Akira Shimizu Mahoutokoro

Akira strives for excellence. From a young age, he was taught that every pursuit and action in life must be made with proper care. It was not only how you executed, but also how you conducted yourself in front of your peers and superiors, and how much you sought to hone your craft. It was upon his work that Akira built his pride, and he had always taken his education seriously. His perfectionist qualities are also reflected in his spellcasting, as he would carefully practice the wand movements and recite the incantations separately when learning a spell before casting, and rigorously commit both to memory with repeated practice every night until it became second nature to him when a spell was needed.

The way Akira saw it, his job as a child was to be a student, and he was to build his craft in his studies. From a young age, in addition to a child's regular schooling lessons, he would have tutors in calligraphy and music. Both practices were heavily centered around technique and patience; calligraphy was an art that taught the balancing of the mind, the art of expression, and familiarity with popular literary works. To hone his craft, Akira would read literature of the ancients beyond what was expected of his age. He meditated often and practiced his brush strokes and ink-grinding to achieve perfect consistency. To enhance his flute practice, he would study theory and listen to the recordings of masters to study their variations.

His studies in calligraphy and music were just the tip of the iceberg. Once he enrolled in Mahoutokoro day school at the age of seven, he already made it his personal goal to one day don the golden robes and to be one of the two class representatives. He was able to become one of the few top performers within his year at a school with rigorous academics and studious peers. Throughout the years, Akira became an adept learner, developing ways to study efficiently and review his lessons with care. Before each class, he would preview the relevant textbook chapters and the professors' relevant notes. During class, he would listen intently and ask questions as need be. After class, he reviewed the material within the same day and often began his homework as soon as possible. At the end of his week, he would review his notes for the week once more.

Patience and discipline were key. Whenever he had setbacks or mistakes on a test, he would often grind his teeth in frustration and sometimes beat himself up a little harder than necessary, but his resolve would strengthen as he tells himself that there's no point crying over spilt ink. Mistakes were learning opportunities, after all. Discipline kept his resolve sharp and a routine became natural once he followed it. After all, those who strongly desired to rise up would find a way to build a ladder.

"Mind over matter. Now, Akira-kun, what does that mean?" his tutor asked a ten year old Akira, shivering in only a hakama in late fall, dripping wet from a bucket of water that had been poured over his head. A chilly breeze blew through the courtyard of the Shimizu estate, and the slim boy couldn't help but shiver.

"F-focus and intent matter most, Ikeda-sensei," the boy stuttered, clinging to his wand with pale hands. "N-no matter what your physical circumstances are," he continued, looking at the targets placed in the distance. His sensei nodded. "Yes, use your mental fortitude to maintain concentration and strength of will despite any bodily discomfort or distractions. However, that is only half the equation. You're forgetting something else, Akira-kun," the older man prompted his pupil to think harder, despite the child's chattering teeth.

The small boy thought for a second. "D-don't let emotional distractions get in your way while casting magic, either?" he asked, finding it quite hard to use his mind over the bone-chilling matter at this very moment. "Precisely," Ikeda-sensei responded. "Clear your mind. Your opponents may taunt you, and test your will to strive for perfection, but push away those voices and concentrate on what you need to achieve at that moment. Think about what you need to do: What is the incantation you need to utter? What is the wand movement you need to perform? What is it that you need the spell to do for you? Now, give it a try."

Akira raised his wand and uttered the incantation, drawing the wand movement in the air ahead of him. Sparks ignited but a small explosion rocked him, causing him to stumble backwards. "Not so hasty!" his sensei cautioned him. "Take your time. Remember what we've practiced, and concentrate on that." The boy was upset by his failure, but was determined to try again until he succeeded. He took a deep breath, and concentrated his will, taking his time to go over the correct incantation and careful wand movement before casting again. This time, the right color of sparks shot forth from his wand, hitting its intended target. He smiled at his success, looking towards his sensei.

