Second Years at Hogwarts
Chapter 11 - The Fire Talisman (Part 2)
The boys left the room on their own and let Sho and his family alone together. They calmly walked down the halls until they sat in the waiting room for regular visitors on the fourth floor. They didn't utter a word as if they needed to take in all that has happened. It was hard to imagine only this morning they were at Sho's mansion. It seemed ages ago.
"Howdy, there!" Someone popped next to Jun.
"Whoa!" Jun jumped. It was the Healer Tsukumo with his long brown hair and big, bright eyes. He smiled at them.
"You again?" Ohno frowned. "I thought you went with Professor Johnny."
But Tsukumo ignored his question and handed Ohno his business card.
"Nice to meet you," he continued to smile. "My name is Tsukumo Ryusuke. Written in the kanji numerials 9-10-9 and pronounced Tsu-ku-mo."
"Y-you don't say," Ohno said, leaning back as Tsukumo stared at him a little to closely.
"Tell me," Tsukumo said, not batting an eyelid, "how did you woke Sakurai Sho?"
"Uhhh..."
"How did Sho cured his burns?"
"W-well..."
"And do you know something about how he cured his sister?"
"I think Professor Johnny can answer those questions," Ohno pointed out.
"No need. He's just going to obliviate those poor Healers' memories," Tsukumo said matter-of-factly.
"Really?" Aiba said, his eyebrows shot up.
"How do you know?" Nino asked.
"I don't. I just assume he will. But he lied to them anyways, so I'm pretty sure I'm right. I saw him look to the left, or his right," he answered simply. "It implies that he was lying. When you lie, your eyes draw to the left, or your right but my left. And when you tell the truth, the eyes look to the right, or your left but my right."
"Wait, what?" Jun scratched his head, completely lost. "Left? Right? What?"
"But the fact stands," Tsukumo continued, "Professor Johnny had no intension of telling those Healers what happened. I can only guess he knows something about this whole situation, and I'm curious to know the whole truth."
The boys were flabbergasted and totally clueless on what Tsukumo just said. He sat there with his oh-so-perfect smile. Jun felt annoyed.
"L-look, even I don't know what happened," Ohno confessed. "It was just something that I...knew what to do."
The boys exchanged glances. Jun guessed that Ohno meant his Vocal Wizard side within him took over for a moment to help Sho wake up sooner.
"Excuse me!" A woman approached them, panting heavily.
She dressed professional, like a Muggle business woman, and she had a distinct facial feature that made Jun thought was similar to Sho. Was it the eyes? The shape of her face?
"Do you know where my husband and son are?" She asked Tsukumo. "What happened?" She demanded.
"Well-"
"Mom?"
She turned around and saw Sho standing behind her. She ran towards him and hugged him tightly, surprising Sho completely.
"I've heard from your father that you were here," she said, and started fussing with him. She lift his eyelids, licked her thumb to wipe a smudge from his cheek, and parted his messy hair.
"Mom. Mom! I'm alright," Sho mumbled, blushing from embarrassment. "I just came from Mai's ward."
"Mai?" She stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. Sho smiled.
"You should see her," Sho nodded. "I'm fine. Go see her and I'll meet with you later. There's something I have to do first."
She was speechless as she walked towards Mai's ward, looking back at her son once in a while before she disappeared. Jun and the others stood up and followed Sho who walked down the other direction of the hall. Tsukumo was right behind them like a shadow on their backs.
"Where are you going, Sho?" Aiba asked.
"I saw the name on the door when I ran down here," Sho simply answered. "I think it's time I fix him."
Jun heard Nino gasped next to him. They exchanged glances and knew exactly whom Sho was talking about...Yamapi. They arrived at a white door with Yamashita's name plate on it. Sho took a deep breath and opened the door.
Compare to Mai's ward, it looked like a regular hospital room. Jun would have though it was a normal Muggle hospital if it wasn't for the moving pictures in the room. Nino quickly sat next to Yamapi's bed; his eyes were in anguish yet again.
Yamapi looked better when Jun last saw him. His black burns subsided to a dark brown, but the burns were still noticeable compare to Yamapi's regular fair skin color. He was asleep, but it was as if he was sleeping all this time since Sho attacked him.
"He was a mess when he first arrived," Tsukumo told them, looking at the charts attached to Yamapi's bed. "Magically External Burns. A case which can be cured, but only by the one who cast the spell."
"Why couldn't he have been cured sooner?!" Nino asked.
"It took extreme testings to find out his diagnose. Look," Tsukumo said pointedly.
