Archangels of War

As soon as the bell rung, I wish I could say that I immediately got up out of my seat and headed straight out of the class, however it was unfortunately, the very opposite. Instead, I sat in my seat, with my back straight, and hands in my lap as I waited for Ms. Elmer to give her verdict. After 30 or so seconds, the last of the students began to leave, and I could see Erika waving at me with a wink. After all the students had left, I could see Ms. Elmer glance over at me before nodding, and then walking over to stand in front of me. "It seems you're not a complete bumbling idiot after all." 

"Heh." I laughed nervously, not exactly able to predict where this conversation was going. "Thank you." 

"Not to mention, your reaction speed is quick. Despite the fact that I told you nothing, you were able to quickly copy the exact spell sequence I had used, cast it, and also play along with the lie." Just like everyone else, Ms. Elmer gave me my flowers. "However, that does bring up the question, what exactly was someone as smart as you doing being late to class. I'm sure you understand how important first impressions are." 

"Oh, that.... Well in all honesty, I don't really have a good reason as to why I was late to class. I was walking around and checking out some parts of the school with my sister, and we lost track of time." I decided against coming up with some stupid excuse and just told her the truth. She nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer. 

"If that's what it really was, then I accept your answer." My eyes widen slightly, that mea- "Don't get your hopes up. Your still my VIP until further notice." Dammit! Looks like I'm still in for hell! "What is your sister's name." 

Why would she want my sisters name? "Kami Chisaki." I gave my sisters name, however in the back of my mind I tried to decipher why she would need my sister's name. Nothing good, was the conclusion I came to. However, in my book, nothing good meant something along the line of, having a conversation about me with her, which was still a very unappealing prospect. 

After the short conversation, Ms. Elmer allowed me to leave, and as soon as I exited the classroom into the hallway, I finally breathed my long-awaited sigh of relief.... Or so I thought because just as I was about to take aforementioned sigh of relief, a strong arm slammed down unto me, wrapping around the back of neck. I was just about to breathe out as well, so this all ended in me almost choking on air. (If you can even believe that.) When I looked back to see who my almost murderer was, I was unsurprised by the face I saw staring down at me. 

I was greeted by Erika's mischievous grin as well as her vibrant red hair. "Yoo, what's good Raiden!" Despite the fact that I had only had one prior conversation with this girl, she was going around acting as if we were long lost buddies. 

Still trying to catch my breath from almost dying, I tried to respond, "all-ahem-all goo-" However before I could even finish responding, Erika cut me off, leaning in even closer than she already was, and that was saying something considering the fact that she had her armed wrapped around my neck. 

"So, what exactly were you two discussing back there." It took me a second to realize what she was trying to imply. 

"Whatever your thinking, nothing of the sort happened!" I very quickly, made it very clear that whatever Erika was trying to say, simply didn't happen. It would be catastrophically bad for my already not good reputation if rumors about me messing around with a teacher were to start circulating. 

What felt like two full force punches, which I assumed were Erikas misguided concept of pats, were levied unto my back as Erika began to laugh loudly. "Chill out dude, I'm just pulling your leg." Whatever her idea of a joke is, she is very sorely mistaken. Or maybe I'm just too inept to understand what she was going for. 

By this point, Nova and Masayoshi had come back from the entrance to the second-year building. Presumably in search for Erika when they realized she wasn't with them. When Erika noticed, she waved and hollered over at them. "Yooo! Guys!" As soon as I saw Nova, I cast her a pleading look, and she returned my gaze with another look filled with pity. However, this time I wasn't complaining. I needed all the pity I could get. 

"Erika, don't you think your being a bit, rough, with Raiden?" Nova asked a rhetorical question, and a pretty obvious one at that. 

"Not at all, in fact, me and Raiden are having a great time, right?" Whether Erika new it was a rhetorical or not, she answered the question, while also seeking support from me. 

"I'm having a great time, but I'd really prefer if you let me dow-" 

"See! Even he admitted it. Everything's fine, so stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, Nova." She even stuck out her tongue for dramatic effect. I had expected to be cut off, but nonetheless I was still caught off guard. It seemed like everything this girl did was quick, strong, and of little regard to the thoughts people around her. 

