The kid, enjoying the music on his music player, walked to the beat of an enchantingly simple, yet catchy tune as he went on about his daily chores. Currently staying in the shrine, he was forced to perform some duties around the large complex every day. However, he didn’t mind: With his music in hand and a large repertoire of songs, he could get used to doing this routine. Japan really wasn’t any different from any of the other places he had been; there was a few differences, such as the beds, the customs, and, of course, the food. However, all of those things didn’t change the fact that he was stuck at his grandfather’s shrine for a few years while his parents were working in the war as field medics. Not really annoying, but it certainly forced him to change his habits; some for the better, but most were radical things, like not being able to stay up late at night doing stuff and waking up in the afternoons. In fact, waking up early helped him avoid the summer heat. Amazingly enough, anywhere in the world near the equator experiences a hot summer: Even Japan.

While bopping to the tune, his grandfather caught him making mistakes. The old man, as Skye often called him when he had some time alone, began to reprimand him, as usual. However, the conversation ended up confusingly odd, as his grandfather asked him “Oh, and… later on, I would like you to meet me in the main shrine. I’d like to show you something.”

As much as he’d like to just say a discreet “no”, he did not wish to disrespect his grandfather and, against his wishes, said “Sure, grandfather. I’d be honored” with a smile.

After his chores were finished, he walked towards the inner shrine, where his grandfather was meditating. Noticing this, he sat down near the door and waited for him to finish his prayer. After what seemed to be an hour of repeating the same first six songs on his music player, his grandfather got up, looked at Skye, and walked towards the doors. Skye proceeded to get up and walk with his grandfather.
“So…. What am I to look at, grandfather?”

“Something that my father passed on to me. Something of great value and that may interest you. You see, I wish you to be my successor, even though if you do not stay in this shrine for the rest of your life.”

This intrigued Skye a bit. What could he, this old man, know about him? Not much, Skye certainly thought.

“It is a book, but not any regular book” He blew on the book’s cover, and copious amounts of dust spread into the room. “Please read the cover” the old man said as he passed the book to Skye.

“It says… ‘A Magician’s Learning’. Wait, how did you know that-“
“You still believed in magic, albeit quite slightly? Well, that book I found helped quite a bit…”
“Oh. I knew I shouldn’t have left that book lying on the floor…”
“Actually, thank you for that. You helped me find an heir for me to teach.”
“Wait… you mean...”
“Yes. My father taught me how to use this book and the secrets inside. I would like to teach you about magic, if you wouldn’t mind. It would be nice to teach you youngsters something that everyone should believe in…”
“Well, you know that I would never say no to an opportunity like this, grandfather. I must accept, since I’ve always dreamed of it!”
“Good, good. Then, let us begin, shall we? Please open the book and read aloud the first paragraph.”

“Right” Skye replied as he opened the tome. “Magic is life. It connects us with every other thing in the world, and allows us to do things that are both commonplace in our lives and others that are not. It allows us to manipulate life by using life itself as a means of change. In scientific terms, magic is the means to control energy and force it to produce the results we want. Through this control, we can gain power over anything living or with latent energy.“

“Do you understand what energy is, now?”
“I think so… It’s a way to control our surroundings and change them the way we want them to change. But, wouldn’t that mean that we can all do magic?”
“Of course. The only reason most people cannot control the surroundings in other ways is due to the limitations imposed on them by society and history.” Skye’s mind seemed to illuminate the somewhat dark room as he spoke a long “Ohhhh….”
“Anyways, I would like to start teaching you tomorrow. Please finish your chores early, so we can begin early and, perhaps, I could reach through a few chapters before your parents return from the war.”
“Right. Wait, chapters? So it’s divided into chapters?”
“Yes. Each chapter deals with a different type of magic and decreases in necessity as you go along.”
“So… I need to learn it in order? I have to know the basics before learning the advanced stuff?”
“Yes. It would be quite dangerous if you didn’t.”

Skye bowed and quickly walked to his room. As he walked outside, the cool night air touched his skin, allowing him to calm down and think about what had happened while walking to his room. He had just begun to scratch the surface of magic, he thought. With a large smile, he ran to his room and, in that same fashion, completed his chores the next day, as well as the days afterwards.

After a couple of weeks of training, Skye’s mind was filled with different pieces of knowledge that made sense together. Various materials, incantations, and diagrams filled his mind, as he imbibed all this knowledge. Each new day brought new ideas, which sparked more questions and brought him one step closer to the big picture; the full knowledge of magic and how it could make an impact in people’s lives.

The day before, the old man had asked him to prepare himself for a question he would ask Skye the day after. He was to be prepared mentally and physically for what would happen after the question, and ordered him to go to sleep early. Although Skye didn’t know what was so important about the next day, he nevertheless did what his grandfather had asked him to.
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“Please read the next two paragraph, Skye” His grandfather asked him. Although he seemed to be hiding some sort of sadness, Skye did not intrude upon this feeling and did as he asked.

