Magika - Chapter 21
Ohno was happy as Nino walked next to him with their hands swinging together. The rest of his friends were walking in front of him. They had just finished eating and now they were on their way back to the room.
Both Nino and him were silent as they walked. They kept throwing each other glances and if they both looked at each other at the same time, they ended up giggling. They were in their own world that they didn't even notice that the others had stopped walking. As the results, the two of them stumbled into Jun.
"Ah, gomen, Jun," said Ohno immediately when Jun glared at them. "Why did you stop walking?"
"Because both of you are idiots," answered Jun, then he pointed at the other students near them. All of them have the same expression. They were refraining themselves from laughing. "Can you stop acting like teenagers in love?"
"Oh, J. We are teenagers in love. Of course, we would act like one," said Nino. He acted like he wasn't embarrassed but his face betrayed him. Red spots appeared on his cheeks.
"Urggghhh... I prefer when you're not talking to Ohno. At least you won't be too bratty," said Jun. Nino stuck his tongue out at Jun in response.
"You are just jealous," answered Nino.
Before Jun could respond, Sho interrupted them by reminding them that they need to do a discussion. If Sho didn't do so, Ohno bet both Nino and Jun will continue their bickering.
What happened next surprised Ohno. One second, he was in the hallway, walking together with his friends. However, when he blinked his eyes, he was back in the cave where the woman attacked him and his friends. He turned around, hoping Nino would be beside him and this was just his imagination. But, to his horror, the person he was holding hands with wasn't Nino. The woman was staring at him with a pair of wicked eyes. She looked older, way older than the last time Ohno saw her and that made her look even scarier.
Ohno wanted to run but his feet refused to move. The woman smiled at him and then whispered at his ear.
"You cannot escape, Ohno Satoshi,"
And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone and Ohno was back at the hallway. His friends were staring at him with concern. He noticed the other students were also looking at him.
"Ohchan, are you okay?" Asked Nino. Ohno wanted to tell him what happened but he was afraid he will make Nino and the others worried if he told the truth. So, he nodded his head but Nino looked at him sceptically.
"You look pale," said Aiba. "Did something happened?"
He immediately shook his head, deciding he would tell them once they were back in the room.
"I'm sleepy. That's all," answered Ohno to make them stop asking questions. His friends looked at each other before deciding to drop the subject.
Nino was worried for Ohno. Ohno suddenly stopped moving and didn't respond when Nino called him several times. Of course, his other friends noticed this as well and tried to do the same. However, instead of answering to their call, Ohno kept staring at them with blank eyes. This happened for a few minutes before Ohno was back with them. However, he looked pale as well as scared.
Ohno didn't say anything when they asked him. Nino suspected it had something to do with the mysterious woman. It would explain why Ohno refused to tell them anything as they were in public and no one else knew about the woman. So, he didn't force Ohno to talk about it until they get back to their room.
"So, what happened?" He asked almost immediately as Jun closed their door.
Nino felt guilty when he saw how Ohno looked troubled with what he said. They just got back together and if he could, he wouldn't push Ohno to talk about what was bothering him. But, he cannot help himself. That's why he had to ask. However, Ohno remained silent.
Without thinking, he hugged Ohno, hoping the hug would make Ohno felt slightly better. It seems to work as Ohno wrapped his hands around his waist. They stayed like that for a few minutes with none of their friends disturbed them. Under normal circumstances, they would tease but not today.
"I saw her," Ohno mumbled incoherently. His voice was very low that Nino almost couldn't get what he was saying. There's no doubt that Jun, Sho and Aiba couldn't hear what Ohno said. They were mouthing to him to tell them what Ohno said.
"In the hallway?" Asked Nino, ignoring the other three. But, he noticed that they may have an idea of what was happening.
Ohno didn't answer, instead he shook his head. He was silent for a few minutes. Then, he told Nino how he was back in the cave and it wasn't Nino who hold his hand but the woman. The woman was threatening him, telling him that he cannot escape.
"Did she do anything to you?" Asked Nino. Once again, Ohno shook his head.
"Nothing. She didn't do anything. But seeing her again was enough to torture me,"
Nino slowly let go of Ohno. He could only think of telling their headmaster about what happened. This wasn't something that should be kept as a secret. The headmaster had to know how determined the woman was in getting Ohno. First, she attacked Ohno in front of them and now she sneakily attacked Ohno alone.
"Should we tell Kitagawa sensei?" He asked the other boy for approval. Ohno didn't seem surprise with his suggestion but he looked reluctant to tell the headmaster.
"I don't mind telling the headmaster but he should not tell my mother. I don't want her to be worried again,"
With Ohno's permission, Nino signalled for the other three to call their headmaster. Jun ordered the other two to go while he remained in the room. Of course, there was a little protest from Aiba but they decided with janken and as Aiba lose, he had to go with Sho to get their headmaster.
"I'm sorry to make all of you worried again," said Ohno before Aiba and Sho left the room. But, everyone just shrugged him off.