A patch of brown skin slowly swelled and turned black again. Nino gasped and Aiba covered in his mouth in shock. The burns were growing back.
"This is a constant burning. It's close to pure soul magic...like UtaMahou," Tsukumo said, staring at Sho. "I've heard reports that a duel caused this. A boy in rage unleashed unspeakable measures of UtaMahou. Rap Magic, I believe it was."
Sho couldn't even speak as he nodded his head.
"So you started this," Tsukumo said. "This is a serious case that even our professionals can't fix. Do you think you can?"
"I...I have to try," Sho said, his voice shaky. "I do hate him for the things he said...but I won't run away anymore."
Sho sat on the other side of the bed and placed his palm on Yamapi's forehead.
"I have caused people so much trouble...now I will fix them," Sho nodded, and closed his eyes in concentration.
Tsukumo never took his eyes off of Sho as they all watched Sho work his magic. They were silent for a whole minute until they saw a small light glowing underneath Sho's palm. Yamapi gasped in his sleep, making Nino jump in shock.
The burnings on his body slowly faded away and retreated into his body. The brown and black burns turned back to his normal skin color, and Yamapi opened his exhausted eyes.
"Nino?" Yamapi spoke in a hoarse voice. Nino smiled, his eyes red and watery.
"Yo, Yamapi," Nino nodded and glanced at Sho.
"Sakurai?" Yamapi squinted his eyes up at Sho.
Sho removed his hand from Yamapi and stared back; Sho's eyes showed that he was sorry. Yamapi looked like he used up all his energy just from waking up, but he replied.
"Thanks."
It was a warm moment. Nino grasped Yamapi's hand tightly as a single tear slid down his face. Ohno smiled peacefully while Aiba had a huge and goofy grin. Sho looked relief as if a tremendous burden lifted from him shoulders.
"There you are, boys," someone entered the room.
"Professor?" Aiba gasped.
Professor Johnny walked in and nodded to Yamapi. "You've finally awaken," he smiled. "You can come back to school whenever you're ready."
"T-thank you, sir," Yamapi sighed, and fell back to sleep.
"As for you boys," Johnny eyed, "I like to speak with you all privately."
He walked out of the room and the boys naturally followed. Tsukumo also followed.
"I'm sorry, but I wish to speak with the boys only," Johnny repeated.
"I intend to know what happened tonight," Tsukumo said, seriously. "I know what I saw tonight was not something normal. In all my years in the field of Magical Medicine...I've never seen anything like this."
Johnny stared at him long and hard until he finally nodded.
"I know a spare room we can use," Tsukumo suggested and led them to another room. It was just like Yamapi's, only no patient.
"First of all," Johnny started, "tell me what happened to you, boys. Naruse said he found you on Mauna Loa."
And they repeated their story. Ohno and Sho were helpless when telling the parts when they used their powers, so Aiba, Nino and Jun filled in for them. Tsukumo was silent the entire time, constantly rubbing his chin in deep thought. Johnny's expression also didn't change during the story-telling. He didn't even looked shocked when they told the part when Sho transformed.
"And then Sho's father and Naruse showed up and Apparate us here," Nino finished. Johnny nodded.
"So," Johnny said, his voice very deep and low. "We have a second Vocal Wizard in our hands."
Jun saw Tsukumo raised his eyebrow.
"It seems so," Sho nodded, staring down at his palm. The stigma was gone...for now. "Professor, what's going to happen to me?" Jun detected the fear in his voice.
"That...is something I wish to know," Johnny sighed. Ohno placed his hand on Sho's shoulder. "This is astonishing. Two Vocal Wizards have reunited faster than I thought."
"What if the others will reunite soon as well?" Nino asked, looking worried. "What then?"
"Hmm," Johnny's mind was somewhere else from the looks of it. Instead of answering Nino, he approached Sho. "May I see your palm?"
Sho extended his hand and allowed Johnny to examined it closely. He pressed his fingers into Sho's palm until Sho winced a little. Johnny hummed.
"Professor?" Aiba stared.
"You know how to control your powers?" Johnny asked, staring at both Ohno and Sho.
"Well, I know some of mine to an extent," Ohno said. "But whenever I use too much...it's like I'm someone else. And just today, I discovered I can heal as well."
"Really?"
"But only on minor injuries. Something like what Sho did...I just knew I couldn't do it," Ohno nodded.
"You're power resides in water," Johnny said, talking to himself. "I wonder..."
Johnny reached into his pocket and pulled his wand. He conjured up a thick white candle and placed in the table bedside. Johnny backed away and stared back at Sho.
