The first time Sooyeon met her Onee-sama was in a duel.

 

She woke up one morning to find Nana already gone. Her bed was made neat and tidy.  Sooyeon noticed a dark purple envelope on the desk next to her bed and reached for it with stiff fingers.

 

Inside the envelope was a single card. On the card was a location and a time. No name was written. A little suspicious, (the upperclassmen were known for pranking the underclassmen), Sooyeon shoved the card into her pocket and went to wash up.

 

She had actually completely forgotten about the mysterious envelope and its contents until she met Nana at breakfast and the first thing Nana said to her was, “Did you get it?”

 

Confused, Sooyeon merely raised an eyebrow, reaching for the toast as she waited for Nana to explain.

 

“The envelope!” Nana exclaimed. “I’m pretty sure it’s from our Onee-sama! She must be back from her trip!”

 

Sooyeon frowned. “How do you know?”

 

Nana shrugged. “I just have a feeling.”

 

“And if it’s not from Onee-sama?” Sooyeon questioned skeptically.

 

“There’s only one way to find out,” Nana grinned.

 

“I’m not going. It’s probably just a prank,” Sooyeon shrugged it off.

 

“What if it’s not?” Nana prodded.

 

“If our Onee-sama wanted to meet us, she should’ve at least signed her name. There is no way I’m going,” Sooyeon stayed firm.

 

“Fine,” Nana huffed. “Guess I’ll just go by myself.”

 

“Have fun,” Sooyeon responded without a care in the world. She munched happily on her toast.

 

“You’re no fun,” Nana jested.

 

“Pass the jam?” Sooyeon asked, mouth full of toast.

 

“No jam,” Nana muttered.

 

 

---

 

 

Sooyeon ended up not going, just like she promised. Nana did go though. She even bothered Sooyeon before leaving. (“Are you sure you don’t want to come?” “ Yes, I’m sure.”)

 

But, that was over two hours ago.

 

Nana had promised her that they would meet up to go over Charms homework. But, she wasn’t back yet.

 

Sooyeon grew increasingly worried until she received an origami wolf. It read:

 

If you want to see your friend again, come now.

 

That was it. No location was listed, but Sooyeon had a feeling she knew where the person was talking about.

 

Taking out the crumpled forgotten card from her robe pocket, she cursed her best friend. “I told you not to go,” she muttered under her breath.

 

Scurrying along, Sooyeon ended up on the second room of the third floor in the main tower. She slowly opened the door, just enough to peek her head in. It was completely dark. Not a good sign usually.

 

“Hello?” she breathed out timidly.

 

There was no answer.

 

Fighting back her eye roll (because how many times had she seen this scene in horror movies?), Sooyeon opened the door wider and stepped in, walking to the middle of the room.

 

“Hello!” she shouted this time, feeling not as afraid. She whirled around and let her voice project. “I came here like you told me to. Now give me Nana! We have Charms homework to do.”

 

There was no answer. Sooyeon waited.

 

Just as she was about to turn on her heels and leave, the lights blasted on. Sooyeon whipped around.

 

There, in the middle of the large otherwise empty room, stood a tall, skinny girl, with the darkest colored hair Sooyeon had ever seen. Bright brown eyes full of life peered at her. With dainty lips, rosy cheeks, a sharp jawline, and flawless pale skin, the girl was beautiful.

 

The girl smiled at Sooyeon, and Sooyeon felt her goosebumps rise up. It was like being in the presence of royalty. The gravity that the girl held was by no means anything less than extraordinary. Her natural and almost overwhelming charisma reminded Sooyeon of the stories of legendary ancient wizards that her mom used to tell her when she was young. Sooyeon reckoned people would have undoubtedly followed Reina to war if she only did so much as asked if times were still like the past.

 

The girl took a step forward, her purple robe swishing to an invisible wind.

 

Sooyeon knew immediately who she was. For once, it looked like the rumors weren’t too far from the truth.

