1 Chapter One

People stared at Yuki as she walked up to the old mansion on 8th street, "Why are they staring big sis?" Yuki's little sister Miku asked as she unlocked the rusted gates protecting the mansion. She shook her head "they are just curious about us, that's just how people are." Yuki said as she turned to close the gates. Her eyes caught the attention of a boy, his tall and lean structure was slightly hidden by his school uniform. He had short black hair with deep brown eyes. He smiled at Yuki. She felt her face heat up and turned away quickly, her hand in Miku's, "Let's go after we eat and unpack, then we can explore more of grandma's home alright?" Miku nodded happily as she skipped up the stairs into the house.

Ashton watched the two new girls disappear into the house just as his best friend Jax walked up to him with a small piece of paper tied with a black ribbon. "Hey," Ashton turned towards Jax "dude what are you staring at?" Jax asked him Ashton smiled at him "I think this year will be very interesting," Ashton's smile faltered when he saw what Jax had in his hand. "Why do you have the Ranking List?!" He whispered furiously. Jax just smiled and motioned him towards the forest. "Come on, I'll tell you when we get to Blood Lake," He said running into the forest with Ashton right behind him. When they got there the lake was bustling with students from White Claw Academy. Jax smiled "Lots of girls here am I right?" "Just tell me why you have that damned list," Ashton said glaring at his friend.

They headed towards an area with black, white and silver decorations and curtains. The curtains were in a grass-filled area of the lakeside, they were basic tents that you'd see at a market except these had magic spread over them so nothing could enter except them students or teachers. When they entered the makeshift room there were many students that Ashton recognized, even though most of them were upperclassmen. Their names were framed up on the walls of a large tree branch Ashton had made with a little magic, everyone in the room had been placed on it. The frames were made out of glass and iron, it looked like a large family tree but instead of family members on it, there were the pictures of each member and what level they were. Ashton, Jax, and Kat were the closest to the top, as their levels were the closest to one.

Jax held up the scroll with a grin "I got it!" He shouted and smiles broke out among the group. Kat who was a Senior stood up "Well what are you just standing there for? Show us J!" She said and held out her hand. Jax handed it to her and she gladly smacked him on the head with it. she fed it to the projector they had brought in. "Everyone ready?" She asked. Everyone nodded. Ashton took his place next to her and sat down in the grassy area next to the entrance, he was the strongest Mage in the school so he was allowed to sit wherever he pleased, soon the contents of the scroll popped up on the screen.

His jaw dropped as he looked at it. "What!? How's that even possible?" a girl said, two others agreed with her. Jax tapped Ashton's shoulder "You ok?" Ashton shook his head "H-How is she part of two tribes? That's said to be taboo" He answered. The pretty girl he'd seen looked nothing like anyone from the Sun tribe or the Moon tribe, but Ashton couldn't shake the feeling there was something bigger at work here. Jax shook his shoulder "Hey um… Ash, I think you'd better see this" Jax was pointing to the girl's bio that one of the members had pulled up, the Senior Mage read it out "Yuki Kain-Mori-, she's Ashton's age." Kat stopped for a second as she scrolled down to Yuki's level, strength and background that the academy asked every new student to fill out before they came,

"Says here that her father was the leader of the Sun tribe right before her mother was killed in a clash between the Moon and Fire tribes… damn after that all she says is that she left her father's home and is now living in her grandmother's mansion at the edge of this forest" She shook her head sadly "I feel for the girl, she lost her mother and now lives alone in a big empty house with her little sister…I'd go insane" "We already know that you are Kat," Jax said and then Kat slapped him with her hand "You'll pay for that Jax!" Kat ran after him as he bolted out of the camp. Ashton laughed a little as he watched his two best friends, "When will they learn they are destined to be like that forever?" Sam asked Ashton but he shook his head "They have feelings but have no idea how to act like it...Kinda makes me wonder why Jax hasn't made them a couple" But before Sam could answer screams came from outside.

Ashton and Sam came running out to see what was going on. "Oh no! That's Yuki's sister" Ashton pointed to the little girl, Miku was staring at two men whose clothing colors made them stand out from all the students "Nightmare members…" Sam said looking at the crest on one of the men's arms "Stay away from me!" Miku cried as she tried to get away but the men cast a ring of shadows around the three of them, Miku saw it and tried her own magic but she was too young. "Now all of you weaklings!" One of the men growled, "Stay the hell away from us or you'll end up dead!" Everyone took steps back. None of the students were strong enough to seriously injure either man, Ashton teleported into the circle and stepped in front of Miku "Leave her alone!" He thrust the palm of his hand forwards sending both men backward a little.

