When you had an entire island just a step away, there were so many options it almost became too many to pick from, but Gin had done her best to go somewhere interesting after her and Negi's snack. Her original plans had been to stick around her prefecture, but after a few stops Gin had started to feel a little more adventurous and wanted to abuse the fact there was nowhere on the island they couldn't get to in seconds. One of the more interesting stops had been a museum in Ehime that had some animatronic dinosaurs, Gin having looked it up while thinking on places after Negi expressed interest. Gin herself wasn't much of a museum person, but that had still been cool to see. However, not long after this Gin had gotten one particular place in mind she just had to visit while it was easy. Mount Ishizuchi.
The towering mountain was the highest place in all Shikoku, almost 2000 meters high. Gin had stumbled on its existence when trying to think of another name to tease Sumi with about her chest size. The mountain was apparently a popular place at certain times of year and people would climb up the whole thing to see the view from the peak and shrine that was near it. Taking the trip herself someday would've been fun, but it wasn't her top priority and the place was so far away normally. However, with the cool power to teleport in front of her, Gin wanted to take the chance before her.
And boy, did the view not disappoint. It felt like she could see most of Shikoku up here!
"I bet Sumi's gonna be jealous when I show her these pictures." Gin grinned to herself, snapping a few pictures of the horizon from her position at the peak Negi and her had all to themselves. The view was truly something else. The clear, not-quite-sunset time of the sky made for some amazing photos, a largely clear sky streaking with the fading Sun's rays ensuring every image was perfectly clear.
"You probably get to see this kinda stuff all the time with all the places you go and how easy teleporting makes getting around. Bet you can see some amazing stuff with flying too..." Gin commented, glancing over toward Negi, who was sanding a little over a meter to her side, by the boulders encircling the viewing point for safety.
Negi's attention turned from the horizon over to Gin, never ever-present cheery demeanor on his features. "Well, sightseeing has become a little bit of a habit, but that doesn't make sights like this any less fun to visit. This was a good idea! I think I can see your house from up here, actually." Craning his head in a direction, Negi stated almost teasingly.
Following the gaze, Gin squinted to focus, staring intently over the horizon, but no matter how much she looked, the girl couldn't make out any notable features, only some vague outlines, even with the mild boosts her senses were starting to develop from magic.
"Damn, that's not fair. You can see way further than I can." Though her words complained, it was far from a serious complaint, a good-natured grumble at worst, a grin was even on her face between the sight she uttered. They had to be something like over 100 kilometers from her house. Could Negi really pick it out from that far? Damn, places like this would look amazing if one could see so far. She had to come back here eventually when she could do that too.
"You're all learning very quickly, and you said you were practicing body reinforcement, weren't you? With the rate you're going, you might be able to see it from here by the time I come back." Sincerely, Negi praised.
Instead of immediately firing back, like she might've normally, Gin hesitated a second, the words 'come back' striking a momentary heaviness in her chest. However, she forced the feelings aside to reply. "Yeah, I bet the three of us will have all sorts of cool stuff to show you next time you visit!"
No matter how she tried to sound happy, Gin wasn't truly able to feel the same positivity in her voice, some of the thoughts from earlier coming back in greater force. In the back of her head, she had known the mages were going to leave eventually, but to hear Negi actually talk like that… It was sad to hear. They might not have been around that long, it hadn't even been a couple months, but the impact Negi had on her life and all that happened it all felt so much longer. She learned about an awesome new power that Sumi and Sonoko also had fun with, about an entire other world, visiting places like this, a lot of things Gin never expected to happen or had even thought about could happen. Sure, they were going to come back, but that wasn't too much of a comfort.
"So… You're really gonna be leaving soon huh..." Gin trailed off, traces of her more down emotions seeping into the words and bringing her voice lower than typical. Maybe it was the bittersweet emotions in her right now, but the atmosphere suddenly felt far heavier than even a few minutes ago.
"Depending on how well things go, but probably." Negi answered, his tone dropping to a similarly heavier one that was almost apologetic, yet not depressive. "But, don't worry too much! I'll still be sure to at least visit. It depends on a few things, but I should hopefully be able to drop by at least briefly in a couple months at the most." Voice rising to one of reassurance, Negi added with a more positive smile.
