Mahou Sensou:Volume 1 Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: SUBARU Magic School in The Mirror

Part 1

There was a long corridor at least ten meters wide that had no windows. Its length was no more than two hundred meters, and on the wall on each side were huge one-piece mirrors that ran the entire length of the hallway.

"It's amazing, the mirrors run the entire length of the hallway." Takeshi exclaimed.

The mirrors along the hallway stretched behind him beyond the horizon to become a single point.

"This is where all the students and teachers of the Academy come and go." Mui commented, and then began to walk forward.

Takeshi stood admiring the mirrors in awe, but after a while he turned around and ran after Mui. They passed through a white door and then came to a crossroads where Mui crossed to the right and then went down some stairs.

The place certainly had a school-like feel to it; there were white walls and each hallway was very wide and spacious. However, everything was so quiet that anyone would doubt about the presence of any person in the place. Takeshi also went down the stairs. There were flowers planted along an outside path that led into the building.

From a distance, a classroom could be seen, but no one seemed to be there. Meanwhile, Mui remained completely silent as she guided Takeshi to a certain place in the building where they finally stopped.

"Excuse me, I'm Aiba from first year...."

The door opened, and when Mui looked inside, a woman's voice greeted her.

"Aah, well. Come in..."

Mui and Takeshi entered the room. That place was about half the size of a normal classroom, and there were several stainless steel desks placed in front of each other.

"Aiba-san, you ran away from the Academy, didn't you?" that woman said, appearing from behind

"I'm sorry..." Mui said, apologizing to the woman and then turned to look back with a bitter smile.

"You're very stubborn..."

The woman, who was dressed in a formal gray suit, had a very firm chest and legs. All of her seemed to be brimming with youth. She was about the same age as Takeshi's mother, her eyes were sharp and you could tell she had a good physique. At that moment, she shifted her point of view from Mui to Takeshi and said:

"Now, the real problem is you. Ajaa... I see..."

While examining Takeshi from head to toe, he approached him.

"E-ee..."

"Write down your name and address."

The woman went back to one of the desks after handing him a sheet of paper and a pencil.

"Excuse me?"

"Quickly!"

Confused, Takeshi received the items the woman handed him and after pressing the pencil against the sheet of paper to begin writing, he turned at Mui and she nodded. Takeshi then reluctantly set about writing what he had been instructed to write. When he finished, the woman snatched the paper from him and then opened a drawer and took out a tape measure.

"Good, now take off your clothes..."

"Huh?"

"Quick, get undressed!"

As Takeshi was too slow, the woman grabbed his shirt.

"Hey... Wait, please!" Takeshi exclaimed.

However, the woman didn't wait and took off his shirt. Takeshi's upper body had been quickly undressed. Mui's cheeks flushed and she suddenly didn't know where to look, so she focused her gaze on the corner of the wall.

The woman had forcibly removed Takeshi's shirt, so with mouth tightly closed Mui stood stiffer than a statue as she stared at the wall. Then, the woman made her hold Takeshi's shirt which was still warm.

With the tape measure in her hand, the woman took Takeshi's measurements so fast that it didn't even take her a minute.

"This is the order for your uniform, go with this paper to the store..."

With red cheeks, Mui handed the shirt back to Takeshi. And they set out to do as they were instructed.

"What is all this?"

Takeshi, despite having received the paper, wanted to inquire, but immediately the phone in front of the woman rang.

"Hello?, Subaru Magic Academy Office..."

When the woman started talking on the phone she made her voice higher pitched, and Takeshi let out a sigh and watched her. She started talking on the phone about subjects that were taught at the Academy: "Basic Principles of Magic", "History of Magic", "Study of Charms", "Study of Territories"... All of those were subjects he had never heard of before.

"Yes... Yes... Yes... Understood..."

Takeshi hadn't put on his shirt and had continued to watch the woman talking on the phone, until she finally hung up. Then she turned around and looked at Takeshi who was still there and frowned.

"Are you still here? Come on... go where I told you to go. Aiba-san, please take him with you."

Standing next to him, Mui, took the paper from his hands and quickly urged him to put on his shirt. Takeshi, who was half naked, deduced that staying there would not solve anything, so he proceeded to put on his shirt, and them, the woman began to complain.

"Geez, why do i have to be so busy? Now it turns out there's another transfer student. Let's see... Isoshima... Kurumi."

With his shirt half on, Takeshi exclaimed:

"Isoshima...!?"

He quickly finished putting on his shirt and asked:

"Excuse me .... Did you just say, Ishoshima Kurumi?"

"Yes, that's what I said. Looks like she's the other transfer student, do you know her?"

Takeshi was puzzled, for he no longer knew how many surprises he had been in for that very day.

Part 2

"Are you all right, miss?"

"Mmm..."

Letting out a seductive voice, accompanied by heavy breathing and her shiny brown hair spilling over the sheets, Kurumi used the back of her hand to rub her eyes and began to get up.

"This is... Takeshi's room?"

She recognized it at a glance. The room felt rustic and was smaller than it needed to be, so it was obvious that there were things piled up in one corner. From where she stood, she saw a man who was not Takeshi, who was standing up.

