Magika - Chapter 27 (New)
"Nino, wake up,"
Nino opened his eyes as he heard Ohno's soft voice talking to him. It was a relief to see that he was in the infirmary with Ohno staring at him. He smiled softly at the boy and quickly hugged him. He was happy to be awaken with his memory intact. Of course, it included the memory he had of the woman. A memory that he found hard to believe. The woman is actually Naomi. But, how is that possible? Even if she didn't die during the battle with Samii, isn't it way too long for her to still be alive?
"Well... Well... Looks like you've succeeded in bringing him back,"
A familiar voice greeted him. But, there was something different with the voice. It lacked the softness the owner of the voice usually used when he talked to him. Instead, it sounded too harsh for his liking.
"Kimura sensei," he greeted the teacher. But, he couldn't see the teacher's face. Aiba, Jun and Sho were standing in front of him as if they were trying to protect him and Ohno. He tried to push Aiba, who stood in the middle so that he could look at his teacher. But, Aiba refused to move.
"What's wrong?" He asked his friends. But, none of them answered him. He was frustrated with them. He wanted to push them again but Ohno beat him to it. He pushed the three aside strongly. The three of them and Nino were surprised to see how strong Ohno was considering his small frame. Once the three were no longer became their obstacle, he saw Kimura sensei stood in front of him. But, something else caught his attention.
His father was lying unconsciously a few feet away from Kimura sensei. He wanted to run and get to his father but Jun hold his hand tightly, preventing him from doing so.
"Don't worry. He is fine. I can feel him breathing," Sho whispered softly. It wasn't enough to convince him so he turned his attention to the other adult in the room.
"Kimura sensei, we need to..." He stopped mid sentence when he finally had the chance to look at Kimura sensei properly. The teacher wasn't paying attention to Nino. He glared at Ohno with intense anger and fury. Ohno returned the glare with the same intensity and he wondered what's wrong with them.
"So, it's you," said Ohno.
"You finally figure it out?"
"I can hear your thoughts and I know why you hate me,"
Hate? He knew there was a weird tension between Ohno and Kimura sensei. But, he never thought Kimura sensei hates Ohno. Why would he hate Ohno?
"You steal him from me,"
"I didn't steal him from you,"
He couldn't understand what they were talking about and it seemed that his friends shared the same question as him as they looked at each other confusedly. He had more questions than them, though. He wanted to ask them what they were doing earlier when they stood in front of him. It seemed like they were protecting him from Kimura sensei. But, why would they do that? Did Kimura sensei attack his father? But, why would he do that?
However, he cannot ask all the questions now. Not when there was something tense going on between Ohno and Kimura sensei.
"Yes, you did. You came to our village and took him away from me. He wasn't in love with you. You made him fall in love with you. It had something to do with your magic," Kimura sensei continued his accusation. None of what he said make sense to Nino.
"I'm not him!" Said Ohno. "I'm not Samii. He had died a long time ago, and you should also be dead by now,"
Nino and his friends gasped in surprise to hear what Ohno had said. Why is he talking about Samii to Kimura sensei? What did he mean by Kimura sensei should be dead by now? The only logical reasoning he could think of is .... No ... No... He shook his head, finding it hard to believe what he thought of.
But, before he could confirm his reasoning, Kimura sensei raised his hand to fire a spell towards Ohno. But, Ohno was faster and already fired a spell towards Kimura sensei. However, Kimura sensei easily deflected the spell and then started laughing madly.
"Weakling," Kimura sensei taunted Ohno. "I am more powerful than you. I will defeat you and then claim my right,"
Nino was afraid to see his teacher like that. Kimura sensei looked like a mad person. Who possessed him that he became crazy like this? Is this the work of Naomi again?
As Kimura sensei was readying himself to attack Ohno again, Ohno closed his eyes. Nino wanted to go and get him, afraid of what would happen to his boyfriend. But, Ohno opened his eyes and they were glowing.
"You cannot use your..." Whatever Kimura sensei wanted to say was left hanging as he immediately stopped talking. Ohno had used his magic skill on Kimura sensei but he had difficulty in doing so as Kimura sensei kept fighting to break free from his control.
Nino wanted to help his boyfriend but he didn't know how. He didn't understand anything but he had to do something. As he was trying to find a way to help Ohno, he heard the boy's soft voice in his head.
