Magika - Chapter 26 (New)
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Kitagawa sensei asked Ohno for the second time as he lied down on the bed next to Nino. Once again, Ohno nodded his head in annoyance. They were the one who asked him to do it but when he agreed to do it, they kept on asking about his determination.
"Well, I apologized if I annoyed you with my repeated question. I want to warn you, once you're there, you will be alone. We cannot help you," said Kitagawa sensei. Ohno only nodded his head. He knew of the risk. But, he was willing to take it.
"Why can't we just ask Ohno to command Nino to wake up? He can do that, right?" Asked Sho. He wasn't fond of the idea when Ohno told him about it. He said it's too risky and after seeing what happened to Nino when he performed a trick beyond his ability yesterday, he was afraid that Ohno will drain his energy as well.
"To command Nino, he has to connect with his mind first. I don't think the problem will be solved just by commanding him to wake up. To solve the problem entirely, we have to know what exactly the woman did to Nino and the only way to do this is by entering his mind," explained Nino-papa.
"But, no one ever attempt this before! Not to forget, Ohno-kun didn't even know how to do it," Sho protested once again. The adults looked at each other again before Sakurai-papa took out a book from his bag.
"Someone had performed this before. Did you remember the history written in Founder Ninomiya's diary? About the guardian?" Asked Sakurai-papa.
Ohno and his friends nodded his head. Nino had told them about the diary. About a group of magician called the guardian. They can read and control mind. One of the guardians was the true founder of Arashi Wizarding School and he was Ohno's ancestor. That's how Ohno had his magic.
"This is Founder Sakurai's diary," said Sakurai-papa, showing the cover of the book he was holding. "Entering and reading the mind are different. When reading the mind, you could only know what he was thinking about at the moment. But when you entered his mind, you can see everything about the person. Every guardian can read mind but only one had entered another person's mind. Though it was only attempted once,"
"Samii?" Asked Ohno. Sakurai-papa nodded his head.
"It was the combined efforts by Founder Ninomiya and Samii that defeated Naomi. Samii entered her mind, trying to find her fear and Founder Ninomiya was the one who use his magic to create illusion of the fear. Part of the history you know is correct, only the person involved was changed,"
To be honest, Ohno would like to hear more about that. Founder Ninomiya didn't write much about the battle in his diary. But, this wasn't the moment to do that. He needed to save Nino first.
"So, how should I do this?" He asked.
"The same way you do your other magic. Try to connect with Nino's mind. Maybe it will help if you close your eyes. It will make you focus,"
Ohno did as he was told. He thought of Nino, knowing that he could do better whenever he thinks of him. At first, he cannot hear anything. But, slowly, he could hear a lot of voices in his head. The voices were getting louder each seconds. Most of them sounded worried. He was a bit dizzy to hear all the voices talked at the same time but slowly, he started to differentiate each thought. The one that he found interesting was Sho's. Even though he seemed to be against the plan, he was the most curious to know if it worked. Aiba's was hard to understand because he was thinking about a lot of things at once. Jun's? Hmm, mostly he was worried for both Nino and Ohno and he could hear his little pray, hoping that everything will be okay.
Then he felt it. A thought which was different than the other he was feeling. It was filled with fear and confusion. He tried to focus more, making sure it belonged to Nino. It didn't take much to confirm it. In the thought, he could feel Nino was searching for him. So, without thinking, he tried to enter the mind.
He didn't know what prompted him to open his eyes. Maybe the sound of someone crying. When he opened his eyes, he saw Nino in a distance. He was crouching in a corner, appeared to be sobbing. Was he in Nino's mind already? He walked to get near him.
It wasn't easy. Before he could get to Nino, the woman suddenly appeared. She gave him a smirk.
"I know you will be here," she said softly, almost whispering. "But, I will not let you wake him up. I don't want him to be with you,"
There was something weird with the way she said it. But, Ohno ignored it. For the first time, he wasn't afraid to see the woman. He didn't know where the courage came from, but he guessed it had to do with his feeling for Nino. Furthermore, he knew this woman wasn't real. She was just an illusion. An illusion of her protection spell.
