Magika - Chapter 30 (New)
It was painful. He had never been in so much pain than what he felt now. Ohno didn't know much but he knew the spell cast by Kimura sensei earlier was dangerous. The spell didn't hit him directly at his chest. It was just an illusion made by Nino to fool the teacher and Nakai. But, fragments of the spell hit his body and it was enough to cause him pain. If the spell struck his chest, there's no doubt that he will not be alive anymore.
So far, the plan progressed smoothly, just like what they wanted it to be. He hoped that everything will be okay for Sho and the others as well.
They started their plan by locating where the adults were hidden. Nino had a hunch that they were kept in the building for House of Ninomiya. He had mentioned that Kimura sensei preferred to stay in the classroom so it would be possible that the adults were kept there. Nino and Sho went to see the classroom first while Ohno, Aiba and Jun stayed in the secret room. They practise their magic while waiting for the other two.
With Nino's magic, he managed to conceal both of them from being seen. Even though Nino was still a novice, they had to take the risk. Thankfully, nothing happened and they found out that the adults were kept in a room quite far from Nino's classroom. They were in the room on the top floor with Nakai watching them. From what they saw, it was possible that the adults' magic were bound with a spell. They were awake but they seem to be in a daze because of the spell. They didn't try to free themselves even though it was highly possible to do so.
So, Sho divided them into a team of two. Nino and Ohno will go to Kimura sensei, trying to get the information that they need. Sho, Aiba and Jun will try to rescue the adults from Nakai. They knew it would be impossible to do so but Sho told them that if Nakai captured them, he had a backup plan. In fact, he hoped that Nakai will capture them. As for why, he didn't tell them.
The next part was a little tricky. Ohno had to make Kimura sensei angry with him so that he will kill Ohno. Once he thought Ohno was dead, they hoped that he will lower his guard and tell Nino his secret for long life. Sho had his prediction but he wanted Nino to confirm it. Nino had done his part well when he sobbed for losing Ohno. What he had to do next was an illusion to make sure both of them thought Ohno was dead. Sho said he had to be careful with Nakai. As a healer, Nakai could sense soul. If he sensed Ohno's soul, the plan will be futile.
"Stop sobbing, Kazu. You're stupid. You're not in love with him. You're under his control,"
Ohno tried to control himself from doing anything when Kimura sensei pulled Nino away from him. He didn't want Kimura sensei to be near Nino. Who knows what the teacher will do to him. But, he trusted that Nino knew how to protect himself so he continued with his act, pretending to be dead. Kimura sensei's voice turned softer as he spoke with Nino. Once again, he thought of Nino as Founder Ninomiya. This was a relief for Ohno. At least, this was proof that things went just like what they wanted.
He heard a snort. But, he cannot risk opening his eyes, afraid that Nakai was watching him. Then, he heard someone leaving the room. He hoped it was Nakai. At least, Nino had less thing to do if Nakai wasn't here. If he indeed left the room, he hoped Sho and the others would take care of him. It would be easier to defeat him if he was not together with Kimura sensei.
Once Kimura sensei thought he was alone with Nino, he once again condemned Samii, claiming that Founder Ninomiya was in love with Samii because he was under his control. For a second, Ohno cursed himself for thinking that maybe it was the truth. Maybe Founder Ninomiya wasn't really in love with Samii. But, when he remembered the diary written by Founder Ninomiya, he believed the feeling was genuine. Someone who was under the control of someone else won't write everything in details like the way Founder Ninomiya wrote his diary. Furthermore, he had seen the moment Samii and Founder Ninomiya's relationship began. Founder Ninomiya was in a dilemma whether he wanted to accept Samii or not. If he was indeed under Samii's influence, he didn't think Founder Ninomiya would hesitate to accept Samii.
Ohno tried to focus once more to the conversation between Nino and Kimura sensei. Nino was surprisingly quiet. He didn't hear the boy said anything. He only listened to what the teacher had to say. Kimura sensei kept on talking about his feelings for Nino, who he had once again thought as Founder Ninomiya. There was a moment when he was silent and a few seconds later, he could hear kissing sound. Ohno risked opening his eyes at the moment to confirm it. He could see the teacher was kissing his boyfriend while Nino was trying to control his expression. It was a relief to see Nino wasn't enjoying the kiss. At first, Ohno wanted to attack the teacher for kissing Nino. However, when he saw Nino was doing his best to make sure their plan worked, he discarded the thought. He closed his eyes, pretending to be dead once again.
The conversation continued after the kiss. Kimura sensei talked about how he survived, filling in the gap for the part of the story that they didn't know. Nino questioned him a few times. Ohno could hear how nervous he was as he tried to hide his eagerness. Hopefully, Kimura sensei didn't notice anything strange with Nino's question.
Ohno listened carefully to the conversation. Sho had told them that Nakai had used a dark magic to prolong his life and Kimura sensei. As for why Kimura sensei looked different than Naomi, he didn't think it was because of an illusion. Based on what was written in the diary, he believed that Naomi's body cannot survive the wound from his battle with Samii. Perhaps Kimura sensei's body was a vessel he used for Naomi's soul. It happened just briefly but Sho believed he sensed another soul in the body when Kimura sensei fought Ohno earlier. That's how he formulated his theory.