"We have a cocky one here M" The man hissed as he glared at Ashton before Ashton could recognize the spell the second man had cast it slammed into two nearby trees turning them into shadow monsters "Get the girl and kill that boy!" The monsters nodded and unrooted themselves, thrashing their branches around Ashton and Miku. Ashton threw up a shield just as the first monster threw down one of its thickest branches, his shield held but Ashton knew that if he didn't do something soon his shield would give out and then they both would be dead in a heartbeat. "Miku!?" Yuki's ice-cold voice cut through the sounds of the monsters as they tried to break the shield, Miku saw her sister behind the men. But the men had also seen her "Well, well look what we have here Kai! A little outcast of a Tribe" The man who Kai had addressed as M said with a smile as he drew a knife from his boot "Don't know who you're messing with do ya kid?" But Yuki just smiled at the men her hands clenched in fists at her sides. "I know how your Tribe works and that's why I followed you" Yuki extended her hand out to them as if to shake their hands.

Kai laughed "Don't play us for fools! You just want one of us to grab your hand so you can dispatch him and then kill the other" Again Yuki said nothing, she stood there like she was waiting for something and then Miku stepped in front of Ashton "What are you doing?" He asked her but she just smiled and said "Don't worry! My sister has kept me safe from worse" Miku looked at Yuki with a grin "Do it, sis so this nice man can meet you!" Yuki's face turned a little pink, but she just said two words to Miku "Love you" Suddenly Yuki flashed forwards and slammed Kai into one of his own monsters, the creature reeled in surprise and tossed Kai into the ring of shadows that surrounded Ashton and Miku. Yuki spread her hands across her chest as armor spread around her clothing bathed in black and gold, "Get your filthy hands off my sister!?" Yuki screamed as she summoned up a fireball in her hand, M ran at her and summoned up his own fireball aiming it at Yuki's head but Yuki ducked under it and just as M was on top of her Yuki kicked her legs out at him "Ah!?" M toppled over her mid spell.

Before he could get back on his feet she slammed the heel of her boot smack into his jaw snapping his head back down to the ground. His body thudded against the ground but Yuki wasn't paying attention to M anymore, "Yuki!" Miku shouted she and Ashton were pinned to the water's edge as Kai had calmed down the monster and it was now back under his control. Yuki looked at Ashton "Hey! Distract that thing!" She yelled at him and he nodded and cast out a lightning bolt across the creature's face. It reeled in pain and tried to grab Ashton and Miku but they were already moving further from it. Yuki smiled as she watched the boy take her sister to safety. "Thanks" She mouthed at him and he smiled as he joined the others at the other side of the lake.

Two of the Senior-class girls took Miku with them to calm her down, but Miku didn't leave Ashton's side "No! My sister will take of this!" She said fiercely. Ashton felt a twinge of sadness Miku reminded him of his mother who'd always said that she would take of it, Ashton waved the two girls away and sat next to Miku who was now sitting watching the monster grasping at her sister as Yuki kept it off balance with several timed attacks of her own lighting spells. Kai, on the other hand, had no way of reaching her because she was too fast for him to form a spell and aim it at her. Yuki saw her chance to bring down the creature when she dodged one of its branches but she knew she would need bait for it to come to the water, she whistled into the wind and brought her hands to her lips. As she did so Kai saw his own opening and followed through with a shadow spell, blackness encircled him and he vanished.

Miku saw Kai disappear and stood up and shouted at her sister "YUKI!" but Yuki couldn't hear her sister now, the spell was lighting up the glyphs Yuki had carved into her skin long ago. Yuki opened her eyes as a red glow encircled the monster "By the power vested within my soul I banish you!" Her words echoed into the creature's ears slamming its branches against each other. The spell spread veins of blue light across its bark and leaves, "Die." Yuki said her voice was expressionless as she reached out and touched the creature its movements stilled and then burst into white flames the smell of burning pines filled the air as the creature laid down in front of her, from where he was Ashton could have sworn it looked like Yuki and the monster were talking telepathically. That's when Kai made his move.