 

Sooyeon watched as the girl raised her wand, the tip aimed right at Sooyeon’s face. Sooyeon met the girl’s playful eyes.

 

Sooyeon gulped.

 

Sakai Reina.

 

“Hello, Sooyeon-san.” The corner of the girl’s lips lifted just slightly. Her voice was velvety and held absolute confidence.

 

Suddenly, everything seemed to explode.

 

Sooyeon immediately lunged to her left, diving into a roll before coming up to her knees.

 

Reina advanced on her with confident eyes and a teasing smirk.

 

Sooyeon knew what that look meant.

 

It was a silent declaration - a challenge.

 

They were to duel.  

 

Reina stopped and Sooyeon tensed, relying solely on instinct as she dodged to the left as a freezing spell flew past her, missing by mere centimeters. Sooyeon shivered in excitement. The spell just now was strong. She could tell as it whizzed by her.

 

Standing up straight, Sooyeon felt her body shift into her signature confident posture. She pulled out her wand.

 

Oh how she loved dueling.

 

“Hello, Onee-sama,” Sooyeon greeted back in a similar manner.

 

Reina smirked after sensing Sooyeon’s sudden shift in attitude and advanced once more, shooting another spell aimed directly at Sooyeon.

 

Sooyeon breathed out slowly. Instead of dodging right away this time, she waited for the spell to come to her. Feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline, she deflected the spell away at the last possible second with a quick burst of magic.

 

Yes, this was her style of dueling, minimalism.

 

Reina didn’t seem too surprised.

 

‘She must’ve heard about my duel with Sensei,’ Sooyeon thought, not at all surprised that her Onee-sama had been keeping tabs on her even if she was away. However, if Reina knew of her true abilities, than the girl was basically mocking her right now. Sooyeon knew she was capable of more, and she knew Reina was definitely capable of more.

 

“Sooyeon,” Reina spoke and Sooyeon felt as if her voice resonated across the entire room, magnifying Reina’s voice. “Let us duel to our hearts’ delight,” Reina smiled.

 

Sooyeon mirrored her smile, and in an instant, she was on the offense.  

 

Spell, dodge, spell, deflect, combo, dodge, spell, spell, spell, jump, spell, shift.

 

Sooyeon found herself smiling as Reina tried to force her into moving as much as possible across the wide room, making it difficult for her to continue with the minimalist dueling style.

 

‘She’s not ranked third in the Dueling club for nothing,’ Sooyeon thought, as she watched how easily Reina moved against her, looking like she wasn’t trying at all.

 

‘I guess I still have a lot to learn,’ Sooyeon mused, as she pulled tricks and maneuvers that she’d tucked away in her repertoire after years of dueling with her mother.

 

Reina on the other hand was pleasantly surprised to find that her little Kohai was quite the extraordinaire. The girl definitely lived up to what she’d been hearing. No one in her grade could even keep up with her in a duel like this. Only a handful of people could match her and they were all upperclassman. Yet here was Jung Sooyeon, a first year, dueling on par with her.

 

‘I wonder how far I can go,’ Reina mused. It’d been awhile since she last dueled seriously. While dueling with the first and second ranked duelists were always exhilarating, they lacked the element of surprise that this duel had. Reina had long ago familiarized herself with everyone’s dueling style in the school. However, it was her first time going against someone who dueled like Sooyeon.

 

‘I plan to go all out, Sooyeon-san. I hope you can keep up, for your own sake.’

 

Sooyeon’s eyes widened as Reina casted a spell she’d never seen before. With unfamiliar spells it was smarter to dodge rather than deflect. The spell shot past her, a lot closer than she intended it to be, and Sooyeon shivered at the magical energy of the spell.
 

It was a lot stronger than previous spells.

 

The duel had been turned up a notch.

 

Sooyeon breathed out slowly as she made eye contact with Reina.

 

In dueling, it was essential to maintain eye contact. One could tell a lot about the opponent’s intents.

 

Right now, Sooyeon understood Reina’s perfectly.