He tried to approach Nino but the woman stopped him at every steps he took. He even attacked the woman with every little spells he knew but none worked on her. It frustrated him so much. Nino was so near to him and yet he couldn't get near him.
"GO AWAY!" He shouted at the woman. But, the woman didn't move. She still stood there with her smirk. What should he do to make her go away? What should he do to destroy the protection spell?
Suddenly, an idea came to his mind.
"Nino!" He called his boyfriend. Nino didn't hear him at first. But, he kept on calling him until Nino suddenly looked confused and started to look for his voice.
"Ohchan?" He heard the other boy said.
"Yes," he answered. The woman looked at him but she didn't do anything. Yet.
"Where are you? I cannot see you," Nino told him.
"I'm here. She won't let me in," he told Nino. Even though they were quite far from each other, he could see how Nino was confused with what he said. "Listen, Nino. This isn't real world. I'm in your mind right now. You fainted in the hall after she attacked but you don't want to wake up. I'm here to bring you back. But, I cannot fight her. Only you can fight her. This is your mind. You should not be fooled with her illusion,"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand. I don't see her anywhere. How could I fight her if I cannot see her?" asked Nino. He still seemed confused and Ohno wouldn't blame him. He always had trouble to convince people. But, he won't give up. As this is Nino's mind, he is the only one who can destroy the protection spell and the only way for him to destroy the spell is by killing the woman in this illusion, that's what he thought. He hoped it will work.
"Stop. Now, it's the time for you to go," said the woman, ready to cast a spell. Upon hearing that, he knew he was right. Nino is the only person who can destroy the protection spell.
"Look carefully, Nino," he told Nino. He didn't know how to make Nino sees the woman. Nino didn't say anything. He appeared to be doubtful. But, Ohno felt a spark of hope when he saw Nino closed his eyes, hopefully to focus on himself and when he opened his eyes again, he looked confused with his surrounding. Then he appeared to be looking for something and he cast a smile as he was looking at Ohno's direction.
"Ohchan, I can see you," he told Ohno from his position. He ran towards Ohno. Ohno was happy to see that and momentarily, he forgot about the protection spell until he noticed a streak of light heading towards him. Fortunately, he was quick to deflect the spell.
"No!!!" Nino shouted. "Don't do anything to him,"
"You stay there and I will leave him alone," the woman told Nino. Almost immediately, Nino stopped moving. He was evidently worried for Ohno.
"She's not real, Nino. This is all in your head. Only you can..."
Once again, the woman fired another spell towards Ohno. Ohno wasn't so lucky this time as it hit his legs. The woman seemed pleased but wasn't entirely satisfied. She raised her hand once again, ready to cast another spell. Ohno tried to run away but it was impossible due to the injury in his leg. He had no choice but to attack the woman.
However, before he could do anything, the woman suddenly screamed before she was consumed by a yellow light from her back. Ohno was surprised, wondering what had happened to her. When the woman was completely gone from his view, Nino stared at him in disbelief.
"Did I kill her?" Asked Nino. He was shaking in fear. Ohno approached him, relief to see nothing was stopping him this time. Nino didn't seem to understand what had happened. He seemed to think that the woman was real and he had killed him, causing him to feel guilty for killing someone.
As he watched the way Nino was shaking, a disturbing realization struck him. He quickly shook the idea away and tried to focus on the situation he had right now.
"No. She wasn't real. Just a protection spell to stop you from waking up," said Ohno. But, Nino shook his head, clearly he didn't believe him.
"But... She looked real... I killed her... I am... No, I didn't mean to..." Nino continued to mumble, refusing to listen to anything that Ohno wanted to tell him. Ohno tried several times to make Nino look at him but he ignored Ohno. He even pushed Ohno's hands away from him each time Ohno tried to touch him.