Gin did feel herself smile a little wider at Negi saying he'd be back after not too long, a couple months was long but at least she would see him again. "Yeah, I bet you got a lot of stuff to take care of back in your world. Glad I don't have to manage that much stuff." The girl's last line came out as a chuckle to lighten the mood.
"It's quite busy… I can only imagine everything that'll need to be cleaned up from how long Fate and I were gone. I've got a lot more than just paperwork to catch up on..." Negi muttered to himself.
Again, Gin felt herself laugh a little. Here was someone her age sounding like her adult parents did now and again. In the same breath, she couldn't help a subdued shudder run through her at the mental image of doing something ten times worse than school homework. "I'd rather fight a Vertex than deal with that. They're much easier."
Yet, that wasn't the only thing that came to Gin's mind. Negi' s mention of more than paperwork to do brought the conversation that had been cut short at her home to the front of Gin's thoughts. "But hey… Whatever the situation is you're trying to fix, I bet it'll work out." Negi had promised to tell the full story on his father later, but that matter had been deeply personal and come up in the moment. If he didn't want to discuss it, then Gin wouldn't pry further.
Negi's expression fell toward a heavier one, silence overtaking the two for a brief time.
"Thanks, Minowa-san. I still owe you the rest of the story on that. We should probably get you back home soon with the time, but we have time for this." Turning to face her, Negi finally spoke.
"You were gonna say why he's so hard to beat normally?"
Negi nodded solemnly. "Right, yes. How to explain this simply… You're really good with people, Minowa-san. When someone like Nogi-san or Washio-san is feeling especially happy or sad, you can understand and empathize with it, can't you?"
Gin nodded, eyebrow starting to raise at where this was going.
"Imagine if you always were feeling what they felt. And that's just two people. How do you think it would be if you felt that for everyone in Shikoku?" Negi trailed off expectantly.
"The whole island? Er, that's uh, that's a lot of people…" Gin muttered. That was one hell of a leap and she could barely begin to properly think about how that would feel. She knew what it meant in her head, but it was just like hearing about a big number compared to actually seeing that much of something with her own eyes. Not to mention difficult. It made her sad when her friends weren't feeling good and when they were happy, it helped her feel better too. But feeling that for the entirety of Shikoku? That would've been a completely different scale.
"And that's just one island. Now, think about an entire world, past that even, thousands of times more people than Shikoku. And how it would be to experience exactly what every one of them is feeling at every moment. It'd be like having an ocean dumped on you all a once."
A whole world? PAST that even? Gin wasn't the best student or knew a bunch about history like Sumi did, but she at least knew the planet was really, really big and had a crazy amount of people all over it before the virus destroyed much of humanity. Like Negi had said, trying to process all that would be like being crushed by a whole ocean, especially with any bad emotions. "That sounds like a lot to deal with at once… What's that got to do with… They were called The Lifemaker, right?"
Negi raised a finger at the observation, somewhat like when a teacher called on a student in class. "Exactly, it is a lot to deal with, and it's why beating her isn't so simple. She possesses someone after they kill her current host by forcing them to experience all those emotions, everything people have felt over the last thousands of years, if not longer, they've lived, constantly and without any break. It chips at their willpower until the person can't take it anymore and succumbs to the pressure, where The Lifemaker takes over."
The child paused briefly to sigh before continuing his lecture. "Because of this, it's a lot more complicated than a normal possession, with something like a spirit forcibly taking control of one's actions, and the usual ways to fight possession don't work, far as I've been able to see and what people told me. And that's not even considering how monstrously strong and knowledgeable in magic they are even if those did work… They managed to seal them once and it sounded near impossible even with my father's help..."
Negi hadn't been kidding, the issue with his father sounded like a pretty complicated situation that Gin still wasn't entirely sure on how to make sense of, she had only just started learning magic recently. "Sounds like you might as well be fighting against the whole world when you put it that way. There's gotta be something out there that works though..." The conviction in her voice undercut by frustration, Gin answered with an annoyed groan. She had face what seemed like impossible odds when fighting three Vertex at once and wouldn't give up, but Gin could recognize an insane task when she saw it.
"That's essentially it, yes. It's a source of their power, especially all the negative emotions. There are only two things I can think of that even might free my father, but neither sound likely. The first would somehow remove any negative feelings in the universe, and that's impossible, while the other one doesn't look like it'd do anything but... Put a stop to it… But, I'll figure something out somehow… I need to, even if it takes ten or fifty years..." Negi trailed off with his words. The customary upbeat tone starting to return in time with his features similarly rising, but it rang hollow. It was more as if he were trying to convince himself as much as Gin.
