The Day of Worldly Secrets
Kyousuke slowly shook his head. "I'll be the one, Ojii-chan." He turned to the girl seated beside him. "You see, Ayukawa, we're... we're espers. Me, Ojii-chan, Manami, Kurumi..."
"You're kidding me, Kasuga-kun," Madoka said. "Right?"
Kyousuke shook his head, and his voice when he replied was all seriousness. "No, Ayukawa, I'm not. Do you want me to show you?" Without waiting for her to speak, he extended a hand towards the ashtray on the table, and it rose into the air.
"I... I see." Madoka stared at the floating little brown object. "Excuse me for disbelieving you."
"Oh, that's okay, Madoka-chan," said Kyousuke's grandfather. "Do you want anything? Juice, perhaps? Or a cola?" He pointed in the direction of the kitchen, and Madoka turned to see a can of drink flying out of the kitchen doorway towards her. It landed in her hands. A can of coffee milk.
Kyousuke sniffed as he lowered the ashtray back on the living room table. "Showoff."
"Th-thank you," Madoka stuttered as she opened the can. She took a sip of the cold, tasty liquid to steady her nerves. First the Jusenkyo curse, then that story about a spring at the South Pole, and now this...
"So you see, Madoka-chan, transportation is not a problem." Ojii-chan made an expansive gesture with his hands. "Why, I could bring the three of us there this instant, if you didn't mind freezing to death within the next two minutes or so."
"Ojii-chan..." Kyousuke said, chuckling nervously as a vision of whirling snow and howling winds occupied his mind. "I think we'll pass."
"Anyway, to continue. We'll pass by the American research station of McMurdo first to get the help of a scientist friend of your grand-uncle's. Then, when we get to the Pole, I'll search for the spring's exact location with this." The old man reached into a pocket of the brown pants he was wearing and brought out a funny-looking necklace of tiny silver metal links with a large bronzed feather hanging from it.
"That thing?" said Kyousuke. "It doesn't look very special."
"Hey, Kyousuke, if this doesn't work, it means Madoka-chan will have to use the Jusenkyo spring, and you'll have to part ways with her. Have a little faith, my child. It's all you have left to cling to."
"Sorry, Ojii-chan."
"When we find the spring, you two will have to strip naked and bathe in it."
"What?" exclaimed the two high-schoolers.
"You're not serious, are you, Ojii-chan?" Kyousuke questioned his grandfather. "We'll freeze to death."
"Yeah," agreed Madoka. "And I'm not keen on your grandson seeing me in the nude, Ojii-san." She gave Kyousuke a sidelong look. "He's been acting ecchi enough the past few days already."
"Madoka-chan, it's the only way. The spring will lose its power if it's defiled by your clothing," he explained.
"And how come I've got to bathe in the spring too?" asked Kyousuke. He didn't relish the thought of Madoka seeing him au naturel. "I'm not the one with the curse."
"Remember what I told you about the spring not replacing one curse with another? It works by transferring that curse to another recipient, who must be willing to undergo the whole thing. I have designated you as Madoka-chan's recipient for the curse, Kyousuke. Your grand-uncle told me that he's pretty sure it won't take hold on you, since you're a guy and an esper to boot." Ojii-chan looked at his grandson with an amused expression. "Or, if you don't wish to trouble yourself, I could be the one to do it..."
"No way, Ojii-chan," Kyousuke said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I'll do it." Remembering Ayukawa sitting beside him, he turned to her. "Uh, that is, if you want me to."
Madoka nodded reluctantly. "If that's what it takes, Kasuga-kun. I don't have a choice anyway."
"My, you're being remarkably calm about all this."
"Hey, after all that's happened to me, I don't think anything else I hear can surprise me anymore."
"Okay, you two. If there aren't any further questions, I'd like you to start preparing." Ojii-chan held out two folded pieces of paper. "Here's some of the things I think we'll be needing. You'd better start scrounging them up. We're leaving tomorrow morning."
Kyousuke's eyebrows shot up. "Tomorrow already? How come?"
"Weather. The forecast is good for tomorrow. I already checked."
"That doesn't leave us much time to prepare, Ojii-san," said Madoka.
"I hope you know what you're getting us into," added Kyousuke.
"I'm pretty sure," said Ojii-chan. "And last but not least, Kyousuke, your grand-uncle said one more thing: the curse probably won't affect you, but the spring might."
"What do you mean?"
"It might take away your powers as well as Madoka-chan's curse. You'll become as ordinary as any other mortal."
"But..." Madoka said, looking helplessly at the boy beside her. "If that's true... I'd rather we not go through with this, Kasuga-kun."
"Don't say that, Ayukawa." Kyousuke impulsively grasped her hands. "All this time I was wondering what I could do to prove that I loved you... How do you think I'd feel if we had to go our separate ways because I selfishly wanted to retain my powers?" He looked her in the eyes. "As long as we're together... then everything's alright."
"Kasuga-kun... you'd do that for me?"
Kyousuke nodded. "That and more, Ayukawa."
Ojii-chan cleared his throat. "Well, if you don't have any other questions for me, I'll go home and pack. I'll be back around six AM. Be ready by then, okay?" As Madoka watched, he vanished from their sight.
Kyousuke looked for a moment at the space his grandfather had occupied. "Well," he said, "we'd better get ready."
"Yeah," agreed Madoka, looking his way. "Uh, Kasuga-kun?"
"Yes?"
"Could you stop holding my hands so tight? They're starting to hurt."
"Oh. Sorry."
Kyousuke let go of her and stood up. "Ayukawa... I guess the jig's up, huh?"
A smile slowly blossomed on Madoka's face as she looked up at him. "In a big way. You are a cheat and a liar, Kasuga Kyousuke-sama." She stood up as well. "And I like that about you. Bye. See you tomorrow." She turned around and started to walk away from him.
"Wait! If you want, you could sleep over here tonight..." Kyousuke suggested, his voice faltering. "It would save you having to walk all the way here tomorrow morning carrying a heavy load."
Madoka considered. "How must that appear to your father and sisters, Kasuga-kun?"
"Heck, don't worry about that. Why, the first time Hikaru stayed overnight here, Manami made a comment about me being a late bloomer..." Kyousuke flinched as he realized he shouldn't have brought Hikaru's name up. It would only remind Madoka of the mess they'd have to deal with when this was all over. "That's when I first came to Koryou, remember?"
"Yeah, how could I forget? You phoned me the next night trying to make some silly excuse for her being here."
"Ayukawa..."
Madoka laughed. "It's all right, Kasuga-kun. I forgave you for that a long time ago. Anyhow, I've got to get going." She put a finger to her lips, then pressed it against his. "Ja, mata ne, lover boy," she gibed softly, saying the term in English, winking at him.
After she left, Kyousuke found himself sitting back on the sofa, regarding the empty can of coffee milk still sitting on the living room table. He had finally confessed to her, and she still hadn't made any remark about how she felt about him. Where did that leave him? But still, the way she had laughed and smiled ought to have told him something about her inner feelings... With a sigh, he snatched the can off the table, tossed it in the kitchen wastebasket, and went to his room to prepare for the arduous trip tomorrow.
