Magika - Chapter 24 (New)
"NINO!"
Ohno screamed when the other boy suddenly collapsed next to him. He himself was lying on the floor and he wondered how did he fall down when a moment ago he was standing next to Nino. But, this wasn't the time to think about that. He had to help Nino rather than thinking about himself. He called his name several times but there was no response from Nino. There was a pulse but Nino remained unresponsive to his call and touch. What happened? What did the woman do to Nino?
"Where is that ghost?"
He heard the other students talked. None of them noticed what happened with Nino because they were still confused with what happened earlier. Thankfully, Sho, Aiba and Jun hurried to his side, watching in horror to see Nino's body on the floor.
"Let's go to the infirmary," said Sho while Aiba lifted Nino from the floor. "I'm sorry. We want to get to you but everything happened too fast,"
Ohno just shrugged him off. He didn't have time to bother about that. What's important now is Nino. He ran as fast as he could to follow Aiba who ran even faster than him even while he was carrying Nino.
They just left the dorm when Kitagawa sensei appeared in front of the building with Kimura sensei and Ogura sensei. Kitagawa sensei glanced at Nino who was carried by Aiba and he nodded in understanding.
"Kimura sensei, please bring Ninomiya kun to the infirmary," ordered the principal. Kimura sensei immediately took Nino from Aiba. "Aiba kun, please go with Kimura sensei,"
Ohno was ready to follow the pair but the principal stopped him. He wanted to protest because he wanted to make sure Nino was okay but a stern look from Kitagawa sensei was enough to let him know that the principal wanted him to stay. He wanted to interrogate Ohno. He really hated to do that right now. He wanted to be with Nino. What would Nino think of him if he wasn't there once he wakes up?
"Ogura sensei, please get inside the dorm and calm the students," said Kitagawa sensei. Ogura sensei nodded before heading to the dorm. Kitagawa sensei then turned his attention to Ohno, Jun and Sho. "The three of you, please follow me,"
He followed the headmaster grumpily. If he could, he will argue with the headmaster, telling him that he will answer any questions from him once Nino is okay. But, he couldn't bring himself to protest the order from Kitagawa sensei. So, he only protested in silent with his pout.
"Ohno kun, relax, okay?" Said Jun as they walked together.
"I cannot relax. Nino is in danger. I need to be by his side,"
"If you cooperate with Kitagawa sensei, it will be faster for you to go and meet Nino. You know more than us about what happened. Nino cannot tell us anything right now so you're the only one who can help the principal to understand the situation,"
Ohno was silent as he listened to Jun. He hated to admit that Jun was right and he was acting childishly right now.
"Ohno kun," said Sho from his other side. "You can still help Nino by cooperating with Kitagawa sensei. Furthermore, you don't know much about healing so there isn't much you can do to help Nino if you go to the infirmary. But, if you tell Kitagawa sensei what happened, maybe we can know why Nino collapsed. It could be just because of his fatigue and has nothing to do with the woman,"
Ohno nodded his head. He understood what his friend was trying to tell him. But, he didn't agree that the woman had nothing to do with what happened to Nino. She came to see them for a reason, right? And her reason is to hurt Nino.
Aiba cannot calm himself as he waited for Nino to be treated by Hiroko sensei. He kept on looking at the infirmary door, hoping to see his best friend came out from the door and teasing him for feeling worry for nothing. But, the door remained close and it made him even more anxious. His head kept on playing a scene of only Hiroko sensei coming out of the infirmary to inform him a terrible news. Yabai yabai, he scolded his own self whenever he thought of that. How he wished Sho was here with him! Maybe he wouldn't feel so anxious.
"Relax, Aiba san," said a voice next to him. It belonged to Kimura sensei who also waited for Nino with him. "I'm sure he will be okay,"
Aiba simply smiled at the teacher. It wasn't enough to soothe him. Instead, it made him even more anxious. There was just something weird with the tone used by the teacher. If he had to say it, the teacher sounded amused with what happened to Nino.
"What happened?" Asked Kimura sensei.
"Hmmm?" He returned the question with another question. He knew the teacher was asking about Nino but he pretended not to understand the question.
"What happened in the dorm? We only saw the dorm became dark and bright alternately so we went there to see what happened," said Kimura sensei. "Who attacked Ninomiya kun?"
Aiba was reluctant to answer but he thought it would be rude to ignore the teacher. So, he decided to give him as little information as possible. After all, he wasn't even close to Nino during the incident so he had no idea what happened.
"The woman who attacked us in the cave," answered Aiba. "I don't know much. I was at the back of the hall with Sho and Jun. We're going to take the food when it became dark. The woman appeared suddenly when it was bright again. She was talking to Nino and Ohchan but we cannot hear anything. We tried to get close to them but they were surrounded by a bubble. All we hear was a buzzing sound. The woman looked angry when she talked with Nino and then she cast a spell so we cannot see what happened in the bubble. When everything became clear, Nino was lying on the floor,"
"So, Ninomiya kun is her target? I thought she is after Ohno kun,"
Kimura sensei appeared to be concern but Aiba had his suspicion. There was just something that didn't feel right with his eagerness. But he didn't know what it was.
"Errr... I don't know. Maybe Nino was knocked out when he was protecting Ohchan," answered Aiba.
Suddenly, his eyes opened wide in surprise. He remembered seeing someone before the woman appeared. He was hoping that Kimura sensei won't notice his sudden change of expression but the teacher was staring at him intently, which made it impossible for him not to notice.
