We walked out of the principal’s office with a few punishments. Kalliphae got suspended for the rest of the week and I wound up with a new job. Alex cast a hopeful glance at Kalli as we trudged past the boys only to be met with the girl’s trademark glare.

Once we were alone in the hall, Kalli kicked the air wistfully. Now what am I going to do? I was looking forward to kicking Alex’s butt some more in martial arts class this afternoon.

The thought of Kalliphae delivering a roundhouse kick to the boy made me laugh.

I don’t know. Just think of it as a holiday. We can do anything we want.

Turning to me, Kalli stuck out her tongue. You can go to class. I’m jealous.

Do you really think I could go sit in class while my girlfriend sits in her dorm room? No way.

The pyromancer turned a shade of red that was starting to match her hair before looking away. I am not your girlfriend. Why would you even want me? I am betrothed to an old man and might get deported from your world at any time.

Why was it so difficult to ask this girl out? I pleaded my case.

We are going to get you out of that contract. That means you’ll be free to marry who you want.

A spike of emotions roiled over our connection as Kalliphae’s anxiety rose. Even if you pull that off, how will I get back to you?

We will find a way.

She stopped walking and turned to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. How do you know that, Melvin?

The question failed to register in my head because all I saw was Kalli’s dazzling blue eyes that glistened in the well-lit hall. Her lips seemed so inviting while she waited impatiently for me to answer. I decided to try kissing her.

No sooner did our lips meet than she pushed me away. Melvin. What was that? Why did you do that?

Um, I…

She cut me off by dragging me back and delivering a kiss of her own. I was stunned by Kalli’s sudden boldness fueled by a feeling of passion from the girl that I didn’t believe she was capable of.

No sooner had our lips met again than we broke apart and she turned away from me. Fine.

The girl was on fire, literally. Tendrils of flame rose from her body mirroring the wildfire of emotions she was currently sharing with me. My brain finally latched onto the word she said.

What do you mean, fine?

Kalli huffed impatiently as though I were frustrating her. Fine. I’ll be your girlfriend. At least until I have to go. You better not cry when I leave.

The only problem was that she was the one crying. When she turned back to me with tears in her eyes it made mine water in response. I quickly wrapped the redhead up in a hug.

It’ll work out. Let’s study hard and earn lots of money so we can be ready when the time comes.

It took a while to collect ourselves but we were soon on our way back to the dorm. Kalli gently took my hand in hers as we walked. I still don’t see why you don’t want to go to class. I’m the only one that got suspended.

The only class left for today is magical history and I’m thinking about dropping it.

She raised an eyebrow at me. Why would you want to do that?

I was hoping that I could learn more about bloodlines in that class but they don’t seem to know anything. I think a physical class might suit me better. Kind of like your martial arts class.

Kalliphae perked up as an idea hit her. You could always join my class. Then we could go together.

I frowned at her.

I don’t know. I’d rather not be in a class with Alex if I can help it. Also, I was considering something more mana reliant. Your class uses mostly unawakened martial arts as a base.

She puffed her lip out in a pouty expression. Suit yourself. If you aren’t going to class, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?

Well, I did promise to give you a massage, remember?

Kalli’s look of surprise slowly transformed into a coy smile. I thought that was supposed to be after my workout when I’m sore.

I don’t mind massaging you and they do feel good right?

She laughed. You have a point. Where do you want to do this?

My room?

WARNING: WHEN TWO OR MORE PEOPLE ENTER A PRIVATE ROOM, ALL ACTIVITIES WILL BE MONITORED BY THE THE GUIDANCE COUNSELOR.

Kalliphae must have seen the same thing that I did because she shook her head rapidly. Nope. Uh uh. We aren’t doing this in here.

I suggested the only place I could think of.

We could do it in the make-out room.

She smirked at me, still shaking her head. No. That’s way too much like making out to do it in there. I’d die if anyone caught us.

I sat on my bed and tried to figure out what else we could do. My stomach growled, reminding me that we never ate lunch.

Hey, Kalli. Didn’t you have a surprise for me in the cafeteria?

The girl slapped her forehead. Oh right, I forgot all about that. I wanted you to taste the house special today.

I walked over to the corner and scooped up the BUFF, bringing it over to Kalli. Pulling up a popular barbeque restaurant on the M-Phone, I requested a plate of baby back ribs for Kalli along with mashed potatoes and coleslaw.

She laughed as she sampled the food. I completely forgot that you had this.

I took out the catalog from my bag and looked up the BUFF.

We can buy you one.

Shaking her head, she informed me, We need to save money. Also, I kind of like eating in the cafeteria with the other students. The kids weren’t very nice to me back at the monastery. I kind of like hanging out with the other students.

I put the catalog away along with my dream of avoiding the cafeteria in the future. Trying to put that out of my mind, I turned my attention to what to do with our newly found time off. Asking Kalli out on a date sounded like a fun option but I was a little worried that she would find something like a walk on the Santa Monica pier a little awkward considering I just asked her to be my girlfriend. Instead, I asked her for help with something I had planned to do after school.

I’d like to visit Little Tokyo again. Do you mind flying me there with the phoenix?

Kalliphae looked up from a rib she had been eating, her face covered in barbeque sauce. Sure, I don’t mind. What do you need to do there?

I am going to get a job.

She smiled at me, oblivious to the way she looked. I think I’ll get a job too. I can’t let you do all of the work.