"Guys, please run. I don't know how much longer I can do this," he sounded desperate. Nino looked at his friends and knew they also heard the same voice.
"How about you? I cannot leave you," thought Nino. He hoped the boy will hear what he was thinking. He was relieved when he heard Ohno's response in his head.
"Run first. I will go after you,"
"But..."
"Don't worry. I will go to you. I promise,"
Ohno gave him a soft smile, as if assuring him that he will keep his promise. He looked at his friends and they nodded their head before they started running towards the door. Thankfully, the door was near them.
However, they heard a blast as he turned on the corridor not too far from the infirmary. He was worried for Ohno and immediately turned back to the infirmary. His friends followed him. He was relieved when Ohno came running towards him in the opposite direction. He immediately went and hugged him.
"I ask you to run first, right?" He could hear Ohno's soft voice in his head once again. Ohno was too tired and it made him worried that he will collapse any minute. He had used too much of his magic today.
"Quick, get on top of me," said Jun, offering his back to piggy ride Ohno.
"No, it will slow you down," said Ohno.
"You are too tired. Let me carry you so that we can move quicker," said Jun once again. Though he hesitated to do it, Ohno finally nodded his head and hopped onto Jun's back.
Before they could run, another figure emerged from the corner. It was a guy but Nino didn't know who he was because he was wearing a mask.
"This is the problem with woman. They are emotional," said the guy. Nino was pretty sure he had heard the voice before but he cannot remember where he heard it.
"Seems like the little Samii is stronger than you think," the guy continued. But, Nino knew he wasn't talking to them. He didn't want to turn around knowing that Kimura sensei was right behind them.
"He is not strong. He is just lucky," Nino was horrified to hear how close Kimura sensei's voice seemed to be. They needed to do something to get away from Kimura sensei but he cannot think properly right now. Ohno had been trying to get down from Jun but Jun was stronger in holding him.
"Stay there. You are too tired," Jun whispered to him. But, Ohno ignored him.
Before Nino could think of anything to escape this time, the mysterious man already fired a spell towards them. Nino was panicked to see that but thankfully, Sho was quick to deflect the spell.
"Little boys, you did not stand a chance against me," the mysterious man taunted them. However, before he could do anything, a swarm of bees encircling him and Nino was relieved to hear Kimura sensei groaned in pain. When he looked behind, he noticed another swarm of bees were attacking Kimura sensei. To his right, he could see Aiba tried hard to control the bees.
"What a mediocre skill," Kimura sensei said as he fired a spell towards the bees. Some of them escaped from the spell and kept attacking him. Nino kept on watching, his brain cannot think of a method to escape and he cursed himself for being helpless.
Suddenly, he could feel air swirling at his feet before he and his friends floated. Jun was making a gesture with his hand. To his horror, Kimura sensei realized what was happening and was ready to attack them again. Without thinking, Nino fired a spell towards him while Sho fired another spell towards the mysterious guy. Thankfully, the spell was enough to let them escape from the two adults. As they floated in the sky, he noticed the school was awfully quiet, making him wondered what happened while he was unconscious.
They arrived in the Great Hall and Sho brought them to a small room that he didn't know exist. It seemed that someone had been using the room seeing how messy it was. He didn't notice it before but Sho had a small bag with him and he took out a book from it. He opened the book and when he found the page he was searching for, he touched the wall at the back of the room before he closed his eyes. A moment after that, a small door appeared where Sho was standing.
"Let's go," said Sho as he opened the door. Nino didn't have the time to wonder about that but he guessed it must be conjured in the same way the secret basement in his room was conjured.
Once all of them entered the room, Sho closed the door and a moment after that the door vanished mysteriously.
"I think we will be safe in here for a while. Hopefully, I did the spell correctly," said Sho. He took a seat near the door, trying to catch his breath.
Nino took the chance to look at the room. There were two beds in the room and he could see how delighted Jun was to put Ohno on the bed. Fortunately, there were some biscuits and cookies in the room so Nino took some of them because he was damn hungry.
"Where are we?" He asked Sho.
"A secret room," Sho rolled his eyes at Nino, as if telling him that was the obvious answer. "My father gave me his bag. He put instructions on how to open this secret room if something happened to him,"
"Your father is here?" He asked. He wasn't surprised to know that because he had seen his own father earlier. They must be here for a mission. "What happened? Kimura sensei... Did he... attack my father?"
