The grand hall of Atarashi Academy was nothing like any of them had ever seen. The ceiling was so high it seemed to vanish into a soft, magical light. The walls were a mix of ancient stone covered in glowing runes and smooth, modern panels that showed moving maps of the world. Students in sleek blue and silver uniforms walked in every direction, talking and laughing. Magic was as common as electricity here. Some students levitated books next to them. Others chatted to small, shimmering elemental creatures on their shoulders.
For Shadaiku, Gashuki, Mileina, and Kanochi, it was overwhelming. They had been processed by a friendly woman at the front desk who simply added their names to a list of "new transfers" and gave them room keys. To everyone else, they were just four new students. No one knew the truth. They were outcasts who had never been able to do magic, now standing in the most magical place on earth.
They were placed in the same dormitory hallway, their rooms next to each other. It was the first time they were forced to interact.
**Shadaiku's Room** was already messy. He had pulled a dataslate from his bag and was trying to figure out how the academy's network worked. His door was open.
Gashuki walked past, his steps heavy. He stopped and looked in, his face neutral. "You settled in?" he asked. It was less a friendly question and more like a statement.
Shadaiku didn't look up from his screen. "Trying to. This place is… a lot. It's like they expect us to already know how everything works."
"We'll learn," Gashuki said, his voice firm. "We were chosen to be here for a reason." He didn't know how right he was.
"Chosen?" Shadaiku finally glanced up, a playful smirk on his face. "I just got a weird letter. I figured it was a mistake, but the food's probably good."
Gashuki's jaw tightened slightly. He didn't like the other boy's casual attitude. "There are no mistakes. If we're here, we deserve to be." He turned and walked to his own room without another word.
Shadaiku shrugged and went back to his work. He found Gashuki too serious.
**Later that day,** they had their first practical magic class in a large, circular arena called the Training Grounds. The teacher, a tall woman with hair like spun silver, explained they would be practicing basic elemental control.
"Those of you from magical families know the theory," she said. "For our new students, do not worry. The magic is in the air here. You need only to reach for it."
Kanochi felt a knot in his stomach. *Reach for it.* He'd spent his whole life reaching and finding nothing. He stood before a practice dummy, took a deep breath, and tried to imagine a spark. Nothing happened. He tried again, frustration building. He remembered the fight in the alley, the hot anger. He clenched his fist.
*Whoosh.* A sudden, uncontrolled burst of flame shot from his hand, not at the dummy, but straight toward a water fountain where Mileina was quietly trying to coax a drop of water to rise.
Shadaiku, moving with his strange speed, saw it happen. He shoved Mileina out of the way just as the fireball splashed against the fountain, sizzling into steam.
"Hey! Watch it!" Shadaiku snapped, turning on Kanochi.
Kanochi's face was pale with shock. "I… I didn't mean to! It just happened!"
"You could have hurt someone," Shadaiku said, his voice sharp. "Maybe you should figure out how to control that thing before you use it."
The anger and shame from the alley flooded back. "I said I was sorry!" Kanochi shot back, his hands curling into fists again, tiny sparks flickering at his fingertips.
"Apologies don't put out fires," Shadaiku retorted.
"Enough!" the teacher said, stepping between them. "Kanochi, control comes from focus, not force. Shadaiku, quick reactions are good, but keep your comments to yourself. Everyone, back to work."
They separated, the air tense between them. Mileina looked from Shadaiku to Kanochi, unsure of what to say. "Thank you," she whispered to Shadaiku.
He just nodded, still annoyed.
Gashuki had watched the whole thing from his station. He had been concentrating, and after several minutes of intense effort, he had managed to make a small piece of scrap metal on the table in front of him tremble. He saw Kanochi's flashy, dangerous display and Shadaiku's arrogant response. It all seemed undisciplined. Wasteful.
After class, he approached Kanochi. "You need to be more careful," Gashuki said, his tone not unkind, but strict, like a coach. "That power is a weapon. You don't swing a weapon wildly."
Kanochi, already feeling terrible, took it the wrong way. "Oh, and I suppose you're an expert?" he said sarcastically. "I saw you making a spoon shake. Very impressive."
Gashuki's eyes narrowed. "Control is better than chaos. You'll learn that, or you'll get burned by your own flame." He turned and walked away.
Kanochi kicked a pebble in frustration. He was alone again, just like always.
**The misunderstanding grew** over the next two days. Shadaiku found Gashuki boring and rigid. Gashuki found Shadaiku reckless and irritating. Kanochi thought everyone was judging him, so he stayed angry and away from them. Only Mileina tried to be peaceful, but she was too shy to say much.
The tension finally broke in the Training Grounds during a free practice session. Shadaiku was trying to control the strange, jumping sparks that now came to him so easily. One zipped away from him and hit Gashuki's practice dummy, leaving a black scorch mark.
Gashuki had finally managed to levitate a small metal ball. The shock made him lose focus, and it clattered to the floor.
"Watch what you're doing!" Gashuki said, his voice low and angry.
"It was an accident," Shadaiku said, holding his hands up. "This lightning stuff has a mind of its own."
"It's not the lightning," Gashuki said, walking toward him. "It's you. You have no discipline. You're just playing."
"Maybe if you loosened up, you could do more than just lift a ball," Shadaiku shot back.
"I'd rather be strong and controlled than fast and useless," Gashuki replied.
The air crackled between them, and not just with magic. "You want to see useless?" Shadaiku said, a spark jumping between his fingers.
"I'd rather see you try and hit me," Gashuki said, and the metal bands on his wrists glowed faintly.
It wasn't a formal duel. It was a fight. Shadaiku moved first, a blur of motion. He didn't throw a punch; he tried to dart around Gashuki. But Gashuki was ready. He planted his feet, and his body seemed to become heavier, rooted to the ground. He swung an arm out, and it moved with the weight of iron. It caught Shadaiku in the shoulder, not with full force, but enough to send the faster boy stumbling.
Shadaiku recovered, his eyes flashing with blue light. A arc of lightning, small but sharp, leapt from his hand. Gashuki crossed his arms in front of his face. The lightning hit his forearms and spread out harmlessly, absorbed by his growing metallic defense.
"Stop it!" a voice cried out. Mileina was there, her hands on the ground. The earth between them rippled, and a low wall of packed soil rose up, separating them. "What is wrong with you two?"
Kanochi watched from across the room, a small flame dancing in his palm. Part of him wanted to see them fight. Another part, the better part, felt a strange pull to stop it. But he didn't move.
The teacher arrived, her expression stern. "Fighting is strictly prohibited! A week of detention for both of you! Now, get to your rooms!"
Shadaiku and Gashuki glared at each other over Mileina's earthen wall before turning and stomping away in different directions.
That night, in their separate rooms, each of them felt the strange new power inside them, humming, waiting. They were confused, angry, and alone. They had no idea why they could finally do magic, and no idea why they were constantly drawn into conflict with each other.
They didn't know that their gods were watching, feeling their frustration. The bonds were formed, but the partnership was far from begun. The real reason they were at Atarashi was still a secret, waiting for the right moment to be revealed. For now, they were just four angry, magical outcasts who couldn't stand each other.