 

‘Prepare yourself.’

 

Sooyeon braced herself as spells came flying at her twice as powerful, and three times as fast.

 

Spells slipped past their lips so quickly they sounded like rushed mutterings.

 

Until Reina decided to take it up yet another notch.

 

They were moving too fast to breathe and talk at the same time. Soon, they were casting spells wordlessly, increasing the pace of the duel even more.  

 

“Kochi no Ikari!” (Fury of the East Wind)

“Rakurai!” (Strike of Lightning)

“Tsujigiri!” (Slashing spell)

 

The disadvantage of silent duels was that Sooyeon had no idea what her opponent would cast next. Every attack and defense came as a surprise. She’d contemplated using Legilimency to read Reina’s mind, but that would require steady eye-contact and Sooyeon wasn’t the best at the skill. She also doubted Reina was that careless to let Sooyeon read her mind. Sooyeon wouldn’t have been surprised if Reina was skilled at Occlumency too.

 

As Sooyeon dodged another expertly aimed spell, she cursed the lack of terrain. The room was wide open, with nothing standing between her and Reina.

 

Her eyes widened as she was hit with an idea.

 

She waited, deciding to save her energy until Reina casted either a water or fire type spell, which according to her observations, wouldn’t take too long.

 

Sooyeon watched as the tip of Reina’s wand lit up and the temperature in the room rose subtly. ‘Here it comes,’ Sooyeon felt her heart bounce in anticipation, but tried her best to keep her eyes mutual. She had confidence in her poker face. Reina would not see this coming.

 

A slither of hot fire came lashing out towards her like a snake, but Sooyeon was ready. She quickly released an intense stream of ice cold water, meeting Reina’s fire attack spot on.

 

As soon as the two spells met, the room exploded.

 

Reina smiled as the room instantly filled with steam, making it impossible for her to see Sooyeon.

 

‘Impressive. She’s finally making a move.’

 

Sooyeon moved fast. She knew she only had less than three seconds before Reina would get rid of the steam.

 

As Reina waved her wand lazily to dissipate the steam, she felt her balance teeter slightly as the ground began to shift.

 

Alerted, Reina waited until the steam was entirely gone only to realize what had just aspired.

 

Sooyeon had transformed the terrain of the room.

 

Pillars of stone stood everywhere. There were also different leveled platforms. The entire floor of the room was a mess. The current dueling field resembled nothing of what it was previously.

 

Sooyeon was also nowhere to be seen.

 

Reina tensed, shifting immediately to defense.

 

‘Interesting. She has the upperhand here. I know nothing about the terrain while she was the one who created it. Smart move, Sooyeon-san.’

 

Taking slow steps, Reina moved forward. Her eyes and ears were fully alert.

 

‘There’s something not right,’ Reina frowned as she paused in her steps. She couldn’t feel Sooyeon anywhere. Reading the air currents in the room (a neat trick she learned in her second year), Reina found no trace of another human being.

 

The girl just vanished.  

 

‘No, that’s not right. She’s probably manipulating the air currents as well, so I can’t detect her. If so, Sooyeon-san may be the most talented duelist I’ve ever met for her young age.’

 

Reina was about to continue when she felt the slightest tremor from under her feet.

 

‘She’s under the floor?!’

 

But by then, it was too late. Blue light shot up from where Reina’s feet previously were. She managed to dodge most of the attack, but could not escape unharmed. Reina traced the cut on her arm. It was small, but deep. To be able to draw blood from her, the third ranked duelist in the entire school, was no small feat. Only a handful of students were able to manage that feat in the past.   

 

Clutching her arm, she waited for Sooyeon to appear. After a few seconds, it became clear that Sooyeon had no intention of revealing herself anytime soon.

 

Reina chuckled to herself as she quickly healed the cut. She had to hand it to Sooyeon. The kid was creative.

 

‘If she won’t come out, then I’ll just force her out.’

