“What are you thinking, Hiro?” I asked as I entered our side of the circle.

He looked at me curiously. “Wait, since when do you want my advice on things?”

“You aren’t entirely awful at these duels,” I replied.

He gave me a confident smirk. “You mean I almost always win.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You have an unfair advantage in these contests. You have the better affinity! You hit like an orc when you’re going at full tilt with Immortal Form, and these fights aren’t long enough for you to run out of steam.”

He chuckled. “Really, Magpie? An affinity that had me passing out all the time is the better one? It needed your Mimic to help me sort it out. It seems to me you have the better talent.”

“Which means I deserve partial credit for each of your victories,” I said. “So really, our win-loss ratio isn’t so lopsided after all.”

He rolled his eyes. “Sure, man. Sure.”

“It’s a bad training format, really. It’s not as if the Horde comes at you one at a time. You’d run out of steam quickly in a pitched battle.”

“I know,” he said, his good cheer evaporating. “Speaking of which, I’ll want to be careful. It seems like they’re going to be running us through these duels all day. Unless I want to burn out, I’ll need to take it easy on Immortal Form.”

I nodded, seeing his point. “So much for rushing in and dominating them with superior strength.”

“It’s not like we really need it,” said Hiro. “Leo’s pretty decent with a sword, but his affinity’s about changing colors and making light effects.”

“What about Yamaguchi? Have you seen her in action before?” I studied Leo and Rei on the other side of the circle. They were having much the same hushed conversation we were. I’d clobbered Leo in enough practice duels that he looked at me with rather gratifying concern. It was nice to be feared for once.

Hiro nodded. “Yeah, they like to pair her up with Yukiko a lot, since they’re about the same height. She says they’re a pretty even match.”

That was high praise from Yukiko. She was dangerous with a naginata. “And what about her affinity?”

Hiro shrugged. “The only thing I’ve seen her do with her magic was fry my cell phone the first day of class.”

“You too?” I quipped.

I met Rei’s gaze, and she didn’t flinch. She had guts, at least. Much like I thought Hiro looked decidedly average (though my lady friends all seemed to disagree), Rei’s plain face and figure would blend into a crowd. She only came up to Leo’s shoulder, and he wasn’t even the tallest boy in class. She was solidly built, though, and carried herself like an athlete. She looked like she would be a fine wrestler, but a middling runner.

I felt a predatory grin spread across my face. I was under orders to test her, so test her I would. “Well, those powers of hers shouldn’t be a problem in a contest like this. If these were real swords, the story would be different. I vote we just charge in.”

“You go left, I’ll go right. We’ll catch them in the middle.”

“You always go for the flanking attacks! You need another trick.”

He shrugged. “If it works, it works.”

I shook my head wistfully. “Someday you’re going to fight somebody who’s on to you, and then what will you do?”

“Probably listen to you say you told me so,” he replied. “Then you’ll bail me out, since that’s what friends do.”

I really wondered what I had done to earn that undeservedly high opinion. My little tricks and lies must have worked. I didn’t respond, though. No sense destroying his illusions. “I’ll take Yamaguchi.”

He nodded. “You got it.”

Mr. Maki’s voice boomed across the field, announcing that the game of Red and Blue would begin shortly. “Each round will be three minutes, and you’ll face the same opponents three times before the red teams rotate. The best out of three takes it.”

Yukiko raised her hand from where she stood next to Kowalski in the next ring over. “What if we win the first two contests?”

“Fight on! If your opponents can’t win once, they need the practice even more.”

She nodded, the rulebound girl satisfied to have some uncertainty taken out of her life. One of her opponents, Lisa Rosenthal if I recall, gulped and took a step back from the enthusiastic class representative.

Maggie’s voice came to life over the arena’s speakers. “On three. One. Two. Three!”

Hiro and I charged forward, crossing the border between the two colors in moments. With each footstep we took through the blue, we left a red footprint, which vanished and created a pulse of red on the fabricata rope as it tallied our score. Leo and Rei seemed satisfied to hang back and wait for us. Rei held her weapon in a confident stance and her smirk beckoned me on. That confidence seemed to make her more attractive. Maybe she wasn’t as homely as I’d thought. With the right outfit, she might even…

My randy train of thought was completely derailed as every last inch of my skin demanded to be scratched at once. Maggie had lied again! A mild itching powder, my ass! I’d never encountered the like in England. If the humans were wasting such a fantastic spell on their cadets, no wonder the Horde was winning!

Rei moved fluidly as she swept in to meet my charge. Her training sword jabbed out at me, probing at my left side.

The school had tried to impart a certain sword style on the students, a variant of traditional Japanese fighting styles called mahoukenjutsu. The name translates to ‘magical sword arts,’ and it focuses more on defense and limiting your opponent’s movement options. The assumption was that a wizard at melee range was running interference so his allies could deliver the finishing blow with magic. I hadn’t often seen it performed well at the Nagoya Academy, since most of my classmates were screwups and delinquents, but she wielded the blade with obvious skill and experience.

Unfortunately for her, I had crossed swords with wizards who had mastered mahoukenjutsu. When she pivoted forward and snapped the heel of her left palm at my face, I was ready for her.

