DISCLAIMER: Ojamajo Doremi © Toei Animation in 1999-2004. I don't get any commercial benefit from this fic.
The Future Story 2
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Chapter 10 – The New Leader's Main Wish
'Why do I keep thinking that I've ever met her long time ago? She isn't that old right?' an old woman kept thinking about something while she was eating her breakfast with her daughter's family in the dining room at their house, 'She's my older sister's granddaughter though… Wait, don't say if later, she'll become a time traveler… It's still possible for her, and maybe, that was why…'
"Obaachan?"
"…"
"Obaachan, what are you thinking about?"
"Eh? Ah, Izumi-chan," Pop smiled, realized that her granddaughter called her, "It's okay. I just think about something unimportant."
Pop then wasted no time to asked, "By the way, Izumi-chan, how about your training? Is it going well?"
"It's so fun!" Izumi nodded, "The others are just like some older sisters for me."
"I see," Pop sighed in relief, "Then, how about Fami-chan? Is she doing well in the training?"
"Of course she is, obaachan," Izumi smiled back at her grandmother, "Why do you ask? Are you thinking about your older sister again?"
"Well, not really. I just wonder…"
"Don't worry, obaachan. Fami-nee keeps doing well in her training, so she won't ever fail in her first test. I and the others also won't ever fail in our test, because all of us will keep doing our best."
"Okay, I trust you, Izumi-chan," Pop giggled, then continued, "When will all of you go to the witch world for your first test?"
"Hmm, the Queen said that the first test would be held this weekend, at night," Izumi stated, "Obaachan, you know about the test, right? Do we really need to make some strange foods appear in the test?"
"Actually, I don't really know about it, though…" Pop admitted, "When I took my first test, I was a year younger than you are, and… I was a heavy sleeper in that time."
"Then?"
"Coincidentally, it was when we took care of the present Queen – Hana-chan – when she was a baby in Maho-dou, and I heard Majorika complained about her not-so-well sleep because of the baby, so I decided to stay at Maho-dou at the night before my first test," the old woman explained, "because I thought that it would help me to stay awake."
"So, was it worked?"
"Not really. I did stay awake at the night I took care of the baby though, I was too exhausted right when I should take my first test," Pop continued, "but fortunately, the baby cried and woke me up, and when I saw that there was a big trouble near the test booth, I used my power to solve the problem."
"I see. So you passed your first exam after you helped the examiner, right?"
"Well, you can say that. I even skipped some levels back then."
"Really? That's great!" Izumi was excited, "Obaachan, you're great!"
"Even so, I can't really tell you about the real exam. I'm sorry, Izumi-chan."
"It's okay, obaachan. I don't mind," Izumi shook of her head, "At least, I can find it out from the others, if they can ask their grandmothers."
When Izumi was ready to go to school, Pop asked her, "Can you bring Fami-chan here after school? I want to talk with her about something."
"Sure, I can. I'll bring her here, to meet you," Izumi nodded, but then asked back, "but then, how about our practice? I mean, how if I and Fami-nee didn't make it to Maho-dou after we come here?"
"Don't worry, Izumi-chan. I can ask permission to Majorika so that you both can take your practice here, if my conversation with her become so long."
After heard what her grandmother said, Izumi smiled, "Thank you, obaachan!"
.O.
"Ah, I almost forgot," said Izumi right after the problem between Shiroyuki and Molly was over, "Fami-nee, can you go home with me after school? Obaachan wants to talk with you."
"Eh? Granny Poppu?" asked Fami, "but how about our practice?"
"Obaachan said that she could ask Majorika to allow us take our practice at my house today, if we didn't have time to go to Maho-dou."
"So, another plan for separated practice, huh?" Nozomi gazed at her older cousin, "Our leader surely becomes so busy nowadays…"
"Hey, Non-chan, what are you saying?" Fami retorted, "I just need to talk with Granny Poppu today, and I'm not that busy."
"Alright, I trust you," Nozomi giggled, "I think I know what you both will talk about."
"Really?"
The brunette nodded, "Yes, I'm so sure, that you both will talk about obaachan, as Granny Poppu is her younger sister."
