CHAPTER 7: ALL ODD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END
To say Ren was sick with apprehension was an understatement. If anything, a more accurate description would be that his unease had rendered him completely unable to focus on anything save breathing and putting one foot in front of the other. Even that last one was becoming increasingly difficult as the day wore on.
Today was their last day.
He had half a mind to ask for an extension to their deadline when their schedules conflicted so much the day before that they only managed to see each other for little more than an hour. The majority of that time was spent slumped against each other on the sofa in his office, griping about their respective days. Though it was only an hour, the comfort of being in her presence was enough to banish the tedium and gloom from the rest of his day to whatever dark corner from which it originated.
Kyoko seemed to enjoy their time as well, her smile brightened considerably by the time they parted ways. Still he couldn't help but notice the way she continued to stay guarded around him. He wondered if she was too preoccupied with listening for the sound of the other shoe dropping to hear how loudly his entire being cried out for her.
Nevertheless, at the end of this day, they would ultimately decide their fate. He was understandably nervous.
They met outside an auditorium on the LME campus later that afternoon as Kyoko's classes kept her away from him for most of the day. Normally, his visits to his alma mater were sparing at best, but he had something special in mind for them to do.
A disorganized line of people were milling about near the entrance, separated here and there into groups and gaggles. A table was set up near the door where two students flanked a large glazed pottery bowl emitting tiny wisps of smoke. As each person passed the table, they dropped something into the bowl that, upon landing, sent bright green sparks shooting upwards into the air. Then, with a nod from the students, they would proceed inside the large double doors.
"What is this?" Kyoko must have felt like she had to whisper.
"It's an alumni lecture," he kept his voice equally low.
"Yea, but what's with the security check at the door? They didn't tell the rest of the students about this."
"Once a year, LME hosts a special guest speaker who is usually a very prominent figure in the magic community," he explained. "The lecture is offered only to a select few alumni and is by invitation only."
"And you're letting me tag along?"
He waved her concern away with one hand, "The invitation states that we can bring a guest so long as they are in good standing with their school or coven."
When they approached the table, Ren pulled what looked like two purple magnolia petals from the inner pocket of his jacket and dropped them into the bowl. They twirled from side to side before landing in the heap of incense that smouldered inside. Immediately, a shower of green appeared and he smiled at both of the attendants who stood at the table before nodding his head towards where Kyoko stood beside him.
"She's my plus-one."
One of the students seemed to recognize her and their eyes widened in surprise before offering her a tiny wave that she returned just as timidly.
"Surely there were other people you could have taken with you," she said as they filed in behind the other guests in search of a seat. "Why me?"
"Because this particular guest is… somewhat relevant to our interests."
He said nothing beyond that cryptic reply as they chose two seats off to the side and out of the glare of the bright stage lights. Once the rest of the guests had entered and were seated, a man walked onto the stage with an air of overstated importance completely at odds with the boring, gray suit and canary yellow tie he wore. After introducing himself as the president of the school, he went on to give a brief description of their guest speaker that night before stating their name and inviting them to join him on stage. Kyoko gasped quietly beside him when she realized who the person was.
The great-great granddaughter of the man who had, indirectly, turned their lives on their respective ears.
Maria Takarada.
She was a petite, middle-aged woman in stature only, her long, voluminous curly hair adding a scant few inches to her height. Everything else about her was poised, elegant and grandiose. Maria Takarada was the only person Ren had met that could wear crushed velvet, lace and a handful of sparkling rings like most people wore tennis shoes.
As a renowned researcher of energy fields, she spoke at length about the latest data from her study of human auras. Images, charts and graphs of all sizes and colors floated, enlarged above her head and changed with a flutter of her fingers. Her most recent discovery was that auras had a detectable frequency. Additionally, that frequency changes when in the presence of others. People who shared very close relationships displayed auras that resonated. Conversely, complete strangers and people who did not get along with each other had dissonant auras that conflicted.
Ren glanced to his left to see Kyoko paying rapt attention. He let his eyes trace the profile of her face over and over again in an attempt to commit the shape to memory. The way her nose would crinkle every so often. The way her lips stayed slightly parted. He'd have that image permanently burned into his retinas if he could and the threat of it all being taken away from him without leaving behind so much as a vague memory scared him more than he would admit.
Was there anything he could say or do to convince her to let them stay this way forever?
He doubted it, but hoped all the same.
