Chapter 1: The Magnificent Academy Debut of the Rising New Star, Yuffie! (At Least, It Should Have Been)
DEAR Mom and Dad,
Time flies, and nine years have passed since the day I started admiring the Saint. A lot has happened since then, but I’ve been accepted into the Academy of Magic without any issues. Now, fully grown in mind and body, I find myself in a forest not far from the royal capital of the Kingdom of Elvador.
“…Hrrrngh.”
She felt like crying.
“Uuurk… According to the map, it should be this way…”
She wiped the tears from her eyes and unfolded the map once more.
Even after nine years, her build was still as small as ever, and her skin as pale as a sickly baby. Her grey hair, now reaching down to her waist, fluttered every time her eyes wandered across the map. On her back, she carried a large backpack, totally at odds with her petite frame.
Yuffie Abisus, fifteen years old. Currently completely lost. She had reviewed the map countless times in preparation for this day, and even though the entrance ceremony had yet to take place, she had visited the Academy of Magic often to confirm the directions. The entrance ceremony was tomorrow, just around the corner, and even though she left home early in the morning with plenty of time to spare, Yuffie lost track of where she was in the forest on the way.
“Why does this always happen to me…” She hung her head, the words slipping feebly from her mouth, truly disgusted by her own incompetence. “At this rate, if I don’t make it to the Academy…”
GULP… Dark thoughts surfaced in her mind and began stabbing Yuffie with frightening words.
“Someone who can’t even remember a single route has no right to be a Saint!”
“Do you have any idea how disrespectful it is to be absent from the entrance ceremony of a glorious school of magic?!”
“Death penalty! Give her the death penalty!”
Expelled before her first day! Executed for lèse-majesté! Her mother and father torn and in tears in front of their daughter’s gravestone!
“Nooooooooooooooooo! Not that…! Anything but thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!”
ROLL, ROLL, ROLL, ROLL!
Then, a warm voice echoed through Yuffie’s head as she writhed on the ground.
“Yuffie, you all right?”
She stopped dead.
“Ah— Friend…”
“Calm down, it’s okay. Now, take a deep breath. That’s right, in and out.”
Her only companion and conversation partner, Friend, encouraged her.
“In… Out…” As she pumped more oxygen into herself, Yuffie gradually regained her composure.
“Good, good! You’re doing great, kiddo! Pat yourself on the back!”
“Heh heh heh…? Am I really?”
The praise made her smile a little. Thanks to his encouragement, Yuffie was able to regain her composure in an instant. Friend was a very precious being who accepted everything about her. He didn’t have a specific form because he was in her head.
Wait a second. Most people wouldn’t normally call that a friend? Well, Yuffie wasn’t going to hear any of that!
Anyway. Friend was her cherished friend, her emotional anchor—absolutely no doubt on this front.
“But…” She was at the age where she wanted real friends. “When I get to school, I’ll make some actual human friends, and then…” Grinning, she started fantasizing. “I’ll become a great Saint and be popular with everyone… Mwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… Heh heh heh heh heh heh…”
“You can do it, Yuffie! I believe in you!”
With Friend’s support, a glittering scene expanded in her head.
She stood on the balcony of the royal castle, the largest and most beautiful structure in the country. Smiling softly and waving gracefully, the epitome of a Saint. While wearing those beautiful garments, of course, just like an angel’s feathered robe.
“Lady Saint, Lady Saint!”
As she imagined being watched and adored by tens of thousands of people, Yuffie lost herself in the euphoria.
RUSTLE, RUSTLE!
“Eeek!”
FLINCH!
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking! I’m just a useless bagworm, so please forgive me…!” The sudden rustle of grass startled Yuffie, and she reflexively pressed her head into the ground. The pose signaled complete surrender, and she acquired it over her fifteen years of life.
“Meow.”
The sound brought an involuntary smile to her face as it rang through her ears. She raised her head and saw a black, fluffy thing.
“A…cat?”
Was it a stray, or was it lost? Either way, Yuffie’s heart wasn’t strong enough to remain indifferent to a cat inviting anyone it saw to a heaven of healing, no questions asked.
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…” Beaming, she stretched out her hand awkwardly.
SNUB!
“Nooo…”
The cat’s rejection inflicted so much damage that it might as well have been a sharp knife thrust deep into her chest.
“I get it, humans don’t even like me, so it’s a bit selfish to think that cats would. I knew that, but I thought it was okay to have some hope since the world is so unfair…” Yuffie sat cross-legged, a gloomy look on her face, muttering under her breath, the words a disjointed rush.