"Hmm, that's possible, though…" Fami then asked the youngest witch apprentice in her group, "Izumi-chan, did Granny Poppu tell you about the things she wants to talk about with me?"
"She didn't tell me," Izumi shrugged, "She just asked me to bring you home, to my house."
"It makes me curious," Fami smiled, "I rarely met Granny Poppu before, so I'm surprised to hear that she wants to meet me today."
"Alright then, we'll go home together after school…"
"Then, can Nozomi-chan follow you both to your house, Izumi-chan?" suddenly, Tsubomi walked to the girls and asked them, "Nozomi-chan, can you give this book to Granny Poppu? I borrowed it from her last week, but I don't have time to return it."
"Eh? Tsubomi-sensei, obaachan just…"
"I know it, Izumi-chan, but I just can return the book this way," cut the young teacher, "I've already talked about it with your mother by phone, and she also said that there was something which she wanted to give to Nozomi-chan."
"Eh? Really?" Nozomi looked at her mother, "Okasan, are you serious?"
"Of course, Nozomi-chan. I really need your help," she stroked her daughter's hair, "Can you help me?"
"Alright, I'll go with them," Nozomi finally decided, then took the mentioned book from her mother, "I'll return it to her."
"Eh? Then, how about me?" Rizuko protested, "Nozomi-nee, don't you want to go to Maho-dou with me?"
"Rizu-chan, calm down. I just return a book, anyway," Nozomi assured, "You just need to wait for me with Shiro-chan and Molly-chan. Hopefully, I still have time to go to Maho-dou from there."
"I hope so," Rizuko sighed, "I just have you as my cousin, and you know that I assume you as my older sister, right?"
"Don't worry, Rizu-chan. Even if I can't go to Maho-dou today, it doesn't mean that you couldn't meet me anymore. We still have tomorrow, next week, next month, next year…" the green witch apprentice put her right hand on Rizuko's left shoulder, "So you don't need to worry about it."
Just then, the bell rang. The girls walked into their own classroom while Tsubomi walked into the teacher's room to prepare herself before she started to teach Izumi and her classmates in their classroom.
.O.
"Nozomi-nee, you should promise with me. If you still have time to go to Maho-dou after you return that book to Grandma Poppu, you should go there," said Rizuko to Nozomi while all of the new witch apprentices walked out from their school, "I'll be waiting for you."
"Don't worry, Rizu-chan. I promise I'll go to Maho-dou later, if Auntie Hima doesn't have anything to talk with me," replied Nozomi, "She said to okasan that she wanted to give me something, and honestly, I'm so curious about what the things she'll give to me."
"Must be something important, as she wants you to come to her house," Molly opined, "Alright then, Rizu-chan, Shiro-chan, let's we go to Maho-dou."
Both Rizuko and Shiroyuki nodded, then Shiroyuki said to the other three, "Fami-chan, Nozomi-chan, Izumi-chan, see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow, Shiro-chan, Rizu-chan, Molly-chan," Fami smiled, "Keep doing well in your practice, okay?"
"Okay!"
They then separated at an intersection.
On the way to Izumi's house, the youngest witch apprentice sighed then stated to both Fami and Nozomi, "If only I lived here since the beginning, I could be really near with you both and Rizu-nee…"
"It's okay, Izumi-chan. Even though you just recently moved here, we still can be near with each other," Fami assured, "Moreover, our grandmothers were siblings, so… we should be near with each other."
"Speaking about them, I remember that anytime I meet obaachan, she always talks about… your grandmother to me," Izumi admitted, "but unfortunately, I just could meet her once."
"She sacrificed herself just for me," Fami bowed her head in a few minutes, but then she looked at the first grader beside her and smiled, "and I won't ever waste her sacrifice."
"I know it. Obaachan also said that she wasn't really surprised to see your grandmother's sacrifice," Izumi paused, then continued, "By the way, Fami-nee… would you like to… stay at my house once in a while? I want to be near with you."
She looked at Nozomi and said to the brunette, "Ah, I also want to ask about the same thing to you, Nozomi-nee."
"Don't worry, Izumi-chan, I know you'll mention me," Nozomi smiled, "and of course, I think it will be fun if I can stay at your house someday."
"Really?"
