The next morning dawned with a clear, brilliant sky, the sunlight streaming through Hiruko's window a stark contrast to the gloom of the previous day. He woke feeling sore and exhausted, but a quiet triumph hummed beneath the surface of his fatigue. The image of the solid, controlled fireball from the night before was a burning brand in his mind, a testament to his newfound resolve. The humiliation of the duel and the pain of Tristan's bullying felt distant, like a storm that had passed, leaving behind a new, unshakable clarity.
He dressed with a quiet purpose, he was Hiruko, and he had a job to do.
He found Tristan in the main dining hall, seated at the head of the long table, the morning sun turning his golden hair into a halo. Lord Xavier was already gone, leaving the two brothers to their breakfast. Tristan, with a plate of untouched eggs and bacon in front of him, was reading a thick tome on advanced mana theory, his face a picture of serene intellectualism.
The moment Hiruko entered, Tristan looked up, a thin, patronizing smile on his face. "Ah, little brother. I trust you're well rested after your little... ordeal yesterday."
Hiruko simply nodded, a calm, easy smile on his face. He walked to the table and sat down, helping himself to a plate of fresh fruit.
Tristan's smile faltered slightly. This wasn't the trembling, defeated boy he had expected. "You look... different," he said, his voice losing its perfect, melodic tone.
"Yeah," Hiruko said, taking a bite of a juicy pear. "I am. It was a productive day. I learned a lot."
Tristan's emerald eyes narrowed. "Learned a lot? You mean you learned how to sleep in mud? You lost like the failure you are" he sneered, a flicker of his true self breaking through the perfect facade.
Hiruko shrugged, completely unbothered. "In a way, yeah. It was a good lesson. You can't learn how to win if you don't know what it feels like to lose."
The casual dismissal of his words, the complete lack of a reaction to his taunts, seemed to genuinely fluster Tristan. He set down his book, his hands clenching into fists on the table.
"I hear you've been working on your fireball spell," Tristan said, his voice now a low, menacing whisper. "I'm sure it's as pathetic as ever."
Hiruko's smile didn't waver. He simply took another bite of his pear.
"What, nothing to say?" Tristan sneered, his smile twisting into a cruel sneer. "No pathetic excuses about your 'concussion'? Or are you too busy crying to speak?"
Hiruko calmly finished his bite of pear, chewing slowly, deliberately. "The school's about to start," he said, his voice flat. "I'll see you later."
He rose from the table, a calm indifference in his posture, and walked toward the foyer. He felt Tristan's gaze on his back, a cold, piercing pressure.
He turned and left the mansion. He was out of the door, and out of sight.
In the dining room, Tristan returned to his book, a quiet smile on his face. He looked down at the advanced mana theory tome, but his eyes weren't reading the words. They were filled with a faraway light, a genuine happiness that he rarely showed.
"He has changed," Tristan said to himself, a low, satisfied whisper.
Hiruko reached the school grounds, the familiar, lively chaos a stark contrast to the stifling silence of the Tross mansion. The bell had already rung, and a small group of students were huddled near the entrance, their chatter a welcome sound. Kaelen, his face a picture of concern, spotted him first.
"Lukas, where were you yesterday?" Kaelen exclaimed, rushing forward. "You didn't show up to school!"
Kevin walked up, his expression equally worried. "Yeah, we didn't see you after your birthday party. Did the loss affect you?"
Hiruko forced a confident smile, the image of Tristan's cold eyes a fresh memory in his mind. "It's nothing like that, don't worry. My brother has returned, that's all."
Kevin and Kaelen exchanged a quick, knowing glance. "You mean Tristan Tross?" Kevin asked, a hint of unease in his voice.
"Then it is something to be worried about," Kaelen said, his playful demeanor gone.
Hiruko decided to change the subject before the conversation spiraled into a discussion about Tristan. "Leave that aside, Kevin. I have a favor to ask."
Kevin's brow furrowed in confusion, but he quickly nodded. "What is it? I'll do anything I can if it's in my power."
"I want to learn water magic from you," Hiruko said, his voice firm and unwavering. "Can you teach it to me?"
Kevin's confusion deepened. Lukas, the boy who couldn't even cast a basic fireball, wanting to learn a new, more difficult art? He looked at Hiruko for a long moment, searching his eyes for a joke. Finding none, he finally smiled. "Alright, if you want."
Kaelen, ever the joker, nudged Hiruko with his elbow. "Why? Have you decided to become the prodigy of the Tross family?"
