Mahou Sensou:Volume 1 Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4: Wizard's Rule
Part 1
Ida Kazumi was a student at Sakuraya High School. However, most of the time he did not wear his uniform. Not because he hated school (even though the teachers looked at him with suspicion, and his classmates made expressions as if there was a monster among them always holding him as the vilest). He just let it all go and took it easy, since he had promised his mother that he would graduate no matter what. Ida didn't have his father and therefore, she had become the most important thing so he would never betray her. He would never break his promise to her. Although her grades were not good, she was still within the necessary limit to pass the course.
During the three years he would be there, he would have to grudgingly put up with all the prejudices against him. There were very few students whom Ida could call "friends". (not to say that there were none) and no matter how hard he tried to make conversation with his classmates, it was more than clear that he was just a nuisance and they always looked at him with dread. For that reason, there came a time when he stopped doing so.
However, Nanase Takeshi treated him differently. To Ida, Takeshi was someone special even though he was not very talkative, not very studious. Just an average boy with a few friends in class, who attended the kendo club. He didn't excel at anything and wasn't too serious, so he was the perfect normal kid. The only unusual thing was that Takeshi had the same kind attitude with Ida that he had with other people. Perhaps, if the first time the two of them had spoken in the classroom, Ida might have disliked Takeshi. He had many friends with whom he got along very well, which was not a bad thing for Ida. Otherwise she would have considered the act of talking to him as an act of hypocrisy. However, Ida met Takeshi in a very different place than at school. Takeshi didn't remember that, but Ida kept it in the back of her mind.
It was a Sunday, when school was closed. Ida was standing with her younger sister in front of the station, but at one point they separated and she got lost. While she was looking for her, a series of mishaps occurred.
On a busy sidewalk, the sound of a bicycle falling was heard. Ida rushed to the scene with a bad feeling and indeed found her sister there crying. Every time she recalls that moment, Ida's hair stands on end. For it was Takeshi who was standing there, and with great aggression he trampled the bicycle lying on the ground and grabbed a delinquent riding on it by the neck causing him to get up while shouting at the guy in great anger.
What he understood from Takeshi's words was that the guy was riding the bicycle on the sidewalk at high speed. On the other hand, it seemed that the bike the guy was riding was dangerous, as it was one of those so-called "track bikes" that have no brakes equipped. The guy apologized when he understood that he might have hurt the little elementary school girl, Takeshi gave him a push and kicked the bike to the corner of the street.
Finally Ida approached her crying brother and although Takeshi looked at him, he didn't know it was Ida or that he was her classmate. At the time, Ida was wearing a large woolen cap that concealed her blonde hair as well as a particular flashy outfit. But even if she had been wearing a uniform, she would not have recognized him. Ida also didn't know that Takeshi was a classmate.
They had barely been attending high school for five days. Takeshi simply advised Ida not to let go of his little sister's hand and then left without further ado. The next day, Ida's astonishment when she ran into Takeshi in the classroom was monumental. Takeshi, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice anything, perhaps because he didn't remember.
But from that moment on, Takeshi became for Ida someone out of the ordinary in the classroom. As she watched him, she noticed that Takeshi had a big cut on the back of his hand, and then she remembered that her little sister had told her that Takeshi had stepped in front of the speeding bicycle and stopped it to protect her.
Takeshi's manner at school, compared to the angry Takeshi with that guy on the bike when he was on the street, had Ida completely confused. At school, Takeshi seemed like a serious and impeccable student, he was a very sociable person who could get along great with anyone. However, you could tell that he had suppressed his emotions as much as possible. In fact, he was someone who did not like to get involved in any kind of trouble and used to subtly move away from people who represented some kind of mishap in order not to get involved.
Hardly someone like that would get into a fight over someone else. But now, being classmates and friends, and also for having saved his little sister, Ida was helping Takeshi find an escape route, yet he couldn't help but be a little intrigued as well. For some reason, that stoic kendo student, whose girlfriend was none other than Isoshima Kurumi, the most desired girl by all the boys in the school. That Takeshi who never missed a single class, was running hand in hand with a woman with blond and curly hair (very beautiful by the way) who looked like a college student, trying to run away from some guys who were chasing them.
Seeing that situation, anyone would be interested. After the narrow hallway of the building, there was a cargo entrance. Ida went out that way, and suddenly while waiting behind a truck parked there for Takeshi to come out, he was completely stunned for a moment.
"Ishoshima? But how...?"
The woman who accompanied Takeshi out of the door was no longer the beauty he had seen before, but was Isoshima Kurumi. (Obviously Kurumi was also very beautiful). She stared at Ida who was stunned and asked:
"What, is it wrong for me to come too?"
"Hey, where is that beautiful onee-san who came with us?"
Ida shook her head from side to side, looking behind Takeshi for that girl, but there was only Kurumi. The curly-haired beauty had vanished.
"I'm sure I saw her." Ida looked coldly at Kurumi.
"Aah? you're sure you saw... what? I don't know what you're talking about."
Having been denied what she had seen, Ida, annoyed, turned to Takeshi.
"Nanase, where is the girl from earlier?"
However, Takeshi did not react in any way.
"Ehh..."
"That's enough, for God's sake! Remember that they're still chasing us." Kurumi said, pointing to the exit door.
At that moment both Takeshi and Ida tensed up.
"That's right, come this way!" Ida said, walking away from the truck and the building.
As she continued on her way, Kurumi held tightly to Takeshi's hand.
"Takeshi, I..."
"Ahh, you're back to your old self." Takeshi said, smiling at Kurumi who looked uncomfortable.
Certainly Kurumi's appearance was different until a while ago. It was when that girl from <the Trailers> named Hotaru started to forcibly apply lipstick on her, that she was surrounded with particles of magic power and changed her appearance. At first Takeshi was shocked to see that Kurumi had completely transformed into someone else as they ran while holding hands.
Her appearance was that of a young woman in her twenties with curly hair. Even they ran he couldn't help but cast sidelong glances at him from time to time, but he recognized the features of her own face. So I had a clear idea of what had happened. Kurumi had changed her appearance, probably increasing her age by 4 or 5 years. Takeshi pondered about the systematic magic the headmistress had mentioned.
If the guys in <the Trailers> had mentioned that Takeshi's magical affinity was "Evasive Magic", then Kurumi who had also become a mage, must also have a magical affinity. Transformation magic had been something completely mind-blowing, but because Kurumi was frightened and bewildered by such a change, Takeshi was trying to handle the matter as delicately as possible.
"It seems that after a while you are back to normal." Takeshi mentioned with a shrug.
"I didn't feel like myself. It was awful." Kurumi replied.
"I like you just the way you are."
"Really?" Kurumi asked staring at him.
Takeshi nodded calmly and answered.
"Of course."
Hearing that Kurumi smiled. and putting her hand on her chest she thought, "I don't have to worry about that anymore."