Gin frowned sympathetically at the statement, but it was only for a moment until she threw on her own more cheerful attitude. The mood had suddenly gotten way too depressive. "I told you before, of course, you'll figure something out. I know it sounds hard and I'm not sure how to even start myself either… But it'll work out somehow! Sure, maybe nobody knows what to do right now, but that doesn't mean there isn't a way." Gin knew her words weren't going to sound that convincing, so she made up for it with an optimistic smile and voice, believing every word of it. Even if it sounded impossible, it wasn't over yet.
"You're way smarter than anyone else I know and sounds like there are other people you know who're good at this, so I bet you'll come up with something that works. You already said you had ideas. This Lifemaker person sounds like the invincible boss you're not supposed to win against, but your father already did it twice! You've got a lot of people who can help you and your father already did something impossible sounding, so I know it'll work out." Trying to make her argument a little more weighty, Gin continued, stepping closer to put a reassuring hand on Negi's shoulder with a more confident grin.
The other child looked at Gin directly in the eyes, a few seconds passing by atop the mountain. He finally smirked and let out a subdued chuckle. "Thanks again, Minowa-san. You sounded a lot like someone else I know. She liked to say a lot of groundless and optimistic things like that too." The words were almost said teasingly toward Gin, the more light-hearted tone of Negi's usual self more evident in them.
But that had not been the exact response she was expecting, even if good-natured. "H-Hey, what do you mean groundless?!"
"Don't worry about it, Minowa-san. It was helpful to hear and I appreciate it." Smiling again, Negi waved off the comment. "I think it's about time to go anyway. I've got a lot of final checks to do and I bet you still have summer homework to do."
And just like that, the warm moment was gone and Gin's shoulders slumped at the mention of her dreaded homework, sighing with her eyes closed in defeat. "Ah, dammit. I forgot about that..."
"But before that, just a little more time won't hurt, so I was thinking about taking you home a different way than just teleporting." Negi's words were punctuated with a slight sensation of magic pricking Gin's senses.
Opening her eyes, Gin saw Negi now had his staff in hand with a pleasant smile on his face. Whatever he had in mind drew Gin's curiosity. "Eh? What do you have in mind?"
Not answering, Negi hovered into the air, laying his staff flat and sitting on it with his feet dangling off one side. "I noticed you taking a lot of pictures and you also brought up flying. Flying's something that takes a long time to do without a specialized tool, and since we're so high up already… I thought maybe we could fly back instead of teleporting. It wouldn't take more than 20 minutes, probably less, on my staff."
Gin's eyes glanced over the floating staff, rapidly feeling excitement swelling in her chest. The view from up here was already awesome, but being able to fly and see this perspective the whole way back? Hell yes she was going to jump at that chance. She had jumped high into the air while transformed before, but flying would've been something else. Shikoku didn't have anything that soared in the skies since the Shinju first appeared!
"That sounds great!" Enthusiastic, Gin hoisted herself up onto the back end of Negi's staff, resting on it with a leg on each side. It felt a lot more sturdy and stable than Gin would've expected at first glance, not even budging or swaying when she almost jumped onto the thing. It did still feel a little weird to be sitting on such a small platform that was floating in the air. She knew they wouldn't fall over, but her mind's kneejerk reaction expected her to fall from the small platform at any second.
"Alright, let's go." With only one warning, Negi's staff rose further into the air and straight off the mountain's peak, leaving any solid ground far behind in barely a second.
Instinctively, Gin gripped the staff tighter, but relaxed after a few moments. She had been expecting some huge rush of wind to nearly knock her over, they had taken off way faster than any car she had been in. Yet, there was a whole lot of… Nothing. No wind whipping at her, no pressure of moving so fast. Her seat on the flying staff was like being inside a fast-moving car despite no visible protection. Expecting an answer, Gin focused her attention Negi, who was casually looking back toward her in the same position as earlier.
"There's barriers up to keep any wind out, so there's no worry about falling and you can take pictures easier. It's also to ensure nobody'll see us" Negi answered, willing the staff to move through the air without any physical movement on his part.