"And who exactly do you think your talking too?" Nova replied with just as much sass as Erika had insulted her with. Clearly, my help would not be coming from her. So, I looked over to the only other person in the hallway who I knew and wasn't staring at us like we were a group of weirdos .... never mind, he was too. 

When my eyes finally landed on Masayoshi, I could see through his curtain of hair, that his eyes held the same expression as all the other people who were passing by and watching this situation. One that read, what the hell are those three doing? However, he was my only shot at getting out of this, so I cast a pleading glance at him anyways. He looked at me with an indiscernible expression for a few seconds, before turning to face the two arguing girls, and said, 

"Hey, guys, let's go meet up with Leo and check out the rest of the magical facilities." 

That seemed too do the trick, as they turned to face Masayoshi, and noticed the plethora of weird stares that we were getting. 

"Y-yeah, your right." Nova said, with a blush creeping unto her face. 

"For sure Man!" Erika shouted, with not a single ounce of embarrassment in her voice. 

And she didn't let go of me, all the way until we arrived at the magic section of the second year-building. 

*** 

The magic sector of the second-year building was even more grand than that of the basic class section. A majority of the magic classes were upstairs, and each one was nearly triple the size of a regular classroom. I looked inside some of the classroom, and I noticed a plethora of what seemed to be tubes, and wires, and other widgets and gadgets strewn across the massive tables that were all connected. The second-floor hall was split into two sections. Magical Foundations, and Basic magical developments. I could imagine that this tied into what Ms. Elmer had told us in her speech at the beginning of class. 

Magical foundation classrooms looked extremely similar to the regular classroom, with the only notable differentiating factor being the massive amount of mana that I could sense coming from the rooms. Each and every one had their own unique magical signature, and they all felt very familiar. Almost like something from.... the magic forest? It was hard to pinpoint. Almost like a scent that you could recognize, but only slightly, and never attribute a memory to. 

The third floor was much more complex than the second floor, as it was two sections, that were split into multiple subdivisions. It was the magical engineering and magical research sections. Those two main sections were further split into smaller subsections such as, design, applications, technology, reactions, and more. 

"Jeez, so many buildings. We're not actually expected to take all these, right?" I asked the question as I glanced inside one of the classrooms. Were where approaching the end of the third floor and somehow, I found myself tagging along with Erika and friends, however, I wasn't exactly opposed to it. When I wasn't being suffocated by Erika, it was actually an enjoyable experience. 

"hmmm? Oh, yeah, you missed the first half of Ms. Elmers explanation. Basically, there are so many classes that we couldn't dream to take them all. Instead, were supposed to choose two specific sections to focus on and take our choice between the classes that it offers. The deadline is sometime after the culture festival." Nova was the one who answered my question. 

"Ahh, interesting." It made sense. There were so many classes that one student couldn't take them. So instead, they had students choose specific sections to focus on, which they could join, and pursue to focus on their wants. It was a pretty nice system, with lots of diverse options. 

At the end of the third floor, there was a door that seemed to lead outside. Erika pointed to it excitedly, bouncing up and down as she said, "Come on guys, we should totally check it out!" Not even waiting for a response, she dashed through the door, causing a bright sunlight to shine into the hall. As I stepped outside, I was left utterly amazed. 

We were standing on one of those glass bridges that you could see from outside the school. It was winding, and the sun light reflecting off of the glass prism made it shine in multiple colorful hues. That was only the start though. The winding glass path was directly above a massive field of green grass and trees, with birds and butterflies fluttering all about. The same Tsubaki flowers that could be seen at the back entrance of the school were scattered sparsely throughout the field. The shining sun combined with the magnificent overhead view created a beautiful scene. 

"This must be the training grounds. Jesus....This academy continues to Suprise, every time." 

Erika was leaning on the rail next to me, admiring the view. "I know right, it really is the "Ultimate academy." 

I looked at her with a blank expression. "Was the one-liner really necessary?" 

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Screw you, you could have at least played along."