Outside the medical center, Madame Shuri and Malik stood as black vehicles all left in unison. They had just enrolled Renji and Senji into Redu Sorcerer Academy and they were going to escort them there, but they needed to meet their personal teacher.
Renji and Senji both stepped out the medical center, the receptionist waving them goodbye as they made their way over to the two S Ranks.
"Did you guys sleep well?" Shuri asked.
Renji shook Malik's hand as he responded. "Yeah. We spoke to our dad before we hit the hay."
"That's nice. Well, we are going to be walking you two to your brand new school and/or headquarters. But first, we'll be taking you to meet your new teacher. The three of you have something in common." Shuri said and winked.
As they walked, Malik had his attention focused towards flame sightings or an irregular presence in the wind. He sighed as they all turned a corner. He remembered the first time he met the man, and had envied him ever since.
Jackson Igneel is a mysterious sorcerer, known for protecting the planet from the dark by defeating galactic threats and unnatural forces. However, Jackson is also known for his mastery of Flame Magic, and his god like complex when it comes to society's standards. However, Jackson held a secret that had slowly corrupted him over time, to a near emotionless husk that has the sole purpose of defeating monsters.
Jackson had saved Malik from a beast attack when he was young, and Malik took that as a form of disrespect, and challenged Jackson to a battle. However, Jackson quickly showed Malik what it meant to be physically strong, overpowering him in mere seconds and putting the fear of death into his heart.
"Never let your opponent know your greatest fear, as that will be your greatest obstacle in life. As for your lesson, death is not meant to be feared, but merely an accomplishment that you have completed your journey in God's book."
Those words stuck with Malik since. Malik had always feared death, only because he was the last surviving member of his family. He just felt like it was slowly creeping up to him every single day he lived. He suddenly stopped when he felt that irregular presence.
"He's here. Down that alley."
Everyone turned to see a shadow with firey glowing eyes staring at them. They slowly dimmed down as the shadow dwelled deeper in the darkness of the alley.
Senji gulped a little. "Isn't it daylight? How is that alley so dark?"
When they entered the alleyway, Jackson was standing against a wall with a cigar in his mouth. Renji and Senji immediately took note to how he looked. Black hair, dark gray eyes, tall but not too tall, black clothing, but most importantly, a scar that went diagonal across his face. Then, their bodies jolted as Jackson looked at them with a fierce gaze.
Orochi and Gamamura both sensed another sentient being, one living within Jackson.
"Renji."
"Senji."
The boys answered their respective snake in unison. "What?"
"Bow. Now."
Without a second thought, Renji and Senji knelt down in fear of what might happen. Malik and Shuri let out a chuckle as Jackson shared a soft smile of his own.
"Get up you small sacks of shit, I'm just messing around."
When the two looked up, Jackson was walking towards them and he now looked like a normal guy smoking a cigar. When they stood up, he extended his hand to each one of them and introduced himself.
"My name is Jackson Igneel. And just like you, I am a vessel of a sentient being."
The brothers both took a step back in shock. "Really?! There's more?!"
Malik and Shuri looked confused. They had never heard of anything dealing with magic vessels, and they were hoping someone would explain.
"Yes. I am the vessel for the Great Fire Phoenix of Creation, Caelina."
"It is nice to meet the two of you." Caelina told the two boys telepathically.
"Dude, this is single handedly the coolest thing of my life! I read books about her!"
"Renji, as much as I love you, you're a dork."
Renji let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry."
Malik "Well, we'll leave them with you, as they are now your responsibility. Don't cause too much trouble. As for you two, I expect great things, especially with a teacher as talented and powerful as Jackson. Don't make me regret my decision of recommending you for sorcerers."
The two boys bowed down in respect. "Yes sir."
After everyone split, Renji and Senji silently walked behind Jackson. The smell of the fire burning off his cigar was unsettling, like it was something else entirely.
"So which snake chose who?" Jackson asked, breaking the silence.
"Gamamura chose me, and Orochi chose my brother."
Jackson blew out the smoke from his cigar. "Ah. Well, any questions about the academy?"