Oh, that made perfect sense. She trusted him enough not to fall or anything, but it was still nice to not worry about her phone slipping from any harsh wind. They were moving pretty fast. "Thanks, Negi-san!"
Taking out her phone, Gin snapped a few pictures from her bird's eye view. It was amazing to be flying so high in the sky like this, even higher than the mountain had been. She literally could see near the entire island now, clouds visibly below her, the various mountains dwarfing every other structure, and even the huge prefectures that now looked so small from here. She could really appreciate the sheer size of the Great Seto Bridge from up high like this. She fought on it, well sort of, within the Jukai and had been to it before, but nothing really hammered in the massive scale of the 13 kilometers long bridge-like seeing the whole thing against the sea at once.
She definitely would have to take and share a bunch of these pictures with Sumi and Sonoko. Negi and Fate were going to be leaving incredibly soon from the way Negi talked, and who knew how long it'd take for her to learn how to fly herself like this to see such a view again.
The thought sent a sudden pang through Gin's chest. That was right… They really were going to be leaving soon. She had these concerns in the morning, but now the day was coming to a close. And with how things were and how soon it sounded like the mages would leave, this might've been the last time Gin got to see him in any casual setting. Maybe she'd see him once or twice in training, and hopefully whenever he said goodbye, but otherwise, she doubted there'd be another chance to talk personally like this.
Pausing her photos, Gin let out a low sigh, preparing herself for what she was about to do. She wasn't entirely sure why she was going to do it, but Negi had shared a lot of his own personal history and he had asked about the subject once.
"Hey… Negi-san, about what I wanted to be in the future..." Gin already felt her face burning as she muttered the words.
"Hrm?" Negi turned his attention back towards Gin, looking at her curiously.
"Haha… Well, you'll probably think it's not very like me… B-But having a family is nice and I'd like my own…" Gin half mumbled her words, having difficulty looking Negi right in the eyes and instead deciding her own lap was the most interesting thing in the world. Dammit, she knew this was gonna be embarrassing, telling a boy was harder than telling other girls, but she wanted to share it. "S-So… I guess my dream for the future is… to be a b-bride..."
"That's a nice dream, Minowa-san. I don't think it sounds that unlike you." Negi's supportive voice answered Gin.
Face still feeling like it'd explode any second, Gin turned her head enough to keep Negi at the edge of her vision, slowly trying to make eye contact again.
Not getting his own answer, Negi continued. "Well, with how much you care about your family, especially your brothers, and how I've seen you go out of your ways to always help someone, it sounds like a good fit to me. I'm sure you'll have a happy family someday and make a wonderful bride." Without so much as an ounce of reservation at the praise, Negi stated with a smile.
"T-Thanks..." Again, Gin's face reached warmth she didn't know was possible before this moment. Negi made such embarrassing, even if kind and reassuring, statements as easy as he breathed. At least she didn't have to expect regular teasing about it from him like Sonoko sometimes did. But, even if it was her dream and the kind words made her chest light, it was still embarrassing to hear…
"I guess that explains why Nogi-san was pushing you so hard about the shrine in Kyoto." Negi mused.
"Hah… Yeah, I guess you know why now. Maybe I should've given it a try..." Gin matched the statement with her own, more nervous laugh between her joke. She was slowly starting to feel her nerves calm down now that she got this off her chest.
"I wouldn't worry too much. You've got a long time before that happens and I'm sure you'll meet someone someday. You have plenty of great points about you, Minowa-san." Once more, Negi unreserved complements struck at Gin's composure.
"Y-Yeah, that's true..." Gin mumbled to herself. Negi seemed far less weak to this topic than she would've expected, given what happened when Sonoko caught them at school. Maybe he was just bad when it was directed toward him…
Still, it couldn't help make Gin's mind drift toward thoughts about the future. Having her own family and getting married, that stuff was way, way off in the future. She hadn't even had a crush yet! But even despite that, since the topic had just been brought up, Gin wondered when she'd meet whoever would be her husband in the future, what they would be like…
Gin had never exactly given any kind of thought to what kind of person she would like, that was flustering to think about and it still made her fingers nervously fidget, but somebody nice and hardworking who liked helping others like her. Who family was important for with how she wanted her own, definitely. She could probably use someone who could still be fun and look out for her too. Someone kind of likeNegi would be nice…
Gin's entire being crashed to a screeching halt all in one moment. Where the hell did that come from!? W-Why did she think of his name when wondering about the kind of person she would like!?