At least, I would have been if it wasn’t for that thrice damned itching. I twitched at the wrong moment and her hand filled my vision. The red field around me briefly flashed blue, and I knew she had just scored on me.

However, Rei had left herself open as well, and off balance. I used my superior reach to sweep her leg, knocking her down with a squeak. Her own field flashed red and, if I wasn’t mistaken, her color change lasted longer than mine. I took that to mean the fabricta judged my blow to be stronger.

Leo was doing a bit better than his partner. He had opted to not engage with Hiro at all. Not a bad move, given Hiro’s superior speed and strength. Instead, he ran back to the very edge of the chalk outline.

The air around Hiro’s right leg shimmered for a moment, like pavement on a hot day; he had channeled his Immortal Form to launch himself at Leo. Why the devil wasn’t Hernandez raising his sword?

Rei didn’t give me time to think, as she rolled back to her feet. I took the chance to launch my own offensive. Mahoukenjutsu showed its strength as she parried my attacks, which was all the more impressive with her disadvantage in height and weight. This wasn’t Hiro accidentally using his enhanced strength and speed to protect himself, or Yukiko crushing me with increased gravity to throw me off. This was a real sword fight, by the Dark Lord!

As least it was, until Leo called out in surprise and a flash of red lit both sides of the circle. Hiro stood over a prone Leo, who sprawled over the chalk line.

“That’s a ring out, my dear,” I said. “I believe that’s a win for us.”

Her blue eyes narrowed. “You’re still calling people your dear? Why? It’s so strange.”

“Well I… that’s just how I was raised.”

“When, the nineteenth century?”

I could see why Maggie liked her; she had a mouth.

A piercing whistle filled the air and Maggie jogged on over. Speak of the devil. “Time out! That’s a disqualification for Takehara!”

Hiro jerked in surprise. “What? But he left the circle!”

“You knocked him out,” she countered. “We only had a few rules, Hiro. Please try to follow them?” Her tone managed to be perky and condescending all at once.

Hiro’s mouth worked as he tried to find words. “Wait, he stood by the edge and goaded me!”

“You still knocked me out, bro,” Leo said as he stood. “Rules are rules.”

Maggie checked her stopwatch. “You still have one minute and thirty-nine seconds in this round. Mr. Takehara, please leave the ring. Everyone else, return to your side of the circle.”

“This hardly seems fair,” I said.

“Think of it as an extra challenge,” said Maggie, her eyes sparkling with wicked glee.

Leo smirked, clearly pleased with himself. Rei, to her credit, steeled her face and prepared herself. I could tell from the way she tensed herself that she was going to go on the attack. She was good, and with Leo backing her up, I would be in real trouble.

If I played their game, that is. Maggie blew the whistle again, and we sprang into action. I dropped my sword to free up my hands and dove between the two of them. When we stopped, they were on the red side, and I on the blue. All things being equal, they would accumulate points twice as quickly as me.

However, we were all free to cast spells, but only my hands were free. Rei and Leo’s eyes widened as they realized what I was up to. Leo went to shealth his sword, but not in time.

“Spectral Web!” The runes around my hands coalesced into a blue structure with the lattice shape of a spider’s web, wrapping itself around Leo’s legs. It couldn’t penetrate the Peace Bond, but I had guessed correctly that it didn’t need to in order to bind his legs.

With a yelp, he fell face down. He was still earning points, but there was a flash of red in his blue Peace Bond that stopped their gain for a moment. Just a moment.

Rei hesitated, torn between dropping her weapon and joining me in a proper wizard’s duel, or rushing back in to fight me. I could feel her affinity coursing uselessly through her body, reaching out but failing to grasp anything it could manipulate.

That hesitation was all I needed. “Magic Bolt!”

The dazzling blue spell flew out from my hand like a shot. By Our Father Below, she was fast! Despite the speed of my attack, she raised her training sword and smacked it as hard as she could, warping its surface.

She miscalculated, though. Magic Bolt is a surprisingly complex spell deep down, even though it can be taught in an afternoon. That’s because the only variable in a properly cast Magic Bolt is the circumference. It looks like an undifferentiated ball of energy, but it is really made up of a solid envelope around a mass of magical power. The rear of the Magic Bolt has a small vent that allow for this energy to be fired out at a steady rate, propelling it forward.

Her wooden sword would have probably snapped in two, normally. However, our training weapons were wreathed in our matching, colored Peace Bonds. Hitting the Magic Bolt with an ensorcelled blade was like popping a balloon. The distorted spell burst, releasing all the energy into the Peace Bond at once. The force of the blast knocked the sword out of her hands and sent Rei to her knees. The Peace Bond held, though, which was a testament to either to Tachibana’s fabricata skills, or Rose’s raw magical power.

Maggie blew her whistle again, making me flinch.

“You enjoy that too much,” I groused.

Maggie took a glass wand that reminded me of a mercury thermometer and touched it to the fabricata ring. The colorless liquid inside turned blue for about three quarters of the length, and red for the rest. “Ms. Yamaguchi and Mr. Hernandez have it this time! You did well under pressure, Magpie. I’m impressed. Next time, though, make sure you have a way to force them out of your zone. You win by occupying the space, even if you’re out of commission.”