"YOU DIDN'T KILL HER," Ohno screamed at the top of his lungs, feeling frustrated that Nino didn't want to listen to him. Nino stopped mumbling and turned his attention towards him. Ohno felt guilty to see the way Nino cowered to hear him screaming. He was annoyed with himself for snapping at Nino. It wasn't Nino's fault for believing this was real but it was his fault for failing to make Nino believe in him.
"I'm sorry, Nino. I shouldn't snap at you," he told the other boy. His voice was soft this time, trying to soothe the boy who was clearly afraid with what he had done. It seemed to be working as Nino had allowed Ohno to touch him. He still looked afraid but at least his attention was on Ohno.
"I killed her," once again, Nino told him the same thing. Ohno shook his head while trying to figure out a way to tell Nino about their situation without making Nino felt confused.
"Nino, you're the best student in House of Ninomiya. Can you tell me the first thing Kimura sensei taught you?"
Nino remained quiet for a while before he gasped in surprise.
"I thought I lost you," said Nino suddenly, surprising him. "She attacked us and then you were gone. But, I don't know what happened next. When I woke up, I was in my room. It seemed perfect but I know something was wrong,"
Ohno blinked his eyes, staring at Nino in confusion. He tried to understand what Nino was telling him.
"So, everything that happened was just my imagination? Geez, how could I date Erika? No wonder it felt so wrong," said Nino.
"You're dating Erika?" Asked Ohno in panic. Of course he was listening to Nino the whole time but hearing that Nino was dating Erika confused him.
"In the illusion the woman was trapping me in. Not in the real life. I only love you, Ohchan," Nino reassured him. Hearing the expression, Ohno couldn't help but leaning forward to kiss Nino, which Nino gladly accepted. He knew it wasn't the time for kissing but he missed the boy so much.
After the kiss, Nino told him everything that happened in his illusion. He was surprised to know that Nino had been living his imagination for three months though in real time, it was only a day since the attack. Apparently, Ohno didn't exist in the illusion but Nino kept seeing him in his dream. He had a feeling that he had another set of memories but he just couldn't recall it. That's how he knew something was wrong with the world he was living in. He still didn't remember everything when Ohno first appeared but destroying the protection spell might be the reason for him to regain those memories again.
Once he heard Nino's story, he was grateful that he decided to enter Nino's mind instead of commanding him to wake up. Who knows what would happen if he simply commanded Nino? Maybe Nino will not remember him.
"I guess it's the time for me to wake up," said Nino. Ohno nodded eagerly. He cannot wait to be reunited with Nino in the real world. However, something caught his attention as he was ready to leave Nino's mind.
"What is that?" Asked Ohno, pointing at a small hole in the darkness.
Since he arrived here, this was the first time he paid attention to the surrounding. Nino's mind was like a big bright hall with a few rooms in it. He wondered what each room represents. He deduced that the room represents Nino's emotion or memory. But, the small hole looked out of place here and he wondered why it was in Nino's mind.
"I don't know," answered Nino. "Hmmm, why don't we get closer and see what it is? Just to make sure it isn't dangerous. I don't want to wake up knowing that thing is still in my head. Who knows it could be the traces of the protection spell,"
Ohno nodded in agreement. He walked together with Nino towards the hole. However, before they could inspect the hole properly, they were sucked into it. It felt like they were falling into an abyss of darkness as he cannot see the bottom. However, he was relief when they finally landed on a ground.
"Where are we?" Nino asked him as they stood up.
Ohno looked around, noticing they were in a forest. He wondered if it was the forest nearby their school field.
"Practising your magic in the forest?"
Both of them were surprised to hear a voice behind them. They turned around to see a boy older than them. He didn't recognize the boy and wondered who he was. At first, he thought the boy was talking to them but he noticed his gaze wasn't towards them. He was looking at a girl in the middle of a small clearing in the forest.
The girl turned around. Both Ohno and Nino gasped in surprise to see her face. She was the woman in the cave, except she looked much younger, perhaps around seventeen years old.
Both the girl and the boy didn't seem to notice Ohno and Nino. They were clearly in their sight but neither said anything about them, completely ignoring them, like they didn't exist.