"Sho, try to light the candle," Johnny instructed, "without your wand and from where you are standing."
Sho looked confused but nodded. He stared at the candle and squinted his eyes as if trying to imagine the candle lighting in his mind. Then, he raised his arm and snapped his fingers as if instinctively.
A single shot of fire escaped from Sho's fingertips and aimed perfectly at the candle wick. Everyone gasped as they watched Sho's fingers literally on fire, yet they weren't harming him.
Jun watched Sho calmly stared at the small fire gathered in the center of his palm. He twirled his fingers and the fire danced with him. A smile slowly grew on his face, and he playfully juggled the small fire between his hands.
"Amazing," Johnny whispered. "You can conjure fire."
"Gotta admit, that's pretty cool," Ohno pouted, crossing his arms as if he was jealous.
"But why?" Sho asked. He closed his hand and the fire extinguished.
"That is the power of the Fire Vocal Wizard."
"Fire," Sho repeated, thinking in deep thought. "When we were on Mauna Loa, I heard a voice."
"When was this?" Johnny asked.
"It was when we escaped the lava tunnel. I was...so angry too," Sho gently placed his hand over his heart. "And I felt something burning me inside."
"If I recall," Johnny said, pacing around with his hand on his chin, "Satoshi also heard a voice when he was near the Water Talisman."
"Yes," Ohno nodded. "It was the strangest feeling ever. Like I was being drawn to it."
"Yeah," Sho nodded.
"Could it be the cause of the eruption?" Aiba gasped. "When we were in the tunnel, the volcano stared to erupt. Did Sho, I don't know, awaken the Fire Talisman?"
"Most likely," Johnny nodded. "Sho, you said you were looking for Ice Crystals on Mauna Loa, right? And you didn't find them in that long lava tunnel, causing you to be in a raging state. Fire is key to the Vocal Wizard. A passion, an effort, a burning emotion.
"Of course, you started feeling this before you even touched the Fire Talisman," Johnny added. "You have a strong impact already before you became the Vocal Wizard."
Sho stared off into the distance, recollecting his memories. Jun remembered how angry Sho was when their journey seem wasted. Or the time Sho was in total rage when he gets into fights. It was a complete different kind of power from Ohno who is calm, tranquil, and yet strong. Sho burned hot with a passion so strong, it seared Jun's heart.
"It sounds like Sho had his power within him the whole time," Tsukumo finally spoke. "If you don't mind me adding, rage is caused through multiple scenarios. Anyone can become angry. Yet with Sho's case, when he is in rage, it seems like he causes physical reactions around him and not just himself."
"Like when the volcano was shaking!"
"Or when Yamapi was burning!"
'Or when his words stirs my heart,' Jun added in his thoughts.
"This is something new, boys," Johnny nodded. "I've been studying the history of the Vocal Wizard for years, and nothing like this has ever showed up in the texts. Someone who already has hidden powers within them that leads to their connection with the talismans...is unbelievable."
"What about Ohno?" Nino asked. "Was there powers within him the whole time before he became a Vocal Wizard?"
Ohno looked lost and confused.
"I can guess, and I sometimes make good guesses, that Satoshi's power was his voice," Johnny said.
"My voice?" Ohno said, touching his throat.
"The Vocal Wizard of Water was most known for his voice, after all," Johnny nodded. "You have a mesmerizing voice."
"That makes sense," Nino nodded. "Ohno, you have a voice that intoxicates people. Even if it's not UtaMahou."
Ohno looked smug.
"So that means," Aiba scratched his head, "the second-comings don't need their talismans."
"No," Johnny said, sternly. "Their true powers lies dormant in those talismans. It is what completes them. Until all five of them are reunited, their final form is revealed and leaving the host's mind behind."
"So their true powers reveals their element as well," Jun spoke. "Ohno is water, and now Sho is fire."
"Satoshi, you just found out your new powers of healing, right?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah."
"Do you boys remember your Charms assignment from first year?" Johnny smirked. "To find Water Spirits by creating good lyrics to lure them in. The important parts to water is mystery, life and-"
"Healing!" Ohno gasped, his hands grabbing his hair. "I can heal? Does that mean I can create life or something?!"
"No, I don't think Vocal Wizards have that kind of power, Satoshi," Johnny chuckled. "Life is created through male and female. No magical law can change that. But healing was a trait the Water Vocal Wizard had."
"So what about the Fire Vocal Wizard?" Sho asked.
"You tell me," Johnny said. "What happened today?"
"I...cured burnings," Sho answered, not sure if he was right.