 

Pointing the tip of her wands towards the ground, Reina released a powerful spell causing the ground to ripple with vigor.

 

Before the ground even finished rippling, Reina whipped around suddenly and deflected the spell that was aimed right at her injury. She smirked as she caught Sooyeon jumping out from beneath the ground. The girl stared back at her with a look of pure determination.

 

‘I was wrong,'Reina thought, thinking back to her previous thoughts. ‘This was much more fun than I expected. You really are surprising, Sooyeon-san.’

 

---

 

In a different room, two figures sat huddled on the ground watching the projection of the two figures on the wall.

 

“Woah! Your friend is really, really, really amazing!” Chiho exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight at Sooyeon’s new maneuver. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Reina smiling so much during a match before. She must be having so much fun!”

 

Nana hummed, her thoughts too preoccupied with the duel to form a coherent reply. Sooyeon and Reina had been at it for almost thirty minutes now. Nana only lasted ten. And that was with Reina merely toying with her.

 

Chiho tilted her head at the silence, wondering why Nana wore a sad smile, but didn’t question it.

 

---

 

 

Reina breathed in roughly through her nose and exhaled through , trying her best to hide the fact that she was nearly out of breath.

 

‘I shouldn’t have taken it so easy in the beginning. The duel’s drawn out far too long,’ Reina thought. ‘The girl clearly could’ve handled it if I started out a bit stronger. Now look at me, struggling to catch my breath.’

 

She eyed Sooyeon’s form. While the girl was also clearly tired, she didn’t seem to be as out of breath as Reina was. ‘So this is the minimalist style that Kaga Sensei and Chiho were so excited about, huh?’

 

Reina closed her eyes for a moment and exhaled deeply. Sooyeon was nice enough to pause her attacks, letting Reina take her moment of rest.

 

‘Such a kind duelist,’ Reina mused. ‘I’m glad she’s my protege. I’ll be sure to guide her well.’

 

She opened her eyes, lifting her head high. She regarded Sooyeon with warm eyes. ‘Now then, every great duel needs a great ending. Let us finish this.’

 

 

---

 

 

Chiho exhaled slowly through her nose in anticipation. She recognized the look on Reina’s face and could only send a silent prayer for Sooyeon’s safety.

 

Reina was about to unleash one of her ultimate moves.

 

 

---

 

 

Illusions.

 

The reason why Reina was ranked third in Mahoukotoro in terms of dueling was because of her impeccable mastery of illusions.

 

It made sense, considering her parents were both masters of the field and worked in the IMT, or the Illusion Management Team,  in the Japanese Ministry of Magic.

 

Chiho always liked to comment that Reina was so good with illusions because Reina was always “a little crazy”. She always thought a little differently from everyone else, saw things a little differently than everyone else, and did things a little differently from everyone else. Reina would always reply, “You only think I’m crazy because you can’t understand.”

 

Reina regarded Sooyeon, who stared back almost challengingly, as if daring Reina to do her worst. ‘I’ve never used this on an underclassmen before. Let’s start out easy. Level one.’

 

 

---

 

 

Sooyeon immediately felt something was off. She looked around, noticing that everything seemed normal. However, her instincts were screaming at her, telling her that everything wasn’t as it seemed. She was into an illusion.

 

‘Nothing I see is real anymore.’

 

She had to give Reina some credit. Everything looked perfectly normal. If Sooyeon were a bit more tired and careless, she wouldn’t even have been able to tell. Heck, even knowing that this was an illusion, Sooyeon could barely tell the difference. The illusion was that good.

 

Reina’s control of illusions nearly matched those of her mother’s. Nearly.

 

The only problem was, Sooyeon’s skills in illusions were not as good. While she could recognize them quite well, she probably couldn’t create an illusion this perfect. However, after years of dueling with her mom, she’s learned a few tricks against even the most perfect illusions.

 

 

---

 

 

Reina sighed in satisfaction as she felt her illusion take place. Sooyeon was trapped in a battlefield completely created by her mind. The Sooyeon that stood before her could neither hear, see, move, or feel anything in the real world anymore.

