The group entered the school, and each of them immediately stopped, amazed at how many students there were. Matsuda looked around, studying the entrance area. It was spacious, with a high transparent ceiling. The walls were covered with windows, some showing into classrooms on the upper floors. Surprisingly, he noticed a student already in one of the rooms.
That’s weird… what’re they-?
“Matsuda and co! Over here!”
The three looked over to where the voice came from, and Matsuda grinned.
“Hire! It’s great to see you again!”
“Same here,” the other boy remarked, walking up to the group. “Haven’t seen you in a few weeks. Anyway, have you guys gotten your schedules yet?”
“How could we? We just got here,” Kuroto said, rolling his eyes.
“Right.” Hire looked a little embarrassed. “Anyway… they’re over there,” he said, pointing to a table by the far wall. “Jut tell the lady your name and she’ll get it for you.”
Matsuda thanked him and led his friends over to the table.
“Name?” the woman asked.
“Matsuda Kasahara.”
The woman smiled, teeth flashing. “Wonderful to meet you, Matsuda. I’ll have your schedule in just a moment.”
She turned to a stack of papers on her right and held up a hand, repeating his name. A sheet slid out of the pile and she handed it to Matsuda.
“There you go,” she said brightly. “Have fun this year.”
She then turned her attention to Mitsuko, and Matsuda moved away, heading back to Hire.
“So? What’d you get?” his friend asked curiously.
“Let’s see…” Matsuda skimmed down the list. All the classes he had been expecting were there- the basic and necessary magic and non-magic classes- but then he got to the bottom and groaned.
Hire looked concerned. “What is it?”
“Current events.”
“Poor guy,” Kuroto remarked, coming up behind them. “I guess they gave you the wrong class or something. What elements did you sign up for? I chose fire and shadow.”
Matsuda was mildly annoyed at how little sympathy he was getting. “I chose those, too. Not as interested in shadow, but it’s the same teacher.”
Kuroto shrugged. “We have to learn basics in everything, so it doesn’t matter much. Mitsuko chose water and earth.”
Matsuda rolled his eyes, though he was smiling. “Typical.” His expression changed to curious, and he looked around. “Where’d she go, anyway?”
“Off to talk to some friends of hers. They’re talking about a student who just got here recently, and it’s rumored…” he rolled his eyes. “that he’s really hot.”
Hire laughed. “Of course Mitsuko would care about that. Now…” his face turned serious. “I’m going to go find my first class. See you guys at lunch.” He turned and headed down a hallway, leaving the two behind.
“What d’you have first?” Kuroto asked as he checked his own schedule. “I’ve got… magic history.”
“Magic mechanics. Maybe it’ll be good.”
Kuroto grimaced. “Not together. Ah well, I’ll see you later.” He took out his map and left.

Matsuda walked down the hallways, not really sure where to go. He consulted his map.
Is this upstairs or down…?
“Are you lost?”
Matsuda jumped, startled, and looked over his shoulder to see another boy behind him. He nodded, embarrassed.
“It’s okay. So’m I. Let’s look for the room together.”
The other boy started walking. Matsuda followed, studying him. He didn’t recognize the boy, but that was to be expected. Maybe he was an upperclassman. He had wavy brown hair almost reaching his shoulders, warm brown eyes, and very pale skin. He was tall, and had very long legs.
“Hey, are you okay? You’re just staring.”
And a warm voice. Matsuda internally shook himself.
“I’m fine. Just thinking. Anyway… what’s your name?”
The boy slowed his pace, looking hesitant. “Do I need to tell you?”
Matsuda frowned. “What’s wrong with your name?”
“It’s… not in the same language as everybody else’s.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Matsuda said, smiling reassuringly. “I won’t mind.”
The boy looked relieved. “William. Uragiri is my last name, but I don’t like how it sounds much.”
That’s odd. Uragiri? That meant traitor… An odd last name. Outwardly, though, he made no sign that it bothered him.
“I’m Matsuda. I guess you were born on the other continent, then?”
There was the barest fraction of a pause, but he felt it. Then William nodded.
“Yeah. I decided to keep my first name, even when my last changed. I feel like it fits me.”
Matsuda was starting to feel a little strange around this boy, but he wasn’t quite sure why. He glanced up at the room numbers and stopped walking.
“We’re here.”
William looked at the door. “Really? Wow.”
He opened the door and the two walked in. The teacher smiled and welcomed them.
“Hello, I’m Mr. Yasuda. Class will start shortly. It seems we have some stragglers.”
Matsuda nodded and took a seat near the front. He was looking forward to this class. He noticed William hesitate for a few moments, before finally sitting behind him. He wondered what was so hard about that decision. It was just a seat for class.
A few more kids entered the classroom, and the teacher moved to stand in front of the class.
“Welcome, everyone, to Magic Mechanics. We’re going to start by seeing what you guys already know about this subject. First- how many people in here understand the basic mechanics of creating a portal?”
They definitely don’t waste time getting started, Matsuda thought, raising his hand. Looking around the class, he saw William’s hand up too, and raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He understands portals? Well, he did sign up for this class, I guess.
“Only three? It looks like I’ll have to cover more than I thought.” The teacher smiled, then turned to his desk and gathered up a stack of papers.
“This is a basic outline of what we’ll be covering this class…”

An hour later, Matsuda glanced at the clock and internally groaned. Class was almost over and he was finally enjoying himself.
“Before you go, does anybody here know the most important ingredient in a portal?”
The class was silent for a moment, then William raised his hand.
“Demon blood.”
Mr. Yasuda seemed surprised. “Yes. Very good.”
The bell rang, and the class started to filter out of the room. Matsuda waited outside for the other boy.
William exited the room and almost bumped into him, as his gaze was fixed on the floor. He smiled slightly in apology, and the two started walking.
“How’d you know that?” Matsuda asked, checking his map.
The other teen hesitated. “I’ve just read it before. Is it a bad thing that I knew?”
Matsuda blinked in surprise at his reaction. “No, it’s fine. I was just wondering- sorry if I made you nervous.”
William exhaled slowly, a relieved expression on his face.
“I’m okay, I just don’t want to stand out too much.”
He blushed when Matsuda raised an eyebrow. “I’m new here, but I don’t want anyone to notice. Just wanna blend in, you know?”
Matsuda smiled. “Yeah. It’s okay. Where are you headed now?”
“Um… current events. You?”
“I have that, too.” That was surprising, but not too strange. “Do you know where that-… you’re new here. I’m sorry, that was stupid.”
William laughed. “No, it’s okay. I know where that room is- I visited it earlier to meet the teacher.”
Matsuda felt a tingle of skepticism, but ignored it. He didn’t really know enough about this kid to make a real judgment yet.