"I would say more like...absorbing their fire," Johnny said.
"What?!" Everyone said.
"Are you saying, Professor, that Sho was...sucking the life out of them?" Tsukumo asked.
"Oh, no. Nothing like that. What I mean is the uncontrollable fire burning inside them," Johnny explained. "Let's start with Sho's case. His hands were burned and beyond repair without the proper antidote. Of course, this is Sho's actually body, and the Vocal Wizards were titled as invincible. The records in every book you'll find shows that they could heal their own bodies.
"In Mai's case, she was suffering Mahou Nensho. A serious case of magical burning inside her that was out of her control. Sho's enhanced powers returned her magical soul back into order. The Mahou Nensho has vanishing because of Sho's natural power of Fire.
"And with Tomohisa, this was also caused by Sho's work. Of course, Sho could easily cured this because Tomohisa was suffering a magical burning purely from Sho's fire. And what Sho simply did was retrieve it back.
"Sho now knows fire best. How to create it and how to demolish it. Just like how Satoshi knows water best. It's in their nature. Satoshi, you said you just knew what to do, right? The knowledge was within you all along.
"But then again, I am only guessing," Johnny said like it was nothing. "Do you understand now, boys? The Vocal Wizards are powerful, beyond any recorded wizard in history. If you want to avoid the Vocal Wizards second-coming, the talismans must be found first and kept in a safe place."
"So why hasn't anyone been doing that?!" Sho yelled. "I never asked for these powers. I don't want to disappear! Can't someone try to find them and...destroy them or something? Has it never occur to anyone to try?!"
Johnny lowered his hand from his chin at last and smiled at the boys coolly.
"That is what I am doing right now," Johnny answered.
"EH?!" The boys yelled in unison, completely shocked. At the same time, the door knocked.
"Come in," Johnny called before whispering back to the boys. "And I have helpers too."
Naruse walked in.
"Uncle?!" Ohno squeaked. Naruse ignored him.
"Everything is taken care of," Naruse reported. Johnny nodded, and Naruse noticed Tsukumo who smiled in his goofy form again. "Who is this?"
"This is Healer Tsukumo Ryusuke," Johnny answered, but Tsukumo already stood so close to Naruse, he looked like he was about to kiss him. But Naruse didn't budge except scowl back. Then, Tsukumo laughed like a hyena.
"You...are the perpetrator, right?" Tsukumo smirked. "You erased those Healers' memories, right?"
Naruse didn't flinched, shuddered, nor looked away but straight into Tsukumo's eyes.
"It's alright, Naruse," Johnny said, walking towards the two men and placed his shoulder on Tsukumo. "I hear you are a profession in the brain."
"Yes," Tsukumo nodded.
"I like to talk with you," Johnny said, "You may go home, boys." Johnny called over his shoulder.
Naruse followed but before he left, he glanced at Ohno before he disappeared.
After a good minute, the boys collapsed on either the bed or spare chairs around the room, exhaling low and long as if they ran a marathon.
"Who would have thought," Ohno spoke, "that you and I are Vocal Wizards."
Sho couldn't even nod.
"I like to know more about what Professor Johnny is doing," Nino said. "He's searching for the talismans, but for what?"
"To destroy them?" Aiba suggested.
Ohno frowned slightly.
"Probably to hide them so no one will ever find them," Nino said.
"Oh!" Jun yelped. "I just remember! Naruse was at Sakurai-san's office before we left to Mauna Loa."
"Oh yeah, you mentioned that," Sho nodded.
"And I can't remember clearly, but I think I heard him talking about talismans when he walked in," Jun added, making Sho stand up.
"You mean to say my father knows something about all this?" Sho asked, staring at them.
"He is the Head of Japan's Magical Law Enforcements," Nino shrugged. "That title holds a lot of power. He has authority, and he can travel at will. He makes a perfect candidate to do expeditions."
"Or appoint someone to do those expeditions," Sho pointed out.
"Are you guys saying there's an organization trying to find these talismans?" Ohno said.
No one answered as if it was a rhetorical question. The thought that a secret group out there, trying to find the Vocal Wizard's talismans and destroy them or hide them, was comforting. At least that was what Jun thought, but Jun saw the look in Ohno's eyes.
'He's angry,' Jun thought. 'Or is it his other self...his Vocal Wizard self.'
Sho looked hopeful compare to Ohno. Jun gulped.
'Ohno...he's growing closer to the mind of the Vocal Wizard within him. How long does Sho have...?'
