Raging Fenrir

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Shuichi

Shuichi pursed his lips when the girl called him out for his skepticism. She seemed like a kind person, and it definitely sounded like her heart was in the right place. He couldn't exactly be mad at someone who just wanted to do their part to save the world. However, looking down on him for asking questions was... perhaps naive was the word? "Look," he said, looking at the girl with a calm expression. "If you wanna jump right on in, go ahead. I'm not gonna try to hold you back. But I'm not agreeing to anything unless I know it's legitimate. They say there's a monster eating magic. Cool. I get it. Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. Maybe these guys are working for the monster and are just trying to trap us here forever. I don't know what's what. But, like I said, it doesn't seem like a scam to be, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. And you know what else, I think it's cool that you'll jump at the chance to fight monsters. You're a hell of a lot braver than me."

With that, Shuichi turned to head towards the woods. Elizabeth had agreed to all his conditions, so he saw no reason not to go through with this. He gave Maemi one last wave. He didn't want his first interaction with his new... classmate perhaps... to be entirely negative. "I'll see you later." And with that, he vanished into the woods, appearing right by his front door once again.

@Sola

* * *

Shuichi's house was quiet. His mother was away at work, and his sister was probably locked in her room studying. Well, at least nobody would bother him while he was packing. He climbed the flight of stairs, his footsteps echoing in the silent corridor, and gently pushed open his door.

"What are you doing back?"

Shuichi nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around to see his father's hawk-like face glaring down at him. There were few people in the world that would dare cross Mr. Yuuto, and his gaze was enough to make any man's blood run cold. Some said it was innate magic caused by his griffin blood that called on some ancient predatory nature. Even when he was in a good mood, his expression was stern, but Shuichi could tell from the wrinkles around his eyes that his father was annoyed to see him.

"Ah... J-just grabbing clothes and stuff... packing. For the letter thing. They said they talked to you."

"They did." Mr. Yuuto's eyes narrowed.

Shuichi gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, so I asked so questions and stuff, and they seem okay, so I'm going to go with them."

There was a long pause, then Mr. Yuuto's expression softened ever so slightly. "Good. I was almost proud of you when they explained everything to me. I was worried you were having second thoughts."

Shuichi felt his father's eyes boring into him. Second thoughts? He'd had third and fourth thoughts on top of that. But, was he hearing this correctly? His father actually wanted him to go? "W-well... either way, it seems important, so I'm going to do what they say."

Mr. Yuuto turned his back. "Good. Maybe when you come back, you'll finally have something to be proud of."

* * *

Shuichi returned to the pocket dimension, this time with a large bag draped over his shoulder. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be here, but he brought what he hoped would be enough to last him. Several changes of clothes, hygienic supplies, stationary, a lighter and a swiss army knife. If they did some crazy outdoor survival training, he was not going to be caught without fire. He took a deep breath and walked through the portal.

What he saw was... not what he expected: a rustic, cozy looking mansion that would likely have been condemned for being overrun with nature, yet at the same time stood tall and strong against time. He took a few steps forward and suddenly tensed up. For a moment, his senses felt more acute. Everything was so bright, he could hear heartbeats thumping around him, and he felt the subtle currents of the wind curling around his skin. And then it all subsided. His blood was hot and he felt like he just finished a sprint. Whatever this place was, it stirred his griffin blood. Now he was curious.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Shuichi

Shuichi listened to the woman's speech and one by one the others accepted her offer. Shuichi found several things odd about the whole situation. This was the second time she had stressed the urgency of the situation, and yet what could they possibly do "urgently?" A bunch of teens with limited magical abilities vs. Lord Ultimate, Devourer of Mana? It didn't exactly sound like they were ready to deal with this thing any time soon, so she could at least put aside urgency for the sake of explaining just what the hell they were supposed to do about it. Plus, how is it that two people in some random hilltop castle were the only people on the planet who knew what was going on? Everybody else seemed just as confused about things as Shuichi, but then the girl who introduced herself as Charlize spoke up.

"Umm, actually..." Shuichi raised his hand in protest as the girl proceeded to speak for all of them. "I get a lot of letters like yours. 'You could already be a winner.' 'There is an issue with your account, please contact us immediately.' 'This is an urgent public service announcement about your current electric bill.' Stuff like that. So when I ripped the letter, I was only committing to tossing it in the wastebasket. I mean, it didn't even have a government seal on it..." Shuichi pursed his lips, now finally processing the gravity of the situation. "Right now, my little sister is probably freaking out and trying to explain to my parents how I disappeared into thin air. So don't get the wrong idea and think I'm eager to go fighting monsters for you."