"Well, what is the academy?" Senji asked.
"Well, it's basically just a big headquarters. There isn't really any teaching there once they teach you everything there is to know about mana and magic beasts. They call themselves sorcerers because it just "sounded cool." But then again, they leave that job to me. So if anything, they just assign you missions and call it a day." Jackson explained.
"Really? So where have you been for so long? We barely see you in the media?"
Jackson stopped abruptly, "Places."
Renji and Senji looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well, sorry to bring the mood down. But, we're here. Go in, introduce yourself, and when you're ready, go find Mira. She'll assign you your first mission."
"Yes sir."
When they left, Jackson's face dropped. "Please don't tell me they're gonna start calling me "sir."
"They are very respectful."
"Ugh."
Inside the academy, Renji and Senji stood completely still. The school was barren, no one could be seen, but people could be heard. The hallways were quiet, and the wood seemed old yet new all at once. It looked like someone made an abandoned building a school and kept it this way to try and trick outsiders that this was some abandoned building.
"Did you figure it out?"
The two boys jumped at the sound of the voice behind them. When they turned, a lady with put plenty eyes giggled and stepped out.
"My name's Elaina. What's yours?"
"Uh, Renji. And this is my brother, Senji. We're fraternal twins."
"Oh, how sweet! Let me show you around!"
Elaina suddenly grabbed the two and began walking them around the academy. She introduced them to the senior teachers, some higher ups, and even brought them to the dungeon where they keep captured monsters.
"And that one is named Torrace. And that one is named Angela. And that one..." Senji and Renji stared blankly at the animals and simply waved at the ones she pointed to.
In a dark, deep sea prison, a beast stirred. The sea life around it suddenly froze, then scattered as the beast opened its eye. A horrific yellow met the darkness of the sea, and a roar followed. The Earth shook. The gargantuan serpent, had awoken.
Renji and Senji stopped, along with Elaina. They all looked around as their superiors took emergency precautions. When the shaking stopped, an old man came out from the dark, scratching his back.
"You young folk sure are frail. Scared of a little shaking?"
"That wasn't a normal earthquake!" Senji yelled.
"Don't mind him, that's just Yabaru. But anyway, the tour is finished. Lady Han has assigned you your mission, just make sure you give those forms to the security outside the designated battle area. And tell Jackson his favorite girl said hello." Elaina said, walking the boys out the door.
"Favorite girl?"
"Oh yeah, me and Jackson go way back."
"No we don't."
When everyone looked over, Jackson stood still with his hands in his pockets and a glare on his face. Elaina crossed her arms and smirked as the boys stifled a laugh.
"Let's go."
As the boys waved back to Elaina, they caught up to Jackson and there was an awkward silence that Senji decided to break.
"So, you like girls with purple eyes?"
Jackson walked faster, but not before the boys caught the blush evident on his face.
"Our mission is to defeat the D Rank beasts, Red Wolves, and find some kind of key."
Jackson blew smoke from his cigar. "Then lets go get some Red Wolves."
Back in Kimuri Village, three men and one woman in black clothing stood before Renji and Senji's father. He couldn't stand the fact that they obtained magic, and that they left the village. In his mind, they had been kidnapped.
"I want you to find my sons and bring them back home to me."
"And what's in it for us?"
"10,000,000 mana crystals, as well as a cash pay of 1,000,000 dollars."
He waved his hands and two women brought out five million mana crystals and five hundred thousand dollars each. One woman gave the group half of the payment.
Mr. Kimuri narrowed his eyes and stilled his voice. "You get the other half when you return with my sons."
"Alright, Mr. Kimuri. Pleasure doing business with you."
The group then slowly transformed into flames and dissolved into nothingness.
"Are you sure going with the Blood Ashes Group was a good idea?"
"They were my only option."
"What if they just left on their own? Maybe they did this to help us and themselves."
"My sons would never do something like this. And the story of them just randomly gaining mana doesn't make sense to me, I have to see it to believe it."
Mr. Kimuri dismissed everyone around him, and quietly began crying. He couldn't believe it, and he wouldn't.
"My sons..."