"Perhaps we are in her memory," said Nino. "Maybe part of her was accidentally shared with me when she cast her spell,"
Ohno nodded his head, agreed with what his lover said. If what Nino said was true, it will be an advantage for them. This is a chance, right? A chance for them to know who she really is.
"Go away," the girl told the boy. "I don't want you here,"
But the boy ignored her. She sighed annoyingly but didn't do anything to make the boy go. She scanned her surrounding then raised her hand to perform her magic trick. But, nothing happened and she turned to look at the boy.
"Go away. I cannot focus when you are here,"
She told the boy again. But, the boy chuckled at her. He didn't seem like he was going to move from his spot.
"I'm not the reason you cannot do your magic. If I have to say, I think you may have shared the same fate as me,"
The boy smiled in satisfaction when the girl gave him her full attention. She waited for him to continue but the guy remained silent, causing the girl to lose her temper.
"Spill the beans, Nakai," she said angrily.
Nakai? He knew the name. He was Naomi's sidekick. But, if the boy is Nakai, does that mean the girl is...
"Patient, Naomi. Let me guess, you cannot do your magic since you met the old geezer,"
Nino tightened his grip on him because he was too surprised with the discovery. They had guessed that the woman in the cave was related to Naomi but now, it seemed that they were wrong. She isn't related to Naomi, she is Naomi. How could that be possible? Naomi died during the battle, right?
"So what?"
"The old geezer locked our magic, Naomi. He thought we're dangerous. That's why we cannot use our magic anymore since we met him,"
Naomi didn't say anything in return. She seemed to know about that. She glared at Nakai before taking her step to leave him. But, Nakai stopped her. He held the girl's hand tightly.
"Let me go," said Naomi as she struggled to be free. Nakai let her go after a few minutes. Naomi immediately walked away from him.
"We can work together to defeat him, Naomi," he shouted.
Naomi stopped for a while, as if considering the idea. But, she shook her head and continued walking, leaving Nakai alone. Nino and Ohno turned to look at each other before both of them followed the girl.
They walked until they arrived at the field. There were other people on the field. A look of recognition flashed in Naomi's eyes when she saw the two figures sitting near each other in the field. Naomi hid herself behind one of the trees to watch them. They were close enough to the couple to see their face and listened to their conversation.
Ohno took the chance to look properly at the couple. He was surprised to see how much both Nino and him resembled the couple and it was enough to convince him that the couple they were spying on was Samii and Founder Ninomiya.
“I’m attracted to you because I think we’re quite similar. It was hypocrite of me to ask you to embrace your magic when I struggled with it myself. I don’t like to read mind but I’m not good in controlling it. That’s why sometimes I could hear what you were thinking of me,”
He heard what Samii told Founder Ninomiya. Founder Ninomiya only blushed as he said that before Samii leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips. Ohno looked away from the scene in front of him, feeling embarrassed to watch the couple's private moment.
"You aren't sloppy. It felt good to kiss you," Samii told Founder Ninomiya who was still blushing.
Ohno recognized the moment displayed in front of him from one of the entries in Founder Ninomiya's diary. It was the moment that he decided to accept his true self as a magician. He continued watching the sweet moment between the two of them and admired the way both of them looked at each other.
However, he suddenly felt an intense pain as well as anger from his surrounding. He cast a look at Naomi, forgetting for a moment that she was the reason he could watch the scene. Undeniably, the pain and anger he felt was from Naomi as she looked at Samii and Founder Ninomiya with jealousy. The emotion wasn't the only thing he got from the girl. He accidentally listened to her thought as she watched the whole scene and was surprised by it.
Naomi wasn't in love with Samii. She was in love with her own brother.
A/N: I have finished writing this fic yesterday. I posted three chapters and will post the remaining chapters later. I hope this is okay and comments will be much appreciated.
Anyway, I have a little favour to ask regarding my next fic. I need your help deciding what I should write next. You may read about it here. I'm truly grateful if you could help me.