Sho didn't know much about the healing magic that Nakai used because it was forbidden and he didn't have much time to research on it. All of his theory on the magic was basically assumption based on what he knew of healing magic. But, he was confident that Nakai didn't get rid of the soul of the owner. To make sure that the body worked for Kimura sensei, the soul shouldn't be expelled from the body. It was part of the body and if it was expelled from the body, they cannot use the body. So, he assumed the soul was still inside the body but it was very weak. Kimura sensei was stronger than the owner and that's why the body was under his control. However, when he fought Ohno earlier, his control on the body was getting weaker, allowing the owner's soul to resurface. Perhaps Ohno could outmatch him earlier because he had to fight for control with the owner.
The surrounding was silent once again. At first, Ohno didn't think anything was strange with the silent atmosphere as he kept thinking of what Kimura sensei had told Nino. However, he was distracted when he felt Nino panic and hear him begging for help. He didn't care about the risk anymore and opened his eyes to see Nino was having difficulty breathing. He closed his eyes, almost as if he was dying. Ohno directed his gaze towards the teacher and saw his angry gaze as he concentrated on his spell to kill Nino. Without thinking, Ohno attacked the teacher.
Kimura sensei fell down because of his attack. He quickly ran to Nino to make sure he was okay.
"Are you okay, Nino?"
Nino answered him with a nod. He looked at Ohno guiltily and he knew why. They didn't get to know what happened to the owner. They didn't get to confirm whether the soul was still in the body. But, it's okay for Ohno. They knew enough now.
"That's quite an impressive illusion, Kazu. It takes me a while to notice your illusion and I've revealed too much to you," they were interrupted by Kimura sensei. The teacher stood up but it didn't seem that he wanted to attack them. Instead, he looked at them lazily. "But, well, what do I expect? You're a remarkable magician, Kazu, even though you never think of yourself like that. Too bad you didn't use your talent for the right cause,"
Ohno looked at the teacher carefully, thinking whether the teacher was just pretending to regard Nino as Founder Ninomiya or he truly thought of Nino that way.
"I'm not him," Nino mumbled. But, his voice was getting louder as he continued. "I'm not your brother! I'm not Founder Ninomiya,"
However, Kimura sensei rolled his eyes as if Nino was crazy and spoke nonsense.
"Of course you are my little brother. You are Ninomiya Kazunari,"
"Yes. I am Ninomiya Kazunari. But, I am just named after your brother. I'm not him. Don't you see? We are different,"
Kimura sensei laughed in return. It's creepy to see him laughing like that.
"You won't fool me this time, you know," said the teacher after a while. Ohno and Nino looked at each other. Both had the same puzzling look. "You used my worst nightmare... my fear that you will forget me.. That I meant nothing for you. It won't work this time,"
Upon hearing that, Ohno immediately remembered the final battle between Naomi, Samii and Founder Ninomiya. Naomi was put under an illusion of her worst nightmare. So, this was her nightmare. To be forgotten by the person she cares the most, her own brother.
"I may have come here because of the bastard. But, I'm glad that I did so. It has been a while. I cannot believe that I will meet you again. You didn't recognize me but it's understandable. I look different," The teacher looked dreamy once again, as if he was reminiscing good memory. Both of them stayed quiet, decided not to interrupt him. "Before this, you were afraid of me because of what I did to the people in the village. But, when we met again, you admire me. It motivates me. I was determined to make you mine this time,"
The dreamy look on the teacher's face disappear. He turned his attention towards Ohno, looking at him with disgust.
"And then, he shows up again. He wants to take you from me again. See, he is the bad guy here. I just want to save you from this bastard,"
The teacher is crazy, Ohno concluded. Maybe it was the effect from the illusion Founder Ninomiya put on him years ago. Because he was rejected by Founder Ninomiya, he continued to beg for Nino's love as he thought of him as the reincarnation of Founder Ninomiya.
Ohno looked at Nino, silently asking him what should they do to the teacher. According to their plan, the adults should arrive right now to handle the teacher. But, there was no sign that they will come here any minutes. If they don't do anything right now, the teacher will definitely do something to them first.
As soon as he thought of that, the scenery immediately changed. He wasn't in the classroom anymore. Instead he was back in the cave alone. Nino was nowhere to be seen, same goes with Kimura sensei. He knew this was an illusion. He was still in the classroom but he had to look for the weakness in the illusion presented before him. However, it was impossible to find any. The illusion looked perfect.
Calm down, Ohno. He told himself. There must be something that he could do to see the flaw in the illusion.
Then, it came to him. He had something that Kimura sensei didn't have. He can read minds. So, he closed his eyes, trying to listen to the thought of people in the room.
It was silent at first. And then he heard it. A movement from his right. Someone was on his right, ready to attack him.
"Little bastard!"
It was Kimura sensei. Without wasting any more time, he cast a spell towards him. Someone yelped in response, indicating that his spell hit the target. Almost immediately, the cave reverted to the classroom. Yes! He congratulated himself for his success.
However, his eyes opened wide in surprise to see the person he had attacked.
It wasn't Kimura sensei.
It was...
"NINO!" He screamed in anguish to see the lifeless body.
No, it couldn't be. He didn't cast a killing curse. He didn't even know how to cast the killing curse. But, how did this happen?
And then, he heard the teacher laughed. His laugh echoed in the classroom. But, he was nowhere to be seen.
A/N: Okay enough posting for today. I will post the remaining chapters if I'm free tomorrow. Thank you for reading. I hope it's okay and comments are much appreciated :)
A/N2: I also want to thank everyone who helped me with my little request. It seemed that the second story is more popular than the first one. So, I will proceed with it first. I've put a name for the fic. The title would be Once again... I'm in love with you. A dear friend of mine suggested the title for me.