Following the lecture, there was a lavish reception full of bubbly drinks in a variety of vibrant colors and servers carrying silver trays loaded with tiny samples of food that had elaborate names. Kyoko seemed to be of the mind that the other guests deserved to enjoy the offerings more than she did, so Ren would casually swipe something from a passing tray he noticed she had her eye on. When he turned to greet someone with the usual pleasantries, he'd quickly place the item in her hand so he could avoid the look she was, no doubt, giving him.
The guest of honor made her way through the room, stopping to chat quickly with everyone who caught her eye before she eventually approached him and Kyoko. Her smile wide, she walked right up to him before throwing her arms about his torso and wrapping him in an enthusiastic hug. Ren leaned forward to reciprocate while exchanging a look with his equally confused companion.
"Oh, Ren. Look at you," she leaned back to scan him from head to toe. "All grown up and running one of the top covens in the city. It's been, what, six years? Seven?"
"It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Ms. Takarada."
"Please," she scoffed. "You're no longer a student. You can just call me Maria."
"Of course," he nodded.
"And who is this fetching young lady you've brought with you?" she smiled brightly at Kyoko. "Last I heard, you had taken a monk's oath of celibacy."
"The rumor mill must be running low on material if that's the best they can come up with," he turned to introduce Kyoko. "This is Kyoko Mogami, a third-year here and one of the top students in her class."
"So, you're scouting the talent before they even graduate? Or is this," she gestured between him and Kyoko, "something else?"
"Well, he certainly is something else all on his own. I don't think he needs my help with that," Kyoko interjected before an awkward silence could pervade, thrusting a hand forward in greeting. "It's an honor to meet you, Ms. Takarada. I thoroughly enjoyed your lecture."
Maria laughed, clasping both hands around Kyoko's, the gemstones in her rings catching the overhead light and glinting as she moved.
"Oh, this one's got sass! I like her already. Thank you so much, my dear. It's actually quite nice to see some new, young faces around here instead of the usual old and stuffy ones. Their auras are just as bland and dusty as they are."
Kyoko looked both impressed and awestruck.
"You mean you can actually detect auras without the aid of a seeing stone?"
"It runs in the family, I'm afraid. So I couldn't escape it if I tried," she let out a merry giggle. "Ren has always had a beautiful one, so it's nice to see someone else who's aura compliments his so well. If only I had the two of you as research subjects during my study. I'll bet you have a lovely resonance."
Kyoko was struck dumb by her comment, her face resembling a ripened apple. Thus, Ren answered in her stead.
"Maria, I don't think you can press gang people into being your lab rats with flattery."
Maria's laugh was as bright and beautiful as her jewelry.
"Oh, well, it was worth a shot. Anyway, it looks like that self-important president wants me to go make nice with some people so, I'm afraid I must go."
"Thank you for taking the time to say hello."
"Oh, nonsense, Ren. It was wonderful seeing one of my old students," she dismissed his words before leaning in and lowering her voice. "And don't let go of that one next to you. She's doing you a world of good. Your aura was never this bright in the past!"
Ren tried not to choke on the sad reality of their situation.
"I'll do my best."
They silently watched her walk away after giving each of them a quick hug. Once he had cleared the echo of Maria's words from his head, Ren turned to Kyoko with the best smile he could muster.
"We probably shouldn't have an important conversation on mostly empty stomachs. Would you like to get some dinner?"
She gave him a look that, despite its skepticism, warmed his insides.
"Procrastinating, huh? You're in luck seeing as I'm absolutely famished so, yes."
He had mentioned the diner near his coven two nights before. The food was good, the service was fast and it was one of the few places in the city he felt the most comfortable outside of his apartment. There was a sort of serenity about the constant murmur of activity from the kitchen interlaced with the sound of silverware clinking against dishes. Most of the people who frequented there were interested only in having a meal and leaving, thus avoiding the unpleasant awkwardness of having to make small talk with people you recognized, unless you actually wanted to talk to them.
In short, it was heaven for an introvert. And heaven could only be made more heavenly when the object of one's affections was also present.
Ren watched Kyoko eagerly tuck in to her meal and fought desperately against staring at her lips the entire time. He failed more times than he succeeded because the way they wrapped around each mouthful of food she pushed past them had him thoroughly distracted. She noticed it, too, and would stop chewing to raise a questioning eyebrow at him. With a shake of his head, he would look away only to look back and start the process all over again.
"So, when were you going to tell me that Maria Takarada was your teacher?" she eventually asked.
He swallowed his mouthful of fries before answering.
"I honestly didn't think she'd remember me. She was a temporary replacement after one professor got sick before the start of the second quarter of my first year," he explained. "Someone apparently called in a favor and asked her to teach Intro to Curses."