With the thought, something started turning in Gin's mind, putting pieces into place. The uneasy, yet not unpleasant, feeling in her chest and unlike her shyness when around Negi, how both oddly embarrassed and happy it made her to get compliments from him, even why she had actually put on this dress just because of him calling it cute? This all happened to her because of one reason!
She actually had a crush on him!
With that single realization, Gin's entire thought process started spiraling out of control. No way, there was no way she could have had a crush on Negi like this! He was from a completely different dimension! But… What the hell could explain all those feelings? How she felt warm with him and overly sad at the idea of him leaving? No, there was only one thing it could be. Despite what her head tried to say, Gin knew in her heart the answer.
Arg, if that was the case what should she even do then!? Should she say something right now? Normally she always followed her feelings, but something held her back this time. But, if he was going to leave soon, what if she didn't get another chance at this? Could she really just do this so suddenly though? Just the mere idea of trying to say something made her feel lightheaded! Dammit, why did this have to be so complicated to figure out!? She wasn't good at this stuff!
Gin lost all sense of time and location while trying to sort through her jumbled head, photos forgotten to where her phone nearly slipped from her hand. She had to do decide on something here, but she just didn't know what it should be!
"Minowa-san, we'll be at your home shortly."
"Huh!?" Gin almost shouted and jumped out of her skin at the sudden voice pulling her from her thoughts before she could start trying to compose herself. Had it really been that long already?
"Are you alright?" Tilting his head, Negi asked with concern.
"Justfine!" Gin spoke her answer as practically one word, nervousness dripping within every sound coming from her lips. Her mind refused to produce anything remotely resembling close to calm. But how was she supposed to be calm like this!?
"You sure? You look pretty nervous. Are the heights bothering you? We'll be landing shortly, but I can speed up a little if they are." Negi said, the staff suddenly moving on a downward slant to Gin's house more rapidly.
Gin could only mumble something resembling thanks, more an automatic reaction at someone doing something for her than giving real thought to her words. This was like every single weak point she had with anything about love being flared up and multiplied by 10. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? Do something already, dammit!
But, no matter how much she internally screamed at herself to try forcing her body to do something, Gin failed to produce any further coherent words every time and had to settle for a few nods. She was acting exactly like one of the lovestruck idiots who appeared sometimes in Sonoko's stories! Why was just saying something so hard!?
"Alright, we're here." Cheerfully oblivious to the torrent of emotions spinning in Gin, Negi stated, slowly lowering his staff until it hovered barely half a meter off the ground, having come to a stop outside her front porch. Once the object had stopped moving, Negi gingerly stepped off with practiced and familiar motions onto the grass.
Gin delayed her depart for a good several seconds, until she somehow forced her limbs to move, throwing her legs over one side of the staff and standing up in an almost jerky manner, but the ground was unstable, or rather he legs were and they almost gave out from under her with a wobble, yet it was an incident she thankfully managed to avoid. Her whole body felt like the mush her thoughts had turned into.
"Thanks for showing me around a bit. I never explored Shikoku in my world, so there was a lot new to see. It's too bad Washio-san and Nogi-san weren't able to make it though. Maybe they'll be able to next time, though." Smiling kindly, Negi offered a wave in her direction, beginning to weave his teleportation magic while he stepped away.
"W-Wait a second!" Gin blurted out, reaching a hand toward him.
Negi stopped mid step, turning toward Gin with a raised eyebrow.
"Er, um..." Gin mumbled, hands reaching back down and fidgeting with her skirt now that she had a spotlight over her. There had been plenty of times Gin Minowa was flustered or embarrassed in her life, but none of them came close to how she felt now. Her face was ready to catch fire from the warmth in her cheeks, her stomach had butterflies, and her mind was a tornado of jumbled thoughts struggling to form even a single word, but she had to say something! She had to breath, she had to calm down.
Gin sighed deeply in an attempt to refocus herself, managing to restore a semblance of clarity toward her thoughts… And yet it didn't give her any clearer answer on what to do. Her gut instinct was to speak up. She had a crush and this felt like the best time to say something, even if so suddenly. It was just her and Negi, nobody else was around, but even besides her almost overwhelming nerves something held her back.
Would he even say yes? Could he even say yes?