 

Reina took slow steps towards the frozen Sooyeon, reveling in her victory. It had been a while since she’s had this much fun. Winning only made the duel even better.

 

Carefully, she raised her wand, a stunning spell ready on her lips, when she suddenly felt something inside her waver.

 

Her illusion.

 

Sooyeon was messing with it.

 

With furrowed eyebrows, Reina closed her eyes and struggled to regain total control of her illusion. She felt no more disturbances, but waited a second just to be sure. When nothing happened, Reina relaxed. ‘You’re quite the stubborn one, aren’t you?’

 

When she looked back up, she was shocked to see that Sooyeon had disappeared. She turned around and saw Sooyeon smiling at her with a smirk.

 

‘What? How?’ Reina thought. There was no way Sooyeon could move while she was still trapped in her illusion and she was. Reina could feel that Sooyeon was still trapped in her illusion.

 

Confusion clouded her mind until a single, spine chilling thought made her freeze.

 

As realization sunk in, Reina couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

‘She really is something.’

 

“You trapped me in my own illusion,” Reina voiced out, sounding impressed.

 

Sooyeon nodded. “I can’t escape your illusion, but if I bring you here, I don’t have to,” Sooyeon explained.

 

“Ah, but I can leave my own illusion,” Reina pointed out.

 

Sooyeon smirked defiantly. “You can try. But I’ll bring you right back in.”

 

Reina exhaled slowly through her nose. This duel took quite a turn, shifting from an overwhelming exchange of near legendary old spells to a duel of pure will power.

 

Reina closed her eyes. She could keep going, increase the intensity of her illusions to level two, add on layers upon layers of illusions, make Sooyeon feel unimaginable amounts of pain, but there was no point in laying all her cards on the table in their first duel. They would have plenty more to come.  

 

‘Next time,’ Reina promised. ‘I won’t go so easy on you. I’ve learned not to underestimate you.’

 

 

---

 

 

“What are they doing?” Nana asked as she noticed that neither Sooyeon nor Reina was moving. The two just stood facing each other as still as statues.

 

“I’m not sure,” Chiho frowned. “I think Sooyeon just Reina into her own illusion. Reina is now trying to leave her illusion and Sooyeon is trying to force her in.”

 

“It’s obviously a deadlock then,” Nana frowned. “No one’s going to win at this point.”

 

“I wouldn’t say that,” Chiho commented heavily. “Just watch.”

 

 

---

 

 

Sooyeon felt her heart beating faster and faster in her chest. Any longer and she would lose. She had underestimated Reina’s control over illusions. Her stamina for maintaining illusions was no match for Reina’s who had spent way more time perfecting her illusions.

 

Reina smirked, sensing Sooyeon weaken. It was now or never. Suddenly, Reina stopped fighting Sooyeon. The illusion dropped, returning them both to reality but before Sooyeon could fully grasp the situation, Reina had already unleashed a deadly twelve attack combo.

 

Sooyeon brought up her shield at the last minute and managed to side step most of the spells, but she took the full brunt of the last two attacks, forcing her to get thrown back onto the ground. She got up as quickly as possible only to feel a wand tip poking her in the neck.

 

Without moving her head, she looked up slowly into Reina’s eyes, who smirked down at her. With a small smile, Sooyeon lowered her head in defeat. It was finally over.

 

For now.

 

‘I lose.’ Sooyeon looked up when she felt the tip of the wand leave her neck only to see Reina offering a hand. Grabbing the hand, Sooyeon hoisted herself up.

 

“Thank you,” she bowed to her Onee-sama.

 

Reina smiled. “It was a good duel, Sooyeon,” she complimented with a small bow. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Sakai Reina, third year, and I’m your Onee-sama.”

 

Sooyeon hastily accepted the compliment and bow with an even bigger bow of her own.

