The Beast Underneath: A Yu-Gi-Oh! Fanfiction

Chapter Thirty-One: The Basics

        "Hello Kiria, how have you been? How's your magic practice been?" Shizira greeted as she entered their apartment once more, carrying a back-pack on her shoulders and a box under her arm.

        "I've been practicing, but then Malice needs something and then Axel needs something... but still."

        "Has that feeling been strengthened anymore? Just like I've asked you to work on?"

        "Yes!" Kiria nodded exuberantly. The feeling really had been increasing, and it pulsed through her even when she wasn't meditating properly. It was invigorating, like - like something that could keep her awake for ages.

        "Great. And have you been reading the introductory passages to the beginner's guide?" 

        "Mhmm."

        Shizira gave her a charming smile as she slid her bag off her shoulders. "What did you think of the prologue? Thoughts?"

        "I thought it was magical," Kiria laughed. "Corny joke, I know."

        Shizira rolled her eyes and gave a knowing semi-annoyed smile. "In all seriousness now, please."

        "Well, I thought it was very useful. I can't say much else, since I'm not knowledgable on magic like you are."

        Shizira gave a 'tch'. "Doesn't matter if you're knowledgable or not! What are your thoughts? As in, what do you think of the concepts introduced by it? It is very deep matter to delve into, and that passage is important to most beginning magic practitioners to understanding the concepts behind it. I read that when I was seven and spent four days and nights thinking it over."

        "Oh. Well, the concept it introduced... was very, um, basic?"

        "How so?"

        "It standardized a lot of things that made sense, in a way. How everything is cause and effect, how everything we do alters something about this world, and how magic is the same but capable of altering things we normally otherwise could not. That person must have been very smart to deduced that."

        "Good. That means you've learned. Are you ready to learn a spell, Kiria?"

        "Yes!" the green-goldette announced excitedly, clapping her hands a tiny bit. Shizira had directly specified not to try any of the spells without her, and just focus on building her power. But she'd read as much as she could, a few hours every night before bed and whenever they had free time at school. She was most assuredly ready to try.

        "Great. Now most basic magic involves simply altering or enchanting items currently existing. So, Kiria, I've got a question for you."

        "What is it?"

        Shizira didn't immediately answer, but instead walked over to the kitchen counter. She set her metal box on top of it, opening it up to reveal wood and tinder. She took a bowl from the cupboard, turning on the faucet and filling it with water. Shizira set the bowl beside the open box. Then, from her pocket she took a small vial. Inside whirled a tiny maelstrom of blue-gray something that Kiria couldn't identify. And lastly, Shi withdrew a small petri dish, that which contained earth. All of them were lined up side-by-side as Shizira struck a match and threw it in the wood-box, lighting it on fire.

        "I want you to stand back here, and I want you to close your eyes." Shizira gripped her shoulders gently and maneuvered Kiria before them all, where none of them were closer to her than any other. Kiria shut her eyes tight, feeling something being bound around them. "I want you to lift your hand. Don't focus on the heat, or where you remember them being. Just focus on the energy, the energy in your hand, and nudge it. Let it reach out. Walk towards what direction you feel drawn to."