“After the basics have been layed out, one must continue on to the more advanced. However, in the case of magic, there is a large jump from regular magic and that which is more advanced. Many of us have found it to be a large wall that most often stops future magic-users from continuing, and, as such, set it upon ourselves to find an alternative method. “

Skye continued on to the next paragraph. “Transformation is a suitable subject for those who are in their intermediate levels of learning. From our research, it seems that there is an excellent path to teaching a student the more advanced ways of magic while forcing them to continue. However, any type of transformation is quite hard to perform, and quite dangerous if not correctly performed; for this reason, we set it upon ourselves to lay down a list of steps in order to continue teaching a suitable student:” Skye asked “Shall I go on?”

“Yes, please.” Was all that his mentor said.

Skye nodded.  “One. The Mentor must perform the first act of transformation.”

“Two. The Mentor has free will over what he or she chooses to transform the student.”

“Three. The Mentor cannot harm the student in any irreversible way during this experience”

“Four. The student, after the initial transformation, will be forced to stay in that body until he finds the perfect conjuration which places him in his correct form.”
“Any breach in the contract by either part of the two will result in the confiscation of their magical abilities. Before undergoing this, the student must adhere to the warnings of the master and must agree to his or her question three times. The standard question is ‘Do you still wish to undergo this?’ After three times, the magical contract is made, and nothing can break it.”

“So, do you wish to continue?” His grandfather asked him. A long silence filled the room. However, after a long minute of intense thinking, Skye stated his answer. “Yes. I want to learn more. If this is another step, then so be it. I’m game.”

“That’s one. Follow me.” He began to walk towards the door, but, while they walked, the old man asked him twice more, warning him that, once this was done, he had to find a way to change back. After Skye replied twice, both times with a firm “Yes.”, he asked him to stay inside a certain circle he had already prepared. After nodding, Skye walked back and saw the circle on the floor. A rose vine, spikes and all, made a thick circle that coiled at least three times; the circle, however, was quite large, nearly six feet in diameter. As he hopped inside, he turned around to see Kiraida, one of the female helpers around. At nearly half the age of the old man, she was still quite good-looking, and seemed to have a strong connection with the old man as well. As the old man grabbed the materials she had brought, Skye gulped. What had he gotten himself into, he thought as he saw the frown that his grandfather carried.

Mihama, being the kind person she was, quickly ran in after the spell was done. She removed the rings of vine hastily with her bare hands, getting scratched twice in the process. However, she could not help it: she had just witnessed one of the most vital moments of any sorcerer, and, yet, one of the most horrific. As she looked at the old man, she heard him tell Kiraida to help the child. All Kiraida did was nod and walk towards the kid.

“Help me, will you? I’ll get his, erm… her legs. Kiraida, the arms, please.” Mihama said.
“Right.”
“Does he… she…”
“Have a name? No.”
“What was his original name?”
“Skye Amicaby.”
“Ami… How about Ami Mizuno?” Mihama replied.
“Using his grandfather’s last name… seems appropriate. It seems fine.”
Mihama nodded as they began to walk to Skye’s room…

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Skye’s eyelids felt heavy as he woke up. As the world shifted into view, a warm smile came into his view, from one person that he barely remembered. It was that girl from the mall a few days ago, when he was out relaxing after having finished his work for the day. That same smile… it’s the same smile she gave me that day, he thought.

The first thing he heard was her voice. “Oh, g-good. You’re… up… Do you feel better?” As he tried to respond, he noticed that something was strange. His mouth was heavy, and all he could manage was a “Y… ye..” before she interrupted.

“Yes? That’s good, th-then.” She looked nervous, as if she was thinking of something, but felt that she couldn’t even think to say it. However, before he could say anything, she started to speak, although quite erraticly.

“Uhmmm… Where to start… Oh, well, I’m your helper, assistant, etcetera. M-my name’s Mihama. Reika Mihama. Most people call me Mihama. You’re Skye, right? Of course you are. I saw that thing. What your grandfather did. He looked so sad when as he did it. It wasn’t like any other sadness that I’d seen in him... It was like the world was about to end for him… Now that I know what happened, I can sympathize. It’s not really something that gives you anything, but only makes you sad…”

“Wh… Where am I? And… what… ha… ppened…?” Skye’s voice started to break down, and his mind rushed into overdrive as he tried to piece together the mystery. The girl that was to be his helper, the awkwardness covering his whole body, inside and out, and the strangely soothing voice that sounded somewhat like his own and yet completely different.

While he began to realize what had happened, Reika noticed that the navy blue eyes that conveyed joy began to water somewhat. As her charge slowly moved her body upwards, she looked at Reika, and a question appeared within both of them: “Why?”

As Ami began to weep, Reika grabbed her head and begun to console her… Is this my fate? My obstacle that I must overcome? How can I do this? All these thoughts appeared within the mind of one frightened, yet strong girl, still courageous at heart.