Then, Shuichi let out a sigh, and his expression softened. "But, if this is a scam, it's certainly the most elaborate one I've ever seen. So, I guess I'm in, but on a few conditions. First, if you ask me for money, or plan on sending me or any of my relatives any kind of bill, I'm leaving. I'll need a chance to contact my family, tell them that I'm safe, and what I'm doing. And, you'll also notice that there are no bags slung over my shoulder. I'm gonna need a chance to acquire some fresh clothes for myself. If you can agree to that, then sure, I'll help you save the world." Even though Shuichi was no great businessman, his parents' basic lessons were still drilled into his bones. When you've got leverage, make demands. If he was as important as they said, then they should be eager to grant him these simple requests. If they wouldn't at least attempt to comply with such reasonable requests, then perhaps the whole thing was a load of bull and he would be better served leaving anyway.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Shuichi

One moment he was walking home with his sister. Then, Shuichi blinked and he had no idea where he was. He stood with a dumb expression, staring and the two halves of the letter in his hands. He wasn't frightened or alarmed, just baffled at how his front lawn suddenly disappeared and he was now staring at some strange castle place. It seemed the letter was a pretty elaborate prank, as it had actually teleported him like it said it would. No big deal, though. He'd just take out his cell, call for a cab, and... "Crap." Zero bars. That wasn't good. Well, at least he wasn't alone. Shuichi looked around and saw that everyone else looked just as confused as he was. Some folks hadn't even managed to stay on their feet. But then he was treated to quite a spectacle.

With a mighty "welcome," their host shot a brilliant display of light into the air. Shuichi's eyes followed the light and lingered on the sky well after it dissipated lest he miss some crazy after effect. There was no question about it. That was real magic, and quite a large display of it. If a man could do that at a time when magic was withering away, then maybe this was real. Maybe the letter wasn't a prank after all. Sure, it was a bit of a jump in logic going from "this guy can do magic" to "you are a chosen one destined to fight the magic-devouring monster," but Shuichi has believed crazier things. "Darn, and here I thought it was satellites..."

The next thing Shuichi heard was a girl about his age calling out to the group. She seemed to feel at home, already calling dibs on rooms and gathering twigs and whatnot. Wait, gathering ingredients and needing a special room. Whoa, is she a witch? Well, if she was going to call out to the group and introduce herself, Shuichi saw no reason not to follow her example. He cupped his hands and called out as well. "Hi Rinh! My name's Shuichi. Does anyone have cell reception? I wanna tell my parents that I'm not being held for ransom." Then he looked at Elizabeth. "We're not being held for ransom, right? Because my parents won't negotiate with terrorists."

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Woo! Can't wait for this to get going.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Shuichi

It was a mundane end to an ordinary day. Shuichi had his backpack slung over his shoulder as he walked home from school with his sister. She was tinkering with her gauntlet as she walked, until she finally resorted to percussive maintenance. Shuichi sighed and shook his head. "You're just gonna break it. Everybody's is on the fritz. Global warming probably altered the convection currents which tricked the satellites into changing their orbits and crashing into each other which in turn disrupted the ley line configurations." His sister just gave him an incredulous look. "What, Ayumi? You don't think that could happen."

Ayumi shook her head. "Really? Satellite explosions? How does someone with a 3.8 GPA come up with this stuff?"

Shuichi just shrugged, and continued walking. Nobody had any better ideas at the moment about why things were going so crazy, so he figured it was as good as any. Though, it was a magical problem, so maybe it had a magical cause and not a scientific one. Or maybe the government had a secret project that used up too much magic and was keeping it a secret. Or maybe-- Ayumi yanked on his shirt just before he walked into a pole. "Wha? Oh, thanks sis."

Ayumi rolled her eyes. "You'd be roadkill by now if it wasn't for me." But, just as the two of them approached their house, a women descended from the heavens with a letter for Shuichi. Ayumi's jaw hung open. "Uhh... did I miss something?"

"I don't think so. I mean, I've never seen her before in my life." Shuichi proceeded to read the letter.

"Well, what's it say?"

Shuichi read, and then reread the letter. Were the things written there true? Surely there wasn't some demon sucking out his personal magic. That had to be a mistake. But, were the recent problems really being caused by some evil being? "I... I don't know if I'm at liberty to discuss it. I mean, it doesn't say classified... and I don't see a government seal on it."