"Maybe," Hiruko said, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "Maybe yes."
Kevin and Kaelen stared at him, bewildered for a moment, then a slow grin spread across both their faces. They didn't understand the why, but they understood the conviction in his voice. They saw the confident glint in his eyes, a stark contrast to the boy they'd known for months.
The school bell rang, its shrill cry a sign that the brief reprieve was over. Kaelen and Kevin, still grinning, ran toward their class, leaving Hiruko to walk alone. He took a deep breath, the fresh morning air filling his lungs. He felt a quiet strength, a simmering power he had never known.
"It won't be long, Goldie," he whispered to himself, the words a silent vow. "Until I catch up to you."
The school day was a blur of lectures and lessons. Hiruko sat through them all, his mind a quiet hum of concentration. He took notes on history, paid attention in their mana theory class, and even managed to answer a question correctly in their basic spellcasting class. He was a sponge, soaking up every piece of information this world had to offer. The bell for the midday break finally rang, a welcome sound that signaled a pause in the relentless flow of knowledge.
He was gathering his things when the classroom door opened and a flash of fiery red hair appeared. Mina. She strode in, her usual regal confidence on full display.
"Still trying to make that pathetic fireball, Lukas?" she said, her voice teasing but with a hint of warmth. "I heard you had a little skirmish with a certain golden boy this morning."
A few heads turned, and a nervous silence settled over the room. The other students knew better than to interfere when Mina Rosewalt and a Tross were in the same room.
Hiruko simply smiled, unaffected by her usual prodding. "It's nothing. Just a little brotherly competition."
Mina's brow furrowed, her teasing expression replaced by a searching one. "Don't tell me he got to you."
"Nah," Hiruko said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'm good." He paused, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Actually, I have a new teacher."
Mina looked genuinely surprised. "What? Who?"
"Kevin," Hiruko said, gesturing to his friend who stood a few feet away, nervously adjusting his glasses. "I'm learning water magic from him now."
Mina's face went from surprise to deep concern in a flash. She took a step toward Hiruko, her voice dropping to a serious, low tone. "Are you out of your mind? You can barely make a spark with your own mana, and now you want to dabble in a second element? That's not how magic works, Lukas. It's like learning to walk on your hands before you can even stand. It will only weaken your focus and confuse your mana flow."
Kevin, who had been listening quietly, cleared his throat. "It's not as bad as that, Mina. The elements are all connected. Sometimes a different approach can help with the core problem."
Mina ignored him, her full attention fixed on Hiruko. "Even the most skilled mages don't try to learn a second element until they've mastered their first. It's a fundamental principle of mana control. What if Tristan tries to goad you into a duel? You'll be even more defenseless than before."
"That's the point," Hiruko said, a calm resolve in his voice that made Mina pause. He met her worried gaze with a steady, unwavering confidence. "I'm not trying to master it. I'm trying to understand it."
He looked at Kevin, who was watching their exchange with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. "Kevin's right. The elements are all connected. My mana, my Tross mana, is immense. It's like a massive, overflowing river that I don't know how to navigate. I've been trying to force it to a specific point, to make a single, elegant flame, but that's not its nature. It's a river. I can't just make it stop and go where I want it to."
He turned back to Mina, the mischievous glint from earlier returning to his eyes. "So, I'm going to learn about all the rivers. I'm going to learn how water flows, how the earth settles, and how the air moves. I'm going to learn every spell, every type of magic I can get my hands on. I'll understand the nature of all of them, and then I'll find a way to make my river, my Tross mana, do what it's supposed to do: be a source of immense power. It won't be a wobbly, pathetic fireball forever. I know it won't. My ignis spell has improved. It will be perfect someday."
Mina stared at him, her lips slightly parted in disbelief. Her mind, so used to the rigid rules of magical theory, was struggling to comprehend his unorthodox approach. She had been worried about him, thinking he was on a path to a more humiliating defeat. But now, she saw that he wasn't just trying to survive; he was trying to reinvent magic.
"And besides," Hiruko added, his voice dropping to a low, conspiratorial tone, "if Tristan wants to goad me into another duel, let him. He'll be expecting a wobbly fireball, but he won't be expecting a tidal wave. Or a rock slide. Or a lightning bolt."
A slow smile spread across Mina's face. It was a smile of pure admiration, of a prodigy who had just been taught a new lesson.
"Alright, Lukas," she said, her voice filled with a new, quiet respect. "You win. But you better not be wrong."
Lukas looks at the sky beyond the school window and said "don't worry, i won't,"