Maybe it was how nervous she was already feeling, but the second that question entered Gin's head it was like a poison to her thoughts, doubts and anxieties raging out of control. If he were anybody else and lived in Shikoku, that would've made things easier. But he wasn't. They were from entirely different worlds and Negi was going to be leaving for his so soon. What was she going to do, ask him to stay? No way could she do that. He had so much going on in his world, especially concerning his father…
She wasn't sure if it felt right to say something like this shortly before Negi would leave, but she also couldn't help the side of her that desperately wanted to speak up. She usually followed her heart first and head second compared to Sumi and Sonoko, but she was feeling two completely different ideas from it right now!
"… Today was uh, fun. We got to see a lot of cool places because of the teleporting." Gin put on the best smile she could muster. She couldn't do it. She hadn't ever had to deal with this and she simply didn't know how to. She already was weak to anything involving love and everything about this situation was complicated. It was too much to deal with right now.
Negi's confused expression quickly rose to a more pleased one at the comment. "I'm glad you had fun, Minowa-san. I did too. But, until next time, I'll see you later." The other kid commented, a foot stepping into the shadows.
"Yeah, see you later, Negi-san..." Gin replied, watching Negi leave with a wave, her heart sinking like his body did into the darkness as he left.
Alone, at last, Gin let out a frustrated groan to herself. She had to figure out something to do with this, but how was she gonna do that? This stuff was way out of her element. With that stray thought, another one struck Gin. Maybe she could try asking someone who had more experience with this. Even not counting her stories, Sonoko had dealt with that love letter a bit back and took it way more calmly than she or Sumi had...
With an embarrassed sigh at what was to come, Gin strolled back into her home, pulling out her cell phone.
Sonoko had been hoping to hear from Gin after the little date she arranged for her friend, but when the girl had brought up having a sleepover, Sonoko couldn't help feeling curious about the sudden plan and just how well her own had worked out. This had only been amplified when she noticed Gin's demeanor was more nervous than usual. Difficult as it was though, Sonoko had restrained her curiosity and avoided immediately probing Gin with questions. She wanted to have some fun at the sleepover too, bringing up how that went would definitely cast a shadow since Sumi hadn't been told about it, and, considering how the topic of love came up at a previous one, Sonoko expected it to return once everyone was settle down for bed. If Gin hadn't brought it up then, Sonoko could always prod at it herself. However, luck seemed to be with her come evening.
"Since it's been a while since last time… I was thinking we could talk about if there's anyone we like..." Cheeks tainted a hint red with her voice leaning toward the shy side, Gin mentioned after the three girls had settled in for the night.
Perfect.
Sumi, in her white and blue pajamas, looked over at Gin curiously. She similarly seemed a little meek in the face of such a topic, but nothing past some pale red cheeks. "It hasn't been that long. You're not just going to use your brothers again, are you?"
"Ahaha, n-not this time..." Gin chuckled nervously with a forced looking smile.
At this, Sumi instantly straightened up as if someone had started playing the national anthem, but with the zeal for that replaced by wide-eyed and flustered stuttering. "W-Wait, d-does that m-mean you found someone you l-like?"
Gin nodded, an uneasy, nervous smile forced onto her face with the response.
"I don't think Wasshi's gonna like who it is~." An amused grin crossing her own face, Sonoko teasingly stated at the anticipated chaos.
For a moment, Sumi's flustered curiosity was drawn to an entirely question with her head snapping from Gin to Sonoko. "Eh? W-what do you mean, Sonocchi?"
"Well, um… The person I like, it's..." Gin paused for a moment, glancing to the side and scratching her cheek. "It's Negi-san..."
Sonoko swore that Sumi turned into a statue in that instant. Unmoving, unblinking, not even breathing? "Hey, Earth to Was-"
"WHAT!?"
The scream was so loud Sonoko felt her brain start rattling inside of her skull and make her recoil back. She knew Sumi could yell and had prepared for it, but that sounded like an explosion going off. Ow, her ringing ears.
"Gin, what kind of spell did he put you under!? There has to be some kind of curse he used! I knew it, I knew he couldn't be trusted! I kept saying it!" Sumi shouted in a single breath, advancing into Gin's personal space and inspecting her to try and find the 'curse' on her friend.