 

“Thank you, Onee-sama” she muttered. “I am Jung Sooyeon, first year. I am glad to be your Kouhai.”

 

She felt her wounds from the last attack close up as Reina started muttering healing spells. It was soothing and for a second, Sooyeon thought back to the many, many times her mother healed her wounds after losing a duel. She straightened up from her bow.

 

“Come on. Jinah-san and Chiho are waiting for us in the next room,” Reina said, as she placed her hand to support Sooyeon’s back, gesturing her to go forward.

 

“Nana?” Sooyeon questioned, before remembering the reason why she came up here in the first place. She was having so much fun dueling that she completely forgot about her best friend.

 

“Forget her,” Sooyeon joked as she yawned slightly. “I’m sleepy.”

 

Reina smiled lightly as she heard the “YAH! JUNG SOOYEON YOU ARE DEAD!” echo from next door.

 

And that was the beginning of their beautiful mentor-protege relationship.

 

“NO BUT SERIOUSLY! SOOYEON YOU CAN’T FALL ASLEEP! WE HAVE HOMEWORK TO DO!”

 

 

---

 

 

“Are you sure about this?”

 

Headmistress Ueno stared out at the beautiful scenery in front of her, not bothering to look at the person who’d just asked her a question.

 

“Yes, I am sure, Reo-san.”

 

Ryusaki Reo, Illusions Sensei at Mahoutokoro, frowned lightly at the headmistress’s calm but unwavering answer. The two were sitting inside a pavilion by the headmistress’s personal garden. The pavilion overlooked a small pond which was populated with several koi fish as well as some turtles. The headmistress was calmly ripping pieces of bread and throwing them to the gathering of fish below.

 

“Don’t you think it’s a little out of their scope?” Ryusaki asked again. “They’re only first years after all. What you’re asking me to do is more suited towards the fifth years’ level. The only student I can think of that can possibly pass this who isn’t an upperclassmen is Sakai Reina in the third year, but she’s a bit of a special case.”

 

Ueno eyed the koi fish who were busy fighting each other for food. “You’re right,” she stated calmly. “Reina is a bit of a special case.”

 

“Then you agree,” Ryusaki persisted, a bit confused. “This is too difficult for the first years to handle.”

 

“No,” Ueno replied. Her lips curled up into a small smile. That was when Ryusaki knew that the headmistress was planning something.

 

“What are you trying to accomplish by making the first year’s practical exam nearly impossible for them to pass?” he questioned calmly. He was always one for logic, even though he specialized in illusions and all things non-real. 

 

For the first time since he entered the pavilion, Ueno looked up from the pond and set her gaze upon him. She widened her smile, but still showed no teeth. “Don’t you think this year’s first years are interesting?” she asked him.

 

Ryusaki recalled the first year students. No one really stood out that much. All of his students were proficient. This was Mahoutokoro after all. Most of these kids were born into families with magic. Some even had bloodlines in which magic was several centuries old.

 

“No one stands out?” Ueno inquired with a raised eyebrow. “And here I thought you were observant. Looks like I was wrong.”

 

Ryusaki had no idea how to react to a statement like that. “Which student stands out to you?” he asked instead, keeping his calm. He was never one to lose his temper so easily anyways. “Are you referring to the current First Meijin?” he asked, choosing the safest option.

 

“There are two,” Ueno answered vaguely. “Nana is one of them.”

 

Ryusaki furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion. “Then is the other one Lizzy?” he asked. Lizzy was the second ranked first year after Nana. It made sense. But to his surprise, Ueno shook her head.

 

“It is not Lizzy,” Ueno stated. “And before you start going down the list, let me just save you the time and effort. The other student is Sooyeon.”

 

“The outsider?” Ryusaki questioned, accidentally letting a little too much surprise show in his tone. He immediately reverted back to his calm state after clearing his throat. “But she’s currently ranked last.”

 

“Yes,” Ueno nodded. “But only because, like you said, she is an outsider. Though technically, that’s not entirely true either.”