Part 3 >> arashiforyou.livejournal.com/12667.html#cutid1
The boys left the room on their own and let Sho and his family alone together. They calmly walked down the halls until they sat in the waiting room for regular visitors on the fourth floor. They didn't utter a word as if they needed to take in all that has happened. It was hard to imagine only this morning they were at Sho's mansion. It seemed ages ago.
"Howdy, there!" Someone popped next to Jun.
"Whoa!" Jun jumped. It was the Healer Tsukumo with his long brown hair and big, bright eyes. He smiled at them.
"You again?" Ohno frowned. "I thought you went with Professor Johnny."
But Tsukumo ignored his question and handed Ohno his business card.
"Nice to meet you," he continued to smile. "My name is Tsukumo Ryusuke. Written in the kanji numerials 9-10-9 and pronounced Tsu-ku-mo."
"Y-you don't say," Ohno said, leaning back as Tsukumo stared at him a little to closely.
"Tell me," Tsukumo said, not batting an eyelid, "how did you woke Sakurai Sho?"
"Uhhh..."
"How did Sho cured his burns?"
"W-well..."
"And do you know something about how he cured his sister?"
"I think Professor Johnny can answer those questions," Ohno pointed out.
"No need. He's just going to obliviate those poor Healers' memories," Tsukumo said matter-of-factly.
"Really?" Aiba said, his eyebrows shot up.
"How do you know?" Nino asked.
"I don't. I just assume he will. But he lied to them anyways, so I'm pretty sure I'm right. I saw him look to the left, or his right," he answered simply. "It implies that he was lying. When you lie, your eyes draw to the left, or your right but my left. And when you tell the truth, the eyes look to the right, or your left but my right."
"Wait, what?" Jun scratched his head, completely lost. "Left? Right? What?"
"But the fact stands," Tsukumo continued, "Professor Johnny had no intension of telling those Healers what happened. I can only guess he knows something about this whole situation, and I'm curious to know the whole truth."
The boys were flabbergasted and totally clueless on what Tsukumo just said. He sat there with his oh-so-perfect smile. Jun felt annoyed.
"L-look, even I don't know what happened," Ohno confessed. "It was just something that I...knew what to do."
The boys exchanged glances. Jun guessed that Ohno meant his Vocal Wizard side within him took over for a moment to help Sho wake up sooner.
"Excuse me!" A woman approached them, panting heavily.
She dressed professional, like a Muggle business woman, and she had a distinct facial feature that made Jun thought was similar to Sho. Was it the eyes? The shape of her face?
"Do you know where my husband and son are?" She asked Tsukumo. "What happened?" She demanded.
"Well-"
"Mom?"
She turned around and saw Sho standing behind her. She ran towards him and hugged him tightly, surprising Sho completely.
"I've heard from your father that you were here," she said, and started fussing with him. She lift his eyelids, licked her thumb to wipe a smudge from his cheek, and parted his messy hair.
"Mom. Mom! I'm alright," Sho mumbled, blushing from embarrassment. "I just came from Mai's ward."
"Mai?" She stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. Sho smiled.
"You should see her," Sho nodded. "I'm fine. Go see her and I'll meet with you later. There's something I have to do first."
She was speechless as she walked towards Mai's ward, looking back at her son once in a while before she disappeared. Jun and the others stood up and followed Sho who walked down the other direction of the hall. Tsukumo was right behind them like a shadow on their backs.
"Where are you going, Sho?" Aiba asked.
"I saw the name on the door when I ran down here," Sho simply answered. "I think it's time I fix him."
Jun heard Nino gasped next to him. They exchanged glances and knew exactly whom Sho was talking about...Yamapi. They arrived at a white door with Yamashita's name plate on it. Sho took a deep breath and opened the door.
Compare to Mai's ward, it looked like a regular hospital room. Jun would have though it was a normal Muggle hospital if it wasn't for the moving pictures in the room. Nino quickly sat next to Yamapi's bed; his eyes were in anguish yet again.
Yamapi looked better when Jun last saw him. His black burns subsided to a dark brown, but the burns were still noticeable compare to Yamapi's regular fair skin color. He was asleep, but it was as if he was sleeping all this time since Sho attacked him.
"He was a mess when he first arrived," Tsukumo told them, looking at the charts attached to Yamapi's bed. "Magically External Burns. A case which can be cured, but only by the one who cast the spell."
"Why couldn't he have been cured sooner?!" Nino asked.
"It took extreme testings to find out his diagnose. Look," Tsukumo said pointedly.
A patch of brown skin slowly swelled and turned black again. Nino gasped and Aiba covered in his mouth in shock. The burns were growing back.
