There was a long pause. Shoji didn't move. His hands were clenched shut, and his eyes were full of sadness unlike before.

"They already got what they came for," Shoji said quietly.

"What were they looking for?" I asked softly.

"The Jewel," Dad said, coming back inside. Nozomi followed, looking sadly at Shoji.

"What jewel?" I asked.

"Our most sacred possession in this village," Dad said. "I made the Yangi's keep it hidden. They have illusion magic, and were able to make a face copy. Fortunately, the people who attacked you were unable to find it."

"Because I have it," Shoji said, revealing a small stone in his hands. It was a dark blue color with a yellow half moon on it.

"When did you get that?" Dad asked.

"My Father gave it to me before he died," Shoji said. "The murder's weren't looking at the time, so I slipped away and came here."

"They had already fled the village when I got to your house," Dad said. "You should stay here for tonight and leave with Nozomi and Nanami in the morning. It'll be a long trip to the Capitol City." I nodded and Nozomi showed Shoji where the bathroom and the guest room was. She joined me in our room and the two of us got ready for bed. She climbed up to the top bunk and I stared at the mattress above me.

"Do you think all of us will me accepted?" I asked her.

"If we all do our best, then we will," she said. "But I wonder how Shoji will fair. It will take three days and two nights to get there. Hopefully he'll be able to bounce back."

"It's Shoji we're talking about," I said, smiling to myself. "He'll be just fine." I shut my light off and turned over to fall asleep.

"Are you all packed?" Dad asked for the 50th time. Nozomi and I were zipping up our bags, slinging them over our shoulders.

"Yes, Dad!" I shouted. "Stop bugging me!"

"But I can't help it!" he cried. "I'm going to be lonely without my two baby girls!"

"Are you two ready?" Mom called from the kitchen. Nozomi and I ran passed Dad and saw Mom packing a ton of food for us.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, looking at the food.

"It's all your favorites," she said, handing the two of us a bundle. Just then Shoji came inside with three bags.

"Whoa," I said. "You don't need that much stuff."

"I'm not taking it all, idiot," he said, dropping the two heaviest ones. "Your dad said I could stay here when I come back."

"Oh," I said. "Well, okay."

"Are you two slow pokes ready?" Nozomi asked, standing at the doorway. I grinned.

"Let's go become Magic Knights!" I exclaimed.

"W-wait!" Shoji exclaimed, shoving the third food pouch into his bag. He caught up to me and Nozomi who were jogging along the dirt path leading to the Capitol City.

"I hope you're ready for some training along the way, Shoji!" Nozomi called.

"Of course I am!" he shouted. "Do you think I've been slacking off the past 5 months!?"

"Maybe," I called.

"Why you!" Shoji made a flock of birds fly towards me, and I shouted in protest.

"You wanna fight!?" I shouted, glaring at him.

"Guys!" Nozomi interrupted. "No fighting until tomorrow, please!" Shoji and I glared at each other. I turned away, pouting. Starting to jog again, Nozomi and Shoji started to follow.

The day went by quickly, and we were finally on our way to the Capitol City. I made a small fire, and Shoji went to hunt some wildlife. Nozomi was going through our food to make sure it lasted the trip.

"Here we are!" Shoji exclaimed, dropping 9 fish near the fire. "There's a river not to far from here so I caught these fish."

"Good job," Nozomi said, handing us each a piece of bread with a slice of cheese. "We have a lot of food combined, so I don't think we'll starve."

"Good," Shoji said. "Well, let's cook these fish and eat!" Piercing the fish with sticks, we ate all the fish, and lay down to look at the stars.

"Let's all get some sleep," Nozomi said, looking at the fading fire. "It's going to be training and walking all tomorrow." Shoji was first to fall asleep, and then me and Nozomi.

The next day was basically the same. We ate breakfast and then started running for 3 hours. Taking a lunch break, we fueled up again. We then started practicing our magic for a little before moving on. We jogged until the sun set, setting up a new camp with wild boar meat. All of us slept at least 12 hours, ready for the last leg of our journey to the Capitol City.

"I can see it! I can see it!" I called to the others, pointing at a city upon a mountain. There was a castle sitting right in the middle.

"What are you so excited about?" Shoji asked. "We're here to take a test."

"Well we've had a ton of training," I said. "If we keep going, nothing will stop us!" We raced to the capitol city, ready for whatever was ahead of us... or so we thought.

"Incoming!!!!" someone above me shouted. I looked up just in time to dodge a falling boy.

"OWW!!" he shouted, rubbing his head. "No fair, Yuno!!" The boy looked up at another boy on a broomstick. The boy on the ground wore dark pants, a white shirt and a black shawl. His ash blond hair was decorated with a headband and his green eyes were glaring above us. There was a sign on his shawl and headband that matched.

"The Black Bull Magic Knights," Nozomi whispered. The boy looked at the three of us.

"Are you guys hurt?" he asked.

"We're fine," I said. "What about you? That was a long fall."

"Asta," another boy said floating on a broom. He jumped off and stood in front of the first boy. Taller, black hair and amber eyes. He wore a dark shirt and light brown pants to go with it. A tan shawl hung over his shoulders. A sign was on his shawl that even I recognized.

"The Golden Dawn," I muttered. "A Golden Dawn Magic Knight standing right in front of me?" The two boys didn't even notice us anymore.

"You didn't have to throw me off your broom!" Asta shouted.

"Well you were too heavy," Yuno replied.

"You've carried six people before!" Asta exclaimed. "I'm only one person!"

"Shut up, Asta," Yuno said. "You're giving me a headache."

"We'll just be on our way," Nozomi muttered as the two of us tried to walk around the two bickering boys.

"Wait!" Asta shouted, pointing at our grimoires. "Are you trying out for the Magic Knights?"

"Yeah," I said cautiously.

"Nice!" Asta exclaimed. "You'll do fine."

"Unlike you," Yuno said. The two started bickering again, and I glanced at Nozomi who motion us to run. We did. The two didn't even notice. We didn't even know where we were going. We just ran.

"Where are we?" Shoji asked, looking around.

"I think we made it," I said, pointing to a huge colosseum. There was a sign that said 'Magic Knight Exam' on it. I grinned at the others. "Let's go become Magic Knights!"

Nozomi Amachi(16) - Light Magic, Healing Magic

Nanami Amachi(15) - Lightning Magic, Healing Magic, Ice Magic

Shoji Yangi(15) - Wind Magic, Creation Magic

Asta(16) - ??? - Black Bull

Yuno(16) - ??? - Golden Dawn