 

Ryusaki's lips tugged down in a frown. “What do you mean?”

 

“You probably don’t know since you only taught the third year Wakai’s, but Sooyeon was a Wakai for a brief time,” Ueno revealed.

 

“She dropped the program?” Ryusaki wondered. “Then that still makes her an outsider because she failed the Wakai program.”

 

Ueno shook her head again, a sly smile on her face. “Oh, I didn’t say she failed, Reo.”

 

“Then what do you mean?” Ryusaki asked.

 

“She didn’t fail,” Ueno repeated. “She left.”

 

“I’m not getting what you mean,” said Ryusaki.

 

“She left. The program was too easy for her,” Ueno revealed, smiling wide. “Sooyeon left the Wakai program after two weeks because we were teaching her everything she already knew!” she exclaimed. She took in the look on Ryusaki’s face in amusement as he tried to let everything sink in. She took a deep breath. “Do you know who her parents are?”

 

Ryusaki shook his head as he searched his memory for any indication of Sooyeon's parents. He wasn't one to pay attention to bloodlines. It was difficult considering everyone was from a family with magic history. Besides, he was a firm believer of merit over bloodlines as an indicator of skill and potential. 

 

Ueno smiled knowingly. “She’s Soojung’s sister. Does that give you a clue?”

 

“Soojung? The Wakai?” Ryusaki asked for clarification as he racked his brain to recall who Soojung’s parents were. He knew Soojung. He’s taught her. The girl was brilliant for her age. But no, he had no idea who her parents were. There were many people with the last name Jung after all. 

 

“Soojung’s parents are Jung Jaesun and Kang Soobin. Does that ring a bell?” Ueno inquired with a sly smile. Though she tried to hide her amused expression behind her fan, Ryusaki could see the laughter in her eyes. 

 

He knew them. Heck, they were classmates in the same graduating class at Mahoutokoro. Jaesun was the star jock of their year while Soobin was honestly the most popular girl at school. Ryusaki was more than familiar with Jaesun’s Quidditch achievements and Soobin’s prowess in dueling and potions making. Soobin’s face was all over Japan for a year when she won third place at the International Potions Competition in her last year.

 

Sooyeon and Soojung were their daughters. Ryusaki let that sink in for a second. The powerful and famous main branch of theJung family had joined with the ancient blood of the Kang. Suddenly Ryusaki was starting to see why the headmistress was so interested in Jung Sooyeon now. Even he grew a little curious himself. Would the little girl live up to her families' expectations? Would she live up to her name and bloodline?

 

“Very well,” Ryusaki relented. “While I don’t completely agree with you, I shall prepare the test as you asked me to.”

 

Ueno gave him a smile with teeth showing.  “Good. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.”

 

Ryusaki bowed and left.  

 

 

---

 

 

All the first years filed into the main hall. Nana led them and Sooyeon brought up the end as usual. They kneeled down on the already laid out cushions and waited patiently for the Sensei’s to give their announcement, though all of them already knew what it was about. After all, the entire school was talking about it.

 

The Ranking Trials.

 

“Good morning students,” Headmistress Ueno took her place at the front of the room. Her gold robe shimmered under the sunlight that seeped in through the enchanted paper windows. Seven Sensei’s flanked her back. They each stood with their hands in the sleeves of their golden robes as a sign of respect.

 

Sooyeon quickly scanned the row of Sensei’s that were present. First there was Amari Sensei all the way on the left. Amari Sensei was a relatively short and young female with long black hair pulled up into a bun, a round face, and relatively small eyes. She was nice and quite soft spoken. Sooyeon liked her and enjoyed her class quite a bit. Amari Sensei was in charge of Elements.

 

Next to Amari Sensei stood Furuya Sensei, a man with a rigid square jawline and wide strong shoulders giving him a relatively stubborn look. Furuya Sensei was a stern man and highly valued discipline. He always preached that Transfigurations required the highest discipline. To Sooyeon, he seemed to be a man of high morals and loyalty.