"W-Woah, h-hold on a second, Sumi! I'm not cursed!" Gin managed to stutter out between Sumi's rapid interrogating, leaning back in response to her friend's approach. "N-Negi-san didn't do anything like that!"
"I don't know, I'd say he put a spell on Mino-san's heart~." Unable to miss such an easy opening, Sonoko teased shamelessly.
"S-Sonoko! Not helping! I-I'm serious here!" Gin protested, sparing a glance in Sonoko's direction.
"This is serious, Gin! We need to break whatever spell he cast! Sonocchi! Go get some salt for purification!" Sumi leapt to her feet with the order, hands starting to glow green. "I haven't tried to use healing magic for breaking curses yet… But this is an emergency!
Oh, dear. She was actually starting to use magic for the 'curse'. Maybe it was best to stop before Sumi went too over the top, fun as this was. It felt like there was more to this than Gin speaking up simply to say she was in love anyway.
"Wasshi, put the spells away. Mino-san hasn't even had a chance to explain anything yet~." Trying to pacify her frenzied friend, Sonoko spoke up, poking at Sumi's legs.
The girl once more changed directions toward Sonoko. "B-But-"
"Sumi… Calm down, I'm not under some weird curse or anything..." With a deep sigh of exasperation, Gin rose to her feet, putting an affirming hand upon Sumi's shoulder. The reaction had been so distracting, the deep blush that had been on Gin's face a minute ago was slowly fading.
Even despite both her friends trying to reassure her, Sumi's expression was still questioning, doubtful. It was only a good several seconds later that she finally answered with an annoyed grumble, still not looking convinced, tempered only momentarily. "… What was the rest you were going to say, Gin…?"
"Right, so uh…" Gin mumbled, sitting back down. "I was… Kinda wondering what exactly to do about it..."
At this, Sonoko tilted her head curiously, leaning closer with Sumi in anticipation.
"See, I, um, haven't… Actually confessed yet or anything..." Gin mumbled with a tomato colored face.
Sonoko straightened up, much more confused, even surprised, now. "Eh? I knew Mino-san had a weak spot for love, but I didn't think they were that sensitive… I would've thought you'd confess with such a nice setup for just the two of you. You usually follow your heart first."
"Sonocchi, what do you mean 'just the two of them'?"
Oops.
Sonoko's body immediately turned into a cold statue from the accusing tone in Sumi's words. That wasn't supposed to slip out! "Uh, w-well, I mean sounds like Mino-san had the chance to confess and didn't and I was helping you with your writing, so I was thinking her and Negi-san might've seen each other today~." After her initial stuttering, Sonoko managed to answer with more casualness returning to her voice. Sumi was going to kill her for this later.
"Yeah, it was something like that..." Gin answered, saving Sonoko from further interrogations. "I was pretty nervous about saying something, but then I started thinking about how complicated everything is and I started feeling even more nervous about it." The girl continued with a frustrated sigh. "He's gonna leave so soon and there's a bunch of stuff going on, so ugh, I don't know if I should say something then! I can't ask him to stay here with all the stuff Negi-san has in his world..."
Ah, that made sense and got a sympathetic frown out of Sonoko. She had thought of that complications before, but she hadn't known too much about what Negi had to deal with back home, maybe he told Gin something while they were alone? He seemed like the kind of person who would naturally get entangled into a bunch of responsibilities with his personality and power. Sonoko didn't expect the other to stay here anyway, because she certainly wouldn't leave her life behind, but that wasn't the only reason she had been so pushy with this for Gin.
"I still think Mino-san should confess."
Before Sumi could speak up, Sonoko's words drew the dumbfounded, betrayed face of her more high-strung friend and the curious one of Gin.
"Weeeeeeeell~, I know the situation is complicated and he's about to leave, but we don't know when Spring-san is going to come back. If you don't say something now, who knows when you'll get another chance! Those feelings will have to stay bottled up and that'd be pretty tough for your first crush, Mino-san." Sonoko began explaining, voice and expression dipping toward a more serious sincerity, but not losing the carefree touch of her typical tone entirely. She didn't have much personal experience with romantic love like this, but she had written about the topic plenty of times in her stories, which had entailed an immense amount of research over the ages. "It felt good to get this off your chest just telling us, riiiiight? If he doesn't come back for a few months, then don't you think it'd be hard to wait that long?"
