Young Magic Knight: Chapter 10 (Cleo)

I wake up to a beautiful morning. The skies are clear, and the sun is rising... that's what I see from my window.

“Good morning,” I "hear" Flèche say.

“How are you today, Flèche?”

“I'm well. You might want to start getting ready for school. It's almost 6:30.”

I look at the clock and realize I'd slept a little longer than usual. “Thank you.” I shower, get dressed, and leave, skipping breakfast today. I don't have the time. As I wait for the bus, I take some time to think about yesterday...

'The Tredecim Armis et Salvator have free will. When released, they are just as likely to do good as they are to bring ruin... If any of the Tredecim Armis et Salvator turn out to be evil, me and Ms. Strife want you all to kill them...'

I'm worried. Will I really have to kill them? Will I be able to, or will they be too strong for me? Will Trace suffer from having to do this? Will Blue survive...

Suddenly, the loud sound of the bus interrupts my thinking. As the doors open, I decide I'll worry about it all later. I get on, pay, and go to sit with Blue and Trace.

“So, it's not good to just let Azure float around me freely?”

“Yeah, man, that's a terrible idea! Concealing your Magic Knight Force by having them possess an object you carry around makes them harder to sense. If they're out in the open, a good Magic Knight can probably feel them from miles away! You gotta hide your power level!”

I interrupt. “What are you two talking about?”

Trace looks at me, then points at Blue. “I was just explaining to him that having his Force out in the open air without knowing how to suppress mana is dangerous.”

I nod. “Yeah, she's right, Blue. I can feel Azure's mana filling up this whole bus right now.”

He starts scratching his head... “Uh... alright, I got it. I'll think of something.”

We ride the bus to school, and to my surprise, Primo, Baek, and Crux were there.

I raise an eyebrow. “I didn't know you went to this school!”

Primo smiles. “This is my first day. I wanted to stay with you guys in case something bad happens. Plus, I thought it'd be nice to see what your school is like. Ms. Strife said it was okay.”

“Okay... and you two?” I say, referring to Baek and Crux.

They answer, at the same time, “I've always gone to this school.” How did I not notice...

The day passes by like lightning. Aside from the little surprise earlier, school has been pretty unremarkable today. Just more “getting started”. We didn't really do much. Now, we're all in downtown.

As soon as we get there...

"!!!"

I can hear fighting, and feel mana being used. “E-everyone, come this way!”

Blue seems confused. “What's wrong?”

“Don't you feel that, Blue? Two sources of mana... I think it's a fight!” We run... sure enough, there's two people fighting. One of them is wearing a dark Mystic Coat. The other is a tall man in white, who looks similar to Primo...

“Otro!?” I hear Primo shout from behind me.

“Huh?”

“Yeah, he was just released from the lab, today.” Most likely not even noticing us, Primo's “brother” continues to fight...

His hands start to glow... from them a beam of light is shot. The man in black barely dodges it and rushed in for close ranged combat. He pulls out a blade and swings it at Otro, who quickly draws his sword, blocking the strike. Surprised, the man backs off and looks for an opportunity to strike again, but he isn't given the chance.

Otro moves in fast and starts attacking. I see that the other person is barely defending against him...

...then I hear a loud bang. That person... he has a gun! The shot is strong enough to knock the blade out of Otro's hands. While he is trying to regain himself, Otro's foe gave him vicious haymaker, knocking him to the ground.

“Flèche!”

“Wait.” Primo holds me back.

“But...”

“He can handle this. Trust me.”

The person in black stands over Otro... not expecting to have the gun kicked out of his hand. Otro starts spinning as if he were break dancing, kicking the guy several times in the process. He's back on his feet, and has his sword back. His opponent readies his blade, but it's not enough. Bringing the blade down with all his force, Otro breaks the blade with a loud CRASH! 

Then with his right hand, he punches him so hard you could clearly hear the impact from here. He is knocked out.

“See? I told you he could handle it.” Primo goes over to Otro, and greets him. “Otro!”

“Good afternoon, Primo.”

“What just happened?”

“I chased this man who was hiding... he seems suspicious.”

“Suspicious, huh?”

Otro picks the man up, then he asks a question. “Who are they? Are those your friends?”

“Oh. This is Cleo, Trace, Blue, Baek, and Crux,” Primo says, pointing to us. “They, uh...”

“We're his friends, yes.” Trace speaks up when she sees him hesitating.

“Well, good afternoon to all of you, too.”

“We're going home to interrogate this man. You guys can do what you want. We'll handle this.” 

With that, Primo and Otro walk away...

After that, we just sort of hung out... Me, Blue, and Trace are now on a bus home. Trace falls asleep in the back of the bus, which doesn't surprise me, since she didn't get much sleep.

“Something the matter, Blue?” It seems like something's bothering him.

“Cleo... nah, forget it.”

“No. Tell me what it is.”

An awkward silence starts to creep in. “This is gonna sound silly, but... have you ever seen Trace's eyes change colors?”

"Wh-what...? No, Blue, I'm sure you're imagining things."

He shakes his head. “No, I wouldn't dream this up. I know I've seen her red eyes before. It's bothering me...”

“Red eyes!?” Wait a second. Could that mean... "J-just forget about it. There's nothing to worry about."

“What scares me most is that I don't know what I should or shouldn't be afraid of. You're not hiding something from me, are you? I mean, can't you just tell me what it is? I'd feel fine if I knew you weren't keeping secrets. What is it about Trace that you can't tell me?”

“I keep telling you it's nothing to worry about, dammit! Just... forget it, Blue.”

After I shout, he becomes quiet, but I can tell he isn't satisfied... If he's on to what I think he is, the Swordsmen and Savior project going wrong might end up being the least of our problems... I can't let you know what it is. I'm sorry, Blue...