 

Next came Ryusaki Sensei. Ryusaki Sensei had a reputation of being cold and a bit emotionless, though Sooyeon personally had no problems with him. After all, she was much the same way. However, Ryusaki Sensei had picked on her quite a bit ever since the beginning of the school year. Sooyeon could never go through one Illusions class without Ryusaki Sensei calling her out. While others may have thought he was being mean, Sooyeon took it as a learning experience. She answered every challenge he threw her way. Sooyeon was startled when Ryusaki Sensei suddenly glanced her way.

 

Beside him stood Asano Sensei, the potions master of Mahoutokoro. Sooyeon’s mother had told her that Asano Sensei was her personal favorite teacher during her time at Mahoutokoro and Sooyeon could see why. Asano Sensei was just someone that people respected. She was a woman full of grace and elegance as well as knowledge that seemed to know no ends. Soobin claimed that it was under Asano Sensei’s careful guidance that she ended up pursuing her interest in potions.

 

Last in line was Kaga Sensei, the Combat Sensei as well as head of the Dueling club. When Sooyeon made eye contact with him, he winked playfully at her. Sooyeon didn’t know how to react. Did she see wrong? Why did Kaga Sensei just wink at her? Honestly, Kaga Sensei was such a kid. She sometimes couldn’t believe that he was old enough to have been her parents’ Sensei too. Feeling a little flustered, Sooyeon decided to ignore him and focus back on Headmistress Ueno who was just starting her speech.

 

“Integrity. Excellence. Discipline. These are the values that we strive towards here at Mahoutokoro. In that spirit, every year we hold the Ranking Trials,” Headmistress Ueno announced. Her voice was full of authority and rang through the halls, probably enchanted by a charm. “These trials are designed to challenge you as a wizard and elevate your skills. We hope you take these Trials seriously and do your best. We will be watching.”

 

Amari Sensei continued the explanation. “The Trials are split into two parts, a written test portion and a practical exam. We will be ranking you guys based on how well you do in both parts. The student with the highest ranking will obtain the title of Meijin for the rest of the year.”

 

Furuya Sensei spoke next. “For the written portion you will be tested on the following subjects as first years: Elements, Charms, Transfigurations, Potions, Flying, and Illusions. The material on the exam can be anything that was covered already this year or previously in the Wakai program. You will be responsible for all of it.” A look of concern and worry flashed across most of the students’ faces, but they knew better than to react more than that.

 

“As for the practical exam, it is different every year,” Ryusaki Sensei explained. “More instructions will be given to you on the day of. You are to report here at 8am sharp next Monday morning, a week from now. Failure to do so will result in automatic disqualification in the practical exam, so I’d advise you not to be late.” His tone of voice showed that he was serious. All of the students made a mental note not to be late no matter what.

 

“The practical portion of the Trials will be broadcasted live for everyone in Japan to see,” Asano Sensei told everyone, smiling softly and Sooyeon could see the effect immediately. At the sight of her lovely smile, all of the students seemed to visibly relax in the room. “Don’t be too stressed and focus on performing your best. Have faith in your training.”

 

“With these instructions in mind, be sure to prepare well. After all, the Trials only happen once a year. All of Japan will be watching. We wish you luck,” Kaga Sensei finished up.

 

Headmistress Ueno scanned the crowd one last time, taking in whatever she could gather from the students’ faces and posture. She could feel nervousness as well as excitement. Sooyeon felt herself freeze as the headmistress pinned her down with her gaze. It seemed as if headmistress Ueno was trying to discern something from her, but Sooyeon had no idea what she was looking for. She could only apprehensively wonder what mess she got herself into this time. For some reason, she knew it wouldn’t be good.

 

 

---

 

AN: Part one of Sooyeon's past. There will be at most two more parts on her past and then it's back to the present with GG. Be patient. There will be a lot of OC's for a while. 

Thoughts? What interested you the most? Let me know!