I invite Will over to my house after school.
Will: "Your house is really big, Akashic."
"Well, you could say that."
We talk for a while before I bring something up.
"Will, I want to talk to you about something."
Seeing my expression, Will asks, worried, "Is everything all right, Akashic?"
"Yes, don't worry, everything's fine. Will, I want to do some research into why you can't use magic. Will you let me help?"
Will: "Ah… o-okay."
"All right, then—take off your shirt."
Will: "What?"
"Take it off, idiot," I say, more or less forcing him to comply.
Will: "What are you doing, Akashic?"
"Shut up and let me focus."
I place my hand over his chest, near his heart, and draw out as much information as I can. This spell is one I built by combining light magic with raw mana, letting me extract information about things directly.
After half an hour, I finally say, "Okay, done."
Will: "What did you do?"
"Nothing."
Then I ask, "Will—if I told you that you can use magic, would you believe me?"
Will freezes. "Are you serious?"
"Of course. But it comes with risk."
Will answers without hesitation. "I'll take any risk if it means I can really use magic."
"All right. I'll put the formula together—but to be fair, I can't guarantee it'll work."
Will: "Thank you, Akashic. I don't know if you're telling the truth, but it means a lot that someone's willing to try and help me."
We talk a little longer before he leaves, and I start working on the formula.
A week later, I call Will over again—alone this time, without anyone else, not even Kiki.
Will arrives at my house.
"Welcome, Will."
"Thank you, Akashic. Do you need something from me?" he asks.
"Yes," I say as we walk into my room. "A week ago I told you something, and the formula's ready now."
Will: "You were serious about that?"
"Are you ready?" I take a small golden seed from my pocket. "Fair warning—this is going to hurt, and there's only a fifty percent chance you'll survive it."
Will's eyes widen in shock, but he holds out his hand anyway. I press the seed into his wrist with force, and it sinks in.
Will: "Ahh—Akashic, what are you doi—"
He starts screaming before he can finish the sentence.
"Endure it, Will," I say, then step out of the room. The walls are soundproofed—no matter how loud he screams, no one else will hear.
Back in the main hall, one of my clones brings me tea. I take a sip and think it over.
What I actually did was far less dramatic than it sounds—the seed only creates a pathway inside Will's body for his mana to circulate. According to the manga, Will's body already has mana; the problem is that there's no channel for it to flow out through. The seed I made takes root inside him, opening a path that lets his mana reach his right hand, where he can then call it into a wand and cast spells. Once he's able to perform magic reliably, the roots will dissolve on their own.
Five hours pass. "Well… it's time," I say, heading back to the room.
Will is lying unconscious on the floor. I lift him and lay him on the bed.
An hour later, he wakes up, exhausted, and immediately sits upright as the memory of what happened rushes back. He sees me watching him.
"Are you all right now?" I ask.
"Yeah," Will says, not quite meeting my eyes.
"Do you hate me now?"
"Of course not. You're my friend," he says immediately.
"So—will I be able to use magic now?" he asks, trying to sound indifferent.
I hand him a wand. "Try it."
"Oh fire, obey me," Will says, a flicker of hope in his voice.
Nothing happens.
Will gives a sad smile. "Guess it didn't work, huh."
"Yeah… guess not," I say.
I can see him trembling slightly, memories surfacing again—his failures, the bullying, everything he's been through.
After a while, he leaves; it's already night.
It didn't work, I think, and almost laugh. That's not quite true, though. The roots are functioning exactly as intended—it just takes time to settle. By tomorrow morning, Will should be able to cast magic through the wand without any trouble.
"I can't wait for tomorrow," I say, and head off to eat.