"This is a constant burning. It's close to pure soul magic...like UtaMahou," Tsukumo said, staring at Sho. "I've heard reports that a duel caused this. A boy in rage unleashed unspeakable measures of UtaMahou. Rap Magic, I believe it was."
Sho couldn't even speak as he nodded his head.
"So you started this," Tsukumo said. "This is a serious case that even our professionals can't fix. Do you think you can?"
"I...I have to try," Sho said, his voice shaky. "I do hate him for the things he said...but I won't run away anymore."
Sho sat on the other side of the bed and placed his palm on Yamapi's forehead.
"I have caused people so much trouble...now I will fix them," Sho nodded, and closed his eyes in concentration.
Tsukumo never took his eyes off of Sho as they all watched Sho work his magic. They were silent for a whole minute until they saw a small light glowing underneath Sho's palm. Yamapi gasped in his sleep, making Nino jump in shock.
The burnings on his body slowly faded away and retreated into his body. The brown and black burns turned back to his normal skin color, and Yamapi opened his exhausted eyes.
"Nino?" Yamapi spoke in a hoarse voice. Nino smiled, his eyes red and watery.
"Yo, Yamapi," Nino nodded and glanced at Sho.
"Sakurai?" Yamapi squinted his eyes up at Sho.
Sho removed his hand from Yamapi and stared back; Sho's eyes showed that he was sorry. Yamapi looked like he used up all his energy just from waking up, but he replied.
"Thanks."
It was a warm moment. Nino grasped Yamapi's hand tightly as a single tear slid down his face. Ohno smiled peacefully while Aiba had a huge and goofy grin. Sho looked relief as if a tremendous burden lifted from him shoulders.
"There you are, boys," someone entered the room.
"Professor?" Aiba gasped.
Professor Johnny walked in and nodded to Yamapi. "You've finally awaken," he smiled. "You can come back to school whenever you're ready."
"T-thank you, sir," Yamapi sighed, and fell back to sleep.
"As for you boys," Johnny eyed, "I like to speak with you all privately."
He walked out of the room and the boys naturally followed. Tsukumo also followed.
"I'm sorry, but I wish to speak with the boys only," Johnny repeated.
"I intend to know what happened tonight," Tsukumo said, seriously. "I know what I saw tonight was not something normal. In all my years in the field of Magical Medicine...I've never seen anything like this."
Johnny stared at him long and hard until he finally nodded.
"I know a spare room we can use," Tsukumo suggested and led them to another room. It was just like Yamapi's, only no patient.
"First of all," Johnny started, "tell me what happened to you, boys. Naruse said he found you on Mauna Loa."
And they repeated their story. Ohno and Sho were helpless when telling the parts when they used their powers, so Aiba, Nino and Jun filled in for them. Tsukumo was silent the entire time, constantly rubbing his chin in deep thought. Johnny's expression also didn't change during the story-telling. He didn't even looked shocked when they told the part when Sho transformed.
"And then Sho's father and Naruse showed up and Apparate us here," Nino finished. Johnny nodded.
"So," Johnny said, his voice very deep and low. "We have a second Vocal Wizard in our hands."
Jun saw Tsukumo raised his eyebrow.
"It seems so," Sho nodded, staring down at his palm. The stigma was gone...for now. "Professor, what's going to happen to me?" Jun detected the fear in his voice.
"That...is something I wish to know," Johnny sighed. Ohno placed his hand on Sho's shoulder. "This is astonishing. Two Vocal Wizards have reunited faster than I thought."
"What if the others will reunite soon as well?" Nino asked, looking worried. "What then?"
"Hmm," Johnny's mind was somewhere else from the looks of it. Instead of answering Nino, he approached Sho. "May I see your palm?"
Sho extended his hand and allowed Johnny to examined it closely. He pressed his fingers into Sho's palm until Sho winced a little. Johnny hummed.
"Professor?" Aiba stared.
"You know how to control your powers?" Johnny asked, staring at both Ohno and Sho.
"Well, I know some of mine to an extent," Ohno said. "But whenever I use too much...it's like I'm someone else. And just today, I discovered I can heal as well."
"Really?"
"But only on minor injuries. Something like what Sho did...I just knew I couldn't do it," Ohno nodded.
"You're power resides in water," Johnny said, talking to himself. "I wonder..."
Johnny reached into his pocket and pulled his wand. He conjured up a thick white candle and placed in the table bedside. Johnny backed away and stared back at Sho.