"What is wrong with her? What did Ohno do to her that she kept on bothering Ohno?" Said Jun, obviously angry with the woman. Nino himself was furious with the woman. Ohno was still young. Clearly, whatever grudge she had against Ohno's family, Ohno had nothing to do with her. So, why was she targeting him?
15 minutes later, Sho and Aiba were back. The headmaster was not with them and Nino was angry to see that. Didn't the headmaster noticed how serious the problem is? He should postpone whatever he was doing and come to their aid quickly.
"He will come soon. He just need to make a few calls. One of them is informing your mother," said Sho. Ohno looked uncomfortable to hear that. "Your mother made him swear he will tell her if anything happened to you,"
Even though he wasn't happy with what Sho told him, Ohno didn't say anything.
Less than five minutes later, someone knocked on their door. It was Kitagawa sensei and to Nino's surprise, he wasn't alone. He brought Kimura sensei with him.
"I'm sorry for taking my time but it was necessary," said the headmaster, taking a seat at Nino's bed. "Sho told me what happened but I hope you will tell me again,"
Ohno looked at the headmaster and then Kimura sensei. Knowing Ohno felt uncomfortable to talk about what happened in front of Kimura sensei, Kitagawa sensei explained the reason for having the other teacher in the room with them.
"This is necessary, Satoshi. From what Sho told me, I think the woman is trying to manipulate you. As you know, Kimura sensei is the best illusionist in the school. I want him to train you so that she cannot manipulate your mind again. Furthermore, I also need his opinion,"
"Can't Ninomiya san be the one to teach me? He is also an illusionist, right?"
Ohno's request was answered with a smile from the headmaster.
"Yes, I imagine you will be more comfortable with Ninomiya san. He would love to do so. Unfortunately, he was busy at the moment and as Kimura sensei was equally talented as him, I decided to let Kimura sensei be the person to train you,"
As if he was out of option, Ohno turned to look at Nino. From his expression, it was obvious he wanted Nino to help him. If Kimura sensei was going to train Ohno, it means he would be alone with the teacher. Nino had known how Ohno wasn't particularly fond of his favourite teacher. Ohno always look uncomfortable whenever he mentioned Kimura sensei. Nino wanted to ask for the reason but he never had the chance.
"How about this..." It was Sho who responded, instead of Nino. "Why don't all of us train with Kimura sensei? Even though we are not her target, she could use us. So, it's better for us to learn how defend ourselves from her manipulation. Sooner or later, we have to learn it, right? So, there's nothing wrong if we learn it earlier,"
Jun and Aiba nodded in agreement. Nino didn't say nor do anything. As a student of Ninomiya House, that was the first thing he learn. Though the students from the other houses couldn't do illusion, they may learn how to protect their mind from manipulation. But, it was something they would learn in higher level.
"That is a good idea, headmaster," agreed Kimura sensei. The headmaster nodded his head, giving his approval for Sho's idea.
"Are you okay with that, Satoshi?" Asked the headmaster. Ohno simply nodded his head even though he still looked uncomfortable with the idea.
"Good. Now, tell me what happened," once again, Kitagawa sensei asked for the same thing. So, Ohno repeated the story to the headmaster and the teacher. Once Ohno finished telling him what happened, the headmaster sat in silence. It took a while before he finally spoke again.
"As we thought, the woman is an illusionist," that's the first thing Kitagawa sensei said after a while. "So, she used illusion to make Satoshi thinks he was back in the cave,"
"Do you think she is in the hall when it happened?" Asked Nino. Usually, it will be impossible to do so from a far distance. But, she was powerful so maybe it will be possible for her. Furthermore, thinking of her being in the hall gave Nino goosebumps. If she was in the hall, it means the school wasn't secure enough.
"Well..." It was Kimura sensei who answered and all eyes focused on him. "Distance always play a role when you are doing illusion. Your illusion will be much better if you can see your target. I never heard of someone doing illusion far from their target,"
"So, that would mean the woman is in the hall,"
"I don't know much about her. But, yes, I think she was in the hall, perhaps using tricks to make you think she was one of the students nearby,"
"Or she could be hiding outside of the hallway. Watching Ohno kun from the window," suggested Sho.
Nino looked at Sho with wide eyes. How could he missed this? He just realized that the previous appearance of the woman wasn't in the school building. First, she was seen near the lake and the second time, she was in the cave. That could mean something, right? Maybe she couldn't come inside the building. So, Ohno would be safe as long as he stayed inside.
"No matter what, we need to be careful and that's why I want to start the training as soon as possible. Can we do it now, Satoshi?" Asked the headmaster. Nino wanted to protest because he wanted Ohno to rest first. But, he knew they should not waste time anymore. Who knows what the woman will do if they didn't take action now?
"Yes..." Ohno didn't sound enthusiastic at all.
A/N: Well, it has been a while since the last time I posted a new chapter. Hope anyone would still remember this and comment would be very much appreciated. Thank you :)