Gin frowned, resting the side her head against one hand's knuckles and using a finger to scratch at it. "Well, yeah, it helped me feel a bit better talking with you guys. I don't think that'd be very fun if it ends up being so long with Negi-san..."
"Exactly~." Sonoko answered with a proud grin. "But, it's more than that. Spring-san taught an all girl's class who weren't much older than him and I bet he's popular. It's Mino-san's first crush and I want to give her the best chance possible! If it was more normal and he lived here, then I wouldn't need to be so pushy with Mino-san, but time's important here! Sure, you're from different worlds, but Spring-san's working on something to get home, so even if it might be hard right now, maybe it can work out if there's an easy way to travel. You never know~."
Seconds ticked by in silence while the other two processed the words, Sumi thankfully stunned into silence and not making an outburst at the moment. On Gin's end, a few shifting emotions tumbled across her face in the silence. Curiosity, nervousness, even a little hope with her returning blush.
Finally, Gin let out a sigh, her smile coming closer to the usual enthusiasm she had, if still restrained. "Hah… Yeah, I guess you're right, Sonoko. I'm supposed to be the one thinking everything will work out fine. This whole thing has been making me feel weird..."
"It's not too far off from some of the ways I pictured Mino-san as a lovestruck maiden~" Sonoko teased with a smug giggle.
"B-But why him?" Before Gin could make a flustered reply, Sumi injected. She wasn't gonna be convinced on this easily and Sonoko already knew why.
"Love's complicated, Wasshi~." Sonoko casually threw out in response, not getting a very satisfied look from her friend. "But, now I'm kinda curious to hear Mino-san's own answer~."
And with that, both girl's eyes were staring intensely at Gin, who started looking increasingly uncomfortable under the gazes. "You wanna know why I, er… Like him?"
Gin received two nods of varying eagerness.
"Umm… T-This is gonna be kind of embarrassing, but… I guess, he really likes to help people and family is pretty important from how he talks about his father, just like me… He's really smart and mature, but still someone who can have fun, and uh, he's shown me a bunch of cool things and knows the kind of tough stuff people like us gotta do..." Though initially her voice was tainted by uncertainty and she looked almost timid at being put on the spot, as Gin continued, her expression softened more a more composed at ease smile, starting to speak more to herself than Sumi or Sonoko. He shaky words grew more confident despite her blush getting deeper as she spoke further. It was like the more she said, the more it relaxed and assured her.
And Sonoko knew that look on Gin's face quite well. "Yeeeeeep, Mino-san's definitely deep in love~." Interrupting when Gin had come to a pause, Sonoko drew the spotlight over toward Sumi, who so far was the one holding out and not taking this so well.
Now the center of attention after Gin's explanation, Sumi's earlier sternness began to wilt under the gazes. "Er, well… If… That's how Gin really feels and it would make her happy… Then, I'll support her." Though not sounding exactly enthusiastic about the idea, Sumi's response resembling something close to approval. Sonoko knew she could always count on Sumi to prioritize her friends when it came down to it.
"Yaaaaay~! Then, we need to think of a plan! Something like this is special and it needs to be setup right!" Sonoko cheered, rising up into a straighter position. Time was short, it was much of the reason she had been extra pushy with Gin to try and get her to confess on her own compared to letting it more slightly more naturally with some teasing. With everything settled, they had to figure something out.
Gin leaned closer to Sonoko in hopeful anticipation, yet a dash of skepticism beneath it. "This isn't gonna be too complex is it..."
Sonoko shook her head. "Not at all~. This is a matter of Mino-san's heart and too much scripting isn't you~. But, there's something coming up I think could make the perfect setting and mood..."
It was going to be a long night planning.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Whew, finally an update, with two chapters to make up for the delay. Apologies for the long wait. Combination of college and wanting to make sure this event in the story was good enough led to a lot of time spend, hope the long update makes up for it a bit! Story isn't dead, only a few chapters left to go!
Stuck in quarantine with the whole coronavirus going on, but I unfortunately still have school to do so I can't just nose to the grindstone rest of the updates. However, I still have more free time, so I hope it shouldn't be too long a wait to finish everything.
Despite bringing up something from UQ Holder, I am not really sticking to that story and any of the additional elements it's added to the world out of personal preference with it. So don't count on anything else appearing from it. The Lifemaker's Resonance Ability will likely be the only thing I take from UQ Holder.