“Pvruzth”

Kalliphae glared at me as the fire cleaned her face. You could have told me about that.

But it was so cute. I would have said something before anybody saw you.

Little Tokyo wasn’t very crowded when we arrived. I started toward Masamune’s smithy. Kalli gave me a critical look. I thought you wanted to get a job at the noodle shop.

I do but first I want to meet the master smith that owns this shop.

Kalliphae looked at the sign as we entered. Do you want to commission a weapon?

No. I heard that he infuses his creations with mana. I’d like to learn how he does it.

“I’m not taking any new commissions.”, A voice boomed from behind the forge as we entered.

I took a deep breath and stepped up to the muscular Asian man, “Good afternoon, Mr. Masamune. I was hoping to ask you a few questions about mana.”

CLANG

Bringing a massive hammer down on a lump of metal sent up a shower of sparks that fell just short of our feet. The man scoffed and said, “Humph. Mr. Masamune. Stupid American tourists are only one step better than those otaku who march in here calling me Masamune sama. If you wish to know about mana, then I’m going to need you to pass a test first.”

Mr. Masamune was younger than I expected him to be. I had assumed that he would be an old man, but he couldn’t have been much older than this early twenties. Kalli noticed my intention to take the test and squeezed my hand. I think I’m going to look into getting that job at the restaurant. Meet me when you’re done here?

Sure. I’ll be there as soon as I finish.

She surprised me by kissing my cheek before quickly rushing out of the smithy. Mr. Masamune stopped his work to watch her leave, “Is she your girlfriend?”

I paused at the sound of his comment, “Um, yes. Yes, she is.”

It felt good to say that. He nodded appreciatively, “Good for you. Now, do you intend to take my test? Otherwise, you are distracting me from my work.”

The man plucked the lump of metal from the fire and placed it in a waiting pool of water. Steam rose into the air and the metal emitted a loud hissing sizzle as it rapidly cooled. I stood behind him as he laid out the metal on a wooden block, asking, “What do you need me to do?”

He pointed down at the dull metal, “Infuse this with mana. If you can produce a quality ingot with your mana then I will consider bestowing upon you some of my basic techniques.”

Without another word, I stepped up to the ingot and placed my hands on it. It was still quite hot to the touch. Deciding to go with my fire mana, I pushed it through a fire filter in my wrists. The mana created sparks when it washed over the surface of the metal.

Immediately, I could feel that the metal interacted with mana in a different way than anything I had infused so far. While it welcomed the mana, the ingot was somewhat fragile. If I pushed too fast or too much mana, it threatened to shatter on me.

The fire aspect of my mana also altered the nature of the metal. It took on a red hue which gradually grew darker as I infused more mana.

Mr. Masamune watched intently as I worked. When the ingot neared its capacity I slowed the mana flow until it was barely a trickle. Something told me that the true test was to infuse the ingot to capacity without breaking it.

I stopped infusing my mana just when the ingot started to glow. Mr. Masamune pushed past me and scooped up my creation, turning it over in his hands. He turned his critical gaze to me and asked, “How did you do this?”

Not sure what he meant, I replied, “I just infused the ingot with mana as you requested.”

Mr. Masamune shook his head, “Tell me about this red color.”

Realizing what he meant, I explained, “I used fire mana. It felt best to use that element considering you had just taken it out of the fire.”

The man carefully placed the ingot into a stack of finished ingots and asked, “You make it sound like fire is not your primary aspect. Can you do others?”

I nodded, “Sure, I can do several elements. Possibly more. I just haven’t tried yet.”

Placing another ingot on the table in front of me, he requested, “Please infuse this with your primary element.”

When my white mana touched the dark blue ingot, I could tell something was different. It shuddered and didn’t want to accept the mana. I was forced to physically hold it down while I forced mana into the hunk of metal.

It glowed the brilliant white color of my mana and became hot to the touch as I worked on it. I was forced to infuse my mana at the slowest rate possible to avoid having the ingot disintegrate under my hands.

An hour had passed by the time I sensed that the ingot would accept no additional mana. I was drenched in sweat. I panted and asked the smith, “Mr. Masamune. Does this one pass the test?”

The man was visibly shaking when he tenderly picked up the glowing white ingot, “Please, call me Chogu. What did you say your name was?”

I bowed to Chogu, “Oh right, I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Melvin. Melvin Murphy.”

Chogu returned the bow and replied, “The fault is mine. I didn’t ask your name because I didn’t believe you would have any use being a child and all.”

Heaving a sigh of relief, I asked, “So does that mean that I passed the test?”

The smith laughed and explained, “You did more than pass the test. Do you know what this is? It’s adamantium. It’s a very good metal that is notoriously hard to infuse. It tends to fall apart no matter what I try.”

I looked at the ingot with renewed interest, “How many different types of metal do you have here?”

Chogu walked over to a shed, opening a door and revealing stacks of different types of metal, “More than I care to count. Tell me, Melvin, how many types of mana do you command?”

His question made me wonder exactly how many types of mana I was capable of. I answered, “I haven’t experimented enough to know. I’ve only tried three so far.”

The smith laughed, “I’d love to put that to the test. How do you feel about becoming my apprentice? I would be happy to impart the knowledge that you seek and more.”

I nearly jumped at the opportunity before I remembered the reason I came to Little Tokyo, “Will there be any pay involved?”

Chogu laughed and slapped me on the back with his very large hands, “That can be arranged, Melvin. That can be arranged.”