Kyoko made a face, "That seems like overkill."
"Oh, it was," he nodded. "She was extremely adept at curses when she was younger, before she started to devote her time to aura research. If anything, she should've been teaching graduate level classes."
"Still, you didn't think to call her up to help us out?"
"I never stayed in contact with her after that one class and she left LME as soon as the quarter ended. She was just another teacher to me at the time. It would have been a bit awkward to just call her out of the blue."
"Considering how happy she was to see you, she probably wouldn't have minded."
True, but we did just fine on our own anyway, didn't we?" he grinned.
He chuckled at Kyoko's grumbled, begrudging agreement.
Alas, dinner was over all too quickly and they returned to his office at the coven, at his suggestion, since it was closer than his apartment and a less intimidating venue for his guest. Upon arriving, he noticed Kyoko refused to sit anywhere in the room at first, looking around as if she were trying to gather her thoughts. Or her courage.
"Okay, out with it already," he prompted, her nervousness finally getting the better of him.
"I still want to reverse the spell," her eyes were tightly shut as she spoke.
"Well, I did promise to honor your decision, whatever it was," he slowly breathed out, ignoring the sudden stinging in his chest. "Can you at least tell me why?"
She wrung her hands and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"I really don't know how to phrase this in a way that you would understand but—"
"Try me."
Finally, she took a seat near his desk and scooted the chair right up to the edge of it so she could rest her elbows on the surface. It was like she carried a weight too heavy for her to sustain on her own. Kyoko took a steadying breath.
"It feels like cheating."
"Cheating?" he asked, confused.
"As in I'm reaping benefits that I put in no effort to earn."
"You want to earn my love?" Ren wondered if he looked as desperately hopeful as he sounded.
Her hands flailed in disagreement.
"Yes… no… I don't know! I don't hate spending time with you, but I feel like your attention is little more than an ill-gotten gain."
He raised an eyebrow at her but kept quiet.
"Even if I could, I would never be able to commit to a relationship with you without being constantly reminded that you only feel the way you do about me because of a damned spell. Not a day would go by that I wouldn't question whether any of it was real," her sigh was weary and she pushed a hand through her hair. "Hell, not a day has gone by since this whole thing started that I haven't questioned that."
"Oh."
"So… yeah. I guess you have your answer."
Ren remained silent for several agonizing seconds, choosing his next words carefully.
"Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me."
"Well, thanks for actually listening."
"I would always listen to what you have to say."
Kyoko scoffed, leaning back in her chair with her eyes pointed heavenward.
"Let's see if you feel the same way tomorrow."
"So, we're really doing this, aren't we?"
All she offered was a nod. Ren blinked slowly, took a deep breath and looked away.
"Well, there's no time like the present. I assume you'd like to be here for this?"
She sat up straight and looked at him, eyes wide with shock.
"You're going to do it now? Here?"
He looked her dead in the eye and saw his own fears reflected back at him.
"Trust me, Kyoko. If I had to do this on my own, I don't think I'd have the heart to go through with it."
He saw the corners of her mouth turn downward and her shoulders sag just a little. It wasn't his intention to bring the brunt of his dismay to bear on her, but he wanted to be honest. With both himself and her.
"How are we going to react when it's done and we find ourselves in your office at this time of night with no recollection of how we got here?" she countered.
Ren thought for a moment, trying to recall what he was doing the night she cast the first spell. From what he remembered, there was nothing odd about his behavior at that time and the buzzing in his head only started the next day when he agreed to go shopping for the coven. If this spell was similar, they most likely had until the following morning.
Hopefully.
"I don't believe it'll take effect until tomorrow, so we should be fine."
That seemed to be a good enough estimation for her.
"Alright then," she breathed. "Let's do this."
The book they needed was still in his office and he opened the page to the spell before handing it off to Kyoko. Rising from their chairs at the same time, they stood side-by-side at his desk. He asked her to read off the ingredients and summoned each of them from the coven storage room and lined them up on his desk before summoning his favorite bowl, an old, heavy marble one that had chips and cracks along the edge; each one told a story of his earlier days of learning magic.
Once they had everything they needed. It was time to begin.
Lighting the candles felt like a red-hot iron being forced through his chest. Each ingredient he added to the bowl mercilessly tore the hole that had formed in his heart wider and wider. Even the incantation was spoken with reluctant, trembling lips. But, Ren made a promise and he had every intention of keeping it. The ashes that remained in the bowl afterwards were an accurate depiction of what was left of his dream that Kyoko would change her mind.