As Shuichi rambled on about the letter's origin, Ayumi peaked over his shoulder and gave it a quick read. "Wow. What a bitch. Just because you suck at magic, it doesn't mean they have to make up crazy demon stories about it."

"But, it says they want to help me..."

"Yeah, sure. Probably for the low, low payment of whatever you got. I say it's either a scam or a prank, and it's not very good whatever it is."

Shuichi let out a sigh. "Yeah, you're probably right. Dad'll probably yell at me for even reading a letter like this. I mean, it doesn't even have a return address. Now I feel like an idiot. I'll get rid of it before they even see it." And with that, Shuichi tore the letter in half.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Shuichi Yuuto

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Magic: Griffin Blood – The ancestors of the Yuuto family conducted a forgotten rite that infused their bodies with Griffin blood. This gave them innate access to a range of powerful magic, and Griffin blood flows through all of their descendants’ veins. Shuichi’s abilities have thus far manifested in the form of minor wind elementalism.

Personality: Calm, aloof, and friendly, Shuichi has gotten a reputation for being a daydreamer. He is soft-spoken, though not shy, and is generally welcoming to all kinds of people. He is an intelligent young man, though he’s easily distracted and often goes on fanciful tangents. He is happier to follow than to lead, and is reluctant to take risks or do dangerous things… but can be pressured to do so.

Biography: Shuichi’s parents are both successful businesspeople. His father works in upper management for a major conglomerate, and his mother is the CEO of a major company. Needless to say, Shuichi has never wanted for worldly goods. He was preened and pruned to be a businessman since before elementary school. Academically he did fine. However, his demeanor made him ill-suited to the more aggressive aspects of running a business. His presentations were meandering and unfocused, he was kind to his competitors, and frankly, he was careless with his money; good at spending it, bad at making it.

His parents upped the pressure, of his studies, sending him to lessons and seminars after school, and essentially eliminating any opportunity he had for a social life. This proved ineffective, and his younger sister began to show more promise, so his parents turned their attention more towards her. Shuichi’s time was freed up, but he was a bit of an outcast in high school. Not many people wanted to be friends with the weirdo rich kid who somehow managed to never have money on him. So, he played the roll of a social chameleon; getting along with everyone, but not close to anyone, and so he just wistfully glided through his life.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

Shuichi Yuuto

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Human

Magic: Griffin Blood – The ancestors of the Yuuto family conducted a forgotten rite that infused their bodies with Griffin blood. This gave them innate access to a range of powerful magic, and Griffin blood flows through all of their descendants’ veins. Shuichi’s abilities have thus far manifested in the form of minor wind elementalism.

Personality: Calm, aloof, and friendly, Shuichi has gotten a reputation for being a daydreamer. He is soft-spoken, though not shy, and is generally welcoming to all kinds of people. He is an intelligent young man, though he’s easily distracted and often goes on fanciful tangents. He is happier to follow than to lead, and is reluctant to take risks or do dangerous things… but can be pressured to do so.

Biography: Shuichi’s parents are both successful businesspeople. His father works in upper management for a major conglomerate, and his mother is the CEO of a major company. Needless to say, Shuichi has never wanted for worldly goods. He was preened and pruned to be a businessman since before elementary school. Academically he did fine. However, his demeanor made him ill-suited to the more aggressive aspects of running a business. His presentations were meandering and unfocused, he was kind to his competitors, and frankly, he was careless with his money; good at spending it, bad at making it.

His parents upped the pressure, of his studies, sending him to lessons and seminars after school, and essentially eliminating any opportunity he had for a social life. This proved ineffective, and his younger sister began to show more promise, so his parents turned their attention more towards her. Shuichi’s time was freed up, but he was a bit of an outcast in high school. Not many people wanted to be friends with the weirdo rich kid who somehow managed to never have money on him. So, he played the roll of a social chameleon; getting along with everyone, but not close to anyone, and so he just wistfully glided through his life.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

I am now in brainstorming mode. I'll have something up soon.

Tohru's School of Wizards and Witches!

I'm definitely interested.

Peak

This looks cool, but before I join I'd like to know what tier of power we're looking at. I love Wuxia, but you said that DBZ was one of the inspirations, and I'm not terribly inclined to play in a world where people are literally flying around shooting laser beams at each other.