"Good job," Ikeda-sensei responded calmly. "Now, how about a fresh bucket of water and we try again?" A bucket levitated above Akira's head before splashing some more water upon the already-drenched boy, but did little to discourage him from repeated practice until he was able to achieve perfection in his spells under the harshest circumstances. And so, his spellcasting practice continued. To this day, Akira would practice his spells many times over until the movements and incantations became second nature -- actions that could deem him a perfectionist in the eyes of many.

Ever since he enrolled in day school at Mahoutokoro, Akira Shimizu had always wanted to become a duelist. It wasn't simply a future written for him by his pure-blooded parents -- as a child, he had been fascinated by the various spells he could one day master, and the deftness by which he was able to wield his magic compared to similarly aged peers.

Dueling fit his strengths perfectly. It leaned heavily on the caster's individual abilities: concentration, memorization, rehearsal, reflexes, instinct, and strategy. As a child who preferred to lean on his own ability and hard work, he quickly found that he was not accustomed to the level of teamwork required by quidditch, nor was he a fan of heights and flying, which both quidditch and broom racing required. While teamwork was still required of duelists when competing in pairs, he found it easier to adapt to a single other individual than the numerous uncontrollable factors brought on by more team players on the race course or pitch.

He dove in headfirst into his chosen sport. As soon as he was able to wield a wand, spell practice commenced in full force in his dual worlds: at home with tutors and in school with professors and classmates. He always attended the matches of his seniors to admire their abilities and strategies; those were the sportsmen that he one day longed to be and to exceed. They were the upperclassmen from whom he hoped to gain trust and respect. Once he discovered, at a young age, that spells could not only affect a single target but could spread to multiple targets, he knew it was a skill that he had to master himself to become a competitive duelist.

Once he joined the dueling team at Mahoutokoro, he had been many times a victim to spell spread when paired against upperclassmen. Each loss or hit only made him more adamant about learning the ability himself. It took months upon months of training; first learning a wide array of his first repertoire of spells, then perfecting his casting ability to become a perfectionist in his casts, and finally he sought to make those spells spread. Over the summer before becoming a third-year, he was finally able to make it happen after ruthless practice with his tutor and team extracurriculars. However, he knew that he had to continue working just as hard to become even stronger.

At first, one would notice the cold eyes upon his pallid skin, so transparent that you'd wonder whether this boy went outdoors in the sunlight at all. He gave off a frosty demeanor, hardly a sincere smile of cheer or happiness gracing his lips. As a young boy, his peers found his lack of enthusiasm for anything other than his studies and dueling strange. His grades never slipped, his countenance was detached, and he was apathetic towards his fellow classmates. However, it was not Akira's indifference or cold demeanor that gave him a terrible aura. As he grew older, it became more clear that it was the fire of his rage that overpowered his icy exterior.

The way he looked at you with disdain as you bumped him in the hallways was intimidating, but the consequences of angering him were more real. He was not afraid of using his magic to settle scores, and there was no doubt that his grades and school ranking was backed by a real talent and control of the arcane. He was talented as a duelist for his age, and even the average upperclassman knew that he could face them without fear. Pain did not intimidate Akira, who had suffered many burns and worse spells in his life. Perhaps, people were intimidated by the way he felt so nonchalant about inflicting pain upon others, because he was so blasé about experiencing pain himself.

And when he hurt others, he would do so without any remorse at the moment. Barbed words could tear at their consciences as he found weaknesses. It was the conglomeration of his rage, hurt, and emotions that spilled forth into a storm upon others. Even as his Hexwizard Tournament team won their first match, he did not hesitate to tear into their Champion for not doing better, not caring if any of his other teammates got in the way of the words he had to make his Champion hear, or even if those teammates took on collateral damage. One never quite knew if he was going to explode at the slightest inconvenience or mistake.

He would be perfect, and the world had to be perfect for him. The older he became, and the more power he obtained, the more entitled he felt. He was less concerned about his outward appearance or how others viewed him -- and even if he tried to conceal his true thoughts and feelings, somehow they would always seep back out.