As if unable to bear seeing her like that, the cat sat down in front of her, its attitude both exasperated and sympathetic.
“You’re…letting me pet you?”
“Meow.” The cat sounded impatient, as if telling her to hurry up and pet it already.
When she timidly stroked its small head, she felt soothed by its warm fluffiness. Her heart skipped a beat as the feline purred and rubbed its face against her palm.
“So, so cute…”
Yuffie couldn’t contain her enthusiasm as she stroked the cat. Its attitude now was a stark difference from its aloofness earlier. Cats were fickle creatures, after all.
“I wish I could act like this too… Just do whatever I want…” she murmured to herself.
“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwrrr!!!”
“Wh-What the…?!”
Yuffie instinctively covered her ears at the brain-rattling roar. Loud stomps echoed in the forest, and then something huge covered in jet-black fur appeared from the other side.
“A Black Wolf…?”
Its danger level was categorized as D. The monster was so strong that a group of roughly five mid-rank adventurers was needed to defeat it.
“Hsss!”
The cat she’d been cuddling until a moment ago now stood with its hackles raised and began threatening the Black Wolf. Maybe the feline had run away from the other creature. Even if that wasn’t the case, at this very moment, it was definitely a target now.
“Grrr…”
Anyone could sense the wolf’s intense will to tear apart everything it saw from the murderous intent emanating from its fierce eyes. Its sharp fangs gleamed, and hot, poisonous breath wafted from its mouth.
“Grrrrrrrrraaaaaarrr!!!”
Roaring, the Black Wolf ran toward Yuffie and the cat. A simple principle governed monsters’ behavior: they devoured creatures weaker than themselves, incorporating them into their own flesh and blood. So, a small cat and a skinny human like Yuffie were perfect targets.
If a normal person found themself in this situation, they would immediately clasp their hands together and pray to the heavens. “Oh, God, have I done something wrong?” With that question in their heart, they would be torn apart by razor fangs and become a Black Wolf’s dinner—any normal person.
“Thunder Hammer Explosion.”
Light burst from Yuffie’s outstretched hand, striking the Black Wolf at a speed faster than the eye could see—a blinding white flash, followed by a crackling sensation, and then an explosion. With only a questioning “Grr?” sound, the Black Wolf vanished off the face of this world. It all happened in an instant.
“…Gosh, what a nasty shock that was.” Yuffie sounded dazed after finishing off the monster. Her energy was the same as when you reflexively swat a small fly away.
“Oh, no! I didn’t mean to…!”
It stunned her to see so many trees cut down and the charred ground as a result of her attack. The scene reminded her of the time when she was five and accidentally broke a vase in the house, which led to her mother scolding her.
“B-But this was an emergency! I didn’t have a choice…!” She tried to rush away quickly, explaining herself to God only knows who. Before she could, though…
“Your magic is as incredible as ever, Yuffie.”
A voice, definitely not from inside her head, vibrated in her ears. She traced the source to the cat sitting at her feet.
“Friend…is that you?” she ventured.
“Yup, it’s me.”
Was this an illusion? The cat, who’d only been making cute meowing noises until now, was speaking in Friend’s voice.
“Don’t look so surprised. I’m me.”
“D-Did you read my mind? But wait…”
Actually, it didn’t seem so strange to her because, after all, Friend himself was a figment of her imagination. In other words, she was the star of her own sad one-woman show. From the outside, she probably looked like a crazy person who talked to herself a lot.
Oh, no. I sort of want to die now…
Not actually, though. If she did die, it would cause a whole host of problems, so she cut off that train of thought, along with the one that made her wonder why the cat started speaking in Friend’s voice. She’d never excelled at pondering over difficult things anyway.
I’m sure it’s just my overly active imagination that connected Friend and the cat. That was how she convinced herself.
“I still have to figure out how I’m getting to school.”
She shrugged her backpack on again. If she didn’t find her way out of this forest quickly, it would be night by the time Yuffie reached the Academy. Just as she was about to hurry on, Friend (the cat) jumped onto her shoulder. He then proceeded to rub his face against her cheek. Apparently, he thought of her as his savior and had no intention of leaving her.
“I guess I can’t…leave you here, huh?”
Yuffie wasn’t kind so much as she tended to go with the flow. And that was why she decided to take Friend with her. She stroked him lightly, and he purred with pleasure. Smiling at how adorable he was, she ran off with Friend (the cat) on her shoulder.
💠🌸💠