SHINOBI In A World Of Magic

"Then likewise, please call me Arwen, Yohan." Arwen hesitated for a second before saying.

"Alright Arwen. Well what would you like to talk about?" Yohan asked.

"Well, can we talk a bit while grabbing some snacks?" Arwen asked, while Ayne and Acia were behind her holding hopeful expressions.

"Wow, I admit the battle junkie's got good looks, but isn't that a bit much for them to approach him on their first day?" "Bud, you underestimate him, he's got a few admirers from every year, I bet they heard about him from their discussions during lunch." "A 'few' admirers?" "Ahh but why all three?" "Didn't you hear he said that they weren't strangers, meaning they met before." "Of course, since they are in the same homeroom." "What I mean is before they came to this school" While they were busy enviously talking about the conundrum, they failed to notice Stella's gaze which indicated other than being familiar with the 3 forest elves. Stella was a bit jealous since they were fairer than her.

"Sure, let's get going then! I've been waiting to get some packets of pocky." Yohan didn't mind the convenient request. (A/N: Mikado anyone? Also not a sponsored advertis.e.m.e.nt).

"Hmph, junk food loving battle junkie." Stella quipped, to which Yohan grabbed her into a hold and rubbed a fist on her head as she struggled in painful futility. Seeing the comedic scene of the two childhood besties, everyone curtly giggled. They finally got on their way to the convenience store about 2 blocks away from their school in the opposite direction of their house. Yohan was conspicuous as ever with his weapon strapped on his back.

"So how'd your first day go?" Yohan asked.

"It went great!" Ayne enthusiastically shouted.

"It went... well." "So-so." Arwen and Acia each said.

"Good for you Ayne and cheer up you two, I'm sure tomorrow would be better." Yohan comforted.

"Hey, how'd you guys meet?" Stella asked.

"Well, how do we start..." Yohan said as he began recanting the tale. Stella was a bit uncomfortable when Yohan said he had slain two bears, but finally understood the gazes of the triplets were one of gratitude towards the hand which pried them from death's grip.

"Has your father register as a mage?" Yohan asked the triplets.

"Yes, he went to 'Wind Hawks' and got a position as a senior mage or whatever." Ayne said.

"Well that's good." Yohan and co. got to the convenience store and got some snacks. Yohan got a few packets of pocky, the triplets got some macarons and Stella got some creampuffs. They chattered some more, while strolling back towards their houses before separating at a junction.

"Well, we just live down this street, it's goodbye for now then." Arwen said.

"Goodbye!" Ayne and Acia said

"Wow, you guys live quite close to us; we live just on the other side of this block." The area resembled a suburban neighborhood. "Well, it was nice catching up, see you guys tomorrow!" Yohan waved.

"Bye, Arwen, Ayne, Acia! See you tomorrow!" Stella waved. Everyone parted while reciprocating each other's farewells. Stella asked a few more questions and found out that he had been training deep in the forest, slaughtering monsters. She didn't know what to feel except for a bit of regret hearing his confession void of remorse.

"Umm, Yohan, can you not kill monsters?" Stella requested.

"Stella, we're going to be combat mages, eventually you would have to take a few lives when being one. I just..... started a bit early..." Yohan said. Stella now understood how Yohan's battle sense and abilities were honed; he had a few 'practice dummies'

"I know, but can you stop for a bit? At least until we become actual mages." Stella asked. Yohan wanted to retort but he stopped as he saw his childhood friend's worried expression.

"U-Uhm.. Sure, I could do that.... for you." Yohan said, feeling touched. Stella heard his compliance, filling her with joy, and when she heard the last line 'for you' her heart skipped a beat and felt a bit of a blush on her face. They didn't speak until they finally had to say goodbye in front of each other's homes. Yohan walked into the living room while finishing his last pocky of the 1st packet, greeting his mother before heading to his room.

Yohan walked up to a mirror and looked at himself in full view. 'Well, nothing to do, I promised not to go on a killing spree...' He looked at his upper body. 'I could try to train for the eight inner gates, magnet release or another kekkei genkai to kill time.' Yohan was thinking of ways to kill time. He would leave the boring and tedious tasks to his clones while he did more interesting things.

'I guess I'll try a bit of magnet release, getting sand in people's shoes doesn't seem to be a bad prank.' After a bit of deliberation, he decided on something, grinning mischievously. He didn't know how to get started, he could create grains of sand with his earth release but, he needed to mix a metal with it to actually control. 'What metal to use.... I kind of like the gold shine of Raza, but where to get some cheap gold dust?' Yohan thought for a while, before giving up on it and decided to do a bit of training instead.

'Couldn't hurt I guess, still a bit awkward with the fan so why not go all out and train on these off times I'm usually slaying to be able to use the eight inner gates.' Yohan left a clone to do homework and went into his Kamui dimension. He used [Earth Release: Weighted Boulder jutsu] to multiply his weight by about 1.4 and started doing a few push ups and pull ups with the equipment he made from [Wood Release]. While the experiences of practice from his shadow clones come back to him, he himself still needed to train his body in order for it to be more fit.

This way he spent an hour or so training, by the end he was laying on the floor motionless and sweating profusely. 'Why don't I use [Earth Release: Weighted Boulder jutsu] constantly during the day so I can strengthen myself while improving my stamina and endurance' This was essentially what Might Guy and Rock Lee did but with actual physical weights. So began a sort of training regiment.

~Two months later~

The next couple of months went by and the summer vacation was just around the bend. Yohan had been training diligently; he had increased the gravity of the [Earth Release: Weighted Boulder jutsu] slightly by the end of each week, he felt his muscles develop steadily. The forest elves had settled into their neighborhood and school albeit with a bit of difficulty due to the change of scene, the triplets would hang out with Stella who had introduced them to other circles of friends. Amber turned 13 in May which Yohan and his parents surprised her by visiting. She had once again became Hakono's rep and participated in the regional tournament, getting as far as the 5th round just shy of the quarterfinals. Cain had lost in the 4th round due to a bad match up against a talented fire mage.