"What's..."
Aiba was saved from answering the question from Kimura sensei when the infirmary door was opened from the inside. However, he was disappointed to see Hiroko sensei came out, looking confused. Did something bad happen to Nino?
"How is Nino?" He asked eagerly.
However, Hiroko sensei seemed to be debating with herself as she stared at Aiba without answer. Aiba couldn't help but feeling irritated with that. She must be thinking that Aiba had no right to know about his friend's condition. He wasn't often the type to lose his composure but he almost shouted at Hiroko sensei for not answering his question. Thankfully, before he opened his mouth, Kitagawa sensei entered the building with his friends. To his surprise, Nino's father and Sho's father were with them. Hiroko sensei seemed relief to see Sakurai-papa as she hurriedly approached him.
"I may need your help with Ninomiya kun," she reported to Sakurai-papa.
Sakurai-papa didn't seem surprise with her sudden request. He exchanged a look with Nino-papa before the two of them entered the infirmary, following Hiroko sensei. Kitagawa sensei also tagged along.
However, a minute after they entered, Nino-papa opened the door again, searching for something.
"Satoshi," Ohno looked surprise to be called by Nino-papa. "Do you want to come inside?"
Ohno eagerly nodded before heading to the infirmary.
Once again, Aiba had to wait to know about Nino. But, he felt more comfortable this time, having his friends with him. He felt jealous that Ohno had the chance to be inside the infirmary with Nino. But, he understood that both of them had a special bond.
He saw Kimura sensei left as soon as Ohno entered the infirmary and he hoped that he will be gone for a while because he felt uneasy to see him around. However, Kimura sensei came again a few minutes after. He looked a bit different, though. He was pale and unwell. It made Aiba wondered what happened to him when he left the infirmary. Sometimes, he cast a glance at Kimura sensei, seeing if he wanted to continue their previous conversation. But, Kimura's sensei didn't spare him a glance at all. His focus was on the infirmary door. He kept on staring at the door with unreadable expression.
Ohno knew that Nino was still unconscious when Hiroko sensei asked for Sakurai-papa's help regarding his condition. But, when he saw with his own eyes how lifeless Nino seemed to be, he was disappointed. He knew what happened to Nino wasn't Hiroko sensei's fault but he was disappointed that she couldn't heal him.
Nino-papa allowed him to stand near Nino. He really wanted to hold the other boy's hands, blindly hoping that his touch would wake Nino up. But, he will wait until Sakurai-papa checked Nino first. If he also failed, he had decided to kiss Nino awake, like in a fairytale, even if he knew it will also be futile. He was just too desperate to see Nino awake again.
"So, what's wrong with Kazunari?" Nino-papa asked Hiroko sensei.
Hiroko sensei gave Ohno a glance and seemed a bit hesitant to answer. Maybe she thought that Ohno didn't deserve to know about this.
"Well, physically, he seems to be exhausted. Kimura sensei told me that he performed a magic trick beyond his ability earlier this evening and that could be the reason for his lack of energy," explained Hiroko sensei.
"However, there is something wrong with his mind. I cannot connect with his soul and I think it has something to do with his mind. I think his mind was trapped and maybe that's why he is still unconscious,"
Ohno listened carefully to the explanation given by Hiroko sensei. He didn't know much about how the healing magic worked. He remembered Sho mentioned that the people in House of Sakurai has the ability to connect with the soul of people and that's what they used when healing. But, when Hiroko sensei said that there was something wrong with Nino's mind, it had confirmed what he had thought earlier. The woman was responsible for this.
"Okay, let me check him first," Sakurai-papa said and started to examine Nino's body. He hold Nino's wrist and Ohno thought he must be listening to Nino's pulse. Then he dropped the wrist before holding Nino's head next. He touched the head slightly before he nodded his head.
"Hiroko sensei is right. There is something wrong with his mind. I don't know what the woman did but it had to be a high level spell. The spell is protecting his mind and I don't know what to do. As you know, we healers cannot do much to help if it involves mind,"
Ohno only listened to the explanation. So, it seems that even Sakurai-papa cannot help Nino. So, what should they do to heal Nino?
"I see," Kitagawa sensei stroked his long beard. "Hiroko sensei, do you mind leaving us alone for a while?"
Hiroko sensei nodded her head. She spared a glance at Ohno, perhaps thinking if he should follow her going out of the room. Her concern was addressed by Nino-papa.
"It's okay. We might need his help," said Nino-papa. Though she seemed confused, she went out without question.
Ohno stood there, staring at Nino. He wondered why the adults let him entered the infirmary while the rest of his friends waited outside. Just like his friends, he cannot do much after all. So, why is he here? It couldn't be because he is Nino's lover, right?
"What should we do to save Nino?" Ohno asked the adults in the room. The adults didn't answer him immediately, instead they exchanged a look between each other.
"Satoshi," Nino-papa called him softly. "Will you do anything to help Kazunari?"
Ohno eagerly nodded his head. Yes, he was willing to do anything for Nino. The adults once again exchanged a meaningful look. From the exchange, they seemed to have a plan on how to save Nino. But, they seemed reluctant to tell him.
"What do you want me to do?" He asked the adults after a few moments of silence.
Nino-papa took his breath before announcing his plan to Ohno. A plan that surprised Ohno.
"We want you to enter Kazunari's mind,"
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