"Sho, try to light the candle," Johnny instructed, "without your wand and from where you are standing."
Sho looked confused but nodded. He stared at the candle and squinted his eyes as if trying to imagine the candle lighting in his mind. Then, he raised his arm and snapped his fingers as if instinctively.
A single shot of fire escaped from Sho's fingertips and aimed perfectly at the candle wick. Everyone gasped as they watched Sho's fingers literally on fire, yet they weren't harming him.
Jun watched Sho calmly stared at the small fire gathered in the center of his palm. He twirled his fingers and the fire danced with him. A smile slowly grew on his face, and he playfully juggled the small fire between his hands.
"Amazing," Johnny whispered. "You can conjure fire."
"Gotta admit, that's pretty cool," Ohno pouted, crossing his arms as if he was jealous.
"But why?" Sho asked. He closed his hand and the fire extinguished.
"That is the power of the Fire Vocal Wizard."
"Fire," Sho repeated, thinking in deep thought. "When we were on Mauna Loa, I heard a voice."
"When was this?" Johnny asked.
"It was when we escaped the lava tunnel. I was...so angry too," Sho gently placed his hand over his heart. "And I felt something burning me inside."
"If I recall," Johnny said, pacing around with his hand on his chin, "Satoshi also heard a voice when he was near the Water Talisman."
"Yes," Ohno nodded. "It was the strangest feeling ever. Like I was being drawn to it."
"Yeah," Sho nodded.
"Could it be the cause of the eruption?" Aiba gasped. "When we were in the tunnel, the volcano stared to erupt. Did Sho, I don't know, awaken the Fire Talisman?"
"Most likely," Johnny nodded. "Sho, you said you were looking for Ice Crystals on Mauna Loa, right? And you didn't find them in that long lava tunnel, causing you to be in a raging state. Fire is key to the Vocal Wizard. A passion, an effort, a burning emotion.
"Of course, you started feeling this before you even touched the Fire Talisman," Johnny added. "You have a strong impact already before you became the Vocal Wizard."
Sho stared off into the distance, recollecting his memories. Jun remembered how angry Sho was when their journey seem wasted. Or the time Sho was in total rage when he gets into fights. It was a complete different kind of power from Ohno who is calm, tranquil, and yet strong. Sho burned hot with a passion so strong, it seared Jun's heart.
"It sounds like Sho had his power within him the whole time," Tsukumo finally spoke. "If you don't mind me adding, rage is caused through multiple scenarios. Anyone can become angry. Yet with Sho's case, when he is in rage, it seems like he causes physical reactions around him and not just himself."
"Like when the volcano was shaking!"
"Or when Yamapi was burning!"
'Or when his words stirs my heart,' Jun added in his thoughts.
"This is something new, boys," Johnny nodded. "I've been studying the history of the Vocal Wizard for years, and nothing like this has ever showed up in the texts. Someone who already has hidden powers within them that leads to their connection with the talismans...is unbelievable."
"What about Ohno?" Nino asked. "Was there powers within him the whole time before he became a Vocal Wizard?"
Ohno looked lost and confused.
"I can guess, and I sometimes make good guesses, that Satoshi's power was his voice," Johnny said.
"My voice?" Ohno said, touching his throat.
"The Vocal Wizard of Water was most known for his voice, after all," Johnny nodded. "You have a mesmerizing voice."
"That makes sense," Nino nodded. "Ohno, you have a voice that intoxicates people. Even if it's not UtaMahou."
Ohno looked smug.
"So that means," Aiba scratched his head, "the second-comings don't need their talismans."
"No," Johnny said, sternly. "Their true powers lies dormant in those talismans. It is what completes them. Until all five of them are reunited, their final form is revealed and leaving the host's mind behind."
"So their true powers reveals their element as well," Jun spoke. "Ohno is water, and now Sho is fire."
"Satoshi, you just found out your new powers of healing, right?" Johnny asked.
"Yeah."
"Do you boys remember your Charms assignment from first year?" Johnny smirked. "To find Water Spirits by creating good lyrics to lure them in. The important parts to water is mystery, life and-"
"Healing!" Ohno gasped, his hands grabbing his hair. "I can heal? Does that mean I can create life or something?!"
"No, I don't think Vocal Wizards have that kind of power, Satoshi," Johnny chuckled. "Life is created through male and female. No magical law can change that. But healing was a trait the Water Vocal Wizard had."
"So what about the Fire Vocal Wizard?" Sho asked.
"You tell me," Johnny said. "What happened today?"
"I...cured burnings," Sho answered, not sure if he was right.
