Magi

Magi Chapter 4

The next day, Hayako and Suzuku ate breakfast and headed straight to Shirou's Academy.

"Today, I'll teach you how to make fire," Shirou said, "Make a ball of mana."

Hayako did so.

"Now, picture it lighting on fire."

Picturing something invisible was rather difficult, but Hayako nevertheless imagined that she could see it and pictured it lighting on fire. Suddenly, the ball burst into a flame that flickered for a second before dying.

"Good," said Shirou, "Now do it again, but keep feeding the flame mana after it starts."

Hayako did so and beheld a ball of flickering flames in front of her. She could feel the heat on her skin.

"Good," said Shirou, "Now you just have to apply the same methods to different mana constructs."

"Okay," said Hayako.

"Next, we're going to freeze mana. The principle is the same. Pack mana tightly together, then imagine ice or rock where the mana is. Frozen mana is the hardest, heaviest thing in existence."

"Okay."

Hayako did as she was told. She packed mana tightly into a ball, pictured ice where the ball was, and the mana became a transparent, crystalline solid, floating in midair.

"Now, let it drop," said Shirou.

Hayako let the ball go. Instead of dissipating instantly like mana normally did, the ball fell to earth with a thunk, leaving a hole in the floor. After a few seconds, it dissipated, though far more slowly than regular mana.

"Good job," said Shirou, "Tomorrow we'll go over incantations. That's enough for today."

Hayako and Suzuku went back to the hotel and went to bed.

The next day, the girls went out for breakfast. They were just leaving, when the homeless man from two days ago showed up.

"I've been looking all over for you two," he said, "A girl's being shoved into a van down near Yama Road and Kawa Street. Looks like the same guys who got your sister. If you hurry, you can still catch 'em. Looks like the girl wasn't going without a fight."

"Got it, let's go Hayako," said Suzuku.

Hayako was about to caution Suzuku not to act so rashly, but the girl had already ran off in the direction of the location the homeless man had given. So, Hayako simply sighed and ran off after Suzuku. Being a magus, she easily caught up.

When the two arrived at the corner of the two streets, they heard noise coming from a nearby alley, going ignored by passing people.

Hayako and Suzuku, however, moved in the direction of the noise. At the end of the alley and around a corner, a van sat with the back open. Several men, bearing the insignia of Sawano's crime organization, struggled with a young magus girl. The girl was kicking, screaming, and throwing mana all over the place in an attempt to get away.

The men had their backs to the corner and had yet to notice Hayako and Suzuku. One mad was holding the girl around the waist. He picked her up and attempted to shove the girl in the back of the van, but a wave of mana knocked him back, though he retained his grip on the girl.

Hayako created a mana blade. Two of the men, obviously magi, took notice and, recognizing the action as distinct from the younger girl's panicked attacks, looked behind them, but they were too late. Hayako moved the blade downward, cutting off the arms of the man holding the younger girl. He screamed in pain and collapsed. The girl fell to the ground with a gasp. Two other men made to recapture the girl, but she had regained her senses and repelled them with mana. One of the magi went to help his companions with the younger girl, while the other moved to take care of Hayako and Suzuku.

"Suzuku, run!" said Hayako.

Suzuku obeyed and ran away as fast as she could.

The magus launched several spikes of mana at Hayako. She blocked them and sent a ball of mana back. The man dodged and charged to engage Hayako hand-to-hand. Hayako wasn't going to let that happen. She created a loosely packed wall of mana between her and the man. It was loose enough to move through, but when the man did so, he slowed, as if he was running underwater. Then, Hayako set the wall ablaze and continued feeding it mana. The man collapsed, screaming in pain. Hayako lifted him up with mana and slammed him into the building to the right repeatedly, eventually knocking the man out.

By that point, the man's companions had gotten the girl and themselves in the van. They sped toward Hayako, who dived out of the way. Hayako ran after the van. She made a block of dense mana above the van, froze it, and let it go. It fell on the front of the van, causing the vehicle to flip over.

Hayako ran up and ripped off the back doors with her bare hands. The humans were all seriously injured, but the magi were unharmed. The enemy magus held the girl up and put a mana blade to the girl's throat.

"One step and I'll kill her!" he said.

Hayako focused the blade, willing it to dissipate into the ambient mana, and it obeyed.

After a short standoff, the blade was gone.

"How did you--," he said, but was cut off by Hayako's own blade piercing his right lung.

He fell to the ground, screaming in pain and dropping the girl.

"Run!" Hayako told the girl.

The girl ran away.

Suzuku came from around the corner. She took out her phone and showed the magus the picture of her sister.

"Where's my sister?" she asked the man.

"I don't know where they went. We just delivered them to some old warehouse and they went somewhere else from there, I don't know where, I swear!" he said.

"What old warehouse?"

"It used to be Sawano Industries warehouse number eleven, but it's not used anymore. It's in the industrial district, but I don't know the address or how to get there, I swear!"

"We'll have to look this up and look for clues."

"Right," said Hayako, "but we should rest first."

"Right."

The two went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing to prepare for Hayako's next day of training and their coming investigation of the warehouse.