Kyoko also stared into the bowl with empty eyes before finally tearing them away to look up at him. He could see in her face an unspoken apology.
"Since I've gone and spoiled our evening with this, I should probably go," she said in a small voice.
"You're more than welcome to stay," he said, his eyes darting between hers and trying to decide which to settle on.
"No, I… really should go."
He must have been looking at her in that longing way again, judging by her change in expression. She was always so entrancing, he couldn't help it around her. However, he noticed it softened a bit the longer she stared back at him. He wanted to know why. More importantly, he wanted to what she was thinking of just then. Perhaps it was the fact that everything was about to be over for them. Perhaps it was just the fact that he was standing so close to her.
"You're trying to stop yourself from asking to kiss me, aren't you?"
He couldn't help the anxious laugh that escaped, "Am I that obvious?"
"When you keep staring at me like that, you are."
"I'm sorry," he ducked his head, waiting for her reprimand.
"Don't be. I had almost convinced myself that I was going to agree to it."
Well, that certainly was not what he was expecting.
"You mean—"
"It's not as if we'll remember it after tonight anyway," a crooked grin formed on her face. "Besides, you kind of obsessed over it when we first met and I'm feeling generous enough to sate your curiosity."
His eyes went wide and he stared at her for several silent moments. No words came out of his mouth, but his lips moved all the same as he tried to comprehend exactly what she was offering him.
"I think I agree with you now when you said it feels like cheating."
It was her turn to laugh and he was helpless to explain how that one sound could both soothe and scar his heart at the same time.
"Well, we've already broken enough rules. What's one more going to hurt at this point?"
He nearly called the whole thing off when he saw the tremble in her fingers as she reached up towards him, but she looked so determined when she curled her hand into his collar that he let her guide his face down to hers.
It was a careful congress between their lips and they moved with an unhurried pace as if they had all the time in the world remaining. While the act itself was dizzyingly delightful in every way, Ren couldn't repress the ache in his heart. Every breath, every caress played a symphony of farewell that was building up to a crushing crescendo. At some point, he noticed the feeling of wetness on his cheeks and began to curse himself for making Kyoko cry.
He pulled away immediately, ready to apologize, when he realized that the tears were not hers.
"That—" she relented in a quiet voice. "That was probably a bad idea."
"At least we won't have much longer to regret it."
Ren tentatively lifted a hand to swipe at his face before he reconsidered and dropped it back to his side. There really was no reason to hide them from her. Not when they soon would have no memory that this night ever happened.
"Yea."
"Yea."
"I guess that's my cue to leave."
He stopped her with a gentle hand as she turned towards the door.
"If we meet again someday, I hope we'll both give each other a chance to get acquainted because I think we'd, at least, be very good friends. But, if we don't, I wanted to thank you, Kyoko. For everything."
Her smile was tired and sad.
"If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
Kyoko woke up in her usual state of muddled confusion, the lights filtering through her curtains and the alarm on her phone still chiming away. She reached over to turn it off and plodded her way to the bathroom to get ready for her day. It was still the weekend and she had a full day shift at the shop with Kanae.
Humming the tune that had been stuck in her head since she heard it playing in the restaurant the night before, she put the finishing touches on her makeup and adjusted her bracelets before turning off the bathroom light. Her boots were permanently tied just tight enough to keep them on her feet, but also loose enough to easily slip them on and off without retying the laces. She braced one hand against her front door while stuffing her feet into her boots and reached up with her other hand to grab her coat from where it hung nearby.
Instead of her coat, her fingers pulled down a scarf. She looked at it for a second, taking in the thin stripes of deep olive and gold patterned throughout the mostly dark blue fabric. Apparently, she'd forgotten to take it with her the day before so she could return it to Ren…
That thought stopped her in her tracks.
The hand against the door tightened into a fist and she pounded it once while an expletive hissed from her lips.
They did everything they were supposed to.
They followed the spell to the letter.
But, the fact that she still remembered the owner of the scarf she held meant only one thing.
"It didn't work," she whispered.
I'M NOT ENDING IT HERE, I SWEAR. That would just be cruel... well more cruel than my cliffhangers, at least.
Many thanks to one of my best friends for getting me back on track with this story. She threatened to make me hang upside-down in her yoga hammock until I figured out where I wanted this to go. I still did it anyway, but not before she gave me some really good advice and suggestions (while I was still right side up, of course).
Well, if a day ever comes when I can't write anymore, maybe I can go join a circus or something.
AUTHOR OUT!