"I would say more like...absorbing their fire," Johnny said.
"What?!" Everyone said.
"Are you saying, Professor, that Sho was...sucking the life out of them?" Tsukumo asked.
"Oh, no. Nothing like that. What I mean is the uncontrollable fire burning inside them," Johnny explained. "Let's start with Sho's case. His hands were burned and beyond repair without the proper antidote. Of course, this is Sho's actually body, and the Vocal Wizards were titled as invincible. The records in every book you'll find shows that they could heal their own bodies.
"In Mai's case, she was suffering Mahou Nensho. A serious case of magical burning inside her that was out of her control. Sho's enhanced powers returned her magical soul back into order. The Mahou Nensho has vanishing because of Sho's natural power of Fire.
"And with Tomohisa, this was also caused by Sho's work. Of course, Sho could easily cured this because Tomohisa was suffering a magical burning purely from Sho's fire. And what Sho simply did was retrieve it back.
"Sho now knows fire best. How to create it and how to demolish it. Just like how Satoshi knows water best. It's in their nature. Satoshi, you said you just knew what to do, right? The knowledge was within you all along.
"But then again, I am only guessing," Johnny said like it was nothing. "Do you understand now, boys? The Vocal Wizards are powerful, beyond any recorded wizard in history. If you want to avoid the Vocal Wizards second-coming, the talismans must be found first and kept in a safe place."
"So why hasn't anyone been doing that?!" Sho yelled. "I never asked for these powers. I don't want to disappear! Can't someone try to find them and...destroy them or something? Has it never occur to anyone to try?!"
Johnny lowered his hand from his chin at last and smiled at the boys coolly.
"That is what I am doing right now," Johnny answered.
"EH?!" The boys yelled in unison, completely shocked. At the same time, the door knocked.
"Come in," Johnny called before whispering back to the boys. "And I have helpers too."
Naruse walked in.
"Uncle?!" Ohno squeaked. Naruse ignored him.
"Everything is taken care of," Naruse reported. Johnny nodded, and Naruse noticed Tsukumo who smiled in his goofy form again. "Who is this?"
"This is Healer Tsukumo Ryusuke," Johnny answered, but Tsukumo already stood so close to Naruse, he looked like he was about to kiss him. But Naruse didn't budge except scowl back. Then, Tsukumo laughed like a hyena.
"You...are the perpetrator, right?" Tsukumo smirked. "You erased those Healers' memories, right?"
Naruse didn't flinched, shuddered, nor looked away but straight into Tsukumo's eyes.
"It's alright, Naruse," Johnny said, walking towards the two men and placed his shoulder on Tsukumo. "I hear you are a profession in the brain."
"Yes," Tsukumo nodded.
"I like to talk with you," Johnny said, "You may go home, boys." Johnny called over his shoulder.
Naruse followed but before he left, he glanced at Ohno before he disappeared.
After a good minute, the boys collapsed on either the bed or spare chairs around the room, exhaling low and long as if they ran a marathon.
"Who would have thought," Ohno spoke, "that you and I are Vocal Wizards."
Sho couldn't even nod.
"I like to know more about what Professor Johnny is doing," Nino said. "He's searching for the talismans, but for what?"
"To destroy them?" Aiba suggested.
Ohno frowned slightly.
"Probably to hide them so no one will ever find them," Nino said.
"Oh!" Jun yelped. "I just remember! Naruse was at Sakurai-san's office before we left to Mauna Loa."
"Oh yeah, you mentioned that," Sho nodded.
"And I can't remember clearly, but I think I heard him talking about talismans when he walked in," Jun added, making Sho stand up.
"You mean to say my father knows something about all this?" Sho asked, staring at them.
"He is the Head of Japan's Magical Law Enforcements," Nino shrugged. "That title holds a lot of power. He has authority, and he can travel at will. He makes a perfect candidate to do expeditions."
"Or appoint someone to do those expeditions," Sho pointed out.
"Are you guys saying there's an organization trying to find these talismans?" Ohno said.
No one answered as if it was a rhetorical question. The thought that a secret group out there, trying to find the Vocal Wizard's talismans and destroy them or hide them, was comforting. At least that was what Jun thought, but Jun saw the look in Ohno's eyes.
'He's angry,' Jun thought. 'Or is it his other self...his Vocal Wizard self.'
Sho looked hopeful compare to Ohno. Jun gulped.
'Ohno...he's growing closer to the mind of the Vocal Wizard within him. How long does Sho have...?'
Part 3 >> arashiforyou.livejournal.com/12667.html#cutid1