"Who are you?!" she exclamied.

She looked around a second time, and made sure that the place she was in was Takeshi's room, but he was nowhere to be seen. Kurumi thought that the man in front of her was too suspicious so she made a disgusting gesture.

"I'm really sorry, but i had to use the bed without permission," the bespectacled man commented. He appeared to be almost thirty years old. And when Kurumi finally noticed something, she said:

"It's Takeshi's bed..."

"I see... So it was it a bad idea to use it?"

"No... it's ok..."

When she understood that what the man meant, was that he had laid her down on that bed, her face turned a little red. She had sat there many times before, but she had never laid down before. Suddenly her chest began to throb, but then she asked a question to the man who had his face turned away from her.

"Who exactly are you?"

The appearance of the room seemed normal, the only unusual thing was that man standing there, so it was normal that she did not understand what was going on. That man standing in front of her had a okappa haircut and wore completely round glasses and, even though it was summer, he wore thick white tuxedo.

"I apologize... My name is Hitouji Makoto, and i am a Special Examiner of the <Wizard's Breath> Comunity, and also a teacher at Subaru Magic Academy.

"What did you say?" Kurumi interrupted coldly.

"I mean, that i'm a Wizard..."

"I've heard enough, do you think i'm stupid?"

"Oh, that's not what i think." replied the man, bowing exaggeratedly.

Kurumi, who was still sitting on the bed, looked at him coldly. Then she realized that she didn't remember how long she had been lying on Takeshi's bed, let alone how long the man had been standing there.

"By the way, if i remember correctly... i was attacked by some strange men." Kurumi said, associating the men from before with her loss of consciousness.

"So you remember? They are part of Ghost Trailer, and they seem to have affected you unexpectedly."

"..."

In addition to Kurumi's cold stare, pity began to show in her, as if she was pitying that foolish and pathetic man.

"I think you're misunderstanding something. Do you think i'm a preschooler or something? Do you really think a high school student would believe a story like that?" Kurumi replied, with graat heat and judging the man.

"But..."

"That's enough! What you have to do right now, is to get as far away from here as possible." Kurumi exclaimed, pointing to the door.

However, he doesn't pretend to have the intention of doing that.

"That kind of reasoning..."

The man tried to speak, but Kurumi, once again, interrupted him.

"Just at this moment you are a stranger who has broken into this house, and on top of that you are a person full of lies. That's more than enough reason for me to call the police. Do you know what that means?"

Kurumi quickly reached into her skirt pocket, and pulled out her cell phone to show it to the man. He just took a step back and shrugged his shoulders. It seemed that high school girl was very arrogant. The man regretted his asignament and wished to leave, but he couldn't because it was his job. So, in order not to show hostility, he raised both arms and began to speak:

"We are still investigating whether you are a wizard or not. But if it turns out positive, you would be the second person to become a wizard this day, besides Nanase Takeshi, so you must cooperate."

When Kurumi heard that name, her eyes widened.

"Takeshi?"

"Excuseme?"

"You said Takeshi, right? that's what you said? Nanase Takeshi?"

Kurumi didn't know how many surprises she had gotten that day, but it was more than clear to the man, that her attitude had softened considerably when she heard Takeshi's name, so she nodded a lot.

"That is correct. On the other hand, your arrival at Subaru Magic Academy was already appointed so it's inevitable. All the formalities for your transfer have already been settled and you has been accepted as a basic level wizard.

"And Takeshi...? Is he already in that academy?"

"Of course..."

"So you've come to take me there?"

"Well, we're still investigating if you've become a Wizard..." The man answered.

Then Kurumi stood up quickly and said:

"Well, then finish that investigation quickly. I want to meet with Takeshi, I want to hear what he has to tell me."

The girl's facial expression had changed completely. She was facing the man insistently and had a bright and well-marked smile all over her face. She had full confidence that, upon meeting with Takeshi, everything would be resolved as if it was the last move one makes during sword practice.

She was showing a smile at that moment, but nothing described better what she really felt, than the thorns underneath a beautiful rose, as, inside, she was hiding a fierce anger. Who was that girl running with him while they were holding hands? She wanted to hear an explanation directly from Takeshi. So, at that moment, that was the most important matter for her.

Part 3

Through the halls of the Academy, Mui was leading the confused Takeshi. The fact that the woman in the office mentioned Kurumi's name was disturbing to him. However, a few moments ago they had just received a satisfactory explanation, a textbook had been noted on the paper along with other things that were also part of the application for the store.

"Where are we going now?" asked Takeshi.

then Mui stopped walking and said:

"The next stop is The Principal's Office"

Then she quickly turned to forward again and continued walking. So far, Takeshi had been following her unconditionally, but his patience was reaching its limit.

"Hey, wait!"

Takeshi grabbed Mui's arm and pulled on it. Then Mui stopped again.

"It's the Transfer process." she said clearly.

"Aah!? What transfer?

"Don't worry, everything is arranged so that there won't be any discrepancy between the magical world and the other side."

Then Takeshi angrily replied:

"That's not right! You are involuntarily transferring me."