Hiro tapped Maggie on the shoulder. “Can I come back in?”

She smiled brightly at him. “Of course, Hiro. Round two will begin on my signal.”

“Let’s not do that again,” I said to Hiro as we took our positions. “I need you functional.”

“I’m wise to his tricks this time,” muttered Hiro. “I want Leo again.”

“Works for me.” Rei had shown a few good tricks, but we hadn’t been able to really test each other out. I still had my orders. “Let’s try defense this time.”

“Will do,” he said.

I wonder if Rei knew I was obligated to humiliate her? Not that I minded, after her comment. Maggie was besmirching my good name behind my back. Since when was calling a young woman ‘my dear’ strange? It was a term of endearment, damnit!

Maggie’s whistle pierced my ears, and we waited on the other team to advance.

They obliged, though Leo stopped short on his side of the field. I felt his affinity at work, but Rei had me busy soon enough. She had stuck her sword in the ground next to her to free her hands for casting. “Diamond Shower!”

The water vapor in the air coalesced into a spray of needle sized icicles. It’s a damn painful spell, provided you don’t have a bubble around you. However, she scored just from standing on our side of the field, and from the flashes of blue that filled my vision, the low damage spell was racking up the points.

That was quite enough of that! Rei retrieved her sword just in time to block my second blow, but I tagged her in the left shoulder with the first. Without the Peace Bond, I might well have broken her arm, and the impact sent her back onto the blue half the circle.

“Ack!” The cool demeanor she had affected the whole fight vanished in an instant, but was silent after the first outburst. There was no complaint, no banter, no trash talk. It was efficient, but a far cry from the chatty bunch I had fallen in with.

Hiro crossed training swords with Leo, who didn’t seem overly concerned. I noticed something strange; the longer he fought with Hiro, the more that the lavender scent in the air was replaced with cinnamon. It was almost pleasant, though I worried that I had gone mad at some point.

“Hey, you’re fighting me!” Rei went on the offensive, and relentlessly rained blows down upon me. She forced me back onto the border between the red and blue halves of the circle.

That cinnamon scent became almost unbearable an instant before a blinding light emerged from Leo’s body. The world went white and I was driven back by a blow to the arm.

“Slow Barrier!” Rei’s high-pitched voice rang in my ears as she cast. I couldn’t get a bead on her, and I slid to my knees.

When the world came back into focus, Hiro looked as stunned as I. Leo and Rei stood on the red side of the field, and we on the blue. We both stood there, the colors at our feet pulsing as we accumulated points at the same rate.

Hiro sprang into action, his legs glowing with Immortal Form again. He stopped as his sword became stuck in the shimmering air between us and them.

“So that’s where Rei cast it,” I said. Slow Barrier is a defensive spell that thickens the air with magic, letting seemingly empty air air block arrows, bullets and, in this case, a training sword. It’s exceptionally useful, and exceptionally infuriating for the other man trying to punch through it.

Hiro pulled uselessly, but his weapon was good and stuck. “What are you doing? We’re getting points at the same rate! Just fight us if you’re going to fight us!”

Leo shook his head. “Nah, I’m good.”

Hiro paced in front of the Slow Barrier like a tiger trapped in a cage, looking for weakness.

Something didn’t smell right. Or rather, something smelled far too strongly of cinnamon. The smell wouldn’t leave my nose, having driven the lavender away entirely.

While I pondered. Hiro stopped short towards the middle of the barrier. “Hah! You missed a spot! Magic-”

It clicked all at once. “Stop! They’re trying to disqualify you again!”

The runes vanished in an instant. “What are you talking about? We’re on their side of the field. Magic’s fair game!”

“She knows she left a gap. Why aren’t they flinging spells at us?”

Leo deflated, though Rei kept her poker face. “Damn, Rei, they’re onto us.” He closed his eyes, and the colors of the field reversed. We were both standing on our home sides.

Hiro glowered at them. “Magpie, let me borrow your sword.” I complied, and with a single bound, he was back on the blue side of the circle. His whole body shone with the exertion of Immortal Form, and neither Rei nor Leo could keep pace with him as he scored hit after hit. So much for saving his energy for later!

In Hiro’s wake, the cinnamon scent had vanished, replaced with a faint hint of violet. It was only an undercurrent compared to the still dominant lavender, but it was there nonetheless.

Maggie signaled the end of our match again. “Red team wins. Mr. Hernandez, that was an excellent application of your Kaleidoscope affinity, but you shouldn’t rely on tricks so much. Sometimes you have to stand your ground and fight.”

“It was Rei’s idea,” he replied. I wasn’t sure if he was sharing credit or shifting blame.

We won the third round since it turned into a raw contest of swordsmanship. I was distracted, though. I had thought I was going mad with these different scents, but a pattern had been established. Could I smell the magic of my fellow students? It seemed odd, but then again, was it any different than seeing the effects with Mimic?

I realized I had a great way to kill two birds with one stone. I knew somebody who would be more than happy to help me test my theory.