Nozomi nodded, "Of course. That will make our family nearer."
"Well, that's what I want, though," Izumi smiled back, then shifted her attention back to Fami, "So, how about you, Fami-nee?"
"I'll be glad to stay," replied Fami, "I also want to be near with you."
"I'm glad to hear that."
"You know, Izumi-chan, I think I have an idea," said Nozomi, "How if I and Fami-chan stay at your house this weekend? That way, we can go for the first test together."
"Good idea, Nozomi-nee!" Izumi cheered, "I agree with you."
"But how about Rizu-chan? I think she wants to go for the first test together with you, Non-chan," asked Fami worriedly, "How if she asks you to stay at her house this weekend? She's also your cousin, anyway."
"Huh, you're right," Nozomi sighed, "Alright, maybe I should be going with Rizu-chan, but you still can stay at Izumi-chan's house this weekend, Fami-chan."
"Hmm, okay. I'll stay at Izumi-chan's house this weekend," Fami decided. The three girls then smiled at each other while kept walking to Izumi's house.
When they arrived at the mentioned house, Pop greeted them. Fami then asked the old woman about her own house where she usually lived in.
"Well, my husband is in Hokkaido right now, while I rarely met with Izumi-chan before, so I think it's better for me to stay here in these two weeks," Pop explained, then asked the green witch apprentice, "By the way, Nozomi-chan, why do you come here?"
"Ah, okasan commanded me to return this book to you, Granny Poppu," replied Nozomi as she gave the mentioned book to the old woman, "Okasan said that she borrowed this from you last week."
"Ah, this book!" Pop received her book, "Coincidentally, I just recently want to ask this to your mother."
"That's great," the brunette smiled, "Actually, I also come here because okasan said that Auntie Hima wanted to give me something…"
"Ah, Nozomi-chan, you come," Himawari walked out from the laundry room, "Let's we walk into my room. I have something for you."
The young woman dragged Nozomi upstairs while Pop started to talk with Fami in the living room and Izumi walked into her bedroom to put her backpack.
"Fami-chan, if someday you can pass all of your witch apprentice test and become a majingen, what will you do with your power? I mean, you must be want to use it to do something, right?" Pop started the topic, "Well, Hana-chan told me that your main duty was to open the rainbow gate, but I don't think that you should use all of your power just for that things, right? You still can use it for anything else."
"Something else, huh? Honestly, I haven't thought about it yet," Fami admitted, "You know, obaachan just instantly sacrificed herself and gave her power to me, so… I don't really have enough time to think about that."
"Really? Don't you want to do something important with your power?"
"Well, when obaachan was still here and often telling me about the Witches' Story, I always said to her that I… wanted to see my mother's face," the soft-pink haired girl tried to remember, "but now, it was obaachan herself who met my mother."
"Your mother's face, eh? I think you'll be able to see it with your power," Pop smiled, "Someday, when you become strong enough to control your power, you can go through time with it?"
"Eh? Granny Poppu, you mean… I can be a time traveler, can't I?"
"Yes, you're right," the old woman nodded, "Then you can see your mother's face. You also can use your power to meet the younger me, or… maybe someday, you'll miss your grandmother then you use your power to meet her younger self. You'll be able to do all of those things someday."
"Interesting!" commented Fami, "Had you ever done it before?"
"Sort of, and I should say that your grandmother had ever done it more often than me," said Pop, "With all of her best friends, they combined their power to find out anything from the past."
"I see," Fami immediately asked, "Then, had you ever met someone from the future?"
"Well, I think it's better for me to not answer your question this time," Pop giggled, "because even if I did meet someone from the future, he or she won't ever say the truth to me."
"Oh yeah, no one will admit it, right?" Fami sighed, "However, I think I'll become a time traveler someday, so I can see my mother's face and meet her."
"That's great," praised Pop, who then looked at the clock on the wall, "Alright then, I think now we still can make it to Maho-dou, with Nozomi-chan and Izumi-chan."
"Eh? So you want to accompany us to Maho-dou?"
"Of course. I want to see your practice," Pop stood up and started to walk out from the living room, "Let's we tell Izumi-chan and Nozomi-chan about this."
Fami nodded, then they walked upstairs.