It had been almost a week since those three kids had returned, and things were gradually returning to the way they had been before. Alibaba had picked up quite a few tricks in Reim, and Sharrkan imagined Aladdin had done the same. So, he and Yamuraiha had gotten together to compare notes.

Sharrkan wasn't actually interested in hearing about what new spells Aladdin had picked up, but he figured that if he let Yamuraiha drone on long enough, there'd be an amusing story or two in there somewhere.

"So then Aladdin turned his Ugo spell into the shape of me, but without any clothes! He tried to say that it was because he didn't know how to make the shape of clothes, but I knew the little pervert was lying, because he had that horrible grin on his face the whole time!"

Jackpot.

"What I want to know," Sharrkan joked between laughs, "is how 'anatomically correct' his spell was!"

"Shut up!" Yamuraiha snapped. "It's not funny; it's disgusting! He's probably only just now hitting puberty! At this rate, he'll end up being worse than you and our king put together! I can only imagine what kind of ideas you're putting into your student's head! Don't think I don't know about you taking him to those Pleasure Houses with you all the time!"

"Hey, now! It was his idea!"

"Hmph. So you're saying he's just like you, then?"

"Oh, heck no! He doesn't have nearly my luck with the ladies. Somehow, he always ends up getting the ugliest woman in the place, no matter what kind of girl he asks for. I don't even know how. But it's hilarious to watch!"

"You're such a pig, you know tha-" Yamuraiha began, only to stop in mid-sentence.

"Hm? What's the matter? Did your magoi run out? I bet you can't even speak without it, right?"

Yamuraiha's eyes went from blank to lit up, and her hands went to her mouth as she desperately tried to hold in laughter.

Sharrkan scratched his head. "Okay, well, you're definitely not laughing at my joke, so what is it?"

After a few seconds, she calmed herself enough to speak.

"I saw Morgiana there a couple of times, talking to someone at the door and handing them money. She never went in, so I couldn't figure out what the deal was. But now I... understand. She... must have been paying them to..."

The laughter forced its way out, preventing her from finishing her sentence.

It took a second for the wheels to click into place, but once they did, Sharrkan was grinning from ear to ear.

"You're kidding me! You mean, she's the reason Alibaba can't get a pretty girl in that place?!"

They had a good long laugh about it. He couldn't remember the last time they had one of those. It felt good.

And then a thought struck him.

"Wait, what were you doing at a Pleasure House in the first place?"

She froze.

Oh, this was good. He had her right where he wanted her, now.

"I was... just passing by to pick up some magical reagents for my research."

"In the middle of the night?"

A blush crept up her cheeks. "I, uh, didn't say that I saw Morgiana there at night."

"I know every block of this island. There is nothing magic-related anywhere near that place."

"Well...I got lost."

It was time to cut the legs out from under this nonsense.

"You know the area just as well as I do. Admit it, you were following me, just like she was following him!"

"Excuse me!? I was just, uh..." she scrambled for words. "...Making sure that you weren't taking my pupil with you. Knowing how perverted the three of you are, I was... afraid that you would drag him along with you, and... he needs to be focusing on his studies! So don't flatter yourself!"

Somehow, she had once again found a way to parry his thrust at the last second, it seemed.

The silence between them after that was almost palpable. After a while, he supposed it was up to him to try to salvage the evening.

"You know," he began, "Those two... Alibaba and Morgiana, I mean..."

"Yes?"

"They're probably going to end up together, you know."

She cautiously nodded. "Oh, absolutely. They complement each other nicely."

"Yeah," he agreed, leaning back in his chair. "They make a good couple."

"Maybe he should stop doubting himself and just make a move," Yamuraiha mused.

"Maybe she should stop making herself so unapproachable," Sharrkan replied. He suspected he knew where this was going, but he wasn't going to sit there and let himself be insulted.

"Well, maybe he should stop being such a stubborn idiot."

"Well, maybe she should stop being such a stick in the mud."

"Well, maybe he should stop chasing random women!"

"Well, maybe she should stop dressing so that a stiff breeze could make her flash the whole world!"

Yep, he had done it now. He just had to open his big mouth. They were both out of their chairs. Gazes were locked. Battle lines had been drawn. Artillery strikes would be next.

He hadn't wanted this, but it was too late to stop it. All he could do was make sure he wasn't the one to fire the first salvo.

So he waited with bated breath. And waited. But strangely, the verbal (and possibly physical) assault never came. Still, he had somehow ruined the moment they had been having. He let his gaze fall and sighed with dismay as he returned to his chair. She followed suit.

Was there any hope for the two of them at all?

"They're not ready, are they?" he mused sadly, looking out of the window beside them toward the setting sun.

"No, they're not," she answered with equal dejection.

There was another long pause. But this time, it was she who broke the silence.

"...But," she said, "Someday, they will be."

He looked up to find that her eyes were full of hope, and smiled.

"Someday, they will be," he repeated with a nod.

He hoped that day would come soon.