Iruka and the others have been given a new mission directly from the King. But how will they handle it?

  We've reached home. Fuyu at the door ordered us to pack up immediately. All the brothers looked very serious. I was worried. This will be our first mission. We barely got our diploma yesterday. I guess this is what it means to be an apprentice of the famous Naruno. Evil never waits.

  "Their auras are quite stressed. What's going on here?" Shika whispered.

  However, she had forgotten that the boys were part vampire and could hear whispers as well.

  "What auras?" Haru asked.

  "You know I have this gift. I can see the aura of all magical beings. Most of the time it is formulated like an animal. Different colors mean different emotions. Each of you has a different aura or patron as they call it in some worlds. Iruka has a dragon. Kenji has a puma. You, Haru, you have a wolverine. Natsu has a phoenix. Aki has a fox, and Fuyu has a wolf, and a pretty big one at that. All your animals were red, which indicates how nervous you are."

  "Wait. So you have aura magic? It's very rare." He said in amazement.

  "Yeah it is. I've read that those who can see auras, of others, can then control the aura and manipulate the mage itself. It's rare and dangerous magic." Aki joined the conversation.

  "Yes, but don't worry. I can't control the aura. I can only see them."

  "And what else can you do, Shiko?" Fuyu asked.

  "I can control earth and healing magic. But that was obvious to you, given my background. But most of all, I know star magic."

  "That's great! A healer will come in handy on this mission." Natsu smiled at her.

  ??????????????

  After a short discussion in the hall, I ran up the stairs and went to pack. What am I supposed to pack? Where are we going? God, I've only been an apprentice for a day and I'm already on a deadly mission. What if I'm not ready for it yet? Panic was rising in me, but I was snapped out of it by the sound of a faint knock. Haru came into my room.

  "Hey, sorry to interrupt. But I noticed your worried expression, so I thought I'd help you pack."

  "That's okay. I just don't know what to bring so I don't have too much."

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  Haru smiled and walked over to my closet. He started rummaging through it, throwing out some of my clothes.

  "Always take at least one thing if you don't know where you're going. Not everywhere has weather like this."

  "I understand. "I just smiled and slowly started to put my clothes in my backpack.

  "Hey Iruka..." Haru spoke.

  He immediately grabbed my hand and pulled me to him. I let out a little yelp. He was so close and smelled so good. Like violets and cut grass mixed with the smell of rain. I took in a little bit of that smell. I was completely engulfed. I got goose bumps on my arms. I looked up. I could see his lips, which were soft to look at, and his snow-white teeth. The tingles in my belly completely spilled out like milk in a cup.

  "Don't worry. We'll protect you. All of us. You, Kenji and Shika. Do you know why?"

  I shook my head slightly.

  "Because we're all family, and family protects each other. Just like you want to protect us, we want to protect you. Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt anyone, especially you."

  His words made me so happy. All that joy filled every cell in my body. This was what I needed to hear right now, that nothing was going to happen to us. He was right, I would protect them and they would protect me. We're family and friends watching each other's backs. Nothing's gonna break us. Whatever evil it is, it can't beat us.

  Haru gave my shoulder a little squeeze. That took me out of my thoughts.

  "Thank you Haru."

  "Y-you're welcome." He whispered timidly.

  ???????????????????

  So we're packed. Now we just go to the basement to get the guns. They've got guns everywhere! I don't know why they have them in the basement. The scariest place I've ever seen. I hate basements. There's hardly any light in here. Just flickering candlelight. That's never good. For all you are, I come as a prisoner being led to the torture chamber. We entered the armory. The boys have chosen their weapons. Shika and I stood and looked at the collection of weapons.

  " And I thought there'd be fewer of them in here."

  "Fewer? Haha. Rule number one is to have enough arsenal at each base. " Natsu stated with a sneer as he twirled his weapon in his hand.

  "Shiko pick what you like. Though I think I know what it will be." Haru winked at her.

  Shika looked over all the weapons carefully. Meanwhile, I took my sword and watched to see what she would choose. She took two daggers and a round sharp thing that in my humble opinion would be very dangerous. ALe Shika studied it carefully, assessing its heft.

  "Well I expected you to take a bow." Haru laughed.

  "I'll leave the bow to you. I'll take something else instead."

  And she reached for the black katana sheath. She took the black and gold handle and pulled out the blade. It was as narrow and cold as death. The blade glistened beautifully. Shika inspected the piece she had pulled out thoroughly and then she sheathed it again. She strapped the katana to her slim waist.

  We went out. We ducked into one of the dark side alleys. It was busy everywhere, and the gate couldn't be summoned easily.

  "We'll go for the last point of attack. The people there don't like very probing questions, so don't ask anything unnecessary. They get angry easily and we don't want that." Fuyu instructed us.

  He twisted his wrist and suddenly had a golden key in his palm. He held it out in front of him and shouted:

  "Andronie!"

  A wooden door with a golden keyhole appeared before us. He put the key in the keyhole and the door opened. With a good deal of curiosity and a touch of apprehension, I stepped into a new land called Andronie.