He found it hard to ask the question. Kimura sensei is someone he admired. He knew there were a lot of mysteries surrounding the teacher but he would never think of him as a bad person. The teacher is always nice to him.
"Yes," answered Sho, confirming what he thought. "Kitagawa sensei transferred all the students home yesterday after the attack. That's why the school is very quiet. Not long after Ohno entered your mind, we heard a noise from the outside. Kitagawa sensei and my father went to investigate. We waited for a long time until Kimura sensei suddenly appeared. But, something was wrong with him and he suddenly attacked your father. He looked at Ohno as if he was his next target so we stood in front of you guys for protection. Then, you guys woke up and you know what happened next,"
Nino then turned his attention towards Ohno, hoping that he will explain to them what happened in the infirmary just now. However, Ohno's focus wasn't on them. Instead he was looking at the wall where the door had vanished before.
"They're nearby," said Ohno. All of them were panicked to hear that but Ohno put his fingers on his lips to ask them to be silent. It took a while before Ohno finally sighed in relief.
"They're gone," announced Ohno.
"How do you know they are here?" Asked Jun.
"Her emotion. I could feel her emotion. She is furious. So, I assumed the other guy is with her,"
"Is she..." Nino couldn't bring himself to finish his question, afraid to hear the answer. Based on the conversation Ohno had with Kimura sensei earlier, he seemed to claim that Kimura sensei is Naomi. How is that possible?
"I don't know how it happened. But, I felt the same emotion from Naomi when I was with Kimura sensei just now. And he confirmed it with his thought. I know it's hard to believe,"
"But... But... He saved us in the cave... Right?" He asked again.
"It's hard to believe but maybe it's part of his plan," Sho was the one who responded while Ohno remained quiet. "Aiba chan said he saw Kimura sensei before the woman appeared in the dining hall yesterday,"
Nino, Ohno and Jun turned their attention to Aiba who looked uneasy.
"I couldn't see clearly but I think I saw him near the door," answered Aiba.
Nino didn't say anything as he tried to understand everything that happened recently. Though it was hard to believe that Kimura sensei is actually Naomi, it makes sense somehow. He remembered the first day he met Kimura sensei. For a split second, the teacher was surprised to see him but he thought it was just his imagination. However, after he saw Founder Ninomiya in Naomi's memory, the surprise might be because of the resemblance between him and her brother. If he thought of Ohno as Samii, he must have thought of Nino as Kazu. So, maybe that's why Kimura sensei hated Ohno. The reason for the hatred should be because Samii rejected Naomi because he wanted to be with Kazu.
"Naomi was jealous right?" He asked Ohno. He could see how Ohno's expression darkened with what he said. "She was jealous because of Samii's and Kazu's relationship. She loved Samii,"
To his surprise, Ohno shook his head. It made him confused. Unlike Ohno, he had been watching Naomi during their trip to her memory. He didn't need Ohno's magic to know Naomi was jealous to see the intimate moment between his ancestor and Samii. If she wasn't in love with Samii, that would mean...
"It's gross," he said loudly, surprising Sho, Aiba and Jun. He didn't believe it at first but as he recalled the conversation between Ohno and Kimura sensei earlier, it was the only possible reason for Naomi to hate Samii.
"Care to explain?" Asked Sho.
"I'll explain," said Ohno, looking at Nino. It surprised all of them. Everyone knew he didn't like to explain but it made sense because he seemed to know more than them. He started with what Nino had told him before, about the time he had spent in the illusion created by Naomi where Ohno didn't exist. And then, he told them how Nino defeated the protection spell in his head before both of them found a fragment of Naomi's memory in his mind.
"Naomi was jealous to see both Kazu and Samii. When I listened to her thought, I was surprised to know it was because she loved Kazu, romantically,"
"When I woke up, I could feel her anger and I was shocked to feel the same emotion from Kimura sensei. But, I have no idea how she could live this long. Maybe it has something to do with the other guy,"
"Do you know who the other guy is?" He asked his friends. He nearly forgot about the guy. Aiba, Sho and Jun shook his head while Ohno looked at him in confusion.
"You don't recognize his voice?" Asked Ohno. Nino furrowed his eyebrows, trying to think of what Ohno meant. Automatically, his mind recalled what happened to him before he woke up. He was in Naomi's memory and his eyes opened wide in surprise as he finally remembered where he had heard the voice before. The voice... It belonged to Nakai.
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