio sat down at an empty table in the middle of the lunch hall.

"The food they serve here looks better than my last school."

"They do put in a lot of money just to support their students."

Emika said, brutally piercing the steak on her plate. It cried out as she shoved it into her mouth.

"Remember what the president said. She wants the students who study here to become the best versions of themselves."

"Yeah, and that too!"

The red-haired boy, Retsuya, spoke after sipping his water.

"The student council president at my previous school couldn't care less about us. They just did the bare minimum. It's like he only became president so that it could be put on his resume."

"No, Retsuya, I think that's probably why he became president."

Ayato confirmed Retsuya's suspicions. He silently ate his food as the other two were chatting away. It was a different experience for him. A nice one.

"Oh, who's this here?"

As Ayato ate peacefully, his tray was kicked off the table. Some of the curry that he was eating stained his face.

Ayato didn't react. He slowly turned his head. Two people stood in front of him. They both looked similar, twins perhaps. They both had black-blue hair, like Ayato, and green eyes.

"This is our table! Get the fuck out of here!"

"Huh?! Why should we?!"

Retsuya stood up from his seat and marched over to the boy. He butt heads with the boy. They both growled at each other.

"You're rough! What's your name, redhead?!"

"I'm Retsuya Narukami! What about you, shitbag?!"

"I'm Viera Kyouya!"

"Anywho, don't fuck with my friend like that!"

"Hah?! Then you shouldn't have sat here!"

They grabbed each other's ties and collided heads once more.

"Viera, let's just leave it at that."

His twin sister suggested, looking at Ayato.

"But Reina...!"

Her face contorted in disgust as if she were staring at a slug.

"We don't want to end up like him."

She turned about-face and walked off with her tray of food. Viera also followed, making sure that his food doesn't spill.

"Such fucking dickheads..."

Retsuya spat. He felt sour after Ayato was abused like that. They had no remorse.

Emika hurried and got her handkerchief and began to wipe Ayato's face clean.

"It's fine, Emi."

"No, it's not! Why would they randomly knock your food over and then just leave?! The nerve!"

Although she was infuriated, Emika couldn't help but shed tears. Ayato smiled lightly. It had been less than 4 hours since they met and they still decided to care for him.

"Oi, Ayato, do you know those jerks?"

"..."

Ayato looked in the direction that they left.

"No, I don't."

He replied nonchalantly.

·———·

Lunch break ended and they got into their training uniforms, fully equipped for PE.

"Today, we'll simply be doing sparring. We'll have two spars per person. First, pair up with someone you'd like to spar. After everyone spars, we'll go with a new partner and go again."

The teacher announced.

And so, everyone scampered, trying to find a partner as soon as possible. Ayato stayed still as Emika and Retsuya dispersed. They didn't want to fight one another.

"Oi, blue hair."

A girl went up to Ayato. She looked irritated. The girl pointed at him.

"Fight me."

"Sure, what's your name?"

Even though it seemed like she was attempting to pick a fight with him—attempting to annoy him, so to speak—Ayato ignored that fact and smiled.

"My name is Kiyoki. Don't worry, I already know that your name is Ayato."

Kiyoki's goal was clearly not to be friends with Ayato. It was also obvious to Ayato that she had some sort of grudge against him. Seeing as they met properly for the first time, the boy didn't have a single clue whatsoever.

"For the first bout... Who wants to go first?"

"We'll go first, Teacher."

Kiyoki volunteered. Ayato couldn't help but think that there was some sort of ulterior motive behind her actions. Of course, everyone had some sort of ulterior motive but hers was the sort that would most likely humiliate him.

'I'll see how it plays along...'

He calmly thought following Kiyoki into the small arena. It was small but there was sufficient enough to move around.

The stone plates of the arena were made of polished amethyst which has the effect of reducing elements with mana in them to null. The polished amethyst has a limit to how much it can take and can be destroyed by physical shock, like any other rock.

"Alright. I'll explain the rules. No lethal spells may be used, although any other spells are allowed. All forms of martial arts are allowed. The match time will be two minutes. You can win by subduing your opponent, knocking them out, or throwing them out of the arena. Are you two ready?"

"Yeah."

Kiyoki took a stance with a grand smile. It seemed like she was going to settle it with martial arts.

"Yes, I'm ready too."

Ayato replied. He lightly hopped on one foot. He didn't put any of his arms up. What he was currently doing was somewhat similar to Taekwondo, however, his stance wasn't stable.

To some, if not all people in the class, this martial arts stance was irrational. Maybe it wasn't 100 years ago, but it was now.

100 years ago, people weren't able to use magic, meaning that if someone was unarmed, then they would use magic. Ayato being constantly off-balance would put him at a disadvantage. There's also the fact that he could be attacked midair. Even so, the boy continued hopping with a teasing smile on his face.

"Begin!"

"Acceleration!"

As Ayato hopped into the air, Kiyoki dashed toward him, reinforcing herself with magic. She reached him as he was ready to land.

He was able to comprehend his situation as Kiyoki launched her fist toward him. Even so, he didn't panic. In fact, he was calm.

Without a single word, Ayato flipped himself in the air, right over Kiyoki.

Although the movement was simple, it was one conducted without magic. Even in a magical world like this, what Ayato just did seemed fantastical.

The girl spun around, reacting with a roundabout kick. Ayato blocked it.

"What did you do there?!"

"That's not important."

He used his leg to drag her pivot foot to make her lose her balance. She pushed her hand forward.

'In this situation, she'll use...'

"Soundwave."

A wave of sound was blasted in Ayato's face. A Soundwave that was too close to the face should've knocked Ayato out. His eyes were wide open.

"Wha...?!"

Before the Soundwave hit him, Ayato cloaked the inside of his ears with mana. It was a classic way of defending against the spell since it could render someone immobile if unexpected.

"Let's finish this."

The boy grabbed her wrist. In a single motion, he threw Kiyoki outside of the arena, resulting in his victory.

"Victory for... Ayato Kyouya!"

The teacher announced. Ayato slowly walked out of the arena. Everyone's eyes were on him. Before they believed nothing of him. They merely knew him from the incident at lunchtime. However, their opinion changed after that bout.

"What did he do at the start? He didn't even say the name of the spell?"

"He's good at martial arts too!"

"Did you see that last move?! He knocked her off balance and flipped with her, throwing her out of the arena! That's something not even Bruce Lee could do!"

"Of course he's amazing, he is a Kyouya after all."

There it was. The line that he hated the most. It felt wrong to him that he had to be amazing to be a Kyouya. Or rather, he is a Kyouya because he's amazing.

·———·

In the student council room...

"President,"

The boy called out to Kiara, who was drowned in paperwork.

"You can call me by my name when we're alone, Masaki."

The boy was a relative of Kiara's. Masaki Kyouya, her half-brother. The patriarch of the Kyouya Family had a wife and many concubines, resulting in many children.

"Is it true that Ayato is now in this school?"

He asked, gritting his teeth. Masaki accidentally scrunched the papers in his hands.

The president sighed.

"Yup. My younger brother is in this school. There's already been an incident between him and the twins."

"Twins, as in Viera and Reina?"

She nodded, planting her body onto her desk.

"These next two years are going to be trouble for both me and him."

"Why do you still bother to help him, Kiara? I mean, not just me but everyone in the Kyouya Family hates him, whether they've met him or not."

"Perhaps so, however, Masaki..."

She sat upright and smiled while looking at the boy.

"It's the elder sister's duty to protect her younger brother. You have siblings, so you must understand."

"Right..."

"Besides, I'm not worried for him. Rather, I'm worried for those who decide to mess with him."