Takeshi's anger was in stark contrast to Mui's carefree attitude.

"Now you have the responsibility of being a wizard and you can't refuse. You can no longer attend an ordinary school."

"Responsibility to be a wizard? You say something like that because it suits you and..."

"Mui..." she replied, interrupting Takeshi as she grabbed his arm and looked him in the eyes.

"Huh? what do..."

Confused by what she said, Takeshi stopped talking and then she repeated:

"My name is Mui..."

"..."

"I think i didn't introduce myself properly at the infirmary."

"..."

Takeshi's anger subsided, and his shoulders slumped.

"I understand. So... You are Mui..."

"Yes?"

Being called her name, Mui flashed a smile. Takeshi slowly loosened his grip on her arm, felt dizzy, and quietly said what he truly felt:

"I think after all, I want to go back..."

The corridor was silent and his voice echoed loudly everywhere. Mui kept quiet and soon after that silence, the girl looked down and replied:

"I'm sorry..."

It was just for a while, eut her voice cracked within that silent atmosphere.

"I'm really sorry."

She apologized again, and for a moment her eyes became very serious, making the gloom increase.

"I didn't want to ruin your life like this."

It looked like Mui was being tormented by those words. Takeshi frowned, raised his face and stared straight ahead keeping quiet.

She continued:

"In spite of everything, I know that my life would not be enough to make amends for what I did to you. You are a wizard now and you must accept that responsibility."

He needed to be informed that he should be prepared for anything, including death.

"I'm not asking you for anything like that," Takeshi replied, shaking his head in puzzlement.

"I'm so sorry, Nanase-kun."

To keep saying that was useless, so Takeshi let out a sigh, pulled himself together and said:

"Call me Takeshi..."

Inevitably, a bitter smile appeared on Takeshi's face, and then Mui breathed a sigh of relief.

Part 4

The principal's office and the teachers' lounge were located on the second floor of the Academy building, side by side. Unlike the teachers' lounge, where adults could be heard chattering, the hallway was completely silent. Mui knocked on the principal's office and, after waiting for an answer, opened it.

"Excuse me..." said Mui as she entered, her voice instantly lowered.

"Aah, come in, I've been waiting for you two..."

However, the tone of voice she responded with was quite unusual, as it was a soft, high-pitched voice, similar to that of a small child. Tilting his head as he followed Mui, Takeshi remembered that this was the principal's office, but unexpectedly saw a middle school student girl.

There was a full set of couches the reception area, and at the back of the room, near the window, was a huge desk. However, the person sitting at the desk was not a bald old man in a Tanuki belly as expected, but a silver-haired girl. Her hair matched the tie she was wearing next to her sailor-style uniform.

Underneath the desk could be seen his small brown loafers slowly swinging back and forth like pendulums. Either because the chair was too high or the desk was too big, but her feet did not touch the floor while she was sitting. Cause of the laptop she kept open on the desk, her face could not be seen, however, judging by her body size, she did not look like a high school student, but a middle schooler.

"Mui, do you think it's right for that girl to be sitting there?"

When Takeshi asked that, for some reason Mui opened her eyes wide and laughed ~Fu ~Fu and with a smile replied:

"Don't worry about it, just take a seat over there."

Mui quickly walked with him to the couch and sat down. Although Takeshi thought it was strange, he sat down next to her. Meanwhile, the girl was moving the mouse on her computer and for some reason, it groaned as she manipulated it. Takeshi thought that the principal would be angry if when he came back he saw the little girl touching his computer and doing what she wanted.

But, because Mui feigned ignorance as she sat there, Takeshi was left calmly take a pick the interior of the office. On the wall, the usual pictures of all the principals who have gone in succession were nowhere to be found.

Takeshi looked at the nearby area with great interest. Then the little girl let out a sigh and leaned back in the seat. Then, casually, she jumped off the chair and approached the two of them who were sitting on the sofa. And then, facing them, he began to stroke the back of the sofa in front of them and said:

"Well, Aiba-kun. Looks like there will be double punishment for you."

Hearing that, Takeshi was surprised, and turned to look at Mui's face sitting next to him.

"I'm sorry"

Mui apologized, following out of the corner of her eye the movements of the little girl, who then nimbly jumped over the backrest and sat on the sofa.

"Maybe i should make you spend the whole day apologizing?"

"..."

Mui bowed her head and her hair spilled down in front hiding her face. And, even though the girl was smiling at Mui, her gaze was very piercing.

"Well, i always seem to be talking to myself, since my warnings are always falling on deaf ears. You're not a little girl anymore, you know."

"..."

Takeshi stared at the girl scolding Mui. Perhaps because of the way she spoke and acted, it was logical to come to a certain conclusion that at the same time seemed impossible. Then the little girl continued:

"I have told you on many occasions that it is dangerous to leave the academy and the community and, being a student, I thought you were aware of that. You must be aware of how serious the consequences of your actions are."

"Yes..."

As Mui bowed her head in agreement, silence hung in the air for a moment. While he had been listening to the two talking, Takeshi hadn't been able to say anything